"I took the child to play at the mall."
"On the way, I ran into a friend."
"So I stopped to chat with my friend for a bit..."
"When I said goodbye to my friend and looked behind me..."
The old woman pressed her lips together.
"The child was gone."
"I didn't know where he'd gone."
"He hadn't even told me..."
The old woman's voice began to tremble.
"That child..."
"When I see him, I'm going to give him a good talking-to..."
The old woman clasped her hands tightly.
"Old Grandmother."
Xiao Xiao's eyes curved gently.
"I'll help you look."
"Huh?"
The old woman looked up abruptly.
"C-can you?"
"Thank you, young man."
The old woman looked deeply grateful.
She didn't bother being polite with him.
Time was tight.
Who knew what might have happened to the child?
An extra pair of hands could make all the difference.
The old woman gave the young man a detailed description of her grandson.
He was just a six-year-old boy.
He wore a white T-shirt printed with cartoon kittens and khaki-colored three-quarter-length pants.
White sneakers.
Socks with the same kitten pattern.
Xiao Xiao nodded.
That was enough for him to recognize the boy.
They split up to search.
After looking in his direction for a few minutes, Xiao Xiao headed toward the old woman.
A six-year-old boy couldn't have gotten very far in such a short time.
He asked at the shops along the street as he went, but no one had seen the boy.
He thought the boy must have gone in the direction the old woman was searching.
Xiao Xiao soon caught up with the old woman.
She was surprised to see the young man appear beside her.
"You..."
Hadn't the young man gone