Lin Xiaoxiao stepped forward and gave Zhou Huai'an a light push, then took Li Yunlan's hand and burst into tears. Her crying was even more dramatic than if someone had used eyedrops: "Are you really his birth mother? No wonder my mother-in-law treated him so badly! When he was seven or eight, she wouldn't even feed him. She said he ate too much and abandoned him in the mountains to be eaten by wolves. It's a miracle he survived and found his way back."

"When he was eleven or twelve, she complained about having an extra mouth to feed. She tricked him into gathering sheep dung in the mountains and then pushed him off a cliff! A kind stranger saved him and he barely escaped with his life. Later, when he finally joined the army, that family treated him like a cash cow—sucking every last drop of blood from him."

As she spoke, she stood up and pulled at Zhou Huai'an's sleeve, revealing the fleece lining inside. "Look at this! Look how he's been living. Even I, as his wife, can't bear to see it. It breaks my heart, but I never felt it was my place to speak up... Wuwu..."

She cried so convincingly that Li Yunlan started weeping again too. Through her tears, she also reached for Zhou Huai'an's hand, examining his worn sleeves, the calluses and scars on his palms.

She had never neglected Zhou Xiaoming for a single day—so how could Wang Fenglan have mistreated her own son like this?

Large teardrops fell as she suddenly turned to Zhou Xiaohong. "Call your father. Tell him to come immediately. And tell Zhou Xiaoming to get out..."

Zhou Xiaohong was stunned. Zhou Huai'an was a stranger to her, but Zhou Xiaoming was the older brother who had doted on her for over twenty years. She couldn't just throw him out.

But Li Yunlan's mind was filled with images of her son being abused. She couldn't bring herself to consider the bond they'd formed with Zhou Xiaoming. "Hurry! Why should my son have suffered at Wang Fenglan's hands? Go now! Tell him to leave!"

Rubbing her eyes until they were red, Lin Xiaoxiao saw clearly now: Li Yunlan's thinking was different from most—there was something not quite right in her mental state.

She continued to cry, "I just can't believe it. How could anyone be so cruel? I've never been a mother, but when I think about my own future children... if anyone ever treated them like that, I wouldn't want to live anymore! Wuwu..."

A faint crack seemed to form in Zhou Huai'an's icy composure—he truly hadn't expected Lin Xiaoxiao to put on such an intense and committed performance.

Even Lü Zhigang, who had been genuinely moved earlier, was now watching Lin Xiaoxiao's act, struggling hard not to laugh.

Lin Xiaoxiao's crying made Li Yunlan's scalp tingle with rage. Grinding her teeth, she declared, "I want to see Wang Fenglan!"

Lin Xiaoxiao sobbed, "Are you sure? I'm afraid you might not be able to control your emotions when you see her."

Li Yunlan's gaze was firm. "I want to ask Wang Fenglan why she switched my son and why she abused him!"

Lin Xiaoxiao thought to herself, You might be calm and reasonable, but Wang Fenglan won't be.

You ought to beat her first—the fiercer the better. The more you unleash your anger, the deeper your resentment will grow toward the son you raised at home.

After all the emotional turmoil, Li Yunlan decided to go with Zhou Huai'an and the others to Zhou Village. She was going to settle the score with Wang Fenglan.

Zhou Huai'an watched Lin Xiaoxiao stirring the pot, knowing he couldn't stop it even if he tried. He stayed silent, acquiescing.

Li Yunlan pulled Zhou Huai'an down to sit, carefully studying his features. She cried as she looked, thinking of her sacrificed son Zhou Xiaocheng, and of the hardships this son had endured outside.

Seeing that the situation wasn't conducive to going out for a meal, Lü Zhigang went to the hospital to check on Third Granduncle and Xiaozhu, then bought some steamed buns for everyone.

But Li Yunlan had no appetite. She held Zhou Huai'an's hand tightly, repeating over and over, "You've suffered so much. It's my fault, all my fault. Why didn't I realize sooner? It's all my doing.

I've failed at everything. Luancheng is gone, and you... you endured so many years of hardship..."

Zhou Xiaohong was also too upset to eat. Her heart ached for this unfamiliar biological brother, but she couldn't let go of the big brother she'd known all her life. Their decades of shared feelings were real.

The only one with a good appetite was Lin Xiaoxiao. She hadn't eaten all morning, and all that crying had taken a lot out of her. So she sat quietly eating steamed buns, observing Li Yunlan and Zhou Xiaohong.

She was worried that once their emotions settled, they might not have the heart to cast aside the son they had raised.

After all, people form attachments even to cats and dogs they've cared for—let alone a child they nurtured from infancy. How could nearly thirty years of just disappear?

It wasn't until the afternoon that Li Yunlan finally calmed down. Lin XiaoXiaoggested that Zhou Xiaohong take her to rest in their room and recover; they would leave for Zhou Village early the next morning.

Zhou Xiaohong obediently helped Li Yunlan back to the room, brought a warm damp towel, and gently wiped her mother's face. "Mom... is he really my brother?"

Li Yunlan, her voice already hoarse, nodded. "There's no doubt."

Zhou Xiaohong hesitated. "Then... if he is, what about Big Brother? Are we really going to abandon him? Remember when you were sick—he carried you to the doctor. When Xiaoling and I were little, he and Second Brother always looked after us."

Li Yunlan paused, thinking about all Zhou Xiaoming had done. He really had been a good child—always sensible and considerate. Though he was average in ability and unremarkable at work, he was attentive, thoughtful, and perceptive.

But then she remembered what Lin Xiaoxiao had said, and anger welled up inside her. "He's married with children now; he has his own family. Let him live his own life."

Zhou Xiaohong still couldn't let go. "Will we explain this to Grandpa and all our relatives?"

Li Yunlan nodded. "Of course. We finally found your brother—why wouldn't we make it clear?

Your second brother is already gone. This is heaven pitying us, letting us meet your oldest brother. As for Zhou Xiaoming, we also need to make it clear to the relatives. From now on, whatever happens to him has nothing to do with our Zhou family."

It was the equivalent of cutting ties.

Though Li Yunlan's mind wasn't always clear, she could see some things very sharply. If she wanted Zhou Huai'an to return home, she had to smooth the path for him, leaving him no reason to hesitate.

Keeping Zhou Xiaoming at home would only disgust Zhou Huai'an.

Never mind whether Zhou Huai'an would be disgusted—she would be furious. Every time she saw Zhou Xiaoming, she would be reminded of everything Wang Fenglan had done.

Zhou Xiaohong's eyes reddened. "But it's not fair to Big Brother either. He was switched into our family right after birth—he didn't know anything. If we suddenly tell everyone he's no longer related to us... he'll be heartbroken."

Li Yunlan stiffened her neck stubbornly. "I don't care. I can't let my son be heartbroken again.

I've already lost one—this is my last one. Now go make that call. Hurry!"

Helpless, Zhou Xiaohong could only stand and go out to call her father. But unexpectedly, she ran into Lin Xiaoxiao in the hallway.