Recaps

Yuan Su returned to Rinzhou and consulted lawyer Zhou Bingjun about the two-million-yuan debt Yuan Hongzheng had incurred using a forged guarantee. He learned that challenging the debt could take months, leaving the factory at risk, and ended the chapter unsure how to escape his father’s debts.

• Yuan Su traveled overnight to Rinzhou, haunted by Yuan Hongzheng’s gambling debts and worried about what they would mean for the person he cared about.
• Yuan Su called Nie Yang, learned that creditors had sealed the factory, and said he would visit a law firm before returning.
• Yuan Su told Zhou Bingjun that Yuan Hongzheng had used his identity documents and a forged signature to guarantee two million yuan in loans.
• Zhou Bingjun advised Yuan Su to seek a handwriting examination, which could take six months to a year, and to negotiate for the factory to keep operating while he stayed in the country.
• Zhou Bingjun warned Yuan Su that repeatedly paying Yuan Hongzheng’s debts would only lead to more; Yuan Su left without knowing how long he would keep doing so.

Yuan Su discovered that his name had been forged as a guarantor for Yuan Hongzheng’s debt, putting his repair shop at risk of seizure. He kept the shop open by agreeing to stay in Rinzhou and place its remaining earnings under court supervision, leaving him unable to go to Dongzhou or see Pu Yu.

• Yuan Su returned to the workshop and stopped Nie Yang from confronting the lawyers trying to seize the shop.
• Lawyer Chen told Yuan Su that a court judgment made him liable for Yuan Hongzheng’s debt because he had supposedly guaranteed it.
• Yuan Su recognized that the signature on the contract was forged and said he would request a handwriting examination.
• Yuan Su persuaded Lawyer Chen to let the workshop keep operating if its remaining earnings went into a court-supervised account.
• Lawyer Chen agreed but required Yuan Su to remain in Rinzhou, and Yuan Su accepted to preserve the shop.
• After the crowd left, Yuan Su stood alone outside the workshop, feeling trapped and unable to see Pu Yu.

After Yuan Su stopped answering Pu Yu’s calls, she contacted Nie Yang and learned that Yuan Su was trapped in a serious debt and legal crisis caused by his father. Pu Yu discovered that he was hiding the full extent of his troubles from her and asked Nie Yang for a favor.

• Pu Yu grew uneasy when Yuan Su sent an ordinary dinner photo and offered only vague reassurances about his work and contract dispute.
• When Yuan Su failed to answer her calls during heavy snowfall, Pu Yu called Nie Yang to find out where he was.
• Nie Yang told Pu Yu that Yuan Su was at a law firm, and she drew out the truth about the handwriting analysis tied to a disputed loan-shark debt.
• Nie Yang explained that Yuan Su could not leave Rinzhou while creditors sought to freeze his assets, and that Yuan Hongzheng’s admission could resolve the case.
• Nie Yang revealed that Yuan Su’s funds were in a supervised account and the shop workers were pooling money to help cover his mother’s nursing-home medical fees.
• Pu Yu held back her tears and asked Nie Yang if she could ask him a favor.

Yuan Su struggled with debt and his mother’s medical costs, while Nie Yang gave him money to help. During a video call, Pu Yu told Yuan Su she might not visit Rinzhou over winter break, leaving him torn between relief and longing.

• Yuan Su returned to the office after law firms told him he had few options for dealing with his debt.
• Nie Yang gave Yuan Su twenty thousand yuan, saying his family had saved it, so Yuan Su could pay for his mother’s care.
• Nie Yang left to check on a body panel and thought he had fulfilled Pu Yu’s request.
• Yuan Su called Pu Yu after she finished her exams and asked why she might not visit Rinzhou during winter break.

Pu Yu lied to Yuan Su about Grandma’s health so he would not worry, then hid her hard-seat ticket and asked friends and acquaintances for money. She gathered exactly eighty thousand yuan and prepared to put her plan into motion.

• Pu Yu told Yuan Su that Grandma had twisted her ankle and accepted his thousand-yuan transfer before returning it and showing him a soft-sleeper ticket screenshot.
• Pu Yu and Yuan Su ended their call after making excuses to hide how much they missed each other, and Pu Yu cried once the screen went dark.
• Pu Yu canceled the soft-sleeper ticket and bought a hard-seat ticket from Dongzhou to Nanhua.
• Pu Yu borrowed money from Xu Suiran and Song Jinnian, asking them not to tell Yuan Su because she wanted to surprise him.
• Pu Yu collected loans, savings, and writing payments advanced by her editor until she had exactly eighty thousand yuan to begin her plan.

