Huo Yao looked at Song Ning and shook her head slightly. In a soft voice, she said, “Nope. I went to the bathroom.”


  Song Ning took her hand and said, “Let’s go. Get in the car.”


  Huo Yao was startled for a moment and curled her fingers when she sensed the warmth in her hand. In the end, she did not pull her hand away and let Song Ning hold it.

  After getting into the car, Song Ning asked about the contest in detail. Then she glanced at her husband and cleared her throat. ” Yaoyao, are you having any problems adjusting in the school? Is anyone giving you a hard time?”


  Huo Yao looked sideways at Song Ning and said, “Why did you ask this suddenly?”


  Song Ning laughed awkwardly. “Mom and Dad have been too busy and forgot to check how you were doing at your new school. Just asking now that I remembered it.”


  “School’s okay. No one’s making things hard for me,” replied Huo Yao lazily.

  “Do you see Xiaxia a lot in school?” asked Song Ning. She acted as though it was a random question.

  “We aren’t in the same class, so I don’t see her much,” replied Huo Yao without telling her about the time Lu Xia looked for her. She found it unnecessary.

  But Song Ning was not the sort to suddenly bring up someone. Also, her eyes were drifting a little, so she was clearly hiding something. Huo Yao waited for a few seconds and said, “Mom, what do you want to know? Just ask.”


  Song Ning looked at her daughter’s bright, unsullied eyes. She suddenly felt angry at herself for getting influenced by what He Xiaoman had said.

  If she asked her daughter about whether she had been bullying Lu Xia at school, it would truly hurt Huo Yao and make her feel as though her mother did not trust her.

  Song Ning shook her head. She smiled and said, “Nothing, just a random thought.”


  “Oh,” said Huo Yao. Since Song Ning did not want to say it, she did not keep probing.

  ***

  When school was almost over in the afternoon the next day, Huo Yao’s phone beeped from her pocket.

  She fished it out and saw Min Yu’s text.

  Huo Yao recalled that he was here to give her tea. Her lips curved into a smile and she quickly texted two words: [Five minutes.]

  After putting away her textbooks on the desk, Huo Yao picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder before leaving class.

  Meanwhile, in the car.

  Zhuo Yun glanced at the backseat from time to time from the driver’s seat to look at the beautifully packaged box of tea. He attempted again to persuade Min Yu to change his mind. “Yu, shall we return Old Master’s tea?”


  Min Yu sat languidly with his legs crossed. He glanced at Zhuo Yun indifferently and said, “When did you become such a coward?”


  Zhuo Yun griped in his heart that Min Yu was not the one who stole the tea. If the Old Master caught wind of it, Min Yu’s subordinates would be the ones to be punished severely.

  Huo Yao appeared at the school gate exactly five minutes later.

  Min Yu handed the tea to Huo Yao without the slightest hesitation or reluctance.

  In Zhuo Yun’s heart, he kept screaming as to how Min Yu could give the tea away without feeling a pinch because it was not his.

  Huo Yao did not open the box to take a look. She merely pursed her lips and smiled at Min Yu. “Thanks.”


  Min Yu raised his brow slightly and replied in a warm tone, “You’re welcome.”


  “You look a lot healthier,” said Huo Yao casually after taking a few more glances at Min Yu.