Chapter 67: Unexpected Harvest (02)

  Today is the first day of school. Although the sky was gloomy and overcast, with a fine cold rain mixed with chilly winds that made people shiver, it was still the first day of school after all, and Chen Haonan couldn't help but feel some excitement.

  After being urged by his family for a long time, Chen Haonan finally bid farewell to his grandparents and mother. He came to the village entrance with his sister to wait for the bus, but they were different: he was going west by car, while Chen Jiayi had to go east.

  The brother and sister chatted for a while, then Chen Haonan sent his sister onto the bus, after a while, he also boarded the bus...

  Everyone says: New Year, new atmosphere! But Chen Haonan didn't find anything new about himself, instead he felt much older. Fortunately, he had his hair cut before the New Year, and his beard hadn't grown out yet - he should still be considered a spirited young man! However, under the black-framed glasses covered by a small strand of hair on his forehead, that melancholic blue glow seemed to shine even brighter.

  This semester has had its own experiences, and some winds and rains. Chen Haonan cannot predict what will happen next, nor does he dare to guess. But perhaps after experiencing the stormy weather, his heart has become much calmer. Looking out of the car window at the trees, one by one disappearing from view, he couldn't help but let out a sigh...

  The car drove to the entrance of Yannan S Middle School, and Chen Haonan struggled to carry his luggage down. Who would have thought that a person suddenly rushed out, he was both surprised and delighted - because the person who came was his iron brother and good brother Li Donglin.

  "Hao Nan, why are you just coming now? I've been waiting for you for half a day!" Li Donglin took over Chen Hao Nan's luggage and asked with a smile. However, in an instant, he complained: "Hao Nan, what is this thing in your bag?! - Why is it so heavy?!"

  "It's just a few books," Chen Haonan smiled and patted Li Donglin's shoulder, "Don't bother about it, how was your Spring Festival? Are your dad, mom, and Jiajia all doing well?"

  "It's all good, it's all good! Eating well and my body is great too! Oh right, I forgot to wish you a happy new year, wishing you good grades and finding a good girlfriend in the new year!" Li Donglin said with a "heh heh", but his eyes were constantly scanning around.

  "Ah!" Chen Haonan patted Li Donglin again, "You little rascal is still up to your old tricks, but you're really getting older, it's time for you to find a wife to show off to your parents!" Just as he was saying this with gusto, he suddenly noticed Li Donglin peeking around and quickly asked: "What are you looking for? First help me move my luggage back to school before we talk about anything else!"

  "Find my mom!" Li Donglin scratched his head and muttered, "She was just here a moment ago, how could she suddenly disappear..."

  "Aunt Qiao? What's Aunt Qiao doing?" Chen Haonan suddenly thought of something and hurriedly urged Li Donglin: "First help me move my luggage to school, after I've completed the registration formalities, I'll come to pay respects to your parents..."

  "What's the hurry, going to queue up for admission procedures now will get you killed! My mom was just across the street, she told me to wait for you! After lunch, we'll go through the procedures together - Jiajia is still waiting upstairs!" Li Donglin said, still looking around.

  "Jia Jia?" Being asked by Li Donglin, Chen Haonan's heart couldn't help but feel a little more uneasy. He vaguely thought of some things again, he regretted that trip to "Lin Yu Village", and he even more regretted impulsively kissing Li Jia: this matter had been a hard knot in his heart for a long time, making it difficult for him to let go. However, he was also clear in his mind that avoiding the issue wasn't a solution, if he couldn't avoid it then he would have to face it head-on.

  Li Donglin walked with one hand carrying his luggage and the other holding Chen Haonan's hand. Suddenly, he heard someone calling out his name, Chen Haonan quickly looked up to see Li Jia waving excitedly from the second-floor window, he waved back at her with a smile in response.

  As soon as they walked into the Li family's gate, Chen Haonan saw Mr. Li Donglin's father holding a piece of wood and gesturing with it. Mr. Li was a carpenter, carefully gesturing with the wood, and didn't even notice that his son and Chen Haonan had already entered the door - actually, it wasn't surprising that Mr. Li hadn't noticed them, as the entire first floor of the house was almost entirely occupied by wood, and besides, he had his back to the door, how could he have paid attention?

  Chen Haonan put his bag on the stool at the side and walked over, smiling and calling out "Uncle Li", saying: "I've come to pay my New Year's respects to you, this year your wooden furniture business will definitely be booming with great luck and prosperity, making a fortune in all directions and collecting profits from all sides..."

