Chapter Summaries

Gu Zheng told Song Ning that Zhou Yuanhang’s family had suffered devastating losses in a battle against Ghost, and reassured her that suspecting him had been reasonable. As their flight neared Capital City, Song Ning explained that Song Wang had arranged her lodging and agreed to take Gu Zheng somewhere after registering at the university, warning that he might feel differently afterward.

• Gu Zheng explained that Zhou Qihang, Zhou Yuanhang’s older brother, had commanded Unit 331 and died fighting Ghost along with his wife and child.
• Song Ning regretted suspecting Zhou Yuanhang, and Gu Zheng comforted her before helping her rest during the flight.
• After waking, Song Ning told Gu Zheng she planned to settle in and report to the university the next day, and revealed that Song Wang had gone ahead to arrange a place to live.
• Gu Zheng offered Song Ning his apartment, but she said Song Wang had prepared their accommodation in Capital City.
• Gu Zheng asked how long he would have to wait for her answer about their relationship, and Song Ning invited him to register at the university with her before taking him somewhere.
• Song Ning told Gu Zheng that after their trip, he might feel differently about her.

Song Ning and Gu Zheng arrived in Capital City and went to the Hepingli Subdistrict Office to find Li Suying, the model worker who had helped Song Wang settle there. Li Suying confirmed Song Wang’s address and offered to take them to him, while Gu Zheng suspected Song Ning had arranged Song Wang’s help through a letter.

• Gu Zheng picked Song Ning up at the airport in a military jeep, and she asked him to drive to the Hepingli Subdistrict Office.
• Song Ning told Gu Zheng she had been to Capital City before as they drove through its streets.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng found Li Suying at the subdistrict office, where she was assisting an elderly resident.
• Song Ning recognized Li Suying as a future national model worker and asked whether Song Wang had visited her.
• Li Suying confirmed Song Wang came by every week asking for news of Song Ning and showed them his address.
• Li Suying offered to walk Song Ning and Gu Zheng to Song Wang’s home, explaining that a letter from someone in Hunan had asked her to help him find housing and work.

Song Ning reunited with Song Wang in Capital City and learned he had found work caring for Grandpa Qiu, but she recognized the old man as Uncle Qiu, her former-life driver. Uncle Qiu said his condition was worsening because his counterpart in this world was about to be born, and two versions of him could not coexist.

• Li Suying told Song Ning that Song Wang had taken a live-in caregiver job with an elderly man who offered him wages and a place to stay.
• Song Ning met Song Wang and invited Li Suying to lunch, then encouraged her to meet the serviceman arranged by a matchmaker.
• Song Ning and Song Wang ate together, and Song Wang offered to let her live in Grandpa Qiu's large courtyard, but she said she would eventually buy a home instead.
• Song Ning met Grandpa Qiu privately and recognized him as Uncle Qiu, her driver from her previous life.
• Uncle Qiu told Song Ning that he was deteriorating because his counterpart in this world was about to be born, and two versions of him could not exist at once.

Song Ning learned that Grandpa Qiu was her former colleague Uncle Qiu, who had arrived in the past after their car accident and had been waiting to find her. She agreed to care for his courtyard house and arranged for his hospitalization, then asked Gu Zheng to help notarize the property before Uncle Qiu’s condition worsened.

• Uncle Qiu told Song Ning that he had arrived in 1975 and explained how he had once tried to find her through a patient with the same name.
• Uncle Qiu asked Song Ning to take over his courtyard house, and she agreed while urging him to accept hospital care.
• Song Ning told Gu Zheng she would stay at the house and instructed Song Wang to prepare for Grandpa Qiu’s hospitalization.
• Song Ning arranged an ambulance and a private hospital room, paid the costs, and helped the doctors choose medication that would cause less lung irritation.
• After the arrangements were complete, Song Ning asked Gu Zheng to find an authoritative notary to document the property transfer.
• Gu Zheng asked whether they would follow their original plan the next day, and Song Ning said she needed to prioritize Grandpa Qiu’s affairs.

Song Ning enrolled at Capital Military Medical University, where Dean Fang explained that the military wanted to recognize her service and asked what reward she wanted. Song Ning began by saying she did not want to go to school, leaving Dean Fang stunned.

• Song Ning promised Gu Zheng that she would answer his questions and take him to the place she had promised, and he embraced her when he saw her tears.
• Gu Zheng returned to his family home, where Tan Qingru welcomed him and planned to arrange a blind date while he was on leave.
• Gu Zheng called Professor He, then went to the Siheyuan Courtyard early the next morning and accompanied Song Ning to register at university.
• Dean Fang told Song Ning that the General Military District had reported her contributions and offered to recognize her service.
• Song Ning said she had two wishes and announced that she did not want to go to school, making Dean Fang's smile disappear.

