Recaps

Shen Wangjing and Jiang Xun took their corn to town to sell, and Jiang Xun’s cheerful sales pitch quickly emptied their sacks. After Shen Wangjing collected the money, he realized Jiang Xun had disappeared in the crowded market.

• Shen Wangjing borrowed an old cargo tricycle, loaded the corn, and took Jiang Xun along to town.
• At the market, Shen Wangjing set out the corn while Jiang Xun began calling out to attract customers.
• Jiang Xun flattered shoppers and sold nearly all the corn in less than an hour as Shen Wangjing weighed it and collected payment.
• After putting away the last of the money, Shen Wangjing looked around and found that Jiang Xun was nowhere to be seen.

Shen Wangjing found Jiang Xun admiring steamed buns at the market, bought him two, and shared the rejected one after Jiang Xun tricked him into taking a bite. They returned to the courtyard, where they found an angry blue-haired man waiting inside.

• Shen Wangjing searched the market and found Jiang Xun outside a steamed bun shop.
• Shen Wangjing bought Jiang Xun two meat buns, and Jiang Xun coaxed him into eating part of one.
• Jiang Xun fell asleep among the empty sacks in the tricycle’s cargo bed on the ride back.
• Shen Wangjing woke Jiang Xun when they reached the courtyard, and Jiang Xun nearly stumbled into the yellow dog.
• Jiang Xun spotted a blue-haired man in the main room, complaining about the muddy road and the shabby house.

The director arranged for Duan Qizhao to join Jiang Xun in the countryside, hoping his arrival would create conflict for the show. Duan recognized Jiang Xun from their past encounter, but Jiang barely remembered him, and Duan ended the night shivering on a makeshift bed.

• The director persuaded President Duan to send his son, Duan Qizhao, to the countryside for Metamorphosis.
• Bodyguards dragged Duan Qizhao from bed and delivered him to the Shen family's house, where he spent the day hungry and without his phone.
• Jiang Xun returned and recognized Duan Qizhao only after Duan reminded him about the laxative-laced wine.
• Jiang Xun dismissed Duan Qizhao with a remark about how hard he was to kill, then fell asleep.
• Shen Wangjing gave Duan Qizhao a bench and a ragged coat, leaving him to shiver through the cold night.

A coordinated smear campaign branded Jiang Xun a violent maniac, but the Metamorphosis director discovered signs of paid trolling linked to the Jiang Group and refused to cooperate. Meanwhile, Duan Qizhao remained hungry and insulted by the food at Shen Wangjing’s house, refusing to eat it.

• A clickbait video and a wave of alleged witnesses accused Jiang Xun of violence, driving the hashtag about his violent tendencies to the top of the trending list.
• The director’s assistant traced suspicious accounts to three PR firms, including one that had worked with the Jiang Group, and the director suspected Liu Wanying was behind the campaign.
• The director ordered the crew not to mention the online attacks to Jiang Xun and had Metamorphosis issue a statement opposing cyberbullying of underage guests.
• Duan Qizhao told Shen Wangjing he was hungry, but Shen Wangjing pointed him to the food on the table and left to work.
• Duan Qizhao rejected the food as pig feed and vowed he would rather starve than eat it.

Jiang Xun ignored Duan Qizhao until hunger drove Duan to gulp down the gruel and seize a cornmeal bun. Meanwhile, Zhao Pengfei saw Jiang Xun laughing with Duan and returned home angry, asking Li Guizhi to help him with something.

• Jiang Xun ate breakfast while ignoring Duan Qizhao, who finally snatched and drank the gruel and grabbed the last cornmeal bun.
• Li Guizhi berated Zhao Fugui for failing to deal with Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing, while Zhao Fugui refused to confront Shen Wangjing.
• Zhao Pengfei rode to Shen Wangjing's courtyard and saw Jiang Xun laughing at Duan Qizhao beneath the jujube tree.
• Angry that Jiang Xun smiled at Duan but not at him, Zhao Pengfei returned home and asked Li Guizhi for help.

Liu Wanying celebrated the online smear campaign against Jiang Xun and pressured Station Chief Zhou after the show's director opposed cyberbullying. At home, Jiang Yanchu confronted Jiang Yu for insulting Jiang Xun and accused Liu Wanying of paying accounts to attack him.

