Chapter Summaries

Su Can returned to Nanjing University and learned from Lin Luoran that Tao Changping was under investigation after his actions against Big Banyan Construction drew attention. A month into the semester, Tao Changping was taken away, leaving the Tao Family shaken and Su Can a subject of discussion among its younger members.

• Su Can returned to his dorm, shared local specialties with Li Han, Zhang Xiaoqiao, and Xiao, and spoke with Lin Luoran by phone.
• Lin Luoran told Su Can that Tao Changping was suspected of serious disciplinary violations and was being investigated by a provincial team.
• Su Can connected Tao Changping’s downfall to his attempts to harm Big Banyan Construction and reflected that accumulated corruption had made him vulnerable.
• A month into the semester, an Investigation Team took Tao Changping from his home, and authorities reported suspected bribery, abuse of office, and other violations.
• Tao Changping’s arrest weakened the Tao Family’s western faction, and Lin Luoran told Su Can that the family’s younger generation was discussing him.

Lin Luoran turned aside Shi Ruigang’s attempt to take her and her friends to dinner, then learned from Wang Weiwei that Tao Chuhong’s cousin Tao Zi had returned to Shanghai. She worried Tao Zi might use the Tao Family’s influence against Su Can and considered seeking help from relatives if matters escalated.

• Lin Luoran joked with her university friends about their language classes and their teasing about Su Can.
• Shi Ruigang invited Lin Luoran and her friends to eat, but Lin Luoran sent him away to buy milk tea and slipped off.
• Lin Luoran compared Shi Ruigang to prey that had awakened a lion’s bloodlust, then denied that she was interested in anyone.
• Wang Weiwei called Lin Luoran and told her Tao Chuhong’s cousin Tao Zi had returned to Shanghai.
• Lin Luoran recalled Tao Zi’s rapid rise in government and worried that he might intervene against Su Can.
• Lin Luoran told Wang Weiwei she feared Su Can would challenge Tao Zi and said she might have to approach relatives she disliked for help.

Su Can learned that he had failed probability theory and mathematical statistics, while Tang Wu offered to tutor him and he teased her about studying at her home. When Professor Li Changlong questioned him about the resit in front of university staff, Su Can accused him of holding a grudge, and Li replied that Su Can had lost attendance marks for leaving a lecture early.

• Su Can saw that he had failed probability theory and mathematical statistics, while Tang Wu ranked among the college's top ten and Zhang Xiaoqiao, Li Han, and Xiao Xu had also failed courses.
• Tang Wu offered to tutor Su Can, but she refused when he suggested studying at her home and hurried off to class.
• Su Can went to the faculty office to ask Professor Li Changlong about his resit, where Dean Lu Chuanming and other university staff were also present.
• Professor Li singled out Su Can and asked why he had failed, drawing attention because university leaders knew of his past incident at the FEEC Club.
• Su Can challenged Professor Li, asking whether his failure had anything to do with talking back to him in public the previous semester.
• Professor Li denied that the argument itself mattered and said Su Can had lost attendance marks because he left a lecture early.

Su Can accepted responsibility for failing his course, but Li Changlong used the meeting to criticize his priorities and involvement with elite circles. When Dean Lu Chuanming challenged Su Can over his criticism of university construction, Su Can defended his views and also questioned the practice of publicly posting students’ grades, leaving the faculty office surprised by his boldness.

• Su Can admitted that skipping class and neglecting his studies had led to his failure, while Li Changlong questioned his priorities and mocked his involvement in extracurricular circles.
• Li Changlong argued that Su Can should be realistic about competition, wealth, and career prospects, then praised Su Can’s remark that a first-rate university was judged by its brightly lit study rooms.
• Dean Lu Chuanming recognized Su Can as the source of the remark and challenged his criticism of universities building modern teaching facilities.
• Su Can explained that he opposed universities competing over buildings at the expense of students’ dignity and criticized the public posting of exam results and rankings.
• After Su Can left, Lu Chuanming reflected on the student’s unusual boldness.

Su Can's makeshift class football team reached the Freshman Cup semifinals before losing 1–0 to Class Twelve. After the match, Mo Xue and three associates invited Su Can to join Nanjing University's Future Entrepreneurs Club, leaving him suspicious about their motives.

