Chapter Summaries

Lu Xunji refused his parents’ request to speak with Xie Ji, then admitted his decision to Xie Ji, who said he was not ready to talk to them. Meanwhile, Lu Xunji skipped registration at the Imperial Military Academy and signed up for the special exam alongside Xie Ji, leaving the academy’s admissions teachers baffled.

• Lu Xunji ended the call with Father Xie and Mother Xie without letting them speak to the sleeping Xie Ji.
• Lu Xunji reflected on his instinct to isolate Xie Ji, wrote himself a reminder not to uproot him from the love he had grown up with, and asked whether he wanted to see his parents.
• Xie Ji said he did not yet know how to talk to the Xie parents, then went back to sleep with Lu Xunji.
• During their three days at the hotel, Xie Ji studied English with Lu Xunji, who repeatedly hugged and kissed him.
• Imperial Military Academy admissions teachers waited for Lu Xunji, but learned that he had signed up for the special exam on StarNet beside Xie Ji instead of registering at the academy.

Xie Ji struggled with Lu Xunji’s anxious advances and questioned whether his concern for him meant he loved him. After eating ten Divine Sense Fruits, he saw fragments of memories involving Ji Qing, Di Mang, and Ji Qing’s senior brother.

• Lu Xunji repeatedly kissed Xie Ji and admitted that he wanted to go further, but Xie Ji refused and went outside for air.
• Xie Ji told Little Black that he felt sorry for Lu Xunji but could not tell whether he loved him, and he did not want to be intimate without genuine feelings.
• Little Black offered Xie Ji a Divine Sense Fruit, and Xie Ji ate all ten he had collected.
• Xie Ji saw a memory of a golden-haired immortal called Master playing Go with A-Mang, who kissed him after hearing that he missed Kunlun and his Senior Brother.
• Xie Ji saw another memory in which Ji Qing admitted to putting itching powder in Kunlun Academy’s dining hall to defend Di Mang from bullies.

Xie Ji woke from a disturbing dream with Lu Xunji beside him, then took the Imperial Military Academy’s special examination. He astonished the livestream viewers by using divination to answer the written test with startling speed and accuracy.

• Xie Ji woke from a dream filled with voices calling him Ji Qing and Xie Ji, and Lu Xunji comforted him.
• Lu Xunji explained that he had found Xie Ji asleep on a park bench and carried him back.
• Mu Yao, Ji Shi, and others learned that Lu Xunji was taking the special examination and watched its livestream.
• An examiner confiscated Xie Ji’s I Ching, dice, divination cards, astrology guide, and peachwood sword before letting him enter the examination room.
• Xie Ji counted on his fingers to divine answers to the written test, impressing viewers with his speed and accuracy.

After ranking sixth in the written exam and passing the medical examination, Xie Ji prepared for the practical assessment while Lu Xunji and the military academy instructors took an interest in his results. Xie Ji left the venue with Lu Xunji and his friends, as students debated his background and rallied behind him online.

• Lu Xunji placed first with full marks, while Xie Ji ranked sixth after answering the war strategy essay with an English sentence Lu Xunji had taught him.
• Xie Ji passed his medical examination, and instructors from several military academy departments argued over which one should recruit Lu Xunji.
• Lu Xunji read Xie Ji's medical report, teased him about its measurements, and offered to make him pork liver soup for his iron deficiency.
• Mu Yao, Ji Shi, and Zhou Heyu met Xie Ji outside the venue and accompanied him and Lu Xunji to a nearby restaurant.
• Students speculated about Xie Ji's background and mocked or defended him online, with one commenter rallying support for the blond.

Xie Ji prepared for the dangerous practical combat assessment with Lu Xunji and entered the primeval forest alongside him. After using a bagua compass to divine a route, Xie Ji led them toward several soldiers carrying passes.

• Lu Xunji tried to get Xie Ji to eat iron-rich food, while Ji Shi secretly took the spinach Xie Ji refused.
• Ji Shi, Zhou Heyu, and Mu Yao gave Xie Ji weapons for the assessment, and Shang Yan hurried over to wish him well before he entered.
• Xie Ji learned that the practical assessment required six candidates to cross a primeval forest while facing soldiers, wild beasts, and other dangers to obtain a pass.
• Lu Xunji refused another candidate's request to team up and told Xie Ji to stay close to him.
• Xie Ji used his bagua compass to pick a route where soldiers carrying passes were located, and Lu Xunji led him that way.

