Shi Yan looked at Li Shuxian, who was beside her, with an anxious look.
But, at the same time, she felt irritated by Li Shuxian's seemingly eager attitude.
'Well...A promise is still a promise. He has fulfilled his promise to me. So, I should do the same, too.' She said as she spoke in her heart.
Shi Yan corrected her sitting posture while clearing her throat.
"Ahem! So, here's the story."
Li Shuxian stared at her while nodding. "Yes, you may continue now."
Shi Yan looked away from watching Li Shuxian and stared at the vast blue sky above her head. "Yes...Actually, I'm afraid to tell you because I'm worried you won't be able to keep a secret..."
"Don't worry, I can keep a secret." Li Shuxian answered her question quickly.
"Promise you will?" Shi Yan asked again while glancing at Li Shuxian. She just wanted to be sure.
Li Shuxian nodded slowly. "Yeah, promise."
Shi Yan smiled faintly, then sighed heavily. "Sigh..Okay then, I'll let you know."
After that, Shi Yan continued her conversation while looking at the blue sky.
"Actually, I was once bullied when I was a child. During my elementary school days at Shounan Middle School, I was bullied by a group of three girls who were my age. I was in the same class as them. However, I didn't know where my mistake was; from the first day I went to school until I finished elementary school, they bullied me."
Li Shuxian just listened to her story intently and remained silent. He asked Shi Yan with a concerned tone. "You really didn't do anything wrong to them?"
Shi Yan nodded to Li Shuxian's question. "Yes, I really didn't do anything. I just went to school there to study. But I don't know what I did wrong, and they bullied me."
Li Shuxian asked another question while raising one eyebrow. "What have they done to you?"
Shi Yan let out a heavy breath.
*Sigh..*
She opened her mouth slowly.
"Yes..So, the way they tortured me by forcibly bullying me. Like pouring water in a bucket over my body, scratching my face, preventing others from being close to me, scratching my desk with the words 'Die, weak girl.' There was also a time when I was walking, and I didn't notice there was a stone in front. However, one of them even pushed me.. After that, I fell to the ground and hurt my knee..."
Shi Yan said so in a low tone. She lowered her head to hold back the tears and sadness that she felt from pouring out. She resumed her story. "The worst thing was that one day, they insulted my father, even locked me in an abandoned building... In fact, they also smeared something like adult women's lipstick on my forehead and cheeks with abusive words like 'I'm a weak kid.' They also cut my long hair, and it became very short..."
Unbeknownst to Shi Yan, tears began to drip slowly from her eyelids. She quickly wiped away the tears that came out so that Li Shuxian wouldn't notice.
Yes, she was trying to look strong in front of this annoying guy.
But who would have thought? She also told her story to him, and this guy is also listening to her sad story now.
Feeling very funny and sad at the same time has been mixed up. Shi Yan's emotions were not stable right now. Poor her…
Li Shuxian stared at the girl next to her, who looked gloomy and bowed her head. He didn't realize that Shi Yan had been crying.
"...."
He was silent for a few seconds before opening his mouth to ask a question.
"I'm sorry for your dark past, but may I ask why you didn't tell the class teacher and the school principal? A case of bullying is considered a case of breaking school rules as well. If you report it, the three girls must also be subject to disciplinary action and might not bully you again."
Sadly, Shi Yan only smiled when she heard Li Shuxian's question. 'If only things were that easy…'
Shi Yan nodded to him. "Yes...If only I could do that, I would have done it a long time ago. But the three of them threatened me by using my father. I realize that the other two girls are nothing to my family, but they follow their leader, which is that girl. One of them is that the girl is from a rich and famous family, her father was a popular name in the entertainment. It means that her father has the power and authority to do anything to my father. I worry about my father's safety, and I am afraid that anything will happen to him if I report to the teacher and the school principal. My father only works in the public sector in the industry. I also didn't dare to tell my father because I worried that bad things would happen to him..."
Shi Yan's tears flowed slowly again. This time, she couldn't deny the sad feeling she felt.
"Hicks..."
Shi Yan lowered her gaze and head down to hide her tears from Li Shuxian.
Suddenly, she realized her face was lifted by a hand that was next to her.
Li Shuxian was seen stretching out his left hand as he wiped away the tears that flowed quickly from Shi Yan's eyelids.
Shi Yan looked at him with a shocked expression toward his actions.
Li Shuxian just smiled at her as he said. "It's okay to cry once in a while."
Shi Yan, who was moved to hear this, indirectly cried immediately. Li Shuxian's words seemed to warm and hit on the spot of Shi Yan's feelings of weakness.
"Huwaaa....huhuhu…."
Shi Yan screamed as much as she wanted as if she had been holding back the pain that she had been holding for a long time.
Her chest felt heavy. Perhaps because she never told anyone about her dark past from her school days, her tears flowed easily like a river.
Shi Yan felt sad, suffocated, and overwhelmed at the same time. Because of Li Shuxian's words that no one had ever said before to her, she was easily touched and cried. With that, she broke her ego towards that guy.
Seeing the girl next to him sobbing, Li Shuxian hesitantly held out his left hand.
"..."
After some hesitation and getting some courage, he patted Shi Yan's head gently.
* Pat, pat, pat *
"You are a very strong girl."
Li Shuxian whispered with a soft voice to Shi Yan.
Shi Yan intensified her crying.
Yes, all this time, she was trying to be strong. Concealing all the pain that she faced. She wears a mask behind her true face while smiling at the people around her and stating that she is fine, when the truth is, she is not.
*Pat, pat, pat…*
Li Shuxian continued to pat Shi Yan's head gently and accompanied her until she finished crying.