The longer he thought about it, the more worried Hua Lin Rong became. They could only hope that he had misunderstood what his brother wanted to say. He took a deep breath and then tried to make sure. "So you're saying that … Xin Lan asked you to return to the human realm because he wants to get married. And you …"
Hua Lin Yu lowered his head further, feeling guilty in front of his brother's worried gaze. "I didn't know what to say." While he really would've liked to pretend this wasn't the case, it had already happened. And if he didn't tell his brother, maybe Xin Lan would. He also didn't want that. It was better to tell him himself.
Hua Lin Rong closed his eyes, feeling that this was almost as bad as expected. The only good thing about it was probably that Hua Lin Yu at least hadn't said no. That would've been even worse. "So you panicked and then you ran out. Well, it's not a problem. This kind of thing can happen. You were just surprised. Why don't you just rest today and then tomorrow, we'll go over together and speak with him? You can tell him that you naturally want to return and marry him." He looked at his brother expectantly but Hua Lin Yu just evaded his gaze. Obviously, he had some other thoughts in mind.
Hua Lin Rong couldn't help but worry. He could guess what his gaze meant. His original thought had been right: His younger brother was really second-guessing his relationship with Xin Lan. This wasn't good. It wasn't good at all. "You're not getting cold feet, are you?" While he was sure that this was precisely the case, he couldn't help but hope that against all odds, he might've gotten it wrong. Maybe there really was some kind of other explanation for this. It would certainly be great if that was the case.
Hua Lin Rong was bound to be disappointed. Hua Lin Yu couldn't bring himself to say something but that was answer enough.
Hua Lin Rong rubbed his face, mumbling to himself. "What should we do now?" They definitely couldn't just leave things at that, could they?
He finally dropped his hands again and then looked at his brother, trying to gain some kind of clue from his face. When he couldn't do that, he leaned forward, grasping Hua Lin Yu's hands again. "Xiao Yu, be honest with me. You don't want to marry Xin Lan anymore? Why that?"
Hua Lin Yu glanced at him but then lowered his gaze just as fast. He really didn't want to say it. "I … I don't know. It's … It's just too early. I am … I'm not even that old yet. Why should I marry immediately?"
Hua Lin Rong looked at him, unable to understand. "But wasn't this what you wanted? Three years ago, you were clamoring that you wanted to marry him. You felt that waiting even a single day longer was asking for too much. What made you change your mind?"
"Well, I'm older now. I understand better. This type of thing … it should be well thought out. You can't just rush into things."
Hua Lin Rong slightly furrowed his brows. Well, his brother wasn't wrong but … it also wasn't quite right. After all, he had already spent three years with Xin Lan. Could that still be called rushing it? No, he felt that Hua Lin Yu wasn't telling the truth. "What is really going on?"
Being sternly questioned by his older brother who had only ever doted on him made tears gather in Hua Lin Yu's eyes. Not only had he ruined his relationship with Xin Lan, now, he might even ruin his relationship with his older brother. He raised his hands, and buried his face in them, starting to cry. "I also didn't want this to happen. But … I don't know how but I fell in love with Bai Mu."
Hua Lin Rong stared at him, unable to believe what he had just heard. "Bai … Bai Mu?" This couldn't be! How had that happened? And what were they just supposed to do now?!
He turned to look in the direction of Xin Lan's room next to theirs and felt that things were really bad. If his younger brother had just gotten cold feet or really needed some more time because he felt that he was too young, then it was one thing. But falling in love with another man … No, they could never let Xin Lan know about that. But then again, how couldn't they let him know about that? It would really be using him.
Hua Lin Rong buried his face in his hands as well, shaking his head incessantly. "We're doomed."
Hua Lin Yu cried even harder. "I also didn't want this to happen. I don't know what it is but from the moment I saw him, I just felt that he was special. And then in these three years, he was always nice to me."
Hua Lin Rong lowered his hands and stared at his brother with an unbelieving expression. "He was nice to you? Xiao Yu, then what was Xin Lan? In these three years, didn't he do everything that you wanted? The two of you have never argued, he would always treat you well. How can you say that you fell in love with Bai Mu because he was nice and then say that you don't love Xin Lan?" He furrowed his brows, feeling that maybe his brother really was too young. If this kind of thing could make him fall in love, then marriage really wasn't what he should be thinking about.
Hua Lin Yu cried even harder. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I didn't want this to happen."
Hua Lin Rong shook his head and got up, raking his fingers through his hair. "Don't tell me that. Tell that to Xin Lan!" He paced up and down, finally stopping again in front of the bed. "No, don't tell him. Do you never dare to tell him! No matter how good Xin Lan's temper is, he also won't be able to stand it!"
In any case, Xin Lan's status in the dragon race was high. A man like him, how could he accept that his own fiance fell in love with somebody else shortly before their wedding? No, he definitely wouldn't. If this really came out, then he wasn't sure if Xin Lan would really still be as amicable as he had been before.
Hua Lin Rong did not want to find out. He sat down at the edge of the bed again and took Hua Lin Yu's hand. "Listen. I know that this is not easy for you. You also didn't want this to happen. But in any case, you definitely can't continue like this. You're engaged to Xin Lan. You've already promised to marry him. The three years were so you could find out how you work as a couple. There's really nothing about him that you have to complain about. So please, try to forget about Bai Mu. Whatever you saw in Xin Lan before, try to find it again. Because, really, we can't deal with this now."
Hua Lin Yu nodded but the tears continued to fall.
Hua Lin Rong felt guilty for actually saying something like this to him but he also didn't dare to take the words back. In any case, it was the truth. It really would be for the best if Hua Lin Yu forgot about this and just found his feelings for Xin Lan again. Could that really be too hard? In any case, he had loved Xin Lan once. Most likely, he would be able to do it again. Maybe not immediately but there should be some way to do it. There had to be.