Chapter Summaries

Song Shiwei and the others gave statements at the police station after their confrontation with Ma Boming, and Jiang Xun waited outside to take them to eat. He comforted Song Shiwei and gave her a warm roasted sweet potato as they left together.

• Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining took charge of Ma Boming and brought him to the police station with Captain Liu.
• Song Shiwei and the others finished giving their statements after ten at night and found Jiang Xun waiting outside.
• Jiang Xun explained that he had rushed back to Yanjing after hearing they were confronting Ma Boming, then warned them to call the police instead of charging into danger.
• Jiang Xun wrapped Song Shiwei's clothes more snugly and took the group to get food.
• Jiang Xun gave Song Shiwei a hot roasted sweet potato he had kept warm inside his coat.

After Jiang Ye rushed back to comfort Yun Xi, the police exposed the bar’s criminal network and arrested dozens of people, including Ma Boming. Bai Qiuhe worried that the arrests would ruin her plan to profit from Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining’s conflict, so she called her mother and began plotting again.

• Jiang Ye hurried back from filming, embraced Yun Xi, and promised that Li Baoguo would face justice.
• Jiang Ye offered Yun Xi bread from the set, while Jiang Xun refused to give him the only roasted sweet potato he had bought for Song Shiwei.
• The police classified the case as a serious criminal matter, arrested sixty people, and found more than a dozen jin of drugs at the bar linked to Xiao Liang’s supplier.
• Netizens reacted to the arrests and praised Song Shiwei for uncovering another major scandal.
• Bai Qiuhe feared that Ma Boming’s arrest would bring Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining together and spoil her plan to gain attention on the variety show.
• Bai Qiuhe called her mother, gave her instructions, and turned off her phone.

Bai Qiuhe insisted on joining the variety show despite Sister Liu’s warning about its suspicious run of scandals. She took the keys to the crown-jewel villa at Fragrant River Villas, intending to photograph it and fuel fans’ belief that she was involved with Ouyang Ye.

• Bai Qiuhe dismissed Sister Liu’s concerns and said she would appear on the popular variety show to gain traffic.
• Sister Liu warned Bai Qiuhe that the show’s cast seemed surrounded by strange scandals, but Bai Qiuhe ordered her to leave.
• Bai Qiuhe eagerly accepted the keys to the crown-jewel villa at Fragrant River Villas.
• Sister Liu recalled how Bai Qiuhe had encouraged fans to ship her with Ouyang Ye and ignored his rejection to keep gaining attention.
• Bai Qiuhe said she wanted to take photos inside the villa for the shippers, while Sister Liu worried that the deception would eventually be exposed.

Bai Qiuhe obtained a duplicate key to Young Master Ou’s villa and planned to use it for a scheme, while “Let’s Gossip Together, Shall We” launched to an unexpectedly huge audience. At the show’s first stop in Qingyuan Town, Song Shiwei and Jiang Zhuxin met Xu Zizhen, Xi Zining, and a lavishly dressed Bai Qiuhe, whose outfit seemed ill-suited to their watermelon-field outing.

• Sister Liu found a way to get Bai Qiuhe a duplicate key to the combination lock at Young Master Ou’s villa, and Bai Qiuhe promised to bring her good news the next day.
• “Let’s Gossip Together, Shall We” began streaming without notice and quickly attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers and trended online.
• Jiang Lanxin celebrated the show’s popularity and urged the group to make it a hit and produce a hundred episodes.
• Song Shiwei and Jiang Zhuxin arrived in Qingyuan Town and ran into Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining, who immediately started trading insults.
• Song Shiwei’s thoughts made Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining freeze in embarrassment, and Jiang Zhuxin quietly readied her iron hammer.
• Bai Qiuhe arrived in a lavish pink gown, prompting Song Shiwei to worry that she would fall over in the watermelon fields.

Bai Qiuhe arrived at the variety show and bragged that Young Master Ou had driven her there, prompting gossip from the viewers and anger from Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining. Song Shiwei’s inner thoughts revealed that Young Master Ou was dead, while Bai Qiuhe’s fans continued to celebrate her apparent relationship with him in the livestream.

