Chapter Summaries

Song Ning confirmed that Lu Changqing had gone boating with Zhou Xiaotang and Zhou Yunzhi on September 30, then connected the black jadeite to the people surrounding them. She searched Zhou Xiaotang’s room and the Exhibition Hall for clues hidden among the paintings, but had not yet confirmed her suspicion.

• Wu Shuangshuang identified Zhou Yunzhi and Lu Changqing in photographs and recalled seeing them with Zhou Xiaotang boating on lunar August 10, September 30.
• Song Ning reconstructed the timeline of Lu Changqing’s movements, the theft and murders, and Zhou Xiaotang’s kidnapping, concluding that the black jadeite’s whereabouts were linked to Lu Changqing and the Zhou family.
• Song Ning, Han Xiao, and Chen Liang searched Chief Engineer Zhou’s house, where Song Ning carefully recorded and counted the paintings in Zhou Xiaotang’s room.
• Song Ning went to the Exhibition Hall and studied the paintings, their titles, and artist introductions while looking for another clue.

Song Ning investigated the paintings in Zhou Xiaotang’s room and found they were all prizewinning works, with Du Song’s publicly exhibited paintings displayed most prominently. She concluded Zhou had deliberately given her Du Song’s famous painting to lead her toward the artist, but Du Song had retired and gone away to paint without telling anyone where he was.

• Song Ning asked about Du Song’s other works and went with Han Xiao and Chen Liang to Qingbei Academy of Fine Arts after the exhibition hall had closed.
• Director Wang showed Song Ning an album of Du Song’s work, and she confirmed that the twenty paintings in his current exhibition were among those displayed in Zhou Xiaotang’s room.
• Director Wang told Song Ning that Du Song had retired and left to paint from life, without revealing his destination.
• Song Ning explained that Zhou Xiaotang had specifically chosen Looking Up as her gift and that all twenty-six paintings in her room came from the Fifth National Art Exhibition.
• Song Ning concluded that Zhou had selected Du Song’s most famous painting to make her connect the gift to him, and Han Xiao said Zhou’s purpose had been to lead them to Du Song.

Song Ning learned that Zhou Xiaotang had copied Du Song’s paintings to draw attention to him while guarding against Zhou Yuanhang, and she prepared to help Little Hongyuan receive treatment. She arranged for him to be admitted to the hospital the next day and promised to help him recover so he could grow up and join the army with Little Hongyan.

• Han Xiao and Chen Liang discussed how Zhou Xiaotang’s copied paintings pointed toward Du Song and added to the circumstantial evidence against Zhou Yuanhang.
• Song Ning reflected on Du Song’s paintings and wondered whether he had sensed danger before leaving.
• Director Jin told Song Ning that the medicine application had been approved and clinical trials could begin once they received the approval number.
• Song Ning met Little Hongyuan, Meng Yu’s parents, and the family at the Military District Compound, then cooked a meal for them.
• Song Ning examined Little Hongyuan and arranged for him to be admitted to the hospital the next day to prepare for heart surgery.
• Song Ning promised Little Hongyuan she would make him well, and Little Hongyan told him they would join the army together when they grew up.

Song Ning and Chen Liang investigated Professor Du Song’s connection to Zhou Xiaotang and found no evidence the two had ever known each other. Song Ning realized Zhou Xiaotang may have attended Du Song’s October 3 lecture only to sign in, shortly after learning her father had been killed.

• Song Ning read Chen Liang’s report on Du Song and concluded that his character and reputation were beyond reproach.
• Chen Liang told Song Ning that Du Song knew neither Zhou Xiaotang nor her father, and investigators found no private connection between them.
• Song Ning and Chen Liang established that Zhou Xiaotang could have encountered Du Song only at his public lectures, whose content revealed nothing suspicious.
• Chen Liang reported that Zhou Xiaotang signed in for Du Song’s October 3 lecture after learning her father had died that morning.
• Song Ning noted that Zhou Xiaotang was picked up near the Exhibition Hall around eleven and had no time to hear the lecture, suggesting she went inside only to sign in.

Song Ning chose Huasu Pharmaceuticals as the partner for producing the new drug and planned to sign a contract after production approval. She gave Jiang Chengshi new clothes and a day off, then sent him to a discussion event for Love at Cape's End.

