Zhou Huaian searched the entire unit but found no sign of Zhou Xiaoling. Her colleagues mentioned that she had taken leave that afternoon and never returned.She hadn't come back or called either.

A bad feeling settled in Zhou Huaian's chest. After a moment's thought, he first called Zhou Zhennan to inform him that Li Yunlan was with him and passed along Lin Xiaoxiao's suggestion. His tone was deadly serious: "For her health's sake, you must arrange for the medical team to come to Longbei to perform the surgery."

Zhou Zhennan hesitated. "But the facilities at Longbei Hospital are far inferior to those in Beijing. What about the risk of post-operative infection?"

Zhou Huaian trusted Lin Xiaoxiao's judgment completely. "If the surgery is successful, recovery won't be a problem. Her condition is very unstable right now."

Zhou Zhennan remained doubtful, especially skeptical of the local doctors Zhou Huaian relied on. Pressed for time and anxious to continue searching for Zhou Xiaoling, Zhou Huaian said abruptly, "This is a matter of life and death. Make a decision quickly."

Without waiting for a response, he hung up and hurried out of the unit, retracing the route home in hopes of finding clues about Zhou Xiaoling.

Along the way, he saw no signs of a struggle, but did notice several tire tracks matching the pattern of the unit's 212 jeeps.

At that moment, he couldn't determine whether the vehicles belonged to the unit or if they might have been used to abduct Zhou Xiaoling.

Zhou Huaian returned to the unit and reported the situation to Zhong Zhiguo.

Even Zhong Zhiguo was shocked. "Are you sure Zhou Xiaoling is missing? Could she have gone off somewhere and lost track of time?"

Zhou Huaian shook his head. "No. She may be easygoing, but she knows what's important. She wouldn't just wander off."

Zhong Zhiguo frowned deeply. "Gather the team and start searching. Don't overlook any of the nearby sorghum or cornfields."

Zhou Huaian thought the approach was too slow. "A thorough search would require far more people than we have. It could take three days to cover everything."

Zhong Zhiguo ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Then what else can we do? A full-grown woman vanishes in broad daylight. If something really has happened, how will we ever explain it to your parents?"

After a moment's thought, Zhou Huaian said, "I'll check which vehicles entered or left the unit during that time. We also need to keep a close watch on Li Guohao."

Zhong Zhiguo trusted Zhou Huaian's judgment. "Alright, we'll split up. I really hope Li Guohao isn't involved in this, or I swear I'll skin him alive."...Lin Xiaoxiao hadn't expected that Zhou Huaian would also fail to return after going to search for Zhou Xiaoling.

Her eyelids kept twitching—a sure sign, she felt, that something had happened to Zhou Xiaoling.Her first thought was: could it be related to Luo Caixia?

Staying indoors and worrying was useless, so she sat by the small bed massaging Li Yunlan's head while turning things over in her mind.

Li Yunlan had only napped briefly. She woke up drowsy, unable to see Lin Xiaoxiao clearly, yet feeling she looked familiar—though she couldn't recall exactly who she was.

Hesitantly, she called out, "Jiang Qiong?"

Lin Xiaoxiao was taken aback. Could Li Yunlan have lost her memory?

Before she could respond, Li Yunlan suddenly grew excited, grabbed her hand, and sat up.

"Jiang Qiong, you're back? I knew nothing could have happened to you. Have you seen Xiaoling? She's all grown up now—looks just like you."

Lin Xiaoxiao was speechless. Could it be that Zhou Xiaoling wasn't Zhou Zhennan and Li Yunlan's biological daughter?

Li Yunlan continued murmuring, "If it weren't for you back then, I would have died in the Northwest. You were such a foolish girl... saving me wasn't worth it. But at least Xiaoling has grown up smart and sensible—just as spirited as you were when you were young."

"I'm glad you're back. I always said if you didn't return, I'd tell Xiaoling the truth when she was older... so she could pay her respects to you each year."

Tears began to fall as she spoke.

From those few sentences, Lin Xiaoxiao pieced together the story: Zhou Xiaoling's mother had died saving Li Yunlan, so Li Yunlan had raised Zhou Xiaoling as her own.

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly—this family had so many secrets.

After crying for a while, Li Yunlan's mind seemed to clear. She rubbed her eyes, looked at Lin Xiaoxiao for a long moment, then uncertainly said, "Xiaoxiao?"

Lin Xiaoxiao quickly nodded. "Yes, Mom, it's me. You were having a bad dream."

Li Yunlan let out a relieved sigh. "I was dreaming... thought I'd met an old friend."

She made no mention of what she had said earlier, as if she had already forgotten.

Lin Xiaoxiao knew it wasn't the right time to ask. "Would you like to rest a bit more? You must be exhausted after traveling all this time."

Li Yunlan shook her head. "No, that's alright. Where's Huaian? Why hasn' he come back yet?"

Seeing that Li Yunlan was relatively lucid for the moment, Lin Xiaoxiao decided not to mention Zhou Xiaoling's disappearance and made an excuse instead: "Huaian and Xiaoling had to work overtime. Their jobs are like that—no fixed schedule."

Li Yunlan was silent for a long time, lost in thought.

Lin Xiaoxiao didn't disturb her, though inwardly she was burning with anxiety over Zhou Xiaoling's whereabouts.

Zhou Huaian didn't return all night, and Lin Xiaoxiao didn't sleep a wink. She listened for any movement from Li Yunlan in the outer room while worrying endlessly about Zhou Xiaoling.

By morning, she was utterly exhausted. She closed her eyes, planning to rest just for a moment before getting up to take Li Yunlan to work with her—she didn't dare leave her home alone.

It felt like she had only just shut her eyes when she heard Old Mrs. Wang outside again, screeching and cursing relentlessly—this time berating Zhang Yimei for not getting up to make breakfast.

Lin Xiaoxiao sighed. Having such a neighbor was truly a curse.

Li Yunlan, who had slept well and was in better spirits, woke early. Clear-headed after a full night's rest, she took a basin to the yard to prepare vegetables for breakfast.

She listened for a while to Old Mrs. Wang's stream of vulgar insults, then finally spoke up: "Elder sister, it's not right to curse people like that. Your daughter-in-law is a person too, and compared to you, she's still a child. Using such ugly language is going too far."

Already in a foul mood, Old Mrs. Wang turned and saw Li Yunlan. Recognizing her as Zhou Huaian's mother and Lin Xiaoxiao's mother-in-law, she snorted.

"What business is it of yours how I speak to my daughter-in-law? Who are you to interfere in my family affairs?"

Li Yunlan shook her head. "That's not what I meant. I only said it because such words reflect poorly on your own virtue."

Old Mrs. Wang let out a harsh laugh. "Virtue? What would I know about that? What I do know is your daughter-in-law has been married for months now and still shows no sign of pregnancy. Maybe she can't even bear a rat, let alone a child."

Li Yunlan instantly grew angry. "How dare you say such things!"

Old Mrs. Wang smirked triumphantly. "It's not nonsense—it's the truth. Maybe your daughter-in-law is barren? Wouldn't that be something—a hen that can't lay eggs..."

Before she could finish, a cucumber came flying through the air and struck Old Mrs. Wang in the face.

Li Yunlan already had another cucumber in hand, ready to throw...