Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• Lao He’s sketch depicts Xia Jinyu’s last phone photo: her wearing a seductive wine-red outfit and taking a mirror selfie. It also shows the answer to the number game she played with Wu Chen: five.
• Xia Jinyu realizes Wu Chen knew both the photo and her answer before she revealed them. She rules out spying, hidden cameras, and tricks, but cannot explain how he knew.
• Li Ruobing admits Wu Chen had predicted Xia Jinyu was wearing the wine-red outfit beneath her clothes. She says she learned this from him, but has no idea how he knew.
• Xia Jinyu inspects the restroom mirror and asks Li Ruobing whether Wu Chen had her monitored. Li denies it, and Xia believes her.
• Li mocks Xia for confidently analyzing Wu Chen while being unable to explain his apparent foresight. Xia declines to argue and leaves the restroom to face him.

Character developments and interactions

• Xia Jinyu is shaken more deeply than ever: Wu Chen’s knowledge overturns her assumptions about him and seems impossible to explain. Her curiosity persists, and she stays composed enough to leave the restroom rather than hide.
• Li Ruobing is candid about what she knows but cannot explain Wu Chen’s ability. She needles Xia, partly to vent her lingering resentment, while making clear that she believes Wu Chen is not relying on cheap tricks.
• Wu Chen remains outside the restroom, casually passing the time. His unexplained foreknowledge continues to dominate the scene despite his absence from the conversation.
• Xia and Li confront each other directly, testing one another’s honesty and composure. Their exchange shifts from suspicion to sharp teasing, but Xia ultimately accepts Li’s denial.

Significant themes

• The limits of rational explanation: Xia methodically rejects ordinary explanations, yet Wu Chen’s knowledge resists her logic.
• Mystery and perception: The chapter emphasizes the gap between what Xia can observe and what she can understand about Wu Chen.
• Pride and vulnerability: Xia’s usual confidence is unsettled, while Li uses humor and provocation to regain emotional ground.

Plot and events

• At lunch, Xia Jinyu realizes Wu Chen deliberately let him believe he had the chance to inspect Wu Chen’s phone. Knowing Xia’s habits and psychology, Wu Chen anticipated that Xia would lose interest after seeing his apparent poor performance and would never check the phone. He changed the password before Xia could reconsider.
• Xia is shaken by how thoroughly Wu Chen has anticipated his actions. The intended dress compensation becomes irrelevant as both men focus on their psychological contest.
• They silently exchange phones. Xia drinks wine to steady himself, then apologizes for misjudging Wu and admits his analysis was based on a false premise.
• Their conversation turns teasing and combative. Wu needles Xia, briefly compliments his appearance, and then explains how he guessed what photo Xia had taken and why Xia wore a particular outfit underneath his clothes. He offers a plausible deduction but conceals his real source of knowledge.
• With the matter between them settled, Wu is ready to continue on his own path.

Character developments

• Wu Chen demonstrates his confidence and exceptional ability to read people, using psychological insight—and calculated risk—to control the encounter. He remains playful and provocative, while keeping the truth about his knowledge hidden.
• Xia Jinyu moves from dread and disbelief to composure, honest self-correction, and renewed curiosity. He accepts that he was wrong without defensiveness, though Wu’s teasing still irritates him.
• Li Ruobing is angry after her private interaction with Xia, but says little. She watches Wu and Xia’s exchange closely, tense at Wu’s familiar pickup lines and amused by his audacity.

Themes

• Psychology and prediction: Knowing someone’s habits can be as powerful as knowing their secrets.
• Humility and accountability: Xia’s willingness to apologize contrasts with the pride often associated with expertise.
• Control and hidden knowledge: Wu reveals enough to impress Xia while concealing the deeper truth behind his insight.
• Playful rivalry: The characters’ barbed jokes and flirtation soften, but do not erase, the intensity of their contest.

Character interactions

Wu and Xia’s relationship shifts from adversarial testing toward mutual respect, expressed through their silent phone exchange, Xia’s apology, and their teasing debate. Li Ruobing remains an observant third presence: her reactions show both irritation at Wu’s flirtatious behavior and amusement at the two men’s verbal sparring.