• Zheng Chang'an and Jiang Chengshi reported on the factories they had visited, and Song Ning confirmed that Huasu Pharmaceuticals was the best partner because it offered to share profits from her research.
• Song Ning explained that the factory visits had documented a careful comparison, and Zheng Chang'an agreed to coordinate with Huasu Pharmaceuticals.
• Song Ning told Zheng Chang'an to prepare to sign the contract that week and begin a small production batch the following week if approval came through.
• Jiang Chengshi complained about his workload, so Song Ning gave him the next day off and showed him a newspaper notice for a discussion event about Love at Cape's End.
• Chen Xiaoyu delivered clothes Song Ning had bought for Jiang Chengshi, and Song Ning told him to wear them to the event tomorrow.

Song Ning arranged for Jiang Chengshi to attend an event where he might meet Grandma Jiang, while she cared for Little Hongyuan and prepared the hospital’s pharmaceutical partnership. Jiang Chengshi reached the theater, but whether he and Grandma Jiang would meet remained uncertain.

• Song Ning gave Jiang Chengshi new clothes and urged him to attend the event, hoping he might encounter Grandma Jiang without revealing her plan.
• Song Ning spoke with Lao Qi at breakfast, then admitted Little Hongyuan and arranged examinations and an herbal prescription for him.
• Director Jin told Song Ning that the approval had been granted, and she tasked Zheng Chang'an with negotiating the Huansu Pharmaceutical Factory agreement.
• Jiang Chengshi arrived at the National Arts Theater with Chen Liang, accepted his invitation card, and entered the venue area.

Jiang Chengshi attended a public event for Love at Cape's End, expecting Song Ning's plans to explain why she had arranged his seat. He refused to trade places with a fan and watched the film's team arrive, but none of the actresses stirred his heart.

• Jiang Chengshi entered the event with his invitation and found his seat beside the film's team.
• A young woman asked whether Jiang Chengshi was a fan of the film's stars and requested to swap seats so she could sit closer to Chen Boyuan.
• Jiang Chengshi refused to swap seats, deciding to follow his heart, and told the young woman that he liked someone else.
• The host introduced Love at Cape's End as clips from the film played and the audience cheered for its leads.
• The film's team came onstage, and Jiang Chengshi studied the cast but felt no attraction to any of the actresses.

Jiang Chengshi attended a film discussion event and became angry when an American guest mocked the audience and creators of Love at Cape's End. After a woman defended the film, Jiang Chengshi delivered a rapid English rebuttal, leaving the reporter struggling to translate him.

• Jiang Chengshi sat through the discussion event, unable to identify the woman Song Ning had sent him to see.
• An American guest named Mr. Smith criticized Chinese audiences and filmmakers for being moved by a cheek kiss in Love at Cape's End.
• A woman in the audience answered Mr. Smith in fluent English and defended the film, earning thunderous applause.
• Jiang Chengshi rushed onto the stage and delivered a forceful English rebuke of Mr. Smith.
• The reporter struggled to translate Jiang Chengshi's rapid speech as the woman began speaking again.

After Jiang Chengshi defended the film’s portrayal of love, he met its screenwriter and was captivated by her. When she suffered a severe asthma attack, he rushed her toward the hospital, leaving the chapter with Chen Liang driving them to Jinghe.

• Jiang Chengshi passionately refuted a foreign reporter’s criticism of the film and learned that the woman translating for him was its screenwriter.
• Jiang Chengshi nervously shook the screenwriter’s hand, then stayed behind after the event hoping to see her again.
• The screenwriter suffered a severe asthma attack, and Jiang Chengshi recognized her symptoms and tried to help.
• Jiang Chengshi used the screenwriter’s inhaler, then carried her out when she could not breathe on her own.
• Chen Liang drove Jiang Chengshi and the screenwriter away as Jiang Chengshi ordered him to get to Jinghe as fast as possible.

Jiang Chengshi rescued Wen Xin during an asthma attack, and Song Ning treated her at the hospital. After Wen Xin agreed to stay and recover, she told Song Ning that she seemed strangely familiar.

• Jiang Chengshi brought an unconscious Wen Xin to the hospital, where Song Ning and the medical staff treated her asthma.
• Jiang Chengshi told Song Ning that he believed Wen Xin was the woman he was destined to meet.
• Wen Xin’s director arrived, thanked Jiang Chengshi for saving her, and learned that he was the hospital’s vice president.
• Wen Xin woke up, and Song Ning explained that she needed to stay in the hospital and recover from exhaustion and poor health.
• Wen Xin agreed to be admitted and told Song Ning that they seemed meant to meet because Song Ning felt familiar.

Song Ning reunited with Jiang Minglan and helped nervous Jiang Chengshi go see her after she asked to thank her rescuer. She then discussed a new drug production deal with Zheng Chang'an and advised Tang Wei on how Chen Yawen might build a film career on the mainland, leaving him ready to pursue the plan by buying a home.

