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

335 An Offering to the Supreme Sovereign

Qiu Ling couldn't hold back a brilliant smile. He would have loved to scoop his beloved up and continue kissing but he could already hear Jinde and Leng Jin Yu arriving in the distance. If he dared to kiss Jing He in front of them, his beloved would feel needlessly shy. As a result, he simply hugged him and sighed. "I love you so much. I can't wait for the ceremony. How do I suddenly feel more impatient than I did when I just met you and wanted to marry straight away?"

Jing He barely held back a chuckle. At that time, he had been scared by Qiu Ling's straightforward approach and dreaded running into him again because he simply didn't know how to deal with someone's brash love confessions and his urging to get married. Looking back now, it seemed endearing just how madly Qiu Ling had pursued him. It was proof of how much in love and how sure of those feelings he had been even then.

Just when he thought of saying something as well, he heard steps from behind. Turning around, he saw Leng Jin Yu and Jinde walking up to them, the latter still wearing the veil obstructing his face. Jing He froze and hastily lowered his head. He didn't mind embracing Qiu Ling in front of them but outside of the confession and oath in front of the Tree of Love before, he didn't dare to say love words in front of others and kiss. That went even for those two who were clearly aware of their relationship. He just ... he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He glanced up at Qiu Ling's face, wondering if he minded. It didn't seem like it. Qiu Ling simply continued to hold onto him, only looking up at them and smiling before turning back as if there was nothing much to think about.

Jing He curled his fingers around the fabric of Qiu Ling's robe, feeling that he should be better about this. He didn't want Qiu Ling to feel that he would regress to the previous state in which he hadn't been able to stand up to his father for their love. Although the rest of his family and Qiu Ling's family didn't share his father's dissatisfaction with this relationship, he ought to show that his decision was one he would keep to.

Sure, the wedding itself should be proof but ... his past actions should have hurt Qiu Ling and he had seen what the result of that would be if he let it continue. Of course, he couldn't let that happen. No, he had to remind himself of this and show his love and commitment with both his words and actions. Not just once but over and over again, just like how Qiu Ling had always done it.

Glancing at the other couple again, Jing He pondered how far he could bring himself to go. Jinde was a dragon and even though Leng Jin Yu was officially an ascended deity, he had also grown up as a dragon in his past life. Neither of them should care much about public displays of affection. Whether it was telling Qiu Ling how much he loved him or kissing him right in front of them, they shouldn't mind.

He looked up at his lover's face, trying to decide on either. The distance between them was not far so both seemed easy enough. He parted his lips and ... then still hesitated. Well, even if Jinde and Leng Jin Yu didn't mind, he himself did. He just ... wasn't used to this.

In the end, Jing He lowered his head without saying anything. If he only got halfway through, it wouldn't be good. Maybe that would be even more hurtful than him not saying anything. And anyway, their wedding wasn't that far off. In three days, the two of them would have a legitimate relationship recognized by all. Then, he shouldn't have as much trouble any longer, right?

Thinking of the short time they still needed to wait, Jing He finally gave a faint smile. "It's just three days. It might seem long but today will be eventful. And the next two days ... we can prepare ourselves."

In a way, he might have preferred spreading out all the events that ought to be done ahead of the ceremony but he knew that Qiu Ling liked having his family around, and with Jinde's identity, it was difficult. Well, apart from that, his own situation wasn't much better. They still needed to hide this wedding from his father, after all, so doing everything on one day and then not stepping outside again should be better.

Qiu Ling gave a hum but still sighed in the end. Even if it was only three days, those were the three days right before his wedding ceremony to his beloved. How could he ever stay calm? He ... was more excited than he had ever been. Just the thought that soon, he could hold Jing He in his arms, kiss him without issue, and call him his husband ... yes, he was looking forward to that more than anything else.

Just then, Bai Fen and Qiang Yan also made their way over. With their group of six once again having gathered, it was time for the next part of the pre-wedding customs. Once again, the actual things they had to do were few but the symbolic meaning behind them were important.

Bai Fen took out a few sticks of incense and handed them to Jing He, while Qiang Yan gave a basket of fruits to Qiu Ling.

Both were offerings to Tian and even though both of them knew that the person in question couldn't care less, they still took the items with a solemn expression before turning around and kneeling down at the bank of the River of Forgetfulness, putting up the offering with a few words.

The smoke from the incense curled in the air and rose into the sky as if it was indeed delivering some kind of message up to the High Heavens, asking for their relationship to be a blessed one going forward.