45. This time, Rong Rong has been picked up and brought home la~.

The wing membrane appears thin and fragile, but it feels surprisingly soft and flexible to the touch. As I gently stroke it, it feels like I can sense the veins beneath the wing membrane.

The beautiful large wings trembled, and the Crown Prince poked his head out from within the bat wings, his face flushed with embarrassment and anger. He said, “Stop touching!”

The tip of Qiu Rong’s fingertips tingled, and he wanted to continue, but under his spouse’s gaze that could kill, he reluctantly withdrew his hand.

Yan Ling curled up, hugging his knees and mumbled, “Can you just forget everything for a while? Forget about the embarrassing moment when you turned me into a cat and acted cute.”

“No.” Qiu Rong pinched the Prince’s wingtip, attempting to release his spouse, but the wings of a vampire prince were not mere decorations; they remained motionless when clasped together.

Seeing the self-isolated cat about to trap himself within his wings again, Qiu Rong extended his paw and gently touched the wing membrane, murmuring, “My spouse is so adorable. If you forget about me, I will be miserable for the rest of my life.”

The bat ball remained silent.

Qiu Rong sat cross-legged outside the wings, pondering for a moment, then extended both arms and embraced the bat ball, patting it gently. He smiled and said, “It’s not fair that you’re the only one losing face, so I’ll lose one too.”

The wings fluttered slightly, and Qiu Rong continued his efforts. “On the day of the central meeting, didn’t I ask you if you had ever stayed at a hospital?”

The wings lowered a bit more, and Qiu Rong took the opportunity to grasp Yan Ling’s hand through the gap, shaking it gently. “I wasn’t suspecting you back then, I just wanted to ask if you remembered saving a little dog in the hospital garden fifteen years ago.”

The Prince attempted to retrieve his hand, but it was held even tighter. He gave up struggling, opened his wings, and hesitantly looked at Qiu Rong. “You…”

“Woof.”

Qiu Rong imitated the barking sound of a puppy.

He bent his eyes and pounced into Yan Ling’s arms, muttering, “Didn’t His Highness say he would keep me? Why don’t you want your puppy now?”

For a while, Yan Ling remained silent. Qiu Rong embraced his waist and tilted his head up, only to see Yan Ling staring at him, lost in thought.

The puppy rubbed against the Crown Prince’s belly discontentedly.

“So, that little wolf was you.” Yan Ling lowered his eyes and stroked Qiu Rong’s hair, expressing an unexpectedly sorrowful expression. “…Why didn’t I realize it sooner?”

Qiu Rong sat up, embracing Yan Ling. “It’s not too late to realize it now.”

Yan Ling leaned against Qiu Rong’s shoulder and shook his head. “I should have noticed it the moment I saw you.”

Yan Ling never understood why he found Qiu Rong’s blood particularly fragrant.

It turned out he had already been marked long ago, even though they hadn’t formed a formal blood contract.

“It sounds like your emergency rations,” Qiu Rong chuckled.

His chin rested on Yan Ling’s shoulder as his gaze curiously followed the lines of Yan Ling’s back.

With calloused fingers, he caressed the skin at the base of the wings. Yan Ling trembled, and the large wings hanging at his sides suddenly tightened, enclosing Qiu Rong within. The two of them fell into the coffin together.

The spacious wings enveloped them tightly, allowing only a faint stream of light from above.

Qiu Rong raised his hand to touch the wing bone. “Won’t it be too heavy for you?”

“No,” Yan Ling replied, holding Qiu Rong close. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Why did you leave back then? Wasn’t it better to stay by my side?”

Qiu Rong relaxed his body and lay within Yan Ling’s wings. “At that time, I hadn’t quite mastered control over my form. I was afraid of frightening you.”

As an injured vampire prince, he occupied a private ward, with only Baize visiting occasionally.

The blindfolded little wolf cub spent his days lying in bed, eating and drinking without a care. Sometimes, a pair of cool hands would carry him outside to bask in the sun on the lawn.

The cub’s injuries healed quickly.

One day, Qiu Rong woke up to find himself alone in the ward. He touched his eyes, now restored to sight, but before he could feel joy, he realized he had reverted to his human form.

The gauze that had been covering the cub’s eyes lay scattered in the corner of the bed, and Qiu Rong panicked.

He knew that the gentle-voiced young man had taken him in because he was a “puppy.” If the young man discovered that he was human, he would surely be startled and then handed over to the police.

But if he went to the police station, Uncle would find him.

Qiu Rong desperately tried to transform back into a wolf but failed. People constantly passed back and forth in the corridor, and the young man could return at any moment. Qiu Rong rummaged through the wardrobe in the ward and found a set of patient’s clothes to wrap himself in. He tried several times, but still couldn’t change back into his wolf form.

Familiar footsteps halted at the entrance of the ward, and Qiu Rong could vaguely hear the young man conversing with someone outside.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the chance to catch a glimpse of the person who had saved him.

As the door to the ward was pulled open, the blue curtains fluttered in the wind. Yan Ling glanced at the messy room and asked Vincent, “Did you forget to close the window this morning?”

