Chapter 32: The Stormy Night (02)

  It's been over ten days since Chen Haonan last saw his seriously ill father. He doesn't know how his father is doing now, but thinking of his father's pale face and dull eyes makes him heartbroken and anxious - he really wants to go back and see his father, even if it's just a glimpse from afar. However, his father had given strict orders: Chen Haonan and his siblings are not allowed to return home until the National Day holiday on "October 1st". Chen Haonan is an obedient child, and he also knows his father's temper, so no matter how difficult and uneasy he feels inside, he can only endure it.

  Every night before going to bed, Chen Haonan would pray for his father, praying that his father's illness would recover quickly and that he would be healthy and live a long life. However, the prayers were just prayers after all, and what shouldn't have happened still ended up happening...

  Yesterday evening, during self-study, the math teacher handed out last week's test papers. Chen Haonan did very well and was one of only five or six students in the class who scored over 80 points. So he went to bed early last night. But this morning when he got up, he felt particularly dizzy and his head felt like it had been shaken by firecrackers, buzzing with a "humming" sound, and his whole body was weak. He couldn't care about anything else, so he dragged himself back to the classroom.

  The second class was biology. This is a new course this semester, the content is dry and tasteless, plus the female teacher who teaches this course is not good-looking at all, she only knows how to read from the textbook "blah blah" , many classmates can't get into the spirit of it, some have even fallen asleep... Chen Haonan was already very tired, after being lectured by Ms. Qiu, he slowly fell asleep too...

  Halfway through the class, someone suddenly poked their head in at the door and then quickly closed it again. Teacher Qiu put down his notes and immediately walked out of the classroom. Chen Haonan was still drowsy, but he heard the sound of the door opening, and with Zeng Shaoyang's finger poking him hard, his sleepiness instantly disappeared.

  Before long, Ms. Qiu pushed open the door and stepped into the classroom, shouting in a loud voice: "Which one of you is Chen Haonan? Your head teacher has something to ask you!" Her words were full of indignation, as if she was strongly protesting against Old Li's sudden arrival which interrupted her lesson.

  Chen Haonan didn't expect the person who poked his head in earlier to be their class teacher, and even more unexpected was that the class teacher would suddenly come looking for him at this time. All sorts of questions involuntarily arose in his mind. However, Teacher Qiu didn't give him any time to think, raising her voice again to call out - he could only quickly walk out of the classroom.

  Old Li was waiting for Chen Haonan in the corridor. When he came out, he immediately said: "Just now your family called and said that something small happened - asking you to go back immediately..." Old Li's voice suddenly paused when he said the two words "small matter".

  "Oh!" Chen Haonan's heart skipped a beat, his whole heart tightened up, but he didn't know what to say, so he just responded randomly.

  "This is the proof letter (clearly stated in the school rules that students who live on campus must hold a "pass certificate" approved by the class teacher when going out at non-normal times, otherwise the gate guard will not allow them to pass). Old Li said as he handed over the paper page to Chen Haonan and instructed, "You go back now, be careful on the way!"

  Chen Haonan trembled with fear as he took the "proof letter", and for some reason, his heart was particularly messy, and his mind was a complete blank... His entire thinking stagnated for a few seconds before he slowly came back to himself. Without picking up anything, he covered his head and ran down from the teaching building.

  Old Li was also very anxious, he stood on the teaching building, slowly walking from west to east, seeing Chen Haonan off as he walked out of the school gate. At the moment when Chen Haonan's figure disappeared out of the school gate, his nose couldn't help but feel a sourness, and tears quietly slid down...

  Sitting on the bus, Chen Haonan's mind was buzzing as he carefully thought about what might be happening at home... "Could it be that Dad's illness has taken a turn for the worse?" Suddenly, this sentence popped into his head, and he couldn't help but shudder all over.

  The big sister sitting next to him was startled by Chen Haonan's sudden jolt, her big eyes staring at him as if she wanted to ask what had happened, but in the end she didn't say a word. Chen Haonan also noticed the strange gaze of the big sister next door, feeling very embarrassed, and hastily turned his eyes towards the window to avoid awkwardness. The big sister stared at Chen Haonan for a while, seeing that he didn't do anything else, slowly turned her face away.

  The car was quiet, with no one speaking, only the engine making a "rumbling" sound. Chen Haonan's eyes were looking out of the window, but in his heart, he was thinking about his father, praying for him again and again...

  About half an hour later, Chen Haonan got off the car. Watching the car go far away, he had a feeling that couldn't be expressed, but he didn't stay for long and turned around to take a step forward. However, as he walked, he found that the originally very familiar path suddenly became strange, and his footsteps also became heavier, but he still walked laboriously...

  As he approached the outskirts of Lü Town, Chen Haonan clearly heard waves of crying sounds, which grew louder as he got closer. He vaguely sensed something and his heart ached uncontrollably, tears streaming out.

  "Hao Nan, you're back," Liu Hai Dong, his father's good friend, came out from the bamboo forest as soon as Chen Hao Nan stepped onto the bluestone road. He grabbed his shoulder and said tearfully, "Your dad has passed away, hurry up and go inside to burn some paper money for your dad..."

  "Uncle Dong ——" Chen Haonan called out softly, hoping that his uncle was just joking with him as usual. However, his tears refused to cooperate and burst forth in a torrent, blurring his vision as he saw the neighbors gathering around. "No, my dad is fine, it won't——" Suddenly, he squeezed through the crowd and sprinted towards his home...

  "Hao Nan, calm down!" Liu Haidong hastily caught up.

  Inside the house, smoke filled the air. Chen Haonan stumbled and staggered, and accidentally tripped over a small stool. Just as he was about to fall, Liu Haidong rushed up and grabbed him, supporting him as they walked...

  Shrouded in thick smoke, Chen Haonan saw his father lying motionless on the cooling bed. Beside the bed, a pile of paper money was burning or extinguished, emitting thick black smoke. "Dad——" Chen Haonan rushed to the bed crying, but his father's body had already turned cold. He cried out in despair, shouting, but his father showed no reaction - he just lay quietly, allowing his son to shake his body with all his might.

  "Hao Nan, don't be like this!" Liu Hai Dong grasped Chen Hao Nan's shoulders with both hands and said tearfully, "Burn some paper money for your dad, let him have a good journey..."

  Chen Haonan knelt in front of his father's bed, after crying for a while, he whispered to Liu Donghai: "Uncle Hai, you go out first, don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Let me accompany my dad..."

  "Hao Nan——" Just as he was about to speak again, Liu Haidong seemed to have thought of something and hastily closed his mouth with a knowing expression. He softly called out to Chen Haonan a few more times before retreating...