Chapter Summaries

Gu Wenze confessed that he loved Qiao Hua, but she rejected him and remained imprisoned in his basement. After realizing she could no longer rely on Jiang Nan to reunite with him, Qiao Hua began planning her own escape.

• Qiao Hua urged Gu Wenze to bring Jiang Nan back, but he angrily demanded to know whether she had any place for him in her heart.
• Qiao Hua said she did not love Gu Wenze and told him to be with Jiang Nan, but he confessed that she was the only one he loved and refused to let her go.
• Gu Wenze forcibly kissed Qiao Hua, then left after warning that she would never escape him.
• Qiao Hua reasoned that Gu Wenze and Jiang Nan might still reconcile, but decided she would have to escape the basement by herself.
• Qiao Hua asked Auntie Feng to unlock her chains so she could shower, then turned on the cold water and faced the showerhead as part of her escape plan.

Qiao Hua developed a serious fever while chained in Gu Wenze's basement, but he refused to take her to the hospital and had You Xiaonian treat her at home. After Qiao Hua woke to find herself still imprisoned, Gu Wenze questioned how she had become sick.

• The nanny discovered Qiao Hua had not eaten and found her burning with fever, then called Gu Wenze.
• Gu Wenze unlocked Qiao Hua's chains and carried her toward the exit, but stopped, suspecting she might be pretending to be sick to escape.
• Gu Wenze called You Xiaonian to examine Qiao Hua in the basement, where You Xiaonian measured her fever at 40.1 degrees and started an IV.
• Gu Wenze told You Xiaonian that he had imprisoned Qiao Hua because she had planned to abort the baby, and You Xiaonian said Gu Wenze had fallen for her.
• Qiao Hua woke in the basement with an IV in her hand and realized Gu Wenze had not taken her to the hospital.
• Gu Wenze asked Qiao Hua how she had suddenly developed a fever.

After recovering from her fever, Qiao Hua realized Gu Wenze still would not release her and deliberately threw herself onto the bathroom floor, hoping to force him to take her to the hospital. Gu Wenze found her bleeding and rushed her there, leaving the fate of her pregnancy unknown.

• Gu Wenze stayed with Qiao Hua while she ate and received an IV, and she later recovered from her fever.
• Qiao Hua asked Gu Wenze to let her go, but he refused and warned her against raising the subject again.
• Qiao Hua asked Auntie Feng to unlock her chains so she could use the bathroom, then locked the door behind her.
• Qiao Hua threw herself forward and struck her lower abdomen against the floor, causing severe pain and bleeding.
• Auntie Feng found Qiao Hua on the bathroom floor, and Gu Wenze carried her to the hospital.

After Qiao Hua deliberately slipped to try to end her pregnancy and escape Gu Wenze, she woke in the hospital to learn the baby had survived. Gu Wenze stayed by her side, suspected her motives, and told her he would take her back to the basement once she recovered.

• The doctor told Gu Wenze that Qiao Hua and the baby were out of immediate danger but that the pregnancy needed observation, and Gu Wenze ordered the nanny to be more careful.
• Qiao Hua woke and hid her disappointment that the baby had survived, while Gu Wenze questioned whether she had fallen on purpose and threatened her.
• Qiao Hua privately recalled that she had sprinkled water on the floor to make the fall look accidental.
• Gu Wenze stayed in the ward to work, and Qiao Hua tried to persuade him to leave; he accused her of wanting to do something behind his back.
• Gu Wenze got into bed and held Qiao Hua, then said he would take her back to the basement once she recovered.

Qiao Hua tried to escape Gu Wenze’s surveillance at the hospital, but his guards blocked her. When Gu Junxing visited, she asked him to help her escape, and he agreed.

• The doctor told Gu Wenze that Qiao Hua’s baby had recovered a normal fetal heart rate, while Qiao Hua privately wished she had lost the pregnancy.
• After Gu Wenze left for the company, Qiao Hua tried to leave her room but found two bodyguards guarding the door and learned they had watched her since her admission.
• Gu Wenze’s bodyguards continued following Qiao Hua and prevented her from escaping the hospital.
• Gu Junxing visited Qiao Hua and asked why she had stopped coming to the office, prompting her to tell him Gu Wenze was holding her captive because she wanted a divorce.
• Gu Junxing agreed to help Qiao Hua escape after she asked him for a favor.

