Zhou Zhennan looked at Zhou Xiaoling. "You are the older sister—"

Zhou Xiaohong cut in angrily, "Yes! Just because I'm the older sister, I have to give in to her! If she's unwell, I have to yield. But you're my biological parents—"

Zhou Zhennan slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "Zhou Xiaohong! That's enough. You disappoint me greatly! With that kind of attitude, you don't deserve to be a child of the Zhou family."

Zhou Xiaohong also stood, clenching her fists defiantly. "Right. Everything I do is wrong now. I'm not as outstanding as Zhou Xiaocheng, nor as good at acting sweet as Zhou Xiaoling. I studied hard and got excellent grades, but you never praised me once."

"In your eyes, I'm just supposed to be the sensible one. Don't I have my own thoughts? You only ever praised Second Brother and protected Xiaoling. Don't you bear any responsibility for how Zhou Xiaoming turned out?"

"You're biased. The children you like are the ones who get your praise and approval. No matter what Xiaoling does, you think it's right."

"But she's not even really our family... She and Zhou Xiaoming are the same—they don't belong to us. You can accept Xiaoling, but you can't accept Zhou Xiaoming..."

Before she could finish, Zhou Zhennan slapped her across the face. He looked at her with extreme disappointment. "Since you were little, we never demanded that you achieve certain things—only that you be loyal and righteous. I never thought you'd say something like this today..."

Zhou Xiaohong fell silent, holding her cheek as tears streamed down her face.

She had regretted trusting Zhou Xiaoming before. She remembered how well her second brother had treated both her and Xiaoling.

When Zhou Xiaoming had almost assaulted her, she'd been terrified and panicked. But on the way back, her mother had lost all patience, going on and on about not wanting to leave Longbei, not wanting to leave Zhou Huai'an.

Zhou Huai'an was still injured, and Lin Xiaoxiao was too busy with school to take proper care of him.

Slowly, Zhou Xiaohong's resentment grew. Even after everything that had happened, her mother still only cared about Zhou Huai'an.

Even Zhou Xiaoling received more love and attention from their parents than she did.

Zhou Zhennan's hands trembled with anger as he looked at her in dismay. "We have never favored one child over another. An older brother yielding to his younger sister, or an older sister yielding to her younger sister—it wasn't because Xiaoling was more loved."

"You probably never knew this, but the university slot you took was originally Xiaoling's. She came to me and insisted that you should have it, saying you were more suited for academics.

She wanted to join the military—to be like your second brother. Do you really think Xiaoling didn't want to go to university? What was her childhood dream? Have you forgotten?"

"When you were in university, I was also in Beijing. Your classes ended late, and your mother made sure I always picked you up. You wanted independence, so we followed you quietly—for three whole years."

"The last time your second brother was home on leave, you had just graduated. He talked to me for a long time about your future. He said you were quiet-natured and would make a good teacher. He told us to communicate more with you."

"I never could have imagined that this was how you really felt. Whether it was Xiaocheng or Xiaoling, they both tried to protect you in their own ways."

"You have truly disappointed me."

Zhou Zhennan turned away and left her room, still unable to understand how his eldest daughter had become like this.......Zhou Xiaoling stayed with Lin Xiaoxiao for one night. The next morning, she happily went out shopping before catching the bus back to her unit.

After seeing her off, Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but say to Zhou Huai'an with a grin, "I really like your sister. She's genuine and has such a great personality. Ah, if I were a man, I'd definitely marry her. Life would be so much fun with her."

Zhou Huai'an gave her a strange look. That didn't seem like the most appropriate comparison.

In a sudden movement, Lin Xiaoxiao swooped in, cupped his face in her hands, and looked him over with affectionate intensity. Then she smacked a loud kiss on his cheek. "Well, you're pretty wonderful too. Just the sight of you makes me happy."

Zhou Huai'an's ears turned red again. Lin Xiaoxiao was becoming increasingly hands-on, and he still wasn't used to it.

Lin Xiaoxiao loved seeing him flustered. She chuckled and then brought up an old topic: "Did you ever have feelings for Luo Caixia? She's quite pretty too."

Mentioning Luo Caixia reminded her—she'd seen her on the street not long ago.

Zhou Huai'an shook his head. "No."

Lin Xiaoxiao sighed playfully. "You really are a block of wood. Luo Caixia is beautiful, gentle, and... well-endowed. Don't men usually like that?"

Almost unconsciously, Zhou Huai'an glanced at Lin Xiaoxiao's chest, then quickly looked away, changing the subject. "Dr. Lu came by yesterday. He asked if you'd like to stay and work at the hospital."

Lin Xiaoxiao didn't even think about it. "No. I want to be with you."

Besides, if she stayed at the hospital, it would be very difficult to ever leave Longbei.

Zhou Huai'an's expression softened. "After you finish your training, you could work in the medical unit at my base. If you'd like."

Lin Xiaoxiao thought about it. Wouldn't that make her colleagues with Xiao Yan? And Xiao Yan had a thing for Zhou Huai'an. Would she team up with the other families who didn't like Lin Xiaoxiao to make her life difficult?

"Are there any other jobs suitable for me?"

Zhou Huai'an shook his head. "Not for now."

Lin Xiaoxiao decided she shouldn't turn down a paying job. Besides, a little rivalry could be fun. "If there's nothing else, then I'll work at the medical unit."

After chatting a while longer, Lin Xiaoxiao saw that it was still early and decided to go to the post office to withdraw what little money she had.

As luck would have it, she ran into someone she hadn't seen in days—someone she'd just been talking about at home.

Lin Xiaoxiao saw Luo Caixia, her signature green scarf tied around her neck. The weather was much warmer now, yet Luo Caixia was still wearing it. She must really like it.

She also noticed that Luo Caixia had gained some weight since she last saw her in Zhou Village, but her complexion looked worse—sallow and pale.

Luo Caixia clearly hadn't expected to run into Lin Xiaoxiao either. She paused, then smiled and greeted her. "Xiaoxiao, you're in the city too?"

Lin Xiaoxiao knew she was stating the obvious but decided to play along, hoping to fish for information. "Oh? When did you come to Longbei? Visiting family?"

Luo Caixia shook her head. "No, I thought I'd try starting a small business here. Longbei is a bit better than our hometown."

Lin Xiaoxiao thought that if Luo Caixia were in a period novel, she'd be the hardworking, entrepreneurial female lead. Her business sense was sharper than most men's.

Too bad she wasn't very good at lying. "Longbei is further from the provincial capital. If anything, your hometown is more developed."

Then she asked pointedly, "Sister Caixia, I've heard some things back in Zhou Village... You haven't really given up on Changsuo, have you?"

Luo Caixia looked flustered. "How can you say that?"