The little girl who had been drawing circles on his back suddenly stopped.
Her breathing also slowed.
Close to his ear, it sounded a bit heavy.
Yu Wenli gazed at the glossy evergreen leaves basking in the sun not far away.
He repeatedly warned himself, not to rush, not to rush.
She was so afraid of abandonment; he had to give her enough time and warmth.
He had to let her feel their sincerity, and then, little by little, she would walk out of her previous misconceptions.
Only then would it be the best choice for her.
His thoughts swirled a thousand times, but reality was but a blink of an eye.
Yu Wenli withdrew his gaze, chuckled as if nothing had happened, and said,
"If you don't want them to know, I'll help you keep it a secret? Hmm?"
He jiggled the child, signaling her not to be nervous.
Wen Tingxue hooked her arms around the young man's neck, lying on his back like a doll.
Her dark eyes stared blankly at his left ear, which was so bright in the sunlight, she could even see the fine downy hairs on it clearly.
She could even reach out and grab it.
It was as if the happiness she had longed for was within reach.
As long as she was willing to take one step forward, she could have what she wanted, but—
Wen Tingxue dejectedly lowered her eyelids. She truly dared not.
She was afraid that a single misstep would lead to everything collapsing.
"Yu Gege..."
The little girl pressed her cheek against his slightly thin back and asked with shallow breaths,
"Do you think I'm troublesome?"
Before Yu Wenli could answer, the child mockingly continued on her own,
"As soon as I arrived in Jiangcheng, I alarmed the police, alarmed you and Auntie and Uncle. After enrolling, I also ran into trouble with Yu Ya and a lost bracelet.
"After finally being quiet for two days, I got injured again, bothering you to carry me, to carry me on your back, and to have you buy me sanitary napkins.
"But I really didn't do it on purpose. I didn't know things would turn out like this..."
The little girl sounded self-reproaching and wronged, her voice filled with suppressed hoarseness.
It was as if she were trying hard to contain some overflowing emotion.
Yu Wenli's lips tightened, and his heart felt stifled, about to explode.
He could guess the reason for her desire to de-escalate, but he never imagined she would take all the blame onto herself.
Clearly, it wasn't her who did anything wrong, nor was it her who caused the current consequences.
In fact, in all these matters, she was the victim.
Yet, she still felt the problem lay with her.
What kind of upbringing could make someone feel so inexplicably self-blaming?
"No."
Yu Wenli suppressed his rising anger and said as calmly as possible,
"Let's not even talk about it not being intentional. Even if it were intentional, I'd still back you up."
In front of the second-year teaching building, there was a considerable green space with trees and flowers, interspersed with a few stone benches.
Yu Wenli placed the little girl on a stone bench, on which he had spread his school uniform jacket, and then squatted down to be at her eye level.
As if when they first met, he looked into her eyes with unusual seriousness and asked, word by word,
"Yi Yi, what exactly are you afraid of? Are you afraid that we'll think you're troublesome, and because you're not well-behaved, we'll abandon you?"
He had intended to wait for her to gradually figure things out and take steps.
But her words just now suddenly made him realize that for someone who is stuck in their ways,
more time is less effective than external force.
She was clearly influenced by her grandmother, her entire being trapped in a flawed mindset of "whether it's my fault or not, it will ultimately be my fault."
If he didn't break through from the outside, he feared she would get so stuck she'd die in her own corner.
Wen Tingxue's soft spot was struck by his question; her eyes visibly flinched, as if trying to avoid this sharp topic.
But Yu Wenli stared at her unblinkingly, clearly not intending to let go easily.
After a moment of stalemate, Wen Tingxue conceded, her expression troubled as she revealed her inner thoughts.
"I... I just feel that if I'm good and don't cause you trouble or problems, you'll like me more."
The more love she received, the less likely she would be abandoned.
The remaining words, she ultimately couldn't say.
But Yu Wenli could see it, and with a long sigh, he said,
"You think that if you're good and obedient, we'll pay more attention to you?"
The little girl bit her lip and looked at him. The answer was obvious in her bright eyes.
Yu Wenli smiled and coaxed her, "Then... do you think gege is good and obedient?"
"Ah...?"
The topic shifted too abruptly, and the little girl stared at him blankly for a moment.
Then, she nodded somewhat reluctantly.
But recalling past events, she still couldn't go against her conscience and admit that he was associated with being good.
Thus, the nod she had just made was forcibly changed into a shake.
Yu Wenli was amused by her sudden change of mind and couldn't help but break into a radiant smile.
It was different from his usual gentle smile.
The corners of his lips were fully upturned, facing the sun, with his teeth lightly showing, warm and healing.
Wen Tingxue subconsciously smiled along, her own curve shallow, her eyes innocent and worldly, pure to the extreme.
It could easily stir up desires in people's hearts.
To make her cry.
Yu Wenli's eyes deepened, then cleared again in a moment.
"See, gege is not well-behaved, but gege's parents love him very much, and gege's friends have good relationships with him, right?"
The little girl thought about their meals and interactions a few times and nodded.
Yu Wenli felt reassured and, just as he was about to delve deeper, the little girl suddenly made a U-turn.
"But... you're good at academics and capable, so of course they'd like you."
Her eyes were crystal clear, her tone utterly pure.
At that moment, Yu Wenli was almost swayed.
"..."
After a two-second silence with his eyes lowered, Yu Wenli raised his eyelids and said with a serious expression,
"Yi Yi, true love needs no conditions."
The little girl tilted her head in confusion, seeming not to agree with this statement.
But she didn't directly refute it, instead asking, "Then what does it need?"
Yu Wenli hesitated for a second, then asked instead of answering, "Did your father and aunt treat your grandmother with filial piety?"
Wen Tingxue thought for a moment and nodded, "They were filial."
Not talking about now.
At least in past years, as long as Grandma spoke, Dad and Aunt would do their best to satisfy her.
"Then," Yu Wenli softened his tone, trying to minimize the harm to her.
"Did your grandmother cherish them? Or did she care more about your idle uncle?"
The little girl froze, something churning and changing in her eyes.
Yu Wenli's Adam's apple bobbed, and he delivered another strong blow.
"You've been so good since you were little, did that earn you your grandmother's favoritism? Or did she always unconditionally favor your cousin?"
The little girl didn't speak, nor did she look sad. She just sat there blankly.
As if she were processing what he had said.
Yu Wenli didn't want to reopen her wounds, but she had been too deeply poisoned by her grandmother.
If the rotten flesh wasn't cut out ruthlessly, it wouldn't work.
"Do you think your father and aunt weren't capable enough? Or is your academic performance not as good as your cousin's?"
Yu Wenli pursed his lips and sighed leisurely, "In the end, people's hearts are biased, and they're biased for no reason."
"There is."
After a long silence, the little girl suddenly spoke.
Yu Wenli raised an eyebrow, "What?"