Chapter Summaries

Jiang Huaixiao tried to take Jiang Xun away, but Shen Wangjing intervened and blocked him. Liu Wanying arrived and accused Jiang Xun of slandering her, while Jiang Huaixiao warned that he was investigating the incident involving the milk; Shen Yuxing prepared to speak in her defense.

• Jiang Huaixiao seized Jiang Xun and tried to haul him from the restaurant, but Jiang Xun resisted and shouted for help.
• Shen Wangjing stepped between Jiang Huaixiao and the door, telling him Jiang Xun did not want to go and demanding that he release his wrist.
• Liu Wanying arrived with Shen Yuxing and accused Jiang Xun of blaming her for his sudden illness.
• Jiang Xun mocked Liu Wanying's claim that he had a preexisting condition and questioned why he fell ill only after arriving at her house.
• Jiang Huaixiao said he had sent an assistant to retrieve surveillance footage and someone to question Wang Ma, warning Liu Wanying that she would face consequences if she was involved.
• Liu Wanying secretly prodded Shen Yuxing forward, expecting him to defend her.

Shen Yuxing exposed Liu Wanying’s attempt to manipulate him, while the director persuaded Jiang Huaixiao to let filming continue for one more week. After returning to Shen Wangjing’s courtyard, Jiang Xun settled into a new bed, and Jiang Huaixiao watched him from outside before leaving for the airport.

• Shen Yuxing reminded Liu Wanying that she had offered to pay his school expenses if he agreed to something involving Jiang Xun, causing Liu Wanying to break down.
• Duan Qizhao woke and blurted out an insult, so the director stopped recording and escorted Liu Wanying away from the restaurant.
• The director asked Jiang Huaixiao to let filming continue for a week, promised to protect Jiang Xun and address the online rumors, and said Shen Yuxing would return to the Jiang family with him.
• Jiang Huaixiao asked whether Jiang Xun knew about the online rumors, then left after learning he had no access to outside information.
• Shen Wangjing, his grandfather, Duan Qizhao, and Jiang Xun returned to the courtyard, where they found new beds and supplies left by Jiang Yanchu.
• Jiang Huaixiao stayed in his Bentley outside the courtyard and watched Jiang Xun through a hole in the window paper as his secretary asked when they would leave for the airport.

After Jiang Huaixiao left, Shiban Village was targeted by online crowds who came to harass Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing. The director called the police as the visitors hurled abuse and eggs, while Shen Wangjing shielded Jiang Xun.

• Jiang Huaixiao watched the sleeping Jiang Xun from his car before telling his secretary to leave.
• The director canceled the livestream and ordered her team to subtitle aerial footage of Shen Wangjing buying medicine to counter accusations against him.
• A geotagged Weibo post exposed Shiban Village, prompting dozens of people to arrive and livestream accusations against Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing.
• Duan Qizhao confronted the visitors and threatened legal action for filming and trespassing.
• The crowd threw eggs at Shen Wangjing as he protected Jiang Xun, and the director warned that the police were on their way.

Jiang Xun confronted the livestreamers who had come to Shiban Village to accuse Shen Wangjing, demanding evidence and defending him as police sirens approached. That night, Duan Qizhao told Jiang Xun that Liu Wanying had hired trolls to smear him and that Brother Yanchu had been arguing with the haters online.

• Jiang Xun demanded to know who had thrown an egg, and Baseball Cap admitted he had done it.
• Jiang Xun took the red-haired streamer's selfie stick and challenged the crowd to provide evidence that Shen Wangjing was a murderer, warning them that their accusations could count as defamation.
• Jiang Xun defended Shen Wangjing's sacrifices for his family and condemned the crowd for treating online rumors as justice.
• As police sirens approached, the livestreamers and other visitors fled, while the director filmed them and their license plates.
• That night, Duan Qizhao shared beer with Jiang Xun and told him Liu Wanying had hired trolls to smear him and Brother Yanchu had been arguing with his haters online.

After Duan Qizhao accidentally told Jiang Xun about his family’s past and public scandals, Jiang Xun drank until he passed out and revealed how abandoned he had felt growing up. Shen Wangjing carried him to bed, where Jiang Xun clung to him and begged him not to leave; only five days remained before filming ended and Jiang Xun left Shiban Village.

• Duan Qizhao drunkenly told Jiang Xun that his family had ignored him as a child and that Shen Wangjing had once been accused of murder, then realized he had said too much.
• Jiang Xun withdrew behind the shrubs with Yellow Dog, composed himself, and returned without confronting Duan Qizhao.
• Jiang Xun and Duan Qizhao drank bottle after bottle until Duan became incoherent and Jiang Xun fell asleep beneath the jujube tree.
• Shen Wangjing carried Jiang Xun to bed, but Jiang Xun wrapped himself around him, praised his appearance, and begged him not to disappear.
• Shen Wangjing stayed beside Jiang Xun until he slept, tucked him under the quilt, and remembered that only five days remained before Jiang Xun left Shiban Village.

