Chapter Summaries

Qiao Huan and the other trainees began two weeks of military-style training at Azure Dragon, where the Shura Four impressed viewers during a singing contest disguised as punishment. Qiao Huan suspected Bai Jike was the undercover agent, but an emergency drill revealed that Bai Jike seemed utterly unfamiliar with military routines.

• The trainees arrived at Azure Dragon, chose dorms, and Qiao Huan settled into Dorm 404 with Zhuo Yang, Ye Yiwei, and Bai Jike.
• Qiao Huan noticed that the trainees in Dorm 403 wore their uniforms incorrectly and deliberately messed up his own uniform while trying to avoid exposing his background.
• Instructor Jiang assigned team leaders, and Jiang Ji joined Dorm 404 after the other dorms chose Pei Dahai and Tao Zhenting.
• Instructor Jiang punished the trainees with a push-up singing contest, where the Shura Four outlasted Li Xun's team and impressed the livestream viewers.
• Li Xun followed the Shura Four to learn about their training, while Qiao Huan grew suspicious of Bai Jike because he wore his uniform correctly.
• An emergency assembly whistle woke Qiao Huan, Zhuo Yang, and Ye Yiwei instantly, but Bai Jike rolled off his bed and asked whether someone's CPU alarm had gone off.

Qiao Huan watched Bai Jike for signs that he was an undercover agent while the trainees endured their first day of military training at Azure Dragon Base. After tracking Bai Jike to the server room and finding him playing a suspicious browser game, Qiao Huan confronted him by asking whether he had heard of the Anti-Fraud App.

• Bai Jike mistook an emergency assembly alarm for a CPU alarm, and Qiao Huan continued to regard him as his main undercover suspect.
• Jiang Ting lectured all twelve trainees after they arrived at the assembly, then began their official training the next morning with standing at attention.
• Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang swayed in sync during the long drill, and the four members of Dorm 404 eventually fell alongside the exhausted trainees to avoid showing them up.
• Qiao Huan searched for Bai Jike during the midday break and followed him to a server room, noticing his poor counter-surveillance skills but his ability to sneak past cameras and pick locks.
• Qiao Huan found Bai Jike playing a browser game in the server room, and he asked whether Bai Jike had heard of the Anti-Fraud App.

Bai Jike’s secret hacking work drew Qiao Huan’s attention, and the two began to trust each other while helping at a welfare institute after a fire. As the trainees rallied together in training and volunteer work, a streetlight began falling toward the tents, leaving them rushing to respond.

• Qiao Huan mistook Bai Jike’s computer activity for involvement with an online scam, but a coded test convinced him Bai Jike was not the person he suspected.
• After Qiao Huan and Bai Jike fled the computer room, their punishment run grew into a ten-kilometer group run as Zhuo Yang, Ye Yiwei, Li Xun, Hu Bin, and the other trainees joined them.
• Pei Dahai and Jiang Ji saw the trainees’ team spirit and changed their training approach, while Li Xun began bonding with the others.
• The trainees went to help at Huixin Welfare Institute after a fire left children and elderly residents sheltering in tents during heavy rain.
• Qiao Huan discovered Bai Jike hacking a computer at the institute, confronted him, and learned that he wanted to help people; Bai Jike agreed to look into a child’s imprisoned father.
• Zhao Jun called for help as a streetlight began falling toward the tent area, but he doubted the trainees could stop it.

Star Radiance’s twelve trainees worked together to save a collapsing streetlight and protect the people sheltering nearby, while footage of their teamwork changed viewers’ opinions of them. After watching the show, Jiang Renbao decided to return to Starlight Entertainment and support the group as they prepared for their first public performance.

• Zhuo Yang, Bai Jike, Qiao Huan, Ye Yiwei, and the other trainees coordinated their efforts to move the weakened streetlight away from the tents, then helped Zhao Jun as the rescued residents applauded.
• Pei Dahai and Jiang Ji filmed the trainees’ teamwork as they slipped away from the camp after professional responders returned.
• Jiang Renbao’s childhood friends watched the military-training show with him, and Tang Yue’s skepticism gave way to tears as she saw the trainees’ growth and their rescue efforts.
• Jiang Renbao resolved to return to Starlight Entertainment, and Tang Yue posted a reaction video that prompted viewers to praise the trainees and ask when they would debut.
• Starlight Entertainment announced that the OSOK group’s first public performance would take place in a week, and Jiang Renbao’s friends offered entertainment-industry opportunities if the trainees performed well.
• Jiang Renbao decided to hurry to Qinglong to help Xiu Si and Brother Huan.

