Chapter Summaries

Li Qingxi encountered Yun Xiaoran and Shen Jin, resolved to defeat Shen Jin on Singer 4202, and planned to beat her with her album as well. Shen Jin’s team prepared for the competition while Li Qingxi’s confidence rested on lyricist Chang Wujiang, though she still worried about Yun Xiaoran’s talent.

• Li Qingxi regretted driving Yun Xiaoran away but told Shen Jin she hoped she would perform well, then vowed to defeat her.
• Shen Jin teased Yun Xiaoran about Li Qingxi, and he insisted he had moved on and urged Shen Jin to win the championship.
• Shen Jin accepted Yun Xiaoran’s reassurance, and he asked her about her mother’s likes in preparation for visiting her home.
• Li Qingxi asked Liu Yi about her album preparations and declared she intended to beat Shen Jin both with the album and on Singer 4202.
• Liu Yi expressed confidence in Chang Wujiang’s songs, while Li Qingxi remained uneasy about what Yun Xiaoran might create for Shen Jin.

Yun Xiaoran and Shen Jin went with Sister Hua to visit Ning Yao and persuade her to reconcile with Father Shen. They arrived at Ning Yao’s home, where Yun Xiaoran gently woke Shen Jin.

• Sister Hua reassured Shen Jin that Ning Yao might be willing to reconcile, but Shen Jin worried her mother would refuse.
• Yun Xiaoran promised Shen Jin they would make progress, and she leaned against him and fell asleep during the drive.
• Sister Hua asked Yun Xiaoran if he had a plan, and he admitted he did not know how they would persuade Ning Yao.
• They arrived at Ning Yao’s home, and Yun Xiaoran gently woke Shen Jin.

Yun Xiaoran and Shen Jin visited Ning Yao to ask her to reconcile with Shen Cong, but she firmly refused and would not explain the full reason for their divorce. Yun Xiaoran led Shen Jin away, leaving her to ask why they had not stayed.

• Shen Jin, Yun Xiaoran, and Sister Hua visited Ning Yao, who welcomed them and chatted warmly with Shen Jin.
• Yun Xiaoran told Ning Yao that they wanted her and Shen Cong to get back together.
• Ning Yao said she had no feelings for Shen Cong and could not forgive him, despite Shen Jin's tearful pleas.
• Ning Yao admitted the divorce involved more than the things Yun Xiaoran had heard about, but refused to explain and asked them to leave.
• Yun Xiaoran took Shen Jin away from Ning Yao's home, and Shen Jin asked him why they had not stayed.

Yun Xiaoran and Shen Jin realized that an unknown hurt had kept Shen Cong and Ning Yao apart, but they could not discover what it was. Meanwhile, Shen Cong failed to reach Ning Yao and called Shen Jin, who lied about having visited her mother; he urged Shen Jin to practice for Singer 4202.

• Yun Xiaoran told Shen Jin and Sister Hua that Shen Cong might have done something that hurt Ning Yao, though none of them knew what had caused the rift.
• Shen Jin, Yun Xiaoran, and Sister Hua left after seeing Ning Yao watching them from her window.
• Shen Cong tried calling Ning Yao, discovered her number was no longer in service, and chose not to delete her contact.
• Shen Cong called Shen Jin and asked where she was, and Shen Jin claimed she had just finished watching Singer 4202 performances.
• Shen Cong told Shen Jin to practice hard because the Singer 4202 contestants were strong foreign singers and top Mainland Entertainment talents.

After Shen Jin's mother refused to reconcile with Shen Cong, Shen Jin received her father's comfort and then learned she would be filming Wild Rush. She invited Yun Bai to advise on the plot, while Yun Xiaoran worried she might discover his hidden account, and the couple shared their birthdays.

• Shen Jin felt comforted by Shen Cong's words after her mother refused to get back together with him.
• Sister Hua told Shen Jin that Wild Rush was about to start filming and fit her schedule.
• Shen Jin messaged Yun Bai to invite him to advise on Wild Rush, while Yun Xiaoran feared she would notice his alternate account.
• Shen Jin asked Yun Xiaoran when his birthday was, and he said it was September thirtieth.
• Shen Jin told Yun Xiaoran that her birthday was June thirtieth.

