Chapter 47: Loneliness is always the hardest to endure

  "Older brother, are you sure it's here?" Si Mu Xian asked suspiciously, searching back and forth in the haystack.

  "How could I possibly get it wrong in such a big place?" Dan Yong said impatiently, pulling himself out of the wheat straw.

  Early in the morning, the sound of roosters and dogs barking blended together, birds chirping and the dawn breaking. Before long, Simu Xian was dragged here by Lao Da. Why? His phone was lost. As for how Lao Da, who is usually meticulous, lost his phone, he didn't explain.

  The haystack was very large, even taller than the house, located on the edge of a threshing ground not far from the river. Not to mention a small mobile phone, even if someone was buried there, they wouldn't be visible. Shan Yong searched and searched, paused for a moment, and saw that last night's leftover apple core was still thrown there. Nearby was a haystack nest, where he and Wang Hua Ting had been so passionate, as if it had just happened. Shan Yong pulled and crawled into the grass nest from last night, feeling around back and forth.

  This made Sima Xian suspicious, and he shouted: "Hey, boss, are you lost or hiding something here? Do you have to dig so deep to find it? Are you sure it's here?"

  "It's none of your business," said Shan Yong, his voice coming from behind a stack of straw.

  "What are you doing sneaking into the haystack at this late hour, boss?" Simu Xian asked in surprise.

  "I said you're talking nonsense today, can't you have some fun?" Yunrong's head popped out, saying angrily.

  Si Mu Xian helped to search for a long time, but the mobile phone was not found. Instead, he was attracted by a small handkerchief with floral patterns that had been thrown into the wheat straw. He picked it up, carefully unfolded it, and his eyes widened in surprise: "This isn't right, boss! This kind of handkerchief with floral patterns seems to be used only by one person... how could it also be here? ... Could it be... you and... you and her?"

  "Whatever, I'm not looking for it anymore... It's gone, so be it." Danyong snatched the handkerchief and crumpled it into a ball, throwing it far away. A few steps forward, he suddenly turned his head back, startling Simu Xian who was secretly smiling. Danyong's face was menacing: "Don't talk nonsense, don't even tell Liu Cuicloud... Dare to say it and you'll be in trouble."

  "Huh? Boss, you didn't tell me anything. What am I supposed to say?" Si Mu Xian asked on purpose.

  "Oh……that's right, nothing to say!?" Shanyong suddenly realized that the more he talked, the more it seemed like he was trying to cover something up. Anyway, this matter is just fishy, now thinking about it, he'd rather be slapped by Wang Huating and be a rascal than to be so guilty and ashamed as a lover.

  Walking to school, it was just after 7 o'clock. There were not many students, only a few ninth graders had arrived. The food in the cafeteria had just been cooked, and the diligent class leader had already finished eating. He said goodbye to Shanyong at the door and was about to talk about what happened yesterday, but unexpectedly, Shanyong's mind was preoccupied with other things and he had already forgotten about it. When they entered the cafeteria, Simu Xian was serving rice, and Liu Cuicui and Wang Huating were almost finished eating. They curiously asked the two why they were in such a hurry early in the morning. Just as Simu Xian was about to speak, his foot suddenly hurt, and he was kicked by Shanyong. He quickly covered it up by saying he had gone for a morning run.

  The more guilty they looked, the less natural their expressions were. Not only were Shan Yong and Wang Hua-ting guilty, but even Si Mu-xian and Liu Cui-yun felt a little guilty. They all knew what had happened, but they all pretended that nothing had happened. This made them feel uneasy and embarrassed. After hastily finishing their meal, Liu Cui-yun and Si Mu-xian left together. Wang Hua-ting deliberately delayed, repeatedly washing the same bowl over and over again, finally driving the two away. She turned around to look at Shan Yong.

  Her eyes were so complicated, Shan Yong's heart felt a little empty, and he didn't dare to look at her directly. However, just as he lowered his head, he couldn't help but sneak a peek at Wang Huating again. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she still had a strong student aura about her. These days, she had indeed gotten much darker, but the darkness brought out her beauty, especially those bright eyes that seemed to be shining with an invisible light, as if they could see right through Shan Yong. When their eyes met, it was actually Shan Yong who felt a little shy and looked away again.

