In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

He helped Pan Ling up and asked her bluntly.

"Um……"

Pan Ling nodded weakly, her tone tinged with a hint of reproach, "It's all, it's all your fault..."

If you hadn't deliberately reopened my wounds, I wouldn't have become like this.

Actually, she was feeling conflicted. She was exhausted and wanted to lean on Xu Shi and rest for a while.

But when she thought about what Uncle Xu had just done to her, she felt an instinctive resistance and aversion.

"But you knew all along, didn't you?"

Xu Shi didn't care about her attitude and just continued reciting calmly.

"What...what do you mean..."

His tone made Pan Ling feel inexplicably guilty, and she stammered out a question.

"You know what your brother Luo Yu thinks of me, right?"

Xu Shi explained, "Coincidentally, I also know... So since I know he intends to harm me, do you still think there's anything wrong with what I did?"

"..."

Xiao Ling remained silent.

She couldn't refute Xu Shi's words, even though her father had taught her from a young age that she should fight back if she was wronged. From that perspective, was there anything wrong with his actions? No, there wasn't!

But she still mustered her courage and said, "Even so, is it possible to not...?"

"Does it have to be so cruel?"

Xu Shi smiled and said, "Sit down and have a nice, friendly chat, and then you can resolve all the conflicts and hold hands and eat fruit together?"

"It's not that simple... Isn't this what we've been doing before? Did it work?"

"..."

Pan Ling didn't use vulgar language, but she could tell that Xu Shi was indirectly saying that her ideas were too naive.

She herself felt it too, but why couldn't she...?

Just as she was struggling with her decision, Xu Shi suddenly reached out and pinched her face hard twice.

"pain!"

Little Ling instinctively cried out, "What are you doing, Uncle Xu?!"

These two blows were no joke; Xu Shi really used his strength, and you could see that her cheeks were even a little swollen.

"I just wanted to tease you a little, is there a problem with that?"

Xu Shi looked indifferent. "Or... are you angry?"

Pan Ling really wanted to say, "Of course I'm angry! You're not angry if I pinch you twice for no reason?"

But after realizing what kind of person Xu Shi was, she didn't dare say that anymore. She just rubbed her cheeks, feeling wronged, and gently shook her head, "No, not really..."

"Really do not have?"

Xu Shi joked, "Then let me pinch it a couple more times? It'll look better if it's more symmetrical."

"...I'm really not angry."

Pan Ling unconsciously moved back a little, "But, but Uncle Xu, please stop pinching me..."

"You're not saying what you mean, little Ling," Xu Shi said with a smile.

"No, no..."

Xiaoling instinctively denied it, but then suddenly realized something and stared at him with wide eyes.

"You also have times when you say one thing and mean another, right?"

Xu Shi said seriously, "For example, right now... since you have it yourself, isn't it normal for others to have it too?"

Pan Ling blinked, as if... it really was true?

"Everyone has some dirty little secrets hidden in their heart, little Ling."

Xu Shi chuckled and sighed, "The only difference is more or less... Your brother Luo Yu is human too, so it's normal for him to act this way, isn't it?"

"Then, then you..."

Pan Ling bit her lip.

"Of course I do too. If I had to say, the darkness in my heart is probably much greater than that of the average person."

Xu Shi said generously, "Of course, I consider your father a friend, so you don't need to worry that I will have any bad intentions towards you."

"I...I'm not worried at all..."

"Don't worry, thank you for your trust."

Xu Shi laughed happily, "But what I want to say is that you shouldn't let your abilities become a burden."

"Hey?"

"You can sense what other people are thinking; that's a remarkable ability."

Xu Shi said earnestly, "So you should learn how to face all of this correctly."

He saw things clearly. The girl's real problem was that she felt there was too much negative energy around her. Everyone acted one way in front of others and another way behind their backs, which was indeed unpleasant. Afterwards, she kept it all bottled up inside and couldn't find anyone to confide in. Over time, she naturally became gloomy and withdrawn.

