Chapter 53: Her boyfriend could crush a whining brat with a single slap (16)

Bai Yao teased him on purpose, “So what if he sees you eating shaved ice and wants some too?”

Xue Yan felt as though his heart was being clawed at, a pain akin to slicing flesh from his own body. He answered, reluctant and aggrieved, “As long as it’s not strawberry flavor, I can give him a tiny bit.”

Bai Yao couldn’t help but burst out laughing. She poked his cheek with her finger, “Silly, don’t you know you can sneak snacks in secret?”

Xue Yan’s dark, glistening eyes lit up as he looked at her with delight. “Yao Yao, you’re so clever!”

Finally, he was himself again.

Bai Yao needed to return to school, and the newly invigorated Xue Yan walked her to the door. At the crossroads where they would part, Bai Yao turned to look at him.

He still stood there, gazing at her longingly. When she glanced back, he curved his eyes and showed her a pure, innocent smile.

Suddenly, Bai Yao said, “I’ll ask for leave for you. Don’t go to the community office today. Come spend the afternoon at school with me. I finish work at four, and then we’ll go get our marriage certificate.”

Xue Yan was taken aback, “Marriage certificate?”

Bai Yao replied, “We already have a child, how could we not get married? We can skip the wedding, but we must get the certificate. The child will need it for household registration! Besides, once we have it, we’ll be a proper married couple in every sense.”

Xue Yan’s eyes sparkled instantly. He hurried over, grasped her outstretched hand, his whole face beaming with excitement. “Yes, I’ll go register with you, Yao Yao!”

Hand in hand, Bai Yao walked with him. “You have to behave at school, no mischief.”

Xue Yan responded eagerly, “I’ll be very, very good. I won’t cause any trouble.”

When they arrived at the school, the moment Xue Yan stepped into the office, the teachers’ expressions collectively became complicated and unsightly.

Bai Yao had Xue Yan sit at her desk. First, she apologized to Ms. Wu for covering her lunch duty, then, a little embarrassed, explained, “After school I need to take care of something with Xue Yan, so I asked him to wait here for me.”

Ms. Wu forced a dry laugh. “No problem, no problem. Ms. Bai bringing her family member—we’re delighted!”

Mr. Zhao, the PE teacher, chimed in enthusiastically, “Exactly! We’re all one family at work, so of course Ms. Bai’s family is our family too!”

Xue Yan, sitting in Bai Yao’s chair, cupped his chin in his hands and offered the enthusiastic teachers a sweet, guileless smile.

Bai Yao had class, so she left him a handful of snacks and went off to teach.

The once harmonious office was instantly engulfed in awkward silence.

Ms. Wu and Mr. Zhao kept their heads down, scribbling away, suddenly busy with urgent tasks, clearly having no time to chat with the “family member.”

Xue Yan tore open a packet of jerky. Not only did he eat, but he made no effort to be quiet about it, crinkling the plastic wrapper over and over, the noise jarring in the silent room.

No one paid him any attention.

He picked up Bai Yao’s pink water bottle, took a slow drink, then let out a contented sigh, only to set the cup down with an unnecessarily loud thud.

Ms. Wu and Mr. Zhao exchanged uneasy glances.

After a while, Xue Yan began tracing the desk with his fingers, the scraping of his nails enough to give anyone goosebumps.

Finally, Ms. Wu couldn’t take it anymore. “What exactly are you trying to do?”

Xue Yan looked at her at once, surprised. “How did you know Yao Yao and I are getting our marriage certificate?”

Mr. Zhao blurted, “What! You two are getting married!?”

Xue Yan turned to Mr. Zhao, puzzled. “And how did you know Yao Yao said I’m the most important person to her? Even more important than our child!”

Ms. Wu gaped, “Wait, you already have a child!?”

Xue Yan, supporting his chin with both hands, blushed to the tips of his ears, fidgeting shyly. “So you all know… Yao Yao said she only loves the baby because he’s mine. Honestly, I’m not so childish as to be jealous of our own child, but why does she say things that make me so embarrassed?”

He slumped over the desk, burying his face in his arms. “It’s so mortifying.”

Ms. Wu and Mr. Zhao were speechless.

A long, heavy silence followed.

At last, the worldly Ms. Wu spoke, “To register a marriage, you have to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau, right?”

Mr. Zhao, who had some but not much common sense, replied, “Does our town even have a Civil Affairs Bureau?”

Xue Yan abruptly sat up straight, staring at the two of them expressionlessly.

Ms. Wu said, “Of course we do!”

Mr. Zhao declared, “Civil Affairs Bureau? No big deal, we could build one by this afternoon if we had to!”

Xue Yan cradled his face and gave a low, happy chuckle. Under the desk, his toes tapped in delight. “A marriage certificate! I’ll finally be someone with a certificate!”

At four o’clock, Bai Yao saw the last student out the school gate and was finally free to leave. To her surprise, Xue Yan insisted on taking her to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get their marriage certificate.

Her first reaction wasn’t to marvel that the town had such an office, but to be astonished that he actually knew the marriage certificate was issued by the Civil Affairs Bureau!

When Bai Yao arrived at the newly furnished office and saw a familiar face behind the desk, she asked in surprise, “Aunt Zhang, I thought you worked at the neighborhood committee? Why are you here too?”

Aunt Zhang chuckled, “There aren’t many people in town, so I hold a few different posts.”

Bai Yao eyed her skeptically.

Xue Yan said innocently, “Yao Yao, everyone in our town wears many hats. Those who can, do more.”

Aunt Zhang agreed, “Young Xue is right! You’ve come to the right person. No need to queue, I’ll stamp your documents right away!”

Stepping out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Bai Yao looked at the little red booklet in her hand, still unable to believe it was real.

