The movie they watched was "A Silent Voice," an animated film.
At this point, the story had just reached the part where the female lead was bullied after arriving in the class, and her notebook was thrown into the pool.
Liang Zhirou watched very carefully, her eyes slightly red. Because of her family and personality issues, she was bullied and ostracized by the bad kids in her class in the same way.
It was especially bad during junior high school. Back then, Xiao Xunfang took her to rent a very dilapidated house in the county town so that she could have a school to attend.
The group of boys also wrote on the blackboard. Knowing that Liang Zhirou did not have a father, they wrote "Liang Zhirou, a participant in 'Where Are We Going, Dad?'"
That was when the variety show was very popular.
Because Xiao Xunfang had attended a parent-teacher meeting in a wheelchair, they drew a picture of her mother in a wheelchair on the blackboard, and even drew a racing track.
While she was sweeping, he would toss her schoolbag over her head, laughing foolishly at her anxious and annoyed expression when she couldn't grab it.
She often hid outside and cried alone until her eyes were no longer swollen before daring to go back inside, otherwise Xiao Xunfang would also wipe away tears when he saw her crying.
While watching the movie, she felt heartbroken for the female lead's plight from time to time.
Malice is like a murky, bloody liquid; it flows towards whoever is humbled.
Liang Zhirou, who was timid and had low self-esteem and rarely spoke, naturally became the vessel for the malice of these rebellious teenagers.
Because she didn't have many friends in class, the few people who spoke up for her because of her straightforward personality eventually became bystanders because of her "unsociable" nature.
Her junior high school experiences made her speak and smile less and less, and her later experiences made her bangs grow longer and longer. All kinds of hardships have "shaped" her into who she is today.
Chen Lu had only one comment on the first half of the film.
I really want to beat those guys up.
He really is that kind of person; otherwise, he wouldn't have helped Liang Zhirou when they were complete strangers.
Chen Lu adjusted his posture slightly and complained, "How about we try the couple's seats next time? This chair is really uncomfortable after sitting for a long time."
"Don't worry, we'll keep a certain distance and we'll still be completely innocent."
His mind wasn't really on the movie from beginning to end; he was staring at the girl's profile.
Although it was dimly lit around them, Chen Lu could see the light in the girl's clear, jewel-like eyes.
"don't want......"
The girl shook her head. She felt that the ticket must be very expensive, and she didn't know how Chen Lu would take the opportunity to bully her.
Most importantly, if this close contact continues, how can I possibly suppress my feelings of attraction...?
Chen Lu leaned close to Liang Zhirou's ear, his breath tickling her ear and sending a shiver down her spine, making her go limp. "Why don't you want me? Do you dislike me that much?"
"I don't look down on you." Having suffered many losses, Liang Zhirou had become much more sensitive to Chen Lu's traps, and she quickly realized it this time.
But she couldn't bring herself to be fierce towards Chen Lu, so she could only feign a "fierce" look and give him a disapproving look, saying, "You're so mean!"
She knew that Chen Lu's bullying was different from others; many of his actions were motivated by a desire to make her happy.
Thinking of this, she gave Chen Lu a soft "humph" as a protest against his earlier attempt to take advantage of her.
But that's all; she wouldn't bear to throw a tantrum at Chen Lu.
Chen Lu found Liang Zhirou's feigned fierceness adorable. He chuckled dryly and decided to stop while he was ahead.
We've added enough firewood; all that's left is to wait for the water to heat up.
Feeling he had nothing better to do, he continued watching the movie while feeding the girl popcorn.
Liang Zhirou would stubbornly feed him a little bit every now and then.
After a while, the girl moved closer to Chen Lu and looked into his eyes.
"Thank you."
She suddenly said in a low voice.
Chen Lu hadn't even swallowed his popcorn yet, and asked with a puzzled look, "Why are you thanking me?"
"Thank you for letting me meet you." Liang Zhirou said with tears in her eyes and a slight tremor in her voice.
This startled Chen Lu awake. Every time the girl acted like this, it made his heart ache. He thought the water wasn't very hot, so he quickly wiped the girl's cheeks and only felt a little relieved after confirming that the tears weren't forming a continuous stream.
"Why are you crying?!" he asked anxiously.
Liang Zhirou sniffed, "You promised me I could cry if I wanted to..."
"Okay, okay." Chen Lu smiled indulgently and continued to gently comfort the little crybaby in front of him, "Then can you tell me why you're crying? Why are you unhappy?"
He found it strange, and while wiping away the girl's tears, he said softly, "If you really want to thank me, you might as well smile."
Then Liang Zhirou obediently forced out a slightly awkward smile.
Chen Lu reached out his right hand and gently rubbed her head. "That's more like it."
Liang Zhirou wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, and her smile finally returned to normal a little. "I feel like all I can do in front of you is cry..."
She felt a little embarrassed, as if all the strength she had worked so hard to build up over the years had inexplicably melted away.
"It doesn't matter. I already said you can cry in front of me if you want to." Chen Lu didn't care at all. His mind was filled with the image of Liang Zhirou hiding in a dark corner and secretly wiping away her tears on the night they first met.
To be honest, at the time, I didn't feel much beyond pity. But now, looking back, my heart aches like it's being stabbed with a knife.
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