Yun Xiaoran teased Shen Jin by pretending to be angry, but she became distressed because his jokes about leaving felt real to her. He learned why the jokes upset her, promised not to make them again, and comforted her as Sister Hua drove.

• Sister Hua watched as Yun Xiaoran pretended Shen Jin’s teasing had upset him, and Shen Jin anxiously tried to make amends.
• Yun Xiaoran pressed Shen Jin to explain what she had done wrong, but stopped when her eyes reddened and she looked close to crying.
• Shen Jin told Yun Xiaoran that his jokes about leaving made her feel as though he truly planned to abandon her.
• Yun Xiaoran promised not to make those jokes again and reassured Shen Jin that he would never be annoyed with her for crying.
• Shen Jin threatened to kiss Yun Xiaoran to death, while Sister Hua kept driving and endured their affectionate antics.

Yun Xiaoran stayed home while Shen Jin prepared for her work the next day and cooked him spicy crayfish and fish with pickled mustard greens. He struggled with the extreme heat, and Shen Jin began to suspect her cooking had gone wrong as she prepared to taste the crayfish herself.

• Shen Jin offered to take Yun Xiaoran to work the next day, but he declined and agreed to stay home while she recorded her album and took promotional photos for Wild Rush.
• Yun Xiaoran posted on VA Station that he would share new music the following afternoon, and Shen Jin celebrated by promising to make him another dish.
• Shen Jin served spicy crayfish and fish with pickled mustard greens, and Yun Xiaoran was overwhelmed by the heat after tasting the crayfish.
• Yun Xiaoran drank yogurt to recover and reassured Shen Jin that he simply had trouble eating spicy food.
• Shen Jin picked up a piece of crayfish to taste it, but Yun Xiaoran tried to stop her because it was too spicy.

Shen Jin tried cooking spicy crayfish and fish with pickled mustard greens, but accidental ingredient choices made both dishes nearly inedible. After they ordered takeout, she and Yun Xiaoran ate together and went out for a walk.

• Shen Jin tasted her crayfish and discovered she had used Mexican devil peppers by mistake.
• Yun Xiaoran tried Shen Jin's fish and found it overwhelmingly sour, then learned she had added vinegar instead of pickled mustard greens.
• Yun Xiaoran suggested ordering takeout, and Shen Jin tasted the fish before admitting it was bad too.
• Shen Jin and Yun Xiaoran ate the takeout, then Yun Xiaoran invited her for a walk and took her hand.

After dinner, Shen Jin and Yun Xiaoran walked together and held hands, while Shen Jin concluded that Yun Bai's novels had encouraged Yun Xiaoran's boldness. She told Yun Xiaoran to stop reading them, and the couple continued their walk with Shen Jin thinking about future adaptations and Yun Xiaoran choosing not to question her further.

• Yun Xiaoran took Shen Jin's hand during their evening walk, and she happily leaned against him.
• Shen Jin wondered whether Yun Bai's steamy Battle the Firmament had influenced Yun Xiaoran's behavior toward her.
• Shen Jin asked Yun Xiaoran if he still read Yun Bai's novels and told him to stop so he would not pick up bad habits.
• Yun Xiaoran agreed to stop reading, and Shen Jin felt relieved while privately connecting his past boldness to the novels.
• Shen Jin considered adapting Yun Bai's books, preferred single-lead romance stories, and thought The Grave Robbers' Chronicles could work as a film.
• Yun Xiaoran wondered why Shen Jin had asked about the novels but decided not to probe or bring up Yun Bai's identity.

After returning home, Shen Jin prepared to share her bedroom with Yun Xiaoran and teased him about the suggestive videos he watched. She asked him for a goodnight kiss, and he kissed her as the night drew to a close.

