However, Li Caiyi painstakingly controlled her emotions. Dai Bolin had warned her that his son was extremely inflexible, so pushing it more than this would only leave a bad taste in her mouth.

Even though they were sitting so close, there was an invisible gap between them, filled with doubt and weariness. Li Caiyi didn't want to let the distance between them become even wider.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke with a considerably colder tone than before. "Alright, forget about this. Let's not get too agitated and finish our previous conversation first. When you suddenly appeared at the anniversary party, did you know Hu Jian would be there?"

Dai Zhiqiang clenched his hand into a fist. "No. If I knew, I would never have let you go to such a dangerous place."

"Then, you just happened to check on my whereabouts at that time and thought of picking me up or something?" Li Caiyi asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"That's not it either. You called me that night, remember? But I couldn't seem to reach you no matter how many times I tried to call you back."

She probably would have forgotten about it if he didn't mention it. True, she was the one who called him first that night because she wanted to hear his voice so badly and couldn't wait until she arrived home.

"So, you got worried and immediately checked on me?"

"Yes. After what happened to you on the mountain, I can't seem to relax and always want to know where you are and what you are doing. And I feel guilty because I can't always be by your side. That night was no exception. Even though you were in grave danger, I still came late, and you got hurt. I can't forgive myself for letting that happen to you."

This one was the longest and most heartfelt of all his confessions today. He looked so upset and guilty simultaneously that it twisted his face.

"It was on that night that I noticed, who was the person after you all this time," He said somberly. "But he left as soon as I could do anything, so there was no chance to speak to him."

"You recognized Hu Jian?" Li Caiyi was shocked by the revelation. "Then, why don't you say anything? If we knew who he was early, then what happened to Xiaohua probably could have been prevented!"

Dai Zhiqiang shook his head. "I do recognize him. But he is not my acquaintance or anything like that. He is someone that my boss has been searching for all this time."

Li Caiyi's heart thumped loudly in her chest. "The boss whom you are indebted to?"

If that was the case, it could be assumed that Hu Jian was heavily related to Ye Wang. It would explain why Dai Zhiqiang was not at liberty to divulge that information carelessly. Another thing was that Hu Jian must be dangerous for Dai Zhiqiang to keep it secret from her.

Li Caiyi gulped hard. She felt that what she would find out after this would change her life for good. However, this was the answer she wanted to know. There was no turning back now.

"Who is exactly this person called Hu Jian?" she asked nervously.

"He is a former subordinate that goes by the name 'Huang Zhen.' He was once my boss' most trustworthy subordinate and my right-hand man."

Li Caiyi had a feeling Hu Jian was probably someone related to Dai Zhiqiang's work. Still, she didn't expect him to be deeply involved in Ye Wang before. This complicated things, as if the current situation wasn't severe enough.

"So he is your former colleague?"

Dai Zhiqiang shook his head, "No. He had already left the group when I joined in. However, I did meet him once before. He has a peculiar movement, so it's not hard for me to figure out who he is. After he attacked the party you were in, our group went to an extensive length to track him down, but so far, we only got the small fries."

Li Caiyi gulped again. "Is he really that dangerous?"

"He is very dangerous. At first, I didn't want to tell you about this because it would put you at greater risk, and I'd like to avoid it at all costs."

"It's already too late. He already had his eyes on me even before that."

"Yeah. I planned to solve this problem without having to tell you all this, but it seemed I failed once again." Dai Zhiqiang's face twisted in regret. "Although I feel sad that I couldn't talk to you in the past few days, there was also part of me that felt relieved. Because I'm not confident if I'd be able to answer the questions you threw at me back then."

Li Caiyi fell silent upon hearing that. An inexplicable emotion bubbled inside her, but she quickly suppressed it. As much as she liked to hear more about his thoughts, there were many more important things to discuss.

"Why does your boss want to find him so desperately?"

"I don't know the details, but I once heard my boss and colleague talk about it. It seems Huang Zhen betrayed them and left the group while taking something important to the boss. And he wanted to retrieve it at all cost."

"Didn't you say that your workplace is proficient in information trading? You still can't find Huang Zhen after exerting the group's full effort?"

"It's not as easy as it sounds. Aside from his martial arts, Huang Zhen is also very skilled in disguising and impersonating others. It makes it hard for us to track him down." Dai Zhiqiang frowned. He seemed to be very stressed.

The first impression Li Caiyi got from Huang Zhen was pretty amiable, contrasted with the dangerous side he later showed her. The way he could always slip away from any situation without anyone noticing talked a lot about his skills.

If even Dai Zhiqiang and the whole of Ye Wang had difficulty capturing him, what chances would Li Caiyi have? Even thinking about what Huang Zhen might do to her brought a chill that ran down her spine.

She thought she was fortunate to be able to escape from him a few times so far.

No, that wasn't correct. Li Caiyi didn't escape from him, but Hu Jian let her escape. He was a sadistic man and had fun watching her cry and suffer like a psycho.

"From your story, I get that Hu Jian—I mean, Huang Zhen is someone that can't be underestimated. But there's still something I don't understand. You said you only met him once before, so why is he so hung up on you?"

"I'm not sure either. Even his former colleague in Ye Wang couldn't guess what was on his mind sometimes. But if I have to guess, this probably has something to do with me being the Young Master's bodyguard."

A high and mighty kid's face immediately popped into her mind. Li Caiyi still remembered how the young Ye Zhong talked condescendingly at her and threw tantrums when she refused to do as he said. She didn't know what magic Dai Zhiqiang used to tame that boy.

"What of him?" Li Caiyi blurted out unconsciously, and an amused smile appeared on his face. He flicked her forehead lightly, confusing her.

"You didn't sound surprised at all. Come to think of it, what were you thinking about coming to a shady place like Ye Wang all alone?"historical