Recaps

Su Qiao entered the body of Su Man, an aspiring actress attending a Republic of China-era film press conference, and learned that the original Su Man’s poor performance there had ruined her career. She suspected that the famous reporter Shen Biwei was behind the trouble and spotted her watching from the crowd.

• 444 explained that Su Man was a little-known actress cast as the Second Female Lead in a Republic of China-era film.
• Su Qiao examined Su Man’s clothes and surroundings, then wondered why she had been seated at the edge beside the glamorous Jiang Aiyun.
• Su Qiao asked 444 whether she could leave the press conference to merge the two Soul Fragments, but 444 warned that the original Su Man had been harassed there and later removed from the cast.
• 444 identified Shen Biwei as a celebrated reporter and the Female Lead, whose family was influential and who had studied in France.
• Su Qiao noticed a stylish young woman in a beige top hat and checkered suit repeatedly looking her way and suspected she was Shen Biwei.

Su Qiao, now living as Su Man, learned that refusing to cohabit had made her seem old-fashioned in the era’s fashionable circles. At a press conference for Peerless Beauty, Shen Biwei challenged her, and Su Qiao decided to outshine her as an admired woman of the new era.

• Su Qiao was shocked to learn that Su Man’s refusal to live with Pei Yulou had been judged pedantic, while cohabitation and separation were fashionable subjects for public notices.
• Shen Biwei drew the reporters’ attention to Su Man and asked whether she had a different opinion from Miss Jiang and whether she had clashed with Peerless Beauty’s screenwriter.
• 444 reminded Su Qiao that she was now Su Man and sent her information about Peerless Beauty.
• Su Qiao calmly looked at Shen Biwei and decided to follow the Female Lead’s path by becoming an even more admired independent woman of the new era.
• Shen Biwei accused Su Man of looking down on Peerless Beauty and spacing out during the press conference.

Su Qiao handled Shen Biwei’s pointed questions about rumors that Su Man had refused to appear in Peerless Beauty. She explained her disagreement with the screenwriter as a difference in interpretation and described the independent woman she believed the character should portray.

• Su Qiao told Shen Biwei she had been thinking carefully about how to answer, and Director Yu praised her remarks about the film’s significance.
• Su Qiao denied that Su Man had refused a film directed by Director Yu, joking that an unknown actress would never turn down such an opportunity.
• Shen Biwei pressed Su Qiao about the rumor and her disagreement with the screenwriter.
• Su Qiao said they had different understandings and described her vision of a rational, confident, self-reliant woman who could thrive without depending on anyone.

At a press conference, Su Qiao criticized the Second Female Lead in Peerless Beauty for depending on men and making reckless choices in love. Shen Biwei challenged her in English about unmarried cohabitation, and Su Qiao began answering fluently.

• Su Qiao described the character as extravagant, financially dependent on men, and repeatedly hurt by her lovers.
• Su Qiao argued that the character could have avoided much of her pain by judging potential partners carefully before living with them.
• Shen Biwei asked whether Su Qiao opposed unmarried cohabitation and used English to suggest that Su Qiao's views were backward.
• Director Yu prepared to intervene, but Jiang Aiyun warned him that interrupting would make the group seem uncultured.
• Su Qiao responded in fluent English: “Promises are often like butterflies, disappearing after a beautiful hover.”

Su Qiao challenged Shen Biwei’s defense of her relationship with Pei Yulou, arguing that promises and love could change and that people should consider the risks to themselves. Shen Biwei lost composure after Su Qiao exposed the private dispute in public.

• Su Qiao spoke fluent English, questioning whether Shen Biwei could be certain that what she held would never change.
• Su Qiao explained that she valued herself and considered the risks and consequences of living with someone before committing.
• Shen Biwei accused Su Qiao of being narrow-minded and of sowing discord in other people’s love.
• Su Qiao told Shen Biwei to take Pei Yulou, calling him immature and irresponsible, and asked her to address the mostly Chinese audience in Mandarin.
• Shen Biwei realized she had made herself look foolish by bringing the private dispute into public.

Su Qiao defended Su Man’s decision to end her relationship with Pei Yulou, then criticized the men in Peerless Beauty for failing their families and lovers. Her remarks drew a reporter’s pointed question about whether heartbreak had made her insecure.

• Shen Biwei suppressed her anger, apologized to Su Qiao, and Su Qiao wished her and Pei Yulou a happy marriage while privately doubting it would last.
• Su Qiao told the crowd that letting go was an essential skill for an independent woman, earning admiration from the audience.
• Reporters asked Su Qiao for her views on Peerless Beauty, and she argued that its five male characters lacked responsibility and security for the women they loved.
• A male reporter challenged Su Qiao, asking whether her criticism came from suffering heartbreak.

