Chapter Summaries

Lin Luoran’s father, Lin Guozhou, returned from abroad and visited her at Wang Bu’s home, where the family teased her about Su Can. The chapter left Lin Guozhou curious about Su Can after Wang Bu offered to tell him about the boy’s ideas.

• Wang Weiwei and Lin Zouwen suspected Lin Luoran and Su Can were secretly dating, while Wang Weiwei reflected on his changing feelings toward her.
• Lin Luoran arrived home and found her father, Lin Guozhou, visiting Wang Bu after returning from Yugoslavia.
• Lin Guozhou discussed Lin Luoran’s school results and showed his concern by serving her food, though his stern manner disappointed her.
• Wang Bu teased Lin Luoran about having a boy she liked, and Lin Zouwen named Su Can, making her flustered.
• Wang Bu praised Su Can’s ideas and invited Lin Guozhou to hear more about him after dinner; Lin Guozhou agreed.

Su Can shared dinner with Tang Wu and her mother, Mu Xuan, who made clear she intended to take Tang Wu away. As Tang Wu left, Su Can gave Mu Xuan his name and vowed she would remember it, leaving their future reunion uncertain.

• Mu Xuan invited Su Can to dinner with her and Tang Wu after picking them up.
• While reflecting on Xiahai’s changing future, Su Can resolved to use his second chance to influence more than his own life.
• Mu Xuan questioned how long Su Can had known Tang Wu and said four years should be easy to forget, but Su Can insisted he would never forget them.
• Mu Xuan said she was taking Tang Wu away, and Tang Wu reluctantly agreed to leave.
• Tang Wu held Su Can’s hand before getting into the car, and Su Can asked whether he would see her the next day.
• Mu Xuan challenged Su Can to make her want to know his name someday, and he introduced himself as Su Can before she drove off with Tang Wu.

After Tang Wu’s mother challenged him to become stronger, Su Can accepted that his separation from Tang Wu was temporary and considered how to break through his current limitations. At a swimming center, he spent time with Wang Ming and Zeng Yuan, then shared his ambition to build a stationery-store chain and eventually establish Xiahai City’s first large supermarket at Xinghai Square.

• Su Can recognized Tang Wu’s mother’s cutting remarks as an attempt to spur him and resolved to grow strong enough to reunite with Tang Wu on his own terms.
• At the swimming center, Zeng Yuan impressed the crowd by jumping from the three-meter diving board, while Wang Ming and Su Can teased each other about him.
• Wang Ming told Su Can that all three stationery shops were thriving, especially the branch near No. 1 High School.
• Su Can described his plan to expand the stationery stores across Xiahai City and eventually open a large supermarket at Xinghai Square.
• Wang Ming reacted with surprise when Su Can mentioned the future commercial center and its McDonald’s and KFC.

Su Can discussed the limits of his family’s stationery business and his ambition to expand into Xinghai Square, despite Wang Ming’s doubts about their lack of capital. At the pool, he overcame his fear of diving and launched himself from the platform.

• Su Can criticized the spread of Western fast food, and Zeng Yuan joked that he hoped to work for Su Can or take over his stores someday.
• Su Can challenged Zeng Yuan to take the stores from him in five years and told him he would give them up if he dared.
• Wang Ming worried that the family lacked the capital to enter Xinghai Square as a major supermarket and department-store retailer.
• Su Can stood on the three-meter diving platform but turned back, admitting inwardly that he was afraid to jump.
• After Zeng Yuan mocked him, Su Can heard a voice challenge him to try again in this life, then sprinted along the platform and leaped like a dolphin.

Wang Bu learned that Zhang Zhimao faced a corruption investigation and that Liu Cheng was moving against the Wang faction, while Lin Guozhou offered to support him. At a dinner in Xiahai, Liu Cheng confronted Wang Bu and warned that their drink might be their last, leaving the officials anticipating a political upheaval and Su Can excited by what he saw as an opportunity.

• Wang Bu told Lin Guozhou that Zhang Zhimao was under investigation for corruption and that the Wang Family would not intervene.
• Lin Guozhou promised to help Wang Bu as much as he could, despite the Lin Family's apparent reluctance to get involved.
• Wang Bu hosted a dinner attended by Lin Guozhou, Lin Luoran, Su Can, and Xiahai officials, where Lin Guozhou explained his diplomatic work.
• Hong Xiaotian told Wang Bu that Liu Cheng had arrived in Xiahai and that Jin Donghai was upstairs with him.
• Liu Cheng approached Wang Bu's table, drank with him, and warned that it might be the last drink they shared before leaving.
• Su Can watched Liu Cheng with conspicuous excitement, while Lin Luoran blushed as she remembered an intimate moment with Su Can.