During the assessment trek, Lu Xunji cared for the exhausted Xie Ji, found clean water, and rested with him at their campsite. After Lu Xunji woke from a short sleep, he took over watch and urged Xie Ji to rest.

• Xie Ji refused to drink the last water until he shared it with Lu Xunji mouth to mouth.
• Lu Xunji changed their route plan and led Xie Ji to a nearby campsite to rest.
• As Lu Xunji went scouting, Xie Ji wondered whether Lu Xunji truly liked him or only saw him as a way to ease his anxiety.
• Lu Xunji returned with two water bladders, and Xie Ji filtered the water before they ate.
• Lu Xunji fell asleep with his head in Xie Ji's lap, then woke after two hours and took over watch.

Xie Ji and Lu Xunji searched the primeval forest for a pass while running low on supplies, but their attacks on patrolling soldiers yielded no pass or canned food. When a fleeing examinee led several soldiers toward them, Lu Xunji rushed in to fight.

• Xie Ji slept for six hours while Lu Xunji kept watch, then they continued through the forest and evaded patrolling soldiers.
• As supplies dwindled on the third day, Xie Ji and Lu Xunji began hunting soldiers, but found no pass after taking down several of them.
• Xie Ji complained about surviving on compressed biscuits and nutrient solution, and Lu Xunji seriously offered to cut meat from an unconscious soldier before Xie Ji refused.
• A bedraggled examinee ran toward them with four or five patrolling soldiers chasing him, and Lu Xunji charged out to attack the soldiers.

Lu Xunji and Xie Ji fought off a patrol to obtain food and a pass, and Lu Xunji gave Xie Ji preserved plum candy before kissing him. They left with the pass, while Xie Ji shared some food with a stranded examinee.

• Xie Ji and Lu Xunji fought the patrol soldiers, and Lu Xunji was grazed by a bullet while protecting Xie Ji.
• Lu Xunji searched the unconscious soldiers, found meat, two pieces of preserved plum candy, and a pass, then gave Xie Ji a candy.
• A dirt-covered examinee asked Lu Xunji and Xie Ji to take him along, but Lu Xunji refused.
• Xie Ji gave the examinee compressed biscuits and a can of food, telling him to be more careful when stealing.
• Lu Xunji kissed Xie Ji and tasted the preserved plum candy from his mouth.

Xie Ji cared for Lu Xunji’s serious arm wound as they crossed the forest, and the two eventually obtained a second pass. After Lu Xunji confessed he liked being needed and kissed Xie Ji, Xie Ji asked what their relationship was, and Lu Xunji asked what he thought.

• Xie Ji treated Lu Xunji’s badly wounded arm by a stream and stayed awake for hours while Lu Xunji recovered.
• Xie Ji tried to get passes from patrolling soldiers by offering to tell their fortunes, but Lu Xunji had to defeat them and take their supplies.
• On their seventh day in the forest, Xie Ji and Lu Xunji obtained a second pass and planned to find their bearings the next day.
• Lu Xunji told Xie Ji he liked feeling needed by him, then kissed him despite Xie Ji protesting about their dirt and lack of toothbrushing.
• Xie Ji asked Lu Xunji what they were, and Lu Xunji asked him what he thought.

Xie Ji apologized after Lu Xunji explained how Xie Ji had hurt him and offered to let Xie Ji control him. Xie Ji reassured Lu Xunji that he wanted to be his friend, but their conversation ended abruptly when toxic miasma rolled in and they fled through the fog.

• Lu Xunji reminded Xie Ji that he had once dismissed their intimacy, then said he needed time to understand his feelings and warned Xie Ji not to expect too much.
• Xie Ji apologized, and Lu Xunji offered to let him control and use him because he was starved for love.
• Xie Ji rejected Lu Xunji's offer and affirmed that he was a person, his friend, and someone who deserved to get better.
• Xie Ji embraced Lu Xunji and apologized again, and Lu Xunji said he had already forgiven him.
• Lu Xunji noticed that toxic miasma was approaching, took Xie Ji's hand and bag, and hurried with him away as the fog swallowed the rock behind them.

