Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Cowherd and Weaver Girl”

Key plot points and events

• Madam Huang and Jing Xiaoyi arrive together at Pine-Wave Pavilion for a gathering of military families, with Jing Yi accompanying them.
• Jing Xiaoyi makes a tactful first impression on Madam Huang by thanking her and Madam Chen for arranging the meeting and expressing admiration for their close friendship. His words are sincere, careful, and flattering without being excessive.
• Madam Huang, despite appearing carefree and straightforward, is internally recognized as highly calculating and experienced. She quickly becomes lively and friendly with Jing Xiaoyi.
• Madam Chen arrives late, as befits her position as the most influential person in the Military District. Her decision to bring Madam Huang is revealed to be deliberate: she wants to prevent people from focusing on Jing Yi’s status as a young widower.
• At the gathering, the attendees initially focus on Jing Xiaoyi’s striking appearance. His beauty and charisma overwhelm even the presence of Madam Chen and Madam Huang.
• Once people learn that he is Major Qin’s newlywed husband, a minor celebrity, and the son of a councilman, their admiration shifts into pity. They assume that, because Major Qin died in battle, Jing Yi will remain a lonely widower who cannot remarry.
• The chapter ends ironically by observing that people often derive happiness and superiority from comparing themselves with others.

Character developments

• Jing Xiaoyi/Jing Yi: He demonstrates social intelligence, restraint, and sincerity. Rather than relying on bold or inappropriate flattery, he carefully praises Madam Huang’s relationship with Madam Chen. His striking appearance gives him considerable social impact, though others interpret his situation through pity rather than truly understanding him.
• Madam Huang: She is shown to be perceptive, experienced, and strategically minded beneath her cheerful exterior. She recognizes Jing Xiaoyi’s cleverness and unusual combination of beauty and naïveté.
• Madam Chen: Her thoughtfulness and awareness of social judgment are emphasized. By bringing Madam Huang, she protects Jing Yi from becoming the object of gossip and pity over his supposed widowhood.
• The military families: They are portrayed as highly competitive and concerned with appearances, constantly comparing spouses, ranks, relationships, children, and possessions.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Jing Xiaoyi looks almost otherworldly and intimidating, but is actually sincere and socially cautious. Madam Huang appears simple and carefree, yet is deeply scheming.
• Social performance and gossip: The gathering is less about genuine connection than about status, appearances, and how families are perceived.
• Pity and mistaken assumptions: The guests reduce Jing Yi’s life to the label of “widower,” judging his future and family situation without knowing the truth.
• Comparison as social competition: Military families evaluate themselves against one another, and even sympathy is shaped by relative status and perceived happiness.
• Protective friendship: Madam Chen’s arrangement shows how friendship can involve subtle, strategic efforts to shield someone from humiliation.

Character interactions

• Jing Xiaoyi carefully ingratiates himself with Madam Huang, thanking her and complimenting her bond with Madam Chen.
• Madam Huang responds positively and chats animatedly with him, while privately assessing his intelligence and personality.
• Madam Chen’s interaction with Jing Yi is indirect but meaningful: by arranging Madam Huang’s presence, she manages the social atmosphere on his behalf.
• The gathering’s attendees collectively interact with Jing Yi through their looks, speculation, and gossip, first viewing him with fascination and then with condescending sympathy.

Chapter Summary

• Jing Yi at the military families’ gathering: Jing Yi’s status as the “widow” of the late Major Qin protects him from the jealousy and hostility that would have followed if he and Qin had appeared together as a couple. Instead, people approach him warmly, partly out of respect for Madam Chen and Madam Huang. Several attendees ask to take photos with him, inquire about his clothes, and seek details about the food featured in his videos.
• Jing Yi’s social skill and development: Madam Chen initially worries that Jing Yi will be shy or overwhelmed, but she soon realizes that he handles social situations with remarkable tact. He knows when to smile and cooperate and when to refuse firmly. His polished behavior contrasts with his delicate, almost fairy-like appearance, suggesting that hardship has shaped him into someone perceptive, controlled, and socially capable.
• Madam Huang’s observations: Madam Huang points out how Jing Yi has transformed the room’s attitude. Although people initially found his beauty intimidating and reacted with hostility, he gradually wins them over through his natural charm. She criticizes Jing Yi’s father for abandoning such a valuable and captivating child to the Qin family, calling the Jing family disgraceful and expressing sympathy for Qin Meng.
• Qin’s covert mission: While Jing Yi attends the gathering, Major Qin and his four-man squad infiltrate Reverse Order’s headquarters under the identities of low-ranking transport workers. Their cover gives them access to dull, routine tasks while keeping them beneath notice. They must act quickly, since remaining undercover too long could expose them.
• Progress at Reverse Order’s base: The squad has finally located the “box” containing crucial intelligence. Their remaining objective is to steal it and escape. During the day, they sort ore and perform basic machine-monitoring work; at night, they conduct reconnaissance and prepare for the theft. Their boring duties allow them to rest intermittently using their practiced ability to “sleep with their eyes open.”
• The squad’s comic subplot: Brown Bear checks the website for the next installment of Eagle Sis-in-law’s highly addictive comic, but discovers that no update has appeared. The men jokingly speculate that the missing update is because Eagle Sis-in-law attended the military families’ gathering that day—implicitly linking the comic’s creator to Jing Yi.

Key Themes

• Beauty versus personality: The chapter contrasts Jing Yi’s striking appearance with the deeper power of his tact, warmth, and natural likability.
• Social perception and jealousy: His “widow” identity changes how others treat him, showing how status and relationships shape public reactions.
• Hardship shaping character: Jing Yi’s emotional intelligence and controlled manners appear to be products of difficult experiences rather than natural privilege.
• Parallel lives and hidden identities: Jing Yi is navigating high society while Qin operates undercover, emphasizing the contrast between their public and secret lives.
• Humor amid danger: The squad’s obsession with the comic provides comic relief alongside the seriousness of their espionage mission.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Brown Bear relentlessly teases Eagle Bro about Jing Yi, calling him “Eagle Sis-in-law” and joking that Eagle Bro has attracted many romantic rivals.
• Eagle Bro grows increasingly irritated but cannot immediately retaliate, especially because the group is in the middle of an important situation.
• Brown Bear discovers that Jing Yi’s newly posted photos have gone viral. The images, emphasizing Jing Yi’s striking appearance and charm, are rapidly reposted, liked, and pushed onto the trending charts.
• The rest of the five-man team—Lone Wolf, Tiger Cub, Brown Bear, Monkey, and Eagle Bro—look at the photos and collectively develop a strong sense of foreboding. Even Eagle Bro is visibly affected by Jing Yi’s appeal.
• Jing Yi’s popularity sparks debate online. Some criticize society for paying more attention to a handsome internet celebrity than to soldiers, scientists, and engineers, while others are forced to acknowledge that Jing Yi possesses genuine talent beyond his looks.
• Jing Yi releases the second episode of his comic. In it, the clever Jing Xiaoyi tries to help Qin Xiaomeng overcome his fear of insects by suggesting they eat roasted bugs.
• Qin Xiaomeng is horrified and refuses, attempting to leave. Jing Xiaoyi, unwilling to let the “heroic big brother” he admires go, prepares to persuade him further.

