Chapter Summaries

Wang Xiaoliang learned bookkeeping from Kong Xiuyun and watched Wei Zijin’s latest interview video with her. He praised its production but questioned the values it promoted, leaving Wei Zijin waiting for his explanation.

• Kong Xiuyun taught Wang Xiaoliang how to keep the store’s accounts and gave him a ledger to use starting the next day.
• Wang Xiaoliang and Li Le arranged to alternate trips to the Wholesale Market as their growing business strained their small vehicle.
• Wei Zijin watched her new interview video with Wang Xiaoliang; it featured a cyclist who described dangerous journeys as worthwhile experiences.
• Wang Xiaoliang felt the cyclist’s story seemed overly polished and questioned whether the video glorified risking one’s life for experience.
• Wei Zijin asked Wang Xiaoliang what he thought, and he said the video was well made but its values seemed wrong.

Wang Xiaoliang challenged Wei Zijin’s admiration for a female cyclist’s dangerous journey, then they watched Xie Hui’s plagiarized video and thought Wei Zijin had lost. Wei Zijin’s video ultimately gained far more views, while Xie Hui’s reach was throttled by the platform, leaving Wei Zijin confident about the competition’s final episode.

• Wang Xiaoliang questioned whether the female cyclist’s adventures were truthful and pointed out the suffering they caused her parents, making Wei Zijin reconsider her praise.
• Wang Xiaoliang showed Wei Zijin skeptical comments accusing the cyclist of fabricating her story, then cheered her up by suggesting they watch Xie Hui’s latest video.
• Wei Zijin recognized that Xie Hui had adapted her rejected interview with a Jiang University student, changing the story of drug-related AIDS into an accusation against a boyfriend.
• Wang Xiaoliang thought Xie Hui’s video had decisively beaten them, but the analytics showed Wei Zijin’s cyclist video had 150,000 views compared with Xie Hui’s 50,000.
• Wei Zijin checked the competing videos’ views and learned that Xie Hui’s reach had stalled after the platform restricted her sexually suggestive opening.

Wang Xiaoliang gave Wei Zijin a day off and surprised her by taking her to register their marriage on her birthday. After celebrating together, they discussed what helped a relationship last, and Wei Zijin teased him about his newfound wisdom.

• Wang Xiaoliang insisted that Wei Zijin rest for the day and took her out instead of letting her review her finished video.
• Wang Xiaoliang brought Wei Zijin to the Civil Affairs Bureau Marriage Registration Office with their household registration books and ID cards.
• Wei Zijin and Wang Xiaoliang completed the marriage registration, and Wang Xiaoliang wished her a happy birthday.
• Wang Xiaoliang took Wei Zijin for longevity noodles and then to a movie that turned out to be a romantic tragedy.
• Wang Xiaoliang told Wei Zijin that trust, honesty, and supporting each other helped a marriage last, then joked that she was his teacher.

After marrying Wei Zijin, Wang Xiaoliang celebrated with an elegant dinner and surprised her with a proposal and a diamond ring. Back home, he presented himself in red briefs and a ribbon as her “most important gift,” and leaped onto the laughing Wei Zijin.

• Wei Zijin and Wang Xiaoliang celebrated their marriage with an extravagant dinner at the Hyatt Hotel’s Boundless Restaurant.
• Wang Xiaoliang proposed to Wei Zijin in their private room, and she accepted after he promised never to fall out of love with her.
• Wang Xiaoliang slipped a custom DR diamond ring onto Wei Zijin’s finger and explained that he had estimated her size using one of her rings.
• After they returned home, Wang Xiaoliang appeared in red briefs with a silk ribbon and called himself Wei Zijin’s most important gift.
• Wei Zijin burst into laughter, and Wang Xiaoliang leaped onto her.

Wang Xiaoliang watched Wei Zijin’s competition video with her and saw that Xie Hui’s video had overtaken hers in likes. Suspecting something abnormal, he opened Xie Hui’s video.

• Wang Xiaoliang returned home, and Wei Zijin pulled him to the sofa to check the final-round results together.
• Wang Xiaoliang watched Wei Zijin’s video about Zeng Haiyan’s new stinky tofu shop and admired its polished presentation and promotion.
• Wei Zijin explained that Zeng Haiyan had benefited from livestreaming and had promoted Wei Zijin’s account to her viewers.
• Wang Xiaoliang refreshed Wei Zijin’s profile and saw Xie Hui’s video overtake hers by several dozen likes.
• Wang Xiaoliang grew suspicious and tapped Xie Hui’s video.

Wei Zijin and Wang Xiaoliang watched Xie Hui air stolen footage of a fake overseas PhD, recut as an exposé that drew far more attention than Wei Zijin’s story about Haiyan. Wei Zijin accepted the loss but found comfort in the home and relationship she had rebuilt with Wang Xiaoliang.

