Hug

Beijing, the descending darkness of Tylem's first day at school.

Nighttime was nearing.

Tylem was finishing the homework he had been assigned from the various classes.

The math equations did not take long at all. Regarding the algebra and trigonometry questions he had been given, he was well versed in it all. The same went for the science subjects.

Out of everything, English was the sole troublesome class. It wasn't that the answers were difficult; instead, his pronunciation and accent were flawed. If he was overseas, with one word, anyone could tell that he was a foreigner.

Of course, his appearance would give it away regardless. In the Qi Building stage, Tylem also noticed that his memory and retention skills had greatly increased. However, it was not quite at the level of photographic memory.

"I need to temper my body." Tylem thought. In order to continue advancing, he needed to temper his physique so that he could support the violent Qi that would flow through his entire being.

If he was too arrogant, he could even implode as a consequence.

"Knock." The sound was light, and if Tylem wasn't a cultivator with great hearing, he would have missed it.

"Come in." Tylem turned the ergonomic chair around, facing the door.

Slowly, the door creaked open, and a little face peeked through the gap without entering.

"Lynne." Tylem sighed. "You're angry at me?"

When he asked this, he watched the little girl fiercely shake her head.

"Then..." Tylem closed his eyes, continuing, "I take it that this is about what I said earlier."

"Like I said... Lynne, I will tell Mother and Father after one week." Meeting her gaze, Tylem's voice was clear and firm. "You can't convince me. My mind won't change."

However, once again, Lynne shook her head.

"B-brother, Lynne is here to apologize." Finally, Lynne choked out the words stuck in her throat.

"What for?" Tylem asked, tilting his head. "You haven't done anything wrong, Lynne."

"You're the victim here." Tylem added, "If anyone is at fault, it is Ava and Onel along with all the other trash who side with them for power."

"Brother, do you hate me after what I said?" Lynne abruptly asked, omitting Tylem's point.

"No." Tylem looked into her glistening eyes, which captured all her sorrows.

"Then... why do you feel so distant right now." Lynne clenched her snowy-white teeth, her low voice almost begging.

"You're lying... please just stop hating me." Lynne's breathing was heavy and out of control. "I'll tell you everything, starting from the very beginning with Ava and how I got to this point."

"This..." Tylem sighed, his voice gentle. "I'm sorry for leaving like that back then, Lynne."

"Brother!" Lynne sniveled, dropping to her knees. "Lynne didn't mean what she said earlier."

"I was very emotional." Lynne's crying shook the entire bedroom. "Big Bro, I don't know why I acted the way I did."

"I thought it through, Big Bro." Tugging at Tylem's shirt, Lynne rested her tear-soaked face against it. "I know that you were just worried for me since you care a lot about Lynne."

"I'm so very happy to have a big brother like you, Tylem." Lynne cried out with no falsehood, everything coming from her heart. "I wouldn't accept anyone else, and it'll remain like that until Lynne dies."

"Until Lynne dies?" Tylem stroked her hair, comforting, "I would never let that happen."

Lynne shook at Tylem's tender gaze, biting her lips as she remembered how capable he was during lunch break.

Godly—at that moment, she truly did believe that Tylem had the entire world beneath his feet.

Tylem allowed the girl to cry her heart out in his arms. Time to time, he would whisper in her ear that everything would be all right, and nothing ever happens without reason.

Hardship brought about crucial life experiences.

"Brother..." Lynne picked herself up as Tylem gently wiped her tears away.

"I will tell you everything." Closing her eyes, Lynne began to recount the tales of her past.

"Ava and I were best friends."

"I met her when I was five, and I had just been moved up a year in a brand-new school."

"For a long time, I was alone, but then I managed to become good friends with Ava during a school trip where we got lost and had to find our way back together. Later on, we did almost everything together..."

. . .

. . .

. . .

Twenty minutes later, Lynne finished retelling her memories of how everything had led to this point, her voice sore and croaky. Many times, she had wanted to stop, but she continued pushing herself to be brave.

"So... I deserve the pain." Lynne couldn't control her saddened cheeks that sunk down. "I made Ava miserable first."

Tylem sighed. The main gist of Lynne's story was that... she had made an unforgivable decision two years ago due to not thinking things through, which ended up greatly harming Ava's life as a result.

It was a complicated situation where she had been given many choices, but she had chosen the 'worst' one. According to his little sister, she had betrayed her friend's trust first.

Having heard the conclusion of the story, Tylem wiped the last teardrop off her little fearful face, "Little Sister, it must have been hard."

Lynne felt like her heart was clogging up. Biting her lips, she mumbled, "Y-yeah."

These were five simple words that she had wanted to hear for years, hoping for someone to one day share her sorrow and empathize were her.

"But you're wrong." Tylem declared, exuding an air of confidence. "You don't deserve this."

It was an honest, sincere mistake.

"You were just a child; moreover, you've apologized and accepted your mistakes long ago." Tylem sneered. "For Ava to be so unforgiving to this day, she isn't a true friend."

Even now, Lynne was still a mere eleven-year-old child.

Both Lynne and Ava needed to accept that enough was enough.

"It's one thing to be angry, but she even goes as far as to ruin your life." Tylem continued.

"Lynne, it's not like you had planned for all that madness to happen afterward." Tylem opened the windows to let in the fresh air, taking in the vast skies, "It just did. We, as imperfect humans, can't avoid tragedy."

"We make mistakes and experience hardship on a regular basis." Smiling, Tylem implied his own tragic past, "However, it's all about accepting these mistakes that allow us to grow up and better ourselves."

Just like he had done...

"I had a mother who made far too many mistakes. Blind, she repaid kindness with enmity, unable to even differentiate her allies from enemies. I will never be like that."

"Lynne, know that I will not go out of my way to help and befriend strangers first, but I will also never forget those who showed me true kindness when I was weak."

In Tylem's eyes, those who clung to their friends for status and comfort when everything was peaceful—their futures bright—but abandoned them at a moment's notice when their use was lost and life got tough were the worst type of trash.

When life got tough for a loved one, it was up to them, the person's friends and family, to help them back on their feet. However, too many of those 'friends' would instead kick them when they were down, opting to side with the greater power.

Right now, Lynne was too young to accept everything, all her flaws, just like that. However, she kept Tylem's words in the back of her mind. Perhaps, she did not deserve all of this pain, after all.

One day, Lynne would fully understand Tylem's intentions—but not now.

"Thank you... brother."