Chapter Summaries

Bai Congming cared for the injured Ding Ding while Auntie Zhou warned that his ankle might be broken and needed hospital treatment. In a dreamlike vision of walking into a lake to die, Ding Ding remembered Bai Congming and crawled back out, and the chapter left him unconscious as Bai Congming tended his wounds.

• Auntie Zhou brought Bai Congming medicine and patches, explained how to use them, and told him to take Ding Ding to the hospital because his ankle might be broken.
• Bai Congming stayed beside Ding Ding and fell asleep while holding the edge of his underwear so he would not disappear.
• Ding Ding walked into a lake intending to die, but a one-yuan note and memories of Bai Congming made him stop and crawl back out.
• Bai Congming woke at noon, checked Ding Ding's injuries, and rubbed safflower oil onto his scrapes.

Ding Ding woke at Bai Congming’s home with a badly injured ankle, and Bai Congming insisted on taking him to the hospital despite his objections. On the way, Ding Ding defended Bai Congming from a driver’s attempt to overcharge them, then began to worry that staying with him would make Bai Congming’s difficult life harder.

• Ding Ding woke at Bai Congming’s home, accepted food and clean clothes, and learned that Bai Congming had been injured by someone who hit him with a wall.
• Bai Congming bought Ding Ding new slippers and carried him out to take him to the hospital, ignoring Ding Ding’s insistence that he could recover at home.
• On the way, Ding Ding told Bai Congming he was clever rather than a fool, and Bai Congming happily scratched his palm while they held hands.
• At the hospital, Ding Ding stopped the tricycle driver from charging Bai Congming two hundred yuan and paid him ten yuan instead.
• Ding Ding reflected on the hardship of being gay and worried that his presence would make Bai Congming’s already difficult life harder, then urged him to get treated.

After learning his injured leg only had a hairline fracture, Ding Ding walked back with Bai Congming and shared his worries about losing everything. Bai Congming insisted they live together and support each other, and Ding Ding agreed to stay with him.

• Bai Congming anxiously accompanied Ding Ding through an X-ray, which showed a hairline fracture that needed a cast but no hospital stay.
• Bai Congming supported Ding Ding on their walk back, and Ding Ding told him about losing his company, factory, home, car, and money.
• Ding Ding explained that he had let the worker who injured him go without compensation because the worker's mother needed medication, and Bai Congming urged him not to hit people.
• Bai Congming repeatedly told Ding Ding they had money and could live together, promising to support and treat him well.
• At the doorway, Ding Ding hesitated, then accepted Bai Congming's invitation to stay together.

Ding Ding mistook Bai Congming’s bouquet for a gift from someone else, then learned Bai Congming had bought it for him while searching for him. They shared a kiss and grew intimate, and the chapter ended with Ding Ding refusing Bai Congming’s offer to take care of him.

• Ding Ding noticed the bouquet beside the wardrobe and angrily asked Bai Congming who had given it to him.
• Bai Congming said he had bought the flowers for Ding Ding, then showed him a comic to explain the kind of kiss he wanted.
• Ding Ding gave Bai Congming a long kiss and learned that Bai Congming had searched for him at the company the day before.
• Ding Ding held Bai Congming as they became intimate, with the comic playing beside them.
• Bai Congming offered to do things for Ding Ding, but Ding Ding stopped him and said he did not need him to.

Ding Ding reflected on his selfish motives as Bai Congming cared for him, then accepted that he wanted to stay with him despite having little to offer. The two agreed to live together, and Ding Ding promised to help build them a proper home once he recovered.

• Bai Congming cared for Ding Ding and went out to buy cured pork for their dinner.
• Ding Ding found a note from an elder praising Bai Congming and warning him not to harbor bad intentions.
• Bai Congming said he wanted Ding Ding to live with him, and Ding Ding promised he would not leave.
• Bai Congming accidentally jolted Ding Ding's injured foot while celebrating, making it bleed through the dressing.
• Ding Ding and Bai Congming shared rice with cured pork and agreed to buy an induction cooker and cook together.

Bai Congming brought Ding Ding a hydrangea and explained that his mother lived in the bougainvillea, prompting Ding Ding to bow to her and later introduce himself to the flowers. After Bai Congming left for the nursery, Ding Ding tended the courtyard and spoke at length to the flowers, promising to treat Bai Congming well.

