Chapter 609: Siding with Outsiders

Hearing this, Mu Liusu finally had some expression on his face, and he helplessly reached out to pull Cai Xiaotang inside.

Li Xiao, on the other hand, raised his eyebrows at her with amusement.

"See? With her curiosity, it's hard for her not to get into trouble. It's a good thing she only overheard the two of us talking..."

Li Xiao said this to Mu Liusu.

Hearing this, Mu Liusu immediately rubbed Cai Xiaotang's head in annoyance.

"Didn't I tell you to go back and rest?"

He asked with a frown.

"I..."

Cai Xiaotang stammered for a moment, then suddenly answered with a flash of wit: "It's just that I haven't seen you in a long time, and I missed you! So I wanted to come over and talk to you for a bit!"

"Missed me? You have so much time every day, yet I never saw you come to the company to see me."

Mu Liusu exposed her lie without hesitation.

Cai Xiaotang was left speechless by him and had no choice but to look at Li Xiao on the side with a pleading gaze.

This guy should say something!

She had run up here because she was worried about him getting scolded!

Receiving her "distress signal," Li Xiao hurriedly coughed lightly and asked: "Did you hear everything we said just now?"

"Mm..."

Cai Xiaotang nodded, glanced cautiously at Mu Liusu beside her, and asked in a low voice: "Big Brother... so... you're also in the mafia?"

"Mafia?"

Mu Liusu was stunned upon hearing this and immediately looked at Li Xiao, his eyes filled with questions, as if to say, "What kind of nonsense have you been spouting to Xiao Tang?"

Seeing this, Li Xiao suppressed his laughter even more and hurriedly explained: "Xiao Tang, we are not the mafia, didn't I already tell you that?"

"Oh, oh, oh! Right! Not the mafia! It's that... some organization of the International Criminal Police Organization!"

Cai Xiaotang smiled at her brother in a fawning manner.

"Brother... I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your secrets, and... I can only learn to protect myself better if I know the severity of the situation. Besides, Li Xiao has been teaching me Self-defense Technique during this time. It's just so I can run faster when I encounter danger! So this time it's not his fault..."

She finally got to the point in her last sentence, and Mu Liusu gave a noncommittal hum upon hearing it.

"I didn't say anything, yet you've already started protecting him? How long have you been married off, and you're already siding with outsiders..."

Mu Liusu complained deliberately.

Cai Xiaotang paused upon hearing this, and her face immediately became embarrassed.

Li Xiao, however, was stunned, and a fleeting look of unnaturalness flashed across his face as he watched Cai Xiaotang's expression.

"I'm just speaking based on the facts... I'm not intentionally taking anyone's side..." Cai Xiaotang offered a pale defense.

Mu Liusu didn't pursue it further, but urged with concern: "Since you already know, I have nothing left to hide from you. Li Xiao and I belong to the same organization, and we are of equal rank; we are both leaders of the Dark Gate, only in charge of two different groups of people. No one in the Mu Family knows about this, so..."

"So I will definitely keep your secret! I won't say a single word to anyone!"

Before Mu Liusu could finish his sentence, Cai Xiaotang understood what he meant instantly.

Mu Liusu then nodded: "Good, now that your curiosity is satisfied, can you go back and rest? Li Xiao and I still have things to discuss."

"Okay! Then I'm leaving, you two talk!"

Knowing that the two of them were likely going to discuss some classified matters, Cai Xiaotang turned and left decisively.

Just as she closed the door, she suddenly remembered something.

No wonder she felt that small iron piece with the engraved pattern that Li Xiao had looked familiar before!

Big Brother seemed to have one too!

She had seen it inadvertently when she went to his study!

That must be some kind of symbol for the Dark Gate, right?

Cai Xiaotang didn't think too much about it and returned to her room.

As soon as she entered the room, she threw herself onto the bed.

The sky outside was getting dark, so she hurriedly turned on the light, which made her feel a bit more at ease.

The room was very quiet, making her unable to help but recall what happened today.

The memory of the moment she fell into the water was already a bit blurry.

At that time, she only felt cold all over, and her body was sinking rapidly; it was almost certain death.

But when she opened her eyes, she saw Li Xiao's anxious face at a glance.

It was he who saved her...

She had never felt before that being alive was such a happy thing...

It was also the first time she discovered that only when faced with a life-or-death situation would one suddenly realize there were so many regrets left unfulfilled.

Like the food she wanted to eat...

The goals she wanted to achieve...

And the person she hadn't had the chance to confess to.

Fortunately, it wasn't too late now.

It's just that if she confessed suddenly now, she was afraid she would scare Li Xiao...

That guy who was sometimes a straight-laced man and sometimes insanely flirtatious—what would be the right time to make her feelings clear to him...

Cai Xiaotang thought about all sorts of messy things in her mind, and before long, she fell into a deep sleep.

In the study—

Li Xiao and Mu Liusu talked for another two hours before finally ending their conversation.

Upon learning that Cai Xiaotang had returned to her room to rest, Mu Liusu left with peace of mind.

Li Xiao saw her to the door, then looked upstairs with some hesitation.

Should he go up and check on her...

She had suffered such a great shock today; she surely wasn't as calm as she appeared...

Li Xiao pondered for a moment, finally sighed helplessly, and headed in the direction of Cai Xiaotang's room.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

He stood outside the door and tentatively knocked.

There was not a sound from inside the room.

"Xiao Tang?"

Li Xiao called out again.

The room remained quiet, with no response at all.

"Is she asleep..."

Li Xiao frowned slightly, looked at the light spilling from under the door crack, and worriedly tried turning the handle.

With a "click," the door was not locked.

He walked in smoothly and immediately saw a figure curled up on the bed.

Cai Xiaotang was almost entirely huddled together, her face flushed with an unnatural redness, while the quilt had been kicked to one side.

"Xiao Tang!"

Seeing that something was wrong, Li Xiao hurried over and reached out to test the temperature of her forehead.

It was indeed burning hot.

"Cai Xiaotang? Xiao Tang?"

Li Xiao tentatively called out to Cai Xiaotang a few more times.

Yet Cai Xiaotang kept her eyes tightly shut, her lips pressed firmly together, and her chest heaving incessantly.

In her dream, she was surrounded by endless seawater.

She tried hard to breathe but it was all in vain; her chest felt painfully stifled, and everything within her line of sight was a vast expanse of blue, making it impossible to see anything at all.

Help...

Someone, save her...

Cai Xiaotang kept her mouth tightly shut, terrified that if she opened even a tiny slit, she would be choked to death instantly.

The next second—

She suddenly felt her wrist being grabbed by someone, pulling her upward continuously.

As if she had grasped a life-saving straw, Cai Xiaotang grabbed onto that warmth within reach...