They squatted in the dreamscape for nearly half an hour until another pair of disciples approached the tent. They nodded at the two currently guarding the entrance and then switched positions.
Luo Lin pursed his lips. The flap of the tent still hadn’t moved. They hadn’t been spotted either but that was mostly because they had opened the window as close as possible to the ground. Well, that, and a big portion of luck had certainly been involved as well. After all, nobody seemed to have passed by before.
Shen Lei sighed, sharing his lover’s impatience. He was better at dealing with it since he was used to similar situations from previous missions but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t worried and wished things would progress more smoothly. Hesitating for a moment, he finally reached out and rubbed the back of Luo Lin’s hand with his thumb. “Don’t think too much. Sometimes, it just can’t be changed. You have to do things steadily to ensure it won’t get worse.”
Luo Lin hummed. “It’s alright. I’m just …” He tried to find the right words to describe his current state of mind but finally shook his head. “Anyway, I’m glad I don’t have to do this alone.”
Shen Lei didn’t dare to take his eyes off the tent but he really would have liked to look at Luo Lin right now. “I’m also glad. You know … since the moment I first saw you, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”
The corners of Luo Lin’s lips curled up. He had heard many love words over the years. Many men had also said that it had been love at first sight. Only a handful had stuck around long-term and Shen Lei was the only one who had shown interest in making this relationship permanent. Well, of course, it was possible that others had thought about it and just never uttered the idea out loud but … what did it matter? The important part was that Shen Lei had done so.
He squeezed his fiance’s hand, not taking his eyes off the entrance of the tent either. “What made you so sure?”
“Mn …” Shen Lei thought back to that day, not sure how to put it into words. “I’m not sure if I can explain it. It was … this feeling you gave me.” He raised a brow, the image from back then still vivid in his mind. “It wasn’t just your beauty if that’s what you were worried about. Of course, that played a part but it wasn’t all there was to it.”
Luo Lin really wanted to look over this time but he forced him to simply blink his eyes and continue to listen.
“I remember how everyone fell silent when you passed by. You attracted all eyes in that red robe of yours, harvesting hearts along the way. It seemed … a bit innocent but then also as if it was deliberate. After all, you were just strolling there. How could it mean more? And yet, it also didn’t seem to be a coincidence, especially not when you returned.”
Luo Lin hummed. “I was with Qu Yijun at the time.”
Shen Lei’s lips twitched. It was awkward thinking about that now. The person in question had betrayed the sect together with his Master. Years later, he had almost killed him. Now, he was dead. The time when they dueled over the heart of the beauty almost didn’t seem true anymore. In fact … “Do you believe he … actually liked you?”
Luo Lin kept quiet for a moment. “I’d like to say yes but then, it doesn’t seem quite right. A lot of the men I was with only were with me for my looks or for the thrill of it. Qu Yijun … doesn’t seem the type to care about either.”
Yes, Qu Yijun — much like his Master — wasn’t one to give other people a second look. They didn’t care about beauty but only about strength. How could that person be with him because he appreciated his aesthetics? As for the thrill … maybe that could play a part but he’d be a lot more thrilled just winning regular duels. Why open himself up to fights with other men over somebody he casually saw? It didn’t seem to make sense.
“Thinking about it now, he came to me shortly after Fen’er entered the sect. It probably had to do with that.”
Shen Lei furrowed his brows. “Well, he was always interested in junior martial brother Mei and you guys always indulged him. Elder Feng probably noticed that something was up. He shouldn’t have liked his disciple — and maybe he along with him — being under scrutiny. And he does seem like the type of asshole who wouldn’t mind sending his disciple to seduce somebody to get more information.”
“Mn.” Luo Lin nodded and squeezed Shen Lei’s hand again. He could hear the suppressed anger in his voice but, to be honest, he himself cared little. There had been so many men in his life and few had had pure motives for getting close to him. Trying to gain information was really not much worse than just wanting to sleep with him once or twice.
Shen Lei took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He didn’t care about his fiance’s past relationships. One of the reasons he had been interested in Luo Lin was how open he had seemed. The idea that this person was indeed deliberately trying to seduce someone … it had appealed quite a lot to him. He didn’t like those repressed disciples who could hardly get out a word of appreciation for someone they admired. Luo Lin’s way of handling things was much better.
Right now though, for the first time, he actually hated the idea of one of those past endeavors. Why did it have to be Qu Yijun of all people? Why had Luo Lin had to be mixed up in this? And also … “Did he at least treat you well?” This part, it was probably the most important.
