Xia Zhi gave a nonchalant smile and picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks to put in his bowl.
"You're not the first person to call me foolish. My dad has never liked me; ever since I was little, he'd always scold me with the word 'fool'. When my mom was alive and saw me doing things unfavorably, she would also gently blame me, saying 'too foolish'. I'm someone who's stubbornly principled, or to put it unpleasantly, I'm just very obstinate. Once I'm set on something, I don't give up easily. I don't despise you; I just feel sorry for you. I think our childhood experiences must have been quite similar."
He Jinnan held his chopsticks and listened quietly until she finished speaking, then he nodded silently but didn't respond to her words.
Xia Zhi didn't mind whether he responded or not. Her tone shifted to a lighter one as she added some green bamboo shoots to his bowl with a smile. "Eat up, the bamboo shoots are really tender."