Chapter Summaries

Jiang Jinran found the Divine Sound Organization’s emblem in the arts building, then left after clashing with Shi Hui and her classmates. At home, she logged into Legend to level up, and her teammates recognized her as Sha Yu and eagerly looked to her to carry the match.

• Jiang Jinran spotted a hidden figure by the stairwell, waited for them to leave, and found the Divine Sound emblem on the wall.
• Jiang Jinran returned to rehearsal, gathered the remaining snacks, and traded insults with Shi Hui and the other girls before leaving.
• Shi Hui privately thought that Jiang Jinran’s singing voice would soon be hers.
• Jiang Jinran returned home, ate dinner, and logged into Legend to focus on leveling up.
• Jiang Jinran’s teammates recognized her as Sha Yu and reacted excitedly, expecting her to lead them to victory.

Jiang Jinran climbed to Diamond with an unbroken winning streak and was matched against Jiang Qiche, the top player Fatal. Their highly anticipated mid-lane showdown turned into Jiang Qiche repeatedly ganging up on her, leaving Jiang Jinran 0-5 ten minutes into the match.

• Jiang Jinran carried another match, climbed from Gold to Emerald, and declined a tryout offer from KG Club because she had school.
• Jiang Jinran won several more matches, reached Diamond, and became the focus of the Legend forum.
• Jiang Jinran accidentally queued again and discovered that Fatal, Jiang Qiche, was on the opposing team.
• Jiang Qiche recognized Sha Yu and entered the match intending to test her skill.
• Jiang Qiche repeatedly brought his four teammates to gank Jiang Jinran, who died five times in ten minutes.

After losing to Jiang Qiche in a ranked game, Jiang Jinran challenged him to a rematch bet and publicized it on the Legend Forum. The next morning, she noticed her deskmate Lu Tingshen was about to eat expired bread and offered him her cake.

• Jiang Jinran lost her first ranked match in two days to Jiang Qiche, then privately challenged him to a bet on their next encounter.
• Jiang Qiche accepted Jiang Jinran's wager that the loser would unconditionally grant the winner one condition.
• Jiang Jinran posted the bet and screenshots on the Legend Forum, drawing reactions from players who doubted she could beat Fatal.
• After the system logged her out for playing too long, Jiang Jinran went to class the next day and saw Lu Tingshen eating packaged bread.
• Jiang Jinran warned Lu Tingshen that the bread had expired and offered him the cake she had brought.

Jiang Jinran prepared for the Hope Cup finals, where she learned her silent role would make her ineligible for an award and discovered a new mysterious instruction hidden in her schoolbag. The message ordered her to switch off the master lighting onstage after the competition, leaving her unsure whether to obey.

• Jiang Jinran offered Lu Tingshen cake, and he accepted it while quietly watching her.
• Jiang Jinran went to the Central Theater with her classmates for the Hope Cup finals, and Shi Hui stopped the makeup artist from putting makeup on her.
• The backstage crowd rushed to see celebrity judge Jiang Chuji, whom Jiang Jinran recognized as her second brother, but he did not appear.
• Jiang Jinran read the rules and realized that, because her character had no lines, she could not receive an award.
• Jiang Jinran found a newly planted iron plate in her schoolbag instructing her to turn off the stage's master lighting after the competition, and she questioned whether to follow it.

Jiang Jinran refused to wear the costume Shi Hui had chosen and went onstage in a forest-themed robe she had made herself. As the Hope Cup finals began, she recognized her second brother, Jiang Chuji, among the judges and realized he was waving at her.

• Shi Hui ordered Jiang Jinran to wear the assigned costume, but Jiang Jinran took out her own performance outfit and insisted it suited the theme better.
• Shi Hui reluctantly allowed Jiang Jinran to wear her forest-green robe, and the other girls were surprised when she emerged dressed as a forest elf.
• Jiang Jinran and the others went onstage for the televised Hope Cup finals, with Jiang Jinran entering last.
• Jiang Jinran spotted Jiang Chuji seated among the judges, and he noticed her, smiled faintly, and waved.
• The girls around Jiang Jinran excitedly argued over whom Jiang Chuji had waved at as the play was about to begin.

