Lin Xiaoxiao shook her head. "She doesn't actually plan to take revenge on that man, does she?"

Xiaocheng nodded. "Knowing her personality, she does. And she'll make sure he pays in the cruelest way possible. This bitterness and fear... they've been festering inside her for ten years."

When he'd looked into Zhang Wanqing's situation, he'd learned everything about her—including the environment she'd grown up in.

Though they hadn't spent much time together, he could already see what kind of person lived behind those defensive walls.

Lin Xiaoxiao sighed. "If it were me, I might not have been as strong as she is. But if I did choose revenge... I'd also use the cruelest means against anyone who hurt my family."

By mid-July, the air in Beijing had turned heavy and stifling. The cicadas' drone only added to the suffocating irritation, and the leaves curled inward under the relentless sun.

Lin Xiaoxiao decided to check on Zhang Wanqing. Not wanting to make her self-conscious, she made up an excuse about going book shopping together.

But when she arrived, Zhang Wanqing wasn't home. Her door was locked, and there was no sign of her.

A woman washing clothes in the courtyard, perhaps sensing Lin Xiaoxiao's good intentions, kindly asked, "Are you looking for Zhang Wanqing?"

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded. "Yes. She's not in?"

The woman gestured vaguely toward the outside. "She's at the hospital—the one near Jishuitan. Got into a fight. Look, even her windows are broken."

Only then did Lin Xiaoxiao notice several shattered panes in Zhang Wanqing's windows.

Thanking the woman, she hurried off on her bicycle.

Assuming a fight would lead to the surgery ward, she found Zhang Wanqing without much trouble on the second floor. What surprised her was that Zhou Xiaocheng was already there.

Zhang Wanqing sat on the hospital bed, her arm in a splint and supported by a sling. She stared stubbornly out the window.

Xiaocheng stood silently by the head of the bed, his expression unreadable.

Lin Xiaoxiao rushed over. "What happened? How did you get hurt?"

Zhang Wanqing gave a weak grin, one side of her face swollen. "It's nothing. Just a minor fracture. It'll heal."

After letting them talk for a moment, Xiaocheng motioned for Lin Xiaoxiao to step outside.

"Sister-in-law, see if you can convince Wanqing to come stay with us after she's discharged."

Curious, Lin Xiaoxiao asked, "Who did this? How could anyone hit a girl so hard? Her face is all swollen."

Xiaocheng knew the story. "Relatives from her mother's side. They want her two rooms. They brought some thugs to cause trouble."

"How could they? Bullying a girl who's all alone—they have no shame!"

Xiaocheng could only sigh. "It's a family matter. There's not much I can do. I have a meeting soon. She can be discharged once she's stable."

As they spoke, Zhang Wanqing emerged, her arm still in the sling. She looked from Lin Xiaoxiao to Xiaocheng. "I'm not going to your house."

Lin Xiaoxiao gently held her uninjured arm. "You can't stay by yourself with your arm like this. We have plenty of room, and we're not formal people. Come stay until you're better, alright?"

Zhang Wanqing shook her head stubbornly. "I can't drag you into this. If they find out I'm at your place, they'll come make trouble. It's fine—they didn't get off easy either."

With Xiaocheng, she'd simply refused outright, leaving the even-tempered man helpless.

But with Lin Xiaoxiao, she spoke honestly. They were good people—she didn't want her messy life contaminating theirs.

Lin Xiaoxiao smiled. "Do you really think they'd dare? Remember who stands guard at the entrance of our compound. You'll be safe there. Rest quietly, recover, and then we'll deal with them. You shouldn't have to suffer for nothing."

Zhang Wanqing felt a flicker of comfort. "You're right. I won't let them get away with this. How dare they come to my home and start trouble?"

"Exactly. When you go settle the score, I'm coming with you."

Xiaocheng looked slightly alarmed. How had this turned into planning a fight? If Zhou Xiaoling got involved...

Convinced, Zhang Wanqing no longer objected to staying with the Zhous. She gestured with her sling. "I can leave now. I don't want to stay here."

Xiaocheng checked his watch. "Alright, I'll handle the discharge. You two get ready and meet me downstairs."

After he left, Zhang Wanqing said to Lin Xiaoxiao, "Don't worry. I didn't let them off easy—I cracked one guy's head open, and kicked another into a water tank. If there hadn't been so many of them, I wouldn't have gotten hurt."

Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but feel that public order was slipping. No wonder the later crackdowns happened.

Since there wasn't much to pack, the two women made their way slowly downstairs to wait for Xiaocheng.

Meanwhile, Luo Anran and Geng Aiguo had come to the hospital for a check-up. At the payment counter, she spotted Xiaocheng in line. Her heart raced, but with Geng Aiguo beside her, she didn't dare look his way.

She watched as Xiaocheng finished paying, studying two receipts as he walked away without glancing in her direction. A pang of disappointment hit her.

Unable to resist, she turned and watched his retreating figure. He walked over to two women—one was Lin Xiaoxiao, the other slightly taller, slender and poised, with strikingly beautiful features though she seemed distant.

The girl's arm was in a sling. So Xiaocheng had brought her to the hospital? Was this his new girlfriend?

The thought sat like a stone in her chest.

Geng Aiguo sneered beside her. "Stop staring. He doesn't want you anymore. His new girl really is something."

Lin Xiaoxiao didn't notice Luo Anran. She turned to Xiaocheng as he approached with the receipts. "Xiaocheng, you go ahead. I'll take Wanqing to grab some clothes."

But Zhang Wanqing was looking intently at the receipts in his hand. "How much do I owe you?"