Chapter Summaries

Su Can was mistaken for harassing Tang Wu and confronted by her mother, Mu Xuan, after Zhang Sheng intervened. Mu Xuan acknowledged Su Can as Tang Wu’s classmate and invited him to Tang Wu’s birthday party on the eighth, which he agreed to attend.

• Li Wei accused Su Can of grabbing Tang Wu and threatened to take him to the police station, but Zhang Sheng stepped in and challenged him.
• Mu Xuan arrived, recognized Su Can, confirmed he was Tang Wu’s classmate, and sent Li Wei away.
• Zhang Sheng offered Su Can a ride, but Su Can stayed to speak with Mu Xuan and Tang Wu.
• Mu Xuan praised Su Can’s transfer to No. 27 Middle School, teased him about his confidence, and asked whether his hand was hurt.
• Mu Xuan invited Su Can to Tang Wu’s birthday party on the eighth, and Su Can promised to attend.

After girls threatened Tang Wu, Zhang Feifei and her friends retaliated, and the school’s rival student groups narrowly avoided a larger clash. As Tang Wu’s birthday approached, Su Can weighed Mu Xuan’s intentions and searched for a meaningful gift, finally thinking of something beyond jewelry.

• Wang Weiwei told Su Can that girls had threatened Tang Wu, and Su Can asked him to thank Zhang Feifei and the others for intervening.
• Zhang Feifei and a dozen girls cornered Yang Yang and the other girls on the rooftop and beat them; Sun Man and Zhang Feifei were later talked out of escalating the conflict.
• Su Can considered whether Mu Xuan’s invitation to Tang Wu’s birthday party was a trap or an effort to guide their relationship openly.
• Su Can watched Mu Xuan receive visitors through his telescope and began thinking about what to give Tang Wu for her birthday.
• Su Can shopped with Guo Xiaozhong, rejected several bracelets and other jewelry, and thought of a gift with greater significance.

Su Can attended Tang Wu’s eighteenth-birthday banquet, where he met the eminent scholar Chu Zimiao and encountered Yang Chenggui, the Qingyang District head. The banquet’s parents gathered around Chu Zimiao, while Su Can was left wondering at the contrast between Tang Wu’s father and the father he had imagined.

• Su Can arrived at the Fourth City Garden Restaurant and was led to Tang Wu’s crowded birthday banquet.
• Chu Zimiao recognized Su Can and invited Tang Wu’s classmate to sit beside him, surprising the young guests.
• Su Can greeted Tang Wu and noticed Yang Cheng among the students at the banquet.
• Chu Zimiao lectured the young people about the harms of the imperial examination system while Su Can listened.
• Tang Wu’s father approached with Yang Chenggui and introduced the district head to Chu Zimiao.
• Yang Chenggui greeted Chu Zimiao deferentially, and the parents gathered around as Su Can looked toward Mu Xuan and reconsidered his image of Tang Wu’s father.

At Tang Wu’s birthday banquet, the guests’ children teased one another over their crushes on her while Su Can watched with growing impatience. He finally presented her with a trolley filled with red roses and wished her a happy birthday, leaving Tang Wu smiling brightly.

• Tang Wu’s father welcomed District Chief Yang Chenggui and other prominent guests before everyone took their seats for the birthday banquet.
• Zhao Rui recognized Su Can from a summer reception, while Mu Xuan introduced him as Tang Wu’s classmate and good friend.
• Zhou Rong praised Lü Xianming’s achievements and Tang Wu’s academic record, then the guests’ children exposed the gifts and feelings several boys had prepared for Tang Wu.
• Yang Cheng admitted he was close to Tang Wu, prompting teasing and making Su Can increasingly impatient until Mu Xuan reminded the young people to focus on their futures and studies.
• Su Can revealed that his present had arrived, brought Tang Wu a huge bouquet of red roses, and wished her a happy eighteenth birthday; Tang Wu accepted it with a bright smile.

At Tang Wu’s eighteenth-birthday banquet, Su Can’s grand gift of red roses and his family background drew attention, while Mu Xuan steered the gathering past the adults’ pointed remarks. Literary master Chu Zimiao revealed that Su Can had written his humorous speech about happiness, leaving the guests surprised.

• Su Can’s carts of red roses arrived at the banquet, impressing the guests and making Tang Wu visibly happy.
• Guests questioned Su Can about his family and his father’s promotion, while several women criticized his advice and made pointed comparisons to their own children.
• Mu Xuan changed the subject, and the guests reminisced about their school days and discussed happiness in old age.
• Chu Zimiao delivered a humorous speech about happiness and praised its author as a young man at the table.
• Chu Zimiao pointed out Su Can as the speech’s original writer, stunning the guests.