Jiang Jinran discovered that Shi Hui had lip-synced to a recording of Jiang Jinran’s voice, then disrupted the play’s ending by speaking and singing live. Her performance left the audience questioning who had really sung, while the people onstage panicked.

• Jiang Jinran noticed Jiang Chuji watching her during Shi Hui’s performance and wondered why he seemed friendly toward her.
• Shi Hui lip-synced to Jiang Jinran’s voice during the play’s key singing scene, winning the audience’s applause.
• As the play neared its end, Jiang Jinran added the line, “It’s so good to be alive,” despite her tree character having no lines.
• Jiang Jinran sang Shi Hui’s song without accompaniment, prompting the audience to realize their voices sounded identical and debate who was lip-syncing.
• Shi Hui and the others onstage panicked because Jiang Jinran’s unscripted performance threatened to expose their arrangement.

At the Hope Cup finals, Jiang Jinran and Shi Hui both claimed to have sung the same passage, turning the performance into a live controversy. Jiang Jinran proposed an a cappella test, and Shi Hui faltered after singing only one line.

• After the play ended, Jiang Chuji asked who had sung the passage, and Shi Hui claimed she had.
• Jiang Jinran also claimed she had sung it, prompting an uproar among the audience and online viewers.
• Shi Hui offered rehearsal videos and other evidence, while Jiang Jinran proposed that they sing a cappella so everyone could judge.
• Jiang Chuji agreed that Shi Hui should sing first, but she stopped after only the first line.

After Jiang Jinran’s performance humiliates Shi Hui, Shi Hui scratches her face and the others blame her for the group’s failure. Jiang Chuji’s manager takes her to meet him, where Jiang Chuji admits he wanted to watch her make a fool of herself, and she asks if something is wrong with his brain.

• Shi Hui tried to slap Jiang Jinran backstage, scratched her cheek, and Jiang Jinran fell after stumbling over a prop.
• The group accused Jiang Jinran of ruining their chances and selfishly seeking attention, but He Yan arrived and asked to take her with him.
• He Yan led Jiang Jinran to Jiang Chuji’s VIP lounge, where Jiang Chuji dismissed his manager and invited her inside.
• Jiang Chuji asked about Jiang Jinran’s injury and admitted he had wanted to watch her get angry and embarrass herself.
• Jiang Jinran pointed at her head and asked Jiang Chuji if something was wrong with his brain.

Jiang Jinran left Jiang Chuji’s lounge with ointment and a handkerchief, then returned backstage during the finals intermission. Shi Hui accused her of stealing the handkerchief, and the chapter ended with Shi Hui proposing that they call the police.

• Jiang Chuji gave Jiang Jinran ointment for her facial injuries and a handkerchief before she left his lounge.
• Jiang Jinran applied the ointment in the women’s restroom and found that it soothed her skin and concealed the marks.
• Backstage, Shi Hui announced that her expensive handkerchief was missing, and a classmate searched Jiang Jinran’s belongings.
• Shi Hui took the handkerchief Jiang Chuji had given Jiang Jinran and claimed it was hers, while the others accused Jiang Jinran of theft.
• Jiang Jinran insisted the handkerchief belonged to her and accused Shi Hui of robbery if she refused to return it.
• Shi Hui waved her phone and challenged Jiang Jinran to call the police.

Shi Hui accused Jiang Jinran of stealing her luxury handkerchief and called the police, but an engraved surname revealed the handkerchief belonged to Jiang Jinran. The police found Shi Hui’s missing handkerchief under a sofa, and Jiang Jinran exposed it as a high-quality counterfeit, leaving Shi Hui’s wealthy image in ruins.

• Shi Hui called the police after accusing Jiang Jinran of stealing her handkerchief, while Jiang Jinran calmly agreed to wait for them.
• Shi Hui told the officers that she had found her handkerchief in Jiang Jinran’s pocket, and Jiang Jinran said the handkerchief was hers.
• Jiang Jinran explained that SIU offered surname engraving, and an officer found the character “Jiang” on the handkerchief.
• The police checked surveillance and found Shi Hui’s missing handkerchief under a sofa.
• Jiang Jinran pointed out that Shi Hui’s recovered handkerchief lacked the engraving and had a different logo, exposing it as a high-quality counterfeit.

