Xia Yue Shan's chewing of the squid suddenly stopped, and after a brief pause, he gave a slight nod.

"Why?"

"I mean, your sister doesn't seem like a bad person, right?"

Lin Yu couldn't fathom what could have driven such a wedge between them.

Could it be that Xia Mu Zhu was actually someone who appeared kind on the outside but harbored malice within?

Did she put on a friendly façade for the world, only to reveal her true nature at home, treating her own brother like an enemy, subjecting him to endless cruelty?

Lin Yu looked at Xia Yue Shan with puzzlement, waiting for an explanation.

Gnashing his teeth, Xia Yue Shan tore off a piece of the grilled squid, chewing vigorously as he spoke bitterly:

"If it weren't for her, our parents would have never left!"

"So, your parents leaving has a lot to do with your sister?"

Lin Yu felt a twinge of sadness, beginning to understand Xia Yue Shan's point of view.

Could there truly be such deep-seated hostility between the siblings, to warrant such hatred from Xia Yue Shan towards his sister...

...

No, that couldn't be right!

Recalling the photographs he'd seen at Xia Mu Zhu's house not too long ago, Lin Yu furrowed his brow.

Those photos were fairly recent, right?

Could it be that their parents had passed away only in the last few months?

Surely not.

Xia Mu Zhu had implied that Xia Yue Shan had taken a dislike to her way back when he was in the third grade, a timeline that didn't match up at all.

As Lin Yu pondered, Xia Yue Shan nodded vehemently, his eyes full of resentment as he chewed the squid in his mouth as if gnawing on the flesh of Xia Mu Zhu itself, and said:

"If not for her, my parents would never have left me alone in this country. They would have surely taken me with them to work abroad, or they would have found a new job here in China. Then we wouldn't have had to separate!"

...

...

Lin Yu didn't know what his expression must look like at the moment.

But he figured if someone took a picture, it could probably be used as a speechless meme in the future, and it wouldn't even need any captions.

Remembering Xia Yue Shan's reasons, brimming with holes, Lin Yu took a moment to silence his brain and reply in a tone even he found absurd:

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"So what you're saying is, your sister is reliable enough that your parents trusted her to take care of you while they went abroad. Because you couldn't be with your parents, you resented her, is that right?"

Lin Yu looked at Xia Yue Shan as if he were staring at a fool, and even more foolishly, Xia Yue Shan nodded in agreement.

"Yes!"

"If it weren't for her, I'm sure they would have been by my side! They could have attended parent-teacher conferences, and I wouldn't have been called a parentless wild child."

"I wouldn't have had to endure bullying without my mom and dad's protection."

"Just like Li Heizi just now!"

Lin Yu's forced smile froze on his lips at the mention of being mocked as a wild child.

As Xia Yue Shan continued, the smile quickly faded. Watching tears being wiped away and sobs begin, Lin Yu quickly realized a problem.

Was Xia Yue Shan's reason for despising his sister ridiculous?

Ridiculous it was, like something a naive child would come up with.

He wanted his parents by his side.

He didn't want them to leave.

From an adult's perspective, it all seemed laughably absurd.

But what if you looked at it from Xia Yue Shan's perspective?

From the perspective of someone who entered junior high only to be bullied and couldn't seek his parents' protection.

From the perspective of attending a parent-teacher conference where everyone else's parents came, but only his sister showed up.

From the perspective of being taunted as a wild child, with no parents to prove otherwise.

From his viewpoint...

It seemed quite unjust.

And he had every reason to detest his caring, compassionate sister.

But was it justified?

It couldn't be more wrong.

"Xia Yue Shan, you really resent your sister, right?"

Lin Yu asked, watching as Xia Yue Shan continued to wipe away tears and sniffle intermittently.

"Yeah!"

Xia Yue Shan grunted affirmatively, nodding forcefully.

"But have you ever considered that, from your sister's perspective, she should be hating you instead?"

Hearing Lin Yu's words, Xia Yue Shan paused wiping his tears, Lowering his gaze. Lin Yu continued:

"I understand you feel that your sister's presence allowed your parents to work abroad peacefully, which meant you couldn't be with them."

"But your existence has restricted your sister too, hasn't it?"

"Your sister is pretty, yet she's 24 and hasn't dated or married."

"You can't be naive enough to think no one's pursued her, right?"

"Do you have any idea how many things your being here has held her back from, how many regrets it's given her?"

"Then she shouldn't take care of me!"

Xia Yue Shan suddenly roared:

"If she didn't, my parents would worry about me. They'd take me abroad or stay for my sake."

"Who wants her involved!"

Xia Yue Shan's furious shouts echoed along the quiet riverbank. Lin Yu could only look at the delusional youth with pity.

"So you're really convinced that without your sister, your parents would have taken you overseas?"

"Or stayed just for you?"

"Xia Yue Shan, wake up."

Lin Yu mercilessly shattered his illusions with a cold truth:

"They would never have taken you with them."

"I won't mention anything else; just the language barrier alone is insurmountable!"

"Without knowing the language, how would you get by overseas?"

"Stay home all day?"

"Wait for your parents to come home tired from a day's work and still look after you, cook for you?"

"I can learn to cook for myself!" Xia Yue Shan retorted defiantly.

"And what about school?" Lin Yu pressed:

"How would you solve that problem?"

"You don't think you'd be exempt from schooling overseas, do you?"

"Without language skills, how would you go to school?"

"How would you communicate with others?"

"What if they insulted you with a smile, and you'd just smile back, oblivious?"

Lin Yu did not relent, peering at the speechless Xia Yue Shan:

"Don't even think your parents would stay in China for you."

"If they could have found a similar, or slightly worse, job here, they would never have chosen to leave you behind."

"Xia Yue Shan, let me tell you."

"If your sister did as you wish and didn't look after you..."

"Your fate would have only two possibilities."

Lin Yu held up two fingers in front of Xia Yue Shan:

"Either being carelessly looked after by a paid stranger for your meals,"

"Or dumped in a prison-like boarding school, to spend your elementary, current junior high, and future high school days!"

"And," Lin Yu stood up, looking down at Xia Yue Shan sternly,

"Even with all the rage in you, it shouldn't be directed at your sister."

"At the very least, she is much more innocent than you!"