Meanwhile, at the underground auction, north of the city.
“Why don’t you head to the private room first? I’ll be there in a minute,” said Min Yu as he looked at Huo Yao. He was dressed in a black coat and a matching turtleneck sweater. He told Zhuo Yun to take care of Huo Yao before leaving.
Huo Yao nodded. Zhuo Yun showed her to a luxurious private room upstairs.
The room was able to offer a lot of privacy. The auction was taking place on the ground floor and everything could be seen from the private room, but no one could look inside the space.
Huo Yao checked out the ground floor from her seat. It was very crowded downstairs. She glanced at the security and surveillance system and had to agree that it was very well done.
They were clearly well prepared for any kind of theft.
Huo Yao veered her eyes. Since the auction had yet to commence, she took out her phone.
When she turned on her phone, she saw a text notification coming from Yuan Xi ten minutes ago.
Yuan Xi had asked her if she had any plans today.
Huo Yao tapped on the screen gently and sent her a reply.
Yuan Xi kept holding her phone waiting for Huo Yao to respond. The moment she saw the reply, she felt relieved inside. She quickly typed: [It’s fine. I get it.]
Huo Yao raised her brow. She paused and wrote: [If you need any help, just let me know.]
When Yuan Xi saw the text message, she felt very moved. She tightened her grip on the phone for some time until she was finally able to suppress her guilt.
……
She wrote back: [It’s nothing. My roommates keep whining and it’s simply annoying, so I wanted a change of scenery.]
Huo Yao had heard Yuan Xi complaining about her roommates previously. Since Yuan Xi seemed to be fine, she simply replied with an emoticon.
Yuan Xi did not continue texting Huo Yao. She sat in her chair and went into a daze.
The door was slightly open and Mrs Yuan walked in with a plate of fruit.
“Why aren’t you dressed warmly?” Mrs Yuan saw Yuan Xi wearing a thin homewear. After putting down the plate, she quickly went over to the cabinet and retrieved a thick down jacket for her daughter.
Yuan Xi finally snapped out of her thoughts. She raised her head and looked at her mother. “Mom, when did you come in?”
Mrs Yuan reached her hand out to squeeze Yuan Xi’s cold hands as she said, “Ever since you got back last night, you’ve been acting strange. Did something happen?”
Yuan Xi’s face was pale and she did not look right. She squeezed a smile and shook her head. “I’m fine. Mom, Yuan Huan said you two are going abroad during the Chinese New Year.”
“How could you call him by his full name? He’s your older brother after all.” Mrs Yuan corrected her daughter.
She pulled over a chair, took a seat, and said, “Yes, we’re making plans to go on holiday, but it’s not just us. It’s going to be a family trip.”
Yuan Xi’s lips twitched. She held her mother’s hand and said, “Why do we have to go abroad? Why can’t we just stay here?”
“Your father wants to take us out for some quality family time. The holidays are slightly longer this year, so he decided to take us on a family trip,” explained Mrs Yuan.
Yuan Xi bit her lip. She shook her head and implored. “Do we have to go?”
Since Yuan Xi had never acted this way, Mrs Yuan was very puzzled. “Why are you acting so strange?”
Even if Yuan Xi bailed on Yuan Huan and told her mother about his true personality, she would never believe her. Instead, her mother would assume that she was being judgmental about Yuan Huan and get upset about her.
Yuan Xi inhaled deeply. She said solemnly, “Sometimes, things can get dangerous overseas. It’s not safe for us to travel.”
