Chapter Summaries

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 Duan Qizhao then wondered whether Shen Wangjing’s gloomy, withdrawn manner was still unusual.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.

Jiang Yanchu stayed in Shiban Village to look after Jiang Xun, bringing supplies and making a home beside the chicken coop. Meanwhile, Shen Wangjing’s risky trip to buy medicine softened public opinion, while the director focused on filming the brothers’ interactions and noticed Zhao Pengfei waiting outside Shen Wangjing’s courtyard.

• Jiang Yanchu refused to leave Shiban Village and warned the director that he could involve his lawyer.
• Jiang Yanchu bought supplies for Jiang Xun, secured a place to stay at the Village Chief’s house, and began visiting Shen Wangjing’s courtyard each morning.
• Jiang Yanchu set up beside the chicken coop so he could work despite the poor signal, while Duan Qizhao drank the milk he brought for Jiang Xun.
• The director saw the show’s viewership and Jiang Xun-Shen Wangjing discussion surge after footage showed Shen Wangjing crossing dangerous mountain terrain to bring Jiang Xun medicine.
• The director told the crew to film everyday life naturally and make Jiang Yanchu’s interactions with Jiang Xun a focus.
• A production assistant told the director that Zhao Pengfei was waiting outside Shen Wangjing’s courtyard.

Zhao Pengfei visited Jiang Xun’s courtyard, mistook Jiang Yanchu for another outsider, then warmly welcomed him after learning he was Jiang Xun’s biological older brother. Meanwhile, Liu Wanying learned Jiang Changping and Jiang Huaixiao would return to the Jiang family villa in three days.

• Zhao Pengfei arrived at Jiang Xun’s courtyard with a jar of canned yellow peaches and confronted Jiang Yanchu, whom he mistook for another stranger.
• Jiang Yanchu told Zhao Pengfei that he was Jiang Xun’s biological second brother, and Zhao Pengfei immediately changed his attitude and offered him food and hospitality.
• Zhao Pengfei warned Jiang Yanchu that Shen Wangjing was a murderer, citing Shen Dayong’s drowning and the village’s suspicions about Shen Wangjing.
• Jiang Xun emerged from the main room, complained that the argument was keeping him awake, and accepted Zhao Pengfei’s canned peaches.
• At the Jiang family villa, Liu Wanying read Jiang Changping’s message saying he would return home in three days after his conference ended early.

Liu Wanying hired a PR company to smear Shen Wangjing with rumors about his father’s death and damage Jiang Xun’s reputation. Meanwhile, Jiang Xun accepted a hidden mission for food rewards, and Jiang Yanchu confronted Shen Wangjing over his relationship with Jiang Xun.

• Liu Wanying agreed to pay the PR company to spread claims that Shen Wangjing was responsible for his father’s death and that Jiang Xun had knowingly defended a murderer.
• Jiang Xun agreed to complete the production crew’s hidden tasks after learning he could exchange points for food and earn a restaurant meal for the group.
• Duan Qizhao strained his back and had to stay behind while Jiang Xun rode into town with the production crew.
• Jiang Yanchu told Shen Wangjing he knew about his family’s hardships and his kindness toward Jiang Xun, then warned him not to take advantage of Jiang Xun.

Duan Qizhao nervously watched Jiang Yanchu confront someone at the courtyard gate while waiting for Jiang Xun to return. In the capital, Jiang Yu accused Shen Yuxing of planting the flower pastries that triggered his allergy, and Shen quietly planned how to win over Jiang Huaixiao; in Munich, Jiang Huaixiao saw viral searches about Jiang Xun and the village.

• Duan Qizhao overheard Jiang Yanchu say, “Let’s talk,” and worried that their tense confrontation might turn violent.
• Jiang Yu returned from the hospital and accused Shen Yuxing of planting the flower pastries that caused his allergic reaction.
• Shen Yuxing denied the accusation, and Jiang Yu stormed out, deciding he would rather face Jiang Xun than Shen’s act.
• Shen Yuxing stopped crying and considered winning over Jiang Huaixiao, whom he believed could keep Liu Wanying in check.
• In Munich, Jiang Huaixiao’s secretary showed him trending searches about Jiang Xun, a police report from the Metamorphosis production team, and the Second Brother riding a tractor into the village.

Jiang Huaixiao saw a viral video of Jiang Xun riding on Shen Wangjing’s back and immediately flew from Germany to Capital City. Meanwhile, Jiang Xun cleverly twisted a show task into an excuse to call people around town “big brother,” then returned to Shen Wangjing’s courtyard with bags of buns.

• Jiang Huaixiao watched the viral video of Jiang Xun on a stranger’s back, canceled his work, and booked a flight.
• During the flight, Jiang Huaixiao watched Metamorphosis and took screenshots of every frame featuring Jiang Xun.
• Jiang Xun ate five buns and argued that calling shopkeepers and a cameraman “big brother” fulfilled the show’s task.
• Jiang Xun returned to Shiban Village as Jiang Yanchu and Shen Wangjing faced off in the courtyard, with Blue Hair cowering nearby.
• Jiang Xun kicked open the gate, announced his return, and offered everyone the buns he had brought.

