Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Plot Points and Events

• Chu Xiyue watches the eleven final members of Boy Group 101 perform their debut song while eating at the event.
• During the host’s speech, she removes the suit jacket lent to her by Cheng Heyun and discovers his phone in the pocket.
• Cheng Heyun receives repeated calls. Chu Xiyue answers one from her older brother, Chu Chengyun, who becomes suspicious after learning she is alone with Cheng Heyun, though she innocently explains the situation.
• Additional overseas calls continue coming in, apparently related to Cheng Heyun’s work. Unable to locate him in the audience, Chu Xiyue asks the system for his whereabouts.
• Following the system’s directions toward the second floor, Chu Xiyue overhears an argument in the stairwell involving actress Ling Jinyu and her manager, Sister Sun.
• Sister Sun angrily confronts Ling Jinyu over her public declaration of love and marriage plans, explaining that she has lost commercial contracts and damaged her career.
• Ling Jinyu reveals that she is pregnant or otherwise expecting a child, indicating that she intends to marry despite the consequences.
• Ling Jinyu’s partner, a middle-aged man nicknamed “Brother Biao,” arrives and affectionately takes her away. Ling Jinyu becomes visibly delighted and affectionate around him.

Character Developments

• Chu Xiyue: Remains observant, curious, and somewhat sarcastic. She casually handles Cheng Heyun’s phone but becomes distracted by the overheard scandal instead of immediately returning it. Her internal commentary highlights her modern, judgmental humor and lack of romantic understanding regarding Ling Jinyu’s choice.
• Cheng Heyun: Is shown to be busy and difficult to reach, receiving numerous work-related calls. His habit of not saving phone numbers is revealed.
• Chu Chengyun: Displays protective concern and suspicion when he realizes Chu Xiyue is alone with Cheng Heyun, though he relaxes after hearing her explanation.
• Ling Jinyu: Shows that she is willing to sacrifice her successful entertainment career for love and marriage. Her behavior shifts from guilty and conflicted around her manager to openly joyful when reunited with her partner.
• Sister Sun: Acts as Ling Jinyu’s frustrated but concerned manager, prioritizing Ling Jinyu’s career and reminding her of their agreement to avoid dating before age thirty.
• Brother Biao: Is presented as Ling Jinyu’s older, somewhat unappealing and “greasy” romantic partner. Despite Chu Xiyue’s negative impression, he appears caring toward Ling Jinyu.

Significant Themes

• Career versus love: Ling Jinyu’s decision to marry threatens her endorsements and professional future, creating the chapter’s main conflict.
• Public image and celebrity pressure: A single statement on the red carpet causes commercial contracts to be terminated, demonstrating how closely entertainers’ private lives are tied to their marketability.
• Romantic subjectivity: Ling Jinyu sees Brother Biao as loving and desirable even though Chu Xiyue finds him unattractive and unpleasant, emphasizing that attraction is personal and difficult for outsiders to understand.
• Protectiveness and suspicion: Chu Chengyun’s reaction to Chu Xiyue’s proximity to Cheng Heyun hints at familial concern and possible future romantic misunderstandings.
• Comic observation: Chu Xiyue’s sarcastic commentary, especially about Brother Biao’s nickname and mannerisms, lightens the otherwise serious conflict.

Character Interactions

• Chu Xiyue and Chu Chengyun speak by phone, with him questioning why she has Cheng Heyun’s phone and whether she is alone with him.
• Chu Xiyue indirectly interacts with Cheng Heyun by carrying and answering his phone while trying to find him.
• Sister Sun argues with Ling Jinyu, urging her to remember her ambitions and the damage her romantic announcement has caused.
• Brother Biao interrupts the argument, comforts Ling Jinyu, and leaves with her while she responds warmly and affectionately.

Chapter Summary: “Keep the Child, Lose the Mother”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ling Jinyu leaves with Wang Zhibiao, convinced that they truly love each other and that they will be happy together. Her manager, Sister Sun, remains deeply worried.
• The system reveals that Wang Zhibiao views Ling Jinyu primarily as a means of having a child. His real intention is to keep the baby while abandoning the mother.
• Wang Zhibiao previously dated Ling Jinyu’s older half-sister, Ling Meiyu, since high school. When they were young, Ling Meiyu became pregnant, but they secretly arranged an abortion at an unsafe clinic.
• The botched abortion severely damaged Ling Meiyu’s reproductive health, leaving her infertile. Years of failed IVF attempts and pressure from Wang Zhibiao’s hostile mother eventually led him to break up with her after decades together.
• Rather than accepting the breakup, Ling Meiyu devised a plan: Wang Zhibiao would seduce Ling Jinyu, get her pregnant, and then take the child so that he and Ling Meiyu could remain together.
• Wang Zhibiao agreed, hoping to satisfy his family’s desire for an heir while preserving his relationship with Ling Meiyu.
• Ling Jinyu did not initially like Wang Zhibiao. He manipulated her by arranging staged encounters, praising her, and criticizing Ling Meiyu, while Ling Meiyu deliberately displayed her heartbreak to draw Jinyu into the scheme.
• Wang Zhibiao also sabotaged contraception to ensure Ling Jinyu became pregnant. Her pregnancy further intensified her emotional dependence on him.

Character Developments

• Chu Xiyue: Initially sees Wang Zhibiao as merely unpleasant and “greasy,” but becomes shocked and disgusted after learning about his exploitative plan. She recognizes the danger of allowing romantic devotion to override judgment.
• Ling Jinyu: Is portrayed as extremely susceptible to romance. She has previously sacrificed important opportunities for men and now blindly trusts Wang Zhibiao, believing his manipulation to be genuine love.
• Wang Zhibiao: Revealed as manipulative, selfish, and willing to exploit both sisters. He wants a child without taking responsibility for the woman carrying it and uses deception, emotional manipulation, and reproductive sabotage to achieve his goal.
• Ling Meiyu: Though initially a victim of Wang’s abandonment and a botched abortion, she becomes complicit in exploiting her younger sister. Her desperation to preserve her relationship and have a child drives her to design the scheme.
• Sister Sun: Acts as a concerned manager who recognizes that Ling Jinyu is making a disastrous romantic decision, though she cannot convince Jinyu to reconsider.

Significant Themes

• The dangers of blind romantic devotion: Both sisters sacrifice their well-being for Wang Zhibiao, while he treats them as disposable or useful.
• Reproductive exploitation: Ling Jinyu’s pregnancy is deliberately engineered, and her body is treated as a tool for producing an heir.
• Manipulation and emotional vulnerability: Wang and Ling Meiyu exploit Jinyu’s insecurities and romantic nature through staged situations and selective praise.
• Consequences of past choices: Ling Meiyu’s unsafe abortion has lasting medical consequences, which fuel the later scheme.
• Family pressure and patriarchal expectations: Wang’s mother’s demand for descendants contributes to the breakup and reinforces the idea that a woman’s value lies in her ability to bear children.
• The contrast between love and self-interest: Ling Jinyu believes the relationship is based on love, while Wang and Ling Meiyu view it as a transaction centered on obtaining a baby.

Character Interactions

• Ling Jinyu openly rejects Sister Sun’s concerns and insists that she and Wang Zhibiao truly love each other.
• Chu Xiyue silently shares Sister Sun’s alarm and discusses the situation with the system.
• Wang Zhibiao manipulates Ling Jinyu by praising her while disparaging Ling Meiyu, encouraging Jinyu to trust him.
• Ling Meiyu performs heartbreak and uses her sister’s emotional weaknesses to make Jinyu more receptive to Wang.
• The chapter ends with Chu Xiyue realizing that Ling Jinyu has been deliberately targeted because her love-brain makes her easy to control.

