Chapter Summaries

After a Taoist priest gave Wang Xiaoliang the Book of Fate and warned that he was trapped and near death, Wang witnessed his roommate Third die by suicide and began to envy him. He opened the book and found its first instruction was to clean his living space and himself, leaving him alarmed by its connection to his filthy dorm and Third’s last shower.

• A Taoist priest gave Wang Xiaoliang the Book of Fate and warned him that death was near if he did not follow its instructions.
• Wang returned to dorm room 404 and later saw Third leap from the window; First fled and Fourth broke down laughing.
• After the police took statements, Wang realized he envied Third for escaping life, then found the Book of Fate in his pocket.
• Wang read the book’s warning to proceed one page at a time and opened the first page.
• The first instruction told Wang to clean his home and himself, and he connected it to the filthy dorm and Third’s shower before his death.

After Li Jun revealed that Zhou Tao had been expelled before his suicide, Wang Xiaoliang and Li Jun learned the university had revoked the expulsion and wanted them to keep quiet. They returned to Room 404, still trapped in their grief and anger, while Wang Xiaoliang recalled the Book of Fate’s advice to cleanse himself.

• Li Jun broke down over Zhou Tao’s death and his own fears about graduating and finding work.
• Li Jun told Wang Xiaoliang that Zhou Tao’s breakup had been the first cut and his expulsion the fatal blow.
• Campus staff told Wang Xiaoliang and Li Jun that the university had revoked Zhou Tao’s expulsion and instructed them to pack Zhou Tao’s and Zhao Weiqiang’s belongings and avoid saying anything improper to their parents.
• Wang Xiaoliang asked to move rooms and learned that Zhao Weiqiang had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but the academic affairs teacher said a move would be difficult.
• On the way back, Li Jun condemned the university and Zhou Tao’s girlfriend, while Wang Xiaoliang connected his disheveled appearance to the Book of Fate’s warning about filth.
• Wang Xiaoliang and Li Jun reached their dorm building and stared at the fourth-floor window where Zhou Tao had fallen.

After his roommates’ deaths, Wang Xiaoliang helped clear their belongings, met their grieving families, and cleaned the dorm to escape its oppressive atmosphere. He then noticed the doorless washroom facing their room and decided it needed a door to keep out dampness and yin energy.

• Wang Xiaoliang and Li Jun packed the belongings of their two deceased roommates.
• Wang Xiaoliang told the third roommate’s parents how their son had died, while the fourth roommate’s father retrieved his laptop and left.
• Unable to afford new housing, Wang Xiaoliang decided to revive the dorm by cleaning it, and Li Jun joined him.
• Wang Xiaoliang nearly fell from the windowsill while cleaning the window, but Li Jun caught him and feared he might be suicidal.
• Wang Xiaoliang and Li Jun thoroughly cleaned the dorm, leaving it fresh and orderly.
• Wang Xiaoliang noticed the washroom had no door and concluded that it had to be fitted with one.

Wang Xiaoliang improvised blue-and-white curtains for the washroom doorway and decorated them with two names, then finally fell into a deep sleep. At midnight, an urgent search began across the dormitory floors.

• Wang Xiaoliang used Fourth Brother’s bedsheet to make two curtain panels, with Li Jun helping him measure the washroom doorway.
• Wang Xiaoliang washed and dried the panels, then hung them across the doorway with thumbtacks while Li Jun steadied the stool.
• Wang Xiaoliang wrote “Three-Wash Pavilion” and “For Tough Guys Only” on the curtains in two different calligraphy styles.
• Wang Xiaoliang fell into a deep sleep shortly after ten that evening.
• At midnight, an order sent teams to search every room on the third, fourth, and fifth floors.

A surprise dorm inspection found Room 404 spotless, and Wang Xiaoliang and Li Jun’s decorated room impressed the vice president. The university tightened upper-floor windows and locked the roof hatch, then rewarded the pair at an assembly, leaving Wang Xiaoliang wondering whether his luck had changed.

• The vice president inspected the dormitories, reprimanding students for filthy rooms, rule-breaking, and unauthorized guests.
• The inspectors found Room 404 clean and praised Wang Xiaoliang and Li Jun’s calligraphy and explanations for their curtains.
• Maintenance workers installed window restrictors in rooms above the third floor and locked the roof access hatch; Wang Xiaoliang realized the measures were an emergency response to events in Room 404.
• At a college assembly, the vice president announced the inspection results and named Wang Xiaoliang and Li Jun Advanced Individuals in Environmental Hygiene, awarding each five hundred yuan.
• Li Jun eagerly went to collect the award while Wang Xiaoliang wondered whether he had really changed his luck.

