Letting go of self-restraint 6 - Can we keep him... pretty please?

Chapter 7

Jin Ling was standing in the central courtyard of the Koi Tower, waiting excitedly for his Uncles and A-Yuan to arrive. Mother had told him a week ago already that they had a surprise gift for him for his birthday and since then, he could barely wait. She had been smiling mysteriously when she had been telling him that and he wondered what the surprise would be. He had thought about a million possibilities, one better than the other, and now he was finally about to learn what it was for sure.

He was pacing around impatiently, asking his parents every few seconds, just when would the Gusu Lan sect delegation arrive. After what seemed to him like hours, he finally spotted white robes which were well visible in contrast to the azure sky. It took another eternity for them to finally land and dismount their swords.

Jin Ling immediately run towards them, not bothering with any greetings. Uncle Wuxian set A-Yuan down and his cousin run towards him as well, a wide grin on his face, shouting excitedly while closing the distance between them, followed by his parents who approached at a slower pace.

"Jin Ling, Jin Ling! We have a surprise for you. I am sure you will love him!" Jin Ling now wondered what the surprise really was about since A-Yuan seemed this excited to tell him.

Then A-Yuan turned towards his parents who were now just a few steps away from them and asked: "Daddy, can we show Jin Ling right now?" Uncle Wuxian nodded and gestured to Uncle Wangji who was holding a suspiciously looking basket in his hands.

The latter now set the basket onto the ground and nodded to A-Yuan. Then both adults took a few steps back and Uncle Wuxian took refuge behind his husband. From his reaction, Jin Ling started to suspect what the surprise would be about and he have gotten even more excited, wanting to confirm whether he was right. Could they have really gotten him the dog he so wanted?

A-Yuan glanced at his parents one last time and then kneeled next to the basket, gesturing to his cousin to do the same. Jin Ling threw himself down on the ground and watched with sparkling eyes how A-Yuan carefully opened the lid on the basket and took out a line which looked a lot like a leash. Jin Ling was now hopping up and down, his excitation and expectations growing steadily. Everything was looking well and his hopes that the surprise would be what he had begged his parents for for a long while were getting higher.

Suddenly, a black head emerged from the basked, sniffing curiously at the air and Jin Ling cried out in delight, although he made sure it would not be too loud in order not to scare the animal. The puppy looked at him and immediately jumped out of the basket, wagging its tail madly from side to side and sniffing all around him. Jin Ling reached out his hand, slowly, and the dog came closer and licked it. Then it hopped into his lap and started licking his face as well.

A-Yuan laughed next to him but Jin Ling could not be less bothered by it. He had finally gotten his own puppy! A lively and a very friendly one at that. It looked extremely adorable and he immediately fell in love with it. He was sure it would become his life-long companion, strong, loyal and intelligent, judging by the spark in its eyes.

A-Yuan tapped his shoulder to attract his attention. Jin Ling petted the dog who was still licking his face and then turned towards his cousin. A-Yuan gave him the leash and came closer, whispering: "Jin Ling, make sure to hold the least tight. My daddy does not like dogs so I do not want Prince to go running around and bothering him."

Jin Ling took the leash from the other's hands and nodded to show that he understood. He also knew about Uncle Wuxian's dislike of dogs and since he was just given one by him, he did not want to thank him by letting him be attacked by the excited puppy. He squeezed the leash tight and continued petting the small black fur ball.

Then it occurred to him that A-Yuan had called the puppy by a name. He somehow did not like it; if the dog had been his present, he should have been the one to give it a name. He pouted a bit. A-Yuan must have seen it because he quickly reassured him: "I call him Prince, but you can give him another name if you want to. That is completely up to you. He is yours now, take good care of him."

The puppy finally stopped licking his face and allowed him to pet it on the top of its head while still laying in his lap. Jin Ling continued stroking it behind its ears and was thinking hard about a good name. After a while, he came up with the perfect one: "I will call him King of the Koi Tower."

He did not notice that everyone else, except for A-Yuan's parent, came closer by now until Uncle Cheng laughed loudly and commented: "That is a good name. But there is just one problem."

Jin Ling's head shot up immediately and he looked at his uncle in utter disbelief. How could he say that there was anything wrong with either the name or the puppy itself?

His mother saved the situation when she came to put her hand on his uncle's forearm and reprimanded him gently: "A-Cheng, do not tease A-Ling."

It still took a while for Uncle Cheng to stop laughing and explain what he had meant: "Well the name in itself is good, but it does not really suit a lady, does it."

A lady? What was his uncle talking about? Then finally everything fell into place and Jin Ling understood. "Oh," he breathed out, tuning his eyes back towards the puppy. It did not change anything if his dog was male or female, but the name really did not fit quite as well anymore. He had to think of another one; one that would be more lady-like as his uncle had called it.

The puppy yawned, showing its small teeth and its adorably pink tongue, and curled into a small ball on his lap. It looked extremely cute and Jin Ling found himself enchanted by the fur ball's magic.

He had decided: "Well then, I will call it Little Fairy."

Uncle Cheng laughed again and nodded: "That is better. Although I am not sure she will remain all that small in the future."

Jin Ling did not mind his uncle's rambling; he was just content to be kneeling on the ground with his new puppy in his lap. He would take good care of it from now on, it would become his best friend. He already started planning and imagining how he would train her to go on night hunts alongside him and help him defeat all the monsters. They would become inseparable. He could not wait, although first, they would both have to grow up a bit.

But it was alright, it was his birthday today, he was already a year older. He would be able to start learning real cultivation very soon. And he would start training Little Fairy as well. They would have so much fun together, he was sure of it.

Jin Ling unglued his eyes from the best birthday present he had ever gotten and looked at A-Yuan and then his parents in turn, smiling brightly: "Thank you! It is the best surprise ever. I will take good care of her! I promise."

A-Yuan grinned back at him. "I knew it. I am happy for both of you."

The end. Sorry if it was too short for your liking, this was just a short side story. If you feel like it, I would be glad if you told me what you thought about it :)