Chapter Summaries

After practicing with his sword, Xia Zhiyi warmed up at home with Fu Chi, and they discussed Fu Yunyi’s drama and a script he had recommended. The chapter ended with Gu Miaomiao calling Xia Zhiyi, giving him a way to contact the female lead despite the plot’s interference.

• Xia Zhiyi finished practicing with his sword, and Fu Chi took him inside to change, soak in a hot bath, and drink ginger soup.
• Xia Zhiyi and Fu Chi watched Fu Yunyi’s historical romance drama and discussed Fu Yunyi’s taste in scripts.
• Fu Chi asked whether Fu Yunyi had recommended a script to Xia Zhiyi, and Xia Zhiyi said he had referred it to Sister Chen and would review it himself.
• Gu Miaomiao called Xia Zhiyi, and he greeted her gently while realizing the female lead had contacted him of her own accord.

Gu Miaomiao considered whether to work with Xia Zhiyi after he offered her a project and sent her money, while her roommates debated whether he was trustworthy. Xia Zhiyi watched Fu Yunyi’s meeting with Fu Chi and asked about the companies’ year-end gifts before receiving a friend request.

• Gu Miaomiao told her roommates that Mr. Xia’s offer might be real because he had already transferred her money, and they urged her to confirm whether he was Xia Zhiyi.
• Gu Miaomiao admitted she had been too nervous to ask, then said she could add him by phone number and would insist on a contract and protect her safety.
• Xia Zhiyi returned to Fu Chi and learned that Fu Yunyi was paying for extra employee perks to reassure Hangu Group’s staff after recent upheaval.
• Fu Chi explained that the meeting included a shareholder who had once been dismissed from the company, and Xia Zhiyi questioned the man’s appearance and position.
• Xia Zhiyi asked whether he would receive year-end gifts from Hangu and Tianhuan, and Fu Chi assured him he would.
• Xia Zhiyi’s phone vibrated with a friend request.

Xia Zhiyi arranged to meet Gu Miaomiao and planned to help her pursue interior design instead of the stardom dictated by the plot, deliberately challenging the force controlling the story. Meanwhile, Fu Yunyi returned with information about Gu Miaomiao, and Fu Chi asked what he had learned.

• Xia Zhiyi confirmed with Gu Miaomiao that they would meet on Saturday and arranged discreet bodyguard protection for her and her roommate.
• Xia Zhiyi told Fu Chi he had a small favor to ask of a new friend and resolved to help Gu Miaomiao leave the plot’s path to stardom.
• Xia Zhiyi considered the risks of interfering in Gu Miaomiao’s future but chose to provoke the plot’s unseen power.
• Fu Yunyi returned home, learned Fu Chi and Xia Zhiyi had gone out, and later approached Fu Chi with news about Gu Miaomiao.
• Fu Yunyi asked why Fu Chi had investigated a female college student, and Fu Chi said he had become curious before asking what Fu Yunyi found out.

Fu Chi investigated Gu Miaomiao because of a dream and asked Xia Zhiyi to share what he knew. Xia Zhiyi began to reveal that he was an old monster who had lived for many years, and Fu Chi reassured him that he still believed in him.

• Fu Yunyi told Fu Chi and Xia Zhiyi what he had learned about Gu Miaomiao, and Fu Chi asked him to have someone keep watch on her.
• Fu Chi deflected Fu Yunyi's questions by asking when he would bring home a partner, then sent him back to work.
• Fu Chi asked Xia Zhiyi whether he had recognized something about Gu Miaomiao and explained that his investigation was prompted by a dream.
• Fu Chi told Xia Zhiyi he wanted to be there for him if he faced difficulties, even if he could not help.
• Xia Zhiyi warned that the truth might make Fu Chi see him as terrifying and admitted he was an old monster who had lived for many years.
• Fu Chi said he believed in Xia Zhiyi and himself, and that Xia Zhiyi's long life would not change who he was to him.

Xia Zhiyi told Fu Chi that their world was a novel and learned Fu Chi could not remember much about Xia Wanyi’s fate. After reassuring each other about Fu Chi’s identity and their relationship, Xia Zhiyi shared his revised plans and chose to act against Gu Miaomiao directly rather than keep hiding.

• Xia Zhiyi explained to Fu Chi that their world was a novel and asked what Fu Chi knew about Xia Wanyi’s experiences in it.
• Fu Chi said he knew little about Xia Wanyi because his memories had followed Fu Yunyi, while Gu Miaomiao had interacted with her.
• Xia Zhiyi asked whether Fu Chi was still himself after gaining another set of memories, and Fu Chi admitted he did not know.
• Xia Zhiyi reassured Fu Chi that he would not abandon him, and Fu Chi pulled him close.
• Xia Zhiyi told Fu Chi about his plans and asked him to contact the authorities on his behalf and secure their support.
• Xia Zhiyi changed his plans with Li Jing and decided to act against Gu Miaomiao instead of hiding.

