Just like back in the night before Jing He descended for his trial, the two lovers weren't on the same page at all.
Jing Yi separated from Qiu Ling and his heels touched the ground again but he didn't look away. Right now, he felt happy. Way happier than he had felt in the last couple of years when they had been separated whether it was by space or by his own doing.
Realizing that Qiu Ling had indeed to be Tian made this so much easier but right now he felt that even if he wasn't, even if there was still another person waiting for him somewhere, he should stay with him nonetheless. Because Qiu Ling was the man he had fallen in love with and whatever had happened in a past life couldn't change that. His feelings from this life wouldn't just disappear and the man he had loved in his past life wouldn't be anything more than a stranger. So regardless of who Tian was, Qiu Ling was the one he wanted to stay with.
Jing Yi's hands slid down and he grabbed onto the lapel of Qiu Ling's robe. His past self had never dared to be straightforward. He hadn't told Qiu Ling his true feelings, he hadn't looked at him, and even when he had finally decided, he hadn't dared to follow his impulse for fear of disappointing his lover.
In fact, he had always been afraid to disappoint others. He had always been conscious of what others would think and had forbidden himself from doing what he himself desired.
And even though he had seen and relived all of that, he himself had almost made the same mistake. Because of Jing He's memories, because of what Tian might think, he had pushed Qiu Ling away. He couldn't continue to be like this. The courage Jing He had lacked, he had to make up for it.
Jing Yi lifted his head and looked into Qiu Ling's eyes, that pair of eyes that seemed human at first glance but still betrayed his nature as a dragon if one looked closely enough. The pupil wasn't as round as that of a human but rather elliptical and the iris wasn't a ring around it but seemed to have straighter lines instead. If one looked closely, there even seemed to be two corners on each side. They were rounded though and wouldn't be obvious at first glance. The color wasn't normal either. His iris seemed to be of a dark brown that almost appeared black in the shadows but actually, there was some red in there. A color one certainly wouldn't find in a human.
This kind of thing, had Jing He ever noticed it? With how careful he had been, he had missed out on so many things. The beautiful love he could have had … hadn't it been wasted like that?
Jing Yi smiled and tried to snuggle up even closer to his lover. "Qiu Ling, I'm sorry for letting you wait for so long. I … I understand now."
Qiu Ling blinked. Letting him wait? Did his beloved mean they would continue kissing now? Not that he minded but … why didn't it seem that way?
"Do you think … the Yun Zou Sect can wait a bit longer for the materials for that array?"
Qiu Ling had no idea how Jing Yi had thought of that at this moment but, well, if he wanted to know his opinion … "Uh … certainly?" It probably wasn't that important. The array hadn't been that great in the beginning and there was his Master, the old geezer, and now even his old man. The sect wouldn't get into so much trouble that these three people wouldn't be enough to protect it.
"In that case … how about bringing me home?"
"Home?" Qiu Ling stared at him blankly, not understanding what he was talking about.
"Mn. Before I was trapped in the secret realm, didn't you want to marry me? Does that still count or don't you want me anymore?"
"Marry?" Something in Qiu Ling roared at him to grab his beloved and go to the dragon realm but … he still didn't understand what was going on and could only look at him dumbly.
Hadn't his beloved broken up with him just a few weeks ago? Hadn't he still told him a few hours ago that they couldn't be together because of that imaginary Tian? How come he was suddenly hearing things like 'home' and 'marry' from him? Was it possible he was hallucinating right now? Or daydreaming maybe?
Eh? If this was just a daydream, why was he still standing here and wondering? He should just pick him up and do what he said!
Qiu Ling's face finally lit up and he pressed his beloved against his chest, squeezing him happily. "Ah, my love! You finally realized that I'm your most important person! Ah, call me husband! No, give me a kiss first!"
He let go of Jing Yi's back, grabbed his face instead and gave him a resounding smack on the lips. Ah, how he had waited for this!
He stared at him, looking very much like a lovestruck fool. "Now, call me husband."
No way would he lose out to his old man and the old geezer! He also wanted to be called 'my dear' or, even better, 'husband'! Or something else that was really sweet and would showcase their great relationship. Hmph, and then he'd have those two walk in while they were doing something fun in a tub! His beloved would certainly look much better than the old geezer in it anyway.
Jing Yi smiled and encircled Qiu Ling's neck with his arms. "My future husband."
Qiu Ling straightened up. Ah! That was what he wanted! This sounded heavenly! Ah, now he just had to get rid of that extraneous word in there. "My dear, let's go get married!"
He bent down to pick him up but just then a sickening voice drifted over to them.
"Jing He, my love, what are you doing? Don't tell me you forgot about me?"
Qiu Ling looked up and his expression of extreme bliss turned as black as the bottom of a pot in an instant.
That. Fucking. Bastard.