Chapter Summaries

Bai Congming waited outside Ding Ding’s company and finally asked him to be his wife. Ding Ding took him home, learned how simply he lived, and stayed to share a meal with him.

• Bai Congming waited for Ding Ding outside his company for several days, and Ding Ding spotted him but did not approach.
• Ding Ding found Bai Congming waiting beneath a streetlight, and Bai Congming asked him to build a life together and be his wife.
• Ding Ding said he had not refused, drove Bai Congming home, and helped him through the dark stairwell.
• Ding Ding saw Bai Congming’s sparse, clean apartment, and Bai Congming offered him a hard steamed bun despite having little food himself.
• Ding Ding ordered food for them and told Bai Congming to call him big brother, which Bai Congming happily did.

Ding Ding brought Bai Congming home after learning that the boy’s mother was gone and hearing him confirm that he wanted Ding Ding as his wife. They settled into the new home, where Ding Ding tried to persuade Bai Congming to stop working, and the chapter ended with Bai Congming asleep in the guest room.

• Ding Ding fed Bai Congming macaroni and cheese, and Bai Congming first mistook it for bugs before enjoying it.
• Ding Ding learned that Bai Congming’s mother lived in the bougainvillea flowers and that he had no father.
• Ding Ding asked Bai Congming to come home with him, and Bai Congming quickly packed his belongings and went along.
• Ding Ding grew jealous and asked whether Bai Congming had wanted anyone else as his wife, and Bai Congming said he had known Ding Ding was his wife when they met.
• Ding Ding showed Bai Congming his assets to convince him that he did not need to work, but Bai Congming agreed only to take one day off for grocery shopping.
• Ding Ding helped Bai Congming settle in and get ready for bed, then left him in the guest room, where he fell asleep immediately.

Ding Ding introduced Bai Congming to Auntie Zhou, reassured her by promising him a home and social insurance, and took Bai Congming shopping before settling into domestic life together. As Ding Ding and Bai Congming walked hand in hand that evening, Ding Ding asked whether Bai Congming would let him kiss him.

• Bai Congming told Auntie Zhou that he was living with Ding Ding, and Ding Ding met her to explain their relationship.
• Auntie Zhou warned Bai Congming to be careful, then asked Ding Ding to buy him a home, arrange social insurance, and promise to bring him back if their relationship ended; Ding Ding agreed.
• Auntie Zhou exchanged contact details with Ding Ding and went to the cemetery to ask her late friend to watch over Bai Congming.
• Ding Ding took Bai Congming shopping, got him a supplementary bank card, and began looking for a larger, more luxurious home to give him.
• Ding Ding cooked dinner with Bai Congming and suggested buying him land so he could grow flowers again, but Bai Congming refused because he thought it would cost too much.
• Ding Ding and Bai Congming walked together after dinner, held hands, and Ding Ding asked whether he could kiss him.

Ding Ding accompanied Bai Congming to his water-delivery job, helped him quit, and later took him to choose a new, easier occupation. The chapter ended with Ding Ding buying Bai Congming two flower nurseries, where Bai Congming could grow flowers and care for the workers.

• Ding Ding slept beside Bai Congming and insisted on accompanying him to deliver water, hoping to persuade him to leave the difficult job.
• Ding Ding helped Bai Congming finish the day’s deliveries, and Bai Congming quit the water station and gave his wages to Ding Ding to support him.
• Ding Ding finalized the purchase of a two-story row house and accepted Li Hao’s resignation, reminding him of their three-year noncompete agreement.
• Ding Ding took Bai Congming to a village flower nursery and let him decide whether he liked it.
• Ding Ding agreed to keep the nursery’s workers and signed the transfer agreement, making the two greenhouses Bai Congming’s new workplace.

Bai Congming settled into his work at the Flower Nursery while Ding Ding supported him and helped him understand payday. Wu Fei revealed how her betrayal had contributed to Sun Xiangxiang’s breakup with Chen Xin, and the chapter ended with Ding Ding and Bai Congming sharing an intimate moment at home.

