Chapter Summaries

Yu Zhengyang spotted a construction-plan error and earned an internship with David, while Song Ning arranged another trip to Harbor City before returning for the college entrance exam medical examination. At her hotel, she recognized Young Master Hu in the corridor.

• Yu Zhengyang identified two misaligned fire escape routes, and Manager Lin had the plans taken away for correction.
• Manager Lin offered Yu Zhengyang an internship with David, who agreed to teach him, and Song Ning funded his stay and encouraged him to pursue construction.
• Song Ning learned that the medical examinations were scheduled for August 10 and decided to travel to Harbor City before catching a flight back to Hunan Province.
• Song Ning opened a stock-trading account in Harbor City, read newspapers for investment information, and looked for copies of Financial Monthly.
• Song Ning left her hotel room to meet Chen Liang and Han Xiao for dinner and recognized Hu Yuankai waiting for the elevator.

Song Ning pretended to accept Hu Yuankai’s offer so she could follow him while Yang Qi and Gu Zheng tracked them. Hu Yuankai shook off their tail and changed their destination to a secret place, promising Song Ning an unforgettable experience.

• Song Ning avoided alerting Hu Yuankai in the hotel corridor and rode the elevator down with him.
• Hu Yuankai recognized Song Ning, grabbed her wrist, and offered her a hundred thousand to accompany him.
• Song Ning persuaded Hu Yuankai to transfer the money and got into his sports car with him.
• Hu Yuankai noticed the black sedan following them and drove evasively until he lost it.
• Hu Yuankai abandoned the plan to go to the Red Harbor Nightclub and told Song Ning he would take her somewhere unforgettable.

Song Ning followed Hu Yuankai to an illegal underground boxing venue, where he left her behind while meeting his friends. She realized he had brought her as cover for a secret meeting, but strict rules kept her from learning what he was doing, leaving her to wait and wonder whether Gu Zheng and the others had followed them.

• Hu Yuankai lost the car following them and brought Song Ning to a boxing gym, where they passed several security checks to enter an illegal boxing venue.
• Hu Yuankai introduced Song Ning as his date to his friends, then left her in a private room while he went elsewhere with them.
• Song Ning searched the venue and tried to leave or borrow a phone, but the guards refused because guests could not contact anyone from inside.
• A waitress explained that the boxing venue was illegal and tightly controlled, and she refused Song Ning's offer of money to find Hu Yuankai.
• Song Ning returned to the private room and wondered why Hu Yuankai had spent a hundred thousand to bring her, while she waited without useful information.

Song Ning drove Hu Yuankai and his supposedly drunk friend toward a dock, suspecting they were using her as a distraction while Hu Yuankun escaped. As they entered a tunnel, the man in the back seat suddenly woke and demanded that she stop the car.

• Hu Yuankai was brought back to Song Ning drunk, and his companions asked her to drive him and another man to a dock for night fishing.
• Song Ning drove Hu Yuankai's sports car toward the dock and suspected the passenger in the back seat was Hu Yuankun, whom the brothers planned to smuggle out to sea.
• Song Ning considered that she was being used to draw the police's attention and grew wary as the car approached a tunnel.
• In the middle of the tunnel, the man in the back seat woke up retching and told Song Ning to stop the car.

Song Ning realized Hu Yuankai had used her as a decoy in a plan to fake his death with a bomb in the car, and she escaped the explosion just in time. Gu Zheng’s team pursued Hu Yuankai and his accomplice while Han Xiao and Chen Liang took Song Ning back to the hotel, where they warned that the suspects might still strike back.

• Hu Yuankai told Song Ning to drive his car to the pier while he stayed behind with the sick Quan, intending to draw the police after her.
• Song Ning grew uneasy, left the car, and ran toward the beach moments before the sports car exploded.
• Song Ning told Gu Zheng that Hu Yuankai and another man had gotten out near the bend, and Gu Zheng sent Yang Qi and the others after them.
• Gu Zheng checked Song Ning for injuries and ordered Han Xiao and Chen Liang to take her safely back to the hotel.
• Han Xiao and Chen Liang told Song Ning that Hu Yuankai’s plan had been far more dangerous than they had expected and warned her to stay safe.

Song Ning left Harbor City for Hunan Province after investing in Cheung Kong Holdings and arranging for Dong Yuan and Dong Cheng to return home. On the bus to Yanling, she learned she had become Hunan Province’s top scorer and was confident she could enter Capital Military Medical University.

