Xu Qizhen felt there was no reason for him to stay.
"Mm."
"I'm leaving."
"Is that 'gold' you're talking about the thing behind you?"
Xiao Xiao's voice startled everyone.
Zhang Tong and Xu Qizhen both looked taken aback.
Not only Zhang Tong—even Xu Qizhen had almost forgotten Xiao Xiao was there.
His attention had been drawn entirely to Zhang Tong's rather extraordinary story.
Xu Qizhen was already startled, but Zhang Tong was even more so.
In everything he'd said earlier, he'd used singular pronouns.
He'd genuinely thought there were only two people here: him and Xu Qizhen.
And—
"What do you mean?"
Xu Qizhen was the first to ask what Zhang Tong was wondering.
"Is that 'gold' you're talking about the thing behind you?"
What... did that mean?
Xu Qizhen was completely confused.
Zhang Tong's heart began pounding like a drum.
W-what?
Xu Qizhen, who was much closer to him, hadn't noticed anything.
How could that unfamiliar boy, who was so much farther away, have noticed something?
Impossible...
Zhang Tong kept telling himself.
Impossible.
Don't panic.
"Student Xiao..."
Xu Qizhen looked at Xiao Xiao, then instinctively peered behind Zhang Tong.
The gold was behind Zhang Tong?
His first thought was that it couldn't be.
He'd been standing here for so long. If there really was gold...
Hm?
Xu Qizhen suddenly noticed Zhang Tong's strange posture.
His hands were held slightly apart.
As if he were trying to shield something...
Could it be...
Xu Qizhen's eyes widened.
Was Student Xiao right?
Was the gold really behind Zhang Tong?!
Xu Qizhen made himself calm down.
It wasn't impossible... was it?
Zhang Tong had come here looking for gold...
They'd found Zhang Tong, which meant they'd found the gold...
Wasn't that... only natural?
How had he