CH 10

Waiting and Hope (Part 5)

Judging from Ling Yue’s expression the next day, it was obvious to me she didn’t want to let me leave. She didn’t explicitly state it, but her tail kept instinctively going to me. When we ate breakfast at the dining table, she looked as though she was her usual self, but her tail clung to my thigh.

Liu Yue sat opposite me and looked at me with a sad look. Her gaze really wanted to make me stay for one more day, but besides Liu Yue, my wives and mom were waiting for me. I heard about Dragon Mom from Ling Yue.

Dragon Mom hadn’t lived in the North before; consequently, she was completely ignorant of life in the North. She’d require some time to acclimate to life in the North. With that said, most important was that she wouldn’t feel restricted living in the North. After all, one must learn lots of things and abide by many rules. I wondered if she’d feel too restricted.

I had to see if I could find a way to make Dragon Mom not feel too restricted. I was fine either way. I knew Ling Yue was worried. If Dragon Mom appeared at a public event and drank water intended for washing one’s hands again, she’d become laughing stock. I didn’t care, though, since she was my mom regardless of what anyone had to say. What, I have to care about what they think of how my mom lives? How about they be considerate of her feelings. I’m the King here!

After breakfast, I went to the entrance with Luna. Ling Yue led Liu Yue up to us. Liu Yue ran over and tightly hugged me around my waist. She didn’t say anything. Ling Yue looked at me with her lips pursed. She took in a deep breath and said, “You must visit this month.”

I stroked Liu Yue’s tiny head and replied, “I can’t be too sure there. If I can, I’ll definitely be back. It’s just that there might be lots of things to handle this month.”

Ling Yue grumbled, “You already made a promise to Liu Yue. If you don’t come back, doesn’t that mean you lied to your daughter? You’re her father, and you’ve made a promise to her. Isn’t that too cruel of you?”

“Liu Yue is my daughter, but so is Nona,” I argued. A flame of anger immediately burned up in Ling Yue’s eyes. Before she thundered at me, I quickly elaborated, “If I can’t come back, bring Liu Yue over. You have Evelyn and Leah here, so it should be fine. I really want to see you there. Consider it a tour.”

Ling Yue hopelessly sighed: “If you don’t come back in the last few days of this month, I’ll bring our daughter to the Imperial Palace to see you.”

I stroked Liu Yue’s small head; her voice started to become croaky: “Daddy…”

I smiled: “It’ll be all right, Liu Yue. Don’t cry; Daddy will come to you. Plus, you actually have sisters. You have three elder sisters who are as cute as you. You’ll get to see them when you come to the Imperial Palace. I’m sure you’ll get along happily.”

Ling Yue was surprised. She looked up at me and Ling Yue with surprise. She asked, “Mommy has other children?! How come I never knew…? Mommy, you have other children with Daddy?”

“No. It’s Daddy’s other children.”

Ling Yue glanced at me with a hint of displeasure. Liu Yue, on the other hand, looked at me slightly puzzled. Children probably wouldn’t think about things they couldn’t comprehend, though, I assumed. And so, her attention was soon on her sisters who she’d never met before. She wagged her tail and inquired, “What are my sisters’ tails like?”

“They don’t have tails…”

“Oh…” Liu Yue nodded.

Liu Yue stopped thinking everybody had tails after learning her father didn’t have one. I touched Liu Yue’s ears. Ling Yue yanked Liu Yue back from me. Liu Yue didn’t cry or make a fuss, but she looked at me with very pitiful eyes.

Luna then gave me a tug to bring me back to reality. I sighed and gave Liu Yue one last kiss on her forehead. I caressed her ears one last time then turned around and left.

I went everywhere I could, so it was time to go home. I guess you could consider the journey a big adventure for me. The ending was a happy one. People always tell stories of heroes bathing in dragon blood, and then returning home to a happy life, don’t they? In that case, I should, indeed, go home and live happily together with my family.

Liu Yue watched her father leave with a blank look. While holding her mom’s hand, she softly remarked, “Mommy, Daddy’s… Daddy’s embrace is so warm…”

Ling Yue smiled and softly asked” “What, you like Daddy a lot, Liu Yue?”

With a sad look, Liu Yue answered in a soft voice: “Uhm, I like Daddy. Daddy is truly gentle, and he really likes me… If only I could always be with Daddy… But… why can’t Daddy stay with us…? I really want to live with Daddy…”

Ling Yue rubbed her daughter’s head with a smile. She explained, “It’s all right, Honey. Despite not being by your side, he’s still your father, isn’t he? Your daddy will be back to see you. If he doesn’t come back this month, we’ll go see him at the Imperial Palace. Haven’t you always wanted to know where your Daddy lives?”

