Shangguan Yu tiptoed and looked over to the edge of the cliff. Sure enough, his husband was once again sitting at his favorite place, enjoying the last sunlight of the day. He smiled and then sneaked over, leaning down right behind him and wrapping his arms around his shoulders. "Did you miss me?"

Ao Jing’s lips curved into a light smile and he reached up, taking one of those slender hands into his. "I longed for you as much as a dying man longs for a drop of water."

Shangguan Yu laughed and let go, brushing back his robes and sitting down next to him, looking over the valley below the cliff. "You said that quite nicely."

Ao Jing didn’t answer and just looked at the person next to him. As sappy as it sounded, he had indeed missed him very much. Ah, these days, he sometimes felt that he was living more in the game than outside. Even if he wasn’t online, he still couldn’t help but think of this person. Even when he went to sleep late at night, all that he saw when he closed his eyes was the beautiful figure clad in that purple robe with the white hair billowing behind him.

He was probably going crazy. After all, he knew that there was no way Shangguan Yu really looked like this. Even his personality might not be as charming offline as it was online. It was something he should expect and yet … he had still fallen in love. How stupid could he be? He was in for a world of heartbreak when things finally came to an end.

While Ao Jing was inwardly scolding himself, Shangguan Yu opened the interface of his bag to look through his inventory. After several rainy days, it was finally a nice evening again. Just perfect to spend some leisure time together without actually doing anything.

He finally found one of the wine jugs that he had purchased after his husband went offline yesterday. He grinned, held onto it carefully, and closed the window. With the same mischievous smile still on his lips, he turned to Ao Jing. "Since my husband is afraid to die of thirst, then maybe I can help you quench it. Here, have some!"

Ao Jing looked at him, his heart rate going up unwittingly. He told himself again that he was an idiot but still silently accepted the jar, took off the seal, and took a big gulp. The thirst he felt … He was afraid it couldn’t be quenched this way.

He gulped the liquid down, lowered the jar, and looked at the sun that was setting at the other side of the valley. "I wouldn’t have thought you were the type of person to carry around wine." Thinking about it made him feel a little wistful. Actually, how much did he know about Shangguan Yu? How much of that 'I’m a cute university student but feeling a little lonely and would much rather transmigrate and become a real cultivator' routine was actually true? Even if it was everything, who knew how much he had already embellished it in his mind?

Shangguan Yu faced away and scratched his cheek. He certainly wasn’t the type of person that would carry around wine. But even in the game, you could get tipsy as long as your settings were put that away. And right now, he felt that that was what he had to accomplish. Because otherwise, he really wasn’t sure if he could say what he wanted to say. He should be able to count on liquid courage at least a bit, right? Anyway, drinking in the game was still much better than drinking in real life, wasn’t it?

Ah, outside of the game, he definitely wouldn’t get drunk because of a guy! Especially not one he had never seen. That would be stupid. No, he was only doing this because it was a game. If he didn’t like the feeling or if things turned out wrong, he could just log off and everything would return to normal. Or … whatever normal would be, if he couldn’t see Ao Jing anymore.

Shangguan Yu licked his lips and then turned to his husband, his throat feeling dry. "What are you saying? It’s just a game. Let’s have some fun every once in a while."

Ao Jing raised the jar, looking it over with a scoff. "So this counts as having fun? I thought we were having fun every day."

Shangguan Yu finally took out his own jug, opened the lid, and took a gulp. He had thought having some alcohol would make this easier but it didn’t feel easy at all. Especially since Ao Jing seemed a little different today. Or maybe that was his imagination? Yeah, he was probably just imagining things because of how anxious he was. Nothing strange was going on. If he looked closely enough, he would see that Ao Jing was just the same as always.

He glanced over, his gaze involuntarily turning softer at the sight of the familiar figure. When Ao Jing turned around to look at him, those red eyes glinted in the sun, making Shangguan Yu look away again. His heart jumped. So much for calming himself down …

He raised the jar again and took another gulp. "Actually …"

"Mn?"

Ao Jing raised a perfectly shaped brow, making Shangguan Yu feel even more awkward. He fumbled around with the jug, unable to decide how he should continue. Honestly, how hard could it be to say the words? It was just … what about after that?

Ao Jing also raised his jar again, his gaze never leaving Shangguan Yu over the rim.

In the end, Shangguan Yu could only awkwardly clear his throat. He put the jug down, turned to Ao Jing completely, and put on the most neutral expression that he could. "Husband … let’s meet in real life."

yansusustories

Hey, everyone! I've recently finished this story over on my patreon page and since I'm going to start a new story there, I felt it was time to bring IRL over to SH :) I'll be uploading Tuesday's and Thursday's each. Hope you'll like the story! :D