Chapter Summaries

Su Can visited Dunhuang Mall as Wang Ming led its reorganization and prepared to leave its future growth in her hands. Their conversation ended with Wang Ming setting one hundred million in capital as the point when she might pursue a life of her own, and calling Su Can heartless.

• Su Can saw that the mall’s expenses had left him with just over three hundred thousand in savings, while Dunhuang Mall was still preparing to open.
• Su Can watched Wang Ming give a speech using the management plans he had written, and realized she had studied them despite pretending otherwise.
• Wang Ming took Su Can outside for ice cream, and he advised her to keep the mall’s brands through cooperation and use Carrefour’s crowds to Dunhuang’s advantage.
• Wang Ming said the mall’s profits would go to Su Can and promised to manage carefully until he returned to take charge.
• Wang Ming said she would stay by Su Can until he had one hundred million in capital, after which they might go their separate ways; Su Can joked about giving her a dowry, and she called him heartless.

Su Can told Liu Rui and Xue Yiyang that he was moving to Rongcheng, and the friends shared a rooftop farewell before arranging a KTV send-off. After Su Can’s family held a dinner for his father’s colleagues, he learned his classmates had organized a much larger gathering at True Love Years.

• Su Can told Liu Rui and Xue Yiyang that his family was moving to Rongcheng and that he would attend No. 27 Middle School.
• Xue Yiyang and Liu Rui laughed with Su Can on the rooftop, then teased Liu Rui by singing toward the girl he liked across the way.
• Su Can spent Saturday waiting for his friends, while his family hosted a farewell meal attended by colleagues and the boys’ parents.
• Su Licheng asked Su Can to take several younger children to sing, and Su Can agreed.
• Xue Yiyang told Su Can that he and Liu Rui had spread the news, prompting classmates to book two rooms at True Love Years for a send-off.

Su Can attended a crowded farewell gathering at K Yang, where classmates celebrated his departure and tried to reconcile old disputes. The evening’s mood turned tense when Wang Haoran and more than a dozen senior students headed toward the rooms.

• Su Can arrived at K Yang with Xue Yiyang, Liu Rui, and youngsters from their work unit, where classmates filled two rooms to see him off.
• Du Ting welcomed Su Can, explained how many classmates had come, and took the young boys under her care while Xue Yiyang and Liu Rui promised to help him handle the drinks.
• Su Can learned that Li Lumei could not reach Chen Lingshan, then apologized to the gathered classmates for announcing his transfer at the last minute and drank a bottle of beer.
• Su Can made peace with Zhang Xi and Li Ai by asking them to help look after the crowd, and he saw Ran Yu and Li Lumei talking amicably.
• Wang Xuebing sang Pu Shu’s “Birch Forest” as classmates shared drinks and teased Su Can about romance.
• Students reported that Wang Haoran and more than a dozen senior students were coming over, and the room’s atmosphere grew tense.

Wang Haoran came to see Su Can off, but Xue Lingzhu's insults and Ran Yu's argument with Li Lumei turned the gathering into a confrontation. Wang Haoran drank ten glasses to make peace with Su Can, while Li Lumei accidentally struck and drenched Xue Lingzhu.

• Wang Haoran arrived with Xue Lingzhu and other third-years, and Su Can's friends gathered behind him.
• Xue Lingzhu belittled Su Can, who revealed that Chen Chong's mother had offered him a check for several hundred thousand, which he had torn up.
• Wang Haoran drank ten glasses in succession to wipe the slate clean with Su Can, who checked whether he was all right.
• Li Lumei and Ran Yu argued over Ran Yu's remarks, and Ran Yu swung at Li Lumei but struck Xue Lingzhu instead.
• Li Lumei poured beer over Xue Lingzhu's head and face after Xue Lingzhu was slapped.

Su Can stopped Ran Yu and Li Weimei from humiliating Xue Lingzhu, but Wang Haoran’s attempt to defuse the tension turned into a brawl at the True Love Years club. After learning Chen Lingshan was heading home, Su Can left the chaos to find her before saying goodbye to Xiahai.