Chapter Summary: “Beware Fire, Theft, and Best Friends”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chu Xiyue reflects on the scandal involving Ling Jinyu, Ling Meiyu, and Wang Zhibiao. Although Ling Meiyu planned the scheme against Ling Jinyu, Chu Xiyue believes Wang Zhibiao is equally responsible because he willingly carried it out and later tried to abandon Ling Meiyu.
• Wanting to help Sun Jie separate Ling Jinyu from Wang Zhibiao, Chu Xiyue suggests using Ling Jinyu’s first love. He is now a young rookie at XX Entertainment, and Sun Jie could arrange for him to re-enter Ling Jinyu’s life.
• Chu Xiyue reasons that Ling Jinyu might choose her younger, more attractive first love over Wang Zhibiao, an older man who has already damaged her career. Sun Jie is impressed by the plan and thanks Chu Xiyue.
• On the stairs, Chu Xiyue encounters Cheng Heyun, who appears to have overheard her conversation. She returns his phone and offers to give back his jacket, but he tells her to keep wearing it because the weather is cold.
• Cheng Heyun notices that Chu Xiyue’s brother had called his phone. He becomes subtly nervous when discussing the call, though Chu Xiyue does not recognize his unease.
• After the event, Chu Xiyue leaves wearing Cheng Heyun’s suit jacket. Online spectators speculate about the jacket’s owner and wonder whether she is secretly dating someone.
• Chu Xiyue returns to Shenzhen before the New Year and begins helping Mrs. Shao receive visiting wealthy families. She enjoys listening to the gossip surrounding the guests.
• The chapter ends as two business-owning couples visit the Chu family. During a discussion about children and careers, Liu Mingkang praises Chu Xiyue while complaining about his troublesome son.

Character Developments

• Chu Xiyue: Becomes increasingly proactive and practical in dealing with other people’s problems. She shows sharp insight into romantic and social dynamics, particularly by devising a strategy to rescue Ling Jinyu from Wang Zhibiao. Her strong dislike of irresponsible men becomes clear.
• Sun Jie: Initially feels helpless over Ling Jinyu’s refusal to abandon Wang Zhibiao, but Chu Xiyue’s suggestion gives her a concrete plan and renewed hope.
• Cheng Heyun: Shows restrained concern for Chu Xiyue by letting her keep his jacket. His nervous reaction to her brother’s phone call hints that he may be hiding something or has a deeper connection to Chu Xiyue’s family.
• Ling Jinyu: Though absent, she is portrayed as emotionally vulnerable and still attached to Wang Zhibiao, despite his age and harmful influence on her career.
• Wang Zhibiao and Ling Meiyu: Their moral responsibility is examined. Chu Xiyue refuses to excuse Wang simply because Ling Meiyu devised the original scheme.

Significant Themes

• Shared responsibility and moral accountability: The chapter stresses that both the planner and the person who executes wrongdoing are culpable.
• Manipulation and romantic strategy: Chu Xiyue treats relationships as situations that can be influenced through timing, appearances, and emotional history.
• Gender and romantic disappointment: Chu Xiyue’s anger at “trash men” reflects the repeated betrayal and selfishness she observes in romantic relationships.
• Public image and gossip: Her borrowed jacket sparks online dating rumors, showing how quickly appearances become entertainment and speculation.
• Wealthy social circles and hidden secrets: The New Year visits introduce a world where polite social interactions conceal affairs, family conflicts, and scandals.

Character Interactions

• Chu Xiyue and Sun Jie: Chu offers Sun Jie a direct plan to reunite Ling Jinyu with her first love and break up her relationship with Wang Zhibiao.
• Chu Xiyue and Cheng Heyun: Their exchange is outwardly casual, but his concern for her comfort and nervousness about her brother suggest unspoken tension or concealed feelings.
• Chu Xiyue and online observers: Netizens interpret her appearance and Cheng’s jacket as evidence of a possible romance, despite her indifference to the rumors.
• Chu Xiyue, Mrs. Shao, and the visiting families: They participate in formal New Year hospitality while Chu Xiyue privately enjoys uncovering the guests’ hidden scandals.

Chapter Summary

• At a social gathering hosted by Shao Suqiu, the adults joke about childcare and beauty treatments. Zheng Yi and Yu Huiran flatter Shao Suqiu, who responds politely but remains emotionally detached, viewing the gathering mainly as part of her role as the Lingyun Group chairman’s wife.
• Chu Xiyue sits quietly eating tangerines until the system offers her gossip. It reveals that Zheng Yi and Yu Huiran’s husbands are secretly having an affair with each other: Zheng Yi is involved with Yu Huiran’s husband, Liu Mingkang, while both women’s marriages appear respectable on the surface.
• The betrayal is especially severe because Zheng Yi and Yu Huiran are supposedly best friends. Yu Huiran previously helped Zheng Yi expose her own cheating husband, yet Zheng Yi repaid her by sleeping with Liu Mingkang, wearing Yu Huiran’s pajamas and jewelry, and even meeting Liu in Yu Huiran’s home while she was away.
• Yu Huiran has sensed that Liu Mingkang’s behavior changed and has tried to investigate his infidelity, but she never suspects her closest friend. Chu Xiyue therefore sees her as completely deceived, while Liu and Zheng maintain dishonest, respectable-looking facades.
• The conversation turns toward marriage. Zheng Yi and Yu Huiran praise Shao Suqiu and Chu Xiyue’s apparently loving marriages while complaining about their own husbands. Zheng Yi’s remarks about wanting a man who understands and accompanies her carry an ironic double meaning, since she is indirectly describing Liu Mingkang rather than her own husband.
• Chu Xiyue, disgusted by Zheng Yi’s hypocrisy, deliberately draws attention to the gold bangle on Zheng Yi’s wrist. The system has told her that Zheng Yi stole it from Yu Huiran’s jewelry box after her affair with Liu.
• Yu Huiran recognizes the bracelet as resembling one her husband had custom-made for her, complete with her birthday engraved on it. Caught off guard, Zheng Yi claims that a friend gave her the bangle and that she does not know where it came from. Yu Huiran does not yet realize the truth, but the bracelet provides the first concrete clue that may expose Zheng Yi’s betrayal.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Chu Xiyue shifts from bored observer to sharp, morally judgmental participant. She uses the bracelet question to test Zheng Yi and potentially awaken Yu Huiran’s suspicions without openly revealing the supernatural source of her knowledge.
• Zheng Yi is portrayed as manipulative, shameless, and skilled at maintaining a social façade. Her confidence collapses into panic when the bracelet is noticed.
• Yu Huiran remains trusting and unaware of the full betrayal, despite correctly sensing that her husband is behaving differently.
• Liu Mingkang presents himself as an honest, ordinary husband while secretly cheating with his wife’s best friend.
• Shao Suqiu accepts compliments courteously but keeps an emotional distance from the other guests.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and hypocrisy: Zheng Yi’s affair violates both marital and friendship loyalties, while public conversation disguises private wrongdoing.
• Appearance versus reality: Respectable marriages, affectionate friendships, and polite social behavior conceal infidelity and exploitation.
• Trust and vulnerability: Yu Huiran’s faith in her best friend prevents her from recognizing the truth.
• Exposure through small details: The seemingly ordinary gold bangle becomes a potential key to uncovering the hidden affair.

Chapter Summary: “Ling Jinyu Kidnapped”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zheng Yi, Liu Mingkang, Yu Huiran, and another companion prepare to leave Shao Suqiu’s home. Zheng Yi nervously hides the bracelet on her wrist, suggesting she fears someone will recognize or question it.
• Before Yu Huiran leaves, Chu Xiyue privately warns her to “watch out for fire, thieves, and best friends,” clearly hinting that Yu Huiran may be betrayed by someone close to her.
• Chu Xiyue then entertains Mrs. Shao with gossip about wealthy families, including Liu Mingkang’s affair with his wife’s best friend and other rich men who are secretly afraid of their wives.
• After going upstairs to rest, Chu Xiyue learns from the gossip system that Ling Jinyu’s first love, hired by agent Sun Jie, has been deliberately seducing her and turning her against her current partner, Wang Zhibiao.
• Ling Jinyu has begun comparing the romantic first love favorably with Wang Zhibiao and has even argued with Wang because of him.
• Chu Xiyue believes Ling Jinyu is vulnerable to romantic manipulation because she is deeply love-struck. She previously chose not to warn Ling Jinyu, knowing that direct interference might make her distrust Chu Xiyue and defend Wang instead.
• Unexpectedly, Ling Jinyu soon posts a public breakup announcement on Weibo. Chu Xiyue is shocked by how quickly the relationship appears to have collapsed.
• The system discovers that Ling Jinyu and Wang Zhibiao have not truly broken up. Ling Jinyu blocked him, checked into a hotel, and announced the breakup as a test of his love.
• She plans to remain with Wang if he finds her within a day, but intends to end the relationship permanently if he fails.

