Chapter Summaries

After learning she was a minor character in a novel, Shen Zhiyi was abducted as a stand-in for the female lead and taken to Chi Ye’s villa. Meanwhile, Chi Ye left a business dinner unaware that Boss Zhao had arranged the abduction as a gift for him.

• Shen Zhiyi woke in the hospital, learned that her savings were gone, and discovered that she was a minor character in a romance novel.
• Shen Zhiyi was knocked unconscious and abducted by men hired by Boss Zhao, who planned to offer her to Chi Ye as a stand-in for the female lead.
• The abductors took Shen Zhiyi to Chi Ye’s villa and left her on a comfortable bed, where she drifted back into unconsciousness.
• Chi Ye endured an unpleasant business dinner with Boss Zhao, who sent away the women at the hotel after Chi Ye objected.
• Boss Zhao hinted that he had prepared a special gift for Chi Ye, while Chi Ye left the hotel and waited for his bodyguard.

Chi Ye turned down two girls who approached him, then returned to Heavenly Domain Villa, unaware that Shen Zhiyi was hiding in his bedroom. Shen Zhiyi woke in the dark with her stomach aching from hunger.

• Two girls asked Chi Ye for his contact information, and he refused by claiming he was under eighteen and showing them his Imoo Phone Watch.
• Chi Ye learned the old man did not want him returning to the family residence, so he told his bodyguard to drive him to Heavenly Domain Villa.
• Chi Ye returned home, got ready for bed, and went to the study to finish his work without noticing someone beneath the covers in his bedroom.
• Shen Zhiyi woke in the dim bedroom after sleeping comfortably, still hungry after nearly three days without food.

Shen Zhiyi woke up in Chi Ye’s bed after being kidnapped, while Chi Ye discovered he could hear her thoughts. After learning that Boss Zhao had arranged her kidnapping through Chi Ye’s grandfather, Chi Ye returned to ask whether Shen Zhiyi wanted to get up.

• Shen Zhiyi struggled to sit up, startling Chi Ye when he saw her hair-covered face.
• Shen Zhiyi introduced herself and said someone had kidnapped her and brought her to Chi Ye’s house.
• Chi Ye realized he could hear Shen Zhiyi’s thoughts and tested whether she could hear his.
• Chi Ye read his grandfather’s message and learned Boss Zhao had arranged for Shen Zhiyi to be brought to him under the pretense of introducing a girlfriend.
• Chi Ye returned to Shen Zhiyi and asked if she wanted to get up.

Shen Zhiyi secured 300,000 yuan from Chi Ye as compensation for being caught up in his troubles, then left his villa. Meanwhile, An Qian took a shortcut to the hospital and was cornered by several men in an alley, who threatened her as she tried to call the police.

• Chi Ye offered Shen Zhiyi compensation and a ride home, but she clarified that her three-finger gesture meant she wanted money.
• Chi Ye guessed at increasingly large sums until Shen Zhiyi asked for 300,000 yuan, which he agreed to transfer.
• After the bodyguard drove Shen Zhiyi away, Chi Ye watched her leave without thanking him and returned to the villa.
• An Qian took a deserted shortcut to the hospital with food for her mother and was surrounded by several men.
• The men threatened An Qian and moved to grab her, so she warned them that she would call the police.

An Qian was rescued from a group of men by Chu Yannan, and the two exchanged contact details before she hurried to the hospital. Chi Ye confronted his grandfather over trying to set him up with Shen Zhiyi, but his grandfather continued to insist she was a good match.

• An Qian was cornered by men in an alley and prepared to hurt herself rather than fall into their hands.
• Chu Yannan returned with a stick, fought off the men, and led An Qian to safety at the hospital.
• An Qian thanked Chu Yannan, agreed to treat him to a meal, and exchanged contact details before going to see her mother.
• Chi Ye returned to the Old Residence and argued with his grandfather about the attempted match with Shen Zhiyi.
• Chi Ye's grandfather said Chi Ye's cousin liked men and argued that Chi Ye should seek love, while Chi Ye insisted he was more than good enough for Shen Zhiyi.

Chi Ye agreed to pursue Shen Zhiyi after his grandfather warned that Madam Ye would otherwise arrange blind dates for him. He visited Shen Zhiyi at her rundown apartment, heard her thoughts again, and called her when she refused to answer the door.

