Chapter Summaries

Ji Ran gently rejected Lu Zhaozhao, while Zhao Pingchuan wrestled with his growing fear of losing Ji Ran and wondered whether Ji Ran could love a man. Meanwhile, Gu Xingye tracked Jiang Jinyue to an apartment across from Zhao Pingchuan’s and waited there after finding it empty.

• Ji Ran rejected Lu Zhaozhao’s request to try developing romantic feelings, and she agreed they could remain friends.
• On the drive home, Ji Ran asked Zhao Pingchuan whether unchanging love existed, and Zhao Pingchuan said it did while privately fearing Ji Ran would someday leave him.
• Zhao Pingchuan wondered whether Ji Ran might like men, then dismissed the possibility that Ji Ran could see him as anything but family.
• Gu Xingye located Jiang Jinyue’s apartment and discovered Zhao Pingchuan lived across the hall, prompting him to investigate their connection.
• Gu Xingye and his men broke into Jiang Jinyue’s empty apartment, and Gu Xingye ordered them to wait for him there.

Ji Ran warned Jiang Jinyue that Gu Xingye had found his apartment, but Jiang returned and was forced to leave with Gu. Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran realized Gu’s discovery threatened their peaceful life and promised to face him together.

• Ji Ran spotted people searching Jiang Jinyue’s room, warned Jiang, and then went to Hengtu.
• Jiang returned to his apartment, where Gu Xingye demanded he come back with him, and Jiang reluctantly left with Gu.
• Gu Xingye suspected Zhao Pingchuan had influenced Jiang, then vowed to investigate and wondered about Zhao’s involvement.
• Ji Ran and Zhao returned home, recognized that Gu would likely target them, and Ji Ran told Zhao he would protect him.

Gu Xingye targeted Hengtu by cutting off investment and undercutting its prices, while Zhao Pingchuan insisted the company compete on product quality. After working late, Zhao Pingchuan carried his sleeping brother Ji Ran to bed, struggling to suppress his desire to kiss him.

• Chen Qi learned from Zhao Pingchuan that Gu Xingye had pressured Hengtu's investors because he blamed Zhao Pingchuan for Jiang Jinyue's troubles.
• Gu Xingye began poaching Hengtu's customers by offering a competing product at seventy percent of Hengtu's price.
• Zhao Pingchuan reassured Hengtu's staff that its system's quality and user experience would outlast Gu's cheaper product, and refused to lower Hengtu's prices.
• Ji Ran joined Zhao Pingchuan in the study late at night and fell asleep beside him while he worked.
• Zhao Pingchuan resisted kissing Ji Ran, carried him to his bedroom, tucked him in, and left.

Jiang Jinyue discovered that Gu Xingye had been investigating Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran, and tried to clear Zhao Pingchuan of helping him escape. Gu Xingye refused to believe him, leaving Jiang Jinyue questioning why he was being kept there while Gu Xingye hardened himself against doubt.

• Jiang Jinyue found Gu Xingye’s files on Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran and memorized Ji Ran’s contact information to avoid implicating them.
• Jiang Jinyue told Gu Xingye that Zhao Pingchuan had not helped him run away, but Gu Xingye suspected Zhao Pingchuan had pressured him to speak.
• Gu Xingye pointed out that Zhao Pingchuan lived with someone, and Jiang Jinyue challenged him for suspecting they were romantically involved.
• Jiang Jinyue asked why Gu Xingye kept him there despite hating and distrusting him, but Gu Xingye stayed silent.
• Gu Xingye privately recognized he was taking his anger out on others, then resolved to remove anyone he believed stood between him and Jiang Jinyue.

Hengtu’s employees stayed united as Zhao Pingchuan weathered Gu Xingye’s competition, while Ji Ran celebrated his promotion with Zhao. Less than two months later, Hengtu’s product won customers back, leaving Gu Xingye furious at his failed attempt to crush the company.

• Lin Zhou and Hengtu’s colleagues encouraged one another to keep working despite losing customers to the Gu Group.
• Ji Ran told Zhao Pingchuan he had been promoted, and Zhao congratulated him and offered to celebrate.
• Ji Ran’s colleagues agreed to invite Zhao Pingchuan to a celebratory meal, and Zhao met Ji Ran with a bouquet of sunflowers after work.
• Zhao Pingchuan told Ji Ran that Hengtu had lost forty percent of its customers but was holding steady, and Ji Ran praised Zhao while criticizing Gu Xingye’s domineering behavior.
• Less than two months later, former customers returned to Hengtu’s product, and the employees celebrated its success.
• Gu Xingye learned that the Gu Group had failed to beat Hengtu, blamed Zhao Pingchuan, and angrily dismissed his secretary.

