Chapter 110: Heart Rain Patter (03)

  The bell rang for class dismissal, but the math teacher who was "diligent and responsible" continued to drone on and on, showing no signs of stopping...

  "Oh, liberation! Finally liberated!" At last, the math teacher finally finished explaining the last geometry problem on the test paper, and his classmates couldn't help but shout out in excitement. As soon as the short math teacher walked out of the classroom, Chen Haonan immediately got up and ran out. Soon, he ran to the front of the teacher, without caring about politeness or not, and went straight down the stairs.

  Just before the fourth lesson was about to start, Ouyang Yiweng suddenly ran to Chen Haonan's desk and brought a message from Li Donglin - Li Donglin asked Chen Haonan to wait for him in the teaching building hall after lunch.

  Li Donglin was Chen Haonan's classmate in Class 211. During the year or so they spent together, the two of them forged a deep and lasting friendship. Although they couldn't spend as much time together after the liberal arts and science classes split up, their feelings for each other remained just as strong as before, and they still often got together to chat and laugh, discussing life...

  Because he didn't know what Li Donglin was in a hurry to find, as soon as Chen Haonan heard the news brought by Ouyang Yiweng, he couldn't sit still. Throughout the math class, he couldn't listen attentively and lost his soul several times. Especially after the math teacher's class dragged on, he became even more restless. As soon as the class was over, he quickly ran out.

  The large hall of the teaching building was empty, perhaps everyone had rushed to the cafeteria for lunch, or maybe it was because today was Sunday and everyone had gone out to have fun. Li Donglin stood stupidly in a corner against the wall, his face expressionless: he was waiting for his good friend Chen Haonan.

  At the end of the third class, Li Donglin went to Class 214 to find Chen Haonan. Who would have thought that he ran into Ouyang Yiweng in the corridor? Although Li Donglin had only met Ouyang Yiweng a few times, he had heard Chen Haonan mention her name many times during casual conversations - from Chen Haonan's expression and tone, Li Donglin could tell that Ouyang Yiweng was more than just an ordinary friend to his old buddy. So, Li Donglin asked Ouyang Yiweng for help to pass on a message to Chen Haonan.

  It's been a while since class was dismissed, but Chen Haonan is still nowhere to be seen, and Li Donglin can't help but feel anxious.

  It's been a while since Li Donglin saw Chen Haonan, and he wanted to take the opportunity of this afternoon's free activity time to have a good chat with him. In fact, he himself didn't have anything particular on his mind, but his sister Li Jia made his heart feel all tangled up. This feeling of anxiety was rare for Li Donglin; more precisely, it was because he was worried about his sister.

  For a long time, Li Donglin and his sister Li Jia were always quarreling and making trouble at home, especially in the past few years when they would often get into big fights, causing chaos in the house. As a result, Li Donglin received many scoldings from their parents. However, over the past two years, the siblings' relationship has improved somewhat, after all, they have grown older and understand more things. Nevertheless, their relationship is still lukewarm, although they have become more courteous to each other, there are still occasional disputes and quarrels between them.

  Actually, as a brother, Li Donglin is quite concerned about Li Jia. After all, she is his only younger sister, and he often feels inferior because of her cleverness and quick wit, but more often than not, he feels proud and relieved. However, many times, Li Donglin finds it hard to put down the airs of an elder brother, nor is he good at expressing his care for his sister... In this aspect, Li Donglin is very similar to Chen Haonan's attitude towards his own younger sister Chen Jiayi.

  On the day Li Jia received the admission notice from Yancheng No. 1 Middle School, Li Donglin was over the moon with excitement, even more so than his sister herself. He felt proud and relieved to have such an excellent sister. Not only did Li Jia get into a provincial key middle school, but she also helped him fulfill his shattered "Yancheng No. 1 Middle School dream". However, just two weeks ago, several leaders from Yancheng No. 2 Middle School suddenly visited Li Donglin's home, hoping that Li Jia would attend their school and offering very favorable conditions.

