Chapter Eighty-Four: Cherish a Man's Tears (07)

  Lin Yufei fell seriously ill, and the news quickly spread throughout the class. Some people were shocked, some were saddened, and others even burst into tears. This beautiful angel appeared to be cold and aloof on the surface, but in reality, she was kind-hearted and passionate like fire. Although she had rejected some boys, causing them to feel embarrassed or hurt, she was actually well-liked by her classmates. So when they heard about her serious illness, everyone felt deeply grieved. At the suggestion of the class committee, most students prepared to contribute some money to visit Lin Yufei in the hospital and fulfill their obligations as classmates.

  It only took an afternoon to collect over 300 yuan from the whole class, and even Wang Zetong, the iron rooster, unexpectedly pulled out a 100-yuan bill. However, deciding who would go see Lin Yu Fang as representatives became a not-so-small matter...

  Firstly, the news of Lin Yufen's illness was conveyed by Ouyang Yiweng, who is also her ironclad good sister, and there is no doubt that she is a most important candidate.

  Additionally, due to Wu Hao being "squeezed" out, Hu Jing, who is also the class discipline committee member and concurrently serves as the class monitor, is another candidate because she can represent the student council and the head teacher.

  Apart from these two, it's really hard to decide on others. Maybe we can choose one or two more class cadres, or those who are closer to Lin Yufei. In short, some people want to go but can't find any special reason, while others simply want to take the opportunity to slip into the city and have some fun...

  However, Chen Haonan knew that he had to go this time. He didn't know if he was shaken by Lin Yufei's passionate love or if he felt deeply guilty towards her in his heart. Anyway, there was a very strong feeling that made him feel like he had to go. He thought that even if the head teacher disagreed, he would still resolutely go, no matter if it meant breaking the rules or getting punished.

  With this idea and determination, Chen Haonan knocked on the door of the political teaching and research office. This was his first time to take the initiative to find Class Director Wang Ze since he came to class 214.

  As Chen Haonan walked into the office, he saw Wang Ze flipping through a newspaper. When Wang Ze saw Chen Haonan enter, he quickly put down the paper and smiled slightly before asking, "Do you have something to discuss with me, Chen Haonan?" As soon as Wang Ze smiled, his thick beard stood out prominently, making him look somewhat ferocious and intimidating.

  Although the evening self-study session was about to end, there were still a few teachers lingering in the office. It's a quirk of all politics teachers that they like to join in the fun and often pop up in front of others to spout a few sentences of what they think is true but are actually absurd statements. This is the result of their teaching politics, whether it's about major national events or trivial matters, they all have a desire for "practice" and will usually take out dialectical materialism, international political economy imbalance theory and other things to ramble on about.

  As soon as Chen Haonan entered the office, he immediately caught the attention of those teachers and also sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off. So when the head teacher asked him questions, Chen Haonan didn't rush to answer, but instead walked forward and said in a low voice: "Teacher Wang, I have something to tell you..." As he spoke, Chen Haonan turned his head and looked at the other teachers in the office with some concern.

  Wang Ze saw that Chen Haonan's expression was somewhat tense, and he quickly knew that it would be inconvenient to talk in the office. So, he hastily stood up and said a sentence "If there is anything we can go outside to talk", and walked straight out of the office.

  Chen Haonan didn't expect that at this moment, Wang Ze would actually be able to perceive and consider his feelings, and he couldn't help but feel a few pangs of emotion. Walking behind Wang Ze, looking at his somewhat gaunt body, he suddenly felt that this person had some human touch now, not the numb and unreasonable person he had thought him to be before...

  The office building also has a spacious rooftop, which is rarely visited by many students. It's not that the students think it's too far away, but rather that coming to the rooftop of the office building might lead to encounters with teachers, who will inevitably give them a good "ideological education" whether they have business or not. Over time, students develop an unconscious sense of vigilance. However, when Chen Haonan followed Wang Ze onto the rooftop for the first time, he didn't feel any novelty, but instead felt increasingly oppressed.

  "Go on, Chen Haonan, I think you have something important to say..." Wang Ze stood in front of the railing, gazing out at the dark night sky. As he spoke, he let out a soft sigh.

  "Teacher Wang," Chen Haonan said slowly after a moment of hesitation, "Tomorrow in class, someone will be sent to the hospital to visit Lin Yufei. Can I go..."

  "Where are you going?" With the dim light, Wang Ze looked at Chen Haonan with some surprise, "Why are you going?"

  "Alas!" Chen Haonan gazed at the sweltering night sky and let out a deep sigh. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "I want to go see Lin Yufei, to atone for my own mistakes..."

  "Redemption? What's going on here? —What did you do to her?" Wang Ze was suddenly anxious, his eyes wide with a stare at Chen Haonan.

  "Teacher, it's not what you think - it's all my fault. I shouldn't have sung that song at the New Year's party in high school, I shouldn't...". Chen Haonan's voice suddenly choked up, and he tightly closed his eyes as his painful heart made his whole body tremble. After a while, he slowly calmed down. At this moment, he didn't care that Wang Ze was his teacher anymore, but just spoke from the bottom of his heart: "If I hadn't sung that song 'True Hero', Yu Fei wouldn't have noticed me, she wouldn't have developed feelings for me, and she wouldn't have secretly cared about me and supported me... I also wouldn't have hurt her, and she wouldn't be lying in bed worrying about me now. She wants me to go see her, maybe it's to see her one last time... I can't do anything for her, but I must go see her, or else my conscience will blame me for the rest of my life... I really, really..." Chen Haonan's heart was a bit confused, and his confused heart made his words become disorderly. Unconsciously, several tears rolled out from the corners of his eyes. Taking advantage of the darkness, he quickly wiped them away.

  "I'm all confused by you..." Wang Ze shook his head slightly, puffed out a mouthful of smoke, and smiled foolishly. But before Chen Haonan could say another word, he spoke up again, his expression now normal, as if chatting with a close friend: "Although I'm a bit confused, I think I've guessed a few things, your meaning is almost clear to me... You're doing the right thing, there are some things you have to face - no matter how well or badly you do them, but you must go and do them. As a man, you have to use your shoulders to carry a piece of sky, no matter how bitter, tiring, or embarrassing it is, you have to be strong and face it... You go, I originally planned to let three classmates represent the class, representing me to see Lin Yufei, only Ou Yangyiwen and Hu Jing were arranged before, now you're the third one - tomorrow at noon you'll go with the two girls, pay attention to safety on the road..."

  "Teacher... teacher, I... I..." Chen Haonan didn't expect Wang Ze to agree so readily and was momentarily excited, his words becoming stuttered.

  "Never mind, I know what you want to say..." Wang Ze put one hand on Chen Haonan's shoulder and pulled out a cigarette with the other, "You go and have a good talk with Lin Yufei, comfort her heart and let her take away as many beautiful memories as possible..."

  "I, I..." Chen Haonan still wanted to add something.

  "Don't say any more," Wang Ze interrupted Chen Haonan's words again, "It's getting late now, you should go back to your dormitory first! Get a good night's sleep, and don't show up tomorrow with a tired face and a haggard look when you see Lin Yufei..."

  "Alright!" This time, after hearing Wang Ze's words, Chen Haonan didn't say anything more. After bidding farewell to the class teacher, he went down from the teaching office building and rushed straight to the dormitory.

  However, lying in bed, Wang Ze's "good sleep" was something Chen Haonan couldn't do. He thought about many things in his heart...