Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 12, Part 2)

217 Words of Advice

Qiu Ling pulled out of his thoughts and looked around but nobody else could be seen yet. It seemed that he had come here even earlier than usual because he hadn't slept all night.

Thinking of how there was some time, he pulled out a transmission stone. Of course, the person he wanted to contact most was Jing He but his beloved had just returned to the High Heavens and might go to Tian to report his progress. Rather than disturbing him while he did that, he'd better try to get some good advice before they saw one another the next time.

The transmission stone pulsed with white light while he imbued his spiritual energy but it took a while before the expected projection leaped up.

"Bear child, what's the matter? Did something finally happen in the Nine Heavens?"

Jinde's voice sounded sleepy as if he had just woken him up. Even ignoring that, the projection showed his face on the side and there was the faint shadow of someone behind him. Clearly, he was still lying in bed with his husband.

Qiu Ling pulled a face. These two lucky bastards! How come they were happily sleeping in, waiting for their child to be born while he was alone in the Nine Heavens, having to be up alone after needing to convince his beloved to go back as if he was a responsible person? So unfair!

He grumbled for a moment but, at the end of the day, it wasn't like this was Jinde's fault so he also couldn't bring himself to complain too much. He glanced around again and then lowered his voice for good measure. "Jing He came to see me last night."

Jinde had kept his eyes closed, not really awake yet. When he heard this, he cracked his eyes open though. "Is he ..."

"Still in the same state, yes. I suppose he missed me so he opened a portal."

Jinde had seen Xiang Yu do this before so it didn't come as much of a surprise. He blinked, rubbed his face, and finally sat up. Qiu Ling wouldn't have contacted him if he didn't feel that it was necessary. Even if it was much too early in the morning, he should speak to him first and then go back to sleep later. "Did things not go well?"

Qiu Ling hummed. "It was nice seeing him again but ... I can see that he isn't doing well. I mean, he is still a lot like before but ... it might be even more extreme. I am not sure what to do."

Jinde looked at him quietly, not sure how to respond. He had never actually met Jing He. He had gone to see him once with Qiu Ling but at that time, Jing He had still been on his trial so while he saw his body, the soul hadn't been there. On the other hand, he had spoken to him while he was Zhong Jing Yi but that could hardly be used to judge what he was currently like. Thus, he could only go off what Qiu Ling had told him about his lover before and that hardly seemed to be enough to give any advice or even truly understand the situation.

Obviously, Qiu Ling couldn't deal with this on his own though. He needed somebody to listen and share their perspective. Even if the other person couldn't tell him exactly what to do, he'd at least have something more to think about to find a solution he himself thought might work. Looking at it this way, he didn't want to tell him that he didn't know. "What do you think is the issue? I mean, the one at the core of it?"

Qiu Ling furrowed his brows. "I am not sure either. I suppose ... Jing He is even more insecure than I realized and that ... kind of clouds his judgment. He will look at everything in the most ... uncharitable way and expect the worst outcome. He tries to compensate for what he thinks would happen but because of that, he loses sight of his own happiness. But finding that ... I think that might be what would enable him to make his peace with what shattered his soul."

Yes, the issue of being torn between their relationship and his father's wishes was that Jing He was unable to put one over the other. But his happiness only lay one way. He felt devastated when he couldn't take this way which would make him happy but he didn't dare to insist on it either as he wasn't used to putting his own feelings first.

"The problem is that no matter how I try to reassure him and try to tell him that it is alright to choose himself, he just ... he won't do it. It's as if he can't believe it and I don't know what else to do to give him that trust in me."

Jinde gave a thoughtful hum. "I understand."

"And do you have an idea?" Qiu Ling looked at him hopefully but deep down, he wasn't sure if he should really expect much. He was also aware that these two had never met so while Jinde could give him some general advice, would it truly fit for Jing He? Well, he could only hope for the best.

Jinde sighed in response. "That's the troublesome part: I don't think there is anything you can do. In fact, I don't think you are the right person for him to turn to right now. Tian ... may have been right that it would be best for the two of you to stay apart for a while."

Qiu Ling raised his brows. He had worried about this before but ... he wasn't entirely sure if he got it. "What are you thinking?"

"Well, I don't know Jing He but this reminds me a bit of the time when your father and I ... fell out. At that time, he definitely would have been the wrong person to convince me to pursue my own happiness."