• Chi Ye's grandfather urged him to spend time with Shen Zhiyi and warned that Madam Ye would arrange blind dates if he refused, so Chi Ye reluctantly agreed.
• Shen Zhiyi returned to her rented apartment, bought supplies with the money she had received, and stayed inside for a week.
• After his grandfather pressed him, Chi Ye went to Shen Zhiyi's apartment, planning to offer her money in exchange for a relationship contract.
• At Shen Zhiyi's door, Chi Ye heard her thoughts again and realized the voice belonged to her, while Shen Zhiyi stayed in bed and ignored his knocking.
• When a neighbor scolded Chi Ye and offered to play matchmaker, he rejected her insinuations about Shen Zhiyi and called Shen Zhiyi himself.

Chi Ye visited Shen Zhiyi and asked her to pretend to date him until his mother returned, but Shen Zhiyi refused. Chi Ye heard her thoughts calling him a villain and wondered why she considered him annoying as he tried to persuade her with money.

• A neighbor slandered Shen Zhiyi until Shen Zhiyi came out and warned her to pay rent and stop using her apartment number on junk forms.
• Chi Ye found Shen Zhiyi in the hallway and insisted on speaking with her, then followed her into her apartment.
• Chi Ye heard Shen Zhiyi’s unspoken thoughts calling him annoying and noticed her sparse, old apartment.
• Chi Ye offered Shen Zhiyi money to pretend to be his girlfriend until his mother returned, but Shen Zhiyi refused and called the arrangement a storyline involving a villain.
• Chi Ye asked why Shen Zhiyi refused and offered enough money for her to move out, but Shen Zhiyi had not changed her mind.

Chi Ye tried to persuade Shen Zhiyi to accept his help, but she shut him out and blocked his number. After seeking relationship advice from Special Assistant Fang, Chi Ye returned with food and found Shen Zhiyi’s uncle yelling at her.

• Shen Zhiyi refused Chi Ye’s proposal and told him she wanted to die without being dragged down by a villain, leaving him wondering what she knew about him.
• Chi Ye heard Shen Zhiyi’s thoughts through the door, grew alarmed when she fell silent, and waited until she messaged him to stop shouting.
• Chi Ye continued visiting Shen Zhiyi, but she eventually stopped answering and blocked his number.
• At Blazing Fire Technology, Chi Ye asked Special Assistant Fang how to coax someone who ignored and blocked him, then decided to bring Shen Zhiyi food.
• As Chi Ye reached Shen Zhiyi’s floor with the food, he heard her uncle furiously shouting at her and ran toward her apartment.

Shen Zhiyi confronted her uncle Fang Yue when he demanded that she give up her house, and she beat him until he promised to leave her alone. Chi Ye helped by recording Fang Yue’s threats and then used his sore hands as an excuse to get inside her home.

• Fang Yue threatened Shen Zhiyi and demanded that she move out of the house, but she pointed a baseball bat at him.
• Chi Ye stepped between Fang Yue and Shen Zhiyi, recorded Fang Yue’s threats, and warned that he would bring the police and a lawyer.
• Fang Yue claimed that Shen Zhiyi’s mother had meant the house for him, provoking Shen Zhiyi to kick and slap him.
• Shen Zhiyi continued beating Fang Yue until he begged her to stop, then ordered him to leave.
• Fang Yue left while secretly hating Shen Zhiyi, and Chi Ye stopped her from closing the door by showing her the marks on his hands.

Chi Ye brought Shen Zhiyi food and offered help, but the next morning he found she had left with a suitcase and assumed she was avoiding him. Shen Zhiyi had gone to a small town to make a tea table for a client, and she recognized Boss Zhao as the man who had arranged for her to be tied up and sent to Chi Ye.

• Chi Ye persuaded Shen Zhiyi to let him stay and eat, then offered to help her deal with her uncle and asked her to unblock him.
• Chi Ye asked an elderly neighbor to watch for Shen Zhiyi's uncle and call him if the man returned.
• The next morning, the neighbor told Chi Ye that Shen Zhiyi had left with a suitcase, and he angrily assumed she was avoiding him.
• Shen Zhiyi traveled to a small town to carve a tea table for a client.
• Shen Zhiyi remembered that Boss Zhao had used his client relationship to pursue her before arranging for her to be tied up and sent to Chi Ye.

