The day before Qiu Ling suddenly failed to show up, he had handed him a carefully prepared gift. It had been clear at just one glance how much thought had been put into it and the meaning of the gift was also very clear: It was a love confession, the gentlest one he could imagine.

This wasn’t the first time Qiu Ling had confessed to him, not by any stretch of the imagination. On the contrary, throughout the last decade, Jing He had heard so many of them that he’d have trouble listing all of them on a scroll of paper. And even though those confessions had ranged in intensity and in the way Qiu Ling professed his feelings, this one felt different from all the others.

Looking at the lover’s heart in the carefully carved flower pot, Jing He couldn’t help but feel that it was almost a certainty that Qiu Ling’s sudden disappearance was related to this. Maybe his reaction had disappointed him?

Usually, Qiu Ling didn’t seem to take it too seriously that he didn’t return those words and gestures of love. He understood that it was based on the difference between their races and wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. But clearly, this confession had been different so maybe his expectations had been different as well?

He thought of that day four years ago when Qiu Ling had told him that he needed some reassurance to continue pursuing him. He had said that he didn’t need him to say out loud how he felt but that he needed him to at least give some indication.

At that time, he had thought that it was reasonable. That man had chased him for six years with not much to show for it. Who could take that? It was a miracle that somebody with a status as lofty as him would deign to bother with him any longer. Thus, he had thought for a while and finally started to show his feelings carefully.

He had never overdone it though. He only allowed himself to give small hints here and there: Wearing a piece of jewelry that had been gifted to him by Qiu Ling every now and then, painting a scene of lovers and adding a few lines to it that would indicate the two of them, or maybe sharing a love poem he had recently read with him. None of it was too direct but for the person looking to gauge his feelings, it had been enough.

The problem was that this had also been going on for four years now. He was happy with it but maybe Qiu Ling wasn’t satisfied with just this any longer? Maybe when he professed his feelings as thoughtfully as he had that day, he had hoped for him to give more in return.

Jing He covered his lips with his fingers, thinking back to how Qiu Ling had asked for a kiss. In the past, he had never asked. He had simply leaned over and taken what he wanted from him, plundering his lips and maybe even …

He hastily shook his head, not daring to think about it. He had allowed a lot of things to happen in the past but he had usually made sure that there was plausible deniability. Being half-asleep, being sick, being drunk, not reacting fast enough, simply being too stunned by the dragon king’s outrageous behavior to find the right words … there were so many excuses one could find when one wanted to excuse their own inexcusable behavior.

That day though, Qiu Ling had outright asked him for a kiss as a reward. And he, feeling shy and somewhat embarrassed whenever the man he loved brought up such a thing, had not reacted whether it was in words or actions. Finally, Qiu Ling had simply kissed his cheek.

Even though he had teased him about it at that time, when thinking back now, Jing He couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to this. What if this gift had been Qiu Ling’s final confession? Maybe he had tired of only receiving hints as well and this had been a test to see if there was any way forward for them. Maybe he had decided to cut him off based on the non-reaction he received when he asked for that reward and would now go and pursue somebody else.

Jing He’s breath hitched when he thought of this. He didn’t think that Qiu Ling was fickle and would abandon a person on a whim. But ten years … ten years was a long time. It wouldn’t be strange at all to grow frustrated and he shouldn’t have to remind him about this either. If he still could not receive the right response to his confession after such a long period, it really wouldn’t be strange to cut his losses.

The longer he thought about it, the more Jing He felt that he had to be right. That confession had simply been too special and a kiss on the cheek was so much chaster than what Qiu Ling would usually do. Maybe to a dragon who would usually be very outgoing, this could be considered a sign of farewell. It wasn’t impossible.

Jing He got up from where he had been sitting in his study and started to pace up and down in his palace. What if his conjecture was right? What if Qiu Ling never returned to him? He … he couldn’t take the thought! He loved this man with all his heart even if he wasn’t able to say it out loud.

He stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes, his chest hurting terribly. If only there was something he could do … But what was there? He had no way to reach Qiu Ling other than sending somebody to the dragon realm to invite him back over. But it would be too shameless to do so, wouldn’t it?

If Qiu Ling really wasn’t interested any longer, wasn’t that like trying to curry favor with him? Or even worse, that kind of behavior … it might almost seem like he was desperate for attention even if he had no intention to be with him.

Jing He didn’t dare to imagine how low Qiu Ling’s opinion of him would fall if he did this. No, it simply wasn’t possible. Even if he did something, it had to be something else. He couldn’t embarrass himself further. He had to stay calm and collected and find a better way to deal with this.

In fact, it would be best to ensure first that there wasn’t another explanation for Qiu Ling suddenly disappearing. Right now, all of this was simply his conjecture. If he was able to make sure of whether there were circumstances he simply hadn’t been aware of or if his conjecture was right, after all, then he could decide what to do.