Recaps

Chen Leyao rejected Griffin Jones after challenging his claims about the Genius Drug and revealing that his guess about her expertise was wrong. After she left, the middle-aged man in the van followed her taxi.

• Chen Leyao asked Griffin Jones to identify what the middle-aged man in the white van was good at, and Griffin admitted he could not tell without interacting with him.
• Chen Leyao said a younger genius she had met could recognize someone's talents at a glance, leaving Griffin Jones insulted and doubtful of his own claims.
• Chen Leyao refused Griffin Jones's offer, paid for her drink, and told him she specialized in business administration rather than finance.
• Griffin Jones watched Chen Leyao leave and vowed she would regret missing the opportunity once he mass-produced the Genius Drug.
• The middle-aged man in the van chuckled, started the vehicle, and followed Chen Leyao's taxi.

Chen Leyao told Xia Xu that Griffin Jones had offered her the Genius Drug, and Xia Xu confirmed it was real but dangerous. As she rode to Tianhai Building, the taxi driver spotted a white van following them, and Xia Xu began questioning the driver about how he noticed.

• Chen Leyao called Xia Xu after meeting Griffin Jones and told him about the Genius Drug.
• Xia Xu confirmed the drug was real, warned Chen Leyao about its side effects and risks, and refused to discuss details over the phone.
• Chen Leyao took a taxi to Tianhai Building and discussed Star Sea Venture Capital's organizational plans with Xia Xu.
• The taxi driver warned Chen Leyao that a white van had been following them, and she recognized it from outside the café.
• Chen Leyao told Xia Xu she had run into the trouble he had mentioned, and he asked the driver how he had spotted the tail.

Xia Xu resolved Chen Leyao’s confusion after Yang Bowen accidentally followed her while she met Griffin Jones, then recruited her taxi driver to his Consulting Company. The driver accepted Xia Xu’s generous offer and asked where to report for work.

• The wiry driver told Xia Xu that a white van with license plate XXXXXX had been following them and described its middle-aged driver.
• Xia Xu recognized the van as belonging to Yang Bowen, who was watching Griffin Jones, and had Yang Bowen explain that they worked for the same boss.
• Xia Xu apologized to Chen Leyao and explained that Yang Bowen worked for his legally registered Consulting Company; Chen Leyao relaxed and teased him about being a Justice Guard.
• Xia Xu asked the wiry driver how much he earned and offered him a job at twenty thousand a month, with separate bonuses for assignments.
• The wiry driver immediately accepted and asked Xia Xu where he should report for work.

After discovering that the taxi driver who spotted Old Yang had strong reconnaissance talent, Xia Xu wondered whether Little White Flower’s husband-blessing fate had helped him find valuable recruits, but chose not to treat their relationship as a tool. He met He Qing at Nine Suns Consulting and welcomed the talented driver onto the team.

• Xia Xu reasoned that the taxi driver who spotted Old Yang likely had strong surveillance and reconnaissance talent.
• Xia Xu considered whether making Little White Flower happy triggered good luck, then decided to let their relationship develop naturally.
• Xia Xu visited Nine Suns Consulting and checked He Qing’s attributes, finding four-star reconnaissance talent and three-star combat talent.
• Yang Bowen introduced He Qing to Xia Xu, and He Qing eagerly accepted his new job.
• Xia Xu welcomed He Qing to Nine Suns Consulting and left Yang Bowen to show him the ropes.

Xia Xu learned that Luo Hongyun was taking up a post with the Special Action Group and that Olivia and Louise were moving to the Special Family Compound. After they left overnight, Xia Xu considered how Luo Hongyun’s new position could support him as he dealt with unusual incidents.

• Luo Hongyun invited Xia Xu to dinner and told him that he was leaving to take up his post as leader of the Special Action Group.
• Luo Hongyun explained that Olivia and Louise would move to the Special Family Compound for greater security, partly because of the recent kidnappings and unusual dangers.
• Xia Xu declined Luo Hongyun’s offer to move with them, citing his college entrance exams and company, and joked that he could protect himself with A Tuo.
• After dinner, Luo Hongyun moved away overnight with Olivia and Louise, leaving Xia Xu a text telling him to call if he needed anything.
• Xia Xu reflected that Luo Hongyun’s new role could give him support when he became involved in plots, then told A Tuo it would keep him company.

