After weighing it for a moment, Hesta remained where she was and waited for them to approach. When they were only seven or eight steps apart, she spoke first. "Where's Tulan?"
"She went into the city," Qizhen said. "She said that even though AHgAs's offices have withdrawn, she should still report to the workstation in the city. When we went yesterday, they were already off work."
Hesta gave an acknowledging sound, her gaze casually passing over Tie Xi. Tie Xi smiled at the right moment. "Good morning."
"Teacher Tie Xi brought me here to try riding," Qizhen said, smiling as she patted the horse's head. "Tulan never told me there was a riding ground here. It was such a wonderful surprise—"
"I have something to do in a while," Hesta said softly. "Right now—"
"You're busy." Qizhen immediately stopped her small talk. "We can chat another time."
Hesta nodded politely. As she turned away, she suddenly caught sight of two characters written on the bag hanging from Qizhen's saddle. She stopped abruptly and pointed at them. "Lü?"
Qizhen froze. "You speak District 14 language too...?"
Hesta shook her head. "Only a little."
She said it so casually that Qizhen could not tell whether Hesta was deliberately being modest or truly meant it. Still, the unexpected development surprised her.
"...That's my surname," Qizhen said. "I don't use it very often, but—"
"Salima!"
A familiar voice came from the direction of the construction site. Everyone turned at once and saw Santa running quickly toward Hesta.
"What is it?"
"There's a call for you. It's from the city, and it's urgent," Santa said.
"Got it." Hesta waved to Qizhen and Tie Xi. "See you later."
The two said goodbye to Hesta where they stood, but even after Hesta disappeared from sight, Santa showed