Chapter 68 Part 2

Her eyelid twitched. She’d heard it crystal clear, which meant the person beside her had too.

Sensing that familiar spark of impulse, she tried to head it off again. “This one’s even more unbelievable! You can’t just kiss and expect a lifetime of happiness. That comes from the work we put in ourselves. Surely you don’t buy into this pie-in-the-sky nonsense?”

Chi Miaohan gazed at her tenderly and countered, “Sister, I do.”

“…”

In the instant Bai Qian was caught off guard, Chi Miaohan released her hand. “Wait right here, Sister. I’ll see if I can find someone nice to take our picture.”

Bai Qian didn’t have time to stop her before the long-legged girl was already striding purposefully toward her target.

Bai Qian took two steps after her, hesitated, and came to a stop.

Chi Miaohan had approached a short-haired woman who was snapping solo photos of an ice sculpture. Bai Qian watched from afar as the two exchanged a few words. The woman glanced over in the direction Chi Miaohan indicated, met Bai Qian’s eyes, gave a polite smile, and soon followed her back.

Bai Qian let herself be tugged in front of the sculpture. Looking into those eyes brimming with gentle anticipation, she sighed and gave in to her rare bout of whimsy.

Warm breath drew near, but the soft lips hovered for a beat. Just as Bai Qian was about to open her eyes, she heard a soft chuckle. “Sister, of course I know it’s fake. Truth is, I just wanted to kiss you.”

Bai Qian’s eyes flew open in annoyance—only to find her waist encircled as those lips claimed hers.

Click. The kindhearted photographer little sister had captured the moment, picturesque as a painting.

Polite reciprocity being the rule, Bai Qian turned to her. “Little Sister, where’s your partner? Want us to take one for you?”

The little sister shook her head with a smile. “No need. I’m single—just here for the photos.”

Bai Qian nodded and said goodbye. Then she shot Chi Miaohan a glare. “Chi Miaohan, how about I make you single again?”

The chastened little wild dog, having smugly set the incoming photo as her lock screen, hurried to coax her with a stream of sweet apologies.

She coaxed her all the way back until they finally made up.

By now they were back at the hotel. Chi Miaohan’s hand, which had been soothingly patting Bai Qian’s back, began to wander restlessly.

Bai Qian didn’t notice until her lips were greedily captured once more.

…

On the last day of the National Day holiday, Zhang and Bai finally returned from abroad.

Bai Lianan @’ed the two of them in the group chat, summoning them home for dinner that night.

With nothing much to do at her place, Bai Qian simply had Chi Miaohan drive them straight back.

When they walked in, Zhang Ruoyao was sitting alone on the sofa, quietly working on her embroidery.

She glanced up at the sound of their entrance and said warmly, “You’re back?”

Bai Qian scooted over and plopped down beside her, peering at the embroidery as she asked softly, “Where’s Dad?”

“He went over to Uncle Chen’s to drop some things off. Why?”

Bai Qian shook her head. “Nothing.”

She’d planned to announce her relationship with Chi Miaohan the moment they got home, but with Bai Lianan out, she set the idea aside for now.

After chatting with Zhang Ruoyao for a bit, Bai Qian let Chi Miaohan lead her upstairs.

The instant the door swung open, the girl’s scorching lips came crashing down.

Bai Qian inwardly cursed the one-track mind while her trembling hand pushed the door shut behind them.

A gentle breeze whispered past, nudging the not-quite-latched door open just a sliver—too narrow to draw any notice.

Chi Miaohan’s nutrition had improved significantly, perhaps due to her recent exercise routine, so now the action of lifting the girl up with one arm seemed effortless and decisive.

The person whose lips she was nibbling on was placed onto the wide vanity table, and the hand wrapped around her waist began to grow restless again.

The girl, her eyes shimmering with desire, noticed her movements and let out a whimper of refusal, but just then, the door was suddenly flung open, accompanied by the man’s puzzled voice: “Little Qian, aren’t you in there? Why didn’t you lock—”

Their gazes met.

The room was filled with awkwardness.

Bai Qian was grateful that Chi Miaohan’s actions had only just begun; otherwise, if she had been caught with her clothes in disarray, the embarrassment would have been more than just three rooms and a hall’s worth.

She hurriedly pushed the person in front of her away and turned her head with an awkward smile toward Bai Lianan: “Dad, you’re back?”

The man realized what was happening, his face flushed red, and he resentfully tossed out, “Don’t call me Dad—from now on, I’m not your dad!” Then he directly took the fruit platter he had prepared for them and turned to go downstairs.

Bai Qian immediately wanted to jump off the table, but just as the thought occurred to her, Chi Miaohan pulled her waist back and pressed her onto the table again.

“Chi Miaohan! What are you doing?”

The Little Wild Dog pitifully leaned in close to her: “Sister, I haven’t kissed you enough.”

“…”

While she was stunned, Chi Miaohan kissed her again.

Chi Miaohan knew the other person’s sensitive spots well, and in no time, she pulled the distracted little lily back into the interrupted haze of passion.

…

By the time Bai Qian brought her downstairs with a darkened face, ten minutes had already passed.

Bai Lianan was sitting next to Zhang Ruoyao watching TV.

