Chapter Summaries

Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong crossed paths with Yan Chuchen and her friend, while Ding Shuyan demonstrated her knack for choosing fruit at a roadside stall. Xue Chuchu bought delicious tangerines and a pineapple from the disabled stall owner, then returned home and wondered whether she should have thanked him instead of apologizing.

• Jiang Ning told Yan Chuchen and her friend to hold their phones steady before leaving with Xue Yuantong, and Yan Chuchen joked that she could cry for her friend in Bel Canto after their milk tea spilled.
• Lin Zida and Zhuang Jianhui walked with Ding Shuyan, who said she could probably maintain fourth place and recalled being unable to surpass Du Chuan despite intensive tutoring.
• Xue Chuchu stopped at a fruit stall, tasted a bland tangerine, and watched Ding Shuyan pick sweet green grapes and recommend unusually shaped tangerines.
• Xue Chuchu bought the recommended tangerines and a pineapple, then apologized to the disabled stall owner for asking him to peel it; he cheerfully said business was improving.
• Xue Chuchu shared the fruit with Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong at home and asked whether thanking the stall owner would have been better, while Xue Yuantong secretly scraped whipped cream from her milk tea.

Meng Gui prepared his home for a visit from his older sister, only to discover she had deleted him. At school, Dong Qingfeng showed off his supposed experience abroad, while Jiang Ning and Bai Yuxia casually revealed their own travels.

• Meng Gui cleaned and decorated his room, prepared drinks, and planned to take leave, but found that his sister had deleted him and ignored his messages.
• Bai Yuxia told Jiang Ning and Chen Siyu about an air conditioner falling from an old building, and Jiang Ning noticed that Bai Yuxia still wore the jade bracelet he had given her.
• Dong Qingfeng described the Evergreen Liquid launch event and boasted to his classmates about dining abroad and traveling in the United States.
• Chen Siyu asked whether Jiang Ning had traveled overseas, and Jiang Ning said he had never applied for a passport.
• Bai Yuxia revealed she had returned from France, and Jiang Ning said he had gone to Switzerland to buy a watch before relying on Xue Yuantong's Swiss Rolls while readjusting.

Physics Teacher’s attempts to impress his class with his son’s achievements backfired, while Chen Qian accidentally revealed an uncomfortable truth about Pang Jiao’s milk tea. Jiang Ning carved a jade ring as Bai Yuxia revealed the White Jade Tiger Cub bracelet he had made for her, leaving Chai Wei stunned.

• Physics Teacher praised Xue Yuantong’s diligence and boasted about his son, but the students mocked his son’s basketball record and Wang Longlong contrasted it with Wu Xiaoqi’s wealth.
• Chen Siyu and Geng Lu discussed why teachers praised effort over talent, while Chen Qian ignored distractions and committed himself to studying.
• Chen Qian involuntarily calculated the sugar in Pang Jiao’s milk tea and announced that her half-sugar drink contained more sugar than a regular full-sugar cup.
• Chai Wei insulted Pang Jiao to stop her from attacking Chen Qian, and she held back because of her disciplinary record.
• Jiang Ning began carving a pale cyan jade ring, and Chai Wei dismissed his work as amateurish.
• Bai Yuxia showed the White Jade Tiger Cub bracelet Jiang Ning had made for her, and Chai Wei was shocked when Jiang Ning called it decent.

Situ Xin gained access to Class 8 by pretending to be a successful business leader, though he had come to Yuzhou to swindle an opportunity from Evergreen Liquid. He began lecturing the students about business, while Jiang Ning confirmed that he had finished taking measurements for the Cyan Jade Ring.

• Yu Wen decided Huang Zhongfei’s like on Meng Gui’s cleaning post meant he liked clean places and planned to use that preference to win him over.
• Situ Xin charmed the teachers, asked for an Evergreen Liquid invitation for his assistant, and Gao Heshaui arranged for him to obtain an opportunity through a student trade.
• During evening self-study, Jiang Ning told Bai Yuxia that the measurements were done, and she quietly reacted with delight.
• Shan Qingrong brought Situ Xin to Class 8 to speak about business, and Situ Xin introduced his credentials and the Value Multiplier Law.
• Dong Qingfeng challenged Situ Xin’s advice to visit a market and an emergency room when tired, and Cui Yu questioned Situ Xin’s claim that employees should treat a company as family.

