Chapter Summaries

Chapter 84 Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shi Jihan notices Zhou Jingcheng’s twitching right eye and insists that it is caused by exhaustion rather than bad luck. He orders Zhou to rest in his office lounge.
• Before going to sleep, Zhou examines Shi’s face, checking whether he has been injured during the earlier meeting. He then flirts with Shi, saying the only thing on his face is “the face I like.”
• Zhou asks for a “thank-you gift” for helping Shi with his eighty-million debt. Shi responds by pulling him down for a kiss, though Zhou quickly deepens it and takes control. Zero-Zero-Zero awkwardly retreats to the corner.
• On the day Auntie Li begins livestreaming the sale of Hanfang Meridian Balm rheumatism patches, Shi submits a request to the Main System asking for an installment plan in case of mission failure. The Main System approves but humorously begs him to stop working for it after completing the mission.
• At Universal Company’s livestream studio, Shi reunites with Zhou and jokingly claims he missed the cafeteria food more than Zhou. The stream attracts many viewers eager to see the newly public couple and buy the patches.
• Shi receives a mission to sabotage the livestream. Having prepared in advance, he introduces a bizarre promotional skit featuring himself as “Outletman,” a wage-slave Ultraman.
• Xiao Yuan appears as the Evil Capital Beast, while Auntie Li’s production team handles the extravagant lighting and staging. The skit promotes the medicated patches as weapons against overtime, workplace exploitation, and bodily pain.
• The absurd performance leaves the viewers stunned but entertained. Zhou is nearly overwhelmed by embarrassment and disbelief, while the audience encourages Shi to “kiss him back to life.”
• Shi ultimately kisses Zhou on camera, and the chapter ends by noting that Li Changyuan’s production team is livestreaming at the same time.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan remains shameless, mischievous, and highly resourceful. He uses humor and outrageous theatrics to fulfill the sabotage mission while simultaneously promoting the product.
• Zhou Jingcheng shows increasing concern and affection for Shi. He checks Shi for injuries, openly flirts with him, and accepts the kiss, but is utterly defeated by Shi’s chaotic livestream performance.
• Xiao Yuan participates in the skit as the Evil Capital Beast, demonstrating his willingness to support Shi despite the humiliating role.
• Auntie Li becomes a successful livestream seller, benefiting from Zhou’s generous commission arrangement and the promotional traffic.
• Zero-Zero-Zero continues acting as an amused observer, increasingly convinced that Shi is more cunning and formidable than the supposedly brilliant male lead.
• The Main System is portrayed as both intimidated by and dependent on Shi, approving his request while desperately hoping he will leave after finishing the mission.

Significant Themes

• Romance expressed through teasing: Shi and Zhou’s relationship develops through flirtation, sarcasm, physical affection, and mutual comfort.
• Satire of workplace exploitation: The skit mocks overtime culture, layoffs, empty promises from employers, and workers’ lack of benefits.
• System and authority reversal: Although the Main System assigns missions and controls rewards, Shi repeatedly manipulates circumstances to his advantage and even frightens the System itself.
• Public image and entertainment: The couple’s relationship becomes part of their commercial appeal, with viewers enthusiastically supporting both their romance and product sales.
• Absurdity as strategy: Shi turns ridiculous, improvised comedy into an effective method of completing missions and attracting attention.

Character Interactions

• Shi and Zhou exchange affectionate insults, culminating in a private kiss before the livestream and another public kiss at the end.
• Shi playfully clings to Zhou and jokes about missing the cafeteria food, prompting Zhou to ask whether he was missed as well.
• Zhou reacts with escalating horror as Shi’s promotional skit unfolds, especially upon realizing that Xiao Yuan and Auntie Li are involved.
• Zero-Zero-Zero silently watches the couple’s intimacy and Shi’s schemes, maintaining a humorous, judgmental distance.
• The livestream audience actively fuels the romance by demanding that Shi kiss Zhou, turning Zhou’s embarrassment into another source of entertainment.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Changyuan prepares an aggressive livestreaming campaign to defeat the small Superpowered Neighborhood Committee production team. He secures celebrity endorsements, paid commenters, platform support, and a large manufactured audience.
• Nan Zhuyan promotes a men’s fragrance in an exaggerated, flirtatious style. Although Li’s team suppresses criticism, viewers begin moving between the two competing livestreams because the Neighborhood Committee’s stream is far more entertaining.
• Li discovers that the neighboring stream is using an absurdly long, comedic title and enters it undercover. He finds Shi Jihan staging a bizarre Titanic-style scene: Shi plays Ultraman, Zhou Jingcheng plays the silent “Little Monster,” and Auntie Li creates artificial wind with a blower.
• Shi deliberately provokes viewers by asking Zhou, who is disguised in costume, to respond as his “boyfriend.” Zhou’s participation exposes their intimate relationship and generates huge viewer engagement.
• Clips of the stream spread rapidly across social media. Viewer numbers surpass Li’s inflated count, while the Neighborhood Committee’s product sales repeatedly sell out. The livestream successfully promotes both their merchandise and their film.
• Li returns to his own stream and realizes that its polished, scripted praise cannot compete with the neighboring crew’s spontaneous absurdity. He asks Nan Zhuyan whether they can imitate the format, but Nan refuses to risk public embarrassment.
• Shi’s team performs another ridiculous routine involving four towel-covered “goose eggs” dancing in sync. The performance ends in chaos, including Zhou stealing kisses from Shi.
• Shi completes his system mission to sabotage Li’s livestream and earns Malice Points. The Neighborhood Committee’s stream ultimately exceeds ten million viewers and becomes the platform’s top broadcast.
• Zhou celebrates the victory by announcing a giveaway: one million yuan divided among 2,000 viewers, plus movie-ticket reimbursements for another 20,000 people, further promoting the film’s Lunar New Year premiere.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan demonstrates that his greatest strength is his willingness to embrace outrageous, unpredictable humor. He deliberately turns the livestream into a spectacle and enjoys humiliating Li’s carefully managed campaign.
• Zhou Jingcheng becomes increasingly willing to cooperate with Shi’s antics. Despite his status as a CEO and public image, he participates in costumes, dance routines, romantic jokes, and openly affectionate behavior.
• Li Changyuan shifts from smug confidence to disbelief, panic, and defeat. He recognizes that money, platform manipulation, and manufactured popularity cannot match genuine audience amusement.
• Nan Zhuyan remains professionally composed during the fragrance promotion but refuses to copy Shi’s embarrassing behavior, showing that he still has limits and concerns about social reputation.
• Auntie Li and the rest of the crew are drawn into Shi’s chaotic schemes, emphasizing how thoroughly he can influence everyone around him.

Significant Themes

• Authenticity versus manufactured popularity: Li’s paid comments, purchased exposure, and inflated viewer counts fail against the Neighborhood Committee’s natural engagement.
• The power of spectacle and humor: The absurd performances attract viewers because they are spontaneous, memorable, and emotionally entertaining.
• Public image versus private intimacy: Zhou’s participation undermines his dignified CEO persona while revealing his closeness with Shi.
• Commercial success through emotional connection: Viewers buy the products not only because of advertising but because they enjoy the people promoting them and feel involved in the joke.
• Social media as communal entertainment: The livestream becomes a shared spectacle, with viewers moving between streams, creating memes, and amplifying the event themselves.

Character Interactions

• Shi teases Zhou by forcing him into the role of his “boyfriend,” while Zhou responds with deadpan remarks and covert kisses.
• Li attempts to interfere by posting a provocative comment about Shi supposedly cheating on Zhou, but Shi turns the attack into another joke.
• Li pressures Nan Zhuyan to imitate the Neighborhood Committee’s style, while Nan firmly refuses to risk humiliating himself.
• The entire Neighborhood Committee crew participates in increasingly ridiculous performances, strengthening their camaraderie and making their stream feel spontaneous and inclusive.

Chapter 85 Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The livestream’s viewership surges by two million after Zhou Jingcheng offers a one-million-yuan prize. The event greatly exceeds expectations, generating strong sales and expanding Superpowered Neighborhood Committee beyond its usual audience.
• Auntie Li is delighted by the success, especially because it gives her a chance to revive her stalled acting career. Zhou Jingcheng encourages her, confidently predicting that the upcoming film may make her a major success.
• Shi Jihan takes a secret photo of Zhou Jingcheng still wearing part of his embarrassing monster costume. Zhou immediately removes the costume pants, but the image—and similar photos online—will likely become popular among their fans.
• After the livestream, Zhou showers while Shi Jihan eats the food Zhou ordered and admires the office’s bobblehead figure modeled after him.
• A romantic moment develops between the two men when Zhou returns from his shower. Their kiss becomes intense, but it is interrupted by a video call from Shi Zhongye.
• Shi Zhongye notices Zhou’s suspicious appearance and Shi Jihan’s swollen lips, correctly suspects what happened, and angrily threatens Zhou. Shi Jihan accidentally ends the call, after which Zhou mutes Shi Zhongye’s furious messages.
• On the film’s premiere day, Li Changyuan reluctantly buys a ticket after failing to win one through the livestream. His employees’ mass attempt to obtain tickets becomes a trending topic, with netizens joking that he wants a movie ticket personally handled by Wu Bai because it is equivalent to a marriage certificate.

Character Developments

• Zhou Jingcheng displays strong ambition and determination. He wants his first film with Shi Jihan to win the Spring Festival box-office championship and is confident in his ability to achieve his goals.
• He also reveals a playful, easily embarrassed side beneath his domineering CEO image, especially when confronted with photos of him in the monster costume. At the same time, he is increasingly bold and affectionate toward Shi Jihan.
• Shi Jihan remains mischievous and teasing, secretly photographing Zhou and enjoying his embarrassment. He is also openly comfortable in Zhou’s personal space, eating at his office and admiring the bobblehead Zhou made of him. His attraction to Zhou becomes increasingly obvious.
• Auntie Li gains renewed confidence and hope in her career after the livestream’s success.
• Shi Zhongye becomes even more protective and suspicious of his younger brother, interpreting Zhou’s behavior as a threat and reacting with exaggerated outrage.
• Li Changyuan is portrayed comically as both wealthy and unwilling to spend money unnecessarily, though his obsession with obtaining a ticket associated with Wu Bai exposes his personal interest in him.

