Jing He kept quiet but even so, Qiu Ling could sense that he was in a low mood. He silently cursed himself, feeling useless. They had spent a decade together in the Nine Heavens and a millennium in the mortal realm. How come he wasn’t able to find the right words and actions to reassure Jing He?

Or was it just that in this situation, nothing could cheer him up apart from solving the whole situation? He didn’t know and he had no idea how to figure it out either. For the time being, he could only try his best and see how Jing He reacted.

So far, while his words seemed to have had some effect, it was always short-lived. As for something more tangible … he didn’t seem to have anything? Well, if he did, it could only be something from his spatial ring. He rubbed Jing He’s back to continue to try and calm him down and used his spiritual sense to look at the contents of the spatial ring to see if he could find anything that might work.

Giving the room inside a cursory glance, there were a few simple gifts left behind that he had prepared long ago but those didn’t seem like they could help in the current situation. After all, they were only general things he had picked because he felt Jing He might like them. They had no ties to his current situation and he felt like they should have to leave a big enough impression.

He pursed his lips and took another look just to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. When he did, his gaze was attracted by the drawer of a cupboard standing at the side. He stared at it for a moment and finally opened it, looking at the stack of letters inside.

These … might actually work. They were the letters he had written in the past days since Jing He woke up. They contained his feelings about the situation, his regrets from the past, and also his hopes for the future. Basically, they were everything he wanted to tell Jing He but hadn’t been able to. Also, most importantly, they could be read over and over again which might help Jing He affirm that this was the truth.

Qiu Ling wasn’t sure if this was the right decision but he finally took them out. He kissed Jing He’s temple and brushed back his hair to get his attention before showing him the letters. “There is something I should tell you.”

Jing He looked at him and then glanced at the stack of envelopes in Qiu Ling’s hands before raising his gaze again.

“These days, I have wished that I could talk to you but I wasn’t allowed to go and see you so … I finally wrote down what I was thinking of in the moment. I feel like … you should have these. I didn’t think I’d be able to give them to you for a long time but since you’re here now, I believe it is the right time after all.”

Jing He tilted his head and then carefully took the letters from Qiu Ling’s hands. The stack was thick, clearly showing how many days they hadn’t seen each other. Touching one of the envelopes, he also realized that Qiu Ling might have written a lot. Well, their sizes differed but this only seemed to stress that he had always been on Qiu Ling’s mind and that whatever was happening around him, he wanted to share it, whether it was big or small. His heart seemed to swell with happiness thinking about that.

Qiu Ling finally saw a faint smile on his beloved’s lips and almost wanted to heave a sigh of relief. He reached out and rubbed his cheek before motioning behind them. “Do you want to stay here tonight and read them together?” He felt that he had done a good job writing all of these but … Jing He liked to overthink matters. If given the opportunity to read these alone, who knew how he would react? If they were together though … “You can ask me whatever you want while you read and I can add a few details if you’d like me to. It might be nice.”

Jing He looked over Qiu Ling’s shoulder at the bed where they were sitting. They had slept together before but … he still felt self-conscious about it. But then, he was already a fallen god. It seemed like there could be nothing worse than that.

In the end, he nodded. Anyway, if he never recovered his identity as a trueborn god, this might be the only opportunity he’d ever have to stay another night with Qiu Ling. And if he did … well, then after he returned, they would get married, wouldn’t they? Then what did it matter if they simply lay on the same bed to read a few letters? Even falling asleep together shouldn’t be an issue.

Qiu Ling naturally felt happy to have Jing He stay. He helped him to lie down and then followed suit, pulling him into his arms so Jing He’s back met his chest. “Let’s look at them together. Do you want to read them yourself or do you want me to read them to you?”

Jing He hesitated but finally raised his gaze, looking at Qiu Ling with some hope. “Can you …?” He would have never dared to ask if he hadn’t suggested it but … he really would like to hear Qiu Ling read these to him. Then, it would almost be as if he had been there to tell him his thoughts when they occurred.

Qiu Ling inclined his head. “Naturally, I can. Let’s start with the oldest one?” He picked at the corner of the one in the back, neatly pulling out the letter contained in the envelope. “It’s a pity that one of them went missing. Actually, I am a little worried about where it went. It had some … sensitive information. If it fell into the wrong hands, I would be in trouble.”