Lu Ting covered her mouth shakily as she hurriedly scrambled out of her room with her phone in her hand.
"Lu Jiang! Lu Quan! Lu Ran!"
She shouted their names as she ran down the corridor. She bumped into Lu Ran who left his room, immediately he heard her scream.
"Mom, what’s wrong?" Lu Ran held her arms once he got to her.
Taking a deep breath, Lu Ting asked, "where is your dad?"
"Dad?" Lu Ran repeated. "Oh, he is in the study with Lu Quan. What’s wrong, Mom?"
"Take me there," she took a deep breath. "I have found my daughter. I have found your sister."
Lu Ran was stunned as he parted his lips widely, but no words came out.
Seeing that Lu Ran wasn’t helping her, she struggled out of his grip and rushed to the study.
Lu Ting slammed the door open, breathing heavily while Lu Ran ran after her.
"Ting, what’s wrong?" Lu Jiang rose to his feet, and walked to her. Lu Quan glanced at Lu Ran who shook his head, indicating that he had no idea what was happening.
"Jiang... I found Xiao Ning." Lu Ting whispered.
"What?" Lu Jiang asked with furrowed brows.
"Yue Ning is Xiao Ning. She is our Lu Ning."
Silence stretched in the study after her words dropped. Her words were like stones dropped in still water causing a ripple.
Lu Jiang froze mid-step in his tracks as he brows furrowed deeper as though he hadn’t heard her words properly. "Ting... what did you just say?"
Lu Ting’s hands shook as she pushed her phone towards him. The doctor had already sent the DNA test reports to her.
"The hospital confirmed it. I actually met with Yue Ning today, and I secretly got a strand of hair from her." She paused in her words, trying to catch her breath. For more chapters visit noⅴelfire.net
"Afterwards, I went to the hospital and got a DNA test done. The results said there is a ninety-nine percent blood relationship with us. Yue Ning is our Xiao Ning."
Her voice cracked. "I wasn’t dreaming last night. Our daughter — Xiao Ning... she’s alive."
Lu Jiang’s hands trembled as he clutched the phone, his eyes scanning the words again and again, scared that he might be dreaming. His mind flew back to that night years ago—the chaos, the panic, the endless search that ended in despair.
He remembered holding Lu Ting as she wept herself into exhaustion. He remembered swearing to her and to himself that he would find their daughter.
Yet, years had slipped by like sand through his fingers, leaving only guilt to rot in his chest, and hope seemed far-fetched.
Now, as the truth stared at him, his vision blurred with unshed tears. He pressed the report to his chest. "Xiao Ning... forgive me. Forgive your father for not protecting you."
Lu Ting broke into sobs again, clinging to him. "We finally have her back, Jiang... this time, we must never let her go."
Lu Jiang nodded heavily, his jaw tight. "Even if I must give up everything I have, I’ll bring her back to us. Whoever dared to separate her from us will regret it."
Lu Ran’s eyes reddened. "Sister... my little sister... she’s alive." He stammered, relief washing over him as his tense shoulders relaxed.
Lu Quan exhaled, relief evident in his voice. "We dared not confirm it after the Yue couple left. But Mother, you did what we were scared to do." He paused, wiping his tears. "She is really our Xiao Ning. We have to acknowledge her."
Lu Ting nodded. "Yes, we have to acknowledge her."
"You are right. We have to bring her back home, and love her just as we should have." Lu Jiang agreed, his eyes still on the DNA results. His heart felt immense relief.
"But, there’s a problem." Lu Ran spoke up, and all eyes turned to him. "She is married to Huo Feng." He whispered.
The atmosphere turned moody instantly. They had already found their daughter, but she was already married. This feeling made their heart feel stifled.
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Ancestral Huo Mansion, The Next Morning>
Yue Ning stirred on her bed as the sunlight peeked from the curtains, landing on her which gave her an ethereal look.
Her eyelashes slowly fluttered open, as she forced herself to sit up.
’Host, your actions make you seem like a princess.’ The system’s teasing words resounded in her mind causing her to snap her eyes open.
"I might perhaps be a princess. Who knows?" Yue Ning replied as her eyes travelled around the room but with no sign of Huo Feng, and her eyes narrowed.
’Host, you are left with two days to complete your mission... or your points will be deducted.’ The system calmly reminded her.
Yue Ning brows creased, but she smiled. "What if my real family comes to find me, do I still complete the mission that way?" She asked, and her eyes narrowed as she waited for the system’s reply.
It was quiet for a while. It hated that its host was very smart.
Because of its unusual silence, Yue Ning chuckled dryly. "I guessed right, didn’t I?" She had spent quite some time with the system, enabling her to be able to read it. She didn’t want to get scammed like before anymore.
The system admitted unwillingly, ’you are quite smart.’
"Quite?" Yue Ning replied, finding the word to be offensive.
’Host, go and have your morning routine.’ The system changed the topic.
Yue Ning scoffed before leaving the bed.
A few minutes later, she came out fully dressed. She was putting on casual pants and a top, but that didn’t diminish her beauty. Instead, it made her look stunning and natural.
When she stepped out wiping her long hair, Huo Feng was already seated on the sofa. His eyes travelled round her body, and he gulped softly.
This was the first time he was seriously paying attention to her body, and this was when he noticed that she had a natural hourglass shape.
He cleared his throat softly, and Yue Ning snapped her gaze to him warily. Seeing that he was the one, she subconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
"I thought you’d have gone to the office," Yue Ning murmured, but it was loud enough for him to hear.
Huo Feng got up from the sofa, and took slow steps towards her. When he finally got to her, he gestured for her to take a seat in front of the mirror.
"Why?" She asked confusedly.
’Are you seriously still asking why? I am pretty sure he wants to help you with your hair. Host, don’t be dense, or all the romantic novels you’ve read would be all for nothing.’
The system complained loudly in her mind, instantly causing her brows to furrow.
"What’s wrong? I only want to help with drying your hair." He paused, playing with his fingers before he continued. "I hope you don’t mind. This would also be the first time I’d do this."
’Didn’t I tell you?’ The system was smug.
"Oh, shut up!" Yue Ning shot back mentally, but a smile was on her lips as she took her seat. A thought flashed through her mind, and she decided to tease him.
"Are you trying to tell me you haven’t done this for Yue Chen?" She asked as she calmly placed the towel on the vanity table while calmly staring at hers and Huo Feng’s reflection.
Yue Ning had only wanted to tease him, but as the warm air brushed against her scalp and his steady hands carefully parted her strands, her heart thumped wildly, and too loudly.
She caught his reflection in the mirror. His brows were furrowed in concentration, his usually cold eyes softened.
"I promise you, I haven’t done this for her, nor any other woman," he said seriously, his voice low but firm.
"You’re the first. And I hope you’ll be the last. I don’t want to have anything to do with anyone else... only you."
Her lips parted, but no words came out. The system"s gushing in her mind faded into the background, drowned out by the heavy rhythm of her own heartbeat.
Heat rose to her cheeks, and she quickly dropped her gaze, afraid he might see through her composure. For the first time in a long while, she couldn’t laugh it off or give a cheeky retort. Something between them had already shifted.
Instead, she whispered, her voice barely audible over the hair dryer, "Huo Feng... you’re making it hard for me to know what to do with you."
His actions paused for a moment, his breath catching in his throat, before he resumed with an even gentler touch.