Situ Xin addressed Class 8 and tried to buy invitations to the Evergreen Liquid Press Conference from students who had drawn them. He failed to secure either Yang Sheng’s or Meng Ziyun’s invitation and left to consider another approach.

• Situ Xin lectured Class 8 about hard work and speaking carefully, while Cui Yu and Meng Gui challenged him and Shan Qingrong restored order.
• Situ Xin asked Shan Qingrong for the names of students with invitations and began approaching them privately.
• Yang Sheng pretended to accept Situ Xin’s offer of three hundred yuan and a future internship, then revealed she wanted to see how shameless he was and left without trading.
• Situ Xin offered Meng Ziyun five hundred yuan and an internship, but she joked that she wanted fifty thousand before admitting she was lazy while insisting the fifty thousand was real.
• Situ Xin returned to Shan Qingrong and declined his offer to call out more students, saying he would try another way.

Xue Chuchu and Xue Yuantong reminisced over old schoolbooks before Yu Wen’s attempt to get Huang Zhongfei alone failed. After Xue Yuantong was grounded, Xue Chuchu picked up Jiang Ning’s phone and saw a message asking, “Did you do it tonight?”

• Xue Yuantong told Xue Chuchu how she had tried to sell textbooks after soaking them to increase their weight, but the scrap collector saw through her plan.
• Yu Wen arranged for her apartment to be cleaned and pretended to be carsick so Huang Zhongfei would help her upstairs, but he refused to enter her spotless home.
• Aunt Gu lured Xue Yuantong home with the promise of green grapes, then confiscated her phone and kept her from returning to Jiang Ning’s room.
• Xue Chuchu waited for Xue Yuantong, then picked up the phone on Jiang Ning’s desk and realized it was his after seeing a message from Bai Yuxia.
• Xue Chuchu read Bai Yuxia’s follow-up message, “Did you do it tonight?” and froze.

Xue Chuchu misunderstood a message about Jiang Ning’s jade ring before realizing he was carving it for someone else, then left with a renewed sense of distance. At school, classmates admired Dong Qingfeng’s Evergreen Liquid invitation and argued over lunch, while Shan Kaiquan’s feelings for Lan Zichen grew more complicated as he watched her social media feed.

• Xue Chuchu saw Bai Yuxia’s ambiguous message to Jiang Ning, mistook it for something intimate, and then realized he was carving a jade ring before leaving.
• Jiang Ning rode Xue Yuantong to school as she bragged about waking her mother early in revenge for having her phone confiscated.
• Dong Qingfeng showed classmates his Bright Eyes invitation, and their discussion of Evergreen Liquid’s event turned into a lunch-menu guessing game.
• Jiang Ning used his Spiritual Sense to identify the cafeteria dishes, while Song Sheng doubted him and Chai Wei expected the answer to prove accurate.
• Shan Kaiquan browsed Lan Zichen’s feed, liked her newest photo, and felt saddened when other people began liking and commenting on it.
• Wang Longlong asked whether Shan Kaiquan would want to see Lan Zichen with a boyfriend, and Shan Kaiquan said that photo might be what he was waiting for.

Guo Kunnan joined the Bright Eyes group and tried to flirt with Yun Tingting, only to learn she had a boyfriend. At school, Chai Wei watched Jiang Ning receive Teacher Guo Ran’s lunch, while Dong Qingfeng and Yan Tianpeng showed off in Class 8 before the Bright Eyes Release Conference arc began.

• Guo Kunnan added Yun Tingting after joining the Bright Eyes group, but she told him her boyfriend thought his joke was cringe.
• Chai Wei raced to the cafeteria ahead of Song Sheng and expected the meal to prove Jiang Ning’s guesses right.
• Teacher Guo Ran brought food to Jiang Ning’s spot, leaving Chai Wei angry and disappointed.
• Chen Siyu, Chen Siqing, Tang Fu, and Geng Lu ate Big Plate Chicken and discovered their guesses about its name were correct.
• Dong Qingfeng showed off his white outfit, while Zhang Chi teased him about its price.
• Yan Tianpeng asked Lu Qiqi to go public with him, then bragged about the AJ shoes Ji Xuan had let him keep.

Jiang Ning and Xue Chuchu’s families prepared to attend Evergreen Liquid’s luncheon while students and other guests arrived at Guanlan Huafu. The buses reached the elegant rooftop venue, and the chapter ended with Geng Lu greeting Jiang Ning at school and giving him an ice cream cone.