Character Developments

• Eagle Bro becomes increasingly flustered and defensive about his relationship with Jing Yi. His irritation at Brown Bear’s teasing contrasts with his inability to deny that Jing Yi is exceptionally attractive.
• Brown Bear acts as the group provocateur, deliberately escalating Eagle Bro’s embarrassment. Despite his crude jokes, he is genuinely impressed by Jing Yi’s popularity and appearance.
• The other team members show unusual unity as they all recognize Jing Yi’s overwhelming public appeal and sense that his fame may create complications.
• Jing Yi continues to establish himself as more than a beautiful face. His comic demonstrates creativity, a mischievous personality, and a talent for entertaining the public.
• Qin Xiaomeng remains easily frightened by insects but is also vulnerable to Jing Xiaoyi’s charm, becoming briefly distracted by his appearance.

Significant Themes

• Beauty and public attention: Jing Yi’s appearance brings him enormous fame, provoking both admiration and resentment.
• Talent versus appearance: The public debates whether Jing Yi is famous only because of his face, but his successful comic suggests that he also has real creative ability.
• Romantic jealousy and embarrassment: Brown Bear’s teasing highlights Eagle Bro’s possessiveness and discomfort regarding Jing Yi’s many admirers.
• Humor through contrast: The chapter contrasts Eagle Bro’s serious, intimidating persona with Brown Bear’s shameless teasing and Jing Yi’s absurdly cute comic scenarios.
• The power of media: Jing Yi’s photos and comic spread rapidly online, showing how quickly public opinion and celebrity status can develop.

Character Interactions

• Brown Bear repeatedly provokes Eagle Bro by labeling Jing Yi his “sis-in-law” and joking about Jing Yi’s admirers.
• Eagle Bro responds with anger and denial, though his reaction to the photos suggests that he is also captivated by Jing Yi.
• The entire team bonds over their shared reaction to Jing Yi’s viral popularity and their collective feeling that trouble is approaching.
• In the comic, Jing Xiaoyi tries to help Qin Xiaomeng through an unconventional and comedic plan, while Qin Xiaomeng resists but is still affected by Jing Xiaoyi’s charm.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

The chapter continues the childhood story of Xiao Yi and Qin Xiaomeng. Xiao Yi begs Qin Xiaomeng to stay for five minutes so he can roast some bugs, believing that fire will make them delicious. His first attempt fails spectacularly, leaving the bugs burned into foul-smelling charcoal. Despite vomiting after pretending to enjoy them, Xiao Yi promises to learn how to cook bugs properly and asks Qin Xiaomeng to remember him. Qin gives him his name but leaves without looking back, and Xiao Yi introduces himself as Jing Xiaoyi/Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi keeps his promise, studying and experimenting with bug recipes for years. His unusual hobby causes other children to ostracize and abuse him, but he continues waiting at the place where he met Qin Xiaomeng. Qin never returns. Eventually, Xiao Yi becomes highly skilled at preparing insect dishes, making them attractive and delicious, yet remains lonely.

Character developments

Xiao Yi is portrayed as innocent, persistent, and deeply loyal. His brief encounter with Qin Xiaomeng becomes the central promise of his childhood, motivating years of effort despite ridicule and isolation. His perseverance transforms an embarrassing failure into genuine culinary skill, but it also reinforces his loneliness as he waits for someone who never comes. Qin Xiaomeng appears considerate enough to comfort Xiao Yi briefly, yet his unexplained disappearance makes him seem potentially careless or heartless.
In the present-day framing narrative, readers strongly sympathize with Xiao Yi and criticize Qin’s apparent abandonment. Jing Yi, meanwhile, is pleased by the audience’s emotional response and by their appreciation of his distinctive artistic style.

Significant themes

The chapter explores unrequited attachment, missed connections, fate, childhood promises, and the pain of waiting for someone who may never return. It also emphasizes perseverance in the face of social rejection. A humorous contrast runs through the story: Xiao Yi’s people are drawn unattractively, while his insect dishes are rendered with extraordinary beauty and mouthwatering detail. The readers’ emotional investment demonstrates the power of art to create empathy and shared feelings.

Character interactions

Xiao Yi repeatedly pleads with Qin Xiaomeng to stay, tries to impress him with roasted bugs, and asks for his name before he leaves. Qin responds seriously and gently tells Xiao Yi to stop eating the charcoal and go home, but he does not turn back when leaving. Their brief interaction shapes Xiao Yi’s entire life. In the present, netizens passionately debate their relationship, condemning Qin and empathizing with Xiao Yi while also demanding the comic’s continuation. Finally, Fan Qiao contacts Jing Yi from Mi Star to report that Jing Yi’s businesses have been systematically drained and hollowed out. Legal advisers warn that proving the fraud and recovering the losses may be extremely difficult, creating a new serious conflict and cliffhanger.

Chapter Summary: “Manga’s Final Chapter!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jing Yi considers whether his stepmother has stolen or misused the assets entrusted to her. He is willing to overlook limited theft out of respect for his father, Jing Bo, but vows to reclaim everything—with interest—if she has taken it all.
• He instructs Fan Qiao to preserve all evidence while proceeding with their business plan:
  • File for bankruptcy where necessary.
  • Sell unnecessary factory buildings.
  • Recover usable machinery for future operations.
  • Dispose of unusable equipment.
• Jing Yi decides to launch his online food store immediately, beginning with limited quantities and expanding after Fan Qiao returns and establishes the business framework.
• His business permits, health certificates, and other approvals have been completed. He submits recipes for patents and prepares a trial menu consisting of:
  • Two simple pastries.
  • Three Chinese desserts.
  • Three Western desserts.
  • Two cooked dishes made with insect meat.
• Jing Yi deliberately schedules the store’s opening to coincide with the release of the final chapter of his manga, expecting the manga’s popularity to attract customers.
• The chapter also reviews the Five-Man Squad’s recent activities. Their intelligence mission succeeded partly because Jing Yi’s manga provoked “Eagle Bro,” though Eagle Bro refuses to admit it.
• The squad has become increasingly impressed by Jing Yi’s strength and resilience. They jokingly imagine Eagle Bro returning to find that everyone considers him Jing Yi’s partner.

Character Developments

• Jing Yi demonstrates strategic thinking, emotional restraint, and determination. He refuses to let his family’s possible betrayal derail his business plans, choosing to document the wrongdoing and address it later.
• His attitude toward revenge becomes clearer: he can tolerate some wrongdoing, but complete exploitation will provoke a forceful response.
• Jing Yi continues transforming his creative success into financial independence by combining his manga career with a food business.
• Fan Qiao remains a practical and supportive ally. His reaction shows both sympathy for Jing Yi’s family situation and confidence in Jing Yi’s judgment.
• Eagle Bro is portrayed humorously as stubborn and unwilling to admit that his wife’s provocation helped the squad’s mission.
• The other members of the Five-Man Squad develop greater respect for Jing Yi. They initially dismissed him because of his appearance, but now admire his strength, intelligence, and refusal to submit to an unfair fate.

