Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• After dying in her third life, Tang Tang sees that Tang Shengwang eventually took control of the Tang Family’s company by joining forces with outsiders and the family’s enemies. His true parentage was exposed, and the family lost its business; the old patriarch was so enraged that he suffered a serious collapse and became vegetative.
• In her fourth life, Tang Tang had already tried to build a relationship with Shengwang, but found his cheerful manner deceptive and felt uneasy around him.
• Tang Beichen is stunned to learn from Tang Tang’s thoughts that Shengwang was the future threat. He questions Tang Tang about the company, then decides to investigate his brother quietly rather than act on the revelation alone.
• As the school term begins, Beichen travels often for work. Tang Tang settles into a comfortable routine with her mother, Su Xiajing, but her older siblings visit every Saturday after swimming lessons to play with her. Though she initially resents the disruption, she eventually wakes early to meet them—and winds up playing until she falls asleep.

Character developments

• Tang Tang remains sharp-tongued and resentful toward her father and the family, but her new life is increasingly peaceful. Despite claiming to find her siblings irritating, she shows a degree of acceptance by adjusting her schedule for their visits.
• Tang Beichen moves from confidence in his brother to suspicion and caution. He takes Tang Tang’s information seriously, but does not blindly surrender control or confront Shengwang without evidence.
• Tang Shengwang is revealed as a future antagonist: outwardly carefree and helpful, but in Tang Tang’s experience, calculating and difficult to trust.
• Su Xiajing is attentive to Tang Tang’s comfort and considers protecting her from the siblings’ visits.

Significant themes

• Hidden ambition and betrayal: The family’s apparent weak link may be its most dangerous rival.
• The value and limits of foreknowledge: Tang Tang’s memories give Beichen a warning, but he must still verify the threat and decide how to respond.
• Family and resentment: Tang Tang’s bitterness coexists with growing, if reluctant, involvement in ordinary family life.
• Comfort after upheaval: Her peaceful routine contrasts with the chaos and betrayal she remembers from the family’s future.

Character interactions

• Tang Beichen tries to draw Tang Tang into a conversation about the company, while she silently mocks his praise of Shengwang and warns him through her thoughts.
• Beichen carries Tang Tang to Su Xiajing, then leaves to consider the warning and arrange an investigation.
• Su Xiajing and Tang Tang share a quiet daily routine, while Tang Tang’s siblings gather weekly around her. Her private irritation contrasts with the affection and persistence behind their visits.

Key events

• Tang Tang secretly rolls across the bed to pause Sister Wang’s short video, then rolls back. Sister Wang catches only the end of the movement and wonders whether Tang Tang has learned to roll over.
• Tang Tang’s mother, Su Xiajing, reassures Sister Wang, who is worried about the baby’s delayed milestones. Tang Tang privately reveals she learned to roll over months ago but has been pretending she cannot because being carried and cared for is easier.
• Tang Beichen returns from a business trip with gifts for Tang Tang. While holding her, he reveals that the family has recently uncovered his third brother’s true parentage. He plans to tell the family patriarch but keep the information from his second brother for now.

Character development and interactions

• Tang Tang is clever and mischievous, concealing her abilities to avoid effort. Her private thoughts show that she knows more about the family’s future than the adults do—and is surprised that the parentage secret has surfaced much earlier than she expected.
• Sister Wang is caring and attentive but anxious about Tang Tang’s development. She doubts her own eyes when Tang Tang appears to roll, and agrees to keep trying to teach her.
• Su Xiajing understands Tang Tang’s reluctance and does not pressure her, while gently deflecting Sister Wang’s concern. She is startled by Tang Beichen’s family revelation and suspects he may be reporting information that Tang Tang previously supplied.
• Tang Beichen is affectionate toward his daughter and shares sensitive family news with her. He intends to use the discovery to disrupt the patriarch’s plans to groom new heirs.

Significant themes

• A baby’s hidden agency: Tang Tang exploits adults’ assumptions about her abilities to control how much effort she must expend.
• Family secrets and power: The newly uncovered parentage threatens the patriarch’s succession plans and could reshape family loyalties.
• Dramatic irony: Tang Tang knows both that she can roll and that the family revelation was expected much later, while the adults remain unaware of her knowledge and motives.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Beichen reveals that he wants to make things right for Su Xiajing and Tang Tang. He accepts responsibility for hurting Su Xiajing, but is furious that he once rejected Tang Tang because of a fortune-teller’s words. Tang Tang enthusiastically supports his plan to make the “nasty old man” regret his actions.
• During a particularly cold winter, Tang Tang stays home and waits for her cousins to visit. When Su Xiajing gets a call saying Tang Xianqi has been in a car accident, Tang Tang jolts upright—prompting Sister Wang to celebrate her new milestone rather than notice her alarm.
• The accident happened as the family left lunch. Tang Xiancheng had gone with Tang Xianqi to buy milk tea, and an out-of-control car suddenly rushed at them. Xianqi shoved his younger brother to safety and was struck himself.
• Xianqi appears to have suffered only superficial injuries, but the family takes him for a full examination. The children are badly shaken, and the adults plan to get them psychological support.
• At the hospital, Xiancheng approaches Tang Tang to apologize for missing their visit and promises they will come the following week.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Beichen shows remorse and a growing commitment to his daughter and Su Xiajing. Tang Tang’s approval strengthens their affectionate, playful bond.
• Su Xiajing gives father and daughter space, then acts quickly to take Tang Tang to the hospital.
• Tang Xianqi is shown as protective and quick-thinking: he saves Xiancheng at personal risk.
• Tang Xiancheng is visibly traumatized but still makes an effort to speak to Tang Tang, revealing both his anxiety and his care for her.
• Tang Tang connects this accident to Xianqi’s death in her past-life memories. She realizes Xiancheng may have witnessed his brother die—or die saving him—which could explain his severe withdrawal and why the family treats Xianqi’s death as taboo. Feeling guilty for teasing Xiancheng’s bowl cut, she resolves to stop.

