Chapter 15: Brotherly Love (07)

  There are many people missing in the classroom. Compared to the third year of high school, the second year of high school still has a relatively relaxed schedule, so the school's management of Sunday evening self-study for each class in the second year is very loose. If a student has something to do - even if they don't have anything to do, as long as they tell the teacher, they can skip it. Of course, on this day, the teacher rarely comes to the classroom either.

  Chen Haonan returned to his seat, and the surrounding classmates all came over without exception, but he just responded perfunctorily for a few sentences before taking out his pen and starting to recite English vocabulary. The crowd found it boring and gradually dispersed.

  However, Li Donglin was different. As soon as he sat down, those guys around him quickly gathered around. Although he was still thinking about Chen Haonan's affairs in his heart, he still responded to those people with ease, occasionally flying out one or two jokes that made everyone laugh with their mouths covered. Despite the excitement, everyone could only laugh with their mouths covered and steal a laugh - of course, there is an important reason for this. Although the school's management of the second-year classes' Sunday evening self-study was relatively loose, this was not entirely false, but if any class made too much noise, they might not have a good outcome, as the saying goes "the bird that sticks its head out gets shot"! Everyone had some reservations about this: they tried to keep their voices down, and when they laughed, it was just with their mouths covered, and from time to time, there were one or two classmates standing at the door keeping watch.

  After laughing and having fun, everyone naturally dispersed. No one came to bother him anymore, so Li Donglin took out the math problems and started doing them. Among all the subjects he had learned, his favorite and best subject was mathematics. Whenever he had some free time, he would focus on solving math problems, not caring that English was like dog shit to him, and this kid often followed a group of self-proclaimed awesome guys, shouting: I'm Chinese, let "English" get out of here!

  But after doing a few questions, Li Donglin's heart couldn't calm down, his eyes involuntarily looked at Chen Haonan and stayed there.

  This semester, since discovering that Chen Haonan was a bit off, Li Donglin often sat in his seat and stared at him from afar - after many times of staring like that, he felt that he and Chen Haonan were getting farther and farther apart. Later, he felt a thread of sadness in his heart.

  However, today Li Donglin still looked at Chen Haonan from afar as usual, but he couldn't help the joy and excitement in his heart. He seemed to see that old friend of his slowly walking towards him again...

  However, why Chen Haonan became like that was a question that had been stuck in Li Donglin's chest, making him unable to let go.

  At 9:30, the bell rang on time to signal the end of the evening self-study session. The students who had been noisy for several hours poured out of the classroom, chattering and laughing as they headed back to their dorms to take a shower and rest. Of course, some classmates stayed behind voluntarily to continue reading and doing exercises. As soon as the bell rang, Chen Haonan hastily left the classroom.

  However, Li Donglin remained seated, motionless, pondering what Chen Haonan would say next. After about four or five minutes, he finally stood up and slowly walked out of the classroom.

  Youyuan is Li Donglin's destination.

  The Yu Garden is located in the southwest corner of the campus, and it is one of the best scenic spots in Yanzhong. The garden covers a large area, with high iron railings surrounding all sides except for the side adjacent to the wall, and there is only one arched gate for entry and exit. Above the gate are the two characters "Yu Garden" written in regular script. Inside the garden, there are many trees, flowers, and grasses, and between the trees are long, narrow benches. Additionally, there is an octagonal pavilion deep in the woods, next to which is a small pond with stone walls on all four sides. The pond is home to many golden carp for viewing pleasure.

  Needless to say, Youyuan has become a favorite haunt of S Middle School students.

  The moon in the sky was small, just a faint arc. However, there were many stars, flashing with light points, giving people infinite reverie. From time to time, the clear wind blew, making people feel very comfortable and pleasant. Chen Haonan sat on the stone bench under the pavilion, although the beautiful scenery was in front of him, but he couldn't feel happy at all: He didn't know whether it was right or wrong to tell Donglin about his father's serious illness, he worried that Donglin would be sad, distressed and anxious, and he was more afraid that Donglin would accidentally say something to his family... Thinking of these things, Chen Haonan's heart couldn't help but tremble.

