Chapter Summaries

Seventeen-year-old Pu Yu escaped her father and stepmother’s attempt to force her into marriage and traveled to Whitebank Town, hoping her late mother’s letter would lead her to shelter. At the address, she found a hostile group confronting a teenage boy and claimed that Officer Li had sent for him.

• Pu Yu’s father and stepmother tried to make her meet a wealthy man’s son, but she threatened to expose their actions unless they gave her money to continue school.
• Pu Zhiming gave Pu Yu two thousand yuan, and she packed her belongings and completed the transfer paperwork to leave.
• Pu Yu took three connecting buses to Whitebank Town and followed her mother’s letter to Wind Chime Alley.
• Pu Yu arrived at the address and found men surrounding a teenage boy in a wrecked courtyard.
• When a hostile man demanded to know who she was, Pu Yu said Officer Li at the police station had asked the boy to come over.

Pu Yu arrived in Wind Chime Alley seeking her grandmother, Li Suhua, but mistakenly went to Yuan Su’s house first and used a false claim about Officer Li to drive away debt collectors. After finding the correct house and receiving no answer, she was helped by Yuan Su, who explained that Li Suhua was hard of hearing.

• Pu Yu told the debt collectors that Officer Li was looking for Yuan Su, prompting them to leave after threatening to return for the money.
• Yuan Su questioned Pu Yu about Officer Li and her identity, then shut the door when she admitted she might have the wrong place.
• Pu Yu checked her letter and realized the house with the persimmon tree across the courtyard was the correct address.
• Pu Yu knocked and called for Li Suhua, but the older woman did not answer, leaving Pu Yu afraid she had nowhere to go.
• Yuan Su came outside and knocked loudly on Li Suhua’s door, explaining that she was hard of hearing.

Pu Yu reached Li Suhua’s home after fleeing her father and stepmother’s plan to marry her off, and asked her grandmother for shelter so she could continue studying. Li Suhua agreed to help her transfer to the local high school the next morning if the rain stopped.

• Yuan Su brought the drenched Pu Yu to Li Suhua’s door, then left after Li Suhua let her inside.
• Li Suhua gave Pu Yu noodles and asked why she had come from the city; Pu Yu explained that her father and stepmother wanted to marry her off for the bride price.
• Pu Yu told Li Suhua that her aunt had introduced her to the proposed groom, then showed her the letter from her late mother asking Li Suhua to take her in.
• Pu Yu promised to study and later care for Li Suhua, and Li Suhua told her she would take her to the town high school to ask about transferring if the rain stopped.

After escaping her father and stepmother, Pu Yu moved in with Li Suhua and transferred from City No. 1 High School to Tingnan Middle School. She joined her new class and discovered that her deskmate was Yuan Su, the boy she had encountered in the rain.

• Pu Yu woke at Li Suhua’s home and helped her grandmother prepare breakfast.
• Li Suhua took Pu Yu and her school records to Tingnan Middle School, where Cheng Siyi began processing her transfer.
• Li Suhua told Cheng Siyi that Pu Yu’s father and pregnant stepmother had tried to force her to quit school and marry for a bride price.
• Pu Yu joined Class 2 in the senior year and introduced herself to her new classmates.
• Cheng Siyi seated Pu Yu beside Yuan Su, who looked up and met her gaze.

Pu Yu settled into her new class and learned from Xu Suiran that her deskmate, Yuan Su, had once been a top student before his father gambled away the family business and disappeared. After Pu Yu bought Xu Suiran a thank-you treat, the school shopkeeper accused her of trying to pass off counterfeit money.

• Pu Yu sat beside Yuan Su, who left the classroom without speaking, and Xu Suiran welcomed her.
• Xu Suiran treated Pu Yu to lunch because the card services office was closed, and Pu Yu ordered an inexpensive meal.
• Xu Suiran told Pu Yu that Yuan Su had once excelled in school but had withdrawn after his father lost the family business gambling and vanished.
• Pu Yu bought Xu Suiran orange soda and candy to thank her for lunch.
• The shopkeeper inspected Pu Yu's hundred-yuan note and accused her of trying to cheat people with counterfeit money.

