Arc 1A Seat Beside Xie Sui

Song Yu arrived in Jing City and repeatedly stepped in to protect Xie Sui, then transferred to Jingcheng No. 1 High School and became his classmate. He helped Xie Sui reclaim his place as freshman speaker and ended the stretch determined to keep his forum identity secret and improve his grades.

  • Song Yu transmigrated into Gentle Control as the sickly Song Yu, refused System 008’s demand to follow the original storyline, and moved to Jing City to stay with Grandma Meng.
  • At Linshui, Song Yu found Xie Sui in danger in room 305, attacked Wang Beidan, and later tracked Xie Sui down to help him after a false accusation on Lianyun Street.
  • Song Yu befriended Xie Sui and Grandma Chen, studied at Xie Sui’s milk tea shop, and repeatedly intervened when thugs threatened Xie Sui, including helping him escape Red Hair’s gang.
  • Song Yu transferred to Jingcheng No. 1 High School, where he joined Class One and took the seat beside Xie Sui despite Wang Ci’s attempt to displace him.
  • Song Yu and Xie Sui confronted Zhu Zhixing and his companions over the bullying and graffiti against Xie Sui, and Song Yu made Zhu Zhixing apologize and explain himself.
  • When Wang Ci took Xie Sui’s freshman speech slot, Song Yu enlisted Meng Guang’s help, and Xie Sui regained the position and delivered his speech to Song Yu.
  • After classmates speculated about Song Yu and Xie Sui on the school forum, Song Yu kept his identity secret and resolved to focus on studying, while asking Xie Sui if he could earn full marks and surpass him.
Chapters 1–25 Vol. 1 Read

Ch. 1Transmigrating into a novel

While hospitalized, Song Yu read Gentle Control and became furious at the abuse Xie Sui endured, then joked with his cousin Song Lan about the novel. After going to sleep, he woke up transmigrated as the sickly Song Yu, a minor character who died young.

  • Song Yu read Gentle Control and learned how Xie Sui suffered abuse from several wealthy men before eventually inheriting the Xie Family.
  • Song Yu scolded Song Lan for recommending the novel and threatened to make her study over summer vacation.
  • Song Lan called Song Yu Gu Beiyu, claiming he was her future husband, and Song Yu responded by assigning her more practice tests.
  • Song Yu recalled that the novel's Song Yu was Xie Sui's childhood friend, who went abroad to recuperate and later died young.
  • After going to sleep, Song Yu woke up transmigrated into the novel as the sickly Song Yu.

Ch. 2Transferring schools

After learning that System 008 had brought him into a novel to complete the dead original Song Yu’s storyline, Song Yu decided to spend his five years there changing Xie Sui’s fate. He left City A for Jing City to stay with his grandmother and attend Jingcheng No. 1 High School.

  • Song Yu learned that he had transmigrated into Gentle Control and discovered that his new body was expected to die of an unnamed terminal illness.
  • System 008 explained that Song Yu had been brought over to complete the original Song Yu’s storyline, but Song Yu refused and learned that the system could not send him back.
  • Song Yu considered his mother’s affection and remembered how Xie Sui had been injured while trying to save a girl from thugs.
  • Song Yu decided to transfer schools and told his mother he wanted to stay with his grandmother in Jing City.
  • Song Yu left City A three days after leaving the hospital and headed to his grandmother’s house, while Song Wanying texted him angrily about missing the family banquet.

Ch. 3Linshui

Song Yu arrived in Jing City and settled in with Grandma Meng, then decided to find Xie Sui before the summer injury that would leave him with lasting damage. After 008 refused to give him Xie Sui’s address, Song Yu went out with Meng Guang and wandered away from their gathering at Linshui.

  • Song Yu reunited with Grandma Meng and politely met the Meng Family before going upstairs to rest.
  • Song Yu remembered that Xie Sui would have his fingers broken during the summer and called 008 to ask for his address.
  • 008 warned Song Yu not to meet Xie Sui or disrupt the plot, but Song Yu insisted he could use another identity; 008 said it needed permission and did not give him the address.
  • On his third day in Jing City, Song Yu went out with Meng Guang, who took him to the club Linshui to meet friends.
  • After enduring the group’s karaoke, Song Yu went looking for air and the restroom, wandered out of the courtyard, and ended up on Linshui’s second floor.

