Jing He quietly stared at the images shown on the water’s surface, not sure what to think. This was his life but not seen through his own eyes but from an outsider’s point of view. Not to mention that it was odd to see himself this way, he also couldn’t help but wonder what exactly this meant.

He didn’t dare to even glance at Tian but his heart was in turmoil. Could he conjure up such an image because he as the supreme sovereign had power over the flow of time and fate in general or … did everything he was being shown prove that for one reason or another, Tian had been paying attention to him for a long time? If it was the latter … he hardly dared to think about what that might entail.

The content in front of his eyes was really too rich. There were images from his early days when coming of age had been far in the future and every moment was fraught with danger thanks to his family’s curse. There were those youthful days when he dreamed of love but didn’t dare to put his thoughts on any person, instead living through the stories of long past ages. Finally, the images reached the time when he came of age and then jumped straight to his first encounter with Qiu Ling.

Jing He had never seen that moment from the outside. He had experienced it himself and he had seen some of it in Qiu Ling’s inner self while on his trial but this was a true view of that day just like a third party would have had it.

He saw Qiu Ling freeze up among the guests and look in his direction before he even appeared, he heard his own quiet promises to humor his father, he watched as he stiffened when Qiu Ling rushed toward him and proposed with the grace of a drunken boar while his father’s expression darkened further and further.

His gaze stayed on Qiu Ling’s expression most of the time, quietly taking in the obvious attraction that could be read easily from his face. Back then, he had been shell-shocked, unable to calm down after suddenly and without any warning being proposed to. He had been tense and intimidated, hardly daring to look at Qiu Ling. But now, things were different. This was the man he loved and right now, he wasn’t actually in front of him so he could blatantly look no matter how unsightly it might be to stare.

Tian who had been controlling the images in front to change fast so they would only give an impression but not take too long to look at rubbed his fingertips and the projection slowed down. While he wanted Jing He to let go of his apprehension toward being a fallen god first, the reason for that apprehension lay in his high demands on himself. This was also the route of his indecisiveness between wanting to be with the dragon king and adhering to his parents’ wishes. Thus, giving this a little more time wouldn’t hurt in the long run. Since he finally paid attention closely, it was best to go with the flow.

Jing He didn’t notice at all that the speed of the scenes in front of him changing had slowed down. He simply watched as Qiu Ling stared at his past self with burning eyes. His cheeks heated up as he saw this but at the same time, a sense of complacency grabbed his heart.

From the very first moment, this man had made it obvious that he wanted him. There was just no other way to interpret Qiu Ling’s explicit eyes. He might have doubted it every now and then later on but clearly, that was because Qiu Ling had reined himself in, not because he didn’t desire him. Seeing the man he loved this way … yes, he had to admit that he felt satisfied. He might not be that great but at least he had managed to incite this kind of feeling in Qiu Ling once upon a time. That … was already worth a lot.

On the water mirror, Qiu Ling finally left under the urging of Xiang Yong and An Bai but not without taking a few more glances at the object of his admiration. When the dragons were gone, Jing He was immediately accosted by his father though and the words spoken were naturally the same warnings he had heard several times throughout the years as well as derision for Qiu Ling as a person, all wrapped in the guide of his father’s care for him.

Jing He watched with dull eyes. Back then, he hadn’t dared to think of the dragon king that way but he had easily promised his father that he would never consider a suitor he didn’t approve of. Why had he done so? He shouldn’t have. If he had fought with him on that point back then, maybe by now, his father would have relented. Now, wouldn’t he always think back to this time, point at this specific moment in time, and remind him of the promise he had given, urging him not to break it?

Ah, but it didn’t matter any longer, did it? After all, he wasn’t a trueborn god any longer. He was now a fallen god. His father shouldn’t care any longer who he did or didn’t love. In fact, he probably didn’t care what happened to him at all. After disappointing him so much, his father must regret that only his soul had shattered and that his body hadn’t directly followed suit.

That way, the whole problem would have been out of the way and he could start over with a more obedient child who wouldn’t refute him just because they fell in love. But now, he was burdened with having someone like him as his son who actually brought such disgrace to the family. Surely, his father would never get over that. Most likely, just like in the dream from last night, he wouldn’t consider him his son any longer.