Lin Zihao happily went to greet Zhou Xiaoling as she returned, while the others were either tending to the children or still busy comforting Zhou Liyun.

The moment Zhou Xiaoling stepped inside, Lin Zihao cheerfully took her hand. “Sister, you’re finally back!”

Zhou Xiaoling tried to free her hand, but he held on tight. “Be good now—let me change first, then I’ll play with you.”

Only then did Lin Zihao reluctantly let go. He watched her go upstairs to change, thought for a moment, and decided to wait for her by the staircase.

When Zhou Xiaoling came back down, she saw Zhou Liyun crying, with Li Yunlan and Lin Xiaoxiao comforting her on either side. Almost without thinking, she asked, “What happened?”

She didn’t really expect an answer from Lin Zihao, who was still standing by the stairs.

But to her surprise, he replied clearly, “Aunt went home. Her children made her angry. They asked her for money. She said no, so they yelled at her. Aunt got so mad she thought about jumping in the river. Then she came back here.”

Zhou Xiaoling stared at him, stunned. How could he summarize the whole incident so clearly in just a few sentences?

She reached out and touched his forehead. “Lin Seven-Year-Old?”

Lin Zihao looked curious. “Yes, it’s me. Why are you calling me, sister?”

For a second, Zhou Xiaoling had wondered if he’d regained his memories. But it seemed she’d thought too much about it. She didn’t linger any longer and hurried over to help comfort Zhou Liyun.

Li Yunlan was speaking softly, “Don’t be sad. You don’ever have to go back to that house. And Qiu Dakui shouldn’t come looking for us, either. If they don’t appreciate what we’ve done, that’s one thing—but treating their own mother like this?”

Zhou Liyun’s eyes were sore from crying. “Sister-in-law, I’m sorry to make you worry. I just never thought they could be so shameless.”

Zhou Xiaoling’s temper flared. “Qiu Dakui and Wang Yumei, right? Just wait—when I have time tomorrow, I’m going to teach those two ungrateful snakes a lesson! Has Dakui forgotten that when he got married, he didn’t even have decent clothes? He wore my second brother’s new suit for the wedding! And how pitiful he sounded when he came begging back then.”

Li Yunlan shot Zhou Xiaoling a look, signaling her not to add fuel to the fire. But Zhou Xiaoling paid no attention, listing all the ways Qiu Dakui had been dishonorable and disloyal. Zhou Liyun listened, feeling both ashamed and guilty.

Zhou Xiaoling started ranting, “They better watch out—I’ll deal with them tomorrow!”

Lin Zihao chimed in firmly, “Whoever sister hits, I’ll go with her.”

Even Zhou Huai’an felt a headache coming on. Things had just started to calm down, but with Zhou Xiaoling stirring things up again, Zhou Liyun was crying tears of shame once more.

And then there was Lin Zihao, egging her on with his childish enthusiasm. With a face that old, how could he still act so young?

With all the comforting, dinner time came and went. It wasn’t until the three little ones started clamoring for food that everyone hurried to prepare bottles of milk and feed them the steamed egg custard the nanny had already made.

Fortunately, after a night’s rest, Zhou Liyun’s mood had stabilized. However disappointed she was, she couldn’t bring herself to truly hate her son—he was still her own flesh and blood. If he didn’t want to support her, she simply wouldn’t go back.

When Li Yunlan saw Zhou Liyun’s puffy eyes the next morning, she reassured her, “It’s alright, just let it go. We’re family—the children here are like your own. Didn’t you help raise Xiaoling when she was little?”

Zhou Xiaoling nodded repeatedly. “Yeah, I was about five or six. Mom and Dad were busy, so Aunt often carried me on her back while she worked in the fields.”

Zhou Liyun felt tears welling up again but held them back, not wanting to worry the family.

Just then, Lin Zihao, holding a steamed bun, spoke up suddenly: “Sister, last night there were cats fighting. They kept meowing all night.”

Lin Xiaoxiao, who had just walked in holding An’an, stumbled in surprise at his words, nearly dropping the child. She had spent quite a while being “tormented” by Zhou Huai’an in bed the night before.

And Lin Zihao’s room was right under theirs… Could he have heard something?

Luckily, Zhou Zhennan had gone out early for his morning exercises—otherwise, Lin Zihao might have asked him if he’d heard the noises, too.

Li Yunlan looked puzzled. “How could there be cats in the middle of winter? Are you sure you didn’t mishear?” She turned to Zhou Xiaoling. “Did you hear anything?”

Zhou Xiaoling shook her head without hesitation. “No, there couldn’t have been cats. You must have heard wrong.”

Just as Lin Zihao was about to say more, Zhou Huai’an stuffed a small bun into his mouth. “No talking while eating. Look at you, spraying saliva everywhere.”

Lin Zihao quickly covered his mouth. He couldn’t let his spit fly out—otherwise, his sister would be disgusted. But in his heart, he wondered—had he really misheard? If it wasn’t cats, were there ghosts?

Lin Xiaoxiao shot a secret glare at Zhou Hua’an. Even if she was usually the one who started things, she certainly couldn’t control what happened afterward. So when it came down to it, he was still the one to blame.

After breakfast, Lin Xiaoxiao and Zhou Xiaoling left together. Lin Zihao saw them off at the gate, looking as reluctant as a child waiting for his parents to come home.

Lin Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but worry. If Lin Zihao never recovered, it would be a real headache.

Zhou Xiaoling was even more concerned. “You say he’s slow, but he understands things and even repeats them clearly. But if you say he’s not slow, he doesn’t get anything else.”

Lin Xiaoxiao smiled. “It’s fine, take it slow. Maybe one day he’ll just get better. But don’t get too close to him just because he’s sick—be careful you don’t fall for him again.”

Zhou Xiaoling wasn’t worried at all. “How could that happen? He’s like a child now. How could I have those kinds of feelings for a kid? To me, he’s just like a first-grader.”

Lin Xiaoxiao wasn’t convinced. Affection could take many forms, and she feared Zhou Xiaoling might not even realize it herself.

Seeing the doubt in Lin Xiaoxiao’s eyes, Zhou Xiaoling patted her shoulder and laughed. “If you don’t believe anyone else, at least believe me. Anyway, I’ve taken the afternoon off—I’m going to Xidan to buy Lin Zihao some thermal underwear.”

Lin Xiaoxiao found it strange. “Couldn’t you get that at the department store nearby? Why go all the way to Xidan?”

Zhou Xiaoling grinned. “I’ve got some other things to do too. Gotta go, or I’ll be late.”

When Lin Xiaoxiao returned home from school that afternoon, Zhou Xiaoling still wasn’t back. She wondered to herself—if she’d left right after lunch, she should have been home earlier.

Lin Zihao had dragged a chair to the window and was leaning on the windowsill, gazing outside with eager eyes, waiting for Zhou Xiaoling to come home.