Chapter 1491: Great to Have You (51)

Long Xiaoxi left S Nation to study in M Nation when she was 14 years old. She stood at 1.55 meters and weighed 65 kilograms at the time. She had short hair and was chubby yet skilled in martial arts.

To everyone’s surprise, she stayed abroad for several consecutive years and refused to let anyone visit her, not even her brother or parents. She refused to make any video calls with them either and would only send them photos by mail. The only way they could contact her was via the telephone.

After completing her secondary and tertiary education in M Nation, Long Xiaoxi continued to get herself a job there.

Ever since she graduated from university, she stopped taking allowance from her parents and told them that she could live well on her own. However, Long Tianze could not put his mind at ease and continued to transfer her money as usual. To his surprise, she would transfer them back to him.

Long Tianze missed his daughter dearly. However, Long Xiaoxi stood firm on her decision and refused to let her parents visit her.

After Long Xiaoxi had been working for a year, Long Tianze decided that enough was enough. Hence, he decided to stage an act with his family and feigned illness. Long Xiaoxi only agreed to come home after hearing that her father was seriously ill and had been hospitalized.

She left when she was 14 years old and returned home when she was 23 years old.

Nine years had pa.s.sed.

Long Tianze, Mei Yangyang, and Long Wenlun rushed to the airport at five o’clock after hearing that Long Xiaoxi would be arriving at the airport at seven o’clock in the morning.

Everyone was eager and excited to see her. Although they had to wait for a long time, they did not feel tired at all.

“Xiaoxi must have been homesick when she was abroad. Why is she so stubborn? Who did she take after? Neither you nor I seem to be stubborn. Look how thin she has gotten. My heart aches just looking at this photo of her,” Long Tianze lamented.

Long Tianze had obtained a photo of Long Xiaoxi from a private investigator he had hired to shadow Long Xiaoxi. Although only her back view could be seen, he could tell that she had lost a lot of weight and seemed to weigh only 45 kilograms. On top of that, she had also grown much taller and seemed to be about 1.72 meters tall. Hence, she was extremely thin for her weight.

“It’s better to be slim, but she’s way too thin for her own good. I’ve already instructed the cooks to whip up a sumptuous spread. Xiaoxi needs some nourishment. Since she’s back, we must do whatever we can to stop her from leaving again. She actually left for nine full years without coming home at all. I must chide her when I see her later,” said Mei Yangyang.

“Don’t do that. Do you really think she didn’t want to come home? She’s more upset than we are,” said Long Tianze.

Mei Yangyang teared up and said, “Fine, fine, I won’t chide her. Let’s wait for her on that bench. It’s still early.”

“If you’re tired, you may go there and sit down. I’ll wait here with Wenlun.”

Seeing how stubborn Long Tianze was, Mei Yangyang decided to take a seat and ignore him.

Long Tianze walked out of the arrival hall with her luggage at 7:10 am. Upon the sight of her, Long Tianze immediately sprinted toward her while Long Wenlun followed closely behind. Mei Yangyang was the last of the three.

Long Xiaoxi burst into tears the moment she saw them. As soon as she called her father, Long Tianze wrapped his arms tightly around her and they began bawling loudly.

“You heartless child. How could you do this to your parents? Are you not going to come home unless I’m dead?”

“No…”

Long Tianze was at a loss for words. He had lost all control of his emotions in public.

Long Wenlun and Mei Yangyang had broken down in tears as well.

After they were done crying, Long Tianze stared at her gaunt face and asked, “What happened to your chubby cheeks? Where did all your fats go to? Who told you to lose weight? Didn’t I remind you to eat more and feed yourself well?”

Long Xiaoxi was at a loss for words. Choking with sobs, she answered, “I didn’t have the appet.i.te.”

Long Tianze said, “Let’s go home.”

“Daddy, you lied to me.”

“Yeah, how else could I make you come home?”

“I heard that you were ill and so I resigned from my job and sold my house.”

Upon hearing her words, Long Tianze said agitatedly, “Well done, don’t go abroad anymore. Just stay by our side. We missed you so much.”

Long Xiaoxi agreed with a nod.

Staring at Long Wenlun, she smiled and said, “Brother, you’ve become so tall and handsome. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Long Wenlun said, “You’re the one who shocked me greatly. You’ve lost too much weight. You don’t even look like your old self. Your eyes have gotten bigger, your nose has gotten sharper, and your mouth has become smaller. Did you get plastic surgery?”

Long Xiaoxi rolled her eyes and said, “Your sister is au naturale. Our parents have such great genes, do I even need to get plastic surgery?”

Long Tianze smacked his son and said, “Exactly. Your mother and I are genetically blessed. What are you waiting for? Hurry and move your sister’s luggage to the car.”

“Yes, Pops.”

Long Wenlun was in charge of driving his family home. Long Xiaoxi sat in the middle of the backseat, in between her parents who were holding onto each of her hands tightly. Long Xiaoxi was entirely amused. It was as if they were afraid of losing her.

“Isn’t it so much better to be at home? You can go out to work whenever you’d like and take a break whenever you’d please. I’ll provide for you. You don’t have to work so hard. I didn’t give birth to you to let you work so hard,” said Long Tianze.

“Daddy, I’m not working for the money. I’m working to make my life as meaningful as possible. How can I be jobless? Besides, I’m working in a field that’s closely related to what I majored in during university. However, I feel like working in a different field now.”

Long Tianze asked, “Oh? What would you like to work as?”

“I’d like to work as a model.”

Surprised to hear her answer, Long Tianze asked, “Why?”

“No reason. I just want to try a different lifestyle. Perhaps I’d want to do something else once I’m sick of being a model.”

“You have my support. Fortunately, you inherited my tall stature. If you were as pet.i.te as your mother, you can forget about being a model.”

Glaring at him, Mei Yangyang said, “Yes, yes, you deserve all the credit. I was the one who gave birth to her, though.”

Long Tianze smirked and said, “I was just stating facts. Look how tall and leggy our Xiaoxi is.”

They arrived back in Wei Ni Estate. Long Xiaoxi had been keeping her eyes peeled onto the scenery outside.

It was no longer like what she remembered.

It felt familiar yet foreign at the same time.

She had long gotten used to living independently after staying abroad by herself for so many years. She had never paid attention to the news nor thought about Jin Yiheng. She no longer wanted to have anything to do with him since they could not be friends.

They drove into Wei Ni Estate slowly.

The gates of An Xiaoning’s mansion opened at the same time that Long Tianze’s did.

Long Xiaoxi looked over to see a black car exiting from the yard. Although it was just a quick glance, she instantly recognized that the person driving was Jin Yiheng.