Chapter Summaries

After Wang Xiaoliang was stopped from reporting Sun Wenbin, Huang Xueli warned him that their real opponent was the powerful aide behind the campus shop clear-out and convinced him to wait for a better chance to deal with Sun. Huang then arranged to meet Li Lanxiang and settle the shops’ accounts and remaining money.

• Wang Xiaoliang read Huang Xueli’s urgent messages telling him not to go to the Discipline Inspection Commission and waited for Huang’s call.
• Huang told Wang that the glasses-wearing aide was a trusted transfer from the New Principal’s previous school and that the shop bidding would be arranged to keep outsiders out.
• Wang said Sun Wenbin had twisted the facts to frame them, but Huang warned that reporting him without evidence could backfire and cost them their deposits.
• Huang persuaded Wang to let Sun go for now and wait until he made a serious mistake before striking back.
• Wang asked whether Li Lanxiang would cause trouble over the three shops, and Huang said she would focus on recovering her money instead.
• Huang told Wang to invite Li to meet that night so they could settle the accounts and divide the remaining money, and said he would join them.

After Jiang University moved to take back Wang Xiaoliang’s three supermarkets, he sought help from Tian Jiayi’s father, but was refused. He called Kong Xiuyun to ask about finding places for his staff, and her sympathy finally brought his hurt to the surface.

• Wang Xiaoliang went to confront Li Laifu but found his supermarket closed and marked for rent, then worried about losing his own stores and income.
• Wang Xiaoliang called Tian Jiayi and asked her to have her father investigate the university’s decision to take back his supermarkets.
• Tian Jiayi called back to say her father had refused, though he sent Wang Xiaoliang a message about enduring unfair treatment.
• Wang Xiaoliang called Kong Xiuyun and asked how many of his staff Hongbin Little Tower could take.
• After hearing Wang Xiaoliang explain what happened, Kong Xiuyun told him he must be hurting, and he struggled to hold back tears.

After Jiang University ordered Wang Xiaoliang’s three supermarkets to vacate within seven days, he met with Li Lanxiang and Huang Xueli to decide what to do. Kong Xiuyun had quit Hongbin Little Tower but offered to help place the supermarket staff, and Wang Xiaoliang left the meeting facing a choice between relocating the stores or holding a clearance sale and dismissing everyone.

• Kong Xiuyun told Wang Xiaoliang she had quit Hongbin Little Tower and offered to ask Li Lanxiang to take on as many supermarket employees as possible.
• Wang Xiaoliang arranged to meet Li Lanxiang and Huang Xueli, then told Li Lanxiang the university had given the supermarkets seven days to move out.
• Li Lanxiang doubted Wang Xiaoliang’s explanation until he showed her the official notice from Jiang University’s Logistics Office.
• Wang Xiaoliang explained that the university accused him of giving Song Yi gifts in exchange for favorable treatment during the bidding.
• Wang Xiaoliang presented two options: find new premises within seven days or hold a clearance sale and lay off the staff.

Wang Xiaoliang explained how the supermarket funds and profits should be divided after the stores closed, and Li Lanxiang eventually agreed to his terms. As Huang Xueli drove her away, he revealed that Wang Xiaoliang had threatened to report him to the Discipline Inspection Commission if he pulled out.

• Li Lanxiang asked Wang Xiaoliang how to proceed, and he proposed liquidating the stores’ stock the next morning.
• Li Lanxiang argued that her family should keep the remaining money, but Wang Xiaoliang insisted that the returned 2.4 million in capital be separated from the shared proceeds.
• Wang Xiaoliang explained the stores’ expenses, repayments, and savings, then proposed dividing the remaining money among the shareholders without charging interest.
• After Huang Xueli urged them to settle the matter calmly, Li Lanxiang agreed to the clearance sale and division according to their shares.
• Huang Xueli drove Li Lanxiang away and told her that Wang Xiaoliang had threatened to go to the Discipline Inspection Commission if Huang pulled out.