• Ding Ding spent part of each day helping Bai Congming at the Flower Nursery, where Bai Congming grew close to the workers and Auntie Zhou joined as a gardener.
• Bai Congming waited for Sister Sun to distribute wages, but Wu Fei explained that Sun Xiangxiang had sold the Flower Nursery and that the workers would be paid by bank transfer.
• Wu Fei told Auntie Zhou how she had secretly reported on Sun Xiangxiang for Chen Xin, later admitted the truth to Sun Xiangxiang, and watched her leave after their breakup.
• Ding Ding gave Bai Congming a red envelope and explained that the Flower Nursery’s workers would receive their wages through the bank.
• Bai Congming spent some of his money on a floral shirt for Ding Ding, who bargained the price down and told him to bring him along when shopping.
• At home, Ding Ding kissed Bai Congming and asked to touch him, while Gardenia and Cactus bickered on the balcony.

Ding Ding and Bai Congming reunited with Ding Ding’s sister Ding Shu, learned that their father had died, and later attended Ding Shu’s wedding. The chapter ended with Bai Congming declaring that he wanted to marry Ding Ding too.

• Ding Ding discovered that the number Bai Congming had saved as “Mom” belonged to his sister Ding Shu and went with Bai Congming to meet her.
• Ding Shu reunited with Ding Ding, learned that he and Bai Congming were together, and told them their father had died the previous year.
• Ding Ding took Bai Congming to the sea, where they spent the day together and talked about eating fish.
• Ding Shu invited Ding Ding and Bai Congming to her wedding to Sun Chang'an, whom she had met after a minor car accident.
• Ding Shu rejected Ding Ding’s offer of twenty percent of Ding Sheng Textiles’ dividends and told him to live his own life well.
• At Ding Shu’s wedding, Bai Congming declared that he wanted to marry Ding Ding too.

Bai Fang took in a neglected, nonverbal boy, paid for his heart operation, and named him Bai Congming as she built a home and life with him. The chapter ended with her setting up a hammock so he could sleep beside the flowers he loved.

• Bai Fang tried to leave the injured boy at the hospital but turned back, took him in, and raised money for his heart operation.
• After the successful operation, Bai Fang brought the boy to Zhou Nianci’s home and revealed that she had rescued him from the river after losing her son, Xiao Feng.
• Bai Fang settled with the boy in an empty courtyard, gave him the name Bai Congming, and brought him to work at Aunt Sun’s Flower Nursery.
• Bai Congming gradually gained weight and began smiling, though he still did not speak, and Bai Fang told Zhou Nianci that he had saved her as she saved him.
• When spring came, Bai Fang saw how much Bai Congming loved the courtyard flowers and set up a hammock for him to sleep in beside them.

Bai Fang cared for Bai Congming and tried to help him speak, while he feared that her attention to other children meant she would abandon him. The chapter ended with Bai Congming assuring Bai Fang that life was good as long as she was with him.

• Bai Congming fell out of a hammock while trying to protect Bai Fang from a bug, and he cried out for his mother as she soothed him.
• Bai Fang brought Bai Congming to the Flower Nursery, where he called Zhou Nianci “Mommy” instead of “Auntie,” showing that he could speak.
• Bai Fang began selling trinkets outside an elementary school and took Bai Congming with her; when he wandered to a sausage stall, she panicked, scolded him, and then cried.
• Bai Congming offered Bai Fang candy to comfort her, and she explained that he should tell her before going anywhere; afterward she tied his stool beside hers at the stall.
• Bai Fang urged Bai Congming to speak over dinner, and he explained that he feared she would choose another child and stop loving him.
• Bai Fang told Bai Congming that she worked to give him a good life, and he replied that being with her already made his life good.

Bai Congming gradually adjusted to school and grew close to his classmates, but his poor exam results did not stop Bai Fang from letting him advance. When Bai Fang was attacked by jealous vendors, Bai Congming defended her and injured one of them, leaving him afraid he would be locked up but determined to protect her again.

