Chapter Summaries

Li Ye answered Gao Qiaohéjiè’s insults by wearing Mingguang Armor and demonstrating his spear skills, leaving the Japanese visitors stunned. After the exhibition, the armor’s weight became a focus, and Li Ye returned to the hotel to celebrate with his companions, where Old Bear warned him about Chu Yunling.

• Li Ye donned Mingguang Armor and told Gao Qiaohéjiè that the historical works were real and that his disbelief showed weakness.
• Li Ye cleared space in the exhibition hall, refused filming, and performed a series of spear techniques that knocked over and damaged an armor display.
• Li Ye challenged Gao Qiaohéjiè’s group to wear Ō-yoroi and compete, but they did not accept the challenge.
• Li Ye asked Old Bear to weigh his armor publicly, while visitors began asking to try it on.
• Li Ye received a hero’s welcome at dinner, and Old Bear warned him that Chu Yunling had joined the Japan trip despite not being on the original list.

Li Ye handled the fallout from his public spear demonstration, then turned away Chu Yunling’s late-night visit by bringing Wen Leyu into his room. In the morning, he refused to repeat the performance, and Fu Yiruo revealed that Wen Leyu had spent the night in her room instead.

• Fu Guiru warned Li Ye to take bodyguards after Fu Yiruo praised his armor and spear skills, and Li Ye agreed to be cautious.
• Chu Yunling knocked on Li Ye’s door during the night, prompting Fu Guiru and Wen Leyu to confront her.
• Li Ye pretended Wen Leyu had suffered another nightmare and pulled her into his room, leaving Chu Yunling outside; Wen Leyu soon fled back to her own room.
• Old Bear and Team Leader Zhou showed Li Ye newspaper coverage and asked him to perform again, but he argued that preserving the mystery was better.
• Li Ye went to check on Wen Leyu in the morning, and Fu Yiruo revealed that Wen Leyu had slept in her room after claiming she had a nightmare.

Li Ye visited Old Song’s cultural society in Yokohama to learn about Gao Qiaohéjiè’s group and discovered that Old Song planned to use business and money to settle old scores with Nakamura. Old Song revealed that he had only begun investigating Nakamura, a former colonel now serving the Gao Qiaohéjiè family.

• Li Ye left Wen Leyu behind and traveled with two bodyguards to meet Old Song in Yokohama Chinatown.
• Old Song welcomed Li Ye to his Tang Dynasty Cultural Society and explained his calligraphy business and his reasons for settling in Yokohama.
• Old Song introduced Junko, whose family had lost its antique business after offending Gao Qiaohéjiè’s group, and said he had helped her repay her debts and become his disciple.
• Li Ye challenged Old Song’s claim that he was simply doing honest business and asked whether he intended to confront Yokohama Nakamura Corporation.
• Old Song recalled losing a leg after trying to win Nakamura’s favor and said he now planned to use money, rather than guns, against Nakamura.

Li Ye spent the day with Old Song, who revealed he had bought Chu Yunling’s gold bracelet, before returning to find Wen Leyu upset that he had left her alone. Li Ye presented jewelry to his family, and the chapter ended with Fu Guiru deciding she would need to remind her son that a wife and a sister were different.

• Li Ye left Old Song’s shop after warning him to be careful, but Old Song insisted on treating him to dinner.
• Old Song told Li Ye that he had bought Chu Yunling’s gold bracelet for five hundred thousand yen through a Sichuan-Chongqing restaurant cook who knew her.
• Old Song took Li Ye to enjoy hot springs and Japanese cuisine, where he relied on money and gestures to get the waiter’s attention.
• Fu Guiru confronted Li Ye for spending the day away while Wen Leyu was upset that he had left her behind.
• Li Ye brought out a box of jewelry from Old Song and offered it to Wen Leyu, who shared pieces with Fu Guiru and Fu Yiruo.
• Fu Yiruo took the jade bracelet, and Fu Guiru resolved to lecture Li Ye about treating his wife differently from his sister.

