Echoes of the Star Tide

Everyone knew that Rong Yao, the Empire's genius mech pilot, and Lu Mingwang, the Third Prince, were the closest of friends, until Rong Yao vanished during a high-risk mission and miraculously returned five years later. The moment they were reunited, Rong Yao mocked Lu Mingwang. She even threw away the highest honor medal they had once received together, right in front of him. The soul-bonded partners who had awakened the legendary mech [Yao] through their extraordinarily high resonance abruptly fell out the moment they met again. It was baffling and hard to believe. In the days that followed, the silver-haired Third Prince remained cool and rational, as if nothing mattered to him but completing his missions. The black-haired mech pilot, returned from the dead, still couldn't be bothered to bow even before His Majesty the Emperor. Frail and sickly, she was nonetheless invincible on the battlefield. In everyone's eyes, the two had long since become strangers. Their gazes rarely even met, as if they were allergic to breathing the same air. · Then, six months later, during a battle against a mechanical insect swarm, people watched in terror and astonishment as the legendary mech, dormant for years, appeared in a thunderous flash and tore open the starry sky. Rumor had it that the monitoring screens in the control center showed the two in [Yao]'s cockpit holding hands, their fingers tightly interlaced. "Resonating willingly? Impossible. The mech made that decision on its own." When people asked her about it, Rong Yao scoffed and denied the rumor, the corner of her mouth curling into a sharp, beautiful smile. "Why would I go along with him?" So the two big shots really were at each other's throats after all... people thought regretfully. They would never see them being close again. · Until one late night. The fleet's adjutant knocked on the Third Prince's office door with a stack of documents in his arms. By the light of the moon, he caught sight of something he would never forget. The usually immaculate prince stood with his collar wide open, his normally perfectly combed silver hair falling messily over his brow... He had the always-dominant black-haired mech pilot trapped in his arms, her lower back pressed against the edge of the desk. "Lu Mingwang, have the bugs eaten your brain? I have a strategy meeting tomorrow morning!" The black-haired pilot's breathing came in short, ragged gasps, faint red marks showing on her pale neck. "It's all right... I can grant you leave." The prince's usually impassive eyes were now burning with warmth, and his voice was husky. As their bodies pressed together, the adjutant saw the black-haired pilot's slender waist tremble and tense beneath his superior's palm, visible through her open uniform. "..." Deeply shaken, the adjutant held his breath and took several steps backward, deciding to take the secret of what he had seen that night to his grave. If he failed... then he would take the secret to the entire galaxy instead. · [Reader's Guide] * The bottom is humanity's strongest fighter, but is in poor health. There is a high concentration of injury and illness scenes, mainly involving the heart, lungs, and stomach. The medical details are not professional; it's all here to cater to my tastes. * The top has nerve damage in his legs and uses a wheelchair early on, but recovers in the middle. The top is older, with a three-year age gap. * The romance runs alongside the main plot. The main story begins with their reunion, and there aren't too many flashbacks. * The entire interstellar setting has absolutely no scientific basis. It's 120% made up by the author, so don't scrutinize the logic. * Another extremely melodramatic work where I let my tastes run wild. Please don't offer writing advice. You don't need to tell me if you drop the story. Thank you. Theme: Even when the starlight dims.