novelno Chapter 290 - 288: Bringing Her Back to His Room
Chapter 290 - 288: Bringing Her Back to His Room
Artificial intelligence?
Mia Grant didn’t get it. ’What does that have to do with Felix Sinclair’s major?’
’If I remember correctly, this isn’t a field Felix is interested in, right?’
"Calling it artificial intelligence is just a front. What they’re really trying to tackle is the country’s current chip manufacturing problem. It’s strange, though. I don’t know how he thought of the Hughes Corp."
Mia Grant snapped back to reality and explained, "I have no idea. I didn’t know anything to begin with."
Simon Adler looked up, clutching his phone. "I know."
"But that’s not why I called you. It’s not important."
How Felix had found out wasn’t the point right now.
"He contacted me about a collaboration. He has an experiment he’s very interested in and hopes to come to Portia after the New Year to talk to people at the company."
Mia Grant was even more confused.
She scratched her head, even wondering if this was some kind of prank by Simon Adler.
’But on second thought, he’s probably not that bored.’
"Did you agree?"
Simon Adler said, "He made a very tempting offer. He only needs the experiment to succeed, and the subsequent results will belong to the Hughes Corp. He can provide support for any technical or financial problems."
Mia Grant frowned.
’Forget Simon Adler; even she would have agreed.’
’There was almost no risk.’
’As long as the other party wasn’t a lunatic.’
"Do the higher-ups know about this?"
"No."
’Got it. He’s the one calling the shots.’
Mia Grant nodded, then thought for a moment and asked, "Did he reveal anything else?"
"No. Just that we’ll discuss the details in person."
After a long pause, Mia Grant replied, "Thanks, I understand."
Simon Adler waited for a bit. When she didn’t say anything else, he had to ask, a little awkwardly, "Should I follow up on this?"
He phrased it delicately, and Mia Grant understood. "That’s up to you. I’m fine either way."
"..."
"I’ll call you if there are any developments. Or I’ll message you on WeChat. You should... take me off your blocklist."
"Did I block you? I don’t think so."
Simon Adler ground out the words, "Go check again."
"Oh, okay."
She agreed perfunctorily.
After the call ended, Mia Grant glanced at WeChat.
She had actually already unblocked him; Simon Adler just hadn’t noticed.
Backing out of the chat, she glanced at her conversation with Felix Sinclair. Still no reply.
Mia Grant sighed. ’If other people weren’t constantly bringing me news about him, I’d seriously suspect Felix had been kidnapped and sold abroad.’
’How could he have dropped off the grid so completely?’
「8:00 PM.」
Mia Grant sat in the front hall, drowsing.
Her head bobbed down heavily, and then a hand cupped her chin. Mia Grant opened her eyes and saw Ian Sinclair.
She closed her eyes again and continued to doze.
"There are guest rooms upstairs. You can go up and sleep for a bit. I’ll take you."
"Huh?" Mia Grant yawned and waved her hand, pretending to be awake. "No, no, I’m not that tired."
She wasn’t sure if it was a carb crash from eating dinner too early or because she had gone to bed too late the past couple of nights.
In fact, at 1:00 AM, Carla Sinclair had already been urging them to wrap things up and go rest.
But Yuri Sinclair saw she was still having fun and didn’t want to be a wet blanket, so he kept playing cards with her.
By the time she got back to her room, there were only a few hours left until sunrise.
Still, she wasn’t the least bit sleepy. Lying in bed, her mind was overactive, as if she had accidentally taken a stimulant. She felt completely wired.
Maybe it was because it had been a long time since she’d had such a happy New Year.
She claimed she wasn’t tired, but her body was already swaying from side to side.
Soon, a hand steadied her by the shoulder.
Mia Grant didn’t even know how she got to her feet. With her eyes half-closed, she followed Ian Sinclair into the elevator as if possessed.
「Upstairs, in the bedroom.」
The lock turned with a soft CLICK.
The two of them stepped into the pitch-black room, as if entering some forbidden place.
Mia Grant staggered to the bedside, dove onto it by instinct, and face-planted, ready to sleep.
Behind her, the young man closed the door, dimmed the harsh overhead light, and then his gaze fell on the bed. He stood still for a few seconds before walking over.
Her body was moved. Mia Grant’s eyelashes fluttered, and she mumbled something without opening her eyes.
The young man checked on her, then grabbed a stuffed animal from the side and placed it in front of her, arranging her hands to hold it.
Sure enough, as soon as her hands touched the object, they automatically wrapped around it.
The young man smiled knowingly.
’She liked to hug things when she slept, and she hugged them very tightly.’
’The memory of them sharing a bed was still printed in his mind, exceptionally clear.’
’In the morning, when he stood before the mirror, he could still see the red marks on his arm that hadn’t faded.’
On the bed, Mia Grant slept peacefully. The young man didn’t leave. He sat down on the edge of the bed and gazed at her quietly.
She was sound asleep, and the little rabbit in her arms seemed to be smiling at him.
’He had brought this back from abroad especially for her. A New Year’s gift, I suppose.’
’It was an especially large stuffed rabbit, big enough for her to hug while she slept well and had sweet dreams.’
After sitting for a long while, the young man got up and went downstairs.
He had returned in a hurry and had been so focused on seeing her the moment he walked in that he hadn’t even had a chance to greet the other elders.
She had been alone in the front hall just now; the others probably hadn’t noticed his return yet.
He pushed the door open and nearly ran into someone.
Ian Sinclair looked up, his eyes showing a hint of surprise. "It really is you."
"I thought I was seeing things."
Lowering his hand, he looked past him.
"Where is she?"
"Resting." The door closed in his face. Ian Sinclair raised an eyebrow and tried to push it open, only to be blocked again.
"Don’t be so childish. Let her get some proper sleep."
Ian Sinclair turned to look, but the person was already walking away.
Tsk. ’That Felix Sinclair.’
Of course, he didn’t listen. He gently pushed the door open to take a quick look, then quickly retreated.
As he came out, he glanced at the door beside him with an awkward expression.
’Why did this give me a sense of déjà vu, like that "Sister-in-law, open up, it’s me, your husband’s brother" meme?’
The trash talk he’d spouted before was coming back to him like a boomerang.
After all this time, it hit him right between the eyes.
Ian Sinclair immediately clasped his hands together in a prayer-like gesture. They say gods are watching from just three feet above one’s head. He hoped the gods would forgive his previous loose talk. He was just running his mouth for fun; he never meant for it to get real!
’A man’s got to have some standards in life!’
When he hurried downstairs, Felix Sinclair was already in the tea room, chatting with a few of the elders.
Ian Sinclair went over and sat down next to him.
When the elders weren’t paying attention, he leaned in and whispered, "Weren’t you supposed to come back after the New Year?"
"Mhm, plans changed. I leave the day after tomorrow."
’So he really did rush back just for Mia Grant.’
Ian Sinclair felt a pang of jealousy and didn’t want to talk about it anymore, so he changed the subject.
"What on earth have you been up to lately? So secretive. You really think I believe all that stuff you said?"
"When did you ever get interested in physics research?"
"Interest is something that can be cultivated over time," Felix Sinclair said, as terse as ever.
Ian Sinclair really wanted to roll his eyes at him.
"Don’t think I’m completely in the dark. ’The only way to keep a secret is to not do it in the first place.’"
Ian Sinclair leisurely poured himself a cup of tea. "We’re full brothers, after all. When it comes to certain things, I’m a lot more reliable than any outsider."