As filming neared its end, Shen Yuxing decided Jiang Huaixiao was his only chance to stay with the Jiang family, while the director prepared for a peaceful finale. On the last filming morning, the crew discovered Jiang Xun and Duan Qizhao had disappeared.

• Shen Yuxing brought tea to Jiang Huaixiao’s study and overheard Jiang Xun condemning a blogger for exploiting people for views.
• Jiang Huaixiao repeatedly replayed footage of Jiang Xun speaking during a livestream.
• The director briefed the crew on the final day’s filming schedule and told them to keep the finale simple.
• Old Zhao arrived at Shen Wangjing’s courtyard and found Jiang Xun and Duan Qizhao missing.
• Old Zhao radioed the director to report that Jiang Xun and Duan Qizhao had disappeared.

Jiang Xun left Shiban Village before dawn to avoid returning to the Jiang family, and Duan Qizhao followed after worrying his note might signal danger. When both were discovered missing, Shen Wangjing led the production team up the mountain, following their tracks toward the cliffs as the search continued.

• The director learned Jiang Xun and Duan Qizhao were missing and ordered the production team to search the village and surrounding fields.
• An aerial camera showed two figures heading toward the mountain, so the director called on Shen Wangjing to lead a search.
• Jiang Xun left a note saying he would return that night because he did not want to go back to the Jiang family, whose attention he felt was only about their bloodline.
• Duan Qizhao found Jiang Xun's note, feared he might be in danger, and followed him without calling out.
• Shen Wangjing found tracks and a piece of blue thread at a mountain fork, then hurried toward the pine forest as the search team struggled to keep up.

Jiang Xun climbed to a cliffside overlook, with Duan Qizhao following and worrying over his reckless disregard for his own safety. Shen Wangjing arrived, pulled Jiang Xun away from the unstable edge, and furiously confronted him.

• Duan Qizhao followed Jiang Xun up the mountain and slipped on a scree slope, so Jiang Xun helped him up.
• Jiang Xun repeatedly guided and protected Duan Qizhao on the dangerous climb, even injuring his own knee without slowing down.
• At the cliff's edge, Duan Qizhao begged Jiang Xun to step back, but Jiang Xun ignored him and admired the view.
• Shen Wangjing reached the overlook, saw Jiang Xun near the drop, and rushed over to drag him away from the edge.
• Shen Wangjing gripped Jiang Xun and shouted at him for risking his life on the unstable mountainside.

Shen Wangjing found Jiang Xun on the mountain and carried him back safely, and the crew finished filming the season. As they packed up, Jiang Huaixiao arrived at the village with Shen Yuxing.

• Shen Wangjing scolded Jiang Xun for acting as though his life did not matter, then carried him down the mountain while Duan Qizhao followed.
• The group returned to the courtyard, where the director brought them breakfast and Duan Qizhao broke down in tears from the ordeal.
• The crew filmed a reunion beneath the Old Locust Tree and declared the season finished.
• Jiang Xun watched the crew pack up as the day’s end settled over the village.
• Jiang Huaixiao arrived in a black Bentley with Shen Yuxing following behind him.

Jiang Xun refused to return to Capital City unless Shen Wangjing came with him, but Shen Wangjing rejected the offer and told him not to come back. Jiang Huaixiao took Jiang Xun away by force, and the Bentley headed toward the airport as Jiang Xun lay curled up in silence.

• Jiang Huaixiao brought Shen Yuxing to ask Jiang Xun whether he agreed to Shen Yuxing staying in the city, and Jiang Xun said he did.
• Jiang Xun told Jiang Huaixiao he would go only if Shen Wangjing came with him, and Jiang Huaixiao said Shen Wangjing had to agree himself.
• Jiang Xun asked Shen Wangjing to come with him, but Shen Wangjing said Capital City was not his home and told Jiang Xun to return and not seek him again.
• Jiang Xun turned toward the mountain, but Jiang Huaixiao grabbed him, carried him to the Bentley, and held him in the back seat.
• The Bentley left Shiban Village for the airport while Jiang Xun curled up silently and Jiang Huaixiao watched him.

Jiang Huaixiao tried to reassure Jiang Xun with promises about his new life, but Jiang Xun rejected the idea that those gestures could make up for seventeen years of neglect. As the cars reached the Jiang family villa, Shen Yuxing reflected on why he had been adopted, and Jiang Yanchu waited anxiously for Jiang Xun to arrive.