• Han Xiao told Song Ning that Qian Zelun, not Hu Yuankun, had fled with Hu Yuankai and was suspected of leading the “K” organization, while Gu Zheng agreed to let Han Xiao and Chen Liang accompany her to Hunan Province.
• Song Ning bought two hundred thousand dollars’ worth of Cheung Kong Holdings shares and stored the certificates in a Hui Feng Bank safe-deposit box.
• Song Ning asked Chen Liang to find out what to do with the hundred thousand dollars Hu Yuankai had transferred to her.
• In Flower City, Dong Yuan arrived with Dong Cheng, said he was taking the boy home to recover and return to school, and received the clothes Song Ning had bought for them.
• On August 9, Song Ning, Han Xiao, and Chen Liang flew to Star City and traveled by bus toward Yanling.
• Song Ning overheard passengers say she was Hunan Province’s top scorer, and Chen Liang and Han Xiao admired her achievement.

Song Ning was mobbed by officials and reporters at her medical examination after they learned she was Hunan Province's top scorer and the national runner-up. Yang Yindi publicly begged her for help, and Song Ning exposed how her relatives had mistreated her and Song Chengbing before Yang threatened to destroy their grandfather's keepsakes unless Song Ning helped her.

• Song Ning arrived at the county hospital for her medical examination and was celebrated by officials, reporters, and other candidates as the provincial top scorer and national runner-up.
• Yang Yindi knelt before the reporters and claimed she and Song Ning's second uncle needed help because Cai Juan had fled after attacking Erniu, who remained unconscious in the hospital.
• Yang Yindi clung to Song Ning's legs and pleaded for her to save them, but Song Ning reminded her that they had cut family ties.
• Song Ning told the reporters how Yang Yindi and her second uncle had taken the family home, tried to sell her into marriage, and planned to make Song Chengbing a live-in son-in-law.
• Yang Yindi admitted she would not dispute Song Ning's account but threatened to destroy their grandfather's keepsakes unless Song Ning helped her.

Song Ning exposed Yang Yindi’s threats to reporters and officials, leading to Yang’s detention, then learned more about the family’s debts and Song Caijuan’s escape. Song Ning headed to Luyuan Town to investigate whether Grandpa Song had left anything behind, hoping to question Song Jinbao at the town hospital.

• Yang Yindi demanded that Song Ning pay Yao Erniu’s hospital fees and give her five hundred yuan, but Song Ning told reporters about the threats and Yang’s demand.
• Public security officers took Yang Yindi away, and Chen Liang later reported that she would be detained for three days while receiving ideological education.
• Chen Liang told Song Ning that Song Caijuan had fled after knocking Yao Erniu unconscious, leaving the family responsible for his medical expenses and Yao Qianjin’s bride price.
• Yao Qianjin tried to clear his name with county officials by blaming Song Chengbing’s family, while Song Ning left without interrupting him.
• Song Ning, Chen Liang, and their companions borrowed a vehicle and drove to Luyuan Town, where Song Jinbao was hospitalized.

Song Ning followed Yang Yindi to Grandpa Song’s grave and recovered the box of belongings she had hidden there. Inside, Song Ning found an old fate slip and a medical report predicting she would die before twenty, then discovered another document that left her stunned.

• Song Ning questioned Song Jinbao at the hospital, but he did not know where Grandpa Song’s belongings were hidden.
• Song Ning waited for Yang Yindi to return to Yakou Village, then followed her at night to Grandpa Song’s grave.
• Yang Yindi dug a box out of the grave, but Song Ning caught it and forced her to restore the burial mound and beg Grandpa Song’s forgiveness.
• Song Ning opened the box and found a fate slip predicting the original owner would die young, along with a medical report saying she would not live past twenty.
• Song Ning saw another sheet beneath the medical report and stared at it in disbelief.

Song Ning examined Grandpa Song’s papers and discovered he had repeatedly traveled to Capital City seeking a Director Song to save her. She remained unsure what the papers meant for her fate, while she continued her college entrance political vetting and faced Yao Qianjin’s threat.

• Song Ning found Grandpa Song’s diary pages and train tickets showing that he had traveled to Capital City several times to find a Director Song who could save her.
• Song Ning asked Han Xiao to investigate Fuwai Hospital’s directors, and he and Chen Liang reported that none had been surnamed Song.
• Chen Liang told Song Ning that Gu Zheng’s team had arrested many members of the K organization and was close to dismantling it.
• Song Ning began her political vetting for the college entrance examination and obtained the village’s approval and seal.
• At the Luyuan Town office, Yao Qianjin praised Song Ning’s achievement, then threatened to make her younger sister pay if his son Erniu never woke up.

Song Ning completed her exam vetting and learned she had been selected for a procurement delegation traveling to Germany to discuss CT equipment. She decided to head toward Shanghai by way of Fujian Province, hoping to see the coastal Blue Tears.

