Chapter 60: Those Examination Things (04)

  Most of the trees in the park have withered, and only a few still retain a hint of green. The overall scene is desolate and barren. If it weren't for being on a crowded campus, venturing in alone would be quite intimidating!

  "What's wrong with you just now, Haonan?" Yu Na asked anxiously as she entered the pavilion. At this moment, her eyes were filled with a hint of worry.

  Chen Haonan's gaze slowly swept over Yu Fen and Yu Na, then he smiled slightly and said: "Actually, it's not a big deal... Earlier when we were talking, did you two notice anything strange in the classroom?"

  "What's wrong? I didn't notice!" Yu Na shook her head and replied. Yu Fen also didn't know what Chen Haonan was asking about, so she shook her head too.

  "Ugh!" Chen Haonan let out a soft sigh and said, "The people in your classroom have really strange eyes. Their gaze seems to want to devour us... oh, no, I mean, it's like they want to devour you two..."

  "What's wrong? Are we still afraid of them?" Yu Na shouted loudly, her words revealing a strong sense of dominance.

  Chen Haonan smiled and didn't rush to speak. He looked at Yu Fen, then at Yu Na, their innocence and naivety were indeed likable and pitiable. However, at this moment, he felt a hint of worry about their innocence and naivety, but for the time being, he couldn't bring it up, so he just asked lightly: "What if I'm a bad person, what would you do?"

  Chen Haonan's words shocked Yu Na, but Yu Fen laughed and hurriedly grabbed his hand, shaking it as she said: "How could that be? Brother Haonan, how could you be a bad person?"

  "I'm just assuming...” Chen Haonan said, tilting his head back. Closing his eyes for a moment, he then spoke extremely seriously: “This world isn't as perfect as you imagine it to be, at any time and place there might be storms and unexpected events coming our way, making us defenseless——you all need to learn how to protect yourselves!"

  "What's going on?" Yu Na quickly reacted at this time.

  "Just now, I observed your classmates for a bit, and their eyes seemed particularly strange. I found that their eyes carried jealousy, resentment, and even hatred...". Chen Haonan paused his words here, then looked at Yu Fen and Yu Na with concern before continuing: "You two may not care too much about the exam results, but many people don't think that way - they might consider scores and rankings more important than anything else. So when you speak, try to avoid stirring up their underlying jealous hearts..."

  "What are they jealous of? What do they have to be jealous of? My sister and I got good grades because of our own hard work, what does it have to do with them?!" Yu Na was somewhat shocked, but when she saw Chen Haonan's melancholy eyes, she lowered her voice and continued, "We're here to study, studying well is the right thing to do. Why bother about how others look at us - as long as we're upright and honest, we don't have to fear being judged!"

  "You're wrong," Chen Haonan said gently, patting Yu Na's shoulder. "Studying is important, but high school isn't like elementary or middle school. At this stage, we have to face many things in the adult world - getting good grades is great, but you also need to pay special attention not to hurt the self-esteem of those around you... and learning isn't everything, even if you do well, it doesn't mean everything will be okay, there are many other important things besides studying... do you know that?" As he spoke, Chen Haonan looked at Yu Fen and Yu Na with affection.

  "Hao Nan, are you saying that what we said in the classroom just now hurt those classmates' self-esteem?" Yu Na was still savoring Chen Hao Nan's words, but Yu Fen asked with a pair of big, shining eyes.

  "I'm not 100% sure about this, but I think it's very likely - actually, each of us has a latent jealous heart, but not everyone shows it so obviously. However, it's often just a small thing, like someone's words or a small action, that can trigger our latent jealousy, after all, most people want to be better than others and stronger than others..." Chen Haonan spoke slowly, hoping his words could enlighten and help Yu Fen and Yu Na: because he hoped everything would go well for them!

  At this time, Yu Na smiled knowingly: she felt that Chen Haonan was about to become a god, and she was happy and proud to have such a good brother. However, she didn't add any words of praise, but instead asked softly: "Haonan brother, how do you know so much, such deep truth?"

  "My dad!" Chen Haonan replied without hesitation, "My dad didn't even finish elementary school, but he knows a lot. Sometimes his words of wisdom leave people speechless. Our family, especially my generation, really respects and fears him. Although he doesn't often get angry, when he does, just a slight glare from him makes us very afraid. However, he rarely hits us, instead, he lectures us - he's taught me a lot, including the 'hidden jealousy' I mentioned earlier. But I never knew my dad cared about me so much until he fell ill and lay in bed... I only realized then that he actually loved me deeply..." Chen Haonan became increasingly emotional as he spoke. Suddenly, he realized his serious mistake and quickly laughed it off, saying: "The words of our ancestors are etched in our hearts! If my dad were still alive, he would be thrilled to see you two achieve such great results!"

  "Really? Uncle (Yu Fen, Yu Na's term for Chen Father), will he really be happy?" Yu Fen asked excitedly, despite her face being covered in tears.

  "Okay! Okay!" Yu Na helped Chen Haonan answer, and quickly took out a tissue to help her sister wipe away tears. However, her own tears also fell, she quickly wiped them away: she didn't want Chen Haonan to see that she was crying too...