Fu Guiru warned Li Ye not to make Wen Leyu anxious, and Li Ye reassured Wen Leyu before taking her out for a midnight snack. Over the following days, the couple grew more openly affectionate while shopping with the delegation, where Li Ye noticed Chu Yunling and Xiao Ma acting oddly; dinner revealed that he had misunderstood them.

• Fu Guiru scolded Li Ye for leaving without telling Wen Leyu, then received documents he had gathered about Nakamura Corporation.
• Li Ye told Wen Leyu he had not gone out to fool around, and she admitted she had spent the day thinking about him before they went out for a late-night snack.
• Li Ye and Wen Leyu became more openly affectionate during the delegation's travels, despite complaints from some older comrades.
• Li Ye and Wen Leyu declined to buy a refrigerator and instead bought cosmetics, razors, and athletic shoes while shopping with Auntie Zhu.
• Chu Yunling bought fashionable clothes instead of appliances, and Li Ye noticed Xiao Ma seemed distracted and troubled.
• Li Ye realized at dinner that he had misjudged Chu Yunling and Xiao Ma.

Li Ye learned that Chu Yunling had fled the film festival delegation after Ma Zhexin exposed her escape plan, and the team leader asked Li Ye to find her quietly. When Li Ye tried to avoid the search, he learned that Li Huaisheng’s future mother-in-law was involved, leaving him pressured to help.

• Li Ye overheard Chu Yunling tell Ma Zhexin that she would give him one last chance to obtain his family’s household registration booklet and marry her.
• At two in the morning, Yang Yumin summoned Li Ye after Chu Yunling disappeared and Director Zhu was found drugged but awake.
• Ma Zhexin and Team Leader Zhou Ziyuan argued over whether Ma had helped Chu escape, while Yang Yumin explained that Ma had reported her plan too late.
• Team Leader Zhou asked Li Ye to find Chu Yunling discreetly, and Ma Zhexin said she might seek out a hometown acquaintance working at a Sichuan restaurant.
• Li Ye fled the hotel to avoid being blamed for the search, but Yang Yumin and Li Huaisheng caught up with him.
• Yang Yumin revealed that Li Huaisheng was engaged to Director Zhu’s daughter, so Li Ye agreed he could not easily refuse to help.

Li Ye found Chu Yunling being abducted in Yokohama Chinatown and rescued her, but she escaped again by grabbing the steering wheel and causing a crash. He caught up with her in a residential area, where she asked him to let her live.

• Li Ye called Old Song, who reported that a woman had been taken near the Sichuan restaurant and warned that the area held many undocumented people.
• Li Ye, Team Leader Zhou, Li Huaisheng, Yang Yumin, and an interpreter split into teams and searched Ikebukuro and Yokohama.
• In Yokohama Chinatown, Li Ye's group found Chu Yunling being dragged toward a car by three men and rammed the parked vehicle to stop them.
• Li Ye knocked down the men, threatened them with the consequences of reporting the incident, and left with Chu Yunling and the others.
• Chu Yunling grabbed the steering wheel in Team Leader Zhou's car, sending it into a ditch, then escaped while Li Ye's group helped the injured passengers.
• Li Ye caught up with Chu Yunling in a residential area, where she limped away and begged him to spare her.

Li Ye helped Chu Yunling escape her pursuers and returned to the delegation, where Zhou Ziyuan recovered from his injuries in time for the Tokyo Film Festival awards ceremony. At the ceremony, Pan Hong told Li Ye that Tsui Hark wanted to meet him and suggested he consider working in Hong Kong.

• Chu Yunling told Li Ye why she had fled the mainland, and he urged her to stand on her own without harming her compatriots before leaving so she could escape.
• Old Song found Chu Yunling and revealed that he had alerted Li Ye to her cries for help, then offered to help because he thought she was promising material.
• Li Ye reunited with Yang Yumin and Li Huaisheng, and they returned to find Zhou Ziyuan and the interpreter injured after the car accident.
• Li Ye took Zhou Ziyuan and the interpreter to the hospital, where Zhou received stitches before insisting on returning to prepare for the awards ceremony.
• At the Tokyo Film Festival awards ceremony, Pan Hong told Li Ye that Tsui Hark had praised him and wanted to contact him about working in Hong Kong.

