Chapter 483: So I Love You

When Yuese followed the "dream revelation", taking Mary and the young Jesus south to Egypt to lay low, and later returned to settle in Nazareth in Galilee, several years had quietly passed.

During these years, Yu Lin never appeared directly before Yuese's family.

To be precise, he had no interaction with them under the identity of "Yu Lin".

However, to say he was completely hidden would not necessarily be true.

During this period, several times the "Voice of the Lord" or the "Angel's Comfort" appeared in Yuese's or Mary's dreams to give guidance, or quietly resolved dangers on their difficult journeys—behind all of them, without exception, was the same person: Yu Lin.

This feeling of secretly pulling the strings behind the scenes, personally crafting the Bible bit by bit.

For Yu Lin, it was quite fun.

Today.

Yu Lin no longer intends to stay behind the scenes.

On the edge of Nazareth, beside a vacant lot where children often gathered to play, Yu Lin quietly stood in the shadow of a dirt wall, his gaze curiously fixed on the center of the lot.

A group of children aged five to ten were gathered there, the atmosphere somewhat tense, the ground showing messy footprints and rolling marks, clearly having just ended or been interrupted by a not-so-fierce scuffle.

The children split into two small groups, glaring at each other, panting, their faces showing unwillingness or resentment.

And standing between these two groups of children was an inconspicuous figure.

He was a boy about five years old, with soft dark brown curly hair and large bright eyes, now watching the children on both sides.

He wore a linen short robe, his height among the surrounding children being only average.

Unlike the surrounding children—some rowdy and combative, some timid and withdrawing, or simply causing a stir—this little boy possessed a distinctive quality.

He was neither flustered nor excited by the chaos before him, and his face showed none of the mischievous or nasty expressions common at that age.

He simply stood there, spreading his little arms as far as he could, trying to separate the two sides.

His voice still carried a child's tenderness, but his words were clear as he earnestly tried to persuade them:

"Stop, don't fight anymore—we're friends who play together; why hurt each other?"

He looked at a boy whose face bore red scratches, furious: "Look, he's hurt—it must hurt; let him go wash his wound first, okay?"

Then he turned to another child whose collar was askew, equally angry:

"You're also angry, but fighting won't make you happy, right? Let's sit down and talk clearly about why we argued just now, okay?"

"The Lord teaches us to love one another, to live in harmony, to forgive."

He struggled to recall the teachings he had heard from his parents and at the meeting hall, expressing them in words he could understand:

"Just as sunlight shines on both good and bad people, we too should be kind to our friends, even if they make us unhappy right now."

"Strife only brings more tears and wounds, while kindness and forgiveness are what let us truly enjoy playing together."

However, not all the kids bought into this.

A boy half a head taller than Jesus, noticeably sturdier, about seven or eight years old, was clearly the "little tyrant" of the group.

He listened to Jesus's "preaching", his face showing undisguised contempt and irritation.

He pushed through the crowd, strode up to Jesus, and looked down on this smaller boy who dared to come out and "meddle".

"Hey! Jesus!" the big boy shouted in a rough voice, his tone full of provocation:

"What gives you the right to point fingers here? Who do you think you are? A teacher? Or a priest?"

He jabbed a finger almost at Jesus's nose: "Wait until you're as tall and strong as I am before you try to boss others around! Now, get out of my way! Stop your nagging!"

Saying that, he suddenly raised his hand and shoved Jesus's shoulder hard!

Jesus, being young and much weaker, stumbled back a few steps from this unexpected push, fell with a "thump" onto the sandy ground, kicking up a little dust.

The surrounding children let out a low gasp or snicker.

However, the Jesus sitting on the ground showed no anger, resentment, or tears as the big boy had expected.

He merely blinked for a moment, then calmly got up by himself.

He first carefully brushed off the sand clinging to his clothes, his movements unhurried, as if the one who had been shoved down wasn't him.

Then he lifted his head, looked again at the big boy, his little face showing no fear or resentment, only a serious clarity.

"This is wrong," Jesus's voice remained steady:

"People should treat each other kindly. Pushing others, using violence to make them afraid or obedient, is an evil act."

"We should learn to control our anger, resolve differences with words and reason, the Lord hopes we……"

"Shut up! I'm fed up!" the big boy exploded, utterly enraged by Jesus's unwillingness to listen and his continued "preaching".

"What does a five-year-old shrimp have to tell off the 'king of the kids'? This is a serious challenge to his authority!"

He irritably cut off Jesus's words, his face flashing menace, no more talk, he raised his fist to smash down on Jesus's calm little face!

"What's with all that mumbo‑jumbo?! Go cry to your mom and dad! Take this punch——!"

The fist came down with a whoosh!

Some of the surrounding children covered their eyes, others widened theirs in excitement.

However, the expected cries of pain and tears did not sound.

The big boy only felt his wrist seized in midair by a large hand!

That grip was neither light nor heavy, yet like an iron band it instantly froze his fully‑charged fist, no matter how he strained he could not advance even a bit, nor break free!

He stared back in shock.

He saw a strange young man who had appeared behind him at some point.

The man wore a simple robe, his appearance unlike theirs, yet he thought the man was……very handsome, though his handsome face, while smiling, showed no friendliness.

"You……what……what are you doing?!"

The big boy, startled and angry, stammered, trying to mask his sudden panic with ferocity:

"Don't……don't think that just because you're handsome and taller than me I wouldn't dare hit you!"

"I……I'll call my dad over! Quick, let go of me!"

He threatened angrily yet timidly while again exerting force, trying to pull his own wrist out of the other's hand.

Yu Lin's smile remained unchanged as he looked at the blustering little guy, then suddenly loosened his wrist.

"Ow—!"

The big boy was pulling backward with all his strength.

Unprepared, his force missed, his whole body lost balance, staggered back two steps, and his butt fell heavily onto the ground, landing on a protruding pebble; the pain made him grit his teeth and let out a cry of pain.

He rubbed his bruised butt, feeling both ashamed and angry, looked up at Yu Lin, and was about to shout a reckless curse—

"Are you okay?"

A youthful yet caring voice sounded beside him.

The big boy was startled, turned his head, and saw Jesus, whom he had just pushed to the ground, somehow already walking over, now squatting beside him, extending a small hand to help him up.

Seeing him stunned, Jesus reached out himself, gently patting the dust that had just clung to his clothes, his small face full of sincere concern:

"Where did you fall? Does it hurt? I have some herbal ointment at home, my mother prepared it; it's very effective for bruises. Shall I go get some for you to apply?"

Looking at this little one, whom he had just rudely pushed down, now the first to run over and care for him and even bring medicine, the big boy's curses and swearing stuck in his throat.

He opened his mouth but no sound came out; he only felt his face burning hot, hotter than the spot where his butt hit the stone.

A never‑before‑experienced complex emotion rose in his heart, making his face flush red.

Finally, after holding it in for a long time, he muttered, with incomprehensible emotion, a hoarse, muffled question:

"You… why are you caring about me? I just… I just treated you like that! I even wanted to hit you!"

Jesus had already brushed the dust off his pants, and upon hearing that, lifted his head; in his clear eyes there was not a trace of resentment or mockery.

He gave the big boy a smile:

"Because, mainly we love the world."

"So I love you."

The tomato has a problem; it's been updated but they won't let me publish it, so it's been delayed until now.