Recaps

Ji Cheng, frustrated after Cui Anhe blocked him, suspected Ji Yunhuai had turned her against him and shifted to a plan involving the AI Tender Project. He arranged for Fang Youcheng to accompany Ji Yunhuai and ordered him to replace the original tender document, leaving Fang Youcheng alarmed and unsure what the revision contained.

• Ji Cheng discovered that Cui Anhe had blocked every way he could contact her and worried that she had disrupted his plans.
• Fang Youcheng mentioned that Ji Yunhuai was responsible for the AI Tender Project, prompting Ji Cheng to suspect Ji Yunhuai had influenced Cui Anhe.
• Ji Cheng told Fang Youcheng that the Board of Directors had approved his trip with Ji Yunhuai to assist at the tender.
• Ji Cheng handed Fang Youcheng a revised tender document and told him to swap it with the original.
• Fang Youcheng froze and cautiously asked how the revised document differed from the previous one.

Ji Cheng persuaded Fang Youcheng to use a deal that could damage Ji Yunhuai’s standing with the board, while insisting it would teach his son a lesson. Later, Lu Xiaoxiao learned that An had made no visible progress with Lu Bochen and defended giving her more time; she then found Fan Chiran waiting at dinner.

• Ji Cheng gave Fang Youcheng a revised document with greater concessions for the Ji Corporation, which could undermine Ji Yunhuai’s credibility with the board.
• Fang Youcheng questioned whether the plan would hurt the company, but Ji Cheng urged him to follow through and framed the scheme as a lesson for Ji Yunhuai.
• Ji Cheng promised to speak well of Fang Youcheng to the old man and sent his son off with assurances that the plan would benefit him.
• Lu Xiaoxiao learned from Uncle Liu that Lu Bochen had hidden in the wardrobe during An’s visit, and she said An’s gentle approach deserved more time.
• Lu Xiaoxiao entered the dining room and found Fan Chiran seated with her family.

Lu Xiaoxiao discovered that Lu Yubai had asked Fan Chiran to tutor him and teased him about his excuses before joining them for dinner. After Ji Yunhuai called, Lu Xiaoxiao left the table, and Fan Chiran learned she might have a boyfriend, prompting him to resolve to work hard and become someone worthy of her affection.

• Lu Xiaoxiao scolded Lu Yubai for relying on Fan Chiran to tutor him, but Fan Chiran assured her that teaching him also helped his own studies.
• When Lu Xiaoxiao asked how tutoring was going, Fan Chiran tactfully praised Lu Yubai's potential while admitting his foundations were weak.
• Lu Xiaoxiao chatted with Fan Chiran over dinner and gently asked about his home life before Ji Yunhuai called her.
• After Lu Xiaoxiao left to answer the call, Lu Yubai told Fan Chiran that she might be dating someone wealthy and impressive.
• Fan Chiran felt unworthy of Lu Xiaoxiao because of their different backgrounds, but resolved to keep working hard so he could become someone impressive.

Lu Xiaoxiao learned that Lu Shiyan and Yu Sangning had argued because they struggled to communicate openly, and agreed to visit Sangning at the Yu Family Old House to cheer her up. She put off her planned visit to the orphanage and went upstairs to find Sangning.

• Lu Shiyan told Lu Xiaoxiao that he had come home after Yu Sangning asked for time alone following a disagreement.
• Lu Xiaoxiao privately blamed their poor communication and thought Lu Shiyan should have stayed nearby while giving Sangning space.
• Lu Shiyan asked Lu Xiaoxiao to visit Sangning while he went to film, and Lu Xiaoxiao agreed.
• Lu Xiaoxiao realized she had forgotten her plan to visit the orphanage, but chose to honor her promise and went to the Yu Family Old House.
• Lu Xiaoxiao entered the house with the key, found the living room empty, and headed upstairs toward a partly open door in Sangning's design-study area.

Lu Xiaoxiao visited Yu Sangning in her greenhouse-like study and learned that Yu Sangning was exhausted and struggling to revive her family’s jewelry brand. Yu Sangning explained that former family associates and shareholders had refused to support her, leaving her unsure how to continue.

• Lu Xiaoxiao found Yu Sangning asleep over her sketches, and Yu Sangning instinctively grabbed her wrist when she woke.
• Yu Sangning apologized for hurting Lu Xiaoxiao and explained that she had learned martial arts to protect herself while living abroad.
• Lu Xiaoxiao asked about Yu Sangning’s disagreement with her second brother, and Yu Sangning said he had only urged her to rest.
• Yu Sangning told Lu Xiaoxiao that reviving the Yu Family’s jewelry brand mattered deeply to her, but she doubted she could achieve it.
• Yu Sangning explained that former family acquaintances and major shareholders had rejected her plan and urged her to give up.