Pu Yu returned to Nanhua with eighty thousand yuan to use as bait, hid her plans from Li Suhua, and transformed her appearance before heading alone into a dangerous old-district alley. She entered determined to free Yuan Su from the debt trapping him in Linzhou.

• Pu Yu arrived in Nanhua, checked into a hotel, and told Li Suhua that school would keep her from coming home for a few days.
• Pu Yu bought elegant clothes, had their tags removed, and got a makeover to look like she came from a well-off family.
• Pu Yu took a taxi to a run-down alley in the old district, carrying the eighty thousand yuan she intended to use as bait.
• Pu Yu masked her fear and walked into the alley, telling herself she could endure what Yuan Su had endured.

Pu Yu searched the old district’s gambling dens for Yuan Hongzheng, using lavish tips and the promise of paying his debts to draw out information. At Prosperous Source, Sister Chen told her that his biggest creditor was not in the neighborhood, but did not yet reveal where.

• Pu Yu entered Big Rich and tipped the staff generously while asking whether Yuan Hongzheng had been there.
• Pu Yu offered a reward for reliable information and visited several gambling parlors to spread her inquiry.
• At Prosperous Source, Sister Chen approached Pu Yu after hearing she was looking for Yuan Hongzheng.
• Pu Yu claimed she intended to pay Yuan Hongzheng’s debts and said she could afford to pay millions.
• Sister Chen warned Pu Yu that Yuan Hongzheng’s largest debt was owed to someone beyond the local parlors, and Pu Yu asked where.

Pu Yu posed as Miss Su and paid Sister Chen to take her to Boss Zhao so she could settle Yuan Hongzheng’s debt for Yuan Su. After reaching the underground gambling den, she challenged Boss Zhao while concealing her identity and reacted fiercely when his underling insulted Yuan Su.

• Pu Yu gave Sister Chen a bundle of cash and arranged to meet Boss Zhao the following afternoon.
• Sister Chen picked Pu Yu up at her hotel and led her through Golden Age Grand KTV to Boss Zhao’s underground gambling den.
• Pu Yu met Boss Zhao and refused to remove her mask, claiming she was there to pay Yuan Hongzheng’s debt for his son.
• A scar-faced underling described fighting Yuan Su while collecting debts, and Pu Yu warned him to watch his mouth.
• Pu Yu told Boss Zhao she disliked the underling and questioned whether she should pay while he remained in the room.

Pu Yu pretended to be a wealthy Su family heiress in love with Yuan Su to convince Boss Zhao to help resolve Yuan Hongzheng’s debt. Boss Zhao believed her cover and agreed to search for Yuan Hongzheng, while Pu Yu returned to her hotel shaken and sick from stress.

• Boss Zhao questioned Pu Yu about her relationship with Yuan Su and her background, and she claimed she had run away from home to pay Yuan Hongzheng’s debt.
• Pu Yu demanded to meet Yuan Hongzheng and have him record proof that the debt was settled, prompting Boss Zhao to investigate the Su family in Dongzhou.
• Boss Zhao learned that a real Su family had a daughter who had recently returned from abroad and accepted Pu Yu’s story.
• Boss Zhao said Yuan Hongzheng had been spotted in a county town up north and promised to contact Pu Yu when his men found him.
• Pu Yu left the Grand Palace, paid Sister Chen for her help, and vomited from stress after reaching her hotel room.

Pu Yu hid from Yuan Su that she was in danger in Nanhua, while Yuan Su grew suspicious during their video call. Afterward, he decided he had to return to Nanhua because he feared she was dealing with trouble on his behalf.

• Pu Yu lied to Yuan Su about her grandmother’s follow-up and claimed she was staying downtown in South Hua City to meet Sui Sui.
• Yuan Su questioned Pu Yu during a video call, but she reassured him that she was hiding nothing and urged him to stay safe.
• After the call, Yuan Su recognized inconsistencies in Pu Yu’s story and suspected she was in trouble connected to Yuan Hongzheng.
• Yuan Su called Lawyer Zhou and insisted on returning to Nanhua, saying he feared Pu Yu was handling those matters for him.

