"I... I want to see Teacher Ruan."
"I have something to ask her."
Chen Xi's heart was pounding.
She didn't know if she could convince her parents...
No!
Chen Xi clenched her fists.
She had to convince her parents.
She had to see Teacher Ruan today.
Huan Huan...
The girl abruptly lifted her head.
The enclosed space made her feel a little safer.
But with her parents just outside the door, she didn't dare make a sound.
She slowly took a deep breath.
Trying to quell the urge to cry.
Hm?
Father Chen and Mother Chen looked at each other.
Their child was being strangely insistent.
Why...
Did she have to see Teacher Ruan?
Was there some other reason?
"...Dad?"
"Mom?"
The silence outside the door made the girl's heart leap into her throat.
She was nervous.
And uneasy.
She was about to break.
Ever since she realized Huan Huan was missing, she'd nearly fallen apart.
She'd been desperate, almost frantic, to find Huan Huan.
Everything before her had gone dark.
That darkness had left her in despair.
But...
The instant she heard her mother's voice, she'd instinctively put on a perfect act.
She always remembered...
Huan Huan was her secret alone.
She couldn't make the same mistake again.
She couldn't let her parents, who already worried themselves sick over her, be anxious and afraid.
It was hard.
It was hard to pretend in front of her parents.
It was hard to hide her fear and panic over Huan Huan's disappearance and act as if nothing was wrong.
It was hard to leave the park where Huan Huan had gone missing with her parents...
The only thing that comforted her... was her mother holding her hand.
That had let her make it home after Huan Huan