Li Yunlan turned her head away, refusing to engage with Zhou Xiaohong any longer.

Zhou Xiaohong, tears streaming down her face, looked at her father. "Dad, you can't possibly think Mom is in the right here, can you? She's clearly not thinking straight."

Zhou Zhennan glared at his daughter. "Xiaohong, that's enough! How can you speak about your mother that way? She may be confused, but she still sees things more clearly than you do. Even if Zhou Huaian's wife was trying to stir up trouble, do you really think it was appropriate to say those things in front of Zhou Xiaoming?"

"You've never been a mother. You have no idea how much your mother suffered to give birth to your eldest and second brother, or what she went through to keep them safe. How could she not be heartbroken over losing a child? If Zhou Xiaoming were adopted, we would take responsibility—but he's not! Because of his greedy and selfish parents, he has lived the life that should have been your eldest brother's for thirty years."

"Xiaohong, we raised you to know right from wrong. What's gotten into you?"

Zhou Xiaohong lowered her head, sobbing quietly. She truly didn't believe she had done anything wrong. In fact, she felt that Zhou Huaian's untimely appearance had shattered their family's peace.

Zhou Zhennan sighed, troubled by his usually sensible daughter's unexpected stubbornness. "You should go rest for now. Stay out of this matter from now on. Whatever decision we make has nothing to do with you."

Wiping her tears, Zhou Xiaohong left the room.

But Li Yunlan grew increasingly agitated. "Let's go find Huaian. Right now."

Lin Xiaoxiao had no idea that her words to Zhou Xiaohong would accelerate Zhou Xiaoming's actions. If she had known, she would have wanted to shake some sense into the girl—what on earth was she thinking?

How could she do something so foolish?

Lin Xiaoxiao had chosen to speak to Zhou Xiaohong because Li Yunlan seemed emotionally unstable, while Zhou Xiaohong appeared calm and sensible.

But now, she was sitting in Lu Yanda's office with Zhou Huaian, listening as Lu Yanda showered her with praise in front of him—much like a teacher praising a student to their parent.

"Xiaoxiao is remarkable," Lu Yanda said. "She grasps theoretical concepts quickly, remembers every lesson with accuracy, and even applies her knowledge creatively. Sometimes, her questions even stump the teachers. If she could receive formal, systematic training, she'd go far. She's a real talent."

Zhou Huaian felt a unexpected sense of pride. Glancing at Lin Xiaoxiao, he said, "Yes, she's always been clever."

Lu Yanda continued enthusiastically, "If Xiaoxiao graduates with outstanding results, would she consider staying at our hospital? We do hire outside the formal system, and exceptional performance could eventually lead to a permanent position."

Lin Xiaoxiao glanced shyly at Zhou Huaian and replied softly, "Wherever he goes, I go."

Lu Yanda suddenly remembered. Keeping Lin Xiaoxiao in the city would mean separating the young couple. That wouldn't do. He laughed heartily. "Right, right! I forgot about that. You two should focus on starting a family white you're still young."

Lin Xiaoxiao lowered her head, mastering the art of demure embarrassment.

Zhou Huaian found it amusing and chuckled softly. Lu Zhigang was right—she was quite a treasure.

After chatting a while longer, Lu Yanda insisted, "Alright, both of you come to my place for dinner tonight. My wife is home—she'll fry up some oil cakes for you."

Lin Xiaoxiao wasn't keen on going. She had been looking forward to some rare alone time with Zhou Huaian. But he accepted the invitation without hesitation.

Zhou Huaian was thinking ahead. If Lin Xiaoxiao stayed in the city, building a relationship with Lu Yanda's wife could be useful for future support.

Lu Yanda was delighted. "Perfect! I'm not busy today. We can head over together after work. My wife makes the best oil cakes."

Lin Xiaoxiao politely thanked him. "Then we'll be troubling your wife."

Lu Yanda's home was located not far from the hospital, in a residential compound rows of single-level homes, each with three rooms and no surrounding walls.

The brick houses looked sturdier and more spacious than most.

Lu Yanda's wife, Ruan Shuqin, was a plump, cheerful woman. When she saw Zhou Huaian and Lin Xiaoxiao, her face lit up with a warm smile. "Xiao Zhou, so good to see you! And this must be Xiaoxiao? Oh, she's lovely. No wonder you turned down all those other matchmaking suggestions!"

Lin Xiaoxiao shot a glance at Zhou Huaian and sweetly replied, "You must be teasing him, sister-in-law. How could any girl be interested in someone as wooden as him?"

Ruan Shuqin laughed. "Don't say that! Xiao Zhou is handsome—just like a movie star."

After a few light-hearted exchanges, the initial awkwardness melted away.

Lu Yanda called out to his wife to fry the oil cakes, and Ruan Shuqin cheerfully agreed. "I prepared the dough this afternoon. I was planning to make flatbreads, but oil cakes it is!"

Lin Xiaoxiao knew that fried oil cakes were a luxury. Many families could barely afford oil for cooking, let alone for deep-frying. She quickly rolled up her sleeves and offered to help in the kitchen.

Ruan Shuqin didn't refuse and asked her to help scoop the fried cakes out of the oil. As they worked, she made conversation. "I heard your parents work at the textile factory in west of the city?"

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded. "Yes."

Ruan Shuqin glanced at her. "Then I might know them. You probably don't remember me, but your family lived in Area 8, Row 3 of the textile factory compound, right? My sister also lives there."

Lin Xiaoxiao searched her memory but found no recollection of Ruan Shuqin. She shook her head. "I don't think we've met."

Ruan Shuqin smiled. "You likely wouldn't remember me. I recall you have a younger sister and brother. But why did your family suddenly move to the provincial capital?"

Lin Xiaoxiao was taken aback. Her family had moved to the provincial capital? How come she didn't know?

Noticing her surprise, Ruan Shuqin wondered if she had overstepped. "You didn't know? That's just what I heard."

Her sister had mentioned that the Lin family upstairs seemed to have come into money after marrying off their daughter—they had suddenly moved away, all the way to the provincial capital.

So when she met Lin Xiaoxiao, she couldn't help but ask.

Lin Xiaoxiao was relieved to hear that her original family had moved away. The farther, the better. She had vaguely heard about it before but now felt truly reassured. It was for the best not to have any contact with them. "I didn't know. They didn't tell me when they left. I guess since I'm married now, I'm not that important to them anymore."

Ruan Shuqin immediately felt sorry for Lin Xiaoxiao, seeing her as a poor thing caught in a difficult situation. "Don't you worry. If you ever need anything, just come find me. If I'm not home, you can reach me at the Statistics Bureau. I work there, but it's a pretty relaxed place."

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded gratefully. "Thank you, sister-in-law. I might take you up on that."

Ruan Shuqin smiled and then glanced toward the next room, where Zhou Huaian and Lu Yanda were chatting. Lowering her voice, she asked Lin Xiaoxiao with playful curiosity, "So... is Zhou Huaian... impressive?"

Lin Xiaoxiao was momentarily speechless. Good heavens, what kind of bold question was that? How could she ask something so private upon first meeting?

Besides... she herself was curious about just how "impressive" Zhou Huaian was!