Rebirth: Splendid Marriage in the 80s Chapter 2398 - 2334: No Handshakes Allowed

"Tell me, what's the deal with this guy's background? He's not exactly scaring me to death, but there's something off about him for sure, though I can't put my finger on it exactly."

Liu Guoying shot a puzzled look at Chiang Xiao. "How on earth did you all end up crossing paths with someone like him?"

Chiang Xiao wrinkled her forehead in thought.

In truth, she wondered even more about exactly what Meng Xinian had done to anger this man so deeply that he lunged at him the instant they crossed paths.

Back then, if Meng Xinian had been chasing after someone scheming with Hu Xiangyong and dug up dirt that hurt their interests, wouldn't he have headed straight to Tyrant Meng upon his return?

So why had this fellow zeroed in on her right from the start?

The whole thing struck Chiang Xiao as downright bizarre.

Meng Xinian had strictly forbidden her from telling Li Hanzhong about the incident, and she knew full well the reasons behind his caution.

For now, Hu Xiangyong alone was probing into who pulled Meng Xinian from danger that night and by what means, yet spilling the beans would force them to lay out every detail of what went down.

That approach would leave them unable to be upfront and struggling to spin believable lies to hide the truth.

He figured it wiser to dig up the intruder's true identity on the down-low first, then figure out the next move.

The military wasn't just under Li Hanzhong's thumb alone, and with him at such a pivotal moment under constant scrutiny, one slip could easily gift Chiang Xiao's special edge right into the hands of his enemies.

From Meng Xinian's perspective, that risk to Chiang Xiao was nothing short of catastrophic.

Were it not for the mess with Lu Shuangshuang's affair and the troop deployments eating up all his focus and stamina, he would've kept a sharper eye on Hu Xiangyong himself.

On that note, no one could say for certain if "Hu Xiangyong" was even his actual name.

Chiang Xiao's mind drifted to Sun Han and Ding Haijing.

With some allies in her corner these days, why not get them to quietly probe into Hu Xiangyong's dealings?

Still, this individual radiated a seriously perilous aura; she feared Sun Han and Ding Haijing could botch the job and tip him off.

Could her Talisman Diagram come into play and prove effective in this scenario?

Chiang Xiao recalled the question she'd posed to Liu Guoying moments ago.

"Teacher, what made you hold me back from shaking his hand before?"

Liu Guoying creased his forehead, thought for a second, then answered, "I'm not entirely certain." He lifted his right hand toward Chiang Xiao. "Your eyes are sharp—take a good look at my hand and check for anything unusual, such as tiny red marks from a needle."

His words hit Chiang Xiao like a jolt, leaving her shocked.

She snatched his hand right away and examined it intently, her voice laced with worry as she demanded, "What's going on? Teacher, why bring this up out of nowhere?"

"Perhaps I was just on edge for no good reason," Liu Guoying explained. "As I entered, that Hu guy gripped my hand, and it felt like a sharp poke, though afterward everything seemed normal. When he reached for yours, I noticed his ring and got a weird hunch about it, so I intervened."

He let out a huff. "Anyway, skipping the handshake—what harm is there in that?"

Deep down, he sensed something wasn't quite right.

Yet at this point, he struggled to pinpoint precisely what felt amiss.

Reflecting on it now, he wondered if he'd overreacted a tad; how could a simple handshake turn so alarming?