Long Chen was stunned as he unwrapped the gift. It was something he never expected.
"A Stone?" Long Chen asked with a frown as he gazed at the thing in his hand. It was nothing but a small piece of stone.
"I don't know what use this stone might have, but I was told by my grandfather that the stone is not a normal stone. He said that it is a special stone and that it will help our family achieve prominence, but I don't think that it's in our destiny to have that. I would like to give it to you as a gift." The Village Chief said with a smile.
'Isn't this a normal stone? Oh well, Looks like your grandfather wanted to give you some hope for the future. I shouldn't tell him and break good hopes.' Long Chen thought as he looked at the stone in his hand.
"Thank you village chief. I'll keep this 'special' stone with care." Long Chen said with a smile as he kept the stone in his storage ring.
"Lulu? Don't you want to say something as well?" The village elder said with a smile.
A girl stopped hiding behind his back and came out.
"Ah.. thank you, big brother." The girl said as she bowed down.
"Why were you hiding behind him? Am I that scary?" Long Chen smiled as he gazed at her.
'Oh well, I did behead a villager, so she isn't wrong to be scared.' Long Chen thought with a wry smile on his face.
"Thanks for everything. I'm leaving now" Long Chen said as he turned back and left.
Long Chen entered the carriage with Mingyu and Zhiqing and the carriage began moving.
In a short time, they were outside the village and on the road as they continued on their journey.
There was complete silence inside the carriage for a few minutes, before Long Chen started getting restless.
"Ah...Mingyu... about the thing from before... Is this a good time to talk?" Long Chen said with some hesitation. He decided to talk to Mingyu about the thing he was evading for quite some time.
"I want to talk to you about it as well, but you can go first," Mingyu replied to Long Chen instantly.
"Thank you. Well, the thing is that... you already saw everything that happened with Zhiqing. I'm not going to deny that I do have some feelings for Zhiqing and we have been intimate before."Long Chen said in full seriousness.
Mingyu couldn't help but frown as she heard Long Chen's words, though she decided to stay silent and not interrupt him.
"But it is also the truth that I do have feelings for you. I haven't told you before about it because I was worried that it would affect our relationship if you don't have the same feelings, but I always had feelings for you. I'm in love with you Mingyu and I don't want to lose you ever. You're my closest friend at the moment, but to me, you're much more." Long Chen said as he gazed in her eyes with an emotional look.
"You really love me?" Mingyu asked with a frown on her face.
"Yeah."Long Chen said as he nodded his head.
"What about Zhiqing? Do you love her as well?" Mingyu asked Long Chen again.
Long Chen turned silent as he looked back towards Zhiqing. His eyes met Zhiqing's eyes. Long Chen could see the hopes and feelings in her eyes.
"Yes. I love her as well. We haven't spent much time with each other, nor have we gone through life or death situations like you and me. But the moments I spent with her were all meaningful. " Long Chen replied after a brief moment.
"If I ask you to choose one of us and leave the other... who will you choose? Who will you decide to leave? "Mingyu again said as she gave Long Chen another tough question.
Long Chen was stunned as he heard her question.
"I will leave no one. If you ask me to choose only one amongst you and Zhiqing, I wouldn't be able to do it. Both of you are my woman and I'm in love with you both. In this lifetime, I'd never even think about leaving you."Long Chen said in a determined tone.
Both the girls were shocked as they heard the determination and seriousness in Long Chen's voice.
A gentle smile appeared on Zhiqing's face as she looked down.
"Good answer. Not bad for the man I gave my heart to. I'll forgive you for not telling me about you and her. You don't need to leave any of us as well." Mingyu told Long Chen with a smile.
"Does that mean?" Long Chen asked as he gazed in her eyes.
"Yeah... I'll be your woman... but I won't be like Zhiqing. I won't do the stuff that you were doing with her before I'm ready. Nothing more than a kiss is allowed for now." She started looking down as she said in an anxious tone.
"Alright. Wait. Am I hearing it right? " Long Chen nodded his head before he realized the meaning of her last words.
A bright smile appeared on Long Chen's hasn't as he hugged Mingyu tightly and gave her a light kiss on the lips.
"Heyyy... what're you doing! You don't need to be so impatient!" Mingyu said as she looked at Long Chen with an annoyed look on her face.
"I can kiss you, can't I? You said that yourself!" Long Chen gazed in her eyes and told her with a smile.
"You should've asked that before kissing me, you idiot. Yes! Kissing is allowed" Mingyu said with a wry smile on her face.
Long Chen didn't respond and simply kissed her again. This time, the kiss was more passionate and Mingyu responded to his kiss as she planned her hands-on Long Chen's back.
After kissing for over 5 minutes, they both separated.
"Father is going to be so shocked when he finds out about you." Mingyu chuckled as she said, but she soon turned melancholic as she remembered the danger that her empire was facing and that it was near a war.