  In Li Donglin's view, the behavior of those school leaders was ridiculous and laughable. However, Li Jia was moved, and she quickly persuaded her parents. Li Donglin had no choice, after all, it was his sister's own decision, and his parents were also on her side - he was alone and powerless, so he shut up. Nevertheless, he always felt that his sister's actions were a waste. Especially with the new semester starting at Yanshan S Middle School in two days, Li Donglin felt even more uneasy, but he always felt that his words were pale and powerless in front of his sister. So, Li Donglin thought of Chen Haonan, hoping that his good brother could persuade his sister to change her decision...

  Suddenly, a hurried footsteps interrupted Li Donglin's thoughts, he looked around: it was Chen Haonan who had arrived!

  "East Forest, sorry to keep you waiting?" Chen Haonan walked over and said with a smile, "It's all because of our math teacher, he always drags on during class, making the classmates in our class complain endlessly, even crying out loud...” Maybe from running too quickly just now, Chen Haonan's breathing was a bit disordered, and he seemed not to have noticed Li Donglin's somewhat unusual expression.

  "Not long after, I also just came over..." Li Donglin also forced a smile, his smile was somewhat dry - although so, he was absolutely not perfunctory to Chen Haonan.

  "What's wrong with you? You seem a bit off!" Chen Haonan suddenly felt something, he asked intimately, "You're in such a hurry to find me, is something wrong?"

  "It's actually no big deal, it was all caused by that little girl Jiajia..."

  "Jia Jia?" These two words seemed like a long needle, lightly swaying and piercing the most sensitive nerve of Chen Haonan. In an instant, he recalled that trip to "Lin Yu Village" with Li Jia, and that awkward kiss...

  "Are you okay?" Seeing Chen Haonan seemed to have lost his soul, Li Donglin hastily and gently pushed him.

  "It's okay, it's okay..." Chen Haonan finally woke up from his self-conscious space and asked anxiously, "Jiajia, Jiajia, how is she?"

  "Alas, it's hard to say!" Li Donglin sighed and said slowly, "Let's not talk about this for now. I came to find you for another reason. My mom said you haven't been to my house in a long time, she misses you so much and keeps mentioning you - this time it was my mom who specifically asked me to come find you, she said to cook more dishes at noon and invite you over for lunch!"

  "Alright, let's go!" Chen Haonan nodded in agreement after a brief moment of stunned silence. To be honest, it had been a long time since he last visited Li Donglin's home. Due to some reasons, Chen Haonan had passed by the house several times without entering, only standing outside for a while before hastily leaving. In fact, he didn't want things to be this way. He remembered that during his first year at Yannan S, the only place where he could find a sense of home was at Li Donglin's house. Especially Li Donglin's mother, who treated Chen Haonan like her own son, showing him warmth and care, always saving him a portion of good food. This had touched Chen Haonan deeply, and there were several times when he had been so moved that he had shed tears.

  However, Li Donglin quickly stopped Chen Haonan who was about to walk away quickly and said: "Haonan, let's slow down a bit, I have something to tell you first!"

  Chen Haonan was taken aback at first, then just hummed in response and slowed down his pace. "What's up?" he asked. At this time, he found that Li Donglin's expression was a bit off, so he quickly opened his mouth to ask.

  "Do you know about Jiajia getting into Y University?" Li Donglin said as he leaned in.

  Chen Haonan gave Li Donglin a somewhat mysterious glance, smiled and said: "Didn't you tell me about this before? This is a great thing! I was thinking of getting together with you guys in the next two days to celebrate Jiajia's good news!"

  "Still happy?" Li Donglin looked somewhat displeased, and in a tone that was a bit like a girl who had been wronged, he slowly hummed: "I'm still angry, that Jiajia kid is going to report to S!"

  "What?" Although he was walking a good distance ahead, Chen Haonan still clearly heard Li Donglin's voice. He was shocked and immediately turned his head to ask, "What's going on? Jiajia didn't take the exam at Y Middle School, why did she run to S Middle School to report something?"

  "Ah!" Li Donglin also stopped in his tracks, and he couldn't help but let out another sigh. At this point, he and Chen Haonan had already walked out of the teaching building and onto the playground. In the middle of the day, the sun was scorching hot on their heads, so Li Donglin used his hand to shield his eyes as he looked up, then gestured for Chen Haonan to keep walking while they talked.

