Qiu Ling didn’t care about her feelings at all. He huffed and then turned to his beloved, his expression turning much better in the blink of an eye. "I just went to practice and then came to look for you but when I knocked, nobody was in. So I decided to come and have a look if you’re here already." Qiu Ling had no problem making up this explanation on the spot. Anyway, he couldn’t let his beloved find out that he had never been in that room. Otherwise, wouldn’t he feel that something was wrong? Mn, that couldn’t happen! He had to make sure that his beloved was happy! Speaking of which … "I hope I didn’t come at an inopportune time." He smiled brightly, not at all seeming like he cared whether he had come at a good time or not.

Jing Yi gave an embarrassed smile in return. Letting Qiu Ling see this kind of scene … he really didn’t know what to say. It seemed he could only go along with it. "Ah, it’s nothing much. I just woke up and then came to see if my mother was here. I would’ve come and called you in a moment. Well, it’s good that you’re here already."

Qiu Ling happily nodded, shifting closer. His beloved saying that it was good that he was here … Didn’t he want to say with that that he liked him very much?

Guanyu stared at the two of them standing this close together and couldn’t help but shoot that cousin of hers a dark look. Why was he doing this to her? Weren’t they family? Then he should help her get the man of her dreams instead of getting in her way!

Behind them at the table, Madam Zhong turned around and smiled at them. "Jing’er, Qiu Ling, since you’re both here, why don’t you sit down? We will eat in a moment."

Jing Yi nodded and wanted to go over but Guanyu reached out and grabbed his arm. "You!"

Seeing the stupid girl touch his beloved, Qiu Ling’s expression darkened again. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so nice to her just now. She obviously deserved to be treated much worse! How could she grab his beloved this forcefully?

Meanwhile, Mi Fan also looked at the scene with her expression darkening. She wasn’t completely sure yet but she had a very bad hunch. It couldn’t be that Guanyu hadn’t actually rediscovered her feelings for Jing Yi and instead fallen for that senior martial brother he had brought along, could it? That would truly be too unfortunate!

She looked at Qiu Ling again, examining him more closely. He certainly was a handsome man and judging from his clothes, he also wasn’t too bad off. In fact, even outside the sect, his status might be quite high. That wasn’t too bad. But then again, she still would’ve rather had somebody from their own family marry Guanyu. Then at least, they would both carry the same name. Her husband would certainly like that.

None of the people were quite happy with how things were going but the only one who managed to pull themselves together and work toward their happiness was Qiu Ling. He reached out to Jing Yi and gently took his head. "Since your mother said so let’s sit down. After we eat, do you want to go to the teahouse again? I could accompany you and help out a bit."

Jing Yi’s cheeks flushed. "That …" He followed Qiu Ling over to the table and sat down but his expression wasn’t too good. "Thank you for that offer but I don’t think it’s alright for you to help in the teahouse all the time. You’re our guest, after all. We should be treating you well, not make you work."

Qiu Ling beamed at him. "Ah, don’t consider me a guest. Just treat me like a family member!" After all, I’m your future husband.

Jing Yi looked at him and couldn’t help but smile. After the first awkwardness because of the proposal, he couldn’t help but admit that Qiu Ling was a very good person. He was caring and accommodating, always thinking on his behalf. After his mother, Qiu Ling was probably the person that treated him the best.

Even if compared to Shao Hai and Xiao Dong who had been friends with him for several years, he felt that Qiu Ling cared even more about him. Maybe it was just because Qiu Ling was so outspoken but he truly gave him a warm feeling that he hadn’t felt before with the others. It was almost as if they hadn’t just known each other for a few days and had instead already been familiar with each other for several years.

Seeing his beloved look at him like this, Qiu Ling beamed and leaned closer. There was a very handsome smile tugging at his lips. "Could it be that …"

Jing Yi blinked and raised his brows. "What?"

"Could it be that you’re falling in love with me right now?"

"What?" Jing Yi stared at him in a daze, only able to repeat the very same question.

Qiu Ling’s smile became even brighter and he reached out, gently taking Jing Yi’s hands. "Ah, you were looking at me so intently. It truly made me feel that you must be considering your feelings for me and have realized that I’m the best man you will ever meet. So when do you want to get married?"

Jing Yi’s lips twitched and he pulled back his hands. Never mind what he had just thought. Most likely, Qiu Ling was just catering to him more because he wanted to get married. Shao Hai and Xiao Dong would never do that because they were true friends without any hidden thoughts. It was his own fault for almost falling for this. He could probably count himself lucky that Qiu Ling had given himself away in time.