A Former Police Officer Who Died And Get A Second Life!

Chapter 311: Qiong Xing’s Family

Qiong Xing thought it would be a waste to bring them home untouched.

After hearing that, Lian suddenly walked over and held the wrapped cookies out toward Sergei while saying softly,

"...Grandpa."

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion, but Sergei seemed to realize something immediately.

He accepted the package and nodded calmly.

"We already gave one to Grandpa Sarin though..."

"I believe she means Mr. Paulo. She is probably still a little reluctant to hand it over personally." Sergei said.

"I see..."

Qiong Xing finally understood.

Curious how Sergei had figured it out so quickly, he asked, and Sergei answered matter-of-factly, "She called him Grandpa, did she not? That means someone older than me. And the only old man this child would hesitate to personally approach is that old geezer."

The deduction was impressive, though it seemed Sergei still did not get along very well with Mr. Paulo.

In the end, Qiong Xing apologized to Narka and asked Sergei to pass the cookies along instead.

Feeling bad for him, he handed Narka some cookies he had baked himself.

"Come to think of it, I never actually taught Lian Mr. Paulo’s name before."

That was probably why Lian had become confused and called him Grandpa too.

"Then just like me, calling him ’old geezer’ should be fine."

"Absolutely not."

Not only was that rude, Qiong Xing definitely did not want Lian learning to speak that way.

So he made sure to properly explain to Lian that the man should be called Grandpa Paulo instead.

Behind him, Sergei laughed and pointed out that was not really a proper name either, but Qiong Xing never noticed.

...

"Do you have other children as well?"

The sudden question while they were working together made Qiong Xing’s hands stop.

"...Yes. Besides Lian, there are three more... no, four now."

He did not mind speaking about it himself, but he had never expected Sergei to ask something like that, which caught him off guard.

Right now, Albe was looking after it for him, but the egg had already grown too large to hide easily anymore.

Still, since Qiong Xing only described it as something precious, Sergei did not pry any further into the matter.

"...Who told you... Ah, Mr. Paulo?"

If Sergei knew about it, then the only possibilities were Narka who already knew, or him.

Sergei was not the type to casually discuss personal matters with the captains, so if anyone had spoken to him, it had to have been Mr. Paulo.

"When I handed over the cookies you asked me to deliver, he asked which child they were from."

"I see..."

This was Sergei they were talking about.

Qiong Xing had assumed the conversation would end there, but instead...

"If you do not wish to speak about it, then that is fine. But if you are remaining silent because you are worried about my reaction, then there is no need for that."

"..."

Qiong Xing did not know how much Mr. Paulo had told him, but Sergei clearly knew Qiong Xing had intentionally kept quiet about it.

It was not that he did not want to say it.

He was simply afraid of being hated if he did.

Even when he spoke about Lian before, he had acted normal on the surface, but inwardly he had been extremely nervous.

"...The twins... one boy and one girl."

"But that is not all, is it? If it were only that, then that old man would not have hesitated to tell me."

Qiong Xing glanced toward Albe.

As if telling him to do whatever he wished, Albe quietly nodded, giving him courage.

"...I told you before that I, despite being male, gave birth to children. But it is not because I was originally born with that kind of constitution. More accurately... it happened because the person I fell in love with was someone like that."

"What do you mean by that?"

After taking a deep breath, Qiong Xing set down the pen and lifted his gaze. "My partner is... a male beastkin. After becoming his mate, I gained the ability to bear children."

Perhaps this was the first time since speaking to Katarina and the others that Qiong Xing had explained it so clearly.

Even though he understood there was nothing wrong with it, the reason he had stayed silent until now was because he had been afraid Sergei might reject Leander and the others for being beastkin.

"So although Lian may have appeared completely human, beastkin blood still runs through her veins. And the twins I mentioned earlier... they both have beastkin ears and tails as they are."

Sergei listened silently without saying a word, and Qiong Xing was too frightened to meet his eyes.

"The other child is a demon. I bought him when he was being sold as a slave and raised him myself. He is Albe’s younger brother. And then..."

Telling himself everything would be alright, Qiong Xing called Albe over and accepted the egg from him.

After removing the towel covering it, he showed it to Sergei as well.

"I told you before that I had another child, did I not? This child was born recently. Besides my beastkin mate, I also have a dragon mate, so this is our child together."

"An egg? Then if they are dragonkin... does that mean this child is... a dragon?"

"Yes."

Qiong Xing chose to believe Sergei would be alright with it.

"I see... so that is how it was..."

"If you despise me because of this, then I will accept it. If you think I am nothing more than a filthy beastkin lover, then I will leave this place immediately."

Hearing such words would hurt, but above all else, the people Qiong Xing wanted to protect most were his family.

Even if this country could not accept them, then sadly, that was simply how it would have to be.

Most humans probably still viewed dragons as terrifying creatures and beastkin as filthy beings.

That was exactly why Qiong Xing almost always came to town together with Albe.