It looked in the direction of the voice. Sure enough, it was the human cub's mother.
With a little effort, it slipped free of the human cub's embrace.
Then it ran away.
"Dog—"
"Bao Bao."
The woman looked at her daughter sitting on the ground and furrowed her brow, about to say something. Then she noticed her daughter's red eyes and the tear tracks still wet on her face.
She crouched down and helped her up.
Gently brushing the dust off her daughter's clothes, she said softly, "It's okay."
"You didn't do well this time. Just work harder next time."
"...What if I don't do well next time, either?"
The little girl was distracted by the woman's words and forgot about the dog that had run off.
The woman paused, then laughed. "Then you can work harder the time after that."
"As long as you do a little better each time, that's all that matters."
"Really?"
The little girl murmured, her lips pursed.
"Really."
The woman took the little girl's hand. "Come on, Mom will buy you a cake."
"Mom."
From a distance, it saw the little girl looking up at the woman beside her.
"Hmm?"
"Am I stupid?"
"Of course not."
"Mom's Bao Bao is very clever."
"But I always mess up my tests."
The little girl lowered her head.
The woman stopped, turned, and bent down to stroke the little girl's head. "Are you giving up already, Bao Bao?"
"You've only done poorly a few times."
"Your score this time was already higher than last time."
"You'll do better and better."
"Mm."
The little girl smiled brightly, lips pressed together.
It curled its lip. What a silly girl. So easy to cheer up.
But as it watched the human cub about to disappear from sight, thinking