Chapter Summaries

Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu asked Luo Pu to help launch a Milk Tea Paste production line, and Luo Pu agreed, offering his factory, tea gardens, workers, and master craftsmen. Cheng Lang proposed an equal-shareholder partnership and presented contracts for Luo Pu to review.

• Shen Huaiyu explained that his father and Luo Pu had been friends, and he and Cheng Lang met Luo Pu at his tea house.
• Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu asked Luo Pu to support a Milk Tea Paste production line with his processing factory, tea gardens, and expertise.
• Luo Pu agreed to help and showed them a purchase contract for the production line and notice that a workshop had been reserved for it.
• Luo Pu offered experienced craftsmen and apprentices to staff and train workers for the new line.
• Cheng Lang proposed that all three invest as shareholders and handed Luo Pu contract templates to review.

Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu finalized a partnership with Luo Pu to establish a Milk Tea Paste production line and discussed funding and staff training. The next day, they registered Forest Garden Food Processing Factory and several trademarks, then met Luo Pu’s recommended masters and visited his workshop.

• Luo Pu reviewed and signed the cooperation contract with Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu.
• Cheng Lang asked Luo Pu about training workers for the Milk Tea Paste production line, and Luo Pu offered to recruit apprentices and assign two masters.
• Shen Huaiyu offered half of his savings to fund the production line and training, while Cheng Lang agreed to contribute matching funds and discussed online sales and future expansion.
• Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu registered Forest Garden Food Processing Factory and trademarks including Forest Style Milk Tea and Forest Style Foods.
• Cheng Lang signed employment and confidentiality agreements with two experienced masters introduced by Luo Pu, discussed training, and visited Luo Pu’s tea paste workshop.

Cheng Lang looked for a separate site for the Milk Tea Paste processing plant and found an abandoned factory to inspect. The watchman warned him that the complex was haunted, leaving the group unsure what to make of the claim.

• Luo Pu showed Shen Huaiyu and the others his peaceful tea room, and Cheng Lang suggested building the processing plant elsewhere to avoid disturbing the workshop.
• Luo Pu directed Cheng Lang, Shen Huaiyu, and himself to an abandoned food factory downstream from the tea garden.
• Cheng Lang contacted the owner, who offered to lease the factory for two hundred thousand yuan a year.
• Cheng Lang and the others inspected the neglected buildings, and the watchman explained that high rent, the small size, and the remote location had kept renters away.
• When Cheng Lang asked whether there was another reason no one rented the factory, the watchman warned the group that it was haunted.

Cheng Lang used rumors that the abandoned factory was haunted to bargain with its owner and secured a ten-year lease for 130,000 yuan per year. Shen Huaiyu and Luo Pu remained worried about renting a place where three people had died.

• An old man told Cheng Lang, Shen Huaiyu, and Luo Pu that a thief and two bakery employees had died at the factory, leading people to believe it was haunted.
• Luo Pu said he remembered the factory being rented out before but had never heard rumors of hauntings.
• Cheng Lang called the factory owner and bargained down the rent by citing the deaths, the supposed haunting, and the cost of rebuilding the factory.
• The factory owner agreed to rent the factory to Cheng Lang for 130,000 yuan a year for ten years.
• Shen Huaiyu and Luo Pu questioned whether they should rent the factory and suggested avoiding the risk.

Cheng Lang, Shen Huaiyu, and Luo Pu negotiated to rent a supposedly haunted factory for their milk tea paste processing plant. They agreed on a ten-year lease, and the factory owner and his wife learned that Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu were orphans.

• Cheng Lang told Shen Huaiyu and Luo Pu he believed the factory was haunted and suggested inviting a paranormal show or streamers to investigate it.
• The factory owner and his wife arrived, and his wife questioned why the three wanted to rent the remote factory despite its reputation and the deaths there.
• Luo Pu explained that they planned to build a milk tea paste processing plant, and Cheng Lang argued that the factory's haunted reputation justified the low rent.
• The factory owner accepted 130,000 a year, and Cheng Lang drafted a ten-year lease with a penalty clause worth one hundred times the full contract amount.
• Cheng Lang said he and Shen Huaiyu were orphans when the owner worried they might go bankrupt, prompting the owner's wife to ask whether they had no parents.

Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu secured a lease on the supposedly unlucky factory after Cheng Lang convinced the owners he could handle its ghosts, then revised the contract to protect both sides. At dinner, they learned the owners’ son, Jin Huaiyuan, was Shen Huaiyu’s archaeology senior, and Cheng Lang recognized him as a future criminal from the original novel.