Ch. 4Xie Sui

Song Yu learned that Xie Sui was trapped in room 305 with Wang Beidan and rushed to save him. He crashed into the private room and attacked Wang Beidan, interrupting Xie Sui’s forced drinking and leaving their confrontation unresolved.

  • Song Yu overheard Linshui staff say a high school student named Xie Sui was in danger in room 305 and hurried to find him.
  • Song Yu alerted the front desk and demanded help, while Meng Guang realized from his cousin’s messages that Song Yu was heading to the room where Wang Beidan was staying.
  • Song Yu entered room 305 and saw Xie Sui finish ten bottles of liquor as Wang Beidan held a tearful woman captive and demanded Xie Sui serve him.
  • Wang Beidan’s blond associate tried to keep Song Yu out, but Song Yu entered and hurled a beer bottle at Wang Beidan, cutting his face.
  • Song Yu confronted Wang Beidan as Xie Sui watched him in stunned confusion.

Ch. 5Delivering medicine

Song Yu rescued Xie Sui from Wang Beidan’s harassment at Linshui, and Meng Guang arrived to beat Wang Beidan. After Song Yu gave Xie Sui medicine and learned his address, Xie Sui revealed he had secretly recorded the room and left with the medicine still in hand.

  • Song Yu confronted Wang Beidan and tried to stop him from harassing Xie Sui, but Xie Sui urged him to leave.
  • Meng Guang burst into Room 305 and beat Wang Beidan, believing he had forced Song Yu to drink.
  • Xie Sui collapsed against Song Yu, who helped him to a lounge and asked for his phone number and address.
  • Song Yu gave Xie Sui medicine and told him they might become classmates, then left Linshui.
  • After Song Yu left, Xie Sui revealed a listening device that had recorded the room and considered how Wang Beidan’s loose talk could ruin the Wang Family.
  • Xie Sui nearly threw away the medicine, but remembered Song Yu and kept it.

Ch. 6Understanding

Song Yu helped Meng Guang avoid punishment by explaining that he had fought Wang Beidan to protect him, then learned from Ma Xiaoding about Xie Sui’s lonely and abusive middle-school years. The chapter left Song Yu heading out to visit Xie Sui, using buying textbooks as an excuse.

  • Song Yu told the Meng Family that Meng Guang had fought Wang Beidan after rushing to save him, and Mother Meng defended her son while Father Meng argued with her.
  • Meng Guang drove Song Yu back to his grandmother’s home and admitted the Wang Family would keep quiet rather than reveal what Wang Beidan had been doing.
  • Song Yu learned that Wang Ci, the Wang Family’s youngest son, had tormented Xie Sui in the original story.
  • Song Yu met Ma Xiaoding, who described how classmates had shunned Xie Sui, spread rumors about his mother, and driven him from his job.
  • Song Yu decided to visit Xie Sui and told Ma Xiaoding he was going out to buy textbooks.

Ch. 7An argument

Song Yu found Xie Sui being beaten and insulted by a woman and her accomplice, then exposed the woman's son for shooting marbles at him and called the police. The luxury-car owner arrived to confront the mother and child over damage to her car, and the police reached the chaotic scene.

  • Song Yu arrived on Lianyun Street and found Xie Sui injured while a woman accused him of hitting her child with his bicycle and a man kicked him.
  • Song Yu threw marbles at the man to make him release Xie Sui, called the police, and discovered the woman's five-year-old son had been using a slingshot.
  • Song Yu confronted the woman and warned her to explain herself to the police, while Xie Sui concealed his suspicion and pretended to be in pain.
  • The owner of a damaged luxury car crossed the street, slapped the woman and her child, and demanded compensation for the damage.
  • The luxury-car owner slipped on a marble and fell as the police arrived and heard the women arguing.

Ch. 8Home

Song Yu took Xie Sui home after helping him at the police station, and told him they were friends because they had crossed paths twice. At Xie Sui’s home, Song Yu comforted Grandma Chen and shared a meal before leaving, while Xie Sui remained suspicious of his kindness.