• Song Ning persuaded Mayor Yao to sign and stamp her vetting form, and he escorted her out while trying to keep her from revealing his misconduct.
• Song Ning submitted her form to the county Education Bureau and asked officials to hold her admission letter while she was away.
• Chen Liang told Song Ning that the Ministry of Commerce had invited her to join the Germany-bound procurement delegation from Shanghai City.
• Song Ning called Qi Shiyuan, who explained that the German side had specifically requested her and asked about her plans for the proposed technical collaboration.
• Song Ning showed Chen Liang and Han Xiao her marked map and proposed traveling to Shanghai City through Fujian Province to see the Blue Tears.

Song Ning traveled toward Ping Tan Island to investigate a possible link between Blue Tears and the K organization, despite learning that A Pu had been rescued from a police transfer. At a guesthouse in Ying City, she confronted a man beating a woman and accused him of being a human trafficker.

• Song Ning pointed out Ping Tan Island as her destination, and Chen Liang and Han Xiao said they might need approval to go there.
• Chen Liang and Han Xiao reported that attackers had hijacked a police vehicle and rescued only A Pu, while the boss and his team pursued him without contact.
• Song Ning decided to continue toward Ping Tan Island, and the group traveled through Star City to Ying City before booking rooms near the station.
• Unable to sleep because of crying and violence next door, Song Ning took a wooden clothes hanger and banged on the man's door.
• Song Ning accused the man of beating a woman and possibly being a human trafficker, while Chen Liang and Han Xiao appeared behind her and intimidated him.

Song Ning recognized Lan Ying, a woman she had helped rescue from human traffickers, being beaten and held by Wu Shuan, who claimed she was his wife. Lan Ying explained she had agreed to marry him for eighty yuan to pay for her father's amputation, but she had never registered the marriage and did not want to go through with it; Song Ning promised to help her the next day.

• Song Ning confronted Wu Shuan about beating the woman in his room and warned him that he could face legal consequences.
• Lan Ying recognized Song Ning, and Song Ning pulled her away from Wu Shuan while Han Xiao blocked him from dragging her back.
• Han Xiao showed Wu Shuan his identification and promised the group would verify whether the marriage was legal, after which Wu Shuan retreated to his room.
• Lan Ying told Song Ning she had agreed to marry Wu Shuan for eighty yuan to pay for her father's urgent amputation, but he had beaten her during their journey and threatened her.
• Lan Ying said she had never registered the marriage and did not want to marry Wu Shuan, so Song Ning let her stay the night and promised to help resolve the situation the next day.

Song Ning freed Lan Ying from Wu Youquan by exposing his past crime and securing a written breakup of their engagement. After leaving, Song Ning destroyed the marriage attestation and asked Lan Ying whether she wanted to return home or travel with them to Fuzhou.

• Song Ning stopped Wu Youquan from taking Lan Ying away and confronted him about their unregistered marriage.
• Song Ning offered to repay the bride price, and Wu Youquan agreed to end the engagement after she threatened to report his crime.
• Wu Youquan signed and fingerprinted a statement ending his ties to Lan Ying, and Song Ning gave him one hundred yuan.
• Song Ning took Lan Ying away, then tore up the marriage attestation outside the train station.
• Chen Liang explained that Wu Youquan had fled after accidentally setting a fire while peeping at a widow, and Song Ning asked Lan Ying whether she wanted a ticket home or to go with them to Fuzhou.

Song Ning brought Lan Ying along to Fuzhou and arranged for her to join the trip to Ping Tan Island, where she hoped to see the sea’s blue fireflies. While Song Ning and her companions went out by boat, Lan Ying explored the shore with Baomei, but a man’s muffled grunt behind her left her frozen.

• Lan Ying asked Song Ning to take her away, and Song Ning agreed to bring her to Fuzhou.
• Song Ning decided Lan Ying could accompany them to Ping Tan Island, with Chen Liang and Han Xiao staying with them.
• At a fishing village near Fuqing County, Song Ning asked Huang Ali to take them out to see the blue fireflies, while Lan Ying stayed ashore with Baomei.
• Baomei took Lan Ying to the beach, where Lan Ying gathered shells and marveled at seeing the sea for the first time.
• After Baomei left to take the shells home, Lan Ying heard a man grunt in pain behind her and froze.

Lan Ying secretly helped an injured, handsome stranger hiding behind a reef, while Song Ning and her companions went night fishing with Huang Ali. The chapter ended as a large, fast boat approached them at sea.

• Lan Ying found an injured man behind a reef, and he asked her to help without telling anyone.
• Lan Ying got Mercurochrome, gauze, and snacks from Baomei's home and brought them to the man after midnight.
• The man said he had enemies and warned Lan Ying not to contact Public Security or tell anyone about him.
• Huang Ali took Song Ning and her two companions to his nighttime fishing grounds to look for the Blue Fireflies.
• Huang Ali and Song Ning spotted a large boat moving quickly toward them, and Huang Ali waved his lantern at it.

