Chapter Summaries

Xu Su and Huo Yuchen earned points for picking apples, then Xu Su clashed with Li Weizhou and Zhuang Luo when they questioned him about their harvest. He forced Zhuang Luo’s claims of understanding into an awkward demand for money, then hinted at exposing Li Weizhou before Li pulled Zhuang Luo away.

• Xu Su and Huo Yuchen exchanged their apple harvest for 70 and 56 points, respectively, and Xu Su argued that his total should be rounded up to 100.
• Lu Jing, Shen Chuanzhu, Zhuang Luo, and Li Weizhou joined them, and Xu Su joked to Lu Jing about the physical and mental strain of picking apples.
• Zhuang Luo asked Huo Yuchen how much he had picked, but Huo Yuchen ignored him, while Xu Su mocked Li Weizhou for asking about his harvest in a commanding tone.
• Zhuang Luo urged others to be understanding toward Xu Su, so Xu Su demanded that he prove his kindness by sending money.
• Li Weizhou accused Xu Su of shamelessly demanding money, but Xu Su began to hint at something Li had done before Li warned him about the cameras and pulled Zhuang Luo away.

Xu Su and Huo Yuchen continued picking apples after Zhuang Luo and Li Weizhou walked away, then returned to exchange their harvest points for food. Huo Yuchen offered to spend his points on ingredients for Xu Su, who eagerly ordered shrimp, while Huo Yuchen smiled at him.

• Li Weizhou and Zhuang Luo left the orchard, and Xu Su joked with Huo Yuchen about his own looks before they resumed picking apples.
• The six contestants finished in the orchard, and staff weighed their harvests and credited their points.
• The group returned to the villa, where Shen Chuanzhu, Lu Jing, Li Weizhou, and Zhuang Luo exchanged points for prepared meals.
• Huo Yuchen stopped Xu Su from choosing a meal set and offered to let him order ingredients using Huo Yuchen's points.
• Xu Su immediately ordered a serving of large sea shrimp, and Huo Yuchen smiled indulgently as he watched.

Huo Yuchen took over cooking after learning Xu Su could not cook, while Xu Su waited at the table. Zhuang Luo challenged Xu Su, who insulted him through pointed wordplay and left him crying as the livestream audience argued over the confrontation.

• Huo Ruhui insisted he could finish Huo Yuchen’s advanced calculus homework, then asked Old Mao to find a homework ghostwriter ten minutes later.
• Xu Su admitted his cooking awards were for terrible food, and Huo Yuchen took the ingredients into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
• Zhuang Luo criticized Xu Su for not helping, and Xu Su responded with insults disguised as a general remark.
• Zhuang Luo accused Xu Su of insulting him, and Xu Su made him repeat the insults before pointing out that Zhuang Luo had assumed they described him.
• Zhuang Luo began to cry, while Xu Su asked whether he could not accept who he really was.

Xu Su mocked Zhuang Luo and revealed that Zhuang Luo had encouraged him to pursue Li Weizhou while secretly dating him for two years. Zhuang Luo denied the claims and threatened to sue Xu Su, desperate to protect their careers.

• Zhuang Luo argued that Li Weizhou had never loved Xu Su, but Xu Su laughed and said Zhuang Luo and Li Weizhou belonged together.
• Xu Su accused Zhuang Luo of hiding his two-year relationship with Li Weizhou while encouraging Xu Su to pursue him during the past year.
• Zhuang Luo's manager called Cheng Nan to complain about Xu Su, and Cheng Nan advised him to close his eyes and not look.
• Zhuang Luo denied Xu Su's allegations and warned that he would sue Xu Su unless he apologized and explained himself to the viewers.

Xu Su exposed evidence that Li Weizhou and Zhuang Luo had been secretly dating while profiting from fake single personas, and Li Weizhou smashed Xu Su’s phone in panic. As their scandal spread online, Xu Su ate with Huo Yuchen, who insisted that Li Weizhou talk to him at the table.

• Li Weizhou returned from the latrine and demanded that Xu Su apologize after hearing Zhuang Luo’s account of the confrontation.
• Xu Su claimed to have recordings and footage of Li Weizhou and Zhuang Luo’s relationship, and Li Weizhou grabbed his phone and smashed it.
• The livestream audience and online viewers reacted to the apparent proof, and the agency forced Director Yu to suspend filming while the scandal escalated.
• Huo Yuchen served Xu Su a meal, and Xu Su praised his cooking while concealing that he had deliberately wanted Huo Yuchen to cook.
• Li Weizhou asked Xu Su to speak outside, but Huo Yuchen said they should talk at the table, and Xu Su agreed.