Wang Xiaoliang and Huang Xueli persuaded Li Lanxiang to transfer 2.4 million yuan without touching the remaining partnership funds. Wang later told Wei Zijin that the school had ordered their three supermarkets to vacate within seven days, then prepared to share his good news.

• Huang Xueli urged Li Lanxiang to honor the partnership agreement and avoid alienating Wei Zijin over the money.
• Li Lanxiang agreed to listen to Huang Xueli and left.
• Wang Xiaoliang confirmed to Huang Xueli that Li Lanxiang had transferred 2.4 million yuan, and they concluded their plan had worked.
• Wang Xiaoliang waited for Wei Zijin, and they went home together.
• Wang Xiaoliang told Wei Zijin that the school had ordered their three supermarkets to move out within seven days because of a gift to Principal Song and their lower-ranked bid.
• Wei Zijin accepted that the school had grounds to remove the stores and waited to hear Wang Xiaoliang's good news.

Xiao Mo’s video praising Wei Zijin brought her account more than two million followers, making her realize her growing popularity was her own. After interviewing Xiao Mo, she told Wang Xiaoliang that he had invited her to join his company as a livestream seller.

• Xiao Mo posted a video praising Wei Zijin’s talent and character, introducing her background and directing viewers to follow her account.
• Wei Zijin showed Wang Xiaoliang that her account had reached over two million followers, largely because people were sharing her old videos.
• Wang Xiaoliang congratulated Wei Zijin when she realized her new popularity came from her own work rather than Xie Hui’s fans.
• Wei Zijin told Wang Xiaoliang that she had interviewed Xiao Mo about his difficult past for an upcoming video.
• Wei Zijin revealed that Xiao Mo had invited her to join his company as a livestream seller and believed she could outsell its top performers.

Wei Zijin accepted Xiao Mo’s offer to leave the station and join his company, and she and Wang Xiaoliang discussed their future together. Before reading further in the Book of Fate, Wang Xiaoliang encountered a warning that demanded more of him than the book’s previous ones.

• Wei Zijin told Wang Xiaoliang that Xiao Mo’s company had offered her a huge salary, would pay her contract penalty, and had convinced her to resign from the station.
• Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin celebrated her decision, then discussed a small wedding in Jiangcheng and agreed they would invite people close to them.
• Wei Zijin said she wanted to have a baby in three years, after they had earned thirty million, and then fell asleep beside Wang Xiaoliang.
• Wang Xiaoliang worried about his supermarket staff and the promises he could no longer fulfill, then opened the Book of Fate.
• The Book of Fate warned Wang Xiaoliang that he had to understand what followed, know how to act, and master his heart before he could continue reading.

After the Book of Fate warned Wang Xiaoliang not to rush, he reconsidered Wei Zijin’s resignation and decided they should examine Xiao Mo’s offer carefully. He went to Store One, where he arranged jobs for the managers and joined Li Fengxia in organizing a clearance sale.

• Wang Xiaoliang realized his anxious decisions had caused problems and wondered whether Wei Zijin had agreed too quickly to Xiao Mo’s offer.
• Wang Xiaoliang left Wei Zijin a loving note and drove to Store One on National Day.
• Wang Xiaoliang told Li Fengxia that he had failed to save the store but had secured jobs for the three store managers at Hongbin Little Tower.
• Li Fengxia said the managers already knew the store would close and laid out a plan to move household goods outside and discount other merchandise.
• Wang Xiaoliang helped prepare clearance-sale signs, including a promise of tenfold compensation for counterfeit goods, then called Huang Xueli.

Wang Xiaoliang delayed Wei Zijin’s resignation so they could seek Huang Xueli’s advice, while his supermarket clearance sale proved so popular that he restocked to keep up with demand. At dinner, Huang Xueli called losing the supermarkets a good thing and proposed they celebrate with a bottle, leaving Wang Xiaoliang wondering what he meant.

