Chapter Summaries

Ding Shu came to understand that she wanted the unwavering love Ding Ding and Bai Congming shared, then accepted Sun Chang'an's invitation to dinner. At home, Ding Ding and Bai Congming enjoyed their time together until Auntie Zhou arrived and asked to join their meal.

• Ding Shu punched Ding Ding before leaving, then cried in her car over wanting to be loved as surely as Ding Ding was.
• Sun Chang'an rescued a kitten near Ding Shu's car, and Ding Shu invited him to dinner.
• Ding Ding learned Bai Congming had bought fireworks for him, and the two discussed dinner and Bai Congming going out without his phone.
• Bai Congming video-called Sun Xiangxiang, but a strange man answered and said she was asleep before hanging up.
• Auntie Zhou visited Ding Ding and Bai Congming with jars and asked whether she could stay for dinner.

Auntie Zhou visited Ding Ding and raised concerns about his relationship with Bai Congming, asking Ding Ding to let Bai Congming meet a woman from the nursery. Ding Ding said he would think about it, leaving the proposed meeting unresolved.

• Ding Ding welcomed Auntie Zhou to dinner and stopped Bai Congming from going out to fetch her rabbit after dark.
• Bai Congming made sour plum drink with a packet from Sun Xiangxiang while Ding Ding and Auntie Zhou talked.
• Auntie Zhou asked Ding Ding about his work and his relationship with Bai Congming.
• Auntie Zhou suggested Bai Congming meet her acquaintance’s niece, arguing that he should consider whether he might be happier with a woman and warning Ding Ding could leave him someday.
• Bai Congming came inside to tell Ding Ding the drink was hot, and Ding Ding told Auntie Zhou he would think about her suggestion.

Ding Ding tried to understand Bai Congming’s feelings and reassured Auntie Zhou that he could not do without him. A week later, Bai Congming brought Xie Xiao Hua home for dinner, and Ding Ding noticed their linked arms before learning she was not the person who had given Bai Congming his comic book.

• Ding Ding watched fireworks with Bai Congming and wondered whether Bai Congming’s affection for him was love.
• Bai Congming noticed Ding Ding was unhappy, insisted he wanted to treat him well, and told him he did not want anyone else.
• Ding Ding asked why Bai Congming had taken him home, and Bai Congming said Ding Ding was good-looking and he wanted him to be his wife.
• Ding Ding took Bai Congming to the nursery and told Auntie Zhou that he was now the one who could not do without Bai Congming.
• A week later, Bai Congming called Ding Ding to ask if he could bring a friend home for dinner.
• Ding Ding saw Bai Congming helping Xie Xiao Hua into the courtyard, then learned she was not the girl who had given Bai Congming the comic book.

Ding Ding tried to discourage Xie Xiao Hua from pursuing Bai Congming, but she confessed that she wanted to marry him and assumed he had accepted her. Bai Congming rejected her, declared that Ding Ding was his wife, and the two drove Xie Xiao Hua from their home.

• Ding Ding took Bai Congming's bowl away after Xie Xiao Hua placed a chicken wing in it with her chopsticks.
• Ding Ding learned that Xie Xiao Hua was the niece from the Xie Family and recalled that her relatives had brought her to meet Bai Congming.
• Xie Xiao Hua confessed that she liked Bai Congming and offered to care for Ding Ding in old age, while Bai Congming called Ding Ding his wifey.
• Xie Xiao Hua mistook Bai Congming's call for acceptance until he rejected her and kissed Ding Ding, declaring that he already had a wife.
• Ding Ding told Xie Xiao Hua that he and Bai Congming liked each other, and she left after calling them disgusting.

Ding Ding taught Bai Congming why seeing him hold hands with someone else had made him jealous, and Bai Congming comforted him by washing his “bad hand.” After learning Bai Congming had helped Xie Xiao Hua make crafts because he thought his piggy bank was empty, Ding Ding gave him wages, and Bai Congming proposed using the money for a movie date.

• Ding Ding lightly switched Bai Congming’s palm and explained that he was upset because Bai Congming had held hands with Xie Xiao Hua.
• Ding Ding asked how Bai Congming would feel if he hugged, held hands with, or kissed someone else, and Bai Congming cried and rammed his head into Ding Ding’s stomach.
• Bai Congming offered his hand as a bad hand he no longer wanted, and Ding Ding reassured him and helped him wash it.
• Bai Congming explained that Xie Xiao Hua had taught him to make small crafts to sell, and that he had invited her to eat because he felt sorry for her.
• Bai Congming showed Ding Ding his empty piggy bank, so Ding Ding gave him five hundred in wages.
• Bai Congming said he wanted to use the money to go on a movie date with Ding Ding.

