Chapter Summaries

After a student died by suicide at Wenhui Building, Ding Yuqing worried that her mockery and a possible connection to Madam Kaja had contributed to his death. The conversation later turned to her childhood violin lessons, but Ding Xueyang stopped short of explaining why she had quit.

• Ding Jiali told Ding Yuqing and Hesta that the student had left a rooftop note reading “Forever Lost My Love” and that rumors blamed a breakup with a rich older woman.
• Ding Yuqing asked whether Madam Kaja was the love mentioned in the note, and Hesta said the police investigation had not clarified anything.
• Ding Yuqing admitted to Hesta that she felt scared and sad, then Ding Xueyang and Miaomiao arrived and Miaomiao began pounding on the piano.
• Ding Yuqing told Ding Xueyang she wanted to hear the piano at home, and Ding Xueyang recalled that Yuqing had learned violin as a toddler.
• Ding Xueyang fell silent when Ding Yuqing asked why she had stopped learning violin, while Hesta and Ding Xueyang spoke about the hard work of learning an instrument.

Miaomiao knocked over an attic bookshelf, revealing Xu Ruyi’s old handwritten sheet music and a thesis naming Chen Beiyi as its advisor. The discovery stirred up a painful history between Xu Ruyi and Ding Guisheng, and the family dinner ended in tense silence as Ding Guisheng mocked her past and suggested she teach Miaomiao piano.

• Miaomiao tugged at a bookshelf in the attic, causing it to topple and spilling its books and papers.
• Hesta found Ding Yuqing’s mother’s thesis and noticed that Chen Beiyi had been her advisor.
• Miaomiao brought a folder downstairs, and Xu Ruyi reacted sharply when she saw its handwritten sheet music.
• Ding Guisheng mocked Xu Ruyi about her old letters and an earlier plan to elope, while Xu Yuqing told him to stop.
• Ding Guisheng suggested Xu Ruyi teach Miaomiao piano and write her a District 3 Suite.

Hesta witnessed a violent family argument at the Ding household, then visited Chen Beiyi to ask about Madam Kaja after a student’s suicide. She left Chen Beiyi with her concerns that her young friend, who was fixated on Kaja, might be in danger.

• Ding Guisheng and Xu Ruyi fought over her demand for a divorce, and Ding Jiali and Ding Yuqing tried to separate them while Hesta watched.
• After the fight, Ding Yuqing invited Hesta to share takeout, but Hesta stayed behind to eat plain rice.
• The next morning, Hesta brought Chen Beiyi a collection of articles about Chen Lingshuang and said she wanted to discuss Madam Kaja.
• Hesta told Chen Beiyi she had witnessed a student's suicide at Wenhui Building and recognized the red-haired boy from encounters connected to Kaja.
• Hesta said her young friend was obsessed with Kaja and feared she might be in danger.

Hesta discussed Kaja, the investigation into the boy’s death, and her determination to pursue Zuo Wentao’s case with Chen Beiyi. Later, Yu Xuekun teased Hesta about being in love, but their conversation revealed she had mistaken someone else’s argument for Hesta’s romantic quarrel.

• Hesta told Chen Beiyi she would cooperate with the investigation and said she still intended to pursue Zuo Wentao’s matter.
• Chen Beiyi revealed that Xu Ruyi had been her first student, and Hesta asked her to visit Xu Ruyi because she was not doing well.
• Yu Xuekun gave Hesta a sealed envelope from Chiba and learned that Hesta planned to move into the school dormitory soon.
• Hesta said she would remain with Madam Kaja until she understood Kaja’s feelings about Ding Yuqing.
• Yu Xuekun teased Hesta about hiking with her sweetheart and described a couple’s arguments, but Hesta’s confused reaction made Yu Xuekun realize she had misunderstood.

Hesta discussed her strained relationship with Yu Xuekun, learned about Eucali’s new job, and received identification numbers and passwords from Chiba. On the way to a study room, she reconsidered her feelings for Ksenia and resolved to keep reason as her guide.

• Yu Xuekun teased Hesta about her relationship with Ding Jiali and advised her to wait until the next assessment before expecting Yu Xuekun to trust her again.
• Hesta asked Yu Xuekun for a quiet place to study, and Yu Xuekun gave her a card for a commercial study room.
• Yu Xuekun told Hesta that Eucali had landed a probationary job as a District 3 Language interpreter, and Hesta realized she had missed signs of Eucali’s change.
• Hesta collected an envelope containing Quicksilver Needle identification numbers and passwords that she had requested from Miss Chiba.
• Hesta reflected on how her feelings for Ksenia had grown and decided she could not let herself drift without reason.

