Chapter Summaries

Cheng Yue visited Ji Huaijin’s apartment and found Su Xingchen there, who insisted he had only stayed overnight after drinking. After spending a restless night thinking about Ji Huaijin, Cheng Yue woke to an urgent call saying someone was trying to take his grandfather’s house.

• Cheng Yue found Su Xingchen answering the door at Ji Huaijin’s apartment, and Su Xingchen nervously explained that Shu Yang had also been there before leaving.
• Cheng Yue declined Su Xingchen’s invitation to wait inside and left, while Su Xingchen’s friendly expression turned cold after the door closed.
• Cheng Yue met Little Tabby outside, accidentally got cigarette ash on its head, and promised three cat treat tubes after cleaning it.
• Cheng Yue returned home, kept himself busy through the night, and thought about Ji Huaijin asking him to date.
• At dawn, Cheng Yue received an urgent call telling him to come back because someone was trying to take his grandfather’s house.

Ji Huaijin found Su Xingchen inside his apartment and ordered him out, then confronted Lin Shuyang over how Su had gotten in. After learning the entry code had been given to a clothing delivery, Ji decided to leave the apartment and asked Lin to find villas, while ignoring his unanswered message to Cheng Yue.

• Ji Huaijin returned home, found Su Xingchen inside, and told him to get out; Su said Lin Shuyang had let him in.
• Ji Huaijin left and told Su that he could have the apartment, then summoned Lin Shuyang to the Lin Group hotel.
• Ji questioned Lin about how Su had obtained the apartment code, and Lin remembered giving it to a clothing store for a delivery.
• Ji refused Lin’s offer to investigate, said he would move out, and asked him to find villas.
• Lin asked whether Ji and Su still had a chance, and Ji’s sharp look made Lin drop the question.

Ji Huaijin learned that Cheng Yue had seen Su Xingchen in his home and crashed his car while reacting to the news. Cheng Yue returned to his abandoned childhood home, remembered his grandfather, and began cleaning the courtyard with help from Aunt Fang.

• Lin Shuyang called Ji Huaijin and told him Cheng Yue had seen Su Xingchen in Ji Huaijin's home.
• Ji Huaijin drove off while distracted and slammed his car into the vehicle ahead.
• Cheng Yue arrived at his old village and returned to the dilapidated home where he had grown up.
• Cheng Yue sat in his grandfather's chair, remembered him, and thanked the walnut tree for watching over the home.
• Cheng Yue began clearing weeds in the courtyard, and Aunt Fang arrived and went to fetch Lele to help him.

After returning to his village, Cheng Yue settled into his old house and rejected the village committee’s push to discuss demolition and relocation. His renewed closeness with Fang Lele and Aunt Fang brought comfort, but the chapter ended as an unexpected visitor knocked at his yard.

• Fang Lele helped Cheng Yue clear his overgrown yard and refused the gifts Cheng Yue tried to give him.
• Cheng Yue fixed up one room, then turned away the village committee members who visited to discuss relocation.
• Fang Lele invited Cheng Yue to share beer beneath the stars, and Cheng Yue described Capital City as bustling but lonely.
• Cheng Yue joined Aunt Fang and Fang Lele in tending the vegetable patch, then shared a home-cooked meal with them.
• After returning home and failing to fall asleep, Cheng Yue heard a polite knock at his yard.

Ji Huaijin found Cheng Yue in the countryside and, despite Cheng Yue’s resistance, reunited with him after revealing he had been in a car accident. Cheng Yue cared for the exhausted Ji Huaijin, then borrowed an expensive air cooler from Aunt Fang and learned it had been left by a visiting boss.

• Ji Huaijin arrived at Cheng Yue’s home after driving through the night from Capital City, and Cheng Yue reluctantly let him enter.
• Ji Huaijin kissed Cheng Yue, who shoved him away and demanded to know what he wanted.
• Ji Huaijin said he had suffered a car accident and cracked a rib, then held Cheng Yue and asked why he had run off.
• Cheng Yue watched Ji Huaijin fall asleep, wiped his sweat, and went to borrow an air cooler from Aunt Fang.
• Aunt Fang told Cheng Yue that a visiting boss had left the expensive air cooler at her house, and Cheng Yue wondered why the boss had stayed there.

Cheng Yue cared for Ji Huaijin after he arrived at Aunt Fang’s home, but tried to push him away as they bickered over food and whether he should stay. In the moonlit courtyard, Ji Huaijin drew Cheng Yue close and confessed that he had only ever wanted him.