After dinner with Wang Weiwei and Lin Zouwen, Su Can returned to the family compound to erase the draft of his controversial article, only to find Lin Guozhou had uncovered it. Lin Guozhou and Wang Bu realized Su Can had written the piece and urged him to explain its reasoning, leaving Su Can asking them to use their influence to prevent the tragedy he had predicted.

• Wang Weiwei and Lin Zouwen took Su Can to the family compound for barbecue after Wang Weiwei angrily complained about Liu Cheng.
• Su Can and Lin Luoran grew awkward around each other over their past intimate encounter, while Wang Weiwei became dejected after seeing them together.
• Wang Bu and Lin Guozhou returned, and Lin Guozhou worried that Liu Cheng’s power would leave Wang Bu isolated.
• Su Can went to the study to delete his article draft, but Lin Guozhou revealed that he had found it in a hidden folder.
• Lin Guozhou and Wang Bu confirmed that Su Can had written the article and questioned whether its prediction was supported by sound reasoning.
• Su Can urged Lin Guozhou and Wang Bu to use whatever means they could to stop the coming tragedy.

Lin Guozhou left Xiahai determined to submit Su Can’s warning about a possible NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy, while Su Can and Tang Wu spent time together before her transfer. Their reunion with Wang Weiwei ended in a fight that revealed his father was under investigation and his family was in crisis.

• Wang Bu watched Lin Guozhou’s plane depart and recalled how Su Can’s article had persuaded Lin Guozhou to raise the warning despite the political risks.
• On the flight to the capital, Lin Guozhou resolved to alert the authorities that the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia could be bombed.
• Su Can skipped class with Tang Wu, reassured her about her mother’s remarks, and promised they would meet again after she transferred schools.
• Su Can and Tang Wu arrived at the basketball court, where Wang Weiwei punched Wang Haoran after a collision.
• Wang Haoran revealed that Wang Bu was being investigated over expressway funding and allegations involving two college students, and that Wang Weiwei’s mother was threatening divorce.
• Wang Weiwei left school in tears, and Su Can suspected Liu Cheng had begun his attack on Wang Bu.

Su Can and his classmates attended Chen Lingshan’s lavish birthday banquet at the Kaibin Hotel, where Chen Lingshan welcomed them warmly despite the wealthy guests’ condescending behavior. Her father greeted Su Can while privately intent on reasserting his authority after regretting an earlier missed business opportunity.

• Su Can met Li Lüemei, Mao Xiaoshi, and their classmates outside the hotel, where wealthy students mocked Li Lüemei’s clothes and made the group doubt whether they belonged at the banquet.
• Su Can urged everyone to go inside, and Chen Lingshan personally welcomed them and led them to a table.
• The group gave Chen Lingshan birthday presents, and she became emotional over Li Lüemei’s gift before quietly accepting Su Can’s porcelain Peking Opera masks.
• Chen Lingshan’s father greeted the guests and recognized Su Can, while privately reflecting on his past regret and his desire to regain the authority he felt he had lost.

At Chen Lingshan’s birthday banquet, Tang Wu arrived unexpectedly, played a moving piano piece, and brought her hands together with Su Can’s before fleeing in tears. Su Can caught up with her, comforted her, and promised to return to her in the future as she prepared to leave with her mother.

• Chen Lingshan’s father asked Su Can about his father’s work at Xinghai Square, drawing attention to the project amid rumors surrounding Wang Bu’s investigation.
• Xue Yiyang and a boy named Xiao Yu discussed Chen Lingshan’s admirers, but Su Can said he and Lingshan had nothing between them.
• Tang Wu arrived at the banquet despite saying she would be leaving, then played piano for Chen Lingshan and Su Can.
• Tang Wu tried to join Chen Lingshan’s and Su Can’s hands, then left in tears, and Chen Lingshan urged Su Can to follow her.
• Su Can caught Tang Wu by the elevator, comforted her, and kissed her as he promised to keep his word before she left with her mother.

Su Can followed the suppression of his article and the mounting attacks on Wang Bu, while worrying that Lin Guozhou had encountered resistance in the capital. After arranging to speak with Lin Guozhou, Su Can shared a warm family dinner where his parents teased him about Lin Lingshan and offered advice about responsibility.

• Copies and discussions of “The Nightingale No Longer Cries” disappeared from online forums, and newspapers stopped covering the controversy after receiving orders from above.
• Su Can suspected Liu Cheng was behind the accusations against Wang Bu, but believed the investigation lacked the evidence to bring Wang Bu down.
• Lin Luoran told Su Can that Wang Bu was being questioned and that her family was considering transferring Wang Weiwei away from Xiahai.
• Lin Luoran invited Su Can to her home to speak with Lin Guozhou when he called that night.
• At dinner, Zeng He teased Su Can about Lin Lingshan visiting the shop, and Su Licheng advised him not to take on responsibilities he could not bear.

