Chapter 43: The Journey to Lin Yu Village (03)

  Autumn has quietly arrived. At this moment, on the hills, in the fields, and by the ditches, many plants have added a lot of yellowish colors. However, the weather is still very hot and unbearable, but when you lift your head up, there's not a single shadow of the sun in the sky...

  Chen Haonan and Li Jia walked slowly while chatting, and they were already more than ten miles away from Linfeng Town. Although there were a few scattered pedestrians on the road, Chen Haonan gradually realized that he hadn't seen any houses for a long time, not even small grass sheds. In the fields on both sides of the road, some rice had been harvested, and the leftover straw was piled up together, like small hills, which seemed more like tombs under the dark sky... The road also became narrower and narrower, as if it would extend into the mountains. Finally, Chen Haonan asked the question in his heart: "Jiajia, what place is this?"

  Li Jia pulled her head down, after a burst of laughter, pouting her small mouth said: "I don't know either, I've never been here before..." Li Jia's words hadn't finished yet, when suddenly someone shouted: "It's raining!" - Her words were immediately swallowed up.

  It's really "a word that awakens the dreamer"! Originally, pedestrians were walking slowly, but this sudden shout of "it's raining!" was like a thunderclap, and people started running frantically. However, the sky in the distance was suddenly covered with dark clouds, followed by strong winds and heavy rain pouring down instantly.

  However, for some reason, there were still a few pedestrians on the road just now, but after being washed by the rain, they all disappeared in an instant. The whole road was left with only Chen Haonan and Li Jia standing stupidly!

  Chen Haonan seemed to have been pummeled by the rain for half a day before he finally came to, and he cursed softly as he pulled Li Jia's hand and ran.

  "Don't run anymore, no matter how we run, we can't possibly run all the way back to town!" Li Jia shouted loudly behind Chen Haonan, "Moreover, there isn't a single house on this road, and we can't find anywhere to take shelter from the rain..." Her voice was loud, but it was soon drowned out by the sound of the rain.

  However, Chen Haonan seemed to have not heard Li Jia's shout, he just pulled her and ran hard in the wind and rain. The pea-sized raindrops hit his body, making him feel a little painful, but he didn't seem to feel anything at all, just kept running... Finally, they were both exhausted, their legs couldn't move anymore. Supporting Li Jia to walk to the edge of a small bridge, Chen Haonan sat down on the railing with a thud. He panted heavily, and casually stuffed his glasses, which had been blurred by rainwater, into his pocket.

  Li Jia leaned against Chen Haonan, panting and smoothing her long hair. Seeing Chen Haonan put his glasses into his pocket, she couldn't help but giggle.

  Chen Haonan didn't know what kind of trick Li Jia was playing, he looked at her and sighed with a bitter smile: "My little aunt, how can you still laugh at this time? I really admire you!"

  However, Li Jia laughed even more happily, Chen Haonan was helpless and could only follow her laughter. But the sound of their laughter was soon drowned out by the rain.

  Suddenly, Chen Haonan found a stone tablet standing by the road, with some remaining words. Driven by curiosity, he quickly stepped over and knelt down on one knee. Mixing with rainwater, he gently wiped away the dirt from the stone tablet. Before long, several words appeared before his eyes, and he slowly read them out in a low voice: "Lin - Feng - Zhen - Lin - Yu - Cun."

  Seeing Chen Haonan's mysterious appearance, Li Jia was also very curious, but she still sat there and shouted loudly: "Haonan brother, what are you doing kneeling on the ground?" Chen Haonan did not respond, but she soon heard him muttering something again, so she quickly asked: "What did you say?"

  "Jiajia, come quick and take a look!" Chen Haonan seemed to have not heard Li Jia's question, but he himself suddenly couldn't hold back his excitement and shouted loudly.

  Li Jia hastily came over, full of questioning: "What's going on?"

  "Look!" Chen Haonan excitedly pointed at the words on the stone tablet.

  "What is this?" Li Jia said, taking a step closer. She pointed to the words on the stone tablet with her hand and read slowly: "Lin - Feng - Zhen, Lin - Yu - Cun." After finishing reading, she was also startled in her heart, and immediately quickly said again: "Lin Feng Town Lin Yu Village."