Shen Zhiyi traveled to Boss Yao’s timber mill and designed two tea tables and other woodcarvings for her. Chi Ye tracked her down and confronted her, but she refused to accept blame for his decision to come find her.

• Shen Zhiyi met Boss Yao and discussed preserving the distinctive marks on two pieces of timber in her tea table designs.
• Shen Zhiyi sent Boss Yao sketches for tables featuring winding waterways, greenery, a Golden Toad, a Black Tortoise, and lotus flowers.
• Boss Yao introduced Chi Ye to Shen Zhiyi, who greeted him coolly after he arrived looking for her.
• Chi Ye demanded to know why Shen Zhiyi had left without telling him, and she replied that she had refused his proposal from the start and would not take responsibility for his choices.

Shen Zhiyi used an electric saw and hand tools to begin crafting the wooden tables Boss Yao had commissioned while Chi Ye watched and worked nearby. Chi Ye brought her food from the city and urged her to eat, leaving their awkward companionship ongoing as she continued the project.

• Shen Zhiyi cut the huge logs into rough shapes for the tea table and winding-stream design while Chi Ye watched from a distance.
• Shen Zhiyi sketched Boss Yao’s requested designs onto the wood and began carving as Chi Ye worked on his laptop.
• Chi Ye noticed Shen Zhiyi sweating and gave her a tissue, then left to buy food without waiting for her answer.
• Chi Ye returned from the city with food and snacks, cleaned the stone table, and called Shen Zhiyi over to eat.
• Chi Ye served Shen Zhiyi food and explained that he was looking after her on Boss Yao’s behalf as she prepared to work on the project for days.

Chi Ye stayed close to Shen Zhiyi throughout the day, caring for her and arranging to stay at her guesthouse, while she remained wary of his attention. When he followed her to her room with dinner, Shen Zhiyi rejected his familiarity and resolved to avoid him and the main characters’ troubles.

• Chi Ye served Shen Zhiyi food during lunch, then cleaned up while she returned to work.
• Chi Ye asked Boss Yao which guesthouse Shen Zhiyi was staying at and arranged to stay there too.
• After finishing work, Shen Zhiyi walked back toward the guesthouse, and Chi Ye caught up with her carrying dinner.
• Chi Ye followed Shen Zhiyi into the guesthouse and waited outside her room, expecting her to invite him in.
• Shen Zhiyi refused to open her room to Chi Ye, offered to repay him for lunch, and decided to avoid him and the coming conflict between the main characters.

Chi Ye angrily knocked on the wrong guesthouse room door while Shen Zhiyi watched and mocked him, then she returned his untouched dinner and shut him out. The next morning, he waited outside her room and handed her breakfast before they left for work with Boss Yao.

• Chi Ye left dinner on Shen Zhiyi's door handle and retreated to his room after she insulted him.
• Chi Ye repeatedly knocked on Shen Zhiyi's door, unaware that she was in the room next door watching him.
• Shen Zhiyi revealed she had been sitting in her doorway as Chi Ye knocked on the wrong door, and he accused her of setting him up.
• Shen Zhiyi put the untouched dinner in Chi Ye's arms and shut the door in his face.
• The next morning, Chi Ye waited outside Shen Zhiyi's room and handed her breakfast, saying he did not want her to delay Boss Yao's work.

Shen Zhiyi completed Boss Yao’s wood relief pictures while Chi Ye stayed by her side, bringing meals and helping with her work. After Boss Yao accepted the finished pieces and paid the remaining balance, Shen Zhiyi was ready to leave, while Chi Ye planned to speak with her about their cooperation before returning to his business responsibilities.

• Chi Ye spent more than half a month working beside Shen Zhiyi and bringing her meals as she completed Boss Yao’s tea table and wood relief pictures.
• Chi Ye realized that Grandpa Chi admired Shen Zhiyi’s craftsmanship and believed this explained his efforts to bring them together.
• An elderly man gave Chi Ye a watermelon for himself and Shen Zhiyi, and Chi Ye chatted with the neighbors as they walked home.
• Chi Ye scolded his staff over a software bug, then arranged for his team to prepare for a collaboration meeting and a Q7 project report while he remained in town.
• Shen Zhiyi finished the wood relief pictures ahead of schedule, and Boss Yao inspected them, accepted the work, and paid the remaining balance.

