The boy's pupils constricted.
The color that had only just returned to his face drained away, leaving it deathly pale.
"I... didn't..."
The boy dug his fingernails into the back of his hand.
Faint red marks appeared.
"Have you ever clearly told your friends that you don't like them pushing you forward whenever something happens?"
"Have you?"
Xiao Xiao looked into the child's somewhat dazed eyes.
Had he...?
The boy tried hard to get his mind, unusually sluggish at the moment, working.
Maybe... he hadn't?
Memories from the past surfaced in his mind.
"Feng Ji, I'm sorry!"
A blurry figure clasped his hands together, bowing with an ingratiating smile. "I panicked just now, so I gave them your name..."
What had he said then?
He'd said... it was fine.
Because it wasn't that big a deal...
The other person had later bought him a can of cola to make it up to him.
Feng Ji suddenly smiled.
Only now did he realize.
At first, they would still apologize to him and make it up to him.
But at some point, taking the blame for them had become something they simply expected.
There were no more apologies, no more attempts to make amends...
He really did have a good temper.
Even if he was angry one moment, when they came to ask him to play basketball the next, he would still go.
As though nothing had happened.
"...I really do have a good temper..."
The boy murmured.
"You've been directing all your anger at yourself."
"No."
Xiao Xiao shook his head. "Later, you learned to find other outlets for it too, didn't you?"
"Those stray cats and dogs?"
"Even... monsters."
The boy pressed his lips tightly together.
He really... couldn't stand it anymore.
If he didn't let