A Former Police Officer Who Died And Get A Second Life!-Chapter 125: Story Time

It reminded him that he was not alone anymore.

When he picked up Cari who ran toward him, the child immediately wrapped his arms around him.

At the same time, three strong arms hugged Qiong Xing tightly as if they had been waiting for him.

The warmth of their embrace made him feel safe.

"I brought a souvenir for Cari since he waited so patiently."

"A souvenir?"

Cari tilted his head, clearly not understanding the word.

While still holding the child, Qiong Xing walked toward the open area where the children usually played.

Leander and the others hugged Qiong Xing tightly for several minutes, squeezing him as if they wanted to make up for the time they had been apart.

Once they seemed satisfied, they finally returned to their work.

"When Albe and I were walking around town, we found a bookstore. So I bought a picture book that I thought Cari might enjoy."

"A picture book?"

Cari still looked confused.

When Qiong Xing showed it to him, the child only tilted his head again as if he had never seen such a thing before.

"You remember those times when you couldn’t fall asleep at night, right? I told you stories then."

Sometimes Cari could not fall asleep at night. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Maybe he had taken too long of a nap during the day or maybe he had not played enough.

When that happened, Qiong Xing would tell him about child stories from his previous life.

Since they were from a completely different country and world, Qiong Xing had to add many explanations along the way. But by the end of the story, Cari would always fall asleep peacefully.

Among them, the story about The Golden Cucumber Child and The Giant Ogre was Cari’s favorite.

Cari would like to chase Fei who was pretending to be the ogre around with his friends and shouting that he would defeat the demon.

Of course, Qiong Xing even gave him Golden Cucumber like in the story.

Since real Golden Cucumber was impossible, he used sweet bean rice cakes instead.

Cari would hand them to his friends and increasing the number of his "companions."

Watching the children play like that always made Qiong Xing smile warmly.

He played the role of the "mother" in the story, though it was originally supposed to be the grandmother, Cari did not like that idea.

Joa played the role of the "father," since having only a grandfather would feel strange.

The two of them would sit nearby and quietly sipping tea while watching the children play.

It almost felt like the ideal life he had imagined for his old age.

"There are many other stories like this as well. They are written with pictures and words so they are easy to understand."

"Cari can’t read."

Cari had been happy when he heard there were many stories, but his mood quickly dropped.

He could understand the pictures, but he could not read the words.

"It’s okay. At first, I will read them. But once you get used to them, will you read them to your Papa? I’m sure your Papa have never heard these stories before either."

"I’ll read! Cari will do it!"

Qiong Xing smiled at the child who was now full of motivation.

It was probably because it was a request from his beloved mama and also because he could teach something even his Papa did not know.

With that, Qiong Xing opened the picture book.

Just as expected, the other children soon noticed.

Since Qiong Xing had told stories to them several times before even though he had not had picture books back then they were all curious.

He placed Cari on his lap and began reading.

Children gathered around him from both sides, from the front, and even leaned over from behind his back, peeking at the book while he read the story to all of them.

"And that is what happened. The end."

"..."

The story was similar to the tale of the boy who cried wolf.

Cari and several of the children clapped their hands, saying it was interesting. But a few other children looked slightly pale.

"There are good lies and bad lies," Qiong Xing explained calmly. "A good lie is told because you care about someone. A bad lie only causes trouble for others. If someone keeps telling bad lies, then one day, even if something serious happens, no one may come to help them, just like the boy in this story. So everyone should be careful not to let that happen."

"Yes!"

"...Yes."

Some of the children probably felt guilty.

The ones with pale faces answered weakly.

When Qiong Xing told them that the story time was finished for today, the children quickly ran out of the open field.

A few hours later, during dinner, several mothers came to thank him.

Apparently, the children had started crying and apologizing for their past mischief and lies.

"I was surprised that my child would say something like that so honestly."

"My child cried while apologizing too. I thought something terrible had happened."

"That’s right. It’s thanks to you, Qiong Xing."

"Thank you. Maybe they’ll behave a little better now."

Leander and the others who had no idea what had happened looked confused.

"What are they talking about?" their expressions seemed to say.

"I’m sorry if I made them cry," Qiong Xing said modestly. "But if it helped them even a little, then I’m glad."

"What are you talking about? I’ve gotten angry and made my child cry so many times that I’ve lost count."

"My child cries every time and tries to get forgiven."

"Oh, ours does the same. Whenever the child starts crying, my husband forgives them immediately. It makes it look like I’m the bad one."

"I know exactly what you mean. Every time I try to discipline the child, he tells me I’m being too harsh. If that’s the case, then he should be the one doing it."

"I know, right?"

Before anyone noticed, the conversation had turned into a complaint session about their husbands.