Lin Xiaoxiao took Zhou Xiaoling out for a stroll. They stopped by the local store to buy some soy sauce and a jar of fermented bean curd, killing time until they thought it was safe to head back home.

From a distance, seeing that the car at the gate was gone, Xiaoling breathed a sigh of relief. "Hurry up! I'm way too curious—who exactly came to visit?"

They rushed inside to find Zhou Bingwen and Zhou Zhennan sitting solemnly in the living room.

Li Yunlan's eyes were red, clearly from crying.

Xiaoling immediately assumed that the visitors had upset her family. She went over, sat beside Li Yunlan, and took her hand. "Mom, who were those people? What did they say? How could we let strangers come to our home and upset you like this?"

Li Yunlan patted her hand gently. "It's alright, dear. They were just some old friends. We were reminiscing, and it got a little emotional."

Not seeing the three children downstairs, Lin Xiaoxiao didn't stop to ask. She hurried upstairs to check on them.

The little ones were sound asleep. The nanny and Zhou Liyun were folding diapers nearby, chatting quietly.

After checking each child, Lin Xiaoxiao turned to Zhou Liyun. "Auntie, who exactly came to the house today? Why weren't we allowed to be home?"

Zhou Liyun sighed. "They were here for Xiaoling."

Lin Xiaoxiao had already guessed that much. "Then why didn't they let her see them?"

Zhou Liyun shook her head. "Your grandfather and your father want to verify their background first—to understand what that family is like. They want to be sure everything is proper before telling Xiaoling."

Zhou Zhennan's stance was simple: they couldn't just hand Xiaoling over the moment someone showed up claiming to be family. Who knew what the Lin family from Shanghai was really like?

They'd heard they were respectable, but that wasn't enough.

Xiaoling had been raised with love and care; she couldn't be easily sent off to just anyone. What if that family turned out to be problematic? The last thing they wanted was to bring her unnecessary trouble.

Lin Xiaoxiao saw the logic in that. "Is the Lin family from Shanghai well-known?"

Zhou Liyun shook her head. "Not sure, but the two men who came today looked quite distinguished."

Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but wonder—was this Shanghai Lin family related to Lin Zihao? Was it the same family? If so, then...

Wouldn't that make Lin Zihao something like Xiaoling's cousin? It was like that saying: "All lovers eventually turn out to be siblings."

Even Lin Xiaoxiao found that hard to accept. She couldn't imagine how Xiaoling would take it.

Xiaoling, clever as she was, had also sensed that the visitors were likely connected to her origins. But out of respect for Li Yunlan's emotions, she didn't ask too many questions.

It wasn't until after dinner, when Li Yunlan went upstairs to see the children, that Xiaoling went to the study to find Zhou Zhennan.

He had no intention of hiding the truth from her. "The reason we didn't let you meet them today is that your grandfather and I want to learn more about the Lin family. Whether you choose to acknowledge them or not later on, we want to make sure things are straightforward and safe for you."

Xiaoling understood completely—but she was burning with curiosity. "Are they from Shanghai?"

Zhou Zhennan nodded. "Yes."

"Are they related to Lin Zihao?"

That was what worried her the most. If they were, then the guy she liked would turn out to be her blood relative. Nothing could be worse.

Zhou Zhennan nodded again. "Yes. The men who came today were Lin Zihao's uncles."

All color drained from Xiaoling's face. The last bit of hope in her heart vanished.

Zhou Zhennan knew about her feelings for Lin Zihao. He sighed softly. "Thankfully, you and Zihao haven't spent much time together. Try not to take it too hard."

Xiaoling forced a smile—uglier than a frown. How could she ever let go of Lin Zihao just like that?

Zhou Bingwen had someone look into the Shanghai Lin family. The report came back quickly: the Lins were an established family with a century-old reputation, with generations involved in politics and business.

Though they had kept a low profile during turbulent times, they remained a deeply rooted, influential clan. Many of the current Lin family members served in government or the military—a highly respected family of officials.

In comparison, the Zhou family seemed rather ordinary. Most importantly, the Lin family was known for their strong values, and their children were all well accomplished.

Zhou Bingwen and Zhou Zhennan discussed it with Li Yunlan: they felt Xiaoling should be allowed to recognize her roots. After all, Xiaoling's biological father had been separated from his family during the war. Everyone had assumed he was dead.

But even so, the Lin family had never given up searching for him.

Li Yunlan was reluctant. "Xiaoling is our daughter," she insisted.

Zhou Zhennan comforted her. "We should be happy for her—and for Jingdong⁴, too. He's finally found his family. No matter what, Xiaoling will always be our daughter. And now she'll have even more people who care about her. We should be glad."

Li Yunlan knew he was right, but the thought of Xiaoling leaving for Shanghai and hardly being able to see her once a year broke her heart.

Meanwhile, on their way back, Xiaoling groaned to Lin Xiaoxiao, "Why did my father have to be from the Lin family? Oh my god, Lin Zihao is basically my brother now. How am I ever going to face him without feeling awkward?"

Lin Xiaoxiao tried to cheer her up. "Look on the bright side—at least you two never actually dated. Imagine if you'd been in a relationship and then found out you were siblings. Now that would've been a disaster."

Xiaoling collapsed onto her bed with a dramatic fake cry. "I'm so miserable! It took me so long to finally like someone—and for so long—and now he turns out to be my brother??"

Lin Xiaoxiao grew curious. "You've liked him for that long? When did it even start?"

Xiaoling sat up. Since they were practically siblings now, she figured there was no harm in sharing. She sighed. "When I was stationed in Tibet. But okay, here's the embarrassing part—I didn't know he was married back then. And because of the high altitude, my lack of oxygen, the crazy sun exposure, and my super short hair... he thought I was a guy."

Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes widened. "And then?"

Xiaoling scratched her head. "Then during a military exercise, I got lost in the mountains and ran into him. I actually captured him! But we both ended up falling into a snow pit."

The most awkward part was—while ambushing him, she'd attacked his most vulnerable area.

And that was how they both tumbled into the pit.

Lin Xiaoxiao stared in disbelief. "You ambushed Lin Zihao??"

Xiaoling grinned. "I pretended to be injured. He fell for it—thought I was some rookie soldier. He offered to carry me, and then... I took my shot."

Lin Xiaoxiao thought about it—in all those heavy winter clothes, it'd be hard to tell if someone was a boy or a girl.

Still, she tried to picture the scene. "And that's how you started liking him?"

Xiapling flopped back down on the bed and sighed like her world had ended. "Turns out he was already injured. When we fell, he shielded me with his own body and knocked himself out. So I had to give him mouth-to-mouth..."