Chapter 39: A Little Wind and Rain, a Little Dream (04)

  Just a little bit of excitement, today I had a little bit of small excitement...

  Chen Haonan's departure in anger was something that Li Donglin and Li Jia had not anticipated, and the siblings were filled with regret. Especially Li Donglin, who had never thought that his good intentions would backfire, and he couldn't help but scold himself in frustration. Li Jia stood by silently, tears streaming down her face.

  Because they didn't know what to do, Li Donglin and his sister stumbled back to the garden: Li Donglin sighed for a while and sat on the stone steps of the pavilion in a daze, while Li Jia sat on the stone bench, she cried for a while before falling silent.

  Gradually, lunchtime passed and the two of them remained still...

  Slowly, the sun began to set in the west, and the two siblings still sat there, without any reaction...

  It wasn't until the sun had set behind the mountains and darkness had enveloped the earth that Li Donglin slowly got up. Ignoring his numb body and dizzy head, he went straight to Li Jia's side and said in a soft voice, "Jiajia, let's go back, or Mom and Dad will worry, and we haven't eaten anything all day, I think you must be hungry too..."

  Li Donglin's reminder made Li Jia suddenly feel a growling in her stomach, but she didn't pay attention to it. She just looked up at her brother with a somewhat dull gaze. They quietly passed ten or so seconds like this before she softly asked: "How did Haonan become like this?"

  "I'm not clear either, but I... " Li Donglin was about to say the words "very worried about him", suddenly realized something, and hastily swallowed back the words in his mouth. However, he quickly changed the subject and said: "Jiajia, I found that you are more anxious than me about Haonan, are you... " He smiled and hid the rest of the sentence, pretending to be mysterious and lowering his head to glance at Li Jia.

  "Brother, what are you talking about?" Li Jia knew what her brother meant, and her face turned red involuntarily.

  "What did I say - you're still pretending, are you in love with that stinky little kid Hao Nan or what?" Li Donglin said with a sly smile.

  "I'm not telling you, you always bully me!" Li Jia stood up and kicked her brother's leg before running off in a huff. Fortunately, the streetlights on that side cast many shadows, or she would have tripped over something and fallen heavily.

  Li Jia's kick suddenly gave Li Donglin, who was always good at joking around, a boost of energy. He quickly chased after her, laughing as he ran and saying: "You still say I bully you? I'm almost becoming your slave! It seems that my brother-in-law Haonan really needs to teach you a lesson, you little girl..."

  "Hmph!" Li Jia ran ahead, covering her ears with both hands and retorting loudly, "Brother, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll tell mom that you're bullying me!"

  "Hey! " Upon hearing Li Jia's shout, Li Donglin became even more energetic: "Still saying I'm talking nonsense? Mom said it before, in the future you will be married to Haonan!"

  ……

  Li Donglin and Li Jia were fooling around all the way, chasing and hitting each other, and didn't return home until almost eight o'clock. As soon as they went upstairs, a voice stunned them: "Where did you two go crazy this afternoon? Why are you back so late?"

  The two siblings who were chatting and laughing immediately stopped talking. As they entered the living room, they saw their mother looking at them with a sullen face, but they couldn't help bursting out laughing again: they knew their mother was "sharp-tongued but soft-hearted" and wouldn't easily get angry. Li Jia quickly ran up to her mother, leaned on her shoulder, and said in a spoiled tone: "Mom, my brother always bullies me, please scold him for me..."

  "Hey, you're really eager, aren't you? Do you want me to tell Mom about the embarrassed look on your face just now?" Li Donglin chuckled and sat down beside his mother with a plop.

  "Hmph! Fine, I'll say it!" Li Jia pouted, "I don't have anything with Haonan gege, I just treat him as a brother..."

  "Hao Nan?" Li Jia's words gave Li Mu a hint, and she suddenly remembered what had happened at noon. She said, "You guys think it's strange or not, usually when we run into Hao Nan, he always greets me with a sweet 'Auntie Qiao'... but today at noon when I was sending your father out, I saw him standing in the crowd on the other side of the road waiting for the bus. I thought he would come over and say hello to me, but instead he just smiled at me from afar and then disappeared into the crowd, as if he was avoiding me..."