At Tang Wu’s birthday banquet, Mu Xuan announced that Tang Wu had been selected for a three-month exchange program in the United States. Tang Wu refused to go, but Su Can urged her to accept before she left with her parents, and he decided he would go too.

• Chu Zimiao praised Su Can’s speech, impressing the guests and stirring jealousy in Yang Cheng’s and Lü Xianming’s mothers.
• Tang Wu’s father spoke about his love for her at the birthday banquet, bringing her to tears.
• Mu Xuan announced that Tang Wu would represent No. 27 Middle School in a three-month exchange with Phillips Exeter Academy.
• Outside the restaurant, Tang Wu told Mu Xuan she did not want to go to the United States, and Mu Xuan insisted she should accept the opportunity.
• Su Can told Tang Wu she should go, and Tang Wu left in her parents’ car.
• On the bus home, Su Can decided he would go to the United States too.

Su Can arranged to attend Phillips Exeter Academy with Tang Wu as an exchange student, while preparing a business venture abroad and responding to an opportunity from his past-life memories. The chapter ended with the two of them flying from China to Boston to begin their three-month stay.

• Su Can persuaded Cai Guotao to approve his exchange application, and his family supported his plans to study in America.
• Su Can gave Deng Songqi extra money for the student team that had built website templates and designs to his specifications.
• Su Can and Tang Wu passed their English exams, while Wang Yue and Ren Ying arranged the confidential registration of Su Can's new British Virgin Islands company.
• Su Can received an intriguing email reply that strengthened his resolve to take the initiative during his trip abroad.
• At Rongcheng Airport, Su Can greeted Tang Wu and promised Mu Xuan he would look after her during the exchange.
• Su Can and Tang Wu flew from Rongcheng to Boston to begin their three-month exchange at Phillips Exeter Academy.

Su Can and Tang Wu arrived at Phillips Exeter Academy, where Su Can faced a hostile basketball challenge and was then caught at an underground club. After finding and defeating a fellow strategist, he met the seventeen-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, leaving their future partnership poised to begin.

• Su Can and Tang Wu arrived at Phillips Exeter Academy and were given an indifferent welcome before students tested Su Can with a basketball challenge, which he answered by making a long shot.
• Su Can joined his roommate Tillery's Dungeons & Dragons group and was caught with the club, earning a reprimand from the principal.
• Su Can visited Zack, played Risk with him for four hours, and narrowly lost the battle for world domination.
• Zack recognized Su Can, and the two shook hands after finally meeting.
• Su Can recognized Zack as the future Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and reflected on how their meeting might shape both their futures.

Su Can persuaded Mark Zuckerberg to join him in founding Facebook, promising him a controlling stake and a plan to connect schools through a social network. After they met Tang Wu for dinner, the first month at Phillips Exeter Academy had passed, while Su Can's school reputation had already suffered from his Dungeons & Dragons incident.

• Su Can explained to Zuckerberg how the academy's student directory could become the foundation for a social network and persuaded him that they shared ambitions.
• Su Can proposed creating a company called Facebook to connect students at schools across the United States and beyond.
• Su Can offered Zuckerberg 55 percent of Facebook and responsibility for running it, and Zuckerberg agreed to join.
• Su Can and Zuckerberg met Tang Wu after she finished watching the observatory demonstration, then the three went to a French restaurant.
• Zuckerberg called their plan great, while Tang Wu wondered whether Su Can could earn straight A's and recalled his disciplinary-office incident.
• The first month in the United States passed quickly.

Su Can drew attention at Exeter Academy after answering an advanced math question with poetic imagery, while his academic workload made earning straight As increasingly difficult. Mark Zuckerberg told Su Can he wanted to focus on getting into Harvard rather than building their proposed online class directory, leaving Su Can unsure how to inspire him.

• Su Can and Tang Wu listened to a school ensemble and reflected on their demanding studies and growing popularity at Exeter.
• Su Can answered a math problem with a poetic explanation about birds crossing the sky, and students began quoting poetry on their exam papers.
• The principal criticized the trend Su Can had started but praised his independent thinking, and the academy newspaper reported on his unusual answer.
• Tiriai told Su Can he admired him, while Su Can worried that his reputation would make earning straight As harder.
• Mark Zuckerberg told Su Can he wanted to prioritize extracurricular activities and admission to Harvard over their proposed Facebook venture, leaving Su Can concerned that Mark lacked genuine interest in it.