Pu Yu discovered that the two thousand yuan her family had given her was counterfeit, leaving her without money and convinced they had meant for her to fail. After class, she collected an 860-yuan school payment slip and admitted to Ms. Cheng that she might not be able to get the money from her family.

• A shopkeeper exposed Pu Yu's banknotes as counterfeit, and Pu Yu realized that all two thousand yuan her family had given her was fake.
• Xu Suiran pulled Pu Yu away from the shop and comforted her, then asked whether her family had given her the money.
• In Chinese class, Ms. Cheng told the students to pay their tuition and textbook fees, and Pu Yu worried that she could not afford the 860 yuan.
• After school, Pu Yu went to Ms. Cheng's office for her payment slip and asked how long she had to pay.
• Pu Yu told Ms. Cheng that her family might need more time and that she was unsure whether she could get the money when she went home.

After discovering that Pu Zhiming had given her counterfeit money, Pu Yu broke down and told Li Suhua she wanted to return to the city. Li Suhua forbade her from going back and sent her to eat, then briefly disappeared before returning home.

• Pu Yu told Teacher Cheng she could not pay tuition, and Teacher Cheng gave her until the following week.
• Lost in town after dark, Pu Yu followed Yuan Su through the alleys to her grandmother’s house.
• Pu Yu asked Li Suhua for money to return to the city, then revealed that the bills from Pu Zhiming were counterfeit.
• Li Suhua recognized the fake bills, cursed Pu Zhiming, and warned Pu Yu that returning to the city could put her in danger.
• Li Suhua ordered Pu Yu to stay in town and eat, then left the house while Pu Yu washed the dishes.
• Pu Yu found the main room empty, but Li Suhua returned just as Pu Yu was about to search for her.

Li Suhua gave Pu Yu her hard-earned savings for tuition and helped her learn the way to school. Pu Yu paid her tuition and told Cheng Siyi that her father had forced her into the science track, then began the school day determined to work hard.

• Li Suhua gave Pu Yu money for tuition and living expenses, explaining that Pu Yu’s mother had once helped her keep the sewing machine that supported her.
• Pu Yu woke from a nightmare about her parents, then asked Li Suhua to guide her to school and took notes on the route.
• Pu Yu paid her tuition early, and Cheng Siyi praised her essay and encouraged her to improve her science grades despite her father’s choice of track.
• Pu Yu told Cheng Siyi that her father had filled in her track-selection form while drunk and refused to let her change it.
• Xu Suiran hurried Pu Yu toward the cafeteria at midday, but Pu Yu said she would catch up after getting something.

Pu Yu and Xu Suiran shared orange soda and talked about family, leaving Pu Yu to reflect on the safety she and Yuan Su lacked. After Pu Yu settled into school while Yuan Su stayed away, he unexpectedly returned to class looking exhausted.

• Pu Yu bought orange soda and candy for Xu Suiran to thank her, and Xu Suiran split the soda between them in a toast to their friendship.
• Xu Suiran told Pu Yu that seeing Yuan Su’s family suffer had changed how she viewed her own family and worries about the future.
• Pu Yu envied Xu Suiran’s supportive home and reflected that neither she nor Yuan Su had been so fortunate.
• Over the next few days, Pu Yu adjusted to school and grew close to Xu Suiran, but she remained troubled by Yuan Su’s empty seat.
• Xu Suiran said Yuan Su rarely came to class, but he entered through the back door moments later, looking thinner and exhausted.

Pu Yu struggled to follow physics class and asked Yuan Su to explain two questions after seeing him earn full marks on the test. The chapter left Yuan Su newly awakened and staring at her request while Xu Suiran warned Pu Yu not to provoke him.

• Pu Yu found Yuan Su's test papers neatly organized on his desk and explained that she had sorted them for him.
• During physics class, Yuan Su quickly completed the difficult test paper and fell asleep, prompting Teacher Wang to hit him with chalk and scold him.
• Yuan Su revealed he had earned full marks and complained that Teacher Wang's dialect put him to sleep, after which Teacher Wang switched to Mandarin.
• After class, Pu Yu woke Yuan Su and asked him to explain the two long-answer questions she could not solve.
• Xu Suiran turned around and frantically signaled Pu Yu not to provoke the cranky Yuan Su.

