Chapter Summaries

After Lin Nianwei gave birth, Lin Zhengye told her their son had died, though he had secretly sent the healthy baby to an orphanage. He drove Chen Jingshen away by blaming him for the premature labor and rejecting their relationship, leaving Chen asking where the baby was buried.

• Lin Nianwei woke after giving birth and begged to see her baby, and Lin Zhengye falsely told her the boy had died.
• Lin Nianwei fainted from grief and was taken to intensive care, while Lin Zhengye learned the healthy baby had been sent to an orphanage with his identity erased.
• Chen Jingshen rushed to the hospital, where Lin Zhengye berated him and claimed the baby had died.
• Lin Zhengye offered Chen Jingshen fifty million to leave Deep City, and Chen refused the money and said he would accept being unworthy of Lin Nianwei.
• Chen Jingshen asked Lin Zhengye where the baby was buried so he could visit him.

Chen Jingshen held the baby he believed was his dead son and begged Lin Zhengye to let him bury him, promising to stay away from Lin Nianwei. Lin Zhengye agreed, but revealed that he had deceived Chen Jingshen by substituting another dead infant, while the real baby had been taken away.

• Lin Zhengye led Chen Jingshen to the morgue, where Chen Jingshen held the tiny baby and wept.
• Chen Jingshen knelt before Lin Zhengye and begged to bury the baby himself.
• Lin Zhengye agreed and ordered Chen Quan to accompany Chen Jingshen and report where the baby was buried.
• Chen Jingshen promised Lin Zhengye he would never see Lin Nianwei again, and Lin Zhengye said he had acted for her sake.
• Lin Zhengye recalled that he had arranged for Chen Quan to take Lin Nianwei's baby away and substituted a migrant worker's dead infant to deceive Chen Jingshen.

After returning to Potou Village, Zhang Xiu'e invited Chen Yuan to leave for Deep City with her and find factory work. She brought him home on her scooter, leaving him flustered by their close contact, and invited him and his grandpa to dinner.

• Chen Yuan met Zhang Xiu'e beneath the Old Locust Tree as he returned from the fields.
• Chen Yuan told Zhang Xiu'e he had scored a little over three hundred on his entrance exams and was considering finding work.
• Zhang Xiu'e invited Chen Yuan to come with her to Deep City, where she could help him find a factory job.
• Zhang Xiu'e gave Chen Yuan a ride home, and he became embarrassed when he reacted to being pressed against her on the scooter.
• Zhang Xiu'e invited Chen Yuan and his grandpa to dinner, and Chen Yuan hurried home, cursing his body's reaction.

Chen Yuan learned from Chen Dehou that he had found him as an abandoned infant by a river in Deep City and raised him in Potou Village. Chen Yuan agreed to go to Deep City with Xiue to build a future, leaving his birth parents behind as an unanswered question.

• Chen Yuan told Chen Dehou that Xiue had invited him to work in Deep City and to dinner, and Chen Dehou encouraged him to go.
• Chen Dehou revealed that he had found Chen Yuan, then about two months old, beside a river in Deep City seventeen years earlier.
• Chen Dehou recounted how Xiue's mother helped him treat Chen Yuan's fever and find a home in Potou Village.
• Chen Yuan said he had no intention of searching for his birth parents and wanted to earn money to improve Chen Dehou's life.
• Chen Dehou approved of Chen Yuan's plan, praised his Baji Fist, and warned him to think about an escape route before fighting.
• Chen Yuan promised to bring Chen Dehou to live in a big city someday, then went to Xiue's house for dinner.

Chen Yuan ate dinner with Zhang Xiu'e, who teased him about his attraction to her and discussed his plans to move to Deep City. She told him they would leave the day after tomorrow, while her question about whether he had a crush on her kept troubling him.

• Zhang Xiu'e served Chen Yuan dinner and teased him about what had happened while he rode behind her on her electric scooter.
• Zhang Xiu'e asked Chen Yuan about his martial arts, romantic experience, and memories of following her around as a child.
• Zhang Xiu'e suggested jobs in Deep City and offered to show Chen Yuan around after they arrived.
• Chen Yuan asked whether Zhang Xiu'e had a boyfriend, and she said she was single.
• Zhang Xiu'e asked whether Chen Yuan had a crush on her, then said she was teasing him and told him to pack for their departure the day after tomorrow.

