"...Then, for a while, we didn't see her for a long time."
The smile vanished from the elderly woman's face.
"We thought it was strange."
"We used to run into that child all the time, either going to school or coming home."
"Basically, the times we went downstairs for a walk after dinner were the same times the child went to and came home from school."
"We hadn't changed the times we went downstairs..."
"And the times the child went to and came home from school wouldn't have changed, either."
"So how come we couldn't run into that child anymore?"
"...We didn't say anything, but we kept thinking about it."
The elderly woman's voice grew a little low.
"One day, we ran into Nan Nan's neighbor."
She was an elderly woman about the same age as her.
"We asked her why we hadn't seen Nan Nan for several days."
The elderly woman looked at Xiao Xiao. "Can you guess what she said?"
Without waiting for Xiao Xiao to answer, the elderly woman continued, "She said Nan Nan..."
"Their family had moved."
"Moved?"
Xiao Xiao was slightly taken aback.
He'd thought he would hear...
He gave a slight shake of his head.
The corners of his mouth lifted.
What a... peaceful explanation.
So they'd moved?
No...
Xiao Xiao quickly realized.
If it really was something so ordinary, why would the elderly woman bring it up now?
The elderly woman tugged at the corners of her mouth.
This child really was perceptive.
"We were a little surprised..."
"Moved?"
"Why would they suddenly move when everything was fine?"
When they found out the child had only moved, they had felt a little relieved.
They'd almost thought Nan Nan might have fallen ill and been stuck at home, or