Chapter 280

When He Lele's pale face but forced composure was featured on the screen, all three men rushed out of the apartment to the TV station—they had been ordered not to follow her. Damn it, why were they so obedient!

"That woman... what's going on?" Ruan Lin asked, frowning. Although Cui Yaran was smiling like a flower and her tone was intimate, as if she were encouraging a friend, He Lele's expression showed no joy, only deep numbness and indifference.

He Lele picked up the water glass to moisten her throat, and just as she was about to speak, she heard the sound of car wheels outside the apartment.

"Lele!" Ji Jie and Qin Zhixiu parked the car outside the apartment and rushed in.

"Why are you guys back? Isn't there three days of commercial shooting in a row?" He Lele asked.

"Zhixiu will go over tomorrow morning, what's going on with that Cui Yaran?" Ji Jie walked toward He Lele while taking off his coat. There were no suitable flights, and he and Qin Zhixiu had driven all the way back to celebrate her success. Qin Zhixiu was watching the live broadcast on a tablet, which made him constantly distracted and in danger.

"...Sit down." Pouring coffee for the two, He Lele licked her lips and spoke calmly.

"She is my elementary school classmate, a..." She looked at Qin Zhixiu, "genius child, smart, beautiful, cheerful, generous. Since childhood, she was the object of praise by teachers, and classmates were both envious and admiring of her, including me. We were even proud to be in the same class as Xiao Ya."

As if remembering something pleasant, He Lele smiled, "Do you know? Everyone even imitated cartoons and supported her as Athena, and playing with her was more honorable than being praised by the teacher."

"Lele..." Li Yiquan couldn't help but speak. He had seen Nie Xiaoqian's investigation and knew what this "Athena" in Lele's mouth might have done. After returning last time, he also started collecting evidence, but...

"It's okay, I've been fine for a long time, really. And, to some extent, I have to thank her."

Mu Wei suddenly stood up and sat beside He Lele, wrapping his long arm around her thin shoulders.

Smiling at Mu Wei, He Lele continued to narrate, "In the fifth grade, I was attempted to be molested by the PE teacher. Actually, I didn't understand anything at that time. I just wondered why the uncles, aunts, grandpas, and grandmas would point at me and say things I didn't understand. I didn't understand why the little friends I played with every day collectively avoided me, didn't understand why the teachers weren't as close to me as before. I thought I had done something wrong, but I really didn't know what I did wrong. My parents kept telling me I wasn't wrong, but if I wasn't wrong, why did everyone look at me like that? Heh... it sounds like a tongue twister."

The men closed their eyes one after another.

Her laughter was like a sharp blade slicing their hearts, that pain was enough to be engraved in their souls.

"Don't be like this, I've really been fine for a long time, I don't even dare to tell you if you're like this."

The men took a deep breath, smiled at her slightly, and signaled her to continue.

"Because I couldn't figure it out, I became more and more afraid to go out, afraid of other people's gazes. After my parents found out, they took me to see a psychologist, then I dropped out of school, and then..." He Lele shrugged, "Unexplained rumors were flying everywhere, collections every year, new episodes every month. Gradually, I understood what had happened to me. I tried hard to explain, but no one believed me at all. No matter what I did or said, it quickly changed in the eyes and mouths of others. Actually, until now, I still think it's amazing. When people can unscrupulously use language to attack and slander others, their associative and imaginative power is so rich that it makes me marvel."

"When I discovered that people didn't want to know the truth at all, but just gained pleasure by gathering together to laugh at me and insult me, I learned to keep my mouth shut."

Qin Zhixiu also sat beside He Lele and held her hand tightly.

Patting Qin Zhixiu's hand soothingly, "It sounds quite tragic, but for me at that time, learning to endure wasn't that difficult, because... I still had a friend."

"A friend that little friends would envy. Cui Yaran, from the year I had the accident, often came to see me. After I was expelled from middle school, she even begged her mayor father to help me find connections to transfer schools. Because of her, I had so much courage to ignore those slanders and try hard to be a good student even if no one recognized me. Then, before the college entrance examination, she, who had already gone to college, called me and told me that she was the mastermind behind everything." Speaking to the end, He Lele actually laughed first as if she had finished telling a joke.

"Lele..."

"A girl the same age as me, I was schemed against by a girl the same age as me for so many years, who would believe it if I said it out loud? A girl in the fifth grade of elementary school!" Turning her head to look at Qin Zhixiu, "Even if she is a genius child, it's a bit exaggerated."

"However, that is the fact." The smile faded, and He Lele returned to calm.

"Why? Why did she treat you like this?" Ji Jie asked indignantly.

"Yeah, why? After hanging up the phone, I thought about it for a whole night and couldn't figure it out. In the fifth grade, 'couldn't figure it out' gave me a phobia of being watched. I didn't want to let 'couldn't figure it out' drive me crazy again, so I washed my face and took the admission ticket to take the college entrance examination, and I did quite well."

"..." The men were silent.

After a long while, Ruan Lin asked in a deep voice, "And then? Didn't you look for her?"

He Lele shook her head.

"Why? Don't you hate her? Don't you want to take revenge?"

"...Except for killing, I can't think of any other way to take revenge. Very stupid, right?"

"No, absolutely correct." Ruan Lin said fiercely.

"Ruan Lin!" He Lele hurriedly straightened her expression, "I told you all this just because I didn't want to hide anything from you anymore, but regarding Cui Yaran's affairs, you must not interfere!"

"Lele—"

"I'm serious! My grievances with her, I must carry them through myself! It's true that I'm not as smart as her, I don't have her good background, maybe I won't be able to find justice from her in this lifetime. But I will definitely let her know one thing—no matter what she has done or what she wants to do again, I will live happily and fearlessly!"

"...You participated in the competition to lure Cui Yaran out?" Mu Wei asked lightly.

☆, (14 Fresh Coins) Chapter 312: My Happiness

On the seventh floor of the Deep Blue Apartment, although the interior decoration had been changed, Li Yiquan had retained all the glass walls. He Lele stood by the window wrapped in a bath towel, behind her was a quiet bedroom with only two wall lamps lit.

The starry sky on a clear night was beautiful beyond compare. Looking at it quietly, the eyes were filled with brilliant starlight, making one want to guess what kind of world would be behind those billions of points of light. Is there life too? Is there a human society like Earth?

There must be. Even if the creation of Earth was the result of countless coincidences, the base of the universe is so large that even the smallest probability events can happen countless times.

"Like looking at the stars?" The half-naked man walked behind He Lele barefoot with the fragrance of shower gel, hugged her body with one hand, brushed the long hair by her ear with the other, and lowered his head to kiss the sensitive skin behind her ear gently. His warm tongue teased her tender earlobe and then held it in his mouth to suck gently until it melted into the temperature in his mouth, spreading a charming flush.