Little Blue

Xiao Xiao lowered his eyes, hiding the amusement in them.

If the Hundred Illusions Butterfly at home found out he thought that, would it hunt him down in a fit of anger?

After all, it was a monster that worshiped beauty.

And getting old was about as far from beautiful as you could get.

"Little Blue didn't mean to!"

Before the Hundred Illusions Butterfly could say anything, the child had already hurried to defend his friend.

At that moment, he had also forgotten to wonder how his teacher could see Little Blue.

All he could think about was making sure the teacher didn't misunderstand Little Blue.

Xiao Xiao looked at the child.

He seemed ready to hear the child's explanation.

If the Hundred Illusions Butterfly had done this purely as a prank, then it had gone too far.

It could also make an innocent child the target of suspicion.

But if the Hundred Illusions Butterfly had a reason for doing it...

That would be another matter.

The child pressed his lips together.

He glanced at the Hundred Illusions Butterfly.

The strange butterfly stared at the teacher with open curiosity.

Then the child looked at the teacher too.

The teacher's expression was gentle.

There wasn't the slightest trace of blame or any other feeling that made him uncomfortable.

The tightness in the child's chest slowly eased.

He clasped his hands together, then spoke softly.

In one respect, the child's elders hadn't been wrong.

He really had grown impatient with the endless tutoring and his barely improving grades.

He didn't hate studying.

It was just that, when the effort he put into his studies never brought the results he expected, he'd lost his sense of balance.

He'd worked so hard...

He'd tried so hard...

So why...

He really