Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 11, Part 1)

176 A Tough Life

Qiu Ling chewed on that idea for a while. There was nothing he could do to change Jing He's mind if this was truly the case. Anyway, even he himself wouldn't trust the demons. If there was no love, there was simply no basis for a relationship of any sort. After all, their curse encompassed all love, not just romantic love. If it was just that, nobody would be as worried. But without any love at all ... it was hard to trust them.

He couldn't change Jing He's perception. He didn't want to either. He only hoped that Jing He would be able to accept the half-bloods with some demon blood and thus him as well.

He faintly cleared his throat, completely letting go of the idea to tell him about his parentage today. He should just focus on finishing this conversation to give him more background information, let him think about it for a while, and then find another time to confess. That way, Jing He should be more open to it.

"Either way, because of that time, we actually have quite a few people in the dragon realm that are of mixed blood. Not all are aware and some ... they know but they wouldn't take the initiative to admit to that unless it's absolutely necessary."

Jing He slightly furrowed his brows. "So they would get into relationships just like that?"

Qiu Ling felt uncomfortable with the question but had to nod. "Think about it: Whether it's the gods or the dragons, our opinion of the demons isn't high. There was the drawn-out war that is still ongoing even today despite slowing down in the last millennia, Tian's curse that interacts in a really vicious way, and then even just the general differences between our races that can complicate matters.

"With this kind of hatred against one part of their bloodline, who would want to admit to it? Chances are, you could never have the relationship you want because the other person wouldn't even take a second look at you."

Jing He nodded but his expression seemed tangled. "I can understand when looking at it from their perspective but isn't their behavior just proof of their demonic side? If you love a person, could you really lie to them like that? After all, the consequences are grave, aren't they?

"It's one thing not to know and to cause them accidentally but to go into a relationship with a person you supposedly love, keeping such a big secret from them, and then damning them to everything that comes with that ... I don't know if that is really love."

Qiu Ling lowered his head and nodded. "Yeah, it's ... it's unfair because you take the other side's choice away."

The two of them fell silent.

Jing He didn't know why but he felt that the atmosphere was somehow wrong. He immediately felt anxious, worried that he had said the wrong thing. Most likely, he had. Qiu Ling had shared this as the tragic past of the dragon race and he had sounded sympathetic both toward the dragons and the half-bloods. Considering that he was currently working toward bettering the life of the half-bloods, he should feel that he was too callous to think of them like that.

Jing He leaned closer, trying to find comfort in Qiu Ling's arms. "I think it's a difficult situation for everyone. Surely, it can't be easy to solve. The dragons ... and also the half-bloods among your people can count themselves lucky to have you."

He closed his eyes, listening for Qiu Ling's heartbeat and feeling the warmth that emanated from his body. His proximity made him feel rest assured. Yes, even if he said the wrong thing once, Qiu Ling wouldn't simply abandon him.

It wasn't like in the beginning when nothing had truly held them together. No, by now, they were engaged. Even if his father couldn't accept it and was trying to keep them apart, his mother and uncle had acknowledged it and the two of them were on the same page anyway. Naturally, Qiu Ling wouldn't simply leave him. Even if he disappointed him, Qiu Ling would probably try to guide him patiently until he saw the light. He was that type of person.

Qiu Ling reached up, his fingers brushing through the familiar satiny hair and he gave a hum. "It's indeed not easy." He fell silent for a moment but then figured that he shouldn't just leave it at that.

He didn't have to tell Jing He yet. After what Jing He had just said, it would cause hurt on both sides, more than they might be able to take when their situation was already strained thanks to the Heavenly Emperor's shenanigans. But even if he couldn't tell him the full truth of his own past, he could tell him about how it felt.

Jing He would believe that he was simply talking about the half-bloods in general instead of a specific person. But hearing about it, he would likely feel sympathetic toward them as a whole. So by the time he revealed the full truth to him, even if Jing He felt somewhat betrayed for having the choice taken from him, he'd be able to come to terms with it.

Qiu Ling hummed and his fingers continued to brush through those satiny strands. "The situation of the half-bloods ... it's tough to imagine for somebody who hasn't needed to go through it. That is especially the case for those who only discovered the truth about their parentage later on in life because the shock they received from that ... it's huge. Sometimes it is difficult to recover from and they will only manage because there are people by their side who slowly make them rediscover the self-worth they have lost."

Jing He raised his head, feeling that he had understood right before. Qiu Ling indeed felt sympathetic toward the half-bloods. Even if he still felt that it wasn't fair to their partners not to tell them early on, he still nodded. "It sounds like a tough life."

Either way, he believed Qiu Ling would find a way for everyone to be happy. He trusted in his abilities and with the thought of their future child and his sibling who would be born in a few months ... surely, Qiu Ling would work even harder on this.