Ch. 221I Have Tickets Too—and They're VIP Tickets!
- Jun Wangchen’s merit points rise from 500 to 700 after half an hour of prize quizzes, but he still needs 1,300 more to reach his goal. Before attending He Zihan’s concert, he agrees to accompany Xu Youyue to a nearby milk-tea shop where her friends are meeting.
- Xu introduces Jun as her boyfriend. Li Luo and another friend welcome him, and Li Luo compliments his looks. Jun privately grumbles that people notice his handsome face but overlook his supposed talent.
- Niu Qingqing, newly engaged to a wealthy man, repeatedly judges relationships by money and gifts. She criticizes Jun for arriving without presents, wearing ordinary clothes, and seeming unable to provide Youyue with a luxurious lifestyle. Youyue defends him, arguing that gifts are no measure of love, and eventually furiously tells Qingqing to stop insulting him. Jun stays outwardly calm but privately decides not to show Qingqing special consideration again.
- When the group discusses He Zihan’s sold-out concert, Qingqing boasts that her boyfriend obtained two tickets and will drive her there in an expensive car. She mocks Jun as too poor and insignificant to afford tickets or a luxury car.
- Jun quietly counters her boasting by placing two tickets on the table and revealing that they are VIP tickets, leaving the group—especially Qingqing—poised for surprise.
Character developments and interactions: Youyue’s affection for Jun becomes clear through her repeated defense of him, while Jun responds with patience and humor rather than anger. Qingqing’s wealth-driven outlook makes her increasingly hostile and isolates her from the other friends, who try to restrain her. Li Luo acts as a mediator, and the others are uncomfortable with Qingqing’s attacks.
Themes: The chapter contrasts genuine affection with materialism, challenges the idea that money or gifts prove someone’s worth, and uses Jun’s concealed VIP tickets to build a reversal of expectations.