Chapter Summaries

Jiang Xun freed himself from his bonds and fought off Fourth and the gravel-voiced man, but the kidnappers’ leader confronted him before he could escape. The leader drew a knife and acknowledged that he had underestimated Jiang Xun.

• After Fourth left, Jiang Xun used a sharp stone to cut through his wrist ropes, then untied his ankles and searched the room for an exit.
• Jiang Xun pretended he needed the bathroom and stabbed the gravel-voiced man with rusty wire, then scalded him with noodle broth and knocked him unconscious with a rubber baton.
• Fourth caught Jiang Xun as he tried to leave and slammed him into the wall, but Jiang Xun struck him with a pot of hot noodles, kicked his knee, and knocked him down.
• The kidnappers’ leader entered, looked at his two fallen men, drew a folding knife, and told Jiang Xun he had underestimated him.

Jiang Xun escaped his kidnappers and called Duan Qizhao for help, but collapsed as the gang caught up with him. Shen Wangjing arrived and fought to keep the attackers from reaching Jiang Xun, leaving the two men surrounded and badly hurt.

• Jiang Xun disarmed one kidnapper, escaped through an alley, and used a public phone to tell Duan Qizhao where he was.
• Four armed men arrived as Jiang Xun lost consciousness inside the phone booth.
• Shen Wangjing rushed in, knocked one attacker into the van, and planted himself in front of the booth door.
• Shen Wangjing fought the gang while refusing to let them reach Jiang Xun, taking blows and a knife wound to his arm.
• Shen Wangjing looked at the unconscious Jiang Xun and remembered moments they had shared.

Shen Wangjing rescued Jiang Xun from the attackers and carried him to the ambulance despite his own serious injuries. Jiang Xun survived and regained consciousness in the observation room, while Shen Wangjing waited outside.

• Shen Wangjing caught the tattooed man's knife with his bare hand, struck him down, and held Jiang Xun while refusing to let Jiang Huaixiao take him.
• Shen Wangjing asked the nurse to treat Jiang Xun first, and Jiang Xun unconsciously clutched his shirt as he was treated.
• At the hospital, Shen Wangjing received eleven stitches in his chest and eight in his palm, along with treatment for other injuries.
• Jiang Huaixiao and Duan Qizhao waited outside the resuscitation room while Jiang Xun underwent treatment.
• At 2:17 a.m., the doctor said Jiang Xun had a mild concussion and other injuries but was out of danger and had regained consciousness.

Jiang Xun confronted Shen Wangjing for disappearing and hiding his injuries, then softened when Shen Wangjing apologized and embraced him. After Shen Wangjing kissed the gauze on Jiang Xun’s head, they looked at each other with their feelings exposed.

• Jiang Xun saw Shen Wangjing’s bloodstained bandages and angrily scolded him for vanishing, getting hurt, and keeping his troubles secret.
• Jiang Xun demanded that Shen Wangjing take off his clothes so he could inspect his injuries.
• Shen Wangjing embraced Jiang Xun and apologized, and Jiang Xun silently clung to him as he cried.
• Shen Wangjing asked whether Jiang Xun’s head hurt, then gently kissed the edge of the wound through the gauze.
• Jiang Xun flinched back, and Shen Wangjing caught his head as they met each other’s reddened gaze.

Jiang Xun confronted Shen Wangjing about coming to the hospital, and Shen Wangjing revealed he had watched Jiang Xun’s interview repeatedly and come before the three-day deadline. Shen Wangjing explained why he had stayed away to protect Jiang Xun, leaving their reunion charged with everything he had tried to conceal.

• Jiang Xun pulled away from Shen Wangjing and asked why he had come despite the danger.
• Shen Wangjing told Jiang Xun that the third day had arrived and he would have lost his chance if he had waited longer.
• Shen Wangjing admitted he had watched Jiang Xun’s interview over and over while hiding in an urban village.
• Shen Wangjing recalled leaving Jiang Xun on his eighteenth birthday because the trafficking criminals posed a threat and he wanted to keep Jiang Xun safe.
• Shen Wangjing remembered believing Jiang Xun would forget him and return to his ordinary life until A Yong showed him the viral interview.

After seeing a video of Jiang Xun and learning he had been kidnapped, Shen Wangjing rushed to save him, blaming himself for putting him in danger. In the hospital, Shen Wangjing held Jiang Xun tightly until Duan Qizhao and Jiang Yanchu arrived at the door.

