"It makes no difference whether it's sooner or later."
The boy abruptly looked up.
He met Xiao Xiao's slightly arched brows.
"That's true."
Meng Jixi quickly came around.
He stretched out his legs and leaned back against the railing.
His head tilted back, and his eyes reflected the sky, half-hidden by the pavilion.
"There's only two possibilities for Little One's disappearance."
Xiao Xiao patted Little White Fox's head.
"Either it left of its own accord..."
"Or it was forced to leave."
"Whichever it was, if the other party meant to keep it hidden, you wouldn't have been able to notice."
The boy's clenched knuckles turned faintly white.
"...I know..."
Even though he knew that, he still couldn't help thinking: If only he'd noticed sooner—no, if only he'd noticed from the start, would he have been able to stop Little One from disappearing?
Would Little One still be here?
At least he could have done something...
Instead of realizing too late that Little One was gone, with nothing he could do but search aimlessly.
"So the question now is..."
Meng Jixi sat up straight. "Did Little One leave on its own? Or was it taken away by someone—cough, or a monster?"
"In the few days before Little One disappeared, did it act strangely at all?"
Meng Jixi looked at the boy.
After frowning in thought for a while, the boy looked up.
The corners of his eyes were a little red.
"No."
The boy shook his head.
"No."
As if to emphasize it, he said it again.
"I didn't notice anything unusual about Little One."
"Was there really nothing unusual, or did you just not notice..."
Meng Jixi muttered.
After all, this guy hadn't even realized right away that the monster with him had disappeared.