Chapter Summaries

Shen Xuanrun adjusted to inhabiting the body of a beautiful but unsuccessful young actor and learned more about his new life and family. After Sister Chen helped him clean his apartment, he headed to the Shen Family Ancestral Residence, where he faced the unfamiliar world with a quiet sense of resignation.

• Shen Xuanrun recalled how he had entered the novel and learned that he was the nineteen-year-old cousin of the five-year-old heroine, Shen Qianxin.
• Shen Xuanrun met with his manager, Chen Wei, who told him to prepare for filming 'Battle in the Sea of Commerce' and warned him not to overanalyze his role.
• Chen Wei arranged to take Shen Xuanrun to the Shen Family Ancestral Residence and helped him clean his messy apartment.
• Shen Xuanrun rode with Chen Wei to the ancestral residence and watched the unfamiliar city pass by.

Shen Xuanrun met five-year-old Shen Qianxin at the Shen ancestral residence and realized she was the future female lead. After Old Master Shen asked him to care for her while he visited an old friend, Shen Xuanrun watched Qianxin clear the garden stones to help ants and took her home with a teasing promise of dinner.

• Shen Qianxin ran to Shen Xuanrun and called him Brother Xuanrun, leading him to recognize her as the female lead.
• Shen Xuanrun greeted Old Master Shen and ate dinner with him and Qianxin at the ancestral residence.
• Old Master Shen said he would visit his old friend Gu and asked Shen Xuanrun to look after Qianxin for several days.
• Qianxin ordered the servants to remove garden stones so ants could get home, leaving the ants unable to follow their scent trail.
• Shen Xuanrun praised Qianxin and invited her home, joking that he would take her to eat ants climbing a tree.

Shen Xuanrun took Shen Qianxin to his apartment and tried to teach her to be more independent and less inclined to feel guilty about accepting help. After shopping and dinner, he planned an amusement-park trip and dark fairy tales, while Shen Qianxin innocently turned his lessons back on him.

• Shen Xuanrun brought Shen Qianxin to his city apartment and received a document from Grandpa Shen about her habits and needs.
• Shen Xuanrun took Shen Qianxin shopping and persuaded her to keep walking instead of being carried when she got tired.
• Shen Xuanrun explained that workers were paid to help, and Shen Qianxin suggested hiring someone to carry him if he was tired.
• Shen Xuanrun promised to take Shen Qianxin to an amusement park and tell her fairy tales, while secretly planning dark versions.
• Shen Xuanrun served Shen Qianxin ants climbing a tree, and they both enjoyed the meal as the housekeeper wondered whether his cooking had improved.

Shen Xuanrun told Little Xinxin disturbing, unconventional versions of Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White, using them to teach her resilience and independent judgment. Little Xinxin escaped beneath the covers, while Shen Xuanrun reassured Old Master Shen that she had enjoyed the stories and fallen asleep.

• Shen Xuanrun retold Little Red Riding Hood as a tragedy, then had her sell the wolf pelt and explained that she should turn hardship into strength.
• Shen Xuanrun told Little Xinxin that the dwarfs in Snow White's cottage ate instant noodles because they were poor and could not grow tall.
• Shen Xuanrun revealed that the supposed seven dwarfs were nine, with two buried beneath the instant noodles, and urged Little Xinxin to think for herself.
• Little Xinxin hid under the covers and claimed she was sleepy when Shen Xuanrun offered to tell more stories.
• Shen Xuanrun told Old Master Shen that Little Xinxin had enjoyed the fairy tales and was asleep.

Shen Xuanrun took Little Xinxin to an amusement park, where he met Gu Weichen, who heard Shen Xuanrun’s thoughts for the first time. That night, Gu Weichen spoke with Ruan Kaijun, who avoided saying whether he would return for his first love’s wedding.

• Shen Xuanrun took Little Xinxin to the amusement park and led her through rides before bringing her into a haunted house.
• Shen Xuanrun noticed Gu Weichen at the park and privately admired his physique, while Gu Weichen heard his thoughts and stared at him.
• Shen Xuanrun asked Gu Weichen if he needed help, then left with Little Xinxin after Gu Weichen apologized.
• Ruan Kaijun called Gu Weichen and teased him about visiting neurology, prompting Gu Weichen to mention the rumor that Ruan Kaijun’s first love was getting married.
• Ruan Kaijun said he might attend the wedding after finishing his work, then wondered why the call had left him feeling hurt.

Shen Xuanrun studied his role as Zhao Ziru in a new Republican-era drama and asked Sister Chen to find him an acting coach. At kindergarten pickup, he met Gu Weichen again and learned that Gu Maojie was Little Xinxin’s new classmate and deskmate.

