Chapter 36：But You’re My Wife

Bai Yan rose to his feet after helping her with the shoes. He towered above her and pinched her cheeks hard. "Do you still have a sense of shame?"

Sometimes, he really wished he could look into her mind to figure out the way it worked. 

Why was she capable of shamelessly saying her awkward thoughts without her face turning red? 

Ji Xiaonian knew that Bai Yan was only pulling her leg. She grinned playfully and replied, "Of course I have a sense of shame, but I also want you."

She got to her feet and threw herself into his arms without hesitation.

Instinctively, Bai Yan extended his arms to receive the falling girl. His brows furrowed and he said unpleasantly, "Ji Xiaonian, how old are you again? You know, you'd have fallen to the ground on your stomach if I didn't catch you in time."

After the incident that happened the night before, Ji Xiaonian had gotten bolder with the man and wanted to push her luck further. 

She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled cunningly. "I knew you'd catch me if I fall. Let's go, Bai Lil Bai, carry me into the bathroom."

"What did you call me?"

Bai Yan threw a cold glance at her.

Ji Xiaonian ignored the icy look and giggled in his embrace. "Bai Lil Bai, isn't Lil Bai your pet name? That's how Uncle and Aunty address you. Besides, your last name is Bai, so it makes sense that I call you Bai Lil Bai, right?"

"..."

Bai Yan lowered his head to look at the little thing in his arms. If he could, he would throw her out of the window right at that moment. 

However, out of his own expectations, he did as she instructed and carried her into the bathroom.

"I'm not allowing you to call me that." It was such a horrible name and he did not want to lose face in public.

"Why not?"

Ji Xiaonian leaped from his embrace and questioned him while washing her face. 

Bai Yan leaned his slender body against the wall lazily and threw a cold glance at her. "Because I said so. I'll teach you a lesson if I hear you call me by that name one more time."

Ji Xiaonian saw through his pretense and took his threat light-heartedly. She spat the foam from her mouth, raised her eyebrows, and teased him relentlessly. "Bai Lil Bai, Bai Lil Bai, Bai Lil Bai… Ahh…"

She felt a smack on her buttocks all of a sudden.

Ji Xiaonian looked at Bai Yan in pain. "Why did you hit me? It hurts."

"I said to not call me by that name."

"What's the matter? It's not like it'll impregnate you, petty man."

Bai Yan threw her a sideways glare and said, "Be ready in five minutes, I'll be waiting in the car."

...

Five minutes later, Ji Xiaonian hurried out of the hotel, and as expected, Bai Yan was waiting for her in his showy car. 

She opened the door and entered the car quickly. "Brother Yan, I realize that you look the most handsome when you're nice to me, and it's especially attractive. I really like this look on you," she confessed happily.

"..."

Bai Yan ignored her and focused on the road.

However, he enjoyed listening to the things she said.

The car whizzed past and finally came to a halt near Ning University.

Ji Xiaonian stayed in her seat and was reluctant to leave.

"You're up." Bai Yan pressed.

He did not have to teach at Ning University today but he needed to rush to the office for a video conference. 

Ji Xiaonian pouted and shifted her attention to the man in the driver's seat. After a while, she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his stony face unexpectedly. Then, she rushed out of the car hastily before he could react. 

He turned his head around at the sudden surprise but the little girl had already gotten out of the car by then. She stood on the other side of the door and waved at him while grinning.

"Goodbye. Oh yes, it's Friday today and that means you're bringing Fang Miaoling to your house, right? Um… Can I tag along?"

Bai Yan pursed his thin lips and looked her in the eyes. Without a word, he reignited the engine and drove away. 

Ji Xiaonian waited until Bai Yan's sedan disappeared from her sight before retrieving her gaze and headed into the university. However, someone appeared out of the blue and blocked her way shortly after.

It was none other than her older cousin that appeared unexpectedly in her house last night.

"Where were you last night? Why couldn't I reach you through the phone?" Yu Shengjie positioned himself in front of Ji Xiaonian and interrogated her as if he was her boyfriend.

Ji Xiaonian rolled her eyes and walked past him. "Why does my whereabouts concern you?"

Yu Shengjie kept up to her pace. "Of course it does, you're my wife and I care about you."

Ji Xiaonian stopped walking immediately. She turned around and glared at the man in front of her.

With a frosty look, she questioned in a cold tone, "Who's your wife? Don't think I won't beat you up if you say that nonsense again. Besides, we don't know each other that well. Don't think that we're best friends just because you're my distant relative."

She stepped forward in an overbearing manner as she enunciated each of the following words clearly to his face, "I, Ji Xiaonian, don't know you well. Therefore, stay away from me."

With that, she raised her clenched fist and pretended to punch him. Seeing that he was afraid, she drew back her arm and walked away.

The utterly shameless dude trailed after her. "Wifey, as your husband, I understand that our relationship might have grown distant because we used to live apart from each other. However, I'm displeased when you say that we're not close and you don't see me as your husband."

Again, Ji Xiaonian stopped walking. She stayed rooted to the ground with her fists clenched tight. 

She felt a surge of anger rushing to the top of her head and she thought her whole body was going to erupt like a volcano.

She turned around again and glared threateningly at Yu Shengjie. "Are you going to go on and on? Enough with the husband and wife game because that's just some stupid child's play we did in the past. You're an adult now, do you really still believe in that?" she reprimanded through gritted teeth.

Yu Shengjie shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and said with a raised eyebrow, "I do believe in that. If I remember correctly, you'd even signed a marriage agreement with me."

"You're lying." Ji Xiaonian was on the verge of screaming hysterically.

Marriage agreement? This dude must be mental!

As far as she could remember, she had only ever fancied Bai Yan, hence she would never sign a marriage agreement with another man.

"I can show it to you."

Then, Yu Shengjie revealed a little box from his pocket. Inside was a piece of yellowish paper that he had now spread out and was dangling in front of Ji Xiaonian. 

"Look carefully at this marriage agreement. It seems like you were too young to write your name at that time so you pressed your handprint to seal the deal. Here, that's what I'm talking about. Isn't it cute?"

"..."

Ji Xiaonian was stunned by the piece of so-called marriage agreement in front of her eyes.

She glanced at that red-colored handprint at the bottom of the paper. Suddenly, old memories of her time in Australia came flooding back into her mind like a movie being rewound.

"Sister Shengjie, come play with me, Niannian is bored."

The little boy pushed the little girl's hand away cold-heartedly. "Don't call me sister because I'm a boy. I can play with you, but first, you have to press your handprint down over here."