Chapter 60 Farewell

“Bai An, come sit here.” Da Zhuang covered his backside, his face twisted in pain, and patted the spot next to him.

Bai An felt pain just looking at his expression. “Da Zhuang, don’t move; I just want to say a few words and then leave.”

“Where to?” Da Zhuang looked at Bai An’s slightly flushed face under the dim candlelight and asked in confusion, “Why is your face so red? Did someone hit you?”

“Who? Was it that group of people?” Da Zhuang shouted excitedly, “If it was them, Bai An, I’ll go avenge you tomorrow.”

Da Zhuang’s mother couldn’t listen anymore. She walked over and slapped Da Zhuang on the head. “What are you saying? Your dad went easy on you today, didn’t he?”

“Bai An, you all talk first; I still have things to do,” Da Zhuang’s mother said softly to Bai An. As she walked outside, she turned back and shouted at Da Zhuang, “You better behave yourself.”

Da Zhuang didn’t pay attention to what his mother said; he anxiously asked, “My mom said you’re leaving. Why? If you leave, will you come back?”

“Probably not,” Bai An said softly, touching her face. “We’re leaving tonight, and Cui Ju will come with us.”

Hearing that Cui Ju was also leaving, Da Zhuang’s face turned pale, and he anxiously asked, “Why? Why is Cui Ju leaving too?”

Bai An sat down beside Da Zhuang. “Why do you have so many questions? There must be a reason for leaving, but I don’t have time to explain everything now.”

Looking at Da Zhuang, who had grown into a young man, Bai An felt a pang of sadness and said, “Once we leave, you have to take care of yourself. Don’t provoke those people you helped us fight today.”

Hearing Bai An’s farewell tone, Da Zhuang became anxious. “Since Cui Ju can leave, then take me with you too.”

“Da Zhuang, you’re the only child in your family. What will your parents do if you leave?”

Bai An looked at Da Zhuang, and memories of their time playing together flooded her mind. Suddenly, an idea struck her.

“Da Zhuang, when it’s almost dawn, go to Cui Ju’s house and call Lin Zhixia. I’ll leave some things for you at my house.”

Da Zhuang shook his head. “I don’t want those things. What will I do when you and Cui Ju are gone? Have you forgotten our secret base?”

The sky was getting dark, and Bai An didn’t have much time to talk to Da Zhuang. The longer they stayed in the village, the more dangerous it became.

“Da Zhuang, I have to go,” Bai An interrupted Da Zhuang’s incessant chatter, saying anxiously, “Take care of yourself. I still have wheat that hasn’t been harvested; if you have time, help me out.”

“Wait!” Da Zhuang called out to Bai An as she was about to leave, his face slightly flushed, his voice as small as a mosquito’s buzz.

Seeing him speak but not making any sound, Bai An leaned in curiously. “What did you say?”

“I said, tell Cui Ju to wait for me to marry her. I will definitely find you all!”

Da Zhuang’s sudden loud voice startled Bai An. Looking at Da Zhuang, whose face was as red as a monkey’s backside, she laughed and asked, “Once we’re all gone, how will you find us? You can’t expect Cui Ju to wait for you forever. It depends on whether Cui Ju agrees.”

Da Zhuang buried his face in the blanket. Hearing Bai An say this, he felt it was somewhat inappropriate and slowly raised his head.

“Cui Ju will definitely agree; we talked about it earlier.”

“What?” Bai An looked at Da Zhuang in disbelief. “What did you two agree on? I didn’t know anything about it.”

Da Zhuang replied, “This morning, I talked to Cui Ju about going to college together and then getting married. I didn’t have a chance to tell you before you had to leave.”

At this moment, Bai An was filled with gossip. She hadn’t noticed it before and thought Cui Ju was just playing around with Da Zhuang, but it turned out they were flirting.

“Then tell Cui Ju that if I haven’t found her by the time she turns 23, she can find someone else.”

“Why 23?” Bai An asked, puzzled.

Da Zhuang’s face turned so red he could barely lift it, and he shouted, “Bai An, didn’t you say time is running out? Why are you still here? Hurry back!”

Bai An looked at Da Zhuang and said with a smile, “If you don’t want to say it, then don’t. I’m leaving now.”

“Be careful, Bai An.”

Bai An nodded with a smile and waved goodbye to Da Zhuang, saying, “I’m really leaving.”

Da Zhuang replied with an “mm,” watching Bai An’s departing figure with reluctance.

With her leaving, it was uncertain when they would meet again.

Back home, Bai An looked at the various bags and packages in the living room and asked regretfully, “Is this all we’re taking? What about the other things in the house?”

“There’s too much to carry,” Wan Qing said, gently patting Bai An’s head. “Let’s go now.”

Bai An hesitated; she had lived here for several years and felt a bit reluctant about everything in the house. “Mom, let’s gather at the village gate later. I want to pack some more things by myself first.”

Cui Ju, carrying a large bundle and holding a little dog in her arms, asked, “Bai An, do you want me to accompany you?”

Bai An shook her head. “I’ll be quick.”

Lu Jin’an understood Bai An’s feelings at that moment and said to the others, “Since that’s the case, let’s leave first.”

“Bai An, we’ll wait for you at the village gate.”

Bai An nodded.

Once they disappeared around the next corner, Bai An hurriedly got to work.

“Quick, quick! I want to pack everything up.” Looking at her house, Bai An considered whether to just take the whole place, but that would be a bit strange.

So, Bai An packed all the things from the rooms and the yard into her space. Looking at the empty house, she smiled in satisfaction, placing several large bags of food in the corner. If Da Zhuang and Lin Zhixia came in time, this food would be enough for their family to get through the year.

With everything arranged properly, Bai An quickly ran toward the village gate.

Seeing her family standing at the village gate, Bai An felt relieved. Thankfully, they had traveled light; otherwise, it would be tiring to walk a long distance later.

Lu Jin’an handed Bai An the bag of food he was carrying and slung her small bag over her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Bai An nodded and took Cui Ju’s hand, asking, “Are you scared? We’re really leaving now.”

Cui Ju shook her head, her face slightly flushed. “I’m not scared; I’m a bit excited.”

“Excited?” Bai An and Cui Ju exchanged glances and couldn’t help but laugh.

As they walked, the surroundings were silent, with hardly any sounds from animals. They could only rely on the faint light of the moon to guide their way.