After sending Qi You back to school, I returned to Qi You's home alone.

Back in the house, I went to the balcony, leaned back against the wall, and smoked cigarette after cigarette, the crushed cigarette butts filling a layer in the ashtray.

Mr. Yao's smile still lingers in my heart and comes to my mind from time to time.

Her pure, innocent, friendly smile revealed a yearning and novelty for a new life, which did not change until the moment she fainted.

In this world, the most precious thing is life.

No one has the right to deprive others of their lives at will.

I remember when I was in junior high school, I learned this exercise: What is the fundamental difference between humans and animals?

The four options are: A. Possess a complex language, B. Make tools, C. Walk upright, and D. Have a developed mind.

The correct answer is B: Humans can make tools.

At the time, I was unconvinced of this answer. In my mind, humans are able to distinguish themselves from other animals because they have learned how to respect every life.

And I, just now, erased a fresh life. Even if I do this for the future of humanity, although the existence of alien beings is the greatest threat to humanity, it is ......

The premise of all this is to consider from the standpoint of human beings.

Humans kill wild beasts for their own benefit or their own safety. And the young beast that loses the protection of its parents is doomed to death.

The reason why they don't feel guilty about this is that they see wild beasts as inferior species, and they exist only to meet the needs of humans.

I tried to convince myself with this point of view, but I couldn't do it at all, because in a sense, Mr. Yao, who was parasitized by a different lifeform, behaved more like a real "person" than many people.

I grinned and smiled meaninglessly, biting my cigarette with my teeth, my brow twisted into a ball.

Cultivators, you're such a piece of shit.

I sneered at myself in my heart.

Learn from the protagonists in the time-traveling novels, so you can adapt to your role so quickly. Do things, kill decisively, and don't drag the mud and water at all......

"Damn, I'm decisive for your uncle......"

I hatefully spit the cigarette out of my mouth, and it fell on the concrete floor of the balcony, and I lifted my foot and tried hard to extinguish it.

"Why are you getting me involved in such a plot! ...... of yards

I angrily raised a hand and grabbed my hair so hard that the black strands broke between my fingers and fell to the ground.

I slumped my back against the wall and slid down, until at last I was sitting on the floor of the balcony, curled up in the corner between the balcony railing and the wall.

Fidgetily, I pulled the cigarette case out of my coat pocket, bit out a cigarette from my mouth, and lit it with a lighter.

"Whew...... Ahem! Cough... Cough! ”

My throat was prickly aching from the long hours of spicy tobacco.

I endured the burning sensation in my throat and took the cigarette out of my mouth and crushed it in the ashtray. He threw his legs up, wrapped his arms around his knees, and buried his head in the crooks of his arms, closing his eyes in exhaustion.

To avoid danger, ostriches will lie underground and hide, sticking only their heads out. This habit was later mistaken for ostriches burying their heads in the sand when they were in danger.

Ostriches do not avoid their enemies because they are afraid of danger. Studies have shown that ostriches protect themselves by skillfully using the intense light layer formed by the reflected light produced by the intense sunlight shining on the desert surface and the diffuse reflection of the hot air. It hides its body beneath the light layer, and its head watches the enemy's movements like a periscope. If spotted by an enemy, the ostrich will fight back. Relying on its tall body and strong legs, it can compete with the sharp javelins of the natives, and fierce beasts such as lions and cheetahs cannot kill it in a short time.

I felt that I was like an ostrich misunderstood by humans, deceiving myself into building a wall that had no real defense, trying to isolate myself from the harsh reality that I could not accept.

Inadvertently, I thought of my relatives, close friends, classmates, and my spiritual blood and gray leaves, but their agile figures did not give me the slightest courage, but made my emotional nerves become more and more haggard and sensitive.

Eventually, exhausted both physically and mentally, I leaned my back against the wall, rested my forehead on my arm, and fell into a deep sleep.

……

I don't know how long later, in the confusion, I heard someone speak in my ear:

"Uncle... Uncle, what's wrong with you? ”

“…… Uh-huh—" I struggled to lift my eyelids, but couldn't fully open them.

"Uncle, why are you sleeping here, get up!"

…… It was Qi You's voice.

"Get up, get up!"

Suddenly, she began to pull me hard.

I was dragged by her coldly, and I had been in an "ostrich state" for a long time, my whole body was stiff and numb, and I couldn't control my body balance, so I rolled directly on the balcony.

However, the expected and loving girl's knee pillow did not appear, and my whole body fell on the cold concrete floor with a "clang", and most of my body came into close contact with the balcony floor. The strong vibration mixed with the pain made my whole body wake up in an instant.

"Sheath, what are you doing? Murder wow... It hurts me to death..."

"Hold... Sorry, I didn't mean to, sorry uncle. ”

You didn't mean to? That's not going to happen...... Did you do it on purpose?

I lay on my side on the ground, the corners of my eyes twitching, and I stared at Qi You unkindly.

"Uncle, quick, I'll help you up!" Qi You blushed slightly and didn't dare to look at me, so he had to stretch out his little hand to me indiscriminately.

"Stop, don't touch it."

"Uncle...... Why can't your legs move, shouldn't it... Broken, right? Wait, I'm going to call the hospital! After speaking, Qi You turned around and ran towards the house.

"Stop!" I stopped her angrily, and in her worried gaze, I stubbornly explained, "I'm fine, I was just sleeping just now... Well... My legs are numb, you let me take a break. ”

“…… Burst. ”

"If you dare to laugh, believe it or not I'll beat you up?"

"Hmm... Hmmm! Qi You bit his lip tightly and shook his little head desperately. But her eyes, which had already bent into the shape of a crescent, silently added another fire to my heart, and made me so ashamed that I longed to become an ostrich again.

"Uncle, why are you asleep here?"

“…… It's nothing... I'm a little tired today. "I'm not telling the truth.

Qi You looked at me carefully for a while, nodded, half-squatted beside me, and after being silent for a few seconds, he sighed sincerely and whispered: "Uncle, thank you." ”

“……”

"I should have done that, thank you so much." Qi You hugged his knees, raised his little face, looked up at the sky, and said to me. Then she turned her face to me, and her expression became serious and resolute, and in my astonished gaze, she said to me:

"Uncle, don't worry, I won't run away anymore, next time, I will face it with you, from beginning to end."

Seeing that I didn't speak, Qi You blushed slightly and pushed me with his little hand, "Uncle, give me a reaction." ”

"Well, let's... Let's fight together! I thought about it for a while, but I couldn't come up with a suitable word to describe the situation we were in, so I ended up using the word "together."

"Uncle..."

"Huh?"

"Hello Secondary 2."

“……”

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