After Giving Birth, All My Beast Ex-Husbands Suddenly Want Me Back-Chapter 148: Grandpa competition

"You’re saying Nina has abilities too?" Taru was stunned all over again. Nina was simply... too exceptional.

Beautiful, kind, extraordinarily fertile—and now she even possessed abilities? She was practically perfect.

For the first time, he felt his own foolish son might not be worthy of her.

"Essence stones? I think I have a few... but can Nina even absorb them?" Taru took out several essence stones from his storage space.

"She can. Just give them to her," Finch said quickly. "Do you have anything else? The more the better—high-quality beast hides or anything useful would be good too."

Finch was pleased to see the essence stones.

Nina would definitely like these.

He also hoped his father could build a better relationship with her. After all, Taru had quite a stockpile—if things went well, Finch could later help Nina obtain even more valuable resources from him.

Then he remembered the cubs.

"Yinny likes tasty food. Didi likes fun things. Linny likes shiny crystals..."

Based on his observations, Finch listed each cub’s preferences one by one.

"Let me see..."

Taru listened carefully and began rummaging through his storage space. There were so many items that it took him quite a while to sort through them.

Eventually, he separated everything into neat piles and had Finch help carry them as they headed toward Nina’s house.

On the way, they ran into Ming, who was on his way to play with the cubs.

"The City Lord of Spirit Cat City? What are you doing here?" Taru asked in surprise.

Ming was equally startled. He hadn’t expected to see Taru here. He had just returned from hunting with Mino earlier, so he hadn’t encountered him before.

Seeing Taru together with Finch, Ming quickly understood—Finch was Taru’s son.

Which meant... He was the former fiancé who had broken off the engagement with Nina.

What a coincidence.

Ming didn’t recognize Kith, but he certainly knew Taru.

"Oh? My son is Nina’s guardian beast," Ming said casually, though there was a clear hint of pride in his tone.

Your son isn’t even a guardian beast yet.

And he had even broken off the engagement—his "crime" was quite serious.

Ming deliberately didn’t mention Mino’s status as Nina’s fiancé. He didn’t want Taru catching on.

This old fox was too cunning—he had to stay on guard. At the very least, Mino needed to secure his place as Nina’s mate first.

Ideally... he’d eliminate one rival altogether.

"Your son is already her guardian beast?" Taru felt slightly outdone.

Hmph. His own son hadn’t even secured a position yet.

Though... Nina didn’t seem to have any lynx cubs.

But he, at least, had a fox grandson.

"Well," Taru said, lifting his chin slightly, "I’m on my way to bring gifts for Nina, for my Didi, and for the other cubs."

When he said "Didi," he deliberately emphasized the name, a trace of smugness appearing on his face.

Ming’s proud expression instantly faltered.

He looked... a little deflated.

Right. I don’t have any grandchildren.

Seeing Ming’s expression change, Taru felt he had finally regained some ground.

Beaming, he carried the gifts toward Nina’s house.

Inside, Taru presented the items.

"Nina, these are gifts for you and the cubs. I hope you’ll accept them."

Afraid she might refuse, he quickly added, "This is just a small token from an elder—to thank you for giving our fox clan such a lovely cub like Didi. Please don’t decline."

"Nina, just accept them," Finch added. "My father has plenty of treasures. This is nothing to him."

"Yes, yes," Taru said with a wave of his hand. "Just a few trivial things."

Nina glanced at the items in their hands.

Even at a glance, she could tell they were extremely valuable—yet they called them "trivial."

Was Jade Fox City really this wealthy?

Still, remembering that the cubs had accepted Ming’s gifts earlier, she nodded.

"Then... thank you, Uncle Taru."

She turned to the cubs. "Say thank you to Grandpa."

The cubs obediently thanked him. Even Didi added a polite, "Thank you, Grandpa."

Though his tone wasn’t particularly warm.

Taru’s face lit up instantly the moment Didi spoke to him.