Yuan Su patiently helped Pu Yu with physics, and Xu Suiran told her about his family’s debts and repair shop. When Pu Yu’s desk lamp broke that night, she brought it to Yuan Su’s shop, where he diagnosed an electrical fault.

• Yuan Su explained two difficult physics problems to Pu Yu and then told her not to bother him again.
• Xu Suiran told Pu Yu that Yuan Su’s father had left large debts and that Yuan Su worked at the family repair shop to repay them.
• Pu Yu’s desk lamp stopped working, so Li Suhua sent her to Yuan Su’s shop to have it fixed.
• Yuan Su inspected the lamp and diagnosed aging wiring and a bad contact at the lamp holder.

Pu Yu got Yuan Su to repair her desk lamp, then returned to explain that she wanted to pay him for his work rather than pity him. Yuan Su refused money but allowed her to bring breakfast, and Pu Yu left with a better understanding of his guarded kindness.

• Yuan Su repaired Pu Yu’s desk lamp with a salvaged component and refused the money she offered.
• Pu Yu returned to explain that she believed he had earned payment, but Yuan Su still refused to accept money.
• Pu Yu offered to bring Yuan Su steamed buns for breakfast, and he reluctantly told her to do as she pleased.
• Yuan Su realized he had replaced the lamp’s failed capacitor with a nearly new imported one and grumbled that it was his loss.
• Pu Yu told Li Suhua about Yuan Su’s reaction, and Li Suhua explained that he had changed after his family’s troubles.

Pu Yu brought breakfast to Xu Suiran and Yuan Su, determined to repay his help without leaving herself indebted to him. Yuan Su arrived for morning study, ate the food she had saved for him, and declared that they were even.

• Pu Yu got up early, bought pork buns and soy milk, and brought them to Xu Suiran, who forgave her for waking her early after Pu Yu gave her breakfast.
• Pu Yu waited through morning study with Yuan Su's breakfast in her backpack, unsure whether he would come to class.
• Yuan Su arrived as morning study ended and searched his desk for food before preparing to leave.
• Pu Yu stopped Yuan Su, explained she had kept his breakfast warm, and put it in his desk despite his protests.
• Yuan Su ate the bun and drank the soy milk, then told Pu Yu they were even.

Teacher Wang asked Pu Yu to persuade Yuan Su to enter the National High School Physics Competition, believing Yuan Su had the talent to excel. Pu Yu agreed to try, though she doubted Yuan Su would listen to her.

• Teacher Wang announced that the school had secured places in the physics competition preliminary round and invited interested students to apply.
• Yuan Su left immediately after class, while Xu Suiran and Pu Yu discussed Teacher Wang’s apparent interest in him.
• After evening study, the physics representative told Pu Yu that Teacher Wang wanted to see her, and Zhou Tingting mocked her for supposedly seeking a competition place.
• Teacher Wang noticed that Pu Yu had used a method Yuan Su taught her and asked her to persuade him to enter the competition.
• Pu Yu accepted the application form and agreed to try talking Yuan Su into signing up.

Pu Yu went to the town internet café to deliver Teacher Wang’s request that Yuan Su enter the Physics Competition. Yuan Su refused, explaining that the training and travel costs mattered more than the opportunity, and said he no longer had the right to pursue it.

• Pu Yu learned that Yuan Su had gone to the internet café to install and test repaired circuit boards, so she and Xu Suiran went there to find him.
• A blond attendant tried to turn Pu Yu away, but she called Yuan Su’s name until he noticed her and invited both girls inside.
• Pu Yu relayed Teacher Wang’s request that Yuan Su sign up for the Physics Competition and explained the potential benefits.
• Yuan Su refused and listed the costs of training, travel, study materials, and his mother’s medical bills and old debts.
• Yuan Su told Pu Yu that he no longer had the right to pursue the Physics Competition.

