Chapter 382: Lian the Big Sister
"She will realize it eventually. But how she thinks about it and accepts it will be up to Lian."
"Yeah. But Qiong Xing... no, maybe that’s exactly why. That’s why he doesn’t get angry even when Lian clings to him more than the others."
Qiong Xing did not treat the twins and Lian differently in terms of affection.
That was not the case, but perhaps to prevent her from worrying about physical differences, or so that even if she did worry she would consider them trivial, Qiong Xing never pushed Lian away even when she clung to him, no matter how busy he was.
The truth could only be known by asking Qiong Xing himself, but perhaps, as someone who was also human like Lian, he had thought carefully about something like that.
"Well, if she’s not crying, it’s still fine. More importantly, go do something about that noisy kid who’s screaming nonstop."
"That one... well, we can only rely on Iseul."
Elias and Albe both looked completely exhausted by the nonstop crying that had been echoing since morning.
When Qiong Xing had left, he had waved goodbye so casually that everyone assumed things would be fine.
However, a few hours after he left, they realized that assumption was wrong.
Until now, Lingxiao had been receiving magic power like food from Qiong Xing. But when mealtime came and Qiong Xing did not appear, Lingxiao tilted his head in confusion.
Then, when his father Iseul tried to give him magic power instead, he had been deeply shocked.
Unlike when he had been an egg, Lingxiao could now walk on his own, and he did not necessarily need to receive magic power from Qiong Xing.
Because of that, Qiong Xing had left him with Iseul and taken only the twins and Leander with him.
But Lingxiao who is unaware of this had been crying nonstop in confusion over why it was not his Mama.
"That guy Iseul? No way. He’ll just end up crying together with him."
For some reason, Albe was unusually strict toward Iseul.
"...I can’t deny that, but we have no choice but to make him try. Or maybe we should make Raon handle it."
Elias suggested letting Raonwho was good at taking care of others due to looking after his younger sibling, handle it instead, but Albe shook his head at that.
"If he can’t calm him down, he’ll just get angry and end up making him cry even more."
"..."
It could not be denied.
Raon was indeed caring, but also short-tempered.
"Well, fine. Let’s all go check on him once—huh? Wait. Isn’t he already quiet?"
"Huh? Oh, you’re right."
Confused, Albe was pulled along as they headed toward the room where the crying had been coming from just moments ago.
"...Lian is amazing."
"Yeah."
There were endless questions, such as how she had managed it or what exactly she had done to make it happen.
However, seeing Lian gently holding Lingxiao as they both napped peacefully together left Albe and Elias speechless.
"Lian told Lingxiao that she also misses Mama when he’s not here, so let’s take a nap together."
Iseul, though looking a little tired, finally seemed relieved as he let out a breath.
Mama was not here, but Lingxiao had been invited by his beloved older sister, who resembled Mama, to sleep together.
He had stopped crying and ended up falling asleep.
"If Lian hadn’t stayed behind, I should thank Qiong Xing for this."
"Yeah. Otherwise we definitely would have been sleep deprived."
Even as his own daughter, she had done well.
He would have to praise her when she woke up.
"Still, I thought it was strange how easily she sent them off. Lingxiao probably didn’t understand."
"Yeah. It seems he thought Mama would come back right away."
Well, they are still young, he thought with a nod.
Since things had finally calmed down, they quietly left the room so as not to wake them.
"By the way, where is Raon?"
"He got headbutted by Lingxiao while Lingxiao was crying and rampaging, and passed out."
It seemed the parent and child pair had thoroughly worn out the older brother.
Feeling a bit sorry for him, they picked up Raon who was lying in the corner of the room and carried him to a bed.
...
Even with a child in his belly, Qiong Xing’s daily life did not change much.
He continued cleaning, doing laundry, preparing meals, and taking care of the children as usual.
However, compared to normal days, he did feel more easily tired, so he made sure to take breaks in between tasks.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. I was just taking a short break."
Qiong Xing smiled at Leander who had approached him worriedly and Leander let out a relieved breath before sitting down beside him.
"I wonder if Lingxiao is alright. I think Lian is there, so it should be fine."
He suddenly thought about the family he had left behind.
"Why Lian in particular? Normally it would be Iseul. You were even waving and smiling, weren’t you?"
Leander tilted his head, and Qiong Xing gave a wry smile in response.
"Knowing Lingxiao, he probably didn’t even realize I was waving at him. And I don’t think Iseul would be able to calm him down if he started crying. The only one I can really rely on is Lian."
"...Isn’t Raon there too?"
Leander seemed to imagine the situation and suggested Raon while making a bitter expression, but Qiong Xing shook his head.
"Raon is the type who likes to take care of others, but he is not very patient. If you shout at a crying child, it will only make them cry more. And honestly, if he were good at handling it, Iseul would not have grown up the way he did."
"..."
It was a harsh way of putting it, but Leander’s silence was probably the answer.
"Elias and Joa would help if asked, but they probably would not go on their own. Cari and Albe would also try their best if it were Lian, but Lingxiao would be difficult for them."
Comments