  "How can there be such a strange place name? The village town near the wind and rain - isn't that very scary?" Chen Haonan slowly stood up, saying in a low voice as if to himself.

  Li Jia was still bent over, head down, using her hand to rub the words on the stone tablet. Suddenly she heard Chen Haonan muttering something again, and she quickly got up and walked to his side, asking softly: "Haonan, what did you just say that's so scary?"

  "I'm talking about this 'Lin Feng Zhen Lin Yu Cun', a place near the wind and rain, isn't it scary?" Chen Haonan said, sitting back down on the bridge, his eyebrows also gradually furrowing.

  "What's scary about that?" Li Jia smiled, but seeing Chen Haonan's serious expression, she quickly retracted her smile. "Anyway, it's just a place name, there's nothing strange about it in this world. Moreover, nothing can be done smoothly, experiencing some ups and downs can make life more rich and colorful! I think, I think this place is the same, it's near the wind and rain, maybe you can see rainbows all the time, because you can only see rainbows after the storm! I think, maybe this village has another name, 'Rainbow Village'..." She spoke as if she was convinced, nodding her head repeatedly, looking very cute.

  "You actually have such insight, it's really impressive!" Chen Haonan praised Li Jia with a smile.

  Chen Haonan's praise made Li Jia feel warm and fuzzy inside, and she couldn't help but smile along with him...

  The raindrops were dense and close together, making everything seem hazy. Chen Haonan, who was already nearsighted, took off his glasses and became even more blurry. He couldn't see anything clearly. However, just as he was wiping the rainwater from his face with his hand, he suddenly saw Li Jia shiver violently. Taking a closer look, her lips had turned blue. Without thinking much, Chen Haonan quickly took off his own jacket and tried to put it on her. But Li Jia blocked him with her hands, not letting him give her the clothes. Chen Haonan got angry, speaking in an almost scolding tone: "I'm just like your brother! If he were here, he would definitely take off his clothes for you to wear! - A girl of your age, if you get rained on and catch a cold, it will leave a lasting impact on your health..."

  Li Jia was startled, hastily took over Chen Haonan's clothes and slowly put them on, but she was worried about him, so she quickly said: "Haonan brother, what about you? If you catch a cold, isn't it also very troublesome?"

  "I'm fine," Chen Haonan smiled foolishly, "I'm a tall and strong man, my body is great, how can a little wind and rain affect me?" He said as he patted his chest.

  Li Jia smiled again, her hands gently stroking the clothes on her body. She suddenly felt a warm feeling in her heart, and as she looked at Chen Haonan's handsome and elegant face with her head tilted to one side, her girlish feelings surged out... As she thought about it, Li Jia couldn't help but lean her head against Chen Haonan's shoulder, and in an instant, a surge of emotions prompted her to whisper softly by his ear: "Haonan ge, I like you..."

  Chen Haonan's whole body trembled suddenly, and he was at a loss for words. He looked at Li Jia's beautiful face, her enchanting eyes, long eyelashes, cute little nose, and cherry-like lips... A primitive impulse made his whole body hot with excitement.

  Li Jia slowly closed her eyes...

  However, just as he was about to kiss Li Jia's lips, Chen Haonan suddenly woke up with a start and hastily jumped to one side... "Jiajia, I can't do this!" Chen Haonan's heart was racing.

  "Why?" Li Jia also stood up, a pair of charming eyes staring at Chen Haonan, "Haonan brother, I really like you, for you I can do anything - am I very ugly, you look down on me?"

  "No! No! You're very pretty, it's just... I'm just not psychologically prepared." Chen Haonan's thoughts were in disarray, he didn't know what to say.

  "Then you'd better be prepared, prepared to accept my love for you..." Li Jia said, still gazing at Chen Haonan with deep affection.

  "Actually, actually..." Chen Haonan couldn't withstand Li Jia's fiery gaze, he hastily turned around and said, "Actually, I've always treated you as my own sister, really. Moreover, we're both still young and in the midst of studying. Those things don't belong to us yet! Furthermore, my dad just passed away, I haven't had any thoughts about those matters. I only want to focus on studying well... You too, should focus on studying, that's what's right."

