Chapter Summaries

Ji Xiangyi, Ji Xiangzhou, and Ji Xiangchen defended Fang Ning when Old Madam Ji criticized her, and their grandmother left in anger. Afterward, Ji Xiangyi recalled how Old Madam Ji had tried to take control of the Ji Group after her parents died and reassured Fang Ning that she had not been too harsh.

• Ji Xiangyi returned home because she feared Old Madam Ji would criticize Fang Ning and sarcastically rebuked her grandmother for her views about women.
• Ji Xiangzhou and Ji Xiangchen also defended Fang Ning, calling Old Madam Ji backward and feudal.
• Old Madam Ji accused her grandchildren of siding with an outsider, but Ji Xiangyi insisted Fang Ning was her sister-in-law.
• Old Madam Ji left with her driver after complaining that Ji Guoning's children were bullying her.
• Fang Ning wondered if she had been too harsh, and Ji Xiangyi recalled Old Madam Ji's attempt to seize the Ji Group after her parents died before reassuring Fang Ning.

Fang Ning went out to eat with Ji Xiangyi and her siblings, then learned that none of them wanted to pick up Ji Xiangnian when he returned. When Fang Ning asked why they disliked him so much, Ji Xiangyi began recalling how he had interfered in her relationships.

• After Old Madam Ji left, Fang Ning joined Ji Xiangyi, Ji Xiangchen, and Ji Xiangzhou for a meal at a restaurant.
• Fang Ning asked whether the siblings would pick up Ji Xiangnian when he returned from his business trip the next day, but all three refused.
• Ji Xiangyi, Ji Xiangchen, and Ji Xiangzhou questioned why Ji Xiangnian needed anyone to pick him up.
• Fang Ning asked what Ji Xiangnian had done to make them hate him, and the siblings paused before returning to their meal.
• Ji Xiangyi recalled that Ji Xiangnian had transferred her to another school after she dated a boy in high school and later forced her to break up with two college boyfriends.

Fang Ning learned that Ji Xiangyi and Ji Xiangchen both disliked Ji Xiangnian, while Ji Xiangzhou disliked the whole family. She went to the airport to meet Ji Xiangnian, searching for his photo on her phone so she would recognize him.

• Ji Xiangyi recalled how Ji Xiangnian had criticized her romantic choices and controlled her career, and told Fang Ning she could not stand him.
• Ji Xiangchen remembered Ji Xiangnian insulting his decision to enter the entertainment industry and said he did not like him.
• Ji Xiangzhou said he disliked all the Ji siblings, and Fang Ning chose not to ask more about their family troubles.
• The next day, Fang Ning went to the airport to meet Ji Xiangnian and received his message that he had landed and would come to the east exit.
• Fang Ning searched online for Ji Xiangnian's photo and saw that he was handsome as he arrived with his assistant.

Ji Xiangnian returned from his business trip and told his assistant to clear his schedule, explaining that Fang Ning was meeting him at the airport. Fang Ning greeted her husband, privately considered him attractive but their marriage only contractual, and settled into her role as his partner.

• Ji Xiangnian refused a pickup from President Xia and asked his assistant to clear his schedule for the next few days.
• Ji Xiangnian told his assistant that Fang Ning was meeting him at the airport.
• Fang Ning searched the crowded airport exit for Ji Xiangnian, then heard him call her name from behind.
• Fang Ning admired Ji Xiangnian's appearance but reminded herself that their marriage was contractual and planned to become financially independent.
• Fang Ning welcomed Ji Xiangnian back and shook his hand, and he reflected that her smile was different from the one he remembered.

Fang Ning welcomed Ji Xiangnian home with sunflowers, and the two struggled through an awkwardly formal car ride. After thanking him for helping with her agency, Fang Ning relaxed and began talking animatedly, while Ji Xiangnian listened.

• Fang Ning gave Ji Xiangnian a bouquet of sunflowers to welcome him back.
• Ji Xiangnian assigned his assistant work on an acquisition and cooperation documents, gave him two days off, and left with Fang Ning.
• Fang Ning and Ji Xiangnian sat in awkward silence in the car before Fang Ning asked whether his business trip had gone smoothly.
• Fang Ning thanked Ji Xiangnian for helping with her agency and recounted how his call and Ji Xiangyi's intervention had affected her boss.
• Fang Ning grew more comfortable and talked animatedly about what had happened at the agency.