  Her mother's words were like a fire that reignited the sorrowful emotions of Li Donglin and his sister, who had already adjusted their mood: they looked at each other, not knowing what to say. However, their mother couldn't wait to speak again: "You two don't just think about your eyes, help me think about what's going on with Haonan - is he really hiding from me?" She looked at Li Donglin and then at Li Jia.

  "Mom, where did Dad go?" Li Donglin didn't know how to answer his mother, and in a moment of anxiety, he tried to divert the topic from Chen Haonan.

  "Donglin, don't interrupt me!" Li's mother didn't fall into the trap set by her son. She glared at Li Donglin and said, "I think Haonan must have something on his mind, otherwise he wouldn't ignore me like this! Besides, no matter what, you guys are having a seven-day holiday, it's only right that you say a few words to me or give me a call..." She furrowed her brow, deep in thought.

  "Mom..." Li Jia couldn't help but drop a few tears at this time and said softly, "Hao Nan ge...he..."

  Li's mother was so cried by her daughter that she immediately jumped out of her deep self-reflection, and anxiously asked: "Jiajia, what's wrong with Haonan?"

  "It's okay, Haonan is fine! What's wrong with him...?" Li Donglin hurriedly stood up and smiled at his mother. Turning around, he quickly pushed Li Jia and glared at her with a scowl, saying: "What's wrong with you, isn't Haonan perfectly fine?!"

  Li Jia suddenly understood her brother's meaning and hurriedly wiped away her tears, echoing Li Donglin: "It's okay, Haonan Ge is fine, he's doing well!"

  "What's going on? I'm not old and blind yet! - What's going on? What were you winking at Jiajia for? I think something must have happened to Haonan... " Li Mu bluntly teased Li Donglin. As soon as she stopped talking, she stared at Li Jia and asked in a strange tone: "Girl, you weren't with Haonan, how do you know what's going on with him?"

  Her mother's words were strong and sharp, Li Donglin had nothing to refute, and could only sit back on the sofa, lowering his head in silence. Li Jia was even more pressed by her mother's words, and could only respond with "I, I, I..."

  "Stop saying 'me, me, me' and quickly tell me what's going on with Haonan?" Li Mu spoke rapidly, getting straight to the point.

  Li Donglin did not expect his mother to be so fierce tonight, and she was simply "invincible". Knowing that he couldn't hide it anymore, he had no choice but to confess the truth: "Hao Nan's father has passed away..." Li Donglin slowly spat out the words one by one, and after finishing speaking, he let out a deep sigh.

  "Brother, how could you tell mom?!" Li Jia jumped up and questioned Li Donglin, "Just because you told me about this, Haonan is already angry. If he finds out that we also told old mom, won't he be even angrier with us?"

  "You say I can still do what, if we continue to hide it, won't mom be even more anxious? Moreover, this has already become an unchangeable fact. What we need to do now is not to help Haonan hide this matter, but most importantly, think of a way to let him get out of the 'shadow' as soon as possible..." Li Donglin made a strong rebuttal to his sister, he wanted his mother to come up with an idea, because he was really at a loss about what to do with Chen Haonan, and didn't want his former good brother to sink into despair.

  "What a miserable life that child has, losing her father at such a young age! Heaven is really cruel!" Mrs. Li sighed and muttered to herself on the side, seemingly not hearing Li Donglin's words at all. However, suddenly, she turned around abruptly and asked Li Donglin: "Hao Nan's father was about the same age as your father, how did he pass away?"

  "It seems like he got 'stomach cancer', and by the time it was checked, it was already in the late stages——some time ago Haonan told me about this, I was so scared at that moment, really didn't think his father would leave so soon……" Li Donglin said, lowering his head and sighing continuously.

  Silence...

  "Mom, is there any way to make Haonan not angry with us?" Suddenly, Li Jia opened her eyes wide and stared at her mother, asking anxiously.