In a sense, this can be considered a complication of her ability to ascend to higher ranks.

The conflict that day was not the main problem, but at most a trigger or a spark, since it involved her brother Luo Yu. Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to come looking for her.

"Then, can you teach me how to face this?"

This piqued Pan Ling's interest, and she quickly asked.

"Well... I can only offer you some advice?"

After a moment's thought, Xu Shi said, "For example, if it doesn't concern you, just ignore it or pretend it doesn't exist. But if it does concern you, you can prepare in advance based on the other party's thoughts. At least you won't suffer any losses if you do that."

That's right, it would be too embarrassing to talk about someone with mind-reading abilities being ambushed.

"Of course, it's also very necessary to train and improve your own abilities. You probably can't control them at will right now, right? If you can control them freely, then you can turn them off normally, which will easily filter out a lot of things, right?"

"Uh-huh."

Xiaoling nodded repeatedly; Uncle Xu's idea sounded very feasible.

But she had another question, "Uncle Xu, do you think... there really isn't anyone in this world who has no secrets in their heart?"

"Maybe there are, like newborn babies?"

Xu Shi said half-jokingly, "But people like that are a minority. I've never met one, and I guess you haven't either... So if you do, just consider it a pleasant surprise. Most people have secrets in their hearts."

"Oh."

Pan Ling responded, and the struggle and sadness on her face faded considerably.

"Do you feel much better now?"

Xu Shi couldn't help but pat her head.

"Ah."

Little Ling didn't flinch, and gradually a smile appeared on her face.

The truth is, she never expected things to turn out this way, but undeniably, after listening to Xu Shi's advice, she did feel a sense of sudden enlightenment.

Because this was the first time she had ever confided in someone, well, before. She had never shared her secrets with anyone before, so naturally no one had ever helped her relieve her inner turmoil.

At most, one can find a secluded place, a rock, or a big tree to confide in, but that only treats the symptoms, not the root cause; the pain will still linger.

"...Thank you, Uncle Xu. Your words were very helpful."

She sincerely thanked Xu Shi.

"Why are you being so polite? I already said your father is my friend, so of course you are too."

Xiao Xu waved his hand, "Besides, I also prefer to see girls smile."

"Then, can I still come to you like this... to chat in the future?"

These words warmed Pan Ling's heart, and she couldn't help but ask another question.

Going with her sister to learn swordsmanship from Aunt Xia wasn't so bad, but it was her sister's hobby, not hers. In comparison, Xu Shi was more attractive to her.

"If you'd like?"

Xu Shi did not refuse, "I'm glad you don't mind if I have a falling out with your brother Luo Yu."

"No, no! According to you, Uncle Xu, I should... take it in stride?"

The little girl quickly shook her head, "And you can rest assured, I won't tell anyone."

She was referring, of course, to her ability to perceive the darkness within Xu Shi's heart.

"It's okay to tell others, I'm not a good person anyway."

Xu Shi didn't care at all. "Of course, it would be better if you didn't say anything."

"No, you actually care quite a bit. If I really told you, you might spank me..."

Pan Ling muttered something.

Xu Shi almost fell off the rock; it was numb and tingly, and he could feel it so clearly.

This is only a C-level mind-reading ability, right? What if it leveled up to B or A? S-level is unthinkable...

"...Then you absolutely cannot say it."

His petty thoughts were ruthlessly exposed, so he simply changed his expression, put on a stern face and threatened her, "You know what the consequences will be, I don't need to tell you."

"I know, I know..."

Pan Ling nodded meekly in agreement.

"Alright, it's getting late, hurry up and go home to sleep."

Xu Shi said irritably, and before leaving, he didn't forget to stuff a bottle of medical spray into her hand, "Remember to spray this on your face before you go back, it will reduce the swelling in a few minutes... otherwise people will think I did something to you."

"Oh."