As the trainees prepared for their first public performance at Azure Dragon Base, Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang clashed with the AUV Boy Group over a training spot and ended up dancing alongside retired performers. Qiao Huan noticed Ye Yiwei heading toward the instructors’ dormitory and used Zhuo Yang’s old injury to leave him stuck learning dance from the retirees.

• Pei Dahai announced that the trainees would perform as guests at Azure Dragon Base’s singing competition, and Li Xun urged Qiao Huan to seek a more experienced team leader.
• Qian Li of the AUV Boy Group tried to take the retirees’ training spot and livestreamed a misleading confrontation, but Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang joined the retirees’ square dance instead.
• The retirees revealed their performance skills, challenged AUV to a dance battle, and made Qian Li apologize before his group left.
• Uncle Yang recognized Zhuo Yang’s serious old Achilles tendon injury, prompting Qiao Huan to suspect that Zhuo Yang might not fit the undercover-agent clues.
• Qiao Huan saw Ye Yiwei heading toward the instructors’ dormitory, then persuaded the retirees to teach Zhuo Yang while he slipped away.

Qiao Huan followed Ye Yiwei to the instructors’ dormitory, where a conversation with Jiang Ji and Jiang Renbao helped him devise a plan for OSOK’s first public performance. Meanwhile, Ye Yiwei learned that the new director might terminate Qiao Huan’s contract over his family background, then invited Qiao Huan to train with Tao Zhenting.

• Qiao Huan followed Ye Yiwei to room 808 and ran into Jiang Ji and Jiang Renbao outside Jiang Ji’s room.
• Jiang Ji and Jiang Renbao explained the pressure surrounding OSOK’s debut and the expectations for a clean, focused boy group, and Qiao Huan came up with a performance idea after hearing about the square-dancing group.
• Ye Yiwei searched Tao Zhenting’s phone and noticed a message mentioning Qiao Huan, then heard Tao Zhenting explain that the new director might terminate Qiao Huan’s contract because his parents had led Spring Grass Hall.
• Ye Yiwei defended Qiao Huan and asked Tao Zhenting to help protect him and give him a better opportunity.
• After Qiao Huan left Jiang Ji and Jiang Renbao, Ye Yiwei invited him to join special vocal training with Tao Zhenting.

As Star Radiance’s trainees prepared for their first public performance, hostile comments and a surprise appearance by rival group AUV undermined teams 402 and 403. Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei prepared to perform, while Qiao Huan discovered a photograph in Ye Yiwei’s pocket that hinted at his painful past.

• Jiang Renbao watched Room Four’s rehearsal and was astonished by Qiao Huan’s improved singing, which came from intensive lessons with Tao Zhenting.
• At the public performance, paid hostile comments rattled 402, and a music malfunction disrupted their stage; Jiang Ji, Pei Dahai, and Bai Jike suspected a coordinated smear campaign.
• AUV performed unexpectedly ahead of 403, outshining them, and new director Ling Ji admitted he had approved the rival group’s appearance as a business decision.
• Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei discussed their families and training before their performance, and Qiao Huan spotted a photograph of Ye Yiwei with a boy whose face had been crossed out.
• Ye Yiwei used the Heimlich maneuver when Qiao Huan pretended to choke, while Qiao Huan secretly examined the photograph; the two then prepared to go onstage.

Qiao Huan, Ye Yiwei, Zhuo Yang, and Bai Jike performed their reimagined version of “Green Flower,” moving the audience and contestants to tears with its heartfelt lyrics and harmonies. They then surprised everyone with a fierce vocal exchange, leaving the venue cheering and Xiao Zhao’s music-professor mother praising their arrangement and effort.

• Qiao Huan, Ye Yiwei, Zhuo Yang, and Bai Jike went onstage in plain white shirts to perform “Green Flower,” while the trainees backstage worried about their simple presentation.
• Qiao Huan accompanied the group on guitar as he and Ye Yiwei began the song, drawing the audience in with their steady, sincere voices.
• Zhuo Yang and Bai Jike joined the harmonies as the arrangement incorporated familiar sounds from training, and the song brought contestants and their families to tears.
• After the final lyrics, Qiao Huan kept playing while he and Ye Yiwei launched into a powerful vocal exchange that energized the crowd.
• Xiao Zhao’s mother, a music conservatory professor, praised the arrangement and the way Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei supported each other’s voices and technique.

