Recaps

Song Ning arrived at the Red House Hotel as negotiations over a CT scanner were nearing completion and insisted she could save the country money. She entered the conference hall and challenged the German representatives for offering Hua Country an obsolete scanner at an exorbitant price.

• Song Ning, Yan Chengzhi, and Zhou Yuanhang rushed to the Red House Hotel after learning that the final negotiations had been moved to that morning.
• Song Ning told the staff outside the conference hall that she could save the country at least one million yuan, and she entered with Yan Chengzhi and Zhou Yuanhang after one staff member left.
• Song Ning interrupted the negotiations and asked for a few minutes to present points from Hua Country's perspective.
• Song Ning identified the SOMATOM scanner as a first-generation CT and challenged the German representatives for selling Hua Country obsolete equipment at an excessive price.

Song Ning challenged Siemens over its offer of obsolete first-generation CT equipment and pushed the negotiations toward a deal for newer technology. She demanded third-generation equipment for US$450,000, provoking outrage from both teams as Mike prepared to end the talks and Professor Qi urged her to raise the offer.

• Song Ning explained the differences between CT generations and accused Siemens of offering obsolete equipment at a misleadingly high price.
• Mike defended Siemens’s pricing, but Song Ning named competing products from Philips, Toshiba, and Fuji, weakening the German delegation’s confidence.
• Professor Qi welcomed Song Ning and asked how to proceed; she advised rejecting first-generation equipment and considering second- or third-generation models.
• Mike offered to reduce the price to US$900,000 for first-generation equipment, but Song Ning rejected the offer and demanded third-generation CT equipment for US$450,000.
• Mike and the foreign representatives protested and prepared to leave, while Professor Qi asked Song Ning to consider raising her offer.

Song Ning secured Hua Country’s purchase of the latest third-generation CT equipment for 450,000 yuan by revealing knowledge of a technical bottleneck and refusing to tie the equipment sale to future cooperation. After the delegation left the Red House Hotel for lunch, two men in a truck spotted them and prepared to ram them.

• Song Ning challenged Mike’s pricing and implied she could help solve the detector-trajectory bottleneck in fourth-generation CT equipment.
• Mike returned to the negotiations and offered to sell the latest third-generation equipment for 450,000 US dollars while seeking technical cooperation.
• Song Ning clarified that her offer was 450,000 yuan and kept the purchase separate from future cooperation, though she accepted Siemens receiving priority if technical cooperation later became possible.
• The delegations signed the agreement, and Zhou Yuanhang learned that Song Ning had sought equipment capable of scanning Elder Zhou’s spine.
• At the Red House Hotel, two men in a small truck spotted Song Ning’s group and shouted for the driver to ram them.

Song Ning was struck by a van while saving Mike and Professor Qi, then stayed in the hospital under observation as Wu Fengying cared for her. Yang Ye investigated the apparent accident and found a charred scrap marked with the letter “K,” suggesting it was not an accident after all.

• Song Ning pushed Mike and Professor Qi out of the van’s path but was clipped and knocked to the ground.
• Song Ning was taken to the hospital, where Professor Qi stayed with her and Wu Fengying arrived with food.
• Song Ning asked Wu Fengying to make Wensi tofu soup and braised lion’s head meatballs.
• Yang Ye investigated the van incident and found that the vehicle, driver, and worker appeared ordinary.
• Yang Ye searched the vegetable depot manager’s home and discovered partially burned paper bearing a single printed “K.”

Song Ning impressed Professor Qi and Wu Fengying with her knowledge and helped secure her first chance at recognition, while Yang Ye warned Gu Zheng that “K” had appeared again. The chapter ended with Wu Fengying urging Professor Qi to find Song Ning legitimate credentials so her talents would not go to waste.

• Yang Ye called Gu Zheng, mentioned Song Ning’s car accident, and warned him that “K” had appeared again.
• Song Ning enjoyed Wu Fengying’s Wensi Tofu and Braised Lion’s Head, then claimed she could tell fortunes when Wu Fengying asked how she knew so much about her.
• Professor Qi asked about Song Ning’s education, and she said she had studied under Jiang Chengshi for two years.
• Professor Qi grew emotional at news of Jiang Chengshi and asked Song Ning how to contact him, but she said she had lost touch with him.
• Professor Qi explained that Song Ning’s lack of credentials made formal honors or employment difficult, and Wu Fengying urged him to help her obtain legitimate credentials.

