At first, Ah Wu didn’t grasp the meaning of the “like” Ling Rui was talking about. Without thinking, he responded, “Zai Zai, I will always like you.”
How could he not love the cub he had raised since he was little? But his response was so quick that Ling Rui knew it wasn’t the answer he was hoping for.
So, Ling Rui lifted his head a little, gathering his courage to meet Ah Wu’s gaze again.
“Ah Wu.”
Ling Rui could feel his palms sweating.
He tried hard to appear calm, but his flushed ears and nervous, darting eyes gave him away.
In truth, he was feeling anxious, uneasy, and unsure.
“I don’t want the kind of love where you take care of me like a cub.”
Ling Rui clenched his sweaty palms and spoke more directly, “I want the kind of love where we can have little ones together.”
After Ling Rui finished speaking, there was a long pause with no response.
Ah Wu stood in front of him, seemingly frozen.
Ling Rui patiently waited, but in such a tense moment, every second seemed to stretch on endlessly.
As he waited, the small flame of hope in Ling Rui’s heart was gradually extinguished by cold silence.
His nose stung, and his eyes began to redden.
“It’s okay. I understand.”
Ling Rui sniffled, trying to sound casual, though the words he wanted to say—“I don’t mind”—were stuck in his throat.
Meng Qiu had once told him that if it wasn’t an enthusiastic yes, then it was a rejection.
He had been rejected by Ah Wu.
“It’s fine, you don’t have to feel bad. I knew all along that confessing wouldn’t necessarily make us be together.”
Ling Rui took a moment to calm his emotions and said in a muffled voice, “I’m leaving now. Don’t come see me off. I want to go alone.”
After all, he had just failed in his confession, and there was no reason for him to stay any longer.
As Ling Rui lifted his foot to leave, Ah Wu, who had been standing there for a long time, finally snapped out of his daze. His gaze had been fixed on Ling Rui’s face the entire time, not moving for even a second.
He had heard everything Ling Rui said, but he just couldn’t believe it.
He couldn’t believe that his cub was actually confessing to him. It wasn’t until Ling Rui was about to walk away that Ah Wu suddenly realized—this wasn’t a fantasy. This was real.
“Zai Zai, say it again,” Ah Wu said, gripping Ling Rui’s arm tightly. He leaned forward slightly, his eyes locked onto Ling Rui without blinking.
Ling Rui froze for a moment. His arm actually hurt a bit from the tight grip, but the pain was the last thing on his mind at the moment.
“Ah Wu, didn’t you hear what I just said? Or were you distracted?” Ling Rui asked, confused. He thought he had spoken clearly.
“Zai Zai, say it again,” Ah Wu repeated, without explaining further. His voice sounded calm, but if one listened closely, there was a slight tremble at the end.
Ling Rui, still puzzled, nodded. “Alright.”
He cleared his throat and, with patience, confessed again.
“I said, I like you. It’s the kind of like where I want to have children with you. Can you like me the same way I like you?”
The last sentence almost sounded like a tongue twister, but after hearing the confession twice, Ah Wu finally understood.
And because he understood, Ah Wu didn’t know how to react. Acting purely on instinct, he lowered his head and kissed Ling Rui on the lips.
Ling Rui: “!”
His eyes widened in shock.
Usually, when they kissed, it was Ling Rui who initiated it. Ah Wu rarely made the first move.
Their kisses had always been gentle and soft, but this time, Ling Rui felt overwhelmed by the intensity.
When the long kiss finally ended, Ling Rui’s legs felt weak. He clung to Ah Wu, leaning all his weight on him.
“Ah Wu, my mouth… it kind of hurts,” Ling Rui said, his face flushed. It was hard to tell if it was from embarrassment or breathlessness. His hands clutched at Ah Wu, and he thought he must look pretty silly at the moment.
Not only did he feel silly, but his words also sounded a bit foolish. Luckily, Ah Wu didn’t seem to think so. He even apologized, saying, “I’m sorry, I was too rough. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Ling Rui caught the words “next time,” and his heart raced.
“Well, next time, be gentler. We can take our time,” Ling Rui said, shy but hopeful.
“Mm, we’ll take our time,” Ah Wu replied, giving him another gentle kiss on the lips.
The two of them stayed close like that for a long while, calming down from the overwhelming emotions. When they finally relaxed, they began to talk more.
Ling Rui played with Ah Wu’s large hand, squeezing and kneading it while resting his head against him. He asked, “Ah Wu, does kissing me mean you like me?”
“Yes, I like you,” Ah Wu responded, holding Ling Rui’s hand in return. Under Ling Rui’s repeated confessions and confirmations, Ah Wu finally admitted his feelings, “Zai Zai, the way I like you… I want to be your partner.”
Ling Rui beamed at his words.
That was exactly the kind of love he wanted!
Now that they had expressed their feelings for each other, they were officially together.
Ling Rui had always been clingy, even as a child. Back then, he’d spread his little arms, asking for hugs to show affection. Now, in his excitement at being in a relationship, he couldn’t stop being clingy, wanting to hang onto Ah Wu all the time.