• Wang Dongjian persuaded Su Can to organize a class football team, which advanced through the group matches and reached the semifinals.
• Su Can's team played Class Twelve before a large crowd, with Tang Wu watching from the stands.
• Mo Xue arrived with Liu Menghui, Mo Qinghe, and another man to speak with Tang Wu about the Future Entrepreneurs Club.
• Su Can's team lost 1–0, and Xiao Xu and Zhang Xiaoqiao urged Su Can to see what was happening with Tang Wu's visitors.
• Mo Xue explained the club's alumni network and invited Su Can to join, while Su Can wondered why they had approached him.

Su Can rejected the FEEC Club’s invitation after Zhang Ping tried to pressure him into joining, then left with Tang Wu. Back in the dorm, his friends discussed the refusal, while the reason the club had sought him out remained unknown to them.

• Mo Xue invited Su Can and Tang Wu to join the FEEC Club as provisional members, but Su Can declined.
• Zhang Ping criticized Su Can’s refusal and warned him that he would lose out by staying outside influential circles.
• Su Can dismissed Zhang Ping’s argument, called the club’s network too small for him, and left hand in hand with Tang Wu.
• Xiao Xu and Li Han supported Su Can’s decision, while Zhang Xiaoqiao learned that the refusal had become a topic of discussion in the Student Union.
• Zhang Xiaoqiao remained unsure why the club had invited Su Can.

Su Can reflected on the value of college circles and joined his dormmates in discussing grades, ambitions, and the uncertain future. Ye Huishang then messaged him from Beijing about Tao Chuhong’s anger and offered to mediate.

• Su Can decided that FEEC Club’s narrow network was not worth joining just for connections.
• Xiao Xu recounted his scuffle after the football match, and his dormmates teased him while discussing Su Can’s and Tang Wu’s high GPA rankings.
• The dormmates complained about public grade rankings and talked about the modest goals students pursued after graduation.
• Su Can received a Facebook message from Ye Huishang, who said Tao Chuhong was angry and offered to help mediate.

Su Can learned that Big Banyan Construction would manage Southern Sichuan Airlines' hotels after the airline's restructuring, then accepted Wu Shirui's invitation to a Shanghai bar. The evening ended with the announcement that Zhan Hua was among the airline executives there, leaving Su Can facing an unexpected encounter with an old enemy.

• Su Licheng told Su Can that Southern Sichuan Airlines' restructuring was nearly finalized, with Tiannan Airlines and Nanfei Airlines taking major stakes and Big Banyan Construction set to manage the airline's hotels.
• Su Can and Zeng Ke discussed his plans with Tang Wu, and he promised to invite her to dinner with his parents.
• Su Can dismissed Ye Huishang's offer to mediate his conflict with Tao Chuhong and Tao Zi.
• Wu Shirui invited Su Can to meet her friends and colleagues at the Glamour Bar in Shanghai.
• Wu Shirui's friends teased Su Can and shared stories about his exploits at Nanjing University.
• A colleague announced that Minister Peng and Zhan Hua were in the private room and wanted the flight attendants to join them, and Su Can recognized Zhan Hua as an enemy.

Su Can witnessed Peng Lixin’s inappropriate behavior toward Wu Shirui and intervened after she defended Taozi by throwing drinks at Peng and a captain. He took the women away after declaring that his father would buy Peng’s group, and a man in the bar revealed that Su Can was his daughter’s boyfriend and future son-in-law.

• Su Can watched Zhan Hua leave after warning Peng Lixin to ensure that no mistakes were made.
• Peng Lixin pressured Wu Shirui to drink while Taozi tried to intervene, and he insulted Taozi before a captain slapped her.
• Wu Shirui threw drinks at the captain and Peng Lixin, then confronted the captain when he demanded an apology.
• Su Can supported Wu Shirui, challenged Peng Lixin, and said his father would buy the group before taking the women away.
• A man in a secluded seating area told a celebrity host that Su Can was his daughter’s boyfriend and future son-in-law.

After Su Can confronted Peng Lixin over Wu Shirui’s treatment, Peng Lixin learned Su Can’s connection to Su Licheng and vowed to challenge him. Later, Tang’s father told Mu Xuan about meeting Su Can, and she asked him to explain.

• After Wu Shirui and her companions left, the captain tried to minimize the dispute and apologized on Peng Lixin’s behalf.
• Peng Lixin called Wang Zhuo in human resources and learned that Su Can was connected to Su Licheng of Big Banyan Construction.
• Peng Lixin dismissed Su Can’s threat and vowed to see how he could make him lose his job.
• After parting with An Bin, Tang’s father called Mu Xuan and reminisced about An Bin’s past interest in her.
• Tang’s father told Mu Xuan that he had encountered Su Can at a bar, and Mu Xuan asked him to tell her more.

