When Jing He stepped out from behind the screen, a certain someone was looking at him with eager eyes, directly making him pause in motion. He had no doubts about marrying Qiu Ling any longer but … it seemed a little dangerous to live together like this.

Qiu Ling’s people didn’t follow the same ideas as the gods and he’d certainly love to be closer. With the wedding ceremony so close at hand, it also felt somewhat ridiculous to cling to the customs. Nothing would go wrong. They’d get married and spend the rest of their lives together. Why would he make a fuss now? But he simply couldn’t let go of the rules he had grown up with completely. It didn’t feel right. So in the end, he could only make Qiu Ling suffer.

He hesitated for a moment but then slowly walked further into the room. He didn’t dare to walk up to Qiu Ling completely though. That would only make things more difficult. Instead, keeping a bit of distance only seemed right.

Jing He might have such considerations but Qiu Ling certainly didn’t. Seeing his beloved return and coming in his direction, he got to his feet and strode right over, only stopping when he was directly in front of him. Reaching up, he cupped his cheeks and then leaned down, gently kissing him on the lips. “Goodnight, my love.”

He would have loved to stay up a little longer, whispering sweet words to each other, and maybe falling asleep together but he knew he still had to be patient a little longer. Anyway, it was already nice to be able to be in the same room and actually give his beloved a goodnight kiss. This was a major step forward compared to before.

Jing He’s cheeks flushed and he nodded faintly. “Goodnight.” He didn’t dare to think more and hastily pulled out of Qiu Ling’s grasp, fleeing to his bed. Reaching it, he only felt more apprehensive though. While this wasn’t the first day he had gone to sleep with this arrangement, it always felt odd to lie down in front of his husband-to-be, knowing that he was watching him from behind. It felt … cheeky, somehow, a little forbidden. It definitely wasn’t something he should do but he also didn’t want to miss Qiu Ling’s presence.

He turned and looked over his shoulder, catching his lover’s gaze.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, much less moved.

This was precisely what Jing He had been afraid of: Those short moments of temptation. He sure hoped that Qiu Ling would get up and walk over to him, pulling him back into his arms and maybe even kissing him again. He longed for that closeness, for the reassurance it gave him that both of them had reunited without too much harm being done and that they would manage to go forward together from now on.

Maybe things would be different after their wedding and he wouldn’t require such gestures any longer. No, they certainly would be different from now. Still, maybe by then, he would long for those embraces not to feel more secure but simply to feel closer to the man who would by then be his husband. Wasn’t that enough?

Qiu Ling also felt very tempted. He told himself that he should avert his gaze, maybe say a word, and then leave the room so Jing He could settle down but … ah, he didn’t really want to. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly moved toward him. Anyway, his beloved wanted to be wooed again and while he had talked about that for tomorrow, it couldn’t hurt to start a little early … right?

Yes, surely, he wasn’t just doing this because he couldn’t hold himself back. No, all of this was because he knew his beloved would like it and as the man he shared his life with, he was duty-bound to give him what he desired! Yes, that was definitely the case. It absolutely wasn’t out of his own selfish thoughts.

He stopped in front of Jing He again and pulled him into his arms, resting his chin on his shoulder. “How come I feel so reluctant to let you go to sleep?”

Jing He turned to face the front again, his heart beating faster. He also … felt very reluctant to sleep right now. It would be good if they could stay like this.

“I suppose I should though. After all, tomorrow will be another exciting day. It wouldn’t do for you to be tired.”

“I shouldn’t be.” Jing He spoke without thinking and hastily lowered his head. He indeed wouldn’t be. He was a trueborn god, after all. One night of less sleep wouldn’t affect him too much. Only when it happened over and over again — like when he worried too much for a long period of time as he had when he thought Qiu Ling disliked him back then — would it start to affect him negatively.

Even though that was the case, he felt embarrassed to have blurted out those words. Wasn’t that asking for Qiu Ling to stay up with him? And what would they do this late at night? It didn’t quite seem right.

Qiu Ling hummed though. Oh, this truly was tempting! If Jing He was any bolder ordinarily, he could even pretend his beloved was trying to seduce him. Unfortunately … if anyone was trying to seduce in this relationship, it ought to be himself. Oh, well, he’d happily play that role as long as the result was the same.

“That’s tempting to consider but we should still go to sleep now. The night before our wedding, we might be too excited to catch more than a few hours so we ought to be more responsible now. It wouldn’t do to be tired on such an important day.”

Jing He didn’t know what to say. Qiu Ling’s breath brushed by his cheek and he felt his warmth in his back. To hear him talk about their wedding in such an intimate atmosphere … it truly made his heart beat out of tune.

Qiu Ling lowered his gaze and then sighed. “I’ll reluctantly tuck you into bed …”

Jing He was pulled out of his thoughts and his eyes widened at once. Had he … had he heard that right? He couldn’t quite believe it and turned around to face Qiu Ling, looking at him with those doubts obvious in his gaze.

Qiu Ling simply raised his brows slightly. “If you’re alright with that?” Anyway, if he had to give up staying up with his beloved, he might as well get another sweet little benefit out of it, couldn’t he? And it didn’t seem to be that outrageous to tuck Jing He in. Unless the gods had some hang-ups about that as well but he certainly hadn’t heard about that before.

Jing He didn’t know how to react. Actually, Qiu Ling might have done something like this in the past but at that time, he should have been either asleep or sick or maybe both. Now that he was fully conscious, it seemed odd to let him do this. But then … they were about to be married. What was there that his husband — or, well, his husband-to-be for now — couldn’t do?

With that thought, he finally nodded slowly and then hastily lowered his head, not daring to look into Qiu Ling’s eyes anymore.