Significant Themes

• Justice and repayment: Jing Yi distinguishes between showing filial tolerance and allowing himself to be completely exploited. Any stolen assets must eventually be returned.
• Resilience and self-determination: Rather than being destroyed by family betrayal or an unwanted marriage arrangement, Jing Yi turns adversity into motivation and builds a better life.
• Strategic patience: Jing Yi does not rush into confrontation. He gathers evidence, stabilizes his business, and plans to retaliate when the time is right.
• Reputation and opportunity: The manga’s popularity becomes a tool for launching Jing Yi’s store, showing how creative influence can create practical opportunities.
• Changing perceptions: The Five-Man Squad’s attitude toward Jing Yi shifts from indifference to admiration as they recognize his capability and courage.
• Humor through relationship dynamics: The squad’s teasing about Eagle Bro and Jing Yi frames their relationship as both entertaining and increasingly significant.

Character Interactions

• Jing Yi and Fan Qiao: They discuss the suspected asset theft and business strategy. Fan Qiao supports Jing Yi’s decision but asks whether preserving evidence means he intends to retaliate later. Jing Yi’s response confirms that he has not forgotten the betrayal.
• Jing Yi and his family: Although they do not interact directly in the chapter, Jing Yi’s thoughts reveal his complicated feelings toward his father and stepmother: gratitude toward his father is balanced against anger at possible exploitation.
• Jing Yi and Eagle Bro: Their relationship is discussed indirectly through the manga and the squad’s commentary. Jing Yi’s storytelling has humorously damaged Eagle Bro’s public image, portraying him as cowardly, dishonest, and unfaithful.
• The Five-Man Squad and Jing Yi: The squad moves from dismissing him as a delicate “pretty boy” to respecting him as a powerful, resourceful person who has fought his way out of an unjust situation.
• The Five-Man Squad and Eagle Bro: They tease Eagle Bro for denying that Jing Yi’s provocation helped their mission and worry humorously about how much worse his manga portrayal might become.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The four undercover troublemakers successfully steal the enemy’s intelligence. Their excitement is heightened by their desire to return home and witness the ongoing drama between “Eagle Bro” and “Eagle Sis-in-law.”
• Unable to leave the enemy base covertly, they arrange to depart on a transport ship the following day. After weeks of undercover restraint, they look forward to joining the Military District’s combat forces and fighting the terrorists directly.
• As they leave the base, Eagle Sis-in-law uploads the final chapter of his comic, which tells the tragic story of Jing Xiaoyi and Qin Xiaomeng.
• In the comic, the childhood friends grow apart: Qin Xiaomeng becomes a celebrated military hero, while Jing Xiaoyi is regarded as an eccentric and remains emotionally attached to him.
• After learning that Qin Xiaomeng has died in combat, Jing Xiaoyi is devastated. He memorializes Qin, moves into his home and former military surroundings, and tries to preserve his memory.
• Jing dreams of their childhood and imagines an alternate future in which Qin finally agrees to marry him after accepting the insect meat Jing has repeatedly prepared.
• Upon waking, Jing realizes the insect dishes had always been an expression of love, affection, and blessing—not merely food. The story concludes with Qin’s imagined thanks: Jing’s efforts helped him overcome his fear of insects.
• The comic ends with the narrator reflecting that, despite its bizarre art style and insect-centered premise, the story is ultimately simple and emotionally sincere.

2. Character Developments

• The four undercover operatives remain mischievous, thrill-seeking, and fascinated by the romantic or comedic spectacle involving Eagle Bro and Eagle Sis-in-law. Their successful mission shifts them from restrained espionage to eager anticipation of battle.
• Jing Xiaoyi develops from an eccentric child devoted to making insect food into a grieving adult consumed by love, regret, and remembrance. Although he briefly collapses into madness and online provocation, he eventually tries to improve himself in hopes that Qin might one day notice him.
• Qin Xiaomeng changes from a shy child afraid of insects into an admired military hero. His death emphasizes the distance that developed between him and Jing, while the dream presents him as affectionate, gentle, and finally willing to accept Jing’s devotion.
• Jing’s persistent care is revealed as a lifelong emotional commitment rather than a childish obsession with feeding Qin insects.

3. Significant Themes

• Unrequited and enduring love: Jing’s feelings remain constant despite separation, social differences, and Qin’s death.
• The pain of growing apart: Childhood closeness becomes an “insurmountable chasm” as the two boys follow different paths.
• Memory and mourning: Jing preserves Qin’s presence through memorials, familiar places, and food connected to their childhood.
• Love expressed indirectly: The insect dishes symbolize Jing’s affection, patience, and hope, even though Qin initially refuses them.
• Regret and impossible wishes: Jing’s dream grants him the relationship he wanted, but only in an imagined reality, making his waking grief more painful.
• Humor masking tragedy: The story’s absurd premise and comic style conceal a deeply melancholic narrative about devotion, loss, and emotional sincerity.

4. Character Interactions

• The four operatives joke together about Eagle Bro and Eagle Sis-in-law, bonding through their shared appetite for chaos.
• As children, Jing repeatedly offers Qin insect meat, while Qin politely refuses; their ritual nevertheless becomes a quiet form of companionship.
• In the dream, Jing asks what would persuade Qin to try the food, and Qin jokingly—or sincerely—requires Jing to marry him. Jing immediately agrees, turning years of longing into a moment of imagined happiness.
• Qin’s final imagined words acknowledge Jing’s devotion and suggest that Jing’s persistence helped him overcome his fear, giving emotional meaning to their lifelong interaction.

Chapter Summary

Plot points and events

Fans are deeply moved by Madam Qin’s tragic but tender love story, especially its unusual portrayal of eating bug meat. Rather than feeling disgust, many become curious and even eager to try it. They discover a link on Madam Qin’s page leading to a small online shop called “Food and Desire Empire.” The shop sells ten kinds of pastries, including the Assorted Albizia Cup and fresh-meat mooncakes made with bug meat. The shop’s announcement is modest and apologetic, explaining that Madam Qin opened it simply to keep busy and share the food he knows how to make. Despite the shop’s limited stock—300 portions of each pastry—everything sells out in under ten minutes, leaving latecomers furious and disappointed.

Character developments

Madam Qin is presented as gentle, shy, reserved, and emotionally vulnerable. His quiet decision to sell pastries makes fans find him even more endearing. Jing Yi, however, is revealed to be the strategic force behind the publicity. He understands that directly using Madam Qin’s tragic story to sell products would seem manipulative, so he creates a subtler connection between the comic and the shop. His marketing demonstrates intelligence, restraint, and a sophisticated understanding of public emotions and consumer behavior.

Significant themes

The chapter explores the contrast between genuine emotion and commercial promotion. It suggests that advertising is most effective when consumers feel they have discovered something naturally rather than being openly persuaded. It also examines human hypocrisy: people who would normally reject bug meat become eager to buy it once sympathy, curiosity, and storytelling make it emotionally acceptable. Other themes include loneliness, grief without despair, innocence, and the power of art to soften social prejudices.

