Chapter Summaries

Zuo Tingyue’s grandmother questioned him about settling down, but he avoided giving her a clear answer. After several days apart, he met Xun Yuan in the rain and brought her into his car, where she sensed his low mood.

• Zuo Tingyue brewed tea for his grandmother, who pressed him about marriage, and he deflected her questions.
• Xun Yuan spent three days restoring a dusty colored sculpture of Bodhisattva Guanyin while she and Zuo Tingyue remained out of contact.
• Xun Yuan spotted Zuo Tingyue’s car in the rain and called Special Assistant Lin to confirm Zuo Tingyue was inside.
• Zuo Tingyue got out with an umbrella, drew Xun Yuan under it, and told her to sit in the front passenger seat.
• Special Assistant Lin left the car, and Zuo Tingyue asked Xun Yuan where she wanted to go.

At the rainy Bund, Xun Yuan told Zuo Tingyue she was worried about him and asked him to protect her. Zuo Tingyue agreed, and the two kissed passionately in the car.

• Zuo Tingyue drove Xun Yuan to the Bund and smoked in the car as rain fell.
• Xun Yuan asked whether Zuo Tingyue had been blamed at the family estate and admitted she was worried about him.
• Zuo Tingyue asked whether Xun Yuan was scared, and she said she was not before asking him to protect her.
• Xun Yuan plainly said she wanted Zuo Tingyue to protect her, and he agreed before kissing her forcefully.
• Xun Yuan told Zuo Tingyue not to bite her lips, then kissed and bit him back as their passion grew.

After spending the night with Zuo Tingyue, Xun Yuan returned to her artifact-restoration work and monitored a rival’s overseas activity while worrying about someone important abroad. A recurring dream about being chased for a mysterious object woke her, and she left her empty home late at night.

• Xun Yuan woke alone after a passionate night with Zuo Tingyue and went to her studio to continue restoring artifacts.
• Xun Yuan received a call from someone abroad, urged them to stay put and listen to Uncle Butler, then ordered her subordinate to watch a rival’s Southeast Asian dealings and secure an ore shipment.
• Xun Yuan stopped her subordinate from investigating the Golden Triangle and abandoned her idea of opening another shop.
• Xun Yuan dreamed of fleeing pursuers who believed she had a mysterious object, then woke with a headache and could not fall asleep again.
• Xun Yuan changed clothes, took her car keys, and left her empty home late at night.

After a restless night, Xun Yuan visited her grandparents and immersed herself in artifact restoration before Zuo Tingyue sent Lin Sheng to take her to Shen City. On the flight, Zuo Tingyue flirted with her, leaving her unsure whether to trust her growing feelings.

• Xun Yuan drove to her maternal grandparents’ home, slept in her car, and spent the morning with them before returning to work on a cultural artifact.
• Xun Yuan worked until late and declined Yun Tang’s invitation to go out, while Yun Tang and Jiang Yulin discussed her absence and Zuo Tingyue’s all-night stock market watching.
• The next day, Lin Sheng told Xun Yuan that Zuo Tingyue wanted her to join him in Shen City, and she went with him to the airport.
• Aboard Zuo Tingyue’s plane, Xun Yuan asked why he had brought her along, and he said her company would make the work trip a pleasure trip.
• Xun Yuan recognized that Zuo Tingyue’s flirtation stirred her feelings even as she feared falling for him.

Xun Yuan teased Zuo Tingyue into protecting her and staying with her, and their flirtation turned into a heated kiss and intimate touching. When she stopped him because someone might see, Zuo Tingyue respected her refusal and carried her to his room.

• Xun Yuan asked Zuo Tingyue to stay with her and teased him into promising to protect her.
• Special Assistant Lin saw their charged moment, retreated into the room, and shut the door.
• Zuo Tingyue pulled Xun Yuan close and kissed her fiercely after she called herself his woman.
• Zuo Tingyue touched Xun Yuan beneath her qipao, but she told him not to continue there.
• Zuo Tingyue stopped when Xun Yuan refused and carried her to his room.

Xun Yuan arrived in Shen City with Zuo Tingyue, rested while he handled a stalled acquisition, and later shared a quiet sunset with him. The chapter left them embracing at the hotel windows as she repeatedly called his name.

