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

Chapter 190: A Quiet Morning Together

"...Alright," Joa said. "But you’re not getting in the water."

Qiong Xing tilted his head, clearly wondering why.

"I can already see it," Joa continued. "You’ll slip, fall, and get carried away by the current."

"...I can’t deny that," Qiong Xing admitted quietly.

As long as he was aware of it, that was something.

"Still, let’s go in the afternoon," Joa added. "Everyone else is still asleep."

"You’re right," Qiong Xing said. "Then I’ll prepare some lunch for us."

"Just go back to sleep," Joa said. "And what’s ’lunch’?"

"It’s portable food," Qiong Xing explained.

Joa told him he could do that later, but Qiong Xing said he was already fully awake.

In the end, Joa who worried too much gave up on going back to sleep.

"Joa, do you prefer sandwiches or onigiri?" Qiong Xing asked.

"Probably onigiri," Joa replied.

"That’s surprising," Qiong Xing said. "I thought you’d prefer meat sandwiches like Leander."

That was true, those were good too.

"They are good," Joa admitted. "But... I don’t know. Rice just feels more comforting and the ones you make usually have fish inside, right? I like those."

Ever since Qiong Xing arrived, the hideout which used to eat mostly bread had started having rice sometimes.

Joa had never cared much about food before.

But the onigiri Qiong Xing made for trips were especially good.

There were many kinds of fillings, but his favorite was the one with grilled, flaked fish.

"Right? Fish is the best for onigiri," Qiong Xing said with a small smile. "Salmon would be ideal, but... well, any fish is good."

Qiong Xing made many delicious things, but he wasn’t overly particular.

If he didn’t have a specific ingredient, he would simply use something else and cook with that.

Even then, it always turned out good.

Which meant if he had everything he wanted, it would probably taste even better.

It had been a chaotic morning, like a storm that passed through quickly.

"Maybe we should go look for it next time," Joa said.

"That sounds good. Grilled salmon with salt is really delicious," Qiong Xing replied.

Joa found himself actually looking forward to it.

On top of that, Qiong Xing made rice balls with grilled fish again that day just for him.

While "taste testing," Joa ended up eating two or three, only to be scolded for eating too much.

Qiong Xing also made meat-filled sandwiches for Leander and the others and something called a fruit sandwich for Cari.

"You really have a big gap between when you can do things and when you can’t," Joa said.

He wasn’t sure if it was because Qiong Xing was full of motivation or just wide awake from getting up too early, but watching him cook so smoothly and efficiently was surprising.

"I’m starting to lose confidence that I’ll be able to stay awake later," Qiong Xing said honestly. "But it’s fine. The ones who need to work hard today are Albe and Cari. Even if I fall asleep, it won’t be a problem."

He clearly had every intention of sleeping later.

In that case, Joa figured it wouldn’t be a problem if he went back to sleep too.

There were others like Elias around, so there was no concern about safety.

Besides, he had Qiong Xing all to himself that morning and his stomach was full of his favorite rice balls.

He was satisfied.

"Qiong Xing."

"Yes?"

When Joa called out to him, Qiong Xing tilted his head slightly and walked over, asking what was wrong.

Joa then pulled him into his arms.

"What’s wrong?" Qiong Xing asked.

"Nothing. It’s just... right now, it’s only me. So let me be a little selfish for once."

As Joa hugged him tightly, Qiong Xing gently stroked his head.

"That’s unusual," Qiong Xing said softly.

"Once in a while is fine, right?" Joa muttered.

Only in front of Qiong Xing could he act like this.

"That’s fine," Qiong Xing replied. "I’m always the one who leans on you, after all. When I’m in your arms, I feel at ease. It makes me feel like everything will be okay, no matter what happens."

"I see..."

Joa didn’t know if he could truly live up to those words, but hearing Qiong Xing say that made him incredibly happy.

"Well... that alone isn’t enough for me," Joa added quietly.

"Huh?" Qiong Xing looked up in confusion.

Even while sitting in the chair, Joa smoothly began to loosen Qiong Xing’s clothes.

When Qiong Xing noticed, he quickly tried to resist, but Joa pinned him down with one hand.

When Qiong Xing tried to complain, his mouth was sealed with a kiss and stopping him from speaking.

Because of where they were, Joa did not completely remove his clothes.

But they were left so loose that they could fall off at any moment.

Qiong Xing’s face immediately turned bright red from embarrassment.

Cute.

Joa wanted to tell him to get used to it already, but at the same time, he enjoyed seeing this innocent reaction every time.

"Right now, you’re mine. Got it?"

"H-here? I-if someone comes—"

"No one’s coming yet. And it’s not like I want just anyone to see you either."

Since some time had already passed, it would be bad if someone came to prepare breakfast. So Joa lifted Qiong Xing into his arms and headed toward the isolation room.

They could have gone to Joa’s room, but before, Fei had overheard them and Qiong Xing had been extremely embarrassed.

He had refused to go there again.

"I-I can’t let anyone hear those sounds again! And Fei wouldn’t want to hear it either!"

"For me, it’d be a reward. But... yeah, I guess it’d be rough for him."

Qiong Xing seemed to feel very apologetic, but Joa didn’t think it was that big of a deal.

Sure, most people wouldn’t want to hear something like that from others, but when it came to Qiong Xing, Joa felt like Fei hadn’t exactly hated it either.