Chapter 42: Discovering Cui Ju

Gou Dan followed Bai An around Cui Ju’s courtyard, but they still hadn’t found her room.

Bai An was a bit confused as well. She had only been to Cui Ju’s room once, and now it was proving difficult to find.

“Do you know where Cui Ju’s room is?” Da Zhuang, trailing behind Bai An, wandered aimlessly. Finally, seeing yet another high wall in front of them, he couldn’t help but ask.

Bai An looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and whispered, “I don’t really remember.”

Da Zhuang also raised his head to look around and couldn’t help but exclaim, “I never knew before, but now that I see it, Cui Ju’s family has such a big place!”

Bai An nodded in agreement.

The sound of light, hurried footsteps came from not far away. Bai An started to panic and grabbed Da Zhuang’s hand, pulling him into a room next door to hide.

Da Zhuang widened his eyes, watching Bai An block the way in front of him, and whispered, “What should we do?”

Bai An held a finger to her lips, signaling Da Zhuang to stay quiet.

Da Zhuang nodded quickly.

Bai An turned around and quietly peered through a crack in the door to see what was happening outside.

She froze in place, and then, unable to help herself, she sucked in a cold breath.

“What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Da Zhuang, noticing Bai An’s surprise, curiously squeezed closer to see what was happening.

Da Zhuang also couldn’t help but gasp, stuttering, “O-outside…”

“I see it.” Bai An whispered to Da Zhuang, “Let’s not talk now. Let’s just watch what they’re doing.”

“Brother, why won’t Mom and Dad let me go outside?” Cui Ju shouted at Lin Zhixia in front of her. “They keep me locked inside, never telling me anything.”

Lin Zhixia lazily leaned against a nearby tree trunk, casually twirling a blade of grass between his fingers. The grass swayed in the wind in his hand.

“If your parents say you can’t go out, then don’t go out,” Lin Zhixia said, tossing the grass onto the ground. “But if you really want to, you can sneak out, like going to find your good friend, Bai An.”

Lin Zhixia smiled mischievously, “Let’s see if she’d still want to play with you then.”

Suddenly hearing her name, Bai An was startled. She saw Cui Ju looking at Lin Zhixia with a confused expression.

“What are you saying? When Mom and Dad left, they locked me in the house. How can I go out? And why won’t Bai An play with me?”

Thud, thud, thud. A dull knocking sound came from behind Bai An.

Bai An froze and looked over. Da Zhuang was crouching on the ground, knocking the floor with his shoes.

“What are you doing?” Bai An was bewildered. In such a tense moment, why was Da Zhuang doing this?

Da Zhuang looked up at Bai An and whispered, “I’ve got some pebbles in my shoes. It’s uncomfortable.”

“Then just pour them out. Why are you knocking on the floor?”

“Oh, right.” Da Zhuang put his shoes back on, grinning sheepishly. “How did I not think of that earlier?”

Lin Zhixia glanced in Bai An’s direction.

Bai An, scared, quickly grabbed Da Zhuang and pulled him to find another place to hide.

“Why are you looking over there?” Cui Ju noticed Lin Zhixia’s gaze lingering toward the next room and couldn’t resist walking over. “What’s in that room?”

“Nothing.” Lin Zhixia blocked Cui Ju’s attempt to walk forward and said with a neutral expression, “You should go back.”

“Fine, I’m going,” Cui Ju said reluctantly, walking out.

Lin Zhixia chuckled softly and slowly headed toward the room. Inside the room, Bai An pressed her hand tightly over Da Zhuang’s mouth, not daring to move an inch, listening as Lin Zhixia’s footsteps grew closer.

With a creak, the door opened.

Da Zhuang was startled this time as well, blinking rapidly. Bai An slowly shook her head.

“No one’s here? Then I’ll leave.”

With another creak, the door was shut again.

Bai An froze, and frantically shook her head at Da Zhuang, who was about to stand up.

Time seemed to stretch on, and soon Bai An’s legs were sore from crouching.

A ghostly voice echoed from the center of the room.

“So there really is no one in here.”

Da Zhuang looked at Bai An in shock, and Bai An trembled all over, cold sweat dripping down her face.

It seemed Lin Zhixia really was as vile as she had imagined.

With a creak, the door was closed once again.

Bai An glanced at Da Zhuang, contemplating whether they should go out, but she was worried Lin Zhixia hadn’t left yet.

After what felt like an eternity, Da Zhuang tugged on Bai An’s sleeve and mouthed, “Should we get up? My legs are sore.”

Bai An hesitated for a moment before nodding.

When Bai An saw Lin Zhixia sitting on a stool, resting his head on his hand and grinning at her, her blood immediately rushed to her face, her cheeks flushing bright red.

“You two really have patience, hiding for so long,” Lin Zhixia remarked, his amusement clear as he watched Bai An’s startled expression. “Did you see everything?”

Da Zhuang, now also feeling awkward, scratched his head as though trying to scratch something out of it. Lin Zhixia looked at them, one scratching his head and the other staring at the floor, neither of them looking at him.

He sighed helplessly. “Well, you saw it. No big deal.”

At those words, Bai An’s anger flared. She stood tall, walked up to Lin Zhixia, and loudly said, “Didn’t you know that your parents were lying? They told everyone Cui Ju was missing, and then sent people to search my house. You knew all of this, didn’t you?”

“You knew everything, right?”

“Yes,” Lin Zhixia suddenly admitted, surprising Bai An. She had so many things to say, but now, at this moment, she didn’t know how to begin.

Lin Zhixia shot a cold glance at the stunned Da Zhuang and said, “Not only do I know, but I believe most people in the village know too.”

“Like the one next to you,” Lin Zhixia said casually, pointing a finger at Da Zhuang.

Da Zhuang quickly waved his hands, hurriedly explaining, “I really didn’t know Cui Ju was at home. My mom told me she was in a very safe place.”

Bai An furrowed her brow. “Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“My mom told me not to,” Da Zhuang said, lowering his head in guilt.

At that moment, Lin Zhixia slowly walked up to Bai An’s side, whispering, “Since you know Cui Ju is staying fine at home, do you know why my mom would hide Cui Ju and say she was missing, then send people to check your house?”

“You’ve lost quite a few things, haven’t you?”

Bai An looked up, silently meeting Lin Zhixia’s smiling face, but the words he spoke were so cold.