• Song Ning met Jiang Minglan, learned that Wen Xin was her pen name, and told Jiang Chengshi that she wanted to thank him for saving her.
• Jiang Chengshi admitted he was nervous to meet Jiang Minglan, and Song Ning assigned him to her care and sent him into the room.
• Zheng Chang'an told Song Ning they had signed an exclusive partnership for a ten-percent share, and she told him to coordinate a trial production run with Professor Jin.
• Tang Wei told Song Ning that Chen Yawen had cried on the phone and wanted to join him in Capital City, but he feared she would sacrifice her career.
• Song Ning suggested Chen Yawen could pursue filmmaking on the mainland, and when Tang Wei asked where to start, she told him to buy a home first.

Song Ning helped Tang Wei plan for Chen Yawen’s move to Capital City and secretly assigned him to search for several houses. She then asked Chen Liang to investigate the paperwork and policies Chen Yawen would need, hoping she could build an independent career before deciding whether to marry Tang Wei.

• Song Ning told Tang Wei to buy a separate house for Chen Yawen and gave him a bankbook to search for additional houses for her.
• Song Ning revealed that she might need three neighboring houses, and Tang Wei accused her of tricking him into doing her house-hunting.
• Tang Wei called Chen Liang into Song Ning’s office after joking with Han Xiao that Song Ning had outsmarted him again.
• Song Ning asked Chen Liang to find out what permits and paperwork Chen Yawen would need to work and stay long-term in Capital City.
• Song Ning explained that she wanted Chen Yawen to have time to adjust and pursue her own career before family pressure pushed her and Tang Wei into marriage.

Song Ning reviewed Professor Du Song’s lecture notes but found nothing unusual, then learned that Lei Hongyuan’s congenital heart disease was more severe than expected. Determined to save him, she prepared for surgery and began clinical trials of a special medicine immediately.

• Song Ning and Chen Liang discussed giving Chen Yawen and Tang Wei time to resolve their relationship problems, then reviewed notes from Du Song’s public lectures without finding anything suspicious.
• After Han Xiao mentioned a Qingbei University donation drive, Song Ning recalled that Du Song had also donated to children in impoverished mountain regions but could not identify a connection.
• Song Ning examined Lei Hongyuan’s test results and learned he had a large patent ductus arteriosus with severe pulmonary hypertension, then told Qi Shiyuan she could operate on him.
• Song Ning asked Song Shaoyang to deliver the special medicine samples, and Meng Yu reassured her that she trusted her to treat Hongyuan.
• Song Ning tested the samples and confirmed they met standards, then told the pharmaceutical factory representative that the clinical trial would begin the next day during Hongyuan’s surgery.

Song Ning prepared for and successfully performed Lei Hongyuan’s congenital heart surgery, impressing her colleagues with her skill. Afterward, she reflected on the people she had opened a hospital to save and focused on preventing the future poisoning of Cheng Yuan.

• Song Ning scheduled Lei Hongyuan’s surgery and invited Director Liu and two surgeons to join the planning and operation.
• Song Ning learned that Lei Ming had not returned to the capital and inferred that he was helping recruit experts for the Dawn Project.
• Song Ning performed Lei Hongyuan’s four-and-a-half-hour heart surgery, and the operation succeeded.
• Song Ning reassured Meng Yu and gave the team postoperative care instructions before going to her office to rest.
• Song Ning thought about her three patients to save and hoped Professor Jin’s team could develop an antidote before Cheng Yuan’s poisoning case occurred.

After Little Hongyuan’s successful surgery, Song Ning left the hospital to avoid reporters and visited an art exhibition with Han Xiao. A donation register from the Fifth Art Exhibition led them to the Civil Affairs Bureau, where they began investigating the October 3 records.

• Song Ning reflected that saving Cheng Yuan could clear Old Man Song and the six researchers, and that her Research Center already had Li Yanzhou’s biological samples for developing an antidote.
• Jiang Chengshi told Song Ning to go home and rest while reporters waited to interview her, and she teased him about his romance with Xiao Lan.
• Song Ning and Han Xiao drove to the Exhibition Hall, where Song Ning learned that donated items from past exhibitions had been recorded and transferred to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
• Song Ning asked to inspect the Fifth Art Exhibition’s donation register, and Han Xiao showed his credentials to establish that they were conducting an official investigation.
• At the Civil Affairs Bureau, the director brought them the registers, and Song Ning asked to check the records for October 3.

