Chapter 316: Except for Marriage, You Have No Choice

"Want to run?"

Li Xiao spoke suddenly; he had already seen through her intentions back when Cai Xiaotang's eyes couldn't help but dart around.

Cai Xiaotang choked, immediately glared at the man with annoyance, and retorted unhappily, "What else? By what right are you holding me here? I have zero interest in you, and it's even more impossible for me to marry you!"

Every word she said was resonant, and her face was full of refusal.

Watching her expression, Li Xiao suddenly nodded in satisfaction and said in a low voice, "Since that is your attitude, then that is for the best."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Cai Xiaotang was stunned, unable to react for a moment.

Her having this attitude was for the best?

Li Xiao... could he be a masochist?

The more others rejected him, the more motivated he was to pursue them?

Heavens!

What kind of peerless freak is this!

A boom went off in Cai Xiaotang's mind, and she stared at the calm man in front of her, simply not knowing what to say.

Li Xiao, however, couldn't help but feel a desire to tease her again, deliberately asking in return, "What? Does being with me wrong you so much?"

"Tsk, not really." Cai Xiaotang waved her hand impatiently. Seeing that he seemed to have made up his mind, she had to suppress her temper and try to persuade him earnestly.

"We really aren't suitable for each other, and there's such a big age gap, plus we aren't familiar with each other at all. There's really no need to get married. You're just acting on impulse right now. If I impulsively agree too, I'll definitely regret it later. Besides, love at first sight isn't realistic; love is something that comes from spending time together..."

"After marriage, won't there be plenty of time to spend together? And... isn't it quite normal to get married after knowing each other for less than two days?" Li Xiao deliberately followed her line of reasoning to ask, looking as if marriage wasn't a big deal at all.

Upon hearing this, Cai Xiaotang choked again, and the expression on her face became incredibly subtle.

She had just been discussing the issue of flash marriages with Baobao tonight, and now Li Xiao was going to propose to her?

Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!

As expected, one shouldn't speak carelessly!

Cai Xiaotang felt a massive headache and really wanted to lose her temper regardless of the consequences, but thinking of tonight's events, she suppressed her anger, though her complexion didn't look any better.

Li Xiao observed Cai Xiaotang's expression with interest. Seeing that she clearly looked like she had anger she couldn't vent, he finally couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and dismissed the idea of continuing to tease her.

"Of course, I don't absolutely have to marry you, but right now, if you want to face the danger yourself, you can also pretend that nothing happened tonight."

Li Xiao spoke suddenly, changing from his previous teasing attitude.

Cai Xiaotang was stunned upon hearing this and asked subconsciously, "Why?"

"Do you remember what you said tonight?"

Li Xiao asked back unhurriedly.

"Tonight?" Cai Xiaotang frowned fiercely. She searched through her chaotic thoughts for a long time, but couldn't remember what she had said, so she shook her head in confusion.

Only then did Li Xiao explain, "In front of so many people, you said you had no interest in me and told me not to drag you into my troubles."

"Uh... is there a problem with that? Did I make you lose face in front of your brothers?"

After hearing him finish, Cai Xiaotang immediately raised her eyebrows and retorted unhappily.

Then she heard the person in front of her let out a soft chuckle.

"Face or no face, that's not important. What's important is that those words were just heard by my arch-rivals. They think I'm interested in you, so... they have now taken you as my Achilles' heel and might grab you at any time to threaten me."

Li Xiao stated this matter unhurriedly, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather tonight.

Cai Xiaotang was dumbfounded.

She simply suspected she had misheard something.

Achilles' heel?

Threaten?

Had she inexplicably fallen into some underworld gang-war script?

Cai Xiaotang blinked, and the chaotic scene she had seen in the alley tonight couldn't help but appear in her mind.

Li Xiao did seem to be doing something behind the Li Family's back... and the people he was with didn't look like good people either...

Cai Xiaotang forced herself to calm down quickly.

Only then did she continue to ask, "Fine, even if that's the case, there's still no need for us to get married."

As Cai Xiaotang spoke, she couldn't help but feel a bit aggrieved inside.

She clearly hadn't done anything wrong, so why was she inexplicably dragged into this kind of mess?

And now she had to be proposed to by a man she didn't know at all?

No, this wasn't a proposal!

This was simply absurd!

The more Cai Xiaotang thought about it, the angrier she got, and she couldn't help but fire off like a machine gun, "I won't agree to get married. What you just said might not necessarily happen, right? Besides, I don't know you at all, and I have no interest in what you do behind the Li Family's back. A person like you..."

"What about a person like me?"

Li Xiao suddenly said in a deep voice, interrupting Cai Xiaotang.

The corners of his mouth were still slightly curled up just like before, but there wasn't a hint of a smile in his eyes.

He had proposed marriage out of consideration for this woman.

Yet she was now showing such strong disdain?

Cai Xiaotang stopped abruptly, only then realizing what she had almost said.

The next second, she saw Li Xiao stand up directly.

"What are you doing!"

Cai Xiaotang was full of defensiveness toward him at this moment and stood up instantly like a cat with its fur standing on end!

Seeing this, Li Xiao couldn't help but show that half-smiling expression on his face again.

"Are you... afraid of me?"

He stepped forward.

Cai Xiaotang immediately retreated, shaking her head rapidly as she denied, "I'm not afraid."

Li Xiao stepped forward again and asked in a low voice, "Then what are you hiding from?"

Cai Xiaotang continued to retreat: "Men and women should not touch when handing things to each other; don't get so close to me!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao finally stood still.

Cai Xiaotang also slowly let out a sigh of relief.

Immediately after, she heard the person before her speak indifferently: "Are you very curious about what I do? It wouldn't hurt to tell you; I am what you understand in your heart to be a gangster, but... it goes far beyond that."

Cai Xiaotang was stunned upon hearing this.

Li Xiao chuckled and continued, "What I said just now, that someone might kidnap you, wasn't to scare you, but to remind you. Their methods are no small matter; if they really did kidnap you, they might ruin your face, dislocate your arms, and it's also possible that..."

As he spoke, his gaze swept up and down over Cai Xiaotang's body.

Cai Xiaotang immediately realized something, her whole body stiffening abruptly, a trace of fear flashing in the depths of her eyes.

Li Xiao, however, did not stop and continued, "I proposed marriage, firstly because I don't have the time to specifically assign people to protect you, but in the name of marriage, you can temporarily live at my place, where the security facilities are also very comprehensive. Secondly, because both of us happen to be pressured by our families to go on blind dates recently, it would be better to just be together; it can save some trouble. Once my affairs are resolved and your danger is lifted, we can directly divorce."

Li Xiao spoke with perfect logic, leaving Cai Xiaotang no room to refuse.