With her resolution strong, feng jiu got up from the bed and made a lot of noise in the process to let wen chang know she’s awake now. this way, he wouldn’t be embarrassed and she wouldn’t be caught eavesdropping.  She smiled quietly to herself at her quick thinking and moved towards the backdoor.

Halfway through, wen chang bumped into her. His arm took to her waist as she was just about to fall from loosing her balance and pulled her back. With the force of his strength, she ended up with her face and hands pressed against his chest. The warmth that was emanating from him made her feel so at ease that she lost herself in thoughts for a few moments.

Wen chang looked down at the little figure of xaio jiu in his arms. She fits so perfectly in my arms like she was made specially for them, he thought to himself. His heart overflowed with his love for her when she didn’t move away from him. His arms that were wrapped around her waist tightened. He wanted to keep her there forever, never to be separated from her again. he had no idea how and when had he fallen so in love with her.

The tightening of his arms brought feng jiu’s mind to focus again. she pressed her hands against his chest a little and lifted her head to look up at him. Looking up into his eyes before she could say something wen chang spoke, “shh….Don’t say anything right now. I can see the questions in your eyes but please just give me a moment. I… I can’t let you go right now. I very well understand that I have no right to ask anything of you but still I want to. I want to ask you for a chance. A chance for you to let me be there for you, to stay with you, to be with you, a chance for you to let me love you. I have seen the wariness in your eyes and I understand that you do not trust me yet but I still ask for a chance to earn your trust. This might seem too much too soon to you but if you can trust only one thing about me then trust my feelings for you. They are honest and pure, jiu jiu, my love for you is unconditional, unequivocal and irrevocable.” He bent his face down and rested his forehead against hers, their noses touching and their breaths intermingling. “I am asking only for a chance jiu jiu. Please, just once, give me a chance”, he breathed out and closed his eyes not wanting to see the rejection on her face. He would accept whatever she decided but he just could not bear to see hard cold rejection on her face.

Moments later, as he braced for her no he felt her hands move slowly up from his chest to his shoulders, up his neck and finally to his face. He shuddered as he felt her soft hands cup his cheeks.

“look at me wen chang.” She told him softly.

He opened his eyes slowly and with hesitation. But as soon as his eyes met hers, he felt all the worries and tension leave his body. There was so much warmth in her eyes that he just couldn’t look away.

“wen chang, before I answer what you have asked, I need to tell you something,”

“you can tell me anything, jiu jiu.”

“you just said that I am wary of you but that is not true, wen chang. What you chose to interpret as wariness for you is instead hesitation on my part. I hesitate because i do not know if you can accept me as I am.”

“no jiu jiu, do not say that. How can I not accept you, there is nothing that you can say or do that will ever change my feelings for you.”

“I hope you can still say that after I am finished. I need you to understand wen chang once and for all. My life till now, has not been the easiest. I have been very blessed in some things but I have faced my particular sets of hardships. And because of that I cannot tell you all about my past. I will tell you as much as I can but if one day you decide that you are not satisfied with that I will be forced to leave. please, do not think of me as unkind but my past is something that I have to protect. Before we step forward, I need you to make me two promises.”

“what is it, jiu jiu. Anything that I have the power to do, I will for you.”

“do not misjudge me. I have no need or want for your power, that is not what I hold important in life. I only ask of you to never ever look into my past. And the most important aspect of that is you will never be able to see where and whom I come from. I know this might look shady and wrong to you but complete trust and loyalty is what I want the most. Those two are the promises I ask of you, your complete trust and loyalty. If you cannot give me your word on that I will understand. But without your word, I will not be able to stay.”

“jiu jiu, even though I do not understand the need for the secrecy, I do know that there are somethings in life that are better left unsaid. I will give you my word on what you ask for but before I do that, can you answer a few questions of mine? I assure you that I will not intrude upon your privacy. I ask merely to soothe my heart. ”

“I will try my best to soothe you heart of any worries that you may have. Please ask.”

“do you have or ever had a child before?”

“no, I have never had a child before.”

“have you been married before?”

“I can assure you that I have never been married in all this life of mine.”

“have you ever loved someone before? If yes, do you think you could ever love me in future?”

“I will not lie to you wen chang. Yes I have had someone in my heart. He held all of my heart in his palm but we were never meant to be. I lost him before I could ever be with him. And as for your other question, I have not yet fallen for you, wen wen, but I can see myself doing so very easily.” She looked in his eyes with all her honesty laid open for him.

This man, she thought, this man can be my undoing. What are you doing to me donghua, even in your mortal form, I cannot resist you?

Wen chang on the other hand, was sad to know that his fears were true and he will not be the first man to hold her heart but at the same time, he felt reassured that he will not have to compete for her affections. For he thought that one cannot compete with someone that does not exist, unaware of the truth of his own existence. Mistaking her past beloved to be dead, he felt like he could easily make her fall for him with his sincerity and love. Pouring all his love into his eyes for her to see, he held her tight against him. “jiu jiu, thank you for pacifying my heart. You have made it rest easy by telling me that. And for what you ask of me, I give you my word. I will trust all that you say and do. And I will be loyal to you my whole life.”

Feng jiu was touched and overwhelmed by the trust and love he had shown her. She could see his sincerity and promised herself to never let her love for donghua interfere with her feelings for wen chang, he was his mortal self and was thus a part of him. Any and every part of him will always have any and every part of hers with him.

“thank you, wen wen, for giving me your word, for giving me you trust and loyalty. I am honoured that you deem me worthy of it. as you have fulfilled what I asked of you, I will give, what you asked of me. I promise you an honest and open chance in no way will I retreat or disregard your affections. Whatever may come of it will be true and from my heart, unfiltered. But please be careful with my heart, for it is very fragile.” As she said this to wen chang, she caressed his face with one hand and placed her other hand on top of his heart.

“you will not regret your decision, I promise. I will give you all the love, honesty, trust and respect, you deserve.” He said solemnly, lost in her eyes.

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