Character Developments

• Chu Xiyue continues to act as an observer and manipulator of events. She understands Ling Jinyu’s emotional weakness and deliberately chooses indirect intervention rather than openly warning her.
• Yu Huiran receives a cryptic warning from Chu Xiyue. Her reaction suggests that she may begin reconsidering the loyalty of the people around her.
• Zheng Yi appears increasingly nervous and secretive, especially regarding her bracelet, foreshadowing hidden connections or future conflict.
• Ling Jinyu is shown to be emotionally unstable and easily influenced by romantic nostalgia. Although she insists on viewing herself as loyal, she is already comparing Wang unfavorably with her first love and seeking justification for changing partners.
• Wang Zhibiao is placed in a test he does not know about. His response will determine whether Ling Jinyu stays with him.
• Chu Xiyue’s mother becomes an enthusiastic participant in Chu Xiyue’s gossip, prioritizing entertaining rumors over her planned social activities.
• The gossip system is embarrassed that Chu Xiyue learned the breakup news before it did, highlighting its comic concern with maintaining its reputation.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation through romance: Ling Jinyu’s first love uses emotional comparisons and nostalgic memories to undermine her current relationship.
• Self-deception and rationalization: Ling Jinyu wants to believe she is faithful, so she disguises her wavering feelings as a test of Wang’s devotion.
• Indirect justice: Chu Xiyue believes morality is less important when dealing with a harmful or deceitful person like Wang, and she allows romantic interference to counteract his own wrongdoing.
• The danger of blind love: Ling Jinyu’s earlier willingness to abandon her career for love has left her vulnerable to both Wang and her first love.
• Gossip as power and entertainment: Information is used both to warn people, as in Chu Xiyue’s message to Yu Huiran, and for amusement, as in the gossip shared between Chu Xiyue and Mrs. Shao.
• Trust and betrayal: The warnings about best friends, Liu Mingkang’s affair, Zheng Yi’s secrecy, and Ling Jinyu’s relationship test all emphasize concealed loyalties and unstable relationships.

Character Interactions

• Chu Xiyue and Yu Huiran: Chu Xiyue gives Yu Huiran a subtle warning disguised as New Year’s advice, implying that a close friend may betray her.
• Chu Xiyue and Mrs. Shao: They bond over gossip, with Chu Xiyue supplying rumors and Mrs. Shao eagerly listening.
• Chu Xiyue and the system: They discuss Ling Jinyu’s emotional situation. Chu Xiyue provides a cynical but perceptive analysis, while the system explains the details of Ling Jinyu’s test.
• Ling Jinyu and her first love: His flattering comparisons and appeals to their shared past rekindle her feelings and make Wang seem increasingly unpleasant.
• Ling Jinyu and Wang Zhibiao: Their relationship becomes defined by distrust and emotional testing. Ling Jinyu secretly engineers a situation to determine whether Wang will pursue her.

Chapter Summary

• Ling Jinyu’s breakup “test”: Ling Jinyu disappears and blocks Wang Zhibiao to test whether he truly loves her, an idea apparently inspired by melodramatic CEO novels and encouraged by her first love, Wei Ming. She expects Wang to track her down and prove his devotion.
• Wang Zhibiao’s reaction: Already exhausted by Ling Jinyu’s repeated demands—late-night outings, unwanted snacks, being woken to watch stars or sunrise, and needing constant soothing—Wang becomes furious when she vanishes and posts about their breakup. He assumes she genuinely wants to end the relationship rather than recognizing it as a test. Unable to contact her, he angrily confronts Ling Jinyu’s sister, Ling Meiyu, nearly coming to blows with her.
• Public response: Because Ling Jinyu had recently announced her pregnancy on the red carpet, her sudden breakup becomes a trending topic. Online commenters criticize her for acting irresponsibly toward her relationship and unborn child, with some questioning whether she intends to have an abortion.
• Ling Jinyu and Wei Ming: Waiting alone in a hotel, Ling Jinyu repeatedly checks her phone for Wang but receives no word from him. Wei Ming contacts her and pretends to be deeply concerned, telling her that he would never leave her alone so long. His words manipulate her emotions, and she praises him as better than Wang. Wei Ming is secretly motivated by promises from Ling Jinyu’s manager, revealing that his sympathy is performative. Ling Jinyu cries, curses Wang, experiences mild stomach cramps, and eventually falls asleep.
• Ling Meiyu’s motives: After calming Wang, Ling Meiyu searches for Ling Jinyu. Her determination is not purely sisterly: she is focused on securing the unborn child and ominously thinks Ling Jinyu must give birth to it, hinting at threatening or coercive intentions.
• Chu Xiyue’s role: Chu Xiyue observes the chaos with amusement, joking that Wang’s suffering is karmic punishment for becoming involved with someone so irrational. She enjoys the spectacle while spending New Year’s Eve preparing a reunion meal with her family, contributing only simple kitchen tasks because she cannot cook.
• Cliffhanger: On Lunar New Year’s Eve, the system informs Chu Xiyue that Ling Meiyu has discovered Ling Jinyu’s hotel location through their biological mother. Ling Meiyu and Wang Zhibiao immediately rush there, setting up a confrontation.

Character Developments and Themes

• Ling Jinyu is shown as naïve, emotionally dependent, and heavily influenced by romantic melodrama. Her attempt to test Wang’s love backfires, leaving her isolated and increasingly reliant on Wei Ming.
• Wang Zhibiao is frustrated and pushed toward a breaking point, though he continues tolerating Ling Jinyu’s behavior because of the pregnancy.
• Wei Ming is exposed as manipulative and opportunistic, disguising self-interest as concern.
• Ling Meiyu emerges as calculating and potentially dangerous, treating the pregnancy as something she is entitled to control.
• Major themes include the destructive consequences of emotional manipulation, the contrast between romantic fantasies and real relationships, public judgment of celebrity scandals, and the exploitation of pregnancy and family ties for personal gain.

Chapter Summary: “Ling Jinyu Rescued”

Plot points and events

Chu Xiyue learns through the system that Ling Meiyu and Wang Zhibiao have kidnapped Ling Jinyu and taken her to a remote village. Ling Meiyu discovered that Ling Jinyu might abort her pregnancy and became desperate to obtain the unborn child, which she considers her own. Although Ling Jinyu has not been physically harmed, the kidnapping and emotional shock have placed her pregnancy at risk, with possible threatened premature labor. Chu Xiyue immediately sets out with bodyguards to find and rescue her, despite knowing that involving the police would be more conventional but difficult to explain.

Character developments

Chu Xiyue demonstrates compassion and decisiveness. Although she views Ling Jinyu as naïve and overly romantic, she refuses to ignore her danger and takes direct action to save her. Ling Meiyu’s obsession is revealed to have become deeply unstable and morally corrupt: she is willing to imprison Ling Jinyu, endanger her, and keep her child for herself. Ling Jinyu remains frightened and confused, but her melodramatic imagination causes her to misinterpret Ling Meiyu’s hostility as a form of twisted romantic love.

Character interactions

Ling Jinyu confronts Ling Meiyu and Wang Zhibiao, demanding to know why she was abducted and insisting that she be released. Ling Meiyu threatens her, making clear that no one will come to save her and that she expects Ling Jinyu to obey. Ling Jinyu interprets the situation through the lens of domineering-romance stories, assuming Ling Meiyu has kidnapped her because she secretly loves her. She dramatically declares that Ling Meiyu may possess her body but never her heart, then explains that she likes men and that their relationship can never work. Ling Meiyu is left confused by Ling Jinyu’s interpretation, while Wang Zhibiao also senses that the conversation has taken an unexpected direction.