• Su Can pulled Ran Yu and Li Weimei away from Xue Lingzhu and told everyone to stop arguing and return to the farewell party.
• Xue Yiyang criticized Xue Lingzhu, and Su Can smashed a beer bottle to halt the confrontation.
• Wang Haoran shattered the glass coffee table after the floor manager warned the students, and the group began fighting the club’s security guards.
• A girl told Su Can that Chen Lingshan was heading home, and Zhang Xi gave him his bicycle key and a phone with her father’s number.
• Su Can rode away from the club as police surrounded it, intending to find Chen Lingshan and say goodbye.

After Xia Zhiyu confessed his decade-long crush, Chen Lingshan hugged him goodbye, while Su Can watched from across the street and prepared to leave Xiahai. Chen Lingshan spotted Su Can and ran after him, calling for him to stop.

• Chen Lingshan accepted a ride home with Xia Zhiyu and his parents after her father became too drunk to leave the wedding.
• Xia Zhiyu told Chen Lingshan about his long-standing feelings and asked for one last hug, which she granted.
• Su Can rode through the streets of Xiahai and saw Chen Lingshan and Xia Zhiyu embracing.
• Chen Lingshan broke free of Xia Zhiyu and ran toward Su Can, calling, "Wait a moment!"

Chen Lingshan chased Su Can across town and caught up with him on an overpass, then rode with him as they talked about his departure from Xiahai. Their night ended with her asking him to remember her and promising to keep in touch after he left the next day.

• Chen Lingshan ran barefoot through the streets and called for Su Can to wait, and he stopped his bicycle and waved to her from below the overpass.
• Su Can rode slowly through Xiahai with Chen Lingshan on the back of his bicycle, and she teased and pinched him before resting against him.
• Police vans carrying Zhang Xi, Xue Yiyang, and the other students involved in the disturbance passed them, and the students recognized Su Can and Chen Lingshan.
• Chen Lingshan asked Su Can whether he would return to Xiahai, and he said he would come back because his family and home were there.
• Chen Lingshan asked if Su Can would remember her in the years ahead, and he promised he would as she told him to travel safely and keep in touch with monthly letters.

Su Can read Tang Wu’s letter on the plane to Rongcheng, where she said goodbye and urged him to live freely rather than burden himself trying to become her hero. The postmark showed she had mailed it from Ge City, and Su Can arrived in her city determined to find her.

• Su Can left Xiahai City with his parents and reflected on how much his life and hometown had changed.
• Xue Yiyang rushed a letter from Tang Wu to Su Can just before he left.
• Su Can read Tang Wu’s letter, in which she explained her long silence, said she had let go, and asked him not to carry the burden of pursuing her.
• Su Can found that the postmark named the South City Post Office in Ge City and decided Tang Wu’s lack of confidence would not stop him.
• The plane reached Rongcheng, and Su Can realized he was approaching Tang Wu’s city soon after she had written the letter.

Su Can arrived with his family at their new home in Rongcheng, where his father discussed a possible headquarters position with Zhong Jianjun. While helping unpack, Su Can met Guo Xiaozhong and quickly became his confidant; Guo Xiaozhong was delighted to have found a new friend.

• Su Can rode with his parents and Zhong Jianjun through Rongcheng to their new apartment beside Big Oak Construction Group headquarters.
• Zhong Jianjun told Su Licheng he was working to secure him an official staff position and a deputy department head post in Corporate Management.
• Su Can's family entered their spacious new apartment, and Su Can went downstairs to help carry in their belongings.
• Guo Xiaozhong helped Su Can's family move their things upstairs and told Su Can about the children and cliques around headquarters.
• Su Can recognized Guo Xiaozhong's loneliness, and Guo Xiaozhong felt understood and became excited about his new companion.

After moving to Rongcheng, Su Can observed the growing divide between Dajie Construction’s old employee compound and the newer City Tale complex while his family settled in. Wandering into the company headquarters, he stumbled upon a debate over real-estate speculation and impressed an imposing old man with a simple analogy.

• Su Can reflected on how his move from Xiahai had changed his path and learned how divisions between Dajie Construction’s old compound and City Tale mirrored unequal benefits and growing resentment among employees.
• Su Licheng returned from a difficult reporting meeting without his appointment as deputy minister finalized, while Zeng He explored nearby shops and considered opening a business with the family’s savings.
• After his parents left, Su Can wandered through Dajie Construction’s headquarters and came upon an old man criticizing executives who wanted to drive up property values for quick profits.
• When the old man challenged the executives’ arguments, Su Can compared speculative development to pouring beer until the foam overflowed, leaving little drink in the glass.
• The old man praised Su Can’s analogy and said it expressed the issue more directly than the executives’ lengthy speeches.

