Chapter Summaries

Su Muzhi confronted Jiang Linyuan about her resentment toward Shen Wanyu and struggled to understand her feelings for him. After he kissed her and asked her not to come to Yanjing, she left, deeply hurt.

• Su Muzhi pulled Jiang Linyuan indoors and questioned him about the story of a girl who had confessed to her in high school.
• Su Muzhi blamed Shen Wanyu for knowing the girl planned to confess publicly and for not stopping her, then recalled feeling betrayed when Shen Wanyu had let her cat run off.
• Jiang Linyuan asked whether Su Muzhi had truly regarded Shen Wanyu as a friend or merely as an entertaining toy, and Su Muzhi insisted she would not forgive her.
• Jiang Linyuan kissed Su Muzhi, and she asked him to confess to her again, but she rejected his words and realized his indifference made them feel sickening.
• Jiang Linyuan asked Su Muzhi not to come to Yanjing when he went to spend time with Shen Wanyu, and Su Muzhi walked out hurt.

Jiang Linyuan followed Su Muzhi after she left his family’s home and joined her in the car to Yanjing. Su Muzhi then taunted Shen Wanyu by taking Jiang Linyuan there while threatening to keep him from seeing her.

• Su Muzhi left the Jiang family home, and Jiang Linyuan caught up with her at her car.
• Jiang Linyuan climbed into Su Muzhi’s car, and she ordered Auntie Yun to drive them to Yanjing.
• Jiang Linyuan messaged his family that he was safe, while Su Muzhi questioned whether he had contacted Shen Wanyu.
• Su Muzhi called Shen Wanyu, who hung up after neither of them spoke, then made Jiang Linyuan call her back.
• Su Muzhi told Shen Wanyu she had brought Jiang Linyuan to Yanjing but would not let him see her, and Shen Wanyu hung up again.

Su Muzhi brought Jiang Linyuan to her villa in Yanjing and maneuvered him into cooking dinner while she planned their New Year's holiday together. The chapter ended with Su Muzhi challenging him to drink baijiu, leaving Jiang Linyuan expecting a long night.

• Su Muzhi led Jiang Linyuan to her detached villa in Yanjing and said she planned to spend the holiday with him, including visiting Shen Wanyu together.
• Su Muzhi revealed she had come to see a Palace Lantern Festival event and persuaded Jiang Linyuan to cook dinner while she relaxed.
• Jiang Linyuan prepared a meal, and Su Muzhi eagerly ate the spicy dishes despite claiming she preferred mild food.
• Su Muzhi brought out Moutai and poured two glasses, then challenged Jiang Linyuan to drink after he realized she might never have tried baijiu.

Su Muzhi got drunk and confronted Jiang Linyuan about his pursuit of Shen Wanyu, revealing that seeing him with other women made her jealous. She asked whether he wanted to like her, then held him as they slept together, insisting he would eventually fall in love with her.

• Su Muzhi grew intoxicated, mistook the sofa for Jiang Linyuan, and followed him around while he cleaned up.
• Jiang Linyuan asked Su Muzhi what she thought of the Department Head, and she questioned whether he liked her or was only following her instructions.
• Su Muzhi admitted that seeing Jiang Linyuan pursue Shen Wanyu hurt and seeing him with Yu Songsong made her angry, though she also enjoyed watching his romantic entanglements.
• Jiang Linyuan carried Su Muzhi upstairs, and she asked whether he wanted to like her; he told her that liking someone took two people.
• Su Muzhi asked Jiang Linyuan to sleep beside her, and they held each other in bed while she said she would sleep with him if he truly fell in love with her.

Su Muzhi spent the night teasing and kissing Jiang Linyuan before they slept together, and in the morning she acted as if their closeness had changed their relationship. They left in Jiang Linyuan’s car, heading to a destination Su Muzhi entered while she went back to sleep.