Zack received a $700,000 job offer from Microsoft but chose to focus on Harvard and the online directory he was building with Su Can. After the school rejected their request to access its student database, Su Can and Zack persuaded Phillips Exeter Academy to let them create a campus Facebook, leaving them with their first users as Su Can and Tang Wu’s return home approached.

• Microsoft offered Zack a $700,000 annual salary, and he apologized to Su Can for doubting their shared venture, saying he had invested $100,000 in it.
• Zack declined Microsoft’s preliminary interview, explaining that he wanted to attend Harvard, and he adapted Su Can’s website template into an improved version for the United States.
• Su Can and Zack asked Phillips Exeter Academy to provide student information for their online directory, gathered student support, and secured a chance to present their proposal to school leaders.
• Su Can criticized the trustees’ resistance to change, and although they refused to open the school database, they offered to hire the pair to create a campus Facebook.
• A week later, Facebook launched at Phillips Exeter Academy and drew 500 high school users, while Su Can and Tang Wu’s return home drew near.

Su Can and Zack expanded Facebook at Phillips Exeter and rejected a lowball investment offer, while Su Can and Tang Wu attended a school dance during their final weeks as exchange students. At the dance, Su Can unexpectedly met Ye Huishang, who hinted at spending the night with him.

• Students from Phillips High School joined Facebook, and Su Can explained to Zack how Phillips Exeter's financial interests encouraged the school to support their project.
• Su Can proposed launching Facebook at ten Ivy League universities and described its goal of making many-to-many communication central to the internet.
• A Minda Company representative offered $300,000 for a thirty-percent stake, but Su Can countered that the money would buy only three-tenths of one percent and refused to sell control.
• Su Can and Tang Wu attended the school dance, where they exchanged glances across the crowd while talking with other students.
• Su Can unexpectedly encountered Ye Huishang, Wang Weiwei's friend from Rongcheng, and she invited him to join her at a nearby motel after the dance.

Su Can attended Exeter Academy’s dance with Ye Huishang, where Ginny was named queen and Mark Zuckerberg and Su Can were chosen as kings. As the crowd celebrated Su Can, Tang Wu slipped away into the darkness, feeling that she was not his queen.

• Su Can traded suggestive jokes with Ye Huishang at the party, and she invited him to meet her well-connected friends and Ginny.
• Ye Huishang joined her friends near the stage while the host, Brown, announced the dance’s king and queen.
• Ginny was named queen, and Mark Zuckerberg was named one of the kings.
• Brown announced Su Can as the other king, and a spotlight found him as he pulled Tang Wu away from boys crowding around her.
• Tang Wu pulled her hand free and watched Su Can receive the crowd’s applause from the darkness.

At Exeter Academy’s dance, Mark Zuckerberg crowned Su Can king, but Su Can rejected the tradition of kissing Queen Ginny and chose Tang Wu instead. His declaration that everyone could be king or queen sent the students into a night of celebrations and kisses.

• Mark Zuckerberg announced that the dance could have only one king and crowned Su Can, crediting him with bringing Facebook and encouraging independent thinking.
• Students celebrated Su Can’s coronation as he joined Ginny onstage as the king beside the queen.
• The host urged Su Can to kiss Ginny, while Tang Wu watched anxiously from the crowd.
• Su Can told Ginny she was not his queen, left the stage, and kissed Tang Wu.
• Su Can declared that every young man was a king and every lady a queen, prompting the students to pair off and celebrate.

After leaving Ginny at the dance to kiss Tang Wu, Su Can apologized to Ginny, who accepted and drew him into a staged embrace for a school publicity prank. The crowd mistook the moment for a romantic revelation, while Ye Huishang watched Su Can from the sidelines.

• Su Can walked Tang Wu back to her dormitory after the dance, and they exchanged messages through Facebook before bed.
• Su Can found Ginny waiting outside his dormitory and apologized for leaving her at the dance; he explained that he had not understood the King and Queen tradition.
• Ginny accepted Su Can's apology and said she regretted only getting to know him shortly before his return to China.
• Ginny leaned in as though to kiss Su Can, but he turned away, so she kissed his cheek and embraced him instead.
• More than twenty people emerged from the bushes with cameras, revealing that Ginny had staged the encounter as a prank and planned to publicize it.
• Ye Huishang told a European friend that Su Can had grown up as she watched him from across the crowd.

Su Can and Tang Wu completed their exchange program at Exeter Academy after helping Facebook spread across elite American schools, and prepared to return to China. The chapter left them flying home to Rongcheng, where Su Can would face the upcoming Gaokao and continue guiding Facebook from afar.

