Xia Xiaolan had never doubted this was a family portrait.

Tina’s hand rested affectionately on the man’s shoulder.

While Cui Yiru’s expression was unsmiling, both Tina’s and Fahn’s expressions resembled the man’s.

He was truly a gentle-looking man.

Perhaps Fahn would have such bearing after aging another decade or so.

No matter how one looked at it, this was a family portrait… yet this man wasn’t Xu Zhongyi.

“Xiaolan, your hand is bleeding!”

Hu Ying’s voice interrupted her thoughts. Xia Xiaolan shook her head, “My hand isn’t—”

Hu Ying stared at the photo, and only then did Xia Xiaolan notice there was a bloodstain on the back of the photo, with clear fingerprints visible. It must have been from a bleeding hand that had grabbed the photo.

Xia Xiaolan’s heart skipped a beat: Whose blood was this?

The sender of the photo wasn’t hard to guess – it had to be Jim, no one else was likely.

But whose blood was on the photo?

Jim hadn’t contacted her, and Xia Xiaolan was quite worried. Now receiving this bloodstained photo made her even more concerned.

To avoid worrying Hu Ying and Professor Wen, Xia Xiaolan put away the photo: “Must be someone’s prank, don’t worry about it. I’m off to school!”

Hu Ying was a bit worried.

A prank?

Xia Xiaolan pretended to be casual and went to school as usual.

But her mind wouldn’t stop churning over this matter.

It was Cui Yiru.

So that meant Fahn was Grandmother Yu’s grandson, Xu Changle?

This was wonderful news – not only was Xu Zhongyi still alive, but Grandmother Yu’s daughter-in-law and grandson were also alive!

Although it seemed Cui Yiru had remarried, making the story’s ending less than perfect, at least everyone was alive. That was what mattered most – marriage couldn’t bind two people forever, and wasn’t Cui Yiru allowed to remarry for various reasons?

Grandmother Yu was such an understanding person, she would surely comprehend.

Fahn being Xu Changle was the important part.

Also, Cui Yiru’s new husband Zhang, what exactly did he do in Los Angeles that no one could inquire about… Perhaps Jim’s judgment was correct – Cui Yiru had indeed fallen into gang hands.

Except the gang leader hadn’t sold off Cui Yiru and Xu Changle, but instead married her and raised Xu Changle as his son?

“What kind of melodramatic plot is this!”

If Mr. Zhang was the mastermind behind harming Xu Zhongyi back then, this man must be mentally ill – marrying Xu Zhongyi’s wife and raising his son, was he tired of living or just found life not exciting enough?

If Fahn was Xu Changle, then what about Tina?

Xia Xiaolan suddenly slammed on the brakes:

“Cynthia mentioned that Tina’s current house was a coming-of-age gift from her family, for her 18th birthday, and her birthday is in January—”

It was now 1986.

The arson occurred in May 1967, when the San Francisco police issued “Mouse Qiang’s” death certificate.

That was when Xu Zhongyi and Cui Yiru’s mother and son separated.

Tina’s birthday was January 1968… only 8 months after May of the previous year. Was Cui Yiru pregnant when she separated from Xu Zhongyi?!

“Not only did we find Grandmother Yu’s grandson, but we got a bonus granddaughter?!”

Xia Xiaolan studied the photo carefully.

Both Fahn and Tina looked like Cui Yiru.

Cui Yiru’s genes were stronger – neither sibling resembled Xu Zhongyi much.

Being in Los Angeles, they might truly have never seen Grandmother Yu’s missing person notices.

“If they did see them but couldn’t or didn’t dare acknowledge the relationship, that would be more complicated…”

The complexity of this situation exceeded Xia Xiaolan’s imagination, more difficult than drawing architectural plans. She tucked the photo under the car seat.

It took Xia Xiaolan quite a while to resist the urge to immediately tell Grandmother Yu the news.

How could she tell Grandmother Yu?

Tell her that her daughter-in-law had remarried, her grandchildren called another man father, and anyone who tried to approach them risked being stabbed bloody?

“Forget it!”

After waiting so many years, there was no rush now.

Xia Xiaolan felt this was already the best outcome – at least according to various evidence, the Xu Zhongyi family that had been out of contact for 19 years were all actually alive.

Why Cui Yiru remarried?

Why did Xu Zhongyi never contact Grandmother Yu?

These mysteries could only be solved by those involved.

…

After receiving the photo, Xia Xiaolan only told Zhou Cheng, to continue school as usual, just not going to New York on weekends — with Lisa following up at the theater, Xia Xiaolan could skip a week or two. The person in charge should have some privileges, right? Being the main creator meant having others handle the miscellaneous tasks!

Zhou Cheng told her to do nothing, as Third Brother Pan was already on his way to New York. Someone like Third Brother Pan didn’t need Xia Xiaolan to pick him up from the airport – he never appeared in conventional ways. When you’d expect him to fly, he’d come by boat.

When you’d expect him to come straight to New York, he’d make a detour to Los Angeles first. No one could do anything about his ways.

Previously, unit discipline could somewhat constrain him, but now he hadn’t returned to the unit, he was completely free to do as he pleased, becoming even more arbitrary.

After not seeing him for so long, Pan Bohua had become even more unruly.

Life at sea had tanned him darker, making his skin rougher.

When he grinned, the stark contrast between his teeth and skin tone could work for toothpaste commercials. With his bronze skin and muscular build… Xia Xiaolan thought Third Brother Pan had more charisma than Hollywood action stars.

It wasn’t she who first spotted Pan Bohua, but Daisy who nudged her with a pen:

“Look at that man!”

So handsome.

His features couldn’t compare with Zhou Cheng’s.

But that weathered handsomeness, every muscle telling a story… and he kept looking this way. Daisy wondered if spring had come for her.

When Daisy pointed him out, Xia Xiaolan saw Pan Bohua and nearly jumped with joy:

“Third Brother!”

She had been so constrained, unable to go anywhere.

With Third Brother Pan around, Xia Xiaolan felt much safer.

Ahem, she couldn’t let Zhou Cheng hear this, but Xia Xiaolan felt that in terms of individual combat ability, Zhou Cheng wasn’t quite up to Third Brother Pan’s level.

Seeing Zhou Cheng made her heart flutter and blush.

Seeing Pan Bohua made her feel secure.

—Another one of Xia’s acquaintances!

“Your friend? Xia, please tell me he’s single!”

Daisy felt it was time to test her friendship with Xia Xiaolan. Xia Xiaolan laughed heartily:

“Single, absolutely single!”

Pan Bohua rubbed his extremely short crew cut, “Girl, what nonsense are you talking about, I’m not single.”

“Third Brother, your English is quite good!”

Xia Xiaolan was slightly surprised, but Pan Bohua didn’t think much of it.

“Just picked it up here and there. I can speak Vietnamese too, what use is any of it!”

In this vast world, fists still ruled supreme.

Pan Bohua had brought a bag of walnuts, cracking them as he spoke: “Sister-in-law, I know who’s been bullying you. Just wait, Third Brother will get revenge and drag these people out.”