• Cheng Lang told the factory owner and his wife about his and Shen Huaiyu’s tragic backgrounds, prompting them to offer to find another factory.
• Cheng Lang claimed his fate was strong enough to suppress ghosts and signed the lease, but the owner changed the breach clause to heavily favor Cheng Lang if the owner broke the agreement.
• Cheng Lang added a clause allowing the rent to rise to market value after three years if the factory remained successful, and Shen Huaiyu reassured the embarrassed owners.
• Luo Pu invited the owners to dinner, where they revealed their son Jin Huaiyuan was a graduate student in X University’s archaeology department.
• Cheng Lang remembered that Jin Huaiyuan was destined to forge cultural relics and be imprisoned, while Shen Huaiyu praised his senior’s restoration work.

Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu visited Jin Huaiyuan’s parents, then returned to White Jade Capital, where Meng Tianye wowed the crowd with a live rock performance. Cheng Lang offered Meng Tianye a part-time singing job, and Meng Tianye was left considering it as Cheng Lang took the stage.

• Jin Huaiyuan’s parents praised their son, invited Shen Huaiyu, Cheng Lang, and Luo Pu to dinner sometime, and said they worried his restoration hobby would make it hard for him to find a wife.
• Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu returned to White Jade Capital late, where the shift supervisor fined them and told Cheng Lang that Meng Tianye had come back.
• Cheng Lang watched Meng Tianye perform live, and Meng Tianye drew an ecstatic response from the crowd before asking Cheng Lang what he thought.
• Meng Tianye explained that he missed the audience interaction of live rock shows and said he had come to show Cheng Lang progress on a song for the milk tea shop.
• Cheng Lang offered Meng Tianye the chance to sing at White Jade Capital once or twice a week until he signed with a new talent agency.
• Meng Tianye watched Cheng Lang take the stage as the crowd booed and demanded the return of their former star performer.

Cheng Lang entertained the heckling crowd while Qin Mu and his companions discussed Cheng Lang’s supposed offer to repay Qin Mu by giving himself to him. Qin Mu confronted Cheng Lang after the performance and proposed dating or marriage, but Cheng Lang said they were not familiar enough to discuss marriage.

• Cheng Lang handled the audience’s heckling with jokes, a mournful guitar piece, and a failed WeChat shake.
• Chu Suiyi complained that Cheng Lang had not pursued Qin Mu and was instead helping Shen Huaiyu and Meng Tianye.
• Qin Mu wondered whether Cheng Lang expected Shen Huaiyu and Meng Tianye to offer themselves in repayment for his help, then left the private room.
• After Cheng Lang’s performance, Qin Mu asked him to talk and brought him to his car.
• Qin Mu asked whether Cheng Lang wanted to date or marry him, and Cheng Lang replied that they were not familiar enough to discuss marriage.

Qin Mu tried to express his wish to give himself to Cheng Lang, but Cheng Lang misunderstood his feelings after hearing about Qin Mu’s childhood dog. After Cheng Lang left the bar with Shen Huaiyu and Meng Tianye, Chu Suiyi’s remarks about Qin Mu’s confession sparked confusion and indignation.

• Qin Mu told Cheng Lang that his father had drowned his childhood Husky and said he wanted to protect Cheng Lang because he reminded him of the dog.
• Cheng Lang wondered whether Qin Mu’s affection for the Husky explained his wish to give himself to him.
• Cheng Lang returned to the bar, where Meng Tianye and Shen Huaiyu asked about Qin Mu and Cheng Lang said Qin had told him about his family’s dog.
• Cheng Lang got leave from the supervisor and left the bar with Shen Huaiyu and Meng Tianye.
• At the entrance, Chu Suiyi accused Cheng Lang of juggling relationships and asked what Qin Mu had said to him.
• Cheng Lang repeated that Qin Mu had compared him to his drowned dog, and Shen Huaiyu and Meng Tianye condemned Qin Mu for it.

After Chu Suiyi accused Cheng Lang of being insulted by Qin Mu, Cheng Lang explained that he had quoted Qin out of context to keep rumors from harming Shen Huaiyu and Meng Tianye. He taught them that protecting themselves from rumors required making others recognize their shared interests, leaving Meng Tianye questioning the morality of retaliation.

• Meng Tianye condemned Qin Mu for allegedly comparing Cheng Lang to a dog, while Chu Suiyi insisted Qin would never say such a thing and called him.
• Cheng Lang told Chu Suiyi that Qin Mu had driven away, then left with Shen Huaiyu and Meng Tianye while Chu called Qin.
• Cheng Lang explained that he had quoted Qin out of context to divert Chu’s attention and prevent his accusations from damaging Shen Huaiyu’s and Meng Tianye’s reputations.
• Cheng Lang warned Shen Huaiyu that rumors were hard to correct when people cared more about spreading them than learning the truth.
• Meng Tianye suggested making rumor-spreaders suffer the same harm, but Cheng Lang told him that people needed to understand their shared interests to act together.