Su Can worried that his commentary might affect the safety of Lin Guozhou, who flew to Yugoslavia despite warnings, while Su Can endured public and classroom criticism for his views. As Su Can sat with Liu Rui and Xue Yiyang on a rooftop on May 7, a stealth bomber was already flying toward the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.

• Lin Guozhou told Su Can to stop publishing commentary, then explained that he would travel to Yugoslavia to address the danger facing the embassy.
• Lin Guozhou boarded a special flight to Yugoslavia, while Su Can later learned that the embassy had moved staff and documents to safer locations.
• A provincial article attacked Su Can's commentary, and Gong Fulu used it to criticize him in class as Chen Lingshan and Li Weimei watched.
• Su Can, unable to sleep, took Liu Rui and Xue Yiyang to the rooftop, where they discussed his dispute with Gong Fulu and his prediction about the embassy.
• On May 7, a stealth bomber took off from Whiteman Air Force Base and headed toward the Republic Embassy in Belgrade.

After NATO bombed the Chinese embassy in the Southern Alliance, Lin Guozhou’s precautions ensured the staff survived, and he returned to China as a celebrated figure. Su Can saw his classmates recognize that his warning had come true and realized he had saved lives and shifted the course of events, leaving him more confident about what lay ahead.

• Little Lü alerted the Xinhua editor-in-chief to the bombing, and Lin Guozhou reported that embassy staff were evacuating safely.
• News of the attack provoked international condemnation and protests in China, while the United States called it accidental and offered an apology and compensation.
• Lin Guozhou received public acclaim for his foresight, and Lin Chu thanked him for helping transfer valuable military materials back to China.
• Su Can rushed to the Municipal Party Committee Family Compound, where Wang Bu, Lin Luoran, and the others learned that the embassy staff had survived.
• Su Can arrived late at school and found his classmates staring at him after his prediction of the bombing proved accurate.
• Su Can reflected that his warnings had helped save the embassy staff and altered several people’s fates, and he felt more confident in his struggle against fate.

Chen Lingshan’s friend urged her to pursue Su Can, while Su Can encouraged Xue Yiyang to consider going into business with him instead of building fighter planes. Later, Su Can took his cousin Zeng Yuan out for a hike and teased him about their destination.

• Li Weimei told Chen Lingshan that school rumors cast Tang Wu’s visit to her birthday party as a challenge and urged her to stop pushing Su Can away.
• Su Can asked Xue Yiyang about his future, and Xue said he wanted to build planes to shoot down American aircraft.
• The chemistry teacher overheard their talk, misunderstood it, and sent Su Can and Xue Yiyang to stand at the back of the classroom.
• Su Can suggested that Xue Yiyang go into business with him, and Xue eagerly agreed to become his top general once Su started a company.
• Su Can met Zeng Yuan on Saturday for a hiking trip and teased him with a story about a secluded forest and a castle.

Su Can took Zeng Yuan hiking at Horse-Grazing Mountain Forest Park and led him into an abandoned villa development. The cousins slipped into a lavish villa’s grounds and prepared to swim in its pool.

• Su Can and Zeng Yuan rode a bus to Horse-Grazing Mountain and hiked up the mountain road.
• As they walked, Zeng Yuan talked about his crushes, school, and plans to join Su Can and Wang Yue after they went to university.
• Su Can led Zeng Yuan off the road through the woods to a secluded group of villas.
• Su Can climbed over a villa’s fence, and Zeng Yuan followed him into the grounds.
• Su Can suggested swimming in the villa’s pool, and Zeng Yuan jumped into the water.

Su Can and Zeng Yuan retrieved three oilpaper-wrapped bundles from the pond at Liu Cheng’s villa, and Su Can discovered they held 1.5 million yuan in cash. The money confirmed his foreknowledge of Liu Cheng’s hidden fortune, leaving Su Can aware that his rebirth had given him a powerful advantage.

• Su Can persuaded Zeng Yuan to help pull three large, rope-bound bundles from the muddy pond at the villa.
• Su Can told Zeng Yuan a ghost story about bundles recovered from a pond and warned him to keep their discovery secret.
• Su Can returned home, opened one bundle, and found stacks of hundred-yuan notes inside all three packages.
• Su Can realized the bundles contained 1.5 million yuan and identified the cash as part of Liu Cheng’s hidden fortune.

After retrieving money hidden beneath Liu Cheng’s villa, Su Can began depositing some of it and considered how the new capital could support future ventures, including involving Wang Ming. At school, PE teacher Jiang Zezhong targeted Class Five with extra drills and punishment, then singled out several boys at the end of class.