• Aunt Fang accepted Ji Huaijin’s lodging fee and prepared a room for him, while Cheng Yue helped the sleeping man settle in.
• Fang Lele asked Cheng Yue whether Ji Huaijin was from Capital City and warned him to be careful with the Air Cooler Fan, insisting that he only wanted that one.
• Ji Huaijin woke and admired the courtyard before Cheng Yue returned with food and told him to eat and leave.
• Ji Huaijin barely touched the pork rib soup, so Cheng Yue made him steamed egg custard and joked by calling him “Imperial Father.”
• After Ji Huaijin refused to leave, Cheng Yue tried to go, but Ji Huaijin pulled him onto his lap, kissed him, and said he had only wanted Cheng Yue.

Cheng Yue pressed Ji Huaijin about his past with Su Xingchen, and Ji Huaijin explained that his youthful interest had quickly turned to disgust. He reassured Cheng Yue with possessive promises and a sexual apology, leaving Cheng Yue questioning what kind of apology he had accepted.

• Cheng Yue asked whether Ji Huaijin had fallen in love with Su Xingchen, and Ji Huaijin explained how Su Xingchen pursued him before turning his attention to someone else.
• Cheng Yue pointed out that Su Xingchen had worn Ji Huaijin’s clothes and shoes, and Ji Huaijin insisted he had thrown away the clothes and no longer wanted the house.
• Ji Huaijin teased Cheng Yue for being jealous and promised that Cheng Yue could choose the house and wear his clothes before him, including his underwear.
• Cheng Yue tried to stop Ji Huaijin because they had nothing with them, but Ji Huaijin continued in another way and asked whether this counted as a satisfactory apology.
• After the encounter, Cheng Yue lay facing the wall and wondered whether Ji Huaijin had disguised desire as an apology.

Cheng Yue accepted Ji Huaijin’s renewed confession and used Ji’s presence to protect his grandfather’s courtyard from village officials. The pair settled into a quiet day together, and another visitor knocked at their door that evening.

• Ji Huaijin apologized for letting Cheng Yue suffer and asked him to date; Cheng Yue replied that they would see.
• Cheng Yue brought home a doctor to treat Ji Huaijin’s cracked rib, and Ji woke to find Cheng Yue cheerfully caring for him.
• Secretary Zhang and other village officials demanded that Cheng Yue vacate the courtyard, but Cheng Yue showed them his grandfather’s agreement granting the property to him.
• Cheng Yue told Ji Huaijin he had borrowed his influence, and Ji teased him about the title Cheng Yue could give him.
• Fang Lele brought Cheng Yue fruit and vegetables, and Cheng Yue later shared food with Aunt Fang while Ji Huaijin enjoyed the countryside dishes.
• After Cheng Yue returned from Aunt Fang’s home, someone knocked politely at the door again.

Cheng Yue told Cheng Wenqing that her brother, Cheng Wenzhuo, had died nine years earlier, then shared memories of the man who had raised him. Cheng Wenqing learned about her brother’s life and proposed moving his remains to the Cheng family’s ancestral burial grounds.

• Cheng Wenqing and her secretary asked Cheng Yue about Cheng Wenzhuo, and Cheng Yue told her that he had died in the courtyard nine years earlier.
• After Cheng Wenqing broke down in grief, Ji Huaijin took Cheng Yue for a walk and comforted him as he recalled how Cheng Wenzhuo had found and raised him.
• Cheng Yue remembered Cheng Wenzhuo enduring humiliation to buy him white sneakers for Children’s Day and said he had never gotten to thank him.
• Cheng Wenqing returned to the house and told Cheng Yue she was grateful he had stayed with her brother, then proposed moving Cheng Wenzhuo’s remains to the Cheng family’s ancestral burial grounds.
• Cheng Wenqing explained that the Cheng family had once been prominent and that Cheng Wenzhuo had returned from studying abroad before spending his life in the remote village.

Cheng Yue told Ji Huaijin to leave, but Ji Huaijin confessed that he could not bear to let him go, and Cheng Yue returned his embrace. At dawn, Cheng Yue remembered the sacrifices and loneliness of his late grandfather, Cheng Wenzhuo, and blamed himself for holding him back.

• Cheng Yue led Ji Huaijin into the mountain woods and said he was an ordinary person with no one to rely on.
• Ji Huaijin promised he would stop asking and instead give Cheng Yue his answer, then embraced him and said he could not let him go.
• Cheng Yue told Ji Huaijin how Cheng Wenzhuo had raised him, sold his treasured jade pendant to feed him, and disciplined him when he went astray.
• Cheng Yue recalled rejecting Cheng Wenzhuo in public as a teenager and later leaving for university while his grandfather continued sending him money.
• At dawn, Cheng Yue sobbed that he had held Cheng Wenzhuo back, then told his grandfather he had grown up and told him not to linger.

