bookbashuk Chapter 331: A Parent’s Worries
Chapter 331: A Parent’s Worries
Qiong Xing would not have minded if Lian licked him, but if the other children saw it and started copying her, that might become a problem.
When he explained that there was no need, Lian instead hugged Lingxiao tightly and told him she loved him, which warmed Qiong Xing’s heart.
"Lingxiao is covered in drool. Let’s give him a bath."
"Lian want to take a bath too!"
With that decided, everyone headed to the bath.
"Rawr~"
"...Could it be that you hates baths?"
Everything had gone fine while they washed his body and cleaned off the drool.
However, the moment they tried to place him in the hot water, he resisted fiercely.
Lingxiao flailed about and cried loudly.
The instant Qiong Xing let go in surprise, Lingxiao retreated all the way to the corner of the room.
He had wings, but he was probably still too young to fly properly.
Watching him toddle away in a panic was incredibly adorable.
"He didn’t mind being washed, so maybe it’s the hot water he doesn’t like."
Assomeone who loved baths, Qiong Xing found that a little sad.
Still, seeing how much Lingxiao hated it, he could not bring himself to force him into the water.
They settled for rinsing him off with water before leaving the bathhouse.
"When dragons are in their dragon forms, they usually just bathe in water or roll in sand. Once Lingxiao learns to take a human form, he’ll probably be able to enjoy baths too."
It seemed his original dragon physiology was the cause.
Concerned by Lingxiao’s gloomy mood, Qiong Xing had asked Raon about it and was told that it simply could not be helped.
It was a little lonely not being able to bathe together, but Qiong Xing decided to be patient and wait until Lingxiao grew a little bigger.
Ever since Lingxiao was born, Qiong Xing’s heart had been under constant assault.
One day, while his attention was elsewhere, Lingxiao had climbed a tree with the twins.
When he tried to come down, he leaped off, only to discover that he still could not fly properly and nearly fell from a considerable height.
On another day, Iseul decided it was time to teach him how to fly.
He placed Lingxiao on his back and took off into the sky, only for Lingxiao to lose his footing and come tumbling down from above.
No matter how often he reminded himself that Lingxiao was a dragon, seeing his child falling from the sky nearly stopped his heart every single time.
"...Are you alright?"
Raon watched him with concern.
Qiong Xing nodded, but he could not bring himself to lift his head.
Even though he knew he was acting childishly, he clung to Joa and could not let go.
"Sorry, but look after Lingxiao for a while. I’m taking Qiong Xing out for a bit."
With that, Joa lifted Qiong Xing into his arms and carried him away from the house.
The two of them wandered through the forest.
"Let’s take a break. You liked this place, didn’t you?"
It was the flower field Joa had brought him to many times before.
Although he had visited it countless times, it was always with Joa.
Knowing there was no one else around allowed all the tension to drain from his body.
"...Joa."
"Hm?"
"...Joa... Joa."
"What is it?"
Qiong Xing himself did not know why he kept calling Joa’s name.
Yet even though he said nothing else, Joa did not get angry or impatient.
Instead, he gently pulled him closer and stroked his back.
When had he become this weak?
Before giving birth to Lian, Qiong Xing had cried and relied on Joa like this as well.
He had thought he had grown at least a little stronger since then.
"I’m sorry."
"For what? If you’re talking about this situation right now, then it’s nothing but a win for me."
Qiong Xing apologized for his weakness and for making Joa worry because of it, but Joa simply held him gently and assured him there was nothing to apologize for.
"I told you before. I’m your mate, and all of us are your family. You can lean on us. There’s no reason to apologize for something like this."
Joa’s words made him happy.
"Raising kids is hard, isn’t it? Raon says I’m doing a good job, but honestly, I still don’t know if I’m doing it right either. A human raising beastmen and dragons..."
"It’d be stranger if you already knew exactly how to do that. It’s only natural to wonder if you’re doing things right or to worry that you’re not."
"..."
Only natural, huh?
It was true.
Qiong Xing himself had no idea whether he was doing things properly.
He believed that Lian, Rui, and Yue were growing into good children, but that was only his own perspective.
He had no way of knowing whether everyone else would feel the same.
He did not even know if he was raising the children well.
And raising a dragon without knowing the first thing about dragons was incredibly difficult.
Still, since he had brought Lingxiao into the world, he wanted to do everything he could for him.
He wanted to raise him well.
Yet he constantly felt like he was failing.
He wanted to protect him from even the smallest injury.
Those feelings, born from being a parent, mixed together into frustration directed at himself.
"Lingxiao is..."
Joa chuckled softly.
"He can move around too well for his own good."
Lingxiao had grown inside an egg.
The moment he hatched, he could already walk and even fly, albeit clumsily.
That made things easier in some ways, but much harder in others.
He could not yet take a human form, which meant he could not speak.
Communicating with him was difficult.
Things that had been possible with Lian and the others were much harder with Lingxiao.
At the same time, it was impossible to simply lock him away and keep him safe.