Significant Themes

• Success and second chances: The livestream gives Auntie Li an opportunity to return to the entertainment industry and demonstrates how the film project is gaining momentum.
• Public image versus private identity: Zhou’s intimidating executive persona clashes humorously with his monster costume, romantic vulnerability, and eagerness to hide embarrassing moments.
• Romance and intimacy: Shi Jihan and Zhou’s relationship continues to deepen through teasing, physical affection, and increasing domestic familiarity.
• Fandom and public perception: Viewers and online fans transform ordinary events into romantic narratives, especially regarding Li Changyuan and Wu Bai.
• Comedy through misunderstanding: Shi Zhongye misinterprets the situation during the video call, while Zhou’s attempt to disguise his insult as a question about a laptop produces further humor.

Character Interactions

• Zhou praises and encourages Auntie Li, reinforcing their professional relationship.
• Shi Jihan teases Zhou by photographing him in costume, while Zhou tries to regain his dignity.
• Zhou orders Shi Jihan’s favorite food, showing his attentiveness despite his otherwise minimalist lifestyle.
• The couple share an increasingly passionate kiss before being interrupted by Shi Zhongye.
• Shi Zhongye confronts Zhou over his suspected treatment of Shi Jihan, while Zhou attempts to maintain a polite “customer service” persona. Shi Jihan ultimately ends the call to prevent the confrontation from escalating.
• Online commenters continue pairing Wu Bai and Li Changyuan romantically, turning Li’s failed ticket grab into another source of public teasing.

Chapter 124 Summary

Plot Points and Events

• Li Changyuan is hospitalized again after being overwhelmed by online fans shipping him with Wu Bai and joking that he supports Wu Bai’s film. He becomes determined to hate-watch Superpowered Neighborhood Committee.
• At the theater, Zhou Jingcheng and Shi Jihan deliberately create chaos to fulfill Shi Jihan’s mission of provoking bad reviews. They distribute chive pockets, garlic sausages, and candy-colored rubber bands fashioned into wearable “chive-pocket handbags.”
• Li initially expects the film to be dull, but its increasingly absurd scenes—such as residents using a burst pipe for washing and cooking, generating electricity by pedaling a bicycle, and employing a chicken as an alarm—completely surprise him.
• The audience becomes deeply engaged, laughing, guessing what will happen next, and interacting with the movie using the distributed food. Li Changyuan, despite himself, enjoys both the snacks and the film.
• The movie’s ending unexpectedly reveals a warm, healing story beneath its absurd comedy. Li is frustrated that it ends before he can correctly predict any plot developments.
• The film becomes a major online sensation. Trending topics include its theater food giveaways, workplace injuries among the cast, the absurd chicken actor names, and fierce “solo fan” and CP conflicts over the chive pockets and garlic sausages.
• Shi Jihan’s mission is completed, earning him 26 Malice Points.
• Superpowered Neighborhood Committee initially trails the heavily marketed blockbuster The Immortal Delicacies Record, earning 80 million yuan compared with its rival’s 120 million on opening day. By the third day, however, it overtakes the blockbuster, surpassing 270 million yuan cumulatively.
• Zhou Jingcheng celebrates by replacing the luxury billboards outside his apartment with giant golden “Good News” signs. He jokes that the display resembles a marriage certificate because it includes another image of himself and Shi Jihan.
• Shi Jihan is called downstairs to meet relatives. Before ending their video call, Zhou reveals that he plans to sneak into the Shi family home by climbing the wall using a quiet automatic lifting rope.

Character Development

• Li Changyuan shifts from an enraged anti-fan to an unwilling admirer. His expectations are repeatedly overturned, and he becomes fully absorbed in the film despite intending to criticize it.
• Shi Jihan demonstrates his talent for turning ordinary promotional activities into elaborate chaos. He also enjoys observing the public’s exaggerated reactions to the film.
• Zhou Jingcheng continues to express affection through grand, mischievous gestures. His billboard celebration and planned nighttime break-in show both his possessiveness and playful devotion toward Shi Jihan.
• The audience and netizens become extensions of the film’s comedy, creating their own arguments, pairings, and interpretations around the promotional food and movie characters.

Significant Themes

• Absurdity concealing warmth: The film’s ridiculous events ultimately support a comforting, healing story about ordinary residents and Lin An.
• Audience participation and media spectacle: The theater food, online debates, and trending searches blur the boundary between movie, marketing, and fan performance.
• Underdog success: A low-budget comedy defeats a massively expensive fantasy blockbuster through originality, word of mouth, and audience enthusiasm.
• Public perception versus private reality: Li Changyuan’s supposed rivalry with Wu Bai and the online shipping culture contrast with his private enjoyment and reluctant support.
• Playful romance and unconventional courtship: Zhou’s “marriage certificate” billboard and wall-climbing plan reinforce his shameless, theatrical pursuit of Shi Jihan.

Character Interactions

• Li Changyuan repeatedly clashes with nurses, ticket staff, and fellow moviegoers over assumptions that he is a CP fan, while the audience gradually draws him into the film’s interactive humor.
• Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng collaborate on the theater chaos, with Zhou contributing the candy-colored rubber-band “handbags” to Shi Jihan’s food-based scheme.
• Online fans transform the movie’s promotional items into competing pairings, arguing over chive pockets, lotus-root pockets, and garlic sausages as though they were celebrities.
• Zhou and Shi Jihan’s video call ends on a flirtatious note, with Zhou asking about the family’s schedule so he can secretly visit Shi that night.

Chapter 86 Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shi Jihan doubts that Zhou Jingcheng is truly unable to enter the Shi family home and jokes about his boyfriend’s persistence. Zhou confidently promises to come that night.
• Downstairs, Shi Geren and several relatives pressure Shi Bochuan and Shen Qinghuai to preserve the Shi family line. Shi Geren suggests that Bochuan and Qinghuai adopt his grandson.
• Shi Jihan rescues his eldest brother by joking that he has already had eight children through his emperor-simulation game. His absurd claim confuses and frustrates Shi Geren.
• Shen Qinghuai fiercely defends Bochuan, insulting Shi Geren’s shameless interference and threatening to slap the relatives if they continue pushing the adoption issue.
• Shi Jihan notices how dramatically Shen Qinghuai has changed. Once timid and easily flustered, Qinghuai has become sharp-tongued and assertive, largely because of the “training” he undertook after Shi Jihan left.
• Shi Bochuan discovers that their second brother, Shi Xiao, is passionately making out with Xiao Yuan in the backyard. He responds by ordering family-planning products in bulk.
• Shen Qinghuai mistakenly assumes Zhou Jingcheng may be physically incapable of having sex and sympathetically suggests prosthetics. Shi Jihan is mortified but does not correct the misunderstanding.
• Zhou Jingcheng sees posts featuring the other Shi brothers’ romantic couples and becomes jealous that he is the only partner excluded from the family gathering. He decides to come immediately.
• Zhou arrives at the Shi residence and is finally allowed inside for the first time since beginning his relationship with Shi Jihan. He treats the occasion as a major romantic and historical milestone.
• Inside, Zhou becomes jealous when he sees Shi Jihan speaking with a pretentious overseas graduate who is attempting to impress him with his knowledge of London coffee.
• When the man invites Shi Jihan to visit a café with him, Zhou steps in, embraces Shi Jihan possessively, and declares that Shi Jihan is unavailable.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan remains quick-witted and mischievous, using absurd humor to deflect family pressure and secretly feeling guilty about the misunderstandings surrounding Zhou.
• Zhou Jingcheng is shown as persistent, affectionate, sensitive, and increasingly possessive. His joy at finally entering the Shi home reveals how meaningful acceptance by Shi Jihan’s family is to him.
• Shen Qinghuai has undergone a major transformation from reserved and easily embarrassed to bold, sarcastic, and fiercely protective. His new verbal aggression is highly selective and directed toward defending those he cares about.
• Shi Bochuan continues to rely on Shi Jihan to handle difficult relatives, while his relationship with Shen Qinghuai appears increasingly accepted and comfortable.
• Shi Xiao and Xiao Yuan are implied to have deepened their relationship, though their intense public displays of affection embarrass the family.
• Shi Geren represents the older generation’s fixation on inheritance and family continuation, becoming frustrated when his advice is rejected.

Significant Themes

• Family pressure versus personal freedom: The relatives’ insistence on adoption and descendants contrasts with the brothers’ refusal to let tradition dictate their relationships.
• Acceptance and belonging: Zhou’s excitement at entering the Shi residence highlights his desire to be recognized as part of Shi Jihan’s family.
• Changing identity through love: Shen Qinghuai’s transformation demonstrates how relationships can give people confidence and encourage them to become more outspoken.
• Humor as emotional defense: The chapter repeatedly uses misunderstandings, exaggerated jokes, and embarrassing situations to address sensitive topics such as sexuality, fertility, and family expectations.
• Possessiveness and romantic rivalry: Zhou’s jealousy over the coffee enthusiast culminates in a public, physical assertion of his relationship with Shi Jihan.

Character Interactions

• Shi Jihan and Shi Bochuan cooperate comically to fend off Shi Geren’s adoption scheme.
• Shen Qinghuai openly confronts Shi Geren and protects Bochuan, revealing his growing confidence.
• Shen Qinghuai and Shi Jihan share playful teasing, though Qinghuai’s sympathy about Zhou’s supposed incapacity leaves Jihan humiliated.
• Zhou and Shi Jihan communicate affectionately by text, with Jihan reassuring Zhou that he is welcome.
• Zhou and Shen Qinghuai have an awkward first interaction at the door, as Qinghuai mistakenly pities Zhou’s imagined sexual limitations.
• The chapter ends with Zhou interrupting another man’s flirtation with Shi Jihan and physically pulling him close, making their relationship unmistakable.

