Jing He wasn’t one to take the initiative and oftentimes, Qiu Ling barely even got a response to the sweetness he introduced. This time around, things finally changed. His smile brightened and if not for the fact that he could already hear Jinde and his husband approach from behind, he’d have swooped him up into his arms to kiss a little more.

He gave up on the idea with some regret but at least hugged him tightly as he sighed. “I love you so much. I can’t wait for the ceremony. How do I suddenly feel more impatient than I did when I just met you and wanted to marry straight away?”

Jing He really wanted to chuckle. At that time, he hadn’t been able to deal with Qiu Ling’s straightforward love. Now, it was something he cherished and couldn’t help but seek more of. He would have loved to try and reply in kind but there were already steps from behind. He looked back, only to see Jinde approaching them with his husband.

Jing He froze and lowered his head to hide his expression, not sure if these two had seen anything. It wasn’t an issue to hug and kiss in front of the Tree of Love while they were swearing their love but out here, with nobody around, it seemed a little wrong.

Of course, this only seemed to go for him. When he glanced at Qiu Ling’s face, there seemed no difference from before. He happily held him in his arms, barely giving them a glance before turning back to him.

Jing He grabbed onto Qiu Ling’s robe tightly. His own reaction seemed lacking in comparison. If he wasn’t careful, Qiu Ling might feel that his decision to marry him wasn’t worth much if he still couldn’t show his feelings openly. In the future, he should remind himself of this and show his love for Qiu Ling and his commitment to their relationship with both his words and actions, no matter whether they were alone or with others. Qiu Ling could do it and other people clearly had no such issues in their relationships either so he had no excuse not to do this as well.

Even though he understood, it was difficult for him. He hadn’t grown up like this and had always put much stake into what was right and proper in the Nine Heavens. But then, the people currently coming over weren’t trueborn gods and he would soon leave this place and move to the dragon realm with his husband so why was he still insisting on this? It was time to let go of his old beliefs and adapt to his future home and the convictions of the people living there.

He glanced at the other couple once more, wondering how far he had the courage to go. Neither of them should mind whatever he did based on their own origins. Turning back to his fiance, he parted his lips but hesitated in the end. He … he couldn’t do it. It was still too new to him. And the thought of trying halfway but failing was even worse to bear than not even starting at all. Surely, that would hurt Qiu Ling even more.

He lowered his head and tried to comfort himself. Either way, their wedding ceremony would be held soon and another layer that was holding him back would be taken down. Then, he should be able to do this. Just such a short time, Qiu Ling could certainly wait for it. His husband-to-be was incredibly patient, after all.

Feeling somewhat relieved, Jing He’s lips curved back into a smile and he found the words to respond to Qiu Ling’s light-hearted complaint. “It’s just three days. It might seem long but today will be eventful. And the next two days … we can prepare ourselves.” Not that there was much to prepare. All decisions had been made, the things they required had been organized, and the schedule was taken care of as well. In three days, they only needed to get up on time, get ready, and meet up to head to the square in front of his father’s palace where the celebration and the ceremony would be held. There really wasn’t much to do.

Qiu Ling hummed but his impatience had nothing to do with the actual amount of time. This was about the day he’d marry the one he loved. How could it not feel like an eternity? He sighed, trying to suppress his excitement at the thought without much success. In just three days, he’d embrace Jing He tenderly, occupy his lips with a lingering kiss, and whisper sweet words to him, as well as finally call him husband. How could he not look forward to this? How could he not anxiously long for that day? Every second seemed to stretch into an hour the closer the time came.

Before he could dwell on it any longer, the last two people arrived as well and the next custom could begin.

Bai Fen produced a few sticks of incense and handed them to her son, while Qiang Yan took out a basket of fruits that he gave to Qiu Ling. Both were to be offered to Tian as a sign of respect and gratitude for letting them meet, fall in love, and start on this next stretch of life together.

They took the items with solemn expressions, turned back around to the River of Forgetfulness, and knelt down to put up the offerings.

Jing He carefully lit the incense sticks and held them up as he raised his head to look at the sky. Having met Tian, this ritual felt odd to do but then, it seemed all the more appropriate. “We … are paying our respects to the Supreme Sovereign and making this offering for peace and prosperity.”

Next to him, Qiu Ling glanced at him, guessing his thoughts, but this wasn’t the moment to talk about this. They could do so later in the day after the remaining customs had been followed. He retrieved his gaze and raised the basket into the air as well, his gaze trailing the movements of the clouds above. “We hope that our family will not anger the Supreme Sovereign and that he would instead bless this union.”

Jing He watched as the smoke from the incense sticks curled in the air, still somewhat lost. They had already received Tian’s blessing before when they met him or at least something that could be considered as such: Tian did not seem like a very passionate person so there was little in terms of an emotional display. He had told them that he had perceived their future though. Them being together was fate, not decreed by him, but by whatever higher laws ruled all life. He was simply the one letting them know about it. Being aware of that … what blessing exactly were they asking for?

He lowered his gaze as he quietly held the incense sticks, somewhat in a daze. These traditional words were something he had longed to speak once upon a time but now … he felt out of place doing this. It would have seemed more appropriate to say them directly to Tian when they met him. Still, it was part of this ritual and not doing so would be even more wrong.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again and continuing. “Our love is sincere, with no falsehood contained in this ceremony.” These words, he could say them without issue. Even in the past, there would have been no hesitation but now, he definitely didn’t need to think twice. This was his heart, the deepest, sincerest part of it.

Qiu Ling couldn’t help but glance at his soon-to-be husband again as he continued as well. “We wish to spend our lives together and hope that fate may allow us to do so.”

Jing He felt his gaze and barely held back from turning toward him as well, forcing himself to look up at the sky. “May nothing separate us and our feelings only grow stronger.”

“May our futures be joined together in happiness, never to cease.” Qiu Ling turned back to the river and closed his eyes, smiling faintly. They didn’t need Tian’s blessing. But even though … he still liked asking for it. After all, who wouldn’t want their relationship to be a blessed one going forward? And even if the Supreme Sovereign wasn’t the one granting this wish, simply saying out loud that this was what they desired was more than enough for him.