Yu Sangning worried that she could not revive the Yu Family's business alone, but Lu Xiaoxiao encouraged her to seek new partners and build her reputation as a designer first. Lu Xiaoxiao offered to introduce her to the internationally famous Luna Devereaux.

• Lu Xiaoxiao praised Yu Sangning's courage and suggested that new partners might be more trustworthy than the Yu Family's old connections.
• Yu Sangning explained that the conservative sketches on the desk belonged to her family, while the more radical designs were her own, and lamented that she was the only surviving family member.
• Lu Xiaoxiao comforted Yu Sangning and proposed that she establish her personal reputation as a designer before launching a brand.
• Lu Xiaoxiao offered to connect Yu Sangning with her famous friend, Luna Devereaux.

Lu Xiaoxiao explained to 037 why Yu Sangning refused to rely on her second brother and why she introduced her to Luna Devereaux instead. While she was browsing a shopping street, Ji Yunhuai called and she answered, wondering if he wanted to invite her to dinner.

• Lu Xiaoxiao left the Yu Family Old House, bought fried skewers, and wandered around a shopping street alone.
• 037 asked whether introducing Yu Sangning to Luna Devereaux would make Lu Xiaoxiao owe Luna a favor, and Lu Xiaoxiao explained that both women would value meeting each other.
• Lu Xiaoxiao told 037 that Yu Sangning wanted to build her career independently and might feel unequal beside Lu Xiaoxiao's successful second brother, while he likely felt insecure about their relationship being kept private.
• Lu Xiaoxiao said she respected Yu Sangning's pride and independence, which was why she had introduced her to Luna rather than urging her to accept her boyfriend's help.
• Ji Yunhuai called Lu Xiaoxiao while she was out, and she answered and asked whether he was inviting her to dinner.

Lu Xiaoxiao was intercepted while shopping and forced into a car to meet Gu Sipei. She recognized the name and accepted that she would meet him, though she remained irritated by the way she was taken.

• Ji Yunhuai called Lu Xiaoxiao and invited her to dinner after she finished shopping.
• A stern man in black snatched Lu Xiaoxiao's phone and said his master wanted to see her.
• Lu Xiaoxiao tried to stall by asking to finish her fried skewers, but the man told her she could eat them in the car.
• Assistant Lin introduced himself and confirmed that Gu Sipei was waiting for her.
• Lu Xiaoxiao ate her skewers during the ride and handed her trash to the man in black before getting out.

Assistant Lin brought Lu Xiaoxiao to a private dining room where Gu Sipei waited with a line of bodyguards. Lu Xiaoxiao challenged their intimidating setup and refused Gu Sipei’s offer of dinner, saying she already had plans and feared he might poison the food.

• Assistant Lin escorted Lu Xiaoxiao into an upscale restaurant and led her to Gu Sipei’s private dining room.
• Lu Xiaoxiao saw Gu Sipei surrounded by bodyguards and questioned why he needed so many men to intimidate her.
• Lu Xiaoxiao complained that there was no chair or food, and a bodyguard argued that Gu Sipei had not ordered dinner.
• Assistant Lin explained that Gu Sipei had invited Lu Xiaoxiao for a brief chat, then Gu Sipei asked what she wanted to eat.
• Lu Xiaoxiao refused Gu Sipei’s offer, saying she had dinner plans and worried he might poison the food.

Lu Xiaoxiao met with Gu Sipei, who questioned her sudden change in personality and suggested he suspected something was wrong with her. The chapter ended with 037 panicking and urging her to buy an item to bluff her way through.

• Gu Sipei's men reacted with hostility when Lu Xiaoxiao bluntly provoked him.
• Gu Sipei called Lu Xiaoxiao special, and she recoiled at his domineering-CEO remark.
• Gu Sipei said he wanted to know who Lu Xiaoxiao really was and asked why her personality had suddenly changed.
• Lu Xiaoxiao realized her past was a glaring hole in her story and feared Gu Sipei would uncover the truth.
• 037 panicked and urged Lu Xiaoxiao to buy an expensive item to deceive Gu Sipei.

Lu Xiaoxiao defended her efforts to change her personality, then challenged Gu Sipei over secretly investigating her and Lu Jiaoyue. Gu Sipei revealed he knew about Lu Xiaoxiao’s past interference in his encounters with Lu Jiaoyue, leaving her unsettled about how Lu Jiaoyue had learned what she thought she had kept secret.