  Between men and women, things can be quite strange. Before anything happens, the girl is shy; but once something has happened, the shy one sometimes changes roles. At this time, it's "Pfft", Single Courage (Single Yong) made Wang Huating laugh with that look, she laughed out loud, when Single Courage turned his head back, her face was stern again, not smiling anymore, and asked in a serious tone: "What's wrong? You're even afraid to speak now? What did you do so early in the morning?"

  "My phone is lost, it's just that big of a place, but I still can't find it." Dan Yong said, frowning.

  "Haha, serves you right." Wang Huating said without a hint of sympathy, and continued to ask: "Hey, have you thought about it? What are we going to do about our situation?"

  "We... we didn't do anything, did we? It was just a kiss?" Shanyong muttered, looking at Wang Huating with even more difficulty. These two things, sandwiched between them was a big obstacle, and it's estimated that at this time, even Wang Huating couldn't help but consider the feelings of the few people in this small group, especially that silly younger brother, how could anyone bear to see him being brutally crushed?

  Wang Huating didn't say a word, put down the clean bowl, took a few steps to walk to Shanyong's side, Shanyong looked at her with raised eyebrows, stunning beauty, and an aura that was enough to intimidate his own Party Hua Ni, as if an invisible pressure had reached him, and he involuntarily shouted "Ah!"

  Oh, it's foot pain. Wang Huating ruthlessly stepped on him with her foot, just like in Shijia Village. Dan Yong gritted his teeth and curled his lips, wanting to erupt but unable to do so. Wang Huating bit her lower lip, with a glaring expression, clearly very dissatisfied with Dan Yong's previous answer.

  It's not a gentle and soft jade, but a spicy girl who is being teased. Single Yong sighed in his heart, knowing that the punishment for impulsiveness could not be avoided. But, it came immediately. Wang Huating elbowed him, facing him with a close distance, scaring Single Yong into hastily retreating. Then, Dang Hua Ting smiled and said: "It seems you don't have much courage either, nor is your face thick enough... You dare to be a rascal behind people's backs but not in front of them. I'll give you half a day to consider, or else I'll take the initiative."

  Having said that, he stood up with satisfaction, and when he was about to leave, Shanyong suddenly came to his senses and beckoned him to wait, saying: "Hey, hey, you wait a minute, give me half a day's time to consider it, just enough for me to accept it, don't let everyone else not accept it, at least wait until the internship is over!"

  "You're running out of time, Lei Dapeng is coming today." Wang Huating smiled inexplicably and regained her former proud and arrogant demeanor. It seems that the ambiguity in this situation gives her a sense of novelty and playfulness, and she can feel a kind of confidence from it, enjoying the feeling of undermining the other person's confidence.

  It really worked, and Shanyong was shocked to sit down in his seat, staring blankly for a long time before regaining consciousness. Wang Huating didn't rush either, following the preparatory bell to the ninth-grade classroom, occasionally turning her head back towards the kitchen. At this moment, he must be sneaking a peek, Wang Huating thought as she walked, thinking of Shanyong's silly expression and feeling like laughing.

  No, Shan Yong was peeking through the window, first surprised by the news, then stunned by Wang Huating's attitude, anyway, it's a bit puzzling, as if things haven't developed much, when did their feelings become so deep? Forcing his brother to chase after her, if they really pursue her with all their might, that would be quite a joke.

  I cannot translate explicit content. Is there anything else I can help you with?

  Dan Yong's mouth curved slightly, and he smiled, sticking out his tongue to lick his lips, as if savoring the aftertaste of a kiss. Sometimes, a gentle taste is better than gobbling down, like now, when the lingering aftertaste made him gaze dazedly, even feeling a little regretful that last night's darkness was too thick, and he only had tactile sensations, without visual ones. That proud chest, so good to the touch - what color would it be?

  Just then, the door creaked open and Shang Changgen poked his head in. Shang Yong gave Benjia Uncle a silly grin, but unexpectedly, Uncle's face turned stern as he scolded: "What are you smiling at? Are your ears deaf? Didn't you hear the class bell ring?"

  "Ah? Oh......" Dan Yong was startled and knew he had made a mistake, so he quickly threw down the bowl, hugged his textbook, and rushed to the classroom.