Significant themes

• Taking responsibility and making amends: Tang Beichen recognizes that he caused harm and wants to repair it.
• Family love and protection: Xianqi’s instinctive sacrifice highlights the bond between the brothers.
• Trauma and compassion: Tang Tang begins to understand the possible roots of Xiancheng’s social anxiety and responds with empathy.
• A fragile reprieve from past tragedy: Xianqi survives this accident, offering hope that the family’s painful history may unfold differently this time.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Xiancheng learns that Tang Tang accepts him even though he struggles to speak. Encouraged by the accident, he resolves to practice communicating and promises to visit her the following week.
• Tang Xianqi returns from his examination. His injuries are painful but not serious, and the doctor says he should recover.
• The family discovers that the Peace Talisman Tang Xianqi wore broke during the accident. They believe it absorbed the blow that might otherwise have harmed him.
• Tang Dongcheng and the family thank Tang Tang for warning them and helping them learn about the talisman. Tang Tang rejects their interpretation that she had been waiting eagerly to see them, insisting she was simply unable to nap.
• Tang Xianqi holds Tang Tang’s hand. She says his hand is warm and that she is glad he is alive, and he silently recognizes how much she helped save him.
• The cousins admire Tang Tang’s new physical skills. She pretends she is still helpless, while privately pleading with her mother not to reveal that she can push herself up, roll, and crawl.

Character developments

• Tang Xiancheng is moved by Tang Tang’s acceptance and begins pushing himself to communicate. His concern for his injured brother remains strong, though he tries to hold back his tears.
• Tang Xianqi is grateful to be alive and increasingly aware of Tang Tang’s role in his survival. He comforts and gently teases his younger brother.
• Tang Tang remains blunt, independent, and comically resistant to adults’ assumptions. She also hides her abilities to preserve her chance to “slack off.”
• The adults feel deep gratitude toward Tang Tang and relief that the children escaped worse harm.

Significant themes

• Family, gratitude, and survival: The family recognizes that Tang Tang’s warning and the broken talisman may have saved Tang Xianqi.
• Courage and growth through hardship: Xiancheng’s frightening experience pushes him to work on communicating, though the adults feel it is cruel that such a shock was needed.
• The comfort of being alive: Tang Xianqi and Tang Tang’s hand-holding makes his survival feel immediate and precious.
• Humor and misunderstanding: Tang Tang’s protests contrast with the family’s affectionate but inaccurate assumptions about her feelings and abilities.

Character interactions

• Tang Tang reassures Xiancheng that she does not mind his difficulty speaking; he responds by promising to practice.
• Xianqi comforts Xiancheng, who is upset that he cannot hug his injured brother.
• The family gathers around Tang Tang to praise and thank her, while she objects to being treated as if she had been waiting for them.
• Xianqi and Tang Tang share a quiet, emotional moment through their joined hands.
• Tang Yiyi and Tang Xingya praise Tang Tang’s development, prompting her to deny her growing abilities and appeal to her mother for secrecy.

Plot and events

• Doctors confirm that Tang Xianqi’s injuries are superficial and his tests are normal, though they recommend counseling. His family is reassured, and he is discharged.
• After hearing other accident victims’ relatives searching for them, Tang Dongcheng decides to help. He contacts the hospital director and arranges financial assistance for the injured.
• Xianqi and the other children receive counseling and recover. A week later, the siblings are energetic again, and Tang Dongcheng invites the children and their parents to celebrate New Year’s Day together. Tang Beichen joins, bringing gifts.
• Tang Xianqi’s thirteenth birthday approaches. Since Tang Tang has said he died at twelve in each of her previous ten lives, the birthday marks a crucial change in his fate. Su Xiajing sends him a gift on Tang Tang’s behalf, though Tang Tang is not invited to the celebration.
• For Lunar New Year, Su Xiajing takes Tang Tang to stay with her maternal family. Before they leave, Tang Zhilin arrives, hoping to see Tang Tang. Su Xiajing rejects him, says the Tang Family has no claim over them, and warns him not to approach Tang Tang again.
• Tang Tang spends New Year’s Eve with her mother, maternal grandfather, and uncle—the first time in all her lives she has welcomed the New Year with her biological mother.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Dongcheng shows compassion and responsibility by arranging aid for the accident victims, while Li Qixian supports his decision. The family also focuses on the children’s emotional recovery.
• Su Xiajing is firm and protective when confronting Tang Zhilin. Her painful memories of her past life strengthen her resolve to keep Tang Tang safe and reject his apology.
• Tang Zhilin’s attempt to reconnect is met with distrust; Su Xiajing makes clear that neither she nor Tang Tang intends to forgive him.
• Tang Tang continues to observe events with humor, but beneath it she struggles to trust that her improved circumstances will last. She quietly hopes she may survive, then suppresses that hope, choosing instead to appreciate the present and take care of herself.

