Chapter 718: Li Xiao asks, am I really that old?

A strange atmosphere seemed to have formed between the three of them.

Cai Xiaotang looked at Li Xiao, but discovered his gaze seemed to be fixed on Liu Qingze beside her, so she hurriedly gave a light cough and asked, "Why are you here?"

"I happened to be in the neighborhood, and thinking you should be finishing up soon, I waited for a little while."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao retracted his gaze and smiled at Cai Xiaotang.

Cai Xiaotang, however, did not believe his explanation.

Even if he happened to be in the neighborhood, how would he know she was eating here?

He must have had someone track her whereabouts again...

She grumbled to herself in her heart, then looked at Liu Qingze beside her and said, "Then I'll head back first. You should go home early too; do you need me to call a car for you?"

"No need."

Liu Qingze refused without a second thought.

"Alright then, watch your safety on the way."

Cai Xiaotang didn't say anything more, nor did she want to show any strangeness between her and Li Xiao in front of others, so she lifted her feet and walked down the steps.

After walking just two steps, she stopped and turned back abruptly.

"By the way, remember not to tell anyone about today's matter."

Cai Xiaotang urged him, feeling uneasy.

Liu Qingze was stunned for a moment, then realized she must be talking about the marriage, and his expression shifted slightly.

"Rest assured, I don't have the habit of gossiping behind people's backs. I'm off."

He dropped this sentence and turned to leave in the opposite direction without hesitation.

Li Xiao's brows, however, knitted together.

Don't tell anyone?

What secret did the two of them have?

He took a deep breath, feeling that familiar sourness welling up in his heart again.

Just now, he had seen a large group of people leaving as if their dinner party had ended, but he hadn't seen Cai Xiaotang, so he had planned to wait a little longer before going in to find her.

But he hadn't expected to see her coming out together with Liu Qingze.

"Hey."

Cai Xiaotang's voice suddenly rang out, pulling back Li Xiao's thoughts.

"Hm? What is it?"

He responded subconsciously.

Cai Xiaotang's gaze flickered for an instant, but she didn't speak.

Her eyes swept over the roof of the car, a question stuck on the tip of her tongue, feeling conflicted about whether to ask.

Li Xiao said he had only waited for a little while just now?

But the snow on the roof of this car... it must have been sitting there for at least an hour, right?

He had just been waiting here for her like this?

Cai Xiaotang pursed her lips, feeling an indescribable awkwardness.

"It's nothing, get in the car. Remember to have someone drive my car back."

In the end, she didn't say anything, pulled open the door, and slid into the passenger seat.

Forget it...

No matter how long he waited, it must have been Li Laoyezi who told him to come pick her up; otherwise, with it snowing like this, if he ignored her, it would also arouse suspicion.

Right!

That's exactly it!

Cai Xiaotang quickly found a suitable reason in her heart and didn't think about it anymore.

The snow on the road was a bit slippery, and it took some time before the car finally arrived at the Old Residence.

Li Xiao kept a straight face the whole way, not knowing what he was thinking about, so Cai Xiaotang simply didn't speak either, just lowered her head to play with her phone.

Back in the room, she washed up and, just like before, used pillows to build a "fortress" between the two of them to prevent her from getting too close to a certain someone in the middle of the night.

Cai Xiaotang tucked herself into the quilt and counted on her fingers.

The two of them had been sleeping in the same bed like this for three or four days already.

Except for the first day when she woke up in someone's arms, and the second day when she woke up hugging him, the following two days they had maintained a proper distance.

"I've slept very honestly for two days now, tomorrow shouldn't be any different..."

Cai Xiaotang muttered to herself, unaware that it was because a certain someone really didn't want to go take cold showers in the middle of the night every day that he had let her off.

Just as she was thinking this, Li Xiao pushed the door open and walked in.

He seemed to have already washed up in another bathroom; he was wearing dark loungewear, and his hair looked slightly damp.

Unlike his usual preference for combing his hair back, at this moment his hair was hanging down naturally, covering his forehead, which inexplicably made him look a few years younger, making him appear to be about the same age as Cai Xiaotang.

Cai Xiaotang took a quick glance, and although it wasn't the first time she had seen it, she still quickly shifted her gaze away.

Tsk...

Although she didn't want to admit it, her liking for Li Xiao did indeed have a part due to his looks...

Even though this old man was actually thirty-two, it didn't seem out of place to say he had just turned twenty-five...

Cai Xiaotang was just thinking this when she suddenly felt the mattress on the other side sink slightly.

Li Xiao leaned against the edge of the bed, his gaze drifting toward Cai Xiaotang's direction.

Cai Xiaotang sensed his gaze, and her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"If you have something to say, just say it."

She spoke with feigned composure.

Cai Xiaotang's gaze flickered for a moment; thinking of the matter she had just had someone investigate, the jealousy that had been churning in her heart all night reached its peak.

"Why were you and Liu Qingze together tonight?"

He asked, pretending he knew nothing.

"Work reasons; he is the person in charge of the project we are coordinating this time."

Cai Xiaotang answered truthfully.

Hearing her obediently tell the truth, Li Xiao immediately felt his mood improve.

Not bad...

She didn't tell him to stay out of her business...

"Is that all you wanted to ask?"

Cai Xiaotang added.

"Mm."

Li Xiao nodded.

Cai Xiaotang swept a glance at him with a hint of inquiry, feeling that something was strange.

Was it an illusion?

Li Xiao seemed to care about Liu Qingze an extraordinary amount?

Was it because he was worried that if she got too close to him, she might accidentally reveal Li Xiao's identity?

Thinking this, Cai Xiaotang hurriedly said, "Don't worry, I have a very tight lip; I won't casually expose your identity to others."

"Of course I trust you."

Seeing her so serious, Li Xiao couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair.

Cai Xiaotang felt a tingle all over and immediately slapped his hand away in annoyance.

There he goes again!

Can't this guy stop flirting with her!

Intentional flirting is deliberate seduction, and unconscious flirting is inciting a crime!

"Stop touching me! If you touch my hair again, I'll bite you!"

Cai Xiaotang bared her teeth and issued a warning, deliberately putting on a "fierce" expression.

Li Xiao hadn't seen her like this for a few days, so his mood improved even more; he curled his lips and retorted, "How do you want to bite?"

"I..."

Cai Xiaotang was choked by his words; meeting his smiling eyes, she felt that a perfectly normal sentence had suddenly become ambiguous.

"Can't be bothered with you! Going to sleep!"

Having nothing left to say, she simply pulled the quilt and turned away.

Li Xiao, however, wouldn't let it go and continued to tease her, "I've noticed you've been very well-behaved while sleeping these past two days. What? Don't want to take advantage of me anymore?"

"Who would want to take advantage of an old man like you!"

Cai Xiaotang replied without thinking; the moment the words left her lips, she heard the sound behind her suddenly cease.

The smile on Li Xiao's face vanished abruptly, and he suddenly felt as if he had been struck by an arrow.

Old man?

This wasn't the first time she had said that.

Could it be that she really prefers someone younger?

Like that Liu Qingze...

His mood plummeted in an instant; Li Xiao took a deep look at Cai Xiaotang's back, turned off the light, and lay down, but he felt no sleepiness at all, experiencing a sense of crisis regarding his age for the first time.

In her heart, is he really that "old"?