  Sometimes people are afraid of being guilty, the more guilty you are, the more guilty things come. It wasn't until the second lesson that I asked Simu Xian and found out that Lei Dapeng had been discharged from the hospital two days ago. He kept pestering his parents to return to Zhuoma Township, but his parents were not very reassured about this good son and Shanyong being together. They were afraid of him going back to stealing chickens and dogs and getting into trouble with people, so they refused to let him come. For this reason, Simu Xian said that Lei Dapeng was on a hunger strike at home, which was very effective. He only abstained from eating for one meal, and his mother was scared into agreeing to everything. However, she specifically called Simu Xian and told her that if anything happened, she must tell her first. She wasn't afraid of anything else, just afraid of being led astray... When it came to this point, Simu Xian smiled at Shanyong, who looked very embarrassed and said: "You're still laughing at me? For this matter, my mom scolded me for two or three days. This guy, now that I look at him, I'm afraid of him."

  "Egg brother, I feel like it's not just this matter?" Si Mu Xian said with a smile.

  "What's up with this, do you think there's something going on?" Dan Yong slanted his eyes, looking at Simu Xian from the corner of his eye, knowing that he couldn't hide his thoughts from this clever scholar. Simu Xian smiled and said: "Nothing, I hope nothing is going on. Da Peng's brain is a bit simple, to say he's smart would be wrong, but he's not stupid either. He knows who treats him well, in his eyes, his parents are the most dear, and those who treat him like brothers are also very dear; Wang Huating is his dream lover, the most wonderful..."

  A few words, a bit sour, Dan Yong inadvertently saw Wang Huating jumping rope with Liu Cuiyun and a group of girls on the playground. This was brought by Lei Dapeng and had become popular. College students jumped and danced with elementary school students, which made Dan Yong's heart move suddenly, feeling very beautiful. When he turned his head, he looked at Si Mu Xian and asked, "Why didn't you say anything? Didn't you finish speaking?"

  "You should know what's next, his brain can't hold much, you break one thing and there will be one less, and now you're going to break two things at once." Si Mu Xian said with a joking tone, but Dan Yong looked solemn, couldn't help but think of Lei Da Peng's silly face, silent for a moment, when the bell rang again, Si Mu Xian patted his brother's shoulder and returned to the classroom in silence.

  It goes without saying that Si Mu Xian has already taken notice and remembered it. In this class, Shuang Yong's heart was not on the lesson, and he almost got stuck on the podium, unable to get down. Just as the bell rang for the end of class, a car drove up to the school gate, honking its horn. Shuang Bo was also in class, but when no one opened the door, a stout figure got out of the car, opened the door himself, and had the driver drive into the campus.

  Shan Yong didn't notice, but several mischievous students had seen it from the door hole. The door had been carved with many holes by students using small knives to prevent teachers from seeing in. Many people were whispering and their faces were filled with excitement. When Shan Yong realized something was wrong, he looked out the window and saw Lei Da Peng making funny faces on the playground. At the same time, Shan Yong also saw two or three students peeking through the holes at the back door of the classroom. This deep teacher-student relationship probably already knew about this secret messaging channel.

  "Get out of class early...... go welcome your teacher Lei." Shuang Yu waved his hand and made a generous gesture.

  With a loud noise, the people were in an uproar, the tables and chairs clattered, and a group of boys and girls rushed to the classroom door, bursting out of it. They swarmed around Lei Dapeng like they usually did when he took them on wild adventures. Lei Dapeng tried to hug everyone, but there were too many people, so he just patted some on the back and gave others a playful touch on the head, grinning from ear to ear as he told jokes to the students. They were all very excited. When the bell rang, signaling the end of class, the two classes from grade 7 came out, and Lei Dapeng waved his hand, leading the students to open the trunk of the car. He picked a few bigger boys to help move things - boxes and boxes of school supplies. Each class got two boxes, which was great, and even the girls joined in to help carry the supplies. They were all very enthusiastic about it. When they opened the packages, however, they found that they were just fancy pencil cases and oil-based pens, which caused a commotion among the boys and girls as they scrambled to get their hands on them. Lei Dapeng had to intervene again, maintaining order and designating who would distribute the supplies, making sure each person got one share and no one was left out.

