Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao went to Hengli Biotechnology with Pan Junxi to buy its production line and new research technology, which the struggling company was selling cheaply. After reassuring CEO Liu Haiyang that she could solve the technology’s problems, she prepared to discuss further cooperation.

• Su Qiao accompanied Pan Junxi to Hengli Biotechnology to sign for the production line and research technology.
• Liu Haiyang was surprised to learn that the company’s true owner, Su Qiao, was so young.
• Su Qiao told Liu Haiyang that the assets would reach their greatest value in her hands.
• Liu Haiyang explained that mass-produced goods had failed quality standards and left Hengli deep in debt.
• Su Qiao assured Liu Haiyang that she had a way to improve the technology and said she wanted to discuss additional cooperation projects.

Su Qiao finalized a partnership with Liu Haiyang, entrusting him with managing the company and its production work. After leaving Hengli, she assigned Pan Junxi to acquire shares in Starry Sky Group, whose majority stake belonged to the new head of the Cen Family.

• Su Qiao explained her plans to expand into cosmetics, skincare, plastic surgery products, and medical equipment, and Liu Haiyang expressed interest in working with her.
• Su Qiao offered Liu Haiyang management of the company, and he agreed to bring the upgraded formula to the laboratory the next day.
• Su Qiao left Hengli with Pan Junxi and gave him a new assignment to acquire shares in Starry Sky Group.
• Pan Junxi noted that Starry Sky was a multinational corporation whose majority shares were controlled by the new head of the Cen Family.

Su Qiao asked Pan Junxi to investigate acquiring shares in Wansen, a subsidiary of Starry Sky Group, and he agreed to research a plan. After Pan drove her home, Cen Mohan learned she had arrived with another man and moved into the apartment next door to hers.

• Su Qiao told Pan Junxi that Wansen, rather than Starry Sky Group itself, was her target, and Pan said he would investigate before proposing a plan.
• Su Qiao declined Pan's invitation to dinner but accepted a ride home, then realized she needed to buy a car.
• A watcher reported to Cen Mohan that Su Qiao had returned with a man who was not Wang Zhiyao, and Cen ordered him to find out everything.
• Cen left an important meeting to go to Su Qiao's building, then decided not to confront her and went to the neighboring apartment he had bought.
• Cen had Room 1209 furnished so he could move in beside Su Qiao.

Su Qiao went to the gym for a workout and found Wang Zhiyao waiting for her. Their conversation revealed how strongly each of them trusted their own mother, leaving Wang Zhiyao unable to respond to Su Qiao’s confidence.

• Su Qiao ordered a Land Rover and headed to the gym, where she found Wang Zhiyao waiting after taking leave from work.
• Wang Zhiyao questioned why Su Qiao wanted to work out and said he disliked women with bulky muscles.
• Su Qiao told Wang Zhiyao that her parents paid for her membership and that her mother wanted her to be able to protect herself.
• Su Qiao declared that her mother had never made a wrong decision, while Wang Zhiyao silently reflected on how his own mother had always taken his side.

Su Qiao dismissed Wang Zhiyao’s explanation about Cen Yue and turned her attention to working out, leaving him anxious about the men at the gym. She then bluntly criticized his weight and appearance.

• Wang Zhiyao tried to explain what had happened with Cen Yue, but Su Qiao said she believed he had no relationship with the older woman.
• Su Qiao told Wang Zhiyao she was going to run and went to a treadmill without inviting him to stay.
• Wang Zhiyao insisted he would wait in the lounge because the gym’s many handsome men made him uneasy.
• Su Qiao suggested Wang Zhiyao sign up for the gym and criticized his growing belly, round face, and greasy appearance.

Su Qiao made Wang Zhiyao feel insecure by criticizing his weight and appearance and saying she worried about how his looks would affect their future child. She left to meet Chris, while Wang Zhiyao stayed at the gym, still determined to carry out the purpose of his visit.

• Su Qiao told Wang Zhiyao that he looked heavier than his stated weight and was no longer the boy she remembered.
• Su Qiao said her friends thought Wang Zhiyao was getting uglier and urged him to manage his figure.
• Su Qiao said she worried their future child might inherit his appearance, deeply offending Wang Zhiyao.
• Su Qiao saw Chris waving beside the boxing ring and left Wang Zhiyao to go to him.
• Wang Zhiyao considered leaving but went to sit in the lounge area and stew in his anger.

Su Qiao practiced boxing with Cen Mohan, who warned her against staying involved with her ex-boyfriend. She told him she had only spoken to the man to vent her anger, leaving Cen Mohan curious about what else he had done.

• Chris greeted Su Qiao warmly, but Cen Mohan pulled her away and led her to the punching bags.
• Cen Mohan asked whether the man with Su Qiao was her boyfriend and sharply criticized him.
• Su Qiao told Cen Mohan that the man was her ex-boyfriend, and Cen Mohan sounded pleased.
• When Cen Mohan asked what her ex had done, Su Qiao gave a vague excuse about him having too many legs and not trimming them.
• Cen Mohan told Su Qiao not to waste more energy on a man like that.