Xia Xu moved into a shabby rental in Luogu Alley, partly because it stood beside Fangyuan Bao Dian, and went there for breakfast the next morning. He noticed the shopkeeper’s daughter hiding misshapen buns and asked to buy them, leaving her flustered.

• After Uncle Luo’s family moved away, Xia Xu decided to leave his old neighborhood but struggled to choose a place because he had little accessible money and no sense of home.
• Xia Xu paid extra to take over a tenant’s rental in Luogu Alley and moved in that night, beside Fangyuan Bao Dian.
• The next morning, Xia Xu took A Tuo downstairs and chatted briefly with a neighbor before heading to the steamed bun shop.
• The limping shopkeeper called his daughter downstairs to serve Xia Xu, then teased her about flour on her face and missing meat filling.
• Xia Xu saw the girl hide two misshapen buns in the steamer and asked to buy them, but she nervously claimed they were raw.

Xia Xu reunited with Tang Youxin after moving in next door and met her cheerful father, Tang Zhan. After learning about Tang Zhan’s military-dog background, Xia Xu explained how he had trained A Tuo, leaving Tang Zhan astonished by the dog’s abilities.

• Xia Xu greeted Tang Youxin as her new neighbor and teased her about the two buns she had made for him.
• Tang Zhan came over, introduced himself and his daughter, and warmly welcomed Xia Xu as a neighbor.
• Xia Xu introduced A Tuo, who went straight to Tang Youxin, and Tang Zhan recognized the dog’s exceptional build.
• Tang Zhan said he had served in the Military Dog Unit and questioned why such a fine dog had been rejected.
• Xia Xu explained that A Tuo had once been weak and that he had restored the dog’s health with a secret remedy.
• Xia Xu described A Tuo’s self-directed training and ability to understand ordinary speech, leaving Tang Zhan bewildered.

After moving into the apartment next door to Tang Youxin, Xia Xu settled into a morning routine and teased her on the way to work. Their playful exchange showed Tang Youxin becoming more comfortable around him, and they set off together toward school and work.

• Xia Xu ran laps around Luogu Alley with A Tuo, then completed his exercises and combat training before heading to the Consulting Company.
• Tang Zhan praised Xia Xu's stamina while selling buns, and Tang Youxin followed Xia Xu out of the alley.
• Tang Youxin collided with Xia Xu at the alley entrance, and he told her he had moved in next door because he felt he had nowhere else to belong.
• Tang Youxin assured Xia Xu she did not mind him being her neighbor, and he proposed that they travel to and from school together.
• Tang Youxin teased Xia Xu for being a bad guy, and the two walked away together while joking about Tang Zhan.

Xia Xu learned that Griffin Jones was courting Zhang San, a gifted legal expert destined to become his subordinate, and decided to recruit Zhang San himself. He planned to wait until Flying Boat Studio’s share sale closed before acting.

• Chen Leyao secured Zhonghai Investment’s offer to value Flying Boat Studio’s shares at four times the studio’s total assets, and Xia Xu arranged to sign the contract that weekend.
• Xia Xu considered how Griffin Jones had recovered from losing Chen Leyao and continued building his business and network.
• Xia Xu learned that Griffin Jones had befriended his neighbor Zhang San, whose law and legal-defense talents were both rated four stars.
• Griffin Jones won over Zhang San’s wife and son by visiting often and helping them, and Xia Xu expected him to soon bring Zhang San into Celestial Venture Capital.
• Xia Xu decided to recruit Zhang San through a more direct method after receiving the money from the share sale.

Xia Xu went to the Tianhai Building to sign a contract with Zhonghai Investment and unexpectedly encountered his homeroom teacher, Liu Xiulan, with her husband, Fang Dahai. He discovered Fang Dahai was Zhonghai Investment’s general manager, leaving him to figure out how to explain his sudden success to Liu Xiulan.

• Xia Xu parted from Tang Youxin and went to the Tianhai Building with A Tuo for the contract signing.
• Xia Xu recognized Fang Dahai, whom he had previously helped choose a guide dog, and learned the dog had been an excellent match.
• Liu Xiulan arrived and revealed herself as Fang Dahai’s wife, then asked why Xia Xu was at the office building.
• Xia Xu told Liu Xiulan he was there to help an older sister, concealing that he had started a company and amassed a fortune.
• Xia Xu learned that Fang Dahai was the general manager of Zhonghai Investment and realized he would have to explain his success to Liu Xiulan.

