Jing He had never dared to be close to others for fear of the danger it might bring. Now, he didn’t have to worry about that any longer but staying away from others, hiding his true thoughts and feelings, and following the rules had become a habit by now. Changing this would be difficult but if he wanted to fit in, he couldn’t continue to live the same way he had in the Nine Heavens. He had to pay attention to how things were in the dragon realm and then slowly adjust.

He didn’t dare to look too closely right now, afraid that people would find him rude. He still took a few more glances when the ones to walk up were a couple or a family. Seeing them hold hands even while standing in front of their king or hugging tightly when they returned to their previous spot to continue watching made it obvious that the dragons thought nothing of showing affection. On the contrary, it seemed to be what was expected. Being unwilling to tightly hold your spouse would likely seem more out of place here.

He turned to look at Qiu Ling again who was incredibly close at this time. If not for his own reservations, his husband might have already pulled him to sit on his lap. Surely, Qiu Ling would have liked that and the dragons might not have thought much of it either. Now though, they were still almost glued to each other’s body, with hardly any place left that didn’t touch.

He felt the warmth of his husband’s body seep through his clothes and his tightly held hand. When Qiu Ling laughed or exchanged a few words with the dragons in front, he could feel his breath on his skin. Being like this … it was indeed much better than the polite distance they had to keep in the Nine Heavens. In the future, he always wanted to be like this: As close as possible together, making him feel as if nothing could ever separate them again.

Qiu Ling naturally noticed his beloved’s gaze. He turned to look at him, his eyes brightening. He wanted to kiss him again but felt afraid that this might be getting too much for Jing He. He was different from the dragons after all. In the end, he only squeezed his hand and then turned back to the front. Anyway, there’d be time for other things later.

Mn, speaking of later … Qiu Ling couldn’t help his thoughts from drifting off. It had been years since they met and he had always looked forward to the day they got married. In the beginning, he hadn’t known what the ceremony of the gods looked like so what he thought of was what he knew from the dragon realm. Even someone like him who had spent his early years far from other people was well aware of how their wedding ceremony went and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t imagined those moments with Jing He in the past. Now, that time was almost within reach.

Qiu Ling finally didn’t have the patience any longer to focus on what was happening in front. His wishes were about to be fulfilled. Only the dragons’ ceremony was missing now before their wedding was completed. He still looked forward to it.

The ceremony of the gods had been beautiful and having it explained to him let him see the deep meaning behind every single part. Still, the dragons’ ceremony was what he had always anticipated the most. This was the way his people did things and maybe because of his worries about his mixed blood, everything related to the dragons had only become more important to him. But even without that, there was something special about the simplicity of the ceremony because it only focused on the two of them and was used to brew an intimacy of a special kind that they had never experienced before and would only share with one another. He truly … cherished the opportunity to do so.

Despite that, he had to admit that what he was looking forward to the most wasn’t even this night they would share but the morning after and the life that would follow. He couldn’t wait to fall asleep holding Jing He and then wake up the next morning, opening his eyes to his beloved’s beautiful sleeping face. The kind of peace he was bound to feel at that moment … nothing could compare to it, not even the wedding ceremony itself.

Which didn’t mean that he didn’t want the ceremony. Or alone time with his beloved if you wanted to make comparisons. He still did. Very much so. So much even that even though everyone was congratulating them and giving them gifts, he was really looking forward to the end of all this. Unfortunately, his beloved was a very polite person and might sit there until the sky turned dark or even keep going until the last person had managed to present their feelings in some way.

Qiu Ling glanced at Jing He and then at all the people around. It really didn’t seem as if they’d be done soon. No, on the contrary, he could spot dozens of people who hadn’t come up yet still crowded around. If he really let everyone do this now … would he even get to have the remainder of his wedding ceremony today?

Qiu Ling’s thoughts turned and turned and finally, he clicked his tongue. It seemed that he’d have to be the impolite one and stop all of this before the end or it would truly continue going on.

Jing He looked up at his husband when he heard the sound, his eyes questioning.

Qiu Ling pursed his lips in response and then sighed deeply. Finally, he waited for the next person to finish before directly standing up and pulling his beloved to his feet. “Alright, enough now. I just got married. I want some alone time with my beloved!”