Jing He sat in his study, a book on the desk in front of him while his hands were folded in his lap. He had been staring at the page for a while, not quite getting what he was reading even though he had tried thrice already.

Each time he did, his thoughts would inevitably trail off halfway through the paragraph, making the words he had read so far flee his memory. It was quite vexing, even more so when he thought of why he was behaving like this.

It was currently the afternoon. In fact, the sunlight outside was already slanting, drawing the shadows that fell through the open door and windows long. And yet, despite the advanced hour, he hadn’t gotten a glimpse of Qiu Ling all day.

It shouldn’t have bothered him. Qiu Ling was the king of the dragon race. Did he really have the time to run over to the Nine Heavens every day to spend half the day with him? That shouldn’t be the case. He sure couldn’t expect it.

And yet … throughout the years, he had come to expect exactly that: He thought he’d see Qiu Ling almost as soon as he got up, maybe an hour or two later so he’d have enough time to get ready and make himself presentable. After that, they’d spend several hours together, sometimes the whole day.

Even if Qiu Ling was late, he’d usually stroll into his palace sometime in the early afternoon. He definitely wouldn’t be later than that. So why … why hadn’t he been here yet when the afternoon was already about to end?

Jing He finally tore his gaze off the pages of the book and looked up, taking in the stretch of the garden he could see through the two doors that led outside. He still thought that he might see Qiu Ling out there and that he would smile at him apologetically and explain why he had been late today. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Jing He’s eyelids lowered and he finally turned to the side, looking at the lover’s heart that was standing just an arm’s length away. Qiu Ling had gifted this to him just yesterday and reaffirmed his feelings. How come he wasn’t here today? Shouldn’t he be spending even more time with him?

He hastily shook his head at himself. What was he even thinking? Qiu Ling was likely just busy. Maybe something had come up in the dragon realm spontaneously or maybe there had been something coming up but he hadn’t bothered to mention it because it wasn’t that important. It was probably nothing.

He tried to reassure himself but still closed the book in front of him. Anyway, he couldn’t focus so why bother trying? It would be best to find something that could occupy his mind better than this.

Getting up and putting the book back onto the shelf, his gaze was once again attracted by the lover’s heart. The flower was delicate but beautiful and seeing the carefully prepared flower pot, a smile graced his lips. Yes, after receiving such a gift, he naturally shouldn’t worry. Surely, Qiu Ling would explain as soon as he came by.

Jing He left his study and busied himself with whatever he could find, eventually keeping himself occupied until dusk. He sighed when he realized that Qiu Ling indeed wouldn’t come by anymore and went to close the door to the garden. His gaze lingered on the plants and the pavilion shrouded in shadows but in the end, that figure he wished to see more than anything still didn’t appear. Closing the door, he finally retreated to his bedroom, calling it an early night.

The next morning, Jing He woke up early. He had been lying awake for a while until he finally fell into a drowsy sleep. As a result, he couldn’t help but fear what this would have done to his complexion. He hurried to get up and put even more effort than usual into his appearance.

Surely, Qiu Ling would come by today. Even though not seeing each other for a day wasn’t all that long, he still always felt a little anxious when he thought about it. Putting more thought into his appearance was a good way to combat this. Not to mention … Qiu Ling wanted reassurance that he requited his feelings. He couldn’t say it but he could show him. If he put in special care for him, wasn’t that proof?

Jing He smiled to himself when he thought of that. Looking into the water mirror, he finally styled his hair in the way he knew Qiu Ling liked it, feeling that this should be the best way to make it obvious to him just who he was doing this for. Well, not that he thought Qiu Ling needed any encouragement to relate his decisions to himself …

Jing He’s cheeks flushed when he thought of Qiu Ling’s usual roguish behavior and especially of the kiss on his cheek yesterday. He clearly hadn’t turned his head to encourage him and had simply been embarrassed by his straightforwardness and yet …

He lowered his eyelids and tried not to think about it. He’d only feel more bashful if Qiu Ling managed to surprise himself while he was thinking of such things.

He took a moment to gather his wits again and then got up, going to steep some tea leaves. If Qiu Ling was back to his usual routine, he should arrive soon. At that time, wouldn’t it seem like a sweet gesture if he had already finished preparing the tea he liked?

Jing He quietly followed the steps but his attention was always on the door to the garden, thinking that soon enough, he’d see the shadow of the man he loved falling into the room or hear his quick steps as he rushed in or maybe his voice as he went into a spiel about what a disastrous day he had had yesterday …

It was a pity that Jing He was bound to be disappointed.

By the time the tea was done, there was still no sign of Qiu Ling. Jing He’s brows lightly furrowed before he consciously smoothed them out again. His heart felt disturbed though. One day could be a coincidence but two? No, he didn’t believe that.

Qiu Ling had always paid a lot of attention to him. Save for that one time several years ago when he suddenly stayed away in the wake of his coronation’s anniversary, he had always followed roughly the same routine. Even if he missed a day, he wouldn’t miss a second one in a row.

Even if he had to do so for some reason, he wouldn’t do it without explanation. Not after what had happened back then. Instead, he should send somebody with a message for him or tell him before it even happened so he’d feel reassured.

The longer he thought about it, the odder Jing He felt the current situation was. He tried not to let it bother him though. Back then, he had gone overboard with his reaction. He also knew that. He definitely couldn’t allow himself to worry everyone as much ever again.

It was just … he still worried a lot by himself. After all, this simply wasn’t like Qiu Ling and with how prone he was to overthinking, he would naturally feel that there was something amiss. Thus, he quietly started to think of what the reason for Qiu Ling’s sudden change in behavior was and, of course, the answers he came up with weren’t good at all.