• Wang Xiaoliang persuaded Wei Zijin to postpone resigning until they had heard Huang Xueli’s advice, citing risks connected to the supermarket dispute and her confidentiality agreement.
• Li Lanxiang told Wang Xiaoliang that Manager Kong wanted her to retain several employees, and Wang Xiaoliang recognized that his mother’s decisions had driven the professional manager away.
• Wang Xiaoliang advertised a final clearance at the three supermarkets, then restocked popular goods when crowds quickly emptied the shelves.
• Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin met Huang Xueli for dinner and discussed his romantic prospects and the kind of official he might become.
• Huang Xueli said losing the supermarkets had been a good thing for Wang Xiaoliang and ordered liquor so they could celebrate with a bottle, prompting Wang Xiaoliang to wonder what he meant.

Huang Xueli warned Wei Zijin that leaving the TV Station for a lucrative offer could invite retaliation and ruin her reputation. He argued that her growing following had made her feel ready to leave, but she did not have to resign; he left her to reconsider her own motives.

• Huang Xueli agreed with Wang Xiaoliang that gaining power was necessary to make meaningful changes, and promised to support him when he had the final say.
• Wei Zijin told Huang Xueli about Xiao Mo's offer of a fifty-thousand monthly allowance, a favorable advertising split, and a promise to build her personal brand.
• Huang Xueli compared Wei Zijin to Li Fengxia, explaining that a superior could resent losing a valued person and use their influence to make her life difficult.
• Huang Xueli warned that the TV Station could undermine Wei Zijin's reputation by portraying her as ungrateful, and Wei Zijin acknowledged the risk.
• When Wei Zijin asked whether she had to wait for her contract to expire before leaving, Huang Xueli asked why she needed to leave at all.
• Huang Xueli said Wei Zijin's two million followers had made her believe she could walk away without consequences, and told her that she had fooled herself.

Huang Xueli advised Wei Zijin to keep her TV Station position while using her two million followers to negotiate better opportunities, and Wang Xiaoliang persuaded her to wait a week before approaching a senior leader. Wang Xiaoliang continued clearing out his store inventory, then encountered Luo Bisheng, who asked why he had not told him about his trouble.

• Huang Xueli told Wei Zijin and Wang Xiaoliang that she did not need to resign for Xiao Mo's offer and should first negotiate with the TV Station.
• Huang Xueli advised Wei Zijin to approach a senior leader if the station did not offer her better resources after her leave ended, and suggested negotiating flexible commercial work with Xiao Mo.
• Wang Xiaoliang proposed that Wei Zijin wait a week after returning to work before seeking out the deputy station director, and she agreed.
• Wang Xiaoliang inspected his stores and discounted inventory ahead of his plan to clear it out and collect the security deposit.
• Wang Xiaoliang spotted Cheng Huan shopping outside Store Two, then met Luo Bisheng inside, who asked why he had not told him about his trouble.

Wang Xiaoliang’s friends supported his struggling supermarkets, and he warned them against a dangerous bungee-jumping trip. After the holiday, he closed all three stores, settled their affairs, and learned that Li Fengying and Li Fengxia planned to open their own supermarket while Sun Ting would follow him to Hongbin Little Tower.

• Luo Bisheng, Tian Jiayi, and Cheng Huan bought large amounts of goods to support Wang Xiaoliang, and Luo Bisheng offered to take his unsold snacks and drinks for his internet café.
• Cheng Huan invited Wang Xiaoliang to go bungee jumping, but he warned her that it was dangerous and declined to join them.
• Wang Xiaoliang arranged the sale of his store equipment, closed the three campus supermarkets, and received a refund of their deposit.
• Wang Xiaoliang treated the staff to lunch, thanked them, and promised them a full month’s salary.
• Li Fengying told Wang Xiaoliang that she and Li Fengxia would open a supermarket with Xiaomei and Zhang Juan, while Sun Ting chose to follow his arrangements and go to Hongbin Little Tower.

