Lin Xiaoxiao felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this. She reached out and hugged Li Yunlan. "Mom, it's a minor surgery. You'll be fine after a nap. You're still healthy—you'll even be able to help us look after our kids someday."

Li Yunlan shook her head. "Silly child, you don't have to comfort me. If it were really that simple, you wouldn't have been consulting so many specialists. I overheard—you even brought in an expert from Shanghai this time."

She continued, visibly distressed, "To be honest, I'm not afraid of dying. If I die, I might even get to see Xiaocheng again... see how he's doing on the other side. But I can't bear to leave Huaian.

I've been such a failure as a mother—I've never been good to him, not even for a single day."

Looking at Li Yunlan, Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but think of her own mother. Her heart ached intensely, and she felt her eyes grow warm. "Mom, don't talk like that. I'll tell you a secret—Zhou Xiaocheng might still be alive."

Li Yunlan froze. Pushing Lin Xiaoxiao back to look into her eyes, she shook her head repeatedly.

"What nonsense are you talking in the middle of the day? You're just saying this to make me feel better. If Xiaocheng were really alive, why wouldn't he have come back to see me?"

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded earnestly. "I'm serious. It's possible he's alive because the victim from the incident wasn't him. Someone even saw him afterward. We also found his watch—we just haven't located him yet. We didn't tell you earlier because we were afraid you'd worry too much."

Li Yunlan took a long moment to process this. Suddenly, she began murmuring, "Is Xiaocheng almost out of school? Did you say he's coming home soon? He loves dumplings... We should make dumplings tonight. Let's add some dried shrimp."

Lin Xiaoxiao was stunned. She had hoped the news would encourage Li Yunlan to cooperate with the treatment, but instead, it seemed to push her toward delirium.

Li Yunlan couldn't believe what she was hearing. After three years of accepting that her son was gone, the sudden possibility that he might be alive was too much for her overwhelmed mind. In her agitated state, her memories became jumbled, and she slipped back to a time when Zhou Xiaocheng was still in school.

Frowning, Lin Xiaoxiao realized Li Yunlan's condition was more severe than she had thought.

Without immediate surgery, she could deteriorate rapidly.

She played along, helping Li Yunlan select vegetables and prepare the dough. Since there was no meat at home, Li Yunlan made filling with eggs and zucchini. As she kneaded the dough, she chattered to Lin Xiaoxiao: "Xiaocheng and Xiaohong both love dumplings, but Xiaoling doesn't. I know she doesn't like them, but on her birthday, she has to have lamb and radish dumplings."

Puzzled, Lin Xiaoxiao asked, "Why? If she doesn't like dumplings, can't she have noodles? Aren't longevity noodles traditional for birthdays?"

Li Yunlan shook her head. "You don't understand—Xiaoling has to have them. Xiaohong is still too young to get it. She always says we should make dumplings for Xiaoling."

She went on murmuring stories about the children when they were young, noticeably avoiding any mention of Zhou Xiaoming. Even in her confusion, she seemed to harbor a deep dislike—even hatred—for him.

Zhou Xiaoling arrived, sweating and out of breath. Seeing Li Yunlan sitting in the yard making dumplings with Lin Xiaoxiao, she collapsed to the ground and burst into tears. "Mom, you scared me to death! Dad called and said you were missing—I was terrified! Why didn't you tell anyone where you were going?"

Li Yunlan squinted at Zhou Xiaoling, who was sitting on the ground crying and laughing like a helpless little girl with pigtails, throwing a tantrum for candy. She dusted the flour off her hands and walked over. "Look at you, such a big girl still acting spoiled. Get up now—your second brother will be home soon."

Only then did Zhou Xiaoling realize something was wrong with her mother. She scrambled up, holding Li Yunlan's arm, and wiped her tears as she looked at Lin Xiaoxiao. "What's going on with Mom?"

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded quietly. "I told her your second brother might still be alive, and she suddenly became like this."

Zhou Xiaoling looked confused. "Shouldn't that be good news? Shouldn't it make her feel better? Why is she... like this?"

Lin Xiaoxiao watched Li Yunlan humming cheerfully as she went to wash her hands, then turned back to Zhou Xiaoling. "Did you know Mom has a tumor in her brain?"

Zhou Xiaoling was horrified, stammering, "A... a tumor?"

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded. "Yes. That's why she's behaving this way. She needs surgery as soon as possible. Extreme emotions—whether joy or grief—could put her life at risk."

Strong excitement or stress could increase intracranial pressure and risk rupturing the arterial aneurysm—a crisis that would be fatal.

Lin Xiaoxiao was anxious. She knew she could perform this surgery—she had done many similar operations successfully and was confident in her skills and experience. But she couldn't say it aloud; she could only stand by helplessly.

Zhou Xiaoling was too shocked to speak. She stood stiffly, clutching the fabric of her pants, tears welling in her eyes.

Lin Xiaoxiao urged her to sit down. "Don't panic just yet. What I've described is the worst-case scenario. The most important thing now is to arrange the surgery. Is there any way to bring a specialist from Beijing to Longbei Military Hospital? We need to operate as soon as possible."

Given Li Yunlan's condition, long-distance travel was out of the question.

Zhou Xiaoling trembled as she spoke. "I'll ask my dad. I'll go call him right now."

Lin Xiaoxiao agreed. "Make sure you explain how serious it is."

She trusted that Zhou Bingwen and Zhou Zhennan, with their resources, could arrange for an expert to come.

Zhou Xiaoling couldn't sit still. She rushed off to call her father from work, her legs so weak she could barely run straight.

Li Yunlan seemed unaware of the conversation and asked curiously, "Why did Xiaoling run off?

Did she get into trouble again?"

Lin Xiaoxiao quickly shook her head. "No, no. She just had something to take care of. Let's keep making dumplings."

By the time Zhou Huaian returned, Lin Xiaoxiao and Li Yunlan had just finished wrapping the dumplings.

Seeing Zhou Huaian, Li Yunlan seemed lucid again. "Huaian, you're back just in time—the dumplings are ready."

Lin Xiaoxiao was amazed at how Li Yunlan drifted between clarity and confusion.

After boiling the dumplings, Lin Xiaoxiao insisted that Zhou Huaian and Li Yunlan eat first. She would wait for Zhou Xiaoling.

Li Yunlan urged Lin Xiaoxiao to eat. "You have some first. Don't wait for Xiaoling. That girl is too unruly—it's so late and she's still not home. Who knows where she's run off to this time? Let her go hungry when she gets back."

Lin Xiaoxiao smiled. "It's okay, I prefer my dumplings a little cooler."

Li Yunlan mumbled, "Dumplings are best eaten hot. Huaian, eat up—you're still growing."

Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at Zhou Huaian and couldn't help but laugh.

They waited until dark, but Zhou Xiaoling still hadn't returned. After finishing her meal, Li Yunlan went to rest on a small bed inside. Growing worried, Lin Xiaoxiao asked Zhou Huaian to go check on his sister.