Xiaoxiao couldn't help but admire someone like Dai Xueming—a self-taught hard worker who'd tested his way into university.

Since he was pretending not to know her, she certainly wouldn't initiate a greeting. She and Zhang Wanqing stayed busy welcoming new students and didn't even notice when Meng Xiaona returned.

But after seeing Dai Xueming off, Xiaona seemed unusually excited for the rest of the day.

While Xiaoxiao was busy with the start of the semester, Zhou Huai'an finally received a stack of letters from home. Sitting just outside the camp, he forgot about eating and tore them open.

When he read that Lin Xiaoxiao had given birth to three children, his hands trembled. He had two sons and a daughter!

Then came the photos. His eyes grew warm, and he blinked back emotion as he studied each one, gaze lingering until the edges of his vision turned red. He couldn't look away from the pictures of the babies.

His fingers gently traced Xiaoxiao's face in the photo, then the three children beside her. It was as if he could almost feel their warmth and hear their laughter.

Zhou Huai'an sat motionless on a rock, clutching the photos, eyes rimmed with red—yet a soft smile touched his lips.

Lin Zihao watched him for a while. Feeling that if he didn't step in, Zhou Huai'an might truly turn into stone, he walked over and sat beside him. "Mail from home?"

Zhou Huai'an's voice was thick with emotion as he handed over the photos. "Two boys and a girl. They're mine."

His eyes were growing increasingly bloodshot. "Look. Here are the pictures. Aren't they beautiful?"

Lin Zihao was amazed that someone as slender as Lin Xiaoxiao could have delivered triplets. He took the photos with interest, studying the three chubby babies. "Remarkable. They look like you."

Zhou Huai'an had never felt anything so strongly. "I really want to go home."

To hold his delicate Xiaoxiao and their soft, tiny children.

Lin Zihao looked over the photos again and again, finally sighing. "It shouldn't be long now."

Zhou Huai'an stared at the pictures once more. "I wonder if they'll already be walking and talking by the time I get back."

His heart ached with a pull he'd never felt before. He'd never longed for home so much.

Lin Zihao clapped him on the shoulder. "I'll lead the mission this time. You stay."

At the mention of duty, Zhou Huai'an's expression turned serious. He carefully folded the photos and tucked them into his breast pocket, right over his heart. Frowning, he said, "You don't have the experience. I know this area well. I should go."

Lin Zihao shook his head. "I'm a lone man. If I don't come back, so be it. Just burn some paper money for me on holidays so I'm not poor over there. You—it's different. They're waiting for you."

Zhou Huai'an wouldn't hear of it. "We're bringing everyone home safely. That's why I should lead—it's safer. For them, I will come back. We stick to the original plan."

Lin Zihao knew Zhou Huai'an's strengths. With him leading, their odds of success increased significantly. After a silence, he said, "Then let Xiao Chen stay. I'll go with you."

He wasn't usually a soft-hearted man. A failed marriage had left him with little patience for sentimental attachments.

But seeing those three children, and Xiaoxiao holding them, had touched something deep inside him. It suddenly struck him—if anything happened to Zhou Huai'an, Lin Xiaoxiao and those three children would lose their whole world.

However things went, he was determined to make sure Zhou Huai'an returned home safely.

After the semester began, the university organized more extracurricular activities, including a National Day gala.

Both Lin Xiaoxiao and Zhang Wanqing found themselves reluctantly recruited into the dance team. Every afternoon after class, they practiced for an hour.

This wasn't an issue for Zhang Wanqing, who lived on campus, but Xiaoxiao grew anxious. Every extra minute meant another minute of crying from her daughter An'an at home.

It was as if the baby had internalized her mother's schedule. If Xiaoxiao was an hour late, An'an would cry for that full hour. Xiaoxiao had hoped she would adjust within a couple of days.

But a week later, the little girl was still crying on cue, pointing outside and babbling "Mama" until someone carried her out to wait.

Xiaoxiao considered quitting, but she couldn't simply ignore group obligations or skip school events. During a break in dance practice, she sat on the floor, distracted.

Zhang Wanqing brought over a mug of water, drank half, and handed it to Xiaoxiao. "I drank from this side—you can use the other."

Watching Xiaoxiao drink, she asked curiously, "Something on your mind today? You seem somewhere else."

Xiaoxiao set down the mug and sighed. "An'an had just gotten used to me coming home at 6:30. Now it's 7, and she somehow knows. She starts crying right at 6:30."

As Li Yunlan put it, it was like the baby had an alarm clock inside her.

Zhang Wanqing looked surprised. "She can tell time? What can you do? Maybe you should just quit. It's not like we're professional dancers."

Xiaoxiao shook her head. "I can't. The school is taking this performance very seriously—so is our class. It's the first big event in a long time. We can't afford to make mistakes."

Zhang Wanqing thought for a moment. "I guess An'an will have to put up with it for a month. Things will go back to normal after October 1st."

As the two chatted in the corner, they noticed Meng Xiaona open her bag during the break, take out a lunch box, and hug it to herself with a secret smile before hurrying out.

Two female students nearby began whispering:

"Do you think Meng Xiaona has a crush on that first-year guy? I saw her giving him steamed buns yesterday."

"Probably. This afternoon, I saw her get a portion of meat from the cafeteria. She's probably taking it to him right now."

Xiaoxiao listened with mild surprise. She knew Xiaona was interested in Dai Xueming—but she hadn't expected her to make a move so soon.