459 The Return of Lu Zihao Part I (2/2)

Although Iris was friends with Long Jinjing and Chen Fei, she still held some reservations about revealing Ketchup to them. It wasn't that she didn't trust them enough. It was for their own safety. The less they knew, the less danger for them if Ketchup's existence and origins became exposed. At least when it came to Dom and the others, they all lived in Iris and Jin Liwei's households so they were all under the couple's direct protection, unlike Long Jinjing and Chen Fei who lived separately.

Back to the present, Ketchup finally began the last 30-second countdown.

The butler moved to open the big double doors, while the maids and the houseboys lined up. Iris moved past them and stationed herself right in the middle of the doorway. She could already see several cars approaching the mansion. When they stopped at the circular driveway, Iris immediately ran out, ignoring the concerned call of the butler who wanted her to wear a jacket first.

Several men came out of the cars, as she ran down the stone steps of the front entrance. Finally, a figure climbed out of one of the cars. Iris immediately headed towards him and threw herself into his waiting arms.

”Big Brother!” Iris greeted in Russian.

Lu Zihao easily caught his sister who ignored the last three steps and just leaped to him. The forceful impact of her entire weight hitting him didn't faze him at all. His feet remained rooted to the ground and his body was steady, as his arms wrapped around her. He tried putting her down on the ground, but her arms hugged his neck tightly, refusing to let go of him. He sighed and patted her back, while a doting smile gentled his expression.

”Little sister, let's go inside,” he urged her, also speaking in Russian. A minute had already passed, but she still refused to let go of his neck. ”It's getting cold. Why did you run outside without your jacket?”

”You've been gone for so long,” she said against his neck. ”Why?”

He sighed again. ”I had important matters I needed to finish first. Let's talk inside. I've been told that you're very busy this season. We can't have you getting sick from the cold. Are you going to walk on your own or do you want me to carry you like a little girl?”

Iris finally let go of his neck. Lu Zihao lowered her until her feet touched the ground. She took a step back to finally take a closer look at him. Her eyes widened at his appearance. He looked so different compared to when she last saw him.

He looked bigger, bulkier and more solid. Although he was wearing a black long-sleeved, turtleneck shirt and a leather jacket, Iris could still tell that his body had become very muscular underneath his clothes. She also felt it when she hugged him earlier.

Before, his body build was similar to Jin Chonglin's—muscular yet slender. In fact, Lu Zihao was thinner than Jin Chonglin, almost frail, because his body was still recovering from its weak and injured condition back then. He was also smaller than Jin Liwei a few months ago, but now he was definitely bigger. No wonder he was very stable when she threw herself at him earlier.

His physique, however, wasn't the only thing that changed about him.

There was now a long, diagonal scar on his face. It started just below his left eye and ran across his entire cheek down to the edge of his left jaw. It was completely healed now, but Iris could tell that it was deep when he got wounded.

The scar should have marred his handsome face and made him ugly, but it did the exact opposite. It only made him more attractive in a dangerous and mysterious way.