Days of Old | Jiang Cheng

6

credentials goes to the rightful owner of the picture.

~

He Wujuan woke up the next morning without Jin Ling on her side and her already on the bed. Surely, it was him who carried her to bed.

"Jin Ling?" she calls sitting up, her eyes half open. 

"Really? you are looking for him as soon as you wake up and not your husband?" 

He Wujuan could feel her blood boiling. Its to early in the morning to have an argument. "Why are you even here? I told you to get out."

"This is our room, my wife." He simply says, stating the obvious. 

"If you are not stepping out of this room then I will." He Wujuan removes the blanket covering her body. She was about to stood up when Jiang Cheng pulls her hand.

"What? No. Just stay here." He says, sounding like a plead. He Wujuan's heart sank a bit. "I'll be in the other room." Jiang Cheng thinks she will disappear from him once she comes out of this room. "Can you at least tell me what I did wrong?" 

He Wujuan sighs, massaging her temple. "Why are you apologizing then? you don't even know what you have done wrong." 

"Ugh, can't you just tell me?" Jiang Cheng says sitting beside her. He was already losing his mind. 

He Wujuan let out another breath. She looks down, playing with her hands. "Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling is a child." She starts. "He is shackled and hardly experience being a child. The only time he could rest is when he sleeps. This is not about just simply waking him up. I do hope you are getting my point here." 

Jiang Cheng nods, patiently waiting for her to continue. It hasn't been a month when He Wujuan married into the Jiang clan. But Jiang Cheng understands what she was saying. Because like her, all he wanted was for Jin Ling to be a normal child. 

"A-ling's lucky he has you to guide and support him. You've already been there and I know you would not want that for him. So please, Jiang Cheng." She says, extending her hand to hold his. "Let me protect A-ling with you."

Jiang Cheng turns his head to her. "I was scared. Before Jin Ling, I didn't have anyone. All of them left." Jiang Cheng swallows, trying his best not to shed tears. "I didn't get the chance to mourn... because I have a clan to revive and lead."

And Jin Ling came to his life, a flicker of hope amidst darkness. Jiang Cheng was alone and yearned for his nephew to find solace and love in a world that had once forsaken him.

"I know you were scared. You did well, my love." He Wujuan close the distance between them. Jiang Cheng buried his head on her neck. He let out everything - the burden, exhaustion, his worries, he poured everything that's weighting him.

"I'm sorry for leaving you." He says once he calms down. "I'll make it up to you."

He Wujuan gently pats his back. "You better be. You left me for almost 2 weeks." she says, releasing the embrace. Her heart sank, heavy with the weight of his tears and the disheveled state he was in. The sight of him, his face streaked with tears, his once neatly combed hair now in disarray, and his hands clutching onto her, spoke volumes about the pain and struggles he had endured all these years.

In that poignant moment, she couldn't help but imagine the countless battles he had fought in silence, the sleepless nights spent wrestling with his demons, and the countless sacrifices he had made to keep moving forward. It was as if the weight of the world had been resting on his shoulders, hidden beneath a facade of strength and resilience.

He Wujuan rub circles on his cheeks with her thumb. Tears welled up in her own eyes as she realized the depth of his pain and the strength it took for him to finally let it all out.

Jiang Cheng stick their foreheads together. It was a bittersweet moment, a mix of sadness and relief, as he realized that he had finally found solace in her arms, a safe haven where he could release the burdens that had weighed him down for far too long.

Jiang Cheng held her hand. "I'm sorry. I really am." He says, thinking her tears was because he left her for weeks.

"I was kidding. I married a great cultivator, I know you'll be out a lot." He Wujuan stood on her feet, rubbing the tears out of her eyes. "And besides, I'm not lonely." 

Jiang Cheng did the same and stood behind her. "How could you say that? You do know you are saying hurtful things?"

"No! I don't mean I'm alright without you!" He Wujuan turn her heel, facing Jiang Cheng. "I meant that I have our child so I'm not lonely." 

"You mean Jin Ling?" He says confused.

He Wujuan let out a giggle. "No, silly!What is wrong with you?" she walks to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Jiang Cheng grab her waist and stares at her intently. "I was about to tell you this once you came back." she draws her lips near his ear and a soft whisper escaped.

A wave of emotions washed over Jiang Cheng. It was a moment of poignant vulnerability, where tears and a smile coexisted, revealing the complex emotions swirling within him.

"Jin ling's going to be an uncle."