"Qiu Ling?" Jing Yi couldn't see his fiance anywhere when he came back and called for him. Qiu Ling didn't appear, though. It was as if he had left.
Jing Yi frowned but there was nothing he could do. So he just took a seat at the table and waited.
Meanwhile, Qiu Ling was sitting on the roof and pouted. What had his beloved seen that he couldn't know of? Weren't they already engaged? Why were there still things he didn't tell him?
"I told you everything about me. Well … More or less everything. So why can't you tell me what you saw? It can't be that bad, right?"
He heard the door open below him and Jing Yi's voice calling out for him but he didn't leave his place. He somehow felt disregarded. As his beloved's future husband, shouldn't he be the first one he told his woes? Why hadn't he said anything? There clearly had been something wrong! He had looked downright spooked.
Qiu Ling stared into the night but finally couldn't take it any longer. His beloved was in the room below him! Even if he felt betrayed, he shouldn't leave him alone. His Jing He might very well have a good explanation for his behavior.
Finally having found an excuse for himself, Qiu Ling leaped from the roof and hurried back into the room. He headed straight for the bed just to find it empty. Qiu Ling stared at the blanket that was still crumpled from the time Jing Yi had laid there. Where had he gone? He had clearly heard him come back.
He turned around and saw Jing Yi sitting at the table. Or, well, he was seated there but his head had lowered and his black hair spread across the tabletop. He had fallen asleep.
Qiu Ling sighed. He suddenly felt extremely dumb. So what if his beloved hadn't told him what he saw? He wasn't Jing He, the Son of Heaven, right now. He was Zhong Jing Yi, a mortal of not even twenty years. He was bound to be easily spooked by things Jing He would have been able to accept without so much as twitching a brow. It might even be that he hadn't seen anything worth worrying over at all but to him who had no idea what hit him it had certainly been terrifying.
Qiu Ling silently picked him up and carried him over to the bed. Before he could put him down he hesitated though. His beloved had woken up, the Beguiling Night Tree's fruit had already been processed. There was no reason to stay here any longer.
With a slight smile, Qiu Ling turned around, left the Grandmaster's estate and carried Jing Yi over to their own little house. For the time being, this was their place for just the two of them. They should stay here whenever it was possible.
He put Jing Yi onto the bed and laid down beside him. He should just ask him tomorrow what he had seen. By then, his beloved probably would have calmed down and would tell him everything.
Qiu Ling closed his eyes and fell asleep. Before long, he was woken up by a pair of hands clutching his robe.
Qiu Ling's eyes snapped open and he stared at the hunched up figure in front of him. Jing Yi was trembling. It was more or less the same as when he had been under the influence of that fruit.
"Jing'er." Qiu Ling grabbed his shoulder and shook him.
Jing Yi sat up, breathing heavily. He hid his face behind his hands and tried to calm down but he felt suffocated. Once again he had seen that scene where he painted and was then surprised by that man. He couldn't do anything, he couldn't say anything. He had completely been at that memory's mercy again.
Qiu Ling hugged him but didn't know what else to do. He couldn't even say anything.
Jing Yi clung to Qiu Ling until he finally calmed down. The first thing he did was rubbing his eyes and cheeks to make sure there weren't any tears. He didn't want Qiu Ling to see him like this.
"I'm sorry." He looked up at him and bit his lower lip. This was the second time he had woken up like this. Knowing Qiu Ling he was probably anxious.
"You don't have to apologize. Are you alright?"
Jing Yi nodded. "Yes, it's …" He shook his head and leaned against Qiu Ling's chest again. "I dreamed of that thing again."
"That … thing?"
Jing Yi nodded. "What I saw because of that fruit. I … I'm sorry," he repeated and gently cupped Qiu Ling's face. "Are you mad at me? For not telling you earlier?"
Qiu Ling hesitated a bit but finally shook his head. "I was a bit … disappointed at first. But you certainly had your reasons."
Jing Yi sighed. "I didn't know what exactly I had seen and I was just anxious. Please don't mind it."
Qiu Ling nodded but he couldn't completely shake the feeling. "Then do you mind telling me now?"
"Can you promise you won't get angry?"
Qiu Ling smiled brightly and kissed Jing Yi's brow. "I would never get angry with you."
Jing Yi nodded. He wasn't too sure if he did the right thing but after dreaming of it again and once again startling Qiu Ling he probably couldn't go with his initial plan of waiting a while. "I actually saw a man in that dream. I don't know who he was but … he seemed to be an important person to me."
Qiu Ling froze but then relaxed. Jing Yi obviously hadn't recognized that person so it wasn't anyone he knew right now. Considering he had Jing He's soul this might be someone from the Nine Heavens and speaking of the people there that were important to him … This was probably the Heavenly Emperor.
Ah, no wonder his beloved had gotten anxious! He would have felt the same if he suddenly saw such an old, bearded man in his dreams.
Jing Yi observed Qiu Ling's expression. When he saw that Qiu Ling actually reacted normally … he didn't know how to continue. Why had he fretted over how to tell him that much? Qiu Ling didn't seem to mind at all.
Qiu Ling finally cleared his throat and stroked Jing Yi's hair back. "You were afraid I'd become jealous?"
Jing Yi nodded. "I … would have expected that.
"Mn. Maybe I should. I would have liked it more if you dreamed of me." He gave Jing Yi another kiss and smiled brightly. "Just do that the next time."
"Alright." Jing Yi laughed happily and burrowed into Qiu Ling's arms. Even though he still felt terrible remembering how he hadn't been able to do anything in that dream, it was just a dream, after all, wasn't it? He shouldn't pay it too much heed. He should just enjoy what he had with Qiu Ling now.