"No. Everyone was still asleep, so I quietly left."
When Qiong Xing said that he didn’t want to wake them since they were probably tired, Fei let out a big sigh and called him over to a nearby bench.
"It’s already too late for that, but just sit here quietly. I’ll go call soone... maybe the boss."
"Huh? It’s really fine. I was just taking a walk. Once I feel better, I’ll go back to the room."
Qiong Xing insisted that there was no need to wake anyone. But before he could finish speaking, Fei had already run off.
"I’m bored..."
Normally he wouldn’t think much about it, but today he felt like he needed to be doing sothing or he couldn’t relax.
As he sat there swinging his legs like a child while waiting, Joa ca running toward him in a hurry.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. I told Fei I was fine too, but he still went to call you... I’m sorry for waking you."
Joa had probably been asleep.
His hair at the back was slightly ssy.
When Qiong Xing apologized for waking him, Joa simply smiled and gently patted his head.
"This is nothing. I can go for a walk with you or whatever you want."
"It’s just... I can’t seem to calm down... I couldn’t even feel like going back to sleep, so I didn’t know what to do."
Even while looking worried, Joa offered his hand to help Qiong Xing walk.
The two of them then walked side by side.
"How’s your stomach?"
"It feels a little tight. I don’t know if that’s the reason, but I just can’t sit still."
"It doesn’t hurt, right?"
"No. That’s why I decided to walk a little, just to change my mood."
Even though he had prepared himself, maybe he was still nervous about giving birth for the first ti.
Qiong Xing felt happy when Joa squeezed his hand with his large warm hand.
The warmth made his slightly gloomy mood feel lighter.
"Joa."
"Yeah?"
"Please carry ."
Qiong Xing stretched out his arms like a child.
Joa didn’t show any annoyance and gently picked him up.
Even while holding both Qiong Xing and the baby in his stomach, Joa’s strong arms remained steady and firm.
"What’s wrong?"
The gentle patting felt like the way soone would soothe a child to sleep.
However, sleep did not co to him.
Instead, it only felt comforting.
"I think... it might be soon."
"I see."
"...Do you think I’ll be able to raise the child properly?"
"If it’s you, you’ll be fine. Besides, we’re here too."
"...I lost my parents when I was a child. It’s not like I don’t know what parental love is. But... I’m worried whether I can do it well."
Even though the ti was short, his parents had raised him with love.
He knew that much.
But when he asked himself whether he could do the sa thing, he didn’t know the answer.
His mories only lasted until he was twelve years old.
After that... what then?
Even when he looked at the families around him, he couldn’t tell what the correct way was.
The uncertainty made him uneasy.
"I always admired the idea of having a family. But now that my own child is about to be born, I can’t help feeling nervous."
Joa and the others kept telling him that if it was Qiong Xing everything would be fine.
But inside, Qiong Xing was filled with nothing but worry.
He had never raised a child before and he kept wondering whether soone like him could really raise a child properly.
"I see. But everyone feels like that at the beginning."
"Huh?"
"Even the won here who already have kids went through that at first. Now they’re used to it and have beco tough mothers, but back then they used to be a bit more cute."
When a child was born and soone appeared that they had to protect, mothers beca strong.
Just like Qiong Xing’s own mother had been.
She had been strong enough to keep his father under control.
She was soone Qiong Xing admired deeply and above all she had been a very loving person.
"If you don’t understand sothing, just ask soone who does and besides, there’s no such thing as being good or bad at raising kids. Just look at the children here. Not a single one of them has the sa personality."
That was true.
There were not that many children here, but each of them had a different personality even though they were all lively.
So loved running around outside, while others preferred to stay quietly inside their rooms.
It was probably because of their parents’ personalities and the different ways they were raised.
"Then my child might grow up to be the kind of kid everyone worries about because they’re always getting into trouble."
"Please don’t let that happen."
"Hahahahaha!"
Qiong Xing couldn’t help laughing at Joa who complained that he wouldn’t even be able to sleep peacefully if that happened.
"Hahaha, but that’s what it ans, right? Well, the child might end up taking after Elias, but we won’t know until we actually raise them."
"They might not take after Elias. After all, the kid has three dads."
"That’s true. I’m looking forward to—ah!"
"Qiong Xing?"
"It h-hurts... my stomach... ah, it hurts..."
"Damn it, is it labor? I’m taking you back to the room."
The sudden pain surprised him and he imdiately clutched his stomach.
It wasn’t unbearable, but the dull pain kept coming again and again, making it very hard to endure.
When they returned to the room, Joa imdiately started waking up Leander and the others by banging loudly.
While watching everyone rush around and begin preparing in a hurry, Qiong Xing endured the pain.
The pain faded once, but then it returned again and again.
When he thought about how he might have to endure this for hours, he felt like he might lose consciousness.
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