Chen Yuan woke from a wet dream and felt embarrassed when his grandfather teased him about it. Before Chen Yuan left for Deep City, Chen Dehou gave him his savings, and Chen Yuan went next door to help Zhang Xiu'e, who teased him as well.

• Chen Yuan woke from a wet dream and changed his underwear, then Chen Dehou guessed what had happened and reassured him it was normal.
• Chen Dehou gave Chen Yuan 3,200 yuan he had saved for him and urged him to work hard in Deep City without being afraid of trouble.
• Chen Dehou told Chen Yuan to help Zhang Xiu'e before leaving, and Chen Yuan went to her courtyard.
• Chen Yuan carried a heavy chest into Zhang Xiu'e's courtyard, and she squeezed his arm and teased him about blushing.
• Zhang Xiu'e asked Chen Yuan whether he had slept well, brushed his cheek, and invited him inside for water.

Chen Yuan left home with Zhang Xiu'e and traveled to the county railway station to catch a train to Deep City. They boarded the platform and waited for their train to arrive.

• Chen Yuan said goodbye to Chen Dehou and set off with Zhang Xiu'e, carrying her luggage.
• Er Gouzi drove Chen Yuan and Zhang Xiu'e to the county railway station, joking with them along the way.
• Zhang Xiu'e bought two hard-seat tickets to Deep City while Chen Yuan waited with their bags.
• Chen Yuan and Zhang Xiu'e waited in the crowded station, ate tea eggs, and went through the ticket gate after the boarding announcement.
• A whistle sounded, and Zhang Xiu'e told Chen Yuan to get ready to board as the train arrived.

Chen Yuan traveled to Deep City by train with Zhang Xiu'e, who repeatedly slept against him, leaving him flustered by his attraction to her. As the train neared Deep City, Zhang Xiu'e woke and told him to get their luggage ready.

• Chen Yuan and Zhang Xiu'e boarded the train, and Zhang Xiu'e took the window seat beside him.
• Zhang Xiu'e fell asleep against Chen Yuan, and he struggled to stop himself from stealing glances at her.
• Chen Yuan recalled his grandfather telling him to follow his heart as long as he did not hurt or force anyone.
• Zhang Xiu'e repeatedly woke, ate, and leaned against Chen Yuan to sleep, while he stayed stiff and tried to hide his excitement.
• Zhang Xiu'e told Chen Yuan she was tired because she had stayed out late at a middle school reunion.
• An attendant announced that the train would soon reach Deep City, and Zhang Xiu'e told Chen Yuan to get their luggage.

Chen Yuan arrived in Deep City with Zhang Xiu'e, who explained that she worked as an employment agent and promised to find him a job without charging him. After he accidentally encountered her roommate Zhou Min while showering, Zhang Xiu'e warned him to keep his distance from her.

• Chen Yuan learned that Zhang Xiu'e shared a two-bedroom apartment with a coworker and worked placing job seekers in jobs.
• Zhang Xiu'e promised to waive Chen Yuan's placement fee and find him a good job, then went out to buy fried rice noodles.
• Zhou Min burst into the bathroom while Chen Yuan was showering, looked him over, and later introduced herself as Zhang Xiu'e's roommate.
• Zhou Min told Zhang Xiu'e that she had broken up with her boyfriend and said she had enjoyed chatting with Chen Yuan.
• Zhang Xiu'e asked what Chen Yuan and Zhou Min had discussed, then warned him to keep his distance from Zhou Min because she was a handful.

Chen Yuan’s awkward night with Zhang Xiu'e ended when drunken Zhao Lei and his friends barged into the apartment looking for Zhou Min. Zhao Lei accused Zhou Min of leaving him for Chen Yuan and tried to grab her, while Zhang Xiu'e stepped in to protect her.

• Mosquito bites drove Chen Yuan to knock on Zhang Xiu'e’s bedroom door, where he became flustered by her nightdress and suffered a nosebleed.
• Zhang Xiu'e lit a mosquito coil and brought Chen Yuan cotton to stop the bleeding, teasing him before returning to her room.
• Chen Yuan fell asleep on the sofa and dreamed of Zhang Xiu'e before urgent banging woke the apartment.
• Zhao Lei and three drunken men forced their way inside and demanded to see Zhou Min.
• Zhao Lei accused Zhou Min of dumping him for Chen Yuan, and Zhang Xiu'e stood between them when Zhao Lei tried to grab Zhou Min.
• Zhao Lei’s companions urged him to take Zhou Min with them, and he reached for her again.