Jiang Xun returned to the village with buns, rejected Zhao Pengfei’s confession, and Jiang Huaixiao confronted Liu Wanying about sending Jiang Xun away. The chapter ended with Liu Wanying learning that Jiang Huaixiao was flying to Yunling to bring Jiang Xun back.

• Jiang Xun brought buns to the courtyard, where Duan Qizhao devoured them and Jiang Yanchu offered to drive him to town.
• Zhao Pengfei pulled Jiang Xun aside and confessed that he wanted to date him, but Jiang Xun mistook his feelings for a desire to sleep with him.
• Jiang Huaixiao returned to the Jiang family villa early and confronted Liu Wanying about sending Jiang Xun away and drugging his milk.
• Jiang Huaixiao told Liu Wanying he would investigate and make everyone responsible pay, then went upstairs.
• Secretary Chen told Liu Wanying that Jiang Huaixiao had booked an evening flight to Yunling, and she realized he planned to bring Jiang Xun back.

Liu Wanying’s smear campaign against Shen Wangjing went live as Jiang Huaixiao prepared to travel to Yunling, igniting public outrage and threatening Metamorphosis with an early shutdown. The director headed to confront the station director as the crew faced the possibility of ending the shoot.

• Secretary Chen told Liu Wanying that he could not disclose Jiang Huaixiao’s plans, and she learned that Jiang Huaixiao would fly to Yunling that evening.
• Liu Wanying’s PR company launched the #ShenWangjingMurderer# hashtag before she could stop them, and she reassured herself that the accusations could not be traced back to her.
• Liu Wanying reviewed the hashtag’s prepared posts and hostile comments accusing Shen Wangjing of killing his father and endangering Jiang Xun.
• The Metamorphosis account’s backend crashed as angry viewers accused the production team of putting participants at risk and demanded that the show stop airing.
• The director suspected the smear campaign used the same tactics as the earlier attack on Jiang Xun, learned the station might end the shoot, and went to call the station director.

Jiang Xun tried several ways to make Shen Wangjing smile for his task, unaware that Shen Wangjing briefly smiled when he was out of sight. At the Village Committee, Jiang Huaixiao confronted Director Zheng about the show’s handling of Jiang Xun and the online backlash, then left to bring his little brother home.

• Jiang Xun tried jokes and pleading to make Shen Wangjing smile, but Shen Wangjing remained impassive and went into the Kitchen.
• After Jiang Xun left, Shen Wangjing briefly smiled, and the Kitchen camera captured it.
• Jiang Huaixiao confronted Director Zheng about the production team’s failures and the negative trending topics targeting Jiang Xun.
• Director Zheng warned that Jiang Xun might be overwhelmed if he returned home unaware of the online attacks.
• Jiang Huaixiao left the Village Committee, saying he was going to bring his little brother home.

Jiang Huaixiao came to the village to bring Jiang Xun home and investigate Liu Wanying’s case, but Jiang Xun refused to return. Jiang Xun instead sent Jiang Yanchu away, then celebrated the chance to go into town with Shen Wangjing.

• Jiang Yanchu argued with online haters defending Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing until Jiang Huaixiao arrived at the courtyard and asked where Jiang Xun was.
• Jiang Huaixiao found Jiang Xun feeding Shen Wangjing a green jujube and told Jiang Xun to come home so he could investigate Liu Wanying’s case.
• Jiang Xun said the Jiang family home was not his home and refused to return, so Jiang Huaixiao asked what it would take to persuade him.
• Jiang Xun told Jiang Huaixiao to send Jiang Yanchu home first, and Jiang Huaixiao immediately ordered Jiang Yanchu into the car.
• Jiang Xun celebrated Jiang Yanchu’s departure and called for Shen Wangjing to carry him so they could go into town for dinner.

Jiang Xun and Duan Qizhao celebrated completing the hidden tasks with a lavish meal, while the director tried to persuade Jiang Xun to return home with Jiang Huaixiao. Jiang Xun evaded the question, and Jiang Huaixiao finally entered the restaurant after his patience ran out.

• Jiang Xun dragged the director into the production van to claim his reward, and Duan Qizhao eagerly joined him while Jiang Huaixiao followed in his Bentley.
• Duan Qizhao ordered a feast at Guest-Arrives Fragrance, and Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing shared the food with Grandpa Shen.
• Duan Qizhao got drunk, praised Shen Wangjing and Jiang Xun, and struggled to keep his composure.
• The director told Jiang Xun that Jiang Huaixiao had come to take him home, but Jiang Xun brushed off the idea and asked for another serving of fish with pickled mustard greens.
• Jiang Huaixiao strode into the restaurant after his long journey wore down his patience.