Su Qiao and Cen Mohan traded teasing remarks as he tried to flirt with her, but she answered his hints with deadpan concern. The conversation ended with Su Qiao advising him against plastic surgery.

• Su Qiao said she was narrow-minded and would not easily forgive people, and Cen Mohan agreed with her.
• Cen Mohan hinted that his heart had not been doing well, but Su Qiao treated it as a possible medical problem.
• Cen Mohan changed the subject and asked whether Su Qiao was a Face-Con, then asked if his looks passed muster.
• Su Qiao called Cen Mohan barely acceptable and warned him that plastic surgery could ruin his natural face.

Su Qiao and Cen Mohan discussed his sleep problems and her reasons for provoking Wang Zhiyao. Cen Mohan accepted that she could do what she wanted, then called himself her friend when she questioned his concern.

• Su Qiao told Cen Mohan not to get cosmetic surgery and noticed his dark circles and bloodshot eyes.
• Cen Mohan said he had a long-term sleep disorder that had recently improved.
• Cen Mohan realized Su Qiao had used the pretty boy's looks as an excuse to get rid of him and objected to her continuing to deal with Wang Zhiyao.
• Su Qiao said she wanted revenge and was bored, while Cen Mohan agreed to let her do as she pleased.
• Su Qiao asked who Cen Mohan was to her, and he replied that he was a friend.

Su Qiao refused Cen Mohan’s invitation and went to leave with Wang Zhiyao, while Cen Mohan restrained his jealousy and let her go. After she left, Cen Mohan returned upstairs and paused by the window with his phone.

• Cen Mohan invited Su Qiao to eat with him, but she refused so he would have to put more effort into pursuing her.
• Cen Mohan warned Su Qiao not to let Wang Zhiyao take things too far, and she confidently said she could handle him.
• Su Qiao decided to go home early and left Cen Mohan, who made no attempt to stop her.
• Su Qiao told 444 that Cen Mohan’s restraint came from knowing he had no standing to control her.
• Cen Mohan went to his room, removed his shirt, picked up his phone, and walked toward the window.

Su Qiao taunted Wang Zhiyao about his stinginess and dependence on his family after he grew jealous of her conversation with a boxing coach. She let him walk ahead, then caught up to him, leaving their argument unresolved.

• Cen Mohan ordered someone to investigate Wang Zhiyao's job and family in detail.
• Su Qiao left the lounge and told Wang Zhiyao that she had been discussing fitness and boxing with a coach.
• Wang Zhiyao questioned Su Qiao jealously, and she mocked his finances by offering to pay for his gym membership.
• Wang Zhiyao sulked and expected Su Qiao to comfort him, but she refused and let him walk ahead.
• Su Qiao caught up with Wang Zhiyao as he slowed his pace.

Su Qiao challenged Wang Zhiyao over the unfair expectations his mother placed on her, arguing that both of them would have responsibilities toward their aging parents. She left him facing her accusations that he avoided the issue and did not consider her perspective.

• Su Qiao told Wang Zhiyao that their obligations to their respective parents made marriage difficult and that her mother wanted her to marry into a family with several sons.
• Su Qiao pointed out that Wang Zhiyao was also an only child and suggested his parents could have more sons to share their future caregiving burden.
• Su Qiao invoked Wang Zhiyao's mother's demand that she abort any girl and keep trying for a boy, asking whether that would not endanger her.
• Wang Zhiyao angrily said the matter was over and warned that another pregnancy could be dangerous for his mother.
• Su Qiao accused Wang Zhiyao of not loving her or considering her feelings, and insisted that she was raising the issue for his sake.

Su Qiao challenged Wang Zhiyao over the financial burden of supporting his family and used her mother's objections to criticize his parents. Wang Zhiyao grew angry and defended his mother as Su Qiao questioned whether marriage into his family would make her life harder.

• Su Qiao argued that Wang Zhiyao's salary would leave little money after loan payments and family support, while her parents could provide for themselves in the countryside.
• Su Qiao said her mother believed city people were unreliable and that marrying a countryman would offer a more dependable future.
• Wang Zhiyao asked whether Su Qiao's mother opposed their relationship, and Su Qiao said her mother thought his parents were old-fashioned, poor, and overly particular.
• Wang Zhiyao demanded to know how his mother was particular and refused to let Su Qiao speak ill of her.

Su Qiao told Wang Zhiyao that her family would respect his family’s refusal to give a bride price, meaning there would be no dowry house or car, and that his parents’ names should be on their house. She then began explaining her mother’s concerns about his divorced sister, leaving Wang Zhiyao anxious about what she would say next.

• Su Qiao reminded Wang Zhiyao that his mother’s insistence on having a grandson was serious, then said her family would respect their customs and give no bride price.
• Su Qiao explained that her parents would not provide the promised dowry house or car because Wang Zhiyao’s family had refused a bride price.
• Su Qiao said her mother believed Wang Zhiyao’s parents should own the house they had paid for and would only help renovate a future home the couple bought themselves.
• Wang Zhiyao regretted his family’s decisions as Su Qiao encouraged him to work toward buying a home of his own.
• Su Qiao raised Wang Zhiyao’s divorced sister, Wang Lingxi, and said her mother worried that his sister’s situation might make him view divorce as acceptable.

