Huo Yao gathered her thoughts and said, “Yuan Xi is your younger sister, right?”
Yuan Huan glanced at the data on Huo Yao’s computer as he gently turned the black ring on his finger with his hands behind him.
He said, “I think something’s bothering her lately and she seems stressed out. I wonder if something might have happened in school, but she didn’t talk about it.”
Mrs Yuan had mentioned this to Huo Yao during lunchtime as well.
Huo Yao paused and said, “I don’t know either. You should really check with her roommates.”
Yuan Huan smiled. “I thought you might know since she often brings you up.”
Huo Yao shook her head as she tapped on the keyboard and did not answer Yuan Huan.
He did not continue with the subject. Based on his interaction with Huo Yao, she was not the talkative type.
She was an introvert, cautious by nature, and tended to keep a low profile.
Considering her personality, she would just end up disliking him if he continued speaking to her.
…
Since Yuan Xi was very protective of Huo Yao, this meant they were very close, but he should not push it.
Yuan Huan turned to leave.
Huo Yao did not even turn to look and simply kept her eyes on the computer monitor.
*
She went back home for dinner after she was done at the laboratory. Just when she was waiting for dinner to start, she received a call from Yuan Xi.
Yuan Xi’s voice sounded nasal over the phone and she was clearly sick. “I’ll be fine in a few days. Don’t worry.”
Huo Yao sat on the couch cross-legged with a book on her knee. She leaned into the couch’s backrest and said, “You sound weak. Why did you suddenly fall sick anyway?”
Yuan Xi shrank into the blanket. Her lips were very pale and her eyes looked listless. She sniffled and replied. “I must have stayed up gaming too much. Also, I forgot to close the window.”
Mrs Yuan and Yuan Huan had already mentioned Yuan Xi’s condition but Yuan Xi’s answer was quite different. Huo Yao pondered and said, “Your older brother asked me if anything bad happened to you at school.”
Yuan Xi’s hand paused and her phone fell under the blanket, but she quickly retrieved it and placed it by her ear. She asked anxiously. “Why is he talking to you about this? What else did he say? Did he ask you to visit?”
Huo Yao raised her brow when she heard Yuan Xi reacting so strongly. “Well, he didn’t say much.”
Previously, Yuan Xi had warned her countless times not to interact with her older brother, but she did not mention why.
From the looks of it, Yuan Huan wanted something from her.
Huo Yao could not wrap her mind around it. What would Yuan Huan want from her?
Huo Yao was working on a university research project for the National Research Institute of Science and Technology and he was from the National Academy of Medicine. The two were undoubtedly unrelated.
Huo Yao found this puzzling.
Yuan Xi felt bewildered when Yuan Huan did not try to get Huo Yao to come over. This was not his style. She squeezed her phone for some time before she finally said, “No matter what he says, just ignore him. The guy’s just bad news.”
Yuan Xi wanted to speak further, but she paused briefly, and knocking could be heard coming from the door. She turned sideways slightly looking at the door.
When the door opened, Mrs Yuan entered the room with Yuan Huan following behind her.
Yuan Xi felt nervous. She moved her hands slightly and hung up the phone without warning. Soon after, she stuffed it under the blanket.
