Chapter Summaries

Zhao Yong persuaded the group to explore Firefly Cave, while Lu Lin searched Mount Huai for Yan Heqing and followed footprints deeper into the forest. The chapter left Lu Lin concerned that something had happened after he found the route ended at a fork and chose the trail to the left.

• Zhao Yong showed the group his map to Firefly Cave, and Zhan Pingting agreed to go despite worrying about getting lost.
• Lin Fengyi went into the mountain with Sun Tingzhou to look for Gu Xingye, while Sun Tingzhou decided to end their relationship as bed partners.
• Lu Lin arrived at camp, entered Mount Huai along the western trail, and found the plum blossom water-crowfoot Yan Heqing had photographed.
• Lu Lin reached a fork near four o'clock, found footprints on the left trail, and hurried after them because Yan Heqing had not returned or replied.

Lu Lin found Yan Heqing injured in the firefly cave and treated his ankle. As they prepared to leave, Yan Heqing asked whether Lu Lin was always so passionate about the things that obsessed him.

• Zhou Wuyou insisted on searching for Yan Heqing, but Gu Xingye went into the cave alone while the others waited outside.
• Lu Lin arrived at the cave entrance, asked where Yan Heqing was, and hurried inside to find him.
• Yan Heqing waited in the cave after an animal bit his ankle and recalled being abandoned as a child.
• Lu Lin found Yan Heqing, examined the bite, and treated and bandaged his ankle.
• Yan Heqing asked whether Lu Lin was always so passionate whenever he became obsessed with something.

Lu Lin carried the injured Yan Heqing through the cave while Gu Xingye followed, and they emerged to discover a hidden plum blossom behind the waterfall. After reaching a place with reception, the group rested by a fire, where the students mistook Lu Lin for Yan Heqing’s brother.

• Lu Lin gave Yan Heqing hand sanitizer and dried pineapple, then carried him through the cave as Yan Heqing held the watch to light their way.
• Gu Xingye caught up with Lu Lin and Yan Heqing, followed them through the winding cave, and wondered about their relationship.
• As they left the cave, Yan Heqing pointed out a hidden white plum blossom behind the waterfall, which surprised Gu Xingye.
• Lu Lin carried Yan Heqing down the mountain and remarked that someone was as amazing as the blossom.
• At a place with reception, Lu Lin made a fire and roasted sweet potatoes while Gu Xingye contacted their counselor.
• Zhan Pingting whispered that Lu Lin was handsome and assumed he was Yan Heqing’s brother, while Zhao Yong admired Lu Lin’s expensive-looking watch.

Yan Heqing and Lu Lin returned to camp, where Yan Heqing said Lu Lin would share his tent. As they settled in, Lu Lin offered a hopeful version of the sailor-and-whale story, while Yan Heqing revealed that survival had taught him not to rely on unlikely outcomes.

• Lu Lin gave Yan Heqing the first roasted sweet potato, and Gu Xingye watched them share it.
• After the group returned to camp near midnight, Yan Heqing said Lu Lin would stay in his tent.
• Yan Heqing made a second pillow by stuffing his coat into a pillowcase.
• Lu Lin suggested the supply ship had come for the whale, and Yan Heqing said that would be a good outcome.
• Yan Heqing reflected that he had imagined many possibilities but could not risk relying on the one-percent chance of the best outcome.

Lu Lin spent the night beside Yan Heqing and stayed near his class during their field activities. Zhou Wuyou confessed to Yan Heqing and was rejected, while she recognized that he and Lu Lin seemed unusually close.

• Yan Heqing unconsciously moved closer to Lu Lin while they slept, and Lu Lin woke to find Yan Heqing had left him hot pork congee.
• Lu Lin learned Yan Heqing had gone to a research facility with his class, then went into the mountains to fish while waiting for their activities to end.
• At the sunroom, Zhou Wuyou realized Yan Heqing and Lu Lin shared a different kind of closeness, but decided to confess anyway.
• Zhou Wuyou told Yan Heqing she liked him and asked him to try dating her, and Yan Heqing calmly rejected her.
• Zhou Wuyou ran from the sunroom in tears, and Zhan Pingting followed her.

Yan Heqing agreed to date Lu Lin for two months, and Lu Lin returned to the greenhouse to kiss him in the spring storm. Lin Fengyi witnessed them together and left, hurt and jealous.

• Yan Heqing agreed to date Lu Lin as lovers for two months.
• Gu Xingye learned from Old Zhao where Yan Heqing was and hurried to the base.
• Lu Lin turned his car around in the sudden rain and returned to the greenhouse.
• Lu Lin kissed Yan Heqing, who accepted the kiss and thought of their past encounters.
• Lin Fengyi saw Lu Lin and Yan Heqing kissing through the greenhouse glass, dropped the raincoat he had brought, and drove away.

