This time, Jing He indeed had trouble coming to terms with what had happened. He didn’t know if it was the fact itself or the timing but he felt rather sensitive about the topic of Qiu Ling’s wedding. Hearing Qiu Ling sigh though, he could only lower his head to their hands and tell himself that it wasn’t that important in the end.

Anyway, the other person was gone. It also wasn’t really somebody else but his own incarnation. He didn’t have to worry about them being reincarnated in another cycle and taking Qiu Ling’s attention from him. No, that person was gone forever and only he or another incarnation could live in his place.

Since that was the case, why should he worry too much? Even if it hurt, there was no danger of losing Qiu Ling because of this. He only had to swallow this and wait for a bit longer and soon, it would be his own wedding with Qiu Ling. Wasn’t that much more important?

Furthermore, Qiu Ling had told him about the curse on his people after the trial. He might not have given him all the details but he had said enough that he had a rough idea about it. Now thinking about it, maybe Qiu Ling hadn’t had much of a choice.

Jing He continued to hold onto his fiance’s hands, his expression slowly relaxing. Yes, the longer he thought about it, the more explanations there were. Qiu Ling would never … well, he would never do such a thing to his lover. Not without reason. He had to trust in that.

Jing He finally raised his head again and gave Qiu Ling a faint smile. “It’s alright. I know it couldn’t have been easy. The whole trial must have been difficult for you.”

Qiu Ling nodded even though he felt bad about it. “It’s your trial. Me being a bit uncomfortable with some things surely can’t compare to the agony you’ve been in. In the future, when you remember, it’s alright not to care about my feelings in this.”

He knew there was little chance that Jing He would actually ignore his feelings. On the contrary, with his character, it was likely he would rather ignore his own pain and focus on him, trying to soothe his heart. But he had to say it at least and then pay more attention in the future. He couldn’t let Jing He go through all of this alone. If he didn’t want to share it of his own volition, he had to keep on the lookout for signs and react based on those.

Qiu Ling had already made up his mind. Looking at the current situation, he also knew that there was no way that Jing He didn’t feel uncomfortable with what he had just heard. Yes, maybe he could rationalize it or at least push the thought away for now, but he wouldn’t be happy with it. Naturally, in such a situation, his beloved needed to be coaxed!

Qiu Ling thought for a moment and then pushed his chair even closer. He reached out with his free hand, brushing back the hair at Jing He’s forehead before putting the arm around the back of the chair with a smile. “I wanted you to know ahead of time but don’t think too much. Right now, I am mostly looking forward to our wedding.”

Jing He lowered his head again, feeling shy in front of Qiu Ling’s renewed enthusiasm. He was still holding onto his other hand but suddenly didn’t know what to do. “It will likely still be a long time until it can be held.”

“Mn.” Qiu Ling’s hum could have meant anything but, for a moment, he didn’t elaborate further. Instead, he just looked at Jing He.

Finally, Jing He couldn’t help himself and raised his gaze again, immediately meeting Qiu Ling’s. His heart thumped and he glanced at the arm that was brushing against his shoulder and then back to his face. Right now, Qiu Ling was really close.

As if to prove his thoughts, Qiu Ling leaned even closer until his breath brushed Jing He’s cheek. “I am looking forward to it very, very much.”

Jing He hesitated and then silently nodded. He, too, was looking forward to it. Just thinking that his father would make a fuss first and draw this matter out as long as possible made his heart hurt. If he could … well, he wanted to get married to Qiu Ling as soon as possible.

Qiu Ling continued to look at him, his gaze subtle. “Your father making trouble … I am afraid I can only tolerate it. Being too harsh with my future father-in-law also wouldn’t do, after all. Since he’s important to you, I’ll have to show him respect.”

Jing He raised his gaze, subtly realizing that what Qiu Ling actually meant was ‘if not for you, I wouldn’t pay that bastard any heed’. In this regard, his father and Qiu Ling were actually really similar. They both hated each other’s guts. Qiu Ling was simply better at looking at the big picture and could swallow his grievances to show his father a good face for his sake.

“Thank you.” Jing He only whispered as if his voice had suddenly given out. Only he knew that his heart was actually racing at this moment. Maybe it didn’t seem like much but after thinking about it, he realized that his previous thoughts had been idiotic.

Qiu Ling was able to marry the person who had wanted to kill him despite what they had done. It wasn’t because he disregarded him but because he was tied so strongly to his soul that he could or had to overlook anything that person did. He could also lower his own head in front of his father whom he disliked for his sake even though he was such a proud man. In short, there was nothing Qiu Ling couldn’t do for him. Realizing this … how could he not feel a special way?