Recaps

After Jiang Xun returned home from the hospital, he persuaded Jiang Huaixiao to let him go back to school, where Shen Wangjing had moved into the dorms. Jiang Huaixiao later learned that Jiang Xun had secretly completed boarding paperwork and rushed to the school.

• Li Jingyao left after taunting Jiang Xun, and Shen Wangjing turned Jiang Xun away from watching him and took him home.
• Jiang Xun persuaded Jiang Huaixiao to let him return to school despite the doctor's advice to rest another week.
• Duan Qizhao told Jiang Xun that Shen Wangjing had moved into a school dorm room near his classroom.
• Jiang Huaixiao returned to a dark villa and learned that Jiang Xun had completed boarding paperwork and signed the guardian field himself.
• Secretary Chen told Jiang Huaixiao that Shen Wangjing lived next door to Jiang Xun, and Jiang Huaixiao set off for the school.

Jiang Huaixiao visited Jiang Xun at the dorm and accepted his decision to board at school. As Shen Wangjing settled into Jinghua, classmates loudly shipped him and Jiang Xun, while Duan Qizhao endured being their overlooked friend; the chapter ended with Duan discovering that Metamorphosis had passed a billion views and was holding a celebration banquet.

• Jiang Huaixiao found Jiang Xun’s handwritten notes in Room 302 and agreed to let him board at school, asking Duan Qizhao to help put away supplies.
• Jiang Yu disappeared from Jinghua after his enrollment was transferred and his classroom desk was removed.
• Students crowded around Class Three to watch Shen Wangjing and Jiang Xun, leaving Duan Qizhao complaining about being their backdrop.
• Duan Qizhao refused to deliver love letters, insisting that his relationship with Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing was pure brotherhood.
• Duan Qizhao saw that Metamorphosis had passed a billion views and announced that the production team was holding a celebration banquet.

Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing attended the Metamorphosis celebration banquet, where the season’s footage and their growing popularity drew attention. As Jiang Xun enjoyed the lobster, a haughty young man arrived at the hall with two bodyguards.

• Duan Qizhao told Jiang Xun that the director had invited him, Shen Yuxing, and Brother Jing to a banquet at the Hengyue Hotel.
• Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing arrived at the banquet, where guests stared at Jiang Xun and the director greeted them.
• The director teased Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing about their popularity and praised them for helping the show surpass a billion views.
• The banquet screened highlights of the season, including Shen Wangjing carrying Jiang Xun and Jiang Xun’s viral threat to the camera.
• Jiang Xun hurried to the seafood section and shared lobster with Shen Wangjing.
• A young man in a silver-gray suit entered the banquet hall with two bodyguards.

Li Shaoqian confronted Shen Wangjing at the banquet, but Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing humiliated and drove him away. Afterward, the director learned that Jiang Xun may not have been trafficked as a baby, and the former orphanage worker offered evidence to the Jiang family.

• Li Shaoqian insulted Shen Wangjing and Jiang Xun, then swung at Jiang Xun.
• Shen Wangjing caught Li Shaoqian's fist and twisted his wrist, while Duan Qizhao blocked the bodyguards.
• Shen Yuxing accidentally-on-purpose hit Li Shaoqian with a cake, and Li Shaoqian left the banquet in disarray.
• Shen Wangjing peeled lobster for Jiang Xun and cleaned sauce from his nose as Shen Yuxing watched.
• The director received a call from a former South City Orphanage worker, who said Jiang Xun had arrived as a baby wrapped in an expensive, bloodstained blanket and might not have been trafficked.
• The former worker told the director he had kept a few things and asked her to find out whether the Jiang family would make an offer.

The director told Jiang Huaixiao about a man claiming to know what happened when Jiang Xun was taken from the crash scene. Sun Shutong brought an embroidered piece of Jiang Xun’s baby blanket and a longevity lock engraved with his name, leaving Jiang Huaixiao to hear the rest of the story.

