Wei Jinning looked up with her big, moist eyes and saw a man walk in—he wore a finely tailored black suit that outlined a strong physique. His hair was slightly graying, his demeanor gentle and refined. His gaze carried a mix of confusion and joy, and his entire presence exuded nobility.
[That can’t be my real dad—that’s clearly a handsome older gentleman.]
[So he came to pick me up. Good thing I showed up, or how else would you guys have found your real daughter?]
[Why isn’t he saying anything? Could it be… he’s stunned by my overwhelming beauty?]
{Master, please restrain yourself. That’s your father.}
Xiao Liu couldn’t stand Wei Jinning’s narcissism anymore.
Wei Jinning managed to get herself under control just in time.
Huo Shan looked around.
“Where is that voice coming from?”
[What’s Dad looking at? Could it be… he doesn’t believe I’m his daughter?]
Huo Shan stared at Wei Jinning without saying a word. Could he be… hearing her thoughts?
He glanced at everyone else in the room. They had no reaction. That must mean—only he and his daughter were connected by heart—able to hear each other’s thoughts.
“Daughter, I’m your father. I’ve come to take you home.”
Huo Shan accepted it all quite easily, and even appeared calm.
“Dad…” Wei Jinning murmured.
[My handsome dad is way too gentle. Going home… I’m going home. I’ll finally have a family. This is amazing.]
[Even if this good life only lasts three years…]
“Sigh…”
“You have three older brothers,” Huo Shan said sincerely.
“They’ve been looking for you ever since they became adults. If you come home, they’ll be overjoyed.”
At the same time, he grew worried that Wei Jinning might misunderstand, so he quickly clarified his thoughts aloud:
“There’s one more daughter in the family—she’s adopted, your mother and I took her in. I’m sure the two of you will get along just fine.”
Yet deep down, Huo Shan was puzzled. He couldn’t quite make sense of the phrase “female lead” that Wei Jinning had casually mentioned earlier.
Could she have been referring to the adopted daughter, Xinxin?
But what exactly did she mean by that? A flood of questions surged in his mind, but Huo Shan didn’t ask them out loud.
Wei Jinning simply nodded slightly in agreement, looking obedient and sweet.
[It’s fine if they don’t like me. I’m not going to make myself suffer for anyone.]
[If it comes to that, I’ll just run away from home and be gorgeous on my own.]
[Oh right—I still have Xiao Liu.]
{Wuwu, Master still has me.}
Xiao Liu, sensing her gloom, quickly offered comfort.
In truth, Wei Jinning deeply yearned for the warmth of family.
But she also understood—even if no one was by her side, she could still live beautifully on her own.
“My sweet daughter, you don’t need to worry about a thing! Everyone at home is really nice, and they’ll all treat you well.”
“If anyone dares to bully you or make you feel wronged, you must tell Daddy right away, okay? I definitely won’t let them off easily! But, you absolutely mustn’t get any ideas about running away from home, understand?” Huo Shan said, his face filled with concern and anxiety.
“Mm-hmm, I got it. Thank you, Dad.” Wei Jinning replied obediently, but her heart was already churning beneath the surface.
[Sigh! Too bad you’ll only be able to protect me for three years…]
Huo Shan remained composed. He worried that if Wei Jinning found out he could hear her inner thoughts, things would become even more complicated and difficult to handle.
Better to wait until they got home to slowly figure out how their family ended up in such a tragic situation.
In the meantime, Huo Shan took Wei Jinning to do a paternity test. While waiting for the results, he also arranged for a full medical check-up.
To his relief, other than signs of mild malnutrition and a few minor external injuries, she was otherwise fine. This helped ease Huo Shan’s worries a bit.
Fearing that someone at home might give Wei Jinning a bad first impression, he called ahead to prepare them.
“Honey, what are you doing right now?” Huo Shan asked gently.
“Hubby, I’m watching TV at home with Jinxin,” Zhao Qiuying replied.
“I have something to tell you, but please don’t get too excited. Sit down first, okay? Promise me you won’t freak out.”
“You’re not about to bring home some love child or secret kid, are you? Otherwise, I don’t see why I should get emotional,” Zhao Qiuying said casually as she popped grapes into her mouth, enjoying a brainless idol drama.
Huo Jinxin, listening to the exchange nearby, burst out laughing.
Her adoptive parents had always been loving and affectionate, role models to all the kids, so she wasn’t worried at all that what her mom joked about might actually happen.
