498 CH497

His focus on a phone call could very well have cost Tianlong his daughter. That short moment was enough for Xiaoxiao to cause trouble.

“Okay.” Xiaoxiao wasn’t so stupid as to not understand the situation. The old man would’ve attacked her if it weren’t for her father!

But the old man was evidently wary of her father. Not aware of the details, she simply assumed that he was afraid of Tianlong. It made her a little happy.

“Professor Guan, it’s been a while. I’ve been thinking of paying you a visit these past few days!” Tianlong said happily when he saw Xuemin standing there. He’d been planning to visit him and ask about the Pill of Life Extension and Toxin Cleansing too.

Tianlong and Xuemin knew each other, but even Xuemin had nothing to offer after going through Xiaoxaio’s medical history. He felt especially helpless when he’d heard that the legendary Lin Dongfang couldn’t do anything for the girl.

But that didn’t mean that things would be the same as a couple of years ago. As long as a sliver of hope existed, Tianlong would latch on to it.

“Li’l Feng! It’s been so long!” Xuemin smiled. “I’m always free, just give me a call!”

Xuemin was clearly quite friendly with Tianlong, which displeased Gonggao quite a bit. He gave a harrumph before leaving, pulling Chentian with him.

“Alright, you must be busy, Professor. I’ll take my leave!” Tianlong had just received a phone call. Something had come up, and he had to go back to deal with it. He’d have to pay Xuemin that visit some other day.

“Alright.” Xuemin nodded.

Tianlong was about to leave with Xiaoxiao when he saw Lin Yi out of the corner of his eye, his face instantly changing.

“Ah.” Lin Yi smiled wryly. So Tianlong saw him after all. He was pretty stunned himself when he saw Tianlong, actually. He didn’t expect him to be Xiaoxiao’s dad. He tried his best to hide at the back because of that, but to no avail. He made a slight gesture with his hand, telling Tianlong not to cause a commotion.

Tianlong was an understanding man. He pretended not to see anything when he saw that Lin Yi wanted his identity hidden.

With that, he left with Xiaoxiao.

After he calmed down, Tianlong realized how funny his earlier tension was. There was no need to panic. He didn’t miss Lin Yi’s quick movement before he intervened, but he didn’t think much of it, assuming that it was just an accident. The thought that Lin Yi was about to take a hit for Xiaoxiao didn’t cross his mind at all.

Now that he knew who exactly that person was, however, he understood that his motive was to protect Xiaoxiao. With his protection, Xiaoxiao would be perfectly fine!

After all, he was aware of Lin Yi’s strength. He wasn’t on Gonggao’s level, but he was quite capable of fending him off for a while.

“You know them, Xiaoxiao?” Tianlong asked as he thought about it. He didn’t understand why Xiaoxiao would know Lin Yi. They looked pretty close too.

“Yeah, Lin Yi sits next to me in class.” Xiaoxiao nodded, finding it a little odd. Why was her dad paying so much attention to her life all of a sudden?

“What?!” Tianlong’s eyes shot wide open as he stared at Xiaoxiao. “You’re saying… he’s one of your classmates? He even sits next to you?”

“Yeah, why?” Xiaoxiao looked at her dad puzzled. What was he freaking out for?

“I-It’s nothing!” Tianlong shook his head. Lin Yi might not be part of the mystery investigation department, but they’d been on a couple missions together. But what was Lin Yi doing in a place like school? Knowing his background, it was an extremely odd thing he’d just learned.

Not only was he a twelfth grader now, he was even sitting next to his daughter in class. Wasn’t that too much of a coincidence?

But he couldn’t really let Xiaoxiao know too much about Lin Yi. He could only hide his suspicions. He didn’t quite understand just who Lin Yi was in the first place either. He’d been assigned to those missions by his superiors.

“Xiaoxiao, Dad has an emergency to take care of, so you get back to the hotel first. I might not be able to come back tonight, I have stuff to do tomorrow too,” Tianlong said a little awkwardly. He’d promised to go out with his daughter for a couple of days.

“It’s alright, I’ll be fine. I’ll go to the auction with my friend tomorrow!” Xiaoxiao said, not angry at all as she waved her hand softly.

Tianlong paused a little at his daughter’s attitude. Remembering how she spoke up for Lin Yi, a thought came to mind. Did his daughter have a crush on Lin Yi? Was she starting to like boys now, and was that boy Lin Yi?

The thought gave Tianlong a fright! He wasn’t the type of parent to discourage his children from getting into early relationships, especially because of his daughter’s special circumstances. He actually wanted her to quickly get herself a boyfriend, maybe get him a grandson or granddaughter. He wouldn’t have to be alone if something really did happen to his daughter then!

And if this boy was Lin Yi… then Tianlong would only be even more supportive. After all, he’d witnessed Lin Yi’s excellence firsthand! Tianlong wouldn’t say no to a different person, but wouldn’t it be better if her partner was someone he was satisfied with and approved of?

He didn’t want his daughter to be running around on her own, but if she really was going to be with Lin Yi tomorrow, she’d be more than safe. There was nothing to worry about.

“You’re talking about Lin Yi, right?” Tianlong said as they reached the parking lot. He asked the question as he opened the car door.

“Yeah,” Xiaoxiao said, suddenly embarrassed. There was something in her father’s tone! But that little embarrassment was it. She wasn’t afraid or anything. She wouldn’t care even if she actually ended up with Lin Yi, let alone just messing around with him! She’d gotten used to causing trouble since she was a kid anyway, regardless of whether it made her father angry.

“Xiaoxiao, is he your boyfriend?” Tianlong said all of a sudden as he drove.

“Ah?!” Xiaoxiao didn’t expect such a direct question. It made her pause a little before she stuttered. “Th-That’s not it!”

“No?” Tianlong asked again. “You seemed rather protective back there.”

“Ugh. We’re classmates, okay? Of course I have to be protective!” Xiaoxiao said weakly. She wasn’t afraid of anything, but even she got shy at the topic of boys.

“Hah. Xiaoxiao, Dad’s fine with you getting a boyfriend. If there’s someone you like, just bring him home for me to see.” Tianlong smiled, not asking any more questions and making his stance clear after seeing his daughter turn shy.