Significant themes

• Second chances and altered fate: Xianqi’s survival beyond the age at which he died in prior lives suggests that outcomes can change.
• Protection and belonging: Su Xiajing’s commitment to Tang Tang contrasts with Tang Zhilin’s insistence on family ties.
• Trauma and healing: The children receive counseling, while Su Xiajing continues to suffer from memories of her previous life.
• Hope versus fear: Tang Tang’s safer life gives her a glimpse of a future, but repeated past deaths make her afraid to believe in it.

Key events

• At age five, Tang Tang works as a children’s clothing model alongside her younger relatives, while older siblings who have outgrown modeling help out behind the scenes.
• The shoot reveals how the family’s modeling tradition began: four years earlier, their aunt An Jie started a children’s clothing brand and recruited the children as inexpensive models, initially paying them in fried chicken.
• The shoot wraps up, and the siblings rest and change. An Jie arrives, thanks them, and gives Tang Xianqi money to take the younger children for afternoon tea.
• Tang Tang makes sure to remind An Jie that she is owed her modeling fee.

Character developments

• Tang Tang is practical and business-minded even at five: she earns money from modeling, focuses on the fee, and is unfazed by the work. Her cool, serious look suits her better than affectionate poses.
• Tang Xianqi is caring and attentive, helping everyone with drinks and tissues and checking whether Tang Tang is tired. He promises to ask for a higher fee on her behalf.
• Tang Jian has grown rapidly and recovered much of his health through treatment and swimming. He still loves junk food and regrets that he and the other older children didn’t ask to be paid when they first modeled.
• Tang Xingya and Tang Jian tease one another, while Xingya quietly appreciates Xianqi’s gentle nature.
• Tang Xiancheng enjoys modeling and feels the shoot was not too demanding.

Interactions

• Tang Jian complains that the photographer should know Tang Tang is better at looking cool than acting affectionate; Xianqi and Xingya warn him not to let Tang Tang hear.
• Xianqi comforts and looks after the younger children, especially Tang Tang, who agrees that a higher fee is deserved.
• An Jie treats the children warmly but runs the shoot as a family business; Tang Tang confidently negotiates with her for payment.

Themes

• Family cooperation: The children support An Jie’s business and look after one another.
• Growing up and change: The older siblings have aged out of modeling, while Tang Tang and the younger children take their place.
• Work and self-advocacy: Tang Tang’s insistence on being paid contrasts with the older siblings’ early willingness to work for food.
• Affection expressed through care and teasing: The siblings’ humor and practical kindness show their closeness.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Tang receives her modeling fee from Fourth Aunt An Jie, who transfers the other children’s fees as well. Tang Tang has substantial savings from years of modeling work, gifts, and gold bought for her by Tang Beichen.
• Tang Youzhen and Tang Youhao insist their fees be transferred into their own savings accounts and recorded. An Jie does so, and they happily join their cousins for afternoon tea.
• At the café, Tang Jian tries to persuade the children to go for fried chicken. The others decline or remind him that his mother limits him to unhealthy food only once a month because of his health.
• After tea and a trip to the mall, Tang Tang’s cousins arrange her ride home. She asks the driver to take her to Lovers’ Road Snack Street, hoping to catch a glimpse of her mother, who is working nearby.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Tang is revealed to be unusually wealthy and careful with her money, while still behaving like a child enjoying treats and time with her cousins.
• An Jie is attentive and fair, keeping track of her sons’ money and reassuring them that their savings are secure.
• The twins, Youzhen and Youhao, show a newfound insistence on financial accountability, though they remain polite once their fees are transferred.
• Tang Jian is restless and longs for more freedom, but his cousins repeatedly remind him that his health and his mother’s rules come first. Tang Tang silently judges his recklessness, understanding why his mother is strict.
• Tang Xianqi looks after Tang Tang, while the cousins share a relaxed afternoon together, teasing and advising one another.

Significant themes

• Family care and responsibility: Adults protect the children’s health and finances, while older cousins look after younger ones.
• Growing independence: The children manage money, voice preferences, and negotiate small freedoms.
• Discipline and self-control: Tang Jian’s desire for junk food contrasts with the family’s concern for his well-being.
• Longing and attachment: Tang Tang’s detour reflects her deep, enduring desire to see her mother.

