But just as Sangze’s kiss landed, his eyes fluttered shut and he collapsed onto Qiao Xixi.

Qiao Xixi gazed at the sun peeking over the horizon and let out a sigh of relief.

’Thank goodness I deliberately stalled for time. I finally managed to take down the most difficult one.’

’As for tomorrow night... I’ll worry about that later!’

Sangze would never have guessed that while the sky on the island still looked dark, dawn was, in fact, about to break.

Qiao Xixi struggled to push Sangze off of her and to the side. Just as she sat up, a gentle voice laced with immense, pleasant surprise sounded from behind her.

"Xixi?"

Qiao Xixi turned and was immediately pulled into a warm embrace.

"Jin Ling."

Qiao Xixi turned to hug Jin Ling tightly. Catching the scent of the cubs on him, she asked urgently, "Are the cubs okay?"

At the mention of the cubs, Jin Ling’s expression softened even more. "They’re doing great. Her older brothers and sisters adore her."

Qiao Xixi smiled. "Of course. She’s so adorable."

Jin Ling gently cupped her face, studying it intently. When he caught the merman scent on her, his gilt-colored eyes faltered for a moment, but he quickly composed himself. He simply held Qiao Xixi, burying his face in the crook of her neck and peppering it with a flurry of soft, gentle kisses.

Qiao Xixi held him tightly, allowing him to release the longing that had been pent up for days.

As her gaze grew hazy, Qiao Xixi gently caught Jin Ling’s hand as it began to wander.

"Jin Ling, I miss the cubs. Can we go see them first, please?"

Jin Ling took a deep breath and, still holding her, replied in a hoarse voice, "Okay."

"Xixi? Xixi!"

Sangze woke with a start. Seeing the familiar figure before him, he was so overjoyed he nearly jumped to his feet.

He rubbed his eyes vigorously, thinking he must be seeing things. He was really seeing Xixi!

"Yes, Sangze. It’s me."

"Xixi." Sangze excitedly swept Qiao Xixi into a full embrace. This was the first time he had ever been so forward with her, initiating such intimate contact.

Feeling Qiao Xixi’s soft body against his, his heart began to THUMP wildly, and a blush spread from his face all the way down to his neck.

"Let’s head back. It’s dawn now, and the cubs must be dying to see Xixi."

Sangze nodded and reluctantly let go of Qiao Xixi.

"Okay."

"Let’s go."

Qiao Xixi took the initiative and held Sangze’s hand. ’My feelings for Sangze have always been completely platonic,’ she thought, ’but we’re partners now. I guess we can slowly cultivate our relationship.’

Sangze’s heterochromatic eyes, which had secretly dimmed a moment before, suddenly lit up. He squeezed Qiao Xixi’s hand tightly in return.

’Oh my god, Xixi’s hand is so soft! She smells so good! I want to hug her again!’

Jin Ling glanced at the infatuated Sangze. ’He’s not so different from me earlier tonight,’ he thought. ’We both lose our minds when it comes to Xixi.’

The softness in his own palm brought Jin Ling back to his senses. He looked down to meet Qiao Xixi’s gentle, smiling eyes.

"Jin Ling, did you see Sunxiao when you were on your way over?"

Jin Ling nodded. "Yes. He said Sangze had taken you away, so I followed your scent here."

Qiao Xixi wanted to ask about the state of Sunxiao and Xijing’s confrontation, but when she met Jin Ling’s gentle gaze, she found she couldn’t bring herself to say the words.

Jin Ling, however, seemed to read her mind. "That merman is no pushover. Besides, Sunxiao knows how to hold back. He won’t seriously injure him."

"Hehehe, I didn’t ask anything. I know Sunxiao has self-control. Otherwise, he would’ve swallowed Sangze whole a long time ago."

Sangze: ???

"Xixi, why would Sunxiao want to swallow me?" he asked, frowning in distress. "I don’t even taste good."

Qiao Xixi and Jin Ling both burst out laughing.

Sangze was baffled, but he thought Qiao Xixi’s laugh was so beautiful that he started grinning foolishly along with her.

The cubs were all awake, but when they saw only Feiyan was with them, they began looking around curiously, searching for their fathers.

"Father, where did Father Sunxiao and the others go?"

Feiyan glanced into the distance. They had all heard the commotion last night. Jin Ling and the others had left one after another, leaving him behind to watch over the cubs.

’It’s morning already and none of them have come back. Could they have run into some kind of danger?’

"My little cubs, I’m back!"

A familiar voice rang out, and the cubs turned to see Qiao Xixi walking toward them.

The little cubs froze for a second before their faces lit up with excitement. They immediately scrambled on their short legs, rushing toward Qiao Xixi.

"Mama! Mama’s back!"

Qiao Xixi was overjoyed to see the cubs running to her. She hurried forward, crouching down with her arms wide open.

The little tiger cub was also thrilled to hear her mama’s voice, but she wasn’t yet steady on her feet and could only totter along behind her older siblings.

"Meeew!~"

But seeing her brothers and sisters about to plunge into their mama’s embrace, the little tiger cub started to get anxious.

A moment later, however, the little tiger cub was lifted into the air.

The little tiger cub looked back curiously and saw Qiao Lie’s handsome but expressionless little face. "Don’t worry," he said. "Big brother will carry you."

Although little Qiao Lie remained expressionless, his quickening pace betrayed that he was just as eager as his siblings to get to his mama’s side.

Qiao Xixi was knocked right onto the sand, her arms full of cubs who had collided with her. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Mama, Mama! Qiaoqiao missed you so much!"

"Mama, did you miss me?"

"Mama, I want a hug from Mama."

The cubs were like a pile of koalas, wishing they could all hang off Qiao Xixi at once.

Qiao Xixi wished she could grow a few more arms to hold all of them.

"I did! Mama missed you all so, so much!"

She sat up and gave each cub a big kiss, making them giggle and snuggle into her embrace, refusing to move.

Qiao Xixi saw Qiao Lie approach, carrying the little tiger cub. Two pairs of eyes—one red, one gold—stared at her with longing.

Her heart melting, Qiao Xixi reached out, scooped them both into her arms, and smothered them with affection.

After getting a good, long sniff of each cub, Qiao Xixi felt completely content.

Feiyan, however, was not content at all.

He had been so excited to see Xixi that he’d almost jumped for joy. But now, the cubs had monopolized her so completely there wasn’t even space for him to get near.

"How did you two find Xixi?" Feiyan asked, looking at Jin Ling and Sangze with mournful eyes. He could smell Xixi’s scent all over them. ’Those two definitely took the opportunity to get all lovey-dovey with her.’

"Xixi arrived on the island last night. Sunxiao was probably the first to find her."

Feiyan snorted. "That damn snake. He found Xixi and didn’t bring her straight back. He must have done it on purpose."

Sangze asked curiously, "Then why isn’t Sunxiao back yet?"

The words had barely left Sangze’s mouth when Jin Ling looked up to see the towering figure of Sunxiao striding toward them. Following behind him was another, equally tall and slender figure.

Jin Ling’s gilt-colored eyes darkened.

Feiyan’s fox-like eyes narrowed.

Sangze, for his part, frowned.

The cubs also noticed the approaching male stranger. All of them, except for Xiya, stared curiously at Xijing, who trailed behind Sunxiao.

"Mama, who is that?"