Recaps

Cheng Lang returned to the milk tea shop and confronted Lu Chengxuan over his treatment of Shen Huaiyu, warning him to stop misrepresenting their relationship or damaging Shen’s reputation. Lu Chengxuan was forced to admit that he was pursuing Shen Huaiyu, while Cheng Lang cautioned him not to risk Lu Group’s reputation.

• Cheng Lang returned to the milk tea shop, where Shen Huaiyu worriedly asked whether Lu Chengxuan had made things difficult for him.
• Cheng Lang told Shen Huaiyu to ignore Lu Chengxuan’s advances and said their success with Forest Style Milk Tea would help Shen protect himself.
• Cheng Lang asked Lu Chengxuan how much he had spent on Shen Huaiyu, exposing that Lu had never paid him for anything.
• Cheng Lang warned Lu Chengxuan that he would sue if Lu damaged Shen Huaiyu’s or Forest Style Milk Tea’s reputation.
• Cheng Lang made Lu Chengxuan clarify that he was pursuing Shen Huaiyu, then warned him to consider the consequences for Lu Group.

After Cheng Lang warned Lu Chengxuan to leave Shen Huaiyu alone, Shen Huaiyu felt relieved that he might finally explain their relationship on his own terms. Cheng Lang later performed at White Jade Capital and began building connections with investors for Forest Style Milk Tea.

• Cheng Lang warned Lu Chengxuan not to challenge his patience, and Lu Chengxuan left furious.
• Shen Huaiyu smiled brightly and invited Cheng Lang to dinner because he believed he would have a chance to explain his past relationship.
• Shen Huaiyu treated Cheng Lang to a lavish meal, leaving Cheng Lang too full to drink during his performance at White Jade Capital.
• After Cheng Lang's performance, several guests tried to recruit him into their private equity circles, but he focused on Forest Style Milk Tea and future investors.
• Cheng Lang told Shen Huaiyu to get to know potential investors as he drove him back to school.

Shen Huaiyu quit his job at White Jade Capital to focus on developing Forest Style Milk Tea and becoming Cheng Lang’s business partner. Cheng Lang planned to rent a studio near school as their base, while their roommates hoped to join their ventures after hearing about Cheng Lang’s success shorting First Milk Tea.

• Shen Huaiyu told Cheng Lang he had resigned from White Jade Capital and planned to work on new milk tea flavors and help at the shop.
• Shen Huaiyu teased Cheng Lang about Qin Mu, and Cheng Lang described Qin Mu as a startled Snow Leopard while Qin Mu followed them in his Rolls-Royce.
• Back at the dorm, Cheng Lang packed for winter break and suggested that he and Shen Huaiyu rent a studio near school as their base for the next four years.
• Their two roommates eagerly asked about the studio and whether Cheng Lang could bring them along in his business ventures.
• X University students began admiring Cheng Lang after learning he had earned several hundred million by shorting First Milk Tea, and his roommates envied Shen Huaiyu for being included in his plans.

Cheng Lang recruited a team for Forest Style Milk Tea after announcing a casual job notice that sparked rumors of a future public listing. Once the team was assembled, he welcomed them at a banquet while his senior employees remained wary of his business plans.

• Cheng Lang planned to recruit college students and experienced managers to build Forest Style Milk Tea’s sales and marketing teams.
• Cheng Lang posted a recruitment notice online, including an urgent opening for an HR manager, and rumors spread that Forest Style Milk Tea would go public within a year.
• Applicants sent in résumés, and Cheng Lang assembled the HR manager, marketing manager, and other department staff in less than half a month.
• Cheng Lang hosted a banquet for the new team and promised that employees would not suffer under his management.
• Senior staff stayed alert, recognizing that Cheng Lang intended to use the partnership with First Milk Tea to build Forest Style Milk Tea’s offline distribution channels.