Xia Xu’s teacher, Liu Xiulan, discovered that he owned Star Sea Venture Capital and was behind its investment in Flying Boat Studio. After Xia Xu explained how he earned his first money by helping fight crime, the group headed into the meeting room to discuss business.

• Liu Xiulan was surprised when Chen Leyao greeted Xia Xu as her boss, revealing that he owned Star Sea Venture Capital.
• Xia Xu told Liu Xiulan he had founded a company after taking her advice to build wealth himself, but she doubted his account.
• Xia Xu explained that he earned his money through police rewards after finding criminals and fighting crime.
• Chen Leyao praised Xia Xu’s exploits, while Xia Xu blamed her for exposing him before he could bluff his way through.
• Fang Dahai urged everyone into the meeting room, and Xia Xu and Fang exchanged businesslike jokes as Liu Xiulan marveled at Xia Xu’s composure.

Xia Xu sold his shares in Flying Boat Studio to Zhonghai Investment and received seventy million yuan after taxes. He planned to expand Star Sea Venture Capital and fund new companies, but worried that the money would not stretch far enough, then decided he needed a luxury car for business.

• Xia Xu completed the sale of his seventy percent stake in Flying Boat Studio to Fang Dahai and Liu Xiulan, receiving seventy million yuan after taxes.
• Chen Leyao reassured Xia Xu about the taxes and asked what he planned to do next.
• Xia Xu told Chen Leyao to rent a larger headquarters and recruit staff, while having the investment and risk control departments begin small investments.
• Xia Xu directed Chen Leyao to pursue shares and Xia Kingdom publishing rights for Hero Glory from Hammer Company, with Hong Bo operating the game.
• Xia Xu considered the costs of setting up biotechnology and machinery companies and worried that seventy million yuan would not be enough.
• On the taxi ride, Xia Xu decided to buy a luxury car for business appearances.

Xia Xu set aside his plans to buy a car and went to the university town to recruit Zhang San, a lawyer who could protect his business. He accepted the risks of poaching Griffin Jones’s contacts because Leyao’s value and the chance to build a competing company outweighed them, then stood outside the Political Science and Law College preparing to approach Zhang San.

• Xia Xu abandoned his immediate car-buying plans and sent Chen Leyao to contact recruitment and headhunting firms while he searched for talent around the university town.
• Xia Xu went to the Political Science and Law College to approach Zhang San, whom he hoped to recruit as legal protection for his business.
• Xia Xu considered that poaching Zhang San after Chen Leyao could alert Griffin Jones, but judged Griffin Jones less dangerous than the Andra Group.
• Xia Xu weighed the risks of provoking Andra against the value of building a company that could compete with Griffin Jones’s projected business empire.
• Xia Xu resolved to take the gamble for Leyao’s Five-Star Business Administration talent and stood at the college entrance before meeting Zhang San.

Xia Xu approached Professor Zhang San outside the College of Political Science and Law to recruit a lawyer for his company. After learning that Xia Xu was still in high school and owned Star Sea Venture Capital, Zhang San was left astonished.

• Xia Xu stopped Zhang San outside the campus and asked whether he knew how to handle lawsuits.
• Zhang San boasted that his legal work had put criminals, lawyers, and even people in a courtroom audience behind bars.
• Zhang San introduced himself as Professor Zhang San and asked why Xia Xu wanted to find a teacher.
• Xia Xu said he had started a company and wanted to recruit Zhang San or find promising legal talent.
• Xia Xu explained that he was a high school student who had built Star Sea Venture Capital himself, leaving Zhang San bewildered.

Xia Xu offered Zhang San the position of legal director at his company and explained his belief in the power of corporate rules to recruit and organize talent. Zhang San accepted after negotiating an unusually generous advance payment, while Xia Xu’s special interest in hiring him became clear.

• Xia Xu explained that he had founded a company and offered Zhang San the legal director position.
• Xia Xu reflected on how companies create rules and authority that help organizations recruit and retain people.
• Zhang San asked about compensation, and Xia Xu offered an annual salary of 1.2 million plus bonuses.
• Zhang San asked to receive his annual salary in advance, and Xia Xu agreed on the condition that he provide no legal services to anyone else while employed.
• Zhang San guessed Xia Xu had specifically come to recruit him, and they joked about whether doing so broke any laws.