• Jiang Huaixiao stroked Jiang Xun's head and promised to investigate Liu Wanying's actions and keep anyone from bullying him.
• Jiang Huaixiao listed changes he had arranged for Jiang Xun, including a renovated room, Jiang Yu moving out, a new chef, and a transfer to Jinghua Middle School.
• Jiang Xun challenged Jiang Huaixiao, saying the changes and kind words could not erase the past or make the Jiang family home his home.
• Jiang Huaixiao seized Jiang Xun's wrist when he reached for the car door, and the two brothers remained locked in a standoff.
• Shen Yuxing rode toward Capital City with Duan Qizhao asleep beside him and reflected that Jiang Huaixiao had adopted him for practical and reputational reasons.
• Jiang Yanchu waited nervously beneath the Jiang family villa's portico as Jiang Huaixiao stepped out of the arriving Bentley.

Jiang Xun returned to the Jiang household but shut himself in his room and stopped eating, while Jiang Huaixiao and the servants watched over him. The chapter ended with the household transformed around Jiang Xun, whose silence and refusal to eat left everyone increasingly worried.

• Jiang Xun ignored Jiang Yanchu and went upstairs to inspect his renovated room, then poured away the warm milk left for him.
• Jiang Huaixiao told Jiang Yanchu that Jiang Xun had reason to see him as a stranger after years of favoring Jiang Yu.
• Jiang Xun skipped dinner, and Jiang Huaixiao fired the chef when Wang Ma reported that he had refused to eat.
• Over the following days, Jiang Xun stayed in his room and ate less until his meals came back almost untouched.
• The servants speculated that Jiang Xun had been mistreated and abused, while Wang Ma tried different foods and sweetened milk without success.
• Liu Wanying moved away, Jiang Yu was sent to boarding school, and Jiang Huaixiao took control of the household as the servants grew worried about Jiang Xun.

Duan Qizhao visited Jiang Xun after their time in Shiban Village and coaxed him into eating cake while he recovered in isolation. He then brought up a viral trending topic about the village, but Jiang Xun refused to engage with it.

• Duan Qizhao arrived at the Jiang house with cakes and went straight to Jiang Xun’s dark bedroom.
• Duan Qizhao opened the curtains and urged Jiang Xun to eat, talking until Jiang Xun finished a small amount of cake.
• Duan Qizhao told Jiang Xun about his family’s reactions to the show and reminisced about their time in Shiban Village.
• Duan Qizhao showed Jiang Xun the viral Shiban Village trending topic, but Jiang Xun said it had nothing to do with him.

Duan Qizhao told Jiang Xun that Li Guizhi and her husband had been arrested after their crimes were exposed, but Jiang Xun remained withdrawn and missed his old life in Shiban Village. Jiang Huaixiao tried to visit him and was shut out, while Duan learned Shen Yuxing would join Jiang Xun and Jiang Yu’s class and then received a call from Jiang Yu.

• Duan Qizhao told Jiang Xun that Li Guizhi and her husband had been arrested for embezzling village funds and hiring thugs, while Jiang Xun quietly ate the dessert Duan had brought.
• Duan Qizhao learned that Jiang Huaixiao had arranged an audit that uncovered the village chief’s embezzlement and evidence against Li Guizhi.
• Jiang Huaixiao asked whether Jiang Xun had eaten, then went upstairs, but Jiang Xun hit him with a pillow and locked him out of the bedroom.
• Duan Qizhao encountered Shen Yuxing, who said Jiang Huaixiao had arranged for him to transfer schools and join Jiang Xun and Jiang Yu’s class.
• Duan Qizhao grew excited at the thought of being classmates with Jiang Xun, then saw Jiang Yu calling him.

Jiang Yu gathered friends at Nightfall Bar and plotted to drive Jiang Xun out of Jinghua, unaware that Duan Qizhao had switched sides. Duan agreed to help while secretly recording Jiang Yu’s plans, leaving him with evidence against his former friend.

• Jiang Yu complained to Duan Qizhao that his eldest brother had forced him into the dorms and vowed to target Jiang Xun at Jinghua.
• Duan Qizhao went to Nightfall Bar, where Jiang Yu and his friends discussed ways to harass Jiang Xun at school and provoke another online backlash.
• Duan Qizhao agreed to help Jiang Yu while recalling how he and Jiang Xun had stood together in Shiban Village.
• After Jiang Yu left the bar drunk, Duan Qizhao’s phone revealed that it had recorded Jiang Yu’s entire plan.

Shen Yuxing discovered Jiang Xun secretly eating in the kitchen at night and joined him, reflecting on how different Jiang Xun was from anyone he had known. The chapter ended with Shen Yuxing asking Jiang Xun whether he knew why Shen Yuxing's brother had refused to go with him.