• Xie Hui’s video exposed a volunteer teacher’s false Columbia University PhD and mocked his arrogance, using footage stolen from Wei Zijin’s interview.
• Wei Zijin realized that Xie Hui had stolen the hard drive she had claimed was lost and reshaped her footage into a sensational exposé.
• Xie Hui’s video attracted angry comments and rapidly overtook Wei Zijin’s video in likes.
• Wei Zijin explained that scandal and outrage spread faster than a warm story about an ordinary person’s hard work.
• Wei Zijin told Wang Xiaoliang that she had lost before but was winning her life back, and reminded him that they still had each other and their home.

After Wei Zijin accepted the outcome of her bet with Xie Hui and went to the TV Station, Wang Xiaoliang worried about how she would be treated. The station instead recognized both women at a celebration banquet, and Wei Zijin asked Wang Xiaoliang to pick her up.

• Wei Zijin got ready and told Wang Xiaoliang she had to face the consequences of the bet rather than hide from them.
• Wang Xiaoliang read comments revealing that Xie Hui's video exposed Hong Wenbo, the son of Hongyuan Group chairman Hong Jianguo, and realized Xie Hui had benefited from information and timing.
• Wang Xiaoliang drove Wei Zijin to the TV Station and told her he loved her before she went inside.
• Wang Xiaoliang anxiously messaged Wei Zijin throughout the day, and she reassured him that she was fine and discussed working with the cameraman.
• Wei Zijin told Wang Xiaoliang that the station was holding a celebration banquet for her and Xie Hui at Yunding Pavilion, and asked him to pick her up.

Wang Xiaoliang discovered that Wei Zijin’s followers had surged past a million, then picked her up from the TV station’s celebration banquet. She drunkenly revealed how hurt and determined she felt, and he cared for her through the night before carrying her to bed.

• Wang Xiaoliang checked Wei Zijin’s profile and saw that she had gained more than a million followers and widespread praise.
• Wei Zijin declined an invitation to continue the celebration at Nightscape, telling the deputy station director that her husband was waiting for her.
• Wang Xiaoliang picked up the heavily intoxicated Wei Zijin and helped her home, where she spent the night vomiting and rambling about the banquet and Xie Hui.
• Wei Zijin said she would eventually defeat everyone who had mistreated her, and Wang Xiaoliang cleaned her up and watched over her.
• After Wei Zijin fell asleep on the bathroom floor, Wang Xiaoliang carried her to bed and held her while she slept.

Wei Zijin woke with a hangover and learned that Wang Xiaoliang had cared for her after she got drunk. He then told her that her short-video profile had passed a million followers, though Wei Zijin believed the new followers came from Xie Hui’s fans.

• Wei Zijin woke beside Wang Xiaoliang, drank the honey water he had left for her, and realized she had thrown up the previous night.
• Wei Zijin brushed her teeth and felt embarrassed about getting drunk, while Wang Xiaoliang reassured her and asked her not to drink when he was absent.
• Wang Xiaoliang told Wei Zijin that she had become an influencer with a million followers.
• Wei Zijin checked her profile and saw that it had 1.185 million followers, but she attributed the increase to Xie Hui’s fans.
• Wang Xiaoliang pointed out that the comments praised Wei Zijin and her mentoring, and said the good returns had come to her after Xie Hui infringed on her interests.

Wei Zijin gradually returned to work while Wang Xiaoliang cleared out his old rental room and discovered a new way to apply the Book of Fate. He concluded that appraising objects meant stripping away their labels and hype to see what they really were.

• Wei Zijin recovered enough to take on her first freelance assignment with a photographer and began preparing to interview her subject.
• Wang Xiaoliang packed up his rental room, recalled the turning points in his life there, and found the Book of Fate beneath his pillow.
• Wang Xiaoliang read the Twenty-Ninth Art of Fate Alteration, which told him to appraise objects as he appraised people and not become obsessed with them.
• After returning the room and receiving his deposit, Wang Xiaoliang realized he could apply the Thirteen Arts of Fate Alteration to objects by removing their labels, status, appearance, and public hype.
• Wang Xiaoliang used the method to consider Zhao Zikun's prized shoes and concluded that, stripped of their stories and value, they were simply shoes.

Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin welcomed Li Lanxiang home from her studies and learned she was pregnant, leaving Zhou Qiang overwhelmed with joy. Li Lanxiang decided she would still have her lawn wedding despite being pregnant, though she planned to skip Chen Xiaoying’s wedding.