• Shen Wangjing watched a video of Jiang Xun, realized he was suffering, and decided to return to him.
• Before Shen Wangjing could send a letter explaining his feelings, he learned Jiang Xun was missing and received a photograph of him bound and unconscious.
• Shen Wangjing ran through the alleys to reach Jiang Xun, consumed by fear and guilt over the kidnapping.
• Jiang Xun let Shen Wangjing hold him despite barely being able to breathe, and noticed the fresh scar on Shen Wangjing's neck.
• Duan Qizhao opened the hospital-room door, saw them embracing, and quietly shut it before telling Jiang Yanchu not to go in.

Jiang Yanchu tried to reconnect with his injured brother, Jiang Xun, but found him comfortably close with Shen Wangjing and Duan Qizhao. After Jiang Xun barely accepted the chicken soup Jiang Yanchu had painstakingly made, Duan Qizhao ushered Jiang Yanchu out, leaving him alone in the dark corridor.

• Duan Qizhao stopped Jiang Yanchu from barging into Jiang Xun’s room, but Jiang Yanchu entered anyway.
• Jiang Yanchu found Shen Wangjing tending to Jiang Xun while Duan Qizhao fussed over him, and he watched their easy closeness from the doorway.
• Jiang Yanchu offered Jiang Xun homemade chicken soup, but Jiang Xun barely spoke to him and only drank some after Duan Qizhao fed it to him.
• Jiang Xun said the soup tasted gamey and refused more, so Duan Qizhao pushed Jiang Yanchu out of the room.
• Jiang Yanchu stayed leaning against the corridor wall after the light went out.

Jiang Xun recovered in the hospital with Shen Wangjing at his side, while Duan Qizhao and Jiang Huaixiao visited in different ways. As Jiang Xun enjoyed a playful outing in the hospital garden, Zhou Yanqing arrived and introduced himself to Shen Wangjing as a criminal investigation captain.

• The nurse limited the hospital room to one visitor, so Duan Qizhao left Shen Wangjing alone with Jiang Xun, and the two shared the bed and held hands.
• Duan Qizhao secretly photographed Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing, then told Jiang Huaixiao that they were cuddling; Jiang Huaixiao continued keeping his distance because he feared upsetting Jiang Xun.
• Over the next half month, Jiang Xun's injuries improved, and he played cards with Duan Qizhao and Shen Wangjing before Duan took him to see the roses in the garden.
• Jiang Xun and Duan Qizhao chased each other through the garden, and Shen Wangjing watched Jiang Xun laughing in the sunlight.
• Zhou Yanqing introduced himself to Shen Wangjing as the captain of the Municipal Bureau's Criminal Investigation Detachment.

Zhou Yanqing asked Shen Wangjing to help the task force lure an overseas crime boss back into the country, offering a chance to uncover the truth about Shen Wangjing’s mother. Shen Wangjing had not agreed, but Jiang Xun feared for his safety and offered to go with him, prompting Shen Wangjing to say Jiang Xun was the person he could least afford to risk.

• Zhou Yanqing told Shen Wangjing that the task force needed him as bait to draw the man behind the trafficking ring back from overseas.
• Zhou Yanqing explained that solving the case could reveal Shen Wangjing’s mother’s identity and left him a business card.
• Jiang Xun saw Shen Wangjing at the ward window, rushed upstairs, and demanded to know who had visited him.
• Shen Wangjing told Jiang Xun about the task force’s plan, and Jiang Xun angrily challenged him for considering it.
• Jiang Xun said he would accompany Shen Wangjing if he went, but Shen Wangjing told him he was the one he could least afford to risk.

Jiang Xun struggled with fear as Shen Wangjing left to settle dangerous matters and investigate his mother's past. The chapter ended with Jiang Xun waiting for their nightly calls and wishing every blessing he had for Shen Wangjing’s safe return.

• Shen Wangjing promised Jiang Xun that he would resolve the danger at its roots and return safely, while Jiang Xun clung to him and cried.
• Jiang Xun stayed close to Shen Wangjing during their final days together in the hospital, and Shen Wangjing cared for him despite his own injuries.
• On the day they were discharged, Jiang Xun gave Shen Wangjing a handmade protective charm and watched him leave by train.
• Jiang Xun returned to his usual routine and waited every night for Shen Wangjing’s promised call, listening for signs that he was safe.
• Jiang Xun understood that Shen Wangjing had to protect his family and learn what happened to his mother, and wished to trade anything for Shen Wangjing’s safe return.

Duan Qizhao and Jiang Xun prayed for Shen Wangjing’s safety while Jiang Huaixiao confronted Jiang Changping over the danger Jiang Xun had faced. Seeing how deeply Jiang Xun missed Shen Wangjing, Jiang Huaixiao quietly worked to learn his status and protect Jiang Xun until they could reunite.