Gu Wenze kissed Qiao Hua in the hospital and told her she would be returned to the basement after discharge. Gu Junxing arranged her escape that night, then lured his brother away, though he struggled with his feelings for Qiao Hua and wondered how to steal Gu Wenze’s phone.

• Gu Wenze questioned Qiao Hua about Gu Junxing’s visit, kissed her, and said she would be discharged soon and locked back in the basement.
• Gu Junxing returned and told Qiao Hua he had prepared a plan for her to escape from the hospital that night.
• Qiao Hua thanked Gu Junxing as a true buddy, while he privately wished to be her husband.
• Gu Junxing asked Gu Wenze to go drinking, and Gu Wenze called Qiao Hua before leaving with him.
• As they left, Gu Junxing wondered how he could steal Gu Wenze’s phone.

Gu Junxing secretly arranged to help Qiao Hua escape from the hospital, while pretending to his brother that he was heartbroken over Tan Ruiyu. Qiao Hua made it outside disguised as a visitor and, as the car carrying her drove off, she smashed a rock against the Electronic Shackles on her ankle.

• Gu Junxing told Gu Wenze that Tan Ruiyu had returned and acted drunk so he could secretly take his brother’s phone and slip out of the villa.
• Qiao Hua fooled the dozing bodyguards, climbed between balconies, and put on the disguise Gu Junxing had prepared.
• A bodyguard stopped Qiao Hua, but she accepted the item he had found and hurried to the elevator without revealing herself.
• Qiao Hua left the hospital and met the blond-haired driver who said Gu Junxing had sent him.
• As the car drove toward an unknown destination, Qiao Hua examined her Electronic Shackles and struck her ankle with a rock.

Qiao Hua escaped her electronic monitoring and hid in an apartment with Gu Junxing’s help, while Gu Wenze remained unaware of their plan. When Gu Wenze visited the hospital the next morning, he found two pillows beneath Qiao Hua’s covers instead of his wife.

• Qiao Hua smashed the Electronic Shackles and left the hospital with help from a blond man.
• Gu Junxing brought Qiao Hua to his friend’s apartment and promised to help her stay hidden from Gu Wenze.
• Gu Junxing returned home and concealed his involvement while Gu Wenze asked whether he had seen his missing phone.
• Gu Wenze went to the hospital and discovered that Qiao Hua was gone, leaving two pillows in her bed.

Gu Wenze discovered that Qiao Hua had escaped from the hospital and used surveillance footage to trace her route. He suspected Yan Yu had helped her, but learned Yan Yu was abroad, leaving him to wonder who had aided her.

• Gu Wenze found Qiao Hua missing from her hospital room and ordered the bodyguards to check the surveillance footage.
• Gu Wenze spotted a flashily dressed woman leaving the neighboring room, though the cameras had not recorded her entering it.
• Gu Wenze found discarded hospital clothes in the empty neighboring room and concluded Qiao Hua had crossed over from her balcony and disguised herself to escape.
• Gu Wenze watched footage of Qiao Hua leaving the hospital and suspected she had help escaping.
• Gu Wenze ordered his assistant to monitor Yan Yu, then learned Yan Yu had gone abroad a week earlier and had not been in contact with Qiao Hua.
• Gu Wenze wondered who else had helped Qiao Hua escape.

Qiao Hua grew closer to Gu Junxing while he secretly helped her hide from Gu Wenze, who remained determined to find her and refused to consider divorce. After the bodyguards revealed that Gu Junxing had been the only visitor during Qiao Hua’s escape, Gu Wenze began to suspect his brother.

• Gu Junxing praised Qiao Hua’s cooking and called whoever married her lucky, while Qiao Hua dismissed Gu Wenze as blind for not appreciating her.
• Gu Junxing told Qiao Hua that Gu Wenze was searching for her, and he returned home to find his brother waiting there.
• Gu Wenze mistook Gu Junxing’s good mood for happiness about Tan Ruiyu, then learned that Gu Junxing liked a woman he was pursuing.
• Gu Junxing urged Gu Wenze to let Qiao Hua go, but Gu Wenze insisted she was the only woman he wanted and warned him not to mention divorce again.
• Gu Junxing stopped visiting Qiao Hua, and after half a month without finding her, Gu Wenze questioned the bodyguards about who had visited.
• A bodyguard said Gu Junxing was the only person who had visited Qiao Hua during those two days, and Gu Wenze demanded that he repeat himself.