Shen Huaiyu deferred Forest Style Milk Tea’s management to Cheng Lang, while Cheng Lang and Qin Mu continued their affectionate relationship after the company dinner. The next morning, Qin Mu saw Cheng Lang off to his final exam, where Cheng Lang encountered academic advisor Meng Haiyang as an invigilator.

• Shen Huaiyu said Cheng Lang would handle the company’s management while he focused on developing new milk tea flavors.
• Qin Mu drove Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu home, then prepared hangover soup and a late-night snack for Cheng Lang.
• Cheng Lang and Qin Mu spent the night together, leaving Cheng Lang tired the next morning.
• Qin Mu made Cheng Lang an exam-themed breakfast and gave him chocolate before driving him to school.
• Cheng Lang entered the classroom for his final exam and saw Meng Haiyang among the invigilators.

Cheng Lang rejected Meng Haiyang’s repeated suggestions that he search for his biological parents, then looked for a workspace with Shen Huaiyu and found a photography studio he wanted to rent. The studio owner offered to lower the rent in exchange for photographing Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu.

• Meng Haiyang asked Cheng Lang whether he would fail his exams and invited him to spend winter break and New Year with him, but Cheng Lang declined.
• Meng Haiyang pressed Cheng Lang about finding his biological parents, and Cheng Lang warned that he would consult a lawyer if they appeared to claim kinship.
• Cheng Lang returned to his exam, and after it he and Shen Huaiyu searched nearby office buildings for a workspace but found none they liked.
• Cheng Lang spotted a For Rent notice at the photography studio where Shen Huaiyu had filmed his Tea Whisking video and proposed renting it.
• The studio owner explained that he was closing because his father wanted him to inherit the family business, then offered to rent the studio to Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu for three million a year if they let him photograph them.

Cheng Lang confronted a woman claiming to be his mother and threatened legal action over his abandonment and attempted murder. He pressed Meng Haiyang for what he and his mother knew, and Meng Haiyang revealed that the woman had brought Cheng Lang to his mother as an infant eighteen years earlier.

• Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu returned to school for their exams and found Meng Haiyang arguing with a woman.
• The woman claimed to be Cheng Lang's mother and tried to embrace him, but Cheng Lang demanded a paternity test and cited the crime of abandonment.
• Cheng Lang told the woman to leave or face the police, then took Meng Haiyang aside to question him.
• Cheng Lang accused the woman of trying to kill him and warned Meng Haiyang that he could be treated as an accomplice.
• Meng Haiyang said the woman was his mother's good friend and had brought a child to her eighteen years earlier, asking her to take the child in.

Cheng Lang rejected Meng Haiyang’s attempt to use his mother’s upbringing of him as a debt, pointing out how much he had done for the Meng family in return. After the two entered the exam room, he discovered that a video of the confrontation was online and that accounts linked to Star Entertainment Media and X City TV Station were pushing public pressure on him to support his biological parents.

• Cheng Lang challenged Meng Haiyang’s claim that his mother had raised him, arguing that caring for orphanage children had been her job and recounting how he had helped Meng Haiyang avoid trouble and get into college.
• Meng Haiyang fell silent as he realized Cheng Lang resented his biological mother’s sudden attempt to reclaim him after he had started making money.
• The exam bell interrupted their argument, and Cheng Lang told Meng Haiyang to take the exam before continuing the discussion.
• Cheng Lang and Meng Haiyang entered the classroom, where the examinees stopped whispering and looked toward Cheng Lang before turning away.
• Cheng Lang checked the video of the school-gate confrontation online and found accounts linked to Star Entertainment Media and X City TV Station urging him to support his biological parents.

As Cheng Lang took an exam, online discussion about his suspected biological mother and the orphanage director’s role in concealing his abandonment spread rapidly. Meng Haiyang realized the scandal could ruin his mother’s position and regretted helping her intervene.

