Chapter Summaries

Yu Nian attended his boyfriend Qin Yu’s lavish birthday banquet, where he felt out of place among wealthy guests and their expensive gifts. After Qin Yu introduced him to Xie Lingfeng, Yu Nian overheard them dismissing him as an outsider.

• Yu Nian ended his gaming stream and told his viewers he would miss the next night to attend Qin Yu’s birthday banquet.
• Yu Nian arrived at the Qin Family mansion in a casual fleece jacket and saw the formal attire, extravagant decorations, and costly gifts.
• Yu Nian gave Qin Yu his birthday present, but Qin Yu set it with the other gifts and left him to enjoy himself while he hosted guests.
• Qin Yu introduced Yu Nian to Xie Lingfeng, who asked about Yu Nian’s family and ignored his greeting.
• Yu Nian overheard Xie Lingfeng mocking his clothes and questioning why Qin Yu had invited him, while Qin Yu called him a friend.

Yu Nian attended Qin Yu’s birthday party, where Xie Lingfeng insulted him and warned him to stay away from Qin Yu. The chapter ended with Qin Yu drunkenly dismissing a proposed match without defending Yu Nian as the guests stared at him.

• Yu Nian ate cakes and challenged Xie Lingfeng after he warned him to stay away from Qin Yu.
• Xie Lingfeng threatened Yu Nian, but Yu Nian warned him that hitting someone at the party would embarrass Xie Lingfeng instead.
• Yu Nian wandered among the food and fruit, feeling isolated as the other guests socialized and Qin Yu ignored him.
• Yu Nian joined the guests’ birthday toast, then cleaned his shoes after people stepped on them without noticing.
• Xie Lingfeng proposed introducing Qin Yu to his older sister and mocked Yu Nian as a shady nobody, drawing the guests’ scrutiny.
• Yu Nian looked to Qin Yu for support, but Qin Yu, drunk and unfocused, only said he did not like anyone older than himself.

At Qin Yu’s birthday party, Yu Nian was hurt when Qin Yu encouraged others to introduce him to potential partners and showed off his expensive gift instead of valuing Yu Nian’s. Qin Yuheng’s arrival quieted the gathering, and the chapter left Yu Nian sitting beside him, painfully aware of Qin Yu’s disregard.

• Qin Yu praised a guest’s sister as a dancer, prompting others to send him contact cards and offer more potential partners.
• Yu Nian choked after downing his wine, and Qin Yu comforted him while Xie Lingfeng mocked the incident.
• Yu Nian went to the bathroom to compose himself, then returned wanting to go home.
• Yu Nian bumped into Qin Yuheng, and Qin Yu introduced him as a friend who had drunk too much.
• Qin Yuheng’s arrival quieted the party, and he sat near Yu Nian while Qin Yu displayed the expensive watch his brother had given him.

After Qin Yu's birthday party, Yu Nian left with Qin Yuheng, who drove him home and apologized for Qin Yu's inconsiderate behavior. The ride softened Yu Nian's view of Qin Yuheng, but it also confirmed his decision to end his relationship with Qin Yu.

• Yu Nian declined Qin Yu's invitation to stay, and Qin Yuheng took him home instead.
• During the quiet drive, Yu Nian decided to end his relationship with Qin Yu, while Qin Yuheng adjusted the seat and apologized for his brother.
• When Yu Nian objected to the apology, Qin Yuheng stopped the car and offered to make Qin Yu apologize, but Yu Nian persuaded him to keep driving.
• Yu Nian introduced himself and asked to call Qin Yuheng "Brother Yu," and Qin Yuheng agreed.
• Yu Nian fell asleep in the car, woke beneath his apartment building with Qin Yuheng's jacket over him, and discovered it was half past eleven.

Yu Nian confronted Qin Yu after deciding their relationship had become intolerable, and told him they should break up. Qin Yu dismissed his concerns and lashed out when Yu Nian challenged him over adding people on WeChat.

• Yu Nian met Qin Yu at the sports field after deciding his sober thoughts about their relationship had not changed.
• Qin Yu rejected public speculation about dating Yu Nian, then privately called their relationship a rumor that could reach his family.
• Yu Nian led Qin Yu to a quiet path and said they should break up, but Qin Yu assumed he was joking.
• Yu Nian explained that Qin Yu had abandoned him at the birthday party and failed to stop Xie Lingfeng from targeting him.
• Yu Nian confronted Qin Yu about hiding their relationship and accepting introductions to other people, then asked to see his contacts.
• Qin Yu froze at the request, then accused Yu Nian of overstepping because he had added friends on WeChat.