Chapter 87 Summary

Plot Points and Events

• A man approaches Shi Jihan and tries to ingratiate himself with the Shi family by discussing his tattoo. Zhou Jingcheng interrupts, recognizing the man’s intentions and accusing him of provoking him by speaking to his boyfriend.
• The man hurriedly explains that they were only discussing his tattoo, which he plans to remove because his family wants him to enter politics. Zhou mocks him with an outrageous suggestion about relocating the tattoo, leaving everyone stunned.
• Shi Jihan pulls Zhou aside and affectionately calms him with kisses. Their teasing escalates into jokes about “lip cultivation” and “lip plumping.”
• Zhou invites Shi Jihan to his home for ice cream, revealing that he secretly stored more than a dozen servings from a favorite shop before it closed for the New Year. Shi Jihan suspects Zhou may want more than ice cream, but their suggestive conversation is interrupted by Shi Zhongye.
• Shi Zhongye sarcastically criticizes Zhou for spending the holiday at the Shi residence instead of visiting his own relatives. Zhou happily focuses on being called “younger brother-in-law,” while Shi Zhongye is disgusted by his enthusiasm.
• Before leaving, Zhou gives Shi Jihan his scarf. Shi Jihan wraps it around both of them, and they share a playful kiss.
• Inside the villa, Shi Zhongye mocks the relatives by pretending to charge them for dinner and inventing absurd dishes. His prank causes chaos and reminds him why Shi Jihan enjoys teasing people.
• Zhou drives Shi Jihan to his home. During the long journey, Shi Jihan draws humorous stick-figure cartoons of himself and Zhou on the car window. Their playful exchange continues through jokes, kisses, and pretend “delivery” services.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan remains mischievous, affectionate, and shamelessly playful. Although he briefly considers whether Zhou’s invitation has romantic implications, he ultimately enjoys their intimate banter and companionship.
• Zhou Jingcheng shows strong possessiveness and jealousy when another man approaches Shi Jihan. He also reveals a softer, playful side, indulging Shi Jihan’s antics and caring for him by giving him his scarf.
• Shi Zhongye demonstrates his sharp sarcasm and prankster personality. His interactions suggest he is beginning to understand and even share Shi Jihan’s enjoyment of teasing others.
• The tattooed man is exposed as someone trying to use his connection with Shi Jihan and the Shi family for social advancement, though he disguises his ambitions with polished language.
• Shi Bochuan reacts with amused resignation to the couple’s closeness, while the surrounding relatives become the targets of Shi Zhongye’s humor.

Significant Themes

• Jealousy and possessiveness: Zhou immediately asserts his relationship with Shi Jihan and intimidates the man who appears to be seeking access to him.
• Playful intimacy: The couple expresses affection through absurd jokes, mock arguments, physical teasing, and exaggerated romantic banter.
• Family and acceptance: Zhou is treated as Shi Jihan’s “younger brother-in-law,” and despite the teasing and complaints, his relationship with Shi Jihan is increasingly visible within the family.
• Mockery of social ambition: The tattooed man’s attempt to make political ambition sound noble is ridiculed, exposing the self-interest behind his behavior.
• Humor as connection: Both Shi Jihan and Shi Zhongye use pranks and absurdity to bond with others and entertain themselves.

Character Interactions

• Zhou confronts the tattooed man while Shi Jihan observes and privately enjoys Zhou’s jealousy.
• Shi Jihan physically and verbally reassures Zhou, turning the confrontation into affectionate flirtation.
• Shi Zhongye trades sarcastic remarks with Zhou, while Zhou enthusiastically embraces the brother-in-law label.
• Shi Jihan and Zhou share a scarf, kiss, and continue flirting as they leave.
• Shi Zhongye humiliates the relatives with an invented dinner bill and ridiculous menu.
• During the drive, Shi Jihan’s window drawings and Zhou’s teasing create a warm, playful atmosphere, ending with Zhou kissing him and Shi Jihan comparing him to an express delivery service.

Chapter 88 Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shi Jihan arrives at Zhou Jingcheng’s apartment, jokingly referring to the journey as “Rubber Xiaohan” safely docking on an island of ice cream.
• He is enthusiastically greeted by Pizza, Zhou’s excitable dog, while Zhou struggles to keep the noise under control.
• Shi discovers that Zhou has preserved and displayed miniature versions of Shi’s discarded clothing designs, including the chive-pie handbag, revealing how deeply Zhou cherishes his work.
• Zhou gives Shi custom-made slippers modeled after Pizza, highlighting his unexpectedly cute and domestic side.
• Shi tours the apartment and admires its luxurious furnishings and panoramic city view, only to discover that Zhou has filled the city’s advertising screens with congratulations celebrating Shi’s debut film becoming a box-office success.
• Zhou proudly presents this public display as the “empire” he conquered for Shi. The two acknowledge that they both use manipulative or underhanded methods to get their way, but their exchange is affectionate and playful.
• Zhou gives Shi the mint chocolate ice cream he has been craving. Their attempt to share it turns into a flirtatious, increasingly intimate encounter when ice cream spills onto Zhou’s shirt.
• Shi continues scraping the ice cream off Zhou’s shirt with his finger, inadvertently provoking Zhou. Zhou then licks the remaining ice cream from Shi’s finger and kisses him.
• Their kissing becomes a playful method of sharing the melting ice cream, though Shi remains comically concerned about not wasting any of it.
• The couple move from the window to the bedroom. Zhou initially hesitates because he forgot to buy something and worries about discomfort, but he explains that they should wash first.
• The chapter concludes with a suggestive fade-out, implying that they spend the rest of the night together.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan remains energetic, shameless, food-obsessed, and humorously oblivious to the effect he has on Zhou. His concern for the ice cream repeatedly interrupts the romantic mood, emphasizing his eccentric personality.
• Zhou Jingcheng is shown to be both powerful and extravagantly devoted. His luxurious apartment, collection of Shi’s designs, custom slippers, and citywide advertisements reveal the extent of his affection and willingness to indulge Shi.
• Zhou’s normally intimidating “domineering CEO” image is contrasted with his fondness for Pizza-themed items, his careful attentiveness toward Shi, and his patience during Shi’s teasing.
• Their relationship has become comfortable and intimate: they openly tease one another, share domestic space, and negotiate physical intimacy with trust and familiarity.
• Zero-Zero-Zero briefly observes the couple before logging off, suggesting that even the system recognizes the scene as too intimate or unnecessary to supervise.

Significant Themes

• Love expressed through extravagance: Zhou demonstrates his devotion not through declarations alone but through collecting Shi’s work, furnishing his home around him, and publicly celebrating his success.
• Contrast between public power and private softness: Zhou’s intimidating, capable persona is undercut by his affection for cartoon slippers, Pizza, and domestic romance.
• Playful intimacy and mutual teasing: Their relationship is built on humor, bickering, and affection rather than solemn romance.
• Possessiveness and public recognition: Zhou’s citywide advertisements symbolically claim Shi’s success as something worth displaying across the entire city.
• Domestic comfort: The apartment becomes a private space where luxury, food, pets, and physical affection blend together.

Character Interactions

• Shi and Pizza greet each other enthusiastically, while Zhou tries to prevent the dog from damaging his carefully chosen outfit.
• Shi mocks Zhou’s collection of miniature clothing and his dog-themed slippers; Zhou proudly explains both rather than feeling embarrassed.
• Zhou embraces Shi from behind while showing him the advertisements, presenting his success as a gift.
• The ice-cream scene shifts from playful argument to sensual intimacy, with Zhou feeding and kissing Shi while Shi remains focused on preserving every bite.
• Shi’s teasing and accidental provocation lead Zhou to take control of the encounter, though he continues to be attentive and responsive to Shi’s needs.
• Their final conversation combines embarrassment, concern, and flirtation, ending with Zhou taking responsibility for helping Shi prepare before their implied intimate encounter.

Chapter 89 Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• On New Year’s Eve, Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng spend the night together while fireworks erupt over the city. Their intimate, teasing interaction continues for hours, leaving Shi Jihan exhausted.
• At midnight, Zhou Jingcheng wishes Shi Jihan a happy New Year and jokes that he is another year older.
• Shi Jihan sleeps until the following evening. Upon waking, he reflects humorously on his physical exhaustion and decides that Zhou Jingcheng’s “romantic” enthusiasm may be excessive.
• He checks his phone and discovers that Fermented Black Bean has opened with an 8.0 rating. The production group celebrates with messages and red packets.
• Shi Zhongye privately thanks Shi Jihan for his script and informs him that he has transferred five million yuan to Shi Jihan’s bank account as “pocket money.”
• Shi Jihan excitedly shares the news with his family group chat. His brothers tease one another, and Shi Zhongye adds Xiao Yuan and Zhou Jingcheng to the chat, causing further comedic chaos through absurd group-name changes.
• Shi Bochuan reveals that he intends to transfer the shares left to Shi Jihan by their parents into Shi Jihan’s name. The value is expected to be several times greater than the five million yuan gift, leaving Shi Jihan and Zero-Zero-Zero stunned at how wealthy he has become.
• Zhou Jingcheng returns and explains that Shi Jihan kicked him out of bed early that morning. Despite this, Zhou Jingcheng remains affectionate and jokes that he simply climbed back into bed.
• Zhou Jingcheng suggests shopping for supplies for the evening. Shi Jihan realizes he means more intimate supplies and immediately proposes creating a “shift schedule” for Zhou Jingcheng’s sexual stamina.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan remains sharp-tongued and mischievous, using humor and sarcasm to cope with Zhou Jingcheng’s overwhelming affection. He is also increasingly secure in his relationships and openly participates in playful intimacy.
• He experiences a major improvement in his social and financial position: his script has succeeded, he receives substantial money from Shi Zhongye, and he is about to inherit valuable family shares.
• Zhou Jingcheng continues to be shamelessly affectionate, physically enthusiastic, and deeply attentive to Shi Jihan. His willingness to tolerate Shi Jihan’s teasing and even being kicked out of bed highlights his devotion.
• Shi Zhongye demonstrates gratitude toward Shi Jihan by rewarding him financially, while maintaining his emotionally intense, competitive, and comedic personality.
• Shi Bochuan acts protectively as an older brother, recognizing Shi Jihan’s maturity and relationship and deciding to transfer the family inheritance to him.
• Zero-Zero-Zero continues functioning as Shi Jihan’s humorous internal companion, reacting with him to the unexpected wealth and commenting on his romantic life.

