Huo Yao was implying that it was no use getting her to come to the National Research Institute of Science and Technology alone. She was unable to help.

Wei Yong almost instantly caught Huo Yao’s drift and looked annoyed.

He could tell that the young woman had a key role in the research project. Moreover, he had done some investigation about the young woman and knew she was very gifted.

She was simply pretending that she was oblivious.

Wei Yong asked a few more questions, but kept getting the same response from Huo Yao.

She kept claiming that she was unable to help. If he wanted to know more, she suggested he speak to Liu Qian since he was in charge of the research project.

Wei Yong was unable to squeeze a single answer out of her and felt very annoyed inside.

He certainly did not see this coming when he had requested to see her alone. She was far more devious and tight lipped than the average university student.

Since Wei Yong was unable to squeeze more information out of Huo Yao, he led her out of the laboratory without keeping her. After showing her out, he did not stay in the laboratory either. Instead, he headed over to the conference room.

When he got there, he was still annoyed.

His assistant had already signed the contract with Mr. Jin. When Wei Yong came over, the assistant noticed Wei Yong was in a bad mood and felt a little puzzled. He greeted Wei Yong reverently without probing though.

Mr. Jin and Qi Hui also greeted Wei Yong when they saw him.

“All done signing the contract?” Wei Yong pulled out a chair and took a seat.

The assistant nodded. He placed the contract in front of Wei Yong. Wei Yong did not look at the contract. Instead, he looked at Qi Hui and Mr. Jin, thinking about the interaction he had with Huo Yao. “I am impressed by your student.”

Judging from his tone, it was not a compliment. Mr. Jin and Qi Hui looked at each other quizzically. Qi Hui finally asked. “What do you mean?”

Wei Yong pursed his lips. He leaned into the seat back rest. “Nothing. She is a very eloquent young woman.”

Qi Hui did not know what Huo Yao had done to annoy Wei Yong. He knew that Huo Yao was a proud young woman, so he felt she must have offended Wei Yong earlier by being rude.

He promptly smiled apologetically and said, “Huo Yao is young and speaks without thinking. I apologize if she has spoken rudely. Please don’t take it to heart. I am sure she doesn’t mean it. I will talk to her about it when I see her.”

Mr. Jin frowned instantly.

Wei Yong waved his hand and said magnanimously, “Don’t worry. It was nothing.”

Qi Hui chatted for a bit longer until Wei Yong’s mood lifted a little. Qi Hui heaved a sigh of relief inside.

Why didn’t Huo Yao know better? Wei Yong was not some random teacher in the university. How could she talk back to someone working in the National Research Institute of Science and Technology?

Qi Hui had to help clean up after Huo Yao messed up, so he could not help griping inside.

She might be a genius, but her research was nothing without this collaboration with the institute.

*

After going to the bathroom, Huo Yao did not go back to the conference room. Instead, she went out for some fresh air. Since there were some benches next to the flower terraces outside the building, she took a seat there.

She took out her phone and checked the research team’s chat group.

Dai Jie and the others often raised questions related to the research project in the chat group. Since Huo Yao had nothing to do, she started making suggestions to solve their problems.

She was wearing a white down coat today. Her furry collar made her face look even more petite. Her slightly wavy hair was tied up in a loose bun. Her beauty made her stand out even though she was just sitting there.

Meanwhile, a young man was standing by the window in the president’s office looking at her white silhouette.