  At this moment, Li Donglin walked into the pavilion. Before Chen Haonan could speak, he took the lead and said: "Haonan, I think something has happened at your home. Even if I, as a brother, can't help you with anything big, but saying what's on your mind will make you feel better - isn't that right?" As he spoke, he carefully looked at Chen Haonan's face under the light of the street lamp. Seeing that Chen Haonan was not in a hurry to speak, he said softly: "Haonan, now it's your turn to talk. Don't worry about anything and don't think it's hard to say. Whatever you want to say, just say it. No matter what, saying it out loud is more comfortable than holding it back in your heart..." As he spoke, he sat down next to Chen Haonan on the stone bench.

  Chen Haonan turned his head to look at Li Donglin, several times wanting to speak but stopping himself, and tears quickly welled up in his eyes. Li Donglin also looked at Chen Haonan, quietly waiting for him to speak. From the look in his eyes, Li Donglin knew that Chen Haonan was deeply conflicted, so he patiently waited...

  Suddenly, Chen Haonan spoke in a pleading tone: "Donglin, I'm telling you something, but you mustn't tell your parents or Jiajia - they've been too good to me, and I don't want them to worry about me..."

  Upon hearing this, Li Donglin became even more certain of his previous guess and couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat, with tears welling up. He hastily wiped away the tears with his hand and forced himself to calmly say: "Go on, I promise, absolutely promise not to tell them..."

  Li Donglin burst into tears, which made Chen Haonan somewhat flustered, but he didn't stop him. However, Li Donglin clearly saw Chen Haonan biting his lips tightly...

  Later, Chen Haonan slowly told about his father's serious illness and some of the feelings and experiences he had been having lately. His tone was very calm, but a strong light burst out from his eyes. During this time, Li Donglin couldn't help but want to say something to comfort Chen Haonan several times, but his words were all drowned out by Chen's gentle voice. However, when Chen Haonan stopped speaking, Li Donglin only felt his head buzzing, and even if he had a million comforting words, he couldn't say them, and tears slowly seeped into his eyes.

  "Don't be sad for me, or I'll cry with you." Chen Haonan suddenly comforted Li Donglin. Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath and continued: "Actually, I've already seen through death. Everyone has their own fate, and no one can escape birth, aging, illness, and death. What I resent is why heaven couldn't let my dad stay for a few more years... I hate my own weakness and incompetence, and even more, I regret not understanding my dad's kindness earlier..."

  "Hao Nan, don't say that again, or I'll lose control." Li Donglin begged with a sob. After a pause, he wiped away his tears and said with extreme remorse: "To be honest, I've done much worse than you. I often lash out at my parents for no reason, and your words make me even more ashamed..."

  "But I'll hardly have the chance to be a good son to Dad anymore!" Chen Haonan almost choked with sobs, but never left a single tear.

  Li Donglin was also aware of the horror and fear of cancer, and seeing Chen Haonan's painful appearance made him even more unbearable. However, he still tried his best to hold back his sorrow, smiling and comforting him by saying: "Now that technology is so advanced, it's possible that your father's illness will be cured after a while... At that time, you can take good care of your filial piety and make some achievements, making your father happy. Don't worry, your father will definitely be fine!"

  "I hope so!" Chen Haonan said with a sigh. At this time, he thought that the night was already deep, and he immediately stood up, patted Li Donglin's shoulder and said: "Donglin, it's late, or you won't be able to leave the school gate..."

  After Chen Haonan said that, Li Donglin also realized that time was really running out. He hurriedly stood up too. However, he still couldn't put his mind at ease and comforted him by saying: "Haonan, don't think too much about it either, thinking too much will confuse your brain - your dad will definitely be fine!"

  "Uh, I know, I'll be fine, don't worry!" Chen Haonan patted Li Donglin's shoulder again. Then, he instructed Li Donglin, "Remember, absolutely do not tell your parents or Jiajia about my situation, or they will definitely get anxious..."

  "I won't say it, after all, 'a gentleman's word is as good as a thousand horses'! Otherwise, let's make a vow with a slap on the palm?" Li Donglin felt very uncomfortable in his heart, but he knew that Chen Haonan was even more unbearable. In order to ease the atmosphere, he deliberately changed his tone and even raised his hand forward in a comical manner.

  "That's not necessary, I don't believe you anyway!" Li Donglin teased, Chen Haonan smiled and said, "You little brat, stop being poor, hurry back home, be careful on the road..."

  "Alright, let's go! If we don't leave now, it won't just be me who can't get out of the school gate, you also won't be able to enter the dormitory building!" Li Donglin said as he put his arm around Chen Haonan's shoulder, and the two walked out of the pavilion together.