Hesta visited a commercial study room and unexpectedly found Ksenia and Mei Sinan studying together. Overwhelmed by conflicting feelings, she tried to avoid them and left in a rush, ending up walking into a glass door.

• Hesta toured the mall’s study room and disliked its dim, artificial lighting.
• Hesta spotted Ksenia and Mei Sinan sitting together and froze with joy and apprehension.
• Hesta crouched behind plants and desks to evade Ksenia as she went to the water dispenser.
• Hesta watched Ksenia and Mei Sinan talk and felt sour and irritated seeing them together.
• Hesta told the clerk she was tying nonexistent shoelaces, then stumbled over an extension cord and walked into the glass exit door.

Hesta unexpectedly ran into Ksenia at a study room after breaking its glass door and injuring herself. After learning that Ksenia and Mei Sinan were childhood friends, Hesta left abruptly, overwhelmed by the encounter.

• Hesta slipped on a broken roll-up banner, fell, and scattered tools and slogans after shattering the study room's glass door.
• Ksenia treated Hesta's cheek while Mei Sinan helped put away the supplies.
• Ksenia asked why Hesta had come, and Hesta explained that Yu Xuekun had recommended the study room for exam preparation.
• Hesta asked about Ksenia's closeness with Mei Sinan, and Ksenia said they had been childhood friends since Northern District 14.
• Hesta asked whether the seat beside Ksenia was free, said she would register, then rushed out of the building and into the crowd.

Hesta struggled with her feelings for Ksenia and spent the day uneasy, then dreamed of Nightingale dead in a cage. After Ding Jiali secretly waited for Shi Pingchuan, he confronted him about browsing history he had found on the family computer.

• Hesta saw the moonlit sea footage again and realized that her feelings would return whenever Ksenia was near.
• Hesta dreamed of Nightingale singing in a white pavilion before discovering him dead in a pool of blood.
• Ding Yuqing argued with Ding Jiali over access to the desktop computer, and Ding Jiali eventually let her use it.
• Ding Jiali waited up for Ding Xueyang and Shi Pingchuan, then invited Shi Pingchuan to talk privately.
• Ding Jiali told Shi Pingchuan he had found his unlogged browser history, and Shi Pingchuan locked the door and demanded to know why he had gone through it.

Ding Jiali confronted Shi Pingchuan after discovering his affair, but Shi Pingchuan dismissed his questions and insisted he keep it secret from Ding Xueyang. Alone later, Ding Jiali reconsidered the wealthy life he had admired in Shi Pingchuan and felt that ideal had been shattered.

• Shi Pingchuan asked Ding Jiali whether he had told Ding Xueyang or anyone else about the affair, and Ding Jiali said he had deleted everything and told no one.
• Ding Jiali pressed Shi Pingchuan to explain why he had chosen a woman he considered low-class, and Shi Pingchuan blamed stress and claimed Ding Xueyang had always been unwilling to satisfy him.
• Shi Pingchuan told Ding Jiali that men wanted their wives to remain respectable rather than behave like prostitutes, then left the room.
• Unable to sleep, Ding Jiali reflected on his childhood admiration for Ding Guisheng’s wealth and his later envy of the Ding sisters for marrying into prosperity.
• Ding Jiali remembered how Shi Pingchuan’s luxurious lifestyle had once represented high society to him, but his affair with the woman made that ideal collapse.

Ding Jiali questioned whether Ding Guisheng had ever been unfaithful and clashed with his family at breakfast. On the way to school, he tried to discuss love with Hesta, who avoided the subject and hurried ahead.

• Ding Jiali wondered if Ding Guisheng had secretly sought women outside the home, and Ding Guisheng angrily confronted him for staring.
• Ding Xueyang said she knew a girl at school was pursuing Ding Jiali, but Ding Jiali told her to worry about herself.
• Shi Pingchuan scolded Ding Jiali for disrespecting Ding Xueyang, and Ding Jiali left the table to pack.
• Ding Jiali met Hesta on his way out and asked what she thought love was.
• Hesta told Ding Jiali not to talk to her about love, and he said he wished she were a guy so they could be friends.