• Liu Wanying reviewed the abusive trending comments about Jiang Xun and called Station Chief Zhou to complain about the production team's statement.
• Jiang Yu blamed Shen Yuxing for a broken figurine and game console, then insulted Jiang Xun as a bastard.
• Jiang Yanchu challenged Jiang Yu over the insult and revealed that he knew Jiang Yu had previously harassed Jiang Xun.
• Jiang Yanchu confronted Liu Wanying and asked how much she had spent on paid accounts attacking Jiang Xun.

Jiang Yanchu confronted Liu Wanying over Jiang Xun’s removal from the show and the paid trolls attacking him, while Shen Yuxing unexpectedly defended her. In Shiban Village, Duan Qizhao tried to steal some of Jiang Xun’s quilt but was caught before he could settle in.

• Jiang Yanchu accused Liu Wanying of sending Jiang Xun on the show without consulting him and pointed out that paid trolls attacking Jiang Xun had ties to PR companies that had worked with the Jiang Corporation.
• Shen Yuxing urged Jiang Yanchu to stop arguing with Liu Wanying and offered to call Jiang Xun with him.
• Jiang Yanchu warned Liu Wanying that he would keep investigating the trolls, leaving her alarmed by Shen Yuxing’s unexpected show of support.
• Duan Qizhao shivered on a bench in the cold mountain house while Jiang Xun slept under a quilt.
• Duan Qizhao crept to the bed and tried to take part of Jiang Xun’s quilt, but someone grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the floor.

Duan Qizhao spent a miserable, cold night at Shen Wangjing’s house, while the director arranged for the village chief’s family to offer one of the young masters a bed. The assistant brought the offer to Duan Qizhao and Jiang Xun, leaving them to decide who would move.

• Duan Qizhao tried to squeeze into Shen Wangjing’s bed, but Shen Wangjing tossed him onto the bench and gave him a fertilizer sack to use if he was still cold.
• Li Guizhi asked the director to let one of the young masters stay at her family’s house, claiming Zhao Pengfei wanted Jiang Xun there.
• The director told her assistant to present the offer to Duan Qizhao and Jiang Xun, expecting the choice to create entertaining footage.
• After freezing through the night, Duan Qizhao heard the assistant describe the village chief’s better house and ask which of them wanted to move.

Duan Qizhao moved out of Shen Wangjing's house for the Village Chief's home, while Zhao Pengfei prepared his guest room and waited for Jiang Xun to arrive. The suitcase wheels sounded outside Zhao Pengfei's gate, but the chapter ended before he saw who was coming.

• Duan Qizhao accepted a place at the Village Chief's house, packed quickly, and left after Jiang Xun refused to join him.
• Duan Qizhao tried to invite Jiang Xun along, but Jiang Xun told him to get lost.
• Zhao Pengfei set up a clean guest room with new bedding, a fan, and a pillow for a city guest.
• Li Guizhi questioned Zhao Pengfei's sudden effort, but he insisted he wanted to make the village look good and shut her out of the room.
• Zhao Pengfei tidied himself and polished his motorcycle while waiting for Jiang Xun, then heard suitcase wheels outside the gate.

Duan Qizhao arrived at Zhao Pengfei’s house instead of Jiang Xun, leaving Zhao Pengfei baffled and disappointed. Zhao Pengfei found Jiang Xun at school and tried to persuade him to move in by accusing Shen Wangjing of killing his father, but Jiang Xun showed no alarm.

• Duan Qizhao arrived at Zhao Pengfei’s house without Jiang Xun, and Zhao Pengfei wondered why Jiang Xun had refused his offer to stay.
• Zhao Pengfei rode his motorcycle to Shiban Village Middle School early Monday morning to find Jiang Xun.
• Zhao Pengfei asked Jiang Xun why he preferred Shen Wangjing’s poor home, and Jiang Xun replied that Shen Wangjing was good-looking.
• Zhao Pengfei told Jiang Xun that Shen Wangjing had allegedly pushed Shen Dayong into the river and pointed to the scar on Shen Wangjing’s hand as evidence.
• Jiang Xun continued eating without reacting as Zhao Pengfei called Shen Wangjing a murderer and said everyone avoided him.