Qin Mu confronted Cheng Lang about his mixed signals and offered him a choice between sleeping together and letting Qin Mu pursue him. Cheng Lang chose Qin Mu’s house, and after washing up there, he announced he was done.

• Cheng Lang avoided Qin Mu’s friends and focused on expanding the milk tea shop and preparing its products for online sales.
• Qin Mu confronted Cheng Lang over his remarks to Suiyi and questioned what their relationship meant to him.
• Cheng Lang said he liked and admired Qin Mu, and Qin Mu asked whether he liked his face or his body.
• Qin Mu offered Cheng Lang the choice of sleeping with him or giving him a chance to pursue him.
• Cheng Lang chose Qin Mu’s house, then emerged from the bathroom and said he was done washing up.

Cheng Lang and Qin Mu attempted to become intimate, but Qin Mu’s inexperience and failed search for instructions interrupted them. A call about a break-in at Cheng Lang’s processing plant sent them outside the city, while Qin Mu revealed the car accident investigation had made no progress.

• Cheng Lang teased Qin Mu and asked whether he was sure about being together; Qin Mu kissed him, but Cheng Lang soon realized Qin Mu was a virgin.
• Qin Mu tried to find instructional materials on his phone, but downloaded videos infected it with a virus, and Cheng Lang kicked him off the bed before taking a cold shower.
• Qin Mu searched for information in the study, and Cheng Lang joined him after his anger and desire returned.
• Cheng Lang received a call reporting that a thief had broken into his processing plant and nearly killed someone, so he and Qin Mu prepared to leave.
• In the car, Cheng Lang asked about the accident investigation, and Qin Mu said the culprit remained hidden; Cheng Lang then asked whether Qin Mu had called the police.

After Cheng Lang and Qin Mu arrived at the police station, they learned that Boss Jin and his wife had nearly been attacked by thieves at the processing plant. Their son Jin Huaiyuan arrived and offered to help Shen Huaiyu pursue work in cultural relic restoration and authentication.

• Qin Mu promised to protect Cheng Lang, and Cheng Lang said he wanted Qin Mu safe until he had slept with him enough.
• Cheng Lang and Qin Mu reached the police station, where Boss Jin explained that thieves had attacked him and his wife while they delivered two German shepherds to the factory.
• Luo Pu and the guards had stopped the thieves, and the police found broken bronze and porcelain where the men had been digging.
• Jin Huaiyuan arrived to check on his parents, then introduced himself to Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu as their senior at X University.
• Jin Huaiyuan invited Shen Huaiyu to visit him and offered to help him join a cultural relic restoration and authentication project team.

After the police rescued Jin Kui and Xu Linfang from tomb raiders hiding stolen relics at Cheng Lang’s factory, Jin Huaiyuan vowed to help the investigation. With snow making travel unsafe, the group stayed at Luo Pu’s tea garden, where they prepared a late-night barbecue.

• The police said the suspects were habitual tomb raiders who had used the abandoned factory to hide stolen goods, and they asked Jin Kui and Xu Linfang to remain available for the investigation.
• Cheng Lang told the police that an old gatekeeper had mentioned deaths and a thief at the factory, prompting Jin Huaiyuan to suspect the gatekeeper might have aided the criminals.
• Jin Huaiyuan offered to ask his advisor to help appraise the stolen relics so the police could bring the suspects to justice.
• Luo Pu invited everyone to stay at his tea garden because heavy snow made the roads dangerous, and Cheng Lang suggested grilling meat and making hot pot.
• After Jin Huaiyuan admitted he had skipped dinner, Luo Pu arranged noodles for him while everyone prepared the barbecue.
• Cheng Lang offered to show Qin Mu his grilling skills, and Shen Huaiyu moved beside Cheng Lang and offered to grill meat for him.

As snow threatened to trap everyone at Luo Pu’s tea garden, Cheng Lang proposed that he and Shen Huaiyu rent a place together, prompting Qin Mu to react jealously. The group shared a room plan and listened to Jin Huaiyuan’s stories, while Qin Mu grew uneasy at Cheng Lang’s interest in him.

• Jin Huaiyuan explained that he learned to grill meat while joining his professor on archaeological trips, and Qin Mu said he learned cooking at an international training camp.
• Cheng Lang asked Shen Huaiyu where he would stay during winter break and suggested they rent a place together for their work and living needs.
• Qin Mu darkened at the suggestion and poked Cheng Lang in the waist.
• At Luo Pu’s tea garden, Boss Jin worried that heavy snow would close the roads, and Luo Pu offered everyone guest rooms if they had to stay longer.
• Qin Mu insisted that he and Cheng Lang share a room, and Cheng Lang joked that Qin Mu was afraid of the dark as they held hands.
• Jin Huaiyuan eased the awkward mood with tomb stories, and Cheng Lang admired his considerate nature, making Qin Mu tighten his grip on Cheng Lang’s hand.