Wang Xiaoliang settled the supermarket accounts with Li Lanxiang and learned she wanted the company transferred to her mother to protect its property. Wei Zijin then received the station’s approval to take commercial work and collaborate with Xiao Mo, leaving Wang Xiaoliang relieved and asking for a reward.

• Wang Xiaoliang received his final share of the supermarket profits, and Li Lanxiang asked him to transfer the company’s legal registration and equity to her mother.
• Huang Xueli remembered that the company owned a storefront in Ruijing Phase Two and suspected Li Lanxiang had recalled it after worrying Wang Xiaoliang might take the property.
• Wei Zijin returned home to have lunch with Wang Xiaoliang, but the director summoned her to an urgent station meeting.
• Wang Xiaoliang drove Wei Zijin to the TV Station and waited anxiously while she attended the meeting.
• Wei Zijin told Wang Xiaoliang the station had created a separate production team for Xie Hui, approved commercial ads for them, and allowed outside work that met its conditions.
• Wei Zijin confirmed that she and Wang Xiaoliang could work with Xiao Mo, and Wang Xiaoliang asked her for a reward.

Wang Xiaoliang celebrated the supermarket partnership’s success with Huang Xueli and Wei Zijin, then completed the paperwork transferring Li Lanxiang’s company ownership. As he tried to leave, Li Lanxiang’s water broke, and Dong Hongmei urgently called him for help.

• Wang Xiaoliang gave Huang Xueli an envelope and joined him and Wei Zijin for a celebratory dinner.
• Huang Xueli advised Wei Zijin to negotiate cautiously with Xiao Mo, protect product quality in livestream sales, and hire an assistant separate from Wang Xiaoliang.
• Li Lanxiang called Wang Xiaoliang the next morning to ask him to sign the company shareholding and legal-representative paperwork.
• Wang Xiaoliang completed the transfer at the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau and learned that Li Lanxiang’s mother was Dong Hongmei.
• As Wang Xiaoliang headed for the exit, Dong Hongmei called for help when Li Lanxiang’s amniotic fluid began spilling onto the floor.

Li Lanxiang safely gave birth to a premature boy while Zhou Qiang remained missing, and her family and friends arranged care for her and the baby. Wang Xiaoliang and Huang Xueli began wondering whether Zhou Qiang had been trapped by a woman, and the chapter ended with them seeing that the baby strongly resembled him.

• A nurse told Dong Hongmei, Wei Zijin, Wang Xiaoliang, and Huang Xueli that Li Lanxiang had delivered a premature boy and that mother and child were safe.
• Li Lanxiang was brought to a private room, where Dong Hongmei and Wei Zijin stayed with her while Wang Xiaoliang and Huang Xueli arranged temporary care until the maternity matron arrived.
• Zeng Haiyan and Wang Fen visited Li Lanxiang, and Huang Xueli and Wang Xiaoliang discussed how Zhou Qiang might react to having a son instead of the daughter he had wanted.
• Wang Xiaoliang and Huang Xueli reconsidered Qishan’s wordplay about a “Little Girl” and wondered whether Zhou Qiang had been trapped by Li Lanxiang or another woman.
• Three days later, Wang Xiaoliang brought Wei Zijin to see the baby, whose features closely resembled Zhou Qiang’s.

Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin met with Xiao Mo to discuss working together on livestreams, and they agreed to begin with an interview. They left the meeting with plans to schedule it and promote Xiao Mo’s story.

• Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin visited Xiao Mo’s media company and met him in his office.
• Xiao Mo proposed collaborating one livestream at a time, with a placement fee and an even commission split.
• Wang Xiaoliang asked about contracts, and Xiao Mo offered to have his legal adviser draft one for them to review.
• Xiao Mo suggested Wei Zijin interview him first and then join his livestream, and Wei Zijin agreed.
• Xiao Mo proposed setting a time, reviewing the interview script, and building anticipation for his story.

Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin agreed to partner with Xiao Mo, who offered them a private office and explained the livestream slot fees and commissions. As Wei Zijin prepared to compete with Xie Hui, Wang Xiaoliang planned to build on the livestreaming income by opening a supermarket with Huang Xueli.