• Xun Yuan refused to leave the plane with Zuo Tingyue until he offered to take her to the hotel to rest.
• Zuo Tingyue brought Xun Yuan to a hotel in Shen City, where his team reported that Leap had delayed their acquisition after contact from a leading local conglomerate.
• Zuo Tingyue ordered his team to meet Leap's representative again and lower their original offer by five percent.
• Xun Yuan woke and invited Zuo Tingyue to admire the sunset with her; he embraced her from behind and held her hand.
• Xun Yuan called Zuo Tingyue by his full name several times, and he finally answered with a low acknowledgment.

Xun Yuan went out with Zuo Tingyue to admire Shen City's nightscape, then was shaken by a storm that brought back memories of a traumatic rainy night. Zuo Tingyue found her after she broke a glass and comforted her, though she denied being upset.

• Xun Yuan teased Zuo Tingyue into driving her around Shen City after changing into a qipao.
• Zuo Tingyue drove Xun Yuan along Shennan Avenue, where she admired the city's lights and reflected on how rarely she had stopped to enjoy the scenery.
• A nighttime thunderstorm reminded Xun Yuan of a blood-soaked rainy night, and she dropped a glass while reaching for water.
• Zuo Tingyue entered the room, stopped Xun Yuan from picking up the broken glass, and carried her back to bed.
• Zuo Tingyue asked whether Xun Yuan had been crying, but she blamed her reaction on being startled by the thunder.

Xun Yuan and Zuo Tingyue spent the night together, then he took her on a cruise while meeting Shen City business leaders about an acquisition. Xun Yuan fished with Special Assistant Lin as Zuo Tingyue discussed business, and the chapter ended with her growing bored.

• Xun Yuan teased Zuo Tingyue after he came to her room, then dried his hair and fell asleep beside him.
• Zuo Tingyue ordered his team to continue drafting the acquisition contract despite Leap demanding a ten percent adjustment.
• Zuo Tingyue invited Xun Yuan on a cruise, and she agreed.
• Zuo Tingyue met Shen City company heads aboard the cruise ship while Xun Yuan tried fishing with Special Assistant Lin.
• Xun Yuan grew tired of fishing after fifteen minutes without a bite.

Xun Yuan returned to Harbor City with Zuo Tingyue after the acquisition of Leap was secured, then resumed restoring a Guanyin relief and met Yun Tang for dinner. Yun Tang revealed that her family wanted her to meet a marriage-alliance candidate, and Xun Yuan advised her to refuse if she did not want to go.

• Xun Yuan asked Zuo Tingyue to take her diving to see red coral, but he said they would go after returning to Harbor City because rain was forecast.
• Xun Yuan learned that Leap’s board members had been caught soliciting prostitutes, and Leap agreed to the acquisition after its scandal sent its stock price plummeting.
• Xun Yuan returned to Harbor City with Zuo Tingyue, answered emails, and spent seven hours restoring a polychrome Guanyin relief.
• Yun Tang invited Xun Yuan to dinner and asked for her help winning at cards against the young masters in Harbor City.
• Yun Tang told Xun Yuan that her family wanted her to meet a marriage-alliance candidate, and Xun Yuan advised her to find a way to turn it down.

After drinking with Yun Tang, Xun Yuan was left waiting outside the karaoke venue when her driver failed to arrive. Zuo Tingyue came across her with a college boy and, after the boy left, Xun Yuan asked whether she could pursue his love.

• Xun Yuan drank with Yun Tang, and Jiang Yulin arrived to take Yun Tang home after the venue owner called him.
• Jiang Yulin messaged Zuo Tingyue to ask him to look for Xun Yuan while Zuo Tingyue was finalizing a business deal with Mr. Lake.
• Xun Yuan's driver could not come, and a college boy offered to wait with her; she repeatedly told him she did not need his help.
• Zuo Tingyue found Xun Yuan with the college boy and told him to leave, so Xun Yuan said they knew each other and sent him away.
• Zuo Tingyue called Xun Yuan shallow after she praised his looks, and Xun Yuan asked, "Can I be after your love?"

After Xun Yuan kissed Zuo Tingyue while drunk, he took her to the hotel, where she quietly slept in the room next door instead of staying with him. The next morning, she saw him reviewing and signing documents with Special Assistant Lin and left for her studio.