Hesta met the girl she had saved, who thanked her and showed her the supportive message embroidered on her backpack. Hesta later emailed the school principal about Zuo Wentao’s case, then celebrated Eucali’s probationary job with Cheng Xiaoshu.

• Hesta met the girl she had saved at Wenhui Building, and the girl thanked her and said students supported Hesta’s complaint against Zuo Wentao.
• The girl showed Hesta a backpack patch offering menstrual pads to anyone who needed one, and Hesta accepted a patch.
• Hesta found Molly’s contact information outside his office and emailed him about the complaint, reflecting that Zuo Wentao was only one of many problems weighing on her.
• Hesta and Cheng Xiaoshu went to Eucali’s home, where they surprised her with a celebration for her probationary job.
• Cheng Xiaoshu asked Eucali whether her probation came with a salary and how she planned to spend the money.

Eucali celebrated getting a job at the media conglomerate Gleipnir, but argued with Cheng Xiaoshu over sending her paycheck to her mother. As the three friends talked about their futures, Eucali revealed she wanted to become a pediatrician, and Hesta claimed that training to become a doctor took only seven months.

• Cheng Xiaoshu challenged Eucali for sending her paycheck home, and Eucali defended her decision and paid her share of the meal.
• Eucali showed Hesta and Cheng Xiaoshu the engraved glasses she had bought herself and explained that she had joined Gleipnir as a translator.
• Eucali said her job might take her to District 1 or District 3 for six months of compliance training, and Cheng Xiaoshu congratulated her on joining the famous company.
• Cheng Xiaoshu asked what Eucali would do without practical constraints, and Eucali said she would become a pediatrician.
• Cheng Xiaoshu said becoming a doctor would take too long, but Hesta insisted it took seven months.

Hesta explained how wartime training programs let local volunteers learn practical professions, and Eucali began considering what she wanted to do. After Cheng Xiaoshu challenged Eucali’s decision to send her earnings home, Hesta received word that Eucali’s mother would visit Orange Town next week.

• Hesta described short-term training programs for doctors and other skilled workers, and Eucali asked whether she could join one.
• Cheng Xiaoshu and Hesta left Eucali’s apartment and argued about buying Eucali a gift because Cheng Xiaoshu thought Eucali would give it away to her family.
• Cheng Xiaoshu asked whether Hesta would accept Eucali transferring her first month’s salary to her, and Hesta reconsidered whether Eucali’s mother was as kind as Eucali believed.
• Eucali messaged Hesta to say her mother planned to visit Orange Town after hearing about Eucali’s new job.
• Hesta agreed to meet Eucali’s mother but felt unsettled as she awaited the visit.

Hesta accepted Ksenia’s invitation to play chess at the theater, and Ksenia waited anxiously for her reply. The next afternoon, Hesta arrived early for rehearsal and watched Ksenia until they greeted each other.

• Ksenia invited Hesta to play chess at the Drama Club, and Hesta eventually replied, “Okay.”
• Ksenia waited over an hour for Hesta’s response and then fell asleep thinking about her.
• Ksenia considered her upcoming rehearsal and the possibility that her experiment would receive District 14 research funding.
• Hesta carefully fixed her hair before going to the theater early the next afternoon.
• Hesta watched Ksenia from the back of the theater until Ksenia waved, then ran over to her.

Hesta joined Ksenia at the Drama Club, where they played chess and discussed Madam Kaja’s influence, Zuo Wentao’s case, and Principal Moly’s support for students. Ksenia left to sign a Rising Star Program commitment letter after learning she had passed the preliminary selection.

• Hesta realized she felt unlike herself around Ksenia, but set the thought aside when Ksenia waved her over.
• Ksenia stopped Hesta from helping with heavy props and invited her to play chess in the dressing room.
• Ksenia told Hesta that Madam Kaja had funded many clubs, though Teacher Wu had prevented the Drama Club from accepting her sponsorship.
• Ksenia and Hesta discussed Zuo Wentao’s case and Principal Moly, whom Ksenia described as an administrator who consistently sided with students.
• Ksenia advised Hesta that a harmless chess move could be better than forcing an attack, then went to meet Teacher Zhou.
• Teacher Zhou gave Ksenia a Rising Star Program commitment letter and told her that she had passed the preliminary selection and would interview in three weeks.

