Chapter 490: Your Wish Will Come True

When Que Feiling realized this, he froze in place as if someone had hit the pause button.

Although he had hugged Jiang Qingli when he left the supervision center, he’d been so afraid of being too forward that the embrace had lasted only a few seconds. His hands hadn’t even touched her, and to top it off, Xie Youchen had been watching them the whole time.

Now, the ancient tree and the courtyard wall blocked the view of the crowd, creating a semi-enclosed space.

’This... this might be the first time since I’ve known her that we’ve been truly alone.’

Que Feiling subconsciously tightened his fingers, then, realizing it was improper, quickly pulled his hands back and clasped them behind him. Only then did he notice his knuckles had curled tightly with tension.

He pursed his lips, turned his injured cheek away, and answered in a low voice, "I got scratched during a mission. The doctor said it’ll be fine in a week."

Sensing the prideful Vermilion Bird didn’t want her to see the ugly scar, Jiang Qingli played along and didn’t press him, asking a different question instead: "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"My lower back and left arm were scratched, but they’ve healed already," Que Feiling explained. "It was a leftover creation from a lab. It’s been dealt with through legal channels now. Something like this shouldn’t happen in the Roaring Forest again. You can rest assured, Miss Jiang."

"Thank you for your hard work. The Twelve Cities are safe thanks to you all."

Jiang Qingli raised her hand, habitually wanting to pat his head, but stopped halfway, realizing they weren’t in the supervision center anymore. To say the least, it would be a little strange.

Just as she was about to pull her hand back, Que Feiling instinctively ducked his head and nuzzled his beautiful red hair against her palm.

The young man placed one hand on the back of the stone bench and leaned in close.

The stiff distance between them was shattered in an instant. He was practically falling into Jiang Qingli’s arms, almost enclosing her in his own embrace.

He looked up, and their eyes met. Their breaths were mere inches apart.

Jiang Qingli froze.

Que Feiling’s face grew even redder. He was mortified and about to apologize when he suddenly realized Jiang Qingli was looking at the side of his head, near his ear.

His heart skipped a beat. ’It can’t be,’ he thought.

He glanced to the side, clinging to a sliver of hope.

But as luck would have it, he saw his red ear feathers sprouting out and fluttering excitedly at Jiang Qingli.

Avian Beastmen, unlike most Beastmen who could sprout ears and a tail, had only one area of Beastification: their ear feathers.

The small wings sprouting from behind his ears flapped wildly, displaying affection for Jiang Qingli against their owner’s will, even swaying in a courtship ritual.

In that moment, Que Feiling wished he could dig a hole in the ground and stick his head in it like an ostrich.

His self-control was famously strong, acknowledged by both the Que family and the military. But whenever he was near Jiang Qingli, he would inexplicably lose control.

During his healing sessions before, his ear feathers had popped out a few times, but because Jiang Qingli was focused on the healing, he had always managed to retract them just in the nick of time.

He had thought that after chatting with Jiang Qingli online for so long, this little problem of his would have gotten better.

’Who knew—who knew it would actually get worse!’

’I so badly want to make a good impression on her, but why do I always end up embarrassing myself and showing her my imperfect side...’

Que Feiling forced a twitch of his lips. "Um, Miss Jiang, I-I’ll put them away right now..."

He clamped a hand over his ear feathers, forcefully trying to push them back in, but it wasn’t something that would just disappear on command.

Just as he was about to break out in a sweat from anxiety, Jiang Qingli grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "It’s okay. There’s no one else here. Just retract them slowly."

Que Feiling’s movements were just too rough; Jiang Qingli was afraid he would hurt himself.

The young man obediently pulled his hand back, his face still flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry, they’re a little hard to control. I didn’t scare you, did I...?"

"Not at all." Jiang Qingli raised her hand and helped him smooth out the ear feathers he had crumpled.

Her touch was gentle, carrying a familiar and nostalgic warmth.

’This was just like when they first met, when she had gently stroked his feathers and softly soothed him.’

The sounds of the world seemed to fade away, leaving only the silence between them.