Significant Themes

• Romantic intimacy and domestic comedy: The chapter portrays Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng as an established couple whose affection is expressed through teasing, physical closeness, and comfortable bickering.
• Reward and personal growth: Shi Jihan’s success as a writer and his contribution to the film are acknowledged through both professional praise and financial compensation.
• Family acceptance and support: The share transfer shows that Shi Jihan is recognized and trusted by his family, suggesting his transformation from an isolated “villain” figure into someone valued and supported.
• New beginnings and prosperity: The New Year setting, fireworks, successful film release, and sudden financial gains symbolize a positive turning point in Shi Jihan’s life.
• Humor as relationship language: Nearly every interaction—between Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng, the brothers, and Shi Jihan and the system—uses sarcasm and exaggeration to convey affection and closeness.

Character Interactions

• Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng: They exchange flirtatious banter, kiss during the fireworks, and tease each other about their sexual relationship. Their dynamic is affectionate but deliberately combative, with Shi Jihan complaining while still reciprocating Zhou Jingcheng’s attention.
• Shi Jihan and Shi Zhongye: Shi Zhongye thanks him for the film’s success and transfers five million yuan to him, while their messages retain a humorous, sibling-like tone.
• Shi Jihan and Shi Bochuan: Shi Bochuan informs him about the inheritance of their parents’ shares, emphasizing his trust in Shi Jihan’s maturity.
• The Shi family and Zhou Jingcheng: Zhou’s arrival in the family chat signals his integration into Shi Jihan’s family circle, though the family members comically pretend not to understand the couple’s suggestive relationship.
• Shi Jihan and Zero-Zero-Zero: Their internal dialogue provides comic commentary, especially when they realize Shi Jihan has become unexpectedly wealthy.

Chapter 129 Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shi Jihan jokingly demands “work-life balance” from Zhou Jingcheng after their intimate encounter, insisting on two days off and refusing to let Zhou “work overtime.” Zhou continues teasing and seducing him instead.
• Shi Jihan changes into Zhou’s oversized clothes, which exposes marks left from their night together. Their flirtatious argument continues until Zhou kisses him.
• At the supermarket, Zhou stops Shi Jihan from buying spicy food, searching online for whether it is safe after intense sexual activity. Embarrassed, Shi Jihan abandons the spicy snacks and buys other foods instead.
• The couple awkwardly shops in the family-planning section. Shi Jihan insults one brand with an absurd comparison, while Zhou secretly adds a large supply of protection to the cart.
• During dinner, they pass an advertisement for Superpowered Neighborhood Committee, the film Shi Jihan helped create. Strangers praise it as a successful low-budget “dark horse” and comment that Zhou’s investment made its promotion noticeably different from his other projects.
• This triggers the system’s announcement that Shi Jihan’s long-term mission—to make a disastrous, money-losing film—has failed. He loses 8,000 Malice Points and must repay the deficit through installment payments and daily missions.
• The system also unlocks and reorganizes the next plot route: Shi Jihan must win over Zhou Jingcheng’s parents and help Zhou Zeyang become the family’s successor.
• The mission requirements include gaining favorability from both parents, creating two scenes that make Zhou Jingcheng appear unfilial, improving Zhou Zeyang’s reputation, and ultimately securing the parents’ public support for him.
• Shi Jihan decides to begin by winning over Zhou’s father and asks Zhou Jingcheng about his father’s hobbies.
• At a fishing outing, Shi Jihan meets Zhou’s father. Using the system’s assistance, he immediately catches a fish, impressing Zhou’s father and making the fishing trip appear unusually successful.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan remains sharp-tongued, mischievous, and highly reactive, but he is increasingly comfortable with Zhou Jingcheng’s affection. He also enthusiastically adapts to the system’s new mechanics, even enjoying the volume-control feature installed for Zero-Zero-Zero.
• Zhou Jingcheng continues acting as a teasing, possessive, and attentive lover. He takes care of Shi Jihan by washing his clothes, buying healthier food, warming his hands, and purchasing protection, while deliberately provoking him for amusement.
• Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng’s relationship is clearly intimate and affectionate, with their arguments functioning as playful flirtation rather than genuine conflict.
• Zhou’s father is introduced as an outdoorsman who enjoys fishing and other sports. His initial curiosity toward Shi Jihan creates the opening for Shi Jihan’s attempt to earn his approval.
• Zero-Zero-Zero receives a system “optimization” that includes a volume slider, but Shi Jihan immediately abuses it for entertainment, reinforcing their comedic, antagonistic dynamic.

Significant Themes

• Work versus romance: The chapter humorously frames intimacy and domestic life through workplace and capitalist language, with Shi Jihan demanding that Zhou respect “office hours” and time off.
• Love undermining predetermined goals: Shi Jihan’s successful film causes him to fail the mission requiring a flop, suggesting that his genuine efforts and Zhou’s support are gradually overriding the system’s malicious objectives.
• Family acceptance and succession: The new mission shifts the story toward Zhou’s family politics, especially the contest over whether Zhou Jingcheng or Zhou Zeyang will be recognized as the successor.
• Systemic control versus personal agency: Although the system imposes increasingly specific objectives, Shi Jihan treats it irreverently and finds ways to manipulate or enjoy its mechanisms.
• Affection expressed through care and teasing: Zhou’s practical attentiveness—buying food, warming Shi Jihan’s hands, and preparing clothes—contrasts with their deliberately vulgar and comedic banter.

Important Character Interactions

• Shi Jihan and Zhou exchange flirtatious insults over clothing, food, sexual health, and “overtime,” culminating in repeated kissing.
• While walking in the snow, Zhou notices Shi Jihan’s cold hands, takes them, and warms them in his coat pocket, quietly reassuring him about the film’s success.
• Shi Jihan mocks Zhou’s grandiose “emperor” persona through the hotspot name and password, while Zhou plays along with the joke.
• At the fishing trip, Shi Jihan actively begins his campaign to gain Zhou’s father’s favor, with the system helping him make an impressive first impression.

Chapter 90 Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shi Jihan’s father-in-law, Zhou Yanli, watches another angler repeatedly catch large fish while his own rod remains motionless. Frustrated and jealous, he chums the water excessively, only to lose his bait without catching anything.
• When Shi Jihan tells him to stop, Zhou Yanli suddenly decides that Shi Jihan must be a fishing master and formally asks to become his disciple.
• Although Shi Jihan privately admits he knows nothing about fishing, he improvises increasingly absurd “techniques,” including:
  • Intimidating fish with facial expressions
  • Casting at exactly 67.58 degrees
  • Using bizarre bait made from rice balls, strawberry jam, and Lao Gan Ma
  • Practicing a “pyloric gate” mental technique based on the word pylori
• By sheer luck—and possibly the system’s assistance—Shi Jihan catches several enormous fish, convincing Zhou Yanli that his nonsense contains profound fishing wisdom.
• Zhou Yanli records every instruction reverently, praises Shi Jihan as a genius, and gains increasing trust in him. Shi Jihan receives favorability rewards and Malice Points from the system.
• Before leaving, Shi Jihan gives Zhou Yanli a fish. Zhou is deeply moved because he can finally bring home a fish without buying one from the market.
• At home, Zhou Jingcheng returns to find an elaborate dinner consisting almost entirely of fish. Shi Jihan claims he caught them all himself, allowing Zhou Jingcheng to believe briefly that he is genuinely talented.
• The system then issues Shi Jihan a daily task: make Zhou Jingcheng deeply disappointed in him.
• Shi Jihan attempts to create a suggestive, playful situation under the dinner table, but his exaggerated flexibility stunt results in a painful leg cramp instead.
• Zhou Jingcheng helps massage the cramped muscle. Their teasing turns affectionate and intimate, ending with a deep kiss and Zhou Jingcheng asking what Shi Jihan intended by rubbing against him during dinner.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan: Continues to rely on improvisation, bluffing, and luck to manipulate situations for system rewards. He becomes increasingly comfortable playing the role of a mysterious master, despite knowing that his advice is nonsense. He also remains mischievous and eager to provoke Zhou Jingcheng, though his schemes often backfire comically.
• Zhou Yanli: Transforms from a frustrated, jealous fisherman into Shi Jihan’s devoted “eldest disciple.” His admiration grows rapidly as he interprets Shi Jihan’s ridiculous explanations as profound expertise.
• Zhou Jingcheng: Is amused and impressed by Shi Jihan’s supposed fishing ability, but also becomes the practical caretaker when Shi Jihan injures himself. His affection is shown through teasing, massage, and kissing.
• Pizza: Remains food-obsessed, stealing fish from Shi Jihan’s chopsticks despite having its own meal.

