"The woman that I'm about to marry is the one I'm sitting beside right now." He nonchalantly said.
"--__--"
Kim Eunji's eyes widened in disbelief.
'Stop fooling around will you?' Kim Eunji thought.
However no one believed his words.
"I will marry her if she'd allow me to." Nathan added as he looked lovingly to Kim Eunji. This stunned everyone. 'Is he even serious?' They all thought in unison. They then looked at the still silent Kim Eunji. Yes she was indeed a woman who looked like a goddess but she was impolite. She didn't even introduce herself to everyone and this displeased them.
Now the pressure is on Kim Eunji. Would she still play along with him and go with the flow?
"I..."
However, before Kim Eunji could even continue what she wanted to say, Nathan held her hand and squeezed it gently. "It's okay love. You don't have to say yes yet. I have all the time in the world to wait for you."
"--__--"
Kim Eunji could had already lost count of how many times this shameless man had made her speechless tonight.
Ruined! Everything's ruined. Patriarch Bai and the Elders were angered to the core. Therefore, he stood up and called out everyone's attention.
"Everyone, this dinner party's over. So please help yourselves." Patriarch Bai announced.
The guest heaved a huge sigh of relief as they really want to leave the party since earlier.
Some were embarrassed to witness such scene. They never thought that such influential family had this kind of relationship. They had no filter. Also, they could not believe that Nathan Bai could be so affectionate towards a woman.
This made the ladies present in the party somehow felt hopeful. If she (Kim Eunji) could charm him with her beauty, then why can't they? They felt that she's inferior to them compared to family background and all.
The guests politely bid goodbye to Patriarch Bai and Nathan.
After everyone left, Nathan and Kim Eunji wanted to leave as well but they were stopped by Patriarch Bai.
"Where do you think you're going!" Patriarch Bai finally snapped.
"Going home. There's nothing to have fun anymore." Nathan answered truthfully.
"Is humiliating your own family fun?!" He angrily asked.
"Oh come on Patriarch Bai. Don't act as if no one knew about how scandalous this family is. If you have nothing else to say, we'll take our leave." Nathan refuted.
Patriarch Bai slumped back on his chair.
"Patriarch, aren't we going to discuss my daughter and your son's engagement?" Mrs. Wan butted in.
"Engagement?" Kim Eunji uttered but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Yes. My daughter and Nathan's engagement." Mrs. Wan confirmed and looked at Kim Eunji disdainfully.
"The third reason why Patriarch Bai organized this party was to announce my Wan Baozhai and Nathan's engagement. Therefore, you should avoid Nathan starting from now. Don't get involved with an engaged man." Mrs. Wan added. However, to everyone's surprise, Nathan's baritone voice echoed.
"On what grounds should I agree and be engaged to her?" Nathan asked.
"My daughter's pregnant." Mrs. Wan answered.
However, Nathan chuckled meaningfully as he looked at Wan Baozhai and said, "That tactic won't work to me Mrs. Wan. Why don't you ask your daughter on who's the real father instead?" Nathan asked her that made her stunned. This made Wan Baozhai's face to pale again.
"Isn't it you?! Don't try to dodge away from your responsibility. Though no one had photographed you both, there were people who had seen you two together!" Patriarch Bai was furious.
Though he never felt something towards this father of his, Nathan was disappointed that he believed other people's claims against him than his own words.
Well, what would he expect from a father who had been missing in action all his life?
"Indeed, she became my woman for a month but our relationship was purely...It's not my part to tell."
What Nathan meant was that he never touched those women on that area everytime they had s*x. Aside from that, he never touched Wan Baozhai, not even once. Therefore, there's no way that he's the father of her child.
"Come at me all you want but I'm afraid it would be your daughter who'll lose face if you'll continue this act." He added and then looked at Kim Eunji meaningfully.
"No! You're the father!" Wan Baozhai insisted.
"Am I?" Nathan's voice became cold.
"Then what about Master Ling?" Wan Baozhai's eyes immediately widened when she heard Nathan.
Yes, the same Master Ling who had messed up with Kim Eunji the very first day she arrived in Beijing.
"If I reckon, on the days that I'm not around, you played with him." Nathan's words hit a blow.
"Do you want me to show them the fo-" Nathan did not get the chance to finish what he was about to say as Wan Baozhai screamed.
Wan Baozhai was indeed with Master Ling that night but for Wan Baozhai, it was a mistake.
"No! Please...don't." Wan Baozhai pleaded as she cried.
"Xiao Bao, don't cry. It's not good for the baby." Mrs. Wan begged her daughter to not be emotional as it might affect her pregnancy.