Xiu Four delivered a patriotic performance that united song, Yingge Dance, and rap built from letters home, moving the Qinglong trainees and their families. The performance ended to thunderous applause, while AUV privately admitted Xiu Four had outperformed them.

• Ye Yiwei and the others began a stirring song about the people who serve the motherland, and trainees across the venue joined in.
• Footage of Qinglong graduates appeared as Xiu Four performed Jiang Ji’s energetic arrangement, prompting the audience to sing along.
• Qiao Huan and the other members performed Yingge Dance, with Zhuo Yang leading the powerful choreography.
• Bai Jike rapped lines drawn from letters home written by Qinglong trainees and graduates, leaving the audience deeply moved.
• Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei stopped singing before the final sustained note, allowing the audience to bring the performance to a close.
• The crowd rose in applause and praised Xiu Four, while AUV members acknowledged the strength of their performance.

Xiu Si finished their Yingge dance performance, transforming from ordinary young men into heroes as they honored the lives and sacrifices of the older generation. The livestream audience praised their stamina, thoughtful song arrangement, and moving tribute.

• Xiu Si ended their performance seated in their chairs, holding Yingge batons and headgear.
• The lights came up as the four members panted from the demanding dance and bowed together.
• Livestream viewers reacted with excitement and emotion to the performance.
• Viewers praised Xiu Si for honoring the older generation rather than showing off.
• Viewers noted that the two songs complemented each other and that the arrangement reflected the spirit of Azure Dragon Training.

After Training Room Four’s performance won over the audience and the media, the trainees gave interviews that praised Qiao Huan’s role in their success. Qiao Huan reunited with Little Potato backstage, while Ye Yiwei overheard and realized that Little Potato was the Buffing Bro he had searched for.

• Qian Li tried to belittle Training Room Four’s performance and direct reporters toward AUV, but the reporters chose to interview the four trainees instead.
• Ye Yiwei and Zhuo Yang agreed to the interviews, and Qiao Huan accepted after seeing Ye Yiwei’s excitement; Qian Li left with AUV.
• The performance trended online, while Bai Jike, Zhuo Yang, and Ye Yiwei each credited Qiao Huan with shaping the performance and hoped he would debut.
• Qiao Huan told Reporter Liu that the base trainees were the performance’s main characters and praised Ye Yiwei as its center.
• After the interview, Qiao Huan recognized the cameraman as Little Potato, who hugged him and described how he had built a career with Qiao Huan’s past help.
• Ye Yiwei came to see Qiao Huan and overheard Little Potato, realizing that he was the Buffing Bro he had searched for.

After a nighttime fight revealed that Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei were undercover partners, Ye Yiwei learned Qiao Huan had not stabbed him and the two cleared up several misunderstandings. Though they believed they would avoid debuting, Star Radiance announced them alongside Zhuo Yang and Bai Jike in a new OSOK subunit, leaving the group stunned and Zhuo Yang and Bai Jike seeming oddly unhappy.

• Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei fought on the field, recognized each other's Official Training moves, and identified one another through their code phrase.
• Ye Yiwei accused Qiao Huan of stabbing him, but Qiao Huan explained he had been at the police station that night, and Ye Yiwei realized he had blamed the wrong person for years.
• Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei compared their undercover missions and learned they had accidentally interfered with each other's equipment during Between Life and Death.
• Ling Ji told Jiang Ji and Pei Dahai that Xiu Si would not debut as planned, but Ren Rong arrived looking for her son Jiang Renbao.
• Qiao Huan, Ye Yiwei, Zhuo Yang, and Bai Jike drank together after Zhuo Yang warned that their chances of debuting looked slim.
• Star Radiance announced Qiao Huan, Ye Yiwei, Zhuo Yang, and Bai Jike as members of the OSOK-X subunit, and Jiang Renbao revealed their debut song would promote an expensive film.