Plot points and events

• Five-year-old Tang Tang again visits Lovers’ Road Snack Street, using a supposed need to “digest” before eating as cover for searching for her birth mother. She checks sanitation workers along the route, but finds no sign of her.
• Tang Tang has already tried calling her parents, visiting their old home, and contacting places where they once worked. None of her remembered leads work, and she worries she cannot search effectively as a small child.
• On the drive home, Tang Tang tells Su Xiajing she and Auntie Wang had a Sugar-Oil Pancake. Su realizes Tang Tang has been returning to the street for months and suspects the reason, but Tang Tang has not asked her for help.
• Su is delayed at work and tells Tang Tang to eat dinner without her. Tang Tang says they can wait because of the pancake.
• A flashback explains Su’s career: after struggling to care for Tang Tang while filming, she retired from acting and started a production company to spend more time with her daughter. The company’s rapid growth and Zhang Zhang’s demands pulled Su back into a heavy workload.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Tang is persistent and resourceful, but her search leaves her anxious and frustrated by her age and dependence on adults. She hides her purpose behind food outings and does not know how to explain her search to Su or her father.
• Su Xiajing feels guilty that work keeps her from Tang Tang and worries about the child’s fruitless search. Though she senses what Tang Tang is doing, she has been unable to draw it out of her.
• Auntie Wang accompanies Tang Tang without pressing her about the unusual routine.
• Zhang Zhang is portrayed as capable and forceful; she helps build the company but also keeps Su working hard, despite Su’s original wish for a quieter role.
• Tang Tang and Su speak warmly by phone, while Su’s secretary’s interruption pulls her back to work.

Significant themes

• Family separation and longing: Tang Tang’s repeated searches reflect her desire to find her parents.
• Childhood helplessness and independence: Tang Tang has adult memories and determination, but lacks the means to act on them.
• Work versus family: Su’s career ambitions and the company’s success conflict with the time she wants to spend with her daughter.
• Unspoken concern: Both Tang Tang and Su keep their worries largely to themselves, even as they care deeply about each other.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Beichen returns from a business trip and brings Tang Tang presents. Their polite, distant exchange shows how strained their relationship remains.
• He declines her invitation inside because he believes Su Xiajing may be dating someone and does not want to intrude. Tang Tang wonders why he still seems attached to her mother despite no longer pursuing her.
• Tang Beichen’s memories reveal why he has withdrawn: after he and Su Xiajing discovered Tang Tang’s thoughts reflected real events from another life, he learned how much suffering Su had endured—including Tang Tang’s death. He apologized, but Su said she could not forgive on behalf of her past self and wanted to focus on giving Tang Tang a happy present.
• That evening, Su visits Tang Tang and confirms she is romantically getting to know the man rumored to be her boyfriend. Tang Tang trusts her judgment and jokes that she likes the man’s good looks.
• Su affectionately kisses and embraces Tang Tang, saying she is grateful Tang Tang chose her as her mother. Tang Tang privately believes her presence brought Su misfortune rather than happiness.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Beichen remains devoted to Su but feels he has no right to pursue her after recognizing how his past behavior added to her pain. He is tender with Tang Tang, though their relationship stays formal and restrained.
• Su Xiajing is determined to live in the present, protect Tang Tang, and build a happier life. She is open with her daughter about her new romance.
• Tang Tang is observant and increasingly aware of the adults’ complicated feelings. She reassures her mother and accepts her affection, while still carrying guilt about the tragedies tied to her rebirth.
• The chapter contrasts Tang Beichen’s quiet remorse with the warmth between Su and Tang Tang, while Tang Tang’s unspoken guilt remains beneath their affectionate exchange.

Significant themes

• Regret and accountability: Tang Beichen cannot erase the harm he caused and believes remorse does not entitle him to forgiveness.
• Second chances and living in the present: Su chooses to care for Tang Tang and move forward rather than remain trapped in past suffering.
• Parental love and guilt: Both parents care deeply for Tang Tang, while she fears her existence has brought her mother pain.
• Complex adult relationships: Tang Tang notices lingering feelings, new romance, and emotional distance but cannot fully understand their history.

Key plot points

• Su Xiajing vents to Tangtang about her exhausting work and Zhang Zhang’s unfair expectations, joking that she might sell the company and spend more time with her daughter. Tangtang gives a supportive answer but reminds her to consult Zhang Zhang first.
• The next morning, Su Xiajing leaves for work while Tangtang chooses to stay home and sleep. With her phone off, she misses calls from the Tang siblings, who want to go swimming.
• The younger siblings assume Tangtang is avoiding them. Tang Xianqi defends her, saying she is probably tired after the previous day’s shoot, but admits he mainly used her as an excuse to skip swimming.
• Tang Xianqi and Tang Xiancheng visit Tangtang and wake her. Xianqi offers to take her somewhere that afternoon, and she thinks of the snack street on Lovers’ Road because she remembers her brother may need surgery and the family may lack money.

Character development and interactions

• Su Xiajing is affectionate and openly exhausted, but her joke about selling the company reveals her conflict between work and time with Tangtang. Despite her complaints, she intends to keep working.
• Tangtang is considerate toward her mother but wryly aware that adults rarely act on the advice they ask her for. She also values her rest and dislikes being pulled into the siblings’ plans.
• Tang Xianqi shows concern for Tangtang, though he playfully admits he used her as a pretext to avoid swimming. He treats her gently and offers to spend time with her.
• Tang Xiancheng chooses to accompany Xianqi to check on Tangtang, while the younger siblings head to the pool.

