Under the edge of the umbrella, a girl's smiling face appeared, decorated with playful freckles.
"I can take you there."
"As long as you let me pet your little pet."
The girl's gaze fell on the white fluff in Xiao Xiao's arms.
On this gloomy, rainy day, the little cutie seemed to be glowing.
Its fur was so soft and clean, like fine silk...
The girl's eyes were full of wonder.
She could hardly imagine what it would feel like to touch.
It must be incredibly soft and smooth.
Xiao Xiao paused slightly.
Then the corners of his mouth lifted a little. "It doesn't like strangers touching it."
Huh?
The girl blinked.
That answer was completely unexpected.
She'd made her request mostly as a joke.
It wasn't that she didn't want to pet the white fluff.
It was just that, as far as she knew, even if she hadn't offered that as a condition, the pet's owner wouldn't have refused to let her pet it.
After all...
That was how things had always gone.
When people saw a cute pet on the street or in their neighborhood, strangers who were charmed by it would want to pet it, and the owner wouldn't refuse.
Pet owners were happy when lots of people liked their pets.
They were usually happy to let others pet them, scratch them, or even pick them up.
Pet owners tended to think of their pets as their children.
Who wouldn't be happy to see their child popular, liked and praised by so many people?
This was the first time the girl had ever encountered...
Did this boy mean...
He'd turned her down?
The girl was surprised.
Astonished.
And a little at a loss.
She stared at the boy, dumbfounded.
Huh?
Xiao