Chapter 963: She Is Lying

The air suddenly became quiet.

Li Xiao heard every word Cai Xiaotang said clearly, yet it was all completely unexpected.

He had thought of ten thousand reasons, but he never imagined that she wanted to escape from his side because she was afraid.

Cai Xiaotang remained silent, and seeing from the corner of her eye that Li Xiao looked somewhat incredulous and also somewhat hurt, her chest felt a bit stifled.

After a long while—"You..."

Li Xiao finally found his voice.

When he spoke, it was not as forceful as before; instead, he said with some hesitation, "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

Cai Xiaotang answered without hesitation, a flash of complexity passing through her eyes, followed by a feeling of relief.

He believed her.

The atmosphere became quiet again.

After another moment...

Li Xiao sighed and said slowly, "Not protecting you well last time was my failure. Xiao Tang, later..."

"There is no later."

Cai Xiaotang interrupted Li Xiao directly.

"If you could really protect me well, then this incident wouldn't have happened. When others do bad things, they always hide in the dark; they won't notify you in advance, will they?"

As she spoke, she casually straightened her clothes, left the bedside, and walked toward the door.

Her nose was already starting to sting.

If she didn't leave now, she was afraid she really wouldn't be able to hold back.

These words would undoubtedly hurt Li Xiao's self-esteem.

But she had no choice.

Cai Xiaotang stood at the door, looking at the figure that had not spoken since just now.

"Li Xiao, I am truly fed up. Do you know what it's like to have nightmares every night? Since leaving your side, I really..."

Tears gathered in her eyes at the fastest possible speed.

Cai Xiaotang hurriedly took a deep breath, pulled the door open, looked at her own room across the way, and quickly adjusted her emotions.

Only then did she leave behind one last sentence.

"I have been living very happily here every day; this has been the most relaxed time in the last half year."

After finishing, she no longer hesitated and walked straight out.

"Click."

A soft sound came from the door across the way, which closed a few seconds later.

Cai Xiaotang stood in the room, and the tears finally could not be held back and rolled down.

Immediately after, she suddenly heard her phone ring.

She took it out and discovered it was a call from Jiang Baobao.

Cai Xiaotang was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly wiped the tear stains from the corners of her eyes and cleared her throat before answering the call.

"Hello? Baobao? What's wrong?"

She asked, pretending to be nonchalant.

On the other end of the line, Jiang Baobao indeed did not detect anything, and after hearing her question, she replied, "Nothing, I just wanted to ask how you've been these past two days, are you okay?"

"Of course I'm fine!"

Cai Xiaotang answered hurriedly, and after saying this, she immediately realized something, her brows tightening sharply.

Li Xiao had just come looking for her today...

And Baobao was calling her at this time?

Cai Xiaotang's gaze flickered for an instant, as if she realized something, and she suddenly asked, "Baobao, let me ask you something, did you tell Li Xiao my whereabouts?"

"Of course not!"

Jiang Baobao was stunned for a moment and hurriedly denied it.

Then she also realized it and asked, "Did Li Xiao go to find you?"

Cai Xiaotang paused slightly and did not speak.

But the momentary hesitation had already explained everything.

"Xiao Tang, I really didn't say anything..."

Jiang Baobao repeated it again.

Cai Xiaotang instantly regained her composure, and fearing that she would overthink it, she hurriedly said, "It's okay, I was just asking casually. After all... with Li Xiao's methods, it's normal for him to find me..."

"Then are you two together right now?"

Jiang Baobao suddenly felt a bit more at ease, and without waiting for her to answer, she continued.

"Xiao Tang, since he went over to find you, do you want to have a good talk? You aren't willing to tell me why you are insistent on getting a divorce, but... you should at least give him a reason, right? Although I would never interfere with your actions, leaving in such an unclear way will always leave a knot in your hearts, whether it's for you or for him."

"I know..."

Cai Xiaotang responded softly, and thinking of what she had just said, the corners of her lips curled into a bitter arc.

"I have already made it clear to him; he should be heading back soon."

"Made it clear?"

Jiang Baobao was somewhat surprised.

"Yeah, everything that needed to be said has been said. You don't need to worry too much; I'm fine here. After the New Year, I should be heading back."

Cai Xiaotang deliberately made her tone sound as normal as usual.

"Well... alright then."

Jiang Baobao had no choice but to say nothing more.

She gave her a few more reminders to be careful while out alone, and only then did she hang up the phone.

Tossing her phone aside, Cai Xiaotang finally let out a sigh of relief.

She felt exhausted all over.

Her backpack hung crookedly on her body, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Cai Xiaotang walked listlessly toward the bedroom, casually took off her backpack, and threw it onto the sofa.

Suddenly, she heard the crisp sound of something falling to the floor.

She froze for a moment and looked over in the direction of the sound.

Immediately, she saw that little bamboo tube she had "randomly" spun for today.

Inside, it still contained the fortune slip regarding that love.

Thinking of the old man's interpretation of the fortune slip, Cai Xiaotang suddenly paused.

A noble person...

Turning misfortune into good fortune...

The scene of Li Xiao appearing in the alleyway today suddenly surfaced before her eyes, causing Cai Xiaotang's mind to go blank for a split second.

So, that fortune slip...

Feeling that things were becoming increasingly mysterious in her heart, Cai Xiaotang hurriedly picked up the bamboo tube and shook her head rapidly.

No, no.

This is all just a psychological effect!

You can't believe in this kind of thing completely!

Otherwise, you could attribute anything to it!

She was a firm atheist, after all!

It should... just be a coincidence.

Even if Li Xiao really is that "noble person."

He must have been deeply hurt by those words she said earlier...

Cai Xiaotang took one last look at the little trinket in her hand and stuffed it back into her bag.

On the other side—the large room remained quiet.

A tall figure stood by the window, looking at the scenery outside in a trance.

Or perhaps, he was simply spacing out.

Li Xiao's ears were filled with the words Cai Xiaotang had just said; he remembered every single word clearly.

For the first time in so many years, he felt a sense of confusion.

His strong confidence also seemed to have developed a crack.

Was she blaming him for not protecting her well?

A dark glint flashed in Li Xiao's eyes, his brows furrowed tightly, and he felt that something was strange.

It seemed...

Words like that shouldn't have come out of Cai Xiaotang's mouth.

In the past, he was afraid she would be dragged into danger, so he turned a blind eye to her overtures.

He even hurt her heart at one point.

To this day, he still remembers the look in her eyes when she clearly told him that she liked him and would not retreat regardless of any danger.

That was the real Cai Xiaotang.

How could she possibly say she was afraid?

There must...

There must be some reason he doesn't know about...