Recaps

Liu Xinyu told Zhou Qiang, Wang Xiaoliang, and Fan Qishan about his father’s past and revealed that his father was dying. He broke down in the tea room, then found some relief after his friends stayed with him and let him cry.

• Liu Xinyu recounted how his father apologized for neglecting him and explained that he had given three million to kidnappers before having them arrested.
• Liu Xinyu’s father confessed that he had two other families and three more children, then told him he had at most three months to live.
• Liu Xinyu broke down sobbing as Zhou Qiang, Wang Xiaoliang, and Fan Qishan gave him space to grieve.
• Liu Xinyu admitted he no longer hated his father but was afraid of losing him, and Zhou Qiang comforted him while Wang Xiaoliang offered tissues.
• Liu Xinyu wiped his face and said he felt much better.

Wang Xiaoliang pieced together why Liu Xinyu had been avoiding Yang Qingyu, and Liu Xinyu admitted he had agreed to marry her out of guilt and concern for his critically ill father. After confessing how he had wronged her, he vowed he would never repeat his father’s behavior, while Fan Qishan bluntly called him shameless.

• After Liu Xinyu left to wash his face, Wang Xiaoliang wondered why he had not confided in Yang Qingyu and suspected their relationship began in middle school.
• When Liu Xinyu returned, Fan Qishan said his story resembled Grandpa’s but left out important parts, then went to the restroom.
• Wang Xiaoliang asked Liu Xinyu whether Yang Qingyu was the person from his final year of middle school, and Liu Xinyu confirmed it.
• Liu Xinyu explained that he had dated women in college, compared them with Yang Qingyu, and avoided her out of shame before asking her to marry him when his father became critically ill.
• Liu Xinyu said Yang Qingyu accepted without blame, confessed that he felt like a piece of shit, and vowed never to become like his father again.
• Fan Qishan accepted Liu Xinyu’s resolve but called him shameless.

Liu Xinyu and Yang Qingyu drove to her beef offal shop with their friends, sharing a tender moment on the way. At the shop, Yang Qingyu prepared for her wedding celebration, ordered a two-day closure, and set the wedding gift at just nine yuan per worker.

• Liu Xinyu kissed Yang Qingyu's hand as she drove, and their friends teased them from the back seat.
• Yang Qingyu said she wanted to keep the Land Cruiser because Liu Xinyu's father would be unhappy if they replaced it, and she told Liu Xinyu she wanted to keep selling beef offal because it reminded her of Grandpa.
• Liu Xinyu and Yang Qingyu arrived at her shop, where the staff were finishing preparations for opening.
• Yang Qingyu told the workers the shop would close for two days for her wedding celebration and invited them to bring their families to the banquet.
• Yang Qingyu ordered that each worker give only nine yuan as a wedding gift, then told the staff to open the doors.

Yang Qingyu’s well-run shop impressed Liu Xinyu and his friends, who sampled her food while Liu Xinyu stayed close to her. Their visit was interrupted by Yang Qingyu’s mother, who tried to take her home after realizing the couple were not supposed to see each other before the wedding.

• Yang Qingyu managed the busy shop smoothly, prompting Zhou Qiang to praise her business skills and explain why the modest shop could be more profitable than Hongbin Tower.
• Yang Qingyu served Liu Xinyu, Fan Qishan, Zhou Qiang, and Wang Xiaoliang, and the men were impressed by the beef offal.
• Liu Xinyu held Yang Qingyu’s hand as Sister Hua watched them with a knowing smile.
• Yang Qingyu’s mother arrived, grabbed her wrist, and greeted Liu Xinyu and his friends after recognizing him.
• Yang Qingyu’s mother urged Liu Xinyu to persuade Yang Qingyu to quit the shop, but Liu Xinyu told her to let Qingyu do what made her happy.
• Yang Qingyu’s mother remembered the couple were not supposed to see each other before the wedding and hurried to take Yang Qingyu home.

Yang Qingyu left Liu Xinyu and his friends to return home, while the men enjoyed Fucheng rice wine and discussed Liu Xinyu's renewed confidence in his relationship. Fan Qishan decided to attend the class reunion to meet more people and test what he had learned from an old Taoist priest.