Significant themes

• The tension between work and family time, especially in Su Xiajing’s life.
• Affection expressed through teasing and care, from Su’s kisses to the brothers’ visit.
• Tangtang’s independence and guardedness: she wants to decide how she spends her time, even as her family worries about her.
• A shift toward foreshadowing and practical concern: Tangtang’s memory of her brother’s possible surgery and the family’s financial hardship prompts her to think about finding them soon.

Plot points

• Tang Tang insists on visiting the snack street again, claiming she likes its sweet fried pancakes. Her family suspects she has another reason for going, but she won’t explain.
• She and her brothers search another nearby street. Tang Xianqi carries her when she becomes exhausted, while Tang Xiancheng takes her things. They find no one, and Tang Tang worries she may have to search her father’s distant hometown.
• From the car, Tang Tang spots Tang Xia—the woman she recognizes as her biological mother—working at a barbecue restaurant. She rushes over, tells Sister Wang and the driver not to interfere, then deliberately stages a harmless fall to get Tang Xia’s attention.
• Tang Xia helps her up. Tang Tang calls her a benefactor and asks her to be her godmother, leaving Tang Xia bewildered.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Tang’s determination to find her former family becomes clearer, as does her effort to hide that search from her adoptive family. Though she dislikes walking and is tired, she keeps searching until she spots her mother.
• Tang Xianqi is attentive and protective, offering Tang Tang a piggyback ride. Tang Xiancheng supports her by carrying her snacks.
• Su Xiajing notices Tang Tang’s repeated visits and tries gently to invite her to share the outing, but Tang Tang’s thoughts reveal she intends to keep searching.
• Tang Xia responds kindly to the child who falls at her feet, unaware of their connection. Tang Tang uses that kindness to create an opening to stay near her.

Significant themes

• Family and belonging: Tang Tang’s search reflects her longing for her birth family while she remains cared for by her adoptive siblings and mother.
• Kindness and connection: Tang Xia’s instinctive compassion echoes the kindness that first led her to adopt Tang Tang.
• Secrecy and patience: Tang Tang conceals her purpose, while Su Xiajing senses something is wrong but chooses not to press her.
• Childlike ingenuity: Tang Tang’s dramatic “accident” and godmother request show her resourcefulness—and her comically unconventional approach to reunion.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Tang deliberately rushes into Tang Xia, falls, and clings to her leg, claiming that because Tang Xia helped her up, Tang Xia is her “savior” and should become her godmother.
• Tang Xia is confused but charmed by the child. Believing Tang Tang may have been left unattended, she tells her to wait inside the barbecue restaurant while she finishes moving things.
• Tang Tang’s brothers, Tang Xianqi and Tang Xiancheng, return to find her missing. Sister Wang explains that Tang Tang staged the collision and is trying to persuade the restaurant employee to become her godmother.
• The brothers find Tang Tang unharmed. She says she has thanked Tang Xia but still needs to negotiate the “repayment” with her. Tang Xianqi agrees to help.
• When Tang Xiancheng questions whether she is rushing into such a decision, Tang Tang argues that Tang Xia prevented a possible accident—and therefore saved the whole family from the grief of losing her.

Character developments

• Tang Tang is affectionate, theatrical, and remarkably persuasive. Her dramatic reasoning suggests she is determined to reconnect with Tang Xia and treats becoming her godmother as repayment for a life-saving kindness.
• Tang Xia is warm-hearted and protective, quickly worrying that Tang Tang’s family has abandoned her. She remains unaware of the larger significance of the child’s attachment.
• Tang Xianqi is patient and attentive, checking Tang Tang for injuries and offering to support her request while confirming what she wants.
• Tang Xiancheng is more cautious, concerned that Tang Tang is making a major choice without consulting the family.
• Sister Wang is bewildered by Tang Tang’s unusual behavior. Recalling earlier odd episodes, she wonders whether the child is influenced by television or something supernatural, despite the family’s reassurance that all is well.

Significant themes

• Gratitude and obligation: Tang Tang turns a small act of help into a powerful claim that Tang Xia deserves to be repaid.
• Childhood innocence and manipulation: Tang Tang’s cute, earnest presentation contrasts with how deliberately she stages events and constructs an argument.
• Family bonds and imagined loss: Her speech emphasizes how deeply her family would suffer if she were gone.
• Adults’ differing interpretations: The family sees Tang Tang’s behavior as bizarre or alarming, while Tang Xia responds with concern and affection.

Character interactions

• Tang Tang wins Tang Xia’s attention through affection and a claim of gratitude, then calmly settles in the restaurant.
• Tang Xianqi and Tang Xiancheng hear Sister Wang’s account and go inside to check on her.
• Tang Xianqi examines Tang Tang and agrees to help her persuade Tang Xia; Tang Xiancheng challenges her impulsive plan.
• Tang Tang answers his objection with an exaggerated but emotionally compelling argument about the danger she faced and the family’s potential grief.

