Chapter 11: Brotherly Love (03)

  Waiting quietly, time slipped away second by second in the quiet waiting. 9:30 (which had been displayed on TV) had passed for a while, but Li Donglin still hadn't returned home, making Li Jia a bit anxious. Moreover, as time went by, she became more and more urgent. Suddenly, she muttered to herself, "Why hasn't my brother come back yet?"

  Li Jia's voice was very small, but Li Mu still heard it clearly. However, she didn't say anything, only turned her head to look at her daughter affectionately and subconsciously pulled her into her arms. Li Fu also didn't make a sound, but he had heard the words his daughter whispered earlier - he couldn't help but glance at his watch again and again, even tapping on it as if afraid it was broken. He wanted to break the silence in the room, but several times when he tried to speak, the words got stuck in his throat...

  After a while, the sound of unlocking finally came from downstairs, followed by the heavy sound of closing the door, and then the footsteps also rang out.

  "Brother is back!" Li Jia couldn't help but exclaimed with joy, she jumped up and ran to the stairs to meet her brother. As expected, Li Donglin's large figure quickly climbed up the stairs. Before his sister could speak, Li Donglin asked in surprise: "Jiajia, why are you standing in the hallway? Why aren't you sleeping so late?"

  "Waiting for you!" Li Jiale said with a chuckle.

  "Wait for me?" Li Donglin was puzzled. He involuntarily reached out to touch Li Jia's forehead, then touched his own forehead, and said softly, "Are you having a fever?" As he spoke, he took a big step to the left, tilted his body, and peeked into the living room. Seeing that his parents were there, he raised his voice and asked, "Dad, Mom, is Jiajia having a fever? Why didn't you take her to see a doctor?" As he spoke, he changed his shoes and quickly walked into the house, sitting down beside his mother on the sofa.

  "You're the one who's feverish!" It took a while for Li Jia to come back to her senses. She hastily followed him into the house, but she couldn't help laughing herself.

  Mr. and Mrs. Li heard their son's words, looked at his serious face, and the two of them couldn't help but burst out laughing. This laugh was unstoppable, and Mr. Li even held his belly with both hands, looking very comical.

  Looking at his parents and sister laughing so hard, Li Donglin was even more confused, smiling wryly and asking: "What's wrong with you guys?" However, his question not only didn't have any effect, but also made them laugh even harder. Li Donglin felt helpless, so he stopped asking questions, picked up the remote control and started pressing buttons randomly. But after switching through all the channels, he still couldn't find a TV program that he liked, so he threw the remote control onto the coffee table, leaned his head back on the sofa, and closed his eyes to meditate - he was thinking about something in his mind.

  After a while, Li Jia and her parents gradually stopped laughing. However, Li Donglin still had his eyes closed, thinking about his own affairs. Li Changhao and his wife, as well as Li Jia, couldn't help but exchange glances with each other. Finally, Li's mother kept giving her daughter a signal with her eyes. No choice, it's hard to disobey one's mother! Li Jia immediately moved forward, knelt on one knee on the sofa, and leaned in close, asking softly: "Brother, Mom and Dad asked why Haonan hasn't come to our house for a long time, is it...is it because you two had a fight or some conflict?"

  Mr. and Mrs. Li didn't expect their daughter to "pass the buck" to them, so they immediately "picked up the ball". This time it was Mrs. Li who took the lead, with a smile on her face saying: "Donglin, have you two been very busy studying lately? Why hasn't Haonan come over for a long time... Have you two had some kind of disagreement?" She paused, waiting for Donglin's response, just like her daughter. Mr. Li also leaned in with his ears perked up.

  "No, we didn't quarrel - but it's almost the same... " Li Donglin's head was still leaning on the sofa, but his eyes were already open, staring blankly at the ceiling.

  Li Donglin's first sentence made people feel relieved, but before they could even finish their sigh of relief, his second sentence had already grasped their hearts. "You say you didn't have any conflicts, yet you say 'almost', what exactly is going on?" This was Li Father's urgent voice.

  "Hurry up and say it, what's going on?" Mrs. Li also urged anxiously, and pushed Donglin forward.

  "Ah!" Li Donglin let out a long sigh. He felt a sense of disgust towards his parents for being so concerned about Chen Haonan, something that would have been absolutely impossible in the past. He didn't know what to say to his parents, and to be honest, he didn't understand what Chen Haonan meant by his words tonight. If it weren't for considering him a true friend, a brother, he would have turned against him long ago... The conflicting emotions swirling inside Li Donglin made him feel extremely annoyed, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh, as if this one sigh could take away all the frustration in his heart.

  "Don't sigh anymore, just speak up quickly!" Li Donglin was about to open his mouth when Li Jia urged him impatiently.

  "What's the hurry?" Li Donglin looked at Li Jia with impatience and said sarcastically, "I think this little girl is really in love with Haonan, no wonder Mom said she would marry you off to Haonan in the future! It seems there's a reason for everything..."

  Seeing her brother intentionally provoking her, Li Jia's face only slightly reddened, and she deliberately followed his words, shouting: "Yes, yes, I just like Brother Haonan, are you jealous?" In fact, Li Jia was very clear in her heart that her liking for Chen Haonan was only admiration, and it had not reached the level of a romantic relationship. Moreover, she also knew that she was young, and she treated him as an older brother.

  Li Jia's words made Li Donglin even more energetic, and he began to make jokes in a bored tone, saying with a strange voice: "I'm not jealous at all! Who in the world is jealous of their brother-in-law as a big uncle?" He couldn't help but burst out laughing after finishing speaking, waving his two hands wildly and shouting loudly.