Su Can investigated Peng Lixin’s role in sexual harassment and Chuannan Aviation Group’s risky financial dealings, then helped Su Licheng challenge the group’s leadership. The boardroom clash exposed a deeply entrenched network of powerful interests and left the restructuring at a stalemate.

• Su Can urged Su Licheng to publicly address Wu Shirui’s sexual harassment complaint against Peng Lixin, but Su Licheng warned that a public confrontation could disrupt the airline group’s restructuring.
• Su Can confirmed that Peng Lixin oversaw three-party wealth management with securities firms and linked the operation to Zhan Hua and the group’s use of funds for concentrated stock investments.
• Su Can spent a week building a model that indicated concentrated fund holdings intensified stock-price volatility and showed the risks of the group neglecting its core airline business.
• Su Licheng used Su Can’s findings to question the aviation group’s missing finance-company deposits at a board meeting, prompting objections from executives and a threat of resignation from Peng Lixin.
• Su Licheng and Su Can realized Peng Lixin was only one part of a powerful, interconnected network, and the conflict between the factions reached a stalemate.

Su Can learned that his intervention for Wu Shirui had helped protect her and affected trouble inside the aviation group, while rumors made him famous among her colleagues. He later explained the incident to Tang Wu, who teased him about his reputation and ended the chapter in his arms.

• Wu Shirui told Su Can that Taozi and the other flight attendants had avoided the feared consequences, and that rumors linked him to changes at Tiannan Airlines.
• Wu Shirui teased Su Can about Nana’s crush and shared her wish that their old friends could stay together, while Su Can asked her not to call him Young Master Su.
• Guo Xiaozhong told Su Can that Wu Shirui had agreed to visit him, then hung up after learning Su Can had told her he had secretly loved her since childhood.
• Su Can walked with Tang Wu on campus, and she said her father had seen him on the Bund and described him as having a way with women.
• Su Can explained that he had intervened when an aviation executive molested Wu Shirui, and Tang Wu smiled before he kissed and embraced her.
• Tang Wu told Su Can that her mother had summed him up as boasting without shame.

Su Can visited Tang Wu’s economics lecture and shared an earbud with her, bringing back memories of his university days listening to music with friends. The chapter ended as the two listened together in class, drawing envious stares from Tang Wu’s classmates.

• Su Can recalled his old university routine and the afternoons he had spent listening to rock and pop music with close friends.
• Su Can entered Tang Wu’s class at the School of Management and sat beside her.
• Su Can gave Tang Wu an earbud connected to Zhang Xiaoqiao’s CD player and said the music was good.
• Tang Wu put on the earbud and listened with Su Can as their classmates watched enviously.

Su Can joined Lin Luoran for dinner with Wang Weiwei’s cousin, Li Luo, at the Huangpu Club and wondered why she was acting so intimately with him. The chapter ended as Li Luo led them toward the waiting guests, with Lin Luoran still holding Su Can’s arm.

• Lin Luoran arranged to pick Su Can up at Nanjing University and drove him to The Bund No. 3 for dinner with Li Luo.
• On the way, Su Can and Lin Luoran teased each other, while the driver referred to Li Luo as his boss.
• Lin Luoran told Su Can to let her do the talking when they arrived at the club.
• Li Luo greeted Lin Luoran warmly and hugged her before turning to shake Su Can’s hand.
• Lin Luoran linked her arm through Su Can’s and introduced him to Li Luo with a sweet, bashful manner.
• Li Luo welcomed them and led them toward the guests, while Su Can tried to understand Lin Luoran’s act.

Su Can attended a welcome dinner with Li Luo, Lin Luoran, Tao Zi, and Tao Chuhong, where the adults maneuvered around the fallout from Rongcheng. After resisting Li Luo’s advice to make a conciliatory gesture, Su Can returned to the table with a confidence that made him seem their equal.

• Li Luo introduced Su Can and his friends to Tao Zi, while making clear that Su Can was on his side.
• Lin Luoran showed her closeness to Su Can at the table, while Tao Zi pointedly excluded him from the conversation and criticized Su Licheng.
• Li Luo told Su Can to toast Tao Zi as a way to open negotiations, but Su Can refused to apologize or be used as a pawn.
• Lin Luoran urged Su Can to trust Li Luo’s intentions, and Su Can told her he had his own way of handling the situation.
• Su Can returned to the table with a changed bearing that made Li Luo, Tao Zi, and Tao Chuhong feel he stood on equal footing with them.