Jiang Xun defended Shen Wangjing against Zhao Pengfei’s accusations, then spent the afternoon washing clothes at Shen’s home. Shen Wangjing took over when Jiang Xun held up his underwear and commented on its size, and Jiang Xun went to ask the production team for points.

• Jiang Xun challenged Zhao Pengfei to produce evidence for the rumors about Shen Wangjing and threatened to report his bullying to the principal.
• After Zhao Pengfei rode away, Jiang Xun recalled Shen Wangjing’s scar and Grandpa Shen’s unexplained trembling and muttering.
• Jiang Xun washed the household laundry while Shen Wangjing was working in the fields.
• Shen Wangjing returned, took the washing from Jiang Xun, and insisted he would wash his own clothes.
• Jiang Xun set off to ask the production team for points for his afternoon’s work.

Jiang Xun bargained with the director for steamed buns using his earned points, then found Duan Qizhao waiting beneath the Old Locust Tree with stolen soy-braised beef. They headed back together to share their food.

• Jiang Xun convinced the director to exchange his chore points for two steamed buns.
• Jiang Xun shared a little of the bun with Yellow Dog as they walked back toward the village.
• Jiang Xun found Duan Qizhao waiting beneath the Old Locust Tree with a bag of beef.
• Duan Qizhao admitted that Li Guizhi's meals had not satisfied him and revealed he had taken beef from the village chief's house.
• Jiang Xun invited Duan Qizhao to return with him, and they headed back with the buns and beef.

Shen Yuxing joined Jiang Yu at Jinghua Middle School, where Jiang Yu bullied him while Shen Yuxing maintained his timid facade. After learning about Jiang Yu’s food allergies, Shen Yuxing secretly mixed a pastry he had brought into Jiang Yu’s snack box.

• Liu Wanying arranged for Shen Yuxing to attend Jiang Yu’s school and asked Jiang Yu to help him with his studies.
• At Jinghua Middle School, Shen Yuxing introduced himself as a transfer student from the mountains and took his assigned seat in class.
• Jiang Yu arranged for Shen Yuxing’s textbooks to be thrown into a yogurt-covered trash can, and Shen Yuxing quietly cleaned them.
• Jiang Yu’s lackeys splashed water on Shen Yuxing during PE, and Shen Yuxing left for the changing room as they mocked him.
• Alone in the changing room, Shen Yuxing mixed pieces of a flower pastry into the flaky pastries in Jiang Yu’s snack box.

After Jiang Yu nearly died from an allergic reaction, Liu Wanying suspected Shen Yuxing had caused it and tried to find proof, but the damaged surveillance camera left her without answers. She offered Shen Yuxing a future in the Jiang family in exchange for a favor, and he waited cautiously to hear what she wanted.

• Jiang Yu suffered a severe allergic reaction after eating flower pastries, and Shen Yuxing called an ambulance that arrived just in time.
• Liu Wanying praised Shen Yuxing for saving Jiang Yu but privately suspected his quick redirection of blame and ordered surveillance footage checked.
• The Metamorphosis production account announced that it had submitted evidence of organized paid trolling about Jiang Xun to authorities, shifting online discussion.
• Liu Wanying learned the changing-room camera had been deliberately damaged and found no footage to identify who put the pastries in Jiang Yu's snack box.
• Liu Wanying offered to fund Shen Yuxing's education in Capital City if he agreed to do one thing for her, and Shen Yuxing cautiously asked what she wanted.

Duan Qizhao returned to Shen Wangjing's house after Li Guizhi caught him stealing food, then followed Jiang Xun to school and entertained the students with stories about his wealth. Xiao Guang ended his boasting by telling him that Shen Yuxing's father had drowned after Shen Yuxing's older brother pushed him into a river.

• Li Guizhi caught Duan Qizhao stealing food, so he left the Village Chief's house and returned to Shen Wangjing's drafty home.
• Duan Qizhao followed Jiang Xun to breakfast at Shiban Village Middle School and argued that the production team should pay for his meal.
• After Jiang Xun went back to sleep, Duan Qizhao stayed in the classroom and boasted to the students about his family's wealth.
• Xiao Guang asked Duan Qizhao whether he knew how Shen Yuxing's dad died and claimed that Shen Yuxing's older brother pushed him into a river, where he drowned.