Xie Ji and Lu Xunji became trapped in a swamp as poisonous miasma pursued them, forcing Xie Ji to leave Lu Xunji behind while he sought shelter. After returning through the miasma, Xie Ji pulled Lu Xunji from the mire, but both were left exhausted and injured.

• Xie Ji sank into a soft patch of swamp, and Lu Xunji became trapped when he helped pull Xie Ji free.
• Lu Xunji told Xie Ji to escape with the supplies, while Xie Ji tied him to a tree and made him a crude gas mask.
• Xie Ji fled to a dry cave, made a gas mask for himself, and waited for the miasma to thin.
• Xie Ji followed the blood trail back and found Lu Xunji unconscious and half-submerged in the swamp.
• Xie Ji used the rope to drag Lu Xunji onto solid ground, then collapsed beside him, determined to get him out.

Xie Ji carried the badly injured Lu Xunji through the forest, begging him to stay awake and promising to treat him well. They reached the finish line and passed the assessment, but Xie Ji panicked when rescuers tried to separate them and was sedated.

• Xie Ji carried Lu Xunji on his back and used the map to find the way forward.
• Xie Ji apologized to Lu Xunji and pleaded with him not to fall asleep as they crossed the forest.
• Two teachers told Xie Ji they had reached the finish line and that both had passed the assessment.
• Xie Ji fought the rescuers when they tried to take Lu Xunji from him, so doctors restrained and sedated him.
• As Xie Ji lay on the ground, he repeatedly murmured for Lu Xunji to get out.

After Xie Ji carried Lu Xunji out of the special exam, both were hospitalized, and Xie Ji woke after seven days unconscious. He learned Lu Xunji was recovering but discovered that Lu Xunji had specifically asked the hospital to keep him out of his room.

• Despite two sedative shots, Xie Ji refused to release Lu Xunji until doctors used an anesthetic to separate them and take Lu Xunji for surgery.
• In the ambulance, Xie Ji finally relaxed after a nurse told him Lu Xunji was safe, then fell asleep.
• Xie Ji woke in a military academy hospital after seven days and learned from Ji Shi that he had carried Lu Xunji out of the exam.
• After eating congee, Xie Ji insisted on visiting Lu Xunji and went to his room despite Ji Shi's objections.
• Zhuang Huan told Xie Ji that Lu Xunji was recovering but had requested that Xie Ji not be allowed into his room.

Xie Ji escaped his hospital room to visit Lu Xunji and discovered that Lu Xunji's legs had been badly injured by bugs in the swamp. Lu Xunji assured him the wounds could heal, and the two traded teasing remarks as Xie Ji stayed by his bedside.

• Ji Shi brought Xie Ji water and left to attend class after Xie Ji asked for food and his light brain.
• Xie Ji pulled out his IV and climbed across several hospital balconies to reach Lu Xunji's room.
• Zhuang Huan let Xie Ji into the dark room after Lu Xunji agreed to see him, then left to arrange Lu Xunji's regenerative treatment.
• Xie Ji saw Lu Xunji wrapped in gauze from the waist down and demanded to know what had happened to his legs.
• Lu Xunji explained that swamp bugs had injured his legs during the exam and said regenerative treatment would heal them.

Xie Ji comforted Lu Xunji in the hospital and recounted how he had carried him to safety. Lu Xunji confessed how important Xie Ji was to him and suggested they try dating, but Xie Ji balked at his bluntness before Lu Xunji asked him to teach him how to court him.

• Xie Ji thanked Lu Xunji for surviving and described how he had escaped the wilderness and carried him out, while Lu Xunji listened and reassured him.
• Lu Xunji joked about how little weight remained below his calves, and Xie Ji told him not to sacrifice himself for him again.
• Lu Xunji explained that he had accepted dying until he remembered Xie Ji had said he would die with him, and called Xie Ji important to him.
• Xie Ji asked whether Lu Xunji was confessing, and Lu Xunji said they could try dating while admitting he still wanted to sleep with him.
• Xie Ji objected that Lu Xunji was rushing things, and Lu Xunji earnestly asked him to teach him how to do this.

