Gu Liancheng smiled, seemingly undisturbed by the fact that she knew about him.
In his view, it didnāt matter that Xiao Man knew, as she was preparing to have a frank discussion with him.
"Who are you, and why are you around Li Sinian? Are you here to talk to me about these things?"
"Sort of." Xiao Man coughed a few times.
She really shouldnāt drink alcohol.
"Iām feeling a bit stuffy and wanted to talk to someone. I canāt discuss these things with Qianxun, so I had to come to you. Iām sorry for dragging you into this mess, but I couldnāt find anyone else at the time. Itās been too long since I left the organization, and Li Sinian has protected me so tightly that I no longer have any trustworthy peers."
"Why did you choose to trust me then? You should know that there arenāt many people in this world that we can trust."
"I donāt know, maybe it was a gamble. But in fact, my choice proved to be correct."
"Youāre lucky," Gu Liancheng said, "You should be glad that I have no conflicting interests with Li Sinian, better to be friends than enemies."
"No, if there were conflicts, you should have helped me even more," Xiao Man stood up, got him a glass, and poured him some red wine, "Join me for a few drinks. Itās nothing serious, just want someone to chat with, but I canāt talk about these things with Qianxun either, and you wouldnāt want that."
Gu Liancheng raised his glass and clinked it with hers.
"Actually, Iām not Xiao Man."
"Uh-huh."
Gu Liancheng didnāt find it strange; he wasnāt curious about Xiao Manās other identity, probably because he had secrets himself, and nothing could scare him.
He had always sensed that Xiao Man was not an ordinary person; her every gesture was extraordinary, but he had never thought about it in this way.
"Xiao Man, the person, has actually been dead for a while. Iām just impersonating her existence. My real name is actually Heather."
Xiao Man explained her identity in the simplest words.
She didnāt hold back from Gu Liancheng.
"Your current situation is very dangerous," Gu Liancheng concluded after hearing her explanation.
"Not just now, my situation has always been very dangerous."
"You have been able to stay undercover so close to Li Sinian for so long without being discovered, ultimately it comes down to his deep trust in you. But Xiao Man, this kind of trust can also become a sharp knife hanging over your neck," he said, "Li Sinian is not a benevolent person, if you get discovered by him..."
"I know."
Xiao Man didnāt come today to discuss with him what kind of death sheād face if Li Sinian discovered her. She took a sip from her glass and said, "Keep an eye on Qianxun, use any means to stop her from looking for me. If necessary, tell her the truth. Compared to dragging her into this, these truths are nothing."
"Uh, after you told me, Iāve already had my people follow her closely."
After finishing discussing Xiao Manās identity, Gu Liancheng brought up the XX incident: "So, how do you plan to handle this incident? Are you still going to stay in the entertainment industry?"
Now that he knew her true identity, he was even more certain; she really didnāt care about any fame or fortune.
The life of "Xiao Man" was dispensable.
"Compared to that, I did sign a ten-year contract with you; I havenāt made enough money for you yet, would you really let me leave early?"
"Thatās true," Gu Liancheng smiled, gestured with his wine glass and finished his drink, "The money hasnāt been completely shaken off your money tree yet, letting you go now would be a big loss for me."