"Are you in middle school or high school?"
Xiao Xiao's sudden question made the boy pause.
"High school."
Although he didn't understand why the man had asked, it wasn't anything he needed to hide.
The boy answered honestly.
"I just started my first year."
"Have you made any friends?"
The boy was taken aback again.
He looked at the unfamiliar man in front of him.
The man smiled at him.
The boy couldn't help smiling back. "Not yet."
"Maybe it's been too long since I made friends. I'm not sure how to get along with people anymore."
"But—"
The boy grinned. "I'm sure I'll make friends."
"I really like the atmosphere in this class."
Everyone was very friendly.
And nobody pointed at him and whispered.
"Besides—"
The boy's expression brightened. "Even if I still don't make any friends, it doesn't matter."
"I'll make friends eventually."
He'd always told himself that.
And he'd always believed it.
"And Little One is here with me."
"I'm in no hurry."
Xiao Xiao looked at the parasitic vine monster on the boy.
A golden light flickered in his eyes and vanished.
"Little One?"
The boy sensed something strange about the vines on him.
"What's wrong?"
The vines swayed slightly.
The boy knew that was Little One's way of saying it was fine.
He assumed he'd just imagined it.
"I should get going."
Xiao Xiao's words made the boy pause.
"You're leaving?"
Wait, was this guy really just going to leave?
No, that wasn't it...
The boy wasn't sure what he was trying to say.
The man had already said he was there to save the butterfly.
He'd accomplished what he'd come for.
Why would he stay?
It was just that the boy had thought...
The man might say something else to