Bai Congming tried to earn money for a date with Ding Ding, while the pair settled into a comfortable daily life. When Bai Congming grew gloomy and muttered that everyone was bad, Ding Ding began investigating and stumbled into a clothing shop, where he recognized how cheaply its merchandise had been made.

• Bai Congming learned about dating from Sun Xiangxiang’s comic videos and decided he should make up for skipping that stage with Ding Ding.
• Bai Congming asked the nursery aunties for ways to earn money, and Xie Xiao Hua made resin flower earrings for him to sell.
• Ding Ding and Bai Congming settled into a routine of work, meals, outings, and dates as the seasons changed.
• Bai Congming became listless and tearfully told Ding Ding that everyone was bad, so Ding Ding secretly gave him a voice recorder and went exploring around M City.
• Ding Ding bought a knitted shirt for forty yuan, examined its yarn, and calculated that it had cost about eight yuan fifty to make.

Ding Ding learned that Bai Congming had been injured in a fight with Wang Lao'er, who had been harassing him because of gossip spread by Xie Xiao Hua. After checking Bai Congming’s bruises, Ding Ding listened to the voice recorder and discovered Wang Lao'er had insulted him until Bai Congming struck him with a flowerpot.

• Ding Ding met Bai Congming and Auntie Zhou outside and learned Bai Congming had been sent home to recover until the following Wednesday.
• Auntie Zhou explained that Wang Lao'er had targeted Bai Congming after Xie Xiao Hua revealed his relationship with Ding Ding to others.
• Ding Ding inspected Bai Congming and found a bruise on his waist and scrapes on his knees; Bai Congming said he had fought a bad man.
• That night, Ding Ding played the voice recorder and heard Wang Lao'er insult him and provoke Bai Congming.
• Bai Congming told Wang Lao'er to stop talking about Brother Ding, then struck him with a flowerpot, and the recorder shut off.

After a night spent outside, Ding Ding took Bai Congming’s former bully Wang Lao'er to task by disguising himself as a landscaping buyer and infiltrating the nursery where he worked. He left with Wang Lao'er's WeChat and photos, while Wang Lao'er believed he had landed a major deal.

• Ding Ding sat awake in the courtyard all night, and Bai Congming found him shivering in the morning and made him come inside.
• Bai Congming hoped to go on a date, but Ding Ding asked him to wait at home and promised they would have hot pot at noon.
• Ding Ding called an associate to ask for information about Wang Lao'er, then went to the nursery where Wang Lao'er worked.
• Ding Ding pretended to be a landscaping buyer from another city and claimed Wang Lao'er was an old friend from his hometown.
• Wang Lao'er added Ding Ding on WeChat and helped him take photos of the nursery's plants, believing the visit could lead to a large order.

Ding Ding and Bai Congming spent a warm day together, and Ding Ding asked Bai Congming to call him “hubby” during an intimate moment. After learning about Wang Lao'er’s troubled past, Ding Ding discovered Bai Congming’s birthday and ended the day coaxing him after upsetting him.

• Ding Ding returned home with groceries, and Bai Congming eagerly told him about the chores he had done while waiting.
• Ding Ding and Bai Congming ate hot pot, napped together, and shared an intimate moment after Ding Ding asked Bai Congming to call him “hubby.”
• Ding Ding ordered pot chicken and explained that “hubby” was a term of address that made him happy.
• Ding Ding read Xiao Li’s information about Wang Lao’er and learned that Wang Lao’er had served eight years in prison and owed money.
• Ding Ding found Bai Congming’s ID card and noted that his birthday was July fifth, then took cold medicine after realizing he had a cold.
• Ding Ding upset Bai Congming, who refused to speak to him for five minutes before agreeing to shorten the punishment to one minute.

Ding Ding manipulated Wang Lao'er into promising a costly gift to secure a nursery deal, while recovering beside Bai Congming. An email then offered Ding Ding a low-effort way to earn money, and he spent the night watching Ultraman with Bai Congming.

• Ding Ding told Wang Lao'er that a rival nursery had offered a lower price and hinted that a valuable gift might win the deal.
• Wang Lao'er asked the nursery manager to cut prices, but the manager refused, so Wang Lao'er agreed to arrange an even bigger gift and asked Ding Ding to stall until next Wednesday.
• Ding Ding checked his messages, then sought comfort from Bai Congming, who refused to kiss him because he was sick.
• Ding Ding received an email offering to connect him with garment factories selling cheap leftover stock, which suited his wish to earn money without becoming too busy.
• Ding Ding played Ultraman Tiga for Bai Congming and pretended to transform into Ultraman to protect him from monsters.