After Song Ning boarded a navy patrol boat near Ping Tan Island, Gu Zheng explained that his team was pursuing A Pu and questioned her about her unusual abilities and reasons for coming to the island. He confessed that he was captivated by her and waited for her to reveal some of her secrets, leaving Song Ning to decide what she could tell him.

• Huang Ali identified the approaching vessel as a navy patrol boat, and Chen Liang signaled its crew to bring them aboard.
• Song Ning asked Huang Ali to look after her younger sister before climbing aboard and discovering that Gu Zheng had steadied her.
• Gu Zheng told Chen Liang, Han Xiao, and Song Ning that A Pu's boat had capsized, A Pu was missing, and the search around Ping Tan Island would intensify.
• Gu Zheng privately explained how Song Ning's repeated involvement had helped the investigation against the K organization and said A Pu was likely its top leader.
• Gu Zheng asked Song Ning why she had come to Ping Tan Island and how she knew how to drive and use Morse Code, noting that her abilities could not all have come from her grandfather.
• Gu Zheng said he trusted and admired Song Ning, confessed that he was captivated by her, and asked her to share enough to answer some of his questions.

Song Ning explained why she had come to Ping Tan Island, and Gu Zheng revealed the history of the Blue Shield researchers and the K organization’s attacks on them. After seeing the sea’s Blue Tears, Song Ning concluded that her grandfather had meant the Blue Shield badges, while Gu Zheng asked whether Lu Changqing was the other person entrusted with the mission.

• Song Ning told Gu Zheng that she had come to Ping Tan Island to investigate the Blue Tears and suspected the island housed a secret research base connected to the K organization.
• Aboard the patrol boat, Song Ning and Gu Zheng saw a vast blue glow spread across the sea.
• Gu Zheng explained that the island’s researchers were honored as Blue Shield and that the badges found in Qian Zezhong’s safe had belonged to researchers 055 and 027.
• Gu Zheng said the K organization sabotaged research bases, stole research, and harmed Blue Shield members, and vowed to destroy it.
• Song Ning said her grandfather’s Blue Tears mission must have concerned Blue Shield badges and revealed that another comrade had received the mission with him.
• Gu Zheng asked Song Ning whether that comrade was Lu Changqing.

Song Ning explained the mission her grandfather and Lu Changqing inherited, and Gu Zheng connected it to the K organization's destruction of the Xiaolu Mountain research base. After their conversation, Gu Zheng pressed Song Ning to explain her unusual abilities, including her business success and driving skills.

• Song Ning told Gu Zheng that her grandfather and Lu Changqing had promised a dying man to carry out a mission, and that Lu Changqing alone knew what to do after finding Blue Tears.
• Gu Zheng recalled Lu Changqing's 1975 flood-relief service in Henan Province, and Song Ning confirmed that he met her grandfather there and became engaged to her.
• Song Ning revealed that the dying man said the dam breach had been deliberately caused by military personnel.
• Gu Zheng described how the K organization used the Henan dam breaches to destroy the Xiaolu Mountain research base and kill its researchers, and he connected the case to Song Ning's grandfather's mission.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng concluded that the mission likely involved the lost research, then returned to the cabin, where Gu Zheng asked Song Ning about herself.
• Song Ning said her pill-given abilities let her learn things in advance by reading newspapers, and Gu Zheng asked whether that was also how she learned to drive.

Song Ning told Gu Zheng about her awakening abilities, and Gu Zheng confessed his feelings while promising to wait for her explanation. As Gu Zheng organized the search for fugitives and tried to move Lan Ying to safety, Lan Ying and Baomei disappeared from Huang Ali’s house.

• Song Ning admitted to Gu Zheng that she had been awakening new abilities, and Gu Zheng asked whether they were connected to her rejecting him.
• Gu Zheng told Song Ning he trusted her and would wait until she was ready to reveal her secret; Song Ning then told him she had placed first in Hunan Province in the National College Entrance Examination.
• After the patrol vessel returned to port, Gu Zheng reported information about the 022 Base at Xiaolu Mountain to a Senior Leader and directed Yang Qi to assist the Fuqing County search.
• Gu Zheng ordered Chen Liang to bring Lan Ying aboard because the fishing village was in a priority search area, while he stayed to guard Ping Tan Island.
• Chen Liang arrived at Huang Ali’s house and discovered that Lan Ying and Baomei were missing; Huang Ali searched nearby homes and the beach but found no trace of them.