Chen Yuan intervened when Zhao Lei and his three companions tried to force Zhou Min into a bedroom, using Baji Fist to defeat all four men. After they fled, Zhang Xiu'e and Zhou Min questioned Chen Yuan about his skills, but he insisted he and his grandfather were farmers.

• Zhao Lei demanded that Zhou Min repay the money he had spent on her or sleep with him, then ordered his companions to seize her.
• Zhang Xiu'e tried to stop the men, but the bald man shoved her to the floor as they dragged Zhou Min toward the bedroom.
• Chen Yuan stepped in despite Zhang Xiu'e's warning and quickly knocked down Zhao Lei's three companions, then slapped Zhao Lei and ordered him to leave Zhou Min alone.
• Zhao Lei and his three companions fled, while Zhou Min and Zhang Xiu'e stared at Chen Yuan in shock.
• Zhang Xiu'e asked what Chen Yuan's grandfather did, and Chen Yuan again said that he was just a farmer.

After Zhou Min tried to seduce Chen Yuan, Zhang Xiu'e warned him to stay away from her and arranged to take him to register at an employment agency and buy a phone. The chapter ended with Chen Yuan following Zhang Xiu'e out, still captivated by her.

• Chen Yuan woke to find Zhou Min leaning over him, and she praised him for rescuing her from four men the previous night.
• Zhou Min pressed close to Chen Yuan and invited him to stay with her, but he said he had already arranged to stay with Sister Ezi.
• Zhang Xiu'e returned with breakfast, saw Zhou Min leaning against Chen Yuan, and watched Zhou Min hurry out after saying she would talk to him that night.
• Zhang Xiu'e told Chen Yuan to stay away from Zhou Min, and he said he had no interest in someone who used other people for money.
• Zhang Xiu'e offered to take Chen Yuan to register at an employment agency and buy him a phone, then changed clothes and led him out.

Zhang Xiu'e took Chen Yuan to register for work at Xingda Labor Agency, where he saw the manager harass her. She left without confronting Chen Yuan about what he had witnessed and took him to buy a phone.

• Zhang Xiu'e brought Chen Yuan to Xingda Labor Agency and introduced him as her younger brother.
• A woman told Zhang Xiu'e that the manager wanted to see her, and Chen Yuan watched through the office window as the manager tried to touch her.
• Zhang Xiu'e slapped the manager's hand away and stormed out of his office.
• Zhang Xiu'e helped Chen Yuan fill out a work registration form and left with him after the woman said the manager wanted to see her again.
• Chen Yuan offered to beat up the manager, and Zhang Xiu'e laughed before taking him to get a phone.

Zhang Xiu'e helped Chen Yuan buy his first phone and encouraged him to find work, while a passing Rolls-Royce carried Lin Nianwei to Fu'an Cemetery to mourn the child she believed had died. Lin Nianwei left the cemetery still grieving, unaware that Chen Yuan was alive.

• Zhang Xiu'e took Chen Yuan to a phone shop, where he chose a 630-yuan phone and saved her number as Sister Ezi.
• Chen Yuan told Zhang Xiu'e he had about 2,400 yuan left, and she advised him to spend carefully and look for a job with meals and accommodation.
• Lin Nianwei noticed Chen Yuan and Zhang Xiu'e outside the shop, then told Chen Quan to take her to Fu'an Cemetery to visit her child.
• Lin Nianwei mourned at the headstone for Chen Nianzhi as Chen Quan recalled that Lin Zhengye had secretly sent the baby away and substituted a dead infant.
• Lin Nianwei asked Chen Quan whether people had souls after death, then left the cemetery and returned toward the office.

Lin Nianwei welcomed her cousin Lin Hao to Yuanda Group and assigned him an ordinary entry-level role in the investment department. After he left, she asked Chen Quan what had happened to Chen Jingshen, learning that he had gone to Sea City eighteen years earlier.

• Lin Nianwei arrived at Yuanda Group headquarters with Chen Quan and learned that Lin Hao was waiting in her office for his first day of work.
• Lin Hao told Lin Nianwei he had graduated and was willing to learn wherever she placed him.
• Lin Nianwei assigned Lin Hao to start at the bottom of the investment department without special treatment for his first three months.
• Lin Nianwei sent Lin Hao with Su Qing to meet Director Zhang, then asked Chen Quan whether he had heard anything about Chen Jingshen.
• Chen Quan told Lin Nianwei that Chen Jingshen had left Deep City for Sea City after burying the child eighteen years earlier.

