Afternoon Tea with the Monsters

In the past, Xiao Xiao had always been the one to spot the Pipa ghost and walk over to greet it.

The Pipa ghost had never spotted him first, come over to him, and greeted him with a mischievous question like it had today.

Of course, it was also possible that he had simply always been the first to notice the Pipa ghost.

For some reason, Xiao Xiao felt a little happy.

He had this inexplicable feeling that his relationship with the Pipa ghost had somehow grown a little closer.

"Pipa ghost, wait here a moment."

Xiao Xiao spoke softly.

"Heh heh~"

Curious, the Pipa ghost leaned its face toward the stuffed toy, stopping only when its face was almost touching the toy's.

Apparently finding it amusing, the Pipa ghost rubbed its face against the stuffed toy.

The corners of its mouth involuntarily spread into a smile, giving it an innocent, childlike air.

It was an utterly ordinary smile.

But as the Pipa ghost's grin widened, the expression on the boy's face grew bizarre, even horrifying.

Xiao Xiao happened to catch a glimpse of the Pipa ghost's expression out of the corner of his eye: ...

Then he couldn't help but laugh.

Actually, the Pipa ghost's expression had quite a manga-like effect.

Those narrow eyes, the exaggerated expression, and its pale skin.

But compared to the personality usually given to characters with this sort of appearance in manga, the Pipa ghost was surprisingly... pure-hearted?

Xiao Xiao's eyes suddenly lit up.

He crouched down and reached into the corner, pulling out a stuffed toy.

It was a chibi dog lying flat on its belly.

It had a rare black head and a white body.

Its dead-fish eyes were quite amusing.

It looked especially adorably clueless.

And,