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

178 A Schedule to Adhere to

Just then, the two of them reached the library but stopped in front of the door so as not to disturb the other scholars inside.

Glancing through the corridor, Xiang Yong turned to Zheng Yin again. "I am glad you see it that way. I will try my best to live up to your expectations and those of my king. Since you'll be busy reading the book, how about I come up with a list of topics on my own first? If you think of something as well, you can naturally note it down as well. This way, we'll have something else to talk about as well in case these stories don't make you think of any questions."

Zheng Yin nodded in response. "Of course. Then ... when should we get back to one another?" He wasn't sure what to expect. The book didn't seem big and with it containing stories about actual life written by all types of people, it probably wouldn't be difficult to read. Maybe in a day or two, he would have finished going through it once. Whether it required him to check it twice ... that still depended on what exactly he found in there.

Xiang Yong also wasn't sure about what kind of timeline they should follow. Coming up with a list of topics naturally wouldn't take much time. He would only need to find a few broad categories, then make a few suggestions for each of them. Based on their previous conversation and the content of the book, things such as the history of their people or the important personages of the dragon race were easy to think of. Not to mention that these topics were easy to compare to the situation of the spirit beasts as well.

Based on this, it would be alright to meet tomorrow or even later this day. But, of course, Zheng Yin might require more time to look through the stories if he wanted to read them carefully. From what he had seen of him so far, that was likely the case. He wanted it to be the case as well. After all, this was about their king, and, truth be told, among the six of them, he was likely the one who admired their king the most. He wanted to show this side of his king to as many people as he could and inspire the same awe in them that he had felt when he saw him for the first time.

He pondered for a moment, not sure what the best way to go about this was. He himself had his own tasks, especially now that His Majesty was in the Nine Heavens and wouldn't return anytime soon. This meant that he didn't always have time and he didn't want to rush any of this. On the other hand, he had told Zheng Yin to take his time and also not neglect his original purpose for staying here. Taking both of these together, it seemed that they should let some time pass before getting back to this. But then, he also didn't want to make it seem as if he — and as such the dragons in general — couldn't be bothered about this.

Zheng Yin watched Xiang Yong's serious expression, watching as those amethyst-colored eyes flickered faintly while he thought. He wasn't sure what exactly he was thinking but many considerations seemed to go into this. It gave him a faint impression of how difficult the task of being an adviser might actually be. That was definitely something he'd like to ask about.

After a while, Xiang Yong's eyes narrowed, the striking violet color seeming darker for a moment. "Maybe ... we could meet up regularly but not draw out our conversations too much. I think it would be alright to speak about everything slowly."

Zheng Yin faintly raised his brows. "I'm not sure I can completely follow." Did he mean to see each other often but not for long? It sure sounded like it but he wasn't sure if he understood Xiang Yong's thought process behind this idea.

Xiang Yong gave an apologetic smile. He had thought about it from several angles but not mentioned any of it. Of course, Zheng Yin felt confused when he only mentioned the result of his musings. "I was thinking that we both also have other matters to attend to and neither of us wants to rush this matter since so much depends on it. Since that is the case, I figured it might be for the best to put less pressure on ourselves and let things unfold naturally.

"If we were to meet up once a day, we could discuss thoughts almost as they arise. For example, if you start reading and you finish with the first three stories, then we could focus on those if we were to see one another this evening. In the meantime, if I receive new information from somewhere, it would be a good opportunity to share it with you and talk about the circumstances that led to that specific situation."

Zheng Yin nodded slowly. "So ... the suggestion would be to see each other every evening?"

Xiang Yong inclined his head. "I suppose your research might not be time sensitive but there are often issues that will crop up throughout the day for me. I would hate for our conversations to be interrupted or even cut short so I was thinking that the evening might be the best time for me. Of course, all of this is only a suggestion. I am willing to defer to your preferences in this." Especially since, well, he was a bit afraid that this might sound suggestive. He hoped that he hadn't left Zheng Yin with such an impression but his relationship with Xin Lan seemed to have gone so badly that the worry couldn't help but bubble up.

Zheng Yin actually wasn't thinking of this. He considered Xiang Yong's points and finally nodded. "Then in the evening, I will come to your study?"

"Yes, that would probably be the best way to do so. If I am not there, you can have somebody deliver a message to me as well. Or ..." Xiang Yong thought for a moment and finally pulled out a small transmission stone from his spatial ring. "Actually, you might as well contact me directly. Since we'll regularly work together from now on, this should be for the best."

Zheng Yin nodded and accepted the transmission stone before the two of them finally said their farewell, intending to get back to their own tasks at hand.