• Shen Xuanrun read the outline of "Battle in the Sea of Commerce" and learned that he would play Zhao Ziru, an opera performer who died fighting an enemy commander.
• Shen Xuanrun asked Sister Chen to find an acting coach with some knowledge of traditional opera, and she worried about his reputation among the teachers she had contacted before.
• Shen Xuanrun went to Central Kindergarten to pick up Shen Qianxin and encountered Gu Weichen, who introduced himself and shook Shen Xuanrun’s hand.
• Shen Qianxin greeted Gu Weichen and introduced herself as Shen Xuanrun’s younger cousin.
• Gu Maojie arrived and greeted Gu Weichen, and Shen Qianxin introduced him to Shen Xuanrun as her new transfer-student classmate and deskmate.
• Shen Xuanrun took Shen Qianxin home and said goodbye to Gu Weichen.

Shen Xuanrun watched Little Xinxin grow closer to Gu Maojie while beginning acting lessons with Teacher Sun, who found him unexpectedly talented. The chapter ended with Gu Maojie accepting Little Xinxin’s handmade paper flower and becoming her friend.

• Little Xinxin told Shen Xuanrun she had become class monitor and met Gu Maojie, while Gu Weichen learned that Gu Maojie found kindergarten too noisy.
• Little Xinxin made Gu Maojie a paper flower, and Shen Xuanrun began acting lessons with Teacher Sun.
• Teacher Sun praised Shen Xuanrun’s talent, and Sister Chen recalled his past acting failures before urging him to play Zhao Ziru well.
• Little Xinxin gave Gu Maojie the flower, and he accepted it so she would not cry; she declared them friends.

Shen Xuanrun comforted Little Xinxin as she faced his upcoming departure, while Gu Weichen made a small gesture that cheered up Gu Maojie. At kindergarten, Gu Weichen heard Shen Xuanrun lament that he would soon be separated from Little Xinxin and was sore from exercising.

• Shen Xuanrun picked up Little Xinxin after kindergarten, praised her red flower, and promised to have her favorite ants climbing a tree made for dinner.
• Gu Maojie saw Shen Qianxin in Shen Xuanrun's arms as the driver explained that Gu Weichen was too busy to pick him up.
• Shen Xuanrun told Little Xinxin stories about strength and happiness, then reassured her that she would see him on TV when he went away to act.
• Gu Weichen found Gu Maojie waiting asleep on the sofa with his crumpled red flower, then left him a note praising him.
• Gu Maojie found Gu Weichen's note the next morning, and Gu Weichen took him to kindergarten.
• At kindergarten, Gu Weichen heard Shen Xuanrun mourn his coming separation from Little Xinxin and complain that his body hurt from working out.

Shen Xuanrun learned that Jiang Yi would star opposite him in Battle in the Sea of Commerce and resolved to prevent the criminal actor from harming others or ruining the production. After several days of acting lessons, Shen Xuanrun prepared to join the production as a storm raged outside.

• Gu Weichen greeted Shen Xuanrun after dropping Little Maojie at kindergarten, and Shen Xuanrun teased him by calling him Uncle Gu.
• Sister Chen told Shen Xuanrun that Jiang Yi had been chosen as the male lead of Battle in the Sea of Commerce and urged him to prove his acting skills.
• Shen Xuanrun recalled Jiang Yi's future crimes and considered using Uncle Shen's help to get him blacklisted before filming was disrupted.
• Shen Xuanrun studied acting with Teacher Sun for several days, and Sister Chen grew reassured when Teacher Sun approved of his progress.
• The day before Shen Xuanrun joined the production, a torrential rainstorm struck City H while Little Li packed his luggage.

Shen Xuanrun arrived on the set for costume portraits, where Jiang Yi bullied him and secretly groped his waist. Shen Xuanrun retaliated while posing, and Gu Weichen arrived just in time to hear his furious thoughts and see his foot on Jiang Yi’s.

• Shen Xuanrun met Director Cheng Hao, who sent him to makeup without much enthusiasm because he doubted his acting.
• Jiang Yi arrived late and made Xiao Xu stop Shen Xuanrun’s makeup to work on his instead, so Shen Xuanrun finished his own eye makeup.
• Shen Xuanrun impressed the crew with his appearance in opera costume during the costume portraits.
• Jiang Yi groped Shen Xuanrun’s waist during the group photo, and Shen Xuanrun pinched his hand and stomped on his foot while appearing to pose.
• Gu Weichen visited the set and heard Shen Xuanrun’s angry thoughts as he saw Shen Xuanrun’s foot planted on Jiang Yi’s.

At the production’s celebratory dinner, Gu Weichen’s attention toward Shen Xuanrun unsettled Jiang Yi and amused the others. Gu Weichen followed Shen Xuanrun back to the actors’ lodgings, where a slippery floor finally brought them together in a melodramatic catch, spoiled by Shen Xuanrun’s burp.