Su Qiao explained her rational approach to relationships and why she discouraged cohabitation without marriage as a goal. Her candid remarks made her the center of attention at the event, where she left the audience laughing and impressed.

• Su Qiao said she ended relationships in time to avoid becoming consumed by heartbreak, unlike Wu Youqing in Peerless Beauty.
• Su Qiao described herself as one stop in Pei Yulou’s romantic life and said women could not change a man who did not want to change.
• Su Qiao called people who pursued reckless love with such men idiots, then explained that the word meant their heads were full of water.
• Su Qiao said she did not absolutely oppose cohabitation but recommended it only for couples prepared for its risks and committed to marriage.
• Su Qiao called dating without marriage as its premise playing the scoundrel, and the host wondered whether her slang would catch on.

Su Qiao defended Su Man’s frank approach to relationships and explained the risks of casual cohabitation, including heartbreak, pregnancy, and raising a child alone. A troubled female reporter seemed to reach a decision after hearing her warnings.

• A reporter asked whether Su Man feared being boycotted for her views, and Su Qiao said she welcomed criticism and confrontation.
• Su Qiao explained that casual relationships could leave women facing conflict, pregnancy, abortion, or single parenthood.
• Su Qiao warned that children might suffer from growing up without a father and that past cohabitation could affect future relationships.
• A woman argued that a man who judged a woman’s past was unworthy of her love, but Su Qiao said deep love could not be ended without pain.
• The female reporter said Su Man’s viewpoint had given her a revelation, and her expression suggested she had made a decision.

At the film’s launch press conference, Su Qiao won the reporters over by defending her decision to accept the role and explaining that she respected the screenwriter’s intentions. Afterward, she left to sort through her memories and considered ways to earn money with her system, but she remained too broke to start a film company.

• Su Qiao advised a female reporter to make a clean break from a troublesome relationship, and the reporter thanked her.
• When asked whether she would quit if the screenwriter refused to revise the role, Su Qiao said she would accept the film to earn a living and respected the screenwriter’s choice.
• Su Qiao explained that she might not yet understand the screenwriter’s intended message and invited reporters to support the film when it premiered.
• The reporters responded warmly to Su Qiao, and Director Yu concluded the press conference after the other actors answered a few questions.
• Su Qiao left the hall, put on her coat, and looked for somewhere quiet to sort through her memories.
• Her system suggested starting a film company or writing poems and novels, but Su Qiao said she was broke and that writing would earn too little to fund a company.

Su Qiao brushed off Jiang Aiyun’s hostility after her successful performance, then ran into her now-ex-boyfriend Pei Yulou. She learned that Pei Yulou came from a powerful family and that his older brother, Pei Zhuoyun, was the male lead of the story.

• Jiang Aiyun warned Su Qiao to remember her place, but Su Qiao ignored her.
• Director Yu praised Su Qiao and invited her to join him and Jiang Aiyun for a meal, but Su Qiao declined.
• Su Qiao encountered Pei Yulou, whom Xiao Si identified as her current boyfriend; Su Qiao said they had broken up ten minutes earlier.
• Xiao Si revealed that Pei Yulou was Marshal Pei’s son and the younger brother of Pei Zhuoyun, the male lead.
• Xiao Si explained that Shen Biwei would eventually lose interest in Pei Yulou and fall for Pei Zhuoyun.

Su Qiao decided to expose Pei Yulou and Shen Biwei’s relationship, but she left the film launch without confronting them. Pei Yulou watched her go, unsettled by her indifference, while Shen Biwei kept him from following.

• Su Qiao decided to make a scene by letting people know Pei Yulou and Shen Biwei were living together.
• Pei Yulou claimed he had come to pick up Su Man, but Su Qiao questioned how he knew she would be there.
• Shen Biwei hooked her arm around Pei Yulou’s and told him she had already met Su Man at the launch.
• Su Qiao left without asking Pei Yulou or Shen Biwei anything further.
• Pei Yulou tried to chase after Su Qiao, but Shen Biwei held onto his arm and reminded him about their dinner plans.

Su Qiao returned to her apartment in Renhua Apartment, where Little Four explained the neighborhood and reminded her that Pei Yulou lived next door. She met Nanny Wu, admired the braised pork she had prepared, and went to wash up in her bedroom.

• Su Qiao decided to head home rather than look for a restroom and took a rickshaw to Renhua Apartment.
• Little Four told Su Qiao that the apartment complex was safe and that Pei Yulou lived next door.
• Su Qiao entered her suite and greeted Nanny Wu, who had cooked braised pork in a clay pot.
• Su Qiao went to her bedroom to wash up while Nanny Wu finished preparing lunch.

