The boy felt a moment of relief.
But soon, his heart was in his throat.
He felt as though he could barely breathe.
Ever since they met, he seemed to be the only one who was excited.
Big Sister always wore a gentle smile.
She showed no delight at seeing him.
Nor did she seem the least bit angry at his questions, which had sounded almost like accusations.
She was so calm and gentle...
It had nothing to do with her.
A word suddenly flashed through the boy's mind.
Right...
After standing stunned for a few seconds, the boy had to admit that he'd finally found the right words to describe how Big Sister made him feel when they met again today.
It had nothing to do with her.
Facing him, Big Sister acted as though he wasn't a friend she'd once spent such happy times with, someone she'd been close to—
Or so he'd always thought.
He'd even believed they were the best of friends.
But...
Today, Big Sister made him wonder...
Had he been imagining things all along?
Big Sister still smiled at him as gently as she had in his memories.
But apart from that...
It seemed everything had changed.
She was no longer the Big Sister who went out of her way to prepare surprises just to make him happy.
His emotions had been all over the place today.
He'd felt joy, surprise, doubt, suspicion, and... unease.
But it seemed Big Sister hadn't picked up on any of it.
Big Sister looked at him.
No matter whether he was happy, angry, sad, or joyful, she simply gazed at him with a gentle smile.
It wasn't just that she didn't share his feelings.
She hadn't shown even the slightest change in emotion.
The