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

311 The Status Quo Had Changed

Four pairs of eyes turned to Jing He and the silence that suddenly enveloped the square was heavy enough to crush someone. Of course, the one most likely to be crushed was Rong Su who was trying to retort but couldn't get a single word out.

His precious son ... not only dared to say such irresponsible things as being in love and wanting to marry that dandy from the dragon realm but even suggested eloping when he wouldn't agree? Just what had that bastard done in the past few months to make him this irresponsible?!

Jing He felt his father's stare like a fire slowly burning his skin but this time, he wasn't willing to back down. He simply clung more tightly to Qiu Ling, trying to borrow a bit of strength from him and use the familiar sense of security he always felt in his arms as a shield against his father's incoming eruption.

Qiu Ling held his beloved in a daze, suddenly unsure what to think. He was ... well, he was ecstatic, of course, but this change really came too fast. Would they ... would they actually get married soon? In fact, if his future father-in-law made more of a fuss, would he take Jing He back home today and get married ... as soon as they arrived?

After ten years of wooing him, a millennium of accompanying him on his trial, and several weeks of back and forth after his return, this blessing came too suddenly. His mind couldn't comprehend the change of the status quo.

And yes, that was what it was. He hadn't wanted to admit it before but ... while Jing He stayed with him, the refusal to actually stand up for their love and his desire to marry him had more or less been his acquiescing to his father's wishes. Not to mention that when his father became truly angry after finding out about something he disliked, he had also accepted all the punishments his father came up with and actually wouldn't see him if he didn't make an effort to sneak in.

In a way, that was also a choice, wasn't it? It might be one that Jing He had been unhappy about but he had still made his decision each and every time something like this happened. To a degree, he had taken advantage of his patience to do as his father said, silently hoping that this unreasonable man would one day change his mind even if it was obvious how unlikely that was.

Especially in the few weeks after the end of his trial, it had been tough to say how far Jing He's obedience would actually go. Would he ever stand up to his father, say no, and stick with it? It hadn't seemed likely. But now, that worry was a thing of the past.

"My love ..." Qiu Ling finally awoke from his stupor, cupped his cheeks, and leaned in, kissing him on the lips. Screw propriety in front of his beloved's parents, he was just too happy right now!

Jing He hummed faintly and the death grip he had had on Qiu Ling's robe loosened somewhat. Being held this way finally allowed him to relax his tightly strung nerves. Yes, what did he have to worry about? Qiu Ling was right here with him, alive and well, so what could happen? No matter what his father said or did, they could stay together. In the worst case, they would indeed have to run away together. Even if he preferred receiving his father's blessing for this union, he would do that if he couldn't get it. This time, he wouldn't back down.

The Heavenly Emperor was about to have a heart attack seeing his son and the dragon king like this.

Qiang Yan gave his brother-in-law a worried look, not sure what to do. He was naturally on his nephew's side so letting go of Rong Su and allowing him to meddle was impossible but he'd definitely get into trouble if the Heavenly Emperor fainted out of anger while he stood right next to him. Although ... then again, who was going to punish him? His brother-in-law himself?

Qiang Yan sighed to himself. If they had known this would happen, he was sure Bai Fen never would have agreed to marry him. Being tied to the Heavenly Family just wasn't all that great. There were way too many things to take into consideration all the time, reducing your personal freedom by a large margin.

It was all thanks to Qiu Ling's presence that Jing He had finally managed to get rid of some of those restraints but he was afraid that there were still more issues ahead. Of course, they had come up with a plan to implement whenever Jing He returned so ...

He glanced at Rong Su again and finally cleared his throat when the dragon king and his nephew stopped kissing. "Well, it's been a long day ..."

"What fucking long day!" Rong Su finally exploded just as everyone had feared. "You let go of me. I'm going to teach him a lesson for daring to put his hands on my son!"

Qiang Yan's lips twitched. For one, even he couldn't tell if he could win against Qiu Ling so Rong Su shouldn't even dream about getting in a single hit. And two, had he already selectively forgotten that his son had just said he wanted to elope with this man? What was one kiss? Did he need to make such a fuss every time?

Bai Fen also couldn't deal with her husband's shenanigans. She rolled her eyes and then patted her son's back. "Your uncle is right. You just came home. Why stand here and tire yourself further?" The most tiring thing would certainly be his father's behavior so for now, they should just escape him. "Don't talk about eloping just yet. Let Longjun bring you back to your palace and rest up first. We'll talk about the rest later."

Jing He looked at his mother and hesitated. He didn't want to wait until an undetermined time called 'later'. He wanted to make clear now that he would marry Qiu Ling no matter what.

His lover didn't seem to agree with him though. He brushed through his hair with his fingers and motioned in the direction of his palace. "Let's listen to your mother, my love. You just came back so you should take a break. We can talk about everything else in detail later."

Seeing that Qiu Ling actually said the same, Jing He finally nodded. After quickly bidding farewell to his mother and vaguely inclining his head in the direction of his uncle and his father, he hurried away with Qiu Ling. Anyway, if they wanted to elope, it'd be much easier while alone. He could just ask Qiu Ling about it when they reached his palace.