diff --git a/src/msglc/reader.py b/src/msglc/reader.py
index 23c2717..1bbcd69 100644
--- a/src/msglc/reader.py
+++ b/src/msglc/reader.py
@@ -125,9 +125,7 @@ def _child(self, toc: dict | int):
             # {"p": [start_pos, end_pos]}
             # this is used in small objects
             if 2 == len(child_pos := toc["p"]) and all(isinstance(x, int) for x in child_pos):
-                if isinstance(data := self._read(*child_pos), bytes) and data.startswith(
-                    b"\x80\x02cnumpy.core.multiarray"
-                ):
+                if isinstance(data := self._read(*child_pos), bytes) and b"numpy.core.multiarray" in data[:40]:
                     return pickle.loads(data)
                 return data