Chapter 6：Getting Rejected

Bai Yan glared at the little lady located between his parents, and in his usual ruthless tone, he chided, "Are you even aware of how old you are? Why are you rushing to marry someone? Are you really that lonely?"

He trained his cold gaze at Ji Xiaonian, and while doing so, he thought, 'The older this brat gets, the more shameless she becomes! She's so young, and yet, instead of focusing on her studies, she wastes her time thinking about nonsense!'

It was high time for him to teach her a lesson.

While sitting between the elders, Ji Xiaonian shamefully lowered her reddened face.

Never would she have imagined that Bai Yan would react in the way he did.

When she lifted her head to meet the man's gaze she spotted a cold, emotionless glint in his eyes. They were just like icicles that stabbed viciously into her chest.

It was agonizing.

The agony she felt was comparable to all five of her major organs rupturing, and she could feel herself suffocating.

Was she really that insignificant to him?

Having no more courage to look him in the eyes, she lowered her head once more as her tears began to roll.

"Yan, you've gone too far."

Ji Chen noticed how hurt she was and could not help but glare at Bai Yan. He was standing up for his sister.

"What do you mean by she's rushing to get married? Don't tell me you're oblivious to her feelings? If you truly mean what you say, then fine, I apologize that our family's lil brat is naïve and has offended you."

With that, Ji Chen stood up and walked towards Ji Xiaonian, who had lowered her head. "Xiaonian, let's go home. This guy's a pain to deal with when he's mad, but that doesn't mean that we can't hide from him, right?"

In Ji Chen's eyes, only his parents had the right to lecture Xiaonian.

After all, he had been protecting Xiaonian since they were young, and throughout all this time, he had not once yelled or shouted at her. As such, there was no way he would allow Bai Yan to chastise her the way he had.

'This man has gone too far.'

Ji Xiaonian stood up, and just as she was about to leave alongside Ji Chen, Ji Yun suddenly grabbed her.

"Don't leave, Xiaonian."

Ji Yun was equally enraged. While grabbing Ji Xiaonian's hand, she glared at her son and chided, "Lil Bai, you've gone too far with those remarks! How could you say that to Xiaonian? Hurry up and apologize to her."

"Exactly, you're already an adult, so you should know better than to say such malicious words. Plus, this decision was made by your mother and I. Had we not asked her to be your fiancée, there's no way she would have agreed to it. Do you think you're such a bigshot? Do you think Xiaonian will just let your remarks slide like that?"

Even Bai Qilin could not resist scolding his child.

Since Bai Yan had never shown any worrying behavior while growing up, his parents had never lectured him strictly before.

However, what he had just said was way overboard.

Facing Ji Chen, Bai Qilin apologized, "Ji Chen, I'm sure you understand Lil Bai's temper as well. There's no need to stoop to his level."

In that instant, Bai Yan lifted his head once again and swept his cold gaze across the people within the room. He then opened his thin lips, and in his usual cold tone, stated, "Apologize to her? You guys should first see whether she can even take my apology!"

While he spoke, Bai Yan trained his cold and piercing gaze on Xiaonian. He spoke in a righteous tone, and it did not feel like he was belittling her at all.

Upon hearing his words, Ji Xiaonian felt a void opening up in her heart once again, one that hurt as much as a blade running through her heart.

She quickly wiped away her tears and then turned to face him. Through her gritted teeth, she retorted, saying, "Indeed, I'm unable to endure your apology! Yes, you haven't wronged me, and yes, I like you! I want to be your wife, but since you won't accept me, then fine, I'll just give up on this delusion of mine!"

With that, Ji Xiaonian turned tail and ran.

The moment she had her back turned, tears began to roll out yet again.

"Xiaonian."

Ji Chen hastily called out to his sister's receding shadow, but she had already left the villa. With that, he turned to face the righteously sitting Bai Yan with a furious expression. "Bai Yan, even if you have no feelings towards her, in view of the relationship between our families, you could at least use softer words, right?"

"You'd better listen closely. If anything happens to her, I'll never forgive you!"

Worrying that something might happen to his sister, who had headed out alone, Ji Chen dared not linger for too long and chased after her.

Once the Ji siblings left, the Bai elders glared furiously at Bai Yan and began to chastise him. "Lil Bai, you've really done it this time. How could you…"

"How could I, what? You guys were the ones who hid the decision of my fiancée from me. Do I have no say in that matter?"

Without even allowing a chance for his parents to speak, Bai Yan cut them off and coldly stated, "I've already told you guys before. You don't need to worry about my personal matters. Should such a situation arise again, I'll speak even harsher words."

Once he was done with his complaints, Bai Yan stood up and headed upstairs, leaving his parents behind.

Once Bai Yan left, his parents exchanged silent gazes at one another. They were utterly speechless.

…

Ji Xiaonian ran all the way home, and once she reached her villa, she immediately lunged at the sofa and bawled out loud.

She had naively thought that as long as she had Uncle and Aunty's approval, she would be able to become Bai Yan's fiancée and finally make her dream come true, to be able to be together with the man she loved.

Alas, she had never expected Bai Yan to speak to her in that manner.

'Even if he had spoken the truth, there's no need to be that heartless and reject me in front of everyone, right?'

She had truly regretted her decision to meet Bai Yan that night, and she was also regretting her decision to insert the disk in his car. After all, It was these two incidents that had completely changed his view of her.

'I bet that he now thinks that I'm a shameless, narcissistic girl!'

The more Ji Xiaonian thought about recent events, the worse she felt, and the worse she felt, the more she wanted to cry. It was an unstoppable cycle.

Ji Chen had finally caught up and sat by her side. He brought out a tissue to wipe away Ji Xiaonian's tears. "It's alright, please stop crying. This isn't that big of a deal, just wait until you get a chance, and you'll be able to pay him back in full."

He had found Bai Yan's remarks over the top.

No matter how he had put it, Ji Xiaonian was still a child. There was no way she could take the verbal abuse that he had spouted earlier.

'He really doesn't consider the feelings of others.'

"Brother…"

Ji Xiaonian raised her head and plunged it into Ji Chen's embrace. While she hugged him, she began to cry even louder.

"Brother, am I really that irritating? Why did he need to say that to me in front of Uncle and Aunty? Even if he doesn't like me, there's no need to spew such hideous words, right?!"

"My heart aches. Brother, my heart really hurts."

'I never would've imagined that that man despised me this much. Had I known that he would treat me this way, I would never have bothered him.'

In the end, she had only made him despise her even more, to the extent that their sibling-like relationship was no longer possible.

"I know you must be hurting. My heart aches for you as well, but there's no need to cry, my little girl. There are plenty of fish in the sea, and with your looks, I'm sure you'll find even better ones. So, please stop crying, alright?"

Ji Chen could feel his heart in knots as well when he saw Ji Xiaonian's tears. It was an especially sour feeling.

After all, this was the first time his sister had ever faced such humiliation. Bai Yan had really done a number on her.

'He'd better stay away from Xiaonian in the future. Otherwise, he's in for a world of pain.'