Gu Wenze discovered that Gu Junxing had helped Qiao Hua escape and tracked him to her apartment. There, Gu Junxing confessed his love to Qiao Hua just as Gu Wenze stood outside, ready to take her back.

• A bodyguard told Gu Wenze that Gu Junxing had visited Qiao Hua in the hospital before she disappeared, prompting Gu Wenze to suspect his brother had helped her escape.
• Gu Wenze learned from Lin Chao that Gu Junxing had rented the room next to Qiao Hua’s and ordered him to be followed.
• Gu Junxing visited Qiao Hua and told her about Gu Wenze’s questions; Qiao Hua said she planned to leave if she remained in danger.
• Gu Junxing asked Qiao Hua whether he could protect her, then gathered the courage to confess his feelings.
• Gu Wenze’s men reported that Gu Junxing had gone to Qiao Hua’s apartment, and Gu Wenze rushed there.
• As Gu Wenze stood outside the apartment, he heard Gu Junxing tell Qiao Hua, “I love you!”

Gu Wenze interrupted Gu Junxing’s confession to Qiao Hua and beat him before taking Qiao Hua away. In the car, Gu Wenze tried to force himself on her, but she stopped him by threatening to cut her own wrist with a fruit knife.

• Gu Junxing confessed that he liked Qiao Hua, but Gu Wenze arrived and caught them holding hands.
• Gu Wenze punched Gu Junxing and accused him of coveting his sister-in-law; the brothers fought until Gu Wenze ordered his bodyguards to take Gu Junxing home.
• Gu Wenze accused Qiao Hua of seducing men and dragged her to his car despite her protests.
• Gu Wenze sent the driver away and pinned Qiao Hua down, but she drew a fruit knife and threatened to kill herself if he touched her.

Gu Wenze brought Qiao Hua back to the villa and confined her in the basement after she threatened to harm herself and her unborn baby. At the apartment, Gu Junxing declared that he wanted to be with Qiao Hua, and Gu Wenze sent him away to manage a subsidiary in Haicheng.

• Qiao Hua threatened to cut herself and harm her baby, forcing Gu Wenze to release her and take her back to the villa.
• Gu Wenze ordered that no one contact Qiao Hua and that she receive any medical treatment only in the basement.
• Gu Junxing confronted Gu Wenze about Qiao Hua and asked him to let her go so he could pursue her.
• Gu Wenze revealed that Qiao Hua was carrying his child, but Gu Junxing said he would still support her and the baby.
• Gu Wenze assigned Gu Junxing to manage the Gu Group subsidiary in Haicheng and forbade him from returning without permission.

Gu Wenze sent Gu Junxing to Haicheng to separate him from Qiao Hua, then returned to the basement and warned Qiao Hua that no one could rescue her. After treating her wrist wound and threatening Yan Yu if she hurt herself again, he left Qiao Hua considering a way to escape by making him believe she had fallen into depression.

• Gu Wenze ordered bodyguards to take Gu Junxing to the airport, admitting that he loved Qiao Hua and dismissing Gu Junxing's protest.
• Weng Fenghua called Gu Wenze about sending Gu Junxing to Haicheng, and Gu Wenze explained that his brother needed to be toughened up.
• Gu Wenze told Qiao Hua that Gu Junxing had been made general manager of the Haicheng branch and warned her to give up on escaping.
• Qiao Hua mocked Gu Wenze, and he treated her wrist wound before threatening to hurt Yan Yu if she harmed herself again.
• After Gu Wenze left, Qiao Hua recalled a novel in which an imprisoned woman escaped after developing depression and began forming a plan.

Gu Wenze learned that Gu Junxing had gone to Haicheng and stopped his hunger strike by threatening to keep him from seeing Qiao Hua. He grew unsettled by Qiao Hua’s increasingly blank, withdrawn behavior, which left him wondering whether she was truly less lively than before.