Su Can impressed Xu Zheng, the construction group’s chairman, by recognizing his ambitions and raised his father’s unresolved job placement. Later, Su Can took Guo Xiaozhong to Butterfly Shatter Café, where an unexpected acquaintance recognized him.

• Xu Zheng dismissed the others and spoke privately with Su Can, who said the chairman cared more about building a lasting enterprise than joining the ten-billion club.
• Xu Zheng revealed that he knew Su Can by name, asked about his move, and learned that Su Can’s father had not yet been assigned work.
• Xu Zheng invited Su Can to the company’s annual gathering the next day, then left in a black Audi.
• Su Can remembered his promise to treat Guo Xiaozhong and took him to Butterfly Shatter Café instead of the barbecue stall Guo suggested.
• A girl at the café recognized Guo Xiaozhong, drawing the attention of people nearby.

Su Can and Guo Xiaozhong ran into Wu Shimiao and Yang Zhao at Diedui Café, where the pair mocked their status and tried to embarrass them over the prices. Su Can bought a VIP card, ordered a lavish meal, and gave the card to Guo Xiaozhong, leaving Wu Shimiao and Yang Zhao stunned.

• Guo Xiaozhong introduced Su Can to Wu Shimiao and Yang Zhao, who recognized Su Can as the son of the newly arrived company executive.
• Wu Shimiao and Yang Zhao took a window table, but a white-collar woman claimed it with a VIP reservation and forced them to move.
• Su Can asked how to obtain a VIP card, paid two thousand yuan for one, and ordered a large spread of food and expensive coffee.
• Su Can handed the VIP card to Guo Xiaozhong and told him to use it at Diedui Café whenever he wanted.
• Su Can and Guo Xiaozhong began eating as Wu Shimiao and Yang Zhao watched in astonishment.

Su Can attended Big Banyan Construction’s annual gathering with his parents, where company leaders first slighted the family and then changed their attitude after Old Master Xu’s support for Su Licheng’s appointment became clear. The gathering ended with Su Licheng’s position secured and Su Can gaining notice among the company’s younger generation.

• Su Can’s family waited for a ride to the gathering, but Yang Kaifu let two other women into his car and the following cars passed them by.
• Su Can refused Guo Xiaozhong’s offer to take him ahead alone, so his family went to the Jinjiang Hotel together by taxi.
• Tong Jianjun told Su Licheng that Old Master Xu had personally approved his appointment, and the gathering confirmed that the appointment was settled.
• Jin Wuyang praised Su Can, then offered him a drink after Su Can objected to having his head patted.
• Yang Kaifu came to apologize to Su Licheng and praise him, while Guo Xiaozhong told other youths about Su Can.

Su Can began settling into life in Jiecheng, weighing his family’s prospects and hoping to find Tang Wu at No. 27 Middle School. After Class Three’s homeroom teacher rejected his enrollment, Su Can entered the classroom anyway and introduced himself as its new transfer student.

• Su Can rode a double-decker bus to No. 27 Middle School and considered the city’s competing schools and his chances of finding Tang Wu.
• Su Can decided to invest some of his savings in establishing the Shushan stationery brand in Jiecheng.
• The Academic Affairs Office assigned Su Can to Class Three, but Wang Guiwen doubted his grades and refused to accept him.
• Su Can pushed into Class Three, introduced himself to the students, and walked toward the empty seats at the back.

Su Can transferred into Rongcheng No. 27 Middle School, where he reunited with Xiao Yunyun and drew mixed reactions from his new classmates. During a walk, Xiao Yunyun spoke with him about their past at Xiahai No. 1 High School, and Su Can asked whether Tang Wu had transferred to No. 27 Middle School.

• Su Can entered Class Three, introduced himself, and sat down after Wang Guiwen chose not to confront him in front of the class.
• Jiang Mingjun befriended Su Can, while Wu Shimiao’s circle judged him as someone who pretended to be wealthy.
• Su Can noticed Xiao Yunyun and the girl from Dage Construction, but did not find the person he was searching for.
• Xiao Yunyun greeted Su Can and later invited him to walk with her during the long break.
• Su Can asked Xiao Yunyun whether Tang Wu had transferred to No. 27 Middle School.