Significant themes

The chapter explores obsession, possessiveness, and the dangerous distortion of love into control. It contrasts Ling Meiyu’s genuinely threatening fixation with Ling Jinyu’s humorous, fictionalized understanding of romance. Pregnancy and motherhood are treated as sources of both vulnerability and conflict, while Chu Xiyue’s intervention introduces themes of responsibility, rescue, and moral courage. The scene also uses dark comedy and dramatic irony: a serious kidnapping is filtered through Ling Jinyu’s melodramatic assumptions, creating an absurd mismatch between reality and her interpretation.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

Chu Xiyue rushes toward Ling Jinyu after realizing she may be in danger, but pauses when she sees that Ling Jinyu’s situation is more serious than expected. Inside the house, Ling Meiyu reveals that she and Wang Zhibiao have kidnapped Ling Jinyu to force her to give birth to the child they consider theirs. Ling Meiyu claims that Wang Zhibiao only wants Ling Jinyu for her pregnancy and plans to abandon her after the baby is born so he can marry Meiyu. Wang Zhibiao confirms the arrangement, promising to release Ling Jinyu only after delivery.
Ling Jinyu discovers that she is chained to the bed and cannot escape. In desperation, she threatens to abort the pregnancy, provoking Ling Meiyu, who threatens her with a fruit knife. When Ling Jinyu refuses to cooperate, Ling Meiyu attacks and begins strangling her while Wang Zhibiao does nothing to intervene.

Character developments

Ling Jinyu’s romantic illusions about Wang Zhibiao collapse completely. Though devastated and frightened, she regains her rationality and recognizes that the two kidnappers have been working together. Her love turns into hatred, and she defiantly refuses to become a tool for their marriage plans. Ling Meiyu’s obsession with Wang Zhibiao and her desperation to have a child become increasingly violent, exposing her instability and possessiveness. Wang Zhibiao is shown as cowardly and morally compromised: although he avoids directly harming Ling Jinyu, he supports her captivity and prioritizes Meiyu over her.

Significant themes

The chapter explores betrayal, the destruction of romantic illusions, coercive control, and the exploitation of women’s bodies for marriage and family ambitions. It also emphasizes the contrast between love as an ideal and possessive obsession disguised as love. Ling Jinyu’s determination to resist highlights personal agency in the face of manipulation and captivity.

Character interactions

Ling Meiyu cruelly explains her plan to Ling Jinyu, while Wang Zhibiao confirms that Ling Jinyu is being used only as a surrogate. Ling Jinyu confronts both of them, first demanding the truth about Wang’s feelings and then accusing them of conspiring against her. Her threat to abort the child intensifies Meiyu’s rage, leading to a direct physical assault. The chapter ends with Ling Jinyu being strangled and crying for help, regretting the choices that led her into the relationship and jeopardized her career and freedom.

Chapter Summary: “New Year’s Eve Gossip”

Key plot points and events

• As Ling Jinyu is about to be killed by Ling Meiyu, Chu Xiyue and her bodyguards arrive. A bodyguard photographs the scene, knocks out Wang Zhibiao, and records evidence of the crime.
• Chu Xiyue reveals that she has already called the police and theatrically presents herself as a heroic “Lei Feng,” mocking the criminals.
• When Ling Meiyu threatens Ling Jinyu with a fruit knife, Chu Xiyue distracts her while a bodyguard disarms and throws her to the floor, injuring her. Both Ling Meiyu and Wang Zhibiao are restrained.
• The bodyguards unlock Ling Jinyu’s chains, freeing her.
• Ling Jinyu confronts Wang Zhibiao and Ling Meiyu. Wang immediately tries to shift all blame onto Ling Meiyu, while Ling Meiyu exposes that he helped plan the kidnapping and assault.

Character developments

• Ling Jinyu: She survives the immediate danger and is freed. Her romantic feelings for Wang Zhibiao are completely destroyed; she now feels only disgust toward him. She briefly becomes infatuated with Chu Xiyue after being rescued, but regains her composure when she realizes Chu is younger and shifts back into the reserved image expected of a female celebrity.
• Chu Xiyue: She demonstrates confidence, intelligence, and a sharp sense of humor while rescuing Ling Jinyu. Although she initially offers comfort, she quickly distances herself after noticing Ling Jinyu’s apparent attraction, fearing the complications of becoming the target of another admirer.
• Ling Meiyu: Her attempt to kill Ling Jinyu fails, and she is physically overpowered and exposed as the main instigator of the crime.
• Wang Zhibiao: His calm and detached facade collapses once he is captured. He proves cowardly and self-serving by immediately betraying Ling Meiyu and denying responsibility.

Significant themes

• Justice and exposure: Recorded evidence and the arrival of outside help prevent the crime from being hidden.
• Betrayal and self-preservation: Wang Zhibiao abandons Ling Meiyu the moment his own safety is threatened, revealing the weakness of their alliance.
• Romantic misinterpretation: Ling Jinyu’s emotional response to being rescued illustrates the “suspension bridge effect,” while the system humorously warns Chu Xiyue that danger and gratitude may be mistaken for love.
• Female empowerment and survival: Ling Jinyu escapes victimization, while Chu Xiyue actively intervenes and defeats the aggressors through preparation and force.
• Public image versus private reality: Ling Jinyu quickly restores her elegant celebrity persona after the crisis, contrasting with the panic and disgrace of her attackers.

Important character interactions

• Chu Xiyue and Ling Meiyu engage in a tense confrontation, with Chu using sarcasm and deception before her bodyguard strikes.
• Chu Xiyue rescues Ling Jinyu but then deliberately keeps her distance to avoid encouraging her attraction.
• Ling Jinyu addresses Chu Xiyue affectionately as “Big Sister Chu,” only to learn that Chu is younger, which helps break the spell of her infatuation.
• Wang Zhibiao and Ling Meiyu turn against each other, each blaming the other for the kidnapping and attempted murder.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

Ling Meiyu, enraged by Wang Zhibiao’s attempt to deny responsibility and blame everything on her, breaks free and attacks him with a stick. She accuses him of abandoning her and trying to reconcile with Ling Jinyu while keeping his hands clean. Wang attempts to enlist Ling Jinyu’s help by invoking their unborn child, but Ling Jinyu rejects him and declares that she intends to terminate the pregnancy. Ling Meiyu continues beating Wang, ultimately striking him severely in the groin and knocking him unconscious.
In the ensuing chaos, Ling Jinyu falls and suffers abdominal pain and heavy bleeding. The police arrive after Chu Xiyue reports the kidnapping. Chu provides recorded evidence proving that Ling Jinyu and her group were the victims rather than the criminals. The ambulance takes Ling Jinyu and Wang to the hospital, while Chu gives her statement and returns home.
Later, a paparazzo posts photographs of the injured Ling Jinyu and Wang in the hospital, accompanied by a sensational report suggesting that Ling Jinyu miscarried after being abused by her wealthy boyfriend. The images strongly encourage the public to interpret the incident as domestic violence.

Character developments

• Ling Meiyu fully loses control after realizing that Wang intends to escape blame. Her anger is fueled by years of betrayal and suffering, including the loss of her ability to become a mother, and she resolves to make Wang pay before going to prison.
• Wang Zhibiao is exposed as cowardly and self-serving. He immediately abandons Ling Meiyu, falsely claims innocence, and tries to manipulate Ling Jinyu by appealing to their supposed future as a family.
• Ling Jinyu rejects Wang completely, showing that she no longer wants reconciliation. Although initially stunned by the violence, she becomes even more hostile toward him and declares her intention to end the pregnancy. Her accidental fall leaves her seriously injured.
• Chu Xiyue remains calm and practical. She allows Ling Meiyu and Wang to fight, intervenes only when necessary, reports the kidnapping, presents evidence to the police, rewards her bodyguards, and then resumes her New Year’s plans.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and accountability: Wang’s attempt to shift all blame onto Ling Meiyu highlights his refusal to accept responsibility for the harm he caused.
• Consequences of abuse and exploitation: Ling Meiyu’s violent retaliation reflects the accumulated damage of Wang’s betrayal, while the hospital scene shows the physical and emotional fallout of the conflict.
• Manipulation versus agency: Wang tries to control both women through guilt, but Ling Meiyu and Ling Jinyu each reject his narrative in different ways.
• Public perception and sensationalism: The paparazzo’s photograph turns a complicated kidnapping and assault into a simplified domestic-violence scandal, foreshadowing public judgment based on incomplete information.
• Justice and self-preservation: Chu Xiyue prioritizes evidence and legal protection rather than emotional involvement, ensuring that the truth is documented.

