Judy rubbed Bao Bei's head in small circles as he praised him, saying, "Good boy, good boy."
"Bao Bei's not the kind of guy who can just look at other people," Judy added. "But you must've been lonely, right? Could you even sleep by yourself at night?"
Judy knew well that during all those years of their academy days, Bao Bei had always shared a bed with Jihl. It was just like a lonely puppy cuddling up to its parent for warmth and comfort.
"Yeah. I was worried about that too, so I tried to bring Jihl's pillow with me. But then the queen mother showed up."
While Bao Bei had been stuffing Jihl's pillow into his travel bag, the queen had paid him a visit and handed him something as a protective charm.
Bao Bei dug into his backpack and pulled it out.
It was a stuffed doll made to look like Jihl. It had golden yarn hair and a little blue knight's uniform, stuffed with cotton.
"I slept holding this every night, so I was okay," Bao Bei said.
