Chapter 459 - The Return Of Lu Zihao Part I

Iris gasped before her face broke into a delighted smile. The others stopped talking when they saw the sudden change in her expression. They all looked at her, silently asking her what was going on. But instead of answering them, she stood up and excused herself.

She hurried out of the indoor forest, running to reach the grand foyer as quickly as possible. The drive from the massive gates to the mansion took around twenty minutes. It would take some time before Lu Zihao and his people reached the mansion. Iris wanted to be there to greet him when he arrived.

The butler was already there with some of the household staff when she arrived at the grand foyer.She waited with them, pacing in a restless manner while glancing at the closed double doors. She couldn't wait for the doors to open andreveal her big brother who she hadn't seen for so long.

"Ketchup, are they here yet?" Iris asked.

"Meow~ Not yet, Mommy. Uncle Zihao and the people with him will arrive in

"11 minutes and 34 seconds

"Would you like me to do a countdown, Mommy? Meow~"

Iris nodded. "Yes. Good idea, Ketchup. Do a countdown every minute and then a full countdown for the last 30 seconds."

"Okay, Mommy! Meow~"

Iris felt very impatient, continuing to pace around the foyer. Then she muttered, "Why is his driver so slow? There are no traffic enforcers in the property. The driver should just step on the gas pedal and hurry up."

The butler and the staff inwardly agreed with Ketchup. Their mistress was acting too impatient.

Everyone in the household staff was already used to Ketchup suddenly talking out of nowhere. They already recovered from their earlier shock when they first encountered that cat AI. Like Xu Tian, they thought that their master bought the technology from a developer somewhere. They never thought that the impressive cat AI was created by their own mistress.

Even when their master and mistress didn't warn them, the household staff had no intention of telling others about Ketchup. They all prided themselves as professional and discreet employees. What happened in Dragon Palace Home #10, stayed in Dragon Palace Home #10. In addition, they were all very loyal to their master and mistress.

So Ketchup didn't hold back and frequently chatted with the staff. It was only when there were visitors would Ketchup stop talking and contact people through phone calls, like what she did earlier at the indoor forest.

Although Iris was friends with Long Jinjing and Chen Fei, she still held some reservations about revealing Ketchup to them. It wasn't that she didn't trust them enough. It was for their own safety. The less they knew, the less danger for them if Ketchup's existence and origins became exposed. At least when it came to Dom and the others, they all lived in Iris and Jin Liwei's households so they were all under the couple's direct protection, unlike Long Jinjing and Chen Fei who lived separately.

Back to the present, Ketchup finally began the last 30-second countdown.

The butler moved to open the big double doors, while the maids and the houseboys lined up. Iris moved past them and stationed herself right in the middle of the doorway. She could already see several cars approaching the mansion. When they stopped at the circular driveway, Iris immediately ran out, ignoring the concerned call of the butler who wanted her to wear a jacket first.

Several men came out of the cars, as she ran down the stone steps of the front entrance. Finally, a figure climbed out of one of the cars. Iris immediately headed towards him and threw herself into his waiting arms.

"Big Brother!" Iris greeted in Russian.

"Little sister, let's go inside," he urged her, also speaking in Russian. A minute had already passed, but she still refused to let go of his neck. "It's getting cold. Why did you run outside without your jacket?"

"You've been gone for so long," she said against his neck. "Why?"

He sighed again. "I had important matters I needed to finish first. Let's talk inside. I've been told that you're very busy this season. We can't have you getting sick from the cold. Are you going to walk on your own or do you want me to carry you like a little girl?"

Iris finally let go of his neck. Lu Zihao lowered her until her feet touched the ground. She took a step back to finally take a closer look at him. Her eyes widened at his appearance. He looked so different compared to when she last saw him.

He looked bigger, bulkier and more solid. Although he was wearing a black long-sleeved, turtleneck shirt and a leather jacket, Iris could still tell that his body had become very muscular underneath his clothes. She also felt it when she hugged him earlier.

Before, his body build was similar to Jin Chonglin'smuscular yet slender. In fact, Lu Zihao was thinner than Jin Chonglin, almost frail, because his body was still recovering from its weak and injured condition back then. He was also smaller than Jin Liwei a few months ago, but now he was definitely bigger. No wonder he was very stable when she threw herself at him earlier.

His physique, however, wasn't the only thing that changed about him.

There was now a long, diagonal scar on his face. It started just below his left eye and ran across his entire cheek down to the edge of his left jaw. It was completely healed now, but Iris could tell that it was deep when he got wounded.

The scar should have marred his handsome face and made him ugly, but it did the exact opposite. It only made him more attractive in a dangerous and mysterious way.