When Ai Haibara pushed open the door and walked in, she found Tangze sitting at the head of the bed, staring fixedly toward the doorway.
Half of those eyes were hidden behind his hanging hair, making the blue irises almost impossible to see, but Ai Haibara instinctively felt that Tangze's gaze at her was exceedingly complicated and unreadable.
"No wonder my sister and the others asked me to come over." She tilted her head. "The way you're looking at me makes it seem like you owe me a lot of money."
Tangze pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Her teasing received no response. Ai Haibara frowned and stepped closer. "...Why do you look so dejected? Don't tell me you really owe a lot of money? Don't worry, even if you do, it's not that big a deal."
She walked to Tangze's bedside and only sat down beside him after confirming he showed no sign of resistance.
"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" Her tone became gentle and soothing.
"Not exactly a nightmare." Tangze spoke, and his voice sounded normal enough. "My emotions were just a little unsettled. Did I scare them?"
Ai Haibara raised her head and studied Tangze's face seriously. "At a time like this, don't worry about what other people think. Any patient having an episode will make their family nervous. I just want to know how you feel."
Tangze had psychological issues. That was obvious.
His upbringing had been unhealthy, he had suffered too many setbacks, and he had never received normal family guidance. The fact that he had managed to complete the process of socialization properly was already far from easy.
On top of that, Tangze was quite good at regulating himself. In Ai Haibara's assessment, many of his problems were not the kind