When he heard the sound, he instinctively turned his head and, upon seeing them, instantly remembered he was still angry at the two. In a very childish manner, he huffed at Bai Qian and stubbornly turned his head back straight ahead, ignoring her smile.

Seeing him sulking like this, Bai Qian inexplicably felt a bit panicked.

Upon closer thought, after Chi Miaohan had openly expressed her feelings in front of both of them last time, only Zhang Ruoyao had given an affirmative response.

Bai Lianan hadn’t expressed his stance from beginning to end, and when they came back last weekend, no one mentioned it again, so she had subconsciously assumed he approved.

With that in mind, she had already walked over to the sofa.

The man clearly saw her but ignored her, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

“Dad, we—”

“Don’t call me Dad. I’m very disappointed in you two.”

Bai Qian immediately fell silent, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

After two seconds of quiet, it was actually the still-sulking man who turned his head first: “Why aren’t you explaining anymore? Is this your attitude toward admitting your mistake?”

Bai Qian: ?

Why did everyone in this family have the same temper?

Bai Lianan finally couldn’t hold back and spoke with full grievance: “Am I the only one who didn’t know? Does Mom know about you two being together?”

The woman sitting nearby, focused on her embroidery, casually interjected: “Sorry, I just found out too—or rather, I’m the last one in the family to know.”

Bai Lianan’s expression instantly softened. He lightly coughed and said: “Why didn’t you tell us? Mom and I agreed to it back then, so why didn’t you tell us even though you’re together? When did you get together? From the looks of it earlier, it hasn’t been just one or two days, right? You know how much Mom and I care about you, but you didn’t tell us after getting together—Dad is very disappointed in you!”

He rattled off a long string of words without giving Bai Qian a chance to interject. When he finally finished, she could explain: “We’ve only been together for a short time. We planned to tell you both last weekend when we came back, but you and Mom were out of the country.”

The man’s face slightly reddened: “Couldn’t you have told us on WeChat?”

“I thought something like this should be said in person to be more solemn.”

Bai Lianan fell silent, then backed down: “Alright, you’re right. Things like dating are better said face-to-face.”

After that, his gaze turned expectantly to Chi Miaohan, who was quietly sitting next to Bai Qian: “So, doesn’t Little Han have anything to say to me and Mom?”

The girl looked at him calmly and reached out her hand in front of him: “Give me the remote. Sister doesn’t like war movies. Thanks.”

Bai Lianan: “…”

Not getting the response he imagined, Bai Lianan’s emotions, which Bai Qian had just soothed, instantly flared up again.

He childishly tossed the remote onto the sofa, put on a stern face, and coldly let out a soft scold.

Bai Qian momentarily forgot what Chi Miaohan had said and, seeing the man sulking again, couldn’t help but ask with concern: “Dad, what’s wrong?”

Bai Lianan answered her with another cold scold.

Bai Qian: ?

Zhang Ruoyao, sitting nearby, couldn’t stand it anymore: “If you want to hear something, just say it directly. Do you think your daughter is a mind reader in your belly?”

Bai Lianan looked at her with grievance in his eyes. “It was her who agreed back then. Now that she’s got the girl, she’s kicking away the ladder and forgetting her own words? I’m not going to remind her. It’s not my daughter anyway—whoever she wants to call her daughter, let her!”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Do whatever you want.”

With that, she ignored his increasingly childish temper in his old age and bent her head back to her embroidery.

Bai Qian had heard every word of their conversation crystal clear. A spark of realization flashed through her mind, and she instantly understood what was eating at Bai Lianan.

She glanced sideways at Chi Miaohan. The girl, who had been watching the mystery drama with her, noticed the look right away and turned toward her with a warm, gentle smile. “Sister, what’s up?”

The stark difference in her attitude toward him versus her girlfriend only made the man’s grumbling louder.

Bai Qian heard his cold snort—one that seemed designed to give her a stroke—and sighed inwardly in exasperation. She had no choice but to turn to Chi Miaohan. “I want an apple. Could you cut one for me?”

Chi Miaohan never refused her anything. Without a moment’s hesitation, she stood up.

Bai Qian made as if to follow.

But the moment she rose, Chi Miaohan gently pressed her back down. “I’ll take care of it, Sister. You just sit and keep watching TV.”

Bai Qian shook her head. Chi Miaohan met her eyes for a couple of seconds, as if reading something in her expression, and didn’t argue further.

“What does Sister want to talk about?” As she spoke, she turned on the faucet and began rinsing the apple.

“Have you forgotten what you said before?”

“Hm?”

Seeing the genuine confusion on her face, Bai Qian prompted her. “You said back then—if we got together, what would happen with your relationship to Mom and Dad?”

Chi Miaohan got it immediately. She shook her head and refuted softly, “What I said was, when I marry you, Sister.”

“You said when we got together!”

The girl set aside what she was holding and pulled Bai Qian into her arms, her expression utterly earnest. “Sister, I really did mean when we get married.”

The sincerity in her eyes gave Bai Qian pause, making her doubt her own memory. Had she gotten it wrong?

“Fine, let’s say you meant marriage back then. Now that we’re together, can’t you start adjusting a little early?”

Chi Miaohan leaned in close, her nose brushing Bai Qian’s. With a soft laugh, she asked, “Words once spoken are like water spilled—you said marriage, so it’s marriage we mean. Does Sister really want me to change how I say it now?”