Jing Yang opened his eyes, closed them, and rubbed his face against Cui Yan's arms. This is his routine when waking up, and Cui Yan will kiss him as soon as he wakes up. However, there has been no movement today.
Jing Yang was puzzled; this person had clearly awoken, but he was still motionless. He raised his head suspiciously, but saw Cui Yan staring in a daze.
"What are you thinking about? So absorbed." Jing Yang caressed his face.
Cui Yan grabbed his hand and kneaded it, his gaze fixed on the painting on the opposite wall, "I dreamed of the "Mermaid" you painted," he said.
Jing Yang returned his gaze to the painting before turning to face Cui Yan, "You see the painting every day; dreaming about it is natural. This is referred to as thinking about it during the day and dreaming about it at night."
"It's not just a dream." Cui Yan said as if recalling something. "It's a very clear and real picture, it feels like a movie, and in this movie, although from the perspective of a spectator, I am clearly in it."
Jing Yang was taken aback for a moment before responding, "What do you see in your dream? You can describe it to me."
Cui Yan paused for a moment before saying, "I'm not sure what words to use to describe it. The images are both shocking and realistic, and it appears that I have personally witnessed them. That mermaid looks a lot like the one you painted. It's truly stunning and enthralling. His figure swimming in the water is also quite lovely. He looks very happy. The person looking at him on the boat made me feel very familiar, and so did the love in his eyes when he looked at the mermaid."
Jing Yang saw his expression and joked, "Are you in love with that mermaid? Are you envious of the person who is watching the mermaid?"
"...in love?" Cui Yan wasn't sure if he was asking himself or Jing Yang, and he wasn't sure what kind of emotion he felt when he looked at the mermaid. But he couldn't say outright that he doesn't like that mermaid.
"What? Are you seriously in love with that mermaid?" Jing Yang initially asked him jokingly, but then became envious of himself and became a little angry for no apparent reason.
"I love you, and only you." When Cui Yan saw Jing Yang's anger, he immediately hugged him to console him, then turned him around and kissed him.
After being kissed for a while, Jing Yang pushed him away forcefully and asked, "Don't try to get through it, hurry up, are you really in love with that mermaid?"
Cui Yan looked at him for a moment before sighing and saying, "Why are you jealous of a non-existent mermaid? And you were still the one who painted the mermaid. That's why I dreamed about it."
Jing Yang also thought he was a little unreasonable, because even if Cui Yan had fallen in love with his previous life, wasn't it the same self?
Cui Yan kissed his head "I don't want to deceive you. I'm not sure how to explain how I feel after seeing the mermaid. Perhaps it's a good first impression. But, even if he does exist in this world, I will never be less in love with you because of him. I'm not sure if reincarnation is a real thing. If there is reincarnation, I may not be able to control what happens before and after reincarnation. But in this life, I only have you to love."
Jing Yang's mood became complicated as a result of Cui Yan's words. He had no idea where the sad emotions had come from. Perhaps he has contemplated reincarnation for so many lives, and there are far too many things he does not understand. Take the jade he received from Hades for example, as well as the person who has been waiting for him outside of the ninety-nine heavens. But, he couldn't leave this person. He wouldn't know where the soul will return once the reincarnation is complete, nor will he know if this person exists in his return.
It doesn't matter if the two of them truly run out of fate; it's really not a big deal; even if his soul will vanish completely. For other people, no matter how much they want to love, they only have one life. To be able to love your loved one for so many lives, it's basically not that costly. So, no matter what happens, their love is enough.
Jing Yang hugged Cui Yan tightly and kissed him passionately, as if he wanted to fuse the two souls together.
Cui Yan sensed Jing Yang's sudden anxiety and hesitation, so he hugged him tightly, touched him, and kissed him... till he was on cloud nine, unable to think, let alone think about some messy things.
~
After doing morning exercises, Jing Yang walked out of the bathroom, feeling that not only his body, but also his mind, were much more refreshed. The emotion that has recently erupted has also subsided.
Jing Yang stood in front of the "Mermaid" he had painted, looking at himself in it, and thought about what Cui Yan had said. Was it really because he painted this painting that Cui Yan dreamed about events from his previous life? Cui Yan also said that when he saw the "Holy Light," it appeared so real that if he closed his eyes, he felt as if he was in it, as if it were his own memory.