Pu Yu met Boss Zhao to settle Yuan Su’s debt after Yuan Hongzheng was captured, but she brought only part of the money and secretly recorded Yuan Hongzheng’s answers. The chapter left her questioning whether he had forged Yuan Su’s signature on the loan guarantee.

• Sister Chen told Pu Yu that Boss Zhao had found Yuan Hongzheng and arranged for her to meet them at Grand Prosperity Manor.
• Pu Yu arrived with fifty thousand in cash and a hidden fruit knife, then told Boss Zhao she would pay the rest after confirming the matter was handled.
• Boss Zhao agreed to wait an hour for the remaining money and left two thugs to watch Pu Yu and Yuan Hongzheng.
• Pu Yu told Yuan Hongzheng she was helping Yuan Su, not him, and secretly started recording their conversation.
• Pu Yu asked Yuan Hongzheng whether he had borrowed the money and who had signed Yuan Su’s guarantee.

Pu Yu recorded Yuan Hongzheng admitting he forged Yuan Su’s signature, then sent the evidence and alerted the police from the Golden Age Grand KTV. After officers raided the gambling den, Yuan Hongzheng attacked Pu Yu and stabbed her, but Yuan Su arrived as she was about to be struck again.

• Pu Yu confronted Yuan Hongzheng, who confessed to forging Yuan Su’s signature and claimed his son should repay his debts.
• Pu Yu secretly sent the recording to Yuan Su and repeatedly texted the police about the illegal gambling operation at the KTV.
• Police raided the KTV, and Yuan Hongzheng realized Pu Yu had called them and lunged at her.
• Pu Yu hesitated to stab Yuan Hongzheng, and he took her knife and stabbed her in the left shoulder.
• Yuan Su kicked open the room’s door as Yuan Hongzheng raised the knife to attack Pu Yu again.

Yuan Su flew to Nanhua after realizing Pu Yu may have given him the money that saved him, then used her recording of Yuan Hongzheng admitting to forging the debt guarantee to alert the police. He nearly killed Yuan Hongzheng after finding Pu Yu wounded, but she stopped him and told him she could prove he was innocent and free him.

• Yuan Su recalled signs that Nie Yang and Pu Yu had sacrificed their own money to give him twenty thousand yuan.
• Yuan Su landed in Nanhua, heard Pu Yu's recording of Yuan Hongzheng admitting he forged the guarantee, and reported the illegal gambling operation to the police.
• Yuan Su rushed into the Golden Age Grand KTV and found Pu Yu wounded as Yuan Hongzheng prepared to stab her.
• Yuan Su beat Yuan Hongzheng and raised the knife to kill him, but Pu Yu clung to his arm and pleaded with him to stop.
• Yuan Su dropped the knife, broke down in guilt, and apologized to Pu Yu.
• Pu Yu comforted Yuan Su and told him she could prove he had done nothing wrong and that he was free.

After the police arrested Boss Zhao and Yuan Hongzheng, Pu Yu was rushed to the hospital with a shoulder wound, and Yuan Su accompanied her in the ambulance. As they held hands, Pu Yu told him she had risked herself because she wanted to protect him, and Yuan Su said she had pulled him out of his mire.

• Police arrested Boss Zhao and Yuan Hongzheng at the Golden Age Grand KTV.
• Emergency medics treated Pu Yu's shoulder wound and carried her to an ambulance, and Yuan Su insisted on going with her.
• Pu Yu told Yuan Su she was cold, and they clasped hands as he comforted her.
• Pu Yu explained that she had wanted to protect Yuan Su, as he had protected her before.
• Yuan Su told Pu Yu that she had pulled him out of his mire.

After Pu Yu was injured while rescuing Yuan Su, she recovered from surgery as he stayed by her bedside. She told him about the 80,000 yuan she had borrowed for her plan, and Yuan Su promised to repay it, ending the chapter by confessing that he had been defeated by his love for her.

• Yuan Su waited alone while Pu Yu underwent surgery, then learned that her wound had been treated and she needed a few days of observation.
• Pu Yu woke in the hospital, and Yuan Su told her that Yuan Hongzheng and Boss Zhao had been arrested and that Yuan Su was not liable for the debts.
• Pu Yu confessed that she had borrowed 80,000 yuan from Sui Sui and others and advanced her writing payments to fund her plan.
• Yuan Su promised to repay Pu Yu's debts, admitting that he was angry she had gone alone but more afraid of losing her.
• Pu Yu said they were even because each had once lied to protect the other, but Yuan Su insisted their relationship was not a competition and confessed he had been defeated by her since they met.