“Ah Wu, when did you start liking me? I’ve liked you for a long time,” Ling Rui asked excitedly.
Ah Wu thought for a moment before giving him a time frame. In truth, he had gradually realized that his feelings for Ling Rui hadn’t begun at any specific point. From the moment he found Ling Rui as a cub in the mountain and sea world, he knew he could never let him go.
He didn’t dare say it had started too early, for fear of scaring Ling Rui.
“I liked you before that!” Ling Rui quickly replied. “In my very first dream, I dreamed of you.”
Since then, dream after dream, Ling Rui had come to fully realize his feelings for Ah Wu had changed.
When people first enter a relationship, their conversations tend to revolve around a few topics—how much do you like me? What do you like about me? How long have you liked me? No matter how long they talked about these things, they never seemed to tire of it.
Outside, the moon hid behind the clouds, as if shyly listening to the lovers’ sweet words. But soon, even the moon couldn’t handle it and slipped fully behind the clouds.
Ling Rui, however, had no time to look at the moon or the clouds. All his attention was on the person in front of him.
“Ah Wu, I’m fully awake now,” Ling Rui said, still daring to push his luck. “Even when I hadn’t regained all my memories, my feelings were real.”
He was expressing how, even during his memory loss, he genuinely enjoyed everything they had done together.
Saying such words in this moment felt sweet. But it didn’t take long for that sweetness to overwhelm Ling Rui, making his eyes fill with tears.
“Ah Wu, don’t you need to attend court?”
Ling Rui’s voice was hoarse, half of his face buried in the pillow, and his words came out in broken fragments.
Behind him, Ah Wu responded in a low voice, “No, I don’t.”
He didn’t need to attend court every day.
“My big brother says only useless rulers skip court sessions. Ah Wu, do you want to be a useless ruler?”
“Whether a ruler is wise or not doesn’t depend on that.”
If a ruler is incompetent, even sitting on the throne in court won’t help manage the affairs of the state well.
On the other hand, if a ruler is wise, they won’t miss any important matters, even if they don’t attend court regularly.
“Ah Wu, I want to sleep.”
Seeing that he couldn’t convince Ah Wu, Ling Rui said directly, “I’m tired.”
“Mm, go ahead and sleep.”
Ah Wu seemed like he wasn’t stopping Ling Rui from sleeping, but Ling Rui couldn’t sleep at all while Ah Wu remained awake.
Time slowly ticked by.
Just before dawn, Ling Rui laid face down in the blanket, eyes closed, but his eyelids were still a bit red.
Ah Wu hadn’t slept.
There was water prepared at the bedside, and Ah Wu dipped a cloth into it to wipe Ling Rui’s face clean. Then, holding him close, they both finally drifted off to sleep.
The two of them, lying together, their bodies close—it made for quite a harmonious scene.
Ling Rui hadn’t returned to the inn that night, leaving Meng Qiu, who was looking for him, confused.
“Where has the young Wangye gone? I didn’t see him at all last night.”
Meng Qiu was used to chatting with Ling Rui, and he had tried to find him the previous night, but couldn’t. Now, early in the morning, he was back again, still unable to find him.
“The young Wangye said he was busy and didn’t want anyone to follow him,” someone said timely. “We should focus on our own duties. The young Wangye will return when he’s done.”
The young Wangye had come along with them on this trip. Whatever he wanted to do, they couldn’t interfere. As for his safety, they trusted that His Majesty cared more and had thought things through more thoroughly than they could.
So, the delegation went about their official duties, without waiting for the young Wangye.
After a full day and a half of work, everyone was busy and had no time to rest. But Meng Qiu still occasionally worried about the young lord. “I wonder what the young Wangye is doing in Great Qing. It’s been two days already, and by right, he should be back by now.”
Great Qing wasn’t their Qi Dynasty’s territory, so Meng Qiu was concerned that their young Wangye might not fare well there.
While Meng Qiu worried on one end, on the other, the young Wangye himself had already found it unbearable to stay in the palace.
“Ah Wu, you’ve changed.”
Ling Rui didn’t know how many times he had tearfully accused Ah Wu. He fumed, “You weren’t like this before.”
Though Ah Wu had been harsh at times before, he had never been as frightening as he was now!
Even if Ling Rui was a little mythical beast, he couldn’t take it anymore.
Ah Wu, hearing his accusation, gently wiped away his tears, his voice as calm and soothing as ever. “Zai Zai, wasn’t it you who said you wanted to have little ones?”
Ling Rui: “…”
He was so angry he almost fainted. “I was just talking nonsense! I can’t even have children!”
No matter how hard Ah Wu tried, Ling Rui simply couldn’t bear cubs!
Looking at his furiously bristling cub, Ah Wu remained calm and continued to soothe him.
“Our Zai Zai is very capable; maybe you can.”
“I cannot!” Ling Rui shook his head, staying clear-headed and rational, refusing to let Ah Wu brainwash him.
But despite his words, under Ah Wu’s gaze, Ling Rui couldn’t resist reaching out to touch his own stomach.
His belly was soft, with no cub inside.
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