• Bai Congming hurried home with a pale blue hydrangea for Ding Ding, then buried it beneath the bougainvillea as an offering to his mother.
• Ding Ding learned that Bai Congming believed his mother lived in the bougainvillea and bowed to the flower patch, nearly falling as he stood up.
• Bai Congming praised Ding Ding for brushing his teeth, shared a meal with him, and gave him all the household money before returning to the nursery.
• Ding Ding promised Bai Congming they would share a life together, and they sealed it with a pinky promise before Bai Congming left.
• Ding Ding took his medicine, worried over their dwindling money, watered the courtyard plants, and introduced himself to Bai Congming’s mother through the bougainvillea.
• Ding Ding told the flowers about his family and promised that he would be good to Bai Congming.

Ding Ding waited for Bai Congming to come home, then learned that police had brought him back after recovering his stolen wallet. Bai Congming feared arrest because he had taken a bottle of water when he was desperately thirsty, and Ding Ding reassured him that it did not make him a bad person.

• Ding Ding cleaned the house, made tea, and waited for Bai Congming to return.
• Ding Ding saw Bai Congming coming home with Auntie Zhou and two plainclothes officers from the Huachao District Police Station.
• The officers returned Bai Congming's wallet, which had been stolen by a worker caught during a gambling raid.
• Bai Congming panicked and apologized for drinking an unopened bottle of water left at a food stall, believing the police had come to arrest him.
• Ding Ding comforted Bai Congming and explained that taking a drink did not make him a bad person.
• Bai Congming told the officers about the theft, and they advised him to seek their help if anything similar happened again.

Ding Ding took Bai Congming to a barbecue restaurant to make up for his exhausting night and help him enjoy a meal. After feeding him, Ding Ding borrowed the owner’s phone and called a woman, hinting at the twenty thousand yuan he had given her years earlier.

• Ding Ding comforted Bai Congming at home and promised to take him out for meat.
• Ding Ding brought Bai Congming to a barbecue restaurant and told him to sit beside him instead of worrying about what everyone else did.
• Bai Congming eagerly counted while Ding Ding grilled meat, then ate most of it as Ding Ding fed and cleaned him.
• Ding Ding ordered cold noodles and borrowed the owner’s phone to make a call.
• Ding Ding told the woman on the phone to look at the roadside trees and compare them to the twenty thousand yuan he had given her years earlier.

Ding Ding arranged for an acquaintance to retrieve his belongings, then spent the day with Bai Congming, who insisted on caring for him despite his injured foot. After Bai Congming carried him home and tended to him, Ding Ding watched him fall asleep and thought of himself as a mountain that had crumbled onto Bai Congming.

• Ding Ding told the man on the phone where to collect his belongings and deliver them, then returned the borrowed phone to Bai Congming.
• Ding Ding bought a cactus after Bai Congming admitted he liked it, and Bai Congming helped him carry the groceries home.
• When Ding Ding’s foot began to hurt, Bai Congming refused to leave him behind and carried him home with the heavy bag.
• Bai Congming changed Ding Ding’s dressing and waited outside the bathroom while Ding Ding washed.
• Bai Congming fell asleep as soon as he lay down, and Ding Ding reflected that his crumbling mountain had come down upon Bai Congming.

Bai Congming grew more sociable at the flower nursery while Ding Ding encouraged him to share the details of his day at home. Auntie Zhou learned that Bai Congming already had someone, but Aunt Xie still planned to bring her niece to meet him.

• Auntie Zhou thanked Aunt Xie for talking with Bai Congming, and Aunt Xie proposed introducing him to her unmarried niece, who had a leg injury.
• Auntie Zhou told Aunt Xie that Bai Congming already had someone and said he would have to decide for himself; Aunt Xie agreed to bring her niece for a visit.
• Bai Congming showed Ding Ding that he had used the yellow blanket, and Ding Ding praised and kissed him before they ate.
• Ding Ding asked Bai Congming about his work, meals, and conversations at the nursery, and Bai Congming eagerly recounted what the women had discussed.
• Ding Ding told Bai Congming to walk away when people discussed intimate matters, and Bai Congming obediently agreed.

