A Former Police Officer Who Died And Get A Second Life!-Chapter 90: The Fear of Loss

Still afraid of humans other than Qiong Xing, Cari tried to put distance between them little by little.

But without stopping him, the old woman walked into the field, picked a few tomatoes, and handed them to him.

"You’re hungry, aren’t you? If you don’t mind, please have these."

"...... "

He was hungry.

He really was, but he hesitated, unsure whether it was okay to simply eat something given by a frightening human.

Not knowing whether he would be scolded for eating it, or scolded for not eating it, he froze in place. Then he felt something rustling inside his bag.

"Mayo?"

Just as he reached toward the bag to see what was wrong...

"Cari! Cari, where are you?!"

"Mama, Mama!"

He quickly run toward the voice and saw his Mama looking strangely disheveled.

His usually beautiful silver hair was messy and his clothes were so covered in mud it looked like he had come through who knew where.

With sweat on his brow, Mama rushed over toward him.

Cari burst into tears and threw himself into his arms and he hugged him tightly.

"...Thank goodness. I’m so glad."

As he held him so tightly it almost hurt, Papa Leander came up from behind and wrapped his arms around them as well.

"Without Mama, Cari looked and looked, but Mama wasn’t there..."

As he remembered the fear from earlier, tears spilled over and he gently stroked his back.

His beloved Mama’s hands.

His beloved Mama’s scent.

"You searched so hard, didn’t you? I’m sorry I couldn’t find you sooner. I’m truly glad you’re safe."

He had thought he’d been left behind again.

His real mother had left him, but he loved his Mama now more than anything.

He never called him a failure, never hit him for being noisy no matter how much he cried.

He fed him delicious food every day, made delicious juice, and cooked sweet, wonderful foods he had never tasted before.

When he called his name, he smiled, and when he said he loved him, he hugged him.

He loved his Mama more than anyone.

"Cari wanted to give Mama leaves, but Mama wasn’t there, and Cari looked but Mama wasn’t there, so I thought Mama had left Cari, and Cari would be alone again... but Cari doesn’t want that. Cari wants Mama. Cari only wants Mama."

When Cari said he wanted Mama, Qiong Xing cried while smiling and told him, "I want Cari too."

"You tried so hard to search for me for my sake, thank you. But please, don’t go anywhere alone. When I realized you were gone, I felt like I was going to die."

"I’m sorry!"

"To me, Cari is more important than any leaves. Please don’t let anyone take my precious Cari away from me."

"Cari loves Mama too!"

As Qiong Xing cried and apologized over and over, he stroked Cari back and kissed his forehead.

"I’m glad it looks like your Mama had found you. So you’re Qiong Xing’s child."

When the old woman who had given him the tomatoes said that, Mama smiled and thanked her, so Cari, although he still a little bit scared offered his thanks as well.

"Thank you for the tomatoes."

"Both mother and child are grateful for your help. I’m truly glad it was you who found him."

"No, I didn’t do anything. That child did his best on his own. Take the tomatoes home and eat them together with your Mama."

"Okay." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Seeing the old woman smiling warmly, Cari finally relaxed his shoulders.

They were able to find Cari safely and since it was already late, they decided not to go into town and instead return to the hideout.

"I picked this," Cari said.

On his outstretched palm lay the medicinal herbs they had been searching for with Leander and the others.

The stems were slightly bent as if he had been gripping them tightly, but Qiong Xing still thanked him and accepted them.

"Thank you. You put them properly in the bag, didn’t you?"

"Mayo said to put them in."

It was a relief, even now, that Mayo had been left in Cari’s care.

Getting lost had been frightening, but surely having a companion made a difference compared to being alone.

"I see. Thank you too, Mayo. I’m relieved that both of you are safe."

It truly was a relief that they were unharmed.

When Qiong Xing realized Cari was gone, His face had gone pale and the blood drained from it.

Even so, he hadn’t panicked because Leander had been there.

Leander had immediately followed Cari’s scent, and even as he stumbled over stones and tree roots and fell along the way, they had managed to reach that place.

"Cari and Mayo had done great job. But don’t wander too far, your Mama would be worry," Leander said.

"Okay."

"Mayo~"

After that, when they returned to the hideout, they were all dirty, so they took baths to wash themselves clean.

After finishing their meal, they decided to go to bed early that day.

"Can Cari sleep with Mama today?"

"Yes, of course."

Qiong Xing then lifted Cari into his arms and got into bed with him.

He must have been exhausted from everything that happened, because within just a few minutes he began breathing softly in sleep in his arms.

Feeling relieved, he gave him a tight hug once, then gently left the bed.

"Qiong Xing?"

"What’s wrong?"

They probably thought Qiong Xing would go straight to sleep, judging by the puzzled looks on Leander and the others’ faces.

He took their hands and sat down on the sofa.

"...I was scared."

When Qiong Xing clung to them with trembling hands, Leander hugged his back.

Elias wrapped his arms around him from behind as well, and only then did he finally feel at ease.

"It’s alright. You saw him, didn’t you? He was crying loud and healthy."

"His only injury was a small scrape on his knee, and thanks to Leander, we found him quickly, right?"