Yu Nian broke up with Qin Yu after Qin Yu dismissed his gift and tried to placate him with money. While Qin Yu expected Yu Nian to come back, Yu Nian discussed leaving Huajia Live with his roommates and had not chosen a new platform.

• Yu Nian told Qin Yu they were breaking up, and Qin Yu offered him money instead of apologizing.
• Yu Nian reminded Qin Yu that he had given him a necklace, but Qin Yu admitted he had forgotten it, so Yu Nian left.
• Qin Yu assumed Yu Nian would regret the breakup, noticed he had not received a message from him, and checked Yu Nian's streaming account.
• At the dorm, Bian Yan explained that Yu Nian had stayed on campus to work on a group presentation, so he had missed his stream.
• Yu Nian told Fang Xu and Bian Yan that his Huajia Live contract was expiring and he was considering switching platforms.

Yu Nian learned that Qin Yu might be the heir to the powerful Azure Group and worried that their breakup could bring retaliation, though he did not regret ending the relationship. He continued streaming, where he played cautiously and watched his marksman get ambushed after a viewer mocked his strategy.

• Bian Yan told Yu Nian that Qin Yu might be the heir to the Azure Group and that Qin's family had allegedly driven another family's business into bankruptcy.
• Yu Nian feared Qin Yu might blacklist him but resolved to keep streaming and accepted that he could return to part-time work if necessary.
• Yu Nian began a game during his stream and thanked Autumn Fish Who Loves Rice Cakes for reminding him to take care of himself.
• Yu Nian played cautiously, warned his marksman about an ambush, and left to farm and defend top lane instead of joining a risky attempt to steal the enemy blue buff.
• After a viewer mocked his cautious play, Yu Nian sarcastically defended his style, and the enemy jungler killed his marksman with the tank and support assisting.

Yu Nian warned his team about an ambush, but died to an enemy support’s stray attack and then clashed with his struggling marksman, Qinggang. As Qinggang’s fans flooded his stream with abuse, Yu Nian stayed calm, let Qinggang be killed, and finished an enemy while delivering a pointed retort.

• Yu Nian spotted an enemy jungler waiting in ambush and helped his mage teammate defeat him, but an enemy support accidentally bounced Yu Nian to death.
• Yu Nian joked that the support hero Dean was secretly the team’s main damage dealer and reminded his chat not to attack other players.
• Qing^ blamed Yu Nian for the team’s troubles, and Yu Nian answered by mocking his 0-4 score and telling him to learn to speak properly.
• Yu Nian discovered Qing^ was the streamer Qinggang, while Qinggang’s fans flooded Yu Nian’s chat with insults and accusations.
• Yu Nian calmly let Qinggang lose a bottom-lane fight, then switched to a counter build and killed the enemy as his hero declared that only losers made excuses.

Yu Nian attended class as usual, but Qin Yu showed up and disrupted the lecture to get his attention. After class, Yu Nian stayed behind to talk with him, and Qin Yu asked whether he was still mad.

• Yu Nian brought Bian Yan sticky rice chicken before class, and they joked together as Bian Yan ate.
• Qin Yu arrived and paid a student a thousand yuan to switch seats so he could sit behind Yu Nian.
• Yu Nian messaged Qin Yu during class, told him to stop bothering him, and threatened to block him if he kept messaging.
• After class, Yu Nian stayed behind to speak with Qin Yu while Bian Yan reluctantly waited outside.
• Qin Yu asked Yu Nian, “Are you still mad?”

Yu Nian confronted Qin Yu and ended their relationship, explaining that repeated neglect and disrespect had worn down his feelings. After Qin Yu left, Yu Nian returned to the dorm with Bian Yan, who admitted he had overheard and reassured him that he did not need to apologize for keeping the relationship private.

• Qin Yu tried to reconcile with Yu Nian by apologizing, showing he had kept his necklace, and claiming he had turned down other potential partners.
• Yu Nian told Qin Yu he no longer liked him and wanted him to stop bothering him.
• Yu Nian listed Qin Yu's repeated disrespect and revealed that he had spoken up about these problems before.
• Yu Nian told Qin Yu he had not suddenly stopped liking him but had become fed up with him, then left the classroom.
• Bian Yan, who had waited outside to make sure Yu Nian was safe, walked back to the dorm with him.
• Bian Yan admitted he had overheard the conversation and reassured Yu Nian that he did not owe anyone an explanation for keeping the relationship private.