On Boss Yao’s mountain plantation, Chi Ye asked Shen Zhiyi to work with him and explained that he wanted her help to avoid being forced into blind dates. Shen Zhiyi refused, and they were left facing each other on the mountain.

• Chi Ye and Boss Yao traded compliments about Shen Zhiyi’s carved tea table, and Boss Yao invited them to visit her mountain plantation.
• The next morning, Chi Ye checked Shen Zhiyi’s room number before waking her, then took her to breakfast and the plantation.
• Boss Yao led Chi Ye and Shen Zhiyi up the mountain before leaving to answer a phone call.
• Shen Zhiyi admired the plantation’s trees and moss while Chi Ye followed her through the grounds.
• Chi Ye asked Shen Zhiyi to work with him, explained his grandfather’s connection to her, and apologized for her kidnapping.
• Shen Zhiyi told Chi Ye, “I won't agree.”

Shen Zhiyi refused Chi Ye’s offer to work together, and he angrily ended their relationship before leaving for the airport. Shen Zhiyi soon left as well, while learning that Chi Ye had endured daily allergic reactions rather than move away from the guesthouse.

• Shen Zhiyi refused to work with Chi Ye, explaining that she did not want to get caught up in more trouble.
• Chi Ye accused Shen Zhiyi of disregarding his kindness and feelings, then said they should never meet again and walked away.
• Shen Zhiyi watched Chi Ye leave, then came out of the woods and told Boss Yao she had booked a flight that night.
• Shen Zhiyi returned to the guesthouse to collect her belongings and learned that Chi Ye had stayed despite his allergies to the quilts and bugs.
• The guesthouse owner packed Chi Ye’s belongings and mailed them after he left for the airport.

Shen Zhiyi left the village for the airport after saying goodbye to Uncle Zhao, while An Qian’s growing encounters with Chu Yannan led to campus gossip and a viral photo. Liu Muyan saw the picture and received a call from Shan Yirou, who urged her to look at the posts.

• Shen Zhiyi told Uncle Zhao that Chi Ye had returned to work, accepted his sweets, and left for the airport.
• Shen Zhiyi sat alone at her boarding gate, adjusting to the contrast between the warm village and the busy city.
• An Qian met Chu Yannan in a shared class, and a photo of them sitting together spread across S University's forum.
• Liu Muyan saw the viral photo and recalled her engagement to Chu Yannan and his past denial of their relationship.
• Shan Yirou called Liu Muyan about the forum posts, and Liu Muyan recognized that Shan Yirou was interested in Chu Yannan.

Liu Muyan confronted Chu Yannan by phone over his behavior and his rumored pairing with An Qian, while Chu Yannan mistook An Qian’s concern for special affection. Shen Zhiyi returned from a business trip to find her home wrecked, reported it to police, and left the station with a policewoman’s warning to stay alert.

• Shan Yirou urged Liu Muyan to pursue Chu Yannan and criticized An Qian, but Liu Muyan dismissed her and called Chu Yannan.
• Liu Muyan berated Chu Yannan over the phone for acting pretentious in class and warned him not to let more pictures get out.
• An Qian checked on Chu Yannan, and he took her concern as proof that she was special before turning his attention to the lecture.
• Shen Zhiyi returned from a two-week business trip and found her door forced open and her apartment smashed and vandalized.
• Shen Zhiyi called the police, gave a statement, and showed them a photograph she had removed from a picture frame.
• A policewoman exchanged contact details with Shen Zhiyi and urged her not to act alone as she left the station with her suitcase.

After Fang Yue destroyed her home, Shen Zhiyi lost the last thing she had clung to and, exhausted and overwhelmed by guilt over her family’s deaths, stood by the river contemplating suicide. The chapter ended as she said goodbye and stepped toward the water.

• Shen Zhiyi recalled that Fang Yue had trashed her house after she refused to give him the money he wanted, leaving her with nowhere to call home.
• Hungry and exhausted, Shen Zhiyi blamed herself for being unable to care about others and thought about how she had failed to thank Uncle Zhao.
• Shen Zhiyi relived the car crash that killed her father and younger brother, remembering that her father had pushed her to safety while her mother had demanded he save Shen Kangnan first.
• At the river, Shen Zhiyi heard the accusations from her mother, father, and Shen Kangnan in her memories and decided she deserved to die.
• Shen Zhiyi said, "This time, it really is goodbye," and stepped toward the river.