Chapter 46

Ji Xiaonian did not expect Bai Yan’s arrival at the hospital.

‘Is he here for me?’

She doubted that he was present for her. After all, if that were the case, he would never have yelled at her over the phone without making head or tail of the situation.

As a result, Ji Xiaonian acted as if she had not seen him. With her head held low, she mentioned to Yu Shengjie, “Let’s go!”

Yu Shengjie took a glance at Bai Yan, and upon hearing Ji Xiaonian’s words, he immediately retracted his gaze and escorted her past Bai Yan.

Bai Yan just stood there, as arrogant as an emperor, and with a distinguished air about him.

Being the observant person he was, he deduced, ‘From the girl’s pale looks, it seems that she’s fallen sick. Is that the reason she came to the hospital?’

‘If so, does it mean that I… falsely accused her?’

More shockingly, the girl had even pretended not to see him as she walked past him.

This was the first time in his life where he had been ignored.

Naturally, he had found the situation humiliating. With his humiliation in mind, Bai Yan gave chase to the two. Just before Ji Xiaonian was about to be escorted into Yu Shengjie’s car, Bai Yan suddenly grabbed hold of her arm.

“Are you feeling uncomfortable? Why were you in the hospital?” Bai Yan asked, his voice devoid of the chilliness he had displayed in the past.

Upon Bai Yan’s sudden grab, Ji Xiaonian spun her head around, revealing that she had been crying earlier, as her face was an agonizing shade of red. Without mercy, she then hurled away Bai Yan’s hand viciously.

“Since when does my wellbeing concern you?”

Despite her fondness and adoration over the man before her, his actions time and time again had pushed her to her limits, especially when he abandoned her for the sake of another woman.

‘How could he scold me out of the blue like that?’

Throughout all her years in life, Ji Xiaonian had never been scolded as harshly as she had been today, not even by her elder brother.

Back at home, Ji Xiaonian was a princess. She was respected, her housemaids had treated her politely, and her brother had cared for her like a treasure in his hands.

However, before Bai Yan, Ji Xiaonian was no more than a speck of dust.

‘Why did I insist on clinging to him like a stubborn mule?’

‘Ji Xiaonian, snap out of it. If the man truly likes you, he would never have hurt you as he did, much less toss you aside, or scold you when you’re caught in a predicament.’

‘You’ve already sacrificed enough for him. Do you intend on dishonoring yourself even further?’

‘No more,’ she thought.

All she wanted to do at that moment was to turn tail and leave.

“How does it concern me?”

Bai Yan repeated Ji Xiaonian’s words as she stared at her in dumbfounded surprise. It was, after all, his very first time facing such a cold Ji Xiaonian.

The corner of his eyes twitched, and through his pursed lips, he muttered, “Didn’t you always wish to be in a relationship with me? So, what’s the deal now? Is it because you found someone else? Is that why you no longer want to pursue a relationship with me?”

Had they been paying attention, anyone with a brain would have detected the chills coming off Bai Yan, chills that were ominous and sinister in nature.

Ji Xiaonian innately understood that Bai Yan was referring to Yu Shengjie who was currently supporting her. In a fit of rage, she grabbed Yu Shengjie’s arm and raised her voice, “Indeed, I have someone else now, so I no longer have an interest in you. You can leave now.”

Only Ji Xiaonian was aware that her words were meant to anger Bai Yan.

She wanted to make Bai Yan understand that she was not already in the bag, all the while riling up his emotions.

A terrifyingly cold glint appeared in Bai Yan’s eyes as he pried Ji Xiaonian’s hand off Yu Shengjie’s arm. With palpable rage showing on his face, he grimaced. “Seeing as I’ve mistakenly blamed you earlier, I’m willing to forgive your rude words. So, now, it’s time to follow me back home.”

Just as Bai Yan was about to drag her away, a fearless punk obstructed Bai Yan’s path.

Indeed, that fearless punk was none other than Yu Shengjie.

