“Act … spoiled?” Jing He looked at his husband blankly, unable to come up with a response. To be honest, he didn’t know how to do such a thing. He wasn’t even sure if he fully understood what it meant. Had he ever witnessed his parents do this? If he had, then he certainly couldn’t remember.

Qiu Ling saw his gaze and only felt that Jing He was too cute. That confused expression really scratched his heart. He held back the sweetness that bubbled forth again and tried to stay serious. “You don’t have to.” Anyway, it had been a faint hope. Even if it could happen, it likely wasn’t something he’d get to experience this soon after their wedding. He should give Jing He more time to adjust to this new stage of their life before he brought up something like this.

Feeling that he was asking too much, he kissed Jing He’s cheek in apology. “Don’t think too much. I’m just so excited about finally being married to you that I can’t help but fantasize about some things. It’s not that serious though.”

Jing He nodded but quietly noted down that this was something his husband would like to see. Even though he had no idea how to do it, he could learn. He quickly thought of Jinde who had said that he could come to him whenever he needed help. It was somewhat embarrassing to imagine asking his father-in-law about such a thing but … he felt that the chances of Jinde being familiar with such things were much higher than those of getting any results if he asked his mother or uncle and there was nobody else around to inquire about this from.

Qiu Ling felt relieved when his lover seemed to drop the topic without issue. He really didn’t want to pressure him. Right now, Jing He should already be anxious about being in a new place with new expectations put on his shoulders. The last thing he should do was to add to those perceived expectations.

Not wanting to risk his beloved dwelling on this any further, he picked up the previous topic. “Our own feelings aside, most people shouldn’t believe I’m idle. So only being able to visit one city at a time makes sense. Nobody will think more about it. They’ll just take it as a lucky chance whenever it happens.”

This argument convinced Jing He a lot more than his lover’s sweet words. Qiu Ling always tried to reassure him but he had grown up without learning how to be selfish. Asking for something that would trouble others even in the slightest … it made him feel guilty and he didn’t know how to deal with that guilt. But thinking about this matter logically and realizing that, indeed, Qiu Ling likely had no time for extended travels while also having to deal with all the other issues in the realm, that was something he could come to terms with easily.

Qiu Ling wasn’t even done yet with his ideas to convince his husband. “You know, when I had just acceded to the throne, I traveled everywhere because there was so much to do and take care of. I’d never stay long in one place but passed by almost every dwelling in the dragon realm. I guess at that time, my face wasn’t any less known than Jinde’s.” He smiled faintly, not sure how to feel about this.

“Back then … I was a bit scared when I realized that people recognized me. I didn’t want them to. I … I just wanted to hide. I had thought that being gone from the capital city and the palace would lower the chances of anyone putting too much of their focus on me. After all, if you don’t see the person for weeks at a time, how deep can your impression of them be? But I was dead wrong.”

He shook his head and sighed. “I believe … traveling around only made me more famous. People would share the news with their relatives and those would add their own stories of my visit to their places or eagerly await my appearance there. It was … exactly what I had wanted to evade.”

“But nothing happened.” Jing He had no doubts about this. If anything had gone wrong, he felt that Qiu Ling would have mentioned it during the weeks he was writing those letters to him. There hadn’t been a single word about that time though so everything should have worked out well.

Qiu Ling indeed nodded. “The people were just very ecstatic and I ran as soon as I could, taking care of the tasks that piled up in each place as fast as possible. You’d think they were angry but nobody was. Without them knowing about my heritage, I was simply their king, the one who had saved them from the demons and finally ended that period of endless battles. My being there even for a short time was an honor to them and seeing me work diligently only raised their impression. Not that I understood that back then.”

Qiu Ling looked at Jing He and reached up, gently caressing his cheek with his thumb. “I know you believe me to be infallible but … I am really not. I especially wasn’t at that time. I was always scared, always on the run from … everything, really. I didn’t have the understanding I have cultivated throughout the years either. I’m not that great.”

Jing He simply looked at his husband. He didn’t want to disagree with him but … “Having developed that understanding and overcoming your issues is what makes you great though and that is the man I know.” He thought of what Jinde had said earlier about everyone having issues and he somehow felt that Qiu Ling’s issue seemed to be that he often sold himself short. He wanted him to know that he thought differently and his eyelids fluttered as he didn’t dare to look directly into Qiu Ling’s eyes. “I … will always consider you the best, no matter what you might think you are lacking.”