"Ah, a present."
Even though Eldest Brother had told him right from the start that Big Ox had prepared a present for him,
now that Big Ox was telling him to his face that it had a present for him, he was just as excited as if he'd only just found out.
"Big Ox, I've got a present for you, too."
The boy's eyes crinkled with a smile.
The Si froze.
Had the human cub prepared another present for it?
Did that mean it had to prepare another return gift?
The monster was at once caught up in a new dilemma.
The boy froze. "Eldest Brother, what's wrong with Big Ox?"
"Does its wound hurt?"
The boy immediately grew worried.
Why else would it suddenly make that face?
"Don't worry yet."
Xiao Xiao reassured the boy.
"Si, what's wrong?"
"Moo, moo~"
The monster explained what it had been thinking, looking troubled.
It had already been racking its brains over one return gift for a long time.
It didn't know what to give as another one.
"Eldest Brother, what did Big Ox say?"
As soon as the monster fell silent, the boy hurriedly asked, "Does its wound hurt?"
"No."
Xiao Xiao shook his head, amused.
What a considerate monster.
That was probably because the boy mattered so much to it as a friend.
"No?"
The boy breathed a sigh of relief, then looked puzzled. "Then what's wrong with Big Ox?"
The corners of Xiao Xiao's mouth lifted slightly as he repeated what the Si had just told him.
Uh...
The unexpected reason left the boy not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Big Ox,"
the boy said helplessly, "you don't have to give me a return gift every time."
"That would only make us seem distant."
"If I