Amid the astonished gazes of onlookers, Qiu Rong ran desperately until he reached a place where no one was around, finally able to stop.

He panted heavily, his tears welling up from physical exertion, dripping onto his bare, scratched feet. The distressed child curled his toes and stood up, looking around the unfamiliar street, unsure of where to hide next.

From that day on, Qiu Rong embarked on his long journey of wandering.

The lack of control over his form made him unwilling to stay in urban areas. He fled to the surrounding villages, hiding and surviving in the mountains and wilderness. When he couldn’t catch prey, he would sneak into farmers’ homes under the cover of darkness and steal chickens or ducks, and every other day, he would bring fish and rabbits he caught to leave at their doorstep.

The harsh living conditions forced Qiu Rong, who was not yet ten years old, to fully master the transformation between his human and wolf forms. Wearing tattered patient’s clothes that no longer resembled their original state, he descended from the mountains and was taken to an orphanage by kind-hearted people.

“After not speaking for a long time and being afraid of being asked where I came from, when I first arrived at the welfare institution, I pretended to be mute. At that time, the institution’s system was incomplete, but the teacher took pity on me and didn’t inquire further, so they took me in.”

“Later, during the population census, and because I was worried that Uncle was still looking for me, I left the welfare institution and ended up staying in a city in the northwest. There, an elderly grandmother who had retired from the Supernatural Control Center adopted me.”

Yan Ling’s wings, like Count Dracula’s black cloak, enveloped Qiu Rong, making him feel safe, and he unconsciously began to speak about his past.

At some point, Yan Ling resumed his breathing. He gazed at Qiu Rong in the darkness and asked in a hoarse voice, “The grandmother who raised you?”

Qiu Rong shook his head, a hint of nostalgia and sadness appearing in the upturned corners of his lips. “She passed away when I just entered high school.”

Yan Ling reached out to touch the corner of Qiu Rong’s eye. Though there were no tears, he felt a sense of sorrow.

The wings closed in, and Qiu Rong was embraced by Yan Ling.

There was a slight dampness on his shoulder, and Qiu Rong turned his head, faintly hearing a quiet “I’m sorry.”

“What are you saying?” Qiu Rong held onto Yan Ling, patting his slender back and smiling. “It’s not your fault, is it?”

Yan Ling didn’t lift his head, and the dampness on his shoulder grew heavier.

This was the first time Qiu Rong saw Yan Ling cry.

“If…”

The rest of his words scattered in the darkness. Qiu Rong lowered his gaze, repeatedly stroking Yan Ling’s back.

On the day Yan Ling learned that Qiu Rong was the Alpha of the Wolf Clan, he was eager to leave. In addition to the anger and coldness resulting from discovering the truth and being suspected, a sense of panic surged within his heart.

…If only he had discovered Uriel’s survival fifteen years ago, a bit earlier.

…

…If only he hadn’t left the ward on that morning fifteen years ago.

…

“There aren’t so many ‘ifs,'” Qiu Rong whispered softly. “You appeared in my life at the best time, so don’t apologize.”

“I know,” Yan Ling murmured against Qiu Rong’s shoulder. “I just feel sorry for you.”

He couldn’t go back to the past to give Qiu Rong a better childhood. Although he had once held the little wolf cub, he hadn’t been able to take care of him as he grew up.

Qiu Rong cradled his little bat in his arms, his heart melting with tenderness, unsure of what to say. He kissed Yan Ling’s neck lightly and smiled, “Darling, you love me so much.”

Yan Ling didn’t even hit him; he simply leaned against Qiu Rong’s shoulder and rubbed his eyes gently, softly saying, “Hmm.”

At this point, Qiu Rong’s heart completely turned into honey. He patted his bat wings and pulled Yan Ling into a sitting position. “Oh no, what should we do? Darling has turned into a big teary cat.”

Qiu Rong went upstairs again to fetch some clothes, while Vincent silently reheated the cold breakfast.

Sitting at the dining table, the vampire clan leader accompanied the wolf clan leader for breakfast. Qiu Rong glanced at the blood bags placed far away. “It’s fine, you can have it.”

“We’ll have to get used to it in the future, won’t we?”

Yan Ling hesitated for a moment, then put down his utensils and took the blood bag.

Seeing the tasteless packaging again, Qiu Rong asked, “Is the owner of the Rong Sheng Group a supernatural being?”

“The owner isn’t, but the owner’s wife is,” Yan Ling replied. “The owner’s wife of Rong Sheng is a Glutton, mainly responsible for the business in the supernatural realm.”

Director Zhong mentioned earlier that Uriel had followed the Glutton but was driven away.

Yan Ling nodded. “She is very powerful.”

“After that, Uriel probably went to find the Dream Demon,” Qiu Rong wanted to ask what the orb of light left by the Nightmare was, but he refrained from speaking due to his agreement with Vincent.

Yan Ling glanced at him indifferently. “Vincent must have told you.”

Qiu Rong obediently shook his head. “No, he didn’t.”

Yan Ling snorted lazily, not wanting to argue with the two of them. He said, “The energy orb left by the Dream Demon is a memory.”

A memory woven in dreams.