Ji Xiangnian returned to the Ji Family Villa with Fang Ning and noticed how warmly Xiangyi and Xiangchen had treated her while he was away. As Fang Ning shared the pastries Xiangchen had sent, Ji Xiangnian remained puzzled by how close his siblings had become to her.

• Ji Xiangnian remembered that Xiangyi had asked him to help Fang Ning and wondered why his reserved younger sister seemed so affectionate toward her.
• Ji Xiangnian and Fang Ning arrived at the Ji Family Villa and sat down to eat lunch.
• Butler Li brought pastries Xiangchen had ordered for Fang Ning after noticing she liked them on set.
• Xiangchen called Fang Ning, asked whether she had received the pastries, and offered to order them for her every day for a month.
• Fang Ning declined the daily deliveries, then offered Ji Xiangnian some of the pastries.

Fang Ning awkwardly dealt with Ji Xiangchen's possessive warning not to share his takeout with Ji Xiangnian, then spent the afternoon resting before running into Ji Xiangnian after work. The chapter left Fang Ning wondering whether Xia Qing might be the person Ji Xiangnian eventually loved, though the story had never revealed his feelings.

• Ji Xiangchen told Fang Ning not to share his takeout dessert with Ji Xiangnian, and Ji Xiangnian stopped reaching for it.
• Fang Ning tried to let Ji Xiangnian speak to Ji Xiangchen, but Ji Xiangchen ended the call before he could take the phone.
• Ji Xiangnian remarked that Fang Ning seemed to get along well with his younger siblings, and Fang Ning awkwardly agreed.
• After lunch, Ji Xiangnian went to the study while Fang Ning read her script and then fell asleep.
• Fang Ning encountered Ji Xiangnian after he finished working and wondered if Xia Qing, who secretly loved him, might be his eventual partner.

Fang Ning learned that Ji Xiangzhou needed a parent to attend his midterm-results meeting, and Ji Xiangnian agreed to go with her. The chapter ended when Ji Xiangnian arrived at Fang Ning’s room and noticed her pajama top had slipped off one shoulder.

• Fang Ning answered Ji Xiangzhou’s call and learned that his homeroom teacher wanted a parent to attend a meeting about his midterm results.
• Ji Xiangzhou complained about Ji Xiangnian, then hung up after Ji Xiangnian revealed he was listening.
• Ji Xiangnian told Fang Ning he had never attended one of Ji Xiangzhou’s parent-teacher meetings and offered to go with her.
• Fang Ning received notice that the meeting was the next day and went to tell Ji Xiangnian.
• Ji Xiangnian came to Fang Ning’s room and saw that her pajama top had slipped down to her shoulder.

Fang Ning and Ji Xiangnian awkwardly discussed Ji Xiangzhou’s parent-teacher meeting before Ji Xiangnian came to collect clothes from Fang Ning’s room. Their close encounter in the cramped closet left Fang Ning restless and unable to sleep.

• Ji Xiangnian asked Fang Ning when Ji Xiangzhou’s parent-teacher meeting would take place and arranged to attend.
• Ji Xiangnian told Fang Ning he had come to retrieve clothes still stored in her walk-in closet, and she let him into her room.
• Fang Ning and Ji Xiangnian gathered his clothes together in the cramped closet, where he helped her reach a hanger and they felt the tension between them.
• Ji Xiangnian collected his clothes, said good night to Fang Ning, and returned to his room.
• Fang Ning lay awake, puzzled by her racing heart after their close encounter.

After a charged encounter left Fang Ning and Ji Xiangnian unable to sleep, they faced each other the next morning before Ji Xiangzhou’s parent-teacher meeting. Fang Ning chose to keep their marriage strictly contractual, while Ji Xiangnian continued wrestling with his unexpected feelings.

• Fang Ning and Ji Xiangnian spent the night awake, each thinking about the tension between them.
• Fang Ning got up early with dark circles, and she and Ji Xiangnian exchanged an awkward, lingering look when he returned from his morning run.
• Fang Ning reminded herself that Ji Xiangnian had been tied to her tragic fate in the novel and decided to stick to their agreement, take the money, and divorce when the time came.
• Fang Ning spoke to Ji Xiangnian as usual and went to the dining room, while he noticed her sudden composure and sighed.
• Ji Xiangnian reflected on their age gap, values, and families, and admitted to himself that Fang Ning was not the kind of woman he usually preferred.

Ji Xiangnian realized he had developed feelings for Fang Ning and wondered whether their marriage certificate gave him an advantage. He drove her to Ji Xiangzhou’s parent-teacher meeting, invited her to dinner, and they arrived at the meeting room before the teacher.