• Xun Yuan grabbed Zuo Tingyue's tie and kissed him, and he kissed her back roughly enough to split her lip.
• Zuo Tingyue took Xun Yuan's car keys, sent Special Assistant Lin to drive her car to the hotel, and brought her there himself.
• After Zuo Tingyue showered, Xun Yuan admitted she was sober and went to the adjoining room to sleep.
• Special Assistant Lin messaged Xun Yuan that her car was in the hotel parking lot and its keys were at the front desk.
• Xun Yuan found Zuo Tingyue signing a contract with Special Assistant Lin, greeted them, and left for her studio.

Xun Yuan received a rare red coral gift from Zuo Tingyue, then won back Yun Tang’s gambling losses during a night out with their friends. Zuo Tingyue drove Xun Yuan to his hotel, where he kissed her in the elevator.

• Special Assistant Lin delivered a rare red coral that Zuo Tingyue had taken from the Zuo Family’s old residence for Xun Yuan.
• Xun Yuan met Yun Tang at the club, played cards with their friends, and won back all the money Yun Tang had lost, with interest.
• Zuo Tingyue arrived at the club, and Special Assistant Lin offered to take Yun Tang home.
• Zuo Tingyue persuaded Xun Yuan to ride with him to his hotel, where she asked him about the red coral gift.
• While they rode the elevator, Zuo Tingyue put his arm around Xun Yuan’s waist and kissed her.

After a heated night together, Xun Yuan woke with a fever while Zuo Tingyue stayed by her side. Once she asked him to get food from a late-night restaurant that did not deliver, he agreed to go himself.

• Zuo Tingyue carried Xun Yuan to the hotel room, retrieved her dropped heels, and kissed her before taking her to the shower.
• The next morning, Xun Yuan woke with a fever as Wen Zhou treated her and teased her and Zuo Tingyue about their exertions.
• Zuo Tingyue sent Wen Zhou away and asked Xun Yuan whether she felt unwell; she said she was hungry.
• Xun Yuan challenged Zuo Tingyue to obtain food from a restaurant that did not deliver, and he told her to wait while he went to get it.

After recovering from her fever, Xun Yuan returned to her restoration work while Zuo Tingyue traveled to Macau City for a troubled project and sent her money. She focused on restoring an antique for half a month, then took a relaxing hot-spring outing with Yun Tang.

• Xun Yuan asked Zuo Tingyue to remove her IV needle, then borrowed his laptop to handle overseas work from Cheng Yuan.
• Zuo Tingyue met with Lou Jing, Jiang Yulin, and Lin Sheng about problems with the government-backed Guangdong-Hong Kong Bay project, and they flew to Macau City.
• Xun Yuan noticed a large transfer from Zuo Tingyue, called to ask why he sent it, and heard him say he liked giving her money.
• Xun Yuan concentrated on restoring an antique for half a month and declined Yun Tang's invitations until she agreed to visit a hot-spring resort.
• Xun Yuan and Yun Tang splashed each other in the hot spring, and Xun Yuan received a massage from a rehabilitation therapist while Yun Tang watched.

After returning from Macau City, Jiang Yulin and his friends gathered at a hot spring resort for a late-night bonfire and barbecue. When Jiang Yulin asked whether Xun Yuan wanted a rightful place by Zuo Tingyue’s side, Zuo Tingyue arrived and overheard her answer.

• Jiang Yulin and Lou Jing went to the hot spring resort after returning to Harbor City, while Zuo Tingyue left separately.
• At the resort, Yun Tang asked why they had gone to Macau City, and Jiang Yulin said losing face mattered as much as losing money.
• Jiang Yulin grilled food while Lou Jing teased him about an old failed romance, and the group ate and drank together.
• Jiang Yulin asked why Xun Yuan had fallen for Zuo Tingyue, and she said she liked his looks and his fit body.
• Jiang Yulin asked whether Xun Yuan wanted a rightful place by Zuo Tingyue’s side, and Zuo Tingyue arrived and stopped after overhearing him.

After a night of drinking, Xun Yuan slipped away from the gathering while Lin Sheng took the drunken Yun Tang back to her suite. The next morning, Yun Tang revealed she had slept with a man, and breakfast left Xun Yuan watching Zuo Tingyue arrive with a striking woman.