  • At the police station, surveillance showed that a marble from Cai Mingzhu’s son had hit the car, and the woman who had blamed Xie Sui begged Cai Mingzhu for mercy.
  • Song Yu took the injured Xie Sui to a clinic and offered to walk him home, saying he treated everyone kindly and considered them friends.
  • Xie Sui brought Song Yu to Grandma Chen’s home, where Song Yu carried her to bed and promised she would not be alone anymore.
  • Xie Sui privately dismissed Song Yu’s kindness as something he could no longer trust, then cooked noodles for him as repayment.
  • Song Yu ate the noodles and told the driver that he had met a very important friend.

Ch. 9Boarding at school

Song Yu asked to board at Jingcheng No. 1 High School and imagined a brighter school life for Xie Sui, then struggled to review math and went to study at the milk tea shop where Xie Sui worked. The chapter left Song Yu annoyed after Xie Sui supplied the answer to his permutations problem.

  • Song Yu asked Mama Song to arrange for him to board at school, and she agreed to discuss it with Grandma Meng.
  • Ma Xiaoding introduced Song Yu to the incoming students' group and Jingcheng No. 1 High School's Campus Community forum.
  • Song Yu hoped Xie Sui would have a happy, admired high school life unlike the one depicted in Gentle Control.
  • Grandma Meng spoke with the principal, then brought Song Yu books and practice exercises to prepare for school.
  • Song Yu went to Xie Sui's milk tea shop to study, and Xie Sui interrupted his calculations by telling him the answer was 720.

Ch. 10Xiao Xi

Song Yu encouraged Xiao Xi to thank Xie Sui herself, then offered Xie Sui a cheap phone. When thugs ambushed them on the way home, Song Yu fought back and called Uncle Ma for backup.

  • Song Yu helped Xiao Xi overcome her fear and deliver her gift to Xie Sui in person.
  • Xie Sui agreed to buy Song Yu’s old phone, and Song Yu offered to help him get a SIM card the next day.
  • A gang of thugs confronted Xie Sui, and he told Song Yu to leave because the trouble was his.
  • Song Yu stepped in, threw the gang’s leader to the ground, and beat him with his rolled-up math book.
  • As the other thugs rushed forward with weapons, Song Yu called Uncle Ma and told him to drive in.

Ch. 11Blowing off steam

Song Yu scared off the thugs who attacked Xie Sui, then learned that neighborhood gossip had spread rumors about Xie Sui’s mother. He retaliated by using hundreds of accounts to flood her restaurant with bad reviews, and Xie Sui arrived as Song Yu kept posting.

  • Uncle Ma drove over at Song Yu’s request, and the thugs fled when he turned on the headlights.
  • Song Yu advised Xie Sui to call the police instead of fighting thugs and suggested he buy insurance.
  • Song Yu learned from Sadako Never Forgets the Well Digger that Zhu Zhixing had repeated rumors about Xie Sui’s mother without knowing if they were true.
  • Song Yu decided to target the restaurant run by Xie Sui’s mother and asked Song Wanying to get him five hundred accounts.
  • Song Yu spent the next day posting increasingly absurd bad reviews of the restaurant while Xiao Xi watched and laughed.
  • Xie Sui arrived at the milk tea shop as Xiao Xi urged him to stop Song Yu.

Ch. 12You think I'm scared of you?

Song Yu tried to cheer Xie Sui up about Zhu Zhixing, then accompanied him to get a SIM card. On their way home, Red Hair and his gang ambushed them again, and Song Yu talked tough before grabbing Xie Sui and fleeing.

  • Song Yu offered Xie Sui his phone and a thousand alternate accounts to curse Zhu Zhixing, but Xie Sui declined.
  • Song Yu took Xie Sui to get a SIM card, added him on QQ, and teased him about his username and black profile picture.
  • Song Yu offered Xie Sui a mint as they walked along Lianyun Street, but a larger group of Red Hair's thugs blocked their way.
  • Song Yu claimed the thugs would go bankrupt paying compensation if they hurt him, then grabbed Xie Sui's hand and ran.

Ch. 13A mint-scented embrace

Song Yu and Xie Sui fled a gang of thugs into a dead-end alley, where Xie Sui fought them off while Song Yu remained stranded on a wall. As the police arrived, Xie Sui caught Song Yu in a mint-scented embrace.

