Qiu Ling had no idea that the person who crossed his mind all the time was currently watching him. If he did … well, he would have been happy to know that Jing He was well enough to do so but still would have mourned the fact that this opportunity was one-sided and that he couldn’t see his beloved.

As things stood, Qiu Ling quietly continued to work through everything until even the last document had been answered. When he finally put down the brush, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Now came the part of the day he hated the most: The time when there was nothing left to do other than to return to his room, sit down at the table there, and write yet another letter to Jing He that he didn’t know when it would reach its recipient.

Whenever he was alone, the longing was the worst. The moments when he knew that he could technically see Jing He if his beloved was able and willing to come to him but … when he finally couldn’t do so in the end and didn’t know why. At other times, when there was somebody around, he knew that there was no chance for him to appear so he didn’t think too much. For example, right now, he naturally wouldn’t expect Jing He to step out of thin air as he had the last time. If he did, then what would happen? It would be so awkward with his father right there.

Well, no matter what, it was still better to be alone and yearning for the one he loved than to sit in a study with his future father-in-law who was still glaring daggers at him. For one, there was the obvious reason that even if he could ignore it, it wasn’t necessarily a nice feeling to be silently hated on simply for existing in the same space. And two … well, what if his beloved appeared after all? He needed to be alone for that so it was better to give him more opportunities, even if it hurt when those weren’t taken.

Qiu Ling put the documents into his spatial ring, cleaned up the brush, and then put his stationery away as well. Finally, he turned to his future father-in-law. “Tianjun, I have finished with my tasks for today so I will leave for now. Have a good day.” He inclined his head, got to his feet, and left silently.

Even though he was supposed to stay here so his future father-in-law could keep an eye on him, he also couldn’t always be right next to him. Neither of them would be happy if he tried and anyway, there were enough people around to account for where he was. If the Heavenly Emperor still made trouble despite that, then even chaining himself to his side might not necessarily have changed anything.

To be honest, Qiu Ling might have been right about that assumption. Rong Su stared at his back with a gloomy expression while he was leaving and finally threw down his brush when he couldn’t be seen any longer. He absolutely wasn’t happy with the current circumstances. He didn’t trust what Qiu Ling had said about Jing He and felt that all of this might just be a ruse to finally make him agree to this wretched idea of a marriage between them. He never would have thought that he would draw out this act for so long though. He had to admit, this guy was persistent. Of course, that wouldn’t make him change his mind.

In the High Heavens, Jing He kept looking at the scene in the study for a moment longer, his gaze despondent. His father hadn’t warmed up to Qiu Ling in the slightest. No, he still seemed just as dissatisfied with him even though there was nothing wrong with Qiu Ling’s behavior.

And really, Jing He couldn’t pick out a single thing Qiu Ling had done wrong. He had watched him for several hours through the mirror and during that time, Qiu Ling had quietly worked, not even glancing at his father once. He hadn’t said anything until he figured it was time to leave. Maybe most importantly, at that time, he had called him by his official title, Tianjun, instead of ‘father-in-law’ as he previously often had.

Really, Qiu Ling’s behavior was impeccable. Slightly distant maybe but very polite. Definitely the right attitude to have for a suitor of a family member. It was a pity that his father didn’t seem to share this opinion.

Jing He continued to look at his father’s dissatisfied expression in the water mirror and his guilty conscience once again erupted with force. His father was dissatisfied because he had defied him so much in the past. If he had acted better, maybe he wouldn’t hate Qiu Ling as much. Maybe everything could be different if not for his rebellious actions.

He lowered his head, once again feeling overwhelmed with despair. All of it was his fault. He had always thought so and now, he seemed to see proof of this once again. Unfortunately, he couldn’t change it any longer. Things had already developed to this point and he could only make his final choice.

The worst thing about this was that he might once again stand against his father. As his son … this was wrong, wasn’t it? He should take his view into consideration more but … he just loved Qiu Ling so much. Even looking at his father’s displeased expression and the way he finally paced up and down in the study with his hands folded behind his back, clearly still annoyed, he still yearned to see Qiu Ling more.

In his heart of hearts, he had probably long since made his decision. He was only occasionally wavering because he feared the consequences. But as long as he could make sure that they wouldn’t be too outrageous, he knew what he would pick. He had at least come that far.