Song Ning considered Qi Shiyuan’s suggestion that she prepare for the college entrance exam, while focusing on finding her grandparents and possibly preventing the Song Family’s future tragedy. After her hospital discharge, Feng Yan asked Brother Huang to take revenge on Song Ning, and he threatened to cripple her.

• Qi Shiyuan suggested that Song Ning study for the college entrance exam, but she said she needed time to decide because she wanted to find her grandparents first.
• Mike thanked Song Ning before leaving Shanghai City and invited her to Germany in three months for the Siemens CT equipment handover; Qi Shiyuan resolved to try to secure her a place on the trip.
• After a week in the hospital, Song Ning was discharged, and Zhou Yuanhang and Yan Chengzhi took her to the Spring Breeze Restaurant.
• Zhou Yuanhang recognized Feng Yan at the restaurant as she walked with Brother Huang, but he continued on without speaking to her.
• Feng Yan told Brother Huang that Song Ning had helped get her taken to the police station, and he promised revenge, suggesting they take one of Song Ning’s legs.

After dining with Professor Qi and Wu Fengying, Song Ning learned that Zhou Yuanhang’s father needed a difficult operation and considered how to obtain medical qualifications quickly so she could help. As she left the restaurant, a truck’s load of steel pipes fell toward her.

• Feng Yan, resentful after being detained and forced to rely on Huang Youfu, saw Song Ning and Zhou Yuanhang at the restaurant and wanted to vent her anger, while they ignored her.
• Wu Fengying promised to bake Song Ning cookies if she stopped calling her Grandma Wu, and Professor Qi thanked Song Ning for helping secure funding and equipment before inviting her to Germany in three months.
• Professor Qi examined Zhou Yuanhang’s father’s medical scans and said the shrapnel had caused tissue changes and required a difficult operation; CT equipment would help locate it, but a capable surgeon was still needed.
• Song Ning asked Professor Qi about medical qualifications, learned the university route would take years, and said she would leave Shanghai City soon despite Wu Fengying’s invitation to stay.
• As Song Ning walked past a truck near the restaurant, its securing ropes snapped and the steel pipes began falling toward her.

Gu Zheng rescued Song Ning from a suspicious falling-pipes incident and brought her to the Oriental Hotel for protection while the team investigated possible attacks. Han Xiao’s findings linked the incident to Huang Youfu, who arranged it after Song Ning and Zhou Yuanhang had a run-in with his fiancée.

• Gu Zheng pulled Song Ning clear of the falling steel pipes, and Zhou Yuanhang joined them as they left the scene.
• Gu Zheng brought Song Ning to the Oriental Hotel and explained that the earlier car crash and the pipe incident might have been deliberate attacks targeting Mike, Professor Qi, or Song Ning.
• Gu Zheng told Song Ning to remain under protection, while she studied a map and marked places where Old Man Song might be located.
• Han Xiao reported that the truck and pipes had valid paperwork, but Huang Youfu, a team leader, had arranged the incident after Song Ning and Zhou Yuanhang clashed with his fiancée.

Gu Zheng discovered that Song Ning had marked numerous locations linked to K on a map, raising suspicions about her identity and how she knew about the secret organization. He was left shaken as he reconsidered everything he knew about her.

• Gu Zheng learned Feng Yan had arranged the attack on Song Ning out of revenge and that it was unrelated to the earlier car accident.
• Gu Zheng decided to return to the Military District with Song Ning and invited her to dinner before her planned departure.
• Gu Zheng found Song Ning studying a map, then asked Han Xiao to keep the details of the day’s case from her.
• Gu Zheng returned to Song Ning’s room and took the map from her drawer.
• Gu Zheng saw that more than half of Song Ning’s circled locations were places where K had committed major crimes.

Gu Zheng reconsidered whether Song Ning might be working for K, then traveled with her back to Rong City and learned she wanted a quicker route to qualify as a doctor. Song Ning decided to take the upcoming college entrance exam and apply to the Military Medical University.

• Gu Zheng recalled Song Ning’s remarkable past actions and resolved to reassess her identity and possible connection to K.
• At the Oriental Mall, Song Ning bought a watch with her own money while Gu Zheng kept his suspicions to himself.
• Gu Zheng traveled with Song Ning to Rong City and suggested the Military Medical University could let her qualify to practice medicine early.
• Song Ning learned the exam would take place July seventh to ninth and registration would run June first to third.
• Song Ning excitedly told Gu Zheng she would register and take the entrance exam that year.

