Xiao Xiao said something that left the child dumbfounded, his tone casual.
The child's eyes widened, her mouth hanging open.
W-What?
The child felt as though she understood what the big brother had said, and yet somehow didn't...
"It's just like how you saw the big leopard..."
Xiao Xiao blinked slowly.
"But your mom and dad didn't see it."
The child's mind was in a muddle.
She couldn't help reaching up to cover her head.
Wait...
What the big brother meant was...
The child's voice was a little hoarse.
"I..."
"I really saw the big leopard?"
Was that what the big brother meant?
But...
Mom and Dad had both said she hadn't seen it.
That there was no big leopard.
That she'd seen wrong.
That she'd imagined it.
For a while now, she had kept repeating the things Mom and Dad had told her.
And just when she had almost completely believed them...
The big brother told her...
She had seen the big leopard...
The child was confused.
Mom and Dad, or the big brother...
Who was she supposed to listen to?
Naturally, the child would rather believe Mom and Dad.
But...
The big brother's words made more sense to her.
The reason the timid, shy child had grown so close to Teacher Chen, whom she had only met a few times, was that Teacher Chen had validated her.
Teacher Chen believed everything the child said.
The child had felt...
Happy.
But...
Now the big brother seemed to be validating her too, yet the child found herself afraid to believe him.
"...Really?"
The child murmured.
"What Mom and Dad say..."
"It's different from what you say."
The child squeezed her fingers tightly.
"They said I saw wrong."
"There was no big leopard."