• The director watched Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing at the banquet, then left early to contact Jiang Huaixiao.
• The director played Jiang Huaixiao a recording and explained that Sun Shutong had a fragment of the blanket Jiang Xun was wrapped in as a baby.
• Jiang Huaixiao recognized the magnolia embroidery on the cloth as his mother Song Minzhi’s work.
• Sun Shutong told Jiang Huaixiao that he found a bloodstained baby in a bamboo basket outside an orphanage seventeen years earlier and secretly kept the blanket.
• Sun Shutong produced a longevity lock engraved with the character “Xun,” and Jiang Huaixiao stopped breathing for an instant.

Jiang Huaixiao uncovered that Liu Wanying had arranged the crash that killed Song Minzhi and caused Jiang Xun to disappear as a baby. He confronted Liu Wanying in detention and vowed to ensure she received the harshest punishment.

• Jiang Huaixiao remembered Song Minzhi praying for Jiang Xun and the longevity lock that vanished with him after the car crash.
• Jiang Huaixiao matched the embroidered fabric and blood evidence to Song Minzhi and found that the crash’s brake pads had been tampered with.
• Jiang Huaixiao’s investigation linked Liu Wanying to bribing the driver and arranging for Jiang Xun to be taken away and disposed of.
• Jiang Huaixiao learned that Liu Wanying had later drugged Jiang Xun and sent him to the Metamorphosis Production Team to ruin his reputation.
• Jiang Huaixiao told Liu Wanying that Jiang Yu had been expelled and warned her he would pursue the harshest punishment for her.

Jiang Huaixiao told Jiang Xun that his mother had never abandoned him and gave him the longevity lock that proved it. After visiting Song Minzhi’s grave, Jiang Xun lay awake in his dormitory, grieving the life they might have shared.

• Jiang Huaixiao left Liu Wanying and resolved to protect Jiang Xun and make sure he knew he had been wanted.
• Jiang Huaixiao told Jiang Xun how Sun Shutong had brought him the evidence and how Liu Wanying had confessed to her crimes.
• Jiang Xun accepted the longevity lock, broke down as Jiang Huaixiao held his hand, and asked to visit his mother’s grave.
• Jiang Xun laid white roses at Song Minzhi’s grave and traced her name on the headstone.
• Jiang Xun imagined how Song Minzhi had protected and loved him, then lay awake grieving the childhood he had missed.
• Someone gently pushed open the dormitory door.

Jiang Xun dreamed of his mother, Song Minzhi, comforting him and urging him to keep walking without looking back, while Shen Wangjing stayed by his side. In the weeks that followed, Shen Wangjing continued caring for Jiang Xun at school, ending the chapter with a tender kiss as he dried Jiang Xun’s hair.

• Shen Wangjing comforted Jiang Xun as he grieved after seeing his mother, and Jiang Xun fell asleep in his arms.
• Jiang Xun dreamed that Song Minzhi embraced him, told him she would always love him, and urged him to keep walking without looking back.
• Jiang Xun woke crying, and Shen Wangjing held him until he fell asleep again near dawn.
• Shen Wangjing established a morning routine of waking Jiang Xun and helping him get ready, while Duan Qizhao grew accustomed to it.
• Shen Wangjing returned from the cafeteria, dried Jiang Xun’s wet hair, and kissed the back of his neck.

Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing grew closer as Shen Wangjing rapidly improved his grades and earned a guaranteed-admission offer to UCL. Shen declined it to avoid leaving Jiang Xun exposed to the Li family, but Jiang promised to follow him wherever he went.

• Shen Wangjing teased Jiang Xun with a deliberate kiss on the forehead, making Jiang flee to the balcony.
• Shen Wangjing's grades rose from the lower middle of his year to the top ten after intensive tutoring and weekly tests.
• Jinghua Middle School awarded Shen the year's guaranteed-admission slot with a full scholarship to UCL.
• Shen declined the offer, and Jiang confronted him about giving up the opportunity.
• Jiang told Shen he would go wherever Shen went, and Shen pulled him into his arms.

Shen Wangjing promised Jiang Xun that he would keep studying and never let him go again, and Jiang Xun began working hard to keep pace with him. On Christmas Eve, the four friends shared dinner and watched fireworks, where Shen Wangjing said something Jiang Xun could not hear.