Pu Yu and Yuan Su learned that a real police officer named Li Youlin had asked Yuan Su to meet him, echoing the lie Pu Yu had told three years earlier to protect him. They realized justice had finally come, and the memory of that rainy day gave way to relief and hope.

• A nurse told Yuan Su that Officer Li Youlin wanted him to come see him after checking the injury assessment report.
• Pu Yu recognized the message as the exact bluff she had used three years earlier and began to cry with relief.
• Pu Yu squeezed Yuan Su's hand and told him there really was an Officer Li.
• Yuan Su remembered Pu Yu standing in the rain in Wind Chime Alley and understood how much courage she had shown.
• Yuan Su realized the people who had hurt them had been brought to justice, and the painful years finally felt as though they had ended.

Pu Yu gave police her account of infiltrating Grand Prosperity Manor and helping expose Yuan Hongzheng’s crimes, while Yuan Su stayed by her side. As she recovered from her shoulder injury, she reassured Yuan Su that the wound was a medal of courage and proof of her love.

• Li Youlin and another officer questioned Pu Yu about how she entered Grand Prosperity Manor, confronted Boss Zhao, obtained information from Yuan Hongzheng, and called the police.
• Li Youlin praised Pu Yu’s courage and warned Yuan Su not to use violence again, and Yuan Su promised to treat her well.
• On the third day of Pu Yu’s hospital stay, a nurse changed the dressing on her healing shoulder wound while Yuan Su watched anxiously.
• Yuan Su worried that Pu Yu would be scarred, but Pu Yu reminded him that they had called his old wound proof of her love.
• Pu Yu called her own wound a medal of courage, and Yuan Su kissed her bandaged shoulder.

On Lunar New Year’s Eve, Pu Yu’s friends visited her in the hospital and shared a meal, while Yuan Su struggled with whether to leave Nanhua to settle matters in Rinzhou. Song Jinnian urged him to rebuild his former strength so he could protect Pu Yu, leaving Yuan Su facing the choice of reclaiming what once made him proud.

• Xu Suiran tearfully scolded Pu Yu for risking herself, thanked her for trusting her with the loan, and brought dumplings her mother had made.
• Pu Yu, Yuan Su, Song Jinnian, and Xu Suiran each found lucky coins in their dumplings, then laughed when they learned Xu Suiran’s mother had put more than twenty coins inside.
• Yuan Su received calls about legal matters and his factory in Rinzhou, and worried about leaving Pu Yu before she was discharged.
• Song Jinnian told Yuan Su that he and Xu Suiran could care for Pu Yu and urged him to handle his affairs so he could protect her in the future.
• Song Jinnian reminded Yuan Su of his former brilliance and asked whether he would reclaim what had once made him proud for Pu Yu’s sake.

Song Jinnian asked Yuan Su to join his logistics automation project, and Yuan Su agreed to give it a try. At Pu Yu’s hospital bedside, Yuan Su admitted he did not want to leave her, then kissed her as she tried to book his ticket back to Rinzhou.

• Song Jinnian explained that his team needed Yuan Su’s physics intuition to solve problems in automated parcel sorting, and Yuan Su agreed to review the project materials.
• Xu Suiran entertained Pu Yu with jokes until the laughter hurt her wound, then Song Jinnian and Xu Suiran left the hospital room.
• Yuan Su told Pu Yu that Lawyer Zhou wanted him to return to Rinzhou to handle legal paperwork about debts and accounts.
• Pu Yu urged Yuan Su to go back and reminded him of the eighty-thousand-yuan debt he had promised to help pay off, and Yuan Su promised to earn the money.
• Pu Yu tried to find a ticket for Yuan Su during the Spring Festival rush, but Yuan Su covered her hand, ate the orange segment he had been holding, and kissed her.

Pu Yu and Yuan Su shared a tender first kiss in her hospital room, then teased each other about sharing her bed despite her shoulder injury. A nurse interrupted them and told them to wait until Pu Yu had healed, leaving them both to accept the delay.