Su Qiao used Wang Zhiyao’s family’s demands about marriage and having a son to argue that they needed to plan for the cost and risks of raising a child. Wang Zhiyao grew overwhelmed by her repeated references to what her relatives said and demanded to know what she wanted.

• Wang Zhiyao snapped at Su Qiao for repeating her mother’s views about their marriage.
• Su Qiao said her mother had consulted fortune-tellers who predicted she would have a son, and she did not object to Wang Zhiyao’s mother demanding one.
• Su Qiao raised concerns about whether Wang Zhiyao could afford to give a child the best life and education.
• Su Qiao said her aunt preferred daughters and warned that childbirth could affect a woman’s appearance and lead a man to change his mind.
• Wang Zhiyao complained about her repeated references to her relatives and asked what she wanted.

Su Qiao ended her relationship with Wang Zhiyao after confronting his expectation that she would bear children, then planned to undermine his career and raise funds for her growing operations. She also accepted overseas information requests under strict limits, while Cen Yue and the search for shares remained part of her plans.

• Su Qiao told Wang Zhiyao she did not want children, and he revealed that he had married her expecting her to bear children for his family.
• Su Qiao declared their relationship over and left in a taxi, leaving Wang Zhiyao confused and unable to stop her.
• Su Qiao felt relieved and decided to avoid Wang Zhiyao, while planning to crush his confidence through his work and career.
• Su Qiao told Xiao Si to withdraw stock funds and pursue horse-race and sports bets and lottery tickets to raise money.
• Su Qiao accepted overseas requests to buy information as long as they did not involve her country, harm Cen Mohan’s interests, or provoke war.

Su Qiao ran into Cen Mohan after signing her first investment contract and getting revenge, and agreed to have dinner with him. She chose hotpot, while Cen Mohan took her playful remark as a possible sign that she liked him.

• Su Qiao got out of a taxi at a busy intersection and looked for a restaurant where she could treat herself to a meal.
• Cen Mohan arrived by car and invited Su Qiao to eat with him; she checked herself and her bag for a tracker but found nothing.
• Su Qiao agreed to let Cen Mohan accompany her and said he would have to pay, prompting him to joke that she should treat him so he could invite her next time.
• Su Qiao teased Cen Mohan about getting another chance to invite her out, and he wondered if she liked him too.
• Su Qiao chose the hotpot restaurant, and Cen Mohan agreed to eat there with her.

Su Qiao and Cen Mohan shared a hotpot meal, and Cen Mohan learned that the dishes could be prepared without spice. At home, Wang Zhiyao lashed out at his mother over her interference and blamed her demands for driving Su Qiao away, while his father scolded him.

• Su Qiao ordered separate hotpot dishes and explained the different kinds of hotpot to Cen Mohan.
• Cen Mohan followed Su Qiao's lead as they cooked and ate.
• Wang Zhiyao returned home dejected, and Wang Lingxi and Mother Wang pressed him for details about Su Qiao.
• Wang Zhiyao shouted that his mother should stop interfering and said her demands had driven Su Qiao away.
• Mother Wang collapsed onto the sofa in distress, and Father Wang scolded Wang Zhiyao for his words.

Wang Zhiyao argued with his parents over their demands for his relationship with Su Qiao, while they defended their decisions about the house and having a son. After his mother urged him to explain what happened, he revealed that Su Qiao’s family would accept their names on the deed but would not pay for renovations.

• Wang Lingxi accused Su Qiao of driving a wedge between Wang Zhiyao and his mother, but Father Wang told her to stop interfering.
• Father Wang and Mother Wang told Wang Zhiyao to stay with Su Qiao if they were compatible or end the relationship if they were not.
• Wang Zhiyao protested that Su Qiao had already broken up with him and said she would never see or speak to him again.
• Father Wang defended asking Su Qiao’s family to help pay for renovations, furniture, and appliances, and defended the family’s wish for a son.
• Mother Wang admitted she bore some responsibility for the breakup and urged Wang Zhiyao to explain what had happened.
• Wang Zhiyao said Su Qiao’s family would accept his parents’ names on the house deed but would not pay for renovations.

Wang Zhiyao told his parents that Su Qiao did not want children and that her mother looked down on his family and finances. His family became firmly opposed to the relationship, leaving Wang Zhiyao caught between his feelings and his relatives’ anger.

• Mother Wang questioned whether Su Qiao’s family would pay for renovations and learned that Su Qiao did not want children.
• Wang Zhiyao insisted that he liked Su Qiao, but told his parents her mother had criticized his family, income, sister, and prospects.
• Mother Wang grew furious that Su Qiao’s family had belittled Wang Zhiyao and their household.
• Wang Lingxi came out and angrily defended herself and city people against Su Qiao’s mother’s remarks.
• Mother Wang joined Wang Lingxi in firmly opposing Wang Zhiyao’s relationship with Su Qiao.