Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but laugh. "How should I know? But maybe find yourself a boyfriend first. How can you talk about having kids when you're not even seeing anyone? You should be embarrassed!"

Zhou Xiaoling wasn't bothered. "Why? It's not like you're a stranger. I can say these things around you."

Xiaoxiao had to admit that Xiaoling was a burst of energy and sunshine. Having her around naturally lifted everyone's spirits.

Though she still worried about Zhou Huai'an's safety, she no longer felt as restless as before. In her free time, she began planning when to return to school.

Lin Wenbin mentioned that the university had started preparing acceptance letters, which would be distributed by March.

Xiaoxiao thought April would be perfect—the babies would be two months old by then. Since she wasn't breastfeeding, she could attend classes during the day and come home to care for them at night.

Wenbin agreed. "Once you start school, I'm quitting my job. I've had enough of those people always trying to 'restore my memory.'"

Xiaoxiao sighed playfully. "Too bad we aren't twins. Then I could go to class for you."

Wenbin looked horrified. "What are you thinking?"

Just then, they heard Zhou Xiaoling's loud voice downstairs calling for Zhou Liyun. Wenbin shook his head. "That sister-in-law of yours is something else. With her around, it feels like an entire army has moved in. I wonder who'd ever be brave enough to marry her."

Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes. "It's not like you have to marry her. Why do you care?"

He flicked her forehead lightly. "You little traitor. Whose side are you on, anyway?"

Meanwhile, Cheng Mingyue was so upset over losing more than two hundred yuan that she could barely eat. Leaving things like this was unacceptable, and she frequently took her frustration out on Lin Dalong, calling him stupid.

Dalong felt wronged. He'd seen the money clearly—how did it turn into newspaper?

Listening to Cheng Mingyue's constant complaints, Li Jing finally pieced together what had happened: Cheng Mingyue had gotten a TV voucher, sent Dalong to sell it at the black market, and he'd been scammed.

Although part of her didn't want to get involved, she couldn't help lecturing Cheng Mingyue. "You can't blame Dalong for this. What were you thinking, sending him to a place like that? It's full of crooks and swindlers—especially these past couple of years. It's chaos there."

Cheng Mingyue couldn't explain why she'd bought the voucher in the first place, so she put all the blame on Dalong. "He's eighteen years old! How could he let himself be tricked like that?

What does he even use his brain for? How could he not tell the difference between newspaper and real money?"

Li Jing snorted. "Don't act like you wouldn't have been fooled too. If you knew so little about that place, you should've asked your brother before going. You got what you deserved."

Cheng Mingyue was too angry to respond.

Humiliated by his mother's public scolding and burning with resentment, Dalong decided to return to the black market himself. He was determined to find the man who'd cheated him and get the money back.

That evening, he slipped out without a word. Cheng Mingyue assumed he was just going out to play.

Dalong wandered around until the black market opened, then slipped inside, searching for the man who'd scammed him. After circling repeatedly with no luck, he grew impatient. Eventually, a crowd in one corner caught his attention.

A group had gathered around a gambling game: a man used two ceramic cups to hide corn kernels, and people bet on whether the number was odd or even. Winners got double their money back.

It looked simple enough. Dalong watched for a while and saw one person guess correctly five or six times in a row—turning fifty yuan into a hundred.

Tempted, he felt the two yuan in his pocket. After seeing another player win big and walk away, he finally placed his bet.

To his surprise, he turned two yuan into a hundred. Elated and dizzy with excitement, he felt like he'd stumbled onto free money.

He had no idea he was stepping into a trap.

Over the next several rounds, he won some and lost more, until only fifty yuan remained.

Refusing to quit, he began betting recklessly—and eventually started borrowing from the dealer.

Within an hour, he'd somehow lost a thousand yuan.


Only when the dealer coldly informed him of his debt did Dalong snap out of it. "You're a cheat!" he yelled furiously.

The dealer scowled. "Know how to lose gracefully? Nobody forced you to play. Wins and losses are part of the game. You didn't call me a cheat when you were winning."

Dalong was speechless. How could he possibly come up with a thousand yuan?

Watching from a distance, Lin Wenbin took a slow drag of his cigarette and smirked. Did he really think he could outsmart the black market?

The man beside him, Liangzi, whispered, "What should we do now, boss?"

Wenbin chuckled. "You need me to tell you? You know how it works. A debt's a debt."

Liangzi understood perfectly—yet again, Lin Wenbin had cleverly avoided direct involvement. If anything went wrong, he could easily deny everything. What a fox, Liangzi thought grudgingly.

The next morning, Dalong returned home bruised and battered, his clothes torn and dirty.

Cheng Mingyue rushed to help him to the couch. "What happened? Who did this to you? Where have you been?"

Cheng Mingzhong, who hadn't left for work yet, frowned. "We should report this to the police.

How did you end up like this?"

Terrified by the threats he'd received—that he'd be crippled if he went to the police—Dalong begged, "No! Don't call the police! I'm fine, really."

Cheng Mingyue was frantic. "How can you be fine? Look at you! What did you do this time? Why can't you ever just behave?"

But Dalong refused to say another word. He knew the consequences would be worse if he talked.

Before leaving for work, Mingzhong reminded Li Jing and Cheng Mingyue, "If this doesn't stop, we have to call the police. We can't let criminals get away with this."

Once they were alone, Dalong finally pulled his mother aside. "Mom, you have to give me a thousand yuan. They'll kill me if I don't pay. I owe them that much."