• After Fang Ning left, Ji Xiangnian recognized that his feelings for her had changed and decided not to hide them.
• Ji Xiangnian drove Fang Ning to Ji Xiangzhou’s parent-teacher meeting, pretending that Uncle Zhou had taken time off.
• On the drive, Ji Xiangnian invited Fang Ning to dinner as thanks for helping with Xiangzhou, and she agreed.
• Fang Ning led Ji Xiangnian to the meeting room, where they took seats near the back as the homeroom teacher had not yet arrived.

Ji Xiangnian and Fang Ning attended Ji Xiangzhou’s parent-teacher meeting, where Ji Xiangzhou resented his brother’s presence and mocked the age difference between him and Fang Ning. The chapter left Ji Xiangnian feeling dejected after being called an old man by his younger brother.

• Ji Xiangnian and Fang Ning arrived at the parent-teacher meeting, and Ji Xiangnian told other parents they were there for their younger brother.
• Ye Yang spotted Fang Ning and Ji Xiangnian and called out to Ji Xiangzhou that his brother and sister-in-law had arrived.
• Ji Xiangzhou approached them, ignored the empty seat beside Ji Xiangnian, and sat next to Fang Ning instead.
• Ji Xiangzhou questioned why Ji Xiangnian had come, while Ji Xiangnian remarked that Ji Xiangzhou had grown taller.
• When other parents mistook Ji Xiangnian and Fang Ning for Ji Xiangzhou’s brother and sister, Ji Xiangzhou clarified that they were husband and wife.
• Ji Xiangzhou agreed that the couple looked mismatched and said people might think an older man had married a much younger woman, leaving Ji Xiangnian dejected.

Ji Xiangnian worried that Fang Ning might consider them a poor match, then faced criticism from Ji Xiangzhou and the homeroom teacher over his lack of involvement. After the meeting, Fang Ning invited Ji Xiangzhou to join the meal she had already planned with Ji Xiangnian.

• Ji Xiangnian wondered whether Fang Ning thought he was ill-matched with her after Ji Xiangzhou's blunt remarks.
• The homeroom teacher discussed Ji Xiangzhou's exam results and upcoming mathematics competition with Fang Ning and Ji Xiangnian, criticizing Ji Xiangnian for missing past meetings.
• Ji Xiangzhou mocked Ji Xiangnian for neglecting him and leaving Fang Ning soon after their wedding to go on a business trip.
• Ji Xiangnian planned to take Fang Ning out to eat after driving Ji Xiangzhou home, while Ji Xiangzhou asked to be dropped at a shopping plaza so he could treat Fang Ning.
• Fang Ning explained that she and Ji Xiangnian had already planned to eat together and invited Ji Xiangzhou to come along at Ji Xiangnian's expense.

Ji Xiangnian’s hoped-for date with Fang Ning became a meal for three after Ji Xiangzhou joined them, and Fang Ning learned about his impressive competition results. The three left the restaurant together and ran into one of Ji Xiangnian’s business associates and his family.

• Ji Xiangzhou joined Ji Xiangnian and Fang Ning for dinner, frustrating Ji Xiangnian’s plan for a date.
• At the restaurant, Fang Ning asked Ji Xiangzhou about his studies, and he said he had earned full marks on past competition papers and expected guaranteed admission to Tsinghua University.
• Ji Xiangnian noticed Ji Xiangzhou was unusually talkative and warm with Fang Ning, though he treated Ji Xiangnian coldly.
• After the meal, Ji Xiangnian, Fang Ning, and Ji Xiangzhou left the restaurant and encountered a company head Ji Xiangnian worked with, accompanied by his wife and daughter.

Ji Xiangnian introduced Fang Ning as his wife to General Manager Li, using the marriage to deflect attention from Li Yanyan. Fang Ning was left flustered by his touch, and the chapter ended with her pretending nothing was wrong as they drove away.

• General Manager Li introduced his daughter, Li Yanyan, to Ji Xiangnian, who initially left her offered hand hanging while he glanced at Fang Ning.
• Ji Xiangnian took Fang Ning's hand and introduced her to General Manager Li as his wife.
• Fang Ning felt unsettled by Ji Xiangnian's warm, firm hand, while General Manager Li congratulated them and remarked on their match.
• Ji Xiangnian, Fang Ning, and Ji Xiangzhou returned to the car, where Fang Ning tried to cool down and kept glancing at Ji Xiangnian's hands.
• Ji Xiangnian asked what was wrong, and Fang Ning concealed her frustration by saying she was thinking about a few things.