• Su Can joined his family and Wang Ming for dinner, thanked them for their support, and decided to think through his plans before spending the recovered money.
• Su Can recalled that Liu Cheng had hidden cash in the villa pool and reasoned that he could not remove all of it without disturbing evidence against Liu Cheng.
• Su Can deposited some of the older notes at an Agricultural Bank of China branch and considered using the money as startup capital, possibly through Wang Ming.
• Xue Yiyang warned Su Can that Jiang Zezhong was taking their double PE period, and the three classes assembled on the sports field.
• Jiang Zezhong ordered the boys in Class Five to run four laps after Xue Yiyang complained, then imposed more drills and punishments on the students.
• Jiang Zezhong caught several Class Five boys whispering and ordered the boys from their class to step out.

During a punishment in the summer heat, Chen Lingshan brought drinks to the Class Five boys and stood up for them when Jiang Zezhong objected. Su Can and Xue Yiyang walked out of school to buy drinks for everyone, leaving Jiang Zezhong threatening the remaining boys; Su Can asked the shopkeeper for ten cases.

• Jiang Zezhong made the Class Five boys stand in the sun after they had run four laps, while the girls watched from the shade.
• Chen Lingshan bought Coke and iced tea, then brought them to the field and said she had done so because she could not stand Jiang Zezhong's treatment.
• When Jiang Zezhong barred the boys from drinking and mocked Chen Lingshan, Su Can said he had asked her to buy the drinks and challenged Jiang Zezhong's decision to punish only Class Five.
• Jiang Zezhong demanded that Su Can buy drinks for all the students, so Su Can called Xue Yiyang and left the line with him.
• Jiang Zezhong threatened to keep the remaining Class Five boys standing until school ended if Su Can and Xue Yiyang did not return.
• Su Can and Xue Yiyang went to the supermarket by the school gate, where Su Can asked the owner for ten cases of drinks.

Su Can and Xue Yiyang bought drinks for three classes after Jiang Zezhong promised to end their punishment if Su Can could do so, and Vice Principal Yu rebuked Jiang for breaking his word. Su Can and Xue Yiyang received verbal warnings, while Chen Lingshan began considering whether her relationship with Su Can could grow now that Tang Wu had left.

• Su Can and Xue Yiyang brought drinks for students in Classes Three, Five, and Seven, and the punished students of Class Five left Jiang Zezhong to join the crowd.
• Jiang Zezhong demanded that Su Can and Xue Yiyang be expelled, but Vice Principal Yu questioned him about his promise to release the students if Su Can bought drinks for all three classes.
• Vice Principal Yu criticized Jiang Zezhong for failing to keep his word and issued Su Can and Xue Yiyang verbal warnings for talking back to a teacher.
• Students across the grade repeated Vice Principal Yu's defense of student integrity and praised his fairness.
• Chen Lingshan wondered whether Su Can might return her feelings, despite their argument, and felt reassured that Tang Wu was gone.

After school, Su Can found Wang Yue being pressured by her aunt and cousin to accept Zhao Liang’s marriage proposal. Wang Yue rejected him and left with Su Can, choosing her ambitions despite her relatives’ threats.

• Su Can noticed students treating him like a feared figure as he walked home and came upon Wang Yue with her aunt, cousin, and Zhao Liang.
• Wang Cuiping and Qian Hong urged Wang Yue to marry Zhao Liang, who described the submissive role he expected from a wife and offered to fund a small shop for her.
• Wang Yue calmly rejected Zhao Liang, explaining that she wanted to pursue her own ambitions and would not be content staying in one place.
• After Qian Hong mocked her prospects, Wang Yue said they did not understand and told them their offer was charity while Su Can gave her respect.
• Su Can identified himself as the owner of the shop and left with Wang Yue, who ignored her relatives’ threats to disown her.

Su Can gave Wang Yue secret startup funds to launch five Shushan stationery stores in Xiahai, setting her on the path toward the larger world she wanted. As the stores prepared to open, he began looking beyond local wholesalers for a reliable source of supplies.

• Su Can comforted Wang Yue after her family conflict and asked whether she trusted him, and she kissed his forehead and said she did.
• Su Can gave Wang Yue one hundred thousand in cash and instructed her to secretly establish five branches using money he said came from a corrupt official.
• Over the next month, Wang Yue secured rental contracts for five storefronts near schools, and Su Can funded the takeovers and renovations.
• Su Can named the five-store chain Shushan and planned to use its sales to put the funds to work over the coming year.
• Su Can ruled out Xiahai wholesalers as a source for the chain’s large supply needs and considered contacting Deli for direct shipments.