Su Can learned from Xiao Yunyun that Tang Wu had become a well-known student at No. 27 Middle School and was in Class Thirteen, where he could soon meet her. As people approached through the garden, Su Can smiled, leaving his next move—and the reunion—unresolved.

• Xiao Yunyun told Su Can that Tang Wu was famous among students at No. 27 Middle School and other local schools.
• Su Can recalled his separation from Tang Wu and the letter in which she had written about remembering the year they were seventeen.
• Xiao Yunyun asked whether Su Can had come to No. 27 Middle School for Tang Wu, and he denied it.
• Xiao Yunyun joked that Tang Wu was out of reach but suggested Su Can could choose someone closer, then laughed at his reaction.
• Su Can learned Tang Wu was in Class Thirteen and wondered how to meet her and make an impression at the school.
• People approached from the far end of the garden, and Su Can looked toward them with a smile.

Su Can began at No. 27 Middle School and turned a campus television crew’s attempt to expose him into a speech criticizing its educational priorities. He waited in vain for a glimpse of Tang Wu, then called Lin Luoran and thanked Wang Bu for supporting his family.

• Su Can deliberately provoked the campus reporters by disturbing the pond’s koi, then criticized the school’s ornamental spending and exam-focused education on camera.
• Gao Zhansong recognized the value of Su Can’s remarks, stopped the recording, and welcomed him as a new student, while Sun Man remained irritated.
• Su Can waited after school hoping to see Tang Wu, but learned that her classes were in another building and left without meeting her.
• Zeng He discussed securing a storefront, and Su Licheng asked Su Can to visit Xu Zheng after Xu had praised their earlier conversation.
• Su Can called Lin Luoran, who offered to introduce him to her friends at No. 27 Middle School, then thanked Wang Bu for helping his family.

Su Can considered his future while Su Licheng was assigned the failing Longsheng Gift Factory, a politically charged burden that threatened his career. As Su Can planned to accompany his father to inspect it, he settled into ordinary school days with Xiao Yunyun, leaving their friendship quiet and unremarked.

• Su Can reflected on the booming stationery market and dreamed of commanding a vast army beneath a radiant sky.
• Mu Kai arranged for Su Licheng to take responsibility for turning around the failing Longsheng Gift Factory, while Zhong Jianjun and Xu Jianchuan objected.
• Li Yuhe praised Mu Kai's maneuver, pleased that Su Licheng had been saddled with the factory's problems.
• Su Can learned about his father's assignment at home, considered the factory's failing business and workers, and decided to accompany Su Licheng on his visit.
• At school, Xiao Yunyun spoke with Su Can about Tang Wu and later spent quiet breaks with him, deciding that an ordinary school life would be pleasant.

Su Can skipped class to watch the school gate, where he witnessed Qian Long pressuring a girl with promises about her family’s factory contract. When Tang Wu appeared, Su Can could no longer restrain himself and stepped toward her.

• Su Can left class early and waited in the art building to catch a glimpse of Tang Wu.
• Qian Long and his companion waited for a girl from the art studio, and Qian Long claimed his father would take over the Longsheng Factory contract to help her family.
• Qian Long arranged to meet the girl at the Fulin Hotel on Sunday, and Sun Man warned him after noticing the girl’s distress.
• Sun Man questioned Su Can about why he was there, while Qian Long suddenly recognized Tang Wu.
• Tang Wu appeared on the path, and Su Can stepped forward because he could not wait any longer to see her.

Su Can encountered Tang Wu at school and struggled with the sight of Yang Cheng approaching her, then accompanied his father to the struggling Longsheng Gift Factory. Seeing its outdated stationery and unused capacity gave Su Can an idea for building a stationery brand empire.

• Yang Cheng approached Tang Wu and tried to discuss the class bulletin and borrow her chemistry notes, but Sun Man interrupted them.
• Sun Man mocked Su Can for admiring Tang Wu, while Tang Wu left school still wondering whether she had glimpsed Su Can near the arts building.
• Su Can joined Su Licheng and Tong Jianjun at Longsheng Gift Factory, where director Zhao Mingnong described its financial troubles and failed stationery sales.
• Su Can examined the factory’s discarded pens and pencils and realized its machinery and facilities could help him turn his stationery business dream into reality.