Chapter 384: Be Happy, Ars
"Fufu, it seems even you cannot talk back to Qiong Xing, huh?"
An elderly woman who had brought water because he must have been thirsty thanked him as Qiong Xing did the same, then helped Ars sit up and drink.
"I am glad you’re here, Qiong Xing. If I said it, I am sure this child would not listen."
From the way she spoke, it was clear that this was not the first time something like this had happened
Ars also did not deny it, so it must have been a known situation.
"Ars."
"...What?"
Thinking he was about to be lectured again, Ars kept his head down.
Qiong Xing gave a small wry smile and patted his lap.
"As punishment for keeping it to yourself, sit on my lap."
"Huh?"
His body had grown since before, but it was still manageable to sit on his lap, though lifting him would take a bit more strength, so Qiong Xing decided to have him climb up himself.
Ars looked at him as if to say "what are you talking about" and did not move, so Qiong Xing instead asked Leander to help place him on his lap.
"Do you remember our promise?"
As he gently stroked Ars’s back, there was no verbal response, but he could feel a small nod from within his arms.
"You are kind. I know you did not want to make everyone worry, right?"
It was not only that he still struggled to rely on others, but also that he did not want to cause worry for everyone by speaking up.
"But if something were to happen to you because of that, how much do you think everyone would sad? I did not bring you here for that reason either. I told you, did I not? That I want you to be happy."
No matter how painful it was, the past could not be erased.
That was true for Qiong Xing, who had suddenly lost his parents and grieved, and for Ars who had nearly been forced into a double suicide by his father’s violence and his mother.
Because there was a past, there was a present, and because it had been painful, one could wish for happiness.
"I am not your parent, but I wish for your happiness more than anyone. What I have given you are companions and family. What is wrong with relying on your family? Even if there are children younger than you, you are still a minor and still a child yourself. It is allowed for you to rely on others, even to be spoiled. So... be selfish."
To want something, to say "I want this" or "I want that," was not something bad in itself.
In Ars’s case, it was difficult for him to even wish for things, which was why Qiong Xing wanted to teach him that it was not wrong.
"Sometimes what you wish for will come true, and sometimes it will not. But wishing itself is not a bad thing. The act of trying to make it come true becomes strength."
Qiong Xing himself, even in another world, had once wished for something for a long time and was able to obtain it here.
So—
"Ars... be happy."
He gently embraced the small, trembling back that he assumed was crying.
Even if he was dependable, he was still just a child.
His body and heart had not yet fully grown.
A hesitant hand reached out and wrapped around Qiong Xing’s back, and he gently patted him as if praising him for doing well.
"Now then, rest well and show me your usual energetic self again soon."
"Okay... stay with me until I fall asleep."
At that long-awaited request, Qiong Xing smiled and nodded.
...
"Good morning, Lian."
"...? ...!"
At the voice she had been longing to hear, Lian quickly looked up, only to see her Mama’s smile after several days.
The message that he would not be returning had come two days earlier.
When she heard that his return would be delayed, the thread she had been holding back finally snapped, and she had cried while clinging to her Papa.
"It is alright. I will come back properly, so let’s try a little harder until then, okay?"
"Nooo, I want Mama, Mama!"
They tried to soothe her by picking her up and holding her close, but she kept insisting that she wanted Mama instead of anything else.
Behind her, her younger brother Lingxiao could also be heard crying, likely having been influenced by her, but Lian did not have the space in her heart to care about that.
"Mama..."
"Lian, Lian. I am sorry. I will come back a little later, okay?"
"No... I want you now."
Hearing her Mama’s voice apologizing over and over, she demanded that he come back quickly, but she was told to wait a little longer.
"Mama is lonely too. So when I get back, let’s sleep together, okay? I will hug Lian tightly and we will sleep together."
"...sob... okay... sleep together..."
Normally she could not cling to her Mama because he was always with everyone else, but being told she could made her heart waver a little.
"...sniff... read me a book too."
"Of course. Let’s read together. Please choose the picture book you want me to read."
When she also asked to have a story read to her, her Mama smiled and agreed.
"I want to eat... Mama’s food..."
It was not that the meals Papa and the others made were bad, but she still wanted the food she was used to eating from hrr Mama.
"Then let’s make your favorite miso soup, Lian. And some miso-flavored stir-fried vegetables too. Mama also loves eating together with Lian and the others."
She had always sat next to Mama at mealtimes.
She wanted to eat together with her beloved Mama and her beloved food.
"Give me a hug."
"Yes. When I get back, let me hug Lian properly. Mama also wants Lian to hug me."
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