Song Ning decided to take the college entrance exam that year, but learned she might have to return to Hunan Province to register. After arriving in Rong City, she heard that Lu Changqing had spoken to reporters on her behalf and learned he had received only a verbal warning for his actions during disaster relief.

• Song Ning asked Gu Zheng to find her textbooks so she could prepare for the entrance exam, and a fellow passenger explained that candidates had to register where their household registration was held.
• Song Ning borrowed the passenger's textbook and began studying, then exchanged contact information with him when they arrived in Rong City.
• A young soldier told Song Ning that Lu Changqing had given reporters an interview on her behalf about her disaster-relief rescue.
• Song Ning asked Gu Zheng to let her stay at the Military District Guesthouse because she might need to return to Hunan Province to register for the exam.
• Gu Zheng said Song Ning could transfer her household registration to Rong City if she and Lu Changqing obtained a marriage certificate, and he told her Lu Changqing had received only a verbal warning.

Song Ning told Lu Changqing she wanted to end their engagement, explaining the hardships she had endured and refusing to marry him even though she would help him where she could. Lu Changqing asked for five more minutes and began recounting how he had changed after accepting his mission, including how he secured a place on a training trip to Capital City.

• Song Ning visited Lu Changqing in the hospital and wheeled him to a quiet grove to discuss his case and their engagement.
• Song Ning told Lu Changqing she had escaped a forced marriage, survived trafficking and illness, and decided to end their engagement peacefully.
• Lu Changqing asked Song Ning to consider marrying him, but she firmly refused and said she was independent and had her own plans.
• When Lu Changqing asked whether Song Ning liked someone else, she said she wanted to put their engagement behind her and focus on her own affairs.
• Lu Changqing asked for five more minutes and described his difficult upbringing, his mission, and how he had reported a rule-breaking comrade to gain a place on the Capital City training trip.

Song Ning rejected Lu Changqing’s request to remain engaged but agreed to help him pursue his mission after learning that Blue Tears was linked to mysterious Unit 331. After Song Ning returned the engagement token and asked for her grandfather’s fountain pen back, Gu Zheng briefed Commander Jiang on a new discovery.

• Lu Changqing revealed that he had pursued promotions to advance his mission and asked Song Ning to stay his fiancée so her influence could help him.
• Lu Changqing told Song Ning that Blue Tears had appeared in Unit 331 and that the Military District would hold a selection for the unit later that year.
• Song Ning recognized Unit 331 from her grandfather’s case files and agreed to help Lu Changqing, while firmly canceling their engagement and returning his portrait badge.
• Lu Changqing promised to return Song Ning’s grandfather’s fountain pen, and Song Ning took him back to his ward.
• Gu Zheng met with Commander Jiang and reported that he had made a new discovery.

Song Ning treated Elder Zhou and arranged his care before returning to Hunan Province to prepare for the college entrance exam. She learned that Gu Zheng had assigned a soldier to protect her, and Gu Zheng asked whether she had bought her train ticket.

• Song Ning noticed a skilled young man following her to the Military District Guesthouse and suspected he was there to protect her.
• Song Ning examined Elder Zhou, adjusted his prescriptions, and told him and Professor Yang that she planned to take the college entrance exam.
• Professor Yang advised Song Ning to consider the First or Third Military Medical University, and she said she wanted to attend a military medical university.
• Song Ning found Gu Zheng waiting for her at the hospital and gave him acupuncture in Room 208.
• Gu Zheng introduced Yang Qi, the soldier who had followed Song Ning, and said the unresolved case meant she needed protection.
• Gu Zheng declined Song Ning's offer of a prescription and asked whether she had bought her train ticket to Hunan Province.

Song Ning prepared to return to Hunan Province and retrieved Grandpa Song’s fountain pen from Lu Changqing. At the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, a salesclerk named Du Mei accused her of stealing a fountain pen, and the chapter ended as Song Ning noticed Du Mei repeatedly glancing toward one spot during the search.

• Song Ning told Lu Changqing she was leaving for Hunan Province and got Grandpa Song’s fountain pen back.
• Song Ning bought stationery and two fountain pens at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
• Du Mei accused Song Ning of stealing a third fountain pen, and Song Ning asked Yang Qi to call the police.
• The public security officers searched Song Ning and the shop but did not find the missing pen.
• Song Ning noticed Du Mei furtively looking toward the same spot and stopped a tall salesclerk with a broom.