Yan Heqing and Lu Lin shared a kiss, then spent the rainy evening together in the greenhouse before Lu Lin left to visit the hospitalized Lu Muchi. Lu Lin arrived at the hospital and checked on Lu Ruchan, while Lu Muchi finally reacted to his presence.

• Gu Xingye watched Yan Heqing and Lu Lin through the rain, then left after seeing them kiss.
• Yan Heqing returned to taking plant notes, and he and Lu Lin shared instant noodles after the rain stopped.
• Lu Lin covered Yan Heqing with a blanket, warmed his hands, and left after telling him to contact his boyfriend if anything came up.
• Lu Lin drove to the hospital because Lu Muchi had been admitted and Lu Ruchan was there.
• Lu Lin arrived to find Lu Muchi refusing nutritional IVs, and he checked on Lu Ruchan before Lu Changcheng could ask him to help get Lu Muchi to eat.

Lu Muchi asked Lu Lin to help find his missing mother, but Lu Lin refused and told him to eat and rest. Meanwhile, Lin Fengyi recovered from a fever after returning from Mount Huai, and Lin Fengzhi learned he had seen Yan Heqing there before realizing his own fight with Yan Heqing came from a mistaken guess.

• Lu Ruchan sent Lu Muchi away to rest, and Lu Lin returned to the hospital to find him pleading for help locating his mother.
• Lu Lin refused Lu Muchi's request, and Lu Muchi forced himself to eat while dwelling on Yan Heqing.
• Lin Fengyi returned home covered in mud, developed a high fever, and mistook Lin Fengzhi for Yan Heqing when he woke.
• Lin Fengzhi questioned Lin Fengyi about Mount Huai and learned that he had encountered Yan Heqing and Gu Xingye there.
• Lin Fengzhi called Gu Xingye, who revealed he had only guessed about Lin Fengzhi and Yan Heqing's relationship, prompting Lin Fengzhi to realize he had wrongly accused Yan Heqing.
• Gu Xingye told Lin Fengzhi to consider how he would apologize and make things right with Yan Heqing.

Lin Fengzhi decided to visit Lu Lin after feeling guilty about misunderstanding Yan Heqing, while Lu Lin learned that Lu Muchi had been hospitalized after an argument with his new boyfriend. After a warm phone call with Yan Heqing, Lu Lin encountered Lin Fengzhi in the parking garage, where Lin Fengzhi nearly got hit by his car and tearfully called him Uncle Lu.

• Lin Fengzhi considered apologizing to Yan Heqing but deleted his message, then decided to visit Lu Lin at Lu Group.
• Lu Muchi's butler told Lu Lin that Lu Muchi had argued with a friend and identified his new boyfriend as the person who helped Xu Qiaoyin.
• Yan Heqing messaged Lu Lin to remind him to eat, and they spoke while Yan Heqing compiled reports about Firefly Cave.
• Lu Lin learned that Yan Heqing would return to Beijing University on Sunday at six in the evening and promised him a reward for studying hard.
• Lin Fengzhi rushed in front of Lu Lin's car in the parking garage, then saw Lu Lin and called him Uncle Lu with reddened eyes.

Lu Lin picked Yan Heqing up after his weekend trip and brought him back to the apartment he called home. Yan Heqing agreed to visit the hospitalized Lu Muchi the next day, while Lin Fengzhi devised a scheme to get closer to Lu Lin.

• Lu Lin gave Lin Fengzhi a hospital referral and warned him he would call the police if the incident happened again, while Lin Fengzhi decided to use the referral to approach him.
• Yan Heqing received a call from Lu Changcheng, who asked him to visit the hospitalized Lu Muchi, and Yan Heqing agreed to come after school the next day.
• Lu Lin called Yan Heqing from across the road and told him to collect his reward, and Yan Heqing crossed over to meet him.
• Lu Lin took Yan Heqing home, held his hand briefly, and told him to eat more because he had lost weight.
• At the apartment, Lu Lin prepared to cook dinner while Yan Heqing left his bags by the entryway.

Yan Heqing finished an urgent report on Lu Lin’s computer, then shared dinner and a movie with Lu Lin at his apartment. After Lu Lin checked Yan Heqing’s healing bite wound and noticed an old scar, Yan Heqing asked to stay the night, and Lu Lin agreed.