Lu Xunji told Xie Ji he wanted to learn how to pursue him, while Xie Ji struggled to process his confession and their teasing turned to Xie Ji's interest in Lu Xunji's hands. After Lu Xunji revealed he had recognized Xie Ji's model from their first meeting, Xie Ji fled to his own hospital room in mortified despair.

• Lu Xunji asked Xie Ji to teach him how to express his love, then said he would learn how to pursue him and asked whether Xie Ji would be hard to win over.
• Xie Ji rejected Lu Xunji's request for a kiss and went to rest beside him in the cramped hospital bed.
• Xie Ji laced his fingers with Lu Xunji's and teased him about his pink fingertips, prompting Lu Xunji to joke about what they supposedly signified.
• Lu Xunji told Xie Ji that he had recognized the model at the Xie Household as his own when they first met.
• Xie Ji realized Lu Xunji might have thought him a pervert from the beginning, ran back to his hospital room, and told the little black snake that he hated the whole world.

Lu Xunji began regenerative treatment while Xie Ji learned how painful it would be and hurried to support him. The chapter left Xie Ji determined to stay beside Lu Xunji and comfort him through the treatment.

• Zhuang Huan suggested that Lu Xunji ask Xie Ji to comfort him, and Lu Xunji had Zhuang Huan call Xie Ji back.
• A nurse found Xie Ji's IV dislodged and his bandage in disarray, then examined him and redressed his wound.
• The nurse explained that Lu Xunji needed at least three painful regenerative treatments and that patients had to remain conscious.
• Xie Ji remembered how his mother had comforted him through childhood injections and rushed to be at Lu Xunji's side.

Xie Ji waited anxiously outside the operating room while Lu Xunji underwent regeneration treatment, insisting that their bond was brotherly rather than romantic. Lu Xunji came through surgery in severe pain, and Xie Ji took him back to his room, leaving the nurse and Zhuang Huan baffled by their relationship.

• The nurse stopped Xie Ji from walking on his injured foot and wheeled him to Lu Xunji's operating room as he insisted they were brothers, not boyfriends.
• While waiting for Lu Xunji's surgery to finish, Xie Ji nervously cracked sunflower seeds the nurse had brought him.
• After more than three hours, Zhuang Huan said Lu Xunji had survived the treatment but would be in considerable pain.
• Lu Xunji mistook Xie Ji's sunflowers for a gift, but Xie Ji tossed them away and offered him sunflower seeds instead.
• Xie Ji wheeled Lu Xunji back to his room, while the nurse and Zhuang Huan discussed their supposedly brotherly bond.

Lu Xunji endured the pain of regenerative treatment with Xie Ji at his side, then recovered enough to be discharged and head to the Imperial Military Academy. As his friends argued over which dorm room Xie Ji should choose, he was left with conflicting instructions.

• Xie Ji cared for Lu Xunji as the anesthetic wore off, and Zhuang Huan instructed him how to watch for signs of trouble.
• Lu Xunji bit Xie Ji's wrist during a wave of pain, but Xie Ji stayed with him and continued comforting him.
• Lu Xunji endured three regenerative treatments, and Xie Ji confirmed that muscle had grown back in his legs before his discharge.
• Shang Yan and the others came to celebrate Lu Xunji's discharge, while Mu Yao told Xie Ji to request dorm room 140.
• Ji Shi pulled Xie Ji away from Mu Yao and told him to request room 112 instead.

Xie Ji arrived at the military academy and faced competing invitations from Zhou Heyu and Lu Xunji over whom he would live with. At the principal’s office, he reunited with Jin Li, whose extraordinary luck had earned him an assessment pass, and refused to share a dorm with someone luckier than himself.

• Zhou Heyu asked Xie Ji to choose his room and live with him, but Xie Ji said he would decide later.
• Lu Xunji told Xie Ji that he was pursuing him and would be angry if Xie Ji lived with someone else.
• Xie Ji hurried after Lu Xunji when Lu Xunji claimed his leg hurt, promising to sleep wherever he did.
• At the principal’s office, Xie Ji reunited with Jin Li, who explained that he had earned a pass by rescuing a patrolling soldier after hiding in a cave.
• Jin Li asked Xie Ji to share a dorm, but Xie Ji refused because Jin Li was luckier than him.