"Did you know?"
The girl looked up at Chi Xiuchuan, her expression earnest.
"That big tree really can talk."
"It answers me."
That was why she always made a point of taking the time to go there and talk to the tree.
Chi Xiuchuan was slightly taken aback.
The girl's eyes widened.
A few seconds later, she looked away.
"...I was joking."
She couldn't keep it up.
If not for her mother's reaction earlier and the smell of disinfectant floating in the air now—
Even outside the hospital, she could still catch the faintest trace of disinfectant.
It made it all too clear that she was in a hospital.
Maybe she could have been fearlessly ignorant.
Maybe she could have stubbornly stuck to her beliefs, heedless of the consequences.
But...
Now she was afraid.
She was afraid they would label her as mentally ill.
If not for the lingering hint of unwillingness in her heart, and the good impression this doctor had made on her, she wouldn't have said any of those things earlier.
But...
She had still backed down.
The girl smiled.
She pretended that what she had just said was exactly what she'd called it... just a joke that wasn't very funny.
Not to be taken seriously.
She hoped the doctor wouldn't take it seriously.
She hardly dared look at his expression.
A flood of regret surged up until it nearly rose to her throat.
She swallowed hard.
But it felt almost impossible to swallow.
The faint sensation of choking made her so uncomfortable she almost wanted to throw up.
"Where is it?"
The unexpected words reached the girl's ears.
She abruptly turned to look at the doctor.
"...Huh?"
Her mouth fell open.
What?
Had she misheard?
What had the doctor just said?