  Lei Dapeng arrived, and the place was in an uproar. Lei Dapeng didn't give anyone a chance to speak, pulling Uncle Shan into the car, where there was also a box of sports equipment. A large basketball was stuffed into Uncle Shan's arms, and he couldn't take it anymore, so he turned his back on them. The students had finished their complaints when it was time for the internship team to arrive. Several people stared at Lei Dapeng with wide eyes, thinking that if he didn't come, they would have been better off, but since he did come, he always gave people the urge to kick him. He was showing off his business car and its contents, making everyone else's face not their own, and their nose not their own.

  Lei Dapeng didn't care at all, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he scolded the two people in the same room: "Hey, help me out, what are you standing there for... You two aren't even like brothers, one phone is turned off, the other has an overdue bill, I've been calling for half a day without getting through, and not even a welcome."

  "I'm in class, I can't turn on my phone, right?" Si Mu Xian said, helping to move things. Shan Yong smiled and said: "You still have the nerve to say that, your student made my phone go into arrears."

  "Oh, that makes sense...... Ah, come on, we've also got food for us to eat." Lei Dapeng beckoned with his hand, aside from the sports equipment, he brought out several large plastic bags, mangoes, bananas, oranges and more, a big box of sealed strawberries, which Lei Dapeng stuffed directly into Wang Huating's hands, saying: "This is specially for you, don't let them eat it."

  Yeah, there's definitely a difference in treatment. Liu Cuicui smiled and Wang Huating thanked him with a big smile, making Lei Ge feel delighted.

  It seems that the recovery is going well, with a bit of swagger, and there's no difference from before. There shouldn't be any aftereffects either. When moving things, the class leader wasn't present, but Dan Yong knew that the strict class leader would probably not approve of Lei Da Peng's behavior, so he reminded him: "Da Peng, are you showing off your wealth? Buying so many things."

  "That's right, Da Peng, you did it with good intentions, but the impact is not good." Wang Hua Ting also advised, Liu Cui Yun didn't care, saying: "Hey, don't mention Da Peng, I think Da Peng is quite okay, look at how happy the students are."

  "Haha......" Lei Dapeng sneered with a sly smile, feeling extremely pleased with himself, and said: "I didn't spend any money."

  "What? Where did you come from?" Dan Yong was startled and didn't know what kind of trick this guy would play again.

  "You forgot, I won the first prize!" Lei Dapeng laughed and clapped his hands, saying: "That Shi family is really something, Shi Xiaojie brought back the prize money and even found the hospital, insisting on giving me a donkey plus two whips. They acknowledged defeat... I was too embarrassed to refuse, so they gave me the cash equivalent, and I bought all this stuff... Do you know how much a donkey costs? It's several thousand yuan! Enough to buy a wife with, haha..."

  Here is the translation:

  "Here we go again, a few people laughed, but ignored this guy's nonsense and took back their things, each going to class. Dan Yong was about to leave when he turned his head and saw Lei Da Peng nervously pointing at the kitchen, hastily saying: "Don't mind me, brothers, I won't attend classes today, can I cook for you instead? Being alone at home is so depressing, I haven't been eating well since I couldn't see you guys, I've lost several pounds already."

  "Haha......" Shanyong was suddenly amused and laughed, saying: "It's not that I don't let you substitute for classes, I discussed with Uncle Shan, not only do I let you substitute for classes, but also let you substitute for three grade levels of physical education classes, no objections, right?"

  Lei Dapeng was overjoyed, his eyes gleaming with excitement. This was a sign that he had gone crazy. Shuang Yong patted him on the back and said: "Congratulations, Lei Ge, you're in charge of the whole grade now, you've leveled up!"

  "Ah, ah, okay, okay... thanks Egg Brother, I'm going to cook now... I also brought a few roasted chickens, I'll treat you at noon, congratulations on your promotion." Lei Dapeng was really delighted and hurriedly ran to the kitchen, occasionally turning his head to glance at Wang Huating.

  This brother, how can he bear to destroy the little bit of beauty in his heart. Dan Yong suddenly felt a pang in his heart, thinking about handing that box of bright red strawberries to Wang Huating, those weren't strawberries, but the weight of Wang Huating in Sha Lei's mind...