After Zhang Xiu'e was summoned back to work by Wang Dahai, Chen Yuan wandered through Deep City and rescued an elderly man from an overturned car just before it exploded. The old man wanted to thank him, but Chen Yuan slipped away, leaving the man to suspect that the crash was no accident.

• Wang Dahai berated Zhang Xiu'e over the phone and ordered her to return to the company, so she left Chen Yuan to explore on his own.
• Chen Yuan walked through Deep City and saw a black sedan overturned at an intersection, with an elderly man trapped inside and flames spreading beneath it.
• Chen Yuan forced open the car door, freed the old man, and carried him away before the sedan exploded.
• The old man asked Chen Yuan for his name and contact details, but a group of bodyguards arrived and one shoved Chen Yuan aside.
• The old man rebuked the middle-aged bodyguard for pushing away his rescuer, then watched the burning car and suspected foul play.

Zhang Xiu'e confronted Wang Dahai after he reprimanded her for missing work and rejected his offer to make her his mistress. She agreed to attend a client dinner that evening, unaware that Wang Dahai planned to use her and Li Yan to entertain the lecherous Mr. Sun.

• Zhang Xiu'e argued with Li Yan on her way to Wang Dahai's office, accusing her of getting involved with a married man.
• Wang Dahai scolded Zhang Xiu'e for leaving work without his approval, then offered her a promotion and higher pay if she became his woman.
• Zhang Xiu'e rejected Wang Dahai's advances, and Li Yan defended him before he told Zhang Xiu'e to join a dinner with Mr. Sun.
• Zhang Xiu'e agreed to attend the dinner at the Shangri-La, trusting Wang Dahai's promise that he would stop troubling her.
• After Zhang Xiu'e left, Li Yan learned that Wang Dahai intended to take them because Mr. Sun was a lecher, and she called Wang Dahai a bastard.

Zhang Xiu'e told Chen Yuan that Wang Dahai had pressured her to attend a client dinner at the Shangri-La, and Chen Yuan agreed to accompany her and protect her. They arrived at the hotel, where Zhang Xiu'e went inside while Chen Yuan waited outside.

• Zhang Xiu'e returned home upset and told Chen Yuan how Wang Dahai had asked her to be his woman and assigned her a dinner with a client.
• Chen Yuan offered to accompany Zhang Xiu'e, and she agreed on the condition that he wait outside unless she called for him.
• Zhang Xiu'e changed into a black dress, and she and Chen Yuan took a taxi to the Shangri-La Hotel.
• Chen Yuan paid the fare and promised to wait outside as Zhang Xiu'e entered the hotel lobby.

Zhang Xiu'e was pressured into drinking at a business dinner while Wang Dahai and Sun Deming plotted to take advantage of her. Li Yan confiscated her phone and led her away, leaving Zhang Xiu'e drunk, disoriented, and aware she was in danger.

• Zhang Xiu'e arrived at the Shangri-La private room and met Wang Dahai, Li Yan, and Sun Deming, whose lecherous attention made her uneasy.
• Wang Dahai, Li Yan, and Sun Deming repeatedly pressured Zhang Xiu'e to drink, leaving her dizzy and unsteady.
• Zhang Xiu'e tried to go to the restroom so she could message Chen Yuan, but Li Yan insisted on accompanying her.
• Wang Dahai and Sun Deming privately discussed their plan to get Zhang Xiu'e drunk and take her to a room upstairs in exchange for a recruitment partnership.
• Li Yan took Zhang Xiu'e's phone and put it in her bag, then led her toward the restroom as Zhang Xiu'e grew more disoriented.

Zhang Xiu'e was trapped by Wang Dahai, Li Yan, and Sun Deming after refusing to keep drinking, and they dragged her toward the guest rooms. Chen Yuan heard an attendant report that she appeared to be in danger and rushed to find her.

• Zhang Xiu'e tried to leave the private room, but Li Yan and Wang Dahai blocked her and threatened her job.
• Wang Dahai revealed that he had invited Zhang Xiu'e so Sun Deming could have her company, while Li Yan admitted she had helped arrange it.
• Wang Dahai and Li Yan restrained Zhang Xiu'e and hauled her out of the room toward the elevators as she struggled for help.
• A hotel attendant noticed Zhang Xiu'e's distress and called the front desk over the radio.
• Chen Yuan heard the attendant report that Zhang Xiu'e might be forced and ran from the lobby to find her.