Chapter Summaries

Ji Yanzhi and Ji Ting went to support Xu Ren after the school arranged a meeting that seemed intended to settle the plagiarism dispute quietly. Xu Ren met Director Wu while Ji Yanzhi, Ji Ting, and Lu Yanchu listened to the conversation from the next room, where Xu Ren demanded that Wang Jianming face consequences for stealing his research.

• Ji Yanzhi learned that Xu Ren was meeting with the department head and realized Ji Ting might have rights to the research Wang Jianming stole, so he left with Ji Ting to support Xu Ren.
• At a café near the restaurant, Lu Yanchu joined Ji Yanzhi, Ji Ting, and Xu Ren, while Ji Ting clipped an audio transmitter inside Xu Ren’s sweater cuff.
• Ji Yanzhi stopped Ji Ting from accompanying Xu Ren into the meeting and told Xu Ren to record the conversation.
• Ji Yanzhi, Ji Ting, and Lu Yanchu waited in the room next door and listened to Xu Ren’s transmitter.
• Director Wu offered to accommodate Xu Ren’s requests, and Xu Ren firmly said he only wanted Wang Jianming to face the consequences for stealing his research.

Ji Ting recognized Xu Ren’s predicament as resembling his own past experience of having research taken from him, so he intervened when Director Wu pressured Xu Ren to accept injustice. The chapter ended with Ji Ting and Xu Ren beside an unconscious Director Wu.

• Director Wu threatened Xu Ren’s career and graduation to discourage him from accusing Wang Jianming.
• Ji Ting recalled being pressured after his own research results were taken and decided to support Xu Ren.
• Ji Ting sent Lu Yanchu a copy of the audio recording, and Lu Yanchu forwarded it to his assistant for subtitles.
• Ji Yanzhi and Lu Yanchu confronted Director Wu and identified Ji Yanzhi as the president of the Shili Group.
• Ji Ting asked them to leave, then had Xu Ren film as he told Director Wu to send the recording to his dean.
• Ji Yanzhi and Lu Yanchu rushed back after hearing a crash and found Director Wu unconscious on the floor.

Ji Ting used detailed research and production information to frighten Director Wu into agreeing that the university would not interfere with the police investigation. Afterward, Ji Yanzhi took Ji Ting and Xu Ren to Shili, where Xu Ren warned Ji Ting that the police would uncover what he had done.

• Ji Ting revived Director Wu after he fainted, and Director Wu promised to leave the matter to the police investigation.
• Ji Yanzhi took Xu Ren and Ji Ting away before Lu Yanchu could question Xu Ren.
• Ji Yanzhi received a call and drove them to Shili, where Fang Jie brought Ji Ting and Xu Ren to the president's office.
• Xu Ren recalled how Ji Ting showed Director Wu schematics for domestically produced PPS film equipment and cited Zhiheng Technology Company's 3.5 billion investment.
• Director Wu collapsed after Ji Ting warned that the latest technology could fall into another company's hands and jeopardize Zhiheng's investment.

Ji Ting reassured Xu Ren that his value would protect him from being mistreated, then accompanied Ji Yanzhi to Shen Mu Lan’s restaurant. The visit left Ji Ting learning about Ji Yanzhi’s clean-freak habits while Shen Mu Lan warmly fussed over him.

• Ji Ting told Xu Ren that people would be less willing to bully him once his value made the cost of harming him too high.
• Ji Yanzhi returned, carried Ji Ting in his arms, and argued with him about sleeping on the office sofa.
• Ji Yanzhi arranged for Xu Ren to go home, then took Ji Ting to a villa instead of the family residence.
• Ji Ting met Shen Mu Lan, who introduced himself and revealed that he ran a reservation-only restaurant.
• Shen Mu Lan recommended pork cutlet curry rice and teased Ji Ting about Ji Yanzhi being a clean freak.

Ji Yanzhi and Ji Ting ate at Shen Mu Lan’s restaurant, where a video game match brought out Ji Yanzhi’s irritation at Shen Mu Lan’s affection toward Ji Ting. Shen Mu Lan questioned whether Ji Ting was really Ji Yanzhi’s little brother.

• Ji Ting wondered why Ji Yanzhi had brought him to Shen Mu Lan’s restaurant, and Ji Yanzhi said he had simply wanted to eat there.
• Shen Mu Lan set up UFC 5, and Ji Yanzhi beat Ji Ting in the first round while Ji Ting struggled with the controls.
• Shen Mu Lan helped Ji Ting win the next match, then put an arm around him and ruffled his hair.
• Ji Yanzhi angrily dragged Shen Mu Lan into a back room, then returned to tell Ji Ting to eat.
• Shen Mu Lan opened the door and teasingly asked Ji Yanzhi whether Ji Ting was really his little brother.