• Lu Xiaoxiao argued that she had changed to feel more secure in her family and warned Gu Sipei that Lu Jiaoyue might hate him if she learned he had investigated her sister.
• Gu Sipei threatened that Lu Xiaoxiao could disappear as a last resort, but said he would rather have her willingly support his position.
• Gu Sipei said Lu Xiaoxiao had stopped Lu Jiaoyue from attending his reception, and explained he had figured it out from Lu Jiaoyue’s conversations about her sister.
• Lu Xiaoxiao admitted she had wanted Lu Jiaoyue to keep Gu Sipei waiting, but denied knowing what he meant about the Phantom Club.
• Gu Sipei recalled Lu Jiaoyue saying her sister had sent her to find her destined love, making Lu Xiaoxiao question how Lu Jiaoyue knew about her involvement.

Lu Xiaoxiao was forced to her knees by one of Gu Sipei’s bodyguards, but she talked back and complained to Gu Sipei about his subordinate. Before Gu Sipei could respond, a man kicked open the door and greeted him.

• A black-clad bodyguard shoved Lu Xiaoxiao to her knees for failing to answer Gu Sipei quickly.
• Lu Xiaoxiao insulted the bodyguard and told Gu Sipei that he was not keeping his subordinate under control.
• Gu Sipei disapproved of the bodyguard’s actions and prepared to have Lu Xiaoxiao released.
• A man kicked open the entrance and addressed Gu Sipei, asking to join in.

Ji Yunhuai rescued Lu Xiaoxiao from Gu Sipei’s private room and confronted him over her treatment. He warned that the Ji Family might retaliate by taking a Riverside project the Gu Corporation was preparing.

• Ji Yunhuai arrived at Gu Sipei’s room, freed Lu Xiaoxiao, and demanded an explanation for her being forced to kneel.
• Lu Xiaoxiao told Ji Yunhuai that she had been brought there unwillingly and that her phone had been confiscated.
• Gu Sipei ordered Lin Qi to return Lu Xiaoxiao’s phone, but Ji Yunhuai demanded an apology and rejected Gu Sipei’s offer to let them leave as a favor.
• Ji Yunhuai warned Gu Sipei that the Ji Family might oppose the Gu Family and announced that it would take the Gu Corporation’s planned Riverside project.

Ji Yunhuai confronted Gu Sipei by proposing that the Ji Family join the lucrative riverside project, then led Lu Xiaoxiao out of the Gu Corporation. As they headed to his car, he teased her and asked what Gu Sipei had done to her, while Lu Xiaoxiao kept the details—and her knowledge of the novel’s plot—to herself.

• Ji Yunhuai proposed that the Ji Family help with the riverside project, frustrating Gu Sipei by threatening to reduce the Gu Family’s profits and delay his plans against Gu Sijing.
• Lu Xiaoxiao silently praised Ji Yunhuai for his move, and Ji Yunhuai took her out of the building without obstruction.
• Ji Yunhuai called Lu Xiaoxiao happy to have been bullied, and she praised how cool he had been before he boasted about himself.
• Lu Xiaoxiao walked in the wrong direction, so Ji Yunhuai pointed out that his car was parked the other way and led her there by the wrist.
• Ji Yunhuai offered to treat Lu Xiaoxiao to a meal and suggested she badmouth Gu Sipei to Lu Jiaoyue, but Lu Xiaoxiao said she would only intervene if he mistreated her sister.
• Lu Xiaoxiao changed the subject and asked Ji Yunhuai how he had learned so quickly that she was in trouble.

Lu Xiaoxiao confronted Ji Yunhuai about the tracker hidden in her phone case, and they settled on honesty and consent about her whereabouts. After they left for dinner, Gu Sipei had the bodyguard who attacked Lu Xiaoxiao fired to show he did not want to escalate tensions with the Ji and Lu families.

• Ji Yunhuai explained that the phone case contained a tracker and that he had used it to find Lu Xiaoxiao at Gu Sipei’s club.
• Lu Xiaoxiao told Ji Yunhuai that hiding the tracker violated her privacy, and he apologized and explained he had feared for her safety after Ji Cheng’s threats.
• Lu Xiaoxiao said Ji Yunhuai should tell her about any tracker so she could choose when to carry it, and the two teased each other before heading to dinner.
• Ji Yunhuai told Lu Xiaoxiao he would be away on a business trip for a bid and planned to take Fang Youcheng with him.
• After Gu Sipei left the private room, Assistant Lin fired the bodyguard who had laid hands on Lu Xiaoxiao, explaining that Gu Sipei did not want to antagonize the Ji or Lu families.

