Min Yu went back to her and patiently covered her with the blanket properly. When he pulled his hands back, Huo Yao extended her hand, grabbed his palm, and held it at her chest. “Don’t go.”

She spoke softly like an abandoned child and sounded pitiful.

Min Yu tightened his grip on her. Even though he could not hear her clearly, he could guess what she was saying.

He sighed softly before sitting down by the bedside. He raised his head and said to the maid, “I’ll leave after she falls asleep.”

The maid simply nodded and quickly left the room.

They had the room to themselves finally.

Min Yu veered his eyes and looked at Huo Yao’s face. She was frowning hard, so he used his other hand to smoothen her forehead.

After she had fallen asleep and stopped frowning, he finally pulled his hand back.

**

The next day, Huo Yao woke up first thing in the morning.

She looked at the ceiling and instantly went into a daze.

Huo Yao gradually recalled last night. She blinked her eyes as she contemplated. Even though she did not know how she made it home, she did not recall doing anything stupid.

Huo Yao finally exhaled deeply.

She had to say she had low alcohol tolerance and was a bad drinker.

Huo Yao rubbed her brow briefly before she pulled up the blanket and got up. She took a fresh set of clothes and went to the bathroom.

After washing up, she went downstairs.

The maid was making porridge in the kitchen. When she saw Huo Yao, she poured Huo Yao a glass of warm water. “Miss Huo, are you awake? How do you feel?”

Huo Yao took the glass of water and said, “Thanks. I’m good. Sorry about last night.”

The maid smiled as she shook her head and explained. “I was no help at all. Your friend took care of you most of the night.”

Huo Yao went quiet for a couple of seconds and then asked tentatively. “Did I do anything stupid last night?”

“Not really,” replied the maid.

Huo Yao heaved a sigh of relief.

The maid continued. “You kept pulling your friend’s hand and he could only leave at around 1:00 am.”

Huo Yao’s lips twitched awkwardly. It was unimaginable for her to keep pulling Min Yu’s hand. The maid must be mistaken! It was impossible for her to do this!

Huo Yao left with the glass of water calmly and refused to admit to such actions.

Her phone rang in her pocket.

Huo Yao instinctively sensed the veins on her forehead throb. After pausing for a few seconds, she eventually took out her phone.

When she saw a text message from Liu Qian, she automatically felt relieved and answered the phone.

“This is a good paper. I have already submitted it to the journal. They’ll probably get back to me in five days after reviewing it. I think the chances of acceptance are very high,” said Liu Qian happily.

Huo Yao had claimed that she did not know how to write a thesis, but he was glad he insisted. Judging from her work, she knew what she was doing.

Her article was surprisingly at par with other papers published in major journals.

Huo Yao lowered her eyes in deep thought. She was still thinking about last night. Since she was preoccupied, she answered Liu Qian nonchalantly. “That’s good then.”

Liu Qian’s lips twitched. He disregarded Huo Yao’s clear lack of enthusiasm and said, “Oh yes. I forgot to mention something. I applied to patent the system and I have confirmation of approval. I reckon we can probably receive the official certification in a few months.”