After the plane landed, Lin Kuang and Mu Wan disembarked, carrying their bags.
Looking at the familiar airport, Mu Wan couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.
Seeing her expression, Lin Kuang smiled. "Alright, let’s go. We’ll be ho soon."
"Yes, let’s go," Mu Wan said with a smile, and they left the airport together.
After exiting the terminal, Lin Kuang hailed a taxi, and the two headed straight for Mu Wan’s ho.
It’s often said that the closer one gets to ho, the more apprehensive they beco. As the car drew nearer, Mu Wan grew increasingly emotional. By the ti they reached the gates of her family estate, she was so overwheld with excitent and nerves that she forgot to get out of the car, simply staring blankly at the familiar entrance.
"Let’s go," Lin Kuang said with a smile.
His words brought Mu Wan back to her senses. She nodded and got out of the car with him. They walked along a familiar marble path, entered the estate, and soon arrived at the villa’s front door.
Seeing Mu Wan standing there in a daze, Lin Kuang smiled. "Go on inside."
"Ah... oh, let’s go inside," Mu Wan stamred. Her hands trembled slightly as she pushed open the door and stepped inside, with Lin Kuang following close behind.
The hall was immaculate and empty.
"Mom, are you ho?" Mu Wan called out, her voice trembling with an emotion she barely recognized herself. Though not loud, her voice was enough to carry throughout the quiet villa.
A mont later, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from upstairs. The next mont, a woman in her forties appeared in their view. Although she was middle-aged, she possessed a mature grace and a distinct beauty. It was clear she had been stunning in her youth.
The mont the woman appeared, Mu Wan’s eyes locked onto her, and the two just stared at each other, speechless.
Then, almost simultaneously, they both spoke.
"Mom!"
"Wan’er!"
Mu Wan dropped her bag and rushed forward as the woman hurried down the stairs to et her. The next mont, they embraced each other tightly, and both burst into tears.
Lin Kuang watched the scene, feeling a bit helpless. Comforting people wasn’t his strong suit. Besides, a reunion between a mother and daughter was bound to be emotional.
They held each other and cried for a good ten minutes before their weeping subsided into soft sobs.
"Wan’er, you... you’re still alive? Is this... is this real? Am I dreaming?" Mu Wan’s mother, Zeng Yuxiang, asked, her voice filled with disbelief.
"Yes, Mom, I’m not dead," Mu Wan cried. "I was just on a secret mission. I didn’t die. It’s true, it’s really true."
"Oh, as long as it’s real, that’s good. As long as you’re okay," Zeng Yuxiang said over and over, patting Mu Wan’s back. Even now, she could hardly believe it.
After so ti had passed and they had both cald down, Lin Kuang walked over. "Auntie, Wan’er, you should sit down. You have plenty of ti to talk now," he said with a smile.
"Ah, Lin Kuang, you’re here too. Forgive , I’ve made a fool of myself," Zeng Yuxiang said, seeming to notice Lin Kuang for the first ti as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Lin Kuang smiled wryly. You only had eyes for your daughter; how could you possibly have noticed ? Of course, he didn’t mind. He wasn’t a petty person.
Zeng Yuxiang and Mu Wan sat down and talked about everything that had happened over the past year, which finally allowed Zeng Yuxiang to calm down completely. Lin Kuang sat quietly to the side, listening to their conversation and feeling quite content.
"Where’s that boy Chengzhen?" Mu Wan asked with a smile.
Chengzhen, whose full na was Mu Chengzhen, was Mu Wan’s younger brother. He was two years her junior and should have graduated from college by now.
At the ntion of Chengzhen’s na, Zeng Yuxiang’s expression soured.
Seeing this, Mu Wan’s heart sank. She asked hurriedly, "Mom, what’s wrong with Chengzhen? Did sothing happen?"
"It’s... it’s nothing too serious. Sigh," Zeng Yuxiang said, her voice heavy with disappointnt. "That child has grown up, but he’s fallen in with a bad crowd. He’s always hanging around with those gangsters in Hangcheng, talking about fighting and killing. He’s turned into a little hoodlum.
"Your father and I can’t get through to him. Your father threatens to beat him, which scares him so much he barely cos ho anymore. He only shows up once in a while to sneak back in, and then he’s gone again. We’ve had countless argunts with him over this, but he just won’t listen."
The Mu Family was a decorated military family. How could Zeng Yuxiang not be furious that her own son had gone astray?
Hearing her mother’s words, Mu Wan breathed a sigh of relief, glad that her little brother wasn’t in any serious, life-threatening trouble. But her relief quickly turned to anger.
"That damn brat! What is he thinking, getting mixed up with gangsters? Just wait until I get my hands on him!" Mu Wan said fiercely.
"Yes, you two were always the closest. You have to be the one to set him straight," Zeng Yuxiang added, a hint of helplessness in her voice.
As they were speaking, the roar of an engine sounded from outside, and a red sports car pulled up in front of the house. A young man in his twenties got out, accompanied by a girl whose age was hard to tell beneath her heavy makeup.
"That little bastard actually ca back?!" Mu Wan muttered as she turned to see the pair walking toward the villa.
The newcor was none other than her brother, Mu Chengzhen.
When Mu Chengzhen entered the hall with the girl, he was t with Mu Wan’s cold sneer. "Mu Chengzhen, you still have the nerve to show your face here?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Mu Chengzhen froze. The mont he saw Mu Wan, he stood rooted to the spot.
"S-Sis? You’re not dead?" he asked dumbly, his voice filled with shock and excitent.
"What? Were you hoping I was dead, you little bastard?" Mu Wan snapped.
"Of course not, Sis! I’ve missed you to death!" Mu Chengzhen cried, rushing over to give her a hug.
Mu Wan fought the urge to slap him. Since she had only just returned, she decided to let it go for now and patted his back instead.
"Alright, stop acting like a child. What’s there to get so worked up about?" she said irritably.
"Of course I’m worked up, Sis! I thought you were dead. You have no idea what we’ve been through this past year," Mu Chengzhen said, his eyes turning red.
After all, the bond between the siblings was very strong.
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