Xu Su demanded the return of his blue diamond and ten million in emotional-distress compensation, then recovered both from Li Weizhou and Zhuang Luo. When their managers searched the phone Xu Su handed over for the recording and video, they found no evidence, and Huo Yuchen threatened Zhuang Luo for shouting at Xu Su.

• Xu Su demanded his diamond back and ten million in compensation, while Li Weizhou and Zhuang Luo reacted with shock.
• Li Weizhou asked to speak privately with Xu Su about the recording, but Zhuang Luo objected and challenged Li Weizhou about the diamond, sparking an argument.
• Xu Su let the men argue, and two hours later he recovered the blue diamond and ten million from them.
• Lucy asked Xu Su for the production team's phone, and he handed it over so the group could search for the evidence.
• Lucy, Yao Qing, Li Weizhou, and Zhuang Luo found no recording or video on the phone.
• Huo Yuchen threatened to silence Zhuang Luo after he shouted at Xu Su, leaving everyone wondering whether Huo Yuchen was defending Xu Su.

Xu Su exposed his supposed evidence as a bluff, clashed with Li Weizhou and Zhuang Luo, and negotiated a raise before leaving the show. The next morning, Li Weizhou apologized and urged Xu Su to love him from a distance, but Xu Su dismissed him and declared his past wrongs wiped clean.

• Xu Su admitted he had deleted the evidence long ago and argued that he had no responsibility for anything recorded on the phone he handed over.
• Li Weizhou blamed Zhuang Luo for the failed scheme and argued with him over the diamond, the ten million, and their relationship.
• Xu Su joked with Huo Yuchen, then asked Director Yu to end his contract and accepted a one-million pay raise to stay.
• Li Weizhou visited Xu Su before dawn, apologized, and claimed Xu Su had pursued him because Zhuang Luo encouraged him.
• Xu Su rejected Li Weizhou's lecture about loving someone from a distance and said his past wrongs were wiped clean.

Xu Su and Huo Yuchen traded insults with Li Weizhou before Director Yu woke the guests at six and announced a team competition to choose transportation for their lotus-root harvest. The chapter ended as Huo Yuchen began drawing a fortune stick after teasing Xu Su with his interpretation of the first reading.

• Huo Yuchen mocked Li Weizhou from outside Xu Su's room, and Xu Su joined in until Li Weizhou left.
• Director Yu woke all six guests at six, and Xu Su complained about early work in a rant that drew attention online.
• Director Yu announced that the guests would compete for an electric scooter, a bicycle, or a mule cart to travel to Lotus Village and harvest lotus roots.
• Xu Su drew a short bamboo stick and asked Director Yu to interpret it, but Huo Yuchen joked that the reading meant Xu Su had one life to live.
• Huo Yuchen took the fortune-stick cylinder and prepared to draw a stick of his own.

Huo Yuchen drew the short lot and teamed up with Xu Su, who jokingly asked him to share his wealth. Xu Su then won the watermelon-eating contest, and Huo Yuchen gently wiped his mouth, surprising the contestants and viewers.

• Li Weizhou tried to draw first so he could pair with Xu Su, but Huo Yuchen refused and mocked his superstition.
• Huo Yuchen drew the shortest stick, pairing with Xu Su, while Lu Jing teamed with Zhuang Luo and Shen Chuanzhu teamed with Li Weizhou.
• Xu Su joked that he needed wealth more than luck and asked Huo Yuchen to share some of his.
• Xu Su devoured his team's watermelon in three minutes and won the contest.
• Huo Yuchen wiped watermelon juice from Xu Su's mouth, leaving Xu Su and the viewers stunned.

After Xu Su accidentally injured Huo Yuchen by speeding away on an electric scooter, he mistook Huo Yuchen’s reassurance for a demand for compensation and offered him a hundred yuan. Huo Yuchen instead asked Xu Su to work as his personal assistant for a week after the show, while Old Mr. Huo misread the offer as betrothal money and ordered a residential complex transferred to Xu Su.

• Xu Su and Huo Yuchen won the meal contest, then Xu Su sped off on an electric scooter with Huo Yuchen riding behind him and caused Huo Yuchen to scrape his elbow.
• At a village doctor’s home, Xu Su applied liniment to Huo Yuchen’s injury and offered him a hundred yuan, believing Huo Yuchen wanted payment for the accident.
• Old Mr. Huo mistook Xu Su’s offer as a request for betrothal money and ordered Old Mao to transfer a newly developed residential complex to Xu Su.
• Huo Yuchen understood Xu Su’s offer and asked him to be his personal assistant for a week after the show.

