It was a file about someone named Mi Tong.
Huo Yao recalled that the clan leader used Mi Tong as an alias.
She wondered if the files were about the head of the Shangguan clan.
Huo Yao rubbed the mouse as she pondered. After she was done reading the file, she learned that her third older brother did not have much intel about Mi Tong. She discovered that Mi Tong was last seen at the National Academy of Medicine, so she found it intriguing.
Regardless of Mi Tong’s true identity, she could tell that he was the reason her third older brother had returned from abroad and joined the academy.
Huo Yao paused briefly before she closed the file and turned off the laptop.
Huo Yao got up and left her third older brother’s room. She went downstairs to get herself a glass of water.
After Huo Yao had finished with her glass of water, she retrieved her phone. She swiped down to Mi Wei’s number and gave him a call.
She was in luck. After ringing a couple of times, someone answered the phone.
“Hi! Why did you call?” Mi Wei was in the Chinese garden watering his poisonous plants.
Huo Yao leaned against the couch armrest without sitting down. She looked outside the French windows at the garden and said, “How’s the family head doing?”
Mi Wei paused briefly the moment he heard what she said. He felt puzzled when Huo Yao suddenly brought up the subject. “She’s good. Why are you suddenly asking?”
“I was just thinking about her old ailment. Did the meds you brought back work on her?” asked Huo Yao automatically.
Mi Wei promptly caught what she said. “Did you already know that I was at the Apothecaries’ Association? Did you deliberately leak the intel so that I would buy the meds?”
It finally dawned on Huo Yao that she had blurted the wrong thing. She went quiet.
Mi Wei continued. “I thought we were family. Did you have to con me?”
He was not angry that she lured him into buying the medication. He was just upset that he had to pay an astronomical sum for it.
Huo Yao pulled the phone away from her ears and raised it into the air. “Hello? Hello? You’re breaking up! I can’t hear you.”
Mi Wei felt puzzled.
He checked the wifi signal on his phone and confirmed that he had full bars. He instantly said with veins throbbing on his forehead, “Enough. I won’t make you cough out the money anyway.”
Huo Yao held the phone by her ear promptly. “I think your connection’s back on.”
Mi Wei went speechless.
Huo Yao cleared her throat and said, “I recall she left home once a few years ago. Ever since she returned home, she suffered from this condition, right?”
Mi Wei went quiet for a couple of seconds before he replied. “Nope. You got it wrong.”
Since his voice sounded normal, it was impossible for Huo Yao to tell if he was telling the truth. “Oh really?”
“Uh huh,” acknowledged Mi Wei softly. He paused before he continued. “The clan is plagued by difficulties. No one ever comes to a good end. From the moment she was born, she was destined to take on this burden. This has already started taking a toll on her constitution ages ago.”
A solemn look emerged on Huo Yao’s face. Moments later, she said mildly, “I don’t believe in destiny.”
Mi Wei felt a twinge in his heart. He raised his head and said, “Stay safe.”
“That goes for all of us…” said Huo Yao with her eyes slightly lowered without finishing her sentence.
Mi Wei naturally read her mind. He smiled sadly and quickly changed the subject. “Oh yes. Yun has left the clan. I know he wants to look you up. Has he called yet?”
Huo Yao’s cheeks twitched. She suddenly recalled the two missed calls from the previous night.