Significant Themes

• Luck mistaken for mastery: Shi Jihan’s accidental fishing success causes Zhou Yanli to treat random events and absurd explanations as a coherent art.
• Self-deception and projection: Zhou Yanli’s desperation to learn fishing allows him to interpret nonsense as wisdom.
• Comedy through role reversal: Shi Jihan, who knows nothing about fishing, becomes the revered teacher, while the older man eagerly becomes his disciple.
• Affection through teasing: Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng express intimacy through flirtation, embarrassment, playful insults, and physical care.
• System-driven manipulation: Shi Jihan’s relationships and behavior are partly shaped by the pursuit of favorability and Malice Points, though genuine affection increasingly emerges beneath the schemes.

Character Interactions

• Shi Jihan and Zhou Yanli establish a master-disciple relationship built entirely on misunderstanding and exaggerated praise.
• Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng share a domestic, flirtatious interaction that shifts from dinner-table mischief to genuine caretaking and kissing.
• Zhou Jingcheng’s amusement at Shi Jihan’s antics contrasts with his willingness to care for him when the joke goes wrong.

Chapter 91 Summary

Plot Points and Events

• Shi Jihan remembers their “mission” and persuades Zhou Jingcheng to test the condoms they bought. After Zhou showers, Shi transforms the bedroom into a romantic setting and performs a deliberately provocative dance in a brown-bear mascot costume.
• His attempted seduction collapses when he reveals SpongeBob SquarePants long underwear, followed by Ultraman and Tom and Jerry alternatives. Zhou is left deeply disappointed, earning the system’s daily mission reward.
• The next morning, Zhou Zeyang sees Zhou Jingcheng’s mocking social-media post about SpongeBob and exchanges playful insults with him.
• At breakfast, their parents excitedly discuss new hobbies and teachers they learned about the previous day. Dad Zhou’s blurry photo of his fishing master appears to show someone identical to Shi Jihan, but the parents insist he is a different person. Zhou Zeyang becomes suspicious and messages his brother about Shi’s sudden interest in fishing.
• Zhou Jingcheng meditates with the Great Compassion Mantra to recover from the previous night’s embarrassment. Shi reappears, and Zhou declares that he will not speak to him for ten minutes.
• Shi deliberately tries to break Zhou’s silence by repeatedly telling him he likes him. Zhou responds through his phone, claiming that the phone—not he himself—said he liked Shi most.
• The two wrestle playfully over the phone, accidentally involving Pizza the dog. Shi lands on Zhou and begins kissing him, eventually continuing intentionally.
• Shi then gives Zhou a supposedly strawberry-and-matcha candy that contains wasabi. Zhou reacts violently, ending his vow of silence and completing another mission: making him angry and overheated.

Character Development

• Shi Jihan remains mischievous, shameless, and highly competitive. He enjoys provoking Zhou, uses absurd costumes and tricks to sabotage the romantic mood, and openly expresses affection through teasing and kisses.
• Zhou Jingcheng is affectionate but easily flustered. Though frustrated by Shi’s antics, he secretly enjoys the attention and responds with playful retaliation rather than genuine anger.
• Zhou Zeyang becomes increasingly suspicious that Shi Jihan may be connected to the mysterious fishing master, although his family dismisses the resemblance.
• Dad Zhou and Ms. Shen continue enthusiastically adopting strange new hobbies and teachers, adding to the family’s comedic eccentricity.
• Pizza functions as an innocent but repeatedly inconvenienced participant in the couple’s physical teasing.

Themes

• Playful intimacy: The couple’s relationship is built on teasing, physical affection, mutual provocation, and humor.
• Domestic chaos: The chapter suggests that living together will bring constant mischief and disorder rather than conventional romance.
• Affection beneath embarrassment: Zhou’s frustration masks genuine delight in Shi’s attention.
• Mystery and hidden identities: The resemblance between Shi and Dad Zhou’s “master” hints at a possible secret or disguise.
• System-driven comedy: Shi’s missions turn ordinary romantic interactions into opportunities for calculated mischief.

Character Interactions

• Shi and Zhou’s flirtation repeatedly shifts between seduction, embarrassment, mock anger, and sincere affection.
• Zhou Zeyang and Zhou Jingcheng trade sarcastic messages, while Zeyang also clashes humorously with his parents.
• Shi and Zhou’s playful struggle over the phone leads to an accidental kiss that becomes deliberate.
• Shi uses the wasabi-filled candy to win their silent-treatment contest, restoring their usual chaotic banter.

Chapter 92 Summary

Plot points and events

• Shi Jihan arrives to teach Ms. Shen’s Senior Trend Fashion Class and finds her worried because her homeroom teacher has summoned her family over her repeated rule-breaking.
• Ms. Shen’s offenses include distributing flyers, interfering in classmates’ arguments, matchmaking on the classroom blackboard, and cooking dumplings with prohibited appliances.
• Her son, Zhou Jingcheng, is contacted by the school and reluctantly agrees to attend the meeting. He initially tries to lecture Ms. Shen about studying, but she defiantly refuses to listen.
• Zhou discovers that several students’ families were also called in, which reassures him that he will not be the only one facing criticism.
• He sees photos of the students’ eccentric fashion projects in the class group chat, including a fishnet vest designed by Ms. Shen. Her suggestion that he wear it for his boyfriend horrifies him.
• Learning that Teacher ZZ will remain at school, Zhou asks to meet him. Shi Jihan tries to avoid the encounter, but Ms. Shen eagerly introduces them.
• Zhou recognizes Shi Jihan’s familiar figure but does not yet realize—or openly acknowledge—that Teacher ZZ is connected to the person he knows.
• Ms. Shen attempts to make Zhou address Shi Jihan as “Grandmaster” or “Great-Grandmaster,” leading to a chaotic and embarrassing confrontation.
• Shi Jihan and Ms. Shen repeatedly interrupt Zhou and turn the criticism back on him. Shi then cleverly reframes all of Ms. Shen’s misbehavior as evidence of positive qualities, such as creativity, intelligence, kindness, and generosity.

Character developments

• Ms. Shen embraces her late rebellious phase and shows no remorse about her antics. She is mischievous, shameless, and delighted to recruit Shi Jihan as an ally.
• Zhou Jingcheng appears responsible and strict, but he is easily flustered by his mother’s behavior and by Shi Jihan’s presence. His authority collapses during the confrontation as he struggles to get a word in.
• Shi Jihan proves quick-witted and highly adaptable. He avoids revealing himself while still helping Ms. Shen, using exaggerated praise to defend her and tease Zhou.
• Zero-Zero-Zero panics about the mission and the loss of Malice Points, while Shi Jihan remains comparatively calm and questions the system’s assumptions.

Significant themes

• The chapter humorously reverses traditional parent-child and teacher-student authority: Ms. Shen behaves like a rebellious teenager, while Zhou is forced into the role of anxious parent.
• It emphasizes playful deception and improvisation, particularly Shi Jihan’s ability to manipulate a situation without exposing his identity.
• Misbehavior is reinterpreted through a generous lens, suggesting that creativity, energy, and social concern can appear as troublemaking when viewed narrowly.
• Family and school discipline are treated comically, with the adults behaving less maturely than the students.

Character interactions

• Shi Jihan and Ms. Shen form a mischievous alliance, with her pressuring him to praise her and him eventually defending her with absurdly positive interpretations.
• Zhou’s attempts to reprimand Ms. Shen fail because she dismisses him and sides with Shi Jihan.
• Ms. Shen repeatedly interrupts Zhou and forces him into the humiliating position of greeting or respecting Shi Jihan.
• Shi Jihan and Zhou exchange veiled hostility and teasing, while Zhou grows increasingly suspicious and frustrated at being mocked by both of them.

Chapter 93 Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ms. Shen discovers that Zhou Jingcheng is dating his supposed boyfriend, who is actually Shi Jihan disguised as “Teacher ZZ.” Believing Zhou is flirting indiscriminately, she attacks him with a feather duster, but Zhou reveals the truth by kissing Shi Jihan in front of her.
• Instead of reacting with outrage, Ms. Shen enthusiastically accepts their relationship and immediately suggests that they get married. She jokingly offers Shi Jihan childhood photos of Zhou Jingcheng in exchange for being allowed to skip his classes.
• Ms. Shen’s favorability reaches its maximum, earning Shi Jihan additional Malice Points. The system then instructs him to advance Zhou Zeyang’s storyline.
• Ms. Shen is called into the homeroom teacher’s office over Shen Zhao’s troublemaking. Zhou pushes her toward the office while telling Shi Jihan to wait for him.
• Shi Jihan cancels his planned dinner with Dad Zhou. Their messages continue their playful master-and-disciple dynamic, with Shi Jihan assigning Dad Zhou the absurd task of catching a three-catty crucian carp.
• Zhou Jingcheng takes Shi Jihan and Ms. Shen to a Western restaurant. Shi Jihan and Ms. Shen turn fries, wafer rolls, and other food into ridiculous “cigars,” eventually persuading a nearby diner to imitate them.
• Ms. Shen notices Zhou Jingcheng and Shi Jihan may be living together, prompting another increase in her favorability. Zhou openly emphasizes how little time he gets with Shi Jihan and how much he values being with him.
• A flamboyant man approaches the table. Zhou identifies him as the former blind-date candidate for Zhou Zeyang and calls him troublesome. The system notes that this man becomes a rejected suitor who later turns hateful and causes problems for the Zhou family.
• Zero-Zero-Zero explains the man’s original-novel role, and Shi Jihan teases it for still following the plot. Their usual playful exchange ends with Zero-Zero-Zero punching him, while Zhou Jingcheng oddly appears to be staring at the system.

