Lu Yuanda stared at Zhou Huai'an in disbelief, hardly able to believe what he had just heard. He then turned to look out the window as if searching for something. "It's not raining red outside, so how did those words just come out of your mouth?"

Zhou Huai'an's expression remained unchanged. "I'm not wrong. Have you forgotten what you used to say back when you and your wife were separated?"

Lu Yuanda fell silent. Back then, when his child was young and his wife was at home taking care of his parents, he would often complain to his colleagues about missing his family.

He'd even teased Zhou Huai'an and the other single men: "You young bachelors don't understand—having someone warm waiting for you at night is better than eating dumplings on New Year's."

He never expected Zhou Huai'an to throw those old words back at him.

Still, he couldn't let go of the idea of Lin Xiaoxiao's talent. "Xiaoxiao has real potential. It'd be a waste to keep her tucked away with you. What a pity."

Zhou Huai'an remained unmoved, as if he hadn't heard. He was worried that Lin Xiaoxiao wouldn't be able to keep her story straight on her own. For now, returning with him to the family quarters was the safest option....An Xiuyu offered Lin Xiaoxiao a tearful apology, though it lacked sincerity. She made sure to appear as the victim—pitiful and wronged.

Lin Xiaoxiao had never had patience for such "innocent act," especially from someone as transparent as An Xiuyu. Once the watery apology was over, she smiled faintly. "I heard your apology, but I don't accept it. Remember this: I'm only letting today's bet go because of the instructors. If there's a next time, I won't be so forgiving."

An Xiuyu was filled with regret. She never should have provoked Lin Xiaoxiao.

After class, Lin Xiaoxiao packed her things in good spirits, wondering when Zhou Xiaoling would return from her phone call.

Just outside the classroom, she found Zhou Xiaoling perched on the edge of a flower bed, waving her over.

Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't understand the girl's habit of squatting or perching everywhere she went.

As Lin Xiaoxiao approached, Zhou Xiaoling stood up, linked arms with her, and began walking back while speaking quietly. "I called Xiao Ran. She said the watch was lost three years ago. She looked for it everywhere and even wrote to my second brother about it. He replied that it was fine and that he'd give her another one when he got a new one."

Then she muttered, "I had no idea about any of this."

Lin Xiaoxiao's mind raced. Excited, she grabbed Zhou Xiaoling's hand. "Do you think someone stole Xiao Ran's watch on purpose? The thief could be the culprit—and Zhou Xiaocheng might have encountered them."

Zhou Xiaoling wasn't sure either. The two returned and shared what they'd learned with Zhou Huai'an.

Zhou Huai'an was also surprised. He asked Zhou Xiaoling for more details: "What was the relationship like between Zhou Xiaoming and Zhou Xiaocheng's fiancée?"

Zhou Xiaoling shook her head. "Not great. Xiao Ran is about the same age as my sister, but she was always following my second brother around, just like I did."

Zhou Huai'an didn't say more, but his mind was already working through the possibilities....In Beijing, Zhou Bingwen and Zhou Zhennan used their connections to dig into every detail of what had happened three years ago, including Zhou Xiaoming's entire military record.

He might have erased his own tracks, but he couldn't erase other people's memories.

Scattered recollections from various sources pieced together a clear picture: Zhou Xiaocheng's incident was indeed caused by Zhou Xiaoming's manipulation.

Zhou Bingwen, wearing reading glasses, slapped the stack of documents on the table angrily.

"The bastard! That utter bastard! On the battlefield, no less! This is treason!"

He grew more furious, his voice trembling. "Turning his gun on his own comrades... Someone like that deserves to be executed."

Zhou Zhennan's face was grim. The investigation revealed that Zhou Xiaoming had begun scheming as soon as he learned that Zhou Xiaocheng knew about Zhou Huai'an. Coincidentally, both Zhou Xiaocheng and Zhou Huai'an's special ops teams were assigned to the same mission.

Zhou Xiaoming had swapped Zhou Xiaocheng's ammunition and deliberately exposed Zhou Huai'an's position.

The result was heavy casualties. Despite being seriously wounded, Zhou Huai'an had managed to complete the mission.

None of those losses should have happened.

For years, no one had investigated because no one could believe that a traitor had been among them.

Zhou Zhennan could hardly accept that the boy they had raised—Zhou Xiaoming—had committed such an act for his own selfish desires. He had nearly cost both of Zhou Zhennan's sons their lives, along with so many others.

Zhou Bingwen was so angry his blood pressure spiked. "Announce immediately that Zhou Xiaoming is no longer related to our family. Publicize his crimes. Hold a public trial and execute him."

A man like that deserved execution ten times over.

Zhou Zhennan agreed. "The trial will be held in Beijing. I will be there to see it."

Zhou Bingwen snorted coldly. "And the Hu family—don't think they're clean in all this. Do you really believe Zhou Xiaoming could have done all this alone? Without the Hu family's help, he would never have succeeded."

After a pause, he added, "When things settle down, I want to meet that boy. He's suffered so much all these years."

Thinking of Zhou Huai'an, Zhou Zhennan also sighed. "He has indeed had a difficult life. I've already sent someone to Zhou Village to file a case against Wang Fenglan for child theft."

He would never let those who had harmed Zhou Huai'an get away with it.

Zhou Bingwen nodded. "Good. No one gets to bully someone from the Zhou family."

For now, Zhou Zhennan decided not to tell Li Yunlan. He wasn't sure she could handle the truth.

Besides, Li Yunlan had just returned to Beijing and was already insisting on going back to Longbei to see Zhou Huai'an—paying no attention to Zhou Xiaohong's low spirits.

As a father, Zhou Zhennan couldn't ignore his daughter. He left his study and went upstairs to Zhou Xiaohong's room.

He knocked, and after a moment, Zhou Xiaohong opened the door.

Seeing his daughter's weary face, he couldn't bring himself to scold her. "Xiaohong, let's talk."

Tearfully, Zhou Xiaohong stepped aside to let him in.

Zhou Zhennan sat at the desk. "Sit down, please."

Zhou Xiaohong sat across from him and began to cry softly. "I never thought it would be like this. I always believed he was a good person."

Zhou Zhennan shook his head. "Xiaohong, you're mistaken. This isn't about whether he was good or not. It's about where you placed your trust—and it wasn't with your family."

Zhou Xiaohong stayed silent. Zhou Zhennan continued, "You've always been the most sensible child in the family. Your mother and I never had to worry about you, and perhaps because of that, we overlooked you. This time, things went wrong, but fortunately, it didn't lead to disaster. Don't be too hard on yourself. Everyone makes mistakes in life—what matters is that you learn from them."

"Your mother is struggling right now. I hope you can be understanding."

Zhou Xiaohong wiped her tears. "Dad, if it were Xiaoling who made this kind of mistake, would Mom be this cold to her?"

Zhou Zhennan looked at her, surprised. "Xiaohong, why would you ask that?"

Zhou Xiaohong cried harder. "I don't want to be like this, but ever since we were little, my second brother always favored Xiaoling. Mom Xiaoling too. Whenever we fought, Mom would scold me and say that as the older sister, I had to yield to her. But I'm only two years older!"