  • Song Yu called the police while leading Xie Sui through alleys to escape the thugs.
  • Song Yu climbed onto a wall to avoid the gang, then realized the other side was dangerous and he could not safely jump down.
  • Red Hair and the other thugs cornered Song Yu and Xie Sui, and Xie Sui jumped down to fight them.
  • Xie Sui defeated the thugs with a steel pipe and a knife, sustaining wounds before stopping himself from striking to kill.
  • Xie Sui offered to catch Song Yu, and Song Yu jumped into his arms as police sirens and headlights reached the alley.

Ch. 14Lagrange's Mean Value Theorem

After helping Xie Sui deal with Redhead’s gang, Song Yu decided to stop visiting him over the summer and turned his attention to studying. He contacted Xie Sui about a difficult math problem, but Xie Sui’s teasing explanation left him exasperated.

  • Song Yu and Xie Sui left the police station after the officers ruled their fight self-defense, then visited the clinic to treat Xie Sui’s injured hand.
  • Song Yu told Xie Sui he would stop visiting until school resumed, and Uncle Ma drove him back to the city.
  • Ma Xiaoding told Song Yu that he and his friends had posted bad reviews about Zhu Zhixing’s mother, and Song Yu invited Ma Xiaoding over to work through test papers.
  • While studying, Song Yu recognized a difficult problem as an example of Lagrange’s Mean Value Theorem and messaged Xie Sui to ask about it.
  • Xie Sui sent Song Yu a detailed solution, then joked that he could find the needed number by testing every value in the interval.

Ch. 15Short-tempered Dad Song

Xie Sui contacted Xu Shien and sent her his mother’s diary to prompt an investigation into the Chengnan Club. In Jing City, Song Yu studied under pressure from his father’s exam ultimatum, then vented by taking over the school forum with sarcastic replies.

  • Xie Sui told Xu Shien not to inform his grandparents about him yet and promised to mail her his mother’s diary, urging her to investigate the Chengnan Club.
  • Xie Sui recalled his past revenge against Qin Qiuyun and decided he wanted Xu Shien and the others to turn against each other.
  • Song Yu’s father learned he had transferred schools and ordered him to return to City A unless he placed in the top hundred at Jingcheng No. 1 High School’s monthly exam.
  • Song Yu struggled through his test papers in Grandma Meng’s garden while trying to prepare for the exam.
  • Song Yu opened Jingcheng No. 1 High School’s forum and posted mocking replies that drew laughter, confusion, and angry reactions.

Ch. 16September

As September began, Song Yu prepared to attend Jingcheng No. 1 High School, where Grandma Meng arranged a private faculty-apartment room for him and Ma Xiaoding accompanied him to campus. Song Yu settled in, asked Xie Sui to save him a seat, and Ma Xiaoding realized that Song Yu was the forum’s popular online heartthrob.

  • Song Yu’s sharp replies made his forum account a campus sensation while he studied to improve his grades.
  • Meng Guang told Song Yu that Wang Beidan had been taken into custody for drug offenses backed by extensive evidence.
  • Grandma Meng arranged a private room for Song Yu in the school’s faculty apartments, and Ma Xiaoding rode with him to register at No. 1 High School.
  • Song Yu and Ma Xiaoding arrived at school, where Ma Xiaoding tried to shield Song Yu from two students taking pictures of him.
  • Song Yu unpacked and studied, then messaged Xie Sui to ask him to save a seat beside him; Xie Sui agreed.
  • On the way to evening study, Ma Xiaoding recognized Song Yu as the forum user known as “Your Husband Brother Yu.”

Ch. 17Deskmates

Song Yu began his first evening self-study at Jing City’s Class 1, where he sat beside Xie Sui and asked him for help with trigonometry. He boasted that he would take first place in the city, leaving Ma Xiaoding and Xi Bowen stunned while Xie Sui calmly played along.

  • Song Yu and Ma Xiaoding entered the crowded Class 1 classroom and took seats by the window, with Ma Xiaoding sitting behind Song Yu beside Xi Bowen.
  • Song Yu started working on his worksheet, and Xie Sui returned from the office to find him studying at the desk beside his.
  • Song Yu asked Xie Sui to explain why an angle was 135 degrees, and Xie Sui teased his mistaken calculations before showing him the solution.
  • Ma Xiaoding told Xi Bowen that Song Yu was devoted to studying, and Song Yu let them believe he had been a top student in City A.
  • Song Yu declared that he would take first place in the city, and Xie Sui agreed before admitting he was scared of being overtaken.
  • Ma Xiaoding and Xi Bowen played along with Song Yu’s boast and wondered why his exchanges with Xie Sui seemed like flirting.

