The Rise of Xueyue

"I'm going to go and talk to her." Wenmin patted the grass and dirt off of his pants and left before waiting for Chenyang's reply.

Xueyue was too immersed in archery to notice the man walking towards her. She was startled when someone tapped on her right shoulder.

Turning around, she was met with a broad chest and when she looked up, she was surprised to see one of the twins.

"Hello, my name is Li Wenmin." The left side of his lips curled into a lopsided smile.

Xueyue stared at the astonishingly handsome man in front of her. His features were soft to the eyes, and there was a childish glint in his eyes. Thick eyebrows, friendly eyes, high nose, thin lips, and sharp jawline, it wasn't hard to tell why women fawned over him.

"Wenmin, you bastard! Don't run off without me!" Li Chenyang stormed towards his older brother. His fingers curled into fists.

Xueyue was surprised to see another man appear. He was the same height as Wenmin, but instead of friendly and outgoing features, Chenyang's face was considerably more terrifying.

They shared the similar thick eyebrows and thin lips. But Chenyang's nose was slightly crooked and his eyes were considerably darker. There was a slight scar near his right brow and his cheeks were more hollowed. Because his jaw was clenched with anger, it was ticking and sharp.

Xueyue blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. When she heard Li Wenmin and Li Chenyang were twins, she had expected them to be identical and not fraternal twins.

Aside from their thick eyebrows, thin lips, and similar height, everything about them was the polar opposite of each other.

Li Wenmin was like a bright ray of sunshine with his mirth-filled eyes, easygoing smile, and childish attitude.

Li Chenyang was like the coldest wind of winter. His face was pale, and his gaze sends a shiver down her spine. His lips were pulled into a scowl, which made his eyes fiercer and scarier.

Ever since Chenyang stepped into the picture, there was a sense of hostility in the air.

Wenmin was the first to notice the tension. He cleared his throat and clapped his hands for attention. "You, my dear, must be Xueyue." He tapped his long finger on her button nose.

"You've guessed correctly...Young Master Li." Xueyue was unsure of what to call him. She knew he was older than her and clearly of higher rank. She wasn't sure if it was offensive to directly call him by his name, and finally, decided to settle on the typical title.

Wenmin blinked in surprise. He ruffled Xueyue's hair, a friendly grin on his lips. "Drop the title, you can just call me Wenmin. Or even better, Wen-ge [1]." He mused.

Xueyue tilted her head to the side. Was he always this nice?

"And in return, I'll call you Xiao Yue! [2] " He giddily clapped his hands.

"This iceberg besides me is my younger brother, Li Chenyang. I'm sure mother, and father has talked about us?"

Xueyue immediately noticed how chatty and bright Wenmin was. His hands would occasionally move around when he talked, and he was extremely lively.

"I-it's a pleasure to meet you both." Xueyue hesitantly said.

When Chenyang crossed his arms and raised a brow, Xueyue almost facepalmed herself.

Placing her right hand over her left and then shifting her hands to her right torso, Xueyue executed the most elegant bow she could think of. "I-I apologize for my behavior-"

"Whatever." Chenyang muttered and walked off.

Xueyue felt her heart drop to her stomach. Did I offend him already?

"Don't worry about my younger brother. He's always this grumpy." Wenmin quickly stepped in to comfort the tiny girl.

"Did I offend him?" Xueyue quietly asked.

Wenmin tilted his head to see Chenyang's body walking back towards the willow tree. The corner of his Wenmin's lips tilted upwards. He slung an arm around Xueyue's shoulder.

"Trust me, if you had offended him, you would know." Wenmin reassured her.

Chenyang was frighteningly angry if he was offended. Like the calm before the storm, his face would remain impossibly serene, but his eyes and words would tear you apart. And just when you thought he was done with you, he would proceed to destroy you.

"Let's not worry about him." Wenmin guided Xueyue's attention away from the willow tree.

"Instead, let's pay our attention to those arrows."

Pointing towards the farthest target, Wenmin said, "Instead, let's pay our attention to those arrows."

Xueyue lifted her eyes to look at the arrows she had recently shot.

"Will you teach me how to shoot like that?"

Surprised by his request, Xueyue's head flew up. He wanted me, a child, to teach him how to shoot an arrow?!

Sure, Xueyue was amazing at archery, but she doubted her skills as a teacher.

"I've never taught someone how to shoot an arrow. I'm afraid I'm not eligible to teach-"

"Well, you won't know unless you try!"

"Uhm...." Xueyue awkwardly trailed off. Why was he so bright and optimistic? Should I try and be optimistic as well?

Upon sensing her clear hesitation, Wenmin leaned closer to Xueyue. In a lowered voice, he whispered, "In return, I'll tell you how to win Chenyang over."

Xueyue's eyes brightened at the opportunity before her. She didn't want any unnecessary tension between her and Duchess Li's sons. It would lead to unwanted problems and conflicts that would eventually drive her farther away from her goal...

After thinking about it for a while, a small smile graced Xueyue's lips and a bright shimmer gleamed in her eyes.

Wenmin noticed how light her eyes were. When they caught the light, it seemed to be a deep amber color with sprinkles of gold. But when the darkness fell over it, her the gold leaves seemed to shine. Her eyes seemed to be her best features and in a few years, he'd finally understand why.

"Deal!" Xueyue happily said.

Wenmin blinked and rubbed his eyes. He didn't expect himself to be hypnotized by something as simple as the color of a girl's eyes.

He quickly composed his posture and went back to his usual self. "It's a deal then." He grinned and shook her hands in cooperation.