Her Future Husband

Ji Xiaonian walked through the door with Yu Shengjie. 

Seeing as he was their guest and that he had suffered some hardships back home, she started giving him a tour around the neighborhood in order to alleviate the pain buried deep within his heart.

"What do you think? We live in a pretty awesome neighborhood, huh? Look over there, isn't the forest area exceptionally magnificent to the eyes?"

"And look over there, that statue looks like David, doesn't he? He's not wearing any pants."

"Besides, when autumn arrives, lotus will fill the pond and make it a pleasant sight. There are different kinds of fishes in the pond and you might even encounter crabs when it rains."

"In addition…"

Ji Xiaonian pointed at every direction around her while she introduced Yu Shengjie to the area with great relish. Without her realizing, they arrived near the Bai Residence's vicinity.

She stopped walking suddenly when she noticed that the Bai Residence was brightly-lit. Her jabbering about the neighborhood also paused abruptly in mid-sentence.

What was the reason? 

Through the massive glass wall of the Bai Residence, she witnessed the warm scene of a family getting together merrily.

Fang Miaoling was sandwiched between Uncle and Aunty. They were engaged in a conversation and everyone appeared joyful.

Bai Yan was sitting on the side. Although his lips were not moving, Ji Xiaonian could see through the glass wall that the corner of his lips was turned upward.

That was something that she had never seen when they were together. 

She did not know why but at that moment, a horrible feeling surged in her as if she had accidentally eaten a fly.

Did that family abandon her now that they had Fang Miaoling?

For the first time ever, Uncle and Aunty did not celebrate her birthday together last night. They did not even make a phone call to send their regards. 

Bai Yan also did not show any interest to her when he went to the university today to pick Fang Miaoling up.

Looking at that cozy family huddling together, Ji Xiaonian felt something indescribable melting away inside her. Little by little, that feeling disappeared and finally vanished between the grasp of her fingers.

"What's the matter? Why have you stopped walking?"

Yu Shengjie questioned in confusion when the little girl next to him stopped abruptly. He shifted his gaze to the direction she was looking at and noticed a cozy scene of a blissful family. 

His voice brought Ji Xiaonian back to reality and she quickly suppressed the desolate feeling that was going to overflow from her eyes. She turned her back against the glass wall and said to Yu Shengjie in a low voice, "I felt a little unwell out of the blue. Let's go home now!"

She took to her heels immediately.

As if she wished to vanish into thin air right at that instant. 

Yu Shengjie noticed her scurrying away and thought it was rather unusual. He turned to look at that family once more and thought deeply for a while before running after Ji Xiaonian.

...

They chatted for a while in the living room after dinner with his parents and Fang Miaoling.

Finally, the agitated Bai Yan glanced at the watch on his wrist. Then, he grabbed his coat and rose to his feet. "Dad, mum, I've got to go out for a little while to sort something out. Talk to you all later."

Ji Yun waved her hand in the air dismissively. "Go ahead but don't stay out until too late."

Bai Qiling did not object either. He only reminded Bai Yan when the latter was about to leave, "Lil Bai, I heard that Ji Chen has gone abroad. Go pay Xiaonian a visit before you return later."

"Okay," Bai Yan replied before closing the door gently behind him.

After Bai Yan left the room, Fang Miaoling looked at Bai Qiling in curiosity. "Uncle, um, about earlier… Do you by any chance mean Ji Xiaonian?"

'It can't be,' she thought to herself.

'Ji Xiaonian is from a regular middle-class family so it's not possible that she's related to someone like Bai Yan!'

'That's it, it must be a coincidence.'

"It's exactly Ji Xiaonian that we're talking about. Oh, yes, I heard from Lil Bai that you and Xiaonian are dorm mates. What are the chances! The two of you can see a lot of each other. Miaoling, you can reach out to Xiaonian if you have any questions or if you're feeling bored. Both of you are about the same age so you must have a lot to talk about," Ji Yun said with a smile.

Fang Miaoling was stunned for several seconds.

Turned out that they were talking about Ji Xiaonian and that she and Bai Yan had known each other for a long time.

It was not like how she imagined before; Ji Xiaonian did not appear out of thin air to seduce Bai Yan in those previous occasions.

It looked like she misunderstood Xiaonian.

...

Bai Yan headed for the Ji Residence right away after he left his house.

Truth was, there was nothing needed to be sorted out. He just wanted to visit the little girl because he knew she was left alone in the house.

He thought she must be bored at home since Ji Chen had gone abroad and was suddenly reminded of her love for snacking. Bai Yan noticed the market nearby was still brightly-lit hence he took several great strides and purchased some of Ji Xiaonian's favorite snacks.

With his hands full of snacks, he struggled to ring the doorbell when he arrived at Ji Residence.

Inside of the villa, Yu Shengjie was about to head upstairs after Ji Xiaonian retreated to her room. All of a sudden, the doorbell rang and he opened the door.

A man appeared on the other side of the door. Yu Shengjie sized him up and down for a few moments before recognizing him as the man who was sitting in the house they passed by earlier.

What was he doing here?

Bai Yan was shocked as well by the sudden appearance of a strange man.

His eyebrows furrowed subconsciously while he scrutinized the other man.

If he remembered correctly, this person was the one that kissed Ji Xiaonian in the university's canteen. What was he doing here?

"Who are you looking for?" Yu Shengjie enquired.

The man in front of him made him feel an indescribable pressure. It was a feeling that he had never experienced before.

"Ji Xiaonian."

Without giving him a second glance, Bai Yan with his hands full of snacks walked past the man and entered the villa. 

Yu Shengjie closed the door after her and said in a cold tone, "She's gone to rest as she's not feeling well. Why are you looking for her again?"

Ignoring the man, Bai Yan threw the snacks on the coffee table and rushed upstairs.

Yu Shengjie could not allow someone as arrogant as this man to break into other people's houses like that, so he darted at full speed to block the man's way. "Who are you? I've told you Xiaonian's resting because she's not feeling well. You should come again tomorrow!"

He had a sort of premonition that it would not be easy to deal with this man.

Bai Yan stopped his pace and glared at Yu Shengjie. Then, he gave a snort of indignation. "You dare to get into my way without knowing who I am. That's a bold move. Alright, let me tell you who I am."

His gracefulness made even such simple movements seem distinguished. The powerful aura that he was blessed with was capable of taking his audience's breath away.

"I'm Ji Xiaonian's older male friend, of course…"

He leaned forward and whispered threateningly into Yu Shengjie's ears. "I'll be her husband in the future."

As his voice trailed off, he walked past Yu Shengjie and hurried upstairs.

Yu Shengjie who was left alone felt irritated.