Character interactions

Fans emotionally identify with Madam Qin’s story and interpret his shop as a sincere, almost adorable attempt to cope and share his talents. Their sympathy turns into enthusiastic consumer support. Jing Yi’s indirect promotional strategy manipulates no one overtly but carefully guides the fans toward the shop. Online commenters jokingly attack early buyers for keeping the pastries secret, while others dramatically beg Madam Qin for another opportunity to purchase the sold-out bug-meat delicacies.

Chapter Summary

• The comic and the pastries: Eggache Lord, moved to tears by a comic, complains that others exploited his emotional breakdown to steal the food. A self-proclaimed soldier, “I Am a Soldier,” likewise begs for a portion of Madam Qin’s pastries, claiming he arrived too late. Fortress King doubts him, while Brown Bear pretends to be a soldier himself and even uploads a censored officer’s ID in an attempt to secure an extra serving. His scheme fails, and the others mock him for not considering how the food could actually be delivered.
• Comedic group banter: Brown Bear’s desperation and boasting make him the target of the entire group. Eagle Bro retaliates by vividly describing the delicious food he once ate from Xiao Yi, provoking the hungry Tiger Cub and Lone Wolf. They tease Eagle Bro about his romantic attachment and his supposed grief over the comic’s depiction of his death, while Brown Bear deliberately stirs up the conflict. Monkey, Tiger Cub, and Lone Wolf decide to beat Brown Bear up before eventually joining forces against Eagle Bro. Their joking infighting highlights their close camaraderie and shared familiarity.
• Mission begins: Once the spacecraft leaves the radiation range of Reverse Order Base, the five-man team—Eagle Bro, Brown Bear, Tiger Cub, Lone Wolf, and Monkey—prepares to abandon the transport ship. More than a dozen Reverse Order pirates are aboard, so the team must eliminate them without raising an alarm or allowing any information to escape.
• Stealth operation: They first block the ship-wide communications signal, then methodically locate and kill every pirate aboard, moving with the efficiency of predators. After confirming that no survivors remain, they loot the warehouse for valuables and deploy their concealed mecha, which are coated with advanced anti-detection technology.
• Destruction and escape: The team escapes into space undetected. A timed bomb later destroys the transport ship, making it appear to have been attacked by another pirate group and erasing evidence of their infiltration.

Character Development and Interactions

• Brown Bear is shown as determined but foolish, willing to fabricate a soldier identity to obtain food. His poor judgment makes him the group’s comic target.
• Eagle Bro displays pride and nostalgia when recalling Xiao Yi’s cooking, while the others tease him about his emotional attachment.
• Tiger Cub, Lone Wolf, Monkey, and Brown Bear engage in constant playful antagonism, demonstrating their strong team bond beneath the insults.
• The group as a whole shifts seamlessly from joking and food-related complaints to disciplined, lethal teamwork, emphasizing their professionalism.

Significant Themes

• Camaraderie through teasing: Mockery and exaggerated threats function as expressions of friendship.
• Hunger and longing: The pastries and descriptions of Xiao Yi’s cooking reveal the crew’s deprivation and their emotional attachment to life before the mission.
• Deception and secrecy: The team’s identities, communication blockade, disguise, and staged destruction underscore the importance of covert operations.
• Contrast between comedy and violence: The chapter moves from absurd banter to a ruthless assassination mission, highlighting the characters’ ability to maintain humor even under dangerous circumstances.

Chapter Summary: “Custom-Tailored Prize”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The protagonists prepare to investigate the two remaining Reverse Order bases. Although they have already obtained intelligence about the enemy, they recognize that it could be deliberately planted misinformation, so they plan to verify the locations before launching an attack.
• General Chen has been contacted, and the Military District is ready to send forces into the battlefield once the intelligence is confirmed. The plan is a covert, three-pronged strike intended to eliminate Reverse Order’s forces completely.
• Reverse Order is described as a strategic “testing stone” planted by the X-Star people to see whether the Mi Star Federation will react. If the Federation fails to respond, other pirates and criminal organizations may be encouraged to cooperate with the X-Star people. If the Federation destroys Reverse Order decisively, it can intimidate those potential collaborators.
• Five mecha travel toward one of the suspected bases while the team communicates through their channel.
• Eagle Bro and Brown Bear continue their irreverent argument. Eagle Bro insists that Brown Bear will not live long enough to eat food prepared by Eagle Sis-in-law, while Brown Bear refuses to accept his impending death and threatens to reveal Eagle Bro’s supposedly sleazy nature.
• Meanwhile, Jing Yi sends a prize to “World’s Handsome Number One” at the Admiral Mansion. The prize consists of accessories and specially prepared food, with detailed instructions to refrigerate the food.
• Jing Yi contacts Madam Chen to explain the delivery and informs her that a separate red-boxed gift is included for her and General Chen. Madam Chen promises to pass everything along and encourages Jing Yi to ask for help instead of bearing problems alone.
• Madam Chen privately reflects that she and General Chen have been following Jing Yi’s comics online. Although the latest chapter was emotionally moving to most readers, she found it hilarious because she imagined Qin Xiaomeng discovering the story while secretly checking Jing Yi’s page during a mission.

Character Developments

• Jing Yi is shown as thoughtful and generous. He carefully prepares customized gifts, includes storage instructions, and remembers to send something to Madam and General Chen as well. His concern for others also leads Madam Chen to remind him that he does not need to handle everything alone.
• Eagle Bro remains outwardly stern and mission-focused, but his teasing and possessive comments about Jing Yi reveal a playful and affectionate side.
• Brown Bear responds to his impending death with stubborn humor and defiance rather than resignation. His determination to taste Eagle Sis-in-law’s cooking emphasizes both his survival instinct and his close, joking relationship with the team.
• Madam Chen acts warmly and protectively toward Jing Yi. Her private amusement at the comic’s ending contrasts with her composed public manner.
• General Chen, though not directly present, is involved in the military preparations and is included among Jing Yi’s intended recipients.
• Qin Xiaomeng is indirectly characterized through Madam Chen’s imagination as someone who may secretly read Jing Yi’s work during an active mission.

Significant Themes

• Strategic caution and decisive action: The Federation must confirm intelligence before striking, balancing the danger of hesitation against the danger of falling into an enemy trap.
• Political deterrence: Destroying Reverse Order would send a warning to pirates and other factions tempted to ally with the X-Star people.
• Loyalty and mutual care: The characters’ banter, gift-giving, and concern for one another reveal strong bonds beneath their military roles.
• Humor in the face of death and danger: Brown Bear’s jokes and Madam Chen’s laughter provide comic relief while highlighting how the characters cope with grim circumstances.
• The contrast between public and private selves: Eagle Bro’s serious image hides his teasing nature, while Madam Chen’s dignified behavior conceals her delight in Jing Yi’s melodramatic comics.

Character Interactions

• The military team coordinates through the Team Channel while Eagle Bro and Brown Bear trade insults over Brown Bear’s shortened lifespan and his desire to eat Jing Yi’s cooking.
• Jing Yi speaks with Madam Chen about the delivery, and she responds with gratitude and concern for his wellbeing.
• Although Jing Yi is unaware of it, his gifts and comics connect him emotionally to the military characters. Madam Chen and General Chen follow his work, while the others’ joking argument centers on their shared affection for him.