“What nonsense are you saying? What love child?”
“We’ve found our daughter. We found our Ningning. We’re on the plane right now, and we’ll be home very soon,”Huo Shan quickly interrupted his wife’s wild guesses.
“You… you… what did you say?” Zhao Qiuying stammered.
“Mom, are you okay? Here, have some water.”
Huo Jinxin, noticing her mom was starting to get overwhelmed, quickly rushed over in concern.
At that moment, Huo Jinxin hadn’t heard what Huo Shan had just said.
“Honey, are you alright? Deep breaths, deep breaths. Relax.”
“This is a good thing, don’t get too worked up. Try to stay calm,” Huo Shan said over the phone, trying to comfort Zhao Qiuying.
“I… I’m okay. Where did you find her?” Zhao Qiuying asked after catching her breath.
“In Chun City, the place where you gave birth all those years ago. I’ll explain everything once we’re home,” Huo Shan replied, glancing at his quiet and gentle daughter beside him, not wanting to bring up the upsetting parts just yet.
“Okay… Can I talk to our daughter for a bit?” Zhao Qiuying asked nervously.
“Hold on a second.”
“Ningning, your mom wants to say a few words to you. Is that okay?” Huo Shan asked, slightly nervous himself, unsure if Wei Jinning would be comfortable with it.
“Mm, of course.” Wei Jinning took the phone.
“Mom, it’s me.”
“Good, good! I’m your mom. I’m your mom… I missed you so much!” Zhao Qiuying burst into tears, quietly sobbing on the other end.
“Mom, don’t cry, okay? Or I’ll get sad too. Dad and I are almost home. I’m a little hungry… maybe you could make me something nice to eat?” Wei Jinning didn’t really know how to comfort people, so she gave her mom something to focus on instead.
“Okay, okay! Mom will cook for you personally. What do you like to eat?” Zhao Qiuying perked up instantly.
“Mom, I’m not picky. I’ll eat whatever you make.” Wei Jinning said.
“Okay, okay, okay. Not picky—good girl.” Zhao Qiuying nodded as she spoke, as if Wei Jinning could see her.
Huo Shan gestured for Wei Jinning to hand him back the phone.
“Honey, Ningning’s just coming home and doesn’t have a lot of things yet. Why don’t you and Jinxin go buy some of the essentials for her? Let Auntie Wang and the others take care of the meal, okay?”
Huo Shan was genuinely worried that their daughter’s first meal at home might land her in the hospital.
Zhao Qiuying was oddly confident in her cooking—but she couldn’t even tell sugar from salt.
“Mom, is it true? Has my little sister been found?” Huo Jinxin overheard the conversation and chimed in.
“Yes, your little sister has been found.” Zhao Qiuying replied.
“Mom, I think Dad is right. Our sister will have plenty of chances to eat your cooking in the future. Just for today, let’s leave it to Auntie Wang and the others, okay?”
“Let’s go fix up her room instead—make it so nice that she’ll love it! How about that?”
Huo Jinxin didn’t want her little sister’s first day home to be ruined by their mom’s questionable cooking. She finally had a sister—she had to make her stay.
Since the two shared the same birthday, it wasn’t clear who was older, but Huo Jinxin made her move first—she was going to be the big sister.
“Then… should I ask your sister first?” Zhao Qiuying was swayed by their suggestions but still wanted to check.
Huo Shan gestured to Wei Jinning to agree. She’d been following the conversation and originally just wanted to give Zhao Qiuying something to do—what it was didn’t matter.
But when she heard everyone’s reaction to her mom’s cooking, she couldn’t help but wonder what exactly was so bad about it.
Huo Shan kept gesturing, encouraging her to go along.
“Of course, Mom. And you don’t need to prepare too much. You and Sis don’t tire yourselves out.”
Wei Jinning could truly feel her mother’s care, and it warmed her heart.
“Not tired, not tired at all! I’ll go right now. Your room has always been there, waiting for you. It’s just that today I won’t have time to cook for you,” Zhao Qiuying said with a hint of regret.
“There’ll be plenty of time for that later. One meal doesn’t matter.” Wei Jinning replied.
“Alright, alright. Xinxin and I will head out now. We’ll talk more once you’re home.”
Zhao Qiuying reluctantly ended the call.
“Okay, Mom. Bye-bye.”
Wei Jinning handed the phone back to Huo Shan.
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