At a reconciliation dinner, Su Can confronted Tao Zi over the crisis at Chuannan Aviation Group and revealed evidence of financial losses and alleged misconduct. Tao Zi recognized that Su Can’s findings could force their factions to cooperate, and Su Can proposed that Nanfei Airlines and Tiannan Airlines join forces.

• Su Can returned from the restroom and challenged Tao Zi about the restructuring of Chuannan Aviation Group.
• Su Can explained that the group’s financial mismanagement had prompted his father, Su Licheng, to call for an investigation, and said he had uncovered the problems himself.
• Tao Zi expressed disbelief, so Su Can laid out financial records and risk analyses tracing the group’s losses to funds entrusted to securities firms.
• Tao Zi examined the documents and asked Su Can what he wanted.
• Su Can proposed that Nanfei Airlines and Tiannan Airlines join forces, leaving Tao Zi facing the possibility of an alliance.

After Su Can won Tao Zi over with a proposal to ally their interests in Chuannan Aviation Group, he and Lin Luoran left the dinner with Li Luo and walked around her university campus. The chapter ended with Su Can innocently believing Lin Luoran was only showing him the campus.

• Su Can presented Tao Zi with documents and arguments that persuaded him to consider an alliance between the Tao Family and Big Banyan Construction over Chuannan Aviation Group.
• Tao Zi and Li Luo recognized Su Can's skill, while Tao Chuhong left uncertain whether he and Su Can were enemies or friends.
• Li Luo teased Su Can about Wang Weiwei and warned him not to let Lin Luoran down before driving them to Shanghai International Studies University.
• Lin Luoran thanked Su Can for his conduct at dinner and invited him to walk around her campus.
• Su Can walked beside Lin Luoran as her classmates watched them, and she pointed out the campus foreign-language corner and its iron gate.

Su Can visited Lin Luoran’s university, where she showed him around before the two went to her dormitory. There, a public love confession meant for Lin Luoran turned into a spectacle when she took Su Can’s hand, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Lin Luoran guided Su Can around campus, and he bought them milk tea to share a small taste of her university.
• Lin Luoran received a call from her roommate and led Su Can toward her dormitory.
• Su Can and Lin Luoran arrived as Shi Ruigang prepared a candlelit public confession, with a crowd gathered to watch.
• Lin Luoran asked Su Can if he was scared, then interlaced her fingers with his and stood beside him beneath the lights.
• Shi Ruigang’s guitarist stopped playing as the crowd reacted to Su Can and Lin Luoran’s joined hands.

Lin Luoran used Su Can as a shield to turn down Shi Ruigang’s elaborate public confession, then fled with Su Can from the watching crowd. After she cried in a quiet corner of campus, the two returned separately, leaving Lin Luoran to reflect on the comfort Su Can had given her.

• Lin Luoran took Su Can’s hand and walked away, leaving Shi Ruigang’s bouquet and public confession behind.
• Su Can and Lin Luoran ran to a secluded place among trees and water, where Lin Luoran admitted she had brought him along as backup.
• Lin Luoran became tearful, and Su Can stayed beside her until she was ready to return to her dormitory.
• Lin Luoran asked what Su Can would do if she forgot his face, and he said he would look at her until she remembered him.
• Lin Luoran told her roommates that Su Can was from Nanjing University and had only helped her out of a tight spot.
• Standing on the balcony, Lin Luoran wondered whether Su Can had returned safely and thought about how good it had felt to have him stay with her.

Su Can enjoyed a quiet stretch of university life as Li Han began a romance with Chen Jia, while Su Can worried about his father’s struggle over the aviation group restructuring. At the board meeting, Su Licheng faced resistance from Peng Lixin and the former management, who believed they could outlast him and erase evidence of past misconduct.

• Su Can settled into his routine at Nanjing University, spending time with Tang Wu and worrying about whether Su Licheng could manage the factions opposing him in Rongcheng.
• Room 602 learned that Li Han liked Chen Jia, and Wang Dongjian helped arrange a chance for Li Han to meet her outside the library.
• Li Han confessed that he wanted to be friends with Chen Jia, and the two walked away together; later, he celebrated their budding romance with his roommates.
• Su Licheng pressed for an investigation into the aviation group’s financial losses and the removal of those responsible, arguing that the restructuring needed effective reforms.
• At the board meeting, Peng Lixin relied on the former Chuannan Aviation Group’s seats and its allies to resist Su Licheng, privately believing that the restructuring would wipe away the earlier evidence.