Fang Ning tried to cool her confused feelings for Ji Xiangnian by swimming, but he noticed her distress and went to help her. As they walked toward the changing room, he asked whether something had happened, leaving Fang Ning unsure how to explain that he was the cause.

• Fang Ning struggled to focus on her script after Ji Xiangnian held her hand, then went to swim in the villa pool to calm down.
• Ji Xiangnian paused his work when he heard someone swimming and saw Fang Ning in the pool.
• Ji Xiangnian abandoned his documents and went downstairs to help Fang Ning out of the water and wrap her in a towel.
• Ji Xiangnian asked Fang Ning whether something had happened, and she realized she could hardly tell him that her feelings for him were troubling her.

Fang Ning took Ji Xiangnian’s advice as a reminder to set aside her feelings for him and leave when their contract ended. After they returned from the pool, Ji Xiangzhou saw them together and wildly misread their closeness.

• Ji Xiangnian compared Fang Ning to the flowers in the villa’s greenhouse and urged her not to let anything hold her back.
• Fang Ning decided to suppress her romantic feelings for Ji Xiangnian, wait for their contract to end, and leave with the money.
• Ji Xiangnian said he suddenly wanted to swim, and he and Fang Ning spent over half an hour at the pool.
• Ji Xiangzhou came out of his room, saw the two with wet hair and towels, and imagined they had been intimate in the pool.
• Ji Xiangnian asked Ji Xiangzhou why he looked dazed, and Fang Ning questioned why he was heading back toward his room instead of downstairs for food.

Fang Ning and Ji Xiangnian awkwardly explained their late-night swim to Ji Xiangzhou, then went shopping for dresses for an upcoming charity reception. Ji Xiangyi returned from City A and invited Fang Ning to eat, but Fang Ning was already out with Ji Xiangnian.

• Ji Xiangzhou hinted that Fang Ning and Ji Xiangnian should show restraint, and they awkwardly insisted they had only gone swimming.
• Fang Ning turned the tables by teasing Ji Xiangzhou about being a noob at his game, sending him back to his room.
• Ji Xiangnian invited Fang Ning to choose dresses for the charity reception, and she eagerly agreed.
• The next day, Ji Xiangnian booked a brand counter and arranged a runway show while Fang Ning looked for a dress.
• Ji Xiangyi called Fang Ning to invite her to a meal, but Fang Ning said she was choosing dresses with Ji Xiangnian.

Fang Ning tried on gowns for a banquet while Ji Xiangnian hoped to spend the evening alone with her, but Ji Xiangyi arrived and joined them. Ji Xiangyi praised Fang Ning in a black gown, while Ji Xiangnian’s restrained reaction drew her criticism.

• Fang Ning told Ji Xiangyi about the banquet, and Ji Xiangyi offered to come help her choose a gown and treat her to dinner.
• Ji Xiangnian planned a date at a nearby snack street, but Fang Ning told him Ji Xiangyi was coming to see her and had invited her to dinner.
• Fang Ning offered to go home with Ji Xiangyi without Ji Xiangnian, but he insisted on joining them.
• Ji Xiangnian considered giving Ji Xiangyi more responsibility in the family business and planned extra tutoring for Ji Xiangzhou.
• Fang Ning tried on a black mermaid gown and asked Ji Xiangnian what he thought; he said it was all right.
• Ji Xiangyi arrived, praised Fang Ning’s gown, and criticized Ji Xiangnian for failing to compliment her.

Ji Xiangyi took Fang Ning shopping for gowns and criticized Ji Xiangnian for his poor compliments, then urged Fang Ning to buy both dresses. The next afternoon, Fang Ning got ready for Ji Xiangnian’s charity gala, and his classmate makeup artist began to understand why he had fallen for her.

• Ji Xiangyi returned from City A and joined Fang Ning and Ji Xiangnian at a dress shop.
• Ji Xiangyi and Fang Ning admired two gowns, but Ji Xiangnian said the black one was better, prompting Ji Xiangyi to criticize him.
• Ji Xiangyi told Fang Ning to buy both gowns, and Fang Ning gratefully admired her generosity.
• The next afternoon, Ji Xiangnian’s high school classmate did Fang Ning’s makeup and dressed her in a gown and jewelry for the charity gala.
• The makeup artist praised Fang Ning’s refined, ethereal appearance and understood why Ji Xiangnian had fallen for her.