Page 70 Summary

• Plot and events: Madam Chen receives three packages from Jing Yi, sent as prizes for the mysterious “World’s Handsome Number One.” She and General Chen eagerly inspect the gifts. One red box contains a beautifully decorated cream cake for them, featuring miniature likenesses of the couple dressed in the Tang suit and qipao Jing Yi previously gave them. Despite initially pretending to object, General Chen is delighted. Driven by curiosity, the couple also open the larger package intended for “World’s Handsome Number One.”
• The shocking gift: The second cake is radically different: its base is black, topped with a highly realistic cream skull in off-white, complete with hollow eyes, teeth, and red-jam details. The grotesque design startles both Madam and General Chen. They wonder why Jing Yi would send such an ominous and hostile-looking cake, and whether he somehow knows that “World’s Handsome Number One” is actually Qin Meng. They conclude this is unlikely because Qin Meng’s alias is temporary and secret.
• Character developments: Madam Chen’s amusement at Qin Zhengyu’s matchmaking and her anticipation of Qin Meng and Jing Xiaoyi clashing continue to frame the situation humorously. She reveals her curious, mischievous side by opening the package despite knowing it is not hers. General Chen, similarly curious and easily tempted by food, shifts from mock indignation to enthusiastic participation. Jing Yi is characterized as thoughtful and artistically talented toward the Chens, but potentially strange, provocative, or even vengeful in his treatment of the anonymous recipient.
• Character interactions: Madam and General Chen banter affectionately throughout the scene, teasing one another while sharing excitement over the gifts. Their mutual appreciation of the personalized cake highlights their warm relationship. Their joint reaction to the skull cake creates comic suspense and raises questions about Jing Yi’s intentions toward Qin Meng.
• Significant themes: The passage contrasts genuine affection with mysterious hostility: the Chens receive a warm, personal representation of their happy marriage, while “World’s Handsome Number One” receives a macabre symbol. It also emphasizes hidden identities, mistaken assumptions, curiosity, and the comic tension created when characters do not realize how closely their actions connect to secret identities and rivalries.

Chapter 37: “Jing Yi Back Then” — Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• General and Madam Chen open the prize packages Jing Yi prepared for Qin Meng’s online-fan contest. Instead of ordinary gifts, they find grotesque, dark-themed items: skull-shaped food, nail- and ring-shaped jewelry, bracelets, headscarves, and other accessories decorated with skulls and crossed bones.
• Shocked, the Chens wonder whether Qin Meng specifically requested such gifts. They decide to reseal the packages and pretend they never looked inside.
• The Chens discuss Qin Meng’s expected “resurrection.” General Chen estimates that the Reverse Order faction will be destroyed within about five to seven days, after which Qin Meng can publicly return. Madam Chen hopes Qin Meng’s return will allow him to help Jing Yi with his new shop and potentially develop romantic feelings for him.
• The narration shifts to Jing Yi’s perspective. He confidently believes he carefully selected the dark gifts based on the recipient’s age, military-family background, and dismissive comment that his comics were “ugly as hell.”
• Jing Yi interprets the insult as evidence that the fifteen-year-old recipient is rebellious and in a severe “chuunibyou” phase, leading him to conclude that skull-themed, anti-mainstream gifts would appeal to him. He is certain the prizes will win the boy over.
• Jing Yi then reflects on an exhausting day spent preparing 300 portions of assorted pastries. Despite advanced machinery and the support of his mental power, the repetitive work nearly exhausts him physically and mentally.
• Although he repeatedly considers quitting, delaying the work, or asking for help, Jing Yi forces himself to continue. He believes that once he allows himself to give up, laziness and retreat will become habits.

Character Developments

• Jing Yi: His confidence, persistence, and self-imposed standards are emphasized. He is hardworking and determined, but also comically overconfident in his understanding of other people. His reasoning about the boy’s personality is elaborate yet possibly completely misguided. His reflection also reveals how strongly he fears becoming complacent or dependent on luck.
• General and Madam Chen: They are protective and curious about Jing Yi and Qin Meng’s relationship. Their misunderstanding of the gifts provides comic relief, while their hope that the two men will develop feelings shows their active encouragement of the potential romance.
• Qin Meng: He does not appear directly, but his impending return is important. His family expects him to resume his life soon and assist Jing Yi.
• The young contest winner: Though unnamed here, he is characterized through Jing Yi’s assumptions as rebellious, nonconformist, and fond of dark aesthetics.

Significant Themes

• Perseverance and self-discipline: Jing Yi refuses to let exhaustion or doubt persuade him to stop, believing that giving in once could establish a lasting pattern of failure.
• Miscommunication and mistaken assumptions: Jing Yi interprets a brief insult as a detailed personality profile, while the Chens completely misunderstand the meaning of his gifts.
• Romantic matchmaking: The Chens imagine that Qin Meng and Jing Yi’s increased time together will naturally lead to romantic feelings.
• Personal growth and self-reliance: Jing Yi contrasts his current life with his more desperate past, recognizing that he now has enough resources to live comfortably but still chooses to push himself.
• Comedy through cultural and generational differences: The Chens cannot understand the extreme gothic style of the gifts, while Jing Yi treats his reasoning as perfectly obvious.

Character Interactions

• The Chens privately discuss Jing Yi’s questionable taste and Qin Meng’s future return, revealing their shared hope that the two men will become closer.
• Jing Yi’s imagined interaction with the young prize winner is one-sided: he views the gifts as a clever strategy to convert the boy into a fan, unaware that the recipient may find them strange or offensive.
• Jing Yi’s internal struggle pits his exhaustion against his strict personal belief that success requires relentless effort.

Chapter Summary

• Jing Yi’s relentless work: Jing Yi pushes himself through nearly an entire day of repetitive pastry-making, viewing the exhausting labor as necessary training for achieving his larger dreams. He compares the process to ore being hammered and purified, recognizing that painful transformation is part of growth. To balance the mechanical work, he decorates two cakes as a creative break—one of them intended as a prize for “World’s Handsome Number One.” After packaging and shipping all the orders, he collapses into bed.
• Dream of his childhood: Exhausted, Jing Yi dreams of his life on Earth. As a disabled child in an orphanage, he could not walk and initially crawled on his arms, later using rubber pads on his knees. Despite his physical limitations and poverty, he was cheerful, sociable, and remarkably resilient. He rarely complained, made friends easily, and was well-liked by both the other children and the orphanage staff.
• Natural talent for crafts and socializing: Jing Yi loved craftwork that other children avoided, such as sewing, weaving, and assembling toys. His nimble, skillful hands allowed him to complete tasks quickly and well, earning the most money among the children. He used his earnings to buy seasonings for cooking and candy to share, demonstrating both resourcefulness and generosity. His ability to connect with others came naturally, making him popular and influential among the children.
• Childhood ambitions: Jing Yi planned to earn enough money before turning twelve to start a street stall, become financially independent, buy himself a wheelchair, and eventually help all the orphanage children live better lives. He carefully recorded these plans on cigarette-foil wrappers, showing his determination and practical thinking despite their occasionally childish details.
• Unexpected change in fate: Jing Yi’s hopeful plans represented the life he intended to build, but fate disrupted them through an extraordinary, inexplicable event. The chapter ends by revealing that this turning point occurred when he was ten years old.

