After hearing Kuize lay bare his thoughts, Yelun smiled bitterly once more.
"To be honest, I once had the same thoughts as you."
Kuize's expression froze at those words.
"Oh?"
Yelun lowered his head to glance at the infant in his arms, then shifted his gaze toward the stone statue ahead.
"I once hated Ye Chen too."
"From the bottom of my heart, I once questioned whether 'she' had truly needed to die in agony just to give birth to such an ugly thing in the end."
"Was all of this really worth it?"
"Such a frail little life..."
"Was it truly worthy of such a heavy sacrifice?"
"But do you know what happened, Kuize?"
"When I was filled with doubts—even frenzy and rage—and reached out to hold Ye Chen in my palm for the first time..."
"All my previous doubts and confusion vanished from my mind in an instant."
Kuize fell silent.
"..."
Yelun raised his head to gaze at the stone statue's kindly face, then looked down at the infant in his arms. Countless ripples of emotion welled up in his calm eyes.
"His blood passed warmth into my skin."
"His limbs kept wriggling in my hands."
"His mouth and nose opened and closed before my eyes."
"His heart beat fiercely before my eyes."
"Every single movement this child made told me..."
"He wanted to live."
"Even if he was hideous beyond measure."
"Even if he was incomparably fragile."
"Having been born into this world, he still wanted to strive to live!"
"And at that moment, I was the only person in this world who could help him—the only person willing to help him!"
"Other than me, he had no one to turn to!"
"If I remained indifferent, he could only leave his corpse exposed in the wilderness!"