Many of his words and thoughts seemed like excuses.
Excuses he made for his own cowardice and weakness.
So he could continue being cowardly and weak with a clear conscience.
He...
the boy murmured.
"Just as powerless."
He could not change the situation.
He could not change himself either.
All he could do was curl up, refusing to look, listen, or ask.
"Wei Yu Chen."
Hearing his own name so suddenly, the boy abruptly raised his head.
Xiao Xiao smiled faintly.
"You've become braver."
The boy froze.
Braver?
Had he?
From the past until now, he had not changed at all.
"The you from before wouldn't have told me these things."
The corners of Xiao Xiao's lips curled upward.
The boy's pupils widened for an instant.
Very quickly, he did his best to regain his composure.
The him from before...
The him from before would never have sat down with a stranger...
Much less revealed his innermost thoughts in front of one.
Those things he could not even say to his father and mother...
No.
It was different.
He shook his head slightly.
No matter how hard he tried, if his father and mother did not understand those things, they simply did not understand.
But Eldest Brother Xiao understood.
Because he knew that, he had been able to speak so "recklessly."
Including his less-than-bright emotions and thoughts.
He had revealed everything without holding anything back.
It was incredible.
The boy was somewhat dazed.
Was it because he had finally met someone who understood him, and so he had nearly thrown caution to the wind to..."vent"?
He had truly waited a very long time for someone willing to listen...
So it was not that he had improved or become braver.
This was merely a