“Lone Army Gazing Homeward” won Best Film at the Tokyo Film Festival, bringing its crew home in celebration while Li Ye drew attention from the press. On the flight back, Li Ye recognized Li Dayong’s ex-girlfriend Lin Qiuyan and realized she might encounter Li Dayong and Pei Wenhui at the airport.

• Li Ye watched as “Lone Army Gazing Homeward” won Best Film over “Typhoon Club,” and Old Xie thanked the original authors, drawing the cameras’ attention to Li Ye.
• The crew celebrated on the flight home and teased Li Ye about his newspaper coverage, while Old Bear and the others were scolded for being noisy.
• Wen Leyu noticed a woman watching Li Ye, and he identified her as Li Dayong’s ex-girlfriend, Lin Qiuyan, who had returned from studying abroad.
• Wen Leyu pointed out that Lin Qiuyan might run into Li Dayong and Pei Wenhui, who were seated in business class, and Li Ye said Pei Wenhui would not get jealous.
• Wen Leyu recognized the implication behind Li Ye’s reassurance and silently called him out for trying to keep her from getting jealous.

Li Ye and Wen Leyu returned from Japan with the exhibition delegation and witnessed Lin Qiuyan encounter Li Dayong and Pei Wenhui at the airport. Lin Qiuyan saw Pei Wenhui’s affection for Li Dayong and was stunned to realize they were together.

• Wen Leyu stayed engrossed in Dragon Ball until the plane landed, and Li Ye explained its ties to Journey to the West.
• After landing, the exhibition delegation mocked Lin Qiuyan for having told them to be quiet on the plane.
• Lin Qiuyan spotted Li Dayong in his sweat-stained work clothes and assumed he could not have found a wealthy partner.
• Li Dayong noticed Lin Qiuyan but looked past her, while Lin Qiuyan approached him expecting him to submit to her again.
• Pei Wenhui ran to Li Dayong, teased him about his filthy clothes, and worried that he had driven without sleep.
• Lin Qiuyan froze as she realized Pei Wenhui and Li Dayong were together.

Pei Wenhui confronted Lin Qiuyan over her past relationship with Li Dayong and made clear she would defend their relationship. After the airport group dispersed, Yang Yumin learned that Li Yue had fallen asleep waiting to pick her up.

• Li Dayong introduced Lin Qiuyan as a school classmate, but Lin Qiuyan pressed him about whether that was all she was to him.
• Pei Wenhui challenged Lin Qiuyan, explaining that their families approved of her and Li Dayong and that Lin Qiuyan had previously broken up with him to study abroad.
• Pei Wenhui told Lin Qiuyan to come at her if she wanted to take Li Dayong back, then left with him and their bodyguards.
• Lin Qiuyan realized she had lost Li Dayong, whom the narration described as a wealthy hidden gem.
• After the group split up at the airport, Yang Yujiao told Yang Yumin that Li Yue had fallen asleep in the car while waiting for her.
• Yang Yumin questioned why Li Yue had been allowed to come pick her up while exhausted, and Yang Yujiao retorted that she should try persuading Li Yue herself.

Li Yue learned the details of Pei Wenhui confronting Lin Qiuyan over Li Dayong, then joined Li Ye and Wen Leyu in celebrating Wen Leyu’s return from Japan. Pan Xiaoying revealed that Fujitsu was offering cheap imported switchboards, and Li Ye warned that abandoning domestic development would leave the country further behind.

• Li Yue regretted sleeping through Pei Wenhui’s confrontation with Lin Qiuyan, so Fu Yiruo recounted how Pei had defended her marriage to Li Dayong.
• Li Ye teased that a faithful, capable husband was prized among wealthy families, and Li Yue scolded him for boasting about devotion.
• Li Ye and Wen Leyu brought gifts to the Wen family, where Teacher Ke hosted dinner to celebrate their return and the film’s festival win.
• Wen Leyu described Japanese people as outwardly polite and proud, but respectful toward those they considered strong.
• Pan Xiaoying said Fujitsu had offered a low-priced switchboard and claimed Japan was a decade ahead of mainland products.
• Li Ye warned that wavering over domestic technology could leave the country far behind, ending with the claim that falling behind meant getting butchered.