As X4’s masked Yingge performance gained attention, Jiang Renbao offered them the promotional song for Ren Rong’s sci-fi film Phantom River, bringing Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei into contact with a rival project tied to their investigations. They accepted the work, uncovered clues linking Radiance Films to both cases, and decided to write the song themselves, with Ye Yiwei planning an unusual arrangement.

• Pei Dahai and Jiang Ji promoted OSOK and X4 online, and Xiao Zhao’s illustrated portraits of the masked X4 members silenced much of the criticism over their lack of official photos.
• Jiang Renbao asked Ren Rong to let Xiu Si perform Phantom River’s promotional song, but she worried that their Yingge performance did not fit her sci-fi film.
• Jiang Renbao offered Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei the song after Ren Rong agreed they could consider it, and the two recognized Radiance Films and producer Fan Hui from their separate investigations.
• Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei connected Fan Hui’s suspicious absence from a drinking party to Radiance Films’ Dreamship project and suspected the rival company was coordinating with AUV.
• After reading Phantom River’s script and rejecting the demo songs, Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei agreed to take the project and write the song themselves.
• Ye Yiwei revealed that his parents were famous musicians, then asked Qiao Huan about undercover work and planned to use a nearly extinct folk performance to make Zhuo Yang and Bai Jike stand out.

Xiu Si’s members drew attention through their posts about folk arts, then won approval for their ambitious “Phantom River” promotional song, “Beyond the Frontier Star River.” As they prepared to film its video, Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei realized their unusually detailed script resembled an illustrated martial-arts manual, and Zhuo Yang arrived looking exhausted.

• Jiang Ji announced that Xiu Si would perform “Phantom River”’s promotional song, prompting netizens to compare the group with AUV and discuss the rising popularity of the Yingge Dance.
• Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei flooded Weibo with posts about folk arts and tagged Zhuo Yang and Bai Jike, while Zhuo Yang returned the favor and helped promote his teammates.
• Ren Rong and the film’s staff reviewed “Beyond the Frontier Star River” and praised its lyrics, music, and rap, then arranged for Xiu Si to record it and shoot the video.
• Xiu Si recorded the song smoothly, with Zhuo Yang singing most of its four-minute vocal section and Bai Jike performing the rap.
• Before filming, Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei recognized that the detailed script for their Jinghe Opera performance resembled an illustrated martial-arts guide, then saw Zhuo Yang arrive with dark circles under his eyes.

Qiao Huan, Ye Yiwei, Zhuo Yang, and Bai Jike filmed a promotional video for Phantom River, impressing cinematographer Saylor with their traditional performances and teamwork. As the four men carried a glowing dragon through staged pyrotechnics, Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei noticed Zhuo Yang was avoiding the effects from several meters away.

• Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei performed a Jinghe Opera scene for Aunt Bao and the Folk Customs Association, earning their praise for their movements and emotional delivery.
• Aunt Bao revealed that Zhuo Yang had helped her prepare the storyboards, and the executive director introduced Saylor as the visiting cinematographer.
• Saylor dismissed the film’s traditional elements until he saw Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei in costume, then became deeply engaged in filming their performance.
• Saylor filmed Zhuo Yang and Bai Jike performing Yingge Dance, while both pairs helped the crew between takes.
• The four men worked together to animate a massive glowing straw dragon among staged pyrotechnics, and Saylor enthusiastically filmed the scene.
• Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei noticed that Zhuo Yang kept dodging the pyrotechnics from several meters away.

Xiu Si completed their fire dragon dance shoot, while folklore experts and Cheers Entertainment defended the group against an online attack. Qiao Huan asked Qiao Tang to investigate Zhuo Yang, then returned to the set with Ye Yiwei expecting a reprimand.

• Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei tested Zhuo Yang during the fire dragon dance, and their conflicting movements produced a lifelike performance that impressed Saylor and the folklore experts.
• Jiang Ji posted three photos from the shoot, drawing enthusiastic reactions from fans.
• Wash Ears accused Xiu Si of misusing traditional dance and showing off their bodies, but folklore experts publicly defended and explained their performances.
• Cheers Entertainment revealed the members' contributions to the "Phantom River" promotional song and its traditional performance elements, while Wash Ears, who had taken money to attack them, was muted.
• Qiao Huan asked Qiao Tang to investigate Zhuo Yang after discussing his unusual abilities with Ye Yiwei.
• Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei returned to the set expecting criticism from the folklore experts but found Saylor square dancing with them.

