Chapter 411: Gentle Days at Home
"...Yeah. Um, thank you."
Even now, Naz was still afraid of being in front of others.
He often hated himself for it, but these people who still said they liked him as he was ended up saving him.
"I will say this, I only agreed because it is Naz."
"Ah..."
With just a moment of thought, it was obvious.
Qiong Xing would never so easily let go of the children who were more precious to him than anything else.
He would not casually entrust them to someone he disliked, even as a joke.
That meant Naz’s existence was recognized far more deeply than he had realized.
"Y-yeah. Ah, um... thank you. Thank you, Qiong Xing."
The fact that he was accepted, even a little, by Qiong Xing made him feel proud above all else.
...
"...O-oh. That is a pretty big accident."
"Is that really something you need to say out loud?"
Qiong Xing thought that sometimes people really did say unnecessary things, and this was exactly one of those moments.
He gently patted Rui’s head as he clung to his leg while looking down.
The child had not done it on purpose.
Laughing at him would only be cruel.
Cleaning would be troublesome, but once washed, it would be fine again.
There was no need to make him feel worse with words like that.
"Don’t worry. I will clean it right away."
"......I’m sorry."
It was no good.
He was completely discouraged.
Qiong Xing had noticed Rui’s accident late last night.
He had been woken up in the middle of deep sleep and when he looked, it was already there.
Rui had been crying and apologizing, but Qiong Xing had no reason to be angry.
He simply told him it was alright, changed his clothes, and went back to sleep.
To be honest, he had wanted to change the sheets, but everyone was sleeping together in a large bed, so doing so would have meant waking them all up.
There was no way he could do that.
So he laid a towel over the wet area, held the crying Rui in his arms, and went back to sleep.
And as expected, in the morning Leander noticed it and made a joking comment, but frankly it was unnecessary.
Completely unnecessary.
He already knew it was not something good.
Rui already felt embarrassed.
There was no need to add insult to injury.
"Did I give him a bit too much to drink before bed? I am sorry I did not notice."
It had been Qiong Xing who gave him the drink because Rui said he was thirsty, even though it was already bedtime.
This was not the first time Rui had an accident.
Lian had done it before and even Yue had experienced it.
However, those two were not the type to stay silent and look down in shame.
Instead, they would charge straight at Joa and Leander and start hitting them with impressive force.
Truly strong-willed sisters.
But Rui, who had a different personality despite having such sisters, only kept his head down and kept apologizing over and over.
"I’m sorry."
"You do not need to apologize. Everyone goes through it at least once. Even Mama did it when Mama was little."
Qiong Xing had also experienced it as a child, and it had been very embarrassing.
He remembered how confused he had been, and when he told his mother, she had smiled and told him it was fine, quietly changed the sheets so his father would not notice, and helped him change clothes.
That was why he understood Rui’s feelings so well, and gently patted his back.
"Ah, um... I am sorry. I did not mean to make fun of Rui."
"It is not about that. If you do not want to be hated, do not say that kind of thing in front of Rei."
"O-okay. I am sorry, Rui."
Leander seemed to realize he had been wrong and apologized sincerely.
"Can you help with the laundry? Please step on it together with Yue."
"Okay."
Qiong Xing decided to have them help with washing so Rui would not stay depressed all day.
He thought that doing it himself might help ease his feelings.
Then he went to call Yue, and as expected, she got angry and rushed straight at Leander after hearing what happened, scolding him for making Rui cry.
"Papa Leander is mean! Rui already said sorry properly! That is not okay!"
"I said I was sorry. I already apologized to Rui."
Leander said that while glancing at the two of them as he filled a wooden tub with water and lathered up soap.
"Alright, Rui. Do your best."
"Okay."
After soaking the sheets, Rui was asked to step on them barefoot.
Yue, who also wanted to help, joined in midway and happily stomped along with him.
"Lian wants to do it too!"
For some reason Lian also joined in, and the three of them stepped on the sheets together until all the dirt was gone and they became clean.
"You all worked so hard, so today I will make your favorite meal."
"Lian wants miso soup!"
"Yue wants meat!"
"..."
Rui, who was still looking down, was gently made to lift his face by Qiong Xing’s hand.
"What do you want, Rui? You worked hard too, so Mama will work hard and make something delicious just for you."
"...Rui... fish..."
"Then let’s make rice bowls. Fish for Rui and meat for Yue. I want to make it tasty, so I would be happy if you help me, okay?"
"We will!"
Seeing their smiles return, Qiong Xing felt relieved and smiled.
After that, while everyone was cooking together, Cari and Albe also came over, drawn by the smell, and it turned into a fun group cooking time.
"Sweet and kind Rui made this especially for Papa Leander. You should be grateful, yes?"
"...Y-yeah, thanks, Rui."
Leander accepted the bowl that was handed to him, his face twitching slightly.
This much should be enough punishment.
"Rui, this also looks very delicious. Thank you."
Qiong Xing had originally said he would cook, but with so many people around, they ended up preparing ingredients together and the children freely added toppings to the rice.
Rui also made another one for Qiong Xing.
Perhaps it was his preference, or perhaps he was thinking of Qiong Xing’s appetite, but various kinds of fish were placed on top.
"I love Mama."
"I love Rui too."
They smiled together as they ate and the meal was very delicious.