Cheng Lang and Qin Mu discussed living together and the boundaries of their new relationship during a snowy walk. The chapter ended with Cheng Lang asking whether Qin Mu would change if he disliked something about him.

• Cheng Lang invited Qin Mu for a walk through the snow, and Qin Mu recalled building a snowman with his mother as a child.
• Cheng Lang rejected Qin Mu's hope that they would live together throughout their relationship, while Qin Mu proposed arranging nearby apartments so they could spend more time together.
• Cheng Lang objected that Qin Mu should not interfere with his work or social life, and Qin Mu explained that he wanted fidelity and reassurance rather than control.
• Cheng Lang apologized for misjudging Qin Mu, who explained his personality and said he would communicate when necessary.
• Cheng Lang asked Qin Mu whether he would change if Cheng Lang disliked something about him.

After Qin Mu and Cheng Lang spent time together in the snow, Cheng Lang brought his underdressed boyfriend back inside to warm up. The next morning, Qin Mu sulked over an accidental handprint Cheng Lang had left on his arm, and Cheng Lang tried to make it up to him.

• Qin Mu teased Cheng Lang about liking only his appearance, then stood outside in the heavy snow wearing only a wool overcoat.
• Cheng Lang noticed Qin Mu was cold, led him back to the guest room, and made him ginger tea.
• Qin Mu asked Cheng Lang if he wanted to have sex, then cuddled him to sleep after Cheng Lang declined.
• While asleep, Cheng Lang squeezed Qin Mu's arm hard enough to leave a red handprint and apologized when he woke.
• Qin Mu exposed the handprint the next morning until Cheng Lang kissed him and pulled down his sleeves, then ruffled his hair.

Qin Mu tested Cheng Lang’s feelings and showed his jealousy over Cheng Lang’s plans to share a studio with Shen Huaiyu. At breakfast, Cheng Lang discussed selling Suzhou pastries through their milk tea shop while Qin Mu quietly served everyone.

• Qin Mu explained that his earlier behavior had been a test of Cheng Lang’s feelings, and Cheng Lang warned him not to mistake affection for lowered defenses.
• Shen Huaiyu invited Cheng Lang and Qin Mu to breakfast, and Qin Mu’s possessiveness made Shen Huaiyu leave in a hurry.
• Qin Mu objected to Cheng Lang sharing a studio with Shen Huaiyu and offered to buy an apartment nearby; Cheng Lang agreed to go eat.
• Cheng Lang and Qin Mu teased and kissed each other before joining the others for breakfast.
• Cheng Lang proposed selling Suzhou boat pastries through the milk tea shop, and Jin Huaiyuan suggested seeking cultural and creative industry support.
• Qin Mu served porridge to everyone while Cheng Lang and Jin Huaiyuan discussed the business idea.

A snowstorm stranded Qin Mu and Cheng Lang at a tea garden, where they spent the day together and shared meals with the other guests. Qin Mu enjoyed Luo Pu’s cooking and explained that his mother had taught him to compare managing a company to preparing a dish.

• Qin Mu called Assistant Hu to report that he and Cheng Lang were trapped by the snow and arranged for Cheng Lang to miss work at White Jade Capital.
• Qin Mu overheard Cheng Lang arguing with an agency over contract terms for Meng Tianye, then spent the morning handling documents and video conferences.
• Cheng Lang brought Qin Mu fruit and said he had waited to eat lunch with him, lifting Qin Mu’s mood.
• Luo Pu cooked a tea-themed banquet, and Jin Kui and his wife praised the dishes while discussing Luo Pu’s cooking and their own retirement.
• Qin Mu praised Luo Pu’s Tieguanyin-Braised Goose and compared good cooking to managing a company, recalling that his mother had taught him the analogy.

At Luo Pu’s tea garden, Qin Mu cooked for Cheng Lang and tried to make him willingly live with him, while their companions praised Qin Mu and played mahjong during the snowfall. Cheng Lang grew closer to the group of craftsmen and was invited by Mama Jin to spend New Year with her family.

• Mrs. Weng taught Qin Mu cooking and management over the years, and Qin Mu took over the Weng Group after her death.
• Luo Pu taught Qin Mu to cook, and Qin Mu served Cheng Lang Longjing Pork Ribs while urging him to live together willingly.
• Mama Jin praised Qin Mu’s cooking and teased Jin Huaiyuan about being single, while Cheng Lang encouraged Qin Mu.
• As the snow kept everyone at the tea garden, Luo Pu arranged tea and poetry, but the guests chose to play mahjong instead.
• Cheng Lang chatted with the master craftsmen while playing mahjong, won about three hundred yuan, and Mama Jin invited him to her home for New Year.