Character interactions

Ling Meiyu and Wang engage in a violent confrontation over his betrayal and attempted scapegoating. Wang turns to Ling Jinyu for rescue, but she insults and rejects him instead. Chu Xiyue observes the fight, stops her bodyguards from interfering, and later proves their innocence to the police. Ling Jinyu’s fall interrupts the confrontation and creates the appearance of a larger crime scene, while the paparazzo’s later post connects the three characters’ conflict to a wider public scandal.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Rumors explode online after paparazzi photograph actress Ling Jinyu entering a hospital with her injured boyfriend, Wang Zhibiao, accompanied by police.
• Netizens initially assume Wang abused Ling while she was pregnant, especially because Ling had recently announced their breakup. Others accuse Ling of interfering in her sister’s relationship.
• The truth emerges when the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau publishes an official notice: Wang Zhibiao and his ex-girlfriend, Wang Meiyu/Ling, kidnapped Ling Jinyu. Police arrested the ex-girlfriend at the scene, while Wang and Ling Jinyu were hospitalized with serious but nonfatal injuries.
• The revelation causes a frenzy because the kidnapping involved a man abducting his current girlfriend alongside his ex-girlfriend.
• Curious netizens flood entertainment insider Chu Xiyue’s social media, hoping she will reveal more details. Instead, Chu promotes the premiere of Eternal Lonely Island and ignores the gossip while watching the film.
• Chu enjoys the movie and praises the performances of Xu Zhiying and Jiang Jie, believing the film may surpass its original version and achieve a five-billion box office.
• Meanwhile, Ling Jinyu begins a hospital livestream to explain the incident involving herself, Wang Zhibiao, and her sister. She appears physically weak but emotionally more composed and determined than before.
• The chapter ends as viewers ask Ling whether Wang truly kidnapped her, why he did so, and whether she caused his facial injuries.

Character Developments

• Ling Jinyu shifts from being portrayed by the public as a reckless, love-obsessed celebrity to a possible kidnapping victim. After the ordeal, she appears calmer, firmer, and more willing to take control of the narrative by speaking publicly.
• Chu Xiyue remains detached from the surrounding scandal. She prioritizes her movie outing and career promotion, demonstrating confidence, composure, and an ability to avoid being pulled into online gossip.
• Wang Zhibiao is revealed to be more deeply involved in the scandal than initially suspected, becoming a kidnapping suspect rather than merely an abusive boyfriend.
• Wang Meiyu/Ling, Ling Jinyu’s sister and Wang’s ex-girlfriend, is identified as the second kidnapping suspect and is arrested at the scene.
• Xu Zhiying and Jiang Jie receive positive recognition for their acting, with Jiang’s personal experiences contributing emotional depth to her performance.

Significant Themes

• The unreliability of public assumptions: Online observers quickly construct conflicting narratives from incomplete evidence, first labeling Wang an abuser and Ling a homewrecker before the kidnapping truth is revealed.
• The power and danger of social media: Gossip spreads rapidly, but official police information is needed to correct public speculation.
• Public image versus reality: Ling’s celebrity reputation causes people to judge her morality before understanding what happened.
• Resilience and reclaiming one’s voice: Ling’s livestream marks an attempt to regain control over her story after becoming the subject of intense public scrutiny.
• Entertainment and distraction: Chu’s focus on promoting and watching a film contrasts sharply with the internet’s obsession with scandal, highlighting the variety show’s blend of workplace activity, celebrity culture, and sensational news.

Character Interactions

• Netizens debate Ling Jinyu’s relationship, pregnancy, alleged infidelity, and injuries, creating multiple competing versions of events.
• Chu Xiyue is repeatedly tagged by curious followers but responds only with a movie recommendation, frustrating those seeking gossip.
• Ling Jinyu directly addresses the public through her livestream and invites viewers to ask questions about Wang Zhibiao and her sister.
• Police intervention connects the private conflict among Ling Jinyu, Wang Zhibiao, and Wang Meiyu to a formal criminal investigation.

Plot points and events

• Ling Jinyu publicly addresses rumors that she stole her sister’s boyfriend. She explains that she and Wang Zhibiao began dating only after his previous relationship had ended.
• She reveals that her sister, Ling Meiyu, and Wang conspired to kidnap her. Wang had pursued her to obtain a child for Meiyu, who could not become pregnant; when Jinyu tried to end the relationship and terminate the pregnancy, they planned to imprison her and force her to give birth. Chu Xiyue’s call to the police saved her.
• After apologizing to fans and thanking Chu, Jinyu ends her livestream. She has had an abortion and is recovering in hospital. Public sympathy largely replaces criticism of her pregnancy announcement.
• Chu posts that Jinyu need not thank her and urges her to focus on work rather than men. Jinyu responds by telling her manager she wants to work again. The manager agrees, while warning that her career opportunities may have declined.
• At New Year, Chu and Cheng Heyun exchange warm greetings, hinting at growing affection.
• The first episode of Live Well Season 4 airs. Its scandals reignite online, renewing the fallout for the people involved and strengthening Chu’s reputation as the industry’s leading “gossip king.”

Character developments and interactions

• Ling Jinyu shifts from public scandal and victimization toward rebuilding her life and career. Her emotional reaction to Chu’s post shows how deeply she appreciates Chu’s help.
• Chu Xiyue remains blunt and pragmatic, publicly supporting Jinyu while encouraging her to prioritize work. She also shares a more tender, personal exchange with Cheng Heyun.
• Cheng Heyun responds warmly to Chu’s New Year message, reinforcing their emerging romantic connection.
• Jinyu and her manager have a supportive but realistic conversation: the manager refrains from scolding her and helps her plan a return, while acknowledging the professional cost of her choices.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and exploitation: Jinyu’s sister and boyfriend treat her as a means to obtain a child.
• Public judgment and sympathy: New information changes how netizens view Jinyu, showing how quickly online opinion can shift.
• Recovery and accountability: Jinyu wants to move forward, but her choices still carry consequences for her career.
• Exposure and consequences: The broadcast of Live Well renews public scrutiny and reputational fallout for those exposed.
• Work, independence, and romance: Chu’s advice frames financial and professional independence as more reliable than romantic relationships, while her own connection with Cheng continues to grow.

Key plot points and events

• Chu Xiyue has been receiving fewer offers because of her scandal-plagued reputation, though some producers still want her ability to attract attention.
• Her agent accepts a place for her on “Work Hard,” a livestreamed workplace-observation show featuring twelve emerging artists and four entertainment-company bosses. Chu will appear as a boss and mentor, while Dawn Entertainment’s newcomers will gain exposure.
• At the first meeting, the other bosses—representatives of better-established companies—are unusually warm and deferential to Chu, partly because of her family’s influence. Blue Dream Entertainment’s chairman, Lan Guoqiang, encourages her to call him “Uncle Lan” and presents himself as a devoted father.
• The livestream audience praises Lan’s apparent family devotion and long, loving marriage. The system privately reveals to Chu that his public image conceals a cruel past: he abused and cheated on his first wife, abandoned her and their daughter without support, and later married the daughter of his former company’s owner, whose connections helped him acquire the business.
• Chu recognizes the likely pattern of a man betraying the woman who supported him when he was poor, and asks the system for more information.