Gu Xingye's anger led him to assault Jiang Jinyue, who fell ill and became unresponsive after waking in the hospital. Later, Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan shared a joyful morning building snowmen, leaving their bond visibly close.

• Gu Xingye accused Jiang Jinyue of being allied with Zhao Pingchuan, then forced himself on him when Jiang Jinyue refused to react.
• Gu Xingye took the unconscious Jiang Jinyue to the hospital after he developed a high fever and apologized when he woke, but Jiang Jinyue remained unresponsive.
• Ji Ran invited Zhao Pingchuan to build snowmen after seeing the first snow in Li City, and Zhao Pingchuan agreed to keep him company.
• Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan built two snowmen, dressed them in their own hat and scarf, and took pictures together.

On the first snowy day, Zhao Pingchuan confessed his romantic feelings to Ji Ran, who returned them, and they officially became boyfriends. They spent the night together in Zhao Pingchuan’s bed, happy and excited about their new relationship.

• Zhao Pingchuan carried Ji Ran home and asked what he thought about two men being together.
• Zhao Pingchuan confessed that he liked Ji Ran, and Ji Ran asked him to wait until they got home before answering.
• At home, Zhao Pingchuan clarified that he meant romantic love, and Ji Ran kissed him and said he felt the same way.
• Zhao Pingchuan asked Ji Ran to be his boyfriend, and Ji Ran agreed, promising he never wanted them to be apart.
• Ji Ran joined Zhao Pingchuan in bed, and they cuddled together as they stayed awake, excited about becoming a couple.

Zhao Pingchuan secured investment from Prosperous Age Venture Capital and led Hengtu Technology through rapid growth, bringing him back into the public eye. In an interview, he explained Hengtu’s mission, strategy, and steady approach to expansion.

• Zhao Pingchuan met Sheng Qingyun, who explained that Prosperous Age Venture Capital wanted Hengtu as an ally against the Gu Group.
• Zhao Pingchuan accepted Prosperous Age Venture Capital’s generous investment after clarifying that Hengtu would compete only in its own sector.
• With the new funding, Zhao Pingchuan expanded Hengtu, which grew into a leading niche SaaS company and completed its Series A financing three years after its founding.
• Zhao Pingchuan gave a media interview about Hengtu’s focus on practical digital tools for small and medium-sized businesses.
• Zhao Pingchuan outlined plans to deepen Hengtu’s three existing markets, develop lightweight AI applications, and grow steadily without chasing inflated valuations.

Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran made their relationship public to their friends and colleagues, who accepted and celebrated them. After they ran into Gu Xingye and the frail, apparently confined Jiang Jinyue, Zhao Pingchuan reassured Ji Ran that he would never let their relationship reach such a painful point.

• Zhao Pingchuan finished his interview, and Ji Ran praised him as they left together, openly affectionate despite Lin Zhou's suspicions.
• Chen Qi asked Zhao Pingchuan whether he and Ji Ran were together, and he confirmed their mutual feelings and let her share the news.
• Zhao Pingchuan hosted dinner with their friends and colleagues, officially announcing that Ji Ran was both his little brother and his boyfriend.
• Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan encountered Gu Xingye and Jiang Jinyue outside the restaurant, and Ji Ran noticed Jiang Jinyue's frail appearance and exchanged a brief, understanding look with him.
• Ji Ran worried that Gu Xingye had taken away Jiang Jinyue's freedom, and Zhao Pingchuan held Ji Ran close before they went home.

Zhao Pingchuan and Sheng Qingyun launched a coordinated campaign that battered Gu Group, while Gu Xingye discovered Jiang Jinyue had swallowed a bottle of pills and rushed him to the hospital. Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran celebrated Hengtu’s progress together, but Jiang Jinyue’s fate remained uncertain as Gu Xingye waited outside the emergency room.

• Lu Zhaozhao and her colleagues discussed Zhao Pingchuan’s interview and his relationship with Ji Ran.
• Zhao Pingchuan and Sheng Qingyun coordinated an attack on Gu Group, and Prosperous Age Venture Capital, Hengtu, and their partners drove down its stock, disrupted its business, and triggered a regulatory suspension.
• Jiang Jinyue swallowed the pills he had hidden, hoping to escape his confinement, and later lay unresponsive in bed.
• Gu Xingye found Jiang Jinyue, panicked when he realized what had happened, and called for a doctor; Jiang Jinyue was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.
• Zhao Pingchuan told Ji Ran that the campaign was under control, and the two spent the night together at Hengtu.

