"..."
Xiao Se said nothing. He merely could not help wanting to touch Xiao Xiao's cheek.
"Elder sister, unhappy?"
Xiao Xiao fell silent, but she gently took her young brother's hand and said seriously, "This isn't unhappiness. It's worry."
"Worry?"
The childish voice rose slightly, clearly still unable to understand this unfamiliar word.
"Yes. It's a feeling where you feel bad for yourself, and also for someone else. It's just that, for Xiao Se, it may still be a little too far away—"
"...Is that so?"
Xiao Se blinked. Although he could not fully understand, as family bound by blood, he could still sense some of it.
"Elder sister, worried, about me?"
Xiao Xiao nodded.
"Although being sensible is a good thing, no matter how you look at it, it isn't something someone your age should understand."
"—Shouldn't understand?"
"Right. Although my earliest memories were of father wandering outside, and mother told me that, and I accepted the fact that father wasn't by my side, back then I still wanted father beside me, even if he was only just by my side."
"What do you think, Xiao Se?"
"I... don't know."
Xiao Se came back to himself, but merely shook his head.
He could not fully understand his elder sister's words, so naturally he had no way to give an answer either.
It was just that the choice that seemed more correct was instead not accepted by his elder sister.
"It's all right. I wasn't trying to force Xiao Se to understand some great principle right now anyway."
Xiao Xiao smiled as she held Xiao Se's little hand and took the initiative to say, "In short—when Daddy and the others aren't here, as long as I'm awake, I'll stay with Xiao Se. After all, I'm your elder sister."
"Elder sister?"