Chapter 51: Comfort

Upon entering the house and seeing the familiar furnishings, Bai An’s mind instantly recalled the scene from when she previously visited Cui Ju’s home, where she was startled by Lin Zhixia. This time, she wouldn’t be caught off guard again.

Bai An turned her head and cautiously looked at Lin Zhixia behind her. Noticing Bai An’s demeanor, Lin Zhixia raised an eyebrow and stepped in front of her.

Bai An looked up at Lin Zhixia, who was a head and a neck taller than her.

When did Lin Zhixia grow so tall?

Just as Bai An was about to stretch out her hand to compare their heights, Lin Zhixia suddenly turned around, her gaze lowered, quietly watching Bai An’s hand suspended in the air.

Bai An blinked, retracted her hand behind her back, and feigned nonchalance, asking, “Where’s Cui Ju?”

Lin Zhixia didn’t respond, only tilted her head, quietly observing the hand Bai An had tucked behind her.

Under Lin Zhixia’s inexplicable gaze, Bai An had no choice but to extend her hand again, whispering, “I just wanted to compare heights.”

“Is that so?” Lin Zhixia smiled lightly, pointing to the door behind her, “Cui Ju is inside.”

Bai An nodded, and just as she was about to knock on the door, Lin Zhixia suddenly grabbed her wrist. Feeling the increasing pressure on her wrist, Bai An couldn’t help but furrow her brow.

Seeing Bai An’s slightly furrowed brow, Lin Zhixia relaxed her grip, releasing Bai An from her hold.

As Bai An rubbed her wrist, Lin Zhixia pointed at her own furrowed brow, “Don’t frown so much.”

Confronted with Lin Zhixia’s sudden intimacy, Bai An’s brow furrowed even tighter.

With a creak, the door behind them opened.

“Bai An!” Cui Ju was surprised to see Bai An standing outside and happily ran over, grabbing her hand and asking, “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, I’m here too,” Lin Zhixia tapped Cui Ju’s forehead with her finger, “Didn’t you see your brother is still here?”

Cui Ju covered her head, pulling Bai An inside as she walked, saying, “Let’s stay away from my brother.”

The door slammed shut with a bang.

Lin Zhixia looked at the closed door, laughing in anger, “Really, the older she gets, the less respect she has for her brother.”

Inside, Bai An silently gave Cui Ju a thumbs up for decisively closing the door.

Cui Ju turned around and saw Bai An giving her a thumbs up, laughing, “Bai An, what are you doing?”

“This means you’re really impressive.”

Cui Ju took Bai An’s thumb and pulled her to sit on a chair, looking at her seriously.

Under Cui Ju’s gaze, Bai An curiously asked, “Cui Ju, why did you come to find me this morning?”

“Oh dear.” Upon hearing this, Cui Ju anxiously walked to the bed and buried her head under the blanket.

Seeing this, Bai An also approached the bed, softly calling, “Cui Ju?”

Hearing Bai An’s call, Cui Ju sat up from the bed, her eyes slightly red, and choked out, “My parents want me to get married.”

“Why?” Bai An pulled Cui Ju’s hands, looking around, wondering how she could possibly get married at such a young age.

Cui Ju leaned her head on Bai An’s shoulder, saying, “My parents said that girls my age are already getting married and having children, and they advised me to find someone too.”

Before Bai An could respond, Cui Ju continued, “I’m still so young; I don’t want to get married. Do you know what my parents are thinking?”

Bai An shook her head.

Cui Ju looked at Bai An, who seemed completely unaware, her brows furrowing even tighter, her eyes red and on the verge of tears. “They said it would be best if I could marry your brother. If you could marry my brother, that would be even better.”

“How can they think that! I don’t want to marry your brother. My parents have done so many wrong things to you; how could I possibly marry over there? No, I don’t even want to get married at all.”

As she spoke, Cui Ju looked up at Bai An and asked seriously, “Do you want to marry my brother?”

Bai An was so confused by Cui Ju’s words that when she heard the question, she instinctively shook her head, thinking to herself how could Cui Ju’s parents even entertain such an idea after everything that had happened.

“That’s even better if you don’t want to,” Cui Ju said earnestly, holding Bai An’s hand. “Why don’t we just run away together?”

“Where to?” Bai An asked in confusion.

“Out of the village, anywhere is fine, just not here waiting to get married.” Cui Ju looked at Bai An with fervent eyes. “Once we’re out, we won’t have to wait to get married.”

Bai An considered Cui Ju’s enthusiasm seriously. She didn’t want to spend her whole life here either. Although living here with her family was happy, she just didn’t want to be confined to this place.

“Cui Ju,” Bai An said, “tell your parents not to let you get married yet. Wait until after you finish the college entrance examination to discuss it.”

“Huh? But there isn’t a college entrance exam anymore.” Cui Ju slumped onto the bed in disappointment. “I don’t know what my parents are in such a hurry for.”

Bai An pulled Cui Ju up, looked into her eyes, and said seriously, “If you want to get out, the only way might be through the college entrance exam. I have a feeling that it will be reinstated in a few years, so you need to study hard before it comes back.”

Cui Ju didn’t understand why Bai An was treating the college entrance exam so seriously, but she knew that without studying, it would be impossible for her to leave the village on her own.

“Got it, my brother said the same thing.”

Bai An’s ears perked up, and she asked, “What did your brother say?”

“He also said that the college entrance exam would start again this year and told me to study hard, but I always thought it didn’t matter.” Cui Ju looked at Bai An and said earnestly, “But starting now, I will study hard with my brother.”

Bai An nodded and advised Cui Ju to talk to her parents and not to think about getting married for now.

When Bai An stepped out of the room, she immediately saw Lin Zhixia at the door.

“You were eavesdropping on us.”

Lin Zhixia shrugged and smiled, “You two were talking so loudly; it would be hard not to hear.”

Bai An looked at him with a bit of exasperation and turned to leave.

Seeing this, Lin Zhixia grabbed her sleeve and pointed in the opposite direction, saying, “Go this way.”

Bai An shrugged like him and smiled, “I know, I was just messing with you.”

Lin Zhixia looked at Bai An with a smile that carried a hint of helplessness. “You’re small but clever.”

Bai An shook her head, pretending not to hear what he was saying, and walked toward the door.

By the time Bai An reached outside, Lin Zhixia was still following her.

Bai An turned around and asked, “Are you going to follow me back?”

Lin Zhixia didn’t respond, just waved his hand at Bai An, saying, “I’m just walking you to the door, don’t think too much about it.”

“You don’t have to walk me this far.” Bai An waved her hand back at Lin Zhixia. “Thanks anyway.”