A storm brewed in Qiu Ling’s eyes. Damn, even when he courted Jing He back in the Nine Heavens, he hadn’t dared to be this straightforward! Heavens, he had already gotten into trouble just for touching his hands at the beginning.

How could that guy be so brazen as to hug him now?! He’d teach him a lesson!

Madam Zhong took one look at Qiu Ling’s face and knew that it spelled trouble. "They’re just children."

"You’re way too laid-back, mother-in-law! This is dangerous. You wouldn’t want him to lead your son astray, would you?" He looked up at her but was met with an empty gaze in return.

Madam Zhong’s thoughts were already somewhere else. What had he called her? Mother-in-law? It seemed whatever had happened in her son’s last life hadn’t been as simple as she thought.

Qiu Ling blinked, now distracted himself. Why was she looking at him like this? He wanted to ponder it but with what was going on in the middle of the room he didn’t dare lose focus. No, he couldn’t think about this now. He had to separate that vile scum from his beloved!

His hand moved but was caught in a soft grip. "Don’t. He is just a child. Nothing to worry about. Shouldn’t you know Jing’er by now? He doesn’t open up that easily in front of other people."

Qiu Ling lifted his brows and looked at her solemnly. "Madam Zhong, I tricked your son into opening up to me in less time than it takes me to drink a cup of tea. Don’t try to fool me with nice words."

Madam Zhong didn’t know how to answer. She hadn’t expected such a reply. Well, she couldn’t just give up though or who knew what he would do? She tightened her grip on his hand and smiled serenely. "So you don’t have any confidence to make him fall in love with you again?"

Qiu Ling tensed. This question … wasn’t that easy to answer. He had taken ten years to court Jing He even though it should have been a simple thing. But his beloved’s circumstances … they hadn’t made it easy for him to fall in love.

The Heavenly Emperor’s love and protection for him might have been too much. He was afraid to lose his precious son so he didn’t dare take any chances. Who knew if someone he trusted that day would turn into a traitor the next? Who could be sure that some unrequited affection wouldn’t turn into hate and compel someone to take drastic measures? Who was to say that someone wouldn’t get ambitious and kill the heir to the throne to pave a path for himself?

Finally, the only people Jing He had regular contact with were his parents and uncle. The other gods … they saw him. Whenever there was an occasion the crown prince should attend he’d be there, quietly sitting in his place, never directly looking at anyone, only doing what was expected of him.

At first glance, he seemed perfect. He had a neat and tidy appearance, there was always a smile on his lips and if somebody used such an occasion to speak to him, then his responses would all be polite and empathic.

But after ten years of courting him, Qiu Ling knew him well enough. The perfect image Jing He held upright outside was just masking the loneliness beneath. The loneliness and the fear.

When he had started courting him, Jing He hadn’t known what to do. On the one hand, he wanted to accept this love, he wanted to finally have somebody else in his life. Maybe he didn’t even care who that person was. He just didn’t want to be alone anymore. But on the other hand he was scared and he didn’t dare to follow his heart.

After all, until that very day he had lived like a prisoner. His prison might be made out of the most luxurious materials and the one guarding it might be a person he loved and who treated him kindly but it was nonetheless a prison. With such a life, of course, there would be reservations. Of course, he wouldn’t believe that his father isolated him like that without good reason.

And of course, that had made him suspect Qiu Ling’s reason for getting closer to him. He couldn’t believe that all this was just because somebody else had started to honestly care about him. He couldn’t trust that this person that had stepped into his life would stay with him and love him until the end of time. And risking that this person might vanish again … that wasn’t something he could do. He had waited too long already. He could only decide on this person and spend the rest of his life with him or accept that he would never be more than a prisoner.

Qiu Ling was well aware that Jing He had tried to do the latter and it had taken a long time to win him over. The trust between them had to be slowly accumulated. Qiu Ling hadn’t been eager to wait that long. He had wanted to sweep him up into his arms right from the first time he saw him. Persevering for so long … He himself was surprised he had been able to do it.

Well, at that time, he had already been head over heels for Jing He. Waiting some years wasn’t asking too much as long as he trusted that he would hold him in his arms at the end. And he had. His persistence had paid off and Jing He had finally promised to marry him. It was just that that horrible trial had come between them.

This was all the more reason that he couldn’t yield to another man now! He might be able to accept some little girl circling around his beloved but this was different. Saving his beloved in the time of need, successfully holding off the danger … That was exactly the kind of thing that would move Jing He! He had to do something now or his beloved would be taken away! He would have spent those ten years all for nothing. No, even worse, he would have paved the way for another man!

He definitely couldn’t let that happen.