Plot points and events

• Tang Tang exaggerates a minor stumble into a near-fatal accident to persuade her family to let her make Tang Xia her godmother.
• Tang Xianqi joins in, insisting Tang Xia saved Tang Tang from being struck by traffic and that accepting their thanks is a family obligation.
• Tang Xia is confused by the siblings’ elaborate claims and tries to decline any reward.
• Sister Wang, realizing Tang Xianqi is helping Tang Tang rather than stopping her, calls Tang Tang’s mother, Su Xiajing.
• Su Xiajing learns that Tang Tang wants Tang Xia as her godmother. Unable to leave a client meeting, she tells Sister Wang to stay with them and says she will come later.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Tang shows unusual determination and skill at inventing dramatic stories to get what she wants. She admires her brother’s acting.
• Tang Xianqi abandons his expected role as the voice of reason and backs his sister, calmly turning her exaggeration into an elaborate appeal. He privately feels embarrassed but is committed to helping her.
• Tang Xiancheng recognizes that his brother’s story is nonsense, though he is impressed by how convincingly it is told.
• Tang Xia remains modest and bewildered, repeatedly correcting the family’s inflated account of the incident and resisting their insistence on rewarding her.
• Sister Wang is alarmed by the siblings’ scheme and hopes Su Xiajing will intervene.
• Su Xiajing trusts Tang Tang and interprets the request as connected to the adoptive parents Tang Tang had in her previous life. Rather than objecting, she supports the choice, believing Tang Xia deserves the honor for saving her daughter.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty: Tang Xianqi supports Tang Tang even when he knows her story is exaggerated.
• Gratitude and obligation: The family turns a small act of kindness into a grand debt that must be repaid.
• Past and present bonds: Su Xiajing’s response hints that Tang Tang may be seeking a connection to the parents who cared for her in a previous life.
• Comic misunderstanding: Each character interprets the incident differently, while Tang Xia and Sister Wang struggle to keep up with the family’s increasingly dramatic reasoning.

Plot points

• Tang Xia struggles to fend off Tang Tang and Tang Xianqi, who insist on repaying her for helping Tang Tang. Worried about their vulnerability, she asks their caretaker and driver to contact their parents; the nanny says the parents are unavailable because they are in a meeting.
• Tang Xia returns to work, hoping the children will leave. Instead, they eat at the restaurant and wait for her shift to end. Tang Xianqi anticipates Tang Tang’s plan and pays before they slip around to the back entrance.
• Tang Tang catches Tang Xia as she leaves and persuades her to accept a ride and let Tang Tang visit her home. Tang Xia gives in, even carrying Tang Tang on her lap during the short drive.
• They walk from the edge of the urban village to Tang Xia’s old apartment building. Tang Xianqi and Tang Xiancheng are struck by the cramped surroundings. Tang Tang recognizes the area from her childhood, and Sister Wang recalls that Tang Tang once lingered near this same building during an earlier visit.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Xia is cautious and embarrassed by the children’s persistence, but her concern for their safety and difficulty refusing Tang Tang’s affectionate appeals gradually draw her in.
• Tang Tang is determined to stay close to Tang Xia. She uses guilt, questions, and sweetness to secure a ride and a visit, and seems to feel a special familiarity with the neighborhood.
• Tang Xianqi is quick-witted and attentive: he anticipates Tang Tang’s intentions, handles the payment, and makes room for Tang Xia. He also notices that Tang Tang now seeks Tang Xia’s attention instead of his.
• Tang Xiancheng explores the unfamiliar neighborhood with curiosity. Sister Wang begins to suspect Tang Tang’s connection to the area may be more than coincidence.

Significant themes

• The chapter highlights the contrast between Tang Xia’s guarded independence and the children’s trusting persistence. It also builds a sense of mystery around Tang Tang’s past and her apparent connection to Tang Xia’s home.

Plot points and events

• Tang Tang returns to Tang Xia’s home with Tang Xianqi and Tang Xiancheng, calling Tang Xia her prospective godmother and meeting nine-year-old Xiao Xiang.
• Xiao Xiang is delighted by the idea of having a little sister, though Tang Xia says she never agreed to become Tang Tang’s godmother.
• Tang Tang sees that Tang Xia’s family lives in a small, tidy apartment and that Tang Xia works at a barbecue restaurant while also selling breakfast. The family’s circumstances differ from Tang Tang’s memories of her previous life.
• Tang Tang realizes Xiao Xiang’s serious health problem—and the surgery he will need—has not yet been addressed in this life. She also worries that her parents are working too hard.
• Before leaving, Tang Tang gets Tang Xia’s phone number and asks when she will have a day off so she can visit again. Tang Xia finds herself unable to refuse.
• As Tang Xia and Xiao Xiang head to the market, Xiao Xiang waves goodbye and invites Tang Tang back. She eagerly promises to visit.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Tang feels an immediate, affectionate connection to Xiao Xiang, privately comparing him with the brother she remembers. She is also newly conscious of her parents’ hardship and her own relative comfort.
• Xiao Xiang is curious about the visitors and enthusiastically accepts Tang Tang as a little sister, creating a warm bond from their first meeting.
• Tang Xia remains reluctant to accept Tang Tang’s offer of family closeness or repayment, but her affection softens her resistance. Her demanding work routine is also revealed.
• Tang Xianqi and Tang Xiancheng accompany Tang Tang and quietly observe her unusual warmth toward Xiao Xiang.

