A Familiar Figure

“I want to see Mom! Give me back my mom!” Wei Tiantian stood at the gate of the Xia family estate, crying and shouting, drawing a crowd of onlookers who, unaware of the full situation, began berating the Xia family.

Despite the Xia family’s urgent release of a clarifying statement, Xia Corporation’s stock still slipped slightly.

Wei Xunzhou knelt at the estate gate day after day, rain or shine, refusing to leave.

This daily spectacle became fodder for their rivals, who took photos and videos to mock the family relentlessly.

The health of Xia’s parents, already fragile, worsened under the strain. Xia Chenxuan was not without attempts at stern measures—whether driving them away or locking them up—it was all in vain.

Like they possessed some magical charm, Wei Xunzhou and his son invariably reappeared at the gate the very next day.

If not for the special bureau’s discovery of residual system traces on Wei Xunzhou and Wei Ming, traces that enabled them to appear anywhere except abroad at will, the Xia family might well have believed they were haunted.

Now, with Xia Mengge’s sudden return to the country—and the family’s dependence on her—they had no idea how to confront her entanglement with these two.

Knowing the father and son well, Xia Mengge had slipped back in through the back door, staying strictly within the estate these past few days.

Yet hiding was no solution; the main banquet for Xia Senior’s birthday was imminent.

Distinguished guests and media would attend, and if they found Wei Xunzhou still kneeling at the gate and Wei Tiantian causing a scene, not only would Xia Senior’s celebration be ruined, but the entire Xia family would become a laughingstock.

From behind the curtain, Xia Mengge watched the two outside the gate, a resolute flicker in her eyes.

This was the ninth day Wei Xunzhou had knelt there, with only one day left before he and his son would be sent back to the mission world.

They still had not seen Xia Mengge.

But he knew she was inside the estate—that was the closest he and his son had ever been to her.

It was the only chance he could grasp; he had to see her!

Wei Ming’s voice cracked after a day of crying out, “Dad, do you think Mom will come see us?”

Since Xia Mengge’s cold words over the phone, Wei Ming’s heart had begun to give up—because in his memory, her words were always promises kept.

If she said she didn’t want them, it had to be true.

Yet Wei Xunzhou nodded firmly; he could not believe she would abandon seven years of shared love.

So he brought his son to kneel before the Xia estate. Even if Xia Mengge disliked him, Wei Ming was the child she had carried for ten months.

She couldn’t be so heartless as to let the child suffer this way.

But from dawn to dusk, neither Xia Mengge nor anyone else appeared.

Wei Xunzhou’s heart grew heavier with unease—the time before their mission reset was nearly upon them!

Once the clock struck twelve, he and his son would be sent back to the mission world, never to see Xia Mengge again.

This was the one thing he dreaded most in life.

As the light in Wei Xunzhou’s eyes dimmed,

a figure slowly approached, surrounded by countless bodyguards.

Seven years of marriage were enough for Wei Xunzhou to recognize the owner of that silhouette.

His once-fading gaze brightened instantly; ignoring the pain in his knees, he sprang to his feet.

Wei Ming, beside him, also recognized the figure, rising excitedly only to drop back to his knees moments later.

“Mengge!”

“Mom!”

Xia Mengge did not respond. She glanced at her wristwatch and said, “Ten minutes left before you have to leave.”

The father and son paled. Knowing this was their final chance, they laid bare every hurt they had caused her because of Li Yuntang, pleading for forgiveness.

They poured out their regret and longing accumulated over the years.

At last, they begged earnestly for one more chance.

Wei Xunzhou stepped forward to embrace her but was pushed back by the bodyguards in front of her.

He could only stand there, eyes filled with desperate pleading: “Mengge, I was wrong, I truly know I was wrong. Please, give me a chance. Please?”

Wei Ming, too, wanted to rush forward like before and cling to her leg...