• Su Muzhi teased Jiang Linyuan in bed, clung to him, and drew him into the bathroom before sending him out and changing into her pajamas.
• Jiang Linyuan took a cold shower, dried Su Muzhi’s hair, and kissed her after she said she was forcing a kiss.
• Su Muzhi cuddled Jiang Linyuan through the night, then woke briefly in the morning to ask him to make hot chocolate before falling asleep again.
• Jiang Linyuan sent the Department Head a good-morning message and drove Su Muzhi away in her car.
• Su Muzhi entered a destination into the navigation, told Jiang Linyuan the Department Head would be there, and fell asleep as he drove.

Jiang Linyuan and Su Muzhi visited Shen Wanyu in Beijing, where teasing over douzhi and their relationship followed them through a crowded New Year outing. As Shen Wanyu led the way, Jiang tried to hold her hand too, but she repeatedly told him to let go.

• Jiang Linyuan and Su Muzhi parked near Beichizi Street, and he called Shen Wanyu to find her home.
• While waiting at a douzhi stall, Jiang and Su playfully tried to make each other drink the sour beverage.
• Shen Wanyu arrived, drank the extra bowl of douzhi, and argued with Su over who would pay and who was keeping Jiang company.
• Shen Wanyu led the three through the crowded streets, while Su held Jiang's hand and told him to stay close.
• Jiang took Shen Wanyu's hand, claiming he was afraid of getting lost, but she repeatedly ordered him to let go.

Jiang Linyuan visited Shen Wanyu’s courtyard with Su Muzhi for the New Year, where tensions surfaced between Shen Wanyu and Su Muzhi and they met Zhao Qiuluo. Shen Guoguo then arranged for Jiang Linyuan and Shen Wanyu to attend a Lantern Festival together the next day.

• Jiang Linyuan and Shen Wanyu encountered Zhao Qiuluo outside the courtyard, where Zhao left a gift for Shen Wanyu and greeted Su Muzhi and Jiang Linyuan before departing.
• Shen Guoguo welcomed Jiang Linyuan but objected to Su Muzhi’s presence, then argued with Su Muzhi after she reprimanded her.
• Jiang Linyuan changed the subject and learned from Shen Wanyu that Zhao Qiuluo was the daughter of Shen Pingyan’s subordinate and that the courtyard was usually empty outside the New Year.
• Shen Guoguo told Jiang Linyuan that she had booked costumes and a makeup artist for him and Shen Wanyu to attend the Forbidden City Lantern Festival the next day.
• Jiang Linyuan joked about dressing as Satan or a localized Underworld Emperor, while Shen Guoguo insisted on traditional festival outfits.

Jiang Linyuan tried to bring Shen Wanyu and Su Muzhi together to plan for the Lantern Festival, while their rivalry resurfaced. Zhao Qiuluo arrived with food, and Shen Wanyu hinted that Jiang Linyuan had disappointed her and would be punished.

• Shen Wanyu and Su Muzhi traded barbs as Shen Wanyu accused Su Muzhi of wanting to control Jiang Linyuan.
• Jiang Linyuan brought Su Muzhi over to join Shen Wanyu and Shen Guoguo in planning their Lantern Festival outfits.
• Jiang Linyuan persuaded Su Muzhi to stay overnight at Shen Wanyu's house.
• Zhao Qiuluo visited with extra dishes, and Shen Wanyu invited her to join the meal.
• Su Muzhi teased Jiang Linyuan before leaving for her room, while Shen Wanyu told him she would punish him for disappointing her.

Zhao Qiuluo apologized to Jiang Linyuan and spoke with him about Su Muzhi, her engagement, and family backgrounds while Shen Wanyu stayed distant. After Zhao Qiuluo left, Jiang Linyuan noticed that she had found her lost phone beneath the dining table after borrowing his to call it.

