Chizhao mercilessly scorned Rasa in her heart, and seeing Gaara's helpless expression, she felt another pang of heartache.
"Gaara, are you okay?" Chizhao asked softly.
Gaara looked down at the fried fish cakes covered in sand on the ground, then looked at Chizhao with a hint of apology.
"I'm sorry, Chizhao, I dirtied the fish cakes your grandma worked so hard to make..."
Chizhao couldn't bear Gaara's cuteness and kindness.
She hugged Gaara's small body, her expression agitated and her tone fervent: "Don't worry about it! It's fine! Next time you come to my house! I'll have grandma make you lots and lots of fish cakes!"
Gaara's suppressed emotions, released by the hug, allowed his entire being to relax.
He leaned softly on Chizhao's shoulder, recalling her words from earlier, and a certain respect for the girl before him arose in his heart.
"Chizhao, what you just said sounded so amazing!"
Chizhao brushed a lock of hair from her forehead, a smug expression on her face: "Well... they're just simple truths."
This further increased Gaara's respect for her.
Rasa, walking on the other side, also recalled Chizhao's words.
His brows were furrowed, and his eyes showed displeasure. In his opinion, this was an open challenge to his ideology, and he could not tolerate anyone questioning his beliefs.
Sacrifice for the Village's benefit, even if it was his own son, was worth it.
Jiraiya, you really have a good disciple.
.........
Afterward, Gaara and Chizhao completely forgot about the unpleasantness that had just occurred, as if nothing had happened, and started chasing and playing with each other again.
Suddenly, a rubber ball flew from somewhere and slammed hard towards Chizhao's head.
"Chizhao, look out!"
Gaara anxiously reached out his hand, and a mass of sand instantly gathered in front of Chizhao, blocking the flying ball.
The ball hit the sand, spun for a moment, and then fell weakly to the ground.
Chizhao was startled by the sudden incident and looked up to see a worried Gaara.
"Are you okay, Chizhao?"
"I'm fine, you're amazing, Gaara!"
Gaara scratched his head. It was the first time anyone had praised him, and his small face turned red, looking a bit embarrassed.
He carefully helped Chizhao up from the ground, and then bent down to pick up the ball.
"Huh? This ball looks familiar... Could it be..."
Chizhao observed the ball carefully, but before she could state her conclusion, a boy ran over.
"I'm really sorry..."
Looking at the child with dark circles under his eyes, Chizhao almost burst out laughing.
"You're... Gaara...?"
Gaara froze in place, looking at the boy who had insulted him yesterday, his hand holding the ball appearing somewhat awkward.
"Um... yesterday... thank you so much..."
The boy awkwardly averted his gaze, scratching his head in embarrassment.
This left Chizhao and Gaara looking at each other, puzzled.
"Thank you for saving me yesterday, for holding off that... desert demon... I was so scared at the time."
Hearing this, they both instantly understood.
Gaara looked at Chizhao helplessly, about to explain, but Chizhao interrupted him first:
"Yes! I was also saved by Gaara. If it weren't for Gaara, I definitely would have been caught by that desert demon! Thank you, Gaara!"
Chizhao gave Gaara a meaningful look, causing the red-haired boy to pause. A few seconds later, he understood her meaning.
Rubbing the surface of the ball with his thumb, Gaara smiled awkwardly: "It's okay, as long as you two are fine."
With Chizhao chiming in, the panda-eyed boy finally mustered the courage to speak his mind: "And also... please don't take what I said yesterday to heart, just pretend I was talking nonsense..."
Chizhao watched the panda-eyed boy with interest, nodding in approval.
It seems my role as the 'bad guy' wasn't in vain.
Gaara walked towards him, handing him the ball, his tone full of sincerity:
"Yesterday, I just wanted to return the ball to you all, I had no ill intentions. Here, take it."
Waaah, what a little angel, Gaara!
Chizhao watched the scene unfold, tears of a doting mother flowing in her heart.
Seeing the ball offered by the red-haired boy, the panda-eyed boy realized his mistake, and their misunderstanding was resolved.
He smiled cheerfully, pushing the ball back.
"You can have this. I need to go home, see you again if we get the chance!"
Chizhao took the ball from Gaara's hand and bounced it: "Great, we have a ball to play with!"
"Why didn't Chizhao tell the truth just now?"
Gaara was puzzled. Yashamaru had taught him that good children should not lie.
"Sometimes, a kind lie can also help others."
Chizhao explained patiently while playing with the ball. Seeing Gaara tilt his head, his face full of confusion, she sighed helplessly.
"Although I lied just now, it further established your friendly image, so the misunderstanding between you and that boy was resolved."
"So that's how it is!"
After understanding the full picture, Gaara suddenly realized, and his hand felt heavy. A ball appeared in his hand. He looked up and saw Chizhao in the distance, shouting at him: "Gaara, kick it over!"
A brilliant smile bloomed on his lips. He placed the ball at his feet and kicked it with force.
Then he chased after the ball, running like a wild child. The sunlight fell on his face, sweeping away the previous gloom, and his emerald eyes sparkled like jewels. Amidst the rolling yellow sand, he ran determinedly towards the sunlight.
As night fell, the aroma of food filled the streets and alleys. After a joyful play session, the two children said goodbye and returned home.
Chizhao lay contentedly on the sofa after Keiko's relentless feeding.
She relayed Gaara's comments on the fish cakes, and Keiko was also very happy, pondering what dish to make next.
Chizhao was truly worried that Keiko would feed her into a big fat pig in the future.
When she finished washing up and returned to her room, she lay in bed, thinking about something that deeply bothered her.
That was, she had lied today. She considered it a kind lie, but there was no good deed progress and no bad deed progress. Why was this?
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her. She sat up abruptly from the bed, pinching her chin in thought.
Could it be that a lie isn't a concrete action, but a moral issue?
Lying cannot determine the extent of benefit or harm, and thus cannot form a judging standard. For example, yesterday I hurt that boy because I maliciously hit him, causing substantial harm, so it met the bad deed standard.
Could the judging standard be based on the most fundamental material level?
【That's roughly the idea!】
"Xiao Wang?"
【Generally, moral issues can be ignored, such as urinating in public, or insulting others, or threatening someone... But once substantial harm is caused, and the damage to interests is significant, it might trigger the setting.】
"You're the one who urinates in public!"
【It's just an example, it's not directed at you.】
"It's all so complicated!"
【I don't quite understand this setting either, especially when it involves ideological issues...】
"Stop, stop! Don't say any more. Who cares about ideology, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!"
After saying that, she lay back on the bed, ready to close her eyes and sleep, but she still felt like there was one unresolved matter.
What was it?