• Bai Fang taught Bai Congming to recognize money, and he learned that she worked at the stall to earn it.
• Bai Congming panicked when Bai Fang left him at school, but he gradually settled in after she promised to return and gave him a bougainvillea sprig to comfort him.
• After Bai Congming scored poorly on his exams, Bai Fang refused the teacher's suggestion that he repeat the grade and privately gave the teacher a gift.
• When several vendors surrounded Bai Fang and accused her of wrongdoing, Bai Congming rushed in to protect her with an iron frame and accidentally injured a man's eye.
• Bai Fang and Bai Congming gave statements at the police station, and Bai Fang received compensation after the conflict was resolved.
• Bai Congming worried that he would be locked up, but an officer reassured him; he silently resolved to protect Bai Fang again if necessary.

Bai Congming grew up relying on Bai Fang, who chose to keep him close rather than send him to vocational school. When Bai Fang collapsed coughing up blood, he rushed her to the hospital and waited beside her, convinced she only needed to be fixed.

• Bai Fang checked that Bai Congming was not being bullied and warned him not to use weapons in fights.
• Bai Congming struggled in school, and Teacher Li eventually stopped pressing him academically and suggested vocational school after his poor entrance exam results.
• Bai Congming refused to leave Hongfang Street or his mother, and Bai Fang promised she would protect him as he grew up.
• As Bai Fang’s cough, fever, nosebleeds, and other symptoms worsened, she gave Bai Congming instructions while he soaked his feet, but he did not understand how ill she was.
• Bai Fang coughed up blood and passed out, so Bai Congming ran to Zhou Nianci for help and carried his mother to the hospital.
• After Bai Fang was admitted for tests, Bai Congming refused food and sleep and stayed beside her bed, insisting that they were supposed to eat together.

Bai Fang returned home after months of cancer treatment and began preparing Bai Congming to live without her by selling their appliances and teaching him to cook safely. She remained with him for now, while Bai Congming still wished to watch her grow up too.

• Bai Fang woke in the hospital and learned from Zhou Nianci that her cancer was late stage, though treatment might give her three or four months; she agreed to stay for treatment because Bai Congming needed her.
• Bai Congming stayed with Bai Fang in the hospital, called her each evening, and once sneaked home at night because he missed her, so Bai Fang arranged rides for his visits.
• After nearly half a year, Bai Fang’s condition had improved enough for her to leave the hospital, and Bai Congming brought her home to see the flowers he had cared for.
• Bai Fang sold the household appliances to reduce risks and told Bai Congming that he would still have a home after she was gone; he said he wanted to watch her grow up too.
• Bai Fang taught Bai Congming to cook, warned him not to touch hot or powered appliances, and told him to refuse unwanted demands or run away from anyone who forced him.

As Bai Fang’s illness worsened, she prepared Bai Congming for life without her, took him to visit his deceased big brother, and bought a burial plot beside his grave. After she was hospitalized again near the New Year, she continued teaching Little Bai how to care for himself and gave Zhou Nianci a letter.

• Bai Congming brought home potatoes, sausages, and a frangipani flower for Bai Fang, who praised him and gradually let him take over the household chores.
• Bai Fang took Bai Congming to the cemetery, where he left candy for his deceased big brother and watched her buy a burial plot beside the family graves.
• Bai Fang told Bai Congming she wanted to keep his big brother company, then agreed to go to the hospital when her coughing worsened; Bai Congming promised to stay with her for treatment.
• During Bai Fang’s hospital stay, Bai Congming brought her homemade rice, and she encouraged him as he learned to cook.
• Zhou Nianci visited after learning Bai Fang had been hospitalized again, and Bai Fang had Bai Congming copy a page of safety rules five times.
• Bai Fang gave Zhou Nianci a letter she had meant to mail, saying she could save the postage by handing it to her in person.

On a snowy New Year’s Eve, Bai Fang spent her final hours with Zhou Nianci and Bai Congming, sharing memories and asking Zhou Nianci to help look after her son. Bai Fang died after Bai Congming recited her lessons, and Zhou Nianci read the letter Bai Fang had left behind as snow fell outside.