• Yang Qingyu said goodbye to Liu Xinyu, gave him the Cruiser keys, and kissed his cheek before leaving with her mother.
• Liu Xinyu and his friends praised the rice wine, and Fan Qishan recalled that it tasted better than his grandfather's warmed wine.
• Liu Xinyu told Zhou Qiang and Wang Xiaoliang that he had avoided Yang Qingyu out of guilt, but their conversation had helped him feel at ease with her again.
• Liu Xinyu suggested they rest at a bathhouse before picking up wedding clothes and attending the class reunion.
• Fan Qishan first said he would not go, then changed his mind, explaining that he wanted to meet people and test whether his Taoist lessons were useful.

Before his wedding, Liu Xinyu treated his friends to massages and arranged suits for his best man and coordinator. At the class reunion, he announced the wedding details, required every guest to give exactly nine yuan in a red envelope, and toasted their youth, present, and future.

• Liu Xinyu took Wang Xiaoliang and Zhou Qiang to the Golden Cauldron Pavilion for massages while Fan Qishan stayed asleep in the car.
• Liu Xinyu brought Wang Xiaoliang and Zhou Qiang to a tailor, where they tried on suits for the wedding and had them altered.
• Liu Xinyu gathered his classmates at a hotel banquet and announced the wedding arrangements and that he would cover guests’ meals and lodging.
• Liu Xinyu told every wedding guest to give exactly nine yuan in a red envelope, promising his family would return double any larger amount.
• Liu Xinyu led the classmates in three glasses of baijiu to celebrate their youth, present, and future.

At Liu Xinyu’s wedding banquet, Wang Xiaoliang asked his father how much to give his wealthy best friend and learned to follow Liu Xinyu’s request for a nine-yuan gift. His father also suggested that Wang Xiaoliang write Liu Xinyu a piece of calligraphy and reminded him to bring a courtesy gift when visiting Liu Xinyu’s parents.

• Wei Zijin told Wang Xiaoliang about meeting Liu Xinyu’s fiancée, Qingyu, and Wang Xiaoliang playfully touched Wei Zijin’s thigh beneath the table.
• Chen Xiaoying teased Zeng Haiyan about having dated Liu Xinyu, and Zeng Haiyan hinted that Chen Xiaoying had liked him too before Chen praised her husband, Zhao Shengkai.
• Wang Xiaoliang stepped outside the banquet hall to call his father, who offered to send him money for a wedding gift.
• Wang Xiaoliang told his father that Liu Xinyu would accept only nine yuan and would return any larger gift double, and his father advised him to respect Liu Xinyu’s wishes.
• Wang Xiaoliang’s father suggested that he write Liu Xinyu calligraphy and reminded him to bring fruit or pastries if he visited Liu Xinyu’s parents.

At Liu Xinyu's wedding dinner, Wang Xiaoliang watched Zeng Haiyan seek Fan Qishan's attention and clashed with Zhao Shengkai. Zeng Haiyan stormed off after Fan Qishan altered a character she had written, and Chen Xiaoying then asked him to tell her fortune from a character.

• Wang Xiaoliang asked Fan Qishan what calligraphy to write for Liu Xinyu's father, and Fan Qishan jokingly suggested the characters for “whatever.”
• Chen Xiaoying greeted Fan Qishan, but he ignored her, and Zeng Haiyan asked Wang Xiaoliang to switch seats so she could sit beside Fan Qishan.
• Zhao Shengkai challenged Wang Xiaoliang for ignoring his toast, and Wang Xiaoliang retorted that Zhao kept looking at his girlfriend despite being engaged to Chen Xiaoying.
• Zeng Haiyan wrote a character for Fan Qishan to interpret, but after he added a few strokes, she crumpled the paper, called it tricks, and switched seats back with Wang Xiaoliang.
• Chen Xiaoying asked Fan Qishan whether he could tell fortunes from written characters, and, after he nodded, begged him to read one for her.

Fan Qishan interpreted characters written by Chen Xiaoying and Wei Zijin, provoking Chen’s anger but earning Wei’s acknowledgment that his reading was accurate. Wei’s result reflected her loneliness and uncertainty about her future, and the group’s curiosity grew as Li Xiaoman asked for a reading.