After the police cleared Jiang Jinran of stealing, Imperial Star received no group or individual awards until Jiang Chuji announced Jiang Jinran as the Best Style Award winner. Onstage with her trophy, Jiang Jinran noticed the master lighting switch and resisted the mysterious person’s instruction to press it.

• Shi Hui angrily told Jiang Jinran to shut up after Jiang Jinran suggested Shi Hui had deliberately lost her fake handkerchief to claim the real one.
• Weibo users discussed the police closing the case and learned that Jiang Jinran had been cleared of stealing while the actress playing the female lead had falsely accused her.
• Jiang Chuji announced the Hope Cup group and acting awards, and Imperial Star won none.
• Jiang Chuji named Jiang Jinran from Imperial Star Academy as the Best Style Award winner, making her the school's only award recipient.
• Jiang Jinran accepted the trophy and noticed the master lighting switch, but her intuition warned her not to follow the mysterious person's instruction to press it.

Jiang Jinran accidentally triggered the venue’s lights to go out during the Hope Cup, and Professor Li vanished in the darkness. She suspected the mysterious person had taken him and went home still looking for news about the disappearance.

• Shi Hui shoved Jiang Jinran during the group photo, causing her to fall onto the metal switch and plunge the venue into darkness.
• When the lights returned, Professor Li had disappeared from the judges’ table, and the Hope Cup was abruptly ended.
• Jiang Jinran left the bus at an intersection to keep her home address private, ignoring her classmates’ taunts.
• Jiang Jinran checked Weibo and found no useful information about the blackout or Professor Li’s disappearance.
• Jiang Jinran arrived at the villa, found Jiang Yuehan absent, and heard her phone ring as she went to get water.

Jiang Jinran followed the online revelations about Professor Li’s disappearance and realized Jin Mai had hired Divine Sound to abduct him and expose his abuse of female students. The chapter left Jiang Jinran certain that Divine Sound was the organization behind the Central Theater incident.

• Jiang Jinran reassured Jiang Yuehan that she was safe, but did not tell him that Jiang Chuji had been with her at the Central Theater.
• Jin Mai accused Professor Li on Weibo of withholding her project earnings, exploiting her labor, and sexually harassing her.
• Jin Mai revealed that Professor Li had abused other female students and threatened their graduation prospects to silence them.
• Jin Mai said she had hired a mysterious organization to abduct Professor Li and force him to recognize his crimes and apologize publicly.
• Other students supported Jin Mai online, and Jiang Jinran concluded that the organization she had hired was Divine Sound.

Jiang Jinran helped Divine Sound expose Professor Li, who posted a coerced apology video and faced public condemnation. She then reunited with her mother, Jiang Yuyan, whose thoughts she could apparently hear, and realized her supposed father was a corrupt live-in son-in-law with an illegitimate daughter.

• Jiang Jinran pieced together how Divine Sound had used her to help abduct Professor Li and wondered why they had trusted her with their plan.
• Professor Li appeared in a video apologizing to his students and admitting his crimes, while online users demanded he face legal punishment.
• Jiang Jinran woke and found Jiang Yuyan outside her room, then greeted her mother warmly for the first time.
• Jiang Yuyan heard Jiang Jinran's unspoken thoughts praising her beauty and realized she could hear her daughter's inner voice.
• Jiang Yuyan mentioned that Jiang Jinran's father was abroad, and Jiang Jinran thought that he was a scumbag with an illegitimate daughter.

After hearing Jiang Jinran’s thoughts about her husband’s possible affair, Jiang Yuyan decided to travel overseas and verify the truth for herself. Meanwhile, Jiang Jinran returned to Legend and played ranked matches, hoping to encounter Fatal but failing to find him.

• Jiang Yuyan heard Jiang Jinran think that her father was overseas with his former lover and illegitimate daughter, and she was shaken.
• Jiang Yuyan told Yu Lian she needed to go overseas again to verify something.
• Jiang Jinran reflected on the original owner’s past and her father’s hidden threat before logging into Legend as Sha Yu.
• Jiang Jinran played several ranked matches while players argued over her skills, but she did not encounter Fatal.
• Jiang Jinran saw that Fatal was online and wanted to fight him again to win their bet.