After Jiang Jinyue woke from his suicide attempt, Gu Xingye tried to care for him while managing a corporate crisis, but Jiang remained emotionally distant. Gu later saw Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran together and, consumed by jealousy, decided to test how important Ji Ran was to Zhao.

• Jiang Jinyue woke in the hospital after his stomach was pumped, and he told Gu Xingye he would not run away so Gu would leave him alone.
• Gu Xingye returned to work and spent half a month stabilizing the company after Prosperous Age and Hengtu joined forces against Gu.
• After Jiang Jinyue was discharged, Gu Xingye brought him a kitten, but Jiang rejected it because he did not want to trap it in the house with him.
• Gu Xingye drove recklessly to clear his head, then spotted Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran walking together and watched them kiss.
• Zhao Pingchuan noticed a car watching them but continued walking with Ji Ran, while Gu Xingye vowed to find out how important Ji Ran was to him.

Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan revisited their first apartment, which Zhao Pingchuan had secretly bought and put in Ji Ran’s name. As Ji Ran grew more confident at receptions alongside Zhao Pingchuan, Gu Xingye watched them and began plotting to make Zhao Pingchuan lose the person he loved.

• Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan returned to their old apartment, where Zhao Pingchuan revealed he had bought it and kept it furnished as it was when they lived there.
• Zhao Pingchuan told Ji Ran that the apartment deed was in Ji Ran’s name and promised to let him manage their money.
• Zhao Pingchuan brought Ji Ran to receptions and introduced him as his boyfriend, helping him gain confidence and build his own professional connections.
• Ji Ran realized Zhao Pingchuan wanted others to recognize his abilities and help him step onto a bigger stage.
• Gu Xingye saw Ji Ran with Zhao Pingchuan and began considering how he could make Zhao Pingchuan suffer the loss of someone he loved.

Ji Ran drove Zhao Pingchuan to a business negotiation, unaware that Gu Xingye had arranged a truck to strike when Zhao returned to pick him up. A runaway truck crashed into traffic near the hotel, and Zhao feared Ji Ran was trapped in one of the wrecked cars.

• Ji Ran dropped Zhao Pingchuan off at the hotel, then drove downtown to collect the watch Zhao had ordered for him.
• A follower reported Ji Ran's movements to Gu Xingye, who ordered them to wait until Zhao could witness the attack and make the truck appear at the right time.
• Gu Xingye tracked Jiang Jinyue as he went out to choose a birthday gift for his eldest uncle.
• Ji Ran collected and admired his new Patek Philippe watch, then put it away and wondered how Zhao's negotiations were going.
• After the negotiations, Zhao waited outside the hotel for Ji Ran, but a truck rolled down a slope and crashed into cars at the intersection.
• Zhao ran toward the wreckage, fearing Ji Ran was inside the crushed car, while police began securing the vehicles for rescue.

Ji Ran reunited with Zhao Pingchuan after a staged crash, and comforted him through the terror of thinking Ji Ran had died. After explaining that Jiang Jinyue had warned him and diverted him from the car, Ji Ran worried that Zhao Pingchuan might still share Jiang Jinyue’s self-destructive urges, but Zhao Pingchuan reassured him that he had recovered.

• Ji Ran found Zhao Pingchuan at the crash scene and held him until he calmed down, while rescuers pulled the injured driver, Jiang Jinyue, from the car.
• Zhao Pingchuan suspected Gu Xingye was behind the crash and took Ji Ran home, where he kissed him desperately and described watching the truck hit the car.
• Ji Ran explained that Jiang Jinyue had called to warn him someone planned to hurt him and told him to leave his car behind and find Zhao Pingchuan.
• Ji Ran questioned why Jiang Jinyue had risked his life, and Zhao Pingchuan said Jiang Jinyue seemed deeply self-destructive and might view death as a release.
• Ji Ran feared Zhao Pingchuan understood those feelings because he might still want to die, but Zhao Pingchuan said he had meant his past state and promised he was better now.

After Jiang Jinyue was badly injured in a staged truck crash, Gu Xingye feared losing him and realized Jiang wanted to leave him for reasons unrelated to Zhao Pingchuan or Ji Ran. Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran visited Jiang in the hospital, while Zhao warned Gu Xingye that he would still hold him accountable for the attempted murder.

