Chapter 168 - 167 – Explanations And Realisations

Princess Una froze when she caught sight of Ren, and at the expression on her face, Fang, too, turned around and saw Ren in the doorway, looking impossibly pale.

"Chairman Ren, it's not that Fang doesn't care about you – he does, very much so. It's just that he is very young, and he has confused gratitude and affection with romantic love. Please forgive his inexperience and allow him to have a clean break up with you," Princess Una said gently, ignoring the twinge in her heart that occurred at the sight of Ren's pale face.

The man really looked as if he was about to disappear into thin air, she thought with a sigh. She would have actually liked to have this man as her brother in law, in fact, but at the moment, Fang's welfare was more important than anything else in her mind.

"What?!" Fang cried loudly. "No! No way! I'm not breaking up with Ren, and I never said that I wanted to!" His wrenched his hands free from his older sister's and rushed to Ren. He caught Ren's shoulders desperately, looking at his handsome face earnestly, his purple eyes filled with panic. "Ren, you have to believe me, I don't want to break up with you! I never said that! My sister has misunderstood something about our relationship! I will explain it to her properly, all right? We're not breaking up! We'll never break up! Ren, you have to believe me!" he said desperately, his fingers clenching tightly on Ren's frail shoulders.

Ren winced slightly, and he could feel the bruises forming on his shoulders from Fang's desperate grip, but looking at the sheer panic on the beautiful young face of his beloved fiancé, Ren couldn't bring himself to say anything.

Tears pooled in Fang's eyes. "Ren, please believe me…" he begged. "I never said I wanted to break up with you, I really didn't. I don't want to break up with you! Not now, not ever! Please believe me, Ren!"

Ren took a deep breath, trying to bring his own emotions under control. He would be lying if he said that he had not received a huge, horrible shock when he heard the words of Princess Una – and it felt like someone had punched a hole into his chest, right through his ribs, and was clawing out his heart from within his rib cage at the thought of losing Fang. But even though Ren felt that he may cease to exist if he lost Fang – or if Fang walked out of his life – if it was true that Fang needed some distance from him, if it was true that Fang needed to break up with him for Fang's own welfare – then Ren would not hesitate. His love for Fang was all encompassing, and it meant that he would do whatever was in the best interest of Fang, and whatever made Fang happy. And thus, in the moment that he had heard Princess Una's words, Ren had decided that if Fang felt the same way as his older sister, Ren would step back without any hesitation. Perhaps he could also try working on creating a portal back to his original world…

But now that Fang was clinging to him so desperately, and begging Ren to believe him, Ren knew that at least the idea of a break up was not something that Fang himself had agreed with.

"Please believe me, Ren…" Fang pleaded again. Tears dripped down his fair cheeks, and he looked so miserable that Ren felt his heart ache.

"All right," Ren said quietly, with a heavy sigh. "I believe you." He reached out and wiped the tears off Fang's face with gentle fingers. "Don't cry, all right?"

That made Fang cry even harder. For some reason, Fang felt that his hold on Ren was getting weaker and weaker, and something was telling him that if he didn't manage to hold on to Ren somehow right now, that if he let Ren slip through his fingers right now, he would lose Ren forever and Ren would disappear into thin air, and then Fang would never be able to see Ren again.

And that was the last thing Fang wanted. It didn't matter what anyone else thought or said about their relationship – in Fang's heart and mind, he was very, very clear that Ren was the one for him, and that other than Ren, there would never be anyone else that would walk into his heart and rule over his affections. And it terrified him that Ren would not understand this, and that Ren would believe his older sister's words and think that it would be better for Ren and Fang to break up – and Fang didn't want that to happen. Because he knew better than anyone else that when it came to Fang's welfare, Ren would not hesitate to do anything at all, no matter what the cost, because in Ren's head, somehow, Fang's welfare was the most important. Any idiot could swindle the great Chairman Ren in the name of his beloved Fang's welfare or by praising Fang! And while Fang and Ren did have a conversation on this matter after the whole debacle with the online discussion boards and websites that were maligning Ren under the guise of supporting Fang – Fang wasn't sure if he had managed to get the message across to Ren loud and clear, and made the older man understand properly that just as Fang was the most important to Ren, Ren was also the most important to Fang!

No, Fang had to make Ren believe him today, no matter how much he had to cry and beg and throw tantrums – Fang would do everything to make Ren believe him. If Ren disappeared from his life, what would be left with Fang? How could he be able to wade through life? Even if his circumstances were better now, could it compare to Ren's love? Without Ren's love, what was the point of Fang's life, even? Fang shivered. No, he definitely had to make Ren believe him and stay with him!

"You believe me? You really believe me, Ren? You won't leave me, will you?" Fang asked tearfully.

Ren sighed and caressed Fang's face. "I do believe you and I won't leave you, all right?" he said.

Fang pulled Ren into a tight hug, his entire body trembling with emotion. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry you had to hear that, love. My sister is just trying to protect me, she doesn't understand how much I need you, and how much I love you."

Ren sighed tiredly. "It's all right, my little darling," he said softly. "I will do whatever it is that you need me to do."

Fang shook his head, which was still buried in Ren's shoulder. "No," he said. "You always tell me to do what I want to do, and now I want to tell you the same thing. I want you to do what you want to do as well!"

Ren was stunned for a moment, and so was Princess Una.

Ren chuckled lightly and then cupped Fang's beautiful face in his hands. Purple and golden eyes met each other, and Princess Una could see the flow of affection between the two men.

Ren's golden eyes sparkled with delight. "My little darling really has grown up into my big darling, hmm?" he said, rubbing Fang's fair cheeks with gentle fingers.

Fang's purple eyes burned with emotion. "I have," he said in a serious tone, rubbing his cheek against Ren's palm exactly like Snow did when she was being petted by one of her fathers. "Ren – do you not like it? Do you – do you not like me being like this?" Fang asked in a tremulous voice

Ren sighed and patted Fang's face, looking up into the intense purple eyes of the young man who was now a bit taller than him.

"Don't you know better than anyone else how much I have been looking forward to my grown up big darling?" he asked softly. "Don't you know better than anyone else how much I like it? How much I like you?"

A slow smiled bloomed on Fang's face and if one were to ask Ren, he would say that he could see flowers blooming all around his beloved fiancé when he smiled like this.

Even Princess Una was stunned, and she had to rethink her earlier thoughts about Fang being mistaken about gratitude and dependency and love. This was not the look of someone who was confused. This was true love, and she was willing to bet on it. She had to admit that she was rather relieved, too. After all, she would be hard pressed to find a brother in law as suitable and devoted to her little brother as Chairman Ren!

And Fang's next move confirmed Princess Una's thoughts beyond all doubt.

Because Fang cupped Ren's face with his hands and pulled him into an intense kiss!