Shi Miao stepped out of the elevator.
He took the room key out of his pocket and walked towards his room.
Looking up, I saw Ji Yanchen leaning against the wall, casually playing with his phone.
Under the dim light, his profile was illuminated, revealing a clear and handsome face with long, dark eyelashes, a straight nose, and thin lips—he was unbelievably good-looking.
Shi Miao then remembered that she had sent him a message before getting off the bus, saying she was downstairs at the hotel.
Seemingly hearing her approaching footsteps, Ji Yanchen raised his eyes and turned to look at her.
He straightened up, looked at Shi Miao who was walking over, and asked, "Why did it take you so long to come up? Did something happen?"
Shi Miao stopped in front of him, her voice slightly hoarse: "I ran into Xie Sizhou and the others downstairs."
Ji Yanchen raised an eyebrow. "You told them?"
"Yes, I told him." Shi Miao opened the door and went inside. Suddenly remembering something, she turned to look at the man who followed her in. Her dark eyes were clear, and she blurted out, "You did it?"
Ji Yanchen naturally knew what she was asking, and didn't hide it, "Yes."
Shi Miao took off his baseball cap and casually tossed it on the table. He picked up a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and looked at him with his dark eyes, teasingly saying, "Teacher Ji, you're pretty quick."
Ji Yanchen chuckled softly, somewhat surprised, after all, he knew Shi Miao well; she was a very loyal and affectionate person.
Although Qin Mingyue repeatedly made those underhanded moves, Shi Miao never did anything to her. Part of it was because of Qin Xiao, and part of it was simply because he disdained her. He didn't take Qin Mingyue seriously at all, regarding her as nothing more than a clown.
"I thought you would consider Qin Xiao's feelings..."
Shi Miao put down the water bottle in her hand, raised her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her face was very bright, "I'm not a saint, even if you didn't do anything, I didn't intend to let her go this time."
She yawned, walked to the bedside, casually took off her coat and threw it on the bed, then lifted the covers and lay down, lazily saying, "I'm going to sleep for a while."
Ji Yanchen looked at the small mound on the bed, a hint of a smile in his eyes. He leaned over and picked up her coat, draping it over the chair. "Need someone to sleep with you?"
Shi Miao was so tired that she closed her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow under her eyelids. She said softly, "Whatever."
Ji Yanchen sat down by the bed, looking at her sleeping face. His eyes flickered slightly, and the next second, he placed a very light kiss on her forehead.
*
It was almost evening when Huo Yudong and his group returned.
He walked into the hotel lobby carrying his briefcase and inadvertently caught sight of Qin Xiao sitting in the lounge area not far away. His eyes were filled with deep surprise, clearly not expecting Qin Xiao to be there.
Huo Yudong stopped in his tracks. "Teachers, you should go up and check on our junior sister first. I'll go up later."
Pei Rongzheng nodded without asking any further questions. "Okay."
Only after Pei Rongzheng and the others entered the elevator did he walk towards Qin Xiao.
"Qin Xiao, when did you arrive in Independent Continent?"
Qin Xiao, who had been sitting for an unknown amount of time, came to her senses, looked up at him, her face showing no surprise, and she didn't respond to his words, only softly calling out, "Uncle..."
Huo Yudong frowned, seeing his absent-minded appearance, and for some reason had a bad feeling. "What's wrong?"
Qin Xiao let out a breath, leaned back on the sofa, looked at the glaring light above him, and couldn't help but raise his hand to shield his eyes. "I know everything that happened at the scientific research institute today."
Huo Yudong sat down beside him, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said hesitantly, "Mingyue, she..."
To be honest, he had planned to go to the police station with Shi Miao, but she refused, saying that she could handle it herself and that he should continue attending the ongoing exchange meeting.
He initially disagreed, given the magnitude of the incident and the fact that it occurred in a foreign country.
He only stopped when Shi Miao told him that Ji Yanchen would be coming, and his heart finally calmed down a little.
Although she was somewhat surprised that Ji Yanchen had also come to Independent Continent, she knew that Shi Miao would be fine with him there.
However, at the same time, he couldn't help but start to worry about Qin Mingyue, after all, she was his own niece.
Although he didn't know what had happened between the two, he could guess that Qin Mingyue must have started it first.
Once Ji Yanchen finds out, he knows he won't let her off easily this time, given his methods.
And now, seeing Qin Xiao in this state, his suspicions seemed to have been confirmed.
But he was too ashamed to ask Shi Miao for leniency, since it was Qin Mingyue who had done wrong.
Qin Xiao put his arm over his eyes. "I called her, but her phone has been switched off."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "I'm afraid Ji Yanchen has already made his move."
Huo Yudong gripped the bag tightly, his expression heavy with undisguised sorrow. He pursed his lips and said, "We both know this is something we can't get involved in. You have to understand that neither the Qin family nor the Huo family combined can defeat the Ji family. And once your grandfather finds out, after weighing the pros and cons, he will definitely choose to give up Mingyue."
He patted Qin Xiao's shoulder, forcing a smile, and said, "Don't think the worst. Maybe...maybe Mingyue's phone just ran out of battery..."
Qin Xiao lowered his arm from his eyes, turned to look at Huo Yudong, and gave a weak, forced smile. "Maybe, Uncle."
......
Meanwhile, inside the room.
Shi Miao had just woken up and looked around, only to find that Ji Yanchen was nowhere to be seen. It seemed that he had left after she fell asleep.
She turned over, picked up her phone from the bedside table, unlocked it, and opened WeChat.
The message from Cheng Si was at the very top of the list.
Want to go out for dinner tonight?
Shi Miao thought for a moment and decided to treat him to the meal she owed him. She then tapped her phone screen to reply to him.
Okay, it's on me. You choose the place.
She exited the chat with Cheng Si and was about to send Ji Yanchen a message saying she was awake when there was a knock on the door.
Upon hearing the sound, Shi Miao put down her phone, threw off the covers, got out of bed, and then went to open the door.
After recognizing the person standing at the door, she respectfully greeted, "Teacher."
He then greeted the other members of the Institute of Physics standing behind Pei Rongzheng.
Pei Rongzheng looked at her and said, "I came to see you. Are you alright?"
Although Shi Miao had already sent them a message beforehand saying that everything was resolved and that he was fine, he still needed to see with his own eyes that he was alright before he could feel at ease.
Shi Miao: "It's nothing, thank you for your concern, teacher."
Seeing that she was in good spirits, Pei Rongzheng finally felt relieved. "Alright, we'll be going now. You get some rest."
Shi Miao nodded obediently, "Okay, teacher."
...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com