Zhou Xiaoling glared at Hu Ling with impatience. Where had this woman even come from? Now she was gripping Xiaoling's handlebars. "Let go. I don't want to talk to you."

Hu Ling held on tightly—this was her last card to play against the Zhou family.

Her own life had been ruined because of them. Her husband had been sentenced to death, most of her relatives were in prison, and now she was stuck living in a tiny house on the outskirts of town with her two children.

She hated the Zhous, but there was nothing she could do—until now.

Maybe, just maybe, Zhou Xiaoling could be used to hurt them. She tightened her grip and stared intently. "I know you don't want to see me, but I'll only say this once: you're not really a Zhou. Li Yunlan took you in. Your real mother was Jiang Qiong—and Li Yunlan is the reason she's dead."

Xiaoling stared back in disbelief. "Have you lost your mind? I think I'd know who my parents are. Did you run out of people to harass, so now you're making up stories?"

Hu Ling smiled coldly. "You don't believe me? Fine. Go ask Li Yunlan who Jiang Qiong was. Ask her about Lin Jingdong!"

"You think I'm that easy to fool?" Xiaoling shot back. "Even if it were true—even if my mom did something to my birth parents—I would never help you hurt my family!"

Hu Ling narrowed her eyes. "You really don't care? You wouldn't want to know how your parents really died? If it weren't for Li Yunlan and Zhou Zhennan, they might still be alive. Don't pretend it doesn't matter. Look into it. Once you know the truth, we'll see how you feel."

With that, she released the handlebars and turned to leave.

But Xiaoling dropped her bike and grabbed Hu Ling's arm. "You've really outdone yourself this time. I still haven't forgotten how you egged my sister on to drug Xiaoxiao. If there'd been proof, you'd be in a cell next to your husband right now."

"But you're wasting your time with me. Even if the Zhous did kill my birth parents, Li Yunlan is the mother who raised me. She's my real mom. I won't take revenge, and I won't let you win."

She shoved Hu Ling hard. "Get out of here. If I see you again, I won't be so polite."

Stunned by Xiaoling's reaction, Hu Ling stumbled and fell. She scrambled up, ignoring the pain in her knees, and hurled one last threat over her shoulder: "Go on—look into it. I hope you can still act so tough when you know the truth."

Xiaoling ignored her, picked up her bike, and muttered a few curses under her breath. After a moment's thought, she shrugged. "Lin Xiaoling doesn't sound as nice anyway. Zhou Xiaoling is better."

She continued on her way to buy fried pastries as if nothing had happened—but Hu Ling's words had left a mark.

Xiaoling was no fool. She knew Hu Ling was only trying to cause trouble. She wasn't like Zhou Xiaohong, easily manipulated into doing someone else's dirty work.

Besides, even if Li Yunlan wasn't her biological mother, she had no memory of her birth parents. Zhou Zhennan and Li Yunlan had raised her with nothing but love. What was there to be conflicted about?

When she returned with the pastries, Lin Wenbin had already left. Only Lin Xiaoxiao was still upstairs, eating chicken noodle soup.

Xiaoling dished herself a bowl of noodles and hurried up to join her. Unable to keep things to herself, she ended up telling Xiaoxiao everything—about Hu Ling, and the story about her origins.

Xiaoxiao was shocked. "How could that be?"

Xiaoling snorted. "She's probably just crazy and jealous. Does she really think I'd believe her? She even had the nerve to claim my mom killed my birth mother. As if I don't know what kind of person my mother is—she wouldn't hurt a fly."

Xiaoxiao studied her. "But what if it's true?"

Xiaoling slurped her noodles thoughtfully. "Even if it is, the most I'll do is think about it at night. I would never ask my mom. You know how fragile her health is—I'm not going to upset her. That's exactly what Hu Ling wants."

"I was a difficult child. My mom put her heart into raising me. I'm not going to repay her kindness with betrayal. I won't play into Hu Ling's hands."

Xiaoxiao was impressed by how clear-headed Xiaoling was. She smiled in relief. "You're right. Some people just can't stand to see our family happy."

After finishing her noodles, Xiaoling added, "Don't tell Mom and Dad about this, okay? They're already worried about my brothers. No need to add to their stress. I'll deal with Hu Ling myself."

Xiaoxiao nodded. "Don't worry, I won't say a word. You know, I really admire you."

Xiaoling giggled. "That's because I'm Zhou Xiaoling! Oh, and get this—Hu Ling said my birth father's surname was Lin. Can you imagine? Lin Xiaoling... doesn't sound right at all. Zhou Xiaoling is much better."

When Xiaoxiao heard the name "Lin," she couldn'helpt but think of Lin Zihao. Could it really be such a coincidence?

Xiaoling helped clear the bowls, then bounded downstairs to persuade Li Yunlan to take her shopping.

Lin Xiaoxiao sat upstairs, clearly hearing Zhou Xiaoling's cooing downstairs. Then Li Yunlan came up the stairs, smiling as she peered down at the three sleeping children.

"Xiaoling insists I take her to Xidan. Do you need anything, Xiaoxiao?"

Xiaoxiao shook her head. "No, I'll go myself once I'm allowed out. You two have fun."

"We'll stop by the women's department store to see if there are any toys for the babies," Li Yunlan said warmly.

Xiaoxiao laughed. "They're still so little—what would they even do with toys?"

After they left, Xiaoxiao decided she should still tell Zhou Zhennan what had happened. If Hu Ling caused more trouble, Li Yunlan might not be able to handle it. He deserved a heads-up.

She put on a hat and went downstairs, asking Zhou Liyun to watch the children before heading to Zhou Zhennan's study on the first floor.

She explained how Hu Ling had approached Xiaoling and hinted at her origins. "Dad, I think Hu Ling is behind a lot of this. She encouraged Xiaohong to drug me, and now she's trying to turn Xiaoling against us. If this continues, she's going to tear our family apart."

Zhou Zhennan was stunned. "How does she know about Xiaoling's background?"

He frowned deeply. "We never let Hu Ling off the hook—we just handled it differently. I didn't expect her to resurface like this."