Lin Xiaoxiao bolted upright, ready to charge outside, but was immediately held back by Lin Wenbin. "Where do you think you're going? I'll go check it out. You stay here with the children."

Zhou Liyun, still holding a baby bottle, exclaimed in alarm, "What in the world—Xiaoling and Geng Aiguo are fighting?"

Lin Xiaoxiao was just as puzzled. How did they end up fighting out there? Geng Aiguo's place was nowhere near the union canteen. What were those two thinking?

It wasn't long before Lin Wenbin returned with Zhou Xiaoling. One side of Zhou Xiaoling's face was swollen and red—a shocking sight. Lin Xiaoxiao, who was in the middle of feeding her baby, couldn't stand up. "What happened? Did Geng Aiguo hit you?"

Furious, she was about to put the baby down and rush out to confront him.

Zhou Liyun was equally enraged, but with a child in her arms, she couldn't move either. "That shameless bastard! Just wait—I'll give him a piece of my mind tonight!"

Lin Wenbin hurriedly tried to calm the two seething women. "Take it easy. She only has this minor injury on her face. Geng Aiguo got it worse—his head was split open, and I think he lost a couple of teeth."

When Lin Wenbin had stepped in to break up the fight, he'd taken Zhou Xiaoling's side. And after hearing what started it, he couldn't help but deliver a couple of hard kicks to Geng Aiguo himself.

Even hearing that Geng Aiguo was worse off didn't satisfy Lin Xiaoxiao. "That doesn't make it okay! Look what he did to Xiaoling's face. No—I'm going to find him." She put the baby down, shoved the bottle into Lin Wenbin's hands, and made to leave.

Lin Wenbin pressed firmly on her shoulders. "Enough. Geng Aiguo's family already took him to the hospital. Xiaoling didn't exactly lose out here. Both of you, calm down."

After reassuring Lin Xiaoxiao, he went to the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge until he found a piece of frozen meat. Wrapping it in a towel, he handed it to Zhou Xiaoling. "Put this on your face. I've got to say—you really went all out. What if you'd actually killed him?"

Zhou Xiaoling's eyes still burned with anger. "I'd rather die than let him get away with what he said. He had it coming."

When she had finally cooled down a little, the story came out.

Geng Aiguo, hearing everyone wish the Zhou family well—some even envying them for having triplets—had been teased by others at his table about hurrying up and having a child himself by the end of the year. Then someone brought up Zhou Xiaocheng.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but Geng Aiguo snorted dismissively and said, "What's there to say about a dead man? Luo Anran married me in the end, didn't she?"

His tone was so contemptuous that it killed the conversation. No one wanted to touch that subject again. Zhou Xiaoling had overheard it but didn't react at the time.

Later, as Geng Aiguo drank more, he grew increasingly incoherent and made several more scornful remarks about Zhou Xiaocheng—things like, "What does it matter if he was brilliant? He still died young."

That was more than Zhou Xiaoling could take. Not wanting to make a scene in front of the other guests, she waited until Luo Anran was taking Geng Aiguo home before following them.

On the way, she picked up two bricks. One she threw through the Geng family's window; the other she smashed against Geng Aiguo's head, splitting it open. Another swing, and she knocked out two of his front teeth.

After hearing the story, Lin Xiaoxiao felt Geng Aiguo got exactly what he deserved. "What a vile man! He was asking for it—and she didn't hit him hard enough."

Zhou Liyun was equally disgusted. "How did the Geng family raise such a disgrace? Luo Anran really drew the short straw marrying him."

Zhou Xiaoling pressed the towel-wrapped meat to her face. "Next time I see him, I'll beat him again. I'll teach him to watch his mouth."

Lin Wenbin sighed. "Let's all take a deep breath. We still have to think about the law. What if the Geng family comes looking for trouble? We can't let them control the narrative."

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded. "Right. If they show up, Xiaoling can say she has internal injuries—a concussion from being hit by him! Who threw the first punch, anyway?"

Zhou Xiaoling pointed at herself. "I did."

Lin Xiaoxiao shook her head. "No, you didn't. He did."

Lin Wenbin massaged his temples. Compared to his sister, Zhou Xiaoling was still so... straightforward.

Zhou Zhennan and Li Yunlan had also heard about the fight. They had to see all the guests out before they could hurry back to see what had happened—and ran into Geng Aiguo's parents at the gate, there to demand an explanation.

Geng's mother, heartbroken over her son, immediately started complaining. "How could Xiaoling be so violent? Look what she did to Aiguo! She almost killed him!"

Zhou Zhennan frowned deeply. "Aiguo must have provoked her. Xiaoling doesn't pick fights for no reason."

Li Yunlan, known for fiercely protecting her children, agreed. "Exactly. Our Xiaoling may be bold, but she's not unreasonable. What did Aiguo do to set her off?"

Geng's mother grew even angrier. "No matter what he said, she had no right to hit him! If you don't give us a satisfactory answer today, we'll have no choice but to call the police—regardless of our past ties."

Zhou Zhennan was furious but kept his composure. "Let's take this inside. Once I know what happened, if Aiguo started it, I certainly won't let it slide."

Geng's mother fumed but followed them in. Geng's father, embarrassed, remained silent.

In the living room, seeing Zhou Xiaoling on the couch, Geng's mother launched right in.

"Xiaoling, what could Aiguo possibly have done to make you hit him like that? You knocked his teeth out! How is he supposed to show his face now?"

Zhou Xiaoling glanced sideways at her, then suddenly remembered what Lin Xiaoxiao had once told her. She sniffled and burst into tears. "I was just so angry! He said my second brother was 'a short-lived ghost'—that it didn't matter how outstanding he was, since he's dead anyway.

Everyone at the table heard him the first time. I held it in. But later he said it again, even worse. How was I supposed to take that?"

Her crying left Geng's mother at a loss for words. "Still... you shouldn't have hit him. Not like that."

Zhou Xiaoling wiped her tears. "When tempers flare, who can control themselves?"

Geng's mother scowled. "What's done is done. We expect you to take responsibility. Being a girl doesn't make you right."

Lin Xiaoxiao cut in coldly, "What responsibility? If you're not happy, go ahead and call the police. Let them take Xiaoling away. But we'll also sue Geng Aiguo for insulting a national hero. We can even take this to the newspapers—let the public decide who's wrong!"