Cheng Yue helped relocate Cheng Wenzhuo’s grave and said goodbye as the Cheng family took him home. He stood up to Secretary Zhang’s attempt to claim the house, then agreed to return to Capital City with Ji Huaijin.

• Cheng Wenqing arranged for Cheng Wenzhuo’s grave to be relocated, and Cheng Yue attended the rites before declining her invitation to leave with the Cheng family.
• Cheng Yue expressed his hope that Cheng Wenzhuo would have a peaceful life in another life, while Ji Huaijin stayed beside him and comforted him.
• After the relocation, Secretary Zhang and the brigade representatives confronted Cheng Yue about the house, but Cheng Yue showed them the signed agreement.
• Ji Huaijin warned the representatives that his legal team would handle the house dispute, and they left.
• Ji Huaijin asked Cheng Yue to return to Capital City with him, and Cheng Yue agreed.

After Ji Huaijin protects Cheng Yue’s home and transfers his household registration to Capital City, Cheng Yue decides he may pursue the civil service exam with Ji Huaijin’s support. Cheng Yue says goodbye to Aunt Fang and Fang Lele before leaving the village with Ji Huaijin, knowing Aunt Fang will stay behind.

• Ji Huaijin uses his connections to stop the village brigade leaders from claiming Cheng Yue’s house and transfers Cheng Yue’s household registration to Capital City.
• Cheng Yue decides to consider taking the civil service exam, and Ji Huaijin encourages him to try.
• Cheng Yue visits Aunt Fang, brings her supplies, and recalls how she once comforted him by making sophora flower rice.
• Aunt Fang sends Fang Lele to give Cheng Yue dumpling soup, and Cheng Yue asks Fang Lele to take care of his mother.
• Cheng Yue leaves the village with Ji Huaijin, declining to bring Aunt Fang and Fang Lele to Capital City because Aunt Fang wants to stay.

Cheng Yue told Ji Huaijin how Aunt Fang escaped an arranged exchange marriage, built a loving life with her husband, and was left impoverished after he died in an earthquake rescue. He explained that her mistreatment partly motivated his plan to take the civil service exam, and Ji Huaijin challenged him to explain how he would avoid being corrupted by politics.

• Aunt Fang refused her parents’ plan for an exchange marriage and asked a discharged soldier to take her away; he married her, and her father let her go with only a hundred yuan.
• Aunt Fang and her husband raised Fang Lele together until her husband left with a rescue team after an earthquake struck her home region.
• Aunt Fang’s husband died shielding a child during an aftershock, and she lost both him and her family that night.
• Cheng Yue explained that Aunt Fang received compensation for only a few years and that villagers later shortchanged her in demolition compensation.
• Cheng Yue told Ji Huaijin that Aunt Fang’s mistreatment was one reason he wanted to take the civil service exam.
• Ji Huaijin asked Cheng Yue how he could ensure that government service would not drag him down.

After returning to Capital City, Cheng Yue received a legitimate household registration and an apartment through Ji Huaijin, then agreed to move into Ji Huaijin’s villa after being promised he could take the lead. Ji Huaijin outmaneuvered him in bed, and the chapter ended with Lin Shuyang anxiously waiting for Ji Huaijin’s safe return.

• Cheng Yue returned to Capital City and rested before Ji Huaijin called him the next day.
• Ji Huaijin arranged for Cheng Yue to buy an apartment, giving him a property deed and household registration booklet.
• Ji Huaijin urged Cheng Yue to move into his villa, and Cheng Yue agreed after Ji Huaijin promised to let him be on top.
• At the villa, Cheng Yue initially took the lead, but Ji Huaijin turned the tables and left him sore and unable to walk straight.
• Ji Huaijin explained that the villa would be quiet and suitable for Cheng Yue’s civil service exam studies.
• Lin Shuyang remained anxious while waiting for Ji Huaijin to return safely.

After a night with Ji Huaijin, Cheng Yue toured their new villa and reflected on his regrets before joining Ji Huaijin at Lin Shuyang’s dinner gathering. The gathering introduced Cheng Yue to Ji Huaijin’s influential friends, while Lin Shuyang tried to make amends for his earlier mistake.

• Lin Shuyang called Cheng Yue to apologize and promised he would never again support the wrong pairing, but Cheng Yue hung up and went back to sleep.
• Cheng Yue toured the villa, enjoyed coffee, and regretted resisting Ji Huaijin after recalling the previous night.
• Ji Huaijin asked Cheng Yue to attend Lin Shuyang’s dinner, and Cheng Yue agreed.
• Ji Huaijin introduced Cheng Yue to Tang Jiaran, who offered to help him in the future.
• Lin Shuyang welcomed Cheng Yue as his guest of honor, and the guests teased him for acting unusually ingratiating.