• Shen Yuxing found Jiang Xun eating a midnight feast in the kitchen after the family had believed he was refusing food.
• Jiang Xun offered Shen Yuxing some soy-braised beef, and they ate together in silence.
• Shen Yuxing told Jiang Xun that he had never met anyone like him, but Jiang Xun asked what kind of person he meant and got no answer.
• Shen Yuxing washed and put away the dishes while Jiang Xun finished drinking yogurt.
• Shen Yuxing asked Jiang Xun whether he knew why Shen Yuxing's brother wouldn't go with him.

Shen Yuxing explained why Jiang Xun’s brother had stayed in the village, and Jiang Xun denied that he missed him. Duan Qizhao secretly sent Jiang Yu’s recorded scheming to Jiang Huaixiao, who froze Jiang Yu and Liu Wanying’s accounts; the next morning, Jiang Yu waited at Jinghua Middle School with several boys to confront Jiang Xun.

• Shen Yuxing told Jiang Xun that his brother stayed behind because of family obligations and pride, and Jiang Xun insisted he did not care whether his brother came to Capital City.
• Duan Qizhao brought Jiang Xun milk tea and desserts, while keeping quiet about sending a recording of Jiang Yu to Jiang Huaixiao.
• Jiang Yu discovered that his credit cards had been deactivated and his supplementary debit card emptied, while Liu Wanying’s accounts were frozen too.
• Jiang Yu waited at Jinghua Middle School’s north gate with several boys, watching for Jiang Xun.

Jiang Xun arrived at school and joined Class Three, Grade Eleven, where his striking looks and blunt introduction drew everyone’s attention. He humiliated Jiang Yu after Jiang Yu tried to trip him, while Jiang Yu watched him settle in beside Duan Qizhao and grew angrier.

• Chen drove Jiang Xun and Shen Yuxing to school through the east gate, while Jiang Yu waited in vain at the north gate and received an anonymous message saying Jiang Huaixiao had heard what he said at Nightfall.
• The homeroom teacher introduced Jiang Xun as a new student, and Jiang Xun said his specialty was fighting.
• Jiang Yu entered through the back door and resented the attention Jiang Xun received from their classmates.
• Jiang Yu stuck his foot into the aisle to block Jiang Xun, who stepped hard on Jiang Yu’s ankle and mocked him before heading to his seat beside Duan Qizhao.
• Duan Qizhao praised Jiang Xun’s stomp, and Jiang Yu watched them together while fuming.

Jiang Huaixiao tried to approach Jiang Xun, who rejected his touch, as memories revealed why Jiang Huaixiao struggled to connect with the younger brother he had lost for seventeen years. That night, surveillance showed Jiang Xun sneaking food from the refrigerator, reassuring Jiang Huaixiao that he had eaten something.

• Jiang Huaixiao froze Liu Wanying’s cards and funds, transferred the residence, and blocked her calls after she had spent years in the Jiang family.
• Jiang Huaixiao drove Jiang Xun home from school, but Jiang Xun slapped his hand away when he tried to adjust his sleeping position and told him not to touch him.
• Jiang Huaixiao looked at an old photograph of Song Minzhi with baby Jiang Xun and recalled their mother’s fatal car accident and Jiang Xun’s disappearance.
• Jiang Huaixiao reflected on his difficulty reaching out to Jiang Xun, whose hostility and distrust left him afraid of saying the wrong thing.
• Jiang Yanchu learned that Jiang Xun had taken one bite of his cheesecake and spat it out, while Jiang Huaixiao went upstairs without comment.
• Jiang Huaixiao checked the kitchen surveillance late at night, saw Jiang Xun sneaking food from the refrigerator, and felt relieved that he had eaten.

Jiang Yu’s scheme to provoke Jiang Xun into a fight failed when Shen Yuxing drenched the gray-haired boy instead. Jiang Yu confronted Shen Yuxing afterward, realized he had been mocked, and swung at him.

• Duan Qizhao showered Jiang Xun with snacks and attention, while Jiang Yu struggled to get Jiang Xun alone.
• Jiang Yu sent Duan Qizhao away with a fake basketball meeting and had the gray-haired boy provoke Jiang Xun.
• The gray-haired boy knocked over Jiang Xun’s milk and Duan Qizhao’s snacks, then insulted Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing.
• Shen Yuxing poured a bucket of water over the gray-haired boy, ruining Jiang Yu’s plan to record Jiang Xun throwing the first punch.
• Jiang Yu confronted Shen Yuxing in the changing room and grabbed his collar.
• Jiang Yu saw Shen Yuxing silently call him a moron and swung his fist at him.