• Jiang Ning visited Xue Chuchu’s kitchen for breakfast, where Xue Yuantong teased him about grinding his teeth and he teased her about drooling.
• Dong Qingfeng and Ji Xuan waited with the selected students at Yuzhou No.4 Middle School, and the students boarded buses bound for Guanlan Huafu.
• Guo Kunnan rode a bus to the venue, spotted Xu Yan cycling past, and joked with his dormmates about feeling happy to see her ride away.
• Li Shi joined Lin Zida and Zhuang Jianhui in a Mercedes-Benz, while Xue Chuchu took Xue Yuantong to meet their mothers at Evergreen Liquid.
• The students arrived at Guanlan Huafu, exchanged their invitations for card tickets, and entered the rooftop restaurant, where Guo Kunnan was stunned by its lavish setting.
• Jiang Ning arrived at school on his Electric Bike, and Geng Lu handed him an ice cream cone she had brought for him.

Jiang Ning took Geng Lu to Guanlan Huafu, gave her a silver-leaf hair clip, and joined his classmates for lunch on the terrace. After Li Shi mocked the way he and Geng Lu drank wine, Geng Lu defended him.

• Jiang Ning teased Geng Lu about bringing identification for Guanlan Huafu, then gave her a silver-leaf hair clip and photographed her wearing it.
• At the restaurant, Dong Qingfeng impressed Dong Xiaozhu by cutting her steak and charming her into conversation, while Guo Kunnan failed to impress Meng Ziyun or a foreign guest.
• Jiang Ning and Geng Lu arrived, drawing attention from the students, and Jiang Ning sat at a small table beside Huang Yuzhu.
• Li Shi mocked Jiang Ning's overloaded plate, while Meng Ziyun explained hotel tablecloth penalties and Yang Sheng asked whether two burned holes could be joined into one.
• Dong Qingfeng advised Jiang Ning to fetch a corkscrew, but Jiang Ning popped the wine cork out with a slap and mixed Sprite into the wine for Geng Lu.
• Li Shi ridiculed Jiang Ning for mixing Sprite into wine, and Geng Lu countered that Europeans added sugar and milk to Chinese tea.

Li Shi belittled Jiang Ning and the other students during lunch, but the group’s attention shifted to Evergreen Liquid’s raffle and its hidden prize: a visit to the company’s shooting range. Jiang Ning and several others won access, and the chapter ended with Jiang Ning calmly preparing to fire a pistol while Li Shi wondered how he would react if threatened by a gun.

• Li Shi mocked Geng Lu’s taste in wine and insulted Jiang Ning, while Ji Xuan joined in and Yang Sheng defended him; Jiang Ning joked that he was hiding behind two girls.
• An Evergreen Liquid employee announced that the hidden raffle prize was access to the shooting range on the floors below Guanlan Huafu, and Zhuang Jianhui and Lin Zida discussed the range and Han Yue.
• The raffle awarded Jiang Ning a gold bar, while Jiang Ning, Geng Lu, Yang Sheng, Li Shi, Zhuang Jianhui, Lin Zida, and others won shooting-range wristbands.
• At the range, staff issued safety gear and explained the rules; Zhuang Jianhui chose a Type 56 rifle, while Jiang Ning was assigned a 9mm pistol and said he was not afraid because it could not kill anyone.
• Li Shi followed the safety officer’s instructions at her station and privately wondered how Jiang Ning would react if a gun were pointed at him.

Jiang Ning turned a dangerous shooting-range confrontation into a terrifying punishment after Li Shi recklessly pointed a rifle at him and Geng Lu, then dismissed the danger. The chapter ended with Li Shi breaking down and asking how she could earn her release, as Jiang Ning demanded that she kneel and beg him.

• Jiang Ning practiced with a P226 and helped Geng Lu learn to shoot, then asked Shao Shuangshuang to open the free training range.
• At the free range, Li Shi accidentally pointed her rifle at Jiang Ning while posing for a photo, then defended herself when Lin Zida confronted her.
• Jiang Ning shot past Li Shi’s face, wounded her cheek, and stopped Zhuang Jianhui from grabbing a gun by shooting the weapon from his hand.
• Jiang Ning threatened Li Shi, shot into the wall when she tried to run, and accepted a fresh magazine from Geng Lu.
• Jiang Ning announced that he would fire all fifteen rounds unless Li Shi survived, and Li Shi collapsed in fear and begged him to let her go.
• Jiang Ning told Li Shi to kneel down and beg him.