• Su Can recalled his path from returning to his hometown to studying in the United States and celebrated the 2001 Lunar New Year with Tang Wu, Mark Zuckerberg, and other Asian students.
• Mark Zuckerberg described Facebook’s launch at Harvard and showed Su Can its growing features, including Friend Circle and reputation rankings.
• Su Can and Mark planned to expand Facebook to western universities and seek venture capital, while Su Can promised to advise Mark from China.
• Exeter Academy gave Su Can and Tang Wu straight-A evaluations, calling Su Can an eloquent debater and Tang Wu a little thinker.
• Su Can and Tang Wu left Exeter Academy on February 28, 2001, and boarded a flight home to China with Zack and their friends seeing them off.

Su Can and Tang Wu returned from Boston and were unexpectedly welcomed in Shanghai by He Guoke, who brought them to an upscale dinner with her family and friends. Tang Wu’s father joined them, and the chapter ended with Su Can enthusiastically eating the Jiangnan dishes while the others noticed his lack of restraint.

• Su Can and Tang Wu landed in Shanghai with heavy luggage and were met by men sent by He Guoke, a friend of Tang Wu’s father.
• He Guoke and Ning Dong welcomed Tang Wu and invited her and Su Can to dinner at the Jin Mao Tower.
• At the restaurant, Tang Wu’s father arrived and fussed over her, while He Guoke suggested Tang Wu stay overnight in Shanghai.
• Ning Dong and the others urged Tang Wu and Su Can to join them after dinner, while Ding Tingting watched Su Can with interest.
• Su Can and Tang Wu eagerly ate the Chinese food after their long time abroad, and He Guoke ordered more dishes when she saw how hungry Su Can was.

At a dinner in Shanghai, Su Can described the differences between Chinese and American education and challenged the adults to acknowledge China’s academic shortcomings. He won over the guests by urging China to learn from the world while using that knowledge to strengthen the country, and the gathering ended with a toast.

• Su Can’s hearty appetite and casual manner amused the adults, while Ning Dong teased her mother for seeming to favor him as a son-in-law.
• When the adults asked about America, Su Can compared Chinese and American students’ strengths in academics, fitness, independence, teamwork, initiative, communication, and practical skills.
• Su Can argued that China’s leading universities lacked international academic influence because of weaknesses in research, original achievements, and the education system.
• Zhang Mingbei asked what reforms China should make, and Su Can answered that it should look to the world and learn from it.
• Su Can clarified that studying abroad mattered only if people used what they learned to build China and prevent the country from being bullied, winning the adults’ approval.
• Tang Wu’s father proposed a toast to learning from the world, while Ding Tingting joked that Ning Dong had found a first-rate son-in-law.

Ning Dong and the others dragged Su Can and Tang Wu out for a night in Shanghai, but plans to meet Ning Dong’s friend Sun Xiaomei led them into a confrontation over an old dispute. The chapter left Ning Dong and Tang Wu trapped in a karaoke room as Ning Dong refused Zhang Ming’s demand for an apology.

• Ning Dong and the others took Su Can and Tang Wu to a beauty salon and then to Cashbox karaoke.
• At the karaoke room, Pang Yiran and Cao Ze complained about Sun Xiaomei, while Ning Dong took Tang Wu to meet her.
• Su Can discovered that Zhang Ming had called Ning Dong to apologize for splashing water on her, and he told Pang Yiran and Cao Ze to contact their families and call the police if needed.
• Ning Dong and Tang Wu found Sun Xiaomei with Zhang Ming and her friends, who demanded Ning Dong let Zhang Ming pour beer over her head to settle their dispute.
• Tang Wu tried to leave, but two girls blocked the door, and Ning Dong refused to apologize while offering to accept the beer instead.

Su Can rescued Tang Wu and Ning Dong from Zhang Ming’s group at the KTV, using a broken bottle to stop the pursuers before leaving with the girls. He had his injured hand treated at Bentang Hospital while Tang Wu’s father handled the fallout, and the chapter ended with the three sharing a quiet moment amid his phone calls.

• Zhang Ming confronted Tang Wu and Ning Dong, but Su Can entered the private room and led them out despite the group’s protests.
• When the boys chased them, Su Can smashed a Rémy Martin bottle, grabbed their leader, and threatened him with the jagged glass until the group stopped.
• Su Can released the leader, warned everyone not to follow, and left with Tang Wu and Ning Dong as the parents arrived downstairs.
• Tang Wu’s father praised Su Can for calling the parents and took them away from the KTV while police arrived.
• At Bentang Hospital, Su Can had his hand bandaged as Tang Wu’s father fielded calls and promised to handle the incident.