Significant themes

• Changed lives and lingering memory: Tang Tang compares this family’s present circumstances with what she remembers from her previous life.
• Family, affection, and belonging: Tang Tang and Xiao Xiang quickly treat one another as siblings, even before Tang Xia accepts the godmother arrangement.
• Hard work and care: Tang Xia’s relentless labor and spotless home reflect her devotion, while Tang Tang’s concern marks a growing awareness of what her parents sacrifice.

Plot and key events

• Tang Tang watches Tang Xia and his son, Xiao Xiang, leave together. Their cheerful sibling-like closeness brings back memories of her own childhood with her brother and the little tricycle they once shared.
• On the drive home, Tang Tang is exhausted and falls asleep across Tang Xianqi’s lap. He carries her to bed, and the brothers head home quietly.
• Later, Tang Xiancheng seeks out Tang Xianqi. Tang Xianqi dries his hair, and the brothers talk about Tang Tang’s behavior at the barbecue restaurant and her bond with Tang Xia and Xiao Xiang.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Tang shows a side her brothers have rarely seen: she is warm, perceptive, talkative, and openly affectionate toward Tang Xia and Xiao Xiang. Her memories of her own brother suggest that their relationship once held real happiness and closeness.
• Tang Xiancheng realizes that he and Tang Tang are unlike one another: he genuinely dislikes socializing, while she is simply often uninterested. He admires her social skill and says he is jealous of how well she speaks with people.
• Tang Xianqi recognizes that, despite years of hearing Tang Tang’s thoughts and learning about her past, he still does not understand what she has endured or how she feels about her family. He suspects she may regard them as largely inconsequential.
• The brothers share a quiet, caring moment when Tang Xianqi dries Xiancheng’s hair. Their conversation is affectionate but weighed down by sadness and new doubts about their place in Tang Tang’s life.

Significant themes

• The limits of knowing someone: Hearing Tang Tang’s thoughts has not allowed her brothers to understand the depth of her experiences or emotions.
• Affection and comparison: Tang Tang’s evident warmth toward Tang Xia and Xiao Xiang makes the brothers reconsider how little emotional attachment she has shown them.
• Memory and loss: The tricycle evokes a happier childhood bond, underscoring what Tang Tang misses and what may have changed.
• Different kinds of distance: Tang Xiancheng’s social reluctance is a preference; Tang Tang’s detachment seems shaped by experiences that have left her with little energy to love or hate.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Xiancheng admits he is jealous that Tangtang called another boy “big brother” when they first met, while she called him “Bowl Cut.”
• He discovers Tang Xianqi also knows about Tangtang’s thoughts—and, therefore, about his embarrassing bowl-cut future. He begs his brother not to tell anyone.
• Tang Xianqi agrees to keep it secret, teasing that no one would believe it anyway.
• Xianqi realizes Xiancheng’s childhood nightmare about him dying in an accident came from hearing Tangtang’s thoughts. He thanks Xiancheng for caring about him.
• Xiancheng confesses through tears that he does not want his brother to die. The brothers comfort each other, then joke about Tangtang’s predictions concerning their siblings.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Xiancheng shifts from jealous and mortified to emotionally vulnerable, revealing how deeply he fears losing his older brother. He laughs again after Xianqi gently teases him.
• Tang Xianqi shows affection through reassurance, hair-ruffling, and humor. He recognizes Xiancheng’s concern and responds with gratitude.
• The brothers share a candid, affectionate conversation, teasing each other while also acknowledging the weight of what they have learned from Tangtang’s thoughts.
• They speculate that Tangtang may have misjudged or misunderstood their siblings: calculating Tang Youhao seems unlikely to be a “scaredy-cat,” while Tang Ziyang’s innocence and Tang Jian’s supposed vanity may cause their relatives trouble.

Significant themes

• Sibling affection and protectiveness: Xiancheng’s fear for Xianqi’s safety reveals the depth of his admiration and love.
• Embarrassment and acceptance: Xiancheng’s bowl-cut shame becomes a source of teasing, but his brother reassures him.
• Growing up and perspective: Xiancheng realizes that the older brother he once saw as nearly adult was still a child when he feared his own future.
• Uncertainty about the future: Tangtang’s thoughts offer clues about the siblings’ futures, but the brothers question how accurate or complete those predictions are.

Key plot points

• Tang Xianqi and Tang Xiancheng reminisce about Tang Jian’s childhood recovery at their home and how close the three boys used to be. They tease him for becoming a showy “Peacock” who attracts crowds, though Xianqi warns against calling him that to his face.
• At work, Su Xiajing declines to attend the next day’s auditions, trusting Zhang Zhang’s judgment. She wants to make time for Tang Tang after her daughter’s important accomplishment.
• A man Su Xiajing has recently been linked to invites her to a concert. She turns him down because she plans to spend the weekend with Tang Tang.
• At home, Su learns Tang Tang is still asleep after a tiring day. When Tang Tang wakes late that night, they eat a snack together.
• Su asks whether Tang Tang was hurt when she fell in the road. Tang Tang says a woman saved her and explains that she wants to make the woman her godmother as a way of repaying her kindness. Su immediately approves.