"No need to thank me! If you ever want anything, just tell Grandpa—I’ll make sure you get it!"

Didi hugged the toy Taru had carefully chosen for him, glanced at him once more, then ran off to play with the others.

Taru noticed the subtle shift in Didi’s attitude and felt secretly delighted.

At that moment, Ming entered as well, arms full of his own "small trinkets."

"Cubs, Grandpa Ming is here to play with you!"

The cubs immediately rushed over, eyes sparkling.

Grandpa Ming had brought more gifts again!

Ming happily distributed the items, and soon each cub was carrying yet another pile of treasures, their faces glowing with joy.

With several cubs clinging to him, Ming shot Taru a smug look.

See? They like me more.

He had clearly noticed earlier—Taru hadn’t been nearly as popular.

Taru, on the other hand, felt a pang of envy.

Why did the cubs like that old lynx so much?

He hadn’t even managed to hold a single one yet!

Watching Didi act so close to Ming made his heart itch with jealousy—but for now, all he could do was watch.

I’ll have to bring them more gifts in the future, he resolved. Become a grandfather whom they truly like.

As they exchanged gifts inside, more males began arriving outside—each carrying offerings of their own.

Lex arrived with the merfolk, hauling several large stone vats to the outside of the stone house.

"What are you doing here again? Nina already said she doesn’t want to see you," Odian snapped coldly. "Leave. Now."

"Please inform the young female for me," Lex said, keeping his tone restrained. "We’ve brought her something—and some of it is what she needs."

Odian frowned. He didn’t dare make the decision for Nina himself, so he turned and went inside to ask.

"Nina, those merfolk males are here again. They say they’ve brought you gifts... and that some of it is something you need."

Nina glanced at the little mermaid cub, who was happily splashing in a basin of water.

Something I need? Could it be related to her?

After a moment’s thought, Nina decided to go take a look.

She picked up the little mermaid, gently drying the droplets from her body with a piece of soft beast hide. The child’s clothes, woven from sea-silk, didn’t retain water—only her skin needed drying.

Carrying her in her arms, Nina stepped outside.

"What are all these for?" she asked, her gaze falling on the stone vats.

Inside them were all kinds of fresh seafood—fish of every variety, along with shrimp and shellfish.

"Lady Nina... I’m sorry," Lex said, his voice thick with remorse. "We’ve come to apologize. These are the finest seafood we could gather."

His expression was earnest, almost pleading.

"What happened before—it was entirely my fault. I swear to the Beast God... after that, I never had those thoughts again. And I never will."

He stepped closer and carefully handed her a small bottle.

"This is deep-sea oil. If Mimi’s skin ever dries out, you can apply a little."

He hesitated, then continued more softly,

"And... although our merfolk can live on land, Mimi is still young. She needs to soak regularly in seawater infused with oceanic energy. My ability can provide that."

There was a fragile hope in his eyes now.

"Could you... give me another chance? Let me stay, so I can provide seawater for her?"

What he truly wanted to say was let me stay by your side—but he didn’t dare.

Nina frowned slightly.

Little Bun’s system had indeed mentioned that mermaid cubs needed to soak regularly in seawater rich with oceanic energy. The system could provide water—but not that kind of energy.

She had been worrying about how to solve this very problem.

Her gaze shifted back to Lex.

Should I let this fish help...?

She hesitated, still weighing her decision.

Just then, Aviel returned from outside.

"Nina, I picked these for you this morning—they’re still fresh."

He had remembered that Nina’s favorite fruit had run out yesterday, and had gone out early at dawn to gather more—just in case she might want them.

A smile flickered in Nina’s eyes.

This dragon... is surprisingly thoughtful.

She reached out to take the fruit, but suddenly, Taru’s voice rang out from behind:

"The City Lord of Flying Dragon City? What are you doing here?"

Nina’s hand froze midair.

City Lord of Flying Dragon City...?

Wasn’t that... one of her former fiancés?