There’s No Way You’ll Stay Alone Forever

Xin Lan continued to sit there for quite some time until he finally took out the necklace with the transmission stone that he was carrying. He hesitated for a moment but then imbued his spiritual energy and contacted the person on the other side.

Back in the secret dimension in the Yun Zou Sect, Jinde cracked his eyes open and reached for the necklace that was lying next to the bed. Picking it up, he glanced over his shoulder at his husband and then imbued his spiritual energy to answer. "Xin Lan, what's —" Jinde didn't even finish the sentence and just stared at him in a daze. After a moment, he opened his lips, trying a few times to say something before closing it again. No matter what he said right now, it wouldn't be too flattering.

"Master." Xin Lan looked at Jinde, feeling a bit at a loss. One look at him showed that Jinde had obviously just spent the night with his husband. Thinking about it, there was still a pang of pain in his heart but it wasn't as bad as before. He just … continued to feel empty and desolate. Just as empty and desolate as he had felt since the moment that Hua Lin Yu had rejected his proposal.

Jinde forced himself to smile. It still turned out wry though. "So, I guess that something is up on your side. What is it?" He sat up and pulled up the blanket but it didn't help much. In the end, he leaned over the edge of the bed, picked up his inner robe, and draped it over his shoulders. In any case, he knew how Xin Lan felt. He didn't think that he should torture him more than necessary. He couldn't change his feelings but he didn't need to rub it in his face.

Xin Lan watched him quietly and then snorted. Apparently, his Master was trying to take his feelings into consideration. Nice. In this situation, it actually felt a bit funny though. "You know, today, I asked somebody to marry me."

Jinde raised his golden brows, his hands that had just tried to tie the knot around his inner robe so it wouldn't open up again stopping awkwardly. Come again? "You proposed to somebody?" He frowned, immediately thinking of what Sect Master Fei had told him back then. He had tried to check in with Xin Lan every now and then but had never really gotten anything out of him. And considering their relationship, it always felt a bit disingenuous to pry too much.

He had no right to do that. If he didn't hear that Xin Lan was doing anything outrageous, or that this boy was suffering, he really didn't think that he should do more than simply inquiring every now and then. Now though, it seemed that things had actually progressed in quite the … interesting direction. He wasn't sure if it was one that he liked though. "I heard that you were quite interested in the disciple of Sect Master Fei from the Jian Yi Sect. It wouldn't be him?"

"Ah." Xin Lan raised a hand and brushed through his hair, feeling even more lost. The other side had actually informed his Master of this. Well, he probably should've expected that. With Jinde asking about his love life more than once in the past three years, it had seemed a little odd. But he had always figured that his Master might not keep track of the time in the dragon realm since so much more time had passed in the human realm. In any case, he never would have thought that he knew about Hua Lin Yu. But it seemed he had forgotten to take into consideration just which sect his Master's husband came from. "Yes, it's him. And I guess Sect Master Fei does not have to worry anymore. He rejected me."

Jinde lightly bit his lip. Now, that explained a lot. Although … maybe it didn't explain enough. Just what had the relationship between the two of them been? Just why was Xin Lan rejected? Why did he look so awful? Well, at the very least, the latter seemed to indicate that this hadn't been just because he wanted to fool around. No, this time, Xin Lan had actually been serious. "Is that final?"

Xin Lan kept quiet for a moment, unsure how to answer that. "Final … Well, it has been three years since it was brought up originally. His father wanted us to travel around a bit and I took him to the dragon realm. I felt that it actually wasn't too bad. We had some time to get to know each other. Who knew that … while I actually liked the idea more and more, he seems to have reconsidered. When I asked him to return to the mortal realm today and make it final, he ran away."

Jinde closed his eyes and sighed as well. "I see. Well, running away might also be because he is young and doesn't quite understand what he wants? Maybe he has gotten cold feet?"

"Believe me, that is what I'm praying for. It is just that I really don't see that happening, you know? Maybe I thought too beautifully. Maybe this is meant to be." For a moment, he wondered if he should tell his Master about the oath he had sworn. But on second thought, he stayed silent about that.

If he started the subject, he would have to tell him just how this had come about. And then, he would burden his Master with something that couldn't be changed anymore anyway. And he knew Jinde. Even though he didn't requite his feelings, he still had a close bond with him. He would have a guilty conscience if he knew that he had done this for him. "I guess things are a bit complicated. Maybe a dragon like me and a human like him are not the best fit. He would probably do better with somebody else."

Jinde shook his head. "You're a good person. No matter the race you were born into or the circumstances of your birth, you are a good person. I know that more than anyone else. And I'm sure that some way or another, you will be able to find the love you deserve. I don't know whether that is with him or with somebody else but I believe that it will happen one day. There's no way that you will stay alone forever."