  "It's because I love you, like you, that I don't want to see you frowning all day," Li Jia's eyes welled up with tears, but she didn't mind at all, just expressing her emotions with all her might. "I want you to tell me all your troubles, I don't want you to be sad or in pain, I want to share everything with you - let me take care of you, okay?" As she spoke, she couldn't help but wrap her arms around Chen Haonan's waist from behind, pressing her face tightly against his back. She just wanted to hold him like this forever, quietly holding him, merging with him, and going through all the ups and downs together.

  Chen Haonan's whole body trembled slightly, he didn't know how to face the current situation. The only time his heart had skipped a beat was in his second year of junior high school. At that time, the girl was the class monitor for cultural activities, and her beautiful dance moves had captivated Chen Haonan's young heart. Her lively beauty, her open-mindedness, and her boldness had deeply attracted him. However, at that time, he was too naive and conservative to take any action, and even after graduation, he never truly confessed his feelings to her. It was precisely because of this that since high school, he had always closed himself off, not daring to get close to female classmates...

  However, what to do? Chen Haonan, who had been struggling with his heart, wanted to push away Li Jia's hand, but she wouldn't let him and instead hugged him even tighter. Chen Haonan was helpless and could only say pitifully: "Jiajia, don't be like this, okay? You're making me not know how to react, I...I..."

  "I won't! I just want to hold you like this, hold you - never let go!" Li Jia leaned against Chen Haonan's back and smiled happily, thinking about the things in her heart, completely ignoring his words.

  "Jiajia, don't be like this, okay?" Chen Haonan urged, pulling open Li Jia's hand. At this moment, he completely regained his composure and, after closing his eyes to take a few deep breaths, said softly: "Jiajia, we're not kids anymore. If we act like that, it's just nonsense. Do you know that?"

  "It's because we're all grown up now, so we have the right to love and be loved!" Li Jiali said with a straight face.

  "Jiajia, I didn't mean it that way," Chen Haonan said somewhat anxiously. "We've grown up, but growing up doesn't mean we have the right to do whatever we want. What's more important is the responsibility that weighs on our shoulders... Now what we need to consider is our studies, as well as our family's expectations and feelings. Besides, we're nothing now, we don't even have the qualifications to love or be loved!"

  "But, but we can..."

  "There aren't many 'maybes' left!" Chen Haonan knew Li Jia's talent and cleverness, he was afraid she would come up with even more reasons to persuade him, so he hastily interrupted her words. "Let's hurry back to town, I think this rain won't stop for a while, or you'll really get sick from getting soaked, my guilt will be too great..." He said as he stepped onto the road. In the wind and rain, his heart was in turmoil.

  "Hao Nan, how could you do this?! I haven't finished speaking yet!" Li Jia was so anxious that she stomped her feet, but there was nothing she could do, and she had to follow him onto the road. However, although she was angry, her heart still felt warm...

  The rain gradually stopped. Chen Haonan walked ahead, thinking a lot, he didn't know if his words had hurt Li Jia or not, and he didn't know if his actions were right or wrong - after all, the sudden departure of his father, his heart was wounded and numb, he needed a quiet harbor to moor his lonely and injured heart. However, reason kept telling him over and over again: I mustn't hurt Jiajia, nor can I hurt her family.

  "Right, Jiajia!" Chen Haonan suddenly remembered that Li Jia had not spoken for a long time, and he hurriedly turned around to look for her. However, just as he turned around, he was stunned: there was actually a beautiful rainbow hanging in the sky - it appeared after the autumn rain, looking even clearer and more enchanting. Suddenly, he couldn't help but feel excited inside, and loudly shouted at Li Jia: "Jiajia, look quickly, a rainbow!"

  "Rainbow?" Li Jia turned around in doubt. Sure enough, there was a rainbow stretching across the sky, and she couldn't help but scream: "So beautiful! What a beautiful rainbow!"

  Is a place near wind and rain also near rainbow? Is the rainbow really appearing after the wind and rain have passed? Is there really a rainbow after the wind and rain have passed...