With one hand blocking Bai Yan, Yu Shengjie exuded an impressive aura of his own and threatened. “Didn’t you hear? She said that she no longer has an interest in you. So, if you wouldn’t mind, could you please let her go? Otherwise, you’d best not blame me for being rude.”

Bai Yan paused his steps as he sized up the man before him.

No matter how he looked at him, the person before him was no more than a little brat. Yu Shengjie was no more than a measly ant that Bai Yan could trample over at any moment, and yet, he dared to stand up against Bai Yan?

“Ho? I’d like to see how rude you can get.” Bai Yan sneered as he directed a hawk-like piercing gaze toward Yu Shengjie.

Yu Shengjie was oblivious to how powerful Bai Yan was. He had only stood up to him for the sake of Niannian, and in the process, he had managed to incite the wrath of a powerful individual.

He did not back down to Bai Yan, and instead, raised his hand in preparation to clobber Bai Yan.

Unexpectedly, however, Ji Xiaonian had appeared in front of him and pushed him away.

Before Yu Shengjie knew it, the girl was already holding Bai Yan’s hand and coaxing him, “Brother Yan, let’s go back home, alright? My words earlier didn’t mean anything, so please don’t take it to heart. I’ll be following you home now, so everything’s settled, right?”

The moment Ji Xiaonian saw the cold glint that appeared in Bai Yan’s eyes, she knew, that Bai Yan was about to murder Yu Shengjie.

She did not wish for Yu Shengjie to get hurt, as she knew that Yu Shengjie had stood no chance against Bai Yan. After all, there was a saying that went around, ‘It’s better to anger the King of Hell than to anger Bai Yan’. Should one accidentally enrage Bai Yan, they might not even realize how they died.

Although Ji Xiaonian had never personally seen Bai Yan carrying out the act, through her brother’s mouth, she learned that plenty had died due to Bai Yan in the past.

As such, she dared not act angry any longer, for fear of harming Yu Shengjie who was innocent in the process.

“Niannian, you…”

Yu Shengjie was slightly baffled. ‘How could this girl change her personality at the drop of a hat?’

Ji Xiaonian turned around and motioned for Yu Shengjie to scurry off. “Sister Shengjie, don’t you have other matters to attend to? You should hurry up to finish them. I’ll return with Brother Yan instead.”

Following that, Ji Xiaonian clasped her hand onto Bai Yan’s and exclaimed, “Brother Yan, lets’ head back home!”

Bai Yan glanced at the girl beside him. He was aware that her sudden personality shift was to allow the punk beside her to escape.

Although he was still unsatisfied, he decided to go along with Ji Xiaonian’s request and headed towards his car.

Ji Xiaonian followed behind Bai Yan. Just before she left, however, she motioned for Yu Shengjie to hurry up and leave, and for him to stop provoking Bai Yan.

Seeing how far the little girl had gone just to protect himself, Yu Shengjie decided not to give her any more trouble, and he quietly left in a depressed manner.

Along the way home, after Bai Yan had retracted his killing intent, he asked Ji Xiaonian while driving, “Where were you feeling uncomfortable? How did you end up in the hospital?”

Ji Xiaonian inhaled deeply while facing the side window. She did not wish to answer Bai Yan.

Hearing no response from her, Bai Yan turned to glance at her. Upon doing so, he realized that she was still mad at him. After a moment of silence, he stated, “You can continue remaining silent, but I’d like to apologize to you. I thought you were throwing a tantrum by disappearing on me, and I got mad because I wasn’t able to locate you.”

“It was only after I knew that you were in the hospital that I realized; I might have accused you wrongly.”

“…”

‘Did Bai Yan just apologize to me?’

She turned around and stared at Bai Yan in disbelief. ‘Is this really the cold, arrogant, and conceited CEO of the Shengtian Group?’

While Ji Xiaonian was staring in disbelief, Bai Yan continued, “If you’re no longer mad, then give me a suggestion. As an apology, I’m willing to bring you somewhere nice to eat,” while looking forward and driving seriously.

Ji Xiaonian snapped back to reality and hurriedly pleaded, “Then, could you promise me not to harm Sister Shengjie in any way? He’s already pitiful enough.”