Ding Ding kept Bai Congming close while secretly drawing Wang Lao'er deeper into a scheme involving the nursery, accepting money and delaying his replies. The chapter ended with Ding Ding calling Wang Lao'er back after ignoring his messages, as Wang Lao'er anxiously demanded an explanation.

• Wang Lao'er won a large card game, promised Brother Dong he would repay his debts, and waited for a response from Ding Ding.
• Ding Ding pretended to be sick to keep Bai Congming home, though he had already recovered and planned to avoid the nursery after receiving Wang Lao'er's 100,000-yuan transfer.
• Ding Ding received another four-figure transfer from Wang Lao'er, who asked him to put in a good word for the nursery's order.
• Ding Ding went shopping, returned to Bai Congming waiting outside without his keys, and warned him to avoid the man he had fought with.
• Ding Ding hugged Bai Congming before he left for work, then called Wang Lao'er back after ignoring his messages until the afternoon.

After losing everything gambling, Wang Lao'er learned that Ding Ding had failed to secure the nursery deal and tried to flee after attacking a fellow gambler. The police arrested him for stealing Granny Sun’s Shimpaku juniper, and with Granny Sun refusing to forgive him, he faced criminal prosecution.

• Wang Lao'er lost all his money at the gambling den, and Ding Ding told him the nursery had chosen another supplier after he sent the money too late.
• Wang Lao'er tried to escape his gambling debts, attacked a man who blocked the door, and ran home to gather his family’s belongings.
• Wang Lao'er left his mother and Xiao Hua behind, but police arrested him as he fled his home over the nursery theft.
• The police told Granny Sun and the manager that Wang Lao'er had sold the Shimpaku juniper and transferred 100,000 yuan to Ding Ding, whose transfer remained unaccepted.
• Granny Sun refused to forgive Wang Lao'er, leaving him facing prosecution for the theft and his assault at the gambling den.

Bai Congming delivered plants to Sun Xiangxiang’s shop and invited her to dinner with Ding Ding. Ding Ding agreed, and as he closed his stall, he told two customers that his partner’s surname was Bai.

• Granny Sun sent Bai Congming on a nursery delivery, and the driver took him to Sun Xiangxiang’s flower shop.
• Bai Congming and Sun Xiangxiang greeted each other, and she invited him to dinner and offered to share a new comic.
• Bai Congming called Ding Ding to ask if Sun Xiangxiang could join them for dinner, and Ding Ding agreed.
• Sun Xiangxiang eagerly accepted the invitation, while Bai Congming left with the delivery driver.
• Ding Ding packed up his stall early and sold coats to two girls before clarifying that his partner, not he, had the surname Bai.

Sun Xiangxiang visited Ding Ding and Bai Congming, shared dinner with them, and got closer to the two. After Ding Ding followed her to her uncle’s clinic, he unexpectedly encountered someone familiar there.

• Sun Xiangxiang arrived at Ding Ding’s home with gifts and gave Bai Congming a comic to read on his own.
• Ding Ding cooked a large dinner, and Sun Xiangxiang ate enthusiastically with him and Bai Congming.
• Ding Ding objected to Sun Xiangxiang sharing comics with Bai Congming, then followed her outside to see her safely toward the street entrance.
• Sun Xiangxiang stopped at her uncle’s traditional Chinese medicine clinic to get digestive pills, and Ding Ding went in to get some for Bai Congming.
• Someone came out of the back room and asked Ding Ding to head back together, leaving him stunned by the familiar person.

Ding Shu told Ding Ding about her growing relationship with Sun Chang'an, while Ding Ding built a profitable clothing business and kept it secret from Bai Congming. As winter set in, Bai Congming felt cared for and praised Ding Ding as a good wife, prompting Ding Ding to take his words as an invitation to intimacy.

• Ding Shu told Ding Ding to call Sun Chang'an brother, and Sun Chang'an charged Ding Ding eight hundred yuan for twenty digestion pills on credit.
• Ding Shu recalled how her romance with Sun Chang'an had developed naturally, leading her to stay in M City and move in with him.
• Ding Ding sold clothing stock through local shops and his stall, building a network of nearly six hundred customers and five WeChat groups while keeping the work from Bai Congming.
• Ding Ding bundled Bai Congming up against the winter cold and served him lamb soup, while Bai Congming remembered how cold and lonely winters had been before.
• Bai Congming called Ding Ding a good wife, and Ding Ding took the praise as an invitation to intimacy that night.