He didn't think too much at the time because most of the comments people made after seeing "Holy Light" were that they felt very real, as if they had gained energy. So when Cui Yan first said that, Jing Yang assumed it's the same thing.
But it appears that what Cui Yan feels in his paintings differs from what other people feel. If Jing Yang paints himself, Cui Yan will most likely reawaken old memories. So, in the future, shouldn't he refrain from painting about previous worlds? After all, Cui Yan is not the same as himself. He has a clear memory and can tell what happened in each of his lives. Cui Yan, on the other hand, only remembers one life. If he suddenly remembered memories that did not belong to this life, it would most likely cause confusion in his memory and might lead to serious problems later.
Cui Yan came out from the bathroom, saw Jing Yang standing in a daze in front of the painting, and walked over to hug him from behind, "What's the problem? Are you still upset?"
"No. I was thinking, since looking at this picture every day will make you dream that, it is better to hang this picture in the studio and put the picture you drew back," Jing Yang said, leaning on his chest.
Cui Yan hugged him, leaned in close to his face, and remained silent for a while.
Jing Yang touched his face with his hand and said, "I'm not angry at all, but what if you started dreaming every day? I will feel bad if you don't get enough sleep."
Cui Yan kissed him on the cheek and did not object to his proposal, which was perceived as acquiescence.
Jing Yang asked over breakfast, "Has Wu Xiuyuan made any further moves?"
"He didn't, but Su Mo did." Cui Yan said.
"Oh?" Jing Yang looked at him suspiciously; Su Mo had already ended up like that; what else could he do? Jing Yang also learned that Su Mo's family had publicly severed ties with him.
Cui Yan took out his phone and handed it to Jing Yang, "It was supposed to be shown to you yesterday, but you were already asleep when I came back, so I didn't give it to you."
Jing Yang examined the photos and noticed that it contained many faces with mosaics. After a brief moment of confusion, he realized, "Wu Xiuyuan and Su Mo are the people in these photos?"
"Yeah." Cui Yan gave a nod.
Rather than being secretly photographed, these appeared to be selfies. Jing Yang thought about the source of these photos. "Su Mo should have secretly taken these photos and then posted them on the Internet to threaten Wu Xiuyuan, right? Otherwise, there will be no mosaic."
"That's correct." Cui Yan stated: "I had my people hack into his computer, and I obtained all of the original photos. Despite the fact that the plan has changed, the final result will be out soon."
Cui Yan had planned to wait for Su Mo to force Wu Xiuyuan to attack Jing Yang again, so that releasing Jing Yang's secretly recorded video would only be the last resort. But Cui Yan had a new plan after Su Mo posted the selfie photos on the Internet.
Whatever the reason is, secretly filming such things will have a negative impact on Jing Yang. There will always be those who enjoy picking the bones out of eggs, and they will use the topic to do so. Even if no one thinks there's anything wrong with his sneak shots, Cui Yan wants to do everything he can to keep Jing Yang's reputation intact so that no one can attack him.
~
Wu Xiuyuan is not only mentally collapsed these days, but he really thinks he is going insane. The photos sent by Su Mo terrified him. When all else fails, he can only follow Su Mo's words and go to reporters to publicly expose Jing Yang.
The reporters who had agreed to interview him had all rejected him overnight. Some claimed that he could not provide sufficient evidence to conduct an interview. Some simply didn't have a reason and just turned him down. Wu Xiuyuan now has no choice; even if he wanted to follow Su Mo's words, he couldn't.
Wu Xiuyuan fell down the stairs while in a trance and was taken to the hospital with a broken leg.
Father Wu noticed that his son had become haggard during this time and had also broken his foot. His pitiful appearance broke his heart, so he didn't press Wu Xiuyuan to apologize any longer. Thinking about the problem, he worked harder to come up with alternative solutions.
Su Mo called Wu Xiuyuan again while he was in the hospital. Wu Xiuyuan told Su Mo directly that the reporters were unwilling to accept his interview, and he was now in the hospital, not to mention the inconvenience; even if he could move freely, he couldn't do much.
Su Mo hung up the phone, furious, and then considered a new plan. He promised himself that he would never let him be the sole offender; even if they died together, he wouldn't make them feel better.