Ksenia signed a university commitment letter for her research project despite feeling weighed down by its moral and legal conditions. At dinner, Lin Jiao told Hesta about Ksenia’s upcoming defense and invited her on a Poetry Club outing where Hesta could coach shooting.

• Ksenia questioned the commitment letter’s conditions, but her advisor explained that the school required it after a previous project leader was arrested for molesting a student.
• Ksenia signed the letter and watched her advisor leave, troubled by its references to moral standards and public conduct.
• Hesta joined Lin Jiao for dinner, and Lin Jiao asked whether she had gone to Drama Club rehearsal.
• Lin Jiao told Hesta that Ksenia had an important research defense in three weeks and explained the grants and career prospects tied to it.
• Lin Jiao invited Hesta to the Poetry Club’s weekend farm trip, where she had planned for Hesta to coach a team in shooting shotguns and possibly rifles.

Hesta reflected on her feelings for Ksenia and recalled Miss Chiba’s warning about puppy love, while Lin Jiao discussed concerns about Madam Kaja’s donations and the student union’s finances. On Friday night, Hesta visited Silei at the blood hospital, where they unexpectedly came face to face.

• Lin Jiao told Hesta that Madam Kaja’s unusually large donations seemed suspicious and that the poetry society had refused her money.
• Lin Jiao warned Hesta that the student union had mishandled club funds and gave her contact information for making a direct donation.
• Hesta thought about how being with Ksenia made her feel foolish and exhausted, and she connected Miss Chiba’s warning about puppy love to Anna and Chiba’s past.
• Hesta took leave from the poetry society on Friday and traveled to Songxueyuan to visit Silei.
• Hesta reached the blood hospital around midnight and froze when she saw Silei in the corridor.

Hesta visited Silei, who revealed that Chiba had offered to help transfer Xiaoyu to Pingjing if Silei withdrew her report about the Ascending Bright and Anna. Silei had instead submitted the report with additional information about Chiba, and she left Hesta with a question about what she would do if she and Chiba became opponents.

• Silei asked Hesta whether Chiba had sent her to persuade her, then explained that Chiba wanted her to withdraw parts of her Ascending Bright report concerning Anna.
• Hesta learned that Xiaoyu's condition had worsened, while Silei described her exhaustion and the rejected application to transfer Xiaoyu for treatment.
• Hesta suggested sending Xiaoyu to an AHgAs hospital, and Silei revealed that Chiba had offered a transfer to Pingjing in exchange for withdrawing the report.
• Silei said she had submitted the report with supplementary information about Chiba and that the work stations in District 14 could not provide a personal safety protection order.
• As they parted at the elevators, Silei asked Hesta what she would choose if she ever stood against Chiba.

Hesta reconsidered Silei’s question about a future conflict with Chiba and recognized that she trusted Chiba to stand by her while still keeping her secrets. The next morning, Hesta visited Silei and Si Yu at the blood hospital, where she scrutinized Mei Sinan and found him irritating.

• Hesta wondered whether a conflict between herself and Anna could force Chiba to choose sides, but rejected avoiding such a conflict as a childish compromise.
• Hesta realized she had always believed Chiba would stand by her in danger, even though she had never intended to share her revenge plans with Chiba.
• Hesta brought Silei breakfast at the blood hospital and saw that Si Yu was still in critical condition.
• Si Yu woke and recognized Hesta as one of the Hesta people by her red hair.
• Mei Sinan returned with breakfast, and Hesta examined him closely before criticizing the knot he had tied in the porridge bag.

Mei Sinan denied that he liked Hesta while Si Yu asked him to write a piece for him and spoke about his funeral. Hesta gave Silei a calendar that stirred a faint hope, and later she learned from Eleven how the puppies had been taught to fetch.

• Mei Sinan denied liking Hesta and begged Si Yu not to tell Silei about the piece he had written for her.
• Si Yu asked Mei Sinan to write a piece for him and said he wanted to hear it at his funeral, prompting Mei Sinan to protest.
• Hesta gave Silei a calendar for the coming year, and Silei returned to the ward and placed it beside Si Yu’s matchbox display board.
• At the children’s center, Hesta watched Eleven and Kiki care for the puppies while she messaged Ksenia.
• Eleven told Hesta that she had trained the puppies to fetch by starting in narrow spaces and rewarding them by throwing the toy farther.