Ji Yanzhi brought Ji Ting to Shen Mu Lan’s restaurant, then asked whether Ji Ting would ever oppose him. After Ji Ting promised he had no interest in Shili or the family fortune, Ji Yanzhi cruelly told him to leave the Ji Family, and Ji Ting got out of the car.

• Ji Yanzhi and Ji Ting ate curry rice at Shen Mu Lan’s restaurant, where Shen Mu Lan invited Ji Ting to play games, but Ji Ting declined.
• On the drive home, Ji Yanzhi stopped at the estate gates and asked Ji Ting if there was anything he wanted to tell him.
• Ji Yanzhi asked Ji Ting to promise never to stand against him, and Ji Ting said he would not fight him for Shili or the family fortune.
• Ji Yanzhi mocked Ji Ting and said Ji Shize would force him to fight, then told him to get out of the Ji Family.
• Ji Ting got out of the car after hearing Ji Yanzhi’s order.

Ji Ting packed up his computer equipment and left the Ji Family after Ji Yanzhi ordered him out, while Xu Ren helped him move. Ji Ting left Xu Ren with their belongings as he drove the first van away, and Xu Ren told Lu Yanchu he could not visit because he was helping Teacher Ji move.

• Xu Ren arrived at the Ji Family home and found Ji Ting dismantling the computer equipment in the West Building game room.
• Ji Ting told Xu Ren that Ji Yanzhi had accused him of competing for the family fortune and ordered him to leave the Ji Family.
• Xu Ren helped Ji Ting pack the equipment, and Ji Ting said Ji Yanzhi’s anger and sudden outbursts made him think his brother had gone crazy.
• Ji Ting and Xu Ren filled two cars with boxes, then Ji Ting drove one van away and left Xu Ren to watch their belongings.
• Lu Yanchu called Xu Ren and asked him to visit, but Xu Ren said he was helping Teacher Ji move.

Ji Ting and Xu Ren moved into a temporary apartment after leaving the Ji Family, then parted after dinner. Ji Yanzhi confronted Xu Ren outside his school and offered him three million to report what Ji Ting said or anything that happened to him.

• Lu Yanchu offered to help Xu Ren, who said he and Ji Ting had already packed and found a temporary place to stay.
• Ji Ting and Xu Ren moved their boxes into an apartment at Xinxin Garden, and Ji Ting agreed to visit Lu Yanchu the next day to investigate a possible issue with the program.
• Ji Ting treated Xu Ren to barbecue, then arranged a designated driver to return both cars to the Ji Family.
• Ji Yanzhi stopped Xu Ren outside his school and tried to get him into his car, but Xu Ren refused and defended Ji Ting.
• Ji Yanzhi asked Xu Ren to report anything Ji Ting said about the Ji Family or anything that happened to him, offering him three million.

Xu Ren suspected Ji Yanzhi had a hidden reason for throwing Ji Ting out of the Ji Family, but Ji Yanzhi denied it and warned him to stay silent. The next day, Ji Ting investigated a suspicious call with Xu Ren and Lu Yanchu, and agreed to check Peng Zekun’s accounts after Lu Yanchu grew concerned.

• Ji Yanzhi offered Xu Ren money to investigate Ji Ting, then denied having a secret reason for throwing him out and threatened Xu Ren if he revealed their conversation.
• Xu Ren accompanied Ji Ting to Lu Yanchu’s villa, where Ji Ting checked the program logs and listened to a recorded call between two men discussing liquor and setbacks.
• Xu Ren identified the other caller as Peng Zekun, vice president of Shangya Pictures and a producer of Edge of the Wind.
• Lu Yanchu said Peng Zekun had suddenly shut down his social media accounts, and Ji Ting agreed to help examine them.

Ji Ting uncovered clues linking Peng Zekun to Japanese sword-hilt wrapping and decoded a reference to Lu Yanchu, while Lu Yanchu agreed that the investigation needed to move faster. The chapter ended with Kong Yu joking that Lu Yanchu could use his good looks to sweet-talk Ji Ting if he became upset.

• Ji Ting restored Peng Zekun's deleted social media posts, then noticed that his tennis racket grip was wrapped using a Japanese sword-hilt technique.
• Ji Ting recognized that the foreign caller's pronunciation suggested he was Japanese and inferred that the conversation's coded reference to fine wine meant Lu Yanchu.
• Lu Yanchu worried that announcing his withdrawal from the production could make Peng Zekun more cautious, and Ji Ting considered taking a risk to move the investigation forward.
• Xu Ren pretended to have a plan after Ji Ting silently prompted him, giving Ji Ting and Lu Yanchu a chance to discuss their real strategy later.
• After Ji Ting and Xu Ren left the room, Kong Yu joked that Lu Yanchu should use his good looks to sweet-talk Ji Ting if he upset him.

