After singing Zhou Xiaocheng's praises, Zhou Xiaoling suddenly grew worried. "What if my second brother runs into Xiao Ran? They were really close back then. Whenever someone bullied her, he was always there to protect her. He must have loved her very much."

Hearing this, even Lin Xiaoxiao began to feel concerned. "What should we do?"

Xiaoling scratched her head. "Let's just hope they don't meet. This is so worrying."

She played with An'an for a while, then noticed how nice the sunlight was outside and went to open the window. The moment she did, she froze. Turning to Lin Xiaoxiao, who was trimming Xuanxuan's nails, she gasped, "Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law! It's happened—they've met!"

Alarmed by her tone, Lin Xiaoxiao put down the scissors and hurried over. Through the window, she could see Zhou Xiaocheng and Luo Anran standing under the locust tree by the road. The sparse young leaves partly obscured their figures, and their expressions were hard to make out.

Xiaoling was practically hopping with anxiety. "Of all the luck! What do we do now?"

Lin Xiaoxiao didn't know either, but she figured they were bound to meet eventually. Better to get it over with early and put it behind them.

Luo Anran had been unable to get up early that morning after Geng Aiguo's rough treatment the night before. It was nearly noon when she finally left the house, planning to ask for leave from work—only to run straight into Zhou Xiaocheng.

She stood frozen, her heart twisting into a knot. Resentment and pain welled up, and tears sprang to her eyes.

Zhou Xiaocheng had also stopped. He looked at her calmly before speaking in an even, gentle tone. "Congratulations on your marriage."

Luo Anran broke down. "Why didn't you write to me? Why didn't you tell me you were alive? Do you really think I can be happy like this?"

His expression remained unreadable, not a ripple of emotion in his eyes. His voice was still soft as a breeze. "I wasn't allowed to write. Anran, since you're married now, you should focus on building a life with Aiguo."

She hated how he always seemed so detached—never angry, never rushed, never upset.

Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to wipe them away, staring defiantly at him. "Zhou Xiaocheng, did you ever really love me? How can you be so unaffected? Do you have any idea what these years have been like for me? Every day I hoped you'd come back, and every day I was disappointed. I had no choice but to marry Geng Aiguo. And now you return. Why couldn't you have come back just a few months earlier?"

If only he had returned sooner, she might never have married Geng Aiguo.

Zhou Xiaocheng's expression didn't change. He spoke calmly and rationally. "What's done is done. You need to let go. There's no point in 'what ifs.' Build a good life with Aiguo." With that, he turned to leave.

Knowing she couldn't make a scene with so many eyes watching, Luo Anran bit back a sob and called after his retreating figure, her voice trembling with hurt and anger, "Zhou Xiaocheng, you have no heart."

For just a second, his steps faltered, his shoulders tensing almost imperceptibly before he continued walking away.

Only when he was out of sight did Zhou Xiaoling finally relax. "I was so afraid they'd start talking and end up crying in each other's arms."

Lin Xiaoxiao almost laughed. "What were you imagining? This is the middle of the compound. However upset they are, they wouldn't do anything improper. Besides, I have a feeling your brother knows how to handle himself."

By noon, Lin Xiaoxiao and Li Yunlan had brought the babies out into the yard to enjoy the sun. The locust tree cast a dappled shade, its young leaves filtering the sunlight into a soft, warm glow.

The three infants lay on a single bed set up in the yard, kicking their legs and waving their arms. Lin Xiaoxiao sat beside them, keeping an eye out for bees.

Just then, Zhou Xiaocheng returned home carrying several boxes of pastries. Seeing everyone gathered around the children, he walked over with a faint smile.

Li Yunlan beamed at her son. "You went to Guihuazhai?"

"You've always said their pastries are better than Daoxiangcun's," he replied mildly, handing her the boxes. "So I bought a few of each."

Sitting close to Li Yunlan, Lin Xiaoxiao caught a faint whiff of tobacco as he passed the pastries. She glanced at him in surprise—she wouldn't have pegged someone so refined for a smoker.

Li Yunlan happily accepted the boxes and urged him inside for some tea. "Go keep your grandfather company with a game of chess. Your sister-in-law and I will watch the children."

After he went in, Li Yunlan opened one of the boxes and offered it to Lin Xiaoxiao. "Their walnut cookies and osmanthus cakes are the best. When the children were young, I'd only buy some at Spring Festival—each of them got just a small piece. Xiaoling was the clever one. She'd take a tiny bite out of every cookie, thinking I wouldn't notice." She laughed fondly at the memory.

Lin Xiaoxiao gently held her son's little foot, her heart aching. Zhou Huaian had already missed so much of their childhood. How much more would he regret if he missed the rest of their growing up?

That afternoon, Lin Wenbin visited. He seemed much more friendly toward Zhou Xiaocheng this time; the two chatted in the living room for quite a while before he came upstairs to see Lin Xiaoxiao and the babies.

After checking on the three soundly sleeping children, he turned to Lin Xiaoxiao, who was reading. "Everyone's napping?"

She nodded. "The babies are asleep, so Auntie and the others are resting too. Looking after them all day is exhausting."

Lin Wenbin sat at the desk, took the book from her hands, and flipped through a few pages.

"Zhou Xiaocheng is quite something," he remarked thoughtfully. "Very sharp. A lot more shrewd than Zhou Huaian."

Lin Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes. "Of course he is. How could you even compare them? They grew up in completely different environments. And what's wrong with Zhou Huaian anyway?"

"Hey, don't get mad," Lin Wenbin said, raising his hands. "I didn't say there was anything wrong with him. I'm just stating a fact."

But Lin Xiaoxiao wasn't having it. "It doesn't matter. I still think Zhou Huaian is the best. No comparisons allowed."

Knowing she'd been on edge lately, Lin Wenbin quickly backed down. "Alright, alright, my mistake. Look at you, practically sulking. Can we at least talk about Zhou Xiaocheng now?"

Without waiting for a reply, he went on, "That man has a bright future ahead of him—the kind made for politics. But he doesn't seem to care much about any of that. Talking to him is... surprisingly comfortable."

Lin Xiaoxiao looked at him in surprise. "That's high praise coming from you."

Lin Wenbin was notoriously hard to impress. He'd never had much regard for Zhou Huaian, and very few people in this world had earned his approval. Zhou Xiaocheng seemed to be the first.