Ch. 18Wang Ci

Song Yu dreamed of Xie Sui killing someone on a yacht and leaping into the sea, then woke to find Wang Ci demanding that he switch seats. Song Yu refused with Ma Xiaoding backing him up, and the chapter ended with Xie Sui returning to class and asking Song Yu what was wrong.

  • Ms. Ou introduced herself as Class One's homeroom teacher, gave a long account of her achievements, and let students choose their own seats for the first month.
  • Song Yu dreamed of a cold, armed Xie Sui shooting someone on a yacht before jumping into the sea, and woke shaken by thoughts of Xie Sui's fate in Gentle Control.
  • Wang Ci sent Jiang Xiu to demand Song Yu switch seats, but Song Yu refused and mocked him.
  • Ma Xiaoding stood up for Song Yu when Jiang Xiu threatened him, and Wang Ci eventually returned to his seat without a fight.
  • Ms. Ou and Xie Sui returned for the second evening study period, and Xie Sui asked Song Yu whether he had another question he could not solve.

Ch. 19Zhu Zhixing

Song Yu studied physics, confronted Ou Yilian over her attempt to move him away from Xie Sui, and grew closer to Xie Sui while they ate and shopped together. When Song Yu learned that Zhu Zhixing and a school bully planned to target Xie Sui, he decided to go confront them and invited Xie Sui along.

  • Song Yu completed a physics mechanics paper and Ou Yilian summoned him to discuss moving his seat beside the podium so Wang Ci could sit beside Xie Sui.
  • Song Yu called the principal, who told Ou Yilian to let him remain in Class One and treat him more considerately.
  • Xie Sui waited for Song Yu, and they ate together; Song Yu learned that Xie Sui lived in the apartment building below his.
  • Song Yu browsed the school forum, saw Xie Sui's photos and the heated discussions about them both, and messaged Xie Sui about his many admirers.
  • Song Yu and Xie Sui went to the supermarket, where classmates watched them excitedly and mistook their outing for a romantic date.
  • Song Yu called Ma Xiaoding and learned that Zhu Zhixing was helping a second-year bully plan to beat up Xie Sui, so he asked Xie Sui to come with him to confront them.

Ch. 20Beating someone up

Song Yu followed Ma Xiaoding to an internet café after learning that Zhu Zhixing had targeted Xie Sui. He went with Ma Xiaoding to confront Zhu Zhixing, leaving Xie Sui aware that Song Yu had come to defend him.

  • Song Yu and Xie Sui found Ma Xiaoding at an internet café on Linqing Road after Ma Xiaoding directed Song Yu to follow a cotton-candy-shaped cloud.
  • Ma Xiaoding lost a game and argued with a boy in a white T-shirt before noticing Song Yu had arrived.
  • Ma Xiaoding told Song Yu that Zhu Zhixing and his companions were upstairs, and Song Yu followed him while Xie Sui came along.
  • Song Yu denied that he had rushed over to defend Xie Sui, while Ma Xiaoding told Xie Sui that Song Yu had changed his mind as soon as he heard about the threat.
  • Song Yu said Zhu Zhixing owed Xie Sui an apology and explanation for his middle-school bullying, then followed Ma Xiaoding toward the third-floor pool hall.

Ch. 21Familiar faces meet (revised and expanded)

Song Yu led Ma Xiaoding and Xie Sui into a pool hall to confront Zhu Zhixing, but Chen Zhijie and the thugs tried to trap them in a snooker bet. Song Yu defeated the gang and forced Red Hair’s crew to retreat, then took Zhu Zhixing outside and warned Chen Zhijie to stop bullying others.

  • Ma Xiaoding identified Zhu Zhixing in the crowded pool hall, where Chen Zhijie trapped the group and challenged Ma Xiaoding to a snooker match with humiliating stakes.
  • Song Yu took Ma Xiaoding’s place, changed the stakes, and fought off Chen Zhijie, Plaid Shirt, and the other thugs when they attacked him.
  • Red Hair arrived with his crew, recognized Song Yu, and chose to leave rather than fight him.
  • Song Yu ordered Ma Xiaoding to take Zhu Zhixing outside and warned Chen Zhijie not to bully people again.