• Yuan Su kissed Pu Yu and stopped when he noticed she was trembling and short of breath.
• Pu Yu asked whether Yuan Su would sleep on the folding bed, then hinted that the hospital bed was large enough for them to share.
• Yuan Su refused to share the bed because Pu Yu's shoulder was injured and teased her about getting handsy.
• A nurse interrupted the couple while they were leaning close and reminded them that Pu Yu needed to heal before exerting herself.
• Yuan Su agreed to wait until Pu Yu had healed, while Pu Yu hid in embarrassment beneath the quilt.

Pu Yu returned to Small Town after being discharged, while Yuan Su left for the train station after she urged him to go. At home, Li Suhua uncovered Pu Yu’s bandaged shoulder and feared her birth parents had forced her into donor matching, leaving Pu Yu confused.

• Yuan Su told Pu Yu his waitlisted train ticket had come through, and she asked him to remember to miss her as he left for the station.
• Song Jinnian and Xu Suiran drove Pu Yu back to Small Town and rehearsed a false story about her injury for Li Suhua.
• Xu Suiran and Song Jinnian told Li Suhua that Pu Yu had hurt herself in a hiking accident, and Li Suhua served them a large meal without asking many questions.
• After Xu Suiran and Song Jinnian left, Li Suhua made Pu Yu remove her coat and examined the bandage on her shoulder.
• Li Suhua asked whether Pu Yu’s birth parents had made her undergo donor matching, and Pu Yu asked what surgery she meant.

Pu Yu learned why Li Suhua had kept Pu Zhiming from his biological parents, who wanted him as a backup donor for their sick younger son. After Pu Yu told her grandmother how Yuan Hongzheng had accidentally injured her, she spoke with Yuan Su by video call and heard that he missed her.

• Li Suhua revealed that Pu Zhiming's biological parents had sought him out as a backup donor, and she had kept him from them to protect him.
• Pu Yu realized this was why Pu Zhiming hated Li Suhua and comforted her grandmother.
• Li Suhua asked who had injured Pu Yu, and Pu Yu explained that Yuan Hongzheng had accidentally hurt her while police were arresting him.
• Li Suhua expressed concern for Yuan Su and asked when he would return from Rinzhou.
• Yuan Su called Pu Yu from his rented room, checked her wound, and teased her about missing him before telling her he missed her.

Pu Yu continued writing for money in Small Town while Yuan Su studied physics and programming in Rinzhou, staying in touch with her through WeChat. After joining Song Jinnian’s physics modeling group, Yuan Su overcame the others’ doubts by identifying a deformation factor that corrected their struggling simulation.

• Pu Yu wrote stories by hand and sent Yuan Su photos of roasted tangerines and her ink-stained fingers.
• Yuan Su repaired computers at the Speedy internet café, studied technical books, and replied warmly to Pu Yu’s message.
• After winter break, Pu Yu returned to Dongzhou while Yuan Su remained in Rinzhou and joined Song Jinnian’s Beili physics group.
• Yuan Su quietly studied the group’s files as its members doubted his abilities because he lacked a university education.
• When the group’s simulation failed, Yuan Su proposed adding a deformation coefficient, reducing the model’s deviation to 0.03%.

After earning money from his projects, Yuan Su sent his entire first payment to Pu Yu to help repay her debts. Though he had planned to wait until he earned enough to clear everything, he realized he could not bear to miss another spring with her and left to visit her.

• Yuan Su received a twenty-thousand-yuan share from the project's first phase and agreed to take on more modeling projects.
• Yuan Su transferred all twenty thousand yuan to Pu Yu and told her to use it to repay her debts instead of writing gossip articles for money.
• Yuan Su earned another thirty thousand yuan from project work and considered waiting until he had paid off Pu Yu's full eighty-thousand-yuan debt before visiting her.
• Yuan Su recognized that his longing for Pu Yu had become an excuse to keep postponing their reunion.
• Yuan Su told Lu Zhen he was going to see Pu Yu and left to visit her in the spring.

Yuan Su surprised Pu Yu by arriving at her university, and they spent the day together before going to his hotel. The chapter ended with Yuan Su kissing her passionately and calling himself her puppy.

• Yuan Su appeared beneath the cherry blossoms and reunited with Pu Yu, who ran into his arms.
• Yuan Su and Pu Yu walked around campus hand in hand, then ate dinner together.
• Yuan Su told Pu Yu he would stay nearby for a few days and invited her to his hotel to drop off his luggage.
• At the hotel, Yuan Su kissed Pu Yu urgently, carried her to the bed, and called himself her puppy.