  "Oh, Haonan, you're here! " Li's father hurriedly put down the wood in his hand, patted his hands and said, "I didn't expect that after the new year your mouth would become so sweet - you too, study hard, everything goes well, next year take a good university entrance exam!"

  Chen Haonan smiled and asked again: "Uncle Li, why start work so early? It's not even out of the holiday yet?"

  "Ah! We're not late, other families have already started...” Mr. Li's face was filled with a bright smile. Seeing his son standing stupidly on the side with something in his hand, he hurriedly instructed: "Donglin, quickly take Haonan upstairs, running such a long distance on a cold day must be freezing——remember to pour Haonan a cup of hot tea, and bring out the fruit, candies, pastries and all that!"

  "Dad, I know!" Li Donglin smiled and replied, then went upstairs with Chen Haonan...

  Li Jiajiu didn't see her brother and Chen Haonan coming up, suspecting that Chen Haonan had too much luggage, so she was about to go downstairs to pick them up. But just as she changed her shoes, Li Donglin and Chen Haonan appeared from the corridor, so she quickly changed back into her shoes and busied herself finding slippers for them to change into.

  Put down the luggage, Li Donglin and Chen Haonan were in a hurry to change their shoes. Li Jia was also busy, rushing to pick up Chen Haonan's luggage, regardless of its weight or not. Moreover, she smiled and said: "Haonan brother, why are you just coming? My mom and the others have been waiting for you downstairs for a long time..."

  Chen Haonan didn't rush to answer Li Jia's question, he was just worried that the luggage was heavy and would hurt her, so he hastily reminded: "Jiajia, put it down first, I'll do it later."

  "Don't mind her, this girl is quite strong!" Li Donglin was the first to change his shoes and went into the house, casually picking up Chen Haonan's other bag. Chen Haonan smiled and didn't say anything else, continuing to change his shoes.

  Young people are young people, after sitting together for a while they started chatting, but Chen Haonan always consciously avoided Li Jia's eyes... Before long, the sound of Li Mu's voice came from the corridor: "Donglin, you little scoundrel, you brought Haonan back without even calling me, leaving me waiting there!"

  "It's Mom!" Li Jia reported with a smile.

  "Mom!" Li Donglin shouted loudly towards the door: "Just now when I picked up Haonan, you were not there yourself, how can you blame me now?"

  At this time, Li Mu had already arrived at the door of the building. Li Jia had gone to get her shoes and change into them for her mother. As she changed her shoes, she didn't care that Li Donglin was still shouting, but smiled and asked directly: "Haonan, weren't you cold on the way? Is everything okay at home? Was the New Year's celebration lively? Now that you're here at Auntie's place, don't worry about anything else. If you want to eat something, just tell Auntie, got it?"

  "Alright..." Chen Haonan had originally wanted to give Aunt Qiao a New Year's greeting and say some words of blessing, but her words suddenly brought up his sadness. But there was no way around it, he knew that Mother Li was only concerned about him, so he forced a bitter smile and said: "Things are fine at home, the New Year's celebrations are still lively too! However, I miss school even more, and especially miss the dishes you cook, Aunt Qiao..."

  "If you want to eat Auntie's cooking, then remember to come often!" Li Mu walked over to the sofa and Li Donglin tactfully gave his seat to his mother. Holding Chen Haonan's hand tightly, Li Mu said excitedly: "Poor child, look how thin you've become... Your home is far away, if you want to eat Auntie's cooking in the future, just come, okay?"

  After hearing Aunt Qiao's words, Chen Haonan's heart suddenly became numb. He really had a feeling of home at this moment - it was a feeling that he hadn't had for a long time. A warm current surged from the bottom of his heart, and he felt extremely warm. However, looking at Aunt Qiao's somewhat sorrowful expression, fearing she would cry, he quickly smiled and said: "I know, Aunt Qiao! I've never considered you and Uncle Li as outsiders, or else why would I always follow Donglin to your place? It's just that now, it's causing trouble for you and Uncle Li..."

  "Hey, kiddo, what's with that?" Li's mother laughed and stroked Chen Haonan's neck, "Trouble? - What trouble? You came and your uncle and I are happy. We didn't treat you like an outsider either. Donglin and Jiajia eat what you eat too!"

  ……