Jiang Jinran matched against Jiang Qiche again in ranked, determined to win their bet and make him grant her request. Their mid-lane duel ended in a one-for-one trade, leaving the match unresolved.

• Jiang Jinran encountered Fatal in ranked, and players flooded the forum and spectator stream to follow their rematch.
• Jiang Jinran reminded Fatal of their bet, and he confirmed it just before the match began.
• Jiang Jinran asked her teammates to follow her calls and protect her if she was targeted.
• Jiang Qiche fought Jiang Jinran in mid lane, and she dodged his opening barrage before they traded attacks.
• With both players at critical health, Jiang Jinran pulled Jiang Qiche under her turret with a crowd-control skill, and they killed each other.

Jiang Jinran outmaneuvered Jiang Qiche with coordinated ambushes, then survived his dramatic comeback and led her team to victory. The match ended with the livestream chat discussing the bet Jiang Qiche had made.

• Jiang Jinran called in her jungler to kill Jiang Qiche in mid, then teamed up with her jungler and top laner to kill him again.
• Jiang Jinran's team built an 8,000-gold lead by repeatedly targeting Jiang Qiche, but he scored a double kill and improved his position.
• Jiang Qiche ambushed Jiang Jinran's team at the dragon pit and wiped out four teammates, forcing Jiang Jinran to retreat and defend the base alone.
• Jiang Jinran held off the five opponents long enough for her teammates to respawn, then led them into an ambush that caught three enemies in mid.
• Jiang Jinran and her teammates killed Jiang Qiche and his last teammate, destroyed the crystal, and won the match.

Jiang Jinran beat Fatal in a game, reached King, and used their bet to make Jiang Qiche agree to have dinner with his family. The next morning, she shared a warm breakfast with Jiang Yuyan before heading to the mist-shrouded arts building at school.

• After Jiang Jinran reached King, she messaged Fatal and asked him to honor their bet by having dinner with his family over the weekend.
• Jiang Qiche objected to her request, but Jiang Jinran persuaded him by invoking their bet and claiming she needed him for a study, and he finally agreed.
• News of Sha Yu defeating Fatal spread across trending searches, and players debated the match and praised both competitors.
• On Monday morning, Jiang Yuyan cooked breakfast for Jiang Jinran before leaving for an overseas trip the next day.
• After breakfast, Jiang Jinran went to the arts building instead of her classroom.

Jiang Jinran met the mysterious boy hiding in the arts building and learned that he belonged to Divine Sound and had been assigned to protect her. She left with a clearer picture of her connection to the organization, but still had no answers about the original owner’s past.

• Jiang Jinran went to the arts building stairwell and called for the mysterious person to come out.
• A pale teenage boy appeared and told Jiang Jinran that her Hope Cup task had gone smoothly, though he had not counted on her succeeding.
• The boy explained that Divine Sound had sent him to protect Jiang Jinran and that he was hiding in the arts building to keep his appearance secret.
• Jiang Jinran inferred that she and the boy were both members of Divine Sound and that he had likely acted in the shadows at the Central Theater.
• The boy said the events of the previous day were roughly as reported in the news, and Jiang Jinran left the building still wondering why the original owner had joined Divine Sound.

Jiang Jinran arranged a weekend dinner with Jiang Yuehan, and Jiang Qiche unexpectedly returned home for the meal. The brothers’ tense reunion softened after Jiang Qiche teased Jiang Jinran with bitter vegetables, while she prepared a surprise for dinner.

• Jiang Yuyan flew abroad again shortly after returning home, leaving Jiang Jinran with little time to speak with her.
• Jiang Jinran asked Jiang Yuehan to stay home for a weekend dinner so she could bring the family together.
• Jiang Qiche arrived home as promised, and Jiang Jinran welcomed him while Jiang Yuehan reacted with surprise.
• Jiang Qiche said he had returned only to eat, and the brothers sat through an awkward, mostly silent dinner.
• Jiang Qiche gave Jiang Jinran bitter vegetables, and her reaction amused him and eased the tense atmosphere; Jiang Jinran then looked toward the dining room entrance, ready to serve her surprise.