He had spent so long...
Taken such a long and winding road...
Only to discover this painfully obvious truth...
The Young Scholar thought...
What clever person?
He really was the biggest fool of all.
Such a simple thing...
And he had never understood it.
The Young Scholar felt a pang in his chest.
If only he had realized this sooner...
So much fretting, so much resentment...
So many complicated emotions could have been avoided.
But it was all right.
The Young Scholar slowly let out a breath.
He had figured it out now... It wasn't too late.
The Young Scholar reached up and rubbed his temples.
He smiled faintly.
"I always thought I was a clever person..."
Someone who could stay calm and rational in any situation.
But that wasn't true.
When he failed the exam, he lost control.
He had even found someone to take his anger out on.
He had arrogantly assumed that he was on the moral high ground.
That he was in the right.
That he was the victim.
But in the end...
He wasn't.
He wasn't in the right.
And he wasn't the victim.
He had simply brought it all on himself.
"...I'm truly sorry."
The Young Scholar apologized again.
"I was..."
So unreasonable and rude to you.
And more than once.
He had told the innocent little Taotie how innocent he was.
He wanted to punch his past self.
After the Young Scholar finished speaking...
The room remained quiet.
The Young Scholar shook his head slightly.
"Are you angry, so you don't want to see me?"
He could understand.
If their roles were reversed, he would be furious.
But even though the little Taotie was angry, it hadn't done anything.
"...You really have a good temper."