Chapter 45: Cui Ju Goes to School

“Cui Ju, are you going to school today?” Bai An tugged at Cui Ju’s hand, shaking it beside her. “Then when it’s time for labor, I’ll go with you.”

Cui Ju nodded. “Of course you should come with me! I’ll pick some wild fruits for you to eat.”

Standing off to the side, Da Zhuang watched them play happily, feeling like a transparent person. To show that he was also involved, he forcibly squeezed into their friendship.

“I want to go with you guys too!” he declared.

Cui Ju, holding Bai An’s hand, glanced at Da Zhuang and said in confusion, “We’re already going together, right?”

“Then why didn’t you invite me earlier?” Da Zhuang crossed his arms and kicked a clump of dirt out of the way.

The clump of dirt rolled and stopped a short distance away.

“Sigh.” Cui Ju walked over to Da Zhuang and lightly punched him, laughing. “Why are you sulking? We’re going together, no need for an invitation.”

Hearing that Cui Ju considered him one of their own, Da Zhuang turned his head away with a proud look, muttering softly, “I think you’re right.”

As soon as they entered the classroom, all eyes turned toward them, filled with surprise.

“Cui Ju, you’re back!”

Some of the girls ran up to Cui Ju, asking in unison, “Where have you been? Why didn’t you come earlier?”

Faced with their questions, Cui Ju didn’t know how to respond. In fact, she had been forced by her parents to stay at home for a while.

Bai An noticed Cui Ju’s hesitation and coughed, saying, “It’s great that Cui Ju is back. Let her have some quiet time alone first, she must have been really scared before.”

Seeing that Cui Ju indeed looked a bit worn out, the girls tactfully said, “Okay, Cui Ju, we’ll come play with you later.”

Cui Ju nodded. Among all the gazes on her, one gaze was particularly intense, almost impossible to ignore.

Cui Ju looked up and saw Gou Dan staring at her with a face full of injuries.

“What happened to him?”

Bai An followed Cui Ju’s gaze, noticing that Gou Dan was staring at them without blinking. He shook his head and said, “I don’t know what’s up with him. Maybe he’s just like that.”

“Really?” Cui Ju looked again at Gou Dan, who used to tease her. She hadn’t expected that after just a few days away, he had changed so much.

Soon, Lin Zhixia, who had just entered the classroom, saw his younger sister sitting in his spot. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. He just smiled at Bai An.

Bai An turned to look at him as he walked to the back row of the classroom, where no one was sitting, and sat down, leaning on his hand as he gazed out the window, just like before.

“Don’t mind him, he’s always like this.”

Hearing this from Cui Ju, Bai An turned back.

“Let’s go to the playground for labor.”

“Okay!” The classroom suddenly became noisy as friends linked arms and chatted while heading out.

“I said…” Bai An looked at Da Zhuang, who seemed hesitant, and after several glances, she couldn’t help but say, “You really don’t need to link arms.”

“Why not?” Da Zhuang tightened his grip on Bai An’s arm. “If Cui Ju can do it, why can’t I?”

“That’s not the point.”

Bai An awkwardly pulled her hand out of his grip and said, “There’s a difference between boys and girls.”

Da Zhuang looked at the hand she pulled away, pouting. “Fine, whatever.”

Cui Ju walked over and punched Da Zhuang’s arm, shouting, “Don’t act all cute just because Bai An is nice to you! You’re just throwing a tantrum here!”

Da Zhuang covered his arm, surrendering to Cui Ju’s ‘violence.’

Originally, Da Zhuang was following Bai An and Cui Ju as they were pulling weeds, but suddenly the teacher came over and called him to gather firewood.

Da Zhuang, feeling a bit awkward, whispered, “Teacher, can I not go? I want to pull weeds with Bai An and the others.”

“No,” the teacher said to Da Zhuang. “You can gather firewood with your other friends. It’s not necessary to pull weeds with Bai An and the others.”

Da Zhuang lowered his head and replied, “Okay, teacher.”

Before leaving, Da Zhuang turned around and glanced at Bai An and the others.

Bai An and Cui Ju smiled and waved at Da Zhuang, saying, “Go ahead, what are you afraid of?”

“I’m not scared!” Da Zhuang puffed out his chest and followed the teacher.

Bai An smiled and, while pulling a weed, asked Cui Ju, “Cui Ju, did your parents say anything to you?”

Cui Ju stiffened for a moment before replying, “They said everything.”

After a while, Cui Ju looked at Bai An and whispered, “Sorry, Bai An.”

“It’s fine,” Bai An said, noticing that there were no teachers watching them. She carefully moved closer to Cui Ju and said, “You didn’t know about this. It’s not your fault.”

Cui Ju’s eyes reddened. She knew that ignorance of the situation wasn’t a crime, but it was her parents’ actions, and she couldn’t pretend not to care about it.

“Don’t cry.”

Cui Ju quickly wiped her face when she heard this. Looking at her clean, dry palm, she turned to Bai An in confusion. “I wasn’t crying.”

“Just kidding,” Bai An gently tapped Cui Ju with the back of her hand. “It’s okay, it’s not your fault.”

Cui Ju nodded.

“What are you two doing?” At some point, Lin Zhixia had come over and, seeing Cui Ju’s red eyes, said with a bit of amusement, “Even Bai An said it’s not your fault. Why are you still worried?”

Cui Ju pushed Lin Zhixia’s arm, a bit annoyed, and shouted, “Mind your own business!”

“Okay, okay, I won’t interfere,” Lin Zhixia raised his hands playfully and said, “I won’t interfere.”

Cui Ju rolled her eyes at him and continued working.

Bai An, looking at Lin Zhixia’s sudden appearance, silently thought to herself, He wouldn’t have come over just to comfort Cui Ju, would he?

The more Bai An thought about it, the more suspicious she became, so she couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times.

Lin Zhixia noticed Bai An’s gaze and turned to her, asking, “Why are you staring at me?”

“Nothing,” Bai An shook her head and lowered her head to continue pulling weeds.

Lin Zhixia glanced at Bai An and let out a light laugh.

At that moment, Cui Ju suddenly shot Lin Zhixia a confused look, as if looking at a fool.

After Lin Zhixia finished laughing at Bai An, he casually turned and said to Cui Ju, “What are you looking at?”

Slap! Cui Ju slapped Lin Zhixia’s arm and said, “Just looking.”

“Well, if you’re looking, why hit me?” Lin Zhixia, unfazed, brushed off his arm and pretended to reach out as if to grab Cui Ju, trying to scare her.

Cui Ju didn’t react at all, just quietly watching him acting like a clown with his playful antics.

Seeing that Cui Ju was completely unmoved, Lin Zhixia sighed and said, “Cui Ju isn’t as cute as before.”

“Bro, if you’re going to pull weeds, just do it seriously.”