Chapter 41: Sneaking into Cui Ju’s House

On the way home, Bai An looked at her parents following behind her. After a moment of hesitation, she whispered, “Do you think something’s off?”

Lu Jin’an’s voice was steady and flat. “No.”

“Are you sure?” Bai An lowered her head, thinking hard about everything that had happened today.

As they neared home, Bai An still wore a troubled expression. Lu Jin’an noticed her look and gently said, “We’ll be cooking soon. Go pick some wild vegetables.”

The surroundings were pitch dark. Bai An grumbled, “It’s so late, and you still want me to pick wild vegetables?”

“Yeah, it’s late, but why not?” Lu Jin’an casually replied, rubbing her head. “I’ll go start dinner.”

Bai An watched Lu Jin’an’s retreating figure, suddenly realizing. Based on what she knew of Lin Zhixia, he wouldn’t be out in the dark night picking wild vegetables.

Just as Bai An was about to put everything together, she suddenly tapped her head. “Why think so much? If he can do it, there must be a reason.”

She turned around and ran to catch up with Wang Qing, who was still walking behind her. “Mom.”

Wang Qing indulgently let Bai An link her arm through hers and softly asked, “Why did you run back?”

“I missed you,” Bai An pouted, rubbing against Wang Qing’s arm.

Lu Demin chuckled at Bai An’s coquettish behavior.

The next morning, Bai An went to Da Zhuang’s house to wait for him to get ready for school. After Da Zhuang finished, they walked together to school.

Da Zhuang seemed to have thought of something and said, “Aren’t you always with Zhixia? His house is on the way to school. Let’s go look for him and walk to school together.”

Bai An nodded indifferently.

Before they reached his house, Cui Ju’s mother saw them and anxiously turned around to head home, slamming the door shut with a bang.

Bai An and Da Zhuang stared at each other, both confused about what had just happened.

“Why does she look like she’s scared of us?” Da Zhuang scratched his head and added, “If Cui Ju’s gone, we can’t be blamed.”

Bai An asked Da Zhuang, “Aren’t you worried that Cui Ju is missing?”

“I am,” Da Zhuang whispered into Bai An’s ear. “I feel like I should be worried, but I think Cui Ju’s probably not in any danger right now.”

Bai An looked at Da Zhuang in shock, then grabbed his hand like a fellow comrade, excitedly saying, “I think so too.”

Bai An looked at Cui Ju’s house and asked Da Zhuang, “Do you think it’s possible that Cui Ju is at home?”

Da Zhuang didn’t respond, but from the look in his eyes, Bai An understood that he was thinking the same thing.

Bai An squeezed Da Zhuang’s hand and suggested, “Since we’re here, should we sneak in and check?”

Da Zhuang hesitated, then said, “Maybe we should forget it. After all, it’s someone else’s house.”

“Forget it?” Bai An’s voice got a little loud, and she quickly lowered it, leaning close to Da Zhuang and saying, “My family was thoroughly searched because Cui Ju went missing, and a lot of things were taken. Back then, it was Cui Ju’s mom who came with people.”

“My family couldn’t stop them. Didn’t you see the fierce look on those villagers?”

Bai An pointed at Cui Ju’s house and said, “If we can find Cui Ju there, it will clear our family’s name.”

Da Zhuang listened to Bai An’s reasoning and nodded. “Just don’t tell my mom about this.”

“I won’t,” Bai An patted Da Zhuang’s shoulder, pulling him along while saying, “I know a place with a dog hole. It’s just big enough for us to sneak through.”

“How do you know there’s a dog hole there?”

“Cui Ju told me before.”

Da Zhuang looked puzzled and asked again, “Why did she tell you about the dog hole at her house?”

Bai An waved her hand dismissively. “It’s just a girl thing, don’t ask too much.”

Da Zhuang looked at the blocked hole in front of them and slowly turned his head to ask, “Is this the dog hole you were talking about?”

Bai An glanced at the dog hole and then looked around the area. “Yes, this is it. I didn’t expect them to think this thoroughly.”

“What does that mean?” Bai An asked, looking at Da Zhuang.

Da Zhuang blinked and stared at Bai An in front of him.

Bai An continued on her own, “It means they have something to hide. Otherwise, why block off this hole?”

“So how do we get in?” Da Zhuang looked up at the wall, which was about two meters high. “We can’t climb over it, it’s taller than you and me combined.”

“No choice, we’ll have to climb over,” Bai An clapped her hands and said to Da Zhuang, “Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

Da Zhuang watched as Bai An almost reached the top of the tree. “Aren’t we supposed to climb the wall? Why are you climbing a tree?”

Bai An looked down at Da Zhuang, who hadn’t moved yet, and shouted, “How can we climb the wall? But we can use the tree trunk to reach the top of the wall.”

Da Zhuang glanced at the other side of the tree trunk. Bai An was right.

Bai An urged Da Zhuang to hurry up. Da Zhuang hesitated but soon started climbing. In no time, he was beside Bai An.

Bai An looked at Da Zhuang in shock and asked incredulously, “You climbed the tree that fast?”

Hearing Bai An’s compliment, Da Zhuang scratched his head, embarrassed. “It’s fine.”

When Bai An and Da Zhuang reached the top of the wall and looked down at the height, Bai An became troubled. “How do we get down from here?”

“This is easy,” Da Zhuang said, then immediately jumped down.

Seeing Da Zhuang land without a scratch, Bai An became even more anxious. “What about me?”

Da Zhuang scratched his head, looking around. He grabbed a worn-out piece of wood and placed it under the wall.

Bai An looked at the useless piece of wood below them, feeling helpless, and looked at Da Zhuang with a resigned expression.

Da Zhuang also realized it wouldn’t be much help. He stretched out his hand and said, “Just jump onto me.”

Bai An hesitated, eyeing Da Zhuang’s small frame. “You think you can catch me?”

Da Zhuang looked at her in confusion. “I’m not trying to catch you. Just jump down, and you’ll land right on me.”

Bai An twitched her mouth and said, “Well, you better catch me, or I’m jumping now.”

Da Zhuang closed his eyes, bracing himself. But instead of the expected pain, he opened his eyes to see Bai An grimacing and lying on the ground.

He quickly ran over to help her up. “How did you miss? You couldn’t land properly?”

“Obviously,” Bai An groaned, holding her waist. “How could I land on you? What if I crush you?”

“How would you crush me?”

Bai An waved her hand. “Let’s not talk about that. We need to find Cui Ju first.”

Da Zhuang quickly agreed, supporting Bai An as they started walking in.

Bai An pulled her arm away from Da Zhuang and twisted her waist a little. “I’m fine, really. You don’t need to help me.”