  "Angry? Angry with you? Why is Haonan angry with you?" Li Mu asked with a puzzled face.

  "Oh, I see. That's what happened." Li Donglin was worried that Li Jia would mess up the situation, so he quickly chimed in. He then slowly recounted how Chen Haonan had stormed off in a huff at noon.

  After listening to Li Donglin's explanation, Mrs. Li immediately scolded him, saying: "Donglin, you're really something! With such a big change in the family, which child would want others to know? Haonan is the same, he definitely doesn't want others to know about his dad's affairs——yet he told you, this shows that he trusts you, but you actually dragged Jiajia into it, how could he not be angry?"

  "Will Haonan forgive us? Will he ignore us from now on?" Li Jia asked in a childish tone. Li Mu let out a "heh" and laughed, Li Jia didn't understand why, and quickly asked again: "Mom, what are you laughing at?"

  "What am I laughing at?" Li Mu grabbed the back of Li Jia's neck and patted it lightly, saying, "I'm laughing that our family's little girl has grown up, how can you still ask such a low-IQ question?" She said with a smile.

  "Mom, are you kidding me? I'm just worried about Haonan, what if he ignores us?" Li Jia's attitude was like she was determined to get to the bottom of things, making people really want to laugh.

  "You said I grew up and became smaller, don't you believe it? Still stubbornly asking such silly questions?" Li Mu smiled again and said, "I've observed Hao Nan for a long time, he's kind and gentle by nature, absolutely won't randomly take offense at others, let alone with your close relationship!"

  "But didn't he storm off in a huff at noon today? — I've never seen him so angry!" Li Donglin hastily interjected.

  "He stormed off in anger, that must have been a momentary impulse. Think about it, Hao Nan's heart must be filled with sorrow and pain to the extreme, his mind is all muddled, how can he listen to your advice? I think after some time has passed, he'll be fine...”

  Li Donglin and Li Jia nodded in agreement as they listened to their mother's words. Their mother continued: "Actually, what Hao Nan needs most right now is someone's help, he needs someone to listen to his inner pain, he needs someone to help him unlock the shackles on his heart. But just anyone can't help him, that would only trigger his bad emotions - you have a seven-day holiday coming up, he'll take this opportunity to adjust his mood. Don't worry, Hao Nan is absolutely not really angry!"

  "What should we do then?" Li Jia asked persistently, just like Tang Monk on a pilgrimage.

  "Don't do anything!" Li Mu said, raising her head. "Now Haonan is in a state of emotional turmoil. Even the slightest thing that doesn't go his way will make him even more agitated, and he might even have the urge to scold or hit people. So, you should adopt a strategy of 'calmly waiting for him to calm down'. Wait quietly for Haonan to come out of his sorrow on his own - when his mood improves, you can comfort him properly, and at that time, he will definitely listen to your words. After all, no one wants their heart to be lonely..."

  "Mom, I didn't expect you to be so amazing! If you were born in the Three Kingdoms era, you might have been a match for Zhuge Kongming!" Li Donglin praised his mother with a smile, and the big stone in his heart could finally be put down.

  "That's for sure, but I don't dare to compare with Master Zhuge. You young people have had your fair share of experiences, and I've been through some things too. I can offer some advice." Li Mu said, glancing at her two children. She smiled and continued: "In my high school days, I was one of the top students in class, serving as both class president and study committee member... If your grandfather hadn't passed away back then, I would have definitely gone on to university..." As she spoke, Li Mu couldn't help but recall many memories, her expression turning solemn.

  "Mom, why don't you tell us about your experiences when you were in school?" As soon as he saw his mother's expression change, Li Donglin knew she had thought of painful past events, so he quickly changed the subject.

  Li Donglin's words took effect, and a faint smile appeared on Li Mu's face. She looked at Li Donglin and his sister with affectionate eyes, and began to tell stories of her student days... The two children sat in front of her, listening quietly, occasionally bursting out laughing "heh heh".