Lu Yanchu devised a plan to get close to Shangya Pictures vice president Peng Zekun by pretending to push Ji Ting for a role, and Ji Ting agreed to take part. They prepared to visit Peng Zekun’s home the next day, with Kong Yu suggesting Ji Ting wear more expensive clothes.

• Xu Ren said they needed to go to Peng Zekun’s home to carry out his plan, and Lu Yanchu considered using Miao Wei to arrange a meeting.
• Lu Yanchu learned that Peng Zekun was Shangya’s talent director and devised a way to approach him through a supposed effort to sign Ji Ting.
• Kong Yu explained the plan as Lu Yanchu trying to get Ji Ting into the film, despite the director’s objections, by signing him with Shangya.
• Ji Ting agreed to play along but asked Xu Ren to accompany Lu Yanchu, then warned that his inability to act could expose them.
• Kong Yu told Ji Ting to bring his most expensive outfits the next day because his current clothes looked too plain.

Ji Ting and Xu Ren finished reassembling and modifying the cabinet, then joined Lu Yanchu for a meeting with Sister Miao. Ji Yanzhi had his people follow them, and Lu Yanchu and Ji Ting entered the clubhouse holding hands to begin acting like they were close.

• Ji Yanzhi learned from Fang Jie that Xu Ren was at Lu Yanchu's place with Ji Ting and decided to have someone watch them.
• Ji Ting and Xu Ren spent two days reassembling the cabinet, and Ji Ting modified it to improve its internet connection.
• Lu Yanchu arranged a meeting with Sister Miao for that evening, while Ji Yanzhi's bodyguards followed Ji Ting and Lu Yanchu's car to Cloudtop Garden.
• Lu Yanchu stopped to remove Ji Ting's uncomfortable scarf, and the bodyguards mistook their closeness for an intimate embrace.
• At the clubhouse, Lu Yanchu asked Ji Ting to act like someone close to him, and Ji Ting agreed to hold his hand as they went inside.

Lu Yanchu and Ji Ting attended a dinner with Miao Wei, President Zeng, and Peng Zekun while secretly gathering information on Peng. As they left during a staged power outage, Lu Yanchu pulled Ji Ting into an embrace and kissed the corner of his forehead.

• Lu Yanchu introduced Ji Ting to Miao Wei, then removed Ji Ting's wineglass and told her he could not drink.
• President Zeng and Peng Zekun arrived, and Lu Yanchu introduced Ji Ting to them while Ji Ting scanned Peng Zekun's pockets for devices.
• During dinner, Ji Ting checked for scanning devices under the table while Lu Yanchu questioned Peng Zekun about wine.
• The room went dark in a power outage, and Lu Yanchu took Ji Ting's hand as the manager explained that the electrical system had failed.
• Miao Wei suggested moving to another restaurant, and Lu Yanchu agreed as the group prepared to leave.
• Lu Yanchu told Ji Ting that he had locked onto Peng Zekun's phone and sent its data to Xu Ren, then pulled Ji Ting into an embrace and kissed his forehead.

Lu Yanchu and Ji Ting maintained the appearance of a close relationship while accompanying Miao Wei, President Zeng, and Peng Zekun to Peng’s villa. Ji Ting planted a device on Peng’s car and then startled the others by claiming he had known Lu Yanchu since birth.

• Lu Yanchu pretended to kiss Ji Ting to keep Peng Zekun from noticing their lack of familiarity, and Ji Ting agreed to act more naturally.
• Unable to find a restaurant, the group accepted President Zeng’s suggestion to visit Peng Zekun’s nearby villa despite Peng’s reluctance.
• On the drive, Lu Yanchu resolved to protect Ji Ting, while Ji Ting mentally prepared to accept his closeness.
• Outside Peng Zekun’s villa, Ji Ting attached a device that could access Peng’s car control system.
• When President Zeng asked how long Ji Ting had known Lu Yanchu, Ji Ting answered that he had known him since birth, shocking President Zeng and Miao Wei.

Ji Ting and Lu Yanchu used a dinner at Peng Zekun’s villa as cover while Ji Ting searched Peng’s devices and prepared to investigate upstairs. The chapter left Ji Ting on the second floor with a laptop, while Lu Yanchu returned to keep the others occupied.

• Ji Ting described Lu Yanchu as a caring big brother, making Miao Wei and President Zeng misunderstand their relationship.
• At dinner, Lu Yanchu promoted Ji Ting for a role, while Ji Ting searched the villa’s devices and found that Peng Zekun had visited Zijin Apartments five times.
• Lu Yanchu gave Ji Ting their signal, and Ji Ting pretended to have stomach pain so he could leave the table.
• Lu Yanchu blamed Ji Ting’s discomfort on mussel in the shrimp sauce, and Ji Ting claimed the downstairs toilet had overflowed.
• Peng Zekun directed Ji Ting to the upstairs bathroom, and Lu Yanchu helped him upstairs before Ji Ting produced a laptop and sent him back downstairs.