Character Development and Themes

• Jing Yi is portrayed as disciplined, optimistic, adaptable, and exceptionally determined. His current pastry work mirrors the patience and craftsmanship he displayed as a child.
• His experiences highlight themes of perseverance, self-improvement, resilience in hardship, generosity, and the unpredictability of fate.
• His interactions with the orphanage children show his natural warmth and leadership, while his relationship with the caretakers reflects how his cheerful, capable nature earned him affection despite his difficult circumstances.

Chapter Summary

Plot points and events

While waiting in the hills, orphan Jing Yi discovers a battered, rust-covered ring-like mechanical object that looks like scrap metal. Fascinated by its tiny gears and complicated structure, he spends ten days cleaning and repairing it with leaves, sand, dirt, and a needle. Proud of his work, he places it on his wrist, but the object suddenly contracts, fuses with his flesh, and causes him to lose consciousness. He later learns that he had collapsed while gripping a live electrical wire. A citywide power outage saves his life, and he keeps the incident—and the existence of his mysterious “Golden Finger”—secret.
Years later, Jing Yi dreams about the event again and wakes to find his palm glowing. He realizes the fused device has reappeared or become active, confirming that the childhood incident was real rather than a dream.

Character development

Jing Yi is portrayed as resourceful, patient, and intensely curious despite growing up in poverty without toys or proper care. His fascination with repairing the object reveals both his technical instincts and his ability to become deeply absorbed in a challenge. His near-death experience makes him cautious and secretive, while his later familiarity with web novels gives him a skeptical, humorous perspective on his supposedly miraculous ability. Rather than expecting an all-powerful cheat, he views it as relatively underwhelming.

Character interactions

Jing Yi’s friends return from gathering food while he is still repairing the object, and he later joins them in roasting grasshoppers. They also discover him after he collapses and explain the danger of the live wire. The orphanage staff had failed to notice the exposed electrical hazard, indirectly contributing to the accident. Jing Yi chooses not to tell his friends or anyone else the supernatural truth behind his survival.

Significant themes

The chapter explores curiosity and invention, showing how deprivation leads Jing Yi to turn discarded material into a source of wonder. It also introduces the theme of the “golden finger” or supernatural advantage, while humorously subverting the genre: Jing Yi’s ability is not omnipotent but functions like a fast, reliable electronic encyclopedia. Other themes include luck and fate, secrecy surrounding extraordinary powers, and the contrast between fantastical expectations and a more practical, limited reality.

Chapter Summary

Plot Points and Events

• Jing Yi reflects on his “Golden Finger,” a ring-shaped device that functions only as an electronic encyclopedia. Unlike typical enhancement systems, it does not force him to study, guide his development, or improve his abilities automatically.
• Although limited, the device was invaluable during his impoverished life on Earth, giving him access to knowledge and helping him escape poverty while also enriching him intellectually and spiritually.
• Jing Yi views the Golden Finger as more than a tool: it is like family and a part of his body. He deeply regrets losing it after transmigrating to the alien planet.
• The device unexpectedly reappears as a familiar light screen. Jing Yi is overwhelmed with joy and enthusiastically experiments with it, recalling how he first learned to use it as a child.
• When he asks why it has appeared only now, the device explains that it previously lacked the necessary energy—not ordinary electricity, but some other kind of energy.
• Jing Yi tests whether the device has become more responsive or intelligent. It refuses to answer several questions, including why it is no longer in bracelet form, but eventually admits that it was responsible for his travel through time and space and his resurrection.
• Jing Yi thanks the device sincerely, accepting that its intervention allowed him to live again and experience another extraordinary world.

Character Development

• Jing Yi’s optimism and resilience are emphasized. He habitually focuses on what can be appreciated and changed rather than dwelling on suffering.
• He recognizes that he would have survived through his own efforts, but honestly acknowledges how much the Golden Finger accelerated his material and personal growth.
• His reaction to the device’s return reveals deep emotional attachment. He treats it as a beloved companion rather than a mere instrument.
• Jing Yi remains curious and playful, eagerly probing the device’s limits while also becoming more aware that it may possess intelligence and agency.
• His response to learning that the device caused his reincarnation is notably calm and grateful rather than fearful or accusatory.

Significant Themes

• Gratitude and acceptance: Jing Yi believes in accepting unavoidable hardship while changing what lies within one’s control.
• Resilience and self-improvement: His life demonstrates that people can rise from poverty and adversity through persistence, even when unexpected help makes the journey easier.
• The value of knowledge: The Golden Finger’s greatest contribution is not supernatural power but access to information, allowing Jing Yi to become spiritually and intellectually richer.
• Emotional value beyond usefulness: Jing Yi cherishes the device because of its history and companionship, suggesting that sentimental worth cannot be measured by practical function.
• Life as a second chance: The revelation that the device enabled his resurrection reinforces the idea that his new life is both miraculous and something he consciously appreciates.

Character Interactions

• Jing Yi’s main interaction is with the Golden Finger, which communicates through brief text on the light screen.
• Their exchange reveals a familiar but unusual relationship: Jing Yi asks personal questions with affection and curiosity, while the device remains mostly silent, evasive, and “democratic” in refusing to control him.
• Its hesitant admission—“...Yes”—that it caused his transmigration creates a moment of emotional connection, ending with Jing Yi offering heartfelt thanks.

Chapter Summary: The Heartache of Foodies

Key plot points and events

• Jing Yi asks the transformed wristband what it needs. It explains that it requires spiritual power and specially made Energy Cards, though the required technology is beyond what Mi Star currently possesses.
• Jing Yi agrees to help and jokingly gives the device the nickname “Diandian,” while it insists its formal name is “Zero Point.”
• Zero Point provides Jing Yi with a complicated Energy Card blueprint, materials list, and processing instructions. It also transfers the information directly to his terminal, revealing a function Jing Yi did not know it had and making him realize that much of his previous manual copying had been unnecessary.
• While Jing Yi begins studying and simulating the Energy Card designs, Yang Chun calls to say he has been assigned an unexpected mission and cannot attend Jing Yi’s housewarming feast. He has sent a gift instead.
• Jing Yi remembers that the feast is happening that day and panics because he has not prepared the food or finished the prizes for the nine remaining lucky fans.
• He plans to provide all ten winners with identical prizes: a twelve-inch cake and a stylish set of jewelry made from relatively inexpensive materials.

Character developments

• Jing Yi becomes hopeful and emotionally comforted by Zero Point’s return, admitting that he no longer feels as lonely now that they are together.
• He demonstrates his resourcefulness and determination by accepting the difficult task of developing advanced Energy Cards.
• His absent-mindedness and tendency to become overwhelmed are highlighted when he forgets his own housewarming banquet until Yang Chun reminds him.
• Jing Yi is deeply concerned with fairness and public perception, especially regarding the fan prizes. Although he made one prize first out of personal preference, he resolves to ensure all winners receive equivalent gifts.
• Zero Point shows increased usefulness and independence, communicating efficiently through Jing Yi’s terminal while maintaining its characteristically terse demeanor.