Lu Xiaoxiao returned home hoping to question Lu Jiaoyue, but the Original Host summoned her before she could sleep and revealed she knew the truth behind Gu Sipei’s remarks. The Original Host agreed to explain after Lu Xiaoxiao completed her request, then was confused when Lu Xiaoxiao said Jiaoyue thought of “us” as her big sister.

• Lu Xiaoxiao learned from Song Zhilan that Lu Jiaoyue was still at a piano lesson and went upstairs to wait for her.
• Lu Xiaoxiao fell asleep and was summoned to the black space, where the Original Host asked what she planned to say to Lu Jiaoyue.
• The Original Host admitted she knew the inside story behind Gu Sipei’s remarks and offered to explain after Lu Xiaoxiao completed her request.
• The Original Host warned Lu Xiaoxiao not to question anyone else and assured her that Lu Jiaoyue would not hurt her.
• Lu Xiaoxiao agreed to the deal and said Lu Jiaoyue thought of them as her big sister, prompting the Original Host to ask why she said “us.”

Lu Xiaoxiao reassured the Original Host that Lu Jiaoyue would still accept her as an older sister and promised to investigate the Original Host’s background discreetly. After waking, Lu Xiaoxiao worried that Ji Yunhuai might have noticed her changed personality, and Lu Jiaoyue knocked at her door.

• Lu Xiaoxiao explained to the Original Host that Lu Jiaoyue sincerely regarded Lu Xiaoxiao as family, whoever occupied her body.
• The Original Host agreed to wait while Lu Xiaoxiao found a safe opportunity to investigate her birth parents.
• Lu Xiaoxiao woke from the soul-space conversation and told 037 what had happened.
• Lu Xiaoxiao wondered whether Ji Yunhuai had also noticed her drastic personality change and suspected something was wrong with her identity.
• Lu Jiaoyue knocked and asked to come in, and Lu Xiaoxiao welcomed her.

Lu Xiaoxiao hid Gu Sipei’s threats from Lu Jiaoyue, who learned about them through her sister’s thoughts. Lu Jiaoyue told her that the Spirit Abyss Chronicle crew would leave for seaside filming the morning after tomorrow, delaying Lu Xiaoxiao’s plans to investigate the Original Host’s background.

• Lu Xiaoxiao decided not to question Lu Jiaoyue about the day’s events, honoring her promise to the Original Host.
• Lu Jiaoyue pressed Lu Xiaoxiao about looking tired, and learned through her thoughts that Gu Sipei had threatened her before Ji Yunhuai intervened.
• Lu Jiaoyue told Lu Xiaoxiao that the Spirit Abyss Chronicle crew would leave for seaside filming the morning after tomorrow.
• After Lu Jiaoyue left, Lu Xiaoxiao lamented that the trip would postpone her investigation into the Original Host’s background.

After hearing her sister’s thoughts about Gu Sipei’s threats and forceful invitation, Lu Jiaoyue struggled to reconcile them with his kindness toward her. She went to Jin Garden to confront him and asked why he had treated her sister that way.

• Lu Jiaoyue worried that Gu Sipei had threatened and forcibly invited Lu Xiaoxiao over, despite seeming gentle with her.
• Lu Jiaoyue decided to ask Gu Sipei face-to-face which side of him was real.
• The next morning, Lu Jiaoyue told her family she was meeting her music teacher and asked Uncle Zhang to drive her to Jin Garden instead.
• The butler led Lu Jiaoyue to Gu Sipei’s study, where she confronted him about his treatment of her sister.
• Lu Jiaoyue asked Gu Sipei why he had invited Lu Xiaoxiao over for a talk that way.

Lu Jiaoyue confronted Gu Sipei over his men forcibly restraining Lu Xiaoxiao, and rejected his attempts to excuse or offset what happened. She left him knowing that she already disliked him and would hate him if he mistreated her sister again.

• Gu Sipei realized Lu Xiaoxiao had told Lu Jiaoyue about their disastrous meeting and resented how Ji Yunhuai's intervention had complicated his plans.
• Lu Jiaoyue accused Gu Sipei of taking Lu Xiaoxiao by force, and he admitted that a bodyguard had used unnecessary restraints without his orders.
• Gu Sipei said the bodyguard had been fired and argued that Ji Yunhuai's threat to take a Gu Corporation project had made things even.
• Lu Jiaoyue insisted that Ji Yunhuai's actions had nothing to do with Lu Xiaoxiao and condemned Gu Sipei for avoiding responsibility.
• Lu Jiaoyue warned Gu Sipei not to mistreat her sister again and admitted that she already disliked him.