The Elders and Nathan's half-siblings showed sympathy to Wan Baozhai by urging her to calm down, too.
However, Nathan remained indifferent towards them.
"Nathan, as a member of this family, you should follow the tradition of our family. Marry Wan Baozhai." One of the stubborn Elder insisted.
"Or what?" He asked.
"You'll be banished from the family genealogy. You're not worthy to be a part of this family if you oppose tradition!" He threatened.
"Then, do what you want to do. Let me just remind you that if this family disowned me, I'm afraid that none of you could step in at Bai Corp. ever again."
"You!" They were all furious.
"As I showed earlier, I bought those stocks myself. Name your price, I'll by all of you out!" He announced that they almost vomited blood because of extreme anger.
Nathan was serious. He was only interested with the Bai Enterprise, now Bai Corp. and was not interested to be a part of their family.
"Where did you even get the money to buy those shares?" Matriarch Bai who had been quite for some time finally spoke.
"It's none of your business and above anything else, you have no rights to know!" Nathan was irritated by her question.
"This would be the last time I'll clarify myself. The woman that I'll marry should not be inferior to her." He then looked at Kim Eunji meaningfully. This made Wan Baozhai felt more helpless and jealous at the same time.
This time his gaze towards her was so intense that it made Kim Eunji stunned and blushed. She inwardly cursed as she didn't know why she suddenly felt shy on his gaze.
Seems like Kim Eunji could feel that she's in trouble.
When it comes to looks, no one could outmatch her. However, there were other sides of her that he had not known yet.
"What was even good about her? She didn't even greeted us Elders and her seniors when she arrived." This stunned Kim Eunji. Isn't it already expected for a junior to greet her seniors first especially if they're at an elderly age?
"It's because I didn't let her to do so." Nathan defended Kim Eunji.
"Everything is best about her. And besides, we don't need any of your blessings if want to get married in the future." Nathan added. But who would have thought that this would eventually came true in the future?
"Mr. Bai, stop!" Kim Eunji whispered.
"What is it love?" He asked as he acted like he didn't hear her words.
"Stop or I'll punch you in the face right now!" Kim Eunji warned.
This stunned everyone.
However, Nathan did not listen to her. And his playful side had once again taken over him.
"Oh, my baby's so cute when angered. Alright, stop making a fuss, we'll go home now okay?" He wooed her.
"Since my woman's no longer in the mood, we'll go now." After he said that, Nathan then held Kim Eunji's hand firmly and walked together out of the room leaving everyone with a different look in their faces. Of all the people in the hall or room, it was Patriarch Bai who was most affected.
He had organized this party with the hopes that Nathan would finally call him 'father'. But it turned out that it even widened the gap between them.
***
Tang Hao and Marco were already waiting outside for them.
They were already late. They still had to return to Sanya.
"Master Johnson. Everything's ready." Marco reported.
"En." Nathan hummed as he was in a good mood. But his expression changed when he saw Kim Eunji's expression.
"What are you sulking about?" He asked her.
"Why did you do that?! Kim Eunji angrily asked him.
"Did what?" Nathan asked, feigning ignorance.
"Was your sole purpose of asking me to be your date tonight was to use me as your human shield against those women who are after you?" She asked.
"Yes." Nathan's clear voice sounded.
"What? Are you expecting for more?" Nathan asked her indifferently. Now that the acting's done, he was back to his usual tone when he's talking to her.
"No. I'm not. On the contrary, I prefer if you'll stay away from me from now on. Also, clarify my relationship with you to the public after. Those women might be after my head from now on." Kim Eunji honestly answered.
Compared to earlier when they arrived, she was somehow not that angry with him anymore. But she's still annoyed because of what he did.
She was glad that aside from those harsh gazes from those jealous women, nothing serious happened to her.
But what she disliked the most was him, repeating the idea of her and him marrying in the future. The idea alone freaked her out. It makes her uncomfortable.
"One more thing, you and me?" Kim Eunji pointed him and herself as she continued, "Impossible." What she meant that them being together in the future, in her opinion, would never happen in this lifetime.
Kim Eunji was now only bothered that those women might make things difficult for her in the future just because they thought she's in a relationship with Nathan.
"Since I don't owe you a thing anymore, there's no reason for me to go back to Sanya with you, right?" Kim Eunji added.
Nathan was silent.
So, would this be the end for them?
"No. Come back with me. Aunt and Uncle Mo would be worried if I'll come back alone." He reasoned.
As she thought of Mo Jing-sheng's parents, her godparents, she reconsidered it.
"Okay..."
Nathan smiled as soon as she got inside the car.
"Weird." He mumbled to himself as he followed her to the car.