Su Qiao pieced together her past and learned how her family’s greed and the Shen Family’s schemes had driven her to flee. The chapter ended with the circumstances of her collision with Du Jingzhou and the powerful man who rescued her.

• Su Qiao recalled that her parents, Su Zhongyun and Wu Fenglan, favored her older brother Su Pinhan and made her leave school to work as a maid in the Shen Family after he gambled away their money.
• Shen Shuting harassed Su Qiao, and Su Pinhan later drugged her and tried to deliver her to him to repay his gambling debts.
• Su Qiao escaped after discovering that her mother and brother planned to tie her up and send her to Shen Shuting.
• Someone ambushed Su Qiao because she had seen President Shen leave a secret room with a suited man, and she crashed into Du Jingzhou’s car while fleeing.
• Su Qiao recalled that Du Jingzhou was a powerful Hai City figure whose family was said to be enemies with the Shen Family.

Su Qiao learned about Du Jingzhou’s power and the events that led to the original Su Qiao being hidden in Du Mansion. She also learned Su Man’s wish to become a beloved movie star and the original Su Qiao’s wishes to avoid her family and escape Du Jingzhou, though her attention was elsewhere.

• Du Jingzhou rescued the original Su Qiao and hid her in Du Mansion, while the Shen Family kept watch outside.
• Three years later, the original Su Qiao escaped while Du Jingzhou was away, but the Shen Family ambushed her before Su Qiao arrived.
• Su Man’s acting career stalled after Shen Biwei targeted her at a press conference, and she was dropped from Peerless Beauty.
• Su Man later became impoverished and died during a serious illness, while her boyfriend left her and got together with Shen Biwei.
• 444 told Su Qiao that Su Man wished to become a movie star and that the original Su Qiao wanted to avoid her family and escape Du Jingzhou’s confinement.

Su Qiao questioned why she and Su Man were both Soul Fragments and wondered if they could be sisters. The chapter left 444 dismissing her twin theory because their ages and family histories did not match.

• Su Qiao and Su Man each seemed unusually unwilling to seek revenge, while Su Qiao wanted to escape Du Jingzhou.
• 444 recalled that Du Jingzhou had kept the original Su Qiao confined and isolated, and punished a bodyguard for speaking with her.
• Su Qiao accused Xiao Si of reading her thoughts without permission as she prepared for bed.
• Su Qiao wondered whether she and Su Man were Soul Fragments split at birth.
• 444 rejected the idea that Su Qiao and Su Man were twins, noting their age difference and that Su Man was the Old Troupe Master's daughter.

Su Qiao dismissed concerns about Su Man’s parentage and focused on her tight finances and finding a way to earn money. After learning that Du Jingzhou was fighting the Shen Family at the docks, she insisted she had no reason or ability to get involved, then searched for a gray-black Tang Suit-style jacket.

• Su Qiao decided she had probably been overthinking whether Su Man was the Old Troupe Master's daughter.
• After eating with Nanny Wu, Su Qiao realized it was already three o’clock and calculated that rent, wages, and Su Man’s image-related expenses were draining their remaining money.
• 444 told Su Qiao that Du Jingzhou was leading people in a fight against the Shen Family at the docks.
• Su Qiao reasoned that the Shen Family and Du Jingzhou were already enemies and that she still wanted to escape his control.
• Su Qiao tied up her hair, searched the utility room, and found a gray-black Tang Suit-style jacket.

Su Qiao disguised herself as a young man and went to Hongyun Casino to earn money for her film plans. After winning ten Small Gold Bars, she left the casino and heard someone shout that there was a thief.

• Su Qiao disguised herself in her late father's clothes and set out to find a way to make money.
• Su Qiao chose a large casino and arrived at Hongyun Casino by rickshaw.
• Su Qiao and 444 won ten Small Gold Bars, but she avoided suspicion by changing tables and varying her bets.
• Su Qiao left the casino with her winnings, and someone suddenly shouted, “Thief! Catch him!”

Su Qiao chased the thieves who stole her money through the alleys, while Du Jingzhou spotted her near the casino and sent An Jin to help. Du Jingzhou waited by the car, brooding over the woman he had kept hidden for three years and her repeated attempts to escape.

• Su Qiao discovered her money was gone and chased the gray-clad thief.
• Su Qiao changed course after the thief passed the money to a man in black, but the thieves kept handing it off through the alleys.
• Du Jingzhou arrived at the casino and saw Su Qiao chasing the thieves.
• Du Jingzhou ordered An Jin to go help Su Qiao, then waited by the car.
• Du Jingzhou wondered why the woman he had treated so well kept trying to escape.

Su Qiao recovered her stolen belongings and extorted extra money from the thief, unaware that Du Jingzhou’s men had driven him into her path. She fled before Du Jingzhou arrived, leaving him to find the alley empty.