• Bai Qiuhe arrived late and claimed that Young Master Ou’s Maybach had broken down while he was driving her to the show.
• Viewers seized on Bai Qiuhe’s mention of Young Master Ou and demanded gossip about their relationship.
• Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining recognized Bai Qiuhe as the person who had tricked them into online relationships and fueled their long-running feud.
• Song Shiwei’s inner thoughts revealed that Young Master Ou had died days earlier after hiring a prostitute, and that Bai Qiuhe had visited his villa without noticing the corpse’s stench.
• Bai Qiuhe’s fans entered the livestream, praised her as a wealthy young mistress, and called for Young Master Ou to make a public statement.

As the variety show began filming in Qingyuan Town, Song Shiwei’s thoughts revealed that Bai Qiuhe had deceived Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining in the past and would ruin them with fabricated evidence. The group headed to the watermelon fields, while Ouyang Ye’s worried fans raised questions about his disappearance and Song Shiwei wondered how he had died.

• Ouyang Ye’s fans flooded the livestream, asking Bai Qiuhe for news because Ouyang Ye had been missing for over ten days, despite her claim that she had been with him the previous night.
• Song Shiwei wondered how Ouyang Ye had died, and the production team interrupted the tense gathering to welcome the guests to Qingyuan Town’s watermelon fields.
• Song Shiwei and the others set off for the fields, while Bai Qiuhe complained that she could barely walk and asked Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining to help her.
• Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining refused to help Bai Qiuhe, and Song Shiwei’s thoughts revealed that Bai Qiuhe had once tricked them by claiming she had a terminal illness.
• Song Shiwei’s thoughts revealed that Bai Qiuhe would use carefully prepared evidence to portray Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining as abusers and adulterers, despite them being her victims.

Song Shiwei, Jiang Zhuxin, Xu Zizhen, and Xi Zining rejected Bai Qiuhe’s attempts to guilt them, while livestream viewers uncovered disturbing rumors about her fixation on Ouyang Ye. A caller then reported that Ouyang Ye had been found dead and accused Bai Qiuhe, prompting Captain Liu to promise an investigation.

• Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining grew angry at Bai Qiuhe and refused to play along with her moral blackmail.
• Song Shiwei silently mocked Bai Qiuhe, and Jiang Zhuxin publicly rejected her demand for help.
• Livestream viewers criticized Bai Qiuhe and discussed her obsessive pursuit of Ouyang Ye, including rumors about her whereabouts and photos.
• A young woman called Captain Liu to report that Ouyang Ye had been found dead at home and accused Bai Qiuhe of murdering him.
• Captain Liu reassured the caller that police would investigate and seek justice, despite her fear that Bai Qiuhe would be protected.

Captain Liu sent the injured Jiang Cheng undercover as a new guest on the variety show in Qingyuan Town, where he immediately recognized Bai Qiuhe as a suspected criminal. Meanwhile, an online accusation linked Bai Qiuhe to Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining, and the two found themselves facing a viral allegation that they had driven a woman’s daughter to her death.

• A caller told Captain Liu that the suspect was appearing on “Let's Gossip Together, Shall We” in Qingyuan Town.
• Captain Liu asked Jiang Cheng to go undercover on the show, and Jiang Cheng agreed before learning Song Shiwei would arrange his placement.
• Jiang Cheng arrived at the Melon-Eating Cottage as a new guest and heard Song Shiwei’s thoughts about him and Bai Qiuhe.
• Bai Qiuhe flirted with Jiang Cheng, who regarded her as a suspected criminal and went to speak with the directors.
• Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining saw a trending post in which a woman accused them of cheating during an online romance and causing her daughter’s death.

Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining challenged Bai Qiuhe’s accusations with old chat records and evidence that the post had come from nearby Qingyuan Town. They left the confrontation poised to trace the IP address and find the mother who had made the allegations.

• Bai Qiuhe accused Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining, but Xi Zining insisted they were innocent and had lawyer-notarized evidence.
• Netizens noticed that the post’s IP address was in Qingyuan Town, far from the Ancheng where the mother claimed to live.
• Xi Zining revealed she had kept old chat screenshots and videos that could prove her and Xu Zizhen’s history with Bai Qiuhe.
• Bai Qiuhe panicked when Xi Zining pointed out the post came from nearby, while Xu Zizhen proposed locating its source and confronting the mother.
• Xi Zining reflected that preserving her old romantic messages with Xu Zizhen had given them evidence to defend themselves.