• Shen Wangjing told Jiang Xun he would keep studying, honor his promises, and stay with him wherever he went.
• Shen Wangjing tutored Jiang Xun each evening, and Duan Qizhao supported his friend's new dedication to studying.
• Duan Qizhao arranged a Christmas Eve dinner for himself, Jiang Xun, Shen Wangjing, and Shen Yuxing.
• The four friends ate barbecue together, then went to the river to watch the fireworks.
• Shen Wangjing wrapped his scarf around Jiang Xun and whispered something during the fireworks, but Jiang Xun could not hear him.

At the riverside fireworks, Shen Wangjing confessed his feelings to Jiang Xun, who was too flustered to answer directly. As they walked back toward school, Jiang Xun told him he remembered what he had said and liked his taste, and Shen Wangjing pulled him into an embrace.

• Jiang Xun watched his first fireworks while Shen Wangjing kept his attention on him, and they secretly interlaced their fingers.
• Shen Wangjing repeated the words Jiang Xun had missed during the fireworks, but Jiang Xun pretended not to hear and teased him instead of responding.
• Duan Qizhao and Shen Yuxing interrupted them after the fireworks, and Shen Yuxing led Duan Qizhao away while Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing followed behind.
• Jiang Xun told Shen Wangjing he would remember what he had said and praised his taste, then Shen Wangjing stopped and pulled him into his arms.

Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing grew closer while Shen Wangjing helped Jiang Xun prepare for finals, and Jiang Xun rose to fifteenth in his class. Jiang Huaixiao proudly celebrated his award and invited him to a feast, where Jiang Xun asked to bring Shen Wangjing.

• Jiang Xun asked Shen Wangjing for pork-and-shepherd's-purse wontons as they walked back to the dorms, while Duan Qizhao teased him and Shen Yuxing laughed.
• Shen Wangjing made Jiang Xun and Duan Qizhao study each evening, and Jiang Xun took his finals during the first heavy snowfall of winter.
• Jiang Xun learned he had placed fifteenth in his class and received a Most Improved Star certificate, which Shen Wangjing celebrated with him.
• Jiang Huaixiao saw Jiang Xun's certificate, photographed it, and offered to take him to Hengyue for lobster.
• Jiang Xun asked if he could bring Shen Wangjing to the feast, and Jiang Huaixiao agreed to let him get in the car.

Jiang Xun was doted on by Shen Wangjing and Jiang Huaixiao throughout a dinner, while Duan Qizhao and Shen Yuxing joked about their attentiveness. After Jiang Xun ate too much, the group planned a walk by the river, and the chapter ended with Shen Wangjing’s phone vibrating as he stood beside Jiang Xun outside the hotel.

• Shen Wangjing and Jiang Huaixiao competed to serve Jiang Xun food until he protested that he was about to choke.
• Jiang Huaixiao praised the group’s final grades, while Shen Wangjing stopped Jiang Xun from retrieving his report card before finishing dinner.
• Jiang Xun became too full to move, so Shen Wangjing suggested a walk by the river and Duan Qizhao agreed.
• Jiang Huaixiao chose to drive them, explaining that his meeting had been moved to the next day.
• Shen Wangjing wrapped Jiang Xun in a scarf and comforted him outside the hotel before his phone vibrated.

Li Jingyao appeared at the riverbank to tell Shen Wangjing that their grandfather would bring him and Shen Yuxing back to Hong Kong City for their mother's reburial. Jiang Xun agreed to go with Shen Wangjing and welcomed the chance to confront the Li family, while Li Jingyao warned him that the family would target him.

• Shen Wangjing hid a text message, then grew tense when Li Jingyao crossed the road to greet Jiang Xun.
• Li Jingyao said he had come to bring Shen Wangjing and Shen Yuxing back to Hong Kong City for the New Year and their mother's reburial ceremony.
• Li Jingyao warned that the Li family’s collateral branches had set their sights on Jiang Xun, but Jiang Xun said he was ready to face them.
• Jiang Xun held Shen Wangjing’s hand and said they had already planned to go back to Hong Kong City.
• Li Jingyao joked that he and Jiang Xun were both bottoms, leaving Jiang Xun, Duan Qizhao, and Shen Wangjing speechless.

Shen Wangjing left for Hong Kong City with his grandfather, Li Zhaoheng, while Jiang Xun stayed behind in Capital City. As the family prepared for the New Year, Li Zhaoheng told Shen Wangjing not to return to Shiban Village.

