Because...
"Little Mango actually found you all by herself?!"
The old man clicked his tongue in wonder.
"That shy, timid child..."
She'd come to the grocery store so many times...
And she still jumped a little whenever she saw him.
Well...
That probably had something to do with the fact that he wasn't exactly approachable-looking.
The old man pursed his lips.
Such a timid child...
And yet she'd dared to talk to a stranger all by herself...
Of course.
So far, things seemed to have turned out well.
For now, he wouldn't bring up the fact that children shouldn't talk to strangers.
The old man tried hard to suppress his astonishment.
Then, as something occurred to him, he grew even more astonished.
"You only met Little Mango today..."
"Then why weren't you surprised at all by how she acted just now?!"
The old man gaped.
He looked utterly shocked.
He'd thought the young man was used to it and took it in stride...
But that wasn't the case at all.
Then why...
"When you first saw..."
The old man stumbled over his words.
"You..."
"You weren't surprised at all?"
"You..."
The old man took a deep breath.
He was too worked up.
He slowly calmed himself down.
"You..."
He looked at the young man.
His face twitched.
Suddenly, inspiration struck him.
"Have you seen someone else act like this before?"
That was why he hadn't found Little Mango's strange behavior surprising...
Xiao Xiao smiled faintly.
"More or less."
The old man felt as if all the strength had drained out of him.
So that was it...
"You've seen someone else..."
"She's still young."
Xiao Xiao lowered his eyes and stroked the little white fox's head.
"Once she gets a little older, she'll be fine."