Back in the dragon realm, Qiu Ling finally got up after staying in Xiang Yong’s study for a while and went to bring the wine over to the other room.
When he walked in, Jinde gave him a dissatisfied look. “What took you so long? Didn’t you just want to get a jar of wine? Did you have to brew it first?” His husband had rejected celebrating on their own just because Qiu Ling would return in a few moments but, in the end, they waited for so long and nothing happened. He really regretted now that he hadn’t insisted further.
Qiu Ling looked at his expression and raised his brows, a faint guess in his heart just what might have happened. “Well, to be honest, I went to have a chat with Xiang Yong in-between because I figured the two of you would get busy. You know, it’s also awkward to barge in on you being intimate.”
Leng Jin Yu couldn’t help but chuckle. It seemed that both sides being considerate of each other had finally ended up in such a mess. “Alright, don’t argue. Since we have the wine now, let’s just have a cup.”
Jinde pursed his lips but still sat down and took out a set of cups.
Qiu Ling sat down opposite him and filled all three to the brim before putting down the jar. Then, he picked one up and looked at it in a daze. “Your child …” He knew he was supposed to give some kind of congratulatory message or blessing or something but he had no idea what to say.
Jinde picked up his cup as well and gave Qiu Ling a teasing smile, the previous annoyance forgotten. “They’ll be your sibling so better wish they’re not going to annoy you to death.”
Qiu Ling raised his brows as well and then nodded. “Well, here’s to hoping to that then. Also, I hope for you that they will be more obedient than I was back then.”
Jinde chuckled. “I don’t know what you are talking about. You were always obedient when with me.” He raised the cups to his lips, his eyes curved into crescents. “This one’s to hoping that they’ll grow up healthy, combining our best attributes.”
Leng Jin Yu also picked up his cup, thinking for a moment. “Then I raise this one in hopes that they will be happy and end up with a simpler life than we did.”
Jinde tilted his head and nodded. “Good wish!”
The three of them clinked the cups together and then drank.
Putting them down, Qiu Ling couldn’t help but show a subtle expression. “Have you thought about the name?”
Jinde raised his brows. “In the time you ‘helpfully’ gave us before, you mean?”
Qiu Ling just smiled but then glanced at Leng Jin Yu. His own father had named him a bit arbitrarily if you asked him. So this sibling of his …
Leng Jin Yu glanced at Jinde before turning back to Qiu Ling. “We didn’t talk about it yet but I guess the name should have the character ‘Ling’?”
Back then, Chun Yin had indeed rather casually decided what to name his child. But with Jinde picking up the same character for the child he raised, it had come to symbolize the family they wanted together in a certain way. Even though things hadn’t worked out with Jin Ling as Jinde had hoped, the original thought was still there. Since they were now having a child together, it seemed appropriate to tie all of them together with this part of the name.
Jinde gave a hum, clearly agreeing with him. In the immortal realms, it wasn’t customary to have shared names between family members. In fact, other than some ascended deities that had brought their family names and customs along from the mortal realm, there likely wasn’t a single family like them. But he didn’t care about that.
No, what he cared about was that their children would be content and that all of them would become one big, happy family. Maybe this name could indeed tie them closer together. He sure hoped so.
Qiu Ling’s expression didn’t seem to change on the surface but his gaze flickered for a moment. He understood very well what this meant. The feeling this gave him … He cleared his throat, feeling a bit choked up. “Well, that’s a given with your sense of naming children. What about the other one?”
Jinde glanced at him but pretended not to see. “Well, depends on the gender, doesn’t it?”
Leng Jin Yu nodded. Actually, he hadn’t thought about the name yet either. “How about Xiang Ling?”
“Mn, not bad. Or how about Ya Ling?”
“Yi Ling might also not be bad.”
“But that would be awkward. Qiu Ling’s lover right now is called Jing Yi. I don’t think we should use either Jing, Yi, or He. That just doesn’t seem right.”
Qiu Ling side-eyed Jinde. Why was he bringing his lover into this? But then again, he also didn’t want to be reminded of Jing Yi when his sibling was growing up. “Xiang Ling and Ya Ling aren’t bad.” Although truth be told, with how fast these two had come up with something, he couldn’t help but wonder if this child would also be casually named in the end.
Jinde gave a hum. “Well, I guess that’s decided then.”
Qiu Ling raised his brows. “Just like that?” It seemed his worry had indeed come true.
Jinde grabbed the jar of wine with a smile and poured all of them another cup. “Well, do you want your parents to agonize over it? Anyway, I’m satisfied, your father is satisfied, and you also didn’t have anything bad to say about the names. What is there to dislike?”
Qiu Ling picked up his cup and pursed his lips. There wasn’t anything wrong with the name but … couldn’t they invest some more energy into this? But then, maybe it was true that there was no need to bother. As long as they were already happy, it was indeed good to decide early.