Xia Xu hired Zhang San as his legal director and advanced him a year’s salary, giving Zhang San enough money to solve his family’s financial troubles. When Zhang San returned home, Griffin Jones offered to lend his family money and revealed that he wanted Zhang San to join his company, unaware that Zhang San had already secured a better-paid position.

• Xia Xu hired Zhang San as his legal director, signed a contract with him, and advanced him 1.2 million in salary.
• Zhang San wondered why Xia Xu had trusted him with so much money after only one meeting.
• Zhang San’s wife told him that Griffin Jones had offered to lend the family money for their son Xiao Hao’s marriage.
• Zhang San said he could cover the expenses himself, since Xia Xu’s advance was already in his bank account.
• Griffin Jones admitted that he wanted a favor and invited Zhang San to become the legal adviser or legal director of his company.

Zhang San declined Griffin Jones's offer to work part-time as a legal adviser because his new job contract barred him from helping anyone else. Griffin learned that Star Sea Venture Capital had hired Zhang San for an annual salary of 1.2 million paid a year in advance, and left defeated.

• Zhang San's wife urged him to accept Griffin's part-time offer, but Zhang San refused because his new contract prohibited outside legal work.
• Zhang San explained that he had accepted a job offer and received a year's salary in advance on his way home.
• Griffin Jones asked which company hired Zhang San, but Zhang San said his boss had asked him to keep it confidential.
• Zhang San told Griffin Jones that his annual salary was 1.2 million and had been paid in advance.
• Griffin Jones accepted the defeat, invited Zhang San to join Celestial Venture Capital if he ever resigned, and left with hostility rising inside him.

Griffin Jones discovered that Star Sea Venture Capital was competing with him for talent and began plotting against it, unaware that Xia Xu had already recruited eight of his future core staff. Xia Xu left Chen Leyao in charge of building the company before his exams and gave her contacts for additional support.

• After repeated setbacks in recruiting, Griffin Jones identified Star Sea Venture Capital as his main rival and realized Chen Leyao managed it.
• Griffin Jones decided to exploit the fact that Star Sea Venture Capital did not know his firm existed and considered targeting Chen Leyao.
• Xia Xu showed Chen Leyao the eight recruits he had poached, adding them to the team that included Zhang San.
• Xia Xu put Chen Leyao in charge of filling the remaining positions and preparing Star Sea Venture Capital to open while he focused on his exams.
• Xia Xu gave Chen Leyao Yang Bowen's number and explained that Nine Suns Consulting could help with investigations, cybersecurity, and limited physical protection.
• When Chen Leyao asked about stronger physical help, Xia Xu gestured toward A Tuo, whom she jokingly called his dog.

On the eve of the Gaokao, Xia Xu and Tang Youxin prepared for their exams, while Griffin Jones approached Chen Leyao to seek Star Sea Venture Capital’s help investing in Tonghe Pharmaceuticals. After the exams began, Chen Leyao reviewed the troubled company’s finances and its potentially valuable but risky new drug project.

• Liu Xiulan gave her graduating class final advice and wished them a bright future.
• On the morning of the Gaokao, Xia Xu met Tang Youxin in Luogu Alley, reassured her, and rode with her to the exam site in He Qing’s taxi.
• Griffin Jones visited Chen Leyao at Star Sea Venture Capital and proposed that the firms jointly invest in Tonghe Pharmaceuticals.
• Chen Leyao declined to decide before investigating the company and discussing the proposal with her investment department.
• Chen Leyao read Griffin Jones’s materials and learned that Tonghe Pharmaceuticals was nearing collapse after years of costly drug research, though its new drug might soon succeed.

Chen Leyao investigated Griffin Jones’s proposal to invest in Tonghe Pharmaceuticals and found that its nearly finished blood-pressure medicine could be highly profitable. After Yang Bowen sent her extensive intelligence and experts verified the documents, she concluded Griffin had told the truth and the project was viable with little risk.

• Chen Leyao reviewed Griffin Jones’s analysis and learned Tonghe Pharmaceuticals needed a patent license to complete its nearly finished blood-pressure medicine.
• Chen Leyao called Yang Bowen and asked him to investigate Tonghe Pharmaceuticals and Griffin Jones.
• Yang Bowen sent Chen Leyao detailed records on Griffin Jones and Tonghe Pharmaceuticals, explaining that his organization had already been monitoring Griffin and had gathered the company’s internal documents.
• Chen Leyao convened a meeting, consulted pharmaceutical experts, and had the documents verified.
• Chen Leyao concluded that Griffin Jones’s report was authentic and that Tonghe Pharmaceuticals was a promising, low-risk investment.

