Memories drift like the evening wind, slowly dispersing the shadows in my heart.
The first time I heard the name Orion.
It was ten years ago, on the afternoon of the exam at the beginning of high school.
My deskmate was an underachiever, the type who even copied my homework.
Before the exam, he asked me to help him cheat, but I refused.
So after school that day, he cornered me at the back door of the classroom and mocked me in front of everyone:
"Fatty pig, it's bad enough you're ugly, but you're not even kind-hearted."
"Passing the answers to you is doing a good deed, do you understand?"
"You don't appreciate it, you deserve to be both fat and ugly."
At that time, due to the medicine I was taking for acne, my hormones were out of whack, and I was indeed as plump as a little penguin.
Many classmates echoed his words.
I turned red in the face, overwhelmed by a wave of self-loathing.
Amidst the ridicule, a clear male voice suddenly cut in:
"Do you feel proud about criticizing a girl's appearance?"
Everyone's gaze followed the sound of the voice.
A boy wearing a black T-shirt and a black cap stood next to me, his hands in his pockets.
Later, I learned that his name was Orion.
He was a senior, two years older than me.
Orion raised his chin, his tone disdainful as he nodded towards my deskmate:
"I'm talking to you, trash, pest?"
"Don't you know how to respect girls?"
My deskmate froze for a moment, then cursed and took off his school uniform jacket, ready to fight.
Orion stepped forward, blocking me from view.
I don't remember exactly what happened next.
Before the fight broke out, Orion put his cap on my head, completely obscuring my view.
I could only hear my deskmate's muffled groans of pain.
When everything quieted down, I slowly raised my head and met a pair of cool, clear eyes.
"It's okay now, you can go home."
Orion's voice was low, but it had a calming effect.
From that day on, my deskmate never caused me any trouble again and even asked the teacher to switch seats.
I knew that Orion had something to do with it.
Because there were times when I saw him with his arm around my deskmate, smiling on the surface but with an icy coldness in his eyes.
"Hey, Bro, please let me off. I won't bully girls anymore."
Orion had a stern expression and kicked him lightly:
"Have you learned your lesson?"
"Yes, Yes, I've learned, very well-behaved!"
Once his expression softened, my deskmate rode his bike away.
I was very grateful to Orion.
So I bought a bunch of snacks to thank him.
He was playing basketball with his friends then. When he understood my intentions, he raised his eyebrows, took the cheapest lollipop, and smiled at me: "Thanks, keep the rest."
So, I took the snacks back to the classroom.
After school, passing by the convenience store, Orion and his friends were walking ahead, a few meters away.
I heard someone ask him:
"Who was the girl who brought snacks this afternoon? She's pretty, but she's too fat."
I held my breath subconsciously, wanting to hear the answer.
Orion suddenly stopped, gave the guy a light punch on the shoulder, his tone serious: "Shut your mouth."
After taking a few steps, he pulled out the lollipop from his pocket, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth, mumbling:"She's cute."
I stopped in my tracks.
Looking at their retreating backs, I suddenly realized—
That was the first time someone described me as "cute."
It felt like an electric current had passed through my heart, making it tingle.
The workload in the final year was heavy, and I lost nearly twenty kilograms from exhaustion.
Gradually, many boys started pursuing me and writing love letters.
But as a result, I was ostracized by a clique of girls.
They called me to a secluded corner where the surveillance cameras couldn't reach.
I was pinned to the ground while the leader of the group poured scalding hot water onto my calves.
"How fat you used to be, now you've lost weight and are wearing short skirts, huh?"
"Who are you trying to seduce?"
"My boyfriend wrote you a love letter, aren't you feeling pretty smug?"
The pain was so intense I could barely speak, my voice broken:
"Who's your boyfriend—"
Something about this question infuriated her even more, and she ordered the others to hold my chin as the hot water was poured towards my face.
I closed my eyes reflexively.
But instead of the expected pain, I fell into a warm embrace.
The hardness of the boy's chest nearly suffocated me.
"How are you, are you okay?"
Hearing the familiar, clear voice, I opened my eyes abruptly, realizing that my back was drenched in cold sweat.
The girl who had pushed me was now on the ground, letting out a scream.
The boiling water had scalded her own face.
The commotion was so loud that the vice principal arrived, and the girls were so frightened they confessed everything.
Orion greeted the vice principal, scooped me up in his arms, and rushed me to the school infirmary.
During the disinfection and cold compress, the pain made me want to cry.
But I gritted my teeth and tried desperately to hold back the tears.
Orion looked down at me for a long moment, then opened his mouth and said:
"If you want to cry, just cry out."
I'm not a cry baby.
Ever since I was very young, my parents had affairs.
They didn't love me; they got married only to ensure my study.
Every time I suffered an injustice and wanted to confide, I received nothing but scolding and abuse:
"Enough, why are you so sensitive? It's just being called fat, hasn't everyone been scolded?"
"I named you Elara, hoping you'd be as elegance as goddess, but all you do is cry, how unlucky!"
In the past, when I saw other children cry, their parents would come to comfort them.
But when I cried, my parents were even more annoyed with me.
Tears are just useless liquid in front of people who don't care about you.
So ever since, no matter how miserable I was, I never cried again.
But that evening, in the infirmary, Orion rubbed my head and leaned down to look at me, saying:
"Your eyes are red."
I closed my eyes, wanting to turn away, but I heard him sigh:
"Elara."
"You can show weakness in front of me."