• Yan Heqing accepted a rushed report job and used Lu Lin’s computer to finish it, earning 1,200 yuan.
• Lu Lin served Yan Heqing a dinner of several dishes, including cherry pork, and Yan Heqing ate two bowls of rice.
• Lu Lin and Yan Heqing watched a mystery film together in the home theater.
• Lu Lin checked Yan Heqing’s bite wound and noticed a long scar on his calf, while Yan Heqing tried to pull his leg away.
• Yan Heqing asked to stay overnight because it was late, and Lu Lin directed him to the guest room.
• Yan Heqing showered and came out to find Lu Lin on the phone in the living room.

Yan Heqing went with Lu Han to visit Lu Muchi in the hospital, where Cheng Jian appeared earlier than expected. Lu Muchi reacted intensely to Yan Heqing’s arrival and locked the room door behind him.

• Lu Lin told Yan Heqing that someone had staged an accident to extort him, and said his lawyer would handle the matter.
• Lu Lin dried Yan Heqing’s hair, and Yan Heqing later found white plum blossoms in the guest room.
• Lu Changcheng sent Lu Han to bring Yan Heqing from Beijing University to the hospital, where Lu Han said Lu Muchi had stopped eating again.
• Yan Heqing recognized Cheng Jian, whose appearance came a year earlier than in the original story.
• Lu Muchi threw off his covers when Lu Han announced Yan Heqing’s arrival, rushed to the doorway, and locked the door after Yan Heqing entered.

Yan Heqing persuaded Lu Muchi to eat, while Lu Lin questioned Zhao Qiang about Lu Muchi’s past and heard about a Beijing University student who resembled the Lin family’s young son. Yan Heqing prepared to leave after Lu Muchi finished his meal.

• Lu Muchi sent Lu Han and the caregiver out, then admitted he would eat after Yan Heqing said Lu Muchi’s grandfather had asked him to persuade him.
• Yan Heqing picked up a fruit knife, prompting Lu Muchi to ask for an apple, but Yan Heqing put the knife down and Lu Muchi peeled one himself.
• Lu Han saw that a servant left Lu Muchi’s room with the meal dishes and called Lu Changcheng.
• Lu Lin summoned Zhao Qiang and questioned him about Lu Muchi’s private actions from the previous year.
• Zhao Qiang described Lu Muchi’s visit to a Beijing University student’s home and noted that the student’s parents did not seem to be his real family.
• Lu Lin released a snakehead back into the pond, while Yan Heqing waited for Lu Muchi to finish eating so he could leave.

Yan Heqing encouraged Lu Muchi to focus on his business, prompting Lu Muchi to decide to leave the hospital and prove he could stand on his own. After Lu Lin arrived at Yan Heqing’s apartment, they shared a quiet evening together, and Lu Lin asked how long Yan Heqing had off for May Day.

• Yan Heqing left Lu Muchi’s hospital room, and Lu Muchi interpreted his words as hope that he and Yan Heqing could be together openly.
• Lu Muchi watched Yan Heqing leave the hospital, then told the staff to inform his grandfather that he wanted to be discharged.
• Lu Yicheng called Yan Heqing to praise him for getting Lu Muchi to eat and return to work, and offered him anything from the Lu family.
• Yan Heqing bought groceries and candy on his way home, where he found Lu Lin waiting outside his apartment.
• Lu Lin embraced Yan Heqing, cooked dinner for them, and asked how many days he had off for May Day; Yan Heqing said five.

Lu Lin invited Yan Heqing to Twenty Bridges, then quietly left after making sure he was sleeping. At the Journey Home Club, Lu Lin began a brutal kickboxing match with Lu Muchi, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Lu Lin invited Yan Heqing to visit Twenty Bridges, and Yan Heqing agreed.
• Lu Lin tucked the covers around the sleeping Yan Heqing and left, while Yan Heqing woke and watched him go.
• Lu Lin summoned Lu Muchi to the Journey Home Club and challenged him to a match in the boxing gym.
• Lu Muchi removed his protective gear and told Lu Lin not to go easy on him.
• Lu Lin quickly threw Lu Muchi to the mat and battered him, and Lu Muchi tried to counter by trapping Lu Lin's neck with his legs.

Lu Lin beat Lu Muchi unconscious during a bare-knuckle match, sending him to the hospital, while Yan Heqing received news that his lab had been approved. After Gu Xingye tried to explain Lin Fengzhi’s misunderstanding, Yan Heqing spoke with the injured Lu Muchi and asked how long he would be away from his company.

