Huo Tingrui was busy shutting the boot. The moment he heard what his mother said, he came over and interrupted her. “Mom, there are plenty of hotels, right? Do you have to?”

Whenever his little sister was around, his parents would show favoritism towards her. It was clear the despicable man wanted to date his little sister, but his parents supported Min Yu and even invited him to spend the night at their place.

Huo Tingrui felt very annoyed by their bias.

Song Ning glanced at Huo Tingrui angrily. “Shut your mouth.” She turned to look at Min Yu warmly. “I mean it. Don’t take what he says to heart.”

Huo Tingrui was at a loss.

Did she have to put him down in front of an outsider?

Min Yu smiled and turned down Song Ning’s kind offer. “Thanks, but I’ve already gotten someone to clean up the place, so I’m good.”

Song Ning did not insist. She simply said, “Then, at least have dinner before leaving since our places are very nearby.”

Min Yu did not say no to her suggestion this time.

**

The maid had already prepared the food. Huo Yao did not have much appetite, so she simply sat in front of the dining table and quietly listened to them chat. Even though she was holding her chopsticks, she hardly ate anything.

The people at the dining table knew she was still grieving, so no one forced her to eat. They simply did their best to make conversation in an effort to distract her.

After dinner, Min Yu did not linger for long at the Huo residence. He chatted briefly with them before leaving.

Huo Yao went back to her room. When she went to the closet to retrieve her clothes, she noticed a huge box by the side.

She paused for a couple of seconds, hung her clothes back into the closet, and opened the box.

The cardboard box was filled with her thick ancient medical texts and her tightly wrapped trophies.

Huo Yao’s hands froze briefly. She did not remove anything from the box and simply closed it slowly.

The shipping note was still attached to the package and it was sent nearly half a month ago.

Old Madam Yang had already packed Huo Yao’s belongings stored in the countryside and mailed them over. This meant Old Madam Yang already expected something to befall her half a month ago.

Huo Yao raised her head and opened the box again. The box simply contained her things and nothing else.

Huo Yao closed the box dejectedly.

Her phone rang in her pocket and interrupted the silence in her room.

Chen Ming was calling her.

Huo Yao answered the phone and said, “Hi, Uncle Ming.”

“Miss Huo, Lu Xia is not in City S. She already took a transit to Country M last night and our men missed her.”

Chen Ming paused briefly before he said annoyingly, “One more thing. The other guy managed to escape.”

Chen Ming had never messed up in his life, so he did not expect Shangguan Hou to be able to escape. It made completely no sense to him.

Unfortunately, he could not wrap his mind around how the guy managed to evade them.

A cool look emerged in Huo Yao’s eyes and she seemed unsurprised by the outcome.

Shangguan Hou had managed to survive for a long time, so he was naturally smart and not an easy target.

Huo Yao focused mainly on Lu Xia’s whereabouts. “Uncle Ming, do you know where she is exactly?”

“No, not yet. We were already too late. By the time we discovered she was in Country M, she had already disappeared without a trace.” Chen Ming felt very embarrassed to say this.

Since Lu Xia had disappeared without a trace, this could only mean she was either dead or she had the help of a very influential man.

Huo Yao narrowed her eyes. It was clear that Lu Xia had a powerful backer.