Both Apologized
"Maybe I can make Mom and Dad believe me..."
"I don't know."
The child stumbled over her words, struggling to explain. "...But I thought of it too late..."
"If I'd thought of it that day..."
"There's no point coming now."
"...It's too late."
"It's gone..."
The child couldn't hide her disappointment.
"Who's gone?"
The ponytailed girl had finally run out of patience.
"Did you come here looking for someone?"
"Why didn't you say so from the start?"
"Didn't you say you came to look for an orange tree?"
The ponytailed girl felt like her brain was turning to mush.
"Why are we looking for someone now?"
"Who are you looking for?"
But whoever the child was looking for, they clearly weren't here.
The child opened her mouth.
She was sorely tempted to tell her friends that she was looking for a big leopard.
But remembering what Mom and Dad had told her, she pressed her lips together.
She held back.
"You can't tell us?"
The short-haired girl had now gotten pretty good at guessing.
But, as the ponytailed girl had said...
She'd stopped the ponytailed girl just now.
But if the child was looking for someone and didn't want anyone else to know, why bring them along? Wouldn't that just make things troublesome?
They hadn't found the person yet.
If they did, it'd be hard for them not to see them.
Wouldn't that go against the child's wish to keep it a secret?
The child swallowed.
Then she nodded.
Mom and Dad wouldn't let her tell anyone about Teacher Chen.
They wouldn't let her talk about the big leopard, either.
It was actually quite frustrating for the child.
It would've been fine if she hadn't seen them.
But lately, she'd seen the big leopard