Charlie licked his owner’s fingers as if he were comforting her.

Three days later, the once owners of the Lu family—Lu Jinrong’s parents—returned home.

Father Lu was named Lu Ke’en, and Madam Lu’s family name was Jian. Her name was Qingying. However, everyone was used to calling her Madam Lu. Lu Ke’en was the only one who called her by her name.

Lu Ke’en helped his wife into the house. He looked a little tired, but there was an astonishing similarity between him and Lu Jinrong. However, unlike Lu Jinrong, he had a cold and decisive aura to him. Lu Ke’en was not cunning and well-rounded like his son.

Lu Ke’en’s murderous aura was direct. It was that of a man whose hand had been covered in blood.

Compared to him, Lu Jinrong was a lot more peaceful and kind.

Madam Lu’s eyes were red. There were dark circles underneath her eyes. It looked like she had not had proper sleep or rest in a long time.

“Ke’en, where’s our daughter? Where’s our Xiaohua?” She tugged on Lu Ke’en’s sleeves and asked anxiously. “Are you all lying to me? Are you all lying to me again? My daughter’s not back; she didn’t come back. She was hysterical at this point.

“What are you talking about? Why would we lie to you? Even if you don’t believe me, you’ve got to believe our son. He will never lie to you.” He reassured her as he held her hand.

“Xiaohua is back. He’s found Xiaohua for us.”

“Is that true?’ Jian Qingying still could not believe it. She could never believe it if she did not see her daughter with her own eyes.

“Yes,” Lu Ke’en replied to his wife as he signaled to Qin Xuejuan with his eyes.

Qin Xuejuan immediately understood and went to go get Xia Ruoxin. Of course, there were some things that she had to explain to the latter beforehand to prevent her from slipping out. Madam’s mental state was getting worse by the day, and things would not look good if they continued the way they were.

Jian Qingying looked at the door from time to time as she gripped her husband’s hand. Her nails were already digging into him, but he did not even blink.

His eyes were fixed on his wife whose eyes were glued to the door.

“She’s here; she’s here.” She stood up suddenly, her eyes reflecting a slim figure.

She suddenly covered her mouth. “Ke’en, Ke’en. Do you see… do you see it?” She pulled Lu Ke’en’s hand. She was so agitated she was stammering.

“Xiaohua, my Xiaohua.” She let go of Lu Ke’en’s hand and ran towards the girl at the door and hugged her tightly.

“Xiaohua, Xiaohua, Mommy’s Xiaohua. You’re finally back. Do you know how much Mommy has missed you?”

This was a stranger, a beautiful stranger. Xia Ruoxin’s slowly raised her hands, which were at the side of her body, and placed them on the shoulders of the woman and patted on them gently.

She opened her eyes wide, but tears flowed out of her eyes.

She wondered if Jian Qingying before her would be her in the future, waiting for her daughter, never giving up hope. She still believed her daughter was alive even if the truth was before her eyes. She only managed to live until now because of her firm belief.

However, Jian Qingying was a lot better than she was. Jian Qingying had a husband that loved her and an outstanding son. However, Xia Ruoxin did not have anything. She only had a lost daughter and a useless self.

Jian Qingying touched Xia Ruoxin’s face and called out her Lu Ke’en who was behind her. “Look Ke’en, look. It really is our daughter. She looked exactly like Xiaohua when she was young. No, this was what my daughter would look like as a grown-up.

“Even though she’s older, it’s still my Xiaohua.”

She then used her hand to touch the hair on Xia Ruoxin’s forehead. She then covered her mouth and broke down.

“Ke’en, she’s my daughter. Look at the scar. It’s the one she got when she fell as a child. You joked that the scar would be the one that helped us find her if we ever lost her. Our daughter is back; she’s really back.”

She said as she laughed or cried. Given the huge surge in her emotions, she unsurprisingly fainted and slid downwards.

Xia Ruoxin helped her up hurriedly, but someone was faster than her. Lu Ke’en picked up his wife. Compared to Jian Qingying, he was more reserved and quiet so he was not as agitated as her.

Xia Ruoxin lowered her eyes and put her hand on her forehead. She could feel the scar on there. She knew that it was not that easy to fool everyone. At the very least, Lu Ke’en did not really like the sudden appearance of this daughter. Even if he did not know that Lu Xiaohua was already dead, he probably would not have easily accepted an outsider, not to mention that he knew of Lu Xiaohua’s death.

Soon after, there were only the two of them left in the living room. Qin Xuejuan was taking care of Jian Qingying. The doctor had said that it was the effect of her quick surge in emotions. However, after this time, Jian Qingying seemed less depressed, which seemed like a good turning point.

“What’s your name?” Lu Ke’en asked. His gaze landed on her as he eyed her. His gaze was like a knife grazing every inch of her skin. She could not hide anything from him.

However, Xia Ruoxin had nothing to hide so she let him size her up.

“The old one.” She was a little spaced out before she looked up and met Lu Ke’en’s scary face.

“I was saved by Mr. Lu Jinrong. As for my past, I don’t wish to talk about nor; neither do I want to remember it. However, I can guarantee that I’m from a decent family, and I’ve not done anything to harm anyone. I have a clear conscience.” She paused at this point, and her fist tightened. “I don’t have an identity so Mr. Lu lent me Xiaohua’s name. Don’t worry, I’m not after anything of the Lu Xiaohua family; neither have I thought of getting anything from the Lu family out of this.”

“I just, just…”

Her vision blurred and then cleared up again.

vim.cx – encrypted pastebin1.3vim.cx – encrypted pastebin is a minimalist