That wasn't a question, but a confirmation.

Children of that age are most sensitive. Because of various 'injustices,' it wouldn't be strange if he harbored resentment towards her then.

However, Yu Qingwu's sudden mention of this matter stunned Xie Jin Yan.

The ice lake incident was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

Even when Yu Qingwu, the victim, brought it up.

Their eyes met, and facing the woman's calm, water-like gaze, Xie Jin Yan's expression subtly changed, his eyes flickering slightly.

He stared at her with a complicated expression for a long time before replying softly, "Why are you suddenly asking about this out of the blue?"

He lowered his eyes, deliberately avoiding her gaze.

For a moment, he became restless, guilty, and ashamed, a multitude of emotions surging within him.

In the amber light, his brow was furrowed, not daring to look into her eyes, and he remained silent.

After a long while, he lowered his voice, so low it was almost inaudible, and said with remorse, "Qingwu, I admit, back then it wasn't just because I wanted you to rely on me, there was some resentment."

"I resented that when there were conflicts between me and Xiao Fengyun, I was always the one being scolded. I resented that you always favored him and were strict with me. I resented that you only saw him, even though I was already half a head taller than you, even though I was no longer the child hiding in your arms..."

"But I... I didn't know it would cause such consequences. I've never loved a woman before, so I didn't know how to love, how to make you love me..."

"If you still can't get over this, then push me into the ice lake as well..."

Xie Jin Yan lowered his head, his voice hoarse and agitated. As he spoke, he stood up and walked to Yu Qingwu, grabbing her hand without explanation.

Yu Qingwu didn't expect Xie Jin Yan to react this way to her casual question. Startled, she quickly pulled him back.

"Jin Yan, don't misunderstand, I don't resent you for asking this."

She held his hand tightly, sighed softly, and said gently, "I just want to know if I was really too much back then, to the point that you misunderstood, thinking... thinking I liked Senior Brother Xiao."

What does she mean?

She didn't like Xiao Fengyun back then?

Xie Jin Yan originally thought Yu Qingwu was bringing this up because she still harbored resentment towards him, and wanted to take revenge now.

After all, if it weren't for his impulsive actions back then, she wouldn't have lost all her inner force and suffered from the aftereffects of being susceptible to the cold.

Now, seeing that Yu Qingwu not only didn't blame him, but even asked if she had really been too much, he was completely bewildered.

How could this woman forgive him so easily?

For a moment, Xie Jin Yan's emotions were extremely complex.

He froze for a moment, his voice becoming hoarse, his eyes suddenly bloodshot with guilt, "Qingwu, you... you don't hate me?"

Not hate?

It would be a lie to say she didn't.

In the beginning, she not only hated him, but was also heartbroken.

If he weren't her junior brother, she thought she would have killed him.

But since he was her junior brother, and the brother she doted on the most at that time, she wouldn't dwell on it unless her junior brothers and sisters committed a major mistake.

Even with A Yue like that, she never thought of taking A Yue's life.

Perhaps others, even Xie Jin Yan, couldn't understand, but Yu Qingwu believed that from the day they entered the sect, her junior brothers and sisters were her family. The master said that she was the elder sister and should be tolerant of her junior brothers and sisters, and that she should also know how to discipline them when they made mistakes.

Therefore, she had always been much more forgiving to her junior brothers and sisters than to others.

Their eyes met, and meeting Xie Jin Yan's reddened eyes, Yu Qingwu shook her head slightly and sighed, "I wanted to hate you, but you are still my junior brother, someone I grew up with, like a family member. We are all the master's children, and we once depended on each other..."

"If it were someone else, I would have stabbed him to death with a knife long ago." Yu Qingwu smiled, looking at Xie Jin Yan's dark eyes that seemed to be even more self-reproachful, then slowly stood up, gently approached his embrace, and softly called his name, "Jin Yan, I was strict with you back then, and every time you had a conflict with Senior Brother Xiao, I would always scold you, not because I liked Senior Brother Xiao, but because... I cared about you more. I didn't want you to go astray. Besides, if I didn't take action against you at that time, if it fell into the master's hands, you would have suffered even more. But I didn't expect you to misunderstand because of this, and harbor resentment..."

"Later, after I fell into the lake and all my inner force was gone, I realized that I could no longer control you, so... so I had to let the master control you."

So... so that's how it was?

Yes, now that he thought about it, the things he used to do to go against Xiao Fengyun would have resulted in more than just a few beatings if they had reached the master's ears.

At that time, she was clearly protecting him.

Later, after she lost all her inner force, she really couldn't control him anymore, so she could only rely on the master to control him.

Looking back, she never abused her power to seek revenge; she always did what she should have done.

But in fact, she could have ignored him, letting him become depraved, or indulging him to become a truly absurd crown prince; those would have been the best ways to take revenge.

But she didn't, she didn't do any of that.

In that instant, Xie Jin Yan could no longer hold back.

His hands trembled slightly as he forcefully pulled the woman into his arms, his heart already filled with guilt, and at that moment, it surged even more.

"Senior sister, I'm sorry... I'm sorry, it was my fault, I shouldn't have... I really shouldn't have, I'm a bastard!"

He held her tightly, his voice trembling and hoarse, apologizing and blaming himself over and over again.

Hearing this, Yu Qingwu didn't speak, but gently patted his back, seemingly offering comfort.

The two hugged each other like that for an unknown amount of time. When Xie Jin Yan's emotions calmed down, Yu Qingwu slowly released him.

She sat back down at the table, glanced at the noodles on the table, then looked up and glared at Xie Jin Yan, complaining helplessly, "Xie Jin Yan, it's all your fault, I don't know why you're being so sentimental, look, the noodles are all mushy."

She pouted, her bright eyes filled with dissatisfaction.

Perhaps because he had been vulnerable just now, Xie Jin Yan felt somewhat awkward meeting Yu Qingwu's gaze.

His eyes were still red, but he tried to appear calm and composed as usual, glanced at the two bowls of mushy noodles, and changed the subject, "It's fine if they're mushy, they won't kill anyone. Just eat them, I'm not that delicate."

As he spoke, he sat back down and quickly stuffed the noodles into his mouth.

Yu Qingwu sat opposite him, watching Xie Jin Yan's awkward expression, and suddenly found him very endearing.

This feeling was like the time he wet the bed and got caught years ago.

"Why is my husband keeping his head down?" Seeing Xie Jin Yan trying hard to hide his embarrassment, Yu Qingwu suddenly smiled, gently leaned closer to him, and called him with a teasing tone, "Could it be that my husband is embarrassed because he cried and lost face just now, and feels ashamed?"