Qianqian told herself.
The child in front of her was only four years old.
She didn't understand anything.
She had to be patient.
Don't get angry.
Qianqian finally calmed herself down.
She crouched down.
She avoided the child's hand reaching for the ice cream.
The child felt even more aggrieved.
She looked at the child seriously.
She told her,
Next time she heard her call...
She had to respond.
Because Mom was looking for Nini.
If Nini didn't answer, Mom couldn't find her.
Or it would take a long time to find her.
Then the ice cream would melt.
And Nini wouldn't get to eat any.
As soon as she heard there'd be no ice cream, the child immediately patted her chest and promised that next time she heard Mom call, she would call back, too.
Whether the ice cream was just too tempting to the child...
Or there was some other reason...
The child really did keep her promise.
Except for that one time, whenever Qianqian called the child's name after that, the child quickly and loudly answered her.
Qianqian was very happy.
Her calls were never unanswered again—
At least, they shouldn't have been.
But today, her calls went unanswered.
She didn't even know how many times she'd called the child's name in the less than an hour since discovering she was missing.
"Nini... Nini..."
Her calls grew louder and louder.
Louder than ever before.
"Nini!"
It seemed as if her ears were echoing.
In a daze, she thought she heard the child answer.
She turned around, her face alight with joy, excitement, and hope—
But there was nothing behind her, and her expression froze.
"Nini!"
Qianqian didn't know how many times she'd spun around...
Nor how many times she'd felt herself fall from