Character developments

• Chu Xiyue takes on a mentoring role, despite her limited commercial work, and remains calm and professional among the other bosses. She is also increasingly alert to the gap between public image and private conduct.
• Lan Guoqiang is introduced as a celebrated former martial-arts actor and successful company chairman. His public persona is warm and devoted, but the system’s account depicts him as abusive, unfaithful, and neglectful toward his first family.
• Chu Xiyue’s agent shows a practical focus on making use of Chu’s popularity and helping the company’s new artists gain visibility.
• The system serves as a source of hidden gossip and a forceful defender of Lan’s wronged ex-wife and eldest daughter.

Significant themes

• Public image versus private truth: The audience sees Lan as a loving husband and father, while the system exposes a history of abuse and abandonment.
• Power, success, and betrayal: Lan’s rise from a struggling actor to a powerful businessman is tied to his first wife’s family, yet he later mistreats and discards her.
• Celebrity and reputation: The show’s livestream format makes both the bosses’ public behavior and hidden scandals part of the entertainment spectacle.
• Family loyalty and accountability: Lan’s attention to his current family contrasts sharply with his neglect of his former wife and eldest daughter.

Character interactions

• Chu’s agent persuades her to join the show as a way to mentor Dawn Entertainment’s newcomers.
• The other company bosses greet Chu warmly and avoid asserting seniority, mindful of her powerful family connections.
• Lan attempts to build familiarity with Chu by asking her to call him “Uncle Lan,” while viewers respond enthusiastically to his supposed devotion.
• Chu privately consults the system, which challenges the viewers’ interpretation and reveals the history behind Lan’s carefully cultivated image.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

Lan Guoqiang asks Chu Xiyue for an autographed photo for his daughter, reinforcing his public image as a loving and devoted father. Chu Xiyue’s response exposes a hidden part of his past: he was previously married to the daughter of the mentor who helped him enter the entertainment industry, abandoned her after becoming successful, and failed to provide child support for their daughter. The daughter now uses her stepfather’s surname. The revelation shocks everyone on set and triggers a flood of speculation and condemnation in the livestream comments. Lan Guoqiang refuses to answer directly, claiming the matter is private, but his visible panic makes the accusation appear credible.

Character developments

• Chu Xiyue demonstrates her sharpness, fearlessness, and willingness to challenge hypocrisy publicly. She uses Lan Guoqiang’s request as an opportunity to dismantle his carefully maintained family-man persona. Her position as Chu Lingyun’s daughter and an investor in the program gives her considerable power, which Lan Guoqiang recognizes and fears.
• Lan Guoqiang’s image collapses from affectionate father and successful businessman to an alleged heartless husband and absentee father. He becomes nervous and resentful but suppresses his anger because he cannot afford to antagonize Chu Xiyue or her family.
• The other entertainment executives begin reassessing their relationship with Lan Guoqiang, worrying that his lack of loyalty and conscience could make him an unreliable business partner.

Significant themes

• Public image versus reality: Lan Guoqiang’s loving-father persona is exposed as potentially false.
• Accountability and hidden wrongdoing: Chu Xiyue forces a powerful figure to confront past abandonment and neglect.
• Power and social influence: Lan Guoqiang avoids openly fighting back because Chu Xiyue’s family and financial influence make her dangerous to oppose.
• Consequences of hypocrisy: The revelation threatens not only Lan Guoqiang’s reputation but also the program’s investors and his business relationships.

Character interactions

Chu Xiyue initially responds politely to Lan Guoqiang’s request, then deliberately asks which daughter he means, creating confusion. She follows by directly confronting him about his ex-wife and abandoned daughter. Lan Guoqiang attempts to deflect the accusation by calling it a private matter and referencing false tabloid rumors, but Chu Xiyue refuses to let him evade responsibility. Her confrontation changes the attitude of the other investors, who begin to view Lan Guoqiang as a liability.

Chapter Summary: The Fruit Platter Is Him

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chu Xiyue discovers that investor Lan Guoqiang is a “ticking bomb” because of his abandonment of his wife and daughters and possible business misconduct. She has the other investors remove him from the investor lineup before he can cause trouble on the livestream.
• Lan Guoqiang is publicly excused from the show under the pretense that he forgot to turn off the gas at home. In reality, the other investors deliberately exclude him.
• The livestream audience discusses Lan Guoqiang’s troubled family history and criticizes him for escaping serious consequences because he is not a celebrity.
• The system informs Chu Xiyue that Lan Guoqiang’s abandoned daughter now works in the tax department under Chu’s brother and is preparing to investigate Lanmeng Group. Since Lanmeng’s tax records contain major irregularities, the company may face heavy fines and financial losses.
• The program Work Hard begins its main task: the three investors must select promising artists for training. They cannot choose artists from their own companies, making the process an exchange of resources between entertainment firms.
• Liang Yin, a twenty-three-year-old newcomer from Millimeter Entertainment, enters for an interview. He has an impressive background as a former top salesperson who sold a year’s worth of products in one quarter.
• Liang describes several extreme examples of enduring hardship for clients, including drinking with one from evening until morning and personally sourcing fresh fruit for another. The general manager of Dujia Entertainment is highly impressed by his dedication.
• The system reveals that Liang Yin’s other “hardworking” experiences were even more unusual and inappropriate for broadcast: he once performed pole dancing and wore a maid outfit to satisfy a wealthy client.
• Intrigued, Chu Xiyue immediately asks the system to explain the full story, setting up the next revelation.

Character Developments

• Chu Xiyue: Demonstrates decisiveness and strong control over the investment panel by removing Lan Guoqiang before he can damage the show. She also shows a sharp interest in gossip, especially when the system hints at Liang Yin’s hidden past.
• Lan Guoqiang: Is excluded from the program and faces the possibility of a tax investigation that could severely damage Lanmeng Group and his personal finances.
• Liang Yin: Is introduced as highly capable, disciplined, and commercially experienced. His polished appearance and résumé contrast humorously with the embarrassing and extreme lengths he went to for clients.
• The system: Continues to provide Chu Xiyue with behind-the-scenes information unavailable to the public, particularly about future consequences and concealed scandals.
• The other investors: Initially act diplomatically but quickly cooperate with Chu Xiyue to remove Lan Guoqiang. Dujia’s general manager becomes especially enthusiastic about Liang Yin’s work ethic.

Significant Themes

• Public image versus hidden reality: Lan Guoqiang appears publicly as a powerful businessman, while his family abandonment and tax problems reveal a darker private history. Liang Yin likewise appears refined and professional but has an unexpectedly eccentric past.
• Justice and consequences: Though public criticism has little effect on Lan Guoqiang, the tax investigation may finally impose meaningful consequences on him.
• Entertainment-industry hypocrisy and gossip: The livestream audience eagerly consumes scandals, while the show attempts to maintain a polished public image by hiding Liang Yin’s more questionable work experiences.
• Work ethic and exploitation: Liang Yin’s willingness to endure humiliating or extreme demands illustrates both his professional dedication and the unreasonable expectations placed on workers serving wealthy clients.
• Power and resource exchange: The show’s selection process reflects the competitive, transactional nature of the entertainment industry.

Character Interactions

• Chu Xiyue and the other two investors collaborate to remove Lan Guoqiang from the panel while maintaining a public excuse.
• The livestream audience reacts enthusiastically to the investor scandal and speculates about Chu Xiyue’s influence.
• The Dujia general manager interviews Liang Yin and praises his willingness to endure hardship, seeing him as exactly the kind of talent the company needs.
• Chu Xiyue silently reacts to the system’s revelations about Liang Yin, then openly demands more details, turning the professional interview into an anticipated source of gossip.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• During a public livestream, Chu Xiyue asks the system about Liang Yin’s past work for a client, initially believing he performed pole dancing at a bar.
• The system reveals that Liang Yin actually danced in a maid outfit at an adult-themed hotel for a male client, then continued entertaining him until morning.
• It further exposes that Liang Yin personally traveled to obtain rare fruit for the client—and that he himself was the “fruit platter,” implying an extremely intimate and humiliating service.
• Shocked by the contrast between Liang Yin’s honest appearance and his adventurous past, Chu Xiyue compares him with Wan Zhen and He Jinyuan.
• The system explains that Wan Zhen left Xu Wanyi after the Xu family’s bankruptcy and became the mistress of a vice president, while He Jinyuan is now thriving as a male escort at the White X Club.
• Chu Xiyue spaces out while Liang Yin introduces himself. When asked for her opinion, she awkwardly calls him “hardworking and ambitious,” provoking mixed reactions from the livestream audience.
• Viewers debate whether Chu Xiyue is arrogant and disrespectful or whether the criticism is exaggerated. Her fans defend her, and moderators ban some hostile commenters.
• The vice chairman of Millimeter Entertainment immediately echoes Chu Xiyue’s assessment, praising Liang Yin as hardworking, ambitious, down-to-earth, and selfless.

