The Overnight Chosen Wife: Darling, Kiss Me Deeper

When Xia Hanchen was about to finish eating, Lanni started feeling nervous again.

Xia Hanchen noticed this and looked at her worriedly. "Cupcake, is anything the matter? You look nervous."

Lanni shook her head rapidly and grabbed an apple from the assortment of fruits. She washed and peeled it then sliced it for him.

Xia Hanchen knew she was having trouble trying to say something so he took the sliced apples and ate as he waited for her to speak.

Finally, she let out a puff of air and spoke. "Dad, I would like you to meet someone."

"Who?" He asked even though from her timidity just now, he could guess who she wanted him to meet.

"Someone important to me. He…" Lanni paused and went to the door. She opened it and looked at Xiehan who was still outside, sitting on a bench in the hallway and checking something on his phone. He turned to look at her and she smiled, her message clear even though she did not utter a word.

Ji Xie Han stood up and followed her when she entered the ward.

Lanni walked back to Xia Hanchen with a happy smile plastered across her face. She pulled Xiehan's hand as she introduced him. "Dad, meet Ji Xiehan. He is from the Ji family and he is my boyfriend." She tilted her head to the man diagonally behind her. "Say hi to my dad."

Ji Xiehan let go of her arm and walked foward to Xia Hanchen. "Hello, Uncle. I'm pleased to finally meet you." He stretched out a hand. However, Xia Hanchen neither glanced at him nor made to shake his hand. Seconds passed. Half a minute passed and it started getting awkward.

When more than a minute passed, Lanni couldn't bear it anymore and coughed. "Dad…"

Lanni was yet to say a word more when Xia Hanchen finally reacted. He glared at Ji Xiehan then glanced at the latter's hand and looked like he wanted to slap it away. "I am not pleased to meet you."

Ji Xiehan was shocked by the sudden outburst. Lanni was stunned for a moment before she thought of something. She placed a hand over her mouth and tittered. "Dad, that's so mean." She turned to Xiehan and patted his back as though trying to soothe him. "Don't mind him. He likes joking around too much."

Turning back to Xia Hanchen, she chuckled. "Dad, as much as I enjoy your teases and your jokes, this is your first meeting with your future son-in-law. You should be a bit more serious.

"I'm not joking." Xia Hanchen interrupted her, his expression so displeased that Lanni was scared it would trigger a heart attack. "I am not pleased to meet this man. Get him out of here."

Realizing that he was serious, Lanni stepped forward. "I don't understand. Dad, he is my boyfriend and he is a very kind, nice man. Why do you dislike him?"

"He, a kind man?" Xia Hanchen looked like he wanted to leap forward and tear Ji Xiehan into pieces. Lanni had to stop him.

Just when she was on the verge of exploding from wondering what was going on, Xia Hanchen held her arm to protect her as he glared at Ji Xiehan. "You are the man who so blatantly took advantage of my daughter! You even forced her to be with you! I wanted to see what a gutsy fellow you are, and now you even have the audacity to appear before me now and introduce yourself as her boyfriend?!"

"Huh?" Lanni was flabbergasted. What kind of accusations were these and where did they come from? "Taking advantage of me…forcing me…dad, where did you even get such a terrifying thought?"

Xia Hanchen patted her hand to comfort her. "Cupcake, don't be scared. Even though I'm bedridden now, I will not let anyone harass you. As long as I'm still breathing, I will protect you from predators like him."

Lanni was more confused than touched. She pulled away from him and held the flabbergasted Xiehan's hand. "Dad, I don't know why you think he is taking advantage of me, and I don't understand how you came to the conclusion that he forced me to be with him but you are mistaken. Xiehan is my boyfriend. We're in love with each other."

It was Xia Hanchen's turn to be confused. "In love?"

"Yes dad." Lanni looked bashful as she explained. "We are madly in love. How can he force me to be with him when I already wanted to be with him?"

Xia Hanchen looked at their intertwined hands and a frown formed on his face. "Cupcake, you don't have to pretend with me. I'm your dad so you should tell me the truth. Is he threatening you? Because if he is, you can tell me and I will..."

"He is not." Lanni snuggled closer to Xiehan as though to prove her words. Looking at Lanni's eyes, she did look bashful like a young woman in love. The kind of gaze she was directing towards Xiehan was one filled with warmth and love. This made him even more confused. "But your friend said…"

Lanni's ears perked up at the key word. "What friend?"

"Flynn." Xia Hanchen explained. "He said that you had been forced into a relationship with a man and that you were scared that if you rejected him, he would hurt you."

Lanni took a deep breath and muttered a curse. Damn that man. She should have known. It did sound like one of the insane things he would do. Why the heck would he make up such a lie to mislead her father?

"What else did he say to you?" She controlled her anger to ask gently.

Xia Hanchen thought about it before saying, "He told me about Luna."

Lanni felt all the strength leave her body. That idiot! She had tried very hard to keep the truth from him to avoid agitating his emotions. How dare that man spill it? Not only was he an idiot, he was a blabbermouth too!

After cursing Flynn a hundred times in her heart, she finally heard Xia Hanchen's displeased question. "When were you planning to tell me?"

"D-dad…" Lanni lowered her voice in guilt. "I'm sorry I… I didn't want to distress you…"

"You should know better than to keep things from your dad." He harrumphed. "Look how sorry you are now. And that Luna! How could she do this to her father? Couldn't she wait a little more before going abroad?"

"Huh?" Lanni was puzzled. Abroad?

"What are you so shocked about? Don't tell me she didn't tell you either? That would be too horrible of her."

Lanni was so shocked that she almost spilled the truth. She only managed to catch her tongue in the last moment and quickly nod. "Y-yes. She told me before she left." She could only swallow and go with Flynn's tale.

So he had not told Xia Hanchen about Luna's imprisonment? It was unbelievable.

"I don't know what she is up to this time. Which learning programme doesn't allow the learner to visit or contact their family until the term is complete? What insanity!" Xia Hanchen was displeased just by the thought of not being able to see his Luna for so long.

Lanni snuck a glance at Xiehan and cleared her throat. "There are indeed such learning programmes. It's just… ahem… not popular because of the requirements."

Xia Hanchen sunk into thought for a while. Just when Lanni was wondering whether he believed her and Flynn, he glanced at Ji Xiehan then back at Lanni. "I want to have a word with him. Alone."

Lanni was startled when she heard the second part. Recalling how her dad was hostile towards Xiehan after what Flynn told him, she couldn't bring herself to leave Xiehan behind. She dashed to his side to cover him up. "Dad, we have disturbed your rest too much already. You should go to sleep now."

"Do you think I will bully him?" Xia Hanchen laughed when he saw his daughter secretly acting protective.

Lanni looked at him, mentally accusing, 'Not only do you look like you will bully him, but you also look like you will skin him alive as soon as I walk out that door.'

"Honey, could you help me buy something in the convenience store a few meters to the left?" Xiehan asked in a low voice. He even gave her his card and asked her to buy him a bottle of water.

Lanni looked at him quizzically. Was he trying to imply that it was okay to leave him alone with her father?

Xiehan seemed to understand her silent question, and he nodded in response. Lanni therefore said goodbye and left the room.

_

After buying the water, Lanni didn't go back to Xia Hanchen's ward. Instead, she waited next to Xiehan's car. Even though Xiehan had said that it was alright, she couldn't help being curious and worried. What could they possibly talk about?