"Dong Lin, don't be like this!" Xia Qingling sighed.
The thing she feared most had happened. She couldn't stand Dong Lin acting like this.
"Qingling, I don't understand. We've known each other for so many years. Lin Xiao Tian only came out a few days ago, why don't you like me and like him instead?"
"Dong Lin, I don't know how to explain this to you, but this kind of thing can't be forced."
"If Lin Xiao Tian hadn't appeared, would you have fallen for me?" Dong Lin was still unwilling to give up.
Xia Qingling was silent for a moment, then finally shook her head.
"No!"
Dong Lin's expression froze instantly.
Xia Qingling had never seen Dong Lin look like this before, and she suddenly felt a little scared.
"It's getting late, I should go back."
"Stop!"
Dong Lin blocked her path.
"Is there anything else?" Xia Qingling asked.
What Xia Qingling didn't know was that at this very moment, Dong Lin's right hand had already produced a packet of powder...
Meanwhile, Lin Xiao Tian, following Xu Jiahui, also arrived at a private room.
"Mr. Lin, I'm very glad you could make time to talk with me alone." Xu Jiahui said with a smile.
"Tell me! What do you want to talk about?"
"Mr. Lin, shall we start by talking about the Guyuan Dan?" Xu Jiahui looked at Lin Xiao Tian. "Mr. Lin, did you refine this Guyuan Dan?"
Lin Xiao Tian didn't know what Xu Jiahui was planning, so he gave a vague answer:
"So what if I did? So what if I didn't?"
"It seems Mr. Lin still doesn't trust me." Xu Jiahui sighed.
"Then tell me, how much do you know about Guyuan Dan?" Lin Xiao Tian retorted.
Hearing Lin Xiao Tian's question, Xu Jiahui suddenly burst out laughing.
Lin Xiao Tian's heart tightened.
Had he asked something he shouldn't have?
The reason he was willing to come out with Xu Jiahui was to try and gather some useful intelligence, but the premise was that he himself couldn't reveal too much.
Lin Xiao Tian also worried that if he said something wrong, he might inadvertently bring trouble upon himself.
"Know?"
"It's more than just knowing!"
"The formula for this Guyuan Dan has been passed down in our Xu family since our ancestor founded it, and it has been in existence for several hundred years. I know more than just about this formula."
Xu Jiahui looked at Lin Xiao Tian.
Lin Xiao Tian appeared calm on the surface, but a hint of tension arose deep within him.
"Mr. Lin, what about you? How did you learn this formula? Don't tell me a master guided you!"
Lin Xiao Tian thought for a moment.
Constant concealment would only arouse the other party's suspicion. Once they started investigating, his situation would become dangerous. It would be better to take the initiative.
So, Lin Xiao Tian replied:
"Of course not. Guyuan Dan isn't your family's patent?"
"But, who is your Xu family?"
"Why haven't I heard of you?"
Hearing Lin Xiao Tian's unenthusiastic reply, Xu Jiahui's expression changed slightly, but he quickly calmed down.
"Our Xu family is certainly not a major clan. From which power does Mr. Lin's family hail?"
"Sorry, I cannot disclose that!"
Xu Jiahui, however, smiled slightly and said, "Although Mr. Lin won't say, I already know."
Lin Xiao Tian was stunned.
He knew already?
Had his words just now been too arrogant, causing Xu Jiahui to see through him?
But Xu Jiahui's next reply made Lin Xiao Tian breathe a sigh of relief.
"As expected of a hidden family. I apologize for my presumption."
Xu Jiahui then made an apologetic gesture towards Lin Xiao Tian.
Lin Xiao Tian remained impassive, not responding to him.
However, Xu Jiahui's words provided Lin Xiao Tian with a lot of information.
The first was about hidden families.
It seemed Xu Jiahui was very wary of hidden families. He wondered how much of a gap there was between these so-called hidden families and the Xia and Dong families.
Lin Xiao Tian really wanted to know about Xu Jiahui's internal energy, but Xu Jiahui was a man of complex thoughts, and Lin Xiao Tian was afraid of revealing himself, so he didn't ask.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now," Lin Xiao Tian said indifferently.
As the saying goes, speaking too much leads to mistakes. Lin Xiao Tian decided to investigate these matters thoroughly after he returned.
But just then, Xu Jiahui called him back.
"Mr. Lin, what are your thoughts on the Dong family?"
"What do you mean by asking that?" Lin Xiao Tian retorted.
"Mr. Lin, you're so close to the sole daughter of the Xia family and even attended their family banquet. May I interpret this as you intending to make a move against the Dong family?" Xu Jiahui asked with a sly smile.
Lin Xiao Tian naturally couldn't answer Xu Jiahui directly, so he casually brushed it off:
"My being close to the sole daughter of the Xia family is between me and the Xia family. What does it have to do with the Dong family? Do the two families have a marriage contract?"
"Heh heh, no, you're right." Xu Jiahui said with a respectful expression.
Lin Xiao Tian didn't continue talking to him and left the private room.
After Lin Xiao Tian left, only Xu Jiahui remained.
Xu Jiahui couldn't help but recall the conversation he had with Lin Xiao Tian.
After a long while,
A wry smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"He's truly well-hidden!"
"Lin Xiao Tian, I'll remember you."
Xu Jiahui murmured a few times and then left the private room.
But he hadn't walked far before his phone rang.
Xu Jiahui answered the call.
"Hello!"
"What? Are you sure he made a move?"
When he received a confirmation from the other end of the line, Xu Jiahui's face immediately showed a sinister smile.
"I didn't expect this!"
"You fool, you fell for it so quickly!"
At the same time, inside the venue.
Lin Xiao Tian searched around but couldn't find Xia Qingling.
Didn't she tell him to come back early?
Why was she gone now?
Seeing that Xia Qingling hadn't returned for a long time, Lin Xiao Tian called her.
Ring, ring...
The call rang a few times but wasn't answered.
Perhaps she was in the restroom and couldn't answer the phone?
So, Lin Xiao Tian decided to call again later.
After all, when the banquet ended, he couldn't just meet her parents alone. Lin Xiao Tian felt a pang of awkwardness just thinking about it.
While he was pondering, a woman suddenly walked over.
She was one of the guests, and Lin Xiao Tian remembered her surname was Xu.
"Oh! Mr. Lin, why are you alone? Has Miss Xia not returned yet?"
Lin Xiao Tian nodded, but then he realized something.
"Not returned? Do you know where she went?"
"Oh... I don't know if I should say this?" The woman surnamed Xu suddenly hesitated.
Lin Xiao Tian sensed something was amiss. "If there's something you shouldn't say, just say it!"
The woman surnamed Xu sighed, then whispered, "I saw Miss Xia leave with Young Master Dong not long ago, but so much time has passed, I didn't expect her not to be back yet."
What Lin Xiao Tian didn't know was that at this very moment, in a certain private room, a desperate scene was about to unfold.
Dong Lin was holding his phone, recording the woman in front of him. In front of him, Xia Qingling's face was flushed red, her eyes hazy.
Her clothes were continuously being shed...