Xue Yan, showing a manly sense of responsibility, said, “Yao Yao, let me keep it for you—this way it won’t get stolen.”

He took her marriage certificate, tucked it with his own into his pocket, and patted them securely, as if someone might actually try to steal their certificates.

Oh well, as long as he’s happy.

Xue Yan took her hand. “Shall we go home?”

Bai Yao led him in the other direction. “I have a wedding gift for you.”

His eyes widened in excitement. “A present!”

Bai Yao brought Xue Yan into a confectionery. The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man, hurried over and greeted her warmly, “What can I get for you, Ms. Bai?”

His son, Quan, was in Bai Yao’s class.

Xue Yan’s eyes darted around, drawn to the sweets. He loved sugary things, but Bai Yao was always strict, never letting him have too much—if she bought this, she wouldn’t buy that. Today, he was determined to pick carefully.

Then Bai Yao said, “I’ll buy all the candy in your shop.”

The shopkeeper froze. “All?”

Xue Yan glanced down at Bai Yao, bewildered.

She smiled and nodded, “Yes, all of it. My Xue Yan loves sweets. Please bag them all up for me.”

The shopkeeper sneaked a look at Xue Yan, and seeing no objection, quickly agreed, “Of course.”

He moved swiftly, soon filling one bag then another.

Xue Yan should have been delighted, but happiness came so suddenly that he grew anxious. He tugged uneasily at Bai Yao’s hand and asked in a small voice, “Yao Yao, did I do something wrong?”

She pinched his cheek. “What are you talking about? I said these are a gift for you.”

She scooped a handful of candy from a priced bag and pressed it into his hand. Looking up at him with a radiant smile, she said, “From now on, if you want sweets, just tell me. Never take candy from strangers, all right?”

Xue Yan’s hands, clutching the candy, trembled slightly.

Bai Yao continued, “Of course, you can’t eat too many at once. Mind the amount, or your teeth will ache!”

Xue Yan was still a bit dazed.

As a child, he had barely tasted anything sweet.

Trapped in that laboratory, the candy in the hands of those in white coats had been an irresistible lure.

It was as if he were seeing his younger self again, so easily tricked.

Suddenly, he felt a fear unlike any he’d known before.

He lowered his eyes, not daring to meet Bai Yao’s gaze. “Yao Yao…”

—Do you still remember that nightmare?

“I’m here,” Bai Yao replied.

She was paying at the counter, head down, but just those simple words, “I’m here,” made Xue Yan feel there was no need to ask.

How strange—it was as if that child in his memory, the one lured to the dissecting table by sweets, had faded away.

Now his arms were full of candy in every color, this dazzling brightness gradually crowding out the shadows of his childhood. He felt, perhaps, no different from any other child.

Someone bought him candy. Someone loved him.

Bai Yao looked at him. “Why are you just standing there? I can’t carry it all by myself!”

Xue Yan lifted his eyes. The innocence of his smile slowly replaced the darkness in his gaze. Like a naive, excitable child, he called out happily, “Yao Yao, let me carry the candy!”

There were four large bags in total, and he insisted on carrying them all, refusing to let Bai Yao touch a single one.

Before they could leave, a group of children burst in.

Quan had brought his friends to play. When Hua Hua and Xiao Mei spotted Bai Yao, their eyes lit up; when they saw the candy, they were overjoyed.

They knew Xue Yan was not someone to be trifled with, but with their teacher present, he was nothing but a pushover.

Taking full advantage of the teacher’s affection, the children crowded around Xue Yan, pleading pitifully, “Teacher’s wife, we want some candy too!”

“Share a few with us!”

“I haven’t had any candy in ages!”

“Yeah, yeah, you have so much—please share a little with us!”

“Teacher’s wife is so kind, she couldn’t bear to see children cry!”

…

It had to be said, these children could be little imps. With each “Teacher’s wife,” Xue Yan seemed less and less intimidating.

They certainly knew how to press the right buttons.

Xue Yan gripped the bags tightly, lips pressed together as he stared at the candy heaped inside. He didn’t want to share—these were from Yao Yao, just for him—but she was their teacher. If he refused to give even one, Bai Yao would surely think he was a stingy embarrassment.

He felt utterly torn.

Then, suddenly, a girl’s silhouette appeared in front of him.

Bai Yao addressed the children, “These candies are for Xue Yan. They’re not for sharing.”

Hua Hua protested, “Really? But Teacher’s wife has so much candy!”

“Of course not,” Bai Yao said firmly. “What I buy for your teacher’s wife isn’t for anyone else. But I can treat you to something else.”

The light in Xue Yan’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. If he had a tail, it would be wagging above his head.

A few children glared at Xue Yan, unable to understand why such a wonderful teacher would spoil this old man so much.

Xue Yan, brimming with pride, edged closer to Bai Yao, every movement displaying the unruffled confidence of a favored spouse.

At that moment, a soft, delicate girl entered from outside. She hesitated a bit, evidently reluctant, but in the end, she couldn’t stand to see the children disappointed. She dug out the last few pieces of candy from her bag.

Without looking at Bai Yao or Xue Yan, she bent down and smiled gently at the children. “Don’t be sad. I’ll share my candy with you.”

It was Tian Susu.

The children exchanged glances, then grinned up at her in unison, voices ringing out, “Big sister, you’re the best!”

Tian Susu glanced over at Bai Yao and Xue Yan, thinking to herself that they must be embarrassed—having so much and yet unwilling to share with the kids. Honestly, they were letting the grown-ups down.

Bai Yao wore a baffled expression.

Xue Yan shot a look at the group of children.

The kids beamed at Tian Susu, “We’ll definitely come play with you again, big sister!”

Suddenly, a voice echoed in Tian Susu’s mind.

System: [Danger!]