Ding Shu visited her younger brother Ding Ding, brought him his identification documents and money, and urged him to get checked by a clinic. When Bai Congming came home, Ding Shu met the boyfriend Ding Ding had been cooking for and suspected he was being forced into the relationship.

• Ding Ding welcomed Ding Shu to Bai Congming's home and explained that he had sold his own place and was living with his boyfriend.
• Ding Shu gave Ding Ding his identification documents and an old phone, offered him money, and promised to bring him new clothes.
• Ding Shu learned that Ding Ding was taking medicine without knowing what it was for, and she insisted on taking him to get a replacement SIM card and visit a clinic.
• Ding Ding refused to go because he wanted to cook for Bai Congming, who returned home and cautiously greeted Ding Shu.
• Ding Shu told Bai Congming to blink if Ding Ding was forcing him into the relationship.

Ding Shu confronted Ding Ding over making Bai Congming work, but seeing how lovingly they protected each other, she accepted that Bai Congming was happy with him. When Ding Ding left with Ding Shu to replace his SIM card, Bai Congming feared he would be abandoned, but Ding Ding returned and comforted him.

• Ding Shu called Ding Ding by his birth name and accused him of exploiting Bai Congming, while Ding Ding defended their relationship.
• Bai Congming shielded Ding Ding from Ding Shu, then apologized after Ding Ding explained she was his older sister.
• Ding Shu arranged to buy appliances for Ding Ding and offered to take him out to replace his SIM card.
• Bai Congming secretly followed Ding Ding and Ding Shu, then watched them drive away and returned home afraid Ding Ding would not come back.
• Ding Ding returned to find Bai Congming crying beneath the bougainvillea and reassured him that he would take him along next time.

Ding Ding comforted Bai Congming by giving him a phone and teaching him how to call, video chat, and contact the police. After Bai Congming fell asleep, Ding Ding handled business messages and refused Manager Liu’s request to resubmit fabric that had been auctioned during bankruptcy liquidation.

• Ding Ding gave Bai Congming a phone and taught him to answer calls, reassuring him that he could always reach Ding Ding.
• Bai Congming told Ding Ding about his day at the nursery, then learned to make calls and video calls while Ding Ding hid from view.
• Ding Ding and Bai Congming played in the courtyard before Bai Congming fell asleep in Ding Ding’s arms.
• Ding Ding replied to overseas clients that his company was moving and considered whether to start another business.
• Ding Ding told Manager Liu that the Roman fabric had been auctioned during liquidation and wished him luck with Mingpin Textiles.
• Bai Congming murmured in his sleep that he had a wife, and that it was Brother Ding.

Ding Shu told Ding Ding that their father had liver cancer and little time left, prompting Ding Ding to recall how his family had favored him as their only son and cast him out after he came out as gay. The chapter ended with Ding Ding remembering that Ding Zhaodi had bravely resisted being married off to fund his future.

• Ding Shu brought appliances to Ding Ding’s home and waited to see the clothes being delivered.
• Ding Ding video-called Bai Congming, who showed him his lunch and described his day at the flower nursery.
• Ding Shu told Ding Ding that their father had liver cancer and did not have much time left.
• Ding Ding recalled his original name, Ding Yaozu, and how his family had raised him as their only son while his sisters sacrificed their opportunities.
• Ding Ding remembered coming out as gay, being driven from home by his father, and later learning his family had another son named Ding Xianzong.
• Ding Ding recalled that Ding Zhaodi had been forced to leave school so their parents could marry her off, but she had made a brave decision.

Ding Shu recalled how Ding Ding rescued her after their parents refused to pay her ransom, and the siblings reunited over a meal and a visit to Sun Chang'an's clinic. The chapter ended with Ding Ding asking Ding Shu to design matching rings for them.

• Ding Shu remembered fleeing home after her parents planned to withdraw her from school, only to be abducted by traffickers.
• When their parents refused to pay the ransom, Ding Ding brought twenty thousand yuan and freed Ding Shu.
• Ding Ding and Ding Shu visited Sun Chang'an's clinic, where Sun Chang'an said Ding Ding should keep taking his medicine because Little Bai was worried about him.
• Ding Shu added Sun Chang'an on WeChat, then showed Ding Ding the jewelry in her company car.
• Ding Ding asked Ding Shu to design a pair of matching rings, and she told him to send her the sizes.