Character Developments

• Zhou Jingcheng openly acknowledges his relationship with Shi Jihan in front of his mother and becomes increasingly affectionate and possessive, insisting that their limited time together should be treasured.
• Shi Jihan successfully wins Ms. Shen’s approval despite his disguise. He remains mischievous, quick-witted, and committed to derailing the original plot while maintaining his various relationships.
• Ms. Shen shifts from suspicious and angry to delighted and supportive. She treats Shi Jihan like a future son-in-law and enthusiastically meddles in the couple’s relationship.
• Zero-Zero-Zero continues monitoring the original storyline and identifies a remaining plot threat, though it remains easily flustered by Shi Jihan’s teasing.
• The rejected blind-date candidate is introduced as a potential future antagonist whose resentment may create trouble for the Zhou family.

Significant Themes

• Disguise and mistaken identity: Ms. Shen’s inability to recognize Shi Jihan under makeup highlights the contrast between public personas and genuine relationships.
• Family acceptance: The expected conflict over Zhou Jingcheng’s relationship turns into immediate, exaggerated maternal approval.
• Comedic subversion of social norms: Marriage, parenting, dating, and dining are all treated through absurd jokes and playful role reversals.
• Changing destiny and plot disruption: Shi Jihan’s actions continue altering the original novel, though certain dangerous plotlines—such as the rejected suitor’s revenge—remain active.
• Affection expressed through teasing: The characters demonstrate closeness through mock insults, pranks, physical comedy, and exaggerated complaints.

Character Interactions

• Ms. Shen and Zhou Jingcheng bicker like an affectionate mother and son, with her threatening him one moment and proudly accepting his boyfriend the next.
• Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng flirt and tease each other openly, including kissing in front of Ms. Shen and joking about driving home together.
• Ms. Shen quickly forms an alliance with Shi Jihan, encouraging his relationship with Zhou and trying to exchange embarrassing childhood material for favors.
• Shi Jihan and Zero-Zero-Zero maintain their routine of sarcastic banter and playful violence.
• Zhou Jingcheng reacts warily to both Shi Jihan’s bizarre food experiments and the flamboyant former suitor, while Shi Jihan finds the newcomer’s showiness amusing.

Chapter 134 Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Showoff Bro approaches Shi Jihan, Zhou Jingcheng, and Ms. Shen at a restaurant, boasting about an exclusive truffle-and-raspberry dessert. Shi Jihan takes a bite, compares it to cough syrup and shoe soles, and mocks the tiny portion. His insults generate Malice Points.
• Showoff Bro attempts to criticize Shi Jihan’s table manners, but Shi Jihan’s literal response—and a nearby diner’s laughter—humiliates him further. Zhou Jingcheng finishes the exchange by jokingly calling Showoff Bro’s concert a “Bathroom Singing King Championship,” causing him to leave in fury.
• Shi Jihan enjoys his chocolate lava cake, while Ms. Shen brings up Zhou Zeyang’s lack of involvement in the company. She orders Zhou Jingcheng to bring his younger brother back and train him in acting, public relations, and “brotherly harmony.”
• Zhou Zeyang begins working at Universal Company the following day. He sits through a lengthy meeting and discovers that Shi Jihan is exempt because his contract allows him to work from home. Jealous, Zhou Zeyang complains to Zhou Jingcheng, who assigns him further business duties. A company director then stops him for a private discussion, hinting at upcoming trouble.
• Meanwhile, Shi Jihan signs an agreement making him a shareholder of Shi Group. His exaggerated complaints about being poor prompt Shi Zhongye to transfer another million yuan to him.
• Shi Jihan asks Shi Bochuan for photographs of his deceased or absent parents. He studies the images while Zero-Zero-Zero digitally preserves them, though Shi Jihan admits he does not know what his parents looked like and has only heard that his mother left after giving birth to him.
• Shi Bochuan expresses that he and A-Huai miss Shi Jihan and asks him to visit home more often. Shi Jihan mischievously suggests moving Zhou Zeyang in with them, prompting Zhou Bochuan to retract his invitation. This earns Shi Jihan another large burst of Malice Points.
• Shi Jihan visits Zhou Jingcheng and discusses the “chive” business model: repeatedly exploiting the same people eventually exhausts their money and resentment tolerance, but allowing them time to recover makes them profitable targets again. Zhou Jingcheng explains the idea as sustainable exploitation and advises alternating between harvesting periods and recovery periods.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan remains shameless, playful, and highly observant. He turns social interactions into opportunities to gain Malice Points and treats wealth accumulation like a game. His curiosity about his parents reveals a more vulnerable and emotionally uncertain side.
• Zhou Jingcheng continues acting as Shi Jihan’s witty partner and mentor. He helps humiliate Showoff Bro, protects his brother from Shi Jihan’s schemes, and teaches Shi Jihan an “economics” lesson about managing targets.
• Showoff Bro loses control of his carefully maintained superior persona after repeated mockery. His arrogance leaves him particularly vulnerable to Shi Jihan’s bluntness.
• Zhou Zeyang is forced into company work against his will. He becomes resentful over the unequal treatment between himself and Shi Jihan, who is allowed to work from home.
• Shi Bochuan and Shi Zhongye show increasing concern and financial support for Shi Jihan, though they are also wary of the chaos he causes.
• Zero-Zero- Zero remains an enthusiastic accomplice, tracking Malice Points, storing family photographs, and celebrating Shi Jihan’s growing wealth.

Significant Themes

• Humiliation and social performance: Showoff Bro’s cultivated sophistication collapses when confronted with Shi Jihan’s blunt, literal humor.
• Exploitation and recovery: The “chive” metaphor satirizes how people, markets, and targets can be repeatedly exploited only if given time to recover.
• Family and belonging: Shi Jihan’s interest in his parents’ photographs suggests an unresolved desire to understand his origins, even as he jokes about money and family relationships.
• Favoritism and unequal treatment: Zhou Zeyang’s resentment highlights Shi Jihan’s privileged contractual position and the family’s willingness to accommodate him.
• Malice as profit: The chapter repeatedly turns insults, resentment, and interpersonal conflict into tangible rewards for Shi Jihan.

Character Interactions

• Shi Jihan and Showoff Bro engage in a one-sided battle of status, with Shi Jihan’s crude honesty defeating Showoff Bro’s pretentiousness.
• Zhou Jingcheng supports Shi Jihan’s jokes while also restraining and directing Zhou Zeyang.
• Ms. Shen treats Zhou Zeyang’s career as a family-management problem and assigns him work with little concern for his wishes.
• Shi Jihan’s conversations with Shi Bochuan combine genuine emotional curiosity with deliberate teasing and manipulation.
• Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng develop the “chive” theory together, with Zhou Jingcheng providing the polished economic explanation for Shi Jihan’s instinctive strategy.

Chapter 94 Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shi Jihan continues tormenting Zhou Jingcheng, first by secretly putting soy sauce in his coffee. When Zhou suspects the replacement candy is another prank, Zhou Jingcheng steals it directly from Shi’s mouth, creating an unexpectedly intimate moment.
• Zhou Zeyang arrives with news that Director Wang Ming is encouraging him to challenge Zhou Jingcheng for control of the company. Wang tries to provoke Zhou Zeyang by emphasizing that he always lives in his older brother’s shadow.
• Zhou Zeyang reveals that he rejected Wang’s manipulation and jokingly defended his comfortable position as the younger brother of a successful CEO.
• Zhou Jingcheng tells Zhou Zeyang to prove himself during an upcoming business collaboration. This triggers Shi Jihan’s task system, which orders him to create a proposal capable of astonishing everyone.
• Shi Jihan charges Zhou Zeyang money to prepare the proposal, repeatedly increasing the price while claiming to offer a “friendship discount.”
• During the collaboration meeting, Wang Ming and a difficult brand representative attempt to embarrass Zhou Jingcheng by demanding an unusually innovative proposal.
• Zhou Zeyang presents Shi Jihan’s “Idol Derivative Development Proposal,” which initially appears professional but quickly reveals deliberately absurd and malicious ideas:
  • Idol clothing that becomes more transparent as an idol gains haters.
  • Virtual memorial portraits and paid candles for disgraced or “canceled” idols.
  • A cyber cemetery with paid upgrades, luxury tombstone effects, and subscription-based grave maintenance.
• The proposal successfully shocks the investors and fulfills Shi Jihan’s task, but it also leaves Zhou Zeyang and Wang Ming horrified. Zhou Jingcheng, however, calmly praises the proposal’s commercial potential.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan displays his mischievous, opportunistic nature, combining prankster behavior with sharp business instincts. He turns Zhou Zeyang’s predicament into a profitable side business while using the proposal to retaliate against Wang Ming.
• Zhou Jingcheng becomes increasingly comfortable with playful intimacy toward Shi Jihan, stealing candy from his mouth and teasing him. He also remains composed and strategically supportive during the business confrontation.
• Zhou Zeyang proves that he is not interested in overthrowing his brother and is content with his privileged position. However, he is reluctantly pulled into Shi Jihan’s schemes and becomes the public face of the outrageous proposal.
• Wang Ming is shown as a manipulative older executive attempting to exploit sibling rivalry, but Shi Jihan’s proposal turns his plan against him.
• The investors are initially impressed by the proposal’s professionalism, then become shocked and frightened by its darkly absurd ideas.

Significant Themes

• Mischief and retaliation: Shi Jihan uses humor and calculated cruelty to punish people who try to manipulate or oppose him.
• Commercialism and profit: The proposal satirizes the entertainment industry’s ability to monetize idols, scandals, fan grief, and even death.
• Sibling dynamics: Zhou Zeyang and Zhou Jingcheng’s relationship is based on trust and mutual understanding rather than rivalry. Zhou Zeyang is happy to benefit from his brother’s success.
• Intimacy through teasing: Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng’s pranks increasingly carry romantic and physical tension.
• Appearance versus reality: A polished business presentation conceals outrageous, malicious content, exposing how corporate presentations can disguise absurd or exploitative ideas.