Xia Zhiyi changed his plan and decided to enter the fray himself, agreeing to meet Li Jing’s superior. He reassured Fu Chi that his next move would not endanger the nation’s fortune.

• Li Jing chose to keep working with Xia Zhiyi despite the trouble caused by Xia Zhiyi’s sudden change of plan.
• Xia Zhiyi agreed to meet Li Jing’s superior, and Li Jing promised to arrange the meeting.
• Xia Zhiyi told Fu Chi he would stop delaying his plan because Fu Chi had been hurt.
• Xia Zhiyi reassured Fu Chi that he had confirmed his plan could not damage the nation’s fortune.

Xia Zhiyi tried repeatedly to meet Gu Miaomiao, while the plot’s power kept causing mishaps to stop her. After Fu Chi used Fu Yunyi to deliver evidence against Huanyu, Xia Zhiyi finally met Gu Miaomiao at her university library.

• Xia Zhiyi relied on firsthand observation rather than the plot’s descriptions to judge Fu Yunyi and Gu Miaomiao.
• The plot’s power repeatedly caused accidents and obligations that prevented Gu Miaomiao from meeting Xia Zhiyi, while his patience increased her favorability toward him.
• Gu Miaomiao arranged to meet Xia Zhiyi at her university, where they finally met in the library without incident.
• Fu Chi used Fu Yunyi to deliver evidence against Huanyu after earlier attempts to deliver it had failed.
• Xia Zhiyi laughed and said Fu Yunyi would have to serve as a tool for a while.

Fu Chi and Xia Zhiyi confirmed that the Power of the Plot protected Huanyu from being destroyed too early, even when Fu Yunyi moved against it. Xia Zhiyi met Gu Miaomiao, chatted about a game event and offered her roommate gift cards, then turned the conversation to business.

• Fu Chi and Xia Zhiyi concluded that the Power of the Plot would protect Huanyu from Fu Yunyi until the main story had developed.
• Xia Zhiyi met Gu Miaomiao, who told him that her roommate had missed seeing him during the Jianghu online event.
• Xia Zhiyi offered Gu Miaomiao two game top-up cards for her roommate as a belated surprise gift.
• After exchanging pleasantries, Xia Zhiyi grew serious and said it was time to talk business.

Gu Miaomiao reviewed and signed a work contract with Xia Zhiyi after he answered her questions, while her friend Jingjing teased her about him. The meeting ended with a falling pendant light, which Xia Zhiyi caught before it could injure anyone, and Gu Miaomiao checked on Jingjing.

• Gu Miaomiao and Jingjing reviewed Xia Zhiyi's contract and discussed his thoughtfulness and Gu Miaomiao's recent bad luck.
• Jingjing suggested Gu Miaomiao might date Xia Zhiyi, but Gu Miaomiao said he already had a boyfriend.
• Xia Zhiyi returned and answered Gu Miaomiao's questions about the contract.
• Gu Miaomiao signed the contract, and she and Xia Zhiyi agreed to a happy partnership.
• A pendant light fell above them, and Xia Zhiyi caught it with a tablecloth before anyone was hurt.
• Gu Miaomiao rushed to check whether Jingjing had been injured in the fall.

Xia Zhiyi saved Jingjing from a falling chandelier while meeting Gu Miaomiao, then helped treat her ankle and finalized their private collaboration. He returned home to Fu Chi with the contract, pleased that the meeting had gone smoothly.

• Xia Zhiyi caught the falling chandelier by wrapping it in fabric, preventing it from injuring Gu Miaomiao, Jingjing, or the shop owner.
• Xia Zhiyi noticed Jingjing had twisted her ankle and offered to treat it, then reassured the shop owner and accepted a bag of coffee beans.
• Xia Zhiyi helped put Jingjing's ankle back into place and told Gu Miaomiao they could discuss arrangements online.
• Jingjing gushed about Xia Zhiyi after he left, while Gu Miaomiao worried about her recent run of accidents and went to secure the contract.
• Xia Zhiyi returned home without incident and told Fu Chi that things had gone smoothly.

Xia Zhiyi anticipated that the plot would try to force Gu Miaomiao away from her planned career and arranged for Fu Chi or Fu Yunyi to help if she needed money or connections. When Gu Miaomiao's mother fell seriously ill and her father was injured in a car accident, Fu Yunyi had already paid their hospital bills, leaving Xia Zhiyi to help explain his intervention.

