Chapter 285 Going on a Long Trip

After Bai Lu finished picking out the sand for Xiao Wei, disinfecting and applying medicine, she noticed that the little guy had also scratched his hands.

Poor kid, he suffered heatstroke yesterday and hasn't fully recovered yet, and now he's got another injury.

The little flowers of our motherland have all been broken open.

After applying all the medicine, treating the wounds, and packing up his things, Xiao Cheng had already prepared dinner.

The table was laden with delicious, steaming dishes, all home-style fare, yet the flavors rivaled those of rare delicacies. The food was a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate, making one's mouth water and prompting one to eat two large bowls of rice right away.

Bai Lu thought it was normal to eat two large bowls of rice, after all, she hadn't eaten lunch and had been hungry for so long, she should have eaten three bowls of rice, although she felt a little embarrassed.

Eating three bowls of rice in front of Xiao Cheng, whom I like, felt a little awkward and embarrassed.

Fortunately, Xiao Cheng didn't serve her rice as usual, but instead served her a bowl of pork rib soup.

He also said, "You didn't eat lunch, so eating too much will be hard to digest. Have some late-night snacks tonight."

Bai Lu choked on a mouthful of soup... coughed, and swallowed it down.

The third bowl of rice was thoughtfully changed and served in the evening.

It's fine, it's fine.

"Didn't you eat lunch, sister-in-law?" Xiao Wei put a piece of meat on Bai Lu's plate, looking worried.

"I ate bread and milk." Bai Lu picked up the meat from the soup bowl, ate it, and smiled.

"I'm not hungry."

"That's good." Xiao Wei looked up at Xiao Cheng across from him, who was refilling Bai Lu's soup, and felt relieved. His older brother was so concerned about his sister-in-law, he wouldn't let her go hungry.

"Then let's have dinner later, like a late-night snack."

Bai Lu was so startled by the little guy's blunt and forceful way of making her eat lunch that she coughed up.

"No need, it's too much trouble, and eating late at night is hard to digest. Noodles will do. I like noodles, they're delicious."

As expected, we ate noodles for supper.

Xiao Cheng cooked the meal himself, while Bai Lu tended the fire—a task she had been doing many times recently.

It was relaxing, and I could also watch Xiao Cheng take charge of cooking. Apart from being a bit hot, everything else was great.

She's not afraid of the heat, because she has a small fan.

The poor guy can't use a fan while cooking. He can't put the fan on the stove because it would blow the fumes everywhere, and the grease and grime would stick to the fan.

I can only suffer injustice time and time again.

Bai Lu was amazed as she watched Xiao Cheng crack an egg into a pot with one hand, a scene straight out of the Investiture of the Gods.

Suddenly, she remembered that on her way back from the exam, she had asked Xiao Cheng if the big boss had made things difficult for him.

Xiao Cheng said at the time that the big boss did mention staying to him, but he didn't agree and gave up.

When Bai Lu hugged him, she didn't smell any blood or feel any wounds on his body, so she didn't think much of it.

On the way back, she realized that since the big boss wanted Xiao Cheng to continue serving him, he definitely wouldn't really kill her. The purpose of capturing her was to lure Xiao Cheng over.

Since that's the case, how could the big boss let Xiao Cheng go so easily? If Xiao Cheng doesn't agree, then let him go.

Bai Lu hesitated for a moment, then decided that since the person was right in front of her, there was no need to speculate. If she was still worried, she asked directly, "Didn't the big boss ask you to do anything?"

Xiao Cheng roughly knew what she was worried about.

In a serious tone: "I will no longer work for him. I traded a spy for leaving."

If Xiao Cheng had only said no, Bai Lu wouldn't have believed him, but since he mentioned the traitor, she was already 80% convinced.

"Whose spy is this?"

As Xiao Cheng picked up his chopsticks and put the noodles into his bowl, he said, "He Yongli."

This is both unexpected and reasonable.

The big boss wanted to cultivate a thousand hands to deal with He Yongli, but little did he know that the other party had already infiltrated his ranks.

Bai Lu praised Xiao Cheng's long-standing style of indifference and detachment from worldly affairs.

He must have discovered the spy a long time ago, but he just wouldn't say anything, since it didn't bother him anyway.

He was just working for the big boss, not risking his life for him; his loyalty and courage had nothing to do with the big boss.

As for what the big boss thinks and how he feels, that's his own business.

Bai Lu didn't doubt Xiao Cheng's reasoning, because the noodles were already cooked, and Xiao Cheng had put them in a bowl and placed them on the table, calling her over for a late-night snack.

The late-night snack was enough for three people, one bowl each, which was just the right amount. Bailu's bowl was the biggest, and it was completely filled.

she:"……"

I can only ask Xiaowei to come over for a late-night snack.

Xiao Wei was doing his summer homework in the main house with the TV on.

One of the little flowers of our motherland has a very powerful and rare superpower: doing homework while watching TV.

Xiao Wei came to the kitchen and saw Bai Lu's large bowl of noodles. He wasn't curious at all, thinking it was only natural.

She didn't receive any shared glances from Bailu, and sat down quietly to eat her noodles without looking up.

It tastes delicious and wonderful.

Bai Lu was also delighted, and she vowed that she would not eat noodles again for half a month, no, for three days.

For the next two days, Xiao Cheng personally escorted Bai Lu to the examination hall and picked her up from school.

Bai Lu's safe journey proceeded without any further problems, and the college entrance examination concluded smoothly.

Some things should be put on the agenda.

The things weighing on Bailu's heart, the things she thinks about day and night, the things she often dreams about at night.

Bai Lu told Xiao Cheng that she was going on a long trip that evening. Xiao Cheng was slightly taken aback and only told her to come back soon.

The next morning, however, he took her to the Nanshi Railway Station.

The journey from the town to Nanshi, the provincial capital, was long and inconvenient, requiring several transfers to reach the destination.

The train station was crowded with people. Some were carrying luggage while waiting for their trains, while others had large and small bags, buckets, and bulging snakeskin bags. They struggled through the bustling crowd to reach the bus station where they could go home.

Xiao Cheng accompanied Bai Lu to buy tickets, waited with her for the train, and bought her food for the journey.

I watched her board the train to go find her family.

As the green train pulled away from the station, the last thing Bai Lu saw was Xiao Cheng standing still.

She was filled with mixed emotions. She didn't say a word the whole way from Xinzhen to Nanshi, and neither did he.

Some things, perhaps, are understood by everyone without being spoken of.

The train journey from Nanshi to Beijing takes 30 hours. There are no cell phones, no newspapers or magazines, nothing to pass the time, and the waiting time is very long.

Xiao Cheng bought Bai Lu a sleeper ticket by the window. As Bai Lu looked at the scenery rushing past outside the window, her mind was filled with a mix of emotions: anticipation, longing, and uncertainty.

Bailu was born in the spring of 1999, a time of renewal, warmth, and blooming flowers—a truly beautiful time in the world.

Twenty-three years of warm, happy, and joyful family time came to an end in the Bermuda Triangle.

Now, Bailu is in the 1990s. According to the world's time and space trajectory, her parents are not much older than her.

My father, who is 27 years old, is not yet the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court, but only a senior judge.

The 25-year-old mother is not a senior executive at the tax bureau, but just an ordinary employee.

The family compound wasn't the detached house I remember living in, but rather an old photo scattered on the floor where I, as a child, once punched a tin box in my parents' room while I was being naughty and learned drunken boxing. It was my parents' first home after they got married.

The location of the first family compound.

(End of this chapter)