Yu Nian learned that his roommate Bian Yan accepted his sexuality and talked with him about his past relationship with Qin Yu. Later, Yu Nian discovered that Qinggang had posted a misleading video attacking him, so he worked with his moderators to prepare a response and posted his clarification that evening.

• Bian Yan reassured Yu Nian that he had no problem with him being gay and said he had suspected Yu Nian and Qin Yu had once been a couple.
• Yu Nian told Bian Yan that he and Qin Yu had not dated long and that he had not expected Qin Yu to seek him out again.
• Autumn Fish Who Loves Rice Cakes warned Yu Nian that Qinggang had edited their match footage to smear him and said the moderators were gathering evidence.
• Yu Nian watched Qinggang's video, which used selective footage and misleading captions to portray him as hostile and jealous.
• Yu Nian worked with his moderators to identify the video's distortions, write a clarification, and prepare a response video.
• Yu Nian posted his clarification at eight that evening.

After Yu Nian posted evidence clearing his name, public opinion turned against Qinggang and more viewers discovered Yu Nian’s stream. His follower count surged, and after he said he would leave Clam for another platform, a Starfish Platform staff member contacted him.

• Yu Nian posted a clarification video and a written account of the match, causing many bystanders to side with him and criticize Qinggang.
• Yu Nian apologized to the random mage teammate whose ID Qinggang had exposed, and she said she had reported and blocked the people insulting her.
• Yu Nian started streaming as fans and moderators pushed back against the hostile chat, while many newcomers praised him and followed his channel.
• A fan-edited clip of Yu Nian’s gameplay and voice went viral, turning Qinggang into an online laughingstock and drawing more followers to Yu Nian.
• Yu Nian told viewers he planned to leave Clam but had not chosen a new platform, then discovered he had gained over twenty thousand followers.
• Yu Nian received a WeChat friend request from someone claiming to represent the Starfish Platform and asking if he was interested in joining.

After Huajia terminated Qinggang’s contract and Yu Nian gained followers from the controversy, Yu Nian interviewed with Starfish Platform. At the interview, Qinggang arrived looking for Rice Cake and mistakenly approached Yu Nian.

• Yu Nian accepted Starfish Platform’s invitation and agreed to an in-person interview.
• Qinggang posted a passive-aggressive apology, deleted it after backlash, and had his Huajia contract terminated.
• Yu Nian’s follower count rose to nearly 260,000 as the controversy spread.
• Yu Nian went to Starfish Platform’s office for an interview and noticed several other gaming streamers waiting there.
• Qinggang arrived, mistook Yu Nian for Rice Cake, and brusquely asked for his streaming name.

Yu Nian waited all day for his interview at Sea Star, only to discover that the interviews had ended without anyone notifying him. He told Little Huang what happened, and Little Huang called him in disbelief.

• Qinggang mistook another applicant for Rice Cake, then left after his own interview and exchanged a resentful look with Yu Nian.
• Yu Nian waited through the shuffled interview order, ate lunch with the other applicants, and asked his student advisor for leave from class.
• After waiting until nearly five thirty, Yu Nian went to find the interview room and learned from an employee that interviews had ended at five.
• Yu Nian saw that the locked interview room was empty and, upset that nobody had notified him, messaged Little Huang.
• Little Huang called Yu Nian and asked why he had not been interviewed.

Yu Nian confronted Assistant Su after being left out of a job interview, and Qin Yuheng intervened when the assistant tried to shove him. As President Ding tried to smooth over the incident, Qin Yuheng asked Yu Nian to explain what had happened.

• Little Huang apologized to Yu Nian and said he would ask the group chat why no one had interviewed him.
• Yu Nian confronted Assistant Su in the lobby, but Assistant Su blamed him and told him to come back another time.
• Yu Nian challenged Assistant Su over wasting his day and accused the company of treating applicants like props.
• Assistant Su tried to shove Yu Nian, but Qin Yuheng caught Yu Nian by the wrist and pulled him away.
• President Ding apologized to Qin Yuheng and suggested the incident could be put behind them, but Qin Yuheng asked Yu Nian to tell him what happened.

Yu Nian told Qin Yuheng and President Ding how Sea Star had mistreated him, prompting Qin Yuheng to threaten the company’s partnership with Azure unless it addressed its management problems. President Ding apologized and offered compensation and a job, while Qin Yuheng offered to find Yu Nian another company, leaving President Ding desperate to keep him at Sea Star.

