Chapter 22：Two More Years

The moment she realized that Bai Yan had forced a kiss on her, Ji Xiaonian instantly froze.

'Th-Th-This man… H-How can he do this to me?'

'But I do rather enjoy this method of punishment. Come, bring it on. I don't mind if you turn it up a notch!'

'Wait, no. Even though I enjoy this method of punishment, doesn't he hate me?'

'If so, why's he kissing me?'

Unwilling to be taken advantage of and angered by the irresponsible nature of the man's kiss, Ji Xiaonian flared with rage. With her two tiny hands, she pushed herself away from the man's chest and his grasp.

Bai Yan was suddenly pushed away. Despite that, a bit of the little girl's fragrance had remained on his lips, leaving an aftertaste in Bai Yan's mouth. After taking two steps back, he turned his body around, as he was too ashamed to face her.

Truth be told, however, Bai Yan had no idea why he had done that. It was in the heat of the moment, and before he knew it, he had already kissed her.

Furthermore, he felt good about it. It was a nice sensation, being a mix of softness and sweetness. Moreover, as he kissed her, he could feel himself surging with excitement as a pleasant feeling washed over him.

It was so exhilarating that even his nether region began to stir.

"Boohoo… Bai Yan you meanie! I'll tell my brother that you bullied me!"

Frankly speaking, even Ji Xiaonian was unsure how to respond to his act.

In order to dispel the awkwardness between them, she began to act like a child. She plopped her butt on the ground and began to wail and pout.

Upon hearing the wails, Bai Yan turned his head around…

Only to be greeted with the sight of the girl sitting on the ground and throwing a tantrum like a child. With tears streaming down her face, she cried, "Boo hoo… Bai Yan's a big bad meanie! He stole my first kiss! I'm in so much trouble now! What should I do if I get pregnant, boo hoo…"

Bai Yan was speechless. "…"

'Pregnant?'

'Can you even get pregnant from a kiss?'

He strode over to Ji Xiaonian's side, and from his lofty heights, he looked at the little figure below him. With a cold expression on his face, he asked, "Are you retarded, Ji Xiaonian? You're already in university, and yet, you're afraid of getting pregnant from a kiss? If so, why weren't you afraid of getting pregnant when you slept with the other guy?"

"Who told you that I slept with another person? Also, back when I was young, my mother told me that kisses will make one pregnant. So, since you've kissed me, I'll definitely get pregnant. I don't care anymore, you need to take responsibility, otherwise, I'll tell my brother that you forced a kiss on me!"

Ji Xiaonian cried as she spoke, and while she did so, she observed the man's reaction with narrowed eyes.

'Sure, I'm retarded, but if I wasn't, how could I have shifted the responsibility to you?'

'Unless he takes responsibility, there's no way my dream of making him my own would be fulfilled!'

"…"

As he continued to stare down on the tiny munchkin under him, a weight began to lift off his heart when she mentioned that she had yet to sleep with anyone.

He turned around and flashed a delighted smile subconsciously.

However, it had only happened for an instant as he had returned to his usual cold demeanor when he faced Ji Xiaonian again. In a crisp but cold tone, he asked, "Take responsibility? Fine then, how do you suppose I should take responsibility?"

Upon hearing those words, Ji Xiaonian hurriedly wiped off her tears and with hearts popping figuratively out from her eyes, she stated, "By becoming my boyfriend!"

"…"

The man froze as he set his eyes on the girl.

Ji Xiaonian struck while the iron was hot as she hurriedly ran to Bai Yan's side and grabbed his arms. She then bit her tiny lips and faked a look of sympathy as she sniffled. "You've already stolen my first kiss. I'm sure no one else would want me now. I don't care, you need to take responsibility. Otherwise, I'll jump off from this floor. Once I die, I'll haunt you for the rest of your life!"

On that note, she ended her statement and stared at the man before her with eyes filled with both tears and anticipation.

In truth, she was extremely worried that the man would humiliate her once again and trample on her feelings. If that were the case, she would probably lose all her courage in interacting with him ever again.

If that were the case, she would give up on her dream, and seal off her ambitions for good.

"Ji Xiaonian!"

Bai Yan's face was devoid of emotion as he stared down on the little girl and shouted at her.

"Eek?" Ji Xiaonian self-consciously responded.

"You are aware that I'm nine years older than you, right?" Bai Yan's expression was suddenly extraordinarily serious.

Ji Xiaonian carefully eyed at him, and upon noticing his serious expression, she was suddenly struck with a hopeful premonition.

"O-Of course I am! But, so what? I-I like people of your age. The older a person is, the more sensible they are!" 

"…"'Sensible?'

'This goddamn brat! I swear, she p*sses me off every time she speaks!'

In a fit of anger, he coldly answered, "I don't like people as young as you though."

Bai Yan had only given that answer to take revenge on Ji Xiaonian for calling him old.

'Am I really that old? I'm only a few years older, and yet, she has the gall to call me old.'

"…"

Upon hearing Bai Yan's serious answer, her chest tightened. She frowned and her lips began to twitch as if she were about to cry again.

"If you don't like young ones like me, then why did you kiss me? From what I can tell, you don't intend to take responsibility. Fine then, Bai Yan, you're not a man! You have no sense of responsibility! You disgust me! I hate you, I despise you, I …"

"Okay."

"Hah?" Upon hearing the word, Ji Xiaonian went silent, as she was curious about what he meant.

She constantly blinked as she set her huge, adorable puppy eyes at the man before her.

Understanding that the little girl was clueless about his meaning, Bai Yan then turned around with his back facing the girl. Subsequently, in an awkward manner, he continued, "We can be in a relationship, BUT, we'll first need to wait until my three-year tenure as a temporary lecturer is over!"

As he was currently a lecturer, it was taboo for him to be in a relationship with his students.

Even if he could ignore the moral aspect of their relationship, there was also the fact that the girl might fail to graduate. However, even then, it was insignificant compared to his true reason, whereby he did not want the girl to be boycotted by her friends.

"Wait, what d-did you just say?"

Upon hearing those words, the first thought that appeared in Ji Xiaonian's mind was that something was wrong with her ears. She thought that she was dreaming and that everything that just happened was an illusion.

'What did Bai Yan just say?'

'He said that we could be in a relationship? But we'll need to first wait for his three-year tenure as a lecturer to be over?'

'He's already completed his first year, so there's only two more to go…'

'Nonono… That's not the main point. More importantly… has he finally accepted me?'

'My ears aren't fooling me, right?'

"If you couldn't catch my words, then forget it. Now, scurry off, I need to prepare for my classes."

He would rather die than repeat those words.

In a matter of minutes, Bai Yan had returned to being the cold, arrogant man he was.

Ji Xiaonian had noticed his unease, and her heart leaped with excitement upon the revelation.

However, she suppressed her excitement and in a serious tone, she stated, "So I still need to wait two more years, huh? It's quite a long time, but it's okay. I'm willing to wait. Once your tenure is over, then we'll…"

Step by step, she made her way to Bai Yan's side, and once she was there, she tiptoed and gave him a kiss when he was not paying attention.

It was only a light kiss, and fearing that he might change his mind, she hurriedly moved away and ran off.

Once she reached the door to his office, she then turned back and smiled, saying, "Brother Yan, I like this bashful side to you, it's rather cute."

With that, she then hastily opened the door and left the office.

"…"