They squatted in the dreamscape for nearly half an hour until another pair of disciples approached the tent. They nodded at the two currently guarding the entrance and then switched positions.
Luo Lin pursed his lips. The flap of the tent still hadn’t moved. They hadn’t been spotted either but that was mostly because they had opened the window as close as possible to the ground. Well, that, and a big portion of luck had certainly been involved as well. After all, nobody seemed to have passed by before.
Shen Lei sighed, sharing his lover’s impatience. He was better at dealing with it since he was used to similar situations from previous missions but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t worried and wished things would progress more smoothly. Hesitating for a moment, he finally reached out and rubbed the back of Luo Lin’s hand with his thumb. “Don’t think too much. Sometimes, it just can’t be changed. You have to do things steadily to ensure it won’t get worse.”
Luo Lin hummed. “It’s alright. I’m just …” He tried to find the right words to describe his current state of mind but finally shook his head. “Anyway, I’m glad I don’t have to do this alone.”
Shen Lei didn’t dare to take his eyes off the tent but he really would have liked to look at Luo Lin right now. “I’m also glad. You know … since the moment I first saw you, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”
The corners of Luo Lin’s lips curled up. He had heard many love words over the years. Many men had also said that it had been love at first sight. Only a handful had stuck around long-term and Shen Lei was the only one who had shown interest in making this relationship permanent. Well, of course, it was possible that others had thought about it and just never uttered the idea out loud but … what did it matter? The important part was that Shen Lei had done so.
He squeezed his fiance’s hand, not taking his eyes off the entrance of the tent either. “What made you so sure?”
“Mn …” Shen Lei thought back to that day, not sure how to put it into words. “I’m not sure if I can explain it. It was … this feeling you gave me.” He raised a brow, the image from back then still vivid in his mind. “It wasn’t just your beauty if that’s what you were worried about. Of course, that played a part but it wasn’t all there was to it.”
Luo Lin really wanted to look over this time but he forced him to simply blink his eyes and continue to listen.
“I remember how everyone fell silent when you passed by. You attracted all eyes in that red robe of yours, harvesting hearts along the way. It seemed … a bit innocent but then also as if it was deliberate. After all, you were just strolling there. How could it mean more? And yet, it also didn’t seem to be a coincidence, especially not when you returned.”
Luo Lin hummed. “I was with Qu Yijun at the time.”
Shen Lei’s lips twitched. It was awkward thinking about that now. The person in question had betrayed the sect together with his Master. Years later, he had almost killed him. Now, he was dead. The time when they dueled over the heart of the beauty almost didn’t seem true anymore. In fact … “Do you believe he … actually liked you?”
Luo Lin kept quiet for a moment. “I’d like to say yes but then, it doesn’t seem quite right. A lot of the men I was with only were with me for my looks or for the thrill of it. Qu Yijun … doesn’t seem the type to care about either.”
Yes, Qu Yijun — much like his Master — wasn’t one to give other people a second look. They didn’t care about beauty but only about strength. How could that person be with him because he appreciated his aesthetics? As for the thrill … maybe that could play a part but he’d be a lot more thrilled just winning regular duels. Why open himself up to fights with other men over somebody he casually saw? It didn’t seem to make sense.
“Thinking about it now, he came to me shortly after Fen’er entered the sect. It probably had to do with that.”
Shen Lei furrowed his brows. “Well, he was always interested in junior martial brother Mei and you guys always indulged him. Elder Feng probably noticed that something was up. He shouldn’t have liked his disciple — and maybe he along with him — being under scrutiny. And he does seem like the type of asshole who wouldn’t mind sending his disciple to seduce somebody to get more information.”
“Mn.” Luo Lin nodded and squeezed Shen Lei’s hand again. He could hear the suppressed anger in his voice but, to be honest, he himself cared little. There had been so many men in his life and few had had pure motives for getting close to him. Trying to gain information was really not much worse than just wanting to sleep with him once or twice.
Shen Lei took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He didn’t care about his fiance’s past relationships. One of the reasons he had been interested in Luo Lin was how open he had seemed. The idea that this person was indeed deliberately trying to seduce someone … it had appealed quite a lot to him. He didn’t like those repressed disciples who could hardly get out a word of appreciation for someone they admired. Luo Lin’s way of handling things was much better.
Right now though, for the first time, he actually hated the idea of one of those past endeavors. Why did it have to be Qu Yijun of all people? Why had Luo Lin had to be mixed up in this? And also … “Did he at least treat you well?” This part, it was probably the most important.
