Chapter 857: Li Xiao Probes Luo Wanwan

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Li Xiao instinctively wanted to pull his hand away from Luo Wanwan.

But he hadn't expected her to notice, and she actually gripped it even tighter.

"Li Xiao..."

After calling out, Luo Wanwan suddenly realized something was wrong and hurriedly let go, yet she pleaded again, "I don't mean anything else; I just feel so terrible and wanted you to stay and talk with me for a while. It won't take up much of your time..."

Li Xiao stood with his back to Luo Wanwan, a flash of hesitation crossing his eyes, and he did not speak.

Seeing that he was no longer insisting on leaving, a flash of joy suddenly crossed Luo Wanwan's eyes, and she hurriedly continued to beg, "I know that for the sake of Cai Xiaotang's feelings, you have been consciously avoiding me..."

"Wanwan..."

Hearing her suddenly mention Cai Xiaotang, Li Xiao finally reacted.

Luo Wanwan interrupted Li Xiao, saying, "You don't need to explain, nor do you need to deny it. I am not blind; I can see how much you care about her. That is why I have always been very careful to avoid you both, not wanting to cause you any trouble... This is also the reason I lied to you at the beginning, but I didn't expect that I would still run into you later and have my lie exposed by you."

As she took the initiative to bring this up, Li Xiao paused slightly, unable to help feeling a bit guilty inside.

Immediately after, he heard Luo Wanwan continue, "I really don't mean anything else. Could you just stay with me for a while? Even if... just consider it catching up with an old friend you haven't seen in a long time."

Since she had already spoken to this extent, it seemed too heartless for Li Xiao to refuse.

Besides...

A dark glint flashed in Li Xiao's eyes as he suddenly thought of something.

In all fairness, he wanted to believe Luo Wanwan's explanation.

But after knowing that a mysterious person was secretly contacting her, he could no longer give the person in front of him one hundred percent of his trust.

The only thing he could believe was that she definitely would not harm him.

As for other motives...

Li Xiao pondered for a long while before finally agreeing, "Fine, let's chat for a bit. Since you returned, we truly haven't had a proper conversation."

As he spoke, he sat down on the chair by the bed while keeping a very clear distance, his gaze sweeping around Luo Wanwan's room.

Before coming, he had had someone check the rooms where everyone was to stay.

No signs of any eavesdropping devices being installed had been found.

But now... that was no longer certain.

If it were just catching up, chatting about things would be perfectly reasonable.

The fear was that Luo Wanwan might be carrying out a mission and have other motives...

Just as Li Xiao was thinking this, he suddenly heard Luo Wanwan speak, "Li Xiao, do you still remember when I first met you?"

"Hmm?"

Li Xiao paused for two seconds upon hearing this.

Then, he suddenly thought of something.

"I remember. At that time, they refused to accept that you were a woman, yet you were on equal footing with me after arriving, so they secretly tripped you up quite a few times. In the end, it was you who brought every single one of them to heel."

"Haha..."

Luo Wanwan laughed along with Li Xiao's memory, her expression becoming somewhat wistful, and she suddenly said with a touch of melancholy, "So you still remember. I thought you had forgotten it all..."

Her tone carried an inexplicable emotion, and her gaze toward Li Xiao was also somewhat sorrowful.

Li Xiao met her gaze, and his thoughts suddenly stirred slightly.

Why did he feel...

That the current Luo Wanwan did not seem as open-minded as she had previously appeared?

Or was it that those were all things she had deliberately put on display?

Did she... still like him?

Suddenly realizing this thought made Li Xiao lose focus for an instant.

It wasn't that he hadn't considered this possibility.

But firstly, the two of them hadn't had much contact during this period.

Secondly, his heart was with Cai Xiaotang, and he only felt guilt toward Luo Wanwan.

Therefore... he had instinctively avoided this question, unwilling to delve deeper.

But now...

"By the way, I remember Lao Wu even challenged me to a fight once. At that time, I was in top form and beat him up. If it were now, he could probably knock me over with a single finger..."

Luo Wanwan's voice sounded again.

Li Xiao snapped back to reality and chimed in, "Then give him ten times the courage now and see if he dares to lay a finger on you?"

As he spoke, his brain raced, and he deliberately steered the topic in the direction he wanted, "Wanwan, do you really not want to return to that kind of life from before? If the people above find you and contact you again, what will you do?"

"Then I'll just be a little more careful, won't I?"

Luo Wanwan seemed indifferent to this question, then laughed, her tone self-deprecating.

"Do you think I'm still the same as I was? They wouldn't even look at someone like me now. The higher-ups wouldn't support a useless person for no reason. Besides, in these past eight years, I don't even know how many new people they've trained, let alone me..."

Luo Wanwan's words suddenly paused for a moment, her eyes sweeping toward Li Xiao, their depths dark and unreadable.

After a long while—

She joked, "You're the one who needs to be careful about the new waves pushing the old ones, lest you be replaced one day..."

"Heh."

Li Xiao chuckled, not continuing to ask, and instead turned to probe other things.

On the other side—

Cai Xiaotang and Jiang Baobao were curled up comfortably in the hot spring, enjoying their rare time as best friends.

"Ah... I feel like my whole body has come back to life..."

Cai Xiaotang leaned against the edge of the pool and let out a long, comfortable sigh.

Her physical exertion over the past two days had been immense, and her muscles had long been faintly aching; the moment she touched the comfortable hot spring, she instantly felt her whole body relax quite a bit.

"Xiao Tang, do you want me to give you a massage?"

Seeing that she seemed extremely tired, Jiang Baobao considerately leaned over.

Cai Xiaotang immediately teased, "Wouldn't that be too thick-skinned of me? How could I have the nerve to let a pregnant woman serve me?"

Hearing this, Jiang Baobao simply put on airs and asked deliberately, "Then do you want it or not?"

"I do!"

Cai Xiaotang hurriedly raised her hand and obediently turned to lie prone on the edge of the pool, with her back to Jiang Baobao.

"If you want it, stop talking so much!"

Jiang Baobao retorted with a laugh and began to knead Cai Xiaotang's shoulders with gentle movements.

Only then did she casually bring it up: "Xiao Tang, how much do you know about that Luo Wanwan?"

No sooner had the words left her mouth than she sensed the person beneath her hands stiffen slightly.

"Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?"

Cai Xiaotang asked back, puzzled.

Jiang Baobao continued the movements under her hands, and after a while, she replied thoughtfully.

"It's nothing, I just feel that while she seems harmless, she is actually very shrewd. When we were sitting there today, the impression she gave me... was that she seemed to be constantly trying to get close to me and wanting to build a good relationship, but there is actually no need for the two of us to be that close, is there?"