Shi Miao snapped out of her daze, turned her head to look at Ji Yanchen beside her, and explained, "No, it's just that his reaction to what I said was strange. He wasn't surprised at all, as if he already knew beforehand."
She paused for a moment, then said, "But he's always been a strange person, maybe I'm overthinking it."
Ji Yanchen's eyes flickered slightly. "When are you going back to M Continent?"
Shi Miao zipped her jacket all the way up, covering half her face, her dark eyelashes slightly lowered. "After this is over, I'll head over and fly directly from Independent Continent to M Continent."
Ji Yanchen hummed in agreement, then took her hand. "Let's go."
Twenty minutes later, the three of them returned to the hotel.
Inside the elevator, Shi Miao glanced at the floor displayed above. After the elevator doors slowly opened, she turned her head to greet Ji Yanchen and Xie Sizhou before stepping out of the elevator.
She took her room key out of her pocket as she walked towards her room.
Looking up, she saw Qin Xiao pacing back and forth in front of her room with his head down, looking somewhat anxious.
Shi Miao approached and looked at Qin Xiao, who had just turned his back to her and hadn't noticed her coming. She lazily said, "Waiting for me?"
"Holy crap!" Qin Xiao was startled by her sudden voice.
He turned around, patted his chest, looking like he'd done something wrong, and said, "Wait, you're not in the room?"
Shi Miao opened the door with her room card, gave him a strange look, and said, "He's not here. He went out to eat."
Qin Xiao scratched his hair, a hint of embarrassment on his face. "Oh, I thought you were in your room."
Shi Miao pushed open the door and went in. "Couldn't you knock or send me a message?"
Qin Xiao smiled but didn't reply. He couldn't very well tell her that he was too afraid to knock on the door or send her a message.
Shi Miao stopped and turned to look at Qin Xiao, who was still standing at the door. "Come in and let's talk."
Qin Xiao nodded and stepped inside.
Shi Miao picked up the bottled water on the table, unscrewed the cap, tilted her head back and took a big gulp. She looked at him with her dark eyes and asked, "What is it?"
Qin Xiao lowered his eyelids, concealing the struggle in his eyes, and remained silent for a long time without uttering a word.
Shi Miao wasn't in a hurry; she just watched him quietly.
Qin Xiao finally seemed to have made a decision. He looked up at the girl in front of him, met her gaze, and said with a smile, "What could be wrong with me? I just noticed you didn't look too well in the lobby downstairs and thought you should have rested enough by now, so I came to check on you."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "Since you're alright, I'll be going now."
Shi Miao raised her eyebrows slightly, seemingly somewhat surprised. She had thought Qin Xiao would ask her about Qin Mingyue, since anyone could tell what he was up to.
She nodded slightly and said calmly, "Okay."
Qin Xiao turned and walked towards the door, his smile extremely bitter. Like Huo Yudong, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to say it.
Shi Miao watched his somewhat dejected figure, her eyes flickered, and she suddenly called out to him, "Qin Xiao."
Qin Xiao stopped in his tracks, without turning around, but his hands, hanging at his sides, unconsciously clenched into fists.
Shi Miao leaned against the table, casually playing with the bottle cap in her hand, and slowly said, "She won't die."
Qin Xiao swayed slightly, remained silent for a few seconds, then whispered a thank you and left the room.
*
The three-day academic exchange meeting passed in the blink of an eye, and Shi Miao had told Huo Yudong in advance that she would be going alone.
Huo Yudong agreed without hesitation, since Ji Yanchen was with him and there was nothing to worry about.
In addition, Shi Miao did not see Qin Xiao again during this period. However, Xie Sizhou mentioned him briefly, saying that he went back without saying goodbye for no reason.
Shi Miao naturally knew why Qin Xiao had suddenly returned, but she didn't intend to tell Xie Sizhou anything.
Meanwhile, at the airport.
Shi Miao and the other two were waiting for Cheng Si to arrive.
"Damn, is Cheng Si going to suddenly change his mind and not come?" Xie Sizhou looked around and glanced at his watch. It was almost time for the appointment, but he still hadn't seen a single person.
Ji Yanchen lowered his eyes as he replied to the message on his phone, saying in a calm voice, "Probably not, isn't it not time yet?"
Just when Xie Sizhou thought Cheng Si really wouldn't come, he finally showed up right on time.
Cheng Si walked up to them unhurriedly, took off his sunglasses to reveal his handsome and wicked face, and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting, let's go."
Shi Miao gave a faint "hmm," tilted her head back, finished the last sip of coffee, and threw the paper cup into the trash can.
Then everyone walked together toward the security checkpoint.
More than ten hours later, the plane slowly landed on the tarmac in M ​​continent.
As soon as Shi Miao got off the plane, she looked up and saw two cars parked not far away.
One of the cars, a stretch Lincoln, was the driver Shi Jing arranged to pick her up.
However, Shi Miao did not tell him the reason for his sudden return, only saying that he missed home and came back to stay for a few days.
When the driver saw the crowd walking in this direction, he quickly got out of the car and respectfully greeted Shi Miao, "Young Miss."
Shi Miao nodded slightly and hummed in agreement.
Cheng Si raised an eyebrow upon seeing this, somewhat surprised. It seemed that their family background was even more extraordinary than he had imagined.
Ji Yanchen put the baseball cap he was holding on Shi Miao's head. "I have something to take care of, so I won't go back with you for now. I'll come find you tomorrow."
Shi Miao nodded, glancing at the car parked behind her. "Okay."
...
About two hours later, the car entered the area where the reclusive family lived.
The patrol team at the entrance glanced at the license plate and let them in without even having to show their passes.
Cheng Si's eyes flickered slightly. He naturally knew about the hidden families and even knew some information about them.
Generally speaking, you can't get in without a pass, but the patrol team just glanced at the license plate and let them in. Combined with Shi Miao's surname and the driver's words "young lady," he immediately guessed her identity.
Cheng Si said with certainty, "So you are the eldest daughter of the reclusive Shi family."
Upon hearing this, Shi Miao looked up at him, gave a faint "hmm," and her expression remained calm.
I wasn't surprised that he could tell, since I hadn't been hiding anything from him, and anyone with a brain could guess it.
Cheng Si slowly withdrew his gaze, casually playing with his phone, and said nothing more.
Soon, the car slowly drove into the Shi family manor and finally stopped in front of the extremely luxurious and extravagant villa.
The Shi family driver parked the car, unbuckled his seatbelt, got out first, and opened the door. "Miss, we've arrived."
"Okay." Shi Miao nodded, picked up her backpack, and got off the bus briskly.
Butler Shi had been waiting for a long time. When he saw the girl getting out of the car, his eyes lit up and he quickly went up to her, saying with a smile, "Young Miss!"
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