• Netizens argued over whether Cheng Lang should forgive and support the parents who had abandoned him, prompting others to defend him.
• Cheng Lang calmly put down his phone and continued answering his exam while Meng Haiyang struggled to stay composed as a proctor.
• Meng Haiyang found the long video of Cheng Lang confronting him at school among the trending discussions and watched the comments turn against the woman and the orphanage director.
• Netizens questioned whether Cheng Lang’s suspected mother and the orphanage director could face legal consequences for abandoning him and concealing it.
• Meng Haiyang regretted agreeing to help his mother persuade Cheng Lang as he realized the scandal might cost her her job and bring him public judgment.

After finishing his exams, Cheng Lang saw that public opinion had turned in his favor and responded to a blogger who criticized him for considering legal action against his birth mother. He and Shen Huaiyu then signed a lease for the photography studio, and their dinner with its owner ended with the owner lamenting that he had to inherit his family business.

• Cheng Lang found that online opinion supported him, accepted his classmates’ comfort, and posted a reply to a blogger who called him immoral.
• Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu returned to the photography studio after exams to take photos in exchange for rent.
• The studio owner signed a lease with Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu, setting April 1 as the start date and allowing a month for renovations.
• Shen Huaiyu offered to make tea for the owner, while Cheng Lang explained that Shen Huaiyu was too busy developing new products to teach Tea Whisking.
• Cheng Lang, Shen Huaiyu, and the studio owner went for hotpot, where the owner complained that he did not want to inherit the family business.

Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu shared a meal with Cheng Yan, then Cheng Lang rejoined Qin Mu, who gave him an investigation report about Chang Mingfeng. The report linked Chang Mingfeng to an abandoned infant, leaving Cheng Lang with new information about the paternity-test story.

• Cheng Yan told Cheng Lang about his family’s Chengyi Restaurant and his wish to pursue photography rather than cooking.
• Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu ate hot pot with Cheng Yan, who asked them to preserve his photo studio’s sets when renovating it into milk tea shops.
• Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu put the drunken Cheng Yan into a taxi and arranged for his family to collect him.
• Qin Mu picked up Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu, then Cheng Lang answered questions about the trending topic while walking around the school track.
• Qin Mu gave Cheng Lang an investigation report stating that Chang Mingfeng had left an infant with orphanage director Jiang Feng after her attempt to force her way into a family failed.

Cheng Lang turned the unexpected controversy over a woman claiming to be his mother into an opportunity to establish an Orphan Aid Fund and shift public attention toward charity and his business. With the woman’s next move still unknown, he waited at the photography studio while his company prepared to relocate.

• Cheng Lang and Qin Mu realized Chengyi Grand Hotel had become the current Chengyi Restaurant, and Cheng Lang declined Qin Mu’s offer to deal with the woman claiming a relationship with him.
• Cheng Lang visited the relevant department to ask how to establish an Orphan Aid Fund, explaining that his own difficult childhood had inspired him to help abandoned children.
• Cheng Lang pledged one million yuan to establish the fund, with the X City Orphanage where he had once lived as its first recipient.
• Media reported on Cheng Lang’s charitable fund, and public attention shifted from his background to his career and charity.
• Cheng Lang told Shen Huaiyu that he wanted to counter the controversy and protect Forest Style Milk Tea’s reputation, then waited to see what the woman would do next.
• After final exams ended and business slowed, Cheng Lang gathered his company to begin moving.

Cheng Lang outlined plans to turn his new headquarters into a combined office and themed milk tea restaurant, while the Cheng Family worried that he might seek revenge after learning about his past. Cheng Yan discovered that Cheng Lang was his younger brother and defended their friendship to his parents.

• Cheng Lang explained how he would use the four-floor photography studio as Forest Style Milk Tea’s office and customer space, and reassured employees about security and trade secrets.
• Cheng Yan’s mother warned Cheng Xingwang that Cheng Lang’s influence and business skills could threaten the Cheng Family if he wanted revenge.
• Cheng Yan overheard his parents reveal that Cheng Lang was his younger brother and reacted with surprise.
• Cheng Yan’s mother told him to stay away from Cheng Lang, but Cheng Yan insisted they had become friends by chance.
• Cheng Yan defended Cheng Lang, explaining that he had grown up in an orphanage and earned his success through hard work.