Significant themes

• Companionship and emotional dependence: Zero Point’s return gives Jing Yi reassurance and relieves his loneliness.
• Technology and adaptation: Jing Yi must bridge the gap between advanced Energy Card technology and his limited local resources.
• Humor in everyday life: The naming exchange between Jing Yi and Zero Point, along with the revelation that the device could have transferred information all along, creates comic relief.
• Fairness and social reputation: Jing Yi worries about treating his fans equally and making a good impression on his new neighbors.
• Food and hospitality: The housewarming feast represents Jing Yi’s effort to build relationships and integrate into his community.

Character interactions

• Jing Yi and Zero Point share a warm, teasing relationship. Jing Yi expresses gratitude and affection, while Zero Point responds minimally but assists him through practical actions.
• Jing Yi and Yang Chun have a friendly and considerate exchange. Yang Chun apologizes for missing the feast, and Jing Yi worries about his safety and General Chen’s involvement.
• Jing Yi’s relationship with the wider neighborhood is still developing; he has invited neighbors to the feast as a way of establishing goodwill in his new home.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jing Yi orders several divided hotpot pots for delivery, deciding that hotpot is the most efficient meal for the upcoming feast.
• He prepares a rich broth using enormous beast bones and newly acquired seasonings, planning to simmer it for ten hours.
• Jing Yi also sets aside various types of insect meat, beast meat, and inexpensive offal, intending to dedicate one hotpot section to organ meats for those willing to try them.
• While the broth simmers, he works on cakes for the remaining nine competition winners. Each cake is personalized, including:
  • A dreamy peach-blossom cake for a fourteen-year-old girl.
  • A fierce beast-mecha cake for an eighteen-year-old aspiring mecha pilot.
• He experiments with vividly colored cream and enjoys the artistic process of decorating the cakes.
• The aromas of cake and food escape his home, driving the neighboring food lovers into intense frustration. They consider buying his products online and hope that, as neighbors, they might gain advance information about his shop updates.

Character Development

• Jing Yi demonstrates practical creativity by choosing hotpot as a simple but impressive way to feed many people.
• His resourcefulness is evident in his willingness to use inexpensive offal and unfamiliar ingredients, recognizing their culinary value despite local prejudice against them.
• His artistic passion re-emerges through cake decoration. Unlike the repetitive work he disliked the previous day, designing cakes puts him in a positive mood and allows him to express his creativity.
• Jing Yi continues building his reputation as an exceptional cook and baker, even though others cannot replicate his results.

Significant Themes

• Cultural differences in food: Mi Star society rejects offal because of its appearance, smell, and limited seasoning traditions, while Jing Yi brings a broader culinary perspective.
• Creativity and craftsmanship: Cake-making becomes an artistic outlet for Jing Yi, connecting his culinary work to his love of painting.
• Scarcity and demand: His food is so desirable that neighbors are willing to compete fiercely for limited online sales slots.
• Innovation and adaptation: Jing Yi adapts familiar Earth cooking methods to unfamiliar beast ingredients, transforming cheap or overlooked materials into valuable dishes.
• Sensory influence: The irresistible smells from his home become a source of both admiration and torment for those around him.

Character Interactions

• Jing Yi previously obtained the bones, meats, and organs from a captain at the “blood and flesh factory.” The captain was bewildered by Jing Yi’s insistence on buying offal but remained accommodating and encouraged him to return.
• Jing Yi’s unseen husband has apparently provided some of the household ingredients, including the items whose aromas are filling the home.
• The neighbors repeatedly debate whether to ask Jing Yi for food, but embarrassment and awareness that his products are for sale stop them.
• Instead, they gather around the Food and Desire Empire page, hoping to secure an advantage by learning exactly when Jing Yi will list his next products.

Chapter Summary: “The Rich Aroma!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Customers who successfully bought Madam Qin’s pastries flood the online feed with photos and enthusiastic reviews, frustrating those who missed out.
• Buyers describe all ten pastries as extraordinarily delicious, especially the pastries containing bug meat:
  • Buyer No. 1 admits that the bug-meat pastries were the best and even refuses to give them to his dog, Qiuqiu.
  • Buyer No. 2 gives a detailed account of the flaky fruit crisps, soft desserts, puddings, cakes, and bug-meat mooncakes and Albizia Cups. He is astonished that the supposedly unappealing bug meat tastes delicious.
  • Buyer No. 3 recounts fighting with siblings over how to divide the pastries, only to regret having to share them.
  • Buyer No. 4 demands that Madam Qin greatly increase production, insisting that customers are willing to pay any price.
• The unsuccessful customers repeatedly refresh the page, desperate for another chance to buy the pastries and increasingly irritated by the reviews and photos.
• Despite the intense demand, no new product listing appears by noon.
• The narrative shifts to Madam Qin—Jing Yi—who has largely forgotten about his online shop because he is overwhelmed with other work.
• With Zero Point once again appearing on his right hand, Jing Yi gains access to expanded knowledge and inspiration regarding ingredients and food presentation.

Character Developments

• The buyers/customers: Their reactions shift from skepticism—especially toward bug meat—to complete admiration. They become obsessive, emotional, and competitive over the pastries, illustrating how profoundly the food affects them.
• Jing Yi/Madam Qin: He is shown as hardworking but disorganized and unable to manage all his responsibilities. Although his food has created tremendous demand, he is too absorbed in research and production to notice the commercial frenzy surrounding his shop.
• Zero Point: Its return significantly enhances Jing Yi’s creative and culinary potential, giving him ideas that exceed what he can recall from ordinary human memory.

Significant Themes

• The transformative power of food: Madam Qin’s cooking changes customers’ assumptions, making even disgusting or taboo ingredients seem exquisite.
• Scarcity and consumer obsession: Limited supply intensifies demand, producing competition, jealousy, compulsive refreshing, and exaggerated emotional responses.
• Human limitations versus advanced knowledge: Jing Yi’s fading memories contrast with Zero Point’s seemingly limitless informational capabilities.
• Recognition versus neglect: While customers are passionately discussing and demanding the pastries, Jing Yi remains unaware of their excitement, creating humorous dramatic irony.
• Food as emotional and social experience: The pastries provoke family arguments, reshape opinions, and create a shared online culture of envy and admiration.