At dinner, Li Ye discussed how dependence on foreign technology could leave the mainland vulnerable and why building heavy industry mattered. He declined Pan Xiaoying’s recruitment overture for now, then proposed routing international calls through other countries to connect the mainland with the other side of the strait.

• Wen Qingsheng described how a West German manufacturer charged heavily to repair deliberately sensitive oil-processing equipment, and Li Ye agreed that domestic manufacturing could prevent such exploitation.
• Li Ye argued that the mainland had caught up by investing in heavy industry, while countries focused on light industry remained vulnerable to foreign pressure.
• Pan Xiaoying invited Li Ye to join her manufacturing side, but Li Ye asked whether she had agreed to cooperate with Fujitsu; she explained that her family preferred producing equipment themselves.
• Teacher Ke urged Pan Xiaoying to let Li Ye decide about his internship later, and Li Ye asked how soon her telecommunications upgrade pilot would be complete.
• Li Ye proposed routing calls through other overseas countries to establish indirect communications between the mainland and the other side of the strait.

Li Ye agreed to join COFCO after Wen Qingsheng offered him a position, and Wen Leyu reassured him that he should choose whatever let him feel at ease. Back at his courtyard, Li Ye and Li Yue discussed the risk that Li Juan’s arrival would expose their family secret.

• Pan Xiaoying discussed a possible telecommunications link across the strait with Li Ye, who argued that the timing could give the project added significance.
• Wen Qingsheng invited Li Ye to join COFCO, and Li Ye agreed after Wen Leyu defended his right to choose his own path.
• Wen Leyu cycled Li Ye to the bus stop and told him not to sacrifice his comfort for anyone; Li Ye said he would be happy at COFCO if it kept him close to her.
• Li Ye returned to the courtyard, where Pavlov guarded Li Yue’s car and Li Yue learned that Li Juan and Meiwen would soon come to the capital to study.
• Li Yue worried that Li Juan’s frequent contact with Fu Yiruo would expose the secret she and Li Ye had agreed to keep until Han Chunmei’s children entered university.

Li Ye visited Changbei Machinery Company and found it transformed by new housing and expansion, while raw-material shortages had sparked a dispute over steel. He reassured Li Dayong that the dual-track system could still foster private enterprise, leaving Li Dayong to consider his advice to study Marxist philosophy.

• Li Ye left Wen Leyu, Fu Yiruo, and Pei Wenhui to explore Hai Zi and drove to Changbei Machinery Company to meet Li Dayong.
• A guard required Li Ye to register and wait for an escort, while Wang Qinshan and Fang Lao Er argued over a batch of steel without coming to blows.
• Li Dayong explained that planned materials covered less than a third of the factory’s needs and that Wang Qinshan was using his connections to secure scarce supplies and protect his position.
• Li Ye told Li Dayong that the dual-track system’s disorder also created opportunities for private enterprises, then urged him to read Marxist philosophy.

Li Ye explained how he planned to use a Hong Kong order to trap Nakamura Corporation in costly textile-equipment upgrades just as the yen appreciated. He reassured Li Dayong that Changbei Machinery’s equipment would still be used and urged him to keep improving its quality and capabilities.

• Li Ye told Li Dayong to compile technical requirements beyond what domestic machinery factories could meet, then explained that he intended to use the standards to lure Nakamura Corporation into taking an unprofitable order.
• Li Dayong realized Li Ye was targeting Nakamura Naoto, whose company was already entangled in a lawsuit with Changbei Machinery, but Li Ye said Nakamura’s whereabouts did not concern them.
• Li Ye reminded Li Dayong that Changbei Machinery had to meet its contract standards after hundreds of sewing machines supplied to Pengcheng Factory Seven developed quality problems.
• Li Ye comforted Li Dayong about the earlier failures and encouraged him to develop durable textile machinery, promising that demand would be strong.