Duan Qizhao rushed back after village children claimed Shen Wangjing had drowned his father, but Jiang Xun dismissed the story as implausible gossip and teased him for believing it. Duan Qizhao then wondered whether Shen Wangjing’s gloomy, withdrawn manner was still unusual.

• Village children told Duan Qizhao that Shen Wangjing had pushed his father into a river and acted strangely after his death.
• Duan Qizhao hurried home and warned Jiang Xun that Shen Wangjing was a murderer.
• Jiang Xun joked that he was a murderer too, frightening Duan Qizhao before admitting it was a joke.
• Jiang Xun challenged the children’s story, arguing that a real eyewitness would have led to Shen Wangjing’s arrest years earlier.
• Duan Qizhao admitted the children had convinced him, then asked Jiang Xun whether Shen Wangjing’s gloomy behavior seemed abnormal.

Duan Qizhao grew increasingly afraid of Shen Wangjing after hearing rumors that he was a murderer, while Jiang Xun slept peacefully beside them. In Capital City, Jiang Yanchu stayed up fighting online attacks against Jiang Xun, but the abuse continued.

• Duan Qizhao complained to Jiang Xun that Shen Wangjing was frightening and recounted how he had glimpsed Shen wiping his hoe at night.
• At dinner, Duan Qizhao watched Shen Wangjing carefully feed his grandfather but suspected that a murderer could also be attentive.
• Unable to sleep, Duan Qizhao remembered rumors that Shen Wangjing was a murderer and grew more frightened as he watched him resting nearby.
• Duan Qizhao turned toward Jiang Xun, who slept without concern, and pulled his coat over his head in despair.
• Jiang Yanchu spent a third night battling online attacks against Jiang Xun, but commenters mocked and insulted him.

Jiang Yanchu defended Jiang Xun online, then watched the latest episode and discovered Jiang Xun was washing Shen Wangjing’s underwear while Duan Qizhao secretly brought him food. As Jiang Yanchu prepared to travel to the village, comments claiming Shen Wangjing had murdered his father made him reconsider the danger.

• Jiang Yanchu spent the night using multiple accounts to argue against attacks on Jiang Xun.
• After receiving a private message claiming Jiang Xun was washing Shen Wangjing’s underwear, Jiang Yanchu watched the episode and saw Jiang Xun washing a large piece of black clothing.
• Jiang Yanchu recognized Duan Qizhao sneaking out of the Village Chief’s house with Soy-Braised Beef and bringing it to Jiang Xun.
• Jiang Yanchu called President Duan, got the village’s address, and said he planned to bring Jiang Xun home.
• Jiang Yanchu saw comments accusing Shen Wangjing of drowning his father and claiming Jiang Xun was in danger at Shen Wangjing’s house.

A torrential storm flooded Shen Wangjing’s leaking house and the surrounding village, forcing the production crew to evacuate and protect its equipment. As the crew scrambled to move Duan Qizhao to safety, they realized Jiang Xun was still inside the house.

• Jiang Yanchu saw a comment about Jiang Xun’s dangerous situation and booked the earliest flight toward Yunling.
• Rain woke Duan Qizhao and Jiang Xun as water poured through the roof and soaked Duan Qizhao’s suitcase and clothes.
• Shen Wangjing set out containers beneath the leaks and shifted a plastic sheet to protect his grandfather from the rain.
• The storm worsened, the power went out, and floodwater turned Shiban Village’s dirt roads into muddy rivers.
• The director ordered the crew to move equipment and people to the Village Committee, and Duan Qizhao asked where Jiang Xun was.

As torrential rain flooded the courtyard, Jiang Xun refused to leave Shen Wangjing and Grandpa behind, while the director made room in the van for them. Shen Wangjing stayed behind to protect the camera and walked into the rain as the van struggled down the washed-out road with its headlights failing.

• Jiang Xun caught rainwater leaking through the roof and insisted that Shen Wangjing and Grandpa should take the van while he walked.
• The director ordered the crew to unload cameras and equipment to make room for Shen Wangjing and Grandpa.
• Duan Qizhao got out of the van to help Shen Wangjing carry Grandpa inside and cover his legs with a blanket.
• Jiang Xun urged Shen Wangjing to get into the van, but Shen Wangjing chose to walk, having wrapped the director's camera to keep it dry.
• The van struggled through the muddy mountain road, scraped its undercarriage on rocks, and lost its headlights.

