Hua Lin Yu's father scrambled to find something he could say to get his son out of the situation so he wouldn't embarrass himself. "Oh, I bet that the dragons have a lot of interesting customs!"
Unfortunately for him, Xin Lan wasn't on the same page as him when it came to the subject. To him, it was a foregone conclusion that he and Hua Lin Yu would get married soon. Thus, he had no problem at all to answer any questions about the topic. In fact, he was happy that he got the chance to provide some information. That way, there was no way his family wouldn't know that Hua Lin Yu was also interested in having the wedding. "To be honest, there aren't many customs surrounding our weddings. The dragons are straightforward in this kind of matter."
Hua Lin Yu couldn't help but feel intrigued. "What does that mean? So how exactly does a dragon wedding look like?"
Xin Lan glanced at him, a slightly teasing smile on his lips. "Basically, we jump straight to the wedding night."
Hua Lin Rong and the two Huo brothers looked quite piqued while the other family members seemed embarrassed by how direct that was.
Xin Lan didn't mind. Anyway, they could ask any dragon and would get the same answer so it wouldn't do to tell them anything else. And also, with his past, there really was no reason to lie. Contrary to others of his race, he didn't have the same hangups since he wasn't affected by Tian's curse, thus, he had had that kind of night with more than just one person. It was just that it didn't quite count. After all, even if you slept with somebody, there was still the aspect of having somebody to vouch for what had happened. And even then …
He couldn't help but think of what had happened between his Master and Chun Yin and narrowed his eyes in response. Yes, even if you did everything according to customs, it might still go wrong. So what was the use in following everything to a T?
Hua Lin Yu originally hadn't thought too much about what Xin Lan had said but seeing his expression change, he couldn't help but feel a little strange. "What's the matter?"
Xin Lan was pulled out of his thoughts by Hua Lin Yu's voice and turned to him, slightly raising his brows. "What? Oh, it's nothing. I was just remembering something."
Hua Lin Yu continued to look at him and then took one of his hands into his, giving him a gentle smile to try and cheer him up. "It looks like it wasn't a happy memory."
Xin Lan continued to look at him, his heart stirring faintly. For all these years, he had always been hung up on Jinde. He had been sleeping with a few people to try to get him off his mind but that had never worked for long.
And other than that, he had never let anybody get close enough to him to actually get an understanding of him or touch his heart. He just … Wasn't ready for that. His love for Jinde hadn't worked out after all. And deep down, he couldn't help but worry that even if he managed to forget about him and fell for somebody else, it would still be the same in the end.
If was a dragon, that person might fall in love with somebody else, and then it would be too late for him. If it wasn't … Well, who was he kidding? If it wasn't a dragon, then there were no guarantees either.
Furthermore, while the demons were out of the question anyway since they couldn't love anyone, he didn't quite like the way the gods behaved. There were a few that were a little more outgoing but still, they weren't quite to his taste. Too complicated. As for humans … too fragile. Even if they managed to ascend, they would be in a difficult position having to find their place in the Nine Heavens.
The spirit beasts like Zheng Yin were quite good though. With the innate talent to become immortal, they were probably the best mix of all the races. Furthermore, they weren't impacted by Tian's curse. If he had to find somebody, he would likely go for one of them. But, truth be told, there was a certain element of pride that held him back. He wanted his partner to be a dragon. He truly wanted that. That would make him feel a little more normal. A pity that it didn't work out.
Xin Lan felt like sighing. After all these years, he just felt weary. Living a long life and being all alone through most of it, having others treat you as if you were completely different from them, a kind of existence that was supposed to be revered and looked up to … despite what people thought, it wasn't a good kind of life.
It would be nice to have an actual lover for a while, somebody he could just be himself with, somebody that he could spend his time with, just leisurely going about his days, going to sleep together at night and rising together in the morning.
He didn't have any big expectations. He just wanted that person to be at his side, to actually care about how he felt and what he wanted. Somebody that looked at him and put him first when he was not doing too well. Just sometimes, just … caring for him. That was all that he wanted.
But he knew that this was something that nobody in the dragon race would ever be able to give to him. And even among the spiritual beasts, it would be quite unlikely. A human though …
He looked at Hua Lin Yu, his previous impression changing a little. This was something he had originally just started because that fallen god had basically blackmailed him into it with helping his Master. But maybe … maybe he could also get something out of this. Maybe however long this human reincarnation of his lived, could also be a type of break for him. It was worth a try, wasn't it?
Anyway, he had nothing else to lose.