• Chen Xiaoying wrote “八,” and Fan Qishan added strokes to turn it into “分,” which she took as a prediction that she and Zhao Shengkai would part and angrily called him a fraud.
• Wang Xiaoliang told Fan Qishan that he thought the reading was accurate, and Zhao Shengkai confronted him until Wei Zijin defused the argument.
• Wei Zijin wrote “争,” and Fan Qishan added the bamboo radical to make “筝”; she said the kite reflected her past loneliness but not the definite career outcome she wanted.
• Wang Xiaoliang comforted Wei Zijin, and she smiled and slapped his leg when he flirted with her.
• Li Xiaoman asked Fan Qishan to read a character for him.

At a reunion, Fan Qishan gave cryptic character readings that pleased Li Xiaoman and disheartened Fang Dongxu, while the guests’ conversation turned to relationships, children, and Zhou Qiang’s past. Fan Qishan left Wang Xiaoliang with a blunt prediction that Xiao Weijin and He Runya would not marry.

• Li Xiaoman asked Fan Qishan for a reading about a woman, and Fan added the character for “cause,” leaving Li Xiaoman delighted.
• Fang Dongxu asked whether his café would prosper, and Fan crossed out the “fire” in “boom,” changing it to “violent” and leaving Fang dejected.
• Xiao Weijin dismissed character readings as superstition and stopped He Runya from asking for one, while Liu Xinyu redirected the table toward drinking.
• Zhou Qiang explained that he had stopped drinking because he and Li Lanxiang were trying for a baby, then answered Zhao Shengkai’s jab about his humble past with a pointed remark about wealthy men and harems.
• Xiao Weijin announced that he and He Runya planned to remain child-free, and Fan Qishan told Wang Xiaoliang that they would not get married.

After Liu Xinyu’s banquet, Wei Zijin discussed changing the focus of her interviews with Wang Xiaoliang, who also suggested a series about successful women. Their talk turned to infidelity and wealth, and Wei Zijin ended by warning Wang Xiaoliang not to stray.

• Liu Xinyu hosted the banquet as classmates toasted him, while Zeng Haiyan created a WeChat group and Wei Zijin kept the men who admired her at a distance.
• After the gathering, Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin returned to Liu Xinyu’s house, where she declined his advances and suggested interviewing people such as Liu Xinyu, Zhou Qiang, Qingyu, and Fan Qishan.
• Wang Xiaoliang agreed to help Wei Zijin approach Liu Xinyu and Zhou Qiang, but said Fan Qishan would refuse and Qingyu should be asked by Wei Zijin herself.
• Wang Xiaoliang suggested Wei Zijin interview successful women, prompting her to consider the idea.
• Wei Zijin explained that Fan Qishan had added the character for “stand” to Zeng Haiyan’s “woman,” forming an insult; Wang Xiaoliang connected it to modern mistresses and worried about his friends’ talk of multiple wives.
• Wei Zijin warned Wang Xiaoliang not to become unfaithful if he got rich, and he promised to love only her before she joked that she would castrate him if he broke his promise.

Wang Xiaoliang and Zhou Qiang joined Liu Xinyu’s relatives for the wedding rituals as Liu Xinyu married Yang Qingyu. After the newlyweds returned home and completed the ceremonies, Yang Qingyu changed into a qipao-style outfit and said she did not like wedding gowns either.

• Wei Zijin woke Wang Xiaoliang and told him they were going to Yang Qingyu’s home as part of the bridal party.
• A makeup artist styled Liu Xinyu, Wang Xiaoliang, and Zhou Qiang, and Liu Xinyu gave her a red envelope.
• Liu Xinyu and his relatives traveled in seven Mercedes-Benz cars to Yang Qingyu’s home and completed the traditional wedding rituals.
• Liu Xinyu carried Yang Qingyu from her bedroom, while Wang Xiaoliang exchanged shy glances with Wei Zijin.
• The wedding procession returned to Liu Xinyu and Yang Qingyu’s home, where the couple completed more ceremonies before changing for the hotel.
• Yang Qingyu changed into a wine-red qipao-style outfit and told Zeng Haiyan that she and her grandfather did not like wedding gowns.

Liu Xinyu welcomed guests at his wedding banquet, where Wang Xiaoliang learned more about the guests’ relationships and status. A handsome guest called Mr. An arrived with a rare wedding gift, and Chen Xiaoying and Zhao Shengkai recognized him.

