Chapter 368: A Precious Gift
"Either way, it seems I survived thanks to you. Thank you for helping me."
Because he had gone to call for help, Qiong Xing had gotten away with only a brief collapse.
If he had been left there alone, he might have ended up bedridden for days.
In the worst case, he might even have died.
There were many things to think about later, but for now, Qiong Xing simply thanked his savior and wrapped his arms around the small body that had thrown itself at him.
"By the way, Lingxiao can take human form now. Have you two seen him yet?"
"Yeah. He was tiny and adorable."
"For someone his age, that’s more than impressive."
Receiving praise from the two of them seemed to make Lingxiao happy as well.
With a small pop, Lingxiao transformed once more and tried to throw himself into Qiong Xing’s arms.
"NO!"
The child who is still sitting on Qiong Xing’s lap immediately pushed him away.
Lingxiao burst into tears.
"Hey now. We talked about this, didn’t we?"
Even if this child had saved him, that was a separate matter from allowing him to be rough with his children.
Still feeling somewhat weak, Qiong Xing sat up and gently lifted the child from his lap before gathering the crying Lingxiao into his arms.
"That surprised you, didn’t it? It’s alright."
"Waaah... m-mamya... hic... mamya... waaah..."
Qiong Xing soothed Lingxiao as he cried and clung to him.
Meanwhile, the cat, perhaps realizing he had been scolded, reverted to his cat form and sat there looking dejected.
Qiong Xing placed a hand on his head.
"I’m very happy that you’ve grown attached to me. But these children are very precious to me. If they get hurt, it makes me very sad."
"Meow~"
"Good boy."
The cat let out a soft cry that sounded suspiciously like an apology.
Qiong Xing could only smile wryly.
He wished the cat would gradually become more comfortable around the rest of the family.
Unfortunately, despite everything, the cat still seemed unable to fully trust other people.
He remained attached only to Qiong Xing and refused to open his heart to anyone else.
That saddened him.
"It’s alright if it takes time. Really, it’s alright. These children would never hurt you. The people I love would never hurt you. Okay? So little by little, learn to trust everyone."
"Meow~"
The wounds left on a heart that had been hurt so deeply would not heal overnight.
Qiong Xing did not expect perfection.
But he would be happy if, little by little, the cat could open his heart to someone besides him.
"Since you’re a beastmen, we should think of a name that suits you."
The cat could hardly be called a kitten anymore and leaving him nameless forever would make things difficult for everyone.
When Qiong Xing said he would think of a proper name, the cat let out a happy cry.
"The only reason everyone’s accepting this so easily is because it’s you. But there’s something else we need to talk about."
"Something else?"
Qiong Xing tilted his head in confusion.
What could they possibly mean?
Were they still unwilling to accept the cat and planning to tell him to get rid of him after all?
Qiong Xing knew that someday he would have to entrust the cat to someone else.
But if possible, he wanted a little more time.
"This child will do his best too, so please wait a little lon..."
"Not that. I’m not talking about him. I’m talking about you. You don’t even know why you collapsed, do you?"
Huh?
Qiong Xing blinked his eyes in surprise.
He had not expected the conversation to be about him at all.
Seeing his reaction, Joa let out a helpless laugh.
"Just as I thought."
"The reason I collapsed?"
Wasn’t it simply lightheadedness?
Or perhaps anemia?
Qiong Xing tilted his head.
Even Leander had no idea what Joa was trying to get at.
"Elias."
"Not me."
"Not me either. The chances of it being Iseul are low too. Which means... Leander, when was the last time your rut came around?"
"Huh? What kind of question is that? When was it...? Ah."
When he thought about it, it should have happened already.
Yet there had been no signs whatsoever.
And if that was true...
"A child? Mine?"
No way.
And yet the more he thought about it, the more every path led to the same conclusion.
His mind spun as he looked toward Qiong Xing.
"Leander!"
Qiong Xing immediately threw his arms around him.
As Leander caught him, he saw the bright smile on Qiong Xing’s face.
A smile so full of happiness that it made tears well up in his eyes.
To make sure it was not a dream, Leander buried his face into the arms of his beloved mate and breathed in Qiong Xing’s scent as deeply as he could.
Only then did it truly feel real.
Without a doubt, it was his child.
"...Thank you. Thank you, Qiong Xing. Truly, thank you."
"I’m very happy too. Let’s do our best together."
"Yeah. Yeah, you’re right."
Leander covered his mouth with his hand to hide the sob threatening to escape.
A warm hand gently pulled his away.
Qiong Xing pressed a kiss to his palm.
"There’s no need to hide it, is there? If you’re happy enough to cry, then that makes me happy too... I love you, Leander."
"...!"
He was blessed.
Could there possibly be a greater happiness than this?
Could anyone ever find a mate more wonderful than the one before him?
Even if his true fated mate still existed somewhere in the world, it would not matter.
To Leander, Qiong Xing was the most precious person in existence.
The one he treasured above all others.
His beloved, irreplaceable mate.
After hearing those words, there was no way he could hold back any longer.
Being careful not to hurt him, Leander wrapped his arms tightly around Qiong Xing.
In response, Qiong Xing smiled and slipped his own arms around Leander’s back.
Qiong Xing was not Leander’s alone.
Leander understood that.
But in this moment, Qiong Xing was unquestionably in his arms.
And regardless of anything else, the fact that Qiong Xing loved him would never change.