• Zhao Qiuluo apologized to Jiang Linyuan for upsetting Su Muzhi and revealed that she was engaged and planned to marry after graduation.
• Shen Guoguo said she did not want to marry because she feared spending less time with Shen Wanyu, and Jiang Linyuan and Zhao Qiuluo reassured her about her height.
• Zhao Qiuluo asked about Jiang Linyuan's knowledge of Su Muzhi's wealthy family and admitted her own family disapproved of her fiancé.
• Shen Wanyu left the table and returned to her room, while Shen Guoguo urged Jiang Linyuan to go cheer her up.
• Zhao Qiuluo helped Jiang Linyuan clear the dishes, then borrowed his phone to call her missing phone and found it ringing beneath the dining table.

Jiang Linyuan discussed Zhao Qiuluo’s suspicious interest with Su Muzhi, who admitted her possessiveness and asked him to hold her while they slept at Shen Wanyu’s house. The next day, Zhao Qiuluo called to discuss the Lantern Festival, and Jiang Linyuan wondered whether she had deliberately made him hear her boyfriend.

• Jiang Linyuan told Su Muzhi that Zhao Qiuluo had given him her phone number, and Su Muzhi said Zhao had seemed too calm.
• Su Muzhi said she was possessive and offered to cut Jiang Linyuan off from Yu Songsong, Lin Yilin, and Zhang Juntang, but Jiang Linyuan told her not to be brutal.
• Su Muzhi said she would try to fall in love with Jiang Linyuan and asked him to hold her while they slept at Shen Wanyu’s house.
• The next day, Zhao Qiuluo called Jiang Linyuan and offered to recommend clothing stores for the Lantern Festival, saying she would attend with her boyfriend.
• Zhao Qiuluo ended the call after a man asked whether she was on the phone, leaving Jiang Linyuan to wonder if she had staged the moment.

Jiang Linyuan and the others went to a costume shop before the Forbidden City Lantern Festival and changed into historical outfits. After Su Muzhi kissed Jiang Linyuan and Shen Wanyu appeared in a Daoist robe, the group traded teasing remarks and prepared to head out.

• Jiang Linyuan left with Shen Wanyu, Su Muzhi, and Shen Guoguo to explore before the Lantern Festival crowds arrived.
• Shen Guoguo took the group to her reserved makeup shop, where a makeup artist dressed and made up Jiang Linyuan.
• Jiang Linyuan praised Shen Guoguo's light-blue outfit, then saw Su Muzhi in a red bridal robe.
• Su Muzhi teased Jiang Linyuan and kissed him twice, while Shen Guoguo tried to separate them and protested.
• Shen Wanyu emerged in a plain white Daoist robe, and she and Su Muzhi exchanged barbs about their outfits and Su Muzhi's figure.

During a festival outing, Jiang Linyuan challenged Su Muzhi to distinguish love from possessiveness and warned that forcing him to accept her would not make them happy. Su Muzhi asked him to court other girls and make her fall for him, then demanded that he control her and make her his.

• Jiang Linyuan and Su Muzhi teased each other while Shen Guoguo urged Shen Wanyu to pay attention to him.
• Su Muzhi offered to let Shen Wanyu hold Jiang Linyuan's other hand, but Shen Wanyu dismissed her and walked ahead.
• The group rested after Little Su tired, and Su Muzhi asked Jiang Linyuan whether he cared about her.
• Jiang Linyuan questioned Su Muzhi's jealousy and told her that possessiveness alone did not make a loving relationship.
• Su Muzhi asked Jiang Linyuan to court other girls so she could fall for him, then told him to make her his possession.

Jiang Linyuan toured with Shen Wanyu and Su Muzhi, while Su Muzhi urged him to hold Shen Wanyu’s hand and tested her own jealousy. They met Zhao Qiuluo, her boyfriend Li Wang, and photographer Xia Tao, who joined their group to take pictures.

