Chapter 33: The Stormy Night (03)
According to the custom of Xiangnan, Chen Xiaolian's funeral was held for five days. During these days, the whole Chen family was in a mess, with everyone immersed in grief, wailing and crying voices rising and falling. Chen Haonan's mother, as well as his elderly grandfather and grandmother, were even more heartbroken, fainting several times...
Fortunately, Chen Xiaoxian returned in time. Chen Xiaoxian had opened a law firm in Guangdong Pearl City, and upon hearing the news of his brother's death, he immediately put down what he was doing and brought his wife and daughter back to their hometown. Chen Xiaokang and his wife also followed their second brother back to their old home.
Chen Haonan and Chen Jiayi were still young and didn't understand anything, so they relied on their uncle Chen Xiaoxian to handle all the funeral arrangements for their father. Their aunts and uncles also lent a big hand. Moreover, Chen Xiaolian's friends from before and the neighbors who heard the news also came over to help. Fortunately, with everyone's help, everything went smoothly. However, unfortunately, the day of Chen Xiaolian's funeral coincided with the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, and it was also Chen Haonan's second aunt Chen Shufen's 40th birthday...
All of this coincidence is so unintentional, can heaven really tease people like this? Perhaps all of this cannot be explained, because tears, crying, shouting, fainting, make people numb, and also make people powerless to speak out. The sky, again a burst of thunder, the wind and rain do not stop...
After completing his father's funeral, Chen Haonan accompanied his family for a day and returned to school on Sunday afternoon. In fact, he really wanted to accompany his mother and grandparents. His father's death had the greatest impact on his mother, and almost overnight, her hair turned white, making her mind unclear. There were also his grandparents, who were nearly 70 years old, how could they bear the pain of a white-haired person sending off a black-haired person? They cried all day, and for several days, they hardly ate or drank anything. However, after the funeral, Chen Haonan's mother and grandparents urged him and his sister to return to school, fearing that they would delay their studies.
Chen Haonan and Chen Jiayi were not willing to obey, at this time Chen Xiaoxian spoke up. He called his nephew and niece aside and slowly analyzed: "I know you two siblings are worried, but think carefully, now your father is gone, but you still have a mother, and also grandparents, they put all their hopes on you... Your father asked you two to work hard before he passed away, so that you can achieve something in the future. You can't disappoint their expectations... Just go back to school with peace of mind, I'll stay at home for a while, until Grandpa, Grandma and your mother's emotions have calmed down a bit..."
Uncle's words made Chen Haonan and his sister feel a little more at ease, after resting at home for a day, the two siblings bid farewell to their family together. The wind and rain came, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, they set foot on a new journey in life once again...
Back to school, Chen Haonan put some clothes he brought from home in the dormitory and rushed out. The guys playing poker in the dormitory just took a look at Chen Haonan, after he left, they whispered for a while and then continued to play their poker.
Out of the dormitory, Chen Haonan ran directly to Youyuan Garden, found a secluded corner, hid under a low tree and burst into loud crying. In these days, except for the day when his father passed away, he cried loudly, even on the day when his father was buried, he didn't cry, he just bit his lip tightly and silently shed tears - not that he didn't want to cry, but he knew clearly that if he cried, it would inevitably affect everyone in the family: He knew that everyone at home was bitter in their hearts, especially his mother, and his elderly grandparents. So, he could only hold back the sadness in his heart.
For several days, Chen Haonan had been suppressing all his sorrow in his heart. He finally let out a loud wail and cried for a while, feeling much better afterwards. Squatting under the tree, he thought of his father, thinking about how good his father was to him, and also thinking about his own misunderstandings towards his father in the past...
As he thought, Chen Haonan seemed to see his father walking out of the corner of the wall with a smile - but when he wiped away his tears, in front of him was only a blank: In the corner of the wall, there was only an unknown vine tied to the wall, and it gently shook its large leaves in the breeze. Water droplets occasionally dripped from the leaves.
The night quietly descended. It wasn't until Chen Haonan came to his senses that he realized the entire garden had sunk into darkness, the gloom and silence of the tree clusters making it hard for him to breathe. He struggled to get up, but just as he stood up, his vision suddenly went black, almost causing him to sway, luckily he grabbed onto a nearby tree, otherwise he would have fallen flat on his face...
Feeling his way in the dark, Chen Haonan walked on the gravel path and finally left the secluded garden. Standing at the gate, he couldn't help but lift his head, and the moon was still as round as before: it quietly shone on this land, as if to show people something, but it was ultimately speechless.
However, at this moment, the moon did not attract Chen Haonan's attention at all. He felt that he was a lone star in the distant sky, shining with a faint glow. Staring foolishly at the dark and profound night sky, Chen Haonan couldn't help but mock himself, as if he were an out-and-out madman.
He stood there stupidly for a while, suddenly feeling extremely hungry. Chen Haonan finally came back to his senses from his dazed state. It made sense, after all these days, he hadn't had a proper meal, and just now he sat for so long, it was strange if he wasn't hungry! He smiled foolishly, and his legs involuntarily walked towards the second cafeteria...
