At the time, she thought the birthmark was really unique, a little cute, and a little special.

Unexpectedly... this turned out to be the crucial and irrefutable evidence proving the child's true parentage!

She murmured to herself, "So...that's the truth. Then..."

She looked up at her in-laws with a complicated expression, her lips moved as if she wanted to ask something, but she didn't know how to start.

When Qin Peilan saw her daughter-in-law's hesitant expression, she immediately understood the question in her heart.

She sighed heavily, tears welling up in her eyes again, and choked out:

"Qiqi, what you want to ask, Mom knows. Yes, our Shen family's real granddaughter, Duzhou, died three years ago, along with her parents..."

When she said those words, Qin Peilan felt as if her heart had been ripped out by a knife.

That was her own granddaughter, a blood relative, how could she not be heartbroken?

Shen Zhenbang silently put his arm around his wife's trembling shoulders, his own eyes already red.

A complex and warm feeling welled up in Zhou Qiqi's heart, a mixture of bittersweetness, emotion, and admiration that made her nose sting.

"Dad, Mom, you...you are both so amazing, so..."

She couldn't find the right words for a moment, and her voice choked with emotion.

"Having lost his own granddaughter, he still takes in his comrade's orphan and cherishes her like the apple of his eye..."

During this time, she witnessed firsthand how openly the elderly couple confided in Zhouzhou.

They treated her with utmost care, as if she were afraid she would melt in their mouths or break in their hands – without the slightest hint of malice.

Qin Peilan wiped away her tears, trying to calm herself down. Her voice was low, but unusually firm:

"Sigh... what's all this talk about greatness or no greatness? In that situation, the real Zhouzhou was gone forever, and Huaiyue and Weiwei... were just left in a coma."

"This child who survived is more than just a child; she is the only hope that the five of them risked their lives for, the last hope that Huaiyue and Weiwei entrusted to us! We must take good care of her and raise her to adulthood, no matter what, and we must not let their sacrifice go to waste!"

Shen Zhenbang replied in a deep voice, his tone resolute: "We believe that this is also Huaiyue and Weiwei's last wish."

Given the circumstances at the time, if the elderly couple hadn't acknowledged the child, the organization would have naturally made other arrangements.

Perhaps it's an orphanage with better conditions, or perhaps it's finding a kind family without children to adopt them.

But no matter where you go, how can it compare to staying in the Shen family?

At the last moment, Shen Huaiyue and Lin Wei risked their lives to protect the child and entrusted her to her biological parents, because they were certain that the elderly couple would do everything in their power to treat her like a precious jewel.

In recent years, they have indeed done just that.

Qin Peilan took a deep breath and said:

"To be honest, if it weren't for this unexpected incident during treatment today, we would have almost forgotten about it. In our hearts, Zhouzhou is just like our own granddaughter, no different from anyone else."

Shen Zhenbang nodded silently to the side.

The elderly couple originally only hoped to help their child overcome her fear of the fire and cure her aphasia through treatment.

Who would have thought that this would uncover an even deeper mystery about their origins?

A deep worry appeared on Qin Peilan's face. She looked at her husband, and after receiving a reassuring look from him, she turned to Zhou Qiqi, her tone pleading and slightly imploring:

“She’s forgotten everything that happened before she was three, including the fact that she wasn’t Duzhou… We feel that reminding her of these things won’t do her any good; it will only cause her pain. Qiqi, do you think… this treatment could… end here?”

Zhou Qiqi was still immersed in the shock of her background being revealed and the gratitude she felt for her parents-in-law, second brother, and second sister-in-law's understanding and righteousness when she heard these words, which suddenly pulled her back to reality.

Yes, there is an even more thorny problem ahead.

With continued treatment, Zhouzhou's psychological trauma may heal, but what will follow is an incredibly cruel truth for her.

She is only seven years old. Right now, her whole world consists of the Shen family, her grandparents, her parents who may be waking up in their hospital beds, and her uncle and aunt Shen Huaichuan.

If, at this age, she were to suddenly learn that she was actually an orphan who had lost both her parents, and that these people she considered her closest relatives were not blood relatives, but merely an orphan who had been adopted by her comrades...

She knew that Zhouzhou was resilient at heart, but after all, she was only seven years old.

Can her young shoulders really bear such a heavy truth?

Zhou Qiqi recalled the cases she had seen online in her previous life. Many adopted children became confused, insecure, and sensitive after learning about their origins.

They may even develop a rift with their adoptive parents, making it difficult for them to truly be happy throughout their lives.

Moreover, Zhouzhou is such a kind child that she might also fall into a sense of guilt, wondering, "Why am I alive while others are dead?"

That hurdle is too difficult to overcome.

She asked herself honestly, and she absolutely did not want to see Zhouzhou fall into that kind of pain.

However, if it is not completely cured now, it may be more troublesome if it recurs in the future.