• Shen Wanyu returned with candied hawthorns, and Su Muzhi and Jiang Linyuan teased her about their conversation.
• Su Muzhi pushed Jiang Linyuan toward Shen Wanyu, who caught his hand but soon let go.
• Su Muzhi joked about pushing Jiang Linyuan into danger to see whether Shen Wanyu would save him, and Jiang Linyuan edged closer to Shen Wanyu.
• Jiang Linyuan and the others met Xia Tao, who asked to photograph them, and Zhao Qiuluo introduced her alongside Li Wang.
• Xia Tao admitted she had left Zhao Qiuluo and Li Wang because she felt like a third wheel, so Su Muzhi invited her to take their pictures.

Xia Tao photographed Jiang Linyuan, Shen Wanyu, and Su Muzhi during their outing in Yanjing, then posted Jiang’s pictures in a photography chat. The photos reached Huang Taoyan, who learned that Zhang Juntang had missed her chance to visit Jiang and planned to see him later in Minhai instead.

• Xia Tao photographed Jiang Linyuan and Su Muzhi together while Shen Wanyu watched from a milk tea shop, then Shen Wanyu joined them for more pictures.
• Su Muzhi teased Shen Wanyu for fearing regret and urged her to take the initiative with Jiang Linyuan, but Shen Wanyu denied she would regret her choices.
• Xia Tao posted Jiang Linyuan’s pictures in her photography group after getting his permission, and Huang Taoyan recognized him and messaged him.
• Jiang Linyuan blocked Huang Taoyan after she joked with him, and Huang complained to her cousin Zhang Juntang.
• Huang Taoyan discovered Yu Songsong had visited Jiang on New Year’s Eve, while Zhang Juntang said she planned to visit her roommate in Minhai, where Jiang would also go after the New Year.

At a milk tea shop, Xia Tao told Jiang Linyuan, Su Muzhi, and Shen Wanyu how her childhood friend Li Wang had become engaged to Senior Zhao, while their teasing revealed the tangled dynamics among them. Li Wang and Zhao Qiuluo then arrived and began arguing over Xia Tao, leaving the group ready to watch the confrontation.

• Xia Tao told Shen Guoguo that she could not tell which woman Jiang Linyuan liked more, then admitted that her childhood friend Li Wang had become engaged to Senior Zhao.
• Jiang Linyuan paid Xia Tao to hear her story, and Su Muzhi teased her while describing how she would react if someone she loved left her.
• Jiang Linyuan joked with Shen Wanyu about having children, and Shen Wanyu tapped him on the head.
• Zhao Qiuluo and Li Wang entered the shop, and Li Wang insisted they clear up their disagreement face-to-face.
• Su Muzhi and Shen Wanyu moved with Shen Guoguo to a nearby table to watch, while Su Muzhi kept Jiang Linyuan seated.

Zhao Qiuluo argued with Li Wang over his closeness to Xia Tao, then confided in Jiang Linyuan about feeling overlooked and her family’s expectations for her marriage. After Jiang Linyuan returned to Su Muzhi and Shen Wanyu, Zhao Qiuluo let Xia Tao leave and watched him go with her smile fading.

• Li Wang and Zhao Qiuluo argued at the shop over his relationship with Xia Tao, and Zhao Qiuluo threw milk tea at him before removing her engagement ring.
• Jiang Linyuan told Zhao Qiuluo to consider breaking up with Li Wang, and she explained that she felt hurt because he put Xia Tao ahead of her.
• Zhao Qiuluo told Jiang Linyuan that her father welcomed a live-in son-in-law but would judge Li Wang’s family background.
• Jiang Linyuan asked Zhao Qiuluo about Su Muzhi and Shen Wanyu’s past conflict, and she confirmed that they had been at odds since high school.
• Jiang Linyuan left to join Su Muzhi and Shen Wanyu after Li Wang returned, and Zhao Qiuluo dismissed Xia Tao as her smile faded.

Jiang Linyuan joked with Su Muzhi and Shen Wanyu about Zhao Qiuluo’s intentions, while the three teased and hit him in turn. Xia Tao watched their close relationship in alarm and decided she needed to distance herself from Jiang Linyuan, but Shen Wanyu told her he did not think much of her.

