Dong Huiying was surprised for a moment. How could it possibly be extreme?? The word ’extreme’ seemed as unrelated to the gentle-looking Yixuan as can be! Shujun laughed, "See? I knew you wouldn’t believe it. But I’m telling you the truth." Next, Shujun began to provide examples to prove her point. "I mentioned before that, besides Lao Si, Lao Er and Little Liu also liked cats and dogs and such. But Little Liu’s fondness couldn’t last very long." "I remember it must’ve been when Little Liu was about eight or nine? I can’t recall his exact age. After all, too much time has passed. But I have a deep impression of that incident." "At that time, the mountain was suffering a drought, and the Dealer’s fields had no crops. Desperate with hunger, people would even dig up grass roots and tree bark to chew on." "It was then that Lao Si went up the mountain to dig for tree bark but unexpectedly encountered a small squirrel. That little squirrel was starving and pitifully thin." "Hm... back then, one could hardly see any living creatures on the mountain. Not to mention squirrels, even catching a mouse was down to luck! In any case, at that time, anything edible was thrown into the pot to stew together, with the thin soup it was enough to fill one’s stomach with water." "But Lao Si was particularly fond of that squirrel, so he kept the squirrel at home." "As children, we brothers didn’t have many friends. Little Liu was also taller compared to peers his age, so he didn’t really have playmates either. I and Lao Si were always busy going up the mountain to find food and were rarely at home, so it was always Little Liu who cared for the squirrel." "He took great care of it and treated the squirrel well. But on one occasion, a kid from the village... I’ve forgotten his name. Anyway, that kid saw the squirrel and began to tease it incessantly." "Initially, when Little Liu saw this, he was not pleased. But his nature had always been such, unless it was unbearable, he wouldn’t easily show whether he was happy or unhappy." "He endured too much and suppressed too much. However, this kind of hidden endurance and suppression was not a good thing. Because once too much was accumulated, when one could no longer bear it, the outburst of negative emotions would be quite astonishing." "Just like that incident back then." "My most profound memory is the last time, when the kid took the squirrel away right in front of Little Liu. The squirrel was gentle, did not resist, but instead was very affectionate with the other." "I was at home at that moment and saw this scene as well. But Little Liu just gave the squirrel a calm glance and then turned and walked away, never even looking back." "After a day passed. Lao Si returned from the mountain and after a long search, he found the little squirrel. But by that time, the poor little creature had been gnawed into a skeletal frame. Chopped into pieces and stewed into a broth by that kid and his family." "Lao Si’s eyes turned red on the spot, but Little Liu was indifferent, as if he wasn’t sad at all." "Later, Lao Si dug a hole and buried those broken bones, creating a grave for the little one." "Once, I saw Little Liu standing in front of the little mound of the squirrel and I asked an extra question. I asked him if he had any regrets? Was he distressed? Was he sad? Little Liu seemed very puzzled." "He looked at me and instead asked me why he should feel distressed, why he should be sad, and why he should have regrets? It was the squirrel who didn’t want him; he had already been hurt once, why should he go through the pain again? His fondness for the squirrel was his own affair, but if the squirrel didn’t like him, it chose the other kid over him."
