Lin Xiaoxiao knew better than to be unreasonable. She sniffled softly and said, "Okay, I'll wait for you at home. Just come back soon, and please be careful. Don't get hurt."

Zhou Huaian gave a quiet "Mm," but before he could say more, the line went dead.

Lin Xiaoxiao stared at the receiver, listening to the dial tone, then asked the postal clerk what had happened. Why was the call cut off? The clerk wasn't sure. They tried dialing several more times, but couldn't get through.

Then came the bill: ten yuan.

Lin Xiaoxiao's heart sank. They'd barely spoken! Ten yuan? This was practically robbery. No wonder nobody made phone calls—who could afford it?

Tearfully, she dug out the money and paid.

Outside the post office, her eyes were still red. Hearing his voice had only made her miss him more—now every minute without him felt like an eternity.

Zhou Xiaoling didn't know how to comfort her. "At least we know my brother is okay. You should feel relieved. Delays happen—some things are out of their control."

Lin Xiaoxiao wiped her tears, still staring at the receipt. "Since when does a phone call cost so much? Ten yuan?"

Zhou Xiaoling explained gently, "You redialed a few times. Every connected attempt costs one yuan, even if someone just answers."

Lin Xiaoxiao looked at her in disbelief. "Don't joke with me—each try costs a yuan?"

She'd tried five or six times without thinking.

Zhou Xiaoling nodded. "If the operator picks up, it counts. I didn't want to say anything while you were so worried."

Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes widened as she counted the attempts on the receipt. Her heart ached all over again. Now she understood what "each word worth a thousand gold" really meant.

She carefully folded the receipt. "This is too expensive. That's a whole month's food budget."

Zhou Xiaoling slung an arm around her shoulder like a confident older sister. "As long as you're happy, the money doesn't matter."

But Lin Xiaoxiao shook her head. "No, no. It's too much. We can't call again. I just wonder when your brother will be back... how he's doing over there."

She thought about the future, when phone calls could be as long as you wanted, and you could always know where someone was. How nice that would be.

Then it struck her—if Zhou Huainan was fine, did that sudden pain in her heart mean something had happened to her parents or brother... in her original world?

The thought weighed heavily on her. She worried about them, but had no way to reach them.

Noticing her low spirits, Zhou Xiaoling linked arms with her. "Come on, let me treat you to something good. I heard there's a place around here that sells liangfen. Let's go find it."

With Lin Xiaoxiao on one arm and Shanzi holding her other hand, she led them around town.

They never found the liangfen stand, but they did come across a popcorn vendor. Delighted, they bought a whole bag of fresh popcorn to take home.

Shanzi's pockets were stuffed full. Happily munching on popcorn as they walked, he trailed contentedly behind Lin Xiaoxiao and Zhou Xiaoling.

Zhou Xiaoling grinned. "Well, looks like someone's skipping dinner tonight."......After hanging up, Zhou Huaian felt restless and uneasy. Lin Xiaoxiao wasn't one to cry easily—something must be wrong.

He called Zhong Zhiguo, who assured him that Lin Xiaoxiao was doing well and everything had been fine lately. Only half convinced, Zhou Huaian ended the call.

Li Yunlan was also concerned. "Was that Xiaoxiao? How is she? Maybe you should have brought her with you. It wouldn't be so hard to stay in touch. She must miss you terribly."

Zhou Huaian frowned but didn't reply. The situation here was more complicated than he'd expected. Hu Shiliang and Hu Yaozong had been exposed, but the people behind them were cunning.

They only knew that the contact was a foreigner named Mike, who had a complex identity in the country—an expert who had come long ago to assist with development.

On the surface, he seemed devoted to helping the country progress. Who would have guessed he had a hidden agenda?

The leader behind Mike still refused to show themselves. Zhou Huaian and Lin Zihao were reluctant to close the net too soon and risk alerting the mastermind, making future capture difficult.

So they considered letting Hu Shiliang's plot succeed—hand Zhou Huaian over to Mike, lure the leader out, and take them down in one move.

But just then, Hu Shiliang and Hu Yaozong went quiet. They must have caught wind of something.

Zhou Huaian had no choice but to return to the Zhou family and wait for another opportunity.

He didn't know how long it would take.

Zhou Huaian had always been a patient hunter, waiting calmly for his prey to appear. But after Lin Xiaoxiao's call, he grew restless. He decided to find Lin Zihao—why wait for the enemy to make a move? Why not take the initiative?

All he wanted was to go home, to see with his own eyes that Lin Xiaoxiao was safe.......Just as Lin Xiaoxiao expected, the official notice about restoring the college entrance exams wouldn't be released until October. But rumors were already everywhere: this year, the exams would resume, and everyone would be eligible to take them.

Especially among educated youth eager to return to the cities—many were already buried in books, hoping to test their way back.

Lin Xiaoxiao wasn't worried. With promises from both Zhou Huaian and Zhou Zhennan, she had double insurance. Even if others couldn't take the exam, she could.

Her focus now was on Xiao Yan. Would she try to get a spot through the youth group, or through the health clinic?

The health clinic's spots ultimately came from the Second Institute. If the institute assigned a spot to Xiao Yan, Lin Xiaoxiao would write a (letter of report)!

But if Xiao Yan tried through the youth group, the other educated youth would tear her apart. Who would give up their chance to return to the city? Nobody was that selfless.

She had considered not going to work, but to keep an eye on Xiao Yan, she had to show up.

Wang Wenju still hadn't found anyone to watch Shanzi, so Lin Xiaoxiao brought the boy along to the clinic—working, babysitting, and monitoring Xiao Yan all at once.

Perhaps after the last warning, Xiao Yan had grown more cautious around Lin Xiaoxiao.

Whenever she had free time, she buried herself in books, clearly determined to test into university.

Lin Xiaoxiao watched coldly. Go on, study hard. The harder you try, the more it will hurt when you lose it all.

She also noticed Xiao Yan trying to curry favor with Director Chen—bringing him tea, filling his thermos with hot water. Her efforts were transparent.

Lin Xiaoxiao knew Xiao Yan was trying to find an advantage here. But she'd decided—the best approach was through the youth group. She couldn't do it herself, but Zhou Xiaoling could.

After work, she whispered a plan to Zhou Xiaoling, who couldn't help but admire her sister-in-law. Where did she get all these clever—and slightly wicked—ideas?