Character Interactions

• Buyers interact indirectly through online reviews, competing to praise the pastries and torment those who missed out.
• Buyer No. 1 humorously conflicts with his dog, Qiuqiu, after breaking his promise to share the bug-meat pastries.
• Buyer No. 3 and their siblings quarrel over how to divide the limited pastries, eventually solving the problem by splitting each one into three pieces.
• Customers collectively pressure Madam Qin to increase production, while Jing Yi remains detached from the online demands and unaware of the uproar surrounding his shop.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jing Yi uses Zero Point to browse, search, and proofread, which dramatically expands his ideas and helps him prepare gifts and designs.
• He creates and packages nine cake designs and nine jewelry designs, adding handwritten blessing cards to each package based on his past experience running a Taobao shop.
• He sends the gifts out by express delivery, then prepares an elaborate hotpot feast:
  • Hand-rolled noodles and homemade dumplings
  • Carefully cleaned offal
  • Thinly sliced insect and beast meat
  • Several dipping sauces modeled after familiar Earth flavors
• He transforms his futuristic living room into a practical dining space by:
  • Storing the furniture in hidden wall compartments
  • Sealing the room with a retractable dome
  • Opening the windows for ventilation
  • Extending a foldable table into a long dining arrangement
• Jing Yi reflects admiringly on Mi Star’s advanced technology, noting that its people have developed highly multifunctional household equipment and are far ahead of former Earth.
• When the feast is about to begin, Jing Yi hears the doorbell. Nearly all the neighbors arrive simultaneously, unable to restrain their curiosity and eagerness to try his food.
• The neighbors become embarrassed when they realize they have all rushed over together. Colonel Wu’s wife is at the front with her two children and awkwardly greets Jing Yi.
• Her children ease the tension by cheerfully introducing themselves and saying they are happy Jing Yi has become their neighbor.

Character Developments

• Jing Yi demonstrates his resourcefulness, commercial experience, and attention to detail. His handwritten cards show that he understands the importance of personal warmth in addition to product quality.
• His confidence and adaptability continue to grow as he combines knowledge from his former life with Mi Star technology.
• Jing Yi also reveals a strong talent for hospitality, carefully planning not only the food but the environment in which guests will enjoy it.
• The neighbors are characterized as curious and highly enthusiastic about Jing Yi’s cooking, despite trying to appear restrained and dignified.
• Colonel Wu’s wife’s children show politeness and emotional awareness by stepping in to relieve their mother’s awkwardness.

Significant Themes

• Technology and convenience: Mi Star’s advanced, multifunctional technology makes domestic life efficient, spacious, and adaptable.
• Hospitality and personal connection: Jing Yi’s careful preparation, gifts, and handwritten notes emphasize that sincerity and thoughtfulness strengthen relationships.
• Cultural exchange: Jing Yi introduces Earth-style food and customs to people from a technologically advanced but apparently food-deficient society.
• Human behavior beneath social restraint: Although the neighbors try to maintain composure, their shared eagerness exposes their curiosity and excitement.
• Practical experience and foresight: Jing Yi’s past business lessons shape his present actions, showing how previous experiences remain valuable in his new environment.

Character Interactions

• Jing Yi’s interaction with his future guests is initially indirect, expressed through the gifts and feast he prepares for them.
• The neighbors’ simultaneous arrival creates a humorous and awkward group dynamic, as everyone realizes they have been equally impatient.
• Colonel Wu’s wife attempts a polite greeting while visibly embarrassed, and her children immediately make the interaction more comfortable by warmly welcoming Jing Yi and expressing their happiness about his arrival.

Chapter Summary: The Proper Way to Eat Hot Pot

Key plot points and events

Jing Yi hosts a housewarming banquet for more than thirty neighbors from the surrounding homes. The guests range from infants to elderly residents and arrive expecting a customary social gathering, perhaps with the pastries Jing Yi sells. Instead, they encounter an unfamiliar but lavish hot pot feast. The children quickly become hungry, and the adults struggle to maintain polite composure as the aroma from the kitchen fills the house. Jing Yi opens the simmering broth, divides it into a yin-yang hot pot with mild and spicy sections, and arranges several pots along a long table with raw meat, noodles, and vegetables. The guests are captivated but confused about how to eat the strange meal, so Jing Yi begins distributing chopsticks.

Character developments

Jing Yi is shown to be warm, hospitable, and especially fond of children. He worries about having enough food and is attentive to the children’s hunger, abandoning formal conversation to begin serving. He also remains calm and knowledgeable about hot pot preparation, contrasting with the guests’ growing excitement. The neighbors, initially composed and ceremonially polite, gradually reveal their intense curiosity and appetite. Even the children who usually adore Jing Yi’s pastries become fascinated by the unfamiliar hot pot.

Significant themes

The chapter highlights the contrast between Mi Star’s formal, foodless social customs and Jing Yi’s food-centered hospitality. In Mi Star culture, housewarming banquets are mainly symbolic opportunities to build neighborly relationships, whereas Jing Yi’s feast creates genuine communal excitement through shared eating. The chapter also emphasizes cultural discovery, sensory pleasure, and the way food can break through social restraint and bring people together.

Character interactions

Jing Yi warmly welcomes the neighbors, greets the elderly woman who speaks on behalf of the group, and invites several guests to help in the kitchen. The children cling to or appeal to their mothers when they become hungry, while the adults exchange polite remarks and attempt to preserve their dignity. Once the broth is revealed, everyone focuses on Jing Yi for guidance, silently asking how to eat the unfamiliar dish. His distribution of chopsticks marks the beginning of the meal and the guests’ introduction to hot pot culture.

Chapter Summary

• Hot pot introduction: Jing Yi realizes that providing hot pot for over thirty guests without enough utensils is chaotic, but decides everyone must serve themselves with chopsticks. He teaches the unfamiliar Mi Star guests how to use them and explains the hot pot’s two broths: a nutritious white bone broth and a spicy red broth.
• Food preparation and instructions: He first adds thinly sliced C-grade Brachiosaurus meat, explaining how the animal’s diet and inactivity affect its flavor and fat content. Guests are told to cook the meat briefly, dip it in sauce, and eat it. Jing Yi apologizes for the lack of skimmers, but the guests are too excited to care.
• Unusual foods: Jing Yi presents a second, smaller pot containing animal organs and other specialty ingredients. The guests are initially shocked and admire “Madam Qin” for his willingness to eat such unusual foods. He also identifies bug meat, C-grade Sawtooth Fish, B-grade Velociraptor, and various dehydrated vegetable snacks.
• Guests’ reaction: Once the Brachiosaurus meat is ready, the guests devour it almost instantly. Their physical coordination allows them to master chopsticks remarkably quickly, and even the children eagerly eat the meat their parents retrieve for them. The diners rapidly become competitive, swarming each new batch of food and complaining only that the pot is too small and the cooking too slow.
• Character development: Jing Yi shifts from anxious host to amused observer as the guests enthusiastically adopt hot pot culture. His explanations reveal his knowledge of food and cooking, while the guests’ rapid mastery of chopsticks highlights their adaptability and strong physical abilities. Their growing appetite also shows them becoming more adventurous and open-minded about unfamiliar cuisine.
• Character interactions: Jing Yi patiently instructs the guests, who follow his directions respectfully at first and later abandon restraint in their eagerness to eat. Families help their children, while the entire group competes good-naturedly for the limited food. The guests collectively develop admiration for Madam Qin, believing he personally prepared the elaborate feast.
• Themes: The passage emphasizes food as a means of cultural exchange, community bonding, and shared excitement. It also uses humor to contrast Jing Yi’s expectations with the aliens’ astonishing eating ability. The guests’ initial disgust toward organs and bug meat begins to give way to curiosity, suggesting a gradual breakdown of cultural prejudices and a willingness to try new things.