Ch. 22The speech

Song Yu brought Xie Sui to the junior high confession wall, where Zhu Zhixing was forced to erase the insults and promise a belated apology. At No. 1 High School’s welcome assembly, Song Yu learned that Wang Ci had replaced Xie Sui as freshman speaker and challenged the decision.

  • Song Yu led Zhu Zhixing to the Love Tree and made him wipe away the graffiti insulting Xie Sui and explain himself in their junior high class group.
  • Xie Sui said he was not angry with Song Yu for bringing him back to the wall, and he accepted a mint from him on the way back to school.
  • Song Yu and Xie Sui found their class had left for the assembly early, so they headed to the auditorium for Xie Sui’s speech.
  • While waiting backstage, Song Yu defended Xie Sui on the school forum and noticed a post by “Long Live Brother Ci” suggesting the freshman speaker had not been decided.
  • Song Yu learned that Wang Ci had taken Xie Sui’s place as speaker, then confronted the teacher and sarcastically suggested Wang Ci speak about getting rich raising pigs.

Ch. 23All beings are dust

Song Yu worked to stop Wang Ci from taking Xie Sui’s place as freshman representative, and the education bureau restored Xie Sui to the program. Xie Sui delivered his speech while looking toward Song Yu, leaving Song Yu unsettled before he left the auditorium.

  • Wang Ci mocked Xie Sui and insulted Song Yu, but Song Yu called his cousin Meng Guang and asked him to intervene against Wang Ci’s appointment.
  • Meng Guang contacted a friend at the education bureau, then offered to come to the school, but Song Yu persuaded him to stay away.
  • Song Yu encouraged Xie Sui backstage and gave him a mint while Wang Ci’s followers gloated about Xie Sui losing the speech slot.
  • The host announced Xie Sui as the freshman representative after the education bureau changed the speaker, humiliating Wang Ci and his followers.
  • Xie Sui gave his speech and directed the words “The future stretches like the sea; there are many days ahead” toward Song Yu, who then left the auditorium.

Ch. 24Your Husband Brother Green

Song Yu waited for Xie Sui after the welcoming ceremony, joked with his father and sister about his grades, and walked back with Xie Sui. Ma Xiaoding’s forum post then prompted readers to reinterpret Xie Sui’s affectionate words to Song Yu.

  • Song Yu found a forum thread calling him “Your Husband Brother Green” and received a call from President Song, who challenged him to rank in the top hundred and earn full marks in a subject.
  • Song Wanying teased Song Yu about his suggestion that she repeat the year, and revealed that she and their mother had bet he would come last in his monthly exams.
  • Song Yu waited for Xie Sui, praised his speech, and heard Xie Sui say that looking at him had made the speech feel simple.
  • Song Yu bought milk tea with Xie Sui and read Ma Xiaoding’s messages about Wang Ci’s anger and the forum thread.
  • Ma Xiaoding claimed Xie Sui’s final words had been directed at Song Yu, prompting forum users to speculate about their relationship.

Ch. 25At peace with Sui and Yu

Song Yu panicked when Ma Xiaoding’s forum post sparked rumors about his identity and a shipping thread pairing him with Xie Sui. After Ma Xiaoding tried to clear things up, Song Yu left the forum behind and asked Xie Sui whether he could earn full marks in math, ending the chapter focused on his resolve to study.

  • Song Yu read the forum’s reaction to Ma Xiaoding’s post and worried that his identity would be exposed.
  • Song Yu threatened Ma Xiaoding in chat, and Ma Xiaoding posted a correction saying he did not know Brother Yu and only wanted to be his brother.
  • Forum users continued arguing and started a popular thread titled “The future is as vast as the sea, at peace with Sui and Yu.”
  • Song Yu ignored Ma Xiaoding’s messages, finished his milk tea, and resolved to keep his identity secret and focus on studying.
  • Song Yu asked Xie Sui whether he could get full marks in math and surpass him, and Xie Sui encouraged him while teasing him about his grades.
Arc 1 of 2
Arc 1 of 2