• Xia Zhiyi discussed with Fu Chi how the plot might pressure Gu Miaomiao and asked him or Fu Yunyi to help if she needed money or connections.
• Gu Miaomiao's mother suddenly collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, where she needed surgery and costly recovery care.
• Gu Miaomiao's father got into a traffic accident while hurrying to the hospital, and doctors were still treating him.
• Fu Yunyi told Xia Zhiyi that he had arranged for the hospital bills to be covered before thinking through how to explain his help to Gu Miaomiao.
• Xia Zhiyi told Fu Yunyi to follow through and, if Gu Miaomiao asked, say that Xia Zhiyi had mentioned her.

Xia Zhiyi won the higher-ups’ trust by demonstrating his computer skills and negotiated national protection for Xia Wanyi and Xia Zhen in exchange for helping build advanced cybersecurity systems. He declined a permanent government position so he could pursue acting, then turned his attention back to preventing Gu Miaomiao from being driven down a dark path.

• Xia Zhiyi worried that an invisible force was ruthlessly pushing Gu Miaomiao toward her destined role and decided he could not let it continue.
• Xu Liuyi and the base leader praised Xia Zhiyi and Li Jing’s technical abilities, while Xia Zhiyi declined Xu Liuyi’s offer to join the staff permanently because he still wanted to act.
• Xia Zhiyi agreed to help build the Heavenly Net and a far-ahead firewall in exchange for official protection for Xia Wanyi and Xia Zhen.
• After the leaders left, Li Jing praised Xia Zhiyi for earning their trust and getting the negotiations settled quickly.

After Xia Zhen fought off human traffickers, Xia Zhiyi tracked them down with a program and impressed Xu Liuyi by upgrading the systems he had breached. He discussed building the Heavenly Net with Li Jing and asked him to keep an eye on Xia Wanyi, leaving Xia Wanyi unaware that Xia Zhiyi might arrange special protection for her.

• Xia Zhen fought back when human traffickers tried to abduct her, using the self-defense skills Xia Zhiyi had arranged for her to learn.
• Xia Zhiyi used a program to find information on the traffickers and patched vulnerabilities in the surveillance and traffic systems in front of Xu Liuyi.
• Xu Liuyi and her colleagues tested the upgraded systems and realized Xia Zhiyi could strengthen Xia Country's firewall with a counterattack function.
• Xia Zhiyi told Li Jing that the Heavenly Net could be built in two years and explained that he had previously given a longer estimate so others would take him seriously.
• Xia Zhiyi asked Li Jing to look after Xia Wanyi, while keeping his plans to protect her from Xia Wanyi herself.

Xia Zhiyi reflected on the layers of protection he had arranged for Xia Wanyi and Xia Zhen, including his plan to temporarily shelter them with national fortune. He called Xia Wanyi to check on her and Xia Zhen, then said he would pick them up after his finals.

• Xia Zhiyi considered the protections surrounding Xia Wanyi and Xia Zhen and his plan to connect them temporarily to national fortune.
• Li Jing suggested Xia Wanyi might work at his company, but declined Xia Zhiyi's invitation to meet Fu Chi.
• Xia Zhiyi called Xia Wanyi and told her he had discussed a confidential collaboration.
• Xia Wanyi said Xia Zhen was doing her homework and described how the recent danger had made them both anxious.
• Xia Zhiyi told Xia Wanyi he would pick her and Xia Zhen up after his finals, despite her saying they could travel together safely.

Xia Zhiyi agreed to several work opportunities, including a promotional variety show for Chasing and a later travel livestream with Fu Yunyi, while arranging to spend time apart from Fu Chi. At Orchid TV’s recording, Fu Yunyi praised Xia Zhiyi’s skills, drawing the host’s attention to him.

• Xia Zhiyi agreed to let Jianghu use his outfit for promotion and offered to record a New Year greeting video instead of joining its livestream.
• Xu Chen arranged for Xia Zhiyi to attend Orchid TV’s variety show and confirmed he would join a travel livestream with Fu Yunyi at the end of January.
• Xia Zhiyi told Fu Chi he would be away for at least four days, and Fu Chi said he would use the time to finish work at the company.
• Xia Zhiyi finished his exams and brought Xia Wanyi and Xia Zhen to stay at his apartment before recording the Orchid TV show.
• Fu Yunyi impressed the show’s guests with a backflip, then credited Xia Zhiyi as his teacher and prompted the host to praise Xia Zhiyi’s videos.

