CHAPTER 1378: CHAPTER 1378 BETTER SOONER THAN LATER

Three days later, Ji Lin returned to the country with her second son, who was born over quota.

Luo Qiao didn’t leave together with Ji Wei and the others. She first went to school to finish a class before driving to the airport.

The moment everyone saw Ji Lin, they couldn’t believe it. After a year apart, she had put on thirty or forty pounds.

Ji Wei shouted over to Ji Lin as she walked out: "Honey, here, over here!"

When Ji Lin finally came over, Ji Wei hurried to her: "Honey, you’re finally back!"

He originally wanted to hug her but felt too shy to do so in such a public place.

Instead, he turned to Ji Lin’s mother, who was holding the baby, saying, "Mom, you must be exhausted."

Ji Yongde, Ji Lin’s father, looked at his daughter and sighed, "Looks like overseas you’ve been eating too much butter and cheese. How did you gain so much weight?"

Ji Lin’s face flushed with embarrassment. "Dad, could you not embarrass me like this? Can’t you just say it’s because of acclimatization issues?"

Ji Yongde retorted bluntly, "Oh, please. People who struggle with acclimatization usually lose weight. Never heard of someone gaining weight from it."

Ji Lin decided to ignore her dad, turning to Ji Wei, who had just taken the baby from her mom’s arms. "Ji Wei, all you care about is your son. Even now, you’re not defending me when I’m getting picked on!"

Ji Wei glanced at his father-in-law. He thought to himself, "I was only trying to keep the drama away from me, yet now even my wife won’t let me off the hook."

He had no choice but to laugh awkwardly and say, "Dad is just joking with you. He missed you the most over the past year."

Then he didn’t forget to glance over at his father-in-law. "Right, Dad? Isn’t that true?"

Ji Yongde, seeing his son-in-law’s desperation to survive, felt a bit sympathetic. "Yes, over the past year, I’ve missed you the most. How could I start picking on you the moment we meet?"

But Ji Lin, always unpredictable, stared at Ji Wei for a while. "So what you’re saying is, Dad loves me more than you do, huh?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Wei thought, "Oh great, this little troublemaker is looking to stir things up now."

He shot a pleading glance towards his father-in-law, who looked like he was enjoying the show, silently signaling, "Dad, say something to help me out here!"

He glanced occasionally at his mother-in-law, as if trying to convey, "Mom, if you don’t help me, you know I’ll turn the tables and cause trouble for Dad later."

Ji Yongde chuckled, "Ji Wei calls you every single day like clockwork. Who else would do that? Cut him some slack already."

Luo Qiao approached just in time to see the father-in-law and son-in-law exchanging subtle facial expressions, laughing as she said, "Ji Lin, welcome back to the country."

Ji Lin, seeing Luo Qiao, ignored everything else. "Qiaoqiao, I missed you so much!"

Luo Qiao whispered, "What on earth have you been eating in your postpartum confinement? You’ve gained so much weight."

Ji Lin, sounding a bit annoyed, said, "I have no idea what happened. Ever since I gave birth to my second son, this weight just won’t drop."

Luo Qiao glanced at her and laughed quietly. "It’s fine. You’re tall anyway, and the extra meat actually makes you look cute. I bet you’d feel great to hug."

Ji Lin laughed and immediately reached out playfully to grab her.

Ji Lin’s mother, watching her daughter’s playful interaction with Luo Qiao, chuckled and said, "Alright, now. You’re at the airport. When are you ever going to change this personality of yours?"

Ji Lin smiled at Luo Qiao, "You’re off the hook for now."

Once they got in the car, Luo Qiao remembered something from the day before. "Ji Lin, I ran into Shen Juan at the bus station yesterday. Once you’ve adjusted to the time difference, let’s call up Miao Shuang. The four of us can find a spot to meet up."

Ji Lin lit up with excitement. "Sure! Let’s check their schedules. I haven’t seen Shen Juan in so many years."

******

Meanwhile, at the Ning Family’s home: "Have you gotten all the details?"

"Yes, it took a lot of effort to find out."

"So, this kid is about to graduate college? And he went to a military academy?"

"That’s right. He’s currently interning at a military unit. In a few months, he’ll officially be assigned to a unit."

"Joining the army is great. Coming out of college, he’ll be a second lieutenant, a deputy platoon-level officer."

"But the kid doesn’t want to reconnect with us. Now that he’s graduating college, we can’t offer any tangible support. He probably wants even less to do with us."

"How will you know unless you try?"

"Exactly. No matter what, now that we’ve found him, that’s something. He’s such an accomplished young man; we have to find a way to reconnect with him."

"Alright, I’ll ask a friend to keep an eye on things. The moment he’s back in the city, we’ll get informed right away."

"Good, this isn’t something we should delay."