Chapter 356 What's the Use of Apologies
The next time the landlord came, Richard had already collected the rent. The landlord said nothing, took the money, ticked a box on the notebook, and left.
Richard's life went on like this.
In his junior year of high school, Edwin transferred to the school because of his parents' job transfer. He was very fat at that time, like a balloon that was stretched to its limit, sitting alone in the corner at the back of the classroom.
He has been fat since he was a child. When he graduated from junior high school, he confessed his love to a girl he liked, but the girl severely humiliated him about his body shape, which made him sensitive and inferior.
He also tried to lose weight, but exercise is unlikely to be effective in the short term, and dieting is painful and will lead to rebound. The combination of the two made him faint in the gym.
Edwin once collapsed and chose to give up on himself. The high-calorie food brought him temporary psychological satisfaction, but it also caused his body to swell rapidly, and he fell into a vicious cycle.
In the new class, the bad kids were the first to talk to him. Their action was not to express friendship, but to test him, and they gave him a nickname, calling him "Meat Mountain".
Edwin was hurt, but he was still a little happy that someone was willing to approach him, so he didn't defend himself at the first time.
At that time, Richard got a part-time job from the school, which was to clean the gymnasium. He came here after school and happened to see this scene.
Richard was really fed up with these people. His workload increased instantly because of what they did. It took a lot of time just to deal with the water.
He took the mop and threw it at several people: "Get out!"
These people were afraid that if they upset him, he would pull out a knife again, but they could not lose the battle. One of the younger brothers spoke first: "Richard, we have already drawn a clear line. I advise you to stay out of it."
Richard was already impatient. He asked the teacher for some study materials and had to do some exercises when he got home. "Get out of here while I still have patience."
The leader came down from the ladder, threw away the hose in his hand, and asked, "Richard, so you are going to protect the people inside?"
Richard: "On the count of three—"
They glared at Richard hatefully and left.
Richard went to turn off the faucet first, put away the water pipe, came back and opened the door of the cubicle, and saw Edwin slumped over on the toilet, shivering.
When Richard was helping to remove the tape, Edwin came to his senses and recognized him.
In Edwin's impression, Richard is the person with the least dignity and the most difficult to mess with in the class.
When he first arrived, he heard that Richard made money by selling junk, survived by searching for food in garbage cans, and hung out with homeless people. He even heard that as long as you gave Richard a piece of bread, you could get him to help you with anything.
Edwin stood up by holding the door of the cubicle, took the clothes Richard handed him, and said thank you in a vague voice.
Richard said: "Your clothes are all soaked, you..."
"No, it's okay," Edwin smiled, wringing the water out of his clothes, "I, I can wear it..."
Richard glanced at him and said nothing more. He picked up the mop and started cleaning.
After Edwin got dressed, he also took a mop and silently helped to finish all the work.
The bad boys left the gym but didn't go far. They waited by the wall until they saw Edwin and Richard come out together - "Meat Mountain" was actually talking and laughing with his savior.
They followed the two of them out of the school, and after Edwin said goodbye to Richard, they took him away.
The next day, Friday, Edwin didn't come to school.
It would be unavoidable for anyone to fail to notice that such a large body of his was suddenly missing.
Some students even said: "Ah, it feels like our classroom has suddenly become more spacious!"
Everyone laughed and said, "The air isn't that thin anymore."
Richard naturally noticed it, but he didn't think much about it because he had his own things to deal with.
On Monday, Edwin came. After school, he was bullied by those guys. Richard happened to pass by and saw him, so he rescued him.
After this happened several times, Edwin became afraid of Richard.
During a physical education class, Richard happened to be in the same group with Edwin. Edwin saw Richard approaching him and fell to the ground.
Richard naturally sensed his emotions and was very confused: "Why are you afraid of me?"
Edwin gritted his teeth and shook his head desperately. He even finished the class with despair in his heart.
This morning many years later, sitting by the window in a coffee shop, the bankrupt Richard was holding a half-eaten plate of cake and looking across at Edwin, whose eyes were filled with anger. Only then did he realize that his initial help had brought him so much harm.
Richard put the plate and fork back on the table and said sorry to Edwin very seriously: "I'm sorry."
Edwin got even angrier: "What's the point of apologizing? It's useless!"
Edwin finished high school with great difficulty. His grades were pretty good and he was able to apply to a pretty good university.
As soon as he graduated from high school, he made up his mind to lose weight. No matter how much hardship he endured, he never thought of giving up. Even if he fainted from exhaustion, he would get up and continue exercising. He wanted to embrace a new life starting from college and say goodbye to the past completely.
He has indeed changed. After losing weight, he not only has a good figure but also good looks. His confidence makes him radiant. After graduating from university, he has achieved success in both love and career.
Edwin really thought he had gotten rid of and forgotten the past until he switched to D&L. One day, he met Richard in the cake shop downstairs of the company and recognized him at first sight.
After so many years, everyone will change to some extent, but Richard has hardly changed at all, and if there is any change, it is only in his temperament.
Edwin thought, if he didn't know Richard before and didn't know about his past, he would have thought that Richard was born into the upper class, or perhaps from a celebrity family.
But he is not.
Memories of high school suddenly came flooding back, sweeping over Edwin's mind and causing him to flee from the cake shop.
Edwin continued, "I didn't plan to do anything. I know you won't recognize me now. But you! Why can't you change your damn kind-hearted behavior? Why did you come to help me when it's clearly none of your business? Are you trying to humiliate me once again to show your superiority?!"
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