Lu Jiaoyue told Gu Sipei that his treatment of her sister had made her hate him, and he challenged her to consider what that meant to him. Gu Sipei then gripped her chin and kissed her.

• Lu Jiaoyue told Gu Sipei that she had started to hate him because of what he did to her sister.
• Gu Sipei asked Lu Jiaoyue to repeat her declaration, giving her a chance to take it back.
• Lu Jiaoyue repeated that she hated him, and neither of them spoke for a full minute.
• Gu Sipei rose, approached Lu Jiaoyue, and asked what difference her hatred made.
• Gu Sipei gripped Lu Jiaoyue's chin and kissed her.

Gu Sipei kissed Lu Jiaoyue to show that her threat to hate him could not stop him, but she slapped him and broke down in tears. He realized she was most upset that he had kissed her without courting her or confessing, and decided they could resolve their conflict through negotiation instead.

• Gu Sipei kissed Lu Jiaoyue and told her that he could do as he pleased regardless of whether she hated him.
• When Gu Sipei leaned in to kiss her again, Lu Jiaoyue slapped him, then took back her apology and said he deserved it.
• Lu Jiaoyue sobbed that Gu Sipei had not courted or confessed to her, compared him to Ji Yunhuai, and said she was still angry with him over Lu Xiaoxiao.
• Gu Sipei recognized that Lu Jiaoyue objected to the lack of courtship and a confession more than to his closeness, and decided to handle their negotiations differently.

Gu Sipei promised Lu Jiaoyue he would apologize to Lu Xiaoxiao in a way she could accept, calming Lu Jiaoyue’s distress. Lu Jiaoyue added that Lu Xiaoxiao must forgive him and asked him not to reveal that she had prompted the apology.

• Gu Sipei decided that apologizing to Lu Xiaoxiao was a worthwhile concession and promised Lu Jiaoyue he would do it.
• Lu Jiaoyue stopped crying when Gu Sipei promised to apologize to her sister.
• Lu Jiaoyue insisted that Lu Xiaoxiao had to forgive Gu Sipei for the apology to count.
• Gu Sipei gave Lu Jiaoyue a handkerchief, and she asked him not to tell Lu Xiaoxiao that she had requested the apology.

Lu Jiaoyue explained that she wanted Gu Sipei to apologize to her sister and make amends, because she did not want to dislike him or see the people around her in conflict. Gu Sipei recognized that she judged right and wrong by simple, firm rules and resolved to follow them; Lu Jiaoyue left the study, where Uncle Sun gently asked her not to hold Gu Sipei’s coldness against him.

• Lu Jiaoyue told Gu Sipei that she had come because she had believed he was a good person, and said she wanted him to apologize to her sister and correct his wrongdoing.
• Lu Jiaoyue admitted she did not want to dislike Gu Sipei and hoped he and her sister could both be well.
• Gu Sipei realized Lu Jiaoyue followed clear rules about right and wrong, and decided to treat her according to those standards rather than his usual calculations.
• Lu Jiaoyue worried that Gu Sipei resented her for calling him wrong and explained how she judged whether her slap and his kiss were fair.
• Gu Sipei assured Lu Jiaoyue he understood, and she left the study with Uncle Sun.
• Uncle Sun apologized for any shortcomings in the hospitality and asked Lu Jiaoyue not to hold Gu Sipei’s cold temperament against him, then began to mention Gu Sipei’s childhood experiences.

Uncle Sun told Lu Jiaoyue a tragic account of Gu Sipei’s childhood, deepening her sympathy for him. Gu Sipei recalled how Elder Gu taught him that power determined right and wrong, then withdrew Gu Corporation from the Riverside project.

• Uncle Sun told Lu Jiaoyue that Gu Sipei had been orphaned young and grew up without warmth or support.
• Lu Jiaoyue felt sympathy for Gu Sipei while still believing he should apologize for wronging her sister.
• Gu Sipei remembered how Elder Gu explained that the strong made the rules after Gu Sijing broke his mother’s pocket watch and injured him.
• Gu Sipei reflected that Lu Jiaoyue had reminded him of his childhood belief that people who did wrong should apologize and make amends.
• Gu Sipei messaged Ji Yunhuai that Gu Corporation was withdrawing from the Riverside project.