• Su Qiao caught the thief, retrieved her bag, and kicked him while demanding compensation.
• After 444 revealed the thief had another money pouch, Su Qiao forced him to hand it over too.
• 444 warned Su Qiao that Du Jingzhou was approaching, and she realized the chase had led her into his territory.
• Su Qiao threatened the thief and escaped into a dark alley while the thief fled in the opposite direction.
• Du Jingzhou reached the alley, found it empty, and demanded to know where the thief was.

After the thief was brought back, Du Jingzhou learned that the person who had escaped was a young woman who smelled of orchids. He ordered An Jin to find her, leaving the thief alive as a reward for providing the clue.

• A Wu brought the captured thief to An Jin, and An Jin kicked him for failing to catch the other person.
• The thief begged Du Jingzhou for mercy and revealed that he believed the person who had escaped was a young woman.
• The thief described her as being in her early twenties and smelling of orchids, prompting Du Jingzhou to demand that An Jin find her.
• Du Jingzhou spared the thief from losing a finger, calling his information a contribution, and An Jin sent him away.

After escaping Pei Yulou, Su Qiao planned to win money at a North City casino, but Director Yu called her to report for test filming the next morning. She also learned that the full press-conference interview had aired, including her public breakup with Pei Yulou.

• Su Qiao returned to Renhua Apartment after changing rickshaws several times, and 444 told her that Pei Yulou had sent people to search for her.
• Su Qiao decided to visit a North City casino and win money, despite 444 warning her that most casinos there belonged to the Pei Family.
• Director Yu called Su Qiao and told her to report to the production crew the next morning for test filming, so she postponed her casino plan.
• Su Qiao learned that the press-conference interview had aired without cuts, publicly revealing her breakup with Pei Yulou.

Su Qiao dressed in a Cheongsam and embraced her growing fame, while Du Jingzhou saw her photograph in the newspaper. The chapter ended with An Jin directing Du Jingzhou’s attention to Su Qiao.

• Su Qiao chose a light blue Cheongsam and styled her hair with 444’s help.
• Su Qiao decided to design unique clothes and have them custom-made.
• People greeted Su Qiao as she left her apartment, and she said she wanted to become the Movie Empress.
• An Jin brought Du Jingzhou newspapers and pointed out Su Qiao’s photograph on the front page of New Youth Daily.

Du Jingzhou learned that Su Man was likely the woman who had insulted him at Hongyun Casino, and he watched a broadcast confirming their resemblance. An Jin praised Su Man to distract him, while Du Jingzhou recognized Pei Yulou as a member of the Pei Family.

• An Jin told Du Jingzhou that the woman he had asked him to find had last been seen near Renhua Apartment, where Su Man lived.
• An Jin reported that the woman had changed rickshaws three times and that Su Man’s balcony was filled with orchids.
• Du Jingzhou compared Su Man’s newspaper photograph and television appearance with the woman he had hidden for three years and saw a strong resemblance.
• An Jin described Su Man’s popular catchphrases and declarations about love, praising her public influence.
• Du Jingzhou asked whether Pei Yulou belonged to the Pei Family, and An Jin confirmed that he was the family’s Second Young Master, known for his love of painting.

Su Qiao rejected Pei Yulou’s attempt to explain away his connection with Shen Biwei and refused to move in with him. Shen Biwei arrived as Su Qiao left the two of them to settle their affairs.

• Du Jingzhou criticized Second Young Master Pei’s taste, and An Jin privately compared their ability to pursue women.
• Pei Yulou ran after Su Qiao and insisted Shen Biwei was only an ordinary junior schoolmate.
• Su Qiao dodged Pei Yulou when he tried to take her hand and dismissed his pleas to live together.
• Pei Yulou argued that living together was modern and convenient, while Su Qiao privately wanted to beat him.
• Shen Biwei called out to Pei Yulou, and Su Qiao told him to settle his messy affairs before speaking to her again.

Su Qiao confronted Shen Biwei, who warned her to stay away from Pei Yulou and threatened to drive her out of Haishi. Pei Yulou then rejected Shen Biwei and called their relationship a mistake, while trying to follow Su Qiao.

• Su Qiao told Pei Yulou to stay behind when Shen Biwei caught up with her.
• Shen Biwei accused Su Qiao of pestering Pei Yulou, demanded that she disappear from their lives, and threatened to make her leave Haishi.
• Su Qiao dismissed Shen Biwei's threats and rode a rickshaw to the film set.
• Pei Yulou angrily demanded to know what Shen Biwei had said to Su Qiao and tried to chase after her.
• Shen Biwei stopped Pei Yulou and questioned whether he was breaking up with her.
• Pei Yulou told Shen Biwei that their relationship had been a mistake from the beginning.