Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 12, Part 1)

85 No Need to Put on an Act

Seeing as there didn't seem to be anything else he needed to take care of, Qiu Ling simply shook his head. "Well, I shouldn't put it off for too long. You tell Fu Heng to gather a few people and follow me over. I'll go there ahead of them to get things settled on the side of the gods. The Heavenly Emperor will probably have a few things to say about my moving in."

Xiang Yong nodded but then paused. Their king had lived in the Nine Heavens before after Zhong Jing Yi had ascended but the Heavenly Emperor hadn't made much of a fuss about that. In this case ... "Where exactly are you moving into?"

The corners of Qiu Ling's mouth curled and there seemed to be a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Into my father-in-law's palace, ah! How else would I be able to help with everyone's safety?"

Xiang Yong refrained from commenting on that. Somehow, he didn't think moving in with the Heavenly Emperor would help with raising that man's opinion of their king. Instead, he'd probably feel even more that he was an eyesore. But then, His Majesty had been able to surprise them quite a lot recently so maybe he should just trust in his ability.

"I will go and inform Fu Heng." In fact, thinking about it, he'd better stress how important this matter was. If not for the fact that it wasn't advisable to have too many of the advisers missing while the king wasn't in the city, he would have liked it if Fu Heng himself could accompany their king.

Qiu Ling nodded and followed him out of the room. "Well, you do that. I'll go ..." He stopped and tilted his head. "Actually, I'll go and see Jinde and Leng Jin Yu first before I go to the Nine Heavens. Who knows how long I'll be there? I should check up on them first."

"Of course." Xiang Yong inclined his head and left to find Fu Heng.

As for Qiu Ling, he turned to knock on the door. It hadn't been long since he talked to Jinde and Leng Jin Yu through the transmission stone but things had still changed a little since then and also, it just didn't seem right to leave without a word.

It took a moment before he heard Jinde's cheerful voice from inside and it sounded like it came from the courtyard. Well, that was to be expected.

Qiu Ling opened the door and indeed couldn't see the couple. He walked over to the door to the courtyard and found them sitting next to the pond, Jinde's hands on the shell while his eyes were on Leng Jin Yu. "I'm back. Did your husband tell you already?"

Jinde looked up, chuckling faintly. "That he somehow managed to stuff you into the Heavenly Emperor's palace for the time being? Oh, he did. I had no idea he had it in him!"

Leng Jin Yu had told him everything as soon as he came back and he had looked a little sheepish when he did so. Personally, Jinde had really enjoyed that part of the story. Anyway, that Heavenly Emperor deserved a bit of a dress-down. How dare he treat their child like this?!

Jinde got to his feet and walked over, pulling Qiu Ling into his arms. No matter how funny he imagined the face of the Heavenly Emperor to be, the circumstances were still unfortunate. "He is going to make it and come back soon. Don't worry too much.

"Just focus on the matters we talked about to take your mind off things. Nothing you say to that guy is going to make him reconsider his stance but if you don't engage and let him silently observe, maybe it'll have a positive effect. Don't force yourself though.

"Also, if you ever need help or just some comfort, you know how to get in touch. If you want me to, I'll even pay a visit to the Nine Heavens. Anyway, with Jin Yu being a little better known and the God of War and the Heavenly Empress on our side, it's not going to be difficult."

Qiu Ling nodded. "I'll keep it in mind. I don't think it'll be necessary though. I still have some hope that it won't take too long." Even though there really was no way to say how long it would take Jing He to come to terms with his current situation after he woke up and then to work through what had made him fall, Tian himself had said that simply being alone might help. He had to believe in that. "But I will keep in touch. Anyway, aren't you going to plan my wedding? Even if I don't have much of a hand in it, I should be proactive in inquiring about your progress, shouldn't I?"

"Mn." Jinde hummed and leaned back to look at Qiu Ling's expression. Even though he sounded somewhat optimistic, he didn't necessarily look the part. It wasn't a surprise. With his lover in this state, how could he be as relaxed as he pretended to be? "Don't force yourself. No matter what it is, there is time. And you don't have to put on an act for anyone else either. People will understand your current mood. That includes me. Maybe I understand it better than anyone else."

Qiu Ling nodded once again. He had kept to himself for so long and had always tried to keep his true thoughts hidden so even now that there were people he trusted, he had a hard time showing some of his deeper thoughts and feelings openly. Apparently, this was even the case in front of Jinde.

Qiu Ling lowered his gaze, wondering why he was like this. It made sense with everyone else. But Jinde? He was the last person he needed to hide from. He hesitated for a moment but finally glanced at the shell in the pond. Most likely ... he was afraid of destroying the perfect life Jinde was currently building. With what was currently happening, he probably just felt that he had no business being a part of it.