"What? You didnāt go see him?" Jiang Qiuqiu found it a little strange.
Little Qing hummed in response, his expression a little complicated. "Lately... Brother Leopard doesnāt seem to want to talk to me much."
"He wonāt answer any of my questions. He just likes to lecture me."
Little Qing sighed. "I have no idea whatās gotten into him."
But he quickly perked up again, as if heād been shot with adrenaline. "But I heard from the monitoring staff that Brother Leopardās data is slowly improving, and his spirits are getting better, too."
"Thatās all that matters. Itās great."
"Yeah, his spirits did seem good today." Jiang Qiuqiu recalled what he was like the last time she saw him. "Heās just suddenly taken to reminiscing about the past, and it seems to get him down."
"He talked a lot about his time in the legion. He didnāt seem to be in a very good mood."
"Oh, is that right? He likes to talk to me about that stuff, too. Feeling down is normal for us. All of us who left the corps get that way. But it doesnāt matter. As long as his data is improving and heās still alive, he can do anything he wants in the future." Little Qing had a philosophical look on his face.
"Iām so happy heās getting better." The joy of learning that someone important to him was on the mend was impossible to suppress.
The young peopleās conversation was innocent and sweet. Mo Si let out a soft sigh and paused, deliberately tuning out their voices.
Both Jiang Qiuqiu and Little Qing thought Brother Leopard was doing just fine.
So, Jiang Qiuqiu asked in a low voice, "Why did you have such a big reaction when you saw Black Hole just now?"
"...Because he looks so much like my idol!" Little Qing gestured emphatically. "When he was walking over, for a second I thought I was looking at half the Admiral!"
"Why half?" She was curious about his strange choice of words.
Little Qingās eyes held a look of reverence, and his voice was utterly devout as he defended his idol. "Because no one can match the Admiralās presence."
"Heās one of a kind. This guyās face is a little similar to the Admiralās..." Little Qing was one of Mo Siās most die-hard fans. "I feel like he looks like the Admiral when he was younger."
He looked a lot like a certain photo that had circulated in the past.
"Is that so?" āThen Iām even more certain of my guess.ā
All good things must come to an end. They had nearly reached her residential complex, and Little Qing felt heād walked far enough. He waved goodbye to Jiang Qiuqiu. "Miss Qiuqiu, Iām heading back now!"
"Have a good afternoon! Come by the rescue center to hang out when you have time!"
"Okay, see you!" As Little Qing ran back, Jiang Qiuqiu was surprised to realize that Mo Si was no longer beside her. She looked back and saw his dark figure standing still under a tree, now just a small dot in the distance.
She started running toward him, but after just a few steps, she saw the man was already approaching.
"Why didnāt you keep up?" Jiang Qiuqiu demanded, taking the offensive.
Mo Si replied, "You were chatting with that young man, so I didnāt listen in."
"Wow, āthat young manā?" Jiang Qiuqiu scoffed. "Listen to you, acting all old and mature. Youāre always putting on such an old-man act."
"Be honest. Was it because we were talking about you that you didnāt dare to come closer and listen?"
āTalking about him?ā Mo Si paused for a second. "Werenāt you talking about Brother Leopard?"
"Brother Leopard?" Jiang Qiuqiu said with an "oh." "Little Qing said his data is slowly improving." As she said this, Jiang Qiuqiu frowned. She suddenly remembered him in that dark little roomāBrother Leopard, weak from his side effects, looking like he couldnāt possibly recover.
It was a complicated situation, and Jiang Qiuqiu couldnāt quite figure out the crux of it yet. She moved on, "But we did mention you. And I discovered a little secret of yours!"
"...My little secret?" āWhat bad timing. I shouldnāt have tuned you out.ā
"Thatās right." Jiang Qiuqiu gave a mysterious smile, then said something that almost made Mo Si lose his composure.