• Wang Xiaoliang devoted his spare time to driving and assisting Wei Zijin as her freelance work increased.
• Zhou Qiang, Wang Xiaoliang, and Wei Zijin went to the airport to meet Li Lanxiang, who returned visibly pregnant.
• Li Lanxiang revealed that the baby was Zhou Qiang’s, and he tearfully embraced her, afraid at first that he might hurt the child.
• Li Lanxiang said she would not attend Chen Xiaoying’s wedding because her mother warned against pregnant women attending weddings, while Zhou Qiang offered to stay home with her.
• Wei Zijin and Wang Xiaoliang discussed Chen Xiaoying’s upcoming marriage to Zhao Shengkai, and Li Lanxiang confirmed she still intended to have her lawn wedding while pregnant.

Li Lanxiang celebrated her happy family life over a meal with Zhou Qiang, her mother, Wang Xiaoliang, and Wei Zijin. Chen Xiaoying asked Wang Xiaoliang to invite Mr. Hu and Mr. An to her wedding, then gave him and Wei Zijin wedding-day duties; afterward, Wang Xiaoliang saw He Runya’s boyfriend leave with another woman.

• Wang Xiaoliang drove Li Lanxiang and Wei Zijin to pick up Li Lanxiang’s mother before they went to Hongbin Little Tower, where Zhou Qiang had reserved a table.
• At the restaurant, Wang Xiaoliang noticed He Runya’s boyfriend dining with a woman who was not He Runya, and he avoided discussing what he had seen.
• Li Lanxiang’s mother praised Zhou Qiang and urged her daughter to treat him well, while Zhou Qiang affectionately cared for Li Lanxiang during the meal.
• Chen Xiaoying called Wang Xiaoliang to ask him to invite Mr. Hu and Mr. An to her wedding; he explained that they were abroad, and she asked him and Wei Zijin to help on the wedding day.
• After the meal, Wang Xiaoliang cooled the car before picking up Wei Zijin, then saw He Runya’s boyfriend get into a Civic with his female companion.

Wang Xiaoliang helped guard the wedding cake tower as guests gathered, then met livestreaming celebrity Xiao Mo at Zhao Shengkai’s wedding. When Wei Zijin appeared onstage, Xiao Mo realized she was Wang Xiaoliang’s wife.

• Wang Xiaoliang and Zhou Qiang guarded the cake tower from unruly children while their classmates arrived at the wedding.
• Zeng Haiyan joined Wang Xiaoliang and Zhou Qiang, and she and Wang Xiaoliang traded remarks about Chen Xiaoying and Liu Xinyu.
• Zhao Shengkai introduced the livestreaming celebrity Xiao Mo, who set up his phone to broadcast the wedding.
• Wei Zijin called Wang Xiaoliang over for water and then returned to the stage.
• Xiao Mo recognized Wei Zijin as his goddess and asked Wang Xiaoliang who she was, and Wang Xiaoliang told him she was his wife.

Chen Xiaoying and Zhao Shengkai celebrated their wedding with traditional ceremonies, performances, and a banquet that Xiao Mo livestreamed. As Wang Xiaoliang went onstage to help them cut the cake, a woman suddenly shouted accusations at Zhao Shengkai.

• Chen Xiaoying and Zhao Shengkai exchanged vows, honored their parents, and began their wedding banquet.
• Wei Zijin sang as the newlyweds poured champagne, and Chen Xiaoying and Zhao Shengkai toasted the guests.
• Wang Fen sang for the guests, and Wei Zijin performed during the cake-cutting.
• Chen Xiaoying asked Wang Xiaoliang to help with the crooked cake cut, and he stepped onto the stage.
• A woman screamed at Zhao Shengkai, calling him a liar and a bastard.

At Chen Xiaoying’s wedding, a pregnant woman exposed Zhao Shengkai’s affair, and Chen Xiaoying attacked him with a cake knife. Wang Xiaoliang stopped the attack but injured his hand, while Wei Zijin slapped Chen Xiaoying as the chaos continued.

• A pregnant woman rushed into the banquet hall and accused Zhao Shengkai of lying about a business trip while she carried his child.
• Zhao Shengkai acknowledged the pregnancy, and Chen Xiaoying turned on him with the cake knife.
• Zhao Shengkai used Wei Zijin as a shield, but Wang Xiaoliang pulled Chen Xiaoying back and grabbed the blade, cutting his hand.
• Zhou Qiang kicked Zhao Shengkai down, and the pregnant woman rushed to help him.
• Wang Xiaoliang urged Chen Xiaoying to see Zhao Shengkai’s betrayal, but she kept struggling until Wei Zijin slapped her.

After Wang Xiaoliang stopped Chen Xiaoying from attacking Wei Zijin, the wedding collapsed into chaos, and Xiao Mo arranged to promote the livestream footage. Wang Xiaoliang got medical care for his injured hand, while Wang Fen explained that she had broken up with Ouyang Hai after learning his views on Zhao Shengkai’s affair.

