Qiu Yingying is reborn and bound to a learning system.

The December wind felt like it was carrying ice shards, stinging Qiu Yingying's ear tips and making her nose red from the cold. Clutching the glass bottle of soy sauce she had just bought from the convenience store at the entrance of the residential area, she walked quickly, the hood of her down jacket slipping down to cover half her face.

Only a pair of anxious eyes were visible. "Mom must be pacing anxiously around the stove," she thought to herself, quickening her pace. Her mother had just mentioned that she was going to make her favorite sweet and sour pork ribs tonight, and had specifically said, "Without dark soy sauce for color, the ribs won't have that bright red appearance, nor that savory aroma." So before leaving, she had repeatedly told her, "Go quickly and come back quickly, don't delay cooking them."

The community is an old one, without an underground parking garage. The green belt next to the side gate is lush, with holly bushes taller than a person, and few people usually walk around it.

As soon as Qiu Yingying turned into the narrow alley, a series of soft yet mournful sobs pierced through the air, like a fine needle unexpectedly stabbing into her heart.

The voice was soft and weak, filled with extreme pain and fear, broken and intermittent, as if it might stop at any moment. Immediately afterward, the loud laughter of three teenagers rang out, rough and shrill, forming a stark contrast with the sobbing, so abrupt that it made one's heart clench.

Qiu Yingying instinctively stopped in her tracks, gripping the soy sauce bottle in her hand even tighter until her knuckles turned white. She held her breath and followed the sound, parting the half-withered holly branches. The sight before her made her blood rush to her head, and she almost dropped the soy sauce bottle.

A tiny kitten, no bigger than a palm, was curled up under the roots of an old tree. Its fur was wet and clung to its thin body. What should have been fluffy and soft fur was now matted into dark clumps. In several places, the fur was scorched and curled up, revealing the reddish and even slightly blistering skin underneath.

Its ears drooped, one front paw was curled up against its chest, and the other paw trembled slightly. Its small body shook like a leaf, and it made a mournful "woo-woo" sound in its throat, a sound so weak that it seemed to disappear as soon as it caught its breath.

Its eyes were wide open, a pure amber color, but now filled with terror and despair. A single tear clung to the wet corner of its eye, staring straight ahead. It was on its last breath, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.

The three boys surrounding it looked to be only eleven or twelve years old, wearing puffy cotton-padded jackets, with mischievous smiles on their faces. The eldest boy was carrying an empty plastic bottle, with glistening water droplets still clinging to it and a few white water stains remaining at the rim, clearly indicating that something scalding hot had just been poured on it.

A short boy was standing on tiptoe, reaching out to poke the kitten's eyes, while another boy wearing a hat was about to kick the cat, yelling, "Look how it's moving like a maggot, so funny! Let's splash some water on it and see if it still meows!"

"You dare!"

Qiu Yingying's voice suddenly burst out, filled with barely suppressed anger; she herself hadn't expected it to be so loud.

The anger surged from the depths of her heart, making her instantly forget the soy sauce in her hand and that her mother was waiting for her to come back and make ribs. She rushed over and shoved the short boy who was about to kick her. Her movements were so fast that she didn't even notice the soy sauce bottle in her hand. With a crisp "clang," the glass bottle shattered on the frozen cement floor.

Dark brown soy sauce spilled all over the ground, leaving a dark stain on the cold soil. It carried a strong aroma of soy sauce, but at this moment it seemed particularly glaring.

Ignoring the broken glass and soy sauce on the ground, and the boy who had been pushed and stumbled, she quickly squatted down and carefully reached out her hand.

The kitten was probably frightened by the sudden noise and her voice. It tried its best to shrink back, but it was too weak. It could only shift its position slightly and remained curled up there, trembling even more violently.

Qiu Yingying felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if something were tearing at it. Her voice softened involuntarily, filled with deep heartache: "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. I'll take you to get treatment, okay?"

She slowly reached out, her fingertips barely touching the kitten's fur before she recoiled sharply from the scalding water—the water was boiling hot, and the kitten was still warm from the heat; its wet fur clung to her skin, causing her immense pain. She bit her lip, suppressing the stinging in her eyes, and carefully wrapped the kitten in her sleeve, her movements as gentle as if she were handling a rare treasure, afraid that even the slightest pressure would hurt it.

"Who are you? What right do you have to interfere in our business!" The boy carrying the plastic bottle retorted defiantly, his smile vanishing in favor of annoyance at being disturbed. "These are stray cats, nobody wants them, we can play with them however we want, it's none of your business!"