Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 12, Part 3)

401 A Taste of the Dragon Realm

Author's Note: If you're new here, please note that this is the third part of volume 12. If you're looking for the continuation (and the ending! 😶) of the series, then welcome back and I wish you lots of fun with the remaining chapters ~

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Jing He felt stunned when the woman simply turned around and left. He looked at Qiu Ling, afraid that he had done something wrong and somehow angered her. Had his words been received badly?

Qiu Ling simply rubbed his shoulder and motioned at the box though. "Why don't you unwrap it and see what it is? We'll see a lot more today but we still have that bit of time to look at everything."

Jing He hurriedly nodded. It seemed he had thought too much. Nothing was amiss. In fact, looking up, the next person had already stepped forward and pulled out a big box, beaming as they did. Jing He lowered his head and unwrapped the gift box, feeling that he should hurry so this person wouldn't feel ignored.

Beneath the blue fabric was a small wooden box. There were no carvings on the lid or anywhere around but the surface was smooth. It looked very simple which was likely why she had wrapped it up. He carefully opened it and found a small gem inside. It was polished and glittered beautifully in the sunlight. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of it though.

Qiu Ling simply glanced at it but said nothing. They would probably receive a lot of these types of gifts that had no immediate use for them but were pleasant to look at and might come in handy later.

In part, this was because there had been little time to prepare gifts. News of Jing He's return and their upcoming wedding had only spread a week ago, after all. Where would they take the time to come up with something elaborate even if they wanted to? As a result, they could only try to think of something that could be prepared quickly while still being appropriate for a wedding. This gem was a perfect example of gifts this applied to.

The other part was certainly that the dragons were just as uncertain about what the gods were like as it was the other way around. They could imagine what their own king might like but they weren't so sure about his husband. These gifts were meant for both of them and everyone knew that when it came to pleasing a dragon, you would usually try to please their lover first. But what to do when you couldn't be sure about that partner's preferences and had nothing to base it on?

Surely, you'd pick something that you assumed was universally liked, had a practical value, or at least wouldn't be taken as offensive even if it seemed somewhat boring. Local specialties were like that and so were tea or gems. Plus, gifts with a connection to the dragon realm could express the dragons' welcoming stance so they served a double purpose and were naturally the most chosen ones.

As expected, the dragons continued giving similar gifts: Someone handed them a box with a set of gems, another one with a collection of pearls, then there were more tea leaves, a few snacks from different regions, a flask of wine, more precious stones, a few rolls of beautiful fabric, more snacks, an intricately carved comb made of jade, a wooden hairpin inlaid with gems, another jar of wine, and many, many more.

Qiu Ling happily put away the objects that could be used later, storing them separately from everything else he owned. These were given for their wedding. Naturally, they were different from other things. In the future, they could take them out and admire them, reminiscing about this day while they did so.

As for the snacks and tea, he encouraged Jing He to try if there had been enough time since the last thing he ate. Otherwise, he just left them on the table for later. He didn't want to make his beloved uncomfortable, after all, and there was more than enough time for him to give these things a try. Usually though, Jing He would at least give them a taste as most were small pieces. If not, he'd still take a symbolic bite.

Watching him do this, Qiu Ling felt complicated. He loved seeing Jing He interact with his people. It was nice that everyone was so welcoming and he was happy that Jing He accepted everything and didn't reject anything outright. On the other hand, he couldn't help but wonder if his beloved might feel forced to do this. With Jing He, it was sometimes tough to know.

Jing He looked up at him when Qiu Ling watched him for a few minutes. He didn't know what was going through his husband's mind but receiving such an intense gaze made his cheeks flush. In front of everyone, he felt somewhat embarrassed, especially considering how open the dragons were. They must feel that he was too awkward to react like this simply because his husband looked at him.

Qiu Ling just smiled though and leaned closer, lowering his voice. "If you want to take a break and look at the city first, just say the word. We've been here for quite long."

Jing He hastily shook his head. "No, it's fine. I still have so many days to get to know the city but there is only one wedding day and everyone has gathered for the occasion. I'd rather stay here and look at the city tomorrow if that is alright with you."

Qiu Ling immediately nodded. "Of course!" In fact, he was ecstatic that Jing He asked for this. Even though it was likely influenced by his fear of being perceived badly as well, at least he had stated his opinion outright and asked for something, instead of silently following along with whatever he said. That seemed like a win in his book. "We'll do whatever you want, my love. I'll be happy as long as we're together."

Jing He nodded as well but then sheepishly turned back to the front, feeling that it was too impolite to whisper with each other and ignore the ones who were here to congratulate them.

Well, of course, the dragons didn't care. Or rather: They were ecstatic for their king that the relationship with his spouse was good. He had waited so long so it was nice to see that he had gained what he had desired.