After a storm stranded the production crew in Shiban Village, Jiang Xun developed a dangerous fever, and the clinic could not reach them because the roads were washed out. Shen Wangjing, who had tried to keep his distance from Jiang Xun, heard the crew scrambling to treat him.

• Shen Wangjing guided the production vehicle through the mudslide-damaged mountain road to the Village Committee.
• Duan Qizhao carried the unconscious, feverish Jiang Xun inside, and the director discovered that the crew had no medicine or first-aid kit.
• The director learned that the township clinic could not send an ambulance because the roads were impassable.
• Shen Wangjing settled his grandfather in a chair and reflected on why he had helped the crew, especially Jiang Xun.
• Shen Wangjing overheard the sound guy discussing the warm towel for Jiang Xun's fever and asked who was sick.

Jiang Xun’s fever worsened while the storm cut off the village, and Shen Wangjing returned from the town clinic with medicine after crossing the dangerous mountain terrain. As Jiang Xun swallowed a pill, he dreamed of being abandoned and of hoping, then being disappointed, by the Jiang family.

• The director and Duan Qizhao tried to care for delirious Jiang Xun, but the washed-out roads prevented the clinic and emergency vehicle from reaching the village.
• Shen Wangjing arrived soaked and injured with two dry boxes of fever medicine he had brought back from town in under an hour.
• Someone held Jiang Xun steady and ordered him to swallow the bitter pill.
• Jiang Xun dreamed of being left alone at the orphanage and ignored at the Jiang family’s dinner table.
• Jiang Xun remembered the losses and betrayals that had taught him not to hope, including his wish that the Jiang family might treat him as their own.

After Jiang Xun recovered from his fever, he learned the village road had reopened and searched for Shen Wangjing, who had cared for him through the night. Jiang Xun reached to touch Shen Wangjing’s sleeping face, but Shen Wangjing caught his wrist.

• Doctors examined the sleeping Jiang Xun and told the director his fever medicine had worked.
• Jiang Xun woke to find Duan Qizhao asleep on his hand, and the director announced that station vehicles had brought food and medicine.
• Duan Qizhao collected self-heating rice while Jiang Xun asked where Shen Wangjing was.
• Jiang Xun carried rice to the next room, where he found Grandpa Shen asleep and Shen Wangjing resting on a bench.
• Jiang Xun reached to poke Shen Wangjing’s face, but Shen Wangjing grabbed his wrist.

Jiang Xun tended Shen Wangjing’s neglected knee injury while the two shared a quiet moment at the Village Committee. Jiang Yanchu arrived at the courtyard after a difficult overnight journey to check on the guests, having learned that one had developed a fever.

• Shen Wangjing woke as Jiang Xun checked whether he was breathing and tried to pull free from his grip.
• Jiang Xun noticed Shen Wangjing’s infected-looking knee scrape, brought a first-aid kit, and treated and bandaged the wound.
• Jiang Xun cared for Shen Wangjing as he ate, and Shen Wangjing reacted to their close contact without saying anything.
• Jiang Yanchu learned from the production team’s announcement that the guests and crew had been moved to the Village Committee and one guest had been treated for a fever.
• Jiang Yanchu paid a farmer to drive him through muddy, blocked mountain roads, and the tractor brought him to the Village Committee courtyard.

Jiang Yanchu arrived at the production crew to take Jiang Xun home, but Jiang Xun refused and confronted him about the Jiang family's past mistreatment. Jiang Yanchu left without persuading him, while Jiang Xun returned to tending Shen Wangjing's injury.

• Jiang Yanchu arrived at the production crew covered in mud and found Jiang Xun smiling with Shen Wangjing as he bandaged his knee.
• Jiang Yanchu grabbed Jiang Xun's wrist and demanded that he leave the show and come home.
• Jiang Xun challenged Jiang Yanchu for favoring Jiang Yu and told him that Liu Wanying had drugged him and sent him to the crew.
• Jiang Xun rejected Jiang Yanchu as his brother and told him to return before Jiang Yu started crying.
• Jiang Yanchu left, and Jiang Xun crouched back down to finish bandaging Shen Wangjing while Duan Qizhao watched.