Character developments

• Chu Xiyue: Reveals a curious, mischievous, and easily shocked side through her internal reactions. Although she tries to maintain her professional image, her distracted behavior makes her appear arrogant. Her influence as the program’s investor and her growing fanbase are also emphasized.
• Liang Yin: Is presented as outwardly upright and obedient but is revealed to have gone to extreme lengths to satisfy wealthy clients, demonstrating both resourcefulness and a willingness to endure degrading work.
• Wan Zhen: Has moved on from her failed relationship and now relies on another wealthy man, continuing her pattern of pursuing financial security through romantic or intimate relationships.
• He Jinyuan: Has successfully entered the escort industry and is becoming one of its most sought-after performers, suggesting a major reversal in his circumstances.
• The vice chairman: Shows clear deference to Chu Xiyue, instantly adopting and embellishing her opinion rather than offering an independent judgment.
• The audience: Becomes divided between critics who view Chu Xiyue as entitled and loyal fans who defend her, illustrating her increasingly powerful public presence.

Significant themes

• The contrast between appearance and reality: Liang Yin’s respectable exterior hides his provocative past, while Chu Xiyue’s seemingly careless behavior is interpreted differently by supporters and detractors.
• Power and privilege: Chu Xiyue’s status protects her from serious consequences, while the entertainment company and moderators work to suppress criticism on her behalf.
• Survival in exploitative industries: Liang Yin, Wan Zhen, and He Jinyuan all pursue unconventional or compromising paths to improve their lives.
• Public image and online judgment: A moment of distraction becomes evidence for some viewers that Chu Xiyue is corrupt, while others dismiss the criticism as overblown.
• Humor through secret knowledge: The system’s revelations create dramatic irony, since Chu Xiyue knows shocking private information while everyone else remains unaware.

Character interactions

• Chu Xiyue mentally questions the system about Liang Yin while outwardly sitting in a formal business setting.
• The system provides increasingly explicit details, leaving Chu Xiyue stunned and causing her to choke on her tea.
• The vice chairman calls Chu Xiyue back to attention and asks her to evaluate Liang Yin.
• Chu Xiyue gives a vague compliment, which the vice chairman enthusiastically repeats and expands.
• Livestream viewers argue over Chu Xiyue’s conduct, while her fans and the moderators actively defend her.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Chu Xiyue comments that four words in Millimeter Entertainment’s vice chairman’s statement are especially fitting. He mistakenly worries she has discovered his questionable business plans or personal secrets.
• Chu notices Liang Yin and realizes, through the system, that although rumors surround him, he is single and has not actually behaved immorally. She decides not to expose his private business dealings.
• A new contestant, Gu Jiang from Dujia Entertainment, arrives. Despite her youthful appearance, she is twenty-four and has professional acting experience.
• The system hints that Gu Jiang is especially skilled at “faking things,” making Chu suspect that Gu Jiang may be falsifying something more serious than her age or appearance.
• Gu Jiang demonstrates her street-dance skills, performing difficult moves such as Thomas flares, one-handed bicycles, windmills, and an elbow windmill. Her performance impresses everyone and reveals a striking contrast between her shy, cute appearance and her athletic confidence.
• The system then reveals the major secret: Gu Jiang is biologically male, despite presenting herself as a woman. Chu is shocked, realizing that the “faking” refers to Gu Jiang’s entire apparent identity rather than ordinary entertainment-industry exaggerations.

2. Character Developments

• Chu Xiyue shows discretion and moral restraint. Although she enjoys gossip and can perceive hidden information through the system, she refuses to reveal Liang Yin’s private affairs because he has not actually harmed anyone.
• The vice chairman is portrayed as nervous and self-protective. He immediately assumes Chu has uncovered his wrongdoing, creating comic tension.
• Liang Yin becomes uneasy under Chu’s gaze, suggesting that he knows his reputation could invite suspicion. However, he is clarified to be single and not a womanizer.
• Gu Jiang establishes herself as talented, disciplined, and charismatic. Her performance shows strong physical ability and confidence, even though she outwardly acts shy and innocent.
• The system continues to provide Chu with hidden truths, placing her in increasingly awkward situations and forcing her to distinguish between harmless secrets and serious deception.

3. Significant Themes

• Appearance versus reality: Gu Jiang’s cute, youthful appearance and feminine presentation conceal a major truth about her identity.
• Privacy and ethical judgment: Chu’s knowledge of other people’s secrets raises the question of whether knowing something gives her the right to reveal it. She chooses not to expose Liang Yin’s consensual private behavior.
• Performance and deception: The entertainment industry is shown as a world where people routinely construct public identities, exaggerate résumés, alter their appearance, and conceal personal truths.
• Talent overcoming appearances: Gu Jiang’s street-dance performance challenges assumptions based on her delicate appearance and demonstrates that strength and skill may exist beneath an unexpected exterior.
• Comic misunderstandings: The vice chairman’s exaggerated fears and Chu’s internal reactions create humor while contrasting with the more serious revelation about Gu Jiang.

4. Character Interactions

• Chu and the vice chairman exchange an awkward conversation in which he nervously tries to determine what she meant by “four words.”
• Chu silently evaluates Liang Yin, while he becomes uncomfortable because he suspects she may know about his rumored behavior.
• Chu questions Gu Jiang about her special talents, but the system interrupts with a cryptic warning that Gu Jiang is skilled at “faking.”
• Dujia Entertainment’s general manager encourages Gu Jiang to perform, eager to promote one of his company’s artists.
• Gu Jiang’s dance impresses the vice chairman, the general manager, the audience, and the viewers, who praise her strength and technique.
• While everyone else admires the performance, Chu remains silent because the system has revealed Gu Jiang’s hidden biological identity, setting up the chapter’s central shock.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chu Xiyue learns through the system that Gu Jiang was originally male but transitioned to female through extensive medical procedures, including hormone therapy, gender-reassignment surgery, facial and breast surgery, and vocal-cord surgery.
• Gu Jiang also makes counterfeit documents, and the identification she submitted to the production team is fake. Her legal documents still list her former gender.
• Chu Xiyue is shocked by the unusual secrets among the show’s contestants and worries that the program may become too controversial to air, jeopardizing her investment.
• Despite her financial concerns, Chu Xiyue admits that she values sensational gossip more than money and remains eager to uncover more secrets.
• Gu Jiang asks Chu Xiyue for feedback on her dance. Chu gives a restrained, insincere compliment while secretly being distracted by the revelations.
• Viewers notice Chu Xiyue’s lack of attention during the introductions and criticize her behavior in the livestream chat.
• The third contestant, Ji Beishu, enters. Although she has an androgynous appearance and masculine clothing, the system reveals that she is genuinely female and secretly loves feminine fashion, especially pink dresses and high heels.

Character Developments

• Chu Xiyue: Becomes increasingly fascinated by the contestants’ scandals. Her priorities are revealed: although she worries about losing money, her love of gossip ultimately outweighs her business concerns. She also struggles to maintain a professional façade while processing the system’s revelations.
• Gu Jiang: Is established as highly determined and willing to undergo extreme measures to become and present herself as female. Her carefully constructed appearance, voice, and identity make her exceptionally skilled at deception and concealment.
• Ji Beishu: Is introduced as an androgynous, rebellious-looking young artist, but the contrast between her appearance and her private preference for feminine clothing creates an ironic and potentially comedic characterization.
• The System: Continues providing Chu Xiyue with private information about the contestants, shaping her understanding of the cast and fueling her curiosity.