Cheng Yan’s parents revealed that they had known Cheng Lang was Cheng Xingwang’s son and explained how Chang Mingfeng left him at an orphanage after they refused to raise him. The Cheng Family had initially planned to persuade Cheng Yan’s mother to take Cheng Lang in, leaving his fate unresolved.

• Cheng Yan defended Cheng Lang and warned his parents that Cheng Lang might see them as irresponsible people seeking benefits from him.
• Cheng Yan’s mother admitted that she and Cheng Xingwang had known about Cheng Lang for years.
• The family recounted how Chang Mingfeng returned to X City with baby Cheng Lang and asked Cheng Xingwang and his wife to raise him.
• Cheng Yan’s mother refused, and the Cheng Family’s elders abandoned their plan to bring Cheng Lang home after she threatened divorce.
• Chang Mingfeng left Cheng Lang at an orphanage and departed X City, while the Cheng Family considered persuading Cheng Yan’s mother to take him in.

Cheng Yan’s mother admitted why she had kept Cheng Lang out of the Cheng Family and feared he might retaliate, while Cheng Yan said he would not blame her. Meanwhile, Cheng Lang prepared to use Meng Tianye’s debut single to promote Forest Style Milk Tea, and the chapter ended with Cheng Lang and Zhao Mingyue disagreeing over the music video’s location.

• Cheng Yan’s mother explained that she had blocked the Cheng Family from taking Cheng Lang in and stopped them from supporting the orphanage because she feared Chang Mingfeng and the director would use him to cause trouble.
• Cheng Yan’s mother confessed she feared Cheng Lang would take revenge on her but asked him not to harm Cheng Yan.
• Cheng Lang decided to release Meng Tianye’s debut single on the day Tomorrow’s Starlight streamed its national finals.
• Meng Tianye revised Wild Growth after withdrawing from Tomorrow’s Starlight, and Zhao Mingyue agreed to produce the song.
• Cheng Lang funded a music video for Wild Growth in Forest Style Milk Tea’s name, but he and Zhao Mingyue disagreed about filming it abroad.

Cheng Lang backed Meng Tianye’s concert-style debut MV, which launched on the day of Tomorrow’s Starlight’s national finals and drew comparisons that made the show’s performances look weak. While criticizing the finals production in a livestream, Cheng Lang also mocked a commenter who challenged him over his biological parents.

• Meng Tianye and Zhao Mingyue favored filming Wild Growth as a concert, and Cheng Lang agreed to produce an elaborate ten-thousand-person-style venue and direct the lighting and stage design.
• Qin Dynasty Records released Wild Growth at noon on the day of Tomorrow’s Starlight’s national finals, and its polished concert atmosphere and Meng Tianye’s performance impressed viewers.
• Netizens compared Meng Tianye’s MV with the finals contestants, whose performances suffered from thin vocals, a lackluster audience atmosphere, and nervous mistakes.
• Cheng Lang livestreamed critiques of the finals production, praising the contestants while attacking the show’s lighting and malfunctioning microphones.
• When a commenter called Cheng Lang coldhearted for considering legal action against his biological parents, Cheng Lang sarcastically offered to send his mother to the commenter to support instead.

After Tomorrow's Starlight's successful finale boosted Meng Tianye's music sales and Forest Style Milk Tea's new products, Cheng Lang prepared to expand the brand with directly operated stores. Cheng Yan's mother called to ask him not to take revenge on her family, but Cheng Lang rejected her assumptions and warned her against defamation.

• Tomorrow's Starlight's finale drove Meng Tianye's debut single MV to more than six million sales, and Qin Dynasty Records considered producing a physical album.
• Forest Style Milk Tea gained a surge of followers and sales, then Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu planned to expand with directly operated branches and train flagship-store employees for management roles.
• Cheng Yan's mother called Cheng Lang and asked him to direct any revenge at her and Cheng Xingwang rather than Cheng Yan.
• Cheng Lang said he would handle the matter through legal channels and warned Cheng Yan's mother not to make baseless accusations that could damage his or Forest Style Milk Tea's reputation.
• Cheng Yan's mother denied intending to provoke Cheng Lang and explained that she feared his power and his past actions against First Milk Tea.

