Meimei returned

"Hi-yah!"

Just as Qin Yan trembled in fright at everything that had happened and hugged herself tightly, a childish voice suddenly rang out.

The little one looked over, crying pitifully, tears clinging to her eyelashes.

A little mouse had appeared before her at some point, striking a fighting pose with one tiny pink foot planted on something.

It was blackish red and writhing.

"Did you ask my permission before bullying my baby?"

"Die, you bastard!"

The mouse ground its foot down hard. The finger-thick, blackish-red strip seemed to let out a scream before dissipating.

Qin Yan stared blankly at the soft, adorable little mouse.

The hamster-like creature, resembling a little golden ball, scurried up to Qin Yan on four short legs.

"Baby, did you miss me?"

"Were you scared? That damned thing actually bullied a child. Shameless!"

Seeing the pretty little one frightened out of her wits, her little face deathly pale and so many tears spilled, broke Meimei's heart.

Meimei was scratching its head, trying to think of how to comfort her.

A pair of little hands picked it up and cradled it in their palms.

Qin Yan held the warm golden hamster up until it was level with her eyes.

She sniffled and hesitantly called out a name.

"Meimei?"

Meimei was instantly overjoyed.

"Yes, baby, it's me! Meimei's back! I'm never leaving again. I'm staying with you from now on."

"Waaah..."

As Meimei chattered on, the little one suddenly burst into tears.

She cried very loudly, too.

She hugged Meimei tightly against her little face.

There were tears of hurt and fear, as well as tears of joy at their reunion.

It broke Meimei's heart.

"Don't cry, baby, don't cry. You won't look pretty if your eyes swell up like walnuts."

"Let's hurry and leave. You're trapped in a nightmare. Your uncles and grandpa are so worried out there."

"This is a bad memory. I'll erase it for you, and once you wake up, you won't remember any of it."

Qin Yan sniffled and nodded, softly agreeing through her tears.

"Come on, baby. Meimei will take you out of here."

Meimei took Qin Yan straight through the confines of that space.

In reality, Qin Yan slowly opened her eyes.

"She's awake! She's awake!"

The people gathered around the bed immediately noticed the little one waking up and all leaned closer.

Qin Yan's head hurt a little. She opened her eyes with a whimper and saw several large heads.

"Grandpa."

"Eldest Uncle."

"Youngest Uncle."

Her voice was a little faint as she greeted them one by one.

They all looked somewhat disheveled.

Their eyes were red, with dark circles beneath them, and stubble had grown on their faces.

Their usual polished elegance was completely gone.

Old Master Fu asked, "How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"

Fu Yunting asked, "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

Although Fu Nanshan said nothing, his eyes were full of concern as he looked at her.

Qin Yan sat up and looked around.

Aside from her relatives, Little Black Dog Jinbao, Tuantuan, and that butterfly were all at home.

Where was Meimei?

Meimei?

She called out inwardly.

I'm here, baby, I'm here. I'm outside the Fu Family Residence right now. Don't worry, I'll be in soon.

Only after hearing Meimei's reply did the little one finally relax completely.

"You slept for three days. You scared us to death."

During those three days, Fu Nanshan had been able to tell that Qin Yan was trapped in a nightmare.

But he had not been able to find a way to resolve it right away.

He had even called his master at Hanshan Temple, intending to borrow the Illuminating Lamp.

"What matters is that you're awake."

Held in their arms, Qin Yan's lips turned down slightly.

"I was so scared."

She voiced her grievance pitifully.

"But I forgot what I was scared of."

After waking up, Qin Yan remembered nothing, but she remembered the loneliness of not having her grandpa and uncles beside her, along with the lingering fear.

The whole family immediately comforted her.

"It's all right. It's good that you can't remember. Whatever scared you certainly wasn't anything good!"

Qin Yan nodded obediently.

Hungry, she was taken downstairs to eat.

She still had Meimei on her mind.

As soon as she got downstairs, she ran outside.

Then, following Meimei's directions, she quickly found a grubby little hamster.

Baby, I've come to find you!

The little hamster's voice still sounded directly in her mind.

Qin Yan cupped the little hamster in her hands and held it up before her three relatives, her eyes positively shining.

"Grandpa, Uncles, can I keep Meimei?"

The soft, pretty baby looked at her relatives with boundless anticipation.

Old Master Fu nodded without hesitation. "Of course."

Fu Yunting rubbed his chin. "What breed is this?"

It looked just like a hamster, except its fur seemed longer than an ordinary hamster's. Golden and chubby, it was quite good-looking.

But... he did not remember hamsters having such long tails!

Yes, Meimei had a tail slightly longer than its body.

Unlike a mouse's seemingly hairless, bare tail, its tail was covered in a thin layer of white down.

At the tip, however, was a little fluffy ball.

It looked rather unique.

Fu Nanshan had never seen this breed of hamster either.

"Hurry and wash your hands, then eat."

At the dining table, Meimei was placed on a stool beside her.

One tiny mouse occupied an entire stool.

Meimei, is there anything you want to eat?

Meimei replied, I'm not eating. Hurry and finish, then let's go to your room. I brought you something good.

Qin Yan obediently agreed and ate just a tiny bit faster.

But she had to eat her fill before putting down her chopsticks.

It was a habit she had developed after returning from having gone hungry before. Not eating her fill made her anxious.

"Grandpa, Uncles, I'm full. I'm going to give Meimei a bath."

After politely letting them know, the little one happily scampered upstairs with Meimei.

Old Master Fu said, "Meimei... why does that name sound familiar?"

"Oh, right!"

He clapped his hands. "I remember now. When Yanyan first came back, didn't she sometimes talk to thin air? She called out to Meimei then."

Then he looked at his eldest son. "Didn't you say you were going to ask her how she knew about the Fu Family?"

Fu Yunting rubbed his nose. "I was thinking I'd wait until we were closer before asking. What if I frightened her and she stopped being close to her eldest uncle?"

"Then why don't you go ask now? I keep feeling that mouse is a little unusual."

Fu Yunting was reluctant. "Why don't you go, then?"

Old Master Fu said, "I'm afraid I'll frighten her. What if she stops being close to me?"

"She has five uncles, but only one grandpa."

Fu Yunting: ...

Fu Nanshan: ...

By then, Qin Yan had entered her room holding Meimei and Tuantuan, with Little Black Dog Jinbao following behind.

Meimei said, "Baby, you have no idea. To come find you, I spent a huge sum of points to terminate my employment contract with the Main System. I'm free from now on!"

"To see you, I went to the Cultivation Realm plane to find a body. The Beast Race there had started fighting, and quite a few spirit beasts had died. I originally had my sights set on a nine-tailed fox cub that had just died, but a blast of energy struck me and knocked me into a treasure-seeking mouse cub. That's how I ended up like this."

"I'm nowhere near as impressive or beautiful as a nine-tailed fox."

Qin Yan's eyes curved as she stroked the little treasure-seeking mouse.

"But Meimei is so cute."