Character Interactions

• Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng exchange pranks, with Zhou’s candy theft turning the teasing into a flirtatious moment.
• Zhou Zeyang seeks his brother’s help after Wang Ming encourages him to seize power, but Zhou Jingcheng responds with confidence rather than alarm.
• Shi Jihan exploits Zhou Zeyang financially while pretending to provide friendly assistance.
• Wang Ming attempts to pressure Zhou Zeyang and embarrass Zhou Jingcheng, but Shi Jihan’s proposal redirects the humiliation toward Wang.
• Zhou Jingcheng openly supports Shi Jihan’s outrageous plan, leaving Zhou Zeyang to face the consequences while calmly insisting that the proposal has strong commercial potential.

Chapter 136 Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhou Jingcheng pressures an investor, Mr. Sun, during a meeting, leaving the man so uncomfortable that he invents an excuse to leave. Zhou refuses to let him escape gracefully and tells him to contact the company if he changes his mind.
• After presenting an important proposal, Shi Jihan orders inexpensive cakes and proudly maximizes his food-delivery discounts. However, he immediately spends 648 yuan on a new skin for his “cyber husband,” insisting that electronic partners deserve luxury.
• Shi Jihan goes downstairs to buy ice cream, while Zhou Jingcheng’s parents unexpectedly visit the company.
• Zhou Jingcheng lies that Shi Jihan is recovering from the mental strain of completing a major proposal by eating ice cream. His parents’ supposed opera tickets are revealed to be absurd KTV singing passes, reinforcing the family’s eccentricity.
• A new system task orders Shi Jihan to ruin Zhou Jingcheng’s reputation and make his parents disappointed in him. Since Shi Jihan is busy eating, Zero-Zero-Zero takes over.
• Zero-Zero-Zero remotely uses Zhou Jingcheng’s office printer to produce an erotic story featuring Zhou Jingcheng and Shi Jihan. The story’s suggestive title and opening scene are read aloud by Zhou’s father in front of the family.
• Zhou Jingcheng is horrified and furious, while his mother becomes embarrassed and disappointed in him. The task is successfully completed, earning Shi Jihan 20 Malice Points.
• Zhou Jingcheng then messages Shi Jihan to come upstairs for a “surprise,” unaware—or perhaps very much aware—that Shi Jihan and Zero-Zero-Zero are responsible for the humiliating story.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan remains shamelessly contradictory: extremely frugal about food but lavish with fictional-game purchases. His priorities reveal his strong attachment to his “cyber husband” and his talent for rationalizing extravagance.
• Zhou Jingcheng demonstrates confidence and ruthlessness in business, but his composure collapses when the erotic story is exposed. His irritation also suggests growing romantic or personal tension with Shi Jihan.
• Zhou Zeyang continues to suffer financially and emotionally from Shi Jihan’s schemes, silently mourning the 50,000 yuan he lost while witnessing his brother’s humiliation.
• Zhou’s parents are shown to be eccentric and socially unpredictable. His mother enjoys bizarre “opera” performances, while his father remains obliviously literal and enthusiastic, accidentally making the embarrassing situation worse.
• Zero-Zero-Zero becomes an increasingly capable accomplice, creatively exploiting previous conversations and successfully carrying out the system task.

Significant Themes

• Comedy through contradiction: Shi Jihan’s extreme penny-pinching contrasts with his impulsive spending on virtual goods.
• Public embarrassment and reputation: The chapter centers on Zhou Jingcheng’s reputation being destroyed through an absurd misunderstanding.
• Family absurdity: The Zhou family’s unconventional behavior turns a potentially serious situation into farce.
• Manipulation and unintended intimacy: The fabricated story draws on Zhou and Shi’s earlier interactions, blurring the line between malicious schemes and genuine romantic tension.
• The system as a source of chaos: The task mechanism encourages increasingly elaborate pranks while Zero-Zero-Zero’s help makes them easier and more effective.

Character Interactions

• Zhou Jingcheng intimidates and corners the hesitant investor.
• Zhou Jingcheng and Zhou Zeyang discuss Shi Jihan’s “proposal,” with Zeyang internally resenting the financial damage Shi has caused.
• Zhou Jingcheng interacts with his parents, smoothly lying about Shi Jihan’s whereabouts while trying to maintain his professional image.
• Zhou’s father reads the erotic story aloud, horrifying Zhou Jingcheng and embarrassing his mother, while Zhou Zeyang is nearly sprayed with coffee.
• Zero-Zero-Zero and Shi Jihan celebrate the successful prank, with the system taking pride in its creativity.
• The chapter ends with Zhou Jingcheng inviting Shi Jihan upstairs, setting up a likely confrontation or revenge.

Chapter 95 Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shi Jihan is emotionally devastated when Zero-Zero-Zero reveals that his embarrassing ten-thousand-word novel—containing secrets about his body, his parents, and his ruined reputation—has been exposed.
• He collapses in an elevator, prompting coworkers to treat the situation like a medical emergency. Their exaggerated concern and absurd assistance, including feeding him wedding candy and taking photos for a company newsletter, bring him back to consciousness.
• Zhou Jingcheng arrives to take Shi Jihan to meet his parents. When Shi tries to avoid the meeting, Zhou uses his photographic memory to recite humiliating passages from Shi’s novel, forcing him to comply.
• Zhou introduces Shi as his boyfriend to his father. Shi suddenly remembers that he previously met Zhou’s father while fishing and had unknowingly become his fishing idol or “master.”
• Instead of welcoming Shi primarily as his son’s boyfriend, Dad Zhou enthusiastically focuses on fishing and criticizes Zhou Jingcheng for distracting Shi from his supposed fishing career.
• Ms. Shen also claims Shi’s attention, wanting him to accompany her to the opera for artistic cultivation. Dad Zhou insists on fishing, while Zhou Jingcheng and Zhou Zeyang also try to pull Shi in different directions.
• The family eventually compromises by taking Shi to the theater. Shi sits between Dad Zhou and Ms. Shen, while Zhou Jingcheng sits on his lap, creating an absurd “human stack.”
• To satisfy Dad Zhou’s desire to fish during the opera, Shi gives him a children’s magnetic fishing toy. Dad Zhou interprets the toy as a profound philosophical lesson about magnetism, yin and yang, and the natural way of attracting fish.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan: Suffers extreme embarrassment over his exposed writing but quickly adapts to the bizarre situation. He remains overwhelmed by the family’s intense affection and competing demands, yet demonstrates resourcefulness by inventing a compromise with the toy fishing set.
• Zhou Jingcheng: Becomes more openly possessive and affectionate, insisting that Shi spend the evening with him as his boyfriend. He also enjoys teasing Shi by reciting his embarrassing novel, though he is frustrated that his parents treat Shi as a teacher or master rather than as his partner.
• Dad Zhou: Reveals himself to be an obsessive admirer of Shi’s fishing abilities. He values Shi primarily as a fishing expert and treats Zhou Jingcheng as an inadequate rival who cannot support Shi’s “career.”
• Ms. Shen: Shows strong enthusiasm for Shi’s artistic development, wanting to introduce him to opera and improve his cultural and aesthetic refinement.
• Zhou Zeyang: Joins the family’s chaotic struggle over Shi’s attention, adding to the comedic pressure placed on him.
• Zero-Zero-Zero: Continues to cause trouble through its system revelations while reacting to the situation with playful, teasing commentary. It also reminds Shi that he still needs to increase Zhou Yanli’s affection.

Significant Themes

• Embarrassment and exposure: Shi’s private writing becomes a source of emotional catastrophe and comic humiliation.
• Family acceptance through absurdity: Zhou’s family welcomes Shi enthusiastically, but each member interprets him through their own interests rather than treating him conventionally.
• Competing forms of affection: Fishing, opera, romance, and family pride all become ways of claiming closeness to Shi.
• Miscommunication and overinterpretation: Dad Zhou transforms a simple children’s toy into a profound philosophical teaching, showing how people project their own beliefs onto Shi’s actions.
• Comedy through role reversal: Shi is technically meeting his boyfriend’s parents, but the parents immediately compete for his attention and treat Zhou Jingcheng as the outsider.

Character Interactions

• Zhou blackmails Shi into meeting his parents by reciting the novel’s most humiliating passages.
• Dad Zhou recognizes Shi as his former fishing “master” and enthusiastically prioritizes their fishing relationship over Shi’s relationship with Zhou Jingcheng.
• Ms. Shen competes with Dad Zhou for Shi’s time, pulling him toward opera while Dad Zhou pulls him toward fishing.
• Zhou Jingcheng attempts to reclaim Shi as his boyfriend, while Zhou Zeyang joins the tug-of-war for comic effect.
• At the theater, Shi resolves the dispute by sitting between Dad Zhou and Ms. Shen and allowing Zhou Jingcheng to sit on his lap.
• Dad Zhou interprets Shi’s magnetic fishing toy as a symbolic lesson, reinforcing his exaggerated reverence for Shi’s supposed wisdom.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shi Jihan earns the final portion of Zhou Yanli’s favorability by offering insight into his condition, gaining 10 Malice Points.
• During the conversation, Shi Jihan is caught holding a child in an unsafe position and smoothly slides down, prompting Zhou Jingcheng to make a suggestive joke about his middle finger and an absent ring. Shi Jihan angrily insults him, reinforcing their flirtatious and antagonistic dynamic.
• In the Unified Realm, the Main System discovers that only two tasks remain before Shi Jihan can be unbound and returned to his original world. It immediately issues a task requiring him to present himself as a reliable successor for his younger brother.
• Shi Jihan learns that his installment debt has been erased, but he is disturbed rather than relieved because he does not want to leave the current world. He asks to remain after unbinding.
• The Main System is shocked by his refusal to return. It insists that Shi Jihan’s continued presence as an external consciousness could destabilize the world and cause the characters to mutate. It refuses his request and disappears after ordering him to finish the remaining tasks.
• Determined to fight the system, Shi Jihan attempts to learn programming so he can hack it. He quickly falls asleep at his computer, abandoning his studies after only a few minutes.
• Zhou Jingcheng finds him asleep and questions his sudden interest in programming. Shi Jihan vaguely explains that he is preparing for a “war from another dimension,” implying that he wants to defeat the Main System.
• Shi Jihan commissions professional programmers to crack Zero-Zero-Zero’s code. Despite their excitement over its advanced architecture and the help of numerous experts, none of them can penetrate the code.
• Refusing to give up, Shi Jihan turns to supernatural methods and asks Xiao Yuan to lend him every religious statue in his home so he can worship all of them.

