Jian grinned. "I believe our guest is coming to see you."
Confused, I opened the door. Another qilin was standing there. He looked similar to Jian, though not quite as handsome. Yes, I was biased.
The qilin looked over his shoulder as if checking to see if the coast was clear, then dipped his head in greeting and shifted to human form. He was a young man around our age.
"Bo," Jian greeted him. "It's good to see you. Kola, this is my friend Bo."
Bo smiled at me. "Pleasure to finally meet you."
"Finally?" I asked.
"Jian told me you're his fated mate. I was curious to meet the human who made a qilin fall in love with him," Bo said lightheartedly.
I blushed. Had Jian gone around telling others we were fated mates before he even told me? That was adorable.
To confirm the statement, Jian put his arm around me and pulled me close.
"Bo, this is Nikolas, my fated mate," Jian said proudly.
"Nice to meet you, Nikolas," Bo said. "I actually came here to tell you both something. Do you want the good news or bad news first?"
I frowned in confusion. "What bad news? Oh god, I hate suspense. Just tell me now."
"Whatever it is, it'll be all right, Kola," Jian soothed me.
With a sympathetic grimace, Bo pulled out his phone. He flicked through it then showed us the screen. I squinted at the video. It took me a second to recognize the scene. It was the night Jian saved me from the car.
"I don't get it," I said.
But Jian pinched the bridge of his nose. "I knew this might happen."
Bo pocketed the phone. "Sorry, Jian. This video was making rounds, and I figured I should tell you as soon as I found out, before anyone else did. Hopefully, if your parents are anything like mine, they're not glued to the internet so they don't know yet."
"What's going on?" I asked. "Are you in trouble?"
Jian gave me a reassuring smile. "Not really. Well, maybe, but only with my parents."
"Does this have anything to do with what you told me last night?"
"Yes. I suspect they won't be pleased if they get word about this video." He sighed. "I promised them I'd never venture into the human city. But I broke my promise that night because I sensed danger. Deep in my heart, I knew something bad was going to happen to you if I didn't intervene."
I was overwhelmed with emotion. My lip quivered. "Wait. That's why you showed up? To save me?"
Jian took my hands. "Yes. I wasn't going to let that happen."
We hugged each other as I got over my sensitive sniffles. Dammit, Jian really was the best.
"This means no more secrets," Jian said. "I have to tell my parents the truth, whether they like it or not."
"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I didn't mean to cause a mess in your family."
Jian ruffled my hair. "You didn't do anything wrong, Kola. We'll get through this."
I nodded. I never wanted to be a burden on him, but I also believed his reassurance. Whatever it was, we'd deal with our troubles together.
"Thanks for the warning, Bo," Jian said. "Now what about the good news?"
"Thought you'd never ask." Bo faced me. "Nikolas, in our culture, qilin symbolize many things. Luck and fertility, for example. It's a good omen for a qilin to appear when a family is trying for a baby."