After receiving a mysterious envelope, Wang Xiaoliang attended a celebratory dinner where advisor Feng Yuan tried to secure his cooperation as a witness against Zhou Tao’s parents. Wang Xiaoliang rejected the pressure and delivered Zhou Tao’s last gift to Liang Yanni.

• Li Jun celebrated with Wang Xiaoliang after they received five hundred yuan, while Wang Xiaoliang wondered whether the Book of Fate had caused his good luck.
• Feng Yuan invited Wang Xiaoliang and Li Jun to Hongbin Tower, where he offered help with their failed courses and promised job recommendations.
• Feng Yuan revealed that Zhou Tao’s parents had sued the university and asked the roommates to give an “accurate and factual” account as witnesses.
• Li Jun agreed to support the university’s claim that Zhou Tao had died because of his breakup, then tried to speak for Wang Xiaoliang as well.
• Wang Xiaoliang stood, took Zhou Tao’s stained plush rabbit to Liang Yanni, and told her it was Zhou Tao’s last gift to her.

After confronting Liang Yanni, Wang Xiaoliang reconsidered his blame for Zhou Tao’s death and found guidance in the Book of Fate. He decided not to testify in court himself and told Li Jun to go instead.

• Wang Xiaoliang confronted Liang Yanni at Hongbin Tower, but her anger and tears left him questioning whether she was responsible for Zhou Tao’s death.
• Wang Xiaoliang read the second and third Fate-Changing Arts in the Book of Fate and recognized that his words to Liang Yanni had been unfair.
• Li Jun returned to the dorm and insulted Liang Yanni, but Wang Xiaoliang told him not to speak of her that way and said Zhou Tao had been too fragile to handle the breakup.
• Wang Xiaoliang followed the book’s advice to rest at the proper time, then told Li Jun he would not testify because he was not a firsthand witness.
• Wang Xiaoliang told Li Jun that he should go to court.

Wang Xiaoliang refused to testify in Feng Yuan’s case and tried to prepare for his retakes, while Li Jun obtained notes and urged him to build a relationship with Feng Yuan. Wang Xiaoliang went to the park seeking the Taoist priest and encountered a fortune-teller who warned that bloodshed was coming.

• Li Jun invited Wang Xiaoliang to see Feng Yuan, but Wang Xiaoliang refused to testify and Li Jun left in anger.
• Wang Xiaoliang failed to borrow course notes from classmates, then Li Jun returned with printed notes and brought him to study at the library.
• Wang Xiaoliang thanked Li Jun sincerely and realized his poor academic results came from his own choices rather than a lack of ability.
• Li Jun asked Wang Xiaoliang to dine with Feng Yuan, but Wang Xiaoliang declined and went to the park instead.
• Wang Xiaoliang searched the park for the Taoist priest and stopped at a fortune-telling stall, where the fortune-teller warned him of imminent bloodshed.

Wang Xiaoliang sought guidance from a fortune-teller, but Vice President Song Yi reassured him and urged him to think rationally about changing his fate. Back in his dorm, Wang Xiaoliang discovered that Li Jun was holding the Book of Fate he had hidden.

• Wang Xiaoliang visited a fortune-teller, who claimed to know about his troubles and secret and warned him of a calamity.
• Song Yi arrived and walked with Wang Xiaoliang, who admitted he felt lost over his future and his roommate Third's situation.
• Song Yi explained three kinds of fortune-tellers and told Wang Xiaoliang about Yuan Liaofan changing his fate through his own actions.
• Wang Xiaoliang decided to return to his dorm and study the Book of Fate rationally before deciding what to do.
• Wang Xiaoliang returned to the dorm and saw Li Jun reading the Book of Fate he had hidden under his pillow.

Li Jun tried to persuade Wang Xiaoliang to testify against Third in exchange for a secure job, arguing that fate could not be changed. Wang Xiaoliang refused, then found guidance in the Book of Fate that wealth could be pursued without harming others, leaving him convinced that changing fate required following the Way.

• Li Jun confronted Wang Xiaoliang after finding his Book of Fate and challenged his refusal to testify in Feng Yuan's case.
• Li Jun argued that fate was fixed, citing Zhao Wei, Li Xiaoman, Third, and their own uncertain futures.
• Li Jun offered Wang Xiaoliang a permanent job in exchange for testifying, but Wang Xiaoliang refused because he would not lie against his conscience.
• Wang Xiaoliang opened the Book of Fate and read its Fourth Art, which permitted pursuing wealth but warned against gaining it by harming others.
• Wang Xiaoliang realized that testifying for the job would violate the book's guidance and concluded that fate could be changed only by following the Way.