• Liu Xinyu introduced Fu Zhaojun to Wang Xiaoliang and Zhou Qiang as his stepfather and assistant.
• Liu Xinyu, his parents, and his cousins welcomed guests and escorted some important guests to private rooms.
• Mr. An arrived alone and presented Liu Xinyu with a pair of dragon and phoenix bracelets from himself and Old Hu.
• Liu Xinyu warmly called Mr. An Brother Wen and invited him inside.
• Chen Xiaoying and Zhao Shengkai spotted Mr. An, and Chen Xiaoying asked if he was Mr. An.

At Liu Xinyu and Yang Qingyu’s wedding banquet, Liu Chengde announced that his son would take over as chairman of Chengyu Group, and Wei Zijin sang a wedding gift that moved the bride to tears. As the newlyweds made their toasts, Liu Xinyu reserved a special greeting for Mr. An, just as Zhao Shengkai and Chen Xiaoying entered the private room.

• Liu Chengde praised Yang Qingyu, announced Liu Xinyu would become chairman of Chengyu Group the following month, and invited the guests to enjoy the banquet.
• Yang Qingyu’s uncle spoke about her childhood and urged Liu Xinyu to help her relatives, then Wei Zijin sang a song that brought Yang Qingyu to tears.
• Fu Zhaojun asked Wang Xiaoliang and Liu Xinyu’s younger cousin to take drinks for Liu Xinyu during the toasts so he would not get drunk.
• Liu Xinyu and Yang Qingyu toasted the elders and business partners, then continued to a room of newer acquaintances while Wang Xiaoliang and the cousin helped with the drinks.
• Liu Xinyu introduced Yang Qingyu to Mr. An as they offered him a respectful toast, and Zhao Shengkai and Chen Xiaoying entered the room.

At Liu Xinyu and Yang Qingyu’s wedding, An Peiwen recognized Wang Xiaoliang and revealed that he had been trying to arrange a meeting with him. The Liu family’s prize draw then returned Li Xiaoman’s wedding gift with a red envelope of 1,991 yuan, keeping nine yuan as a wish for the couple’s lasting marriage.

• Liu Xinyu introduced Chen Xiaoying and Zhao Shengkai to An Peiwen as classmates, while introducing Wang Xiaoliang as his buddy.
• An Peiwen asked Wang Xiaoliang if he knew Luo Bisheng and said he had asked Luo to arrange a meeting with him, but Wang had been out of town.
• Wei Zijin, Li Lanxiang, and Liu Xinyu’s younger cousin began drawing lucky red envelopes for the wedding guests.
• Li Xiaoman won a red envelope containing 1,991 yuan and realized the Liu family had returned his 1,000-yuan wedding gift, keeping nine yuan for good luck.

After the wedding banquet, An Peiwen explained how Wang Xiaoliang’s Red Bull favor had prompted Hu to open a supermarket and offer him a management job. Wang Xiaoliang declined because he already owned three chain stores, and An Peiwen praised his success.

• Fu Zhaojun arranged a meal for the relatives and friends who had helped with the wedding, while Liu Xinyu and Wang Xiaoliang stayed with An Peiwen.
• An Peiwen mentioned that Hu owed Wang Xiaoliang two cans of Red Bull, and Wang Xiaoliang explained how he had lent two cases to Luo Bisheng and later treated the supermarket staff to Red Bull after Fatty Old Li humiliated him.
• An Peiwen revealed that he and his dormmates had started Bugbug Internet Cafe and that Hu had bought a prime storefront after witnessing Fatty Old Li insult Wang Xiaoliang and Luo Bisheng.
• An Peiwen invited Wang Xiaoliang to manage a new supermarket, explaining that the project had begun after Hu decided to open a store near Fatty Old Li’s supermarket.
• Liu Xinyu told An Peiwen that Wang Xiaoliang already owned three chain stores on the Jiang University campus, and An Peiwen praised him.

After the wedding meal, Zhou Qiang and Li Lanxiang visited Fan Qishan in the Rear Building and asked him to read characters they had written. His transformations appeared to reveal their deepest wishes and worries, leaving Li Lanxiang stunned.