• Duan Qizhao found Jiang Xun praying to a Guanyin statue and offered to visit Daxiangguo Temple with him to pray for Shen Wangjing’s safety.
• Jiang Changping returned and confronted Jiang Huaixiao and Jiang Yanchu after learning that Jiang Xun had been kidnapped and targeted.
• Jiang Huaixiao blamed Jiang Changping’s choices and neglect for Jiang Xun’s suffering, then promised to protect Jiang Xun while the task force closed in on the people responsible.
• Jiang Huaixiao recalled spending nights outside Jiang Xun’s villa before quietly entering and seeing him clutch the Brass Telescope while waiting for Shen Wangjing.
• Jiang Huaixiao messaged Secretary Chen to contact Zhou Yanqing for news about Shen Wangjing and resolved to keep Jiang Xun safe until his call came.

After a suspicious car appeared outside school, Jiang Xun called Shen Wangjing, who told him to go home and stay safe. Duan Qizhao refused to leave him alone, secured the villa, and was left facing an unexpected visitor at the door.

• The school warned students that outsiders had been loitering nearby, and Jiang Xun spotted a black Santana that had been parked outside since morning.
• Duan Qizhao got Old Zhao to pick them up and took Jiang Xun out through the back entrance; Jiang Xun called Shen Wangjing, who told him to go home and not be scared.
• Jiang Xun urged Duan Qizhao to return to his parents, but Duan Qizhao refused and went with him to the villa.
• Duan Qizhao checked the windows and secured the house before sitting down to play a game with Jiang Xun.
• The doorbell rang, and Duan Qizhao grabbed a baseball bat and looked through the peephole at a figure beneath the porch light.

Jiang Huaixiao arrived at Duan Qizhao’s villa with bodyguards after Shen Wangjing warned that Jiang Xun might be in danger. After Jiang Xun let him into his room, they discussed Jiang Huaixiao’s surveillance of him, and Jiang Xun asked what Shen Wangjing was doing and whether he was in danger.

• Jiang Huaixiao brought bodyguards to Duan Qizhao’s villa and took up watch over Jiang Xun.
• Duan Qizhao said he was protecting Jiang Xun, then retreated upstairs after Jiang Huaixiao entered.
• Jiang Huaixiao waited until after one in the morning before knocking on Jiang Xun’s door, and Jiang Xun let him in.
• Jiang Xun pointed out that Jiang Huaixiao’s people had been following him, and Jiang Huaixiao admitted he had feared for his safety.
• Jiang Xun asked Jiang Huaixiao what Shen Wangjing was doing and whether Shen Wangjing might be in danger.

Jiang Xun pressed Jiang Huaixiao for the truth about Shen Wangjing’s dangerous assignment and reluctantly accepted his reassurance that Shen would be protected. As Jiang Huaixiao’s guarded answers and added security fueled Jiang Xun’s suspicions, Jiang Xun invited him to dinner and had him drink glass after glass.

• Jiang Huaixiao told Jiang Xun that Zhou Yanqing’s people were guarding Shen Wangjing and that the operation was expected to close its net within a week, and Jiang Xun agreed to trust him for now.
• Jiang Huaixiao prayed for Jiang Xun and Shen Wangjing after leaving his brother’s room.
• Over the following days, Jiang Xun traveled to Jinghua Middle School in a guarded convoy while school life continued as usual and the black Santana disappeared.
• Jiang Xun used casual conversations with Jiang Huaixiao to ask about Zhou Yanqing’s progress, growing suspicious of Shen Wangjing’s evasions and the increased security.
• Jiang Xun invited Jiang Huaixiao to dinner on Friday, where Jiang Huaixiao drank more than a dozen glasses of Moutai while Jiang Xun mostly watched and Duan Qizhao egged him on.

Jiang Xun got Jiang Huaixiao drunk to retrieve Zhou Yanqing’s contact information, while Jiang Huaixiao pretended to be unconscious and let him do it. The next morning, Jiang Xun and Duan Qizhao evaded the cars following them and reached the Municipal Bureau, where Jiang Xun asked Zhou Yanqing about Shen Wangjing.

• Jiang Xun tried Jiang Huaixiao’s phone passcode and unlocked it with his own birthday, then photographed Zhou Yanqing’s contact information.
• After Jiang Xun left, Jiang Huaixiao revealed he had been pretending to be drunk and had allowed his brother to take the contact information.
• Jiang Xun and Duan Qizhao left early the next morning, and Duan Qizhao drove through alleys to lose the two cars following them.
• Jiang Xun and Duan Qizhao entered the Municipal Bureau after giving the guard Zhou Yanqing’s name.
• Zhou Yanqing brought them to his office, where Jiang Xun asked how Shen Wangjing had been lately.