Character developments and interactions

• Xianqi and Xiancheng are affectionate toward Tang Jian and mildly jealous of the attention he gets; their teasing shows the boys’ close, sibling-like bond.
• Su prioritizes her daughter over work and social opportunities, while remaining warm and trusting. She praises Tang Tang’s plan without hesitation.
• Tang Tang is grateful to her rescuer and wants to repay her generously. Yet she is also surprised by how readily Su accepts the idea and worries that her mother is too trusting and vulnerable to irresponsible men.

Significant themes

• Family and affection: The boys’ shared childhood and Su and Tang Tang’s late-night conversation emphasize close family bonds.
• Gratitude and kindness: Tang Tang believes even a small act of help deserves repayment.
• Work-life balance and devotion: Su adjusts her commitments to spend time with her daughter.
• Trust and vulnerability: Tang Tang’s concern that Su is overly innocent hints at her fear that her mother could be hurt again.

Key events

• Su Xiajing explains that she wants to thank the woman who saved Tang Tang and persuades Tang Tang to visit her with her. When Tang Tang says the woman works through the weekend, Su Xiajing quickly settles on visiting next Monday.
• At home, Su Xiajing bathes Tang Tang, but Tang Tang sends her to bed so her hardworking mother can rest.
• Tang Tang lies awake worrying about her family’s finances. Her parents have already spent their savings on the grandparents’ medical bills, and her brother may need surgery for a tumor. She hopes to ask Su Xiajing for help later, once she has become her goddaughter, fearing that raising it now might make Su Xiajing suspicious.
• The next day, Tang Tang returns to the barbecue restaurant with her uncle and aunt. Tang Xia is busy in the kitchen, so Tang Tang asks an employee to let her go say hello. After winning permission with an innocent, pleading act, she finds Tang Xia washing dishes and greets her.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Xiajing shows deep affection and gratitude toward Tang Tang, while Tang Tang is considerate of her mother’s exhaustion and protective of the new relationship she hopes to build.
• Tang Tang’s cheerful, persuasive side appears again as she charms the restaurant staff into letting her see Tang Xia. The employees find her familiarity with Tang Xia surprising, since the two only met the previous day.
• Tang Xia remains puzzled by Tang Tang’s repeated visits and insistence on calling her “Auntie,” but is occupied with work and does not meet her until the chapter’s close.

Significant themes

• Family care and sacrifice: Tang Tang thinks about her parents’ burdens and her brother’s health, while also trying not to burden her mother.
• Gratitude and connection: Su Xiajing wants to thank Tang Xia for saving Tang Tang, and Tang Tang continues nurturing her bond with the woman.
• A child carrying adult worries: Despite her playful behavior, Tang Tang is anxious about money, illness, and how to secure help without jeopardizing her family’s trust.

Plot points and events

• Tang Tang leaves Tang Xia’s busy restaurant rather than occupy a seat all day, then returns the next afternoon to spend time with her until her shift ends. She tells Tang Xia that her mother will visit on Monday.
• The next morning, Tang Tang and her mother, Su Xiajing, arrive with gifts. Su thanks Tang Xia for saving Tang Tang, though Tang Xia is surprised that the family is still making such a fuss.
• At Tang Xia’s small apartment, Su meets Tang Xia’s son, Xiao Xiang. He openly admires Su’s beauty and notes that she resembles Tang Tang.
• Su takes in the cramped but carefully organized home and is moved by the thought that Tang Tang once lived there, wondering where she slept and how the family managed with so little space.
• Xiao Xiang hesitates to accept the gifts and asks his mother for permission. Tang Xia refuses, but Su insists the presents are for the children. Tang Tang immediately begins opening them.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Tang is affectionate, confident, and determined to keep close to Tang Xia and Xiao Xiang. She playfully calls her mother “pretty mommy” and treats the apartment as familiar territory.
• Tang Xia remains humble and uncomfortable with the family’s gratitude and generosity. She is also surprised by how readily Tang Tang’s family trusts and indulges her.
• Su Xiajing is gracious and attentive, thanking Tang Xia and warmly acknowledging Xiao Xiang’s kindness. Seeing the apartment makes her reflect emotionally on Tang Tang’s earlier life.
• Xiao Xiang is polite but shy around Su, though his admiration comes out plainly. His instinct to ask before accepting expensive gifts contrasts with Tang Tang’s eagerness to open them.

Significant themes

• Family, care, and gratitude: Su recognizes the care Tang Xia and Xiao Xiang have shown Tang Tang and expresses deep appreciation.
• Class and living conditions: The contrast between Su’s wealth and Tang Xia’s cramped home underscores the differences in the children’s circumstances.
• Belonging and generosity: Tang Tang’s comfort in the apartment, and the family’s cautious response to gifts, highlight differing ideas about home, affection, and what people can accept.