• Jiang Linyuan returned to Su Muzhi and Shen Wanyu after speaking with Zhao Qiuluo, and the three bantered over milk tea and Shen Wanyu’s jealousy.
• Jiang Linyuan asked whether Zhao Qiuluo had a grudge against Su Muzhi, and Shen Wanyu said they were only casually acquainted and Zhao Qiuluo visited at Shen Pingyan’s request.
• Su Muzhi told Jiang Linyuan to have fun with Zhao Qiuluo, saying she already knew he was a bad man and doubted Zhao Qiuluo could change him.
• Shen Wanyu and Su Muzhi each smacked Jiang Linyuan as he complained, then playfully squeezed his hand and kicked him.
• Xia Tao asked Shen Guoguo what was going on between Jiang Linyuan, Su Muzhi, and Shen Wanyu, then resolved to avoid Jiang Linyuan.
• Shen Wanyu told Xia Tao that Jiang Linyuan did not think much of her.

During the Lantern Festival light show, Jiang Linyuan teased Su Muzhi about her feelings while continuing to confess to Shen Wanyu. Su Muzhi linked Jiang Linyuan and Shen Wanyu’s hands beneath the lights, leaving Shen Wanyu conflicted and the three standing together in silence.

• Shen Guoguo questioned Jiang Linyuan about platonic friendship and whether he planned to marry one of his good friends, then called him a scumbag.
• Su Muzhi teased Jiang Linyuan about his feelings and explained that she was helping him pursue Shen Wanyu partly to test her own affection for him.
• Jiang Linyuan confessed to Shen Wanyu, who told him to get lost, while Su Muzhi watched with amusement.
• As the light show began, Su Muzhi kissed Jiang Linyuan in the darkness and then held his hand and Shen Wanyu’s together.
• Shen Wanyu said she felt sorry for Su Muzhi and hated Jiang Linyuan a little, while Su Muzhi watched Jiang Linyuan and he pretended to admire the lights.

After the Lantern Festival, Jiang Linyuan and Shen Wanyu shared a quiet moment beneath a starry-sky projector, where he admitted he had fallen in love with her. Shen Wanyu asked him for an answer, and he left the night wanting to stay close to her in this life.

• After the festival, Su Muzhi teased Jiang Linyuan about Shen Wanyu and stayed close to him as the group walked home.
• Shen Wanyu invited Jiang Linyuan and Su Muzhi to stay at her home, and Jiang Linyuan did not visit her that night.
• Unable to sleep, Jiang Linyuan found Shen Wanyu sitting alone in the dark living room.
• Shen Wanyu showed Jiang Linyuan a starry-sky projector and told him about seeing the stars as a child before her parents divorced.
• As Shen Wanyu explained the constellations, Jiang Linyuan told her he had fallen in love with her and could not bear to be without her.
• Shen Wanyu said Jiang Linyuan owed her an answer, and he told her he was happy and did not want to wait until another life to see her.

Zhao Qiuluo came to Shen Wanyu’s home after a fight with her family, and Jiang Linyuan suspected she was using the situation to get close to him. She asked him to stay while she called her boyfriend, and Jiang Linyuan alerted Shen Wanyu and Little Su as he waited to see what she would do.

• Zhao Qiuluo called Shen Wanyu late at night and asked to stay over after arguing with her family, and Shen Wanyu agreed.
• Jiang Linyuan let Zhao Qiuluo into the house, gave her tea, and showed her to the guest room.
• Zhao Qiuluo told Jiang Linyuan that her father had urged her to break up with Li Wang, and Jiang Linyuan encouraged her to trust her judgment and call Li Wang.
• Zhao Qiuluo asked Jiang Linyuan to stay with her while she called Li Wang, and Jiang Linyuan agreed.
• Jiang Linyuan messaged Shen Wanyu and Little Su that Zhao Qiuluo had come to tease him.