Strawberry!

The girl opened her mouth.

Then pressed her lips together.

Going home...

If Strawberry was going home...

It seemed she couldn't even find the words to ask Strawberry to stay...

Even though she was still a little girl, she knew that going home was very important.

So Strawberry... had a home?

She'd wanted to wait until she was a little older, then tell Dad that she wanted to keep Strawberry.

And when that time came, if she could take care of Strawberry all by herself, Dad would probably let her keep Strawberry, right?

But there wouldn't be a later.

Strawberry was going home.

The girl reached up and rubbed her eyes again.

She wiped away her tears.

She didn't want Strawberry to leave.

But Strawberry was going home...

The girl was heartbroken.

"Quack, quack~"

The creature stretched out a paw, carefully drawing in its sharp claws before gently touching the girl's cheek.

Her tears ran onto its paw, and its body gave an almost imperceptible shudder.

Her tears were so hot.

Were human tears really this hot?

The monster found it somewhat fascinating, but the girl's endless tears were starting to annoy it.

Were humans made of water?

How could she have so many tears?

They just kept flowing and flowing...

Wouldn't her body dry out if she kept crying like this?

The monster inexplicably felt a little worried.

The touch on her cheek made the girl freeze.

Strawberry...

"Qiqi."

Xiao Xiao lowered his head to look at the girl in his arms. "Strawberry says you should stop crying."

"Going home is a happy thing."

"Shouldn't Qiqi smile and say goodbye to Strawberry?"

The girl nodded.

Going home was a happy thing.

Even though Auntie had hit her so hard it hurt.

Dad was at home.

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