• Wei Zijin and Wang Xiaoliang followed Xiao Mo to a private office he had prepared for them.
• Xiao Mo explained that Zijin would receive a guaranteed slot fee for her livestream and that they would split sales commissions fifty-fifty.
• Wang Xiaoliang learned that Zijin’s first livestream would earn a twenty-thousand-yuan slot fee, and he and Xiao Mo agreed they could become friends.
• Wei Zijin said she would prepare a high-quality video and compete with Xie Hui, while Wang Xiaoliang urged her to focus on their own work.
• Wang Xiaoliang agreed to work at Xiao Mo’s office but decided to look for a retail space to open a supermarket with Huang Xueli.

Wang Xiaoliang cleaned Xiao Mo's office building and met Mi Shanshan, also known as Nuomi, who recognized him as Wei Zijin's husband and welcomed him as an honored guest. Xiao Mo arrived, praised Xiaoliang's work, and introduced him to Nuomi, leaving Xiaoliang to learn about the company's informal hierarchy.

• Wang Xiaoliang cleaned and organized Xiao Mo's office and the messy hallway while the livestreamers slept.
• Mi Shanshan mistook Wang Xiaoliang for a cleaner before realizing he was Brother Liangliang, Wei Zijin's husband.
• Xiao Mo arrived and praised Wang Xiaoliang for making the hallway spotless, though he said cleaners would soon be hired.
• Xiao Mo introduced Wang Xiaoliang to Mi Shanshan, whose nickname was Nuomi, and explained that she could help him with anything he needed.
• Xiao Mo explained that Tongtong was the company's third-ranked streamer, and Wang Xiaoliang learned that status mattered more than age in the company's informal hierarchy.

Xiao Mo discussed Wang Xiaoliang’s calligraphy livestream experience and explained his strategy for building an online persona and attracting a lasting audience. Over lunch, Xiao Mo asked why Wang Xiaoliang and Wei Zijin had delayed responding to his recruitment offer, then teased him about whether he feared Xiao Mo had designs on Zijin.

• Xiao Mo told Wang Xiaoliang that Wei Zijin’s script was good and that they could begin recording the next day.
• Wang Xiaoliang described his past calligraphy livestreams, and Xiao Mo advised him to build a recognizable persona through videos before livestreaming and selling his work at higher prices.
• Xiao Mo explained that Wei Zijin’s content and familiar on-camera presence gave her a stable audience with purchasing power.
• Xiao Mo invited Wang Xiaoliang to lunch and asked whether he or Wei Zijin had decided to delay answering the recruitment offer.
• Wang Xiaoliang explained that Wei Zijin needed to consult her supervisors and that they had also been helping her friend after childbirth.
• Xiao Mo accepted Wang Xiaoliang’s explanation, recalled being assaulted over a thousand yuan, and teased him about fearing that Xiao Mo had designs on Wei Zijin.

Wang Xiaoliang met with Xiao Mo, who reassured him that he would not pursue Wei Zijin and offered to help Haiyan improve her livestreaming business. After Wang told Wei Zijin about the meeting, they agreed to delay contacting Haiyan and discussed Wang’s plans to open a shop while supporting Wei’s livestreaming work.

• Wang Xiaoliang admitted to Xiao Mo that he felt intimidated but trusted Wei Zijin and their marriage.
• Xiao Mo said he would not force anyone into a relationship and offered Wang Xiaoliang a chance to meet young women at his company, which Wang declined.
• Xiao Mo praised Haiyan’s livestreaming potential and asked Wang Xiaoliang to arrange a meeting so he could offer her help.
• Wang Xiaoliang told Wei Zijin about Xiao Mo’s offer to Haiyan, and Wei asked him to wait three days before contacting her and to avoid the station’s office.
• Wang Xiaoliang said he still wanted to find a storefront, and Wei Zijin agreed on the condition that he hire someone to run it and make time to support her livestreaming.