Xu Su and Huo Yuchen escaped a miserable mule-cart ride, while Zhuang Luo’s resentment over Huo Yuchen favoring Xu Su grew and Lu Jing confronted Zhuang Luo for barely trying during their contest. At Lotus Village, Xu Su got stuck in the mud after his wader tore and his boot came off.

• Lu Jing lamented the slow, bumpy mule-cart journey to Xu Su, who nearly went deaf from his repeated complaints.
• Huo Yuchen took Xu Su by the wrist and led him to their car, leaving Lu Jing behind.
• Zhuang Luo watched Huo Yuchen favor Xu Su and considered finding a better partner.
• Lu Jing accused Zhuang Luo of not trying during the watermelon-eating contest, and Zhuang Luo defended himself while viewers criticized him online.
• At Lotus Village, Xu Su struggled in the mud and called for help after his wader tore and his waterproof boot came off.

Huo Yuchen carried Xu Su out of the lotus pond after Xu Su got his shoe stuck, and their teasing sparked a frenzy among the live viewers. Meanwhile, Li Weizhou dwelled on his past with Xu Su, while Zhuang Luo arrived and tried to impress Huo Yuchen as he worked.

• Li Weizhou offered to help Xu Su, but Huo Yuchen stepped in and carried Xu Su to the bank.
• Xu Su joked that he wanted to take advantage of Huo Yuchen, and their intimate exchange set off trending topics.
• Huo Yuchen told Xu Su he could earn all the points, so Xu Su let him do the work.
• Li Weizhou watched Xu Su and Huo Yuchen together and wondered what might have happened if he had accepted Xu Su's love.
• Lu Jing and Zhuang Luo arrived, and Zhuang Luo noticed Xu Su resting under a lotus leaf while Huo Yuchen worked.
• Zhuang Luo decided to show Huo Yuchen how capable he was and made his way toward him in the pond.

The group harvested lotus root, but the low exchange rate left Huo Yuchen with no points while Xu Su gained most of them. Back in Miemeng Village, Huo Yuchen cooked plain noodles, and Xu Su promised to treat him to an all-you-can-eat meal at Shaxian after the show.

• Zhuang Luo tried to ask Huo Yuchen about harvesting lotus root, but Huo Yuchen ignored him completely.
• Xu Su learned that lotus root earned only 0.5 points per jin and argued with Director Yu, but the exchange rate stayed the same.
• The production team awarded Xu Su 77.5 points, while Huo Yuchen earned none; Xu Su had 205.5 points and Huo Yuchen had 0.
• Xu Su asked Huo Yuchen what he wanted to eat, and Huo Yuchen named matsutake, shark fin, and eight-treasure chicken as his idea of an easy meal.
• Xu Su refused to spend extra points on an expensive dinner, and Huo Yuchen cooked tomato and egg noodles for them.
• After eating, Xu Su promised to treat Huo Yuchen after the show and suggested all-you-can-eat Shaxian.

Li Weizhou tried to give Xu Su honey-glazed chicken wings, but Huo Yuchen intervened and claimed Li was keeping him from working. Later, Huo Yuchen took over Xu Su’s fieldwork, while Huo Ruhui watched the broadcast and called Xu Su his grandson’s wife.

• Shen Chuanzhu and Li Weizhou returned from trading points for food, and Li Weizhou offered Xu Su chicken wings.
• Xu Su refused the food, and Huo Yuchen called Li Weizhou sick and accused him of delaying his assistant from going to work in the fields.
• Xu Su praised Huo Yuchen’s domineering logic and accepted being called his assistant.
• At night, Huo Yuchen told the exhausted Xu Su to rest and took his hoe to continue tilling the wasteland himself.
• Huo Ruhui watched the broadcast and told Secretary Cheng that Huo Yuchen knew how to dote on his wife.

Xu Su confronted Zhuang Luo over his insinuations while Huo Yuchen worked Xu Su’s plot, and Li Weizhou comforted Zhuang Luo instead of defending him. After the guests finished working late that night, a masked group with glow sticks and flashlights blocked their way and refused to identify themselves.

• Zhuang Luo questioned why Huo Yuchen was plowing Xu Su’s plot, but Huo Yuchen ignored him and Xu Su mocked his excuse for checking on them both.
• Li Weizhou put an arm around Zhuang Luo and reproached Xu Su with a look, while Xu Su accused Zhuang Luo of trying to damage his image and win favor.
• Xu Su told Zhuang Luo and Li Weizhou that they should make a mess of their lives together, drawing amused reactions from the viewers.
• After working until eleven at night, Xu Su and the other guests headed back and encountered masked strangers shining flashlights and holding glow sticks.
• Li Weizhou asked the strangers who they were, but none of them answered.