Jiang Ning forced Li Shi to kneel before sparing her, and Geng Lu helped her leave the training range. Later, Zhuang Jianhui decided to use surveillance footage and his uncle’s influence to have Jiang Ning arrested, while Lin Zida tried to negotiate a less severe punishment.

• Jiang Ning ordered Li Shi to kneel and beg for her life, then told her to get lost.
• Geng Lu checked Li Shi’s minor injuries, and Lin Zida and Zhuang Jianhui escorted her out of the training range.
• Zhuang Jianhui concluded that Jiang Ning had attempted a crime and planned to have his uncle retrieve surveillance footage and arrest him.
• Lin Zida urged Zhuang Jianhui to let Jiang Ning’s parents discipline him instead, and Zhuang Jianhui considered making Jiang Ning kneel for Li Shi.
• Zhuang Jianhui contacted his uncle for the evidence while Lin Zida offered to investigate Jiang Ning’s parents.

Xue Yuantong and Xue Chuchu attended Evergreen Liquid’s banquet while Jiang Ning stayed at a training ground, and Jiang Ning remained confident that his ties to Evergreen Liquid would shield him from scrutiny. Zhuang Jianhui learned that officials had been stopped from searching Guanlan Huafu, then greeted Shuyan when she arrived.

• Xue Yuantong secretly ate Xue Chuchu’s Small Cake and chatted with her about Tiger Perch Mountain and Qingyu Lake.
• Xue Chuchu explained that her apparent lipstick came from eating Spicy Chicken.
• Jiang Ning video-called Xue Yuantong from the training grounds, and she warned him to be careful around the guns.
• Jiang Ning asked about Xue Chuchu, and Xue Yuantong sent a follow-up message praising her after abruptly ending the call.
• Jiang Ning learned through Spiritual Sense that officials were investigating, but he trusted Evergreen Liquid’s influence to protect Shao Shuangshuang and considered acquiring land around Xuehua Lake for cultivation.
• Zhuang Jianhui told Lin Zida that Guanlan Huafu had refused officials entry and that a superior had ordered them to withdraw, then greeted Shuyan as she appeared.

Ding Shuyan warned Zhuang Jianhui and Lin Zida to stop investigating Jiang Ning after reasoning that the shooting-range incident might have been planned and Evergreen Liquid was tied to Han Yue’s death. At evening self-study, Xue Yuantong persuaded Jiang Ning to skip class, while Yang Sheng, Yu Wen, and Cao Kun navigated classroom tensions and misunderstandings.

• Ding Shuyan told Zhuang Jianhui and Lin Zida to stop investigating Jiang Ning, pointing to his marksmanship, the missing safety officer, and Evergreen Liquid’s connection to Han Yue’s death.
• Xue Yuantong proposed a dice game to decide whether she and Jiang Ning would skip evening self-study, then persuaded him to request leave after she lost the roll.
• Yang Sheng questioned why she had received a Wogan Orange, and Yu Wen sarcastically claimed it was because Yang Sheng was pretty.
• Shen Qing'e cheered Yu Wen up by telling her that she had been the first girl to receive a Wogan Orange from Huang Zhongfei.
• Cao Kun won several rounds of cards and became cheerful again before Meng Ziyun asked him to do her math test paper while she had dinner with Dong Qingfeng.
• Cao Kun tried to save face by telling the others Meng Ziyun would bring him dessert, but Ma Shicheng suggested it might be leftovers from her dinner.

Shan Kaiquan helped Jiang Yanan find and copy her videos, while classmates talked about Jiang Ning’s past and the Evergreen Liquid events. That evening, Jiang Ning, Xue Yuantong, and Xue Chuchu cooked together by the earthen stove, where Jiang Ning’s teasing and closeness with Tongtong left Chuchu quietly affected.

• Shan Kaiquan helped Jiang Yanan locate her downloaded videos and admitted that he still liked Lan Zichen, while Yu Wen bluntly suggested Lan Zichen did not like him back.
• Zhang Chi returned to class boasting about winning a rice cooker, and Duan Shigang argued that friends and connections mattered before Cui Yu joked about an unusual line of work.
• Jiang Yanan asked Shen Qing'e about Jiang Ning’s middle-school years, and Shen Qing'e recounted how Jiang Ning had used a flashlight to beat two bullies who had tormented his friend.
• Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong tended the fire while Xue Chuchu prepared dinner, and Jiang Ning pinched Tongtong’s cheek as they sat close together.
• Xue Chuchu and Xue Yuantong recited poems about the fire, and Jiang Ning ended the exchange by saying, “Smoldering burns hottest.”

Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong roasted peanuts together while Xue Chuchu felt left out in the kitchen. After Xue Chuchu declined a school activity invitation, she and Tongtong reminisced about childhood lies and sneaking out to play.

• Xue Yuantong explained how smoldering worked, and Jiang Ning praised her before roasting peanuts in the stove ash as a reward.
• Xue Yuantong shared the hot peanuts with Jiang Ning and playfully smeared soot on his mouth, while Xue Chuchu watched them feeling excluded.
• Jiang Ning noticed Xue Chuchu's phone had lit up, and she read a message from her deskmate Mu Ying inviting her to a Math Micro-Lecture discussion.
• Xue Chuchu told Xue Yuantong she had turned down the activity, then admitted she had made up an excuse because she preferred staying home.
• Xue Yuantong recalled sneaking out to play despite her mother's rules, and Jiang Ning praised her supposed trick of locking her mother inside.

During evening self-study, Tang Jing struggled to win Huang Yuzhu’s affection, while Gao Heshaui’s attempts to control Class 8 repeatedly went awry. The chapter ended with Chen Siyu asking Bai Yuxia whether she could use an ID card she found on the ground, and Bai Yuxia warning her not to bend down.

• Shan Kaiquan felt left out as his classmates enjoyed their own pursuits, while Tang Jing lamented that her efforts to get close to Huang Yuzhu had not worked.
• Following Meng Ziyun’s advice, Tang Jing asked Huang Yuzhu to solve a Rubik’s Cube, but he did not finish even one side during the class period.
• Gao Heshaui entered Class 8, criticized students for attending the Evergreen Liquid event, then changed his stance after Cui Yu challenged him.
• Gao Heshaui called Wu Xiaoqi a “giant baby,” but Wu Xiaoqi mistook it for praise of the NBA Hawks and thanked him.
• During the long break, Chen Siyu and Bai Yuxia discussed the press conference, shooting guns, and replacing a lost ID card before Chen Siyu asked about picking one up off the ground.

Jiang Ning recognized Shen Qing'e behind her anonymous Kuaishou account and left her waiting after she delayed replying, while classmates made plans for a lively barbecue after school. The chapter ended with Liu Chuandao making a lewd remark to Qiu Die and her friends at the barbecue stall.

• Xue Yuantong and Xue Chuchu played Metal Slug at Jiang Ning's home, and Xue Yuantong impressed them by identifying how the fries were made.
• Liu Chuandao dreamed of riding a coin-operated goat car, then woke to find Pang Jiao shaking his desk with her leg.
• Shen Qing'e used an anonymous Kuaishou account to comment on Jiang Ning's wood-carving video, and Jiang Ning recognized her and sent her a message before turning off his phone.
• Shen Qing'e waited before replying to Jiang Ning, then grew anxious when he did not respond before class ended.
• Duan Shigang gathered Zhang Chi, Liu Chuandao, Cao Kun, Yan Tianpeng, Qiu Die, and others for barbecue at Ma Jie Barbecue.
• Liu Chuandao admired waitress Pei Yujing, then made a lewd remark to Qiu Die and her friends about helping them bare their legs.

At a barbecue, Liu Chuandao and Duan Shigang’s antics turned the gathering into a chaotic spectacle, while Qiu Die learned about Xue Yuantong and Jiang Ning. Later, Jiang Ning discussed setting up another computer with Xue Yuantong, and Xue Chuchu realized she had instinctively taken Tongtong’s side.

• Liu Chuandao offended Qiu Die with a vulgar remark, and Duan Shigang and the others calmed the group down over barbecue.
• Qiu Die asked about Xue Yuantong and Jiang Ning, and Zhang Chi told her about their academic success and Jiang Ning’s popularity.
• Cao Kun impressed Qiu Die’s group with his talk about studying, then countered Liu Chuandao and Duan Shigang’s boasts about work and money.
• Yan Tianpeng and Zhang Chi slipped away, and Qiu Die and her sisters left when their school required them to return; Liu Chuandao and Duan Shigang pretended to duel with skewers until Pei Yujing reminded Cao Kun to pay the bill.
• Jiang Ning showed Xue Chuchu a cyan jade ring and discussed getting another computer with Xue Yuantong, who complained that the gaming mouse was too large.
• Xue Chuchu privately reassured Jiang Ning about Tongtong, then realized she had instinctively defended her.