After telling Nie Huang that he had found Hua Lin Yu, Bai Mu wasn't quite sure how to continue. Since he had already promised him, he definitely wouldn't tell Xin Lan. But he still had to inform somebody. It wouldn't be good if they continued to search needlessly. After pondering for a moment, he raised the transmission stone again and contacted Fu Min instead.
The dragon answered almost immediately. "Any luck yet?"
Bai Mu nodded, his expression a little awkward. "Yes, I found him. He was actually outside the city. Nie Huang and I will bring him back."
Fu Min raised his brows, not having expected that. "He was actually outside of the city? Well, I guess we could have searched for him quite long then. Anyway, it's good that we know where he is now. I'll go and tell the others."
"Thank you."
Fu Min already wanted to cut the connection and go tell the others when he saw Xin Lan and Hua Lin Rong turn back into their street. "Which gate will you come back through? I'll tell Xin Lan so he can go over and wait for you there."
"Ah …" Bai Mu had wanted to prevent this from happening. Now, he couldn't just ignore it though. "That … Can you not tell him? Hua Lin Yu mentioned that he didn't really want to see him right now."
Fu Min froze and then glanced at the person that had already come closer. There was no way that Xin Lan hadn't heard that just now. He really didn't know what to say. This obviously wasn't a good situation.
"Fu Min?" Bai Mu called out, trying to get his attention back. He couldn't see what was going on around Fu Min so he had no idea that his words had actually been overheard by the person in question. "Can you take care of this? I think that considering the current situation, it would really be best to just let Hua Lin Yu return first. We can still try to clear up anything else later on."
Fu Min cleared his throat and then finally nodded. "Sure." Although he wasn't sure what Xin Lan would have to say to that.
He finally cut the connection, put the transmission stone back in his spatial ring, and then looked at Xin Lan wryly. "I … have no idea what is going on."
Xin Lan looked at him for a moment longer before he turned away and just left. He really didn't want to talk about it. For now, nobody needed to know.
Hua Lin Rong watched his receding back and then glanced at Fu Min and Fu Heng, nodding before he left as well. At first, he wanted to rush after him but finally, he just went back to the palace on his own. Right now, he really didn't know what to say to Xin Lan. This whole situation was so awkward.
The two dragons stood on the road alone, keeping quiet for a moment. In the end, Fu Min heaved a sigh of relief. "That was probably the worst situation I've been in for a while. Anyway, since he has been found, we should also return."
Fu Heng raised his brows and then reached out to grab Fu Min's sleeve and pull him back. "Didn't you forget something?"
Fu Min blinked his eyes, having no idea what his husband was talking about. "No? What would I have forgotten?"
"There are still other people searching. We have to tell them that they don't need to anymore. I don't think Xin Lan or Hua Lin Rong are going to do that."
Fu Min's eyes widened and he finally slapped his forehead. "Right. How could I forget about that! This was just too much of a shock just now. Anyway, let's go and do that then. The sooner this is all over, the better."
Fu Heng nodded and the two of them went to deal with it.
Meanwhile, Bai Mu and Nie Huang had met up at the edge of the forest. Bai Mu explained the situation to her and then went back to Hua Lin Yu, crouching down in front of him once again. "Alright, I've told Fu Min that I've found you. He promised not to tell Xin Lan. So let's go back."
Hua Lin Yu raised his head and looked at him, feeling sad that now, things were already over again. He wished that he could've had at least a few moments more just with him and Bai Mu. Even though he knew that this could never lead to anything, he just wanted to have a few moments. He just wanted to … have the illusion that there was a chance. No matter how small. That if they had met at another time, in another place, where Bai Mu hadn't already been engaged to Nie Huang, they maybe could've been a couple.
Bai Mu had no idea what was going through Hua Lin Yu's head. He just smiled faintly when he saw his expression and then motioned over in the direction of the city. "Let's go?"
Once again, he didn't get an answer.
Rubbing his neck, Bai Mu could only come up with one explanation. "Are you sure you're not hurt? Can you walk?"
Hua Lin Yu looked at him, his heart fluttering inadvertently. Of course, he could walk. He just didn't want to get up. If he had Bai Mu's attention for a few moments, that was good though. How could he give it up?
He looked down and then couldn't help but purse his lips. "I …" He had a guilty conscience before the words were even out but still gulped and went ahead with it. "I feel a bit weak."
Bai Mu nodded as if he had already thought of that and then reached over, putting an arm around Hua Lin Yu's back and one arm under his legs and then picked him up. "It's alright. I'll carry you back."
"Thank you." Hua Lin Yu nodded and then let Bai Mu pick him up, even wrapping his arms around his neck. He buried his face at Bai Mu's shoulder and then just closed his eyes.
Just once. He just wanted to lie in his arms once. He didn't need more than that. Just a few moments being this close to him would be enough. After this, he would definitely give up. He didn't know how he would do that but he knew that he would give up. He had to.