Cheng Lang confronted Cheng Yan's mother for slandering him out of fear that he might retaliate over the past. Afterward, he checked on Chengyi Restaurant's sales with Shen Huaiyu and planned to go home for the holiday.

• Cheng Lang accused Cheng Yan's mother of trying to protect her own interests by morally pressuring him and harming his reputation.
• Cheng Lang told Cheng Yan's mother that she had no right to provoke an innocent person while protecting her own vested interests.
• After ending the call, Cheng Lang looked out at the festive New Year's Eve crowds as Shen Huaiyu asked if he was all right.
• Shen Huaiyu reported that Chengyi Restaurant's sales department was receiving orders from major supermarkets, and Cheng Lang urged the team to learn from First Milk Tea's distributors.
• Cheng Lang told Shen Huaiyu he planned to go home for the holiday.

Cheng Lang agreed to spend New Year's Eve with Qin Mu at the Qin Family Ancestral Residence, and the two prepared and shared a seafood feast at home. The next morning, Qin Mu woke Cheng Lang early so they could arrive in time for the ancestor worship.

• Shen Huaiyu told Cheng Lang that Huaiyuan's mother had invited them for New Year, but Cheng Lang declined and offered to keep Shen Huaiyu company instead.
• Qin Mu insisted that Cheng Lang come with him to the Qin Family for New Year's Eve, and Cheng Lang agreed despite worrying about Qin Mu's family.
• Cheng Lang and Qin Mu bought seafood and snacks at a nearby supermarket, then cooked and ate a lavish seafood dinner together.
• After dinner, Qin Mu reassured Cheng Lang that he enjoyed cooking with him, and Cheng Lang admitted that preparing ingredients and washing dishes together was nice.
• On New Year's Eve, Qin Mu woke Cheng Lang before dawn and told him they had to reach the Qin Family Ancestral Residence in time for ancestor worship.

Qin Mu brought Cheng Lang to the Qin Family Ancestral Residence for the New Year, where Qin Mu openly introduced him as his beloved. The family reacted with shock, while Old Master Qin recognized Cheng Lang from their previous meeting and let the awkward exchange pass without challenging Qin Mu.

• Qin Wenyu warned Qin Mu to show restraint, and Qin Mu suggested Qin Wenyu investigate whether Xu Manyi's unborn child was really his.
• Qin Wenyu threatened to cast Xu Manyi out if a DNA test proved the child was not his, while Cheng Lang pointed out that Qin Wenyu seemed unconcerned for her and the baby's safety.
• Qin Mu and Cheng Lang entered the ancestral residence, where Qin Mi questioned Cheng Lang's place in the family.
• Qin Mu introduced Cheng Lang to Old Master Qin as his beloved, and Cheng Lang joked that he could be a filial grandson if he could not become Old Master Qin's son.
• Old Master Qin recognized Cheng Lang from their earlier meeting and chose not to press the matter, mindful of Qin Mu's grievances toward the family.

Cheng Lang waited with the Qin Family for the New Year ancestral rites, defended Qin Mu’s character to the young women, and warned Third Uncle Qin about the risks of investing in stocks. He returned to the table beside Qin Mu, where the family still waited to eat because Old Master Qin was absent.

• Cheng Lang told the Qin Family girls that Qin Mu was caring in private, though they doubted his good nature.
• The girls praised Cheng Lang as an appealing partner, and he explained that Qin Mu showed his love through attentive actions.
• After waiting more than three hours for the ancestral rites to end, Cheng Lang went to the restroom and encountered Third Uncle Qin.
• Third Uncle Qin asked Cheng Lang to help him make money in the stock market, and Cheng Lang agreed if he accepted the risks.
• Cheng Lang returned to sit beside Qin Mu, but the family had not begun eating because Old Master Qin was away.