Song Ning and Han Xiao traced Zhou Xiaotang’s donation of watercolor paints to Professor Du Song and learned she had deliberately named him as the recipient. Song Ning concluded Zhou Xiaotang had used the donation to get rid of the black jadeite after her father was murdered, while they waited to learn whether it had reached Du Song.

• Song Ning found an October 3 register entry showing Zhou Xiaotang had donated a box of watercolor paints to Du Song.
• Wang Yi recalled that Zhou Xiaotang had specifically requested Du Song as the recipient and asked whether the donation would definitely reach him.
• Song Ning and Han Xiao asked the director to verify where the box of paints had gone.
• Song Ning explained that Zhou Xiaotang likely donated the black jadeite to Du Song after her father’s murder, hoping to protect herself and her mother and leave no loose ends.

Song Ning and Han Xiao traced the box of watercolors left by Chief Engineer Zhou’s daughter to Du Song’s studio, only to learn it had been donated with other supplies. They began tracking down the donation’s recipient, while Li Weiqing’s account raised questions about the cheap paint set and whether he had opened it.

• Song Ning explained how Chief Engineer Zhou’s daughter’s clues led to Du Song and the watercolors, and the director confirmed that a student named Li Weiqing had collected the box.
• Song Ning and Han Xiao went to Qingbei Academy of Fine Arts and questioned Li Weiqing, who recalled placing the box in Du Song’s studio.
• Song Ning, Han Xiao, and Li Weiqing found that the studio had been cleared, and the caretaker said its unused supplies had been donated.
• Director Wang went to find out where the university’s donations had gone while Song Ning asked Li Weiqing about the box.
• Li Weiqing said the box had been cheap and contained few colors, and Song Ning asked whether he had opened it.

Song Ning, Han Xiao, and Chen Liang traced Zhou Xiaotang’s watercolor-paint box to Dongtuanbao Primary School in Laiyuan County. On the way there, they unexpectedly encountered Tian Mingfeng, whose presence raised suspicions as they reached the commune.

• Director Wang learned that the supplies had been sent to Dongtuanbao People's Commune Central Primary School, where a volunteer team was still staying.
• Han Xiao agreed to take Song Ning to Laiyuan County with Chen Liang, and they stopped at the art supply shop to inspect the inexpensive watercolor paints.
• The group drove through the mountain roads to Dongtuanbao, taking nearly all morning to cover the final fifty kilometers.
• They found Tian Mingfeng’s car blocking the narrow road and helped her driver repair it.
• Song Ning and her companions questioned why Tian Mingfeng was there and noted that their comrades assigned to follow her had not been seen.
• After continuing along the only road, they reached Dongtuanbao People's Commune.

Han Xiao, Chen Liang, and Song Ning reached Dongtuanbao to ask Qingbei students about donated supplies, including a box of Watercolor Paints. They unexpectedly found Zhou Yuanhang with the group leader Director Cai, forcing Song Ning to redirect their questions into an offer to support the school.

• Han Xiao, Chen Liang, and Song Ning arrived at Dongtuanbao Central Primary School and learned that the Qingbei students were teaching in the township.
• The three went to the Township Government and found Director Cai in a back room.
• Han Xiao, Chen Liang, and Song Ning were surprised to find Zhou Yuanhang talking with Director Cai.
• Zhou Yuanhang introduced Song Ning to Director Cai and praised her work leading a research project and Jinghe Hospital.
• Song Ning avoided asking directly about the donated supplies and told Director Cai she wanted to contribute to Qingbei's charitable work in a different way.

Song Ning agreed to help arrange a free clinic in Dongtuanbao Township and learned from Kong Jianming that Qingbei’s donated supplies had been handed to township officials, with their distribution still unclear. She left Kong Jianming after Han Xiao called her, warning him not to return the way he came.

• Song Ning and Director Cai agreed that Song Ning’s hospital would organize a free clinic, and Director Cai invited her and Zhou Yuanhang to lunch.
• Zhou Yuanhang told Director Cai he had come to the school anniversary and planned to donate supplies on behalf of the Zhou Family and his sister-in-law.
• Song Ning saw Kong Jianming among the Qingbei students and asked him about volunteering and the donated supplies.
• Kong Jianming said the supplies had been handed to township officials at a ceremony, but he did not know whether they had been distributed.
• Kong Jianming told Song Ning that Zhou Yuanhang had arrived that day and had asked where Director Cai was staying.
• After Han Xiao called her, Song Ning told Kong Jianming to stay safe and avoid going back the way he had come.