Lu Yanchu claimed he wanted to leave Xinglai and sign with Shangya, keeping Peng Zekun occupied while Ji Ting searched the house. Ji Ting found hidden surveillance equipment and concealed documents, while Peng Zekun took allergy medicine upstairs to Ji Ting.

• Lu Yanchu told President Zeng he wanted a management contract with Shangya and spun a story about his grievances with Xinglai.
• Ji Ting recovered deleted files from both computers and sent them to Xu Ren to screen for suspicious information.
• Ji Ting picked the lock on Peng Zekun's study, disabled a hidden signal jammer, and discovered concealed papers behind a window using quantum invisibility material.
• Ji Ting examined the drawings on the papers and turned cold and grim.
• Peng Zekun found a bottle of imported allergy medicine and took it upstairs to Ji Ting.

Ji Ting and Lu Yanchu exposed Peng Zekun as a spy and helped the police arrest him. After a night of questioning, the Eastern Theater Command sent Lieutenant Colonel Qin Zaiye to meet with them.

• Lu Yanchu tried to delay Peng Zekun while warning Ji Ting, but Peng went upstairs to check on him.
• Ji Ting used a hidden voice transmitter to make Peng Zekun send a message to his accomplice, allowing Xu Ren to trace the recipient.
• Ji Ting and Lu Yanchu staged a medical emergency, and police officers arrested Peng Zekun when he opened the front door.
• Ji Ting identified Peng Zekun as Peng Lu and described the stolen military information, while Director Li ordered the group taken in for questioning.
• After the police reported the espionage case to the State Security Bureau, an officer told Director Li that Lieutenant Colonel Qin Zaiye had arrived from the Eastern Theater Command.

Ji Ting was transferred from the municipal bureau under military custody while Ji Yanzhi sought Shen Mu Lan’s help. As Qin Zaiye approached the transport vehicle, he hesitated after noticing something inside.

• The municipal bureau refused Lawyer Liu access to Ji Ting, so Ji Yanzhi asked him to apply to meet Ji Ting if he was transferred to the State Security Bureau.
• Ji Yanzhi called Shen Mu Lan and asked her to help Ji Ting, and she agreed to contact him later.
• Qin Zaiye arrived at the municipal bureau with two others, took charge of the case materials, and ordered Ji Ting and Lu Yanchu brought out.
• Officers put Ji Ting in military handcuffs and loaded him and Lu Yanchu into a custody transport vehicle.
• Ji Ting warned the officers that their coercive treatment could bring criminal liability, and Officer Wu told him the restraints were military handcuffs.
• Qin Zaiye moved to open the transport vehicle, then stopped and looked toward it with a flicker of shock and uncertainty.

After Ji Ting exposed Peng Zekun’s spy network, Qin Zaiye brought him and the witnesses to the Jing City garrison compound for questioning. Qin Zaiye suspected Ji Ting’s unusual abilities and ordered a second body search, which Ji Ting refused.

• Qin Zaiye reviewed evidence showing that Peng Zekun possessed blueprints for the upgraded Firegold-5 missile engine and learned that Ji Ting had identified him through his technical skills.
• Qin Zaiye had Lu Yanchu handcuffed and transferred with Ji Ting and the witnesses to the Jing City garrison compound.
• Ji Ting was placed in a padded room, requested dinner, ate, and fell asleep while Qin Zaiye watched him on surveillance.
• Qin Zaiye noticed Ji Ting seemed to speak inside his mind and ordered the guards to search him again.
• Ji Ting refused to consent to another body search without a valid reason, and Qin Zaiye ordered the guards to hold him down and strip him.

Ji Ting tried to challenge Qin Zaiye’s authority but was sent to an Isolation Room, where he kept track of time by reciting missile specifications. After Miao Wei and Zeng Mingwu broke down during questioning, Director Chang learned Ji Ting was in isolation and demanded to know where he was.

• Ji Ting accused Qin Zaiye of having a personal connection to him, but Qin denied it and ordered him sent to an Isolation Room for alleged violations.
• Alone in the sensory-deprivation room, Ji Ting steadied himself and recited technical details at a measured pace to track time.
• Qin Zaiye questioned Miao Wei, who broke down crying, then questioned Zeng Mingwu until he also suffered an emotional breakdown.
• A research institute representative arrived before dawn, and Director Chang demanded to know where Ji Ting was.
• Qin Zaiye said Ji Ting had been placed in an Isolation Room, shocking Director Chang.