• Lu Lin pinned Lu Muchi and beat him until he lost consciousness, and Lu Han arrived to find him bleeding in the ring.
• Lu Han confronted Lu Lin, who said they had been having a match and then left the gym.
• Lu Muchi messaged Yan Heqing from the hospital about his injuries, but Yan Heqing did not reply.
• Yang Rucheng told Yan Heqing that his lab had been approved, and Gu Xingye followed Yan Heqing outside to discuss Lin Fengzhi.
• Gu Xingye claimed Lin Fengzhi had asked him to explain the misunderstanding, but Yan Heqing recognized that he was lying and said he would not be upset.
• Lu Muchi called Yan Heqing and described his injuries; Yan Heqing asked how long he would be hospitalized and what would happen to his company.

Yan Heqing agreed to help Lu Muchi with a hospital project when he had time, then met Gu Xingye and Lin Fengzhi at a bubble tea shop before joining them at Beijing University. Meanwhile, Lu Lin went to inspect Zhao Huilin’s apartment, where she hoped he might buy it so she could pay off Yan Shengbing’s debt.

• Lu Muchi asked Yan Heqing to help with a two-month hospital project, and Yan Heqing agreed to come when he had time.
• Gu Xingye told Yan Heqing that Lin Fengzhi was in the hospital, then brought Yan Heqing to meet Lin Fengzhi at a nearby bubble tea shop.
• Lin Fengzhi pretended his eyes were bothering him, and he invited Gu Xingye and Yan Heqing to play ice hockey after class.
• Lin Fengzhi joined Gu Xingye and Yan Heqing on their taxi ride to Beijing University and invited students from Life Sciences Class 2 to play ice hockey.
• Lu Lin visited Zhao Huilin’s apartment, and Zhao Huilin wondered whether he might be interested in buying it so she could repay Yan Shengbing’s debt.

Lu Lin inspected the Yan-Zhao couple’s apartment and arranged to prevent them from selling it, then went to Beijing University to see Yan Heqing. As Yan Heqing waited out a downpour with Lin Fengzhi and Gu Xingye, Lu Lin called and revealed he was nearby, watching him.

• Lu Lin inspected the filthy apartment and told his assistant to ensure no agent in the city could sell it.
• After class, Lin Fengzhi invited Yan Heqing to play ice hockey, and Yan Heqing agreed because he hoped Cheng Jian might meet his true love there.
• Rain trapped Yan Heqing, Lin Fengzhi, and Gu Xingye beneath the university gate, where Lin Fengzhi noticed Yan Heqing’s cedar scent and questioned him about his friend.
• Lu Lin called Yan Heqing and said he could see him clearly, though Yan Heqing could not see him through the rain.

Lu Lin arrived at Beijing University to pick up Yan Heqing, and Lin Fengzhi realized that Lu Lin was the friend Yan Heqing had stayed with. When Yan Heqing said their relationship was more than ordinary friendship, Lin Fengzhi was left terrified of what that meant.

• Lu Lin offered to pick Yan Heqing up, and Lin Fengzhi arranged for a driver to collect the group.
• Lu Lin appeared at the university gates with an umbrella, and Lin Fengzhi mistook his arrival as a sign that Lu Lin had come for him.
• Lu Lin walked past Lin Fengzhi and held the umbrella over Yan Heqing, then offered to join Yan Heqing and his classmates for ice hockey.
• Yan Heqing introduced Lu Lin to Lin Fengzhi as his friend and asked whether Lu Lin could come along.
• Lin Fengzhi asked if Lu Lin was the friend who treated Yan Heqing especially well, then clutched Yan Heqing's arm and pleaded with him.
• Yan Heqing said Lu Lin was more than an ordinary friend and asked if he could tell Lu Lin about their relationship, leaving Lin Fengzhi afraid to ask what that meant.

Yan Heqing made it clear that Lu Lin was his boyfriend, leaving Lin Fengzhi devastated when Lu Lin openly showed his intimacy with Yan Heqing. Lu Lin then invited Yan Heqing to help plan renovations for an apartment near Beijing University, and Yan Heqing agreed.

• Yan Heqing stopped Lin Fengzhi from calling Lu Lin Uncle and told him that Lu Lin was his boyfriend.
• Lu Lin ignored Lin Fengzhi and fussed over Yan Heqing's damp, curling hair, while Yan Heqing introduced Lin Fengzhi as his younger twin brother.
• Lin Fengzhi refused to ride with them and left with Gu Xingye, who gave Yan Heqing the ice rink's address.
• In the car, Lu Lin warmed Yan Heqing's cold hand, kissed the corner of his eye, and told him he could be willful with him.
• Lu Lin invited Yan Heqing to see his apartment in the Beijing University faculty residential compound and offer ideas for its renovation, and Yan Heqing agreed.