It has always been you

A cruel fate

The first time he saw her female form after awaking, his heart skipped a beat. His little seventeen was more beautiful than he remembered. The image of her face that kept him sane in the chaos was incomparable to the real thing. In the years apart, she had only grown more beautiful, her eyes more tender, her smile more warm. He had finally made it back to her and he couldn't help himself as he embraced her tightly, ignoring the looks from Bai Zhi and Zhe Yan. If he could, he would have held onto her forever. But a cough coming from Zhe Yan had him letting go of her, he knew that now that he was finally back, he had all the time he needed.  

Leaning back, he smiled tenderly and asked "In my time away, has another appeared with my likeness?"

Suddenly Bai Qian tilted her head down and looked away from him "Yes Shifu, the crown prince of the Celestial Heavens Ye Hua."

His excitement at hearing his brother finally being born was momentarily halted when he noticed Bai Qians unusual reaction. But it was what Zhe Yan said next that made him feel like he was back in the chaos.

"Don't you mean your fiancé Xiao Wu? Mo Yuan, how did you know that there would be someone that would look exactly like you, Bai Zhi and I had even once thought Ye Hua was your reincarnation when we arranged their engagement"

Fiance.

The word that almost brought tears to his eyes. There were so many thoughts running through Mo Yuan's mind in that moment: Didn't he ask her to wait for him? Didn't she know that he returned just for her? Or did she not feel the same way as he did.

His usual calm demeanour felt like it was going to crumble, all he wanted was to hold her again and ask her.

When he finally looked up, he saw them staring at him as he realised he had not yet answered Zhe Yan's question.

"Ye hua is my twin brother" Mo Yuan then explained how Ye hua was encased in the gold lotus all those years and his origins. As he spoke, he couldn't shake the thought of the cruelty of fates. The only woman he has ever loved was now engaged to his twin brother. The only thing he could do was hope, hope that it was merely a political marriage alliance and that they did not love each other. If that was the case, he was certain that it could be broken and he would be able to pursue her properly.

Suggesting that he returned to Kunlun Mountain to enter into seclusion soon to regain his strength, Zhe Yan brought him out of Qing Qiu and back to Kunlun while informing Bai Zhi and Xiao Wu to only join them later after he was done checking on Mo Yuan.