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

184 If Only Things Were Different

Ye Yang shook his head at himself. It wasn't like he wasn't used to his pursuit not being hotly welcomed thanks to Jin Ling but ... to have this happen twice in a row was quite the blow. After all, he considered himself a good-looking and charming man. If it was anyone else, he felt that he shouldn't have such problems after the effort he had put in.

Well, the future was long and if he tried further, chances were An Bai would change his mind. He just couldn't continue to work toward that goal right now. Yes, even if he didn't consider the gods and dragons in general, he shouldn't go to see An Bai for the time being. He shouldn't even mention him to anyone.

Before the situation in the demon realm wasn't stabilized, that simply wasn't safe for him and he wasn't willing to put that little dragon's life at risk. The risk that somebody would try to use him against him was simply too big. After all, even if the demons couldn't love, a lot of them were still possessive, and grabbing somebody's lover was usually a surefire way to piss them off and get into a fight. If somebody thought An Bai held that kind of position for him ... they'd certainly try to do something with that. Wasn't the painting of Jin Ling proof of that?

Ye Yang glanced at the scroll again, feeling a little vexed. He had never thought about this safety issue when it was about Jin Lin because he was the demon king after all and also a good fighter. An Bai though ... he was only an adviser and Ye Yang couldn't tell how well he was able to defend himself. As a dragon, his capabilities in that regard shouldn't be too shabby but ... he'd rather not risk it.

Closing his eyes, Ye Yang took a deep breath, and then picked up the scroll, intending to place it with the rest. All the paintings finished so far had personally gone through his hands and the rest would as well. There was still half a month until the deadline for their exhibition though. There might be quite a few more being delivered until then and he'd have to check all of them and keep them safe until they could be put up. After all, if this was manipulated, it wouldn't bode well for the future.

Ye Yang left the room and made his way over to the room he had dedicated as a storage for the paintings. There were a lot of empty rooms in the palace right now, thanks to the fact that several of Jin Ling's spouses had died and many others had left. He hadn't forced out the others yet but it was only a question of time until he would. He had no interest in creating a harem for himself.

Reaching the door and stepping into the room, his gaze brushed over the dozens of scrolls already gathered here. The painting of Jin Ling had only been delivered today and it was the only new addition on this day. Most likely, new ones would arrive every single day from now on though. It would definitely be a lot of work to hang these all up when the time had finally come.

He walked further into the room, putting the scroll down somewhere in the middle, and then turned to leave. Before taking a step though, he couldn't help but turn back and unfurl the scroll again.

Jin Ling's expression was so vivid, life-like to the point where he wondered if this particular artist had met him and seen him in this state himself. It didn't seem to be as simple as using one's own imagination. But maybe he was wrong about this. Maybe a good artist was able to do such a thing. He couldn't say. His own achievements in this regard were ... well, at most they could be considered passable.

Ye Yang rolled up the scroll, telling himself not to think too much. Anyway, Jin Ling was gone and nothing but such a scroll would remain of him. He shouldn't obsess over it and should instead focus on the future. Anyway, there was much to do so he hardly had the time to think about such things. Not to mention ... Jin Ling had never cared about him so why bother?

In the future, he'd find a beauty for himself who actually cherished him. That person would look at him with such an inviting gaze as well but only him and not any other man or woman. They'd seek him out on their own, not just because they wanted him to do something for them but because they actually enjoyed the time spent with him. At night, he'd hold that warm body in his arms, indulging with them in their joint desire, and throughout the day, the person would be at his side, silently encouraging him.

He knew this was a faint hope. Demons weren't made for such a life but ... he yearned for it. Maybe that was why he had been interested in Jin Ling who had seemed to share this sentiment and why he was now thinking of An Bai so often. A dragon might actually be able to give him what he wanted. After all, love was likely the best foundation for such a life. If it was something else ... how long could he sustain it?

Ye Yang reached the door to the throne room and closed his eyes. It had barely been two months since he acceded to the throne but ... to be honest, he was tired of it already. Imagining a future he didn't have to spend alone but that could be shared like the one the dragon king and the Son of Heaven were working toward made all of this bearable but that was all it was. There was a reason he hadn't wanted to be king and he saw it more clearly than ever at this time.

If only the curse wasn't an issue.

If only the demons were different.

If that was the case, then maybe he could do it, but then, in such a case, it never would have come to this point. He was very well aware of that.