Chapter Summaries

Yuan Su and Pu Yu traveled to Nanhua City to search its secondhand market for a rare copper gear. After they found and bought it, Yuan Su spotted a man bumping into Pu Yu and sprinted after him.

• Li Suhua agreed to let Yuan Su and Pu Yu search for parts together and gave Yuan Su money for Pu Yu's travel and meals.
• Yuan Su and Pu Yu rode the bus to Nanhua City, sharing breakfast and listening to music along the way.
• Yuan Su led Pu Yu through the secondhand market, buying parts and asking stallholders about an old copper gear.
• Yuan Su found the worn brass gear in the west section and bargained the stallholder down to fifteen yuan.
• A man in a gray jacket bumped into Pu Yu, and Yuan Su handed her the gear before dashing into the crowd after him.

After Yuan Su left Pu Yu alone at a market stall, Chen Jun and his thugs abducted her and dragged her into an alley. Yuan Su found and rescued her, and the chapter ended with Pu Yu clinging to him in fear and asking why he had left her alone.

• Pu Yu waited at the stall while Yuan Su went to get something, and Chen Jun recognized her and ordered his thugs to drag her away.
• The vendor stayed silent as Chen Jun's thugs pulled Pu Yu into a dead-end alley.
• Yuan Su returned, learned from the vendor that Chen Jun had taken Pu Yu, and rushed toward the alley with an iron pipe.
• Pu Yu struck Chen Jun with a brass gear, but Chen Jun overpowered her and began pulling open her jacket.
• Yuan Su struck Chen Jun with the pipe, beat the thugs, and led Pu Yu to an apartment stairwell.
• Pu Yu threw herself into Yuan Su's arms, sobbing that she had been scared he had left her.

After Yuan Su recovered Pu Yu’s purse, she clung to him in relief and explained that the red cord inside was the last keepsake her mother had left her. Because Pu Yu’s injuries would worry her grandmother, Yuan Su took her to stay overnight at an inn, where they discovered their birthdays fell on the last and first days of the same year.

• Yuan Su returned Pu Yu’s purse and comforted her as she cried over recovering her mother’s red-cord keepsake.
• Yuan Su noticed the marks on Pu Yu’s face and neck and decided they should stay near the station overnight before returning the next morning.
• Yuan Su and Pu Yu found an inn, but only a single room was available, so Yuan Su registered it under his own ID and said he was her brother.
• Pu Yu noticed that her birthday was December thirty-first and Yuan Su’s was January first, and she reflected that he had recovered what she had lost.

Yuan Su returned with food and ointment, treated Pu Yu’s injuries, and promised he would not lie to her. When noisy fighting in the hallway frightened Pu Yu, Yuan Su decided to stay in the room and sleep on the floor while she took the bed.

• Pu Yu waited anxiously for Yuan Su and pointed out that he had returned twelve minutes after promising to be gone for ten.
• Yuan Su brought back meals and ointment, treated Pu Yu’s face, and told her he would not lie to her.
• Yuan Su and Pu Yu ate together, then Yuan Su said he would spend the night at an internet café.
• Hallway noise frightened Pu Yu, who grabbed Yuan Su’s shirt and asked not to be left alone.
• Yuan Su moved the bed against the wall, told Pu Yu to sleep on it, and made space to sleep on the floor.

Pu Yu and Yuan Su spent the night together after Yuan Su protected her from Chen Jun and his men. Pu Yu explained why she had fled to live with her grandmother, and Yuan Su comforted her as she struggled with fear.

• Yuan Su arranged a mat and quilt on the floor and stayed in Pu Yu’s room when she admitted she was afraid to be alone.
• Pu Yu told Yuan Su that Chen Jun’s family had wanted her to marry him for business, and that she had fled after refusing and calling the police.
• Pu Yu explained that her mother had died in a workplace accident, while Yuan Su regretted not hurting Chen Jun more and said he should not have left Pu Yu alone.
• When Pu Yu became frightened by the men downstairs, Yuan Su offered her his hand, and she first clutched his sleeve before falling asleep holding his hand.

