Chapter 38: Da Zhuang is About to Be Hit by His Mom

Bai An casually waved her hand and said, “Although, um, that’s pretty much what I meant.”

Lin Zhixia’s simple and easy-to-understand explanation finally made Da Zhuang’s mind clear.

It turned out that Bai An wasn’t siding with Gou Dan; she was siding with him.

Thinking of this, Da Zhuang grinned foolishly and said innocently, “What’s there to be afraid of? It’s no big deal. Yesterday, when he hit you, the teacher didn’t punish him. So today, when I hit him, what can the teacher do to me?”

“That’s not certain,” Lin Zhixia glanced at the silly Da Zhuang sitting on the ground. “The teacher might not punish you, but there are others who might.”

“Who?” Da Zhuang raised his hand, patting his skinny arm. “Who else?”

Bai An placed her hands on her hips and tapped his head. “You pressed Gou Dan down on the ground and hit him—what are you going to do when his mother finds out? What’s going to happen when his mom talks to your mom?”

Da Zhuang didn’t care. “Who told him to bully you?”

Bai An looked at Da Zhuang like this and didn’t know what else to say. After all, he was hitting Gou Dan for her sake.

Bai An sighed and said, “Then if your mom is going to hit you, just put the blame on me. And don’t go looking for Gou Dan again. He should know he was wrong by now.”

Hearing Bai An’s words, Gou Dan lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking.

Bai An tapped him again and asked, “Do you understand?”

Gou Dan reluctantly nodded and said, “I understand.”

Bai An told Gou Dan to return to his position, then continued to follow Lin Zhixia to gather soil.

Lin Zhixia, remembering what Bai An had just said, looked at her thoughtfully and asked, “Are you always this nice to your friends?”

Bai An looked at him in confusion. “Are you talking about Da Zhuang? Let me tell you, if Da Zhuang’s mom finds out, she’ll hit him. But my dad and mom won’t hit me, so let him take the blame for me.”

She then gave him a serious look. “You can’t tell anyone about this.”

“Of course not,” Lin Zhixia brushed a few stray hairs from his forehead, revealing his delicate, fair face, and teased, “Do you even know who your Lin Ge is?”

Bai An rolled her eyes at him trying to act cool and pointed at the tall dirt pile. “You should focus on getting your work done first.”

Lin Zhixia grinned confidently and strode toward the high dirt pile.

Meanwhile, Bai An sat under the shade with his jacket, waiting for him.

Time quickly passed, and Bai An saw the sweat dripping down Lin Zhixia’s face. After thinking for a moment, she took out a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to him.

When Lin Zhixia saw the handkerchief, he looked a little stunned. He hadn’t expected someone in the countryside to carry a handkerchief.

Seeing that he was just staring at the handkerchief in her hand without taking it, Bai An thought he wanted it, so she stuffed the handkerchief into his arms.

“It’s for you.”

Lin Zhixia froze for a moment, surprised, and said, “For me?”

He felt the fabric in his hand, it was nice, but he didn’t feel he deserved something like this.

Bai An waved her hand and said, “Look at you, covered in sweat. You can use this to wipe your face.”

Lin Zhixia now understood that Bai An was probably disgusted by his sweaty smell. But it didn’t matter; anything she gave him was now his.

When Bai An saw that Lin Zhixia was holding the handkerchief but wasn’t using it to wipe his sweat, she raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, “Why aren’t you wiping your face?”

“I don’t want to use it to wipe.”

Bai An felt confused and stretched out her hand, saying, “If you don’t like it, just give it back to me.”

Lin Zhixia pretended not to notice, took his jacket from Bai An’s arms, and continued walking ahead.

It was just an ordinary handkerchief, and Bai An didn’t really mind if it wasn’t returned, after all, she had plenty at home.

When they reached the school gate, Lin Zhixia leaned against the wall and said to Bai An, “I’ll walk you home.”

“No need,” Bai An stretched her head to look behind Lin Zhixia. “My brother will come to pick me up.”

Hearing Bai An mention her brother, Lin Zhixia became curious. “The kids in the village all come to school, but why doesn’t your brother come? What does he do at home?”

What does he do? Bai An thought of how, when he was at home, Lu Jin’an would sit on the bench with the books she brought from the space and read them. Bai An had seen how much he enjoyed reading, so she took many books out from her space for him.

Those books, Bai An couldn’t understand, and she didn’t know why Lu Jin’an would be so engrossed in them.

Just as Bai An was about to speak, she turned and saw Lin Zhixia staring at her with those sharp eyes.

Alright, she suddenly didn’t feel like saying anything anymore.

Lin Zhixia noticed Bai An had gone silent and asked in confusion, “You looked like you wanted to say something earlier, why aren’t you speaking now?”

Bai An quietly looked at him and made a zipping motion across her mouth with her fingers.

Lin Zhixia couldn’t help but laugh at her gesture. He was about to say something else to tease her when Bai An suddenly pushed him away forcefully.

Lin Zhixia didn’t expect the little girl to have such strength. She pushed him so hard that he almost lost his balance. Just as he managed to steady himself and looked up, he saw Bai An staring at something behind him with an expression of surprise and fear.

Following her gaze, Lin Zhixia saw Da Zhuang’s mother holding a stick, marching furiously towards Da Zhuang.

“Da Zhuang’s mom!” Bai An shouted toward Da Zhuang, and Da Zhuang’s mother, hearing her, was about to respond, but when she saw Da Zhuang running away, she reached out and grabbed him, pulling him back toward home.

As she walked, she waved at Bai An with a smile. “Bai An, auntie needs to take Da Zhuang home for a bit.”

Bai An was stunned for a moment and nodded, but then she realized something didn’t seem right. Da Zhuang looked like he was about to get a beating when he got home.

Looking around, Bai An saw Gou Dan hiding behind his mother. When Gou Dan met her gaze, he seemed a bit uneasy and stepped back.

Bai An knew what was going on just by looking at Gou Dan’s reaction.

She turned to Lin Zhixia and said, “You should be fine, right? When my brother comes, just tell him I went to Da Zhuang’s house.”

Lin Zhixia furrowed his brows, noticing how anxious Bai An looked as she ran ahead. He asked, puzzled, “Are you in such a hurry just because Da Zhuang is getting a beating?”

Bai An waved her hand at him, signaling that she didn’t want to explain, leaving only her back for Lin Zhixia to see.

Lin Zhixia shrugged; he still had work to do at home.

He grabbed a passing child and said, “When Bai An’s brother shows up, tell him Bai An went to Da Zhuang’s house.”

Looking at the dazed little kid in front of him, Lin Zhixia uncertainly asked, “Do you know who Bai An’s brother is?”

The child nodded.