• Xun Yuan answered Zuo Tingyue’s question ambiguously, then returned to her suite and exchanged a cool greeting with him in the hallway.
• Jiang Yulin found Yun Tang drunk and asked Lin Sheng to escort her to her room; Yun Tang struggled and tore open Lin Sheng’s shirt along the way.
• Yun Tang visited Xun Yuan the next morning and admitted she had slept with a man, then rushed out when Xun Yuan asked whether they had used protection.
• Xun Yuan joined Yun Tang for breakfast, where Yun Tang asked about her studio work and reacted when Zuo Tingyue arrived with a woman in a white blouse and fitted skirt.

Xun Yuan stayed calm after seeing Zuo Tingyue with another woman and spent the day enjoying the resort with Yun Tang. At the pool, she drew close to Zuo Tingyue and teased him, leaving him to ask if she was playing with fire.

• Xun Yuan told Yun Tang she would not trouble herself over uncertainty about Zuo Tingyue and would let their relationship take its course.
• Xun Yuan and Yun Tang played golf, then went swimming after the sun became too bright.
• Zuo Tingyue arrived at the pool and watched Xun Yuan emerge from the water.
• Xun Yuan spoke casually with Zuo Tingyue while Yun Tang left them alone.
• Xun Yuan walked up to Zuo Tingyue, pulled his shirt from his trousers, and drew him close enough for him to ask if she was playing with fire.

Xun Yuan and Zuo Tingyue shared a heated encounter in the pool that ended without going further, then Xun Yuan vacationed in Sanya with Yun Tang. A persistent foreigner approached Xun Yuan on the beach, where Zuo Tingyue appeared and then came over to her.

• Xun Yuan pulled Zuo Tingyue into the pool, and the two kissed and struggled to restrain themselves before parting without anything happening.
• Xun Yuan later sat on the beach in Sanya while Yun Tang went into the sea to play.
• A blond foreign man repeatedly asked Xun Yuan for a drink and ignored her blunt rejection.
• The foreign man noticed Zuo Tingyue, spoke with him, and Zuo Tingyue glanced toward Xun Yuan.
• Zuo Tingyue eventually appeared before Xun Yuan, who held a grudge over their pool encounter.

Xun Yuan reunited with Zuo Tingyue after their encounter at the beach, and he invited her and Yun Tang to join him in first class on their flight back to Harbor City. As she watched him work, Xun Yuan reflected on her attraction to him and realized she already knew what she would choose if forced to decide between reason and emotion.

• Xun Yuan left the beach after Zuo Tingyue claimed he held the development rights to the land, then later welcomed Yun Tang to her hotel room.
• Xun Yuan and Yun Tang ate seafood, discussed Yun Tang's lack of interest in taking over her family's business, and went out to sea before returning to the hotel at two in the morning.
• Xun Yuan and Yun Tang found that first class was fully booked on their flight back to Harbor City, then Zuo Tingyue's bodyguard invited them to join him there.
• Xun Yuan sat beside Zuo Tingyue while Yun Tang chose a distant seat, and Xun Yuan later woke from the cold to watch him work.
• Xun Yuan reflected on her attraction to Zuo Tingyue and realized she already knew what she would keep and what she would let go; Zuo Tingyue looked up and caught her watching him.

Xun Yuan finished restoring a bodhisattva and met with Mr. Dong, who tried to recruit her to a museum before accepting that restoration would remain her hobby. Later, she overheard Yun Tang and Lin Sheng arguing about her blind date, ending with Lin Sheng walking away and Yun Tang leaning against the wall.

• On the plane, Xun Yuan sketched Zuo Tingyue at work and gave him the drawing before they parted in Harbor City.
• After a week of work, Xun Yuan completed the bodhisattva restoration and arranged to meet its owner, Mr. Dong.
• Mr. Dong examined the artifact and invited Xun Yuan to work at a museum, but she firmly declined because she wanted restoration to remain a hobby.
• Xun Yuan and Mr. Dong talked about restoration until dusk, then she drove to a Capital-style restaurant after receiving a call.
• In the restaurant corridor, Xun Yuan overheard Yun Tang challenge Lin Sheng's objections to her blind date and reference their one-night stand.
• Lin Sheng released Yun Tang and left after telling her not to speak that way, while Yun Tang leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.