"My name is Qiong Xing. Qiong means precious and rare, Xing means a star that appears at just the right moment. My father once said that even in the darkest sky, a star will always find its way to those destined to see it. When I was young, I thought the name sounded old-fashioned and pretentious. But if it is because of this name that I was able to walk this path and meet all of you… then now, from the bottom of my heart, I am grateful to him."
His parents had passed away early in his life, and he would never have the chance to meet them again. Yet in this moment, he felt as though their intentions had reached him across time, every careful thought, every unspoken hope placed into those two characters.
"Qiong Xing… a star born of fate," Leander murmured. "Then it makes sense. It was your father who lit the path that brought us together."
"He treasured you deeply," Elias said softly. "That's why this star never fell into darkness. Because of him, we are able to stand beside you today."
There were moments when, as the images of his parents grew fainter with each passing year, he wondered when he had become someone so detached from the past.
But now, he could remember.
His mother's gentle smile as she always watched over him.
The warmth of his father's hand as he pushed him forward and told him to do his best.
He remembered.
He remembered it clearly.
It would be a lie to say that he felt nothing when he died over there.
He wanted to live with all his strength in place of his parents, who had died early.
He wanted to live without regrets until the very end of his natural lifespan and be praised by his parents, who were surely watching over him from heaven.
But he couldn't do that.
Even so, now… now it was possible.
This second life given to him by God, he would live it fully, freely, and without regrets, making the most of it in every way he could.
"I have a request for the two of you. Will you listen?"
"Yeah, sure."
"If it's for you, of course."
His gentle and reliable mates.
Mates who would stay close to him forever.
If they were with him, everything would be fine.
There was nothing left to be afraid of.
From the very beginning, rejecting them had never even crossed his mind.
The fact that he had unconsciously been calling out to the two of them must have meant exactly that.
That was why he could say it clearly now.
"Will both of you become my mates?"
...
"Will both of you become my mates?"
He was happy.
No, he is happy.
He had thought he would be rejected.
Qiong Xing was the kindest, most beautiful, most lovely, and above all, the most precious person he had ever met.
He's his destined mate.
But Qiong Xing was human, while he himself was a beastman.
The outcome was obvious. And yet, he couldn't give up.
Even if the possibility was zero, he couldn't let go of the hope that maybe, just maybe, if it was Qiong Xing, it could happen.
A beastman was still a half beast.
Once a target was set, it would be chased down without fail, driven purely by instinct.
He had hated humans.
He had lost count of how many times he wished for them to die.
If not for the collar, he would have already sunk his fangs into countless human throats and built mountains of corpses.
That day.
In that shop.
At that moment.
He knew, it was this person.
The beautiful silver hair that swayed softly and reaching down to the shoulders, the stunning golden eyes that looked at him with innocent surprise.
The body was not overly thin, but compared to beastmen like him and Leander, it was slender, and the pale, unblemished white skin, untouched by the sun, only made that slenderness stand out more.
An indescribably strong emotion pulled at him, drawing him in so powerfully that he could not tear his eyes away.
"What is your name?"
The gently spoken voice, was it out of concern for him?
Elias found himself thinking such sweet things.
The other party was human.
He kept telling himself that humans only saw beastmen as objects, nothing more.
And yet, in the corner of his mind, there lingered a maybe.
As he explained what Elias could do and saw the other nod in satisfaction, the hope in his heart only grew stronger.
But...
"There's no need to make that face. As long as you don't wish it, I won't let go of you or sell you."
The moment he saw them say that and pull the beastman beside them into an embrace, his insides felt like they were boiling over.
Mine, my mate!
Not yours. He's mine!
"Don't touch that person!"
Before he realized it, he was shouting, at the arm wrapping around, at the bodies pressed close, telling them not to touch what was his.
Noticing Elias's sudden change, Qiong Xing approached, asking what was wrong, and he pulled him close, as if declaring that he would never give him to anyone.
But it lasted only a moment.
The shop owner that was drawn by the commotion, rushed over and forcibly pulled them apart, and his eyes caught sight of Qiong Xing coughing.
Regret flooded him, what have I done?
As the shop owner raised a hand, Qiong Xing, still coughing, stopped him.
Saying that it was fine, that they would get used to things as family from now on—
He had never seen such a sight before, and yet Qiong Xing looked like a goddess, so kind it made him want to cry.
He had lived his life as a slave.
Being picked up by a slave trader when he was young, passed around from place to place because of his looks and because he wasn't completely stupid.
But as he grew older, even that changed.
In the end, he was deemed useless, sold back to a trader, and left to wait for disposal as outdated stock.
How many times had he wondered why it had to be him?