Chapter 167 - Welcome Home

Yes, there was still that Nan family that's trying to get their revenge against her father. They could be one of the people behind her accident. But they were living in the Azure Republic, right? It has been so many years so why now?

"Welcome back, Jiejie." Xia Liqin's warm voice brought her back from recalling that certain memory.

Lu Mengjie's face lit up. That's right. She was back. She looked at the wolf and grinned the moment she saw her pet. "Weiwei! Come here boy!"

Unlike normal Canis, instead of excitedly rushing to his owner after a long time of not seeing them again, the wolf was different. He slowly stood on his four paws and began walking towards her. He was just about Lu Mengjie's waist. That was how big he was. He was unbelievably scary for normal onlookers but for the Lu family, Wei was not. They could never be scared of him when he was a part of their family.

"Look at you!" She sat in front of him and ruffled his fur. The animal began wagging his tail as she did but his guards were still up towards the man behind her, after all, he was a stranger. 

"Did you miss me? Hm? Did you?" 

The animal rubbed his head against her as if saying he did before finally, it shot its head at Yong Liwei and a low growl was heard from him.

"There, there Wei. He's my husband so be nice to him, okay?" She hugged him and kissed his head as she tried to calm him down.

Wei remained in place but he continued to growl and glare at the stranger.

Yong Liwei who was ignoring him at first finally cast his sharp gaze at the animal. He stared into its eyes. They said that one should never look long into an animal's eyes cause it meant that the person was challenging them and this could cause the animal to attack but that wasn't the case for Wei. Instead, his tail went in between his legs as he lowered his head and whimpered.

"Come," the man called although it sounded more like an order. 

Both the siblings were surprised when they saw their beloved pet who only listened to their family, walked his way towards Yong Liwei. When he petted his head, the wolf even wagged his tail, showing how much he liked to be petted by him.

It truly was shocking for a picky wolf-like Wei. Lu Mengjie stood and smiled. "He likes you."

"Does he have a wolf breed in his blood?" Yong Liwei inquired. 

"He's a full wolf." It was Xia Liqin who answered his question. He somehow looked displeased that even Wei who disliked being touched by others except for the family members, was now wagging his tail on the man who stole his sister from him.

"Mengjie?" A man's voice was heard. It was low yet warm. So familiar to Lu Mengjie. She knew who it belonged to. Her father, Lu Xian Yu.

They all turned their heads to the owner of the voice and there they saw a blond-haired middle-aged man in his white shirt and grey pants. His golden hair was perfectly styled—comb on the sides. He had a few lines on his face—a sign of old age, but still handsome. He was trim and fit. Beside him, a woman supported him. It was the mother of the half-siblings.

"Dad!" She hurried to his side.

Li Bingbing released her husband just so he could catch their daughter in his arms. He embraced her tightly, missing her presence so much.

"Foolish girl, where have you been? We were worried sick for you!" Despite his words, seeing his daughter unharmed brought relief in him. He has enemies, yes. He thought that she could have been kidnapped by one of them so for the past months, he went after them, looking for clues until his body reached his limit.

"I'm sorry dad." Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at him. Oh, how she wished she could tell him what happened but she could only hold back, not wanting to stress him out more with her problems.

Lu Xian Yu held his daughter's face with both hands before he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. 

"See? I told you she's fine," Li Bingbing said as she stood beside them.

When Lu Mengjie was released by her father, she turned to her mother and hugged her as well. "Mom."

Her mother embraced her back, even gently patting her back. "Welcome home, sweetie."

Yes, she was right. She was finally home. It felt like forever now that she thought of it. From waking up from her coma then entering the Bai family to slowly gaining back her memories.

"The next time you plan on disappearing, make sure to give us a call at least once a week, alright? Especially your dad." She patted her head. "You don't know how many men he tortured just to know your whereabouts."

"To which he failed," Xia Liqin added.

"She's my daughter after all—with her mom's hiding skills," their father chuckled. 

"Ah, yes. It took years before your father was able to find us," Li Bingbing chimed, chuckling as well.

"Come in, Mengmeng. We have to talk. You have a lot to explain."

Lu Mengjie ended up gulping when she heard her father's words. Oh, she knew what kind of questions he would ask alright. As much as possible, she wanted to avoid him.

"I apologize for spoiling your reunion." Yong Liwei who was quietly watching the family finally let his presence be noticed by them.

Lu Xian Yu turned his head to the other man and narrowed his eyes. He kind of blamed Yong Liwei for his daughter's disappearance so he was emitting hostility against him. He took a step forward and began approaching him. "You… You told me that you're going to return my daughter before curfew!"

Yong Liwei remained unfazed as he replied, "yes, I did but you only told the time. You never specified 'when'. You should have told me that I have to return her on the same day."

"..."