Lin Shuyang apologized to Cheng Yue for what had happened at Ji Huaijin’s home, and the lively dinner turned tense when Su Xingchen arrived and provoked Cheng Yue. Chu Jiye then entered to defend Su Xingchen, leaving the gathering frozen after a sharp sound rang out.

• Lin Shuyang apologized to Cheng Yue, and Ji Huaijin warned Cheng Yue not to run away again.
• Ji Huaijin and Cheng Yue flirted while Lin Shuyang and the others teased them during dinner.
• Su Xingchen entered and complained that Ji Huaijin had not invited him, then pretended not to have noticed Cheng Yue.
• Cheng Yue mocked Su Xingchen, who brought up the earlier misunderstanding and accused Cheng Yue of hostility.
• Lin Shuyang confronted Su Xingchen, but Chu Jiye entered and threatened Lin Shuyang before comforting Su Xingchen.
• A sharp clack broke the silence in the room.

Ji Huaijin defended Lin Shuyang from Chu Jiye and Su Xingchen, then joined his friends at Xi Ming's winery. There, Cheng Yue's admiration for Ji Huaijin overwhelmed him, and he kissed him passionately before confessing how attractive he had found him.

• Ji Huaijin rebuked Chu Jiye and Su Xingchen for intruding and had the restaurant manager escort them out.
• After Chu Jiye left with Su Xingchen, Ji Huaijin explained that Chu Jiye's romantic entanglements and lack of professional progress made his recklessness harmless.
• Xi Ming invited the group to his winery, where Cheng Yue pulled Ji Huaijin aside and kissed him fiercely.
• Cheng Yue told Ji Huaijin he had been incredibly hot while handling the conflict, admitting that seeing him wield power had stirred a desire to claim him.
• When Lin Shuyang found Ji Huaijin alone, Ji Huaijin said Cheng Yue had gone to the restroom and complimented Lin Shuyang's shirt.

At the Winery, Lin Shuyang explained to Cheng Yue how Su Xingchen had strung Chu Jiye along and blamed Ji Huaijin for his betrayal. The story left Cheng Yue sympathizing with Ji Huaijin as he sat down beside him.

• Tang Jiaran pulled Ji Huaijin onto the balcony to talk while Cheng Yue stayed in the booth with Lin Shuyang.
• Lin Shuyang told Cheng Yue that the Chu Family wielded major military influence and that Chu Jiye had been pursuing Su Xingchen.
• Lin Shuyang explained that Su Xingchen had flirted with both Chu Jiye and Ji Huaijin, then dated several people abroad while Chu Jiye blamed Ji Huaijin.
• Lin Shuyang said Su Xingchen returned after learning that Ji Huaijin had a boyfriend, hoping Ji Huaijin could offer a future Chu Jiye could not.
• Ji Huaijin came back to the booth, and Cheng Yue patted his thigh sympathetically.

At a drinking party, Ji Huaijin secretly teases Cheng Yue while their friends joke nearby. Afterward, Cheng Yue asks Ji Huaijin to let him top once, but Ji Huaijin turns the request around and overwhelms him through the night.

• Cheng Yue sits beside Ji Huaijin at the drinking party, and Ji Huaijin holds his wrist and teases him while he lights a cigarette.
• Xi Ming gives Cheng Yue a bottle of red wine as a belated gift for the Winery's opening.
• Tang Jiaran warns Ji Huaijin that Cheng Yue is naive about the official world, but Ji Huaijin calls him adorable.
• In the parked Mercedes-Benz, Cheng Yue asks Ji Huaijin whether he loves him and pleads for a chance to top him.
• Ji Huaijin restrains Cheng Yue and keeps him from taking the lead, teasing him as his little white rabbit.
• Ji Huaijin carries Cheng Yue from the garage through the living room, bedroom, and bathroom, leaving him exhausted by morning.

After recovering from an exhausting night with Ji Huaijin, Cheng Yue resigned from his job to prepare for the civil service exam and said goodbye to his coworkers. He then reluctantly began moving into Ji Huaijin’s apartment after Ji Huaijin offered to buy his current home.

• Cheng Yue’s family doctor declared him healthy despite his complaints, and Ji Huaijin teased him as he recovered in bed.
• Cheng Yue resigned, and Zhao Li accepted his resignation while wishing him well for the future.
• Cheng Yue said goodbye to his coworkers and returned his uniform and locker key to Zhao Li before leaving in Ji Huaijin’s car.
• Cheng Yue felt sentimental about leaving, and Ji Huaijin took his hand to comfort him.
• At Splendid China Garden, Cheng Yue tried to avoid moving, but Ji Huaijin asked for the landlord’s number and prompted him to start packing.