A light rain pattered against the lush, green leaves of the ancient tree, and the red silk ribbons covered in wishes rustled as they swayed in the wind.

The young man’s heart pounded like a drum, and the love that filled his heart felt like it was about to overflow.

Before his reason could return, Que Feiling grabbed Jiang Qingli’s hand, pressed it to his cheek, and raised his voice suddenly. "Miss Jiang, I... I’ve always—"

Que Feiling’s breath came in short gasps. But when he met Jiang Qingli’s gaze, he froze, his words dying in his throat.

’Isn’t this too reckless and impulsive? Will she be bothered by this...?’

A flicker of light shone in his Ruby-like eyes. Que Feiling seemed to have lost his voice. The hand holding her fingers trembled, and his head drooped.

"Sorry, I..."

"Why did you stop?"

They both spoke at the same time.

Startled, Que Feiling looked up and met her gaze.

There was no annoyance, no dislike. Her eyes curved slightly, as if she had already guessed something.

The young man’s sinking heart leaped back into his chest.

He pressed Jiang Qingli’s hand to his heart and practically roared, "I’ve always liked you!"

After shouting this, Que Feiling grew embarrassed again and buried his face in her palm.

His scorching breath fanned across the gaps between Jiang Qingli’s fingers.

Que Feiling thought for a moment, then added, "To be precise, it was love at first sight... from the very first time I saw you..."

Que Feiling’s reason came flooding back, and he was too embarrassed to face her.

That confession seemed to have drained all his strength; now he only dared to add his clarification in a whisper.

A breeze blew past, the leaves rustling loudly, scattering some of the heated air around them.

He was young and couldn’t bear the silence.

Even though he was terrified, after less than two seconds of silence, Que Feiling couldn’t help but ask, "You... Miss Jiang... w-what are you thinking?"

The fingers resting against his cheek twitched. Jiang Qingli said, "I’m thinking that you really do like me... I thought I was just imagining it."

"N-Not imagining it!" Que Feiling shot upright. He met her gaze for a second before clamping his hands over his own burning face, his voice muffled. "Miss Jiang, so you could tell?"

’It seems this is the only way I can have a normal conversation.’

’The moment I see her face, all I can think about is courtship.’

’This damn Beastman DNA!’

’It’s made me lose all face...’

But it was also thanks to his Beastman genes that he could hear every single word Jiang Qingli said with perfect clarity.

Jiang Qingli said, "Well... you often showed signs of courtship behavior before, and your ear feathers always used to pop out during our healing sessions. But something about it seemed off, so I was never certain."

"Because I was in the supervision center back then, and my status was a little embarrassing..." Que Feiling explained haltingly. The next second, it dawned on him, and he shot his head up to look at her. "You... you saw my ear feathers?!"

’And I thought I’d hidden them so well!’

Jiang Qingli nodded. "I did. I thought the healing was too painful for you and you couldn’t help it."

"It was because I like you so much that I couldn’t control it." The words slipped out of Que Feiling’s mouth. He immediately felt mortified and awkwardly tried to change the subject. "Um... my pain tolerance is very high!"

He had meant to say that his tolerance for pain on the battlefield was very high, but after the words were out, he realized how strange they sounded.

’Can you really say something like that to a girl?!’

’Que Feiling, what is wrong with your brain?!’

’I want to die.’

He scrambled to explain, but then he saw the girl in front of him start to laugh, her eyes curving into crescents.

’That probably doesn’t mean she hates me, right...?’

’She’s so beautiful when she laughs...’

Que Feiling couldn’t resist sneaking a glance, then a second, then a third...

At the same time, his heart was growing more and more anxious and tormented.

’I want to know her answer, but I don’t dare to ask.’

Que Feiling lowered his head and pressed his lips together, like a subject awaiting judgment.

Just then, a gentle pressure on the back of his head guided him to rest on her shoulder.

The girl’s voice, mingling with the sound of the wind, drifted into his ears.

"Didn’t the Divine Servant say it just now?"

"Your wish will come true."