• Bai Fang called Zhou Nianci and asked her to visit, and Zhou brought pigeon soup to the hospital ward.
• Bai Congming went out in the snow with his savings and bought Bai Fang a sprig of wintersweet when he could not find chrysanthemums.
• Bai Fang asked Zhou Nianci to read her letter later and spoke about her worry that Bai Congming would be left alone.
• Bai Congming recited the rules Bai Fang had taught him, and Bai Fang's hand fell as she died.
• Zhou Nianci read Bai Fang's letter, which gave funeral instructions and asked her to lend Bai Congming a hand if he needed it.

Bai Congming tried to make coin-filled dumplings for Ding Ding, then improvised disastrous buns from leftover dough. Ding Ding ate them to spare Bai Congming’s feelings, but developed food poisoning and had to go to the hospital for IV treatment.

• Bai Congming and Ding Ding struggled to make dumplings, but Auntie Zhou guided Bai Congming through the process until they cooked a huge batch filled with coins.
• Bai Congming and Ding Ding ate the dumplings with Gouzai, then relaxed together in the courtyard and talked about the places Ding Ding had taken Bai Congming.
• Bai Congming used the leftover dough to invent buns with dried tofu, potato chips, and preserved plums, but the fillings broke apart and made a foul-tasting soup.
• Ding Ding ate Bai Congming’s failed buns to comfort him, and Bai Congming cried over wasting food before Ding Ding cooked him plain noodles.
• Ding Ding developed mild food poisoning and went to the hospital for IV treatment, while Bai Congming apologized and promised never to cook again.

Bai Congming found a lost child and insisted on raising him, but Ding Ding helped reunite him with his parents and explained that two men could not have a baby. Back home, they discovered that Gouzai was pregnant.

• Bai Congming argued with Ding Ding about keeping a child he had picked up, then ran away from home with him and took him to KFC.
• Ding Ding called the police and waited outside the restaurant while Bai Congming cared for the child inside.
• The child's parents and police arrived, and Ding Ding persuaded Bai Congming to return the child to his family.
• Bai Congming asked whether he and Ding Ding could have a baby, and Ding Ding explained that two men could not.
• Bai Congming found blood on Gouzai and feared the cat was injured, but Ding Ding realized Gouzai was going to have kittens.

Gouzai gave birth to five kittens, and Bai Congming and Ding Ding decided to raise them as part of their family. After stray cats left mice and then flowers for Gouzai, Ding Ding began leaving flowers for Bai Congming, ending with a Pink Lily of the Valley and a promise to make him happy.

• Gouzai gave birth to five healthy kittens while Ding Ding, Ding Shu, and Sun Chang'an helped and watched over her.
• Bai Congming called himself and Ding Ding the kittens' daddies and insisted the whole family stay together, so Ding Ding agreed to keep all five.
• Bai Congming and Gouzai took turns feeding the kittens, while Ding Ding gave them simpler nicknames than Bai Congming's elaborate choices.
• Ding Ding discovered stray cats had been leaving dead mice at their door for Gouzai, then began finding flowers there instead; after Gouzai returned injured, the offerings stopped.
• Ding Ding secretly placed flowers for Bai Congming, who recognized the florist's scent and treasured them; later Ding Ding brought him the year's first Pink Lily of the Valley, and Bai Congming told him to be happy.

Ding Ding woke in a parallel universe where Bai Fang was alive and treating him and Bai Congming like family, then learned that unusual sunspots had caused the displacement. He returned to his original world beside Little Bai and decided to quit smoking and cherish the life they shared.

• Ding Ding woke to Bai Fang alive in the house and struggled to understand how she had returned while Bai Congming happily called her Mom.
• Ding Ding spent the day with Bai Fang and Bai Congming, accepting her care and buying her a red dress.
• Ding Ding visited the cemetery and found that Bai Fang's gravestone bore a different name, then returned home to join their warm family dinner.
• Ding Ding heard a report that active sunspots had caused Parallel Universe displacement and decided he needed to return to the Little Bai in his original universe.
• The parallel world warped away, and Ding Ding woke beside Bai Congming in his original life, where he found his cigarettes and said he was quitting.