Bai Qiuhe’s remarks exposed that she had deceived Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining before, while her mention of Young Master Ou made Jiang Cheng suspect she had killed him. Xi Zining posted evidence of their past relationship and deception online, leaving netizens piecing together Bai Qiuhe’s possible role.

• Bai Qiuhe suggested the dead victim might come looking for them, and Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining invited the victim to confront them.
• Song Shiwei’s gossip revealed that Bai Qiuhe had deceived another girl who died, shocking Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining.
• Bai Qiuhe mentioned spending the previous night with Young Master Ou, and Jiang Cheng quietly prepared his gun before deciding to observe the others.
• Bai Qiuhe accused Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining of driving a girl to her death, but Xi Zining restrained Xu Zizhen and posted their old evidence on Weibo.
• Netizens discussed the evidence and began suspecting that Bai Qiuhe had been the online friend who deceived Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining.

Song Shiwei revealed that Bai Qiuhe had been sold as a baby, later scammed people, and murdered her adoptive parents. As evidence linked Bai Qiuhe to Ouyang Ye’s death, Jiang Cheng arrested her.

• Song Shiwei explained Bai Qiuhe’s past, including how she exploited her adoptive parents and killed them when they refused to give her money.
• Bai Qiuhe rejected the accusations and threatened to sue Xi Zining, but her erratic reaction heightened suspicions.
• A video showed Bai Qiuhe entering Ouyang Ye’s home for hours before leaving in a panic, and the news of his death spread online.
• Jiang Cheng told Captain Liu that Bai Qiuhe might be responsible for three additional deaths, and Captain Liu ordered her restrained.
• Jiang Cheng pinned Bai Qiuhe down and arrested her on suspicion of murdering Ouyang Ye.

Jiang Cheng questioned Bai Qiuhe about Ouyang Ye’s death, but Song Shiwei realized she was probably being framed rather than being the killer. Online revelations linked Bai Qiuhe to a false story about her adoptive parents’ deaths, and two unidentified skeletons were found near her old hutong.

• Jiang Cheng accused Bai Qiuhe of killing Ouyang Ye, but she said she had only gone to his villa to take photos and had spent the rest of the day editing a video.
• Bai Qiuhe revealed that she had edited the video exposing Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining, while Song Shiwei concluded that Bai Qiuhe was not responsible for Ouyang Ye’s death.
• Jiang Zhuxin asked whether Bai Qiuhe was the dead daughter shown in the video, and Bai Qiuhe denied it while claiming she had been commissioned to edit it.
• A commenter recalled that Bai Qiuhe had been adopted and that her adoptive parents had once been healthy, contradicting Bai Qiuhe’s public claim that they had died years earlier.
• A news story reported that two unidentified bodies had been found during excavation on the hill behind Yangzi Lane Hutong, prompting commenters to suspect they might be Bai Qiuhe’s adoptive parents.

Jiang Cheng and Xi Zining exposed Bai Qiuhe’s long-running deception, and Song Shiwei’s revelations led police to identify Bai Qiuhe’s adoptive parents as murder victims. Bai Qiuhe continued to deny killing Ouyang Ye, while Song Shiwei revealed that someone else had framed her for his death.

• Jiang Cheng confronted Bai Qiuhe with evidence that she had reunited with her biological parents, and Xi Zining showed how that explained the mismatch between the scammer’s claimed birthplace and the deceased’s records.
• Xu Zizhen angrily mocked Bai Qiuhe, while Song Shiwei and Jiang Zhuxin watched the confrontation and ate watermelon.
• Song Shiwei’s thoughts revealed that Bai Qiuhe had killed her adoptive parents, prompting Jiang Cheng to call the police team while restraining her.
• Bai Qiuhe admitted to wrongdoing but denied killing Ouyang Ye, as livestream viewers learned that police had identified her adoptive parents’ remains.
• Song Shiwei revealed that Ouyang Ye’s killer had spent months setting Bai Qiuhe up, manipulating her into stalking him and planting clues for her to find.

Song Shiwei’s thoughts revealed that Ouyang Jing had spent half a year poisoning Ouyang Ye and had framed Bai Qiuhe, then