A group of masked haters stormed the filming location to attack Li Weizhou and Zhuang Luo, while Huo Yuchen stayed close to Xu Su and watched over him. The assault was broadcast live, prompting a surge of trending searches and forcing Return to a Simple Life to suspend filming.

• The assistant director asked the hostile group whether they were Miemeng Village residents, and Huo Yuchen asked Xu Su whether he wanted to watch or go back to sleep.
• Xu Su chose to stay and watch the show, and Huo Yuchen took him by the wrist and stood protectively beside him.
• The masked leader accused Li Weizhou and Zhuang Luo of scamming fans and rallied the group to attack them.
• The haters charged the guests, and the filming location descended into chaos as viewers watched the assault live.
• The attack became a trending topic, Return to a Simple Life suspended filming for several days, and the production team sent all six guests to the hospital for examinations.

Xu Su refused Yu Le’s demand that he take the blame for the anti-fan uprising to protect Li Weizhou, while Yu Le searched for another way to shift public opinion. After Cheng Nan booked Xu Su for endorsement deals during the filming break, Huo Yuchen appeared outside the hospital and asked where he was going.

• Yu Le asked Xu Su to claim responsibility for the group brawl so the public would see it as personal revenge and Li Weizhou could avoid consequences, but Xu Su refused.
• Yu Le complained to Li Weizhou, who urged him to focus on resolving the crisis; Yu Le then suggested using one of Li Weizhou’s other enemies to redirect public opinion.
• Director Yu confirmed Xu Su was unharmed and let him leave the hospital.
• Cheng Nan called Xu Su and ordered him to attend endorsement deals at five the next day, then ended the call before Xu Su could refuse.
• Huo Yuchen pulled up beside Xu Su in a Rolls-Royce and asked where he was going.

Xu Su reluctantly joined Huo Yuchen as his assistant and fell asleep in the car, while Huo Yuchen realized how much he cared about him. After waking in Huo Yuchen’s home and mistaking his welcoming guests and gifts for a threat, Xu Su met Huo Ruhui and happily accepted his diamonds and agates.

• Huo Yuchen reminded Xu Su of his promise to become his assistant, and Xu Su reluctantly got into the car with him.
• Xu Su fell asleep against Huo Yuchen’s shoulder, and Huo Yuchen reflected on how much he cared about him.
• Xu Su woke in an unfamiliar room, mistook Huo Ruhui and Old Mao’s conversation for a sinister plot, and sprang up to scare them.
• Huo Yuchen arrived and explained the situation by calling Huo Ruhui Grandpa, prompting Xu Su to drop to his knees and greet him.
• Huo Ruhui welcomed Xu Su and presented him with diamonds and agates, which Xu Su eagerly accepted.

Huo Yuchen told Xu Su that the jewelry Huo Ruhui had given him was meant for the family’s future granddaughter-in-law, but Xu Su misunderstood its significance. After dinner, Huo Yuchen took Xu Su to see the estate, while Huo Ruhui and Old Mao mistook their departing together for a loving couple’s outing.

• Huo Yuchen explained that the diamond and agate had belonged to his late grandmother, who had left them for her future granddaughter-in-law, and Xu Su suggested Huo Ruhui had given him the wrong gift.
• Huo Ruhui served Xu Su a lavish dinner and offered to drink with him, but Huo Yuchen objected and challenged Xu Su to write something after tasting the wine.
• Xu Su wrote the words “A paper” on the page and insisted that he had fulfilled Huo Yuchen’s challenge.
• Huo Ruhui told Huo Yuchen to show Xu Su around the estate, and Xu Su excitedly asked to see an assistant’s room in a rich man’s house.
• Huo Yuchen led Xu Su outside without correcting his misunderstanding, while Huo Ruhui and Old Mao praised them as a perfect match.

Xu Su agreed to work as Huo Yuchen’s assistant for a week and followed him to a private garden, where he discovered that Huo Yuchen had brought him to meet several elderly women. The chapter left Xu Su bewildered when another gentle voice greeted them from behind.

• Xu Su joked about the value of Huo Yuchen’s garden plants and asked to take some home.
• Huo Yuchen listed numerous assistant duties, and Xu Su tried to leave before Huo Yuchen stopped him and insisted he work for a week.
• Huo Yuchen took Xu Su out, and Xu Su joked about their possible destination and the wealthy owner’s habits.
• They arrived at a classical garden where a loud karaoke performance was underway, and a middle-aged man greeted them.
• Xu Su met Gao Lin, Gang Cai, and Liang Wei at a mahjong table, then heard another elderly voice greet them from behind.