Sun Xiangxiang visited Bai Congming at the nursery, bringing him sour plum drink and making friends with him. After learning he could use his phone to contact her, Bai Congming decided he wanted to buy flowers for Ding Ding.

• Sun Chang'an teased Sun Xiangxiang into paying two hundred before telling her about Bai Congming.
• Sun Xiangxiang visited Bai Congming at Greenhouse No. 3 and praised him for pruning a peony with gray spots.
• Sun Xiangxiang gave Bai Congming sour plum drink and chocolate, and apologized when her concern about him boiling it upset him.
• Sun Xiangxiang offered to teach Bai Congming to use his phone and explained that they were friends.
• Bai Congming asked Sun Xiangxiang for her phone number so he could buy flowers for Ding Ding.

Bai Congming spent the day chatting with Sun Xiangxiang and collecting his nursery wages, while Ding Ding realized how little he earned and went to ask about it. Auntie Zhou stopped Ding Ding and heard his concern, then called him a good kid.

• Sun Xiangxiang asked Bai Congming about his relationship with Brother Ding and recognized that Ding Ding had broken his leg.
• Bai Congming finished work and happily reunited with Ding Ding, who was waiting on an electric scooter.
• Bai Congming collected five hundred yuan, gave some back for rent, and told Ding Ding his monthly pay was eight hundred yuan.
• Ding Ding grew angry about Bai Congming's low wages and headed to question Granny Sun, but Auntie Zhou intercepted him.
• Ding Ding explained that Bai Congming worked hard and deserved fairer pay, and Auntie Zhou called him a good kid.

Ding Ding accepted Bai Congming’s saved wages and promised to open him a flower shop, then surprised him by furnishing his home and giving him a key. Bai Congming called him love sent by his mother, and Ding Ding realized that the care between them carried forward the love Bai Congming had lost.

• Auntie Zhou gave Ding Ding the portion of Bai Congming’s wages she had been keeping, while reserving his emergency money and warning Ding Ding to treat him well.
• Ding Ding asked whether Bai Congming wanted a flower shop, and Bai Congming eagerly said yes.
• Auntie Xie reminded Auntie Zhou that her niece would arrive the following week, but Auntie Zhou asked for more time to think about arranging a meeting.
• Ding Ding gave Bai Congming a key to the newly secured gate and revealed that he had furnished the once-empty home.
• Bai Congming cried in Ding Ding’s arms and asked whether his mother had sent Ding Ding to love him; Ding Ding replied that Bai Congming had loved him first.

After a night of intimacy with Ding Ding, Bai Congming worried that he did little for him and decided to buy fireworks as a gift. Ding Shu offered to take Bai Congming to buy them, and he quietly asked her to give Ding Ding some of the money if she sold him.

• Ding Ding and Bai Congming spent the night together, and Ding Ding arranged for Bai Congming to take the day off and rest.
• Bai Congming woke hungry and thought about how Ding Ding had cared for him and treasured the flowers he brought home.
• Bai Congming contacted Sun Xiangxiang to ask where he could buy fireworks, explaining that he wanted to make Ding Ding happy.
• Ding Shu arrived and offered to take Bai Congming to buy fireworks, so he took money from the Little Piggy Bank and went with her.
• When Ding Shu joked that she might sell him, Bai Congming asked her to give some of the money to Ding Ding.

Bai Congming and Ding Shu went to buy fireworks for Ding Ding, and Bai Congming showed Ding Shu that he considered her family despite her past behavior. At the warehouse, he spent all the money he had saved on fireworks for Brother Ding.

• Ding Shu drove Bai Congming toward M City to get fireworks, and Ding Ding called to demand they return home.
• Bai Congming admitted he was not a child and asked Ding Ding to be good, quieting Ding Ding's anger.
• Ding Shu apologized for the scene she had made at Bai Congming's home, and Bai Congming forgave her because she was family and good to Ding Ding.
• Ding Shu arranged for workers to load three boxes of fireworks into the car.
• Bai Congming recalled how his mother had promised him fireworks, then gave Ding Shu all 397 yuan he had to pay for them.