Character Developments

• Shi Jihan: He realizes that he has genuinely become attached to the people and life in this world, especially Zhou Jingcheng, and no longer wants to return home. His determination shifts from completing tasks to resisting the system’s control. Although he makes heroic declarations about defeating evil with technology, his failed attempt at studying programming highlights his impulsive, unserious, and comedic nature.
• Zhou Jingcheng: He continues to tease Shi Jihan with increasingly suggestive remarks, but also shows a gentler side by rubbing Shi Jihan’s head and asking why he is studying. His observation that Shi Jihan may be referring to Zero-Zero-Zero suggests growing awareness of the strange forces surrounding him.
• Zero-Zero-Zero: The system is embarrassed about exposing its underlying code but remains loyal to Shi Jihan. It is anxious about the Main System’s demands and amused by its host’s unrealistic plan to defeat higher-dimensional intelligence through beginner programming courses.
• The Main System: It is desperate to get rid of Shi Jihan so that Zero-Zero-Zero can improve its performance and be promoted. Its confidence turns to panic when Shi Jihan unexpectedly wants to stay, revealing that it views him as an abnormal and disruptive presence.
• Xiao Yuan: He cooperates readily with Shi Jihan’s increasingly bizarre plan, casually agreeing to provide all his religious statues.

Significant Themes

• Attachment versus predetermined roles: Shi Jihan’s refusal to return shows that he has formed emotional bonds strong enough to challenge the system’s assigned narrative.
• Free will and resistance to control: The Main System attempts to dictate Shi Jihan’s fate, while he seeks ways—through coding, technology, and finally mysticism—to regain autonomy.
• Love as a source of irrationality: Shi Jihan admits that he has lost love rather than merely losing his future, emphasizing that emotional attachment has changed his priorities.
• Comedy through incompetence and contrast: Shi Jihan’s grand ambitions clash with his inability to stay awake during basic programming lessons, while the highly advanced Zero-Zero-Zero is treated as a ridiculous supernatural problem.
• The danger of outside influence: The Main System warns that Shi Jihan’s presence could alter or destabilize the fictional world, introducing a more serious consequence to his desire to remain.

Character Interactions

• Shi Jihan and Zhou Jingcheng exchange provocative jokes, with Zhou using the missing ring as a suggestive reminder of their relationship.
• The Main System and Shi Jihan argue over his refusal to leave, with the system becoming increasingly frantic and Shi Jihan insisting on staying.
• Zhou Jingcheng finds Shi Jihan asleep while studying, comforts him, and questions his mysterious plans.
• Shi Jihan and Zero-Zero-Zero share a comedic partnership: Shi Jihan pushes the system to reveal its code, while Zero-Zero-Zero reacts bashfully and nervously.
• Shi Jihan communicates with programmers online, only to discover that even the field’s experts cannot decode Zero-Zero-Zero.
• Shi Jihan recruits Xiao Yuan for his new mystical strategy, ending the chapter with plans to worship every available deity.

Chapter 96 Summary

Key plot points and events

Zhou Jingcheng returns from shopping to find his home transformed into a makeshift funeral/Daoist ritual hall, complete with statues, incense, cushions, ribbons, and Shi Jihan dressed in an oversized Daoist robe. Shi Jihan reveals that he is bound to a mission system, Zero-Zero-Zero, and must soon complete his missions and return to his original world. This possibility devastates Zhou, who initially assumes he is hallucinating and repeatedly “completes” a tormenting-daily-mission objective simply by reacting.
Shi Jihan proposes taking Zhou with him as luggage. The Main System allows him to bring objects from this world by converting them into electronic data, prompting the couple to test the process. After receiving kisses as encouragement, Zhou is compressed into a digital format. Shi Jihan can then view and poke a tiny pixel version of Zhou on a screen, while Zero-Zero-Zero offers a projection mode that recreates Zhou’s upper body as a translucent digital image. The chapter ends with Shi Jihan and the system experimenting with flashy visual effects, causing Zhou’s projected body to glow in rapidly changing rainbow colors.

Character developments

Zhou’s initial confidence and playful affection give way to shock and anxiety when he learns Shi Jihan may leave permanently. His desperate denial reveals how deeply attached he has become. Despite his fear, he indulges Shi Jihan’s curiosity and agrees to the dangerous-sounding experiment after receiving a kiss. Shi Jihan, meanwhile, shifts from jokingly staging the revelation to genuinely worrying about Zhou’s reaction and searching for a way to keep him. His eagerness to bring Zhou along shows both his dependence on and unwillingness to part from his boyfriend. Zero-Zero-Zero becomes increasingly involved as a mischievous, self-important companion who demands rewards and encourages Shi Jihan’s antics.

Significant themes

The chapter emphasizes separation anxiety, the fear of losing a loved one, and the lengths people will go to avoid parting. It also uses absurdity and technological fantasy to transform an emotionally serious problem into comedy: Zhou is literally reduced to a “.ZIP” file and treated like an electronic pet. The contrast between genuine romantic attachment and ridiculous system mechanics reinforces the story’s comedic tone.

Character interactions

Shi Jihan dramatically announces his impending departure while Zhou tries to process the news and briefly attempts to treat it as a hallucination. The two exchange affectionate teasing, with Shi Jihan begging for cooperation and Zhou negotiating for kisses. After Zhou is digitized, Shi Jihan playfully pokes his miniature avatar, while Zhou is confused and suspicious of Zero-Zero-Zero. Shi Jihan and Zero-Zero-Zero then enthusiastically collaborate on displaying special effects, leaving Zhou helplessly glowing in a rainbow-colored projection.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zero-Zero-Zero activates an “environment effects gift pack,” causing a petal-rain and nightclub-style visual effect. Zhou Jingcheng grabs and shakes it, joking about turning it into an instant-noodle topping.
• Shi Jihan reveals that Zero-Zero-Zero can remain after being unbound because it is now considered his personal property. Zhou jokingly approves of Shi Jihan’s possessiveness.
• Zero-Zero-Zero decompresses Zhou Jingcheng from his file form, but the nightclub effect remains active for another twenty-three seconds. Zhou is forced to sit expressionlessly among three statues while his hair flashes in colorful, absurd patterns. He threatens to mince Lurdan in retaliation.
• Once the immediate crisis is resolved, Shi Jihan contacts Xiao Yuan about returning the statues and plans for them to order hot pot instead of cooking.
• Zhou embraces Shi Jihan and admits that he is frightened of losing him after the mission ends. Shi reassures him that he will repeatedly refresh mission worlds until he can return, even if he comes back with a different identity. They agree that Zhou should recognize him through a secret code phrase.
• Zhou becomes increasingly anxious and follows Shi Jihan everywhere, even insisting on accompanying him to the bathroom and shower. His vulnerability disarms Shi Jihan, who allows him to stay.
• The shower scene becomes awkward and flirtatious when Zhou notices the redness on Shi Jihan’s knee and accidentally touches his inner thigh. Shi Jihan becomes extremely embarrassed and sends him out.
• Afterward, they share a hot pot meal. Zhou decides to cancel an important business trip so he can stay with Shi Jihan and learn new recipes for him.
• During dinner, Shi Jihan explains his current mission: to build Zhou Zeyang’s reputation as a dependable successor, help him gain public support, and ultimately assist him in replacing Zhou Jingcheng.

Character Developments

• Zhou Jingcheng becomes openly vulnerable about his fear of separation. His usual composure gives way to clinginess, emotional dependence, and a strong desire to cherish every remaining moment with Shi Jihan.
• Shi Jihan continues to respond to Zhou’s anxiety with reassurance and affection. Though he jokes about Zhou being “oversized checked luggage,” he clearly intends to return to him and is deeply affected by Zhou’s distress.
• Zero-Zero-Zero remains a comic source of chaos and commentary. Despite being mistreated by Zhou, it quickly forgives him when Zhou provides it with its own place setting.
• Zhou Zeyang does not appear directly, but his importance increases through the revelation that Shi Jihan’s mission concerns preparing him to become Zhou Jingcheng’s successor.

Significant Themes

• Fear of separation and devotion: The central emotional conflict is Zhou’s terror that Shi Jihan will leave permanently, contrasted with Shi’s determination to find his way back.
• Everyday domestic happiness: The hot pot, shared drinks, shower awkwardness, and plans to cook together show that ordinary routines have become Zhou’s clearest definition of happiness.
• Identity and recognition: Shi Jihan may return in another form or under another name, raising questions about whether love can transcend appearances and identity.
• Humor amid emotional tension: The absurd effects, Zero-Zero-Zero’s complaints, puns, and flirtatious embarrassment balance the heavier anxiety surrounding the impending separation.
• Love versus duty: Zhou is willing to abandon an important business trip to remain with Shi Jihan, while Shi must continue completing missions that may eventually require him to replace Zhou with Zhou Zeyang.

Character Interactions

• Zhou playfully threatens Zero-Zero-Zero, while Shi Jihan claims ownership of it and orders its decompression.
• Zhou and Shi share an emotionally intimate embrace in which Zhou confesses his fear, and Shi promises to return.
• Zhou’s clinginess leads to a comedic argument over the bathroom and shower, eventually turning into an awkwardly sensual encounter.
• During dinner, Zhou prioritizes Shi Jihan over his career obligations, while Shi reveals the mission that may ultimately change Zhou’s position and future.