Song Ning exposed Du Mei for framing a salesclerk and learned why Du Mei resented Lu Changqing. She began her journey home to Zhucheng with Gu Zheng, who surprised her by accompanying her for protection, and a new passenger arrived in their sleeper compartment.

• Song Ning found the stolen fountain pen in a young woman’s pocket and learned that Du Mei had borrowed the woman’s ink pad, revealing that Du Mei had planted the pen.
• Song Ning refused mediation, asked the police to punish Du Mei, and learned from Yang Qi that Du Mei might be related to Du Zhiguo, whom Lu Changqing had reported.
• Song Ning packed for her trip to Zhucheng and worried about making registration by June 1 after a three-day journey with multiple transfers.
• Gu Zheng accompanied Song Ning onto the train and revealed that he would travel with her to keep her safe until the case was solved.
• A young woman named Chunmei entered Song Ning and Gu Zheng’s sleeper compartment after her companion left.

Song Ning and Gu Zheng helped a grandmother find her wandering grandson, then Song Ning studied mathematics with Teacher Fang during the train ride. The chapter ended when someone screamed that a passenger had died.

• Song Ning rescued a toddler near the dangerous Boiler Room, and she and Gu Zheng found his grandmother in another carriage.
• The grateful grandmother gave Song Ning and Gu Zheng two cans of Coca-Cola, and Gu Zheng gave his can to Song Ning.
• Song Ning reviewed her mathematics textbook and asked Gu Zheng and Teacher Fang about the entrance examination; Teacher Fang began tutoring her.
• Chunmei accepted a can of cola, then left the compartment while Song Ning studied with Teacher Fang.
• About twenty minutes later, Gu Zheng opened the compartment door after hearing a scream that someone had died inside.

Song Ning and Gu Zheng investigated Chunmei’s death aboard the train and determined that she had likely been poisoned by a left-handed killer. At the next station, Chunmei’s husband went with the police while officers tried to catch the killer, whose identity remained unknown.

• After Chunmei was found dead, Song Ning and Teacher Fang answered the railway police’s questions and identified her traveling companion as a possible source of information.
• Song Ning examined Chunmei’s body and concluded that cyanide poisoning, a needle puncture, and the wound’s position indicated a taller, left-handed killer.
• Song Ning noticed that Chunmei still clutched an unopened Coca-Cola, and Gu Zheng warned that the killer might escape at the next station.
• Train attendants brought Chunmei’s husband to identify her, and he collapsed in grief when he saw her body.
• The police learned that Chunmei had married the factory worker two months earlier and found no obvious motive among their family relationships or recent grudges.
• At the station, local police took Chunmei’s body and case statements, while officers waited at the exit in hopes of intercepting the killer.

Song Ning concluded that Chunmei had been killed by mistake while the assassin was targeting her, and she and Gu Zheng agreed to search the train for the killer. The chapter ended with Song Ning leaving their compartment to fetch hot water, despite the danger that the killer might still be aboard.

• Song Ning explained to Gu Zheng how the killer may have mistaken Chunmei for her and poisoned her from behind.
• Gu Zheng reflected on Song Ning’s unusual skills and questioned her connection to K and the motive behind the attempted killing.
• Song Ning reasoned that the killer must still be on the train and proposed finding him before it reached Yu City.
• Song Ning said she wanted to catch the killer to avenge Chunmei, and Gu Zheng agreed to help while warning her of the danger.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng made a plan, returned to their compartment, and Song Ning later went into the corridor to fetch hot water.

Song Ning tried to draw the killer out by walking through the hard-seat carriages while Gu Zheng was distracted at dinner. In a washroom, a tall, unshaven man approached her suspiciously, and she prepared to strike if he came closer.

• Song Ning argued that the killer might be hiding in the hard-seat carriages, but Gu Zheng insisted on staying close and suggested they eat first.
• At the dining car, the conductor and train police chief kept Gu Zheng talking while Song Ning slipped away alone.
• Song Ning searched all six hard-seat carriages, then waited in the washroom at the front of carriage one with a silver needle concealed in her hand.
• A middle-aged woman and her granddaughter entered, but Song Ning decided they were not the killer.
• A tall, unshaven man lingered at the washbasin, moved close to Song Ning, and asked whether she was traveling alone and where she was headed.