  Under a tree, Chen Haonan finally couldn't help but speak again: "What's going on with Jiajia anyway? - You'd better say it quickly, don't make me anxious!"

  "Here's the thing," Li Donglin said, straightening out his somewhat jumbled thoughts. "Jiajia was originally admitted to Y Middle School, but she decided not to attend Y Middle School after all and is planning to report to S Middle School in two days..."

  "Why is that?" Chen Haonan was a bit confused. He knew that Y Middle School was the best in the county, whether it was the quality of education and teaching or the infrastructure, other high schools in the county couldn't compare to it. But he just couldn't understand why Li Jiaming, who had been admitted to Y Middle School, would still choose to come to S Middle School to report. Chen Haonan used to have a beautiful "Y Middle School dream" too - but that dream was shattered, and only then did he choose S Middle School. Suddenly, Chen Haonan thought of the reason why Yu Fen and Yu Na came to Swan South S Middle School; and suddenly again, he had a premonition about something. Because of this, his heart suddenly shook violently, and he suddenly felt a sharp pain.

  "It's all because 'Peng Old Root' brought a few guys to my house, it's all that guy's fault!" Li Donglin said angrily. "Peng Old Root" was the nickname students used to refer to Principal Peng Dagen of S Middle School. Li Donglin didn't have much opinion about that fat guy originally, but now he really wanted to beat him up.

  "Are you saying that the school is using the free tuition policy to poach students again?" Chen Haonan hastily asked. A year ago, Yu Fen and Yu Na also came to S Middle School after being admitted to Y Middle School, mainly because of Chen Haonan's reasons, but also because of the "free policy" offered by S Middle School. Chen Haonan found this ridiculous, always feeling that S Middle School was too "unscrupulous", as if it had a hint of "highway robbery".

  Li Donglin smiled wryly and nodded, saying: "I thought Jiajia would just find it funny, but unexpectedly she decided to come to S University to study, and my parents followed her nonsense, saying they wanted to respect her opinion... Haonan, you also know what S University is like. I'm really afraid that Jiajia has a moment of madness, so I strongly opposed her decision. After all, as her older brother, I don't want her to take the wrong step at this critical juncture! However, no matter how much I tried to persuade her, Jiajia just wouldn't listen, and she even came up with a bunch of twisted logic... I really had no choice, and S University's new semester is about to start soon. But I really don't want her to end up like me, stuck in S University... So, I can only ask for your help!" He stared into Chen Haonan's eyes, his gaze firm and full of emotion, hoping he would help him out.

  "Don't think too highly of me either," Chen Haonan said with a smile, taking another step forward. "Jiajia doesn't even listen to you when you try to act like an older brother, and your parents have already agreed, so I don't think my words will be effective..."

  Li Donglin hastily followed up and chased after Chen Haonan, saying: "Normally, that little girl Jiajia likes to listen to you, I say she doesn't listen, maybe she'll listen to you!"

  "I'll try my best, but don't expect too much! Jiajia has grown up and made her own decisions now, I'm afraid she won't listen to me either..." Chen Haonan said, turning his head to Li Donglin. In many ways, Chen Haonan still had enough confidence, but at this moment, he really didn't have any bottom line in his heart. However, he knew Li Donglin's personality, so no matter what, he would find a good time to talk to Li Jia.

  "You try your best, if Jiajia doesn't listen to me anymore, I have no choice either. I've done my duty as an elder brother..." Li Donglin finally cracked a smile. At this point, they had already walked out of the school gate.

  Soon, Li Donglin and Chen Haonan crossed the road and arrived at the foot of Li's building. Standing at the bottom of the building, Chen Haonan suddenly had a very special feeling in his heart, a kind of long-lost intimacy. However, thinking of Li Donglin's request, he couldn't help but feel a little melancholy again.

  "What are you daydreaming about? - Come on in quickly, my mom and the others are still waiting!" Li Donglin smiled and patted Chen Haonan's shoulder...