Yuan Su and Pu Yu left the city after he cared for her injuries and asked her to conceal why they had stayed an extra day. On the bus back to Whitebank Town, Pu Yu leaned on his shoulder, and Yuan Su let her stay there as their closeness deepened.

• Yuan Su woke beside Pu Yu, gently released her hand, and told her to wait while he bought breakfast.
• Yuan Su returned on time, applied ointment to Pu Yu’s face, and asked her to tell Granny Li they had stayed an extra day because he needed to buy something.
• Yuan Su and Pu Yu boarded the earliest bus back to Whitebank Town, and Pu Yu fell asleep against his shoulder.
• When Pu Yu tried to sit upright after Yuan Su teased her for taking liberties, he caught her arm and pulled her back onto his shoulder.
• Pu Yu softly repeated Yuan Su’s name, and he relaxed his shoulder so she could rest more comfortably.

Pu Yu tried to ease Li Suhua’s financial burden by writing for publication, while Yuan Su grew jealous of her connection with Song Jinnian. After Pu Yu reassured him, Yuan Su offered to help her with any problems, not just physics.

• Yuan Su repaired Li Suhua’s sewing machine, and Pu Yu decided to look for ways to earn money to help her grandmother.
• Xu Suiran showed Pu Yu a magazine’s submission notice, so Pu Yu called the editorial office and began writing stories and essays.
• Cheng Siyi praised Pu Yu’s writing and offered to recommend it to other publications.
• Song Jinnian brought Pu Yu a collection of high-scoring essays, prompting Yuan Su to ask whether she had been spending time with him.
• Pu Yu said she had gone home to write and reassured Yuan Su that she wanted him to explain problems to her.
• On the walk home, Yuan Su offered to help Pu Yu with physics or anything else.

Pu Yu learned that her essay had been accepted for the Nanhua Daily supplement, and she celebrated her birthday with warmth from her grandmother and a thoughtful surprise from Xu Suiran. The chapter ended with Xu Suiran encouraging Pu Yu to become a famous writer and promising to ask for her autograph.

• Cheng Siyi told Pu Yu that her essay had been accepted for the Nanhua Daily supplement and would earn her payment.
• Pu Yu returned to class crying happy tears, and Yuan Su worried that someone had upset her.
• Li Suhua made Pu Yu longevity noodles for her birthday on December 31, and Pu Yu reflected on her mother and grandmother in her diary.
• Xu Suiran took Pu Yu to collect a birthday tiramisu cake and gave her a fountain pen and notebook.
• Xu Suiran told Pu Yu she would wait until Pu Yu became a famous writer to get her autograph.

Pu Yu celebrated her birthday with Grandma and Xu Suiran, then met Yuan Su outside late that night. He took her up North Mountain, where he offered to carry her after she became exhausted, saying they would miss the dawn if they dawdled.

• Pu Yu celebrated her birthday with Grandma and Xu Suiran, and Grandma secretly put twenty yuan in Sui Sui's schoolbag to help pay for the cake.
• Pu Yu saved two slices of cake for Yuan Su and his mother, then slipped out late at night to bring them over.
• Yuan Su appeared outside Pu Yu's gate, claimed he was passing by, and pulled her along with him.
• Yuan Su led Pu Yu up North Mountain, where she ran out of strength halfway up the steep path.
• Yuan Su crouched down and told Pu Yu to get on his back so they could reach the summit before dawn.

Yuan Su carried Pu Yu to the summit of North Mountain for her birthday and showed her the stars through a repaired telescope. After he told her he wanted her to see the star that might be her mother, Pu Yu made wishes for the moment to last and for Yuan Su to stay safe.

• Yuan Su carried Pu Yu up the mountain path to the summit of North Mountain.
• Yuan Su showed Pu Yu the nighttime view of Whitebank Town and brought out a telescope he had repaired.
• Yuan Su wished Pu Yu a happy birthday and said he had brought her there so she could see her mother, whom she had said became a star.
• Yuan Su helped Pu Yu identify constellations and suggested that an unnamed twinkling star might be her mother.
• Yuan Su urged Pu Yu to make a wish, and she wished for the moment to linger and for Yuan Su to be safe.