Fresh

Gu Yuena bears the fate of the entire Soul Beast on her shoulders. From the day she awoke, she has never lived a single day for herself.

Everything she did was for the future of the Soul Beast, and for the people who trusted her and followed her.

She knew that if a person chose to take responsibility, they would have to pay a price, including sacrificing their personal feelings, freedom, and even their life.

But what about Huo Yuhao? He chose to take on the responsibility of the Spirit Pagoda, but refused to take on the responsibility of being a father.

He selected some and discarded others. Gu Yuena couldn't understand this selective responsibility.

In her view, responsibility is not a menu; one cannot simply order what one likes.

You either take the responsibility, or you don't; there's no middle ground.

Gu Yuena's voice was very soft, as if she were talking to herself. "Huo Yuhao, I remember everything you did for the Soul Beast in the future, but I also remember your attitude towards that child."

The greater Huo Yuhao's contribution to the Spirit Pagoda, the more despicable he was in his relationship with Xu Yunhan.

These two points are not contradictory; they are both there for anyone to see.

Ultimately, Huo Yuhao's greatest tragedy in life was not that he hated a father he shouldn't have hated, nor that he abandoned a son he shouldn't have abandoned, but that he was never able to escape the shadows of his childhood.

He spent his entire life competing with Dai Hao, trying to prove that he could live well without his father.

His relentless cultivation, his relentless pursuit of strength, and his desperate efforts to build his achievements were largely a way of calling out to the father who never appeared, "Look, I can manage even without you."

But if a person spends their whole life trying to prove themselves to another, then they will forever live in the shadow of that other person.

Dai Hao never appeared in Huo Yuhao's childhood, but Dai Hao's shadow loomed over Huo Yuhao's entire life.

All of Huo Yuhao's choices, all his persistence, and all his inner turmoil can be found in that shadow.

The more he tries to prove that he doesn't need a father, the more it shows how much he cares about the identity of "father".

He hated Dai Hao not because Dai Hao wasn't important; on the contrary, it was precisely because Dai Hao was too important—so important that he could never let go of him for the rest of his life.

His ultimate attitude towards Xu Yunhan was also part of this tangled mess.

He dared not face Xu Yunhan, dared not be a father, largely because he did not know how to be one.

He had never been a son, at least not during his childhood, so he didn't know how to be a father.

He was afraid of not doing well, afraid of becoming another Dai Hao, afraid that the child would look at him with the same eyes when he grew up.

Out of fear, he chose to run away. But the more he ran away, the more he resembled Dai Hao.

Fate drew a circle for him; he went around in circles, and in the end, he stood in the exact same position as Dai Hao.

The difference is that Dai Hao had a chance to make amends, while Huo Yuhao didn't even give himself that chance.

After learning the truth, Dai Hao took the initiative to find Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao, after learning the truth, deliberately distanced himself from Xu Yunhan.

One took a step forward, the other a step back; their directions were opposite, so the outcomes were naturally different.

[Huo Yuhao Huo Yuhao, you hated Dai Hao for half your life, but in the end you're not even as good as him.]

It's not that they are inferior to his achievements, but rather to his courage.

He dares to admit it, you don't.

He dares to make amends, you don't.

He dares to face the mistakes he has made, while you only dare to hide them and pretend they don't exist.

You say you hate him, but you ended up living a life even worse than him. Does that hatred still have any meaning?

After writing this sentence, Lin Ye put down his pen and let out a long breath.

It was already noon outside, the sun was shining brightly, and the aroma of food wafting from the cafeteria seeped in through the cracks in the window, making his stomach rumble.

Lin Ye stood up, stretched, and his bones cracked a few times.

He went into the cafeteria, ordered a braised pork belly with vegetables, found a corner to sit down, and ate while thinking about what he had just written.

To be honest, he had no personal grudges against Huo Yuhao; in fact, he even admitted that Huo Yuhao was indeed worthy of respect in many ways.

But it is precisely because of this admiration that I am even more disappointed.

A person capable of accomplishing so many great things stumbled on the simplest of tasks.

To be a father, you don't need talent, resources, or Million-Year Soul Ring; all you need is a heart willing to get close.

Huo Yuhao didn't have that heart, or rather, he gave that heart to the whole world, but not to the child who called him father.

Lin Ye stuffed the last piece of braised pork into his mouth, chewed it, swallowed it, and then picked up the bowl and drank the soup as well.

He leaned back in his chair and stared blankly at the chandelier on the cafeteria ceiling for a while.

He was thinking about a question: if one day in the future, Xu Yunhan stood in front of Huo Yuhao and asked him, "Why don't you want me?", how would Huo Yuhao answer?

He thought for a long time and felt that no matter how Huo Yuhao answered, the answer wouldn't be very pleasant.

Lin Ye shook his head, stood up, returned the empty bowl to the recycling area, and walked out of the cafeteria.

The sunlight shone on his face, warm and comforting, and he squinted.

Shrek Academy, cafeteria.

While Lin Ye was eating, Xiao Xiao on the second floor was listlessly poking at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks, her eyes fixed on Diary Copy in her mind. The rice was almost cold, and she hadn't eaten much.

She read through everything Lin Ye wrote today, and afterwards felt a tightness in her chest.

It's not the kind of choking feeling that makes you want to cry, but rather the kind of choking feeling that makes you want to say something but don't know what to say.

She actually had a pretty good impression of Huo Yuhao, but Lin Ye told her that this seemingly perfect classmate was a complete bastard when it came to his own son.

It feels like you've been looking up at a tall tower, and suddenly you discover a crack at the base of the tower.

The tower is still the same tower, still inscribed with so many glorious achievements, but you know the crack is there, and every time you see it, you can't help but check if the crack is still there.

Xiao Xiao felt that if she saw Huo Yuhao again in the future, she might not be able to face him as openly as before.

She would think of Xu Yunhan's name, of the child without a father, and of how Huo Yuhao had been so gentle to everyone on the battlefield, yet so cold to his own son.

"Lin Ye is ruthless enough."

Xiao Xiao stuck her chopsticks into her rice, propped her chin on her hand, and muttered to herself, "When praising someone, she can make them feel like they're on top of the world; when criticizing someone, she can make them feel like they're on the ground. Luckily Huo Yuhao can't see this diary. If Huo Yuhao did, he probably wouldn't be able to eat."

Xiao Xiao sighed and decided to stop thinking about it.

She picked up the now-cold rice and ate it in large mouthfuls.

Food can still be eaten even when it's cold, and it's never too late to see people clearly.