• Yang Qingyu gave red envelopes to the wedding helpers, and Zeng Haiyan accepted one after Liu Xinyu urged her to.
• Liu Xinyu's cousin invited him and Yang Qingyu to face bridal-room pranks while Zhou Qiang, Wang Xiaoliang, Li Lanxiang, and Wei Zijin went to look for Fan Qishan.
• The four found Fan Qishan waiting in the Tea Room, and Zhou Qiang asked him for a character reading.
• Zhou Qiang wrote 女, and Fan Qishan changed it to 囡, which Zhou Qiang said matched his wish for a daughter.
• Li Lanxiang wrote 电, and Fan Qishan transformed it into 绳; Li Lanxiang said it captured how trapped she had felt at work.

Wang Xiaoliang asked Fan Qishan to read the character “book,” and Fan said it needed no changes and could not be changed, leaving Wang Xiaoliang convinced his fate was bound to the Book of Fate. The group visited a local market and returned the next morning for beef offal and rice wine, where Wei Zijin discovered she enjoyed both.

• Fan Qishan declined to read Wei Zijin again, then told Wang Xiaoliang that his character “book” needed no changes and could not be changed.
• Wang Xiaoliang understood Fan Qishan’s words as confirmation that his fate was bound to the Book of Fate, while Wei Zijin mistook the remark as praise for his calligraphy.
• Fu Zhaojun lent Wang Xiaoliang a car and directed him to Huaqing Market, and Zhou Qiang later drove the group around the city to sample local snacks.
• Zhou Qiang woke the group before dawn and led them to Grandpa Liu’s Beef Offal Shop, where they ordered beef offal, rice noodles, and rice wine.
• Wei Zijin enjoyed the beef offal and rice wine, and Fan Qishan explained that Qingyu had added the chilled rice wine.

Wang Xiaoliang and Zhou Qiang brought Liu Chengde calligraphy gifts, including phrases suggested by Fan Qishan and a playful wedding gift for Liu Xinyu and Yang Qingyu. Liu Chengde was moved by the first two pieces, then laughed at the third, “Dragon and Phoenix Reversed.”

• Yang Qingyu helped Mother Liu prepare dinner while Liu Xinyu waited with his family for their guests.
• Wang Xiaoliang and Zhou Qiang arrived with framed calligraphy and explained that Fan Qishan had suggested the words “Whatever.”
• Liu Chengde joked about the calligraphy, then reflected that his state of mind still fell short of a child’s.
• Wang Xiaoliang and Zhou Qiang unveiled “Just Be Happy,” which Yang Qingyu recognized as a saying her grandfather often used.
• Liu Xinyu complained that the guests had not made a special gift for him and Yang Qingyu, so they revealed “Dragon and Phoenix Reversed.”
• Liu Chengde laughed at the final calligraphy and praised Wang Xiaoliang and Zhou Qiang as a pair of characters.

Wei Zijin, Wang Xiaoliang, Zhou Qiang, and Li Lanxiang left Fucheng after Wei Zijin was called back for an urgent interview. On the flight, Zhou Qiang explained how the trip had helped him accept losing his restaurant building and revealed that he considered Grandpa Liu an even greater master than Fan Qishan.

• Wei Zijin received an urgent call from her station and decided to return with Wang Xiaoliang, Zhou Qiang, and Li Lanxiang.
• Liu Xinyu and Yang Qingyu said goodbye to the four at the airport, and Liu Xinyu hurried Yang Qingyu home to try for a baby.
• On the plane, Li Lanxiang swapped seats with Wang Xiaoliang so she could talk with Wei Zijin.
• Zhou Qiang told Wang Xiaoliang that watching the Liu family willingly give away most of their wedding gifts helped him see his lost restaurant building as money lost to ward off disaster.
• Zhou Qiang said meeting a true master was the second most worthwhile part of the trip and told Wang Xiaoliang he considered Grandpa Liu more capable than Fan Qishan.

Zhou Qiang explained to Wang Xiaoliang how the Liu family treated money as a tool for understanding people and shaping the future, then contrasted their early maturity with the late maturity of ordinary families’ children. He reassured Wang Xiaoliang that he had already begun to mature quickly.