Xiu Si released the long-awaited “Beyond the Frontier Star River,” a promotional video for Phantom River that blended traditional performance with science fiction and won over viewers. AUV and Radiance Films faced backlash over paid trolls, while the four members of Xiu Si woke to find themselves unexpectedly famous.

• Green Pines and Emerald Cypresses helped Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei fight back online, and the two learned their actions had brought attention and invitations to folk dance troupes.
• Radiance Films released Dreamship’s promotional video and song, which dominated the trending searches while Xiu Si continued refining their own video.
• Marketing accounts attacked Phantom River’s music consultant and Saylor, but Jiang Ji received a spreadsheet from NightWing exposing thousands of paid troll accounts and posted evidence of their activity.
• Cheers Entertainment released Xiu Si’s “Beyond the Frontier Star River,” which combined film scenes with Jinghe Opera, Yingge Dance, and the members’ performances, earning enthusiastic praise from viewers.
• Qian Li accidentally liked a post defending AUV, and Radiance Films disavowed the paid trolls; viewers blamed AUV and its followers fell sharply.
• Saylor praised Xiu Si’s looks and explained his silence, while the exhausted members woke the next day to discover they had become widely famous.

Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei investigated Fan Hui’s decision to release “Starship” despite its likely losses, then joined a variety show to get close to her son, Constantine Fan. Qiao Huan met Constantine and remained unmoved by the child’s staged murder scene.

• “Phantom River” surged far ahead of “Starship” in presales, while Ren Rong explained that “Starship” was likely to lose money and mentioned that “Dreamship” had once been planned as a VR film.
• Fan Hui announced that “Starship” would be released in theaters as scheduled, and Qiao Huan learned she had booked a flight to City L in Country U.
• Jiang Ji brought Xiu Si new work offers, and the four chose endorsements for domestic brands and agreed to join “Brat Comes Home.”
• Qiao Huan arrived at the Fan family’s home to meet Constantine Fan, while Xiao Feng warned him that the clever eight-year-old demanded constant attention.
• Qiao Huan found Constantine lying amid a staged pool of blood, picked him up, and criticized him for sleeping on the hard floor.

Qiao Huan tried to manage Constantine as his surrogate parent, learning about Fan Hui’s household while struggling to cook. When Constantine fell into the pool, Zhuo Yang arrived as the other guest instead of Ye Yiwei, leaving Qiao Huan worried about the ruined meal.

• Qiao Huan tested Constantine’s Chinese writing and explained why names were traditionally written in red, while Xiao Feng watched.
• Qiao Huan had Constantine show him around the house and noticed signs that Fan Hui had recently removed belongings.
• Qiao Huan told Constantine to clean up his fake blood, then tried to cook with the greens and crawfish in the refrigerator.
• Constantine smeared himself with fake blood and startled when Qiao Huan cracked crawfish shells with a cleaver, then he cleaned more carefully.
• Qiao Huan abandoned the crawfish after reading a cookbook and reflected on how he had changed while working with Ye Yiwei.
• Constantine fell into the backyard pool, and Zhuo Yang jumped in to rescue him, revealing that he had swapped groups with Ye Yiwei.

Zhuo Yang joined Qiao Huan and Constantine, helping secure the pool and cook while the two men struggled to care for the child. During preparations for a family dinner, Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang tried to learn Fan Hui’s favorite food, and Qiao Huan’s alarming cooking and intimidating manner left Constantine frightened but eventually cooperative.

• Constantine cried after Zhuo Yang rescued him from the pool, and Zhuo Yang made a spring-mattress safety net to keep him out.
• Zhuo Yang took over cooking, and he and Qiao Huan distracted Constantine with military-themed feeding games until the boy ate his meal.
• Xiao Feng brought ingredients for the group dinner, and Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang selected artichokes because they knew Fan Hui liked artichoke chicken soup.
• Constantine lied that Fan Hui liked spicy twice-cooked pork and seafood, so Qiao Huan ruined the ingredients and made him eat shellfish until he revealed her real favorite dish.
• Qiao Huan handed the cooking to Zhuo Yang, who won praise from viewers, while Qiao Huan worried about Zhuo Yang’s background and messaged Qiao Tang for an update.
• Qiao Tang replied to Qiao Huan with “[TvT],” leaving him confused.