Chapter 629: I Have Someone I Like

"Li Xiao!"

Cai Xiaotang suddenly shouted Li Xiao's name loudly.

"Hm?"

Li Xiao was startled by her and instinctively turned his head to look over.

He had originally thought that Cai Xiaotang had gone to the trouble of setting things up just because she wanted to spend more time here with him and look at the scenery.

But he hadn't expected that as soon as he turned his head, he would see her expression of "heroic martyrdom," and he immediately became serious as well.

"What's wrong?"

He asked hurriedly.

Hearing this, Cai Xiaotang was stunned; she thought he had guessed her secret thoughts, and her face instantly burned, the words that had just reached her lips swallowed back down in an instant.

No...

It had already reached this point; if she didn't say it, she would suffocate!

She warned herself in her heart and finally made up her mind, suddenly pouring all the wine in her hand into her mouth.

Li Xiao looked at her in confusion and was just about to speak when he heard Cai Xiaotang say at a rapid speed: "Just letting you know, I've fallen for you!"

The atmosphere suddenly went quiet for a moment.

After Cai Xiaotang finished speaking, her cheeks turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Li Xiao also had a dazed look, as if he hadn't quite come back to his senses yet.

What did Cai Xiaotang just say?

She... was confessing to him?

Li Xiao replayed her words in his mind like a movie, and for a moment, he actually didn't know what reaction to make.

This...

This was truly the fastest and most direct confession he had ever seen...

A gust of wind blew by, causing the nearby bushes to rustle.

Cai Xiaotang lowered her eyes to look at her fingertips, but after a long while, she didn't wait for Li Xiao's response, so she had to speak again: "What? Have you lost your voice?"

Her tone carried a trace of stubbornness, mixed with a little bit of expectation.

Li Xiao's expression suddenly became complex, as if he had finally reacted.

Cai Xiaotang was confessing again.

And it was sudden, catching him completely unprepared.

Countless struggles flashed through the bottom of Li Xiao's heart as he looked at the person before him, weighing how to reply.

He could not agree.

He did not want to experience the events of that year a second time.

But...

Li Xiao's thoughts stirred slightly, and he took a deep look at the person in front of him, his face suddenly revealing his usual unserious, joking expression.

"Is today April Fool's Day?"

He asked back with a deliberate smile.

Hearing this, Cai Xiaotang stiffened, instinctively widening her eyes as she looked up at him.

She had imagined countless possibilities, but she hadn't expected the other party's answer to be like this.

She had been brewing this confession for so long, and he actually thought it was a joke?

Cai Xiaotang felt inexplicably annoyed.

Li Xiao met her gaze and instantly read the anger in her eyes, but he felt a sense of helplessness in his heart.

Wouldn't it be better to treat it as a joke?

He didn't want to break the balance between the two of them.

If it were another woman, perhaps she would have taken the opportunity to say it was a joke and covered it up directly.

But unfortunately, the person Li Xiao had encountered was Cai Xiaotang.

The two of them looked at each other quietly, as if in a silent standoff.

After a long while, Cai Xiaotang suddenly poured herself another glass of wine.

She didn't sip it in small mouthfuls, but instead downed it in one go, suddenly feeling that after saying the confession once, all the previous tension had vanished!

"Bang!"

Cai Xiaotang set the wine glass directly on the table.

"Li Xiao, I'll say it again: I like you, and it's not a joke. What do you think? Let's not beat around the bush; like or dislike, you can tell me directly."

Every word she said was resonant, and she persistently wanted an answer.

Li Xiao stared at her, sighing silently in his heart.

As expected...

Given her personality, it was simply impossible to brush this matter off.

But apart from refusing, he had no other choice.

"Sorry."

Li Xiao softly uttered the two words.

Cai Xiaotang was slightly stunned, her face instantly showing some disappointment, yet her heart suddenly felt completely relaxed.

Getting this answer... it didn't seem surprising at all.

Anyway, she had been mentally prepared for a long time...

Cai Xiaotang didn't speak; she poured another glass of wine but didn't drink it, only pressing her lips together tightly, feeling a bit unwilling to let go.

So this is what it feels like to be rejected...

What should she say next?

Should she ask if they can still be friends?

But she clearly felt that Li Xiao was very good to her.

The two of them had even shared some unintentional moments of ambiguity in the past.

Could it all have been an illusion?

She blinked her eyes and suddenly made up her mind.

"May I know why?"

Cai Xiaotang suddenly continued to ask.

Li Xiao was taken aback by these words and looked at her with some surprise.

Why?

Why was she so persistent?

The air grew quiet again; Li Xiao looked at her stubborn face, and an excuse suddenly appeared in his mind.

Cai Xiaotang, however, was feeling the effects of the alcohol and continued, "I... I don't even know when I started to like you. At first, I clearly found everything about you unpleasant, but after spending time together, I suddenly felt... you're actually not a bad person. Perhaps you think today's confession is a bit sudden; I wasn't too sure before if I really liked you, but after I was kidnapped that day, I really thought I was going to die. When my mouth was gagged, I was thinking that if I could speak, I would definitely confess to you and tell you exactly how I feel about you..."

Cai Xiaotang said a long paragraph in one breath and was panting slightly from nervousness.

"Xiao Tang..."

"Let me finish."

Cai Xiaotang interrupted him, caught her breath, and then continued, "I don't know if it's my imagination, but you seem to have been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding me lately. If I have caused you any trouble, I apologize. I just want to know now, have you not considered it, or do you really not have even a little bit of..."

Cai Xiaotang suddenly stopped and looked at Li Xiao expectantly.

Li Xiao closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing the palpitations in his heart.

From the moment Cai Xiaotang said the first word, his heart had begun to beat wildly.

A certain emotion that had been dormant for a long time seemed to have been suddenly activated.

It was just that... that kind of emotion was destined to be suppressed and return to silence once again.

"I..."

Li Xiao suddenly spoke.

Cai Xiaotang's heart tightened along with him.

The next second—"I have someone I like."

Li Xiao calmly spat out the seven words.

Cai Xiaotang was stunned.

"What did you say?"

She asked again in disbelief.

"I said, I have someone I like, so I'm sorry."

Li Xiao repeated it again calmly, but his hand hanging by the side of the chair tightened involuntarily.

Seeing Cai Xiaotang looking dazed, he hardened his heart and continued, "I'm someone who doesn't pay much attention to what I say, and if I caused any misunderstandings, I am very sorry. I will be more careful in the future..."

"Who needs your apology!"

Cai Xiaotang had been dazed, but upon hearing his last few sentences, a fire suddenly flared up, mixed with a bit of grievance.

On what grounds?

On what grounds could he have someone he likes and still make misleading jokes without restraint?

And then calmly apologize after disturbing someone else's heart?

Then what about her?

Does she deserve to be played with?