Idiot... idiot...
Silver-bell laughter rang by his ears. Other than the stiffness gradually fading from Chiba's face, all that remained was the twitching of his mouth.
Being treated like an idiot—this was a first.
And by a bunch of tiny kids, no less. Honestly, his feelings were rather complicated.
Did he really look like an idiot just now? Amid those complicated feelings, he found himself fretting over whether his expression had truly looked idiotic. That would be pretty embarrassing.
But...
Forget it.
This was good too!
However, as he looked at little bald-headed Ming Tai, pointing at him and laughing so hard he clutched his stomach, revealing two missing front teeth, and Chun, who had been so afraid of him earlier but was now shaking with laughter, even He Yin, the oldest of them, covering her mouth as she giggled repeatedly—they were all smiling like flowers. Chiba shook his head and gave up on figuring out whether he had embarrassed himself.
And sure enough, laughter was contagious. Amid the giggling, all of Chiba's stiffness melted away, replaced by a toothy grin.
Maybe acting like an idiot once in a while wasn't so bad.
That thought flashed through his mind beneath his wide smile.
"You... are a good person."
After laughing for a while, He Yin's voice came amid the gradually fading laughter. Her words carried approval for Chiba.
At the same time, all her fear and wariness toward him had vanished, replaced by a sense of closeness.
"Is that so?"
Faced with He Yin's straightforward praise, Chiba's smile did not fade, but his hand unconsciously rubbed his nose as he responded.
"Mm, I think so too!"
"You don't look like a bad guy!"
"Idiots definitely aren't bad people!"
Then, just as Chiba rubbed his nose, a string of childish affirmations