“Uhm!” Liu Yue responded with a firm nod. “Mommy, I want to know about my sisters. You’ve never told them about me, Mommy. I’m surprised to know I have sisters. I’ve never heard them mentioned.”

Ling Yue crouched down. She shook her head: “It wasn’t because Mommy didn’t want to tell you. Mommy just isn’t too certain of things on their end. Mommy has never seen them before, but seeing as they’re your father’s children, they shouldn’t be bad girls. I’m sure you’ll all be able to get along in the future. You all like your daddy, don’t you?”

“Uhh…” Liu Yue didn’t reveal a smile. Instead, she looked conflicted.

Ling Yue suddenly began to panic. The reason Ling Yue was unwilling to be with Nier and Lucia in the past was because she didn’t want to compete with them. When she looked at her daughter, she felt a sense of déjà vu. It was the same as seeing herself and those two women…

“Liu Yue, Mommy needs to tell you this. Your sisters don’t share the same mother, but you share the same father. Therefore, you don’t need to compete or anything. Honey, you have no reason to compete for anything with your sisters. After all, your father won’t leave you girls.”

Liu Yue looked at her mom with puzzlement, but Ling Yue didn’t continue explaining further. She just looked at her daughter with a tinge of concern.

“Liu Yue is still young and unaware of those things, but it won’t happen in the future, either, would it…? It’s only something that I’m concerned with at this stage. My daughter probably won’t be like me, would she…?” wondered a worried Ling Yue.

========

Ten years later.

“So you went behind our backs, Liu Yue?”

At the table at breakfast, Liu Yue saw an angry Daisy, an awkward Nona and Vera, who was smiling as per usual. She nonchalantly sat down and picked up her breakfast. Although she wore a very normal expression, her tail that represented her mood was cheerfully wagging around.

Daisy slammed the table and stood up. She looked at Liu Yue with an angry look and exclaimed, “The rule was not to disturb Mom and Dad last night. Liu Yue, you went to their room last night. Doesn’t that mean you destroyed the balance between us?!!”

“I was scared, because I had a nightmare. That’s why I went to sleep with Dad. I always do that at home.”

Liu Yue looked at Daisy with a nonchalant look. Though she knew Daisy was the angriest, she also knew Daisy was actually the easiest to deal with. The toughest one to deal with was Vera, who was spreading butter. Nona could be ignored. Nona was always the peacemaker and never criticised her.

“You could’ve come to us, then. Didn’t we promise our moms that we wouldn’t go to Dad at night?!”

Daisy didn’t let up. Liu Yue narrowed her eyes “Daisy, how did you find out I was with Dad? You shouldn’t have been able to enter my room. I locked my door when I left, and I was back in my room at dawn. Daisy, tell me, how did you know about that? Nona, did you tell her?”

“Ah? No. Daisy was the one who told us.”

The sudden question caused Nona to freeze up. Vera revealed a hopeless smile: “Daisy, didn’t you go to Dad, too? I don’t think you have the right to criticise Liu Yue. The ones who are most qualified to criticise you two right now are Nona and I. You two were the ones who put down the self-serving rule. You were also the ones who had Nona and I abide by it, yet you two were the ones who broke the rule.”

Liu Yue didn’t care, but Daisy went bright red in the face. She desperately wanted to say something, but she was powerless, because that was an irrefutable fact. Daisy wanted to sneak in, only to find Liu Yue was already in her dad’s arms, so she flew off the handle and interrogated Ling Yue right away in the morning.

“Hence, Nona and I will be in charge of accompanying dad to the flower garden today. You two broke the rules, so you should stay in the Imperial Palace with Mom.”

Vera took a bite of her bread. Liu Yue nonchalantly nodded while looking at Daisy, who was startled and looked as though she died. Liu Yue softly sighed; she knew Vera would surely find an opportunity to get rid of Nona afterwards. The one who’d get to have afternoon tea in the flower garden with her father was bound to be Vera, alone.

Although Liu Yue knew Vera was a good elder sister, when it came to their father, Vera would never show any mercy. Never. If it wasn’t for the idiot, Daisy, being unable to contain her anger, she’d pit her wits and courage against Vera at the table.

“Daisy and me are staying, so I must make her pay!” decided Liu Yue.