Meanwhile, Yan Bo hailed a taxi to take Tao Jia back to her hotel.
In the taxi, Yan Bo asked Tao Jia.
"Jiajia, did you and Xiaohuai really just go to the crystal shop?"
Yan Bo isn't stupid. When Tong Xiaohuai accompanied Tao Jia away from Yanhuang, Tong Xiaohuai was perfectly fine.
But when you look at Tong Xiaohuai again at the Cantonese restaurant, he doesn't seem like someone who's alright at all.
She said it was because of the casino, but Yanbo knew immediately that it was just a cover-up.
Tao Jia just found it strange. "Yes, she took me directly to that shop, and we picked out a lot of jewelry. She even paid for it. She'll come pick you up later. What's wrong?"
It's no wonder Tao Jia didn't notice anything unusual, after all, she wasn't familiar with Tong Xiaohuai, and the two of them had only spent a few hours together at most.
"So what did you talk about for the past hour or so?"
Since nothing strange happened, the problem probably lies in the content of their conversation.
Yan Bo knew Tong Xiaohuai and Tao Jia's personalities very well; the two were two extremes.
Tong Xiaohuai is extremely wary of people and rarely opens her heart to anyone. Similarly, she doesn't gossip much about other people's affairs.
Tao Jia, on the other hand, is a person who speaks without restraint and can chat with anyone for a whole day.
Tao Jia glanced at him sideways, "Oh, are you afraid I'll corrupt Xiao Huai or something?"
Although Tao Jia is carefree, she can be quite unreasonable and capricious when she wants to be. After all, she was born into such a family and was pampered and protected from a young age, so it's normal for her to be a little willful.
Yan Bo sighed helplessly, "Jiajia, stop it! Xiao Huai is acting a bit strange. When I asked her, she said she was fine. I just want you to think back and see if she received any phone calls or talked about anything sad before."
Yan Bo was aware of Tong Xiaohuai's stubbornness; if she didn't want to talk, he had no chance of getting anything out of her.
But he couldn't just stand by and watch her be unhappy; if she was upset, he would be upset too.
Tao Jia then stopped her playful smile and thought about it seriously for a moment, resting her chin on her hand.
"In the crystal shop, she mentioned that she had bought a necklace and earrings before. Later in the car... I talked to her about some of the little fun things we had in Beijing before. That's all."
Yan Bo frowned, vaguely grasping the crux of the problem.
"You talked to her about us? Did she mention anything about our family?"
Tao Jia was puzzled. "Our family? You mean my parents and your parents want to set us up? They didn't say anything. How could I possibly bring up something like that!"
Tao Jia recalled carefully, "I just told her about your leadership position among our group of scions of prominent families."
What should have been a moment of glory, Yan Bo frowned even more deeply.
Then, Tao Jia remembered something else, "Oh, right, she also asked me, 'When you said the Yan family, did you mean that Yan family?' I was wondering, did you never mention your own family background to her?"
It was only then that Tao Jia remembered this strange thing.
At this moment, she had an innocent and bewildered expression, while Yan Bo finally understood the crux of the problem.
Tong Xiaohuai must be mentally unstable because of his family background.
However, it's uncertain whether she was bothered by the fact that he lied to her.
Or perhaps, it's just that he's having trouble accepting his background right now?
Yan Bo was extremely anxious, but he couldn't abandon Tao Jia. Moreover, he didn't want Tao Jia to know or get too involved in his affair with Tong Xiaohuai.
Of course, it wasn't that he didn't trust Tao Jia's character, but rather that he didn't trust her words.
Yan Bo secretly regretted having brought along such a useless teammate, but on the surface, he remained calm and accompanied Tao Jia back to the hotel, escorted her to her room, and promised to pick her up for dinner that evening before leaving.
Tao Jia's hotel was near Yanhuang, just a few minutes' walk away.
Along the way, Yan Bo thought about how to explain to Tong Xiaohuai. When he got back to his office, he was afraid that Tong Xiaohuai would not answer his call, so he dialed the landline directly.
At the Tong family home, Tong Xiaohuai was still sitting in the living room with her parents when she heard the phone ring. Seeing that it was an unfamiliar landline number, she hesitated for a moment before answering it.
Hello! Who is this?
"Xiao Huai, it's me!"
The two had always communicated via mobile phone, so Tong Xiaohuai did not know Yan Bo's office phone number.
Hearing Yan Bo's deep voice coming from the microphone without warning, Tong Xiaohuai's heart skipped a beat.
Normally, she always answered Yanbo's calls openly and honestly.
But today, she felt inexplicably guilty. She glanced at her parents, stood up, grabbed the phone, and quickly walked to her bedroom.
"Hmm, what's wrong?"
She responded in a low voice, then casually closed the door.
"Xiao Huai, I want to explain something about my family to you."
Yan Bo, on the other end of the phone, had no intention of beating around the bush. He had his own considerations on this matter and did not intend to keep it from Tong Xiaohuai indefinitely.
Before his mother's birthday, he wanted to bring Tong Xiaohuai home directly so that his parents and Tong Xiaohuai could see the person and their family situation clearly without needing to explain further.
After his parents expressed clear opposition, he wanted to postpone the matter and try to communicate with them first. Once they accepted his proposal, he would bring Tong Xiaohuai home directly.
He thought that this would prevent Tong Xiaohuai from being hurt.
But plans can never keep up with changes. Now that she knows, he needs to explain things to her clearly beforehand to prevent her from overthinking.
Tong Xiaohuai's heart pounded even harder. Subconsciously, she was actually very resistant to the truth that Tao Jia had given her.
She even hoped that Yan Bo would tell her that what Tao Jia said was all false.
She wanted him to tell her that he wasn't the son of some high-ranking official, but just the youngest son of a minor official.
On the other hand, she was actually very clear that what Tao Jia said was the truth.
Because, on her way back, she slowly recalled Yan Bo's various actions, his words and deeds, and the respectful attitude of those around him, which basically indicated his prominent status and background.
"What are you trying to explain..."
Tong Xiaohuai sat cross-legged on the carpet by the bed, her mind still a jumbled mess.
A family of high-ranking officials, a family of gangsters.
In her view, they are like water and oil, two things that are inherently incompatible.
Even if you put the two substances in a bottle, shake and stir them, and wait for them to settle down, they will still separate into layers, and they will separate completely.
Tong Xiaohuai pressed her hand to her face; it was still cool to the touch.
"Xiao Huai, I never intended to lie to you. To me, my family is no different from any other family. Besides, I planned to bring you home directly..."
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