Qin Xi waved at the man behind her.
"Mom, maybe you should check in on your son too?" Mu Side leaned closer to Shu Lanzhou and grabbed Qin Xi's hand. "We're at the airport—can we wait until we're home to do all this? You're a bit too enthusiastic for your daughter-in-law to handle. If you scare her off, where am I going to find you another one?"
"Well, well! My son who always spits out his words one syllable at a time can finally string a full sentence together?" Qin Xi shot him a glare. "Shouldn't you be helping your dad get the luggage?"
She turned with Shu Lanzhou still in hand. "Lanzhou, this is your great-aunt Mu Ya'an. Behind her is her son, Mu Sirui—you've met them both in video calls before."
"And this is Qianqian, Mu Side's younger sister. Qianqian, come say hi to your sister-in-law."
Mu Sixi stepped forward, slipping her arm into Shu Lanzhou's. "Hi, sis! I'm Qianqian. You look even younger in person than you did on video. You've really finished grad school?"
"I really did," Shu Lanzhou said with a soft laugh, then turned to Mu Ya'an. "Great-aunt."
Unlike the stern and aloof Mu Yaning, Mu Ya'an's face radiated warmth. Her features were delicate and serene, with a timeless grace that made her seem untouched by hardship—like someone who had lived a quiet, peaceful, and happy life.
No one would guess she had once lived through a nightmare.
Mu Ya'an smiled gently. "As expected, such a lovely and graceful girl. Our A-De really has good taste."
"This is a gift from me to you." She pulled a set of silver needles from her bag. "I had these custom-made before I left the country. Every size and type is included, each needle in its own sterile casing—easy to carry and use."
Shu Lanzhou adored the gift and accepted it with a smile. "Thank you, Great-aunt."
"It's me who should thank you." Mu Ya'an smiled again. "Sirui, go on, greet your sister-in-law."
Mu Sirui looked at Shu Lanzhou. "I'm Mu Sirui, a few months younger than my big brother. Nice to meet you, sister-in-law."
"Nice to meet you," Shu Lanzhou replied with a smile.
Mu Sirui had inherited all the best features of the Mu family. While not quite as striking as Mu Side, he was still a rare kind of handsome.
As the greetings ended, Mu Side and Mu Rongxie returned with their checked luggage. They were joined by Mu Ronghe.
Mu Ronghe glanced at Shu Lanzhou. "Let's get in the car first. We'll talk at home."
—
The Mu family residence hadn't been this lively in a long time. He Xin and his family of three had come home early to wait for their return.
As the car pulled up, Mu Yaning emerged with the old lady, supporting her as they walked toward the vehicle.
"Mom. Little Sis." Mu Ronghe called out softly. Even though they saw each other often through video calls, everyone's eyes welled with tears in that moment.
There were quiet hugs and sniffles. The old matriarch clung to her eldest son and murmured, "It's good you're back. That's all that matters."
The last time he'd returned home was when their father had passed away. So many years had passed since then.
Tears that had just dried began to fall again when she saw Mu Ya'an.
"Big girl," the old lady's voice trembled.
Mu Ya'an gripped her mother's hand and forced a small smile through her tears. "Mom, it's all my fault for being unfilial. I've made you worry all these years."
"I've had a good life abroad, but I won't leave you again."
The old lady cried and laughed at once. "Good, good. No more leaving. No one's leaving again. From now on, the whole Mu family will stay together."
Mu Ronghe ushered everyone inside.
"I'll take over," Mu Yaning said, stepping forward to take the wheelchair from Mu Sirui. "You all go ahead."
The two sisters trailed behind.
Mu Ya'an reached up and grabbed her sister's hand on the wheelchair's handle. "You've worked hard all these years. If it weren't for you, this family would've fallen apart."
"Yaning, I'm not as strong as you. You're the true backbone of this family."
Mu Yaning shook her head.
"I wouldn't say that. I know you and Big Brother didn't abandon Mu Medical when you went abroad. I've heard you both did very well overseas."
"I think even without me, one day you would've brought Mu Medical's success back home. You've always been more gifted than I am."
"You were always better at the Mu family's acupuncture techniques too."
"You're still hung up on that?" Mu Ya'an sighed. "Yaning, you're already the successor of Mu Medical, and—"
"You think that's what I'm mad about?" Mu Yaning walked around to face her, eyes flashing with anger as she pointed at her sister's legs. "You destroyed yourself for that bastard, and you don't want me to be angry? Sis, sure, I was competitive as a kid, maybe even jealous of you."
"But then Dad told me everyone has their own path. His youngest daughter wasn't born to worry—she deserved to live a happy, carefree life."
"That's when I let it go. I accepted He Xin's proposal, got married early, had Sixin, became a university professor… we were happy for quite a while."
"Until what happened to you… Mom says I'm selfish, but I think you're the most selfish one in the Mu family. Every decision you made was for yourself. Did you ever think about anyone else?"
"Because of your legs, Big Brother and his wife delayed starting a family for years. Because of your legs, our parents never dared to ask you to come back, afraid it would be too hard on you."
"All these years, just because of Han Weicheng, you refused to come home. Did you never consider that our parents might miss you? That the rest of us were worried about you?"
"Is that scumbag all you ever think about? Do you even know what he's done to our family over the years?"
Mu Ya'an gripped the wheelchair's arms tightly, veins bulging on the backs of her hands. Her head lowered.
"You're right. I was selfish. My choices dragged the entire family down."
Mu Yaning let out a cold snort. "Tell that to Mom yourself. I'm not selfish—you are."
She turned, walked behind the wheelchair again, and pushed her toward the house.
Mu Ya'an almost laughed. It felt like they were children again.
Back then, her little sister always tried to compete. Every time their parents scolded her, she'd pull Ya'an in to share the blame. Now, even at their age, she was still acting like that—so childish.
But that childishness reminded her: no matter how badly she had messed up or how stubborn she had been, her family had never given up on her.
Her sister was the best sister in the world.
When they entered the house, the rest of the family was already laughing and chatting together.
Seeing them come in, Gu Wan stood up.
"Alright, time to get some rest and shake off the jet lag. The rest of you, come help me in the kitchen. Tonight, we're having a real family feast."
Everyone was herded off. The old lady pulled Mu Yaning and Long Xingyu into the kitchen. "Today, I'm cooking. You two help me out."
"Come on, let me," said Mu Rongxie, rolling up his sleeves.
He Xin followed behind. "Yeah, yeah, how could we let Mom do the cooking? Just give the orders, or pick the dishes—you and Second Brother can leave the rest to me."
"I'm in too—I'll help," Mu Side volunteered.
He Sixin and Shu Lanzhou also stood up. "Count us in."
—
Soon, the whole family was working together, and a massive table of dishes was laid out in no time. Once everything was ready, Mu Side went upstairs to call everyone down for dinner.
Midway through the meal, Gu Wan put down her chopsticks.
"Mu Rongxie, it's time to tell everyone about that matter."