Jing Yi sighed and motioned to the room behind him. "Come on in then."
Qiu Ling's expression lit up even more and he hurried inside, even closing the door behind him. "My love, you —"
"No." Jing Yi lifted a hand and took a deep breath. "Qiu Ling, I already told you. I'm not in love with you anymore. We're not a couple anymore. So don't call me 'my love', it's not right. Just … call me by my name."
"Just your name?" Qiu Ling's expression dimmed but he soon rallied his spirits again. Whatever it was he called his beloved, as long as he could see him again it was already an achievement! He stepped closer and grabbed Jing Yi's hands with a smile. "My Jing'er —"
"No." Jing Yi wriggled his way out of Qiu Ling's grasp and shook his head. "Just my name. Jing Yi. Just call me Jing Yi."
Qiu Ling pursed his lips. This wasn't romantic at all!
Seeing his expression Jing Yi felt a major headache coming on. There really was no simple way to break up with someone like Qiu Ling. Well, he hadn't expected anything else. Now he could only hope that Qiu Ling would understand and accept how matters were when he explained everything.
He turned around and poured a cup of tea for Qiu Ling. "Why don't you sit down?"
Qiu Ling did as he was told and used the opportunity to look up at Jing Yi. His beloved had turned older in the secret realm. Right now, he was closer to Jing He's age. Well, at least appearance-wise. Naturally, as a mortal, Jing Yi didn't even come close to Jing He's real age.
As for their actual countenance … There was barely a slight resemblance. Jing He had always been beautiful, even to a degree that couldn't be measured by human or even godly standards. Even someone of the inherently vain dragon race wouldn't be able to disagree that Jing He was a supreme beauty. Everything about him was perfect.
Jing Yi, on the other hand, could probably be counted as good-looking or maybe a little cute. He wasn't as beautiful as Jing He though. There wasn't anything wrong with his appearance but he lacked the spotless, jade-like skin of Jing He that seemed to radiate a gentle light and the deep gaze from those dark eyes. Naturally, his hair wasn't as silky either and the color was a little off.
If you looked at Jing He, then it was as if you were examining a beautiful portrait, painted with the best colors by the best painter the Nine Heavens had, honed to perfection. Jing Yi … Maybe it had been the best painter's assistant that painted him and maybe the colors he used had been the remainders of what his master used. It still was a stunning portrait but next to the one the master had drawn you would naturally notice the areas where it was lacking.
Qiu Ling still liked looking at it. The portrait was nice in its own way and if you compared the way the person on it smiled, then you would realize that it was completely unimportant who had drawn it and what he had used to do so. The most important was the object that was painted and that was still the same to him.
This was his Jing He. Whether he knew who he was or whether he accepted that he was his, this was still his Jing He. And he would remain his Jing He forever.
"Jing'er …"
"It's Jing Yi." He handed Qiu Ling the cup and sat down opposite him. "Qiu Ling, I can only repeat that I'm sorry. I know this won't change anything. I hurt you. That is unforgivable, especially since I know how much this meant to you. But I think that … rather than being with me while my heart is with somebody else, you would also prefer we split up. Maybe you'll find somebody else you can be happy with."
Qiu Ling just continued to look at him. Mn, his beloved truly was beautiful. He probably shouldn't think so but this slightly ashamed expression in his eyes was so enticing. He really couldn't resist. He wanted to touch him.
Jing Yi's eyebrows slightly knitted when he didn't get a response. Well, he couldn't expect Qiu Ling to accept it this easily when he hadn't done so before. "I know I promised to stay with you before. I'm very sorry that I am breaking this promise. You have every right to hate me. I —"
"I could never hate you." Qiu Ling unwaveringly gazed at Jing Yi as if he wanted to imprint the way he looked into his mind.
Jing Yi sighed. "You could. I would understand. I really … wronged you with this. I know I should stay true to my word. I should stay with you but my heart tells me that it is the wrong thing. We're not meant to be."
Qiu Ling's gaze flickered for the first time.
Jing Yi paused and looked away. He really couldn't take the expression Qiu Ling made right now. Ah, why did this have to happen? It would have been better had he not accepted Qiu Ling's proposal back then. Or maybe … if he had never remembered Tian …
He shook his head. No. He couldn't think like that. He shouldn't consider that for even a moment. It was his luck to have remembered his lover before it was too late. It had to mean that Heaven was giving them a second chance. They were meant to be. He and Tian. Not he and Qiu Ling.
"I'm sorry that I only realized it now and hurt your feelings in the process. But I don't love you anymore. I love him and nothing will change about that. He is … my whole world."
Qiu Ling's gaze once again flickered. He didn't like hearing this. He didn't like it one bit. His beloved shouldn't talk about another man like this. But he wouldn't give up just because of this. It was just … a temporary setback. His beloved was confused because of the time they hadn't spent with each other. Soon enough he would remember how happy they had been and then … then he would forget about that ascended deity.
He smiled at Jing Yi when he thought of that. "Don't worry, I can wait. If you could fall out of love with me, then you can also fall out of love with him. After that, I'll just make you fall in love with me again."
Mn. He would do exactly that. It couldn't be that hard.