• Gu Wenze ordered Lin Chao to tell Gu Junxing that starving himself would mean never seeing Qiao Hua, and Gu Junxing began eating again.
• Gu Wenze visited Qiao Hua in the basement and told her that Gu Junxing had arrived in Haicheng, but she barely reacted.
• The nanny reported that Qiao Hua spent her days silently staring at a wall, and Gu Wenze dismissed the idea that she might have psychological problems.
• Gu Wenze went to the basement and found Qiao Hua staring blankly at the wall.
• Qiao Hua calmly told Gu Wenze she would not run away again, then asked him to leave so she could sleep.
• Gu Wenze watched Qiao Hua curl up beneath the blanket and became alarmed by how subdued she had become.

Gu Wenze dismissed Qiao Hua’s troubling behavior as another escape scheme until her blank spells and withdrawal deepened his unease. He brought Doctor Chen to assess her, and the psychologist told him Qiao Hua appeared to be in the early stages of depression.

• Qiao Hua stared blankly at the sink with the faucet running until the nanny intervened and reported her worrying behavior to Gu Wenze.
• Gu Wenze stayed overnight in the basement, then found Qiao Hua standing motionless by the sealed window and ordered her back to bed.
• After seeing Qiao Hua grow increasingly withdrawn, Gu Wenze contacted someone for help.
• Gu Wenze brought Doctor Chen to speak with Qiao Hua, and Doctor Chen assessed her for an hour.
• Doctor Chen told Gu Wenze that Qiao Hua appeared to be in the early stages of depression.

After learning that Qiao Hua had depression, Gu Wenze hid the diagnosis from her and kept her confined. When he discovered her cutting her wrist with a porcelain shard, he rushed her out of the basement for treatment.

• The psychologist told Gu Wenze that Qiao Hua had depression and warned that confinement could worsen her condition and lead to suicidal tendencies.
• Gu Wenze told Qiao Hua that the doctor said she was fine, while Qiao Hua secretly kept a shard from a broken chicken soup bowl.
• Gu Wenze returned after a call and held Qiao Hua as she slept, assuming her condition was not serious.
• Gu Wenze found Qiao Hua cutting her wrist with the shard and carried her out of the basement to get help.
• In the car, Qiao Hua silently grimaced in pain from her cut.

After Qiao Hua injured herself, Gu Wenze agreed to let her return to work while keeping her under constant watch. The next morning, he noticed her cheerful mood vanish when she saw him and wondered if her distress had been an act.

• At the hospital, a doctor treated Qiao Hua’s wound, and Gu Wenze learned from the psychologist that her condition had worsened and that keeping her confined could lead to greater danger.
• Gu Wenze told Qiao Hua he would stop locking her in the basement and allow her to return to the company, provided she stayed under his watch at all times.
• Back at the villa, Gu Wenze brought Qiao Hua to the master bedroom, kissed her, and held her as they went to sleep.
• The next morning, Qiao Hua eagerly prepared to go to work, but her smile disappeared when Gu Wenze entered the room.
• Gu Wenze asked Qiao Hua whether she had been putting on an act for him.

Qiao Hua returned to work after convincing Gu Wenze to let her travel separately, while keeping up her act of depression. Gu Wenze then ordered her to move her workstation into his office.

• Qiao Hua hid her genuine happiness from Gu Wenze, who reluctantly upheld his promise to let her leave the house.
• Qiao Hua reminded Gu Wenze that they had agreed to keep their relationship secret at work, and he let her get out of the car near the company.
• Qiao Hua returned to the office, surprising Liao Anna, who had assumed she had resigned.
• Gu Wenze arrived and, after Qiao Hua and Liao Anna pretended their exchange had been friendly, told Qiao Hua to move her workstation into his office.

Gu Wenze moved Qiao Hua’s workstation into his office so he could keep her under his watch, and insisted she stay with him for lunch and rest. As they lay together in his private room, he asked whether she was happy he had let her out, while Qiao Hua secretly wished she could leave and wondered how Gu Junxing was doing.

• Gu Wenze ordered Lin Chao to move Qiao Hua’s workstation into his office, overruling Qiao Hua’s objection and Liao Anna’s protest.
• Qiao Hua confronted Gu Wenze about breaking their agreement to act like strangers at work, but he insisted that sharing an office was normal for his personal secretary.
• Gu Wenze made Qiao Hua stay in his office for lunch, reminding her that she had to remain in his sight twenty-four hours a day.
• After lunch, Gu Wenze pulled Qiao Hua into his private resting room and made her lie down with him.
• Gu Wenze asked whether Qiao Hua was happy he had let her out, while she privately wished he would let her leave and thought about Gu Junxing.