Wang Xiaoliang interpreted the Book of Fate as advice to focus on his resits before worrying about employment, then went to the library to study and search for a clean business opportunity. His plans to save seats or sell drinks went nowhere, but Wei Zijin, the girl he had secretly loved for four years, sat beside him and said she knew him.

• Wang Xiaoliang reflected on the Book of Fate and decided to pass his resits and earn his diploma before seeking a job.
• Wang Xiaoliang went to the library early to study and saved a seat for Li Jun, but Li Jun never arrived after their argument.
• Wang Xiaoliang surveyed the crowded library for business opportunities and rejected seat-saving and drink-selling as impractical or unfair.
• Wei Zijin asked whether the empty seat beside Wang Xiaoliang was taken, and he hurriedly put away the book he had used to save it for Li Jun.
• Wei Zijin sat beside Wang Xiaoliang and softly told him that she knew him.

Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin exchanged notes in the library, then added each other on WeChat. As Wang Xiaoliang left, he saw a delivery scooter hit a girl in white and rushed toward the accident.

• Wei Zijin told Wang Xiaoliang she knew him, and they quietly exchanged notes while studying in the library.
• Wang Xiaoliang complimented Wei Zijin's beauty, and she called him a smooth talker before keeping his note.
• Wei Zijin showed Wang Xiaoliang her WeChat QR code, accepted his friend request, and left the library.
• Wang Xiaoliang left for lunch and searched the crowd for Wei Zijin but could not find her.
• Wang Xiaoliang heard a crash, saw a delivery scooter and a motionless girl in white, and sprinted toward the accident.

After helping an unconscious student injured in a campus traffic accident, Wang Xiaoliang noticed that the university had banned delivery vehicles and saw an opportunity to sell drinks to students. He bought wholesale stock and prepared to begin selling from his backpack.

• Wang Xiaoliang found an unconscious girl with a serious head wound, called emergency services, and pressed his blood-soaked T-shirt against the injury until medical staff arrived.
• A teacher accompanied the girl in the ambulance, while Wang Xiaoliang returned to his dorm and tried to recover from the accident.
• Wang Xiaoliang saw the university's new ban on delivery vehicles and noticed that students in the library had fewer drinks available.
• Wang Xiaoliang bought four cases of drinks from a wholesale shop, borrowing the owner's tricycle after leaving his ID as a deposit.
• Wang Xiaoliang packed sixteen drinks into his backpack and wrote a price list, preparing to sell them on campus.

Wang Xiaoliang overcame his embarrassment and sold drinks at the library, earning his first money and quickly selling out his stock. After restocking, he drew in customers from nearby dorms and ended the chapter reflecting on a new teaching in his antique book about recognizing and following good fortune.

• Wang Xiaoliang nervously offered drinks to library students, endured several rejections, and sold his first bottle of cola to a student struggling with code.
• Wang Xiaoliang sold all sixteen drinks in his backpack, then returned to the dormitory for more and attracted repeat customers who added him on WeChat.
• Wang Xiaoliang sold out the four boxes of drinks and calculated that he had earned 151.50 yuan, his first money earned through his own work.
• Wang Xiaoliang bought five more boxes from the wholesale shop, and Li Jun helped him carry them back to the dormitory.
• Liu Xinyu bought a cola and spread the word, bringing students from nearby dormitories to buy drinks from Wang Xiaoliang.
• Wang Xiaoliang read the antique book's sixth art of destiny modification and reflected that his luck had arrived.

Wang Xiaoliang’s drink business grew as Li Jun returned from the hearing disillusioned by the lawsuit and convinced that money required seizing every opportunity. After Wei Zijin ordered coffee at the Library, she asked Wang Xiaoliang to pretend to be her boyfriend in exchange for a feast.

• Wang Xiaoliang discovered that running his drink shop and studying had become easier and more rewarding, earning over two thousand yuan in net profit in less than half a month.
• Li Jun told Wang Xiaoliang that the university settled with Third Brother’s parents after the court warned him over his testimony and the parties agreed to mediation.
• Li Jun concluded that selling drinks could not make enough money and urged Wang Xiaoliang to pursue bigger opportunities by any means necessary.
• Wang Xiaoliang received Wei Zijin’s coffee order and delivered it to her at the Library’s fourth floor.
• Wei Zijin invited Wang Xiaoliang to sit beside her, asked if he was free the evening after tomorrow, and proposed that he pretend to be her boyfriend in exchange for a feast.

Wei Zijin asked Wang Xiaoliang to pretend to be her boyfriend at her dorm’s graduation dinner, and he agreed after learning she trusted him because he had helped an injured girl. After buying a new outfit and preparing for the dinner, Wang waited outside her dorm, but she failed to appear or reply, leaving him fearing she had tricked him.

