Zhou Huai'an ignored him, but Lü Zhigang kept pressing, a mischievous grin on his face as he followed him out.

"Hey, come on, tell me," he persisted even outside. "What did you dream about?"

Just as he finished speaking, Lin Xiaoxiao from the next room emerged, dark circles under her eyes, looking listless. "Morning," she said drowsily. "Who had a dream?"

Lü Zhigang immediately clammed up and looked at Zhou Huai'an.

Zhou Huai'an quickly glanced at Lin Xiaoxiao. "Have you washed up? Let's get breakfast. After eating, I'll take food to Third Grandpa and Little Zhu, then accompany them for the medical appointment."

Lin Xiaoxiao waved a hand. "Alright, I won't go to the hospital with you. I'm heading to the barbershop first to get my hair cut."

Until the lice in her hair were completely gone, she wouldn't get a good night's sleep.

Zhou Huai'an nodded and turned to leave coldly. Lü Zhigang hurried after him, noticing that Zhou Huai'an couldn't bring himself to look at Lin Xiaoxiao for long.

Based on his own experience, Lü Zhigang was sure Zhou Huai'an had dreamt about Lin Xiaoxiao last night.

He'd had a similar experience himself once, after dreaming about the girl next door.

He couldn't help but marvel inwardly: Well, isn't this a rare sight—the iron tree finally blooming.

Lin Xiaoxiao just found both men rather odd. Preoccupied with her haircut, she didn't dwell on it.

After breakfast, Zhou Huai'an and Lü Zhigang went to the hospital. Lin Xiaoxiao asked for directions to the barbershop and went for her haircut.

The barbershop was warmed by a stove, making it quite cozy inside.

The hairdresser, a woman in her forties with a friendly demeanor, felt sorry to see Lin Xiaoxiao wanting to cut off such long hair. "Your hair is so beautiful — so dark and shiny. It takes effort to grow it out this long. Why cut it?"

Embarrassed to tell the truth, Lin Xiaoxiao said, "I'm just tired of long hair. I want a change."

Seeing her determination, the woman didn't push further. "Well, you're pretty, so short hair will suit you too. Your hair is in such good condition — I'll give you two yuan for it."

Lin Xiaoxiao declined: "I'd like to keep it as a memento."

The woman smiled and began cutting. To Lin Xiaoxiao's relief, the result was a stylish short cut—much nicer than she'd expected. It was neat and chic, trimmed shorter at the back.

She looked like a pretty boy now, with red lips and white teeth, but still very attractive.

Satisfied, Lin Xiaoxiao checked herself in the mirror, paid twenty cents for the haircut, and left for the hospital to find Zhou Huai'an.

She wasn't sure where to buy the fine-toothed comb he mentioned—the original owner of her body had never used one in the city.

Zhou Huai'an had just accompanied Third Grandpa and Little Zhu through the examination. As Lin Xiaoxiao had said, there was a growth on Little Zhu's vocal cords preventing them from closing fully. It needed to be surgically removed.

Given Little Zhu's young age, the sooner the surgery, the better.

Zhou Huai'an agreed to schedule the operation as soon as possible. Afterwards, he explained everything again to Third Grandpa.

The old man, hearing that they still had to "cut open" the throat, was terrified. His aged eyes welled with tears: "Changsuo, is there no other way? Does it have to be surgery?"

Zhou Huai'an comforted him: "Third Grandpa, it's not as scary as it sounds. You don't want Little Zhu to never speak, right? It's a very minor procedure. The doctors here are excellent. When I was badly injured, they saved me. A small operation like this will be easy for them."

Third Grandpa was still afraid: "Changdong left only this one reminder of himself. If something happens to him, how will your Third Grandma and I go on?"

Zhou Huai'an patted his back: "Don't worry, nothing will go wrong. We'll all be here with him."

Lin Xiaoxiao hurried over and, hearing just that snippet, knew what was worrying Third Grandpa: "That's right, Third Grandpa, don't worry. I guarantee Little Zhu will be fine. I can read fortunes, you know? Believe me, Little Zhu has the look of a future college student."

Hearing her voice, Zhou Huai'an turned and was momentarily stunned by the sight of Lin Xiaoxiao with her short, practical haircut—she looked like a different person, a pretty tomboy.

He stared, unable to look away in time.

Because it was Lin Xiaoxiao who had first suggested Little Zhu get checked and now the surgery, Third Grandpa deeply trusted her words.

His voice choked up: "I'm just an old man with no learning. I'm afraid the child will suffer... afraid something will happen to Little Zhu."

Lin Xiaoxiao reassured him: "Don't worry. The doctors in this hospital are very skilled."

Third Grandpa believed her: "Then I am relieved."

Little Zhu had been standing beside Third Grandpa's leg, looking up at Lin Xiaoxiao. With her new short hair, she seemed unfamiliar, but he still thought Auntie Lin was very pretty.

Lin Xiaoxiao accompanied Little Zhu and Third Grandpa to the ward. Lü Zhigang was nowhere to be seen.

Zhou Huai'an, meanwhile, had been called into the office by Lu Yunda, who told him to take his clothes off as soon as he entered: "Let me see how the wound is healing. It should be time to remove the stitches."

After having Zhou Huai'an lie down and examining the injury, he was surprised: "Your wound reopened and was sutured again?"

Zhou Huai'an nodded.

Lu Yunda was amazed: "The technique is impressive. This suturing method is stronger than what we usually use—less likely to reopen, and it requires real skill."

Unlike his previous method, which often left a scar like a centipede, Zhou Huai'an's wound now showed no risk of that.

After all, human flesh isn't a piece of cloth—achieving this without excellent technique is impossible.

Zhou Huai'an pressed his lips together and stayed silent. If he said Lin Xiaoxiao had done it, he'd face endless questions from Lu Yunda—questions even he wouldn't be able to cover for.

Lu Yunda exclaimed in admiration a few more times: "I'll have to find time to study this method."

Zhou Huai'an thought for a moment: "Are there any short-term medical training courses available now?"

Lu Yunda looked surprised: "There are, yes. One can study for a period, but it doesn't guarantee a position at the hospital. Who wants to learn?"

Most who completed such training could become doctors in their local towns or villages. Of course, not just anyone could enroll—recommendations and assessments were required.

Zhou Huai'an sat up and straightened his clothes: "I'm thinking of having XiaoXiao stay and study. I'll ask her later."

Lu Yunda, whose opinion of Lin Xiaoxiao had improved considerably, pondered this: "If XiaoXiao wants to study and performs well in the assessment, I can recommend her to stay at the hospital."

Zhou Huai'an wasn't sure what Lin Xiaoxiao herself wanted: "Thank you. I'll discuss it with her first."

Lu Yunda started lecturing again: "People say XiaoXiao is unreasonable, but I think she's quite good. You're so much older than her—you should give in to her more often. Women need to be coaxed."

Zhou Huai'an's expression darkened at being called old.

Lu Yunda, busy organizing his things, didn't notice and continued: "Aren't you almost ten years older than XiaoXiao? Or more than ten? When you're old, she'll still be young—she'll have to take care of you then. So you need to treat her well now. Besides, you're an old cow eating tender grass—stop scowling all the time."

Zhou Huai'an, now referred to as an "old cow eating tender grass," looked even more displeased.

As he stood up to leave, Lü Zhigang suddenly rushed in: "So this is where you are! Someone from the Zhou family in Beijing is here..."