Dai Jie took the laptop from Huo Yao. He looked at the places which Huo Yao had marked on the experiment plan and the additional details she had added there. His eyes instantly lit up. “It looks better already. I am impressed.”


  “Your experiment plan was already good enough,” replied Huo Yao modestly.

  Wang Jing raised her brow. She suddenly thought about the way Huo Yao kept acting stupid at the laboratory. She could not resist throwing down her pen and resting her elbow on Huo Yao’s shoulder. “Can you stop acting dumb already?”


  Huo Yao went quiet.

  “Is there anything else you do not know how to do?” asked Wang Jing.

  Huo Yao rubbed her throbbing temples. She had left the phone on the table and it happened to vibrate. She glanced at the phone before holding it up and clearing her throat. “My friend is calling me. I have to go. See you around.”


  The moment she finished her sentence, she stood up and waved goodbye to everyone, and left quickly.

  Wang Jing and the others looked at each other before shaking their heads in unison.

  Anyone else would have pounced upon the opportunity to make a name for themselves in the Biology department. Why would anyone pretend to be dumb?

  Maybe they were missing something. Perhaps Huo Yao had some kind of dark humor about it since she was a genius.

  The three of them inexplicably felt annoyed.

  **

  By the time Huo Yao left the self-study room, her phone had already stopped ringing.

  Chairman Wang had tried calling her earlier.

  “Huo Yao, was I interrupting?” said Chairman Wang over the phone. After the phone got through, he recalled the young woman was still at the university.

  “I’m good. What’s up?” asked Huo Yao courteously.

  “Are you free tonight for dinner?” Chairman Wang had just alighted from his flight and met his assistant.

  “I won’t be free for a while. My family is in town,” explained Huo Yao. She said, “Maybe next time. I will buy you dinner instead.”


  Although Chairman Wang felt disappointed, he could totally understand it. He replied. “That’s fine. Oh yes. The Apothecaries’ exam is taking place in a couple of days. Are you really not swinging by?”


  Huo Yao was completely disinterested in this. “No, thanks.”


  “Fine.” Chairman Wang did not insist again. He was walking as he used the phone, so he failed to notice someone pushing a suitcase trolley coming in his direction.

  Just as the trolley was about to run into him, Mi Wei pulled Chairman Wang aside nimbly. He also stopped the trolley with one foot effortlessly to stop it from moving.

  Chairman Wang and the person pushing the trolley were stunned. When they snapped out of their surprise, the person pushing the trolley apologized repeatedly.

  Mi Wei pulled his leg back. He patted his worn-out robes. “It’s fine.”


  Chairman Wang was still on the line, but he forgot about Huo Yao. He looked at Mi Wei and said, “Thanks. I was careless. If not for you, I would have taken a bad fall. It would be bad news for an old man like me.”