Chapter 197 - The Bitter Truth (1/2)

For a moment, Jing Yi couldn't help but wonder if Qiu Ling had some motive telling him such an absurd story. Maybe he'd tell him that it had only been a joke and then tell him the real story because he thought that he wouldn't be as shocked by whatever had really happened? But the way Qiu Ling hugged him a little too tight and how he was unable to meet his eyes told him that he was serious. It really had happened like that.

Silence engulfed them and Jing Yi could observe how Qiu Ling gritted his teeth and tightened his facial muscles.

He must be really afraid how I'll react.

With that insight, Jing Yi put one hand onto Qiu Ling's shoulder and cupped his cheek with the other, turning Qiu Ling's face back toward him. ”You don't have to be afraid that I'll run away. I said I wanted to know, so I'll listen until the end. Don't you want to tell me why?”

”You really want to listen? You're not … disgusted with me?”

”I … can't really comprehend why you would do something like that. But knowing you, even though it's only been a few days, I'm sure that there has to be some sort of reason. I should at least listen to that, shouldn't I?”

Qiu Ling smiled slightly. ”You're too good to me.” He sighed and looked at the celebration going on around them. It seemed to be the wrong place to talk about all that but when he saw Jing He's figure between all these people, he calmed down. This had been the day he finally felt like he saw the light again. Being engulfed in this memory … wasn't that a good place, after all?

”Back then …” He stopped and shook his head, lowering his gaze to the ground. ”I was old enough to already know that something was wrong between my parents. I just … never …” He laughed and shook his head again. ”Never in my life would I have imagined just how wrong things were between them.

My father never loved her. From beginning till end, there was another person in his heart. He even advised me to pay attention in the future so that I wouldn't make a mistake when I was an adult and marry the wrong person. Like him. Well, he never compared it to himself but it was obvious if you observed for a while.”

”Then why did he marry her?” And was that already the reason for what Qiu Ling's mother had done? Had she been unable to bear the lack of love in her relationship?

Qiu Ling raised his brows. This whole story was so ridiculous he didn't really want to share it but how else would he explain it? ”It was an accident. Me, too, actually. You don't know this but where I come from marrying isn't that complicated. You just … take the person you love to bed and that's it. When you get up the next morning everyone will think of you as a married couple.”

”Oh.” Jing Yi felt his cheeks growing hot but thankfully, Qiu Ling wasn't paying attention at that moment. He was completely immersed in his memories of that time.

”My father, who knows what hit him that day? He got dead drunk and the next morning he woke up with a wife. He might still have left her but a few weeks later he found out that he would also have a child soon. So, they stayed together.

Actually, if it wasn't for how much I resemble him I would suspect that he wasn't my father at all.”

”I don't think I can follow your thoughts.”

Qiu Ling sighed and leaned back, slightly easing his grip on Jing Yi. It seemed like his beloved really didn't want to run away. ”It's pretty easy. Back then they were still living in the capital. My father was something like the right hand of the king. He had a lot of influence on him and together they were able to assure that the people had a good life.

Unfortunately, their relationship soured very fast after my father got married. I don't know the details myself but it seems the old gee—” Qiu Ling coughed. ”Er … our honorable king suspected my mother to have ulterior motives for getting close to my father.”

Jing Yi's expression fell. ”You don't believe that your mother wanted to kill your father from the beginning, do you? Don't do that! She probably really liked him at the beginning! It's just that sometimes, people —”