Song Ning asked Dean Fang to assess her for early physician qualification and graduation, claiming she had mastered the university curriculum and gained clinical experience. After leaving the university, she met Gu Zheng, who arranged for his law-professor friend to help with her matter, and Song Ning recognized the friend as He Mingyuan.

• Song Ning asked Dean Fang to test her against the standards for an outstanding graduate and practicing physician so she could qualify and graduate early.
• Dean Fang urged Song Ning not to rush, but she insisted she had taught herself the university curriculum and had clinical experience, calling herself a self-taught genius.
• Song Ning told Gu Zheng that she had asked the university to let her graduate early, and he laughed with her.
• Gu Zheng told Song Ning he had arranged for Professor He, his childhood friend and a law professor, to help with her matter.
• Song Ning met Professor He and recognized him as He Mingyuan.

Song Ning and Uncle Qiu arranged a notarized will giving Song Wang the right to live in the courtyard for fifty years while preserving Uncle Qiu and Song Ning’s ownership. The chapter ended with Song Ning thanking He Mingyuan, whose expression changed when he saw her gifts.

• Song Ning recognized He Mingyuan as a professor she had known in her original time and asked him to notarize Uncle Qiu’s will.
• Song Ning proposed that the deed remain in Uncle Qiu and Song Ning’s names, with Song Wang receiving fifty years of residence and the house going to the state if unclaimed afterward.
• Uncle Qiu revealed that their car crash had been deliberate and agreed to Song Ning’s plan, including adding password numbers to the will.
• He Mingyuan notarized the documents, and Song Wang received a certificate granting him the right to live in the courtyard.
• Gu Zheng treated He Mingyuan to lunch, and Song Ning later bought him gifts that made his expression change.

Song Ning gave He Mingyuan thoughtful gifts and asked him to secretly give a set of Journey to the West books to young He Siping. She then took Gu Zheng to the Military District Compound, where he learned they were visiting Dong Yuan’s regimental commander, Lei Ming.

• Song Ning gave He Mingyuan tea and calligraphy supplies, and asked him to secretly pass the Journey to the West books to He Siping.
• After He Mingyuan left, Song Ning told Gu Zheng she would reveal her secrets by taking him somewhere, and he promised his feelings for her would not change.
• Song Ning directed Gu Zheng to the Military District Compound and bought liquor, two outfits, and a toy pistol at a department store.
• Song Ning showed Gu Zheng the address of Lei Ming, and Gu Zheng realized they were visiting Dong Yuan’s regimental commander.

Song Ning visited the military compound with Gu Zheng and encountered her mother, Lei Hong, as a little girl. She comforted Lei Hong after a fight and was invited home with Gu Zheng, leaving them on their way to the family’s house.

• Song Ning and Gu Zheng entered the compound and headed toward the old family residence.
• Song Ning saw young Lei Hong fighting several boys, including Ruan Zhiming, after they taunted her.
• Song Ning embraced Lei Hong, comforted her, and told her she would grow up to be extraordinary.
• Song Ning introduced herself by name, cleaned Lei Hong’s face, and reassured her that Ruan Zhiming would one day listen to her.
• Lei Hong called Song Ning her friend and invited her and Gu Zheng home, and both accepted.

Song Ning visited her young grandmother Meng Yu and mother Lei Hong with Gu Zheng, while hiding her identity and struggling with emotion. After Lei Ming recognized her as familiar, he welcomed the visitors and invited them to stay for dinner.

• Lei Hong brought Song Ning and Gu Zheng to Meng Yu, and Song Ning was overwhelmed at seeing her young grandmother again.
• Song Ning offered Meng Yu clothes and gave Lei Hong a toy pistol, which Lei Hong eagerly took outside to play with.
• Lei Ming arrived after calling for Lei Hong, and Gu Zheng introduced himself and Song Ning as Dong Yuan's friends.
• Lei Ming said Song Ning looked familiar, then accepted the liquor Song Ning had brought and invited her and Gu Zheng to dinner.

Song Ning revealed to Gu Zheng that she came from 2025 and had taken the place of the original Song Ning after the latter died. She explained that Lei Ming and his family were her relatives from the future, and that the little girl with pigtails was her mother.