• Gu Weichen attended the production’s dinner and showed special familiarity with Shen Xuanrun while giving Jiang Yi a cold look.
• Jiang Yi glared at Shen Xuanrun but backed down after Gu Weichen’s hostile expression frightened him.
• Gu Weichen followed Shen Xuanrun toward the actors’ rooms under the pretext of checking their accommodations, then secretly returned to the fifth floor.
• Shen Xuanrun slipped in the corridor, and Gu Weichen caught him around the waist when he slipped a second time.
• Shen Xuanrun burped in Gu Weichen’s arms, interrupting the romantic background music.

Jiang Yi secretly photographed Shen Xuanrun falling into Gu Weichen’s arms and spread rumors that Shen was clinging to a powerful backer. Shen discovered the trending posts and realized that the public mostly dismissed the accusation because he was an heir himself, though another post enthusiastically shipped him with Gu.

• Jiang Yi photographed Shen Xuanrun in Gu Weichen’s arms and planned to use the pictures against him.
• Gu Weichen asked director Cheng Hao to clean the stairwell and replace the sound system, leaving Cheng Hao puzzled.
• Sister Chen told Shen Xuanrun that photos from the set had sparked trending rumors about him and Gu Weichen.
• Shen Xuanrun checked Weibo and saw that commenters rejected the claim that he was clinging to powerful backers, noting his status as Shen Entertainment Company’s future heir.
• Jiang Yi realized he had accidentally given Shen publicity, while Shen opened another trending post and found netizens calling him Gu Weichen’s gentle little wife.

Shen Xuanrun tried to deny the rumors that he and Gu Weichen were a couple, but fans continued shipping them. Gu Weichen agreed to issue a joint clarification, then turned his attention to Jiang Yi and ordered steps to replace him as the male lead.

• Shen Xuanrun read the comments shipping him with Gu Weichen and posted that they were only friends, but the fans refused to believe him.
• Sister Chen called Shen Xuanrun and said she would ask Gu Weichen's assistant to arrange a joint explanation.
• Gu Weichen learned the photo of him and Shen Xuanrun was trending, opened Weibo, and read a fanfic about them.
• Gu Weichen agreed to issue a joint statement and said he knew who had taken the photo.
• Gu Weichen recalled Jiang Yi following him and ordered his assistant to contact Cheng Hao about replacing the male lead and to investigate Jiang Yi.

Shen Xuanrun arrived on set as rumors about him were being denied, then learned Jiang Yi had been replaced as the male lead. Jiang Yi failed to enlist help to reclaim the role and was ordered to leave, while Shen Xuanrun wondered who would take his place.

• Shen Xuanrun saw Jiang Yi on set and jokingly declared that he was a capitalist, while Deng Yingying admired his smile.
• Cheng Hao halted filming and told Jiang Yi that the male lead had been replaced and he had to leave.
• Jiang Yi blamed Shen Xuanrun, called Huang Shuangru without getting an answer, then asked a sleazy middle-aged man for help; the man said Cheng Hao had powerful backing and refused to intervene.
• Jiang Yi angrily demanded that Xiao Gao help him pack and overturned a table when he learned the assistant was still away.
• Crew members discussed Jiang Yi's replacement and his rude behavior as Shen Xuanrun returned to his lodgings and wondered who would take the role.
• The Gu Group and Shen Xuanrun's PR team refuted the online rumors, and shippers retreated to private groups to continue discussing their pairing.

Shen Xuanrun let Jiang Yi’s accusations and fans’ attacks build online while he waited to respond. As the hashtag demanding that Shen Xuanrun leave showbiz climbed the trending list, Gu Weichen called him directly.

• Sister Chen told Shen Xuanrun that Jiang Yi had accused a capitalist of replacing him and that online users were blaming Shen Xuanrun.
• Shen Xuanrun asked Sister Chen not to intervene yet, then read Jiang Yi’s post and the hostile comments on Weibo.
• Shen Xuanrun stayed in his room reading the script while Jiang Yi’s fans and passersby drove #Shen Xuanrun, Leave Showbiz# up the trending list.
• Jiang Yi gloated over the backlash against Shen Xuanrun.
• Cheng Hao told Gu Weichen that Jiang Yi’s post had harmed Shen Xuanrun, and Gu Weichen asked for Shen Xuanrun’s number instead of issuing a statement.
• Gu Weichen called Shen Xuanrun, introduced himself, and began speaking to him.

After Gu Weichen apologized to Shen Xuanrun and promised to give him dirt on Jiang Yi, Jiang Yi’s manager publicly ended their contract, prompting Jiang Yi to accuse her of betrayal and rally his fans against Shen Xuanrun. At the filming set, new male lead Yang Jiayu met Shen Xuanrun and chose to trust him despite the online accusations.

