Romancing the Son of Heaven

Stratagem 39: Comfort the One You Love! (3)

Qiu Ling contained his disappointment about not being able to meet Jing He two years earlier and also didn't dwell too much on what this meant for the current state of their relationship. Although it did cross his mind that if he had had those two years before, they would've already been acquainted for eight years which might've made their wedding be right around the corner. But either way, that wasn't important right now.

He continued to hold onto Jing He's chin, his smile deepening. "That is to say that actually, it was eight years ago. I'm not sure if I would still call that recent."

Jing He didn't know how to react. Whenever his father was speaking about this, it sure sounded like it had only been yesterday. But, when Qiu Ling put it this way, it had indeed almost been a decade since then. He couldn't say that it had only been recently. A decade might not be much, but it was still more than enough that he shouldn't even have to think about his coming of age ceremony any longer.

Even though he agreed, he couldn't do anything. Because right now, Qiu Ling was so close, it made him unable to say a single word. Actually, it was less about physical closeness. He had experienced that many times in the past. But the way that Qiu Ling was clasping his chin and making him look straight into his eyes gave him the feeling of being tightly bound by him in a way that he had never experienced before.

Qiu Ling observed his expression and wondered if he had somehow gone too far with what he had just said. It didn't seem like such a big thing but Jing He was looking at him strangely. As if this was completely unexpected and had stunned him into silence.

Thinking about it, this shouldn't be about telling him that it had already been eight years. No, even if Jing He hadn't unconsciously thought about it before, that didn't seem like something that would make him react like this. No, rather than that, this should have to do with what had happened before. Yes, most likely, Jing He was still worried about him offering him the wine.

Qiu Ling glanced into the distance and felt that being nervous wasn't too strange. Anyway, Jing He had grown up sheltered. Why wouldn't he be worried about drinking? This was likely the first time he had the chance to do so.

Actually, that was a beautiful thought. After all, Jing He's first time doing pretty much anything that was shared with him was something that would strengthen their connection. Why wouldn't he be happy about that?

He smiled to himself and then took out the flask of wine, holding it up. "Well, back when we went to your father's birthday banquet, I specifically made sure with An Bai and Xiang Yong that this was suitable for your consumption. So you shouldn't have needed to worry about that in the first place. By now, another six years have passed, so I think you could drink a cup with me. How about it? You don't have to but I'd feel honored if you shared this moment with me."

Jing He looked at the jar of wine in Qiu Ling's hands, only feeling that the dragon king looked stunning when this free-spirited. In fact, he wasn't too eager to try the wine himself but ... he would have liked to watch Qiu Ling drink. That should have a special kind of charm.

The thought made him feel embarrassed and he would have liked to look away, afraid that Qiu Ling might somehow be able to read those filthy things from his face. Unfortunately, Qiu Ling was still holding his chin and he clearly wouldn't let go before he didn't get a response.

Jing He took a shallow breath, wanting to give in just because this was Qiu Ling but his rationality still won in this case. "My father probably wouldn't like it."

Qiu Ling inclined his head, the words 'well, he doesn't need to know' at the tip of his tongue. But then, asking Jing He to lie to his father didn't seem like a good idea. He wanted to deepen his own relationship with Jing He, not jeopardize the relationship between Jing He and his father.