Supreme Heir Son-in-law

Chapter 806: Reunion After a Long Separation

Claude truly hadn’t expected Xu Ke to buy a ticket to go home so quickly. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. He blinked rapidly a couple of times before composing himself, "Since you’ve already bought your plane ticket, I can only wish you a safe trip. Please remember to keep in touch with me often," Claude said.

"I will," Xu Ke nodded, and the two of them said their goodbyes.

The drone of the plane echoed, leaving a white trail in the sky. Ely, who was helping her parents at the inn, suddenly ran outside, stuck her head out the window, and stared absentmindedly at the empty sky, her mind lost in thought. It felt as if a large piece of her heart had just gone missing.

"Ely, what’s wrong?" The innkeeper’s wife ran after her daughter and saw her looking up at the sky with tears streaming down her face, a sight that filled her with worry.

"I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just suddenly felt a pain here," Ely said, clutching her chest with a vacant expression.

The innkeeper’s wife looked at her daughter, who had become thinner and more haggard, her whole demeanor like a living corpse, barely human. Unable to control her tears, she cried.

"My dear daughter, how did you become like this for a man? If you really like him that much, your father and I won’t stop you. Go find him if it makes you happy. Your happiness is all that matters, and if you’re happy, we will be too." Seeing Ely’s former vibrant self reduced to this, the innkeeper’s wife’s heart ached to the point of breaking.

Yet Ely remained in her dazed state, looking as though she had lost her soul.

"I won’t look for him. What’s the point of getting rejected again? I’ll just leave it be. With time, I’ll forget about him. I can forget him, can’t I?" Ely asked, looking at her mother’s tear-streaked face.

"I believe you, I do," the innkeeper’s wife said tearfully.

"Then please stop crying, let’s go back inside." Ely wiped the tears from her mother’s cheeks and, holding her hand, went back into the inn.

Meanwhile, Xu Ke slept soundly on the plane. Upon reaching the airport, he met with the contact, confirmed their identity, handed over the gem he brought, and headed home.

His days in Holland had left him longing intensely for the taste of home, missing everything about it.

Xu Ke rushed home with all due speed and walked in to find the two women of the house having a meal.

"Have you not been eating well while I was gone? Why have you lost so much weight?" Xu Ke asked, approaching and gently touching Lin Mengyao’s now sharper chin.

Lin Mengyao had never expected the man she thought about day and night to return so suddenly. She stared wide-eyed as Xu Ke approached her, and it wasn’t until his warm fingers touched her face that she realized this was not a dream — Xu Ke had truly returned.

"Why did you come back only now? Do you know how worried I was these days? You left without a word. If someone hadn’t given me a message, I almost reported you missing. Do you understand that?" Lin Mengyao reached out to hit Xu Ke’s chest, tears welling up uncontrollably and streaming down her face.

"It’s all my fault, I’m so sorry, please don’t cry." Xu Ke, somewhat at a loss, tried to comfort Lin Mengyao, but sometimes people are strange; even if they hadn’t planned to cry, once others comfort them, the tears can’t be held back, spilling out like beads on a broken string, leaving Xu Ke heartbroken and not knowing what to do.

When Lin Mengyao finished crying and lifted her head from Xu Ke’s embrace, her eyes were swollen and red, her normally large eyes much smaller. Xu Ke, feeling both sorry and loving, kissed her eyes.

"Alright, no more crying, Xiaxia is watching. She might laugh at you," Xu Ke said, glancing at Yu Xia who was watching them.

Lin Mengyao peeked at Yu Xia, saw her indeed looking, and immediately hid her head in embarrassment.

Xu Ke released Lin Mengyao and stood in front of Yu Xia, measuring her height with his hand. "You’ve not grown taller, but you’ve gotten thinner. Haven’t you been eating properly?" Xu Ke asked.

At this mention, Lin Mengyao’s tears, which she had just held back, started to flow again. Fortunately, she stood behind Xu Ke so he couldn’t see her expression.

"I haven’t had much appetite lately, not that interested in eating," Yu Xia said with a pale smile.

Xu Ke, seeing her pale, thin face, frowned deeply.

Yu Xia was already petite, standing at only 1.62 meters tall and weighing just over 80 pounds, but now Xu Ke saw her even slimmer waist, thinking she must weigh less than 80 pounds now.

"Is it that you don’t like eating, or can’t eat at all?" Xu Ke asked, frowning.

"What are you saying? How could I not eat? I just lose my appetite around this time each year. Every year, I lose some weight, but it’s not much. It’s just that you haven’t seen me in a long time, so you think I’ve lost a lot," Yu Xia said, her head lowered, afraid to meet Xu Ke’s eyes, a clear sign of guilt that made Xu Ke’s heart skip a beat.

"What’s really going on? Are you hiding something from me?" Xu Ke looked at the two standing before him, both with heads bowed, feeling a growing sense of panic.

"I’m really fine," Yu Xia murmured quietly.

"I’m not blind. I can tell if you’re okay or not. Look at how skinny you are now. Your arm feels like it’ll snap with a touch. Look at your current state; do you seem alright?" Xu Ke picked up Yu Xia’s arm, touched her cold face, and spoke.

"And you’re so cold. Are you telling me you’re fine? What are you hiding from me?" Xu Ke directed this last question at Lin Mengyao.

"If you won’t tell me, I’ll ask Grandpa Zhao," Xu Ke gave the two women an ultimatum.

"It’s really nothing," Yu Xia said softly again, while Lin Mengyao stayed silent, her hands gripping her clothes tightly.

"If you won’t tell me, I’ll ask and investigate myself," Xu Ke said angrily, seeing that they still wouldn’t tell him the truth even now.