After his variety-show appearance, Xia Zhiyi discussed the next day's livestream travel show and the possibility that viewers might discover he was dating Fu Chi. He decided not to hide his relationship or change where filming would begin, while Old Master Fu considered whether to stay off camera.

• Xia Zhiyi told Fu Yunyi that he was not aiming to become a traffic star and saw no need to steal the spotlight on variety shows.
• Fu Yunyi warned Xia Zhiyi that filming at the old residence could lead viewers to suspect he and Fu Chi were together, but Xia Zhiyi said he did not need fans who expected him to be single.
• Fu Chi called Xia Zhiyi, and Xia Zhiyi told Fu Yunyi that his youngest uncle was busy and would not talk to him.
• Fu Yunyi discussed preparations for the livestream travel show with Xia Zhiyi, then checked his packed luggage repeatedly after returning to his apartment.
• Old Master Fu asked Xia Zhiyi whether he should stay out of the livestream, and Xia Zhiyi said the crew could avoid filming him if he preferred.

Xia Zhiyi told Fu Chi about his upcoming four-day variety show trip and asked him to keep an eye on Gu Miaomiao while he was away. He reassured Fu Chi that his recent accidents were part of the plan to break the Power of the Plot and that he had a backup plan to keep himself alive.

• Xia Zhiyi told Fu Chi that Gu Miaomiao's family situation was stabilizing with Fu Yunyi's help and asked Fu Chi to watch over things while he filmed the variety show.
• Xia Zhiyi and Fu Chi observed that Fu Yunyi had fallen for Gu Miaomiao, though Fu Yunyi had not realized it and Gu Miaomiao was focused on her family.
• Fu Chi asked whether Xia Zhiyi's bad luck would stop once his plan succeeded, and Xia Zhiyi said he was sure it would.
• Xia Zhiyi embraced Fu Chi and explained that the Power of the Plot was trying to remove him, but his connection to the nation's fortune limited the danger.
• Xia Zhiyi reassured Fu Chi that he would avoid real danger and had arranged a backup plan in case anything unexpected happened.

The Special Trip crew arrived at Xia Zhiyi’s home for a three-day livestream special and began filming him over an ordinary breakfast with Fu Chi. Xia Zhiyi greeted viewers, while the other guests’ livestreams remained offline because their crews could not reach them.

• The Special Trip crew arrived early at the Fu family's old residence and asked Xia Zhiyi if they could film his breakfast.
• Xia Zhiyi agreed on the condition that they not show anyone else's face, then invited the crew to eat with him and Fu Chi.
• The livestream opened on Xia Zhiyi’s breakfast with the crew, and viewers began asking about the guests and the show.
• Old Liu explained that the special would feature six guests with separate livestream rooms, and that the other crews had not yet reached their guests.
• Xia Zhiyi waved to the viewers and introduced himself.

Xia Zhiyi introduced himself on camera and promoted Chasing the Front Line before leaving with the production crew. At the hospital, Gu Miaomiao struggled to care for both parents, discovered her phone might be broken, and used her father's damaged phone to vote for Fu Yunyi in a livestream.

• Xia Zhiyi shifted into his character Yan Yan during his introduction, startling Old Liu and promoting Chasing the Front Line.
• Fu Chi watched Xia Zhiyi leave for work, then arranged for a driver so he could go to the office.
• Gu Miaomiao cared for her hospitalized mother and father while worrying about their medical expenses and her own exhaustion.
• Gu Miaomiao's phone failed to turn on, so she borrowed her father's shattered but usable phone.
• Gu Miaomiao searched for Fu Yunyi, opened his livestream, and voted for him before leaving the stream.

Gu Miaomiao was detained after accidentally witnessing a private business meeting, and Fu Chi arranged for Fu Yunyi to handle her release. After filming, Fu Yunyi told Xia Zhiyi that Xu Chen had contacted him about the incident, then went to speak with him privately.

• Gu Miaomiao went to an upscale club to discuss a part-time job with her senior schoolmate but entered the wrong room and saw Zhao Changye meeting with celebrities and other people.
• The people in the room stopped Gu Miaomiao from leaving, and Zhao Changye had her detained.
• Assistant Li informed Fu Chi that Gu Miaomiao was being held, and Fu Chi sent someone to demand that Zhao Changye release her, invoking her connection to Fu Yunyi.
• Fu Chi contacted Xu Chen and asked her to have Fu Yunyi call him, while Xia Zhiyi noticed Fu Yunyi leave the filming area and later followed him outside.
• After filming ended, Fu Yunyi told Xia Zhiyi that Xu Chen had contacted him about something and promised to explain after they returned inside.
• Xia Zhiyi waited in his room at the guesthouse until someone knocked on his door.