• Zhou Qiang told Wang Xiaoliang that the Liu family valued their lives more than money and used wealth as a tool rather than a dream.
• Zhou Qiang described how Uncle Liu had turned his kidnapping into a way to ruin the kidnappers’ futures, and how Liu Xinyu used a wedding reception to judge his classmates.
• Zhou Qiang explained that his harsh childhood had taught him to read and test people, while Liu Xinyu had learned similar skills from Grandpa Liu and his own talent.
• Zhou Qiang argued that rich children often matured earlier because their families exposed them to society and encouraged them to plan for the future.
• Wang Xiaoliang admitted he had been the kind of student who relaxed after entering university, and Zhou Qiang assured him that he had already changed and was maturing quickly.

After returning from his trip, Wang Xiaoliang checked on his supermarkets and then studied two new teachings in the Book of Fate. He recognized Liu Xinyu’s emotional resilience as a model and began considering how he could work through his own feelings instead of suppressing them.

• Wang Xiaoliang said goodbye to Wei Zijin, declined Zhou Qiang and Li Lanxiang’s dinner invitation, and went to check his supermarkets.
• Wang Xiaoliang found Store One, Store Two, and Store Three operating normally, then returned to the Rental Room to clean and rest.
• Wang Xiaoliang read the Book of Fate’s Nineteenth Art of Changing Fate and recognized it as a way Liu Xinyu and Li Lanxiang tested whether someone trusted them as a friend.
• Wang Xiaoliang read the Twentieth Art of Changing Fate and realized Liu Xinyu had worked through grief and guilt by letting himself cry, unlike Wang Xiaoliang, who tended to suppress and dwell on painful feelings.
• Wang Xiaoliang reflected on his emotional habits and wondered whether crying or another method could help him process future troubles.

Wang Xiaoliang met Luo Bisheng for a meal, learned that Li Laifu's Supermarket had faced labor and tax inspections, and saw how Old Sichuan's proprietress kept good relations with her neighbors. Over dinner, Wang Xiaoliang began telling Luo Bisheng that he had seen An Peiwen in Fucheng.

• Wang Xiaoliang called Luo Bisheng and invited him to eat at Old Sichuan.
• On their way, Luo Bisheng told Wang Xiaoliang that Li Laifu's Supermarket had been investigated over labor practices and alleged tax evasion but remained open.
• At Old Sichuan, Sister Hong arranged a small private room for Wang Xiaoliang and Luo Bisheng and told them about the steep rents for shops inside Jingke.
• Wang Xiaoliang paid for the meal despite Luo Bisheng's offer to treat him, and the two agreed Luo Bisheng would pay next time.
• After raising a beer with Luo Bisheng, Wang Xiaoliang said he had seen An Peiwen in Fucheng.

Wang Xiaoliang told Luo Bisheng that he had met An Peiwen and turned down an offer to join him because he had commitments to his supermarket partners. After learning that Luo Bisheng considered him a true friend, Wang Xiaoliang realized that the Book of Fate’s method for testing people’s hearts worked.

• Wang Xiaoliang told Luo Bisheng that An Peiwen had invited him to join him, but he had refused to honor his commitments to his partners.
• Luo Bisheng learned that Wang Xiaoliang had opened three supermarkets and toasted his growing business.
• Luo Bisheng named Hu Yang as the Big Boss, leading Wang Xiaoliang to connect An Peiwen and Hu Yang with Anyang Group.
• Wang Xiaoliang asked Luo Bisheng whether they were real friends, and Luo Bisheng affirmed their friendship and described how he had tried to help him.
• Wang Xiaoliang concluded that the Book of Fate’s method for testing and guiding people’s hearts had worked.

Wang Xiaoliang reunited with Wei Zijin after her trip, but she told him that her interview footage had been lost along with a portable hard drive. She explained that the supposed overseas-returnee volunteer teacher was a fraud, and the lost footage meant her team would not have to air the story.

• Wang Xiaoliang took the day off when Wei Zijin called to say she was returning home.
• Wang Xiaoliang welcomed Wei Zijin home, bought her favorite food, and asked how her interview trip had gone.
• Wei Zijin said her assistant had left the bag containing their portable hard drive at a township guesthouse, and the bag had disappeared.
• Wei Zijin described how the supposed overseas-returnee volunteer teacher had struggled to teach, changed from shabby clothes to expensive designer brands, and made her uncomfortable.
• Wei Zijin said the lost footage spared her from producing a false, flattering story, and her director had not insisted on a reshoot.