• Gu Xingye learned that Jiang Jinyue had been hit by a truck and rushed to the hospital, where doctors reported multiple fractures and a moderate concussion but said Jiang would survive.
• The bodyguards' account revealed that Jiang had slipped away from them, taken Ji Ran's car, and driven toward the crash site; police accepted the driver's claim that the crash resulted from negligence.
• Gu Xingye watched over the unconscious Jiang and resolved to stop pursuing his business schemes and other grievances if Jiang recovered.
• After seeing news of the crash, Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan agreed to visit Jiang, who apologized to them in the hospital and heard Ji Ran and Zhao say they did not blame him.
• Gu Xingye gave Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan space to talk with Jiang, and Zhao warned Gu that he would settle the score for what he had done when the opportunity came.

Ji Ran planned a home-buying anniversary with Zhao Pingchuan to reassure him after the accident, and Zhao Pingchuan celebrated with roses and a promise of a future together. The chapter ended with Ji Ran nervously telling Zhao Pingchuan that his gift was himself.

• Ji Ran recognized that Zhao Pingchuan still suffered from nightmares about being abandoned after the accident and decided to help him feel secure.
• Ji Ran proposed buying a home together and putting both their names on the deed, and Zhao Pingchuan eagerly agreed.
• Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan spent the day viewing houses, carefully comparing the properties they liked.
• Zhao Pingchuan gave Ji Ran ninety-nine red roses for their anniversary, and they toasted to the rest of their lives together.
• After Zhao Pingchuan showered, Ji Ran told him that his anniversary gift was himself.

Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan became intimate after Ji Ran insisted his desire came from love, not sympathy, and Zhao Pingchuan finally let go of his doubts. The next morning, they went to work together, while Ji Ran learned Zhao Pingchuan had slept peacefully and Zhou Jianghua approved of their relationship.

• Ji Ran told Zhao Pingchuan he loved him and wanted to be with him, dispelling Zhao Pingchuan's fear that Ji Ran acted out of pity.
• Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan spent the night together, and Zhao Pingchuan slept peacefully for the first time in a long while.
• The next morning, Zhao Pingchuan checked that Ji Ran was well and told him he had slept pretty well.
• Zhao Pingchuan prepared breakfast and drove Ji Ran to work, where they ran into Zhou Jianghua.
• Zhou Jianghua told Ji Ran that he thought Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan made a great couple, and Ji Ran encouraged him to find love too.

Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan brought home a white Shiba Inu, named him Little White, and built him into their shared life. After moving into a home with a yard, they agreed they could get a marriage certificate abroad as a keepsake, while Zhao Pingchuan quietly began planning a proposal and wedding.

• Zhao Pingchuan asked Ji Ran whether he wanted a pet, and Ji Ran agreed to bring home the Shiba Inu Zhao had found.
• Zhao Pingchuan bought the puppy, and Ji Ran met him at home and named him Little White.
• Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran cared for Little White together as he grew, and they chose a home with a yard for him.
• After seeing their names together on the property deed, Zhao Pingchuan suggested getting a marriage certificate abroad, and Ji Ran agreed that it would only be a keepsake.
• Zhao Pingchuan began privately planning a proposal, rings, and a wedding banquet while Ji Ran imagined how to arrange their new home.

Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran finished settling into their new home and welcomed their friends for a meal, where everyone admired the house and Little White. After their guests left, the couple shared how much they loved their life together and went to sleep holding each other.

• Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran furnished their house with a home gym and theater, then moved in after months of work.
• Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran hosted their friends, and Little White initially hid from the unfamiliar guests before warming up to them.
• Chen Mo followed Little White around while Li Xuan and the others explored the home theater.
• Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran served their guests a homemade meal, and their friends praised the cooking and Zhao Pingchuan's care for Ji Ran.
• After their friends left, Zhao Pingchuan and Ji Ran tidied the house, held each other in bed, and said they loved their life together.

A year later, Zhao Pingchuan took Hengtu Technology public and gave Ji Ran a twenty percent stake, while Gu Xingye watched them together and reflected on letting Jiang Jinyue go. Jiang Jinyue had gone abroad to continue his studies, and Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan chose to focus on their own life together.

• Zhao Pingchuan celebrated Hengtu Technology's public listing and transferred twenty percent of his shares to Ji Ran, who agreed to sign the share transfer agreement.
• Ji Ran joked about being rich and living off Zhao Pingchuan, then said he still wanted to work; the couple shared affection with Little White.
• Gu Xingye watched the livestream and remembered telling Jiang Jinyue he was free, asking only that he keep his contact information.
• Jiang Jinyue left without returning to the villa, and Gu Xingye stopped the Jiang Family from searching for him.
• After six months of treatment, Jiang Jinyue went abroad to continue his studies, and Ji Ran and Zhao Pingchuan learned that Gu Xingye had let him go.
• Ji Ran wondered what would happen between Gu Xingye and Jiang Jinyue, then agreed with Zhao Pingchuan that they should leave it to them and live their own lives.