• Wang Xiaoliang slapped Chen Xiaoying unconscious, then left the wedding with Wei Zijin as the Chen and Zhao families fought and the guests fled.
• Xiao Mo ordered his men to spread the livestream clips and investigate Wei Zijin, hoping to build a friendly connection with her and Wang Xiaoliang.
• Wei Zijin insisted that Wang Xiaoliang go to the hospital, where a doctor cleaned and bandaged his injured hand.
• Zeng Haiyan and Wei Zijin found Wang Fen arguing with Ouyang Hai, and Zhou Qiang invited the group to eat together.
• Wang Fen told Wei Zijin and Zeng Haiyan that she had broken up with Ouyang Hai after he defended Zhao Shengkai’s affair and described mistresses as normal.

After Wang Xiaoliang injured his hand protecting Wei Zijin at Liu Xinyu’s wedding, their friends discussed the chaos and Master Fan’s uncanny divinations. At home, Wei Zijin admitted she felt guilty for involving Wang Xiaoliang with Chen Xiaoying.

• Li Lanxiang joined Wang Xiaoliang, Wei Zijin, and their friends for a meal, where she condemned Zhao Shengkai and Chen Xiaoying for the wedding-day violence.
• Li Xiaoman recalled Master Fan’s divinations about Chen Xiaoying’s marriage and his own future, then revealed that his wife was pregnant.
• Wang Fen told Wei Zijin that Chen Xiaoying had called to apologize, but Wei Zijin refused to forgive her and worried about Wang Xiaoliang’s injured hand.
• While helping Wang Xiaoliang bathe, Wei Zijin said she could not bear the thought of him being with another woman if she died.
• Wei Zijin apologized for drawing Wang Xiaoliang into keeping in touch with Chen Xiaoying, explaining why she had been upset.

Wei Zijin worried that she might have died in the recent attack and asked Wang Xiaoliang whether he would have pursued Tian Jiayi, but he reassured her of his love. Later, Wang Xiaoliang read a new warning in the Book of Fate and encountered He Runya after she discovered her boyfriend’s affair.

• Wei Zijin told Wang Xiaoliang that she had explained the character for “concubine” to Zeng Haiyan as meaning a strong, self-reliant woman.
• Wei Zijin asked whether Wang Xiaoliang would have married Tian Jiayi if she had died, and he jokingly promised he would become a monk; they reaffirmed their love before she fell asleep.
• Wang Xiaoliang read a Book of Fate warning that wasting money or goods ultimately wasted luck, then felt a sharp pain in his injured hand.
• Wang Xiaoliang helped Zhou Qiang prepare for his wedding while leaving most of the shop’s operations to its managers and checking the accounts each day.
• He Runya told Wang Xiaoliang she had caught her teacher boyfriend cheating, and her ex-boyfriend entered the shop, saw them together, and left without speaking.

Xiao Mo's viral wedding livestream triggered a chain of revelations that brought down Chen Xiaoying's father and led to Zhao Shengkai's detention for suspected bigamy. After celebrating the successful traffic campaign, Xiao Mo warned his staff that the next round would begin soon.

• Xiao Mo ordered his company's bloggers to repost wedding footage without taking sides, and the pregnant woman posted photos and chats proving her relationship with Zhao Shengkai and his mother's acceptance of her.
• Netizens exposed allegations about Zhao Shichang's business dealings and learned that he had been kept unaware of his son's pregnancy scandal.
• Online accusations about Chen Xiaoying's father's position and her luxury dowry led to his suspension pending an investigation.
• The Chen family reported Zhao Shengkai for bigamy, and a neighbor's account of his mother calling the pregnant woman her daughter-in-law fueled public pressure.
• Authorities placed Zhao Shengkai in criminal detention on suspicion of bigamy, while Chen Xiaoying's father fell from office.
• Xiao Mo's Media Company held a celebration, and Xiao Mo said the next round would start soon.

As Zhou Qiang’s wedding approached, Wang Xiaoliang helped care for him after a drunken meal, then rushed to the University Town Police Station when Li Le was detained after a bar fight. Li Le reached a settlement, but He Runya’s ex-boyfriend challenged Wang Xiaoliang over allowing him near the university, reopening the dispute.

• Zhou Qiang assigned Huang Xueli as best man and Wang Xiaoliang as wedding coordinator, saying he wanted Li Lanxiang to have her moment of glory.
• Zhou Qiang and Huang Xueli drank heavily, and Wang Xiaoliang took them home after the meal.
• A friend called Wang Xiaoliang to report that Li Le had been detained after slashing someone during a fight at a bar.
• Wang Xiaoliang contacted Huang Xueli, who arranged for Li Le to apologize, pay medical expenses, and settle the matter.
• Wang Xiaoliang arrived at the University Town Police Station and saw He Runya’s ex-boyfriend scolding the three men involved in the fight.
• He Runya’s ex-boyfriend accused Wang Xiaoliang of letting a dangerous employee near the university and reopened the dispute.