Qiu Ling hummed when his beloved clung to him. He could certainly get used to life like this. H hugged him back but then sighed. They were still outside, completely out in the open. Even though it was late, they couldn’t be sure that Jing He’s father wouldn’t be somewhere out here trying to ambush Jing He on the way back. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time he did that in the week since Jing He had returned. He simply hadn’t succeeded yet because his wife wasn’t playing around and Qiu Ling himself always paid attention.

Anyway, today would really be the worst day for that to happen. He didn’t want Jing He to be troubled by his father’s inability to accept their relationship. No, tonight, he only wanted him to focus on the fact that tomorrow, they would get married after waiting for so long. He wanted him to eagerly anticipate that day in the same way he did and be filled with good thoughts of the future. He wouldn’t let anyone destroy that atmosphere.

“Let’s go back.” He kissed him on the cheek and wrapped an arm around his waist as well, gently pulling him along again. “Tomorrow, we’ll both have to get up early to be ready in time.”

Jing He nodded. He was a little worried that he might not manage to fall asleep in time but there was nothing he could do about that. His mind was constantly circling around the next day, about how the ceremony would go, whether or not his father would pitch a fit, and how the guests would react. Also, the life in the dragon realm afterward … he had to admit that he was a little worried about that as well. He just didn’t want anything to go wrong.

He sighed and looked up at Qiu Ling, his brows furrowing faintly. “Do you think … my father will cause an issue?” This was definitely the part that worried him most. He could live with negative comments from guests if there were any and even if living in the dragon realm wouldn’t be easy at first, he could adjust. His father though … he hated that the situation between them was like this and yet, there was nothing he could do about it.

Qiu Ling sighed as well. “It’s tough to say, isn’t it?” He didn’t want Jing He to think about this too much but, of course, this was a hope unlikely to become true. This issue would always persist until the ceremony was finished and they left for the dragon realm. “In front of everyone else, he might actually behave better than usual. If he doesn’t though, that doesn’t mean we can’t get married. Everything is prepared and your mother and uncle are on our side. Also, Jinde is a force to be reckoned with. You can be sure that he’ll speak up if your father gets too outrageous.”

Jing He could only sigh again, his expression not actually easing. To be honest, he was also worried about that …

Qiu Ling could somewhat understand Jing He’s current mood. He himself didn’t have the same issues but … he knew Jing He well enough to follow his thought process. “You don’t want your father to look bad in front of everyone. I get that. But you can’t influence it, can you? As long as he manages to keep himself in check, nothing will happen. And nobody is forcing him to make a scene. It’s all in his hands.”

In fact, everything had been this whole time. He didn’t have to be in a cold war with either his wife or his son. He didn’t have to get into arguments as soon as he saw Jing He and him together. He could just, for once, let go of the control he wanted and let his child live his own life, letting him make his own decisions. If he did that, none of this would be happening. After all, everyone else was able to be civil even though they all had reasons to be angry at him. A lot more reason than the Heavenly Emperor had to boot.

Qiu Ling could see this clearly and so could Bai Fen and Qiang Yan. Jing He … while he might have fleetingly thought of this, he would still always look for the fault on his own side first. That was just how he was. But because of this, he needed the idea spelled out for him. Only in this way could he hopefully move forward and accept that it was on his father to make changes now and repair the relationships he had destroyed with his own hands.

Jing He indeed had trouble with this notion. Theoretically, he knew that Qiu Ling was right but … it was still difficult to actually think about it like this. Because of this, he just hoped that nothing would go wrong. If his father didn’t do anything, he wouldn’t have to think about it further. Even if that was a faint hope, he could only cling to it.

The two of them finally reached Jing He’s palace and stepped inside. Tonight, for the first time since Jing He’s return the week before, Qiu Ling wouldn’t stay. After all, both of them would have to go through a few more customs the next morning so it was a lot more convenient to leave now, instead of having to travel the distance between the Nine Heavens and the dragon realm twice in the morning.

Qiu Ling wrapped his arms around Jing He’s waist and held him, sighing gently. “I can’t wait to take you back with me. Having to return to the dragon realm alone tonight is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in a while. The only thing making up for it is knowing that I will become your husband tomorrow.”

Jing He reached up and pressed his hands against Qiu Ling’s chest. “Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’ll follow you back and after that, you won’t ever have to go anywhere alone.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Qiu Ling leaned in and gave him a short kiss on the lips before reluctantly withdrawing. If he didn’t leave now, he wasn’t sure if he could bring himself to leave at all so it really couldn’t be helped. “Until tomorrow, my love. Have a good night.”

“Good night.” Jing He watched as Qiu Ling left and then hurriedly got ready to go to bed. Now, he only wanted the night to pass quickly so the ceremony could start earlier.