"I want to pay back the money..." the girl said timidly, her voice almost drowned out by the sound of the computer cooling system if you didn't listen carefully.
"Isn't there a need to rush?" Chen Lu scratched his head. "You're already very capable. For most college students who are still studying, suddenly being burdened with a debt of 100,000 yuan without relying on their families is almost like the sky falling down."
Many jobs that target college students are considered cheap by some standards; they're practically slave prices.
Liang Zhirou has made great strides thanks to her talent and hard work that far surpasses that of others.
The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. He unconsciously frowned and asked seriously, "Actually, you still haven't answered my question."
Liang Zhirou reached out her right hand and grabbed Chen Lu's sleeve, her eyes red-rimmed, and said, "I...I'm telling you, please don't yell at me, okay? I'm scared..."
The girl gripped his cuff tightly, her hands trembling slightly, hesitant, as if afraid he would break free or yell at her.
Seeing the girl's eyes suddenly well up with tears, Chen Lu realized that he had been keeping a straight face. He quickly shook his head vigorously, "I'm not angry, I swear... never mind, you won't let me swear, but I promise, I really didn't."
He was just deep in thought. If he were to be fierce to Liang Zhirou, let alone whether he was willing to do it or not, if he dared to be fierce to her, Lin Miaomiao, his own mother, and countless others would be lining up to kill him.
Whether Liang Zhirou believed her or not, she simply lowered her eyes slowly and said, "I want to pay it off before October."
"Before your birthday?" Chen Lu vaguely guessed that Liang Zhirou didn't want him to have an extra debt out of nowhere.
Liang Zhirou rubbed her eyes and turned her face away, too embarrassed to continue.
Chen Lu immediately understood all the logic, hugged the girl in his arms, lowered his head and whispered, "Um... there's something called premarital personal debt."
Liang Zhirou clenched her fist in his arms and weakly punched his chest twice, too embarrassed to let him continue.
"It's not entirely because of that..." the girl said in a soft whisper after a while.
Chen Lu gently brushed a stray strand of hair from the girl's ear. "Don't get stuck on it. Take it slow."
“I don’t dare to take it slow. Time never waits for me… Chen Lu, if I could become useful sooner, Mom could recover more completely, instead of having to stop after standing for a short while and having to walk a few steps like she does now.”
“When I went back home that time, my mother gritted her teeth and kept going, thinking that this way I could live a good life. But I knew everything…”
Liang Zhirou's voice was soft and trembling with tears, yet it seemed to hold her own convictions. "I've always known that I was unable to cure my mother's illness sooner, and I haven't taken good care of her all these years. I know you were right before, all of that is in the past, and I've been trying to let go slowly."
Chen Lu asked her with a puzzled expression, "Since you're already prepared to let go, why are you still working so hard?"
Liang Zhirou paused for a moment, raised her delicate face, looked steadily at Chen Lu, and then mustered up her courage to reach out from his arms and gently stroke his cheek.
The girl's movements were gentle, and her eyes were filled with endless tenderness. In Chen Lu's eyes, her eyes were so beautiful that her red and swollen eyes from crying just now looked like a heavy makeup, making her bright eyes even more alluring.
Her words and the tears on her face flowed into Chen Lu's heart at the same time:
"But...but I'm already useless enough. If I don't become useful in the future—"
How can I help you?
After the girl finished speaking a long passage that she had almost never spoken before, she lowered her head deeply, her delicate body trembling with sobs.
"......"
Chen Lu remained silent for a long time, only holding Liang Zhirou tighter.
Actually, he had a lot more to say, but whenever he tried to speak, his words would inexplicably get stuck on his lips, and in the end, he couldn't utter a single word.
This was the first time he had felt somewhat powerless. After all, he hadn't been the one who had suffered all these years, so he always unconsciously assumed that so-called good things could heal everything.
He rested his chin on the girl's head, intending to sigh, but swallowed it back, and simply stared quietly at Duoduo, who was peering out from the balcony.
I wanted to use just one year to heal the shadows and wounds that had plagued me for over a decade.
It's still just a pipe dream.
......
While Liang Zhirou was in the kitchen making lunch, Chen Lu made up an excuse to go downstairs, asked his father for the phone number of the surgeon from back then, and called him.
Perhaps because Chen Guanglin had given instructions when providing his contact information, the call went through quickly.
"Hey, Uncle, have you eaten? Are you busy with work?" Chen Lu asked with a smile, putting aside his thoughts.
The man's voice sounded efficient. "I'm fine right now. Is there anything I can help you with, Xiao Lu?"
Chen Lu noticed that his father had indeed greeted him, so he simply got straight to the point: "It's nothing important, I just wanted to ask Aunt Xiao why her legs still hurt after walking just a few steps, even though her surgery was done so long ago?"
"Aftereffects are inevitable, but they can't really be considered aftereffects. After all, if you don't walk for more than ten years, your legs are bound to lose some function."
"Would things have been better if the surgery had been performed a few months earlier?"
Chen Lu suddenly felt a sense of lingering fear. If he had missed the opportunity for treatment because he hadn't thought of a solution at the time, this matter would have been a lifelong burden on his mind.
I know I'll definitely have a sleepless night, tossing and turning, my mind filled with thoughts of how I should have done better.
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