• Li Jingyao teased Duan Qizhao about being a third wheel before leaving and reminded him to arrange a ride when he returned to Hong Kong City.
• Jiang Xun helped Shen Wangjing pack, and Shen Wangjing kissed him goodbye and asked him to wait for his return.
• Duan Qizhao comforted Jiang Xun with milk tea and promised to keep him entertained while Shen Wangjing was away.
• Li Zhaoheng arrived in Capital City to collect Shen Wangjing and Shen Yuxing, and Shen Wangjing watched the school disappear as they drove away.
• Li Zhaoheng explained the Li family's New Year schedule and told Shen Wangjing not to return to Shiban Village.

Li Zhaoheng told Shen Wangjing to sever his ties to Shiban Village and settle with his brother in Hong Kong City. Meanwhile, Jiang Xun agreed to spend New Year at the Jiang family residence, where his family welcomed him, and he called Shen Wangjing from his room.

• Li Zhaoheng told Shen Wangjing that he and his brother should leave Shiban Village behind and put down roots in Hong Kong City.
• Jiang Huaixiao and Jiang Yanchu persuaded Jiang Xun to spend New Year at the Jiang family residence by arranging activities and promising his favorite food.
• Jiang Xun arrived at the old residence, where the butler welcomed him with a red envelope and Jiang Huaixiao showed him his newly furnished suite.
• Jiang Changping prepared New Year's Eve dinner, and Jiang Huaixiao and Jiang Yanchu eagerly served Jiang Xun as they ate together.
• Jiang Xun returned to his room, saw Shen Wangjing's photograph of Victoria Harbour, and started a video call with him.

Jiang Xun welcomed the New Year by video-calling Shen Wangjing and setting off fireworks with Jiang Huaixiao and Jiang Yanchu. As the fireworks began, Jiang Huaixiao pulled Jiang Xun into his arms in the snowy courtyard.

• Jiang Xun spoke with Shen Wangjing over video and wished him a happy New Year after Li Jingyao briefly interrupted them.
• Jiang Huaixiao and Jiang Yanchu coaxed Jiang Xun out of bed to set off fireworks, and Jiang Xun agreed when Jiang Huaixiao threatened to make the next morning's dumplings vegetarian.
• Jiang Yanchu dressed Jiang Xun in a down jacket, and Jiang Huaixiao wrapped a scarf around him before they went into the courtyard.
• Jiang Xun, Jiang Huaixiao, and Jiang Yanchu lit sparklers together, and Jiang Huaixiao watched his younger brother enjoy the fireworks.
• Jiang Xun lit the largest fireworks box, and Jiang Huaixiao drew him into an embrace as the fuse caught.

Jiang Xun celebrated the New Year with his newly reunited family, then woke to find Shen Wangjing had returned early to surprise him. Their reunion ended in an urgent kiss.

• Jiang Huaixiao held Jiang Xun as they watched the fireworks, while Jiang Xun touched his longevity lock and wished his mother a Happy New Year.
• Jiang Yanchu arranged a late-night meal, and Jiang Xun ate wontons and stole some of Jiang Yanchu's fermented rice soup.
• Jiang Xun dreamed of Shen Wangjing in Shiban Village, then woke in Shen Wangjing's arms and learned he had flown back overnight to surprise him.
• Jiang Xun denied missing Shen Wangjing, but pulled him close and kissed him.

Shen Wangjing returned before dawn to spend New Year with Jiang Xun, and the two reunited warmly at the old residence. Jiang Yanchu walked in on them being intimate, then lamented to Jiang Huaixiao that their precious younger brother was being snatched away.

• Shen Wangjing told Jiang Xun he had settled matters with the Li family, leaving Yu Xing and Li Jingyao there so he could return for the New Year.
• Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing ate breakfast with Jiang Yanchu and Jiang Huaixiao, while Shen Wangjing attentively served Jiang Xun.
• Jiang Xun shaved Shen Wangjing, and Shen Wangjing pulled him into his lap for an embrace.
• Jiang Yanchu opened the bedroom door while Jiang Xun sat on Shen Wangjing's lap, then hurried away after insisting he had only come to find his phone.
• Jiang Yanchu told Jiang Huaixiao that their precious little cabbage was being snatched away, and the brothers sighed together.

Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing prepared to study in London with Shen Yuxing and Duan Qizhao, and Jiang Xun received a generous enrollment gift from Jiang Huaixiao. After settling in, Jiang Xun quickly thrived at university and attracted admirers, prompting Shen Wangjing to appear outside his school.

• Jiang Xun decided to study in the United Kingdom, and Shen Wangjing said he would take the IELTS with him while Shen Yuxing chose the A-Level route and Duan Qizhao secured a place in a London foundation program.
• Jiang Xun received an offer from the London School of Economics, Shen Wangjing received one from University College London, Shen Yuxing received one from Imperial College, and Duan Qizhao received one from City University of London.
• Jiang Huaixiao gave Jiang Xun the deed to a six-story apartment building in central London as an enrollment gift.
• Jiang Xun, Shen Wangjing, Shen Yuxing, and Duan Qizhao flew to London, where Jiang Huaixiao and Jiang Yanchu saw them off.
• Jiang Xun quickly adapted to London, made friends, and became popular at his law school's freshman party, while Duan Qizhao still struggled with life there.
• Duan Qizhao sent the group chat photos of cards and love letters Jiang Xun had received, and Shen Wangjing appeared outside the law school less than twenty minutes later.

Shen Wangjing openly showed his devotion to Jiang Xun, while Jiang Huaixiao and Jiang Yanchu supported their younger brother’s life and future in London. The chapter left Jiang Xun surrounded by people who cared for him, with Shen Wangjing tirelessly anticipating his needs.

• Shen Wangjing picked Jiang Xun up after class, fixed his scarf, and led him away holding hands in front of the watching students.
• Duan Qizhao realized that Shen Wangjing, rather than Jiang Xun, was the one most afraid of losing the other.
• Jiang Huaixiao and Jiang Yanchu began visiting London frequently, caring for Jiang Xun and helping him build connections at leading law firms.
• Jiang Xun’s brothers recognized how capable he had become, while still treating him as their cherished youngest sibling.
• When Jiang Xun developed a fever, Shen Wangjing stayed by his side and cared for him as Jiang Yanchu quietly stepped aside.
• Shen Wangjing continued looking after Jiang Xun by making him millet porridge and buying his favorite croissants, even waiting outside the shop when it unexpectedly closed.

After returning from London, Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing built lives together in Capital City, with Shen Wangjing growing a successful technology company and Jiang Xun becoming a criminal defense and public interest lawyer. A year later, Jiang Xun took on a case linked to the trafficking network that had harmed his family and began gathering evidence against one of its financiers.

• Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing returned to Capital City after graduating, where Jiang Yanchu and Jiang Huaixiao welcomed them at the airport.
• Shen Wangjing founded a technology company and refused Jiang Xun's offer of financial help, saying he wanted to earn the life Jiang Xun wanted himself.
• Shen Wangjing's company rapidly expanded from a small startup into a major enterprise data security and artificial intelligence business.
• Jiang Xun joined a law firm focused on criminal defense and public interest litigation, seeking justice for victims through the law.
• Jiang Xun volunteered to represent a case against a mine owner connected to a cross-province trafficking case and spent four months collecting records and tracing money.

Jiang Xun testified against the mining boss and saw him sentenced to execution, then celebrated with Shen Wangjing, family, and friends. Surrounded by the people he loved, Jiang Xun realized they had finally built a home together.

• Jiang Xun gave a statement at the mining boss’s trial about the trafficked women and the evidence buried for years.
• The mining boss was returned to prison to await execution, and Shen Wangjing embraced Jiang Xun outside the courtroom as Jiang Xun said he had won.
• Shen Wangjing brought Jiang Xun to his mountain estate, where Duan Qizhao joked that the estate was a flowerpot and Jiang Xun its precious seedling.
• Duan Qizhao showed everyone a viral video contrasting Jiang Xun’s younger years with his courtroom appearance, and the group celebrated his victory over dinner.
• The group watched a video of Jiang Xun’s life, and Jiang Xun told Shen Wangjing, “We have a home now.”