• Shen Jin had turned Yun Xiaoran's bedroom into a storage room so he would sleep in her bed.
• Shen Jin and Yun Xiaoran took turns showering and settled into bed with their phones.
• Shen Jin watched Yun Xiaoran scroll through suggestive videos and teased him when he stopped.
• Shen Jin asked Yun Xiaoran for a goodnight kiss, and he leaned in and kissed her.

Yun Xiaoran and Shen Jin grew closer after sharing an intimate night, then talked about their feelings and past relationships. Shen Jin revealed that Yun Xiaoran was her first love, and they fell asleep holding each other.

• Yun Xiaoran and Shen Jin kissed and cuddled, teasing each other about their past and their sham marriage.
• Shen Jin told Yun Xiaoran she loved his care and cooking, and admitted she felt uneasy that he had dated two people before her.
• Yun Xiaoran reassured Shen Jin that their past relationships mattered less than their life together now.
• Shen Jin revealed she had never dated anyone and that Yun Xiaoran was her first love.
• Shen Jin asked Yun Xiaoran to move so she could hold him while they slept, and he let her embrace him.

Shen Jin woke up beside Yun Xiaoran and joined Sister Hua for breakfast before revealing that they had been sleeping together. Sister Hua discovered Yun Xiaoran was no longer using the spare room, and Shen Jin said she slept better with him.

• Shen Jin woke up first, kissed the sleeping Yun Xiaoran, and left him to rest.
• Sister Hua scolded Shen Jin for arriving late, and Shen Jin ate the breakfast she had brought.
• Shen Jin told Sister Hua that Yun Xiaoran was sleeping in her room, but Sister Hua doubted her.
• Sister Hua checked the spare room and found it empty except for stored belongings and a neatly made bed.
• Shen Jin confirmed Yun Xiaoran slept with her and said she no longer lay awake at night.

Shen Jin prepared for the first-day performances of Singer 4202 while ignoring online attacks and trusting the songs Yun Xiaoran had written for her. She arrived at the rehearsal venue ready to face Li Qingxi, her rival.

• Sister Hua promoted Shen Jin’s upcoming album, and fans began arguing online as Shen Jin and Li Qingxi’s releases drew comparisons.
• Shen Jin dismissed predictions that she would lose and decided to let the album prove its worth instead of responding to critics.
• Shen Jin and Sister Hua discussed saving Lone Cloud’s public announcement for the album’s final promotional push.
• Sister Hua gave Shen Jin the Singer 4202 set list, which included Daughter Kingdom, a song Shen Jin had previously sung with Yun Xiaoran.
• Shen Jin and Sister Hua traveled to the rehearsal venue, where Shen Jin’s striking appearance drew attention from the other performers waiting outside.

Shen Muge and Li Qingxi exchanged a tense but polite greeting before heading to rehearse for the competition. Liu Yi urged Li Qingxi to focus on defeating Shen Muge and winning the crown, and Li Qingxi resolved that she had to win.

• Li Qingxi arrived at the venue and greeted everyone except Shen Muge, drawing attention from the gathered artists.
• Li Qingxi approached Shen Muge and greeted her, and Shen Muge politely returned the greeting.
• Liu Yi urged everyone to go rehearse, and Shen Jin followed Sister Hua to the backstage dressing rooms.
• Liu Yi told Li Qingxi to focus on defeating Shen Muge and winning the crown rather than seeking love or friendship.
• Li Qingxi reflected on her losses, composed herself, and agreed that she had to win.

Yun Xiaoran continued writing The Grave Robbers' Chronicles and Battle the Firmament before discovering a rap video whose lyrics mocked migrant workers. Angered by the rapper’s defenders, he agreed to Audrey Cat’s request to answer them with a rap song.

• Yun Xiaoran ignored readers who wanted him to repeat his earlier styles and wrote more chapters of The Grave Robbers' Chronicles.
• He continued updating Battle the Firmament, whose steamy scenes and growing popularity pushed it to the top of End Point’s rankings.
• Yun Xiaoran opened VA Site and listened to a rap video that included a lyric mocking migrant workers.
• He read viewers’ criticism and rappers’ defenses of the lyric, then resolved to clean up the rap scene himself.
• Audrey Cat asked Yun Xiaoran to help take on the rappers, and he agreed.

