Qiu Ling flinched as soon as the words were out. What the fuck had he just said? He cleared his throat and hurriedly shook his head. “Ah … of course, you wouldn’t. You have a lover of your own …” Although then he remembered that said lover hadn’t appeared even once so …

He rolled his eyes and finally decided to just shut up. Anyway, he could still hope that Tian was, in fact, not paying attention to either of them and had only left this gift behind. And even if he did, maybe as somebody who had gone through some issues with his relationship himself, Tian would understand him a little and not get back at him by, let’s say, taking away the only way for him to see what his beloved was doing.

Tian indeed hadn’t been paying attention to either of them. After opening the second water mirror for Qiu Ling, he had simply let the dragon king have a look at his beloved. Meanwhile, he himself had simply continued to wait as he usually did. Still, the water mirrors were there and could transmit sound so when Qiu Ling suddenly yelled out, he naturally heard.

His lips twitched for once and he even glanced up at the water mirror showing Qiu Ling’s situation. Noticing how he had turned away from the water mirror even though it was showing his own fiance, the little bit of annoyance at being accused by him vanished.

This man loved the crown prince of the Nine Heavens to bits. It wasn’t just because of the curse he had put on the dragons either. After all, the curse only said that dragons couldn’t fall in love twice. It had nothing to do with how deeply they fell. Sure, many dragons cherished their partners more than other races did because they knew just how precious those feelings were. Not everyone treated their partner that well though. Sometimes, it wasn’t a lack of love but just a lack of understanding.

The current king of the dragon race though … while he might not do everything right, he certainly had a deep respect for him that was ingrained in him. And frankly, his behavior seemed to have gotten a lot better over the years as well. He had clearly learned from his mistakes.

Tian kept quiet for a moment and finally changed the image in the water mirror. Qiu Ling still had his back turned though so he didn’t notice the change. “Do you want to see the time since he woke up?”

The voice came from directly behind him, making Qiu Ling freeze. He slowly lowered his hands and then carefully peeked behind, not wanting to accidentally see something he shouldn’t. Realizing that his beloved’s image had vanished and that he was now instead faced with Tian, he felt a slight sense of loss. Then, the supreme sovereign’s words registered. “See the time since he woke up? You mean … the past … few hours?” It seemed like it should have been a while. Surely, after waking up and finding out that he was a fallen god, Jing He wouldn’t calmly sit down, drink tea, and play with An Xin. That just didn’t seem like his beloved.

Tian inclined his head. “Precisely.”

Qiu Ling didn’t really know what to make of this short response but thinking of how he had basically insulted Tian just minutes prior … well, he really couldn’t expect much else. He cleared his throat and nodded. “Yes, thank you very much for doing this.” Anyway, this was like yet another pie falling from the sky. First, he got to know that Jing He had woken up and could even see him, now, he could even find out what had happened since then. It wasn’t as good as accompanying him but it was much better than being alone in the Nine Heavens and constantly wondering what was happening up there.

Tian didn’t say another word and simply waved. His image disappeared from the water mirror and instead, the bed in Jing He’s palace appeared. His figure was lying there the same way he had when Qiu Ling left. Finally, his eyes opened.

Qiu Ling watched quietly, his heart pounding heavily in his chest. The time Jing He woke up for the first time after his fall … Would he feel any lingering pain? It had been almost two weeks by now so maybe this shouldn’t be expected but he still couldn’t help but fear that it might be the case. Even if there was no actual pain, wouldn’t his heart hurt knowing what had happened and imagining how this had changed his life?

In the water mirror, Jing He slowly got up. He seemed dazed and it took him a long time before he finally noticed the person at the door to the garden. Even then, he stared blankly for a moment.

Qiu Ling suddenly felt cold. Jing He … probably wasn’t in the best state. In fact, while Tian hadn’t realized at first, Qiu Ling could already tell from just this scene that Jing He likely couldn’t remember what exactly had gone down before he lost consciousness. If he did, his reaction after waking up would have been different.

Yes, if Jing He remembered how he had fallen, he would have sat up sharply and conjured up a water mirror to check his appearance. Then, he probably would have stared in horror at the Mark of Wisdom between his brows, slowly panicking more and more. The water mirror might collapse because he was too distraught to keep his magic up. When it disappeared, he would wake from his stupor and rush out of bed. He might hide away or flee in terror, afraid to see anyone. He definitely wouldn’t be like this, quietly waking up, and only being afraid of the stranger who suddenly appeared.

Qiu Ling gulped. It would be good if Jing He didn’t remember all the pain but … the shock when he finally found out that he was now a fallen god should be even bigger, shouldn’t it?