Chapter 380: A Day of Understanding
Rohen had actually intended to apologize for what happened yesterday, but the unexpected situation had completely thrown him off.
In the first place, he had been invited by Qiong Xing to pass the time until the man woke up, so he had been playing with the children, but things had escalated far more than expected, and he had ended up pushing himself harder than he should have at his age.
"Rui is usually quiet, but he’s very fast, of course—"
"Let’s eat."
"Let’s eat!"
Unable to listen any longer, Rohen started eating, and the children followed suit with energetic voices.
Seeing this, Qiong Xing gave up with a sigh and resumed serving food for the children.
"Mama, what about Yue’s apple?"
"After you finish eating. See, there’s fish that Rui likes too, so eat properly."
"Okay."
Perhaps because he was naturally attentive to others, Qiong Xing was not only serving his own children but also offering food to all the other children around them, urging them to eat more.
And somehow, Rohen was also being served plates just like the children.
Having run around since morning, he was already hungry, so he gratefully accepted the food.
"Forget about that and sit properly and eat. You barely ate anything again, right? At least eat this much... no, eat just this much."
While he had been absorbed in eating for a while, before he knew it, Qiong Xing was now the one being fussed over by the man sitting beside him, being told to eat this and that.
He kept shaking his head, saying that it was too much.
"I noticed you haven’t been eating much. Are you feeling unwell?"
Compared to the last time they had eaten together, it was clearly much less, and Rohen worried that he might have caught a cold.
He regretted barging in so early in the morning and wondered what he had done.
"No. I’m pregnant with his child right now, so I don’t have much of an appetite. It’s not to the point of vomiting, and I can eat slowly, so please don’t worry about it."
The unexpected statement about pregnancy left him completely frozen in shock.
"...Eh? Um... what?"
He could not keep up.
"Yue is going to be an older sister!"
"And Rui is going to be an older brother!"
The twins seemed delighted about the new sibling, smiling proudly as they happily continued eating.
However, thinking about it, it now made sense why Leander had been so attentively taking care of Qiong Xing.
"It’s probably a beastman. When the baby is born, Rohen, please hold them too."
"You can already tell?"
Rohen tilted his head in confusion.
From Qiong Xing’s figure, there was no obvious sign of pregnancy, yet his tone carried certainty.
"For beastmen, the pregnancy period is shorter than that of human. Also, the babies are much smaller. You probably couldn’t tell because of the clothes too, right?"
He had been wearing loose clothing, likely to accommodate his growing body, so it had not been noticeable at first glance.
In just one day, Rohen found himself being overwhelmed with things he had never known before.
"...Is that really alright?"
Even if Qiong Xing had allowed it, Rohen wondered if he, who had once denied them so strongly, was really allowed to hold the child that would be born.
When he looked over, Leander made a bitter expression, but still nodded.
"To be honest, I still can’t accept you... but... if it’s what Qiong Xing says, I want to believe it."
That reaction was probably only natural.
If anything, it was generous, and Rohen felt that he would work hard from now on.
"Since the child Papa has given permission, please do so."
"Yes. I would be honored to hold the baby."
After spending even a short time with the twins, he understood.
There were certainly differences in physical ability, but they were no different from any other human children.
They played together, ate together, and laughed together.
There was no reason anywhere to look down on or despise them.
"Alright, after you finish eating, it’s work time for everyone. Today this big brother will also be helping, so let’s do our best!"
"Okay!"
It seemed that leaving was not an option.
But if it meant not having to be chased around, Rohen felt relieved as he let out a breath.
Then—
"If we finish quickly, it seems the big brother will play with us again."
"Yay!"
A slight dizziness hit him.
Things were being decided without his knowledge.
However, seeing the children’s joyful faces, it was not the kind of atmosphere where he could say otherwise now.
His smile stiffened as he could only nod along.
"You’ve got it rough."
Only Leander offered him words of sympathy.
"Thank you very much for today."
"No, I should be the one apologizing for intruding so early in the morning. It was a good learning experience."
After dinner and bathing all the children, it was already late, and Rohen prepared to leave.
Qiong Xing saw him off.
"I’m glad I wasn’t a nuisance. Also, please take this as thanks for today, and give some to the captain as a souvenir."
In addition to the preserved foods seasoned with soy sauce that had been given before, there were now also items seasoned with miso.
Qiong Xing handed over a bag filled with them.
"I’m really sorry for all of this. The captain will definitely be pleased."
Rohen bowed his head apologetically, but accepted it happily.
"...Big brother, are you leaving?"
Noticing Rohen preparing to go without them realizing, the twins ran up to him.
"Yes. I’ll come visit again, so will you play with me again?"
"Yes!"
The two looked a little lonely, but Rohen unexpectedly knelt down to meet their eyes and smiled, promising to come again.
To the twins, who did not know about the earlier conversation with Qiong Xing that morning, Rohen was simply a kind big brother who played with them.
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