Yun Xiaoran wrote and recorded “Compendium of Materia Medica,” a rap song celebrating Huaxia culture and challenging the rap scene’s profanity-heavy style. He uploaded it under the title “This Is Real Rap,” declaring his intention to redefine the scene.

• After reading Audrey Cat’s message, Yun Xiaoran agreed to enter the rap scene.
• Yun Xiaoran went to Shen Jin’s practice room and wrote lyrics for “Compendium of Materia Medica” in two hours.
• Yun Xiaoran added instrumental accompaniment and recorded the song, singing about Huaxia medicine and pride.
• Yun Xiaoran listened to the recording and judged it strong, though not quite as good as the original singer’s version.
• Yun Xiaoran uploaded the song as “This Is Real Rap” and set out to challenge the rap scene.

Yun Xiaoran released “Compendium of Materia Medica,” using traditional medicinal names and pointed lyrics to answer a controversial rapper, and the song quickly went viral. As public figures joined the backlash, Yun Xiaoran continued writing The Grave Robbers' Chronicles, while Sister Hua discovered his new rap.

• Zhao Ruoxi found Lone Cloud’s new video and realized he had made a rap song from traditional medicinal ingredients.
• Lone Cloud’s song surged to the top of VA Station’s trending searches, and Yun Xiaoran shared it on Weibo with a sarcastic challenge to the rapper.
• Rappers began speaking out under the Weibo topic, saying rap should not produce songs that went against the public.
• Yun Xiaoran continued writing The Grave Robbers' Chronicles as readers praised its realism and it entered the New Book Chart.
• Sister Hua listened to “Compendium of Materia Medica” and recognized that Yun Xiaoran had made a rap song.

Shen Jin and Sister Hua were astonished when Yun Xiaoran released a widely praised rap based on the Compendium of Materia Medica. Sister Hua discovered that the song topped Weibo’s trending list and that the singer whose inappropriate lyrics had provoked Yun Xiaoran had apologized.

• Sister Hua told Shen Jin that Yun Xiaoran had released a rap, and Shen asked to see the video.
• Shen Jin listened to Yun Xiaoran’s song and learned from the comments that he had made it in response to another singer’s inappropriate lyrics.
• Sister Hua saw that Yun Xiaoran had written, composed, and engineered the song alone, while Shen Jin celebrated her husband’s success.
• Sister Hua checked Weibo and found Yun Xiaoran and the song at the top of the trending list as rappers praised him.
• Sister Hua showed Shen Jin the offending singer’s profile and explained that his lyrics likely inspired Yun Xiaoran to rap.

Shen Jin heard that Lone Cloud had made a rapper apologize with a song and planned to invite Yun Xiaoran to visit her set. Sister Hua limited his visit to the van, and her teasing left Shen Jin blushing.

• Shen Jin agreed with Lone Cloud’s response after Sister Hua told her how he had roasted the singer into apologizing.
• Shen Jin planned to invite Yun Xiaoran to the set so he could watch her work.
• Sister Hua warned that the crowded set could expose them to unwanted attention and said Yun Xiaoran should stay in the van.
• Shen Jin agreed to the plan, while privately worrying that another woman might approach Yun Xiaoran.
• Sister Hua teased Shen Jin about rappers being good with their tongues, and Shen Jin blushed and told her to get lost.

After Yun Xiaoran's rap video went viral, Shen Jin tried to learn the password to his computer so she could find his novel and support him. She failed to unlock it, but Yun Xiaoran's father called to invite them home, and Shen Jin eagerly agreed to go.

• Yun Xiaoran watched his rap video's views surge to five hundred thousand in a few hours.
• Shen Jin decided to find Yun Xiaoran's computer password so she could discover his novel and tip him.
• Shen Jin tried several passwords, including their birthdays and her name, but failed and had to stop after too many attempts.
• Yun Xiaoran's father, Yun Xiang, called and invited Yun Xiaoran to bring Shen Jin home so he could meet her.
• Shen Jin agreed to visit Yun Xiaoran's family and said she would dress beautifully.