Song Ning searched the train for the killer but found no suspicious evidence on a man who had tried to approach her, while Gu Zheng dealt with him. As they ate in the dining car, Song Ning detected something unusual in the soup and knocked Gu Zheng’s spoon away just as he was about to eat.

• A woman dragged a harassing man out of the washroom, and Song Ning returned toward the dining car after finding nothing unusual.
• A glasses-wearing man stopped Song Ning and followed her into the passage, where she subdued him and searched his clothes for poison or other evidence.
• Gu Zheng punched the man for attempting to molest Song Ning, then warned him that he could hand him over to the police.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng ate in the dining car and considered that the killer might have left the train, though they expected further danger.
• Song Ning smelled something unusual in the tomato and egg soup and knocked the spoon from Gu Zheng’s hand before he could eat.

Song Ning and Gu Zheng caught He Kui, who had murdered Chunmei and planned to poison Gu Zheng, before Gu Zheng got off the train to handle the case. Song Ning continued studying with Teacher Fang, then noticed a familiar person arguing with railway staff at a later station.

• Song Ning recognized the chef who had killed Chunmei, and she and Gu Zheng restrained He Kui and found syringes and poisoned liquid in the kitchen.
• Gu Zheng explained that He Kui was seeking revenge for his brother, then got off the train with He Kui and the evidence while Song Ning continued to Yu City.
• Song Ning warned the conductor that the soup contained cyanide and explained how its smell and the killer's build led her to suspect the chef.
• Song Ning returned to Teacher Fang, told him the killer had been caught, and continued their mathematics lesson.
• At a later station, Song Ning and Teacher Fang prepared to board after stretching their legs, and Song Ning noticed a familiar person arguing with an attendant.

Song Ning recognized Jiang Chengshi and paid his fare so he could board the train with her. When she claimed she knew him through Professor Qi Shiyuan, Jiang Chengshi was touched but questioned how she could have seen his photo.

• Song Ning saw Jiang Chengshi pleading with the conductor to let him board and offered to pay his fare.
• The conductor issued Jiang Chengshi a hard-seat ticket, and Song Ning invited him to use Gu Zheng's empty berth in her compartment.
• Song Ning introduced Jiang Chengshi to Teacher Fang, and Jiang Chengshi was surprised that she knew his name.
• Song Ning said she had seen Jiang Chengshi's photo and knew about him from Professor Qi Shiyuan.
• Jiang Chengshi said he had left school before graduation and never appeared in a graduation photo, leaving Song Ning struggling to explain how Professor Qi could have photographed him.

Song Ning persuaded Jiang Chengshi that she was a student of Qi Rui, then asked him to help with her physics and chemistry preparation for the National College Entrance Examination. After Jiang Chengshi shared a detailed revision list, he was astonished when Song Ning knew he disliked mandarin oranges.

• Song Ning soothed Jiang Chengshi's suspicions by telling him stories about his namesake and the tale of Ye Xian.
• Jiang Chengshi became emotional hearing that Qi Rui had shared a story Jiang Chengshi once told him, and promised to help Song Ning with anything she needed.
• Song Ning asked Jiang Chengshi to help her prepare for physics and chemistry, and he organized the key topics for both subjects in forty minutes.
• Teacher Fang explained that Jiang Chengshi's predicted score above eighty in each subject would be excellent, boosting Song Ning's confidence.
• Song Ning served pastries and canned fruit, then chose pear preserves for Jiang Chengshi because he disliked mandarin oranges, leaving him surprised that she knew.

Song Ning traveled from Yu City toward Zhu City for the National College Entrance Examination, helping an elderly passenger who collapsed on the train. She was stunned when Zheng Zhenguo described glowing coastal plankton as “Blue Tears,” a name she had already encountered twice since arriving in this era.

• Song Ning persuaded Jiang Chengshi to count himself among her teachers, received mathematics study materials from Teacher Fang, and gave Jiang money before parting with him in Yu City.
• Song Ning met Gu Zheng the next morning, and they traveled by train through Gui City toward Zhu City.
• Song Ning read and studied during the journey until the elderly woman sharing their compartment fell unconscious.
• Song Ning revived the elderly woman with acupuncture, declined her son Zheng Zhenguo’s offer of a consultation fee, and briefly spoke with him.
• Zheng Zhenguo described glowing plankton along the eastern coast as “Blue Tears,” leaving Song Ning stunned.