Jiang Xun proposed using himself as bait to help the police catch the people targeting Shen Wangjing, but Zhou Yanqing refused to approve the plan. The next morning, Jiang Xun disappeared from school, and Jiang Huaixiao confronted Zhou Yanqing after finding that Jiang Xun’s last call had been to him.

• Jiang Xun told Zhou Yanqing that he could draw out the people following him by acting as bait, but Zhou Yanqing rejected the idea as too dangerous.
• Jiang Xun explained that he wanted to end the case sooner so Shen Wangjing could be free again.
• Jiang Huaixiao picked Jiang Xun up from the Municipal Bureau, and Jiang Xun went home and said he was going to sleep.
• The next morning, Jiang Huaixiao received a report that Jiang Xun had disappeared after the school’s morning exercise break.
• Jiang Huaixiao called Zhou Yanqing and demanded to know whether Jiang Xun was with him.

Jiang Xun joined a police operation as bait to draw out the gang that had kidnapped him, while Jiang Huaixiao rushed to the bureau to stop the plan. The gang abducted Jiang Xun and took him to a warehouse, unaware that he was tracking their location and deliberately playing frightened.

• Zhou Yanqing told Jiang Huaixiao that Jiang Xun had insisted on helping lure the gang into a trap, and Jiang Huaixiao confronted him and Director Yao at the bureau.
• During a break between classes, Jiang Xun met the gang in an alley and secretly marked an escape route before letting them capture him.
• The kidnappers put Jiang Xun in a van and drove him to a warehouse at the South Suburb Secondhand Market, without noticing his transmitting school badge.
• After waking in the warehouse, Jiang Xun pretended to panic and offered the kidnappers money, prompting the thin underling to question him about his wealth.

Jiang Xun planted Zhou Yanqing’s tracker on a kidnapper, escaped the warehouse, and fought off a pursuer in the alleys. A mysterious rescuer pulled him into hiding, where Jiang Xun heard the man’s heart pounding against his chest.

• Jiang Xun convinced the kidnappers that Shen Wangjing would not trade for him, then secretly planted Zhou Yanqing’s tracker in the fat henchman’s jacket while the man stole his watch.
• Jiang Xun used a shard of broken glass to free his hands, smashed the warehouse light, and escaped through a ventilation window.
• Jiang Xun ran through the secondhand market alleys, but a kidnapper caught up and attacked him with a steel pipe.
• A dark figure knocked the attacker unconscious, pulled Jiang Xun into a narrow gap, and held him close as Jiang Xun heard his pounding heartbeat.

Shen Wangjing shielded Jiang Xun from armed pursuers until Zhou Yanqing and the police arrived. As the officers tracked the kidnappers toward the docks, Jiang Xun rested in Shen Wangjing’s arms, hoping the chase would bring them answers and peace.

• Shen Wangjing hid Jiang Xun in an alley and protected him as armed men searched nearby.
• The pursuers found blood and turned back, but police sirens forced them to scatter.
• Zhou Yanqing arrived with armed plainclothes officers, and Shen Wangjing carried Jiang Xun to a car and tended to his bleeding feet.
• Shen Wangjing held Jiang Xun as he admitted his feet hurt and the two shared a quiet moment.
• Zhou Yanqing tracked the kidnappers’ signal to the docks and ordered the police to close in.

The Special Task Force uncovered records linking Shen Wangjing’s mother to a missing woman from Capital City, while Jiang Xun slept in the hospital as Shen Wangjing and Jiang Huaixiao kept watch. The chapter ended with Zhou Yanqing telling Shen Wangjing that they had identified his mother.

• The Special Task Force raided a warehouse and recovered records of trafficked women, including evidence of Shen Dayong’s payments for buying people.
• The technical division matched fingerprints from the ringleader’s phone to Li Wanhua, a missing woman from Capital City who had been sold into Shiban Village and become Shen Wangjing and Shen Yu Xing’s mother.
• Shen Wangjing carried the exhausted Jiang Xun to the hospital and stayed beside him while he slept.
• Jiang Huaixiao arrived, took Jiang Xun’s hand, and silently watched over his injured younger brother.
• Zhou Yanqing arrived after three in the morning, gave Shen Wangjing a document, and told him they had an answer about his mother’s identity.