  Li Jia couldn't help it anymore, her face flushed as she pressed her brother down on the sofa and beat him, occasionally muttering angry words. Li Donglin was being pressed down and beaten, although Li Jia didn't use too much force, he deliberately shouted loudly and repeatedly yelled "Hao Nan's sister-in-law, save me!", which made her even more embarrassed, and the intensity and frequency of her beating increased unintentionally.

  Watching the siblings laughing and playing, Mr. and Mrs. Li Changhao also couldn't help but laugh "hehe". But they were afraid that the two would get too serious, so Mr. Li quickly got up and pulled Li Jia aside, saying: "Alright! Alright! Donglin, you're not a kid anymore, how can you tease your sister as soon as you get home? What kind of behavior is this?" Although Mr. Li was trying to look stern, he completely gave himself away as soon as he spoke. However, when he turned around, he still comfortingly criticized Li Jia: "Jiajia, you're really something, how can you fall for your brother's tricks so easily? Just treat him like he's talking nonsense and that's it!"

  After hearing her father say that, Li Jia stopped picking on her brother and sat down on the sofa with a "thud". However, she was still sulking and muttered to herself: "A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory!" After repeating this phrase several times, her anger dissipated somewhat.

  Li Donglin sat there and didn't joke around anymore, gradually quieting down. Li's father saw this and smiled as he retreated back to the sofa to sit down.

  "Tell me, what's going on between you and Haonan?" Li Mu asked again as she saw that the brother and sister had stopped quarreling.

  "There's nothing else..." Li Donglin said, straightening his back and sitting up. Closing his eyes for a moment, he continued: "I've found that Haonan has changed a lot, he's always preoccupied with worries, rarely talks to others, and can even sit still in his seat all day without moving..."

  "Is he sick or something? Why don't you ask him?" Suddenly, Li Jia rushed over and interrupted her brother's words.

  "Why didn't I ask him?" Li Donglin glared at Li Jia with some annoyance, and then continued, "But he just wouldn't tell me... Earlier during the evening self-study session, I even pulled him out to talk, but before five sentences were exchanged, he slipped back into the classroom. So I quickly followed him back into the classroom, but as soon as he returned to his seat, he hastily started scribbling with his pen on a draft, calculating something, and I had nothing more to say... Ah yes, some time ago Old Li suddenly removed Hao Nan's 'study committee' position and replaced him with a girl!"

  "Removed from office - Haonan was actually removed from office?! Wasn't he affected by the fact that he was removed from office?" Li Jia chimed in, completely forgetting that her brother had just glared at her.

  "I've thought about it too, because I wanted to reason with Old Li about this matter, but was pulled back by Haonan. So I asked him directly, and he said it was his own request that wasn't right. When I asked him 'why', he either remained silent, or smiled bitterly without speaking, or intentionally changed the subject... Twice, he deliberately pulled me out, as if wanting to say something, but just as he opened his mouth, he turned back into the classroom - leaving me bewildered and unable to laugh or cry! Because of Haonan's matter, Donglin had been holding in a lot of grievances, and only today was able to vent them out thoroughly. So, his tone and gestures were somewhat exaggerated, completely unlike his usual witty humor, and more like a child complaining about his misfortunes."

  Li Donglin's words seemed to have infected the atmosphere of the entire room, and even Li Jia, who had been interrupting earlier, slightly lowered her head, not saying a word, as if she was thinking about something...

  "Let's not speculate wildly, it's getting late and Donglin, you still have class tomorrow! If there's really something going on, can't you just ask Haonan properly tomorrow and get to the bottom of it?" Li's father said, his mind relatively clear as he glanced at his watch.

  Li's mother quickly got up and pulled her son along. Seeing his mother pulling him, Li Donglin also stood up, but he said in a puzzled tone: "Do I have to go ask Haonan again? - But he won't tell me!"

  "How can you be so stubborn?" Mrs. Li lightly tapped her son's head and said, "Tomorrow isn't a school day, and you don't have classes in the afternoon. You can bring Haonan home and let me ask him myself. I think that child will tell me if he really has something going on..."

  "Yes, yes, Mom's idea is great!" Li Jia exclaimed happily, clapping her hands and laughing.

  "What's good? What's good about it? What if he doesn't show up?" Li Donglin still looked puzzled, almost bitterly saying, as if he wanted to pour a large basin of cold water on Li Jia's head.

  "What's 'what to do'? If he doesn't come, you just say it was I who wanted him to come, and he'll definitely come!" Li Mu had another idea, her expression very determined.

  "What if he still refuses to come?" Li Donglin said again, his voice mixed with extreme helplessness.

  "What's wrong with you, kid? Have you gone silly?" At this time, Li's father also came over to help his son come up with a plan. "You can't call him by yourself, don't you know how to find someone else to help?" Li's father had a playful expression, not caring that he was "meddling" in the conversation between his wife and daughter. He deliberately paused for a moment, then turned to Li Jia and said: "Jiajia, you don't have class tomorrow, do you? Go to Donglin's school a little earlier, and after school, you can go with your brother to call Haonan - if that kid still doesn't come, the two of you should be able to drag him back!"

  "Me, me, me..." Li Jia wanted to say something, but three consecutive "me"s blocked everything she was going to say.

  "That's a good idea, let's do it! - Besides, Haonan is willing to listen to Jiajia... Ginger is still spicy after all!" Li Donglin said, and then he raised his thumb in front of his father and shook it. Then, he hummed the tune of "September 9th Wine" and went to find clothes to take a cool shower.

  And Li Jia was still being suffocated by those few "I"s...