• Gu Zheng and Song Ning declined Lei Ming's dinner invitation, and Song Ning helped him remember that his missing form was in the Russian-Style Briefcase.
• Gu Zheng took the troubled Song Ning to Purple Bamboo Park and rowed with her across the lake.
• Gu Zheng asked whether Lei Ming and his family were Song Ning's relatives and wondered if she had been abducted as a child.
• Song Ning told Gu Zheng that she came from 2025 and had arrived in his world on the day they first met.
• Song Ning revealed that Lei Ming was her maternal grandfather and the little girl with pigtails was her mother.

Song Ning revealed to Gu Zheng that she had come from 2026 and explained her connections to people in his life. Gu Zheng accepted her account but grew increasingly distressed as he realized how many people from her future knew her, while he knew nothing about her world.

• Gu Zheng learned that Song Ning had come from more than forty years in the future and that Lei Hong was her mother while Lei Ming and his wife were her grandparents.
• Song Ning explained that Jiang Chengshi had known her future self, helped protect her, and taught her when he was old.
• Song Ning revealed that she had known Yu Zhengyang, Dong Yuan, and Qi Shiyuan in the future, and that Dong Yuan and his son had taught her to fight.
• Gu Zheng asked whether Song Ning refused a relationship because she loved someone in the future, and she reassured him that he had understood her account correctly.
• Song Ning described her future relationships with He Mingyuan and Qi Shiyuan, including how she had acquired He Mingyuan's Tang Sancai zodiac figures.
• Gu Zheng realized that the figures Song Ning had taken from He Mingyuan were the set he had given He Mingyuan when he started working.

Gu Zheng learned from Song Ning that she and Grandpa Qiu had come from another world and might not be able to remain in this one. After Grandpa Qiu explained that Song Ning could disappear or return at any time, Gu Zheng had to consider whether accepting his love would leave her carrying grief into another world.

• Gu Zheng embraced Song Ning and insisted that he loved the Song Ning in this world, but she pushed him away and told him Grandpa Qiu had come from her world too.
• Song Ning explained that Grandpa Qiu would die before September 29, when his counterpart in this world was due to be born, and Gu Zheng realized she might also have to leave.
• Gu Zheng visited Grandpa Qiu at 404 Hospital and admitted that he loved Song Ning, but she would not accept him.
• Grandpa Qiu told Gu Zheng that neither he nor Song Ning could remain in this world indefinitely and that Song Ning might have only days or years left.
• Grandpa Qiu asked whether Gu Zheng would want Song Ning to return to her world carrying love for him and spend her life missing him.

Gu Zheng struggled with whether his love would condemn Song Ning to a lonely life, then went to the Siheyuan Courtyard hoping to see her. Song Ning was away searching Purple Bamboo Park for Li Suying, hoping to prevent a blind date that could affect Dong Zhu’s birth, when someone asked if she was there to catch a cheater.

• Gu Zheng left the hospital haunted by Grandpa Qiu’s warning that Song Ning might be left alone in another world, and spent the night in his car.
• Gu Zheng drove near the Siheyuan Courtyard and, unable to wait, went to knock on Song Ning’s gate, but she was not there.
• Song Ning recalled that Li Suying’s blind date might be happening that day and went to the neighborhood office to find Li Suying’s address.
• Song Ning learned Li Suying had gone to meet her prospective match at a park, asked a passerby which park people used for blind dates, and took a bus to Purple Bamboo Park.
• Song Ning searched the park and crouched by the lake to inspect the boats when someone asked if she was there to catch a cheater.

Song Ning and Liang Lichuan interrupted Li Suying’s blind date by pretending the man she was meeting was Zhou Yunzhi’s boyfriend. Their ruse left Li Suying confused and her date furious as they rowed away.

• Song Ning borrowed Liang Lichuan’s binoculars and confirmed that Li Suying was on a blind date with a man other than Dong Yuan.
• Song Ning told Liang Lichuan that Li Suying was being deceived and asked him to help stop the date.
• Liang Lichuan suggested capsizing the other boat, but Song Ning rejected his plan and rented a boat to approach Li Suying instead.
• Song Ning greeted Li Suying and falsely identified her date as Zhou Yunzhi’s boyfriend.
• Liang Lichuan rowed Song Ning away while Li Suying looked bewildered and her date glared at them.

Song Ning and the others were thrown into the water when a pedal boat crashed into their boats, and Dong Yuan rescued Li Suying. After escaping the rescue, Song Ning ran off with Liang Lichuan, hoping to avoid the blind-date man, but Liang warned her they were heading toward a dead end.