Li Ye welcomed Li Juan and Zhao Meiwen to Beijing with their fathers, then watched Li Kaijian struggle with Fu Yiruo’s presence and learn that Li Ye had a stake in Changbei Machinery Company. That night, Fu Guiru called about the Nakamura Corporation contract, and Li Ye realized Li Kaijian had not snored once, leaving him worried that his father was awake.

• Li Ye, Li Yue, and Yang Yumin met Li Juan, Zhao Meiwen, Li Kaijian, and Zhao Yuanchao at the station and helped the sisters enroll at their universities.
• At Zaojunmiao, Li Kaijian reacted awkwardly to Fu Yiruo, who excused herself to help prepare the girls’ rooms.
• Li Kaijian left to buy Erguotou, smoked by a flower bed, and admitted he wanted Li Ye to arrange a visit to Changbei Machinery Company after learning Li Ye had a stake in it.
• Li Kaijian, Zhao Yuanchao, and Yang Yumin drank together, and Fu Guiru called Li Ye to report that the Nakamura Corporation contract had been signed.
• Li Ye noticed that Li Kaijian had not snored all night and became suspicious that his father was awake.

Li Ye’s classmates received letters and photographs from Zhen Rongrong in the United States and Sun Xianjin in Moscow, and the class heard about their first experiences abroad. Zhen Rongrong promised to return and treat everyone to a feast, while Sun Xianjin’s cheerful letter left the classmates laughing.

• Chen Xiaoling brought the class letters and photographs from Sun Xianjin and Zhen Rongrong, sparking lively discussion about life abroad.
• Li Ye examined the photos and noted how Zhen Rongrong looked calm while Sun Xianjin grinned beside Russian classmates.
• Chen Xiaoling read Zhen Rongrong’s letter, which described the West’s prosperity, the pressure she felt, and her longing to return home.
• Zhen Rongrong’s promise to treat everyone to a grand feast after returning made the classmates look at Li Ye with displeasure.
• Chen Xiaoling read Sun Xianjin’s humorous account of Moscow’s strong liquor, poor food, and enthusiastic students, making the class laugh.

Li Ye joined Zhang Qiyan’s dinner with his senior disciples, where Cai Minying returned from the United States and urged them to learn from Western economics. After Zhang revealed the Plaza Accord, Li Ye questioned whether free-market economics benefited the poor.

• Li Ye told Wen Leyu he had to attend Zhang Qiyan’s dinner, while Wen Leyu and Li Juan rode to Zaojunmiao to cook mutton.
• Li Ye arrived at Zhang Qiyan’s home and met Cai Minying, the returning overseas student and his new senior sister.
• Cai Minying wondered whether Zhang and Teacher Lu had invited her to match her with Li Ye, but Teacher Lu explained that Li Ye already had someone and that Yu Xiufen would arrive later.
• Zhang Qiyan shared news of the Plaza Accord, and Wang Zhiyuan called the American plan robbery.
• Cai Minying argued that China should study Western economics and act during a time of transformation, but Li Ye asked whether free-market economics benefited the poor.

Li Ye challenged Cai Minying’s faith in Western free-market economics, arguing that mainland policies had to protect ordinary people and suit national conditions. After Zhang Qiyan revealed that Cai Minying had submitted a proposal advocating broad privatization, Li Ye read it and dismissed it as incomprehensible, and Cai Minying accused him of looking down on her work.

• Li Ye tested Cai Minying’s views on the Plaza Accord and argued that economic policy should protect the poor rather than blindly follow Western free-market models.
• Cai Minying rejected Li Ye’s views, questioned what he had learned from Zhang Qiyan, and mocked his understanding of wealth.
• Zhang Qiyan urged Cai Minying and Li Ye to exchange ideas, explaining that she had submitted a proposal despite his earlier criticism.
• Zhang Qiyan showed Cai Minying’s proposal to Li Ye, who quickly read it and claimed he could not understand it.
• Cai Minying recognized Li Ye’s disdain and accused him of looking down on her proposal.