Ding Ding and Bai Congming found a stray kitten outside the nursery and decided to bring it home. The kitten recovered after a vet visit, and Bai Congming agreed to move with Ding Ding to a larger home.

• Ding Ding reflected on his estrangement from his family and felt that he might want to call home someday, though he needed more time.
• Ding Ding found Bai Congming feeding a weak kitten outside the nursery and asked whether he wanted to keep it.
• Bai Congming agreed to take the kitten home, and Ding Ding asked Ding Shu to take it to the vet while he prepared a bed and ordered supplies.
• Ding Ding suggested moving to a larger home, and Bai Congming agreed after thinking about how home was wherever Ding Ding was.
• Ding Shu returned with the healthy, lively kitten, which settled onto Bai Congming's lap.

Ding Ding and Bai Congming asked Auntie Zhou how to celebrate the New Year, and she explained the customs and revealed that Bai Congming’s mother had died just before New Year. As Ding Ding learned about Bai Congming’s lonely childhood and grief, he agreed to accompany him to visit her grave.

• Ding Ding and Bai Congming visited Auntie Zhou to ask for advice about celebrating the New Year.
• Auntie Zhou explained the holiday customs, and Ding Ding recorded her instructions.
• Auntie Zhou told Ding Ding that she planned to take Bai Congming to visit his mother’s grave on the twenty-eighth.
• Auntie Zhou recounted how Bai Congming had spent several nights at his mother’s grave after she died, until the police brought him home.
• Auntie Zhou explained that Bai Congming later said his mother had moved into the bougainvillea.

After learning about Bai Congming’s lonely past, Ding Ding tried to give him comfort and make their life together feel more secure. The chapter ended with them visiting Bai Congming’s mother’s grave, where Bai Congming told her he had missed her.

• Ding Ding bought expensive candy for the Kitchen God and a small cake after Bai Congming admired the display, then reassured him that he loved him.
• Ding Ding and Bai Congming offered candy to the Kitchen God, while their lively, picky kitten Gouzai made Ding Ding even more determined to find them a home with a courtyard.
• Ding Ding searched for properties through Xiao Li but found none that suited their needs or budget, then prepared for the New Year with Bai Congming according to local customs.
• Auntie Zhou took Ding Ding and Bai Congming to the cemetery, where Bai Congming became carsick and Ding Ding cared for him.
• At his mother’s headstone, Bai Congming pressed his cheek against it and said, “Mom... Little Bai missed you.”

Ding Ding and Bai Congming celebrated New Year's Eve together with a homemade feast and affectionate kisses. On New Year's Day, Ding Shu arrived with holiday goods and found Ding Ding reluctant to let her inside because Bai Congming was still asleep.

• Bai Congming spoke sincerely to Bougainvillea's gravestone, while Ding Ding asked her to rest assured.
• Ding Ding prepared meatballs and braised meats, then cooked a large New Year's Eve dinner as Bai Congming played with Gouzai.
• Bai Congming enjoyed the feast, and he and Ding Ding fed each other before sharing kisses as the new year began.
• Ding Ding and Bai Congming went back to sleep after firecrackers woke them, then Ding Shu's pounding and phone call finally roused Ding Ding.
• Ding Shu arrived with New Year goods and, after carrying them over herself, angrily confronted Ding Ding when he refused to let her in while Bai Congming slept.

On New Year's Day, Ding Shu gave Bai Congming a red envelope and a flower before leaving for work, while Ding Ding and Bai Congming delivered her food and made plans to visit a temple fair and hot springs. After meeting Sun Chang'an, Ding Ding explained that he and Bai Congming were dating, and he reflected on how their life together had begun by chance.

• Ding Shu gave Bai Congming a New Year red envelope, and he picked a sasanqua blossom for her before she left to work overtime.
• Ding Shu gave Ding Ding her car keys and the address to her home, then offered him and Bai Congming a stay at a mountain hot spring hotel.
• Ding Ding and Bai Congming carried the packed food to Ding Shu's home and planned to visit a temple fair and hot springs with Gouzai.
• Ding Ding went upstairs for help and returned with Sun Chang'an, whom Bai Congming recognized as a doctor.
• Ding Ding told Bai Congming that Sun Chang'an and Ding Shu were dating, then compared their relationship to his and Bai Congming's.
• Ding Ding reflected that he and Bai Congming had reached happiness by chance and felt he should make up for the ticket he owed.