Pu Yu apologized to Yuan Su for judging his choices and recognized the dignity in his struggle to support his family. After Yuan Su found his mother distressed over his refusal to enter the physics competition, he promised he would enter, though he knew he would never submit the form.

• Pu Yu left the registration form with Yuan Su, apologized, and refused to treat him with pity.
• Pu Yu explained to Xu Suiran that Yuan Su worked hard to support his family and did not want pity to deny his efforts.
• Yuan Su followed Pu Yu and Xu Suiran to make sure they arrived safely, then went to visit his hospitalized mother, Lu Zhen.
• Lu Zhen found the physics competition registration form and became distressed when Yuan Su said he would not enter.
• Yuan Su promised Lu Zhen he would enter the competition, while privately deciding he would never submit the form.

Yuan Su refused to join the Physics Competition despite Teacher Wang’s efforts, then defended Pu Yu when classmates harassed her during the monthly exam. He returned to his test afterward, leaving Pu Yu surprised by his intervention.

• Pu Yu relayed Yuan Su’s refusal to enter the Physics Competition, and Teacher Wang lamented his wasted talent.
• Teacher Wang waited past the registration deadline, but Yuan Su never came to submit his documents.
• Pu Yu took the monthly exam in the last exam room, where Zhao Qiang and other boys mocked her and threw paper balls at her.
• Yuan Su confronted Zhao Qiang, hit him with the paper ball, and threatened him until he backed down.
• Yuan Su returned to his seat and casually answered parts of the exam, while Pu Yu watched him in surprise.

After the exams, Pu Yu agreed to visit the county town with Xu Suiran during the National Day holiday. While shopping for a cassette player to practice English, they were about to buy an overpriced secondhand one when a stranger stepped in.

• Pu Yu finished her exams and agreed to spend a day in the county town with Xu Suiran, despite wanting to help her grandmother and study.
• Li Suhua gave Pu Yu fifty yuan for the trip and reminded her to spend it on things she needed.
• Xu Suiran led Pu Yu around the county town, where Pu Yu put back a thirty-eight-yuan physics guide because it cost too much.
• Pu Yu asked Xu Suiran to take her to an electronics market to find a cassette player for English practice.
• Xu Suiran bargained the seller down to eighty-eight yuan and prepared to pay, but Pu Yu refused to accept the gift.
• An unidentified person took the cassette player from Pu Yu and said it was not worth even twenty yuan.

Yuan Su rescued Pu Yu and Xu Suiran from a vendor selling a fake music player, and Pu Yu blurted out that she wanted to remain his deskmate forever. When Xu Suiran invited him to ride back with them, Yuan Su agreed, and the three headed for the bus station.

• Yuan Su exposed the vendor’s player as a refurbished fake, letting Pu Yu and Xu Suiran escape without buying it.
• Pu Yu thanked Yuan Su, then told Xu Suiran she could ask her deskmate for help with physics instead of buying a study guide.
• When Xu Suiran pointed out that their seats would be reassigned, Pu Yu declared that she wanted to remain Yuan Su’s deskmate forever.
• Yuan Su reacted with surprise and teased Pu Yu, who hurriedly changed the subject to catching the bus.
• Xu Suiran invited Yuan Su to ride back with them, and he agreed after checking that they had fifteen minutes before the bus left.

Pu Yu traveled back to Whitebank Town with Yuan Su and Xu Suiran, and Yuan Su let the carsick Pu Yu sleep on his shoulder. After learning she wanted a walkman to practice English, Yuan Su repaired an old one that night, though he did not understand why he had gone to such trouble.

• Xu Suiran offered Pu Yu candy to give Yuan Su, but he refused because he was allergic and did not want any.
• Pu Yu became carsick and fell asleep against Yuan Su's shoulder, and he let her lean on him for the rest of the ride.
• Pu Yu woke when the bus reached Whitebank Town and hurriedly apologized to Yuan Su for leaning on him.
• After Xu Suiran split off, Yuan Su asked Pu Yu why she needed a walkman, and she said she wanted to practice English pronunciation.
• Yuan Su went to the repair shop and restored an old Sony walkman, then wondered why he had bothered when he had no use for it.