Xia Xu left the Gaokao early and was interviewed by reporters, joking that he had more important things to do before explaining that he had finished checking his Chinese paper. Tang Youxin came out soon after, and the reporters began questioning her.

• Xia Xu submitted his Chinese exam early and emerged from Star City No. 1 High School.
• A reporter interviewed Xia Xu, who asked for his face to be blurred and joked about starting a company before explaining that further checking would not improve his score.
• The reporter advised Xia Xu to keep trying, then turned to interview another student as the school gates opened.
• Tang Youxin came out early, approached Xia Xu, and hid behind him when she saw the reporters.
• The reporter asked Tang Youxin why she had handed in her paper early and whether she had checked it or expected a certain score.

Xia Xu and Tang Youxin discussed their Gaokao scores, spent their midday break playing at a residential playground, and then took the math exam. The chapter ended with both estimating perfect scores in math, leaving the reporter stunned.

• Tang Youxin said she thought she had scored around 140 in Chinese, and Xia Xu teased her while estimating he had lost no more than five points.
• Xia Xu took Tang Youxin away from the reporter and asked that their faces be blurred, then took her to lunch and suggested visiting an amusement park.
• Xia Xu brought Tang Youxin to a residential complex playground, where she joined the children after he shared snacks with them.
• Xia Xu and Tang Youxin returned to the exam hall and took the math exam.
• After the exam, Xia Xu estimated he had scored 150 in math, and Tang Youxin announced that she had scored 150 too.

Xia Xu visited Star Sea Venture Capital, where Chen Leyao had quickly built the company into a functioning organization, and learned that Griffin Jones had proposed an investment project. Xia Xu recognized the proposal as a trap and told Chen Leyao to take the project without Griffin Jones’s participation.

• Chen Leyao met Xia Xu at Star Sea Venture Capital, where receptionist Xiao Yue mistook him for a visitor and the employees gossiped about their young boss in the company chat.
• Xia Xu toured the company and praised Chen Leyao for building its staff and departments in just a few days.
• Chen Leyao told Xia Xu that Griffin Jones had proposed an investment project, and that the departments and a consulting company had found no obvious problems with it.
• Xia Xu told Chen Leyao to accept the whole project but exclude Griffin Jones, explaining that the project contained a major trap and Griffin Jones wanted revenge for Xia Xu poaching people he had sought to recruit.

Xia Xu explained that Tonghe Pharmaceuticals’ project was threatened by a patent ownership dispute, not a flaw in its technology, and reassured Chen Leyao that Star Sea Venture Capital could still turn it into a profitable investment. He asked her to bring Zhang San in to prepare for resolving the dispute, then left to meet the company’s employees.

• Chen Leyao asked Xia Xu why he had accepted the Tonghe Pharmaceuticals project and whether he knew how to solve its problems.
• Xia Xu explained that the patent for a key technology was contested by another company, putting the drug’s eventual launch at risk.
• Chen Leyao realized the investment could have endangered Star Sea Venture Capital if the patent dispute had gone unnoticed.
• Xia Xu told Chen Leyao that the Legal Director could handle the dispute and asked her to bring Zhang San over to prepare.
• Xia Xu greeted the company’s employees and then left the office.

Xia Xu intervened when three men harassed Star Sea Venture Capital’s receptionist, Qu Xiaoyue, then beat them in a fight and had his legal director handle the police. He returned home while the company staff celebrated him in their group chat as a wealthy, high-school-aged “dream boss.”

• Xia Xu rejected three men who tried to force a business meeting and made lewd remarks to Qu Xiaoyue at reception.
• One man shoved Xia Xu, who fell into and broke the reception counter; Xia Xu then kicked all three men down.
• Xia Xu asked Qu Xiaoyue to summon Director Zhang and call the police, while he waited with the two conscious men.
• The young police officer arrived, and Zhang San explained that the men had caused a disturbance, harassed Qu Xiaoyue, and assaulted Xia Xu.
• Zhang San went to the police station as Star Sea Venture Capital’s representative, while Xia Xu went home.
• Company employees praised Xia Xu in the group chat after learning he was still in high school.