At the Qin Family’s New Year’s Eve dinner, Cheng Lang’s relationship with Qin Mu and his financial success drew everyone’s attention, making the family treat him with newfound respect. After dinner, Qin Mu took Cheng Lang to see the snow-covered plum blossoms, which inspired Cheng Lang to suggest making plum blossom cakes.

• Qin Mu poured tea for Cheng Lang, and Third Uncle Qin praised Qin Mu’s attentiveness before Cheng Lang called him Third Uncle and offered to invest for him.
• Cheng Lang explained Third Uncle Qin’s investment proposal to the family, and Old Master Qin urged the family to support one another.
• The Qin Family discussed Cheng Lang’s short-selling success and cautiously avoided offending him because of his financial influence and his relationship with Qin Mu.
• After New Year’s Eve dinner, Qin Mu led Cheng Lang through the back garden to a plum grove where the blossoms were in bloom beneath the snow.
• Cheng Lang admired the plum blossoms and suggested they would be perfect for making plum blossom cakes.

On New Year's Eve at the Qin Family residence, Qin Mu showed how much influence he held and openly arranged to share a room with Cheng Lang. After caring for Cheng Lang's wet hair, Qin Mu pinned him against the bathroom counter, leaving their flirtation poised to become more intimate.

• Qin Mu offered to have plum blossoms made into pastries, then insisted on taking flowers from Old Master Qin's treasured grove despite the younger relatives' resentment.
• Cheng Lang learned that Qin Mu could disregard rules that applied to other Qin Family members because of his standing in the family.
• The Qin Family ate dumplings after midnight, and Qin Mu said Cheng Lang would stay in his room.
• Cheng Lang teased Qin Mu while draping himself over him, and Qin Mu insisted on drying Cheng Lang's wet hair after his shower.
• Qin Mu carried Cheng Lang to the bathroom counter and pressed him against it as Cheng Lang joked about trying something new.

Cheng Lang and Qin Mu spent a sleepless night before joining the Qin family for New Year breakfast. When Qin Mi and Second Madam Qin insulted Qin Mu and his mother, Qin Mu exposed their grievances and left the family gathering in turmoil.

• Cheng Lang woke to the butler's recording of firecrackers, and he and Qin Mu eventually got up and went to breakfast.
• Qin Mi mocked Qin Mu for arriving late, and Qin Mu challenged him to follow the family rules and show respect to his elders.
• Second Madam Qin defended Qin Mi, disparaged Qin Mu's mother, and questioned Qin Mu's place as heir to the Qin Group.
• Qin Mu pointed out Second Madam Qin's resentment toward his mother and the eldest-branch inheritance rule, then taunted her about Qin Wenyu's inability to have children.
• Qin Wenyu rebuked Second Madam Qin, Second Master Qin told her to be quiet, and Old Master Qin dismissed her complaint by saying that unkind elders invited disrespectful juniors.

Qin Mu defended his deceased mother from a rude remark, then shared breakfast and a stroll through the plum grove with Cheng Lang and the Qin family. Old Master Qin worried that Qin Mu’s family circumstances and relationship with Cheng Lang left him without dependable support, but chose not to confront him about it.

• Qin Mu reminded the Qin Family's second aunt that the dead deserved respect, and Old Master Qin told him to mind his words because she was his elder.
• Cheng Lang teased Qin Mu about becoming his straight man, then joked that he should keep his domineering CEO image instead.
• Old Master Qin had plum blossom cakes served, and Qin Mu put another one in Cheng Lang’s bowl, planning to learn how to make them for him.
• Old Master Qin recalled Qin Mu’s childhood mischief in the garden and reflected on how Qin Mu became taciturn after his parents’ marriage fell apart.
• Old Master Qin worried that Cheng Lang was not a dependable partner for Qin Mu, but kept his concerns to himself to avoid pushing Qin Mu away.