• Qin Yuheng brought Yu Nian and President Ding to an office, where Assistant Yin invited Yu Nian to explain how he had been wronged.
• Yu Nian recounted being left waiting for seven hours after the interviews had ended, and Qin Yuheng handed him a handkerchief when he began to cry.
• Qin Yuheng told President Ding to resolve Sea Star’s management problems before discussing their partnership, and President Ding apologized and made Assistant Su apologize.
• President Ding promised Yu Nian compensation and invited him to join Sea Star, but Yu Nian clarified that he only wanted an explanation for the unfair interview process.
• Qin Yuheng offered to have Assistant Yin recommend another company, while President Ding feared losing Azure’s investment if Yu Nian rejected Sea Star.

Yu Nian declined President Ding’s offer to bypass the interview process and agreed to arrange another interview at Sea Star. Qin Yuheng took him to dinner, where Yu Nian reminisced about his grandfather, and Assistant Yin handed him the restaurant manager’s card.

• Yu Nian thanked President Ding but asked to schedule a proper interview at Sea Star another time.
• Yu Nian declined Qin Yuheng’s invitation to eat, then offered to treat him to a meal to thank him for his help.
• Qin Yuheng took Yu Nian to a Chinese restaurant and told him he could treat him next time.
• Yu Nian enjoyed the matsutake chicken soup and told Qin Yuheng about his grandfather killing a fierce hen to comfort him.
• Qin Yuheng offered to arrange soup deliveries, and Assistant Yin gave Yu Nian the restaurant manager’s business card.

Yu Nian rode home with Qin Yuheng after dinner, but he fell asleep against Qin Yuheng’s shoulder and woke embarrassed by the awkward misunderstanding. He reached home with Qin Yuheng’s handkerchief still in his pocket and no way to contact him, leaving Yu Nian to plan a meal as an apology.

• Yu Nian learned from Little Huang that President Ding was holding people accountable over the incident, and he explained that he had told President Ding about it.
• Assistant Yin chatted with Yu Nian during the drive, and Yu Nian fell asleep against Qin Yuheng’s shoulder.
• Yu Nian woke after a sharp turn, hurriedly moved away from Qin Yuheng, and apologized for wrinkling his jacket.
• Assistant Yin escorted Yu Nian through the rain, while Qin Yuheng watched him leave and told Assistant Yin to return.
• Yu Nian found Qin Yuheng’s handkerchief in his pocket, carefully washed it, and searched for regional restaurants where he could treat Qin Yuheng to a meal.

Yu Nian invited Fang Xu and Bian Yan over for hot pot, while Sea Star apologized and compensated him for the incident at his interview. As dinner began, his roommates asked how the interview had gone, and Yu Nian started explaining what happened without mentioning Qin Yuheng.

• Yu Nian found he had too few wontons for lunch, then invited Fang Xu and Bian Yan to dinner and asked them to bring noodles and trash bags.
• Yu Nian cleaned his apartment and reflected on how inconsiderate his former boyfriend Qin Yu had been.
• Sea Star's head of HR apologized, said Assistant Su and other employees had been dismissed, transferred Yu Nian compensation, and arranged another interview.
• Yu Nian bought hot pot ingredients and household supplies, then met Fang Xu and Bian Yan at the supermarket.
• The three roommates prepared hot pot together, and Fang Xu and Bian Yan asked Yu Nian about his interview.
• Yu Nian recounted the previous day's events selectively, leaving out Qin Yuheng.

Yu Nian shared hot pot with Bian Yan and Fang Xu, then streamed and promised to show his face when he reached five hundred thousand followers. He played games with Mousey and other viewers before ending his stream at two in the morning.

• Bian Yan and Fang Xu discussed Yu Nian's workplace trouble over hot pot, and Yu Nian said the company had contacted him about compensation and fired the people responsible.
• Bian Yan told Yu Nian their elective project group wanted to rehearse the next afternoon, and Yu Nian agreed to attend.
• Yu Nian started streaming at eight, joked with viewers about a face reveal, and promised to show his face once he reached five hundred thousand followers.
• Yu Nian accepted a party invitation from Mousey and played several matches with her and a random teammate viewers recognized as another streamer.
• After Mousey logged off, Yu Nian played alone with his viewers and ended the stream at two in the morning.