Chapter 377

When He Lele's pale but forced-calm appearance 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?" Seeing Ruan Lin asked, frowning. Although Cui Yaran's smile was 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 her water glass to moisten her throat and was just about to speak when she heard the sound of wheels outside the apartment.

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

"Why are you back? Isn't there three consecutive days of commercial filming?" He Lele asked.

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

"... Sit down." Pouring them coffee, He Lele licked her lips and spoke calmly.

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

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

"Lele..." Li Yiquan couldn't help but speak. He had read 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, in a way, I have to thank her."

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

Smiling at Seeing Mu Wei, He Lele continued her narrative, "In the fifth grade, I was sexually harassed by the PE teacher. Actually, I didn't understand anything then. 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 daily collectively avoided me, didn't understand why the teachers weren't as kind to me as before. I thought I had done something wrong, but I really didn't know where I went wrong. My parents kept telling me I didn't do anything wrong, but if I didn't do anything wrong, why did everyone look at me like that? Heh... 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. If you guys are like this, I won't dare to tell you."

The men took a deep breath, smiled at her slightly, and signaled for 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 happened to me. I tried hard to explain, but no one believed me. No matter what I did or said, it quickly changed flavor in other people's eyes and mouths. 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 breathtaking."

"When I found out 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 the time, learning to endure wasn't that hard, 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 exam, 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 a joke.

"Lele..."

"A girl the same age as me, I was schemed against by a girl the same age for so many years. Who would believe it if I said it out loud? A fifth-grade girl!" Turning her head to look at Qin Zhixiu, "Even a gifted child is a bit too exaggerated."

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

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

"Yeah, why? After hanging up the phone, I couldn't figure it out for a whole night. In the fifth grade, 'couldn't figure it out' gave me a phobia of gazes. I didn't want 'couldn't figure it out' to make me sick again, so I washed my face, took my admission ticket, and went to take the college entrance exam. I did quite well."

"..." The men were silent.

After a long while, Seeing Ruan Lin asked in a low voice, "Later? 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." Seeing Ruan Lin said fiercely.

"Seeing 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 matter, don't interfere!"

"Lele—"

"I'm serious! My grudge with her, I must carry it through myself! It's true that I'm not as smart as her, don't have her good background, maybe I won't be able to get justice from her in this life. 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 went to participate in the competition to lure Cui Yaran out?" Seeing Mu Wei asked lightly.

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

Deep Blue Apartment, seventh floor. Although the interior decoration was changed, Li Yiquan kept 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 incomparably beautiful. Looking at it quietly, it was full of brilliant starlight, making one want to guess what kind of world would be behind those hundreds of millions of light points. 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 cosmic base is so large that even the smallest probability events can happen countless times.

"Like looking at the stars?" A half-naked man walked barefoot behind He Lele with the fragrance of shower gel, hugging her body with one hand, brushing the long hair behind her ear with the other, and lowering his head to gently kiss the sensitive skin behind her ear, teasing her soft earlobe with his warm tongue until he sucked it into his mouth, until it melted into the temperature in his mouth, spreading a charming flush.