• Gu Weichen told Shen Xuanrun that he was responsible for replacing Jiang Yi and offered dirt on Jiang Yi as an apology.
• Huang Shuangru announced that she was terminating her contract with Jiang Yi, leaving Jiang Yi furious and suspicious.
• Jiang Yi accused Huang Shuangru of being bought off, and his fans attacked her and Shen Xuanrun online.
• Jiang Yi grew confident as his fans rallied behind him, while Shen Xuanrun ignored the crew’s strange looks when he arrived on set.
• Yang Jiayu met Shen Xuanrun, said he did not believe Jiang Yi’s accusations, and exchanged polite introductions with him.

Filming began, and Yang Jiayu impressed the cast with his portrayal of Lin Jiexuan returning home after his father’s death. Shen Xuanrun watched and learned from him, then discussed his online backlash with Yang; the chapter ended after the day’s filming, with Shen preparing for a scene with Yang the next day.

• The director started filming in chronological order, and Yang Jiayu convincingly portrayed Lin Jiexuan returning to a grief-stricken, war-torn homeland.
• Shen Xuanrun watched Yang Jiayu’s performance and quietly learned acting techniques from him.
• Shen Xuanrun ignored the growing online attacks, telling Yang Jiayu that he planned to make his attackers regret targeting him.
• Yang Jiayu called himself a coward and seemed overcome by painful memories, leaving Shen Xuanrun to wonder about the wound he was hiding.
• Yang Jiayu filmed Lin Jiexuan’s reunion with Mrs. Lin, who refused to explain the truth behind her husband’s death, prompting Lin Jiexuan to investigate secretly.
• After filming ended, Shen Xuanrun thought about his upcoming scene with Yang Jiayu.

Shen Xuanrun performed well as Zhao Ziru on set, where a Jiang Yi fan attempted to throw sulfuric acid at him but Little Li stopped the attack. After learning Jiang Yi’s fan had been arrested and seeing the online backlash, Shen Xuanrun spoke with Shen Qianxin and dreamed about her before waking up to continue working.

• Xiao Xu encouraged Shen Xuanrun, and he filmed Zhao Ziru asking his senior sister to help him sneak off to the library.
• Cheng Hao praised Shen Xuanrun’s performance and told him to adjust his positioning for the camera.
• A man approached Shen Xuanrun with sulfuric acid, but Little Li shielded him with his clothes and kicked the attacker away.
• Police arrested the attacker, and Cheng Hao told Shen Xuanrun the man was a Jiang Yi fan who had been influenced by Jiang Yi’s statements.
• Shen Xuanrun filmed the library meeting between Zhao Ziru and Lin Jiexuan, then read online reactions to the attack.
• Shen Qianxin called to check on Shen Xuanrun, and he dreamed of her asking him to give an umbrella to a snail before waking up.

After Shen Xuanrun survived an acid attack, Gu Weichen’s investigation exposed Jiang Yi as the one who had incited the attacker, and a crackdown revealed Jiang Yi’s wider crimes and the truth behind Lu Lu’s death. Jiang Yi was taken away by the military as the public learned how he had harmed others and manipulated his fans.

• Gu Weichen’s assistant reported that Jiang Yi had contacted Shen Xuanrun’s attacker and provoked him with damaging stories, and Gu Weichen said the time was almost right.
• As abuse against Shen Xuanrun peaked, he calmly finished filming and returned home to read his script.
• A trending report implicated five senior officials and Jiang Yi in gambling, prostitution, bribery, and other crimes, sparking a furious online argument among netizens and Jiang Yi’s fans.
• Netizens learned that Jiang Yi had drugged Lu Lu and delivered her to an investor, then leaked a video that fueled the harassment leading to her suicide.
• Lu Lu’s former boyfriend said he had never understood her breakup and regretted not forcing his way to her door, as the internet fell silent.
• Further allegations revealed Jiang Yi had spread rumors, coerced people, and harmed minors; netizens expressed anger and guilt while Jiang Yi remained in military custody.

After Gu Weichen took Shen Xuanrun to dinner, Shen explained how he had uncovered Jiang Yi’s crimes, easing Gu’s suspicions. They returned to the set and found a crowd waiting to apologize to Shen, leaving him unsure whether to face them.

• Online users apologized to Shen Xuanrun after learning the truth about Jiang Yi and the sulfuric acid attack.
• Gu Weichen invited Shen Xuanrun to dinner, and Shen eagerly ordered big pig trotters at a Chinese restaurant.
• Gu Weichen asked how Shen had discovered Jiang Yi’s actions, and Shen explained that he had contacted Lu Lu’s younger sister after another woman left the industry.
• Gu Weichen accepted Shen’s explanation and drove him back to the set.
• Gu Weichen learned that the crowd at the entrance had come to apologize to Shen and check whether he was hurt, while Shen nervously wondered whether to meet them.