• Wei Zijin explained that she had promised her roommates she would bring a boyfriend to their farewell dinner, but she was the only one without a partner, so she asked Wang Xiaoliang to pretend to be hers.
• Wei Zijin showed Wang a video of him helping an injured girl and said she trusted his character; Wang agreed to meet her at Hongbin Tower two days later.
• Wang bought a discounted outfit and spent the next two days rehearsing how to meet Wei Zijin’s roommates.
• Wang arrived outside Girls' Dormitory No. 3 and waited for Wei Zijin, but she did not come down or answer his messages by the agreed time.
• Wang began to suspect Wei Zijin and her roommates had played a prank on him.

Wang Xiaoliang went to the women's dormitory to find Wei Zijin, unsure whether she had been playing a joke on him. She came down to meet him, and as they headed to Hongbin Tower together, she took his hand and told him to act the part, though he realized she was nervous too.

• Wang Xiaoliang entered the women's dormitory and watched other men call students down through the loudspeaker.
• Wang Xiaoliang asked the dorm supervisor to call Wei Zijin, then waited anxiously by the stairwell.
• Wei Zijin came down, apologized for keeping him waiting, and left with Wang Xiaoliang for Hongbin Tower.
• Wang Xiaoliang complimented Wei Zijin, and she told him he looked handsome too.
• Wei Zijin took Wang Xiaoliang's hand as they entered Hongbin Tower and told him not to be nervous because they should make their act convincing.

Wang Xiaoliang attended a graduation dinner with Wei Zijin and her roommates, where comparisons between the couples’ careers and futures deepened his insecurity. When Chen Xiaoying pressed them about marriage plans, Wang Xiaoliang deflected the question to Wei Zijin, who quietly squeezed his hand beneath the table.

• Wei Zijin and Wang Xiaoliang arrived at the dinner and met Chen Xiaoying and her wealthy boyfriend, Zhao Shengkai.
• Wang Xiaoliang met the other Room 303 couples and felt inferior as they discussed their jobs and settled futures.
• When Chen Xiaoying asked about Wang Xiaoliang’s plans, he admitted he had none, following the Book of Fate’s rule against lying.
• The group drank baijiu, and Chen Xiaoying announced that she and Zhao Shengkai planned to marry after a year of work.
• When Chen Xiaoying asked what plans he and Wei Zijin had, Wang Xiaoliang said he would follow Wei Zijin’s decision, prompting laughter and teasing.
• Wei Zijin squeezed Wang Xiaoliang’s hand under the table, leaving him puzzled by the gesture.

At a graduation get-together, Wang Xiaoliang watched the mood turn sour after Wang Fen broke down during a song. In the restroom, he overheard Zhao Shengkai and Ouyang Hai insulting him and plotting to get him drunk, leaving Wang Xiaoliang furious after Zhao correctly guessed that he and Wei Zijin were pretending to date.

• Wei Zijin calmly deflected her roommates' teasing about Wang Xiaoliang being henpecked.
• Zhao Shengkai ordered more baijiu and announced that the group would go to karaoke afterward.
• Wang Fen sang "The Third Person," then began crying and claimed the song had moved her.
• Wang Xiaoliang left the private room and heard Zhao Shengkai ridicule Zhou Qiang, Wei Zijin, and him while Ouyang Hai discussed his four-year pursuit of Wang Fen.
• Zhao Shengkai proposed getting Wang Xiaoliang drunk at karaoke to embarrass him, and Wang Xiaoliang fought back his anger after hearing him call their relationship fake.

Wang Xiaoliang suppressed his anger at Zhao Shengkai to avoid embarrassing Wei Zijin, while Zhou Qiang’s status and wealth became clear to the reunion group. After the gathering, Wei Zijin led Wang Xiaoliang away, and he joked about Zhou Qiang stepping out of a Maybach as Marshal Tianpeng.

• Wang Xiaoliang returned to the private room after calming down and reassured Wei Zijin that he was fine.
• Zhou Qiang refused Zhao Shengkai’s invitation to karaoke, and Wang Xiaoliang also declined.
• Director Zhang arrived, respectfully toasted Zhou Qiang, and then asked Wei Zijin to speak with him outside.
• Wei Zijin returned looking troubled, and the group ended the gathering after learning Zhou Qiang had paid the bill.
• Zhou Qiang drove Li Lanxiang away in a Maybach, leaving Zhao Shengkai and Ouyang Hai stunned by his apparent wealth.
• Wei Zijin led Wang Xiaoliang away, and he joked that people would mistake a pig stepping out of a Maybach for Marshal Tianpeng.