The distance between time and space could erase many things.

For example, love, friendship, and so on.

Especially when there was no communication, the longer they were apart, the more unfamiliar they would feel until they became strangers.

Jonathan and Misaka Mikoto had not met or communicated for six years.

In fact, it was already the seventh year.

The little girl obviously didn't remember what he said. In the end, she still went to the school city. That circular city wasn't a good place.

Of course, he had already gone there, so there was no point in talking about it.

Now, he was going there as well.

"Just treat it as a vacation. You don't have to take care of the matters inside. You can come back in a few years or even a decade. By then, the matters at home will probably be settled."

This was the warning his mother gave Jonathan.

The mission to the school city was to monitor the situation there.

Someone wanted to cause trouble.

But so be it. As long as China was not involved, there was no problem with doing anything.

Surveillance was a form of precaution against someone.

……

Jonathan told Misaka Mikoto which day he would be coming over, but he did not specify the exact flight number, so Misaka Mikoto naturally had no way of knowing.

Although the young girl was very calm when she spoke to her mother on the phone.

But in fact, he was very excited.

She didn't sleep well for two consecutive nights. Early in the morning, she got up before dawn, washed up, changed her clothes, and took a bus to the international airport of School District 23.

He did not even eat breakfast and just waited at the exit, waiting for Jonathan to appear.

They looked forward to it.

Occasionally, a few people would come out and look around, but when they didn't see the person they wanted to see, they couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Just like that, he waited from morning to afternoon.

At about three o'clock, more than ten people came out.

He opened his eyes wide and searched carefully.

Soon, she found the familiar man. Although he had become more mature, she could still recognize him at a glance.

Misaka Mikoto could not help but smile.

However, he quickly restrained himself.

"Ahem ~"

He coughed dryly.

She subconsciously tidied her clothes and walked towards him.

The young man did not notice her.

He just stood there and watched as the other passengers were picked up. He took out a cigarette box from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth.

The cigarette ignited without a flame, and he was about to take a puff.

However, the girl had already walked to his side. Before he could react, she took the cigarette away from his mouth.

“？？？”

Jonathan turned to look at the girl.

Short brown hair was an obvious sign.

The six-year-old girl was now a twelve-year-old girl, or rather, thirteen years old.

Because it had been seven years since they parted ways.

"Meiqin, why are you here? You've really grown up a lot."

Smiling, he reached out his hand and patted the girl's head.

Her brown hair was very soft and supple. It seemed that she had taken good care of herself.

But the girl was a little unhappy.

The blue-white twisted electric current extinguished the burning cigarette and threw the remaining cigarette into the trash can next to it.

"Uncle, how did you learn to smoke?" She looked at Jonathan with some resentment.

"To relieve stress."

Jonathan felt a little helpless.

"I've had a lot of things to do at home over the years. I've been under a lot of pressure and stress. I just wanted to smoke a cigarette to relax."

"What could happen at home? Didn't you say it was very peaceful?"

"The eldest son and second son of the family are fighting to be the leaders. The eldest son, Xiang Zuo, the second son, Xiang You, and the middle-of-the-road faction are all unrelated to me."

"I'm a remnant of the feudal faction," Jonathan said with a self-deprecating smile.

“？？？”

Misaka Mikoto couldn't understand what he was saying.

Of course, it didn't matter whether she understood it or not. In any case, she supported her youngest uncle.

Jonathan did not say much.

"How did you know I was taking this flight?" she asked Misaka Mikoto when she didn't see her aunt who was there to pick her up. Don't tell me you've been waiting for me here all this time?"

"Nonsense, I'm not that stupid. I don't even know when you're coming."

Misaka Mikoto denied it directly. Her face was still a little red as she looked to the side."It just so happened that I had something to deal with here. I remembered that Mom said you were coming today, so I came to take a look. I didn't expect to see you here."

"…So that's how it is."

Jonathan nodded.

He believed it. He really believed it.

He mainly felt that his niece was not as close to him as she used to be. Otherwise, she would have thrown herself into his arms the moment they met.

In the past, every time she came home from school, she would wait at the entrance and jump into his arms as soon as she opened the door.

His niece now didn't even give him a hug.

"Speaking of which, Uncle, why did you suddenly come here? And you came to the school city. Is…is there something you want to do?"

Did he come specially to look for her?

This was the question Misaka Mikoto wanted to ask, but she was too embarrassed to say it.

He listened carefully and paid attention to the answer.

Jonathan smiled at her and turned to look for his aunt. She was supposed to pick him up, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"My family sent me here to keep an eye on someone to prevent China from getting involved in his work. To put it bluntly, he's here on vacation."

"Surveillance? Who is it?"

"Aresta Crowley, the creator and helmsman of this city."

"Chairman?"

"That's right."

Jonathan suddenly waved his hand as he spoke. He wasn't greeting anyone, but rather, he was chasing away some small things.

Those machines that were invisible to the naked eye.

According to the information provided by his aunt, Aresta was using the nanomachines to monitor everything that happened in the city.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a little unhappy.

If he said that, wouldn't his niece be under his surveillance?

If he had the chance, he would beat him up.

Misaka Mikoto looked at Jonathan's things curiously. However, she did not care about that. Instead, she asked,"Since you're keeping an eye on this place, Uncle, won't you be staying here for a long time?"

"Normally, it's a five-year shift, but if you want to stay, you can apply on your own. Basically, you can pass."

Jonathan replied.

He turned to look at Misaka Mikoto. She seemed a little lonely."You used to call me uncle. Now you call me uncle. It feels so distant."

"I'm not a child anymore."

"If you're not a child at thirteen, then what are you? Even if you're thirty, you're still a child in my eyes."

“……”

Misaka Mikoto toot, feeling very unhappy.

But they didn't argue about this.

"Let's go, Uncle. We'll talk after we leave this place."

"Wait a minute. My aunt isn't here yet."

"…Aunt?"

Misaka Mikoto stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at him curiously.

Jonathan blinked. The girl who came to pick me up the day I left. She's very beautiful, right?"

The girl who picked Jonathan up when he left…

He had never seen it before.

The main reason was that he had kept his head down at that time and did not see that girl.

When she looked up, they were already gone.

Misaka Mikoto didn't know how to respond to this sudden question, so she fell silent awkwardly.

Jonathan's phone suddenly rang.

She took it out and saw that it was a message from her aunt."Aunt has something urgent to attend to, so she flew back first. Help me settle the rest."

Logically speaking, two people who were on a surveillance mission had to go through the handover procedures.

However, the younger generation would indeed be oppressed by the elders.

Jonathan shook his head helplessly after reading the message. He then put his phone in his pocket and walked toward Misaka Mikoto.

"Then let's go. Meiqin, I'll be staying in the Seventh School District. You live there too, right? Sister Meiling told me when I called."

"That was my previous address. I've already changed my dormitory."

"Changed? Not in the Seventh School District?"

"It's still the student dormitory of Tokibantai in the Seventh School District. From this year onwards, I'll be a student there."

"Elementary school?"

"Middle school! I've already grown up!"

"Ahaha, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I still think you're a child."

“……”