Significant Themes

• Identity and self-determination: Gu Jiang’s transition emphasizes the lengths a person may go to in order to live according to their desired identity.
• Appearance versus reality: Both Gu Jiang and Ji Beishu challenge assumptions based on clothing, voice, and physical appearance.
• Gossip and entertainment: The chapter satirizes the entertainment industry’s fascination with secrets and scandal, while showing Chu Xiyue’s enthusiasm for uncovering them.
• Professionalism versus private reactions: Chu Xiyue must appear respectful and composed while internally reacting dramatically to the contestants’ hidden histories.
• Irony and reversal: Gu Jiang looks entirely feminine despite her past, while Ji Beishu looks masculine despite being a woman who longs to dress femininely.

Character Interactions

• Chu Xiyue listens to the system’s revelations about Gu Jiang while observing her closely, privately reassessing everything about her appearance and voice.
• Gu Jiang directly asks Chu Xiyue for an opinion on her dance, but Chu responds with a perfunctory compliment rather than genuine engagement.
• The livestream audience criticizes Chu Xiyue for appearing distracted and impolite during Gu Jiang’s performance.
• Staff members direct Gu Jiang to her seat, arranging the contestants according to gender.
• Ji Beishu introduces herself to the group, prompting Chu Xiyue to suspect that she may be another person concealing her true identity, though the system immediately corrects her assumption.

Chapter Summary: “Gu Jiang’s Identity Exposed”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chu Xiyue receives confirmation that Ji Beishu has no hidden scandals and invites her to sit nearby, relieved to have found a seemingly normal artist.
• Gu Jiang is shocked to discover that Ji Beishu is a woman and immediately criticizes her masculine clothing, short hair, lack of makeup, and rough manner.
• Ji Beishu angrily defends her right to dress as she chooses, while viewers divide between those supporting Gu Jiang’s traditional views and those condemning them as outdated and sexist.
• Gu Jiang insists that women should wear skirts, grow their hair long, behave gently, and focus on being attractive to men. She claims she is only advising Ji Beishu for her own benefit.
• The executives of Dujia Entertainment and Millimeter Entertainment privately agree with Gu Jiang but avoid expressing their opinions publicly because of the cameras and potential backlash.
• Chu Xiyue initially appears to defend Ji Beishu, mocking Gu Jiang for interfering in others’ lives. However, she then unexpectedly praises Gu Jiang’s argument.
• Chu Xiyue reveals that her praise is sarcastic: she calls Gu Jiang a “perfect traditional woman” and asks how many children she plans to have, abruptly exposing the contradiction in Gu Jiang’s ideals and leaving her speechless.

Character Developments

• Ji Beishu: Shown as fiercely independent and comfortable with her masculine style. Although she is physically formidable and formerly worked as a combat coach, she struggles to respond verbally when angry, becoming frustrated and unable to think of comebacks.
• Gu Jiang: Her rigid, conservative beliefs become publicly clear. She argues that women must conform to traditional gender roles and reveals a strong concern with female appearance and male approval. Her confidence begins to falter when Chu Xiyue turns her own principles against her.
• Chu Xiyue: Demonstrates sharp wit and strategic thinking. She first challenges Gu Jiang directly, then uses sarcasm and a leading question to expose the inconsistency of Gu Jiang’s “traditional woman” persona.
• The audience: Divided over gender expression and traditional femininity. Some defend personal freedom, while others support Gu Jiang’s outdated standards, illustrating the controversy surrounding her behavior.

Significant Themes

• Freedom of self-expression: Ji Beishu’s clothing and appearance are presented as personal choices rather than measures of femininity.
• Gender stereotypes: Gu Jiang promotes restrictive ideas that women should be gentle, attractive, traditionally dressed, and focused on domestic roles.
• Public judgment and sexism: The livestream comments reveal how quickly people police women’s appearance and behavior.
• Satire and hypocrisy: Chu Xiyue exposes the weakness of Gu Jiang’s claims by applying her traditional ideals to childbirth and family obligations.
• Power of rhetoric: Ji Beishu’s inability to argue effectively contrasts with Chu Xiyue’s ability to dismantle Gu Jiang’s position through sarcasm.

Character Interactions

• Gu Jiang confronts Ji Beishu over her appearance, provoking an angry response.
• Ji Beishu and Gu Jiang clash over whether women must look and behave traditionally feminine.
• Chu Xiyue intervenes, first appearing to defend Ji Beishu and then pretending to endorse Gu Jiang.
• Chu Xiyue’s final question about Gu Jiang’s planned number of children shifts the conversation from criticizing others to examining Gu Jiang’s willingness to follow her own stated ideals.

Chapter 240 Summary

Plot Points and Events

• Chu Xiyue sarcastically challenges Gu Jiang’s insistence that women should be traditional wives and mothers by suggesting that Gu Jiang have six—or even eight—children.
• Gu Jiang awkwardly claims that he is focused on building his career and has no immediate plans for children. When Chu Xiyue presses the issue, he reluctantly says he will consider having six children after marriage.
• Chu Xiyue exposes the absurdity of his claim, pointing out that Gu Jiang has no uterus and asking how he could possibly give birth—through self-reproduction, same-sex reproduction, or an artificial womb.
• She then reveals that Gu Jiang’s claimed educational background does not exist in the school’s records. Instead, she finds a male student named Gu Jiang with a nearly identical name.
• Chu Xiyue produces what she claims is a male ID card bearing Gu Jiang’s name and appearance. Gu Jiang panics and tries to seize it, but Chu Xiyue’s bodyguard restrains him.
• Chu Xiyue admits the ID card was actually hers, explaining that she used the trick to confirm Gu Jiang’s guilt. She publicly reveals that Gu Jiang is a transgender woman who underwent sex reassignment surgery in Thailand.
• The people at the recording site and the livestream audience are shocked, debating whether Chu Xiyue’s accusation is true.

Character Developments

• Chu Xiyue demonstrates sharp investigative skills, confidence, and ruthless wit. She turns Gu Jiang’s own conservative rhetoric against him and carefully provokes a revealing reaction.
• Gu Jiang loses control of the situation. His confident, judgmental persona collapses into panic once his identity and fabricated background are questioned.
• Ji Beishu openly enjoys Chu Xiyue’s retaliation, laughing at Gu Jiang’s humiliation and appearing increasingly aligned with Chu Xiyue.
• The livestream audience shifts from amusement to intense curiosity and suspicion as the confrontation becomes a possible identity scandal.

Significant Themes

• Hypocrisy and double standards: Chu Xiyue exposes the contradiction between Gu Jiang’s demands that women remain domestic and traditional while Gu Jiang himself pursues a public career.
• Gender roles and social expectations: The chapter mocks the idea that women must marry, have numerous children, avoid education, and remain at home.
• Identity and authenticity: Gu Jiang’s false résumé and concealed gender history raise questions about public image, self-presentation, and the pressure to conform.
• Public judgment and spectacle: The livestream turns the confrontation into entertainment, with viewers immediately speculating about Gu Jiang’s body and identity.
• Evidence versus provocation: Chu Xiyue’s fake ID card is not proof itself, but Gu Jiang’s instinctive reaction exposes his fear and effectively confirms her suspicions.

Character Interactions

• Chu Xiyue and Gu Jiang engage in a hostile verbal duel, with Chu Xiyue repeatedly forcing Gu Jiang into contradictions.
• Gu Jiang attempts to dismiss her comments as jokes and redirect the conversation, but Chu Xiyue refuses to let him evade the accusations.
• When Gu Jiang physically lunges for the supposed ID card, Chu Xiyue’s bodyguard restrains him, reinforcing her control over the confrontation.
• Ji Beishu’s laughter signals her enjoyment of Gu Jiang’s downfall and adds a moment of solidarity with Chu Xiyue.
• The audience and livestream viewers function as witnesses, reacting with shock and turning the exposure into a public scandal.