• A pedal boat collided with Song Ning and Li Suying's boats, capsizing them and throwing their passengers into the lake.
• Song Ning swam to help Li Suying, but Dong Yuan reached her first and pulled her from the water.
• Liang Lichuan and the blind-date man helped rescue the two young women, while Song Ning climbed into a different boat to avoid Dong Yuan.
• At shore, Song Ning fled when the blind-date man called after her, and Liang Lichuan followed on a bicycle.
• Liang Lichuan explained that he had warned the young women about the blind-date man, prompting them to attack him and Liang.
• Song Ning told Liang they no longer knew each other and ran ahead as he warned her there was a dead end.

Song Ning tried to reach Yang Ye while Gu Zheng waited for her at home, then spent the morning at the Public Security Bureau after learning she had already left. When Gu Zheng returned to the courtyard, Song Ning was waiting to tell him she urgently needed to see Yang Ye.

• Song Ning and Liang Lichuan climbed over a park wall to reach Hengyang Road, and Song Ning learned that he attended Qingbei University’s Physics Department.
• Gu Zheng went to the nearby Police Station for help opening Song Ning’s door, but a neighbor told him Song Ning had left early that morning.
• Wei Jinjun arrived at the Public Security Bureau, teased Gu Zheng about trying to court Song Ning, and heard him say that distance stood between them.
• Wei Jinjun invited Gu Zheng to dinner and told him Tang Wei was on a blind date, but Gu Zheng left to check whether Song Ning had returned.
• Gu Zheng returned to the courtyard, where Song Ning hurried over and said she urgently needed to see Yang Ye.

Song Ning proposed that Cheng Hui had been framed and asked Yang Ye to investigate whether a guest could have escaped over the garden wall and returned unnoticed. She then learned that Lu Changqing and Grandpa Song had recovered two codes that could unlock part of Xiaolu Mountain Base’s lost research.

• Song Ning explained to Yang Ye how someone might have forced Cheng Hui to fire the gun, climbed over the wall, and returned to the banquet unnoticed.
• Yang Ye agreed to check the banquet guest lists but warned Song Ning that the framing theory still needed solid evidence.
• Song Ning told Gu Zheng she wanted to see the training ground where Old Man Dong had trained her, and Gu Zheng began showing her around the Military District.
• Gu Zheng told Song Ning that Lu Changqing had revealed two codes entrusted to him and Grandpa Song by a dying comrade from Xiaolu Mountain Base.
• Gu Zheng said Blue Shield researchers had confirmed the codes could unlock at least a third of the base’s research results, and Song Ning felt relieved.

Song Ning and Gu Zheng discussed Grandpa Song’s mission and inspected the training ground, where they identified the physical skills needed to scale the wall. Song Ning recognized Tang Wei from her disastrous blind date and fled before Gu Zheng could introduce them, leaving Tang Wei unaware that she was the woman he had been cursing.

• Song Ning explained how Grandpa Song’s sacrifice and hopes for Lu Changqing had driven her to tolerate him, and Gu Zheng said Lu Changqing had asked to join Unit 331.
• Song Ning tried and failed twice to scale the training ground’s high wall, while Gu Zheng demonstrated how to clear it.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng reasoned that the person they were seeking was likely a well-trained man at least 170 centimeters tall, with strong marksmanship and composure.
• Song Ning recognized the runner on the obstacle course as Tang Wei, the man from her blind date, and hurried away before Gu Zheng could introduce her.
• Tang Wei told Gu Zheng that a woman had ruined his blind date and accused him of being a pervert after he helped tourists, while Gu Zheng laughed at his complaint.

Song Ning explained why she had interfered in Tang Wei and Li Suying’s blind date, and Gu Zheng assured her that he accepted her as the Song Ning from 2026. She then asked for his help finding her scientist grandfather and revealed that Hua Country’s first intercontinental missile, the Long Wind 5, would complete its full-range flight test on May 28, 1980.

• Song Ning told Gu Zheng that she had pretended Tang Wei had a girlfriend to disrupt his blind date with Li Suying, who was destined to marry Dong Yuan.
• Song Ning explained that Li Suying was her future friend, whom she called Granny Li, and apologized for slandering Tang Wei; Gu Zheng said he would not hold it against her friend.
• Gu Zheng warned Song Ning that Regiment Commander Lei likely suspected her identity and advised her to let him accept the truth gradually.
• Song Ning asked whether Gu Zheng accepted that she came from 2026, and he told her he accepted her as herself.
• Song Ning asked Gu Zheng to help locate her grandfather, a research scientist she believed worked with Blue Shield, and revealed the date and result of the Long Wind 5 missile test.