Lin Zihao didn't press further. "Alright. But you should be prepared—Zhou Xiaohong trusts Zhou Xiaoming completely. She's been thoroughly influenced by him and may willingly let herself be used."

Zhou Huai'an was silent for a moment. "Then that's her choice. No one can help her."

Lin Xiaoxiao was oddly excited to learn that Zhou Xiaoming would arrive in Longbei the next day.

That night, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. With Zhou Huai'an's leg still injured, she didn't dare tease or provoke him.

Especially at night—a man was like a beast freshly awakened, easily stirred.

So she had been well-behaved lately, staying in her own quilt. But tonight, restlessness over Zhou Xiaoming kept her awake. "What do you think he'll do first when he gets here? Does he have accomplices in the city?"

Zhou Huai'an answered patiently, "He'll likely look for Zhang Zhongyi first—his wife's brother-in-law, who's currently under supervision."

Lin Xiaoxiao already knew about that. "Wow, he's got some nerve. I wonder how he plans to get Zhang off the hook."

Zhou Huai'an shook his head. "He might not try to clear him. He might just silence him for good.

These next few days, don't go anywhere alone. Go straight home after class at the hospital."

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded obediently. "Don't worry, I won't go anywhere."

The thought of Zhou Xiaoming finally showing his true colors made her feel a strange thrill.

However, to Lin Xiaoxiao's surprise, only Zhou Xiaohong showed up at their door the next afternoon.

The moment Zhou Huai'an saw her, he understood what was happening. He remained silent as Zhou Xiaohong greeted Li Yunlan.

Li Yunlan was puzzled by her daughter's sudden appearance. "What are you doing here? Your father already went back. He should be home by today."

Zhou Xiaohong looked shocked. "Dad went back?"

"Yes," Li Yunlan said. "Weren't you supposed to be at work? Is school on break?" She was annoyed—when she had wanted to stay longer earlier, Zhou Xiaohong had insisted she had to return for work. Why had she suddenly shown up now?

Zhou Xiaohong hesitated. "I came with Big Brother. We split up at the provincial capital—he went to Zhou Village first to see his biological parents."

She still believed this showed what a devoted son he was.

Li Yunlan frowned. "So you came with him?"

Lin Xiaoxiao glanced subtly at Zhou Huai'an. She hadn't expected Zhou Xiaoming to actually visit Wang Fenglan and Zhou Mancang.

Not daring to defend Zhou Xiaoming further, Zhou Xiaohong turned to Zhou Huai'an and Lin Xiaoxiao. "Big Brother, Sister-in-law, I was just worried, so I came to check on you."

Li Yunlan immediately snorted. "What are you worried about? I'm perfectly fine here. You should leave—there's no room for you to stay."

Zhou Xiaohong looked hurt. "I asked around at the hospital to find you here. I haven't even had a drink of water, and you're already chasing me away."

Li Yunlan gave her a sharp look. "How many times have you mentioned Zhou Xiaoming since you walked in? Can't you see your brother's leg is injured? Why haven't you asked about that?"

Only then did Zhou Xiaohong glance at Zhou Huai'an. "How did you hurt your leg, Big Brother?"

Li Yunlan rolled her eyes. "Don't pretend to care. Go find your own place to stay."

Zhou Xiaohong looked like she was about to cry. She felt her mother was being unfairly biased toward Zhou Huai'an and completely unreasonable. "I'm not pretending," she said helplessly. "I just didn't know how to ask. You didn't give me a chance."

Watching from the side, Lin Xiaoxiao began to realize that Zhou Xiaohong was a bit naive and stubborn.

Everything about Zhou Xiaohong annoyed Li Yunlan now. "If you won't leave, then at least go back soon. There's no space here, and don't you have work?"

But Zhou Xiaohong refused to go. "I came all this way—you can't expect me to turn right around.

Besides, Big Brother said he'd come see you in a couple of days after he visits Zhou Village."

Even now, she was still making excuses for Zhou Xiaoming. Li Yunlan was furious. "You should see the conditions your brother grew up in. I was foolish, but you're even worse."

Lin Xiaoxiao decided to take back her initial impression of Zhou Xiaohong as gentle, quiet, and intelligent.

This girl was clearly overly influenced and unable to tell right from wrong.

In comparison, Zhou Xiaoling seemed much more sensible.

Since Zhou Xiaohong refused to leave, Li Yunlan had no choice but to let her stay. She went to the small adjacent kitchen to prepare a meal, and Zhou Xiaohong quickly followed to help.

The sight of the kitchen, the cramped cooking space, and the outdoor coal stove filled her with pity for her mother. "Mom, the conditions here are so poor. Why don't you come back to Beijing with me?"

Li Yunlan's tone was harsh. "You call this poor? Your brother lived much harder than this for thirty years."

To her, this rental was even better than the place Lin Xiaoxiao and Zhou Huai'an had in the compound.

Zhou Xiaohong fell silent. No matter what she said, her mother would bring up Zhou Huai'an's suffering.

She couldn't understand it. What happened in the past was over—couldn't they just treat him better from now on? There was nothing anyone could do to change what had already happened.

As she washed and chopped cabbage, Li Yunlan muttered, "Zhou Xiaohong, let me tell you—I can forgive you for being foolish once, but if you keep it up, I won't acknowledge you as my daughter."

Zhou Xiaohong massaged her temples. "Mom, now that you have a son, are you going to discard your daughter?"

Li Yunlan sniffed. "I only want a daughter who understands what's right—not a traitor."

With the door open and only a wall between them, Zhou Huai'an and Lin Xiaoxiao could hear every word.

Curious, Lin Xiaoxiao whispered to Zhou Huai'an, "Do you think Zhou Xiaoming really went to Zhou Village?"

Zhou Huai'an shook his head. "Probably not. He likely got off somewhere along the way."

He and Lin Zihao had already considered this. Given everything Zhou Xiaoming had done, he wouldn't let his guard down that easily.

He had, after all, spent several years in the military.

Lin Xiaoxiao sighed. "And I thought we were about to catch him. Seems it'll take a bit more effort."

For lunch, Li Yunlan made a Beijing-style stir-fried shredded pancake with cabbage. She had first made thin flatbreads, cut them into strips, and fried them with cabbage.

Though there was no meat—only salt and minced garlic—it was delicious. The cabbage and pancake strips weren't soggy; they were dry, chewy, and full of flavor.

Zhou Huai'an, as usual, had a bowl of pigeon soup.

Lin Xiaoxiao loved it and had two servings. "Mom, this stir-fried pancake is amazing. So fragrant!"

Li Yunlan smiled. "Eat as much as you like. It's also good with round cabbage or bean sprouts. I'll buy some mung beans this afternoon and sprout some at home."

"You're incredible, Mom," Lin Xiaoxiao praised.

Zhou Xiaohong watched their interaction in surprise. How had they grown so close?

Li Yunlan was known for being hard to please—she had never liked her daughter-in-law, Hu Ling, for example.