The girl froze.
The brightness in her eyes and brows, the smile at the corners of her mouth, the light in her face... all vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.
She slowly lowered her eyes.
The hand gripping the bag of Peanut Candy tightened a little.
The girl had returned to the way Xiao Xiao had seen her when he first arrived.
Oppressed and gloomy.
"Huan Huan."
Xiao Xiao's voice was low and gentle. "I thought..."
"The reason you called me... was that you wanted someone to talk to."
"Isn't that right?"
"Or... did I misunderstand?"
The girl pressed her lips together.
She gave the faintest shake of her head, almost imperceptible.
Eldest Brother hadn't misunderstood.
She really had wanted someone to talk to.
But...
She couldn't say it.
That side of herself...
Frightened her.
The girl instinctively wanted to hide that side of herself.
She didn't want anyone to know.
She didn't want anyone to... hate her.
"Because of Dong Le?"
Xiao Xiao asked, seeming to understand.
The girl abruptly looked up.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
How did Eldest Brother know?
"Did you forget what you told me last time?"
Xiao Xiao smiled.
The girl suddenly understood.
Oh, right.
She'd already told Eldest Brother some things about herself and her younger sister.
It wasn't strange that he'd guessed the reason.
"What happened this time?"
Xiao Xiao was direct.
Dragging it out would only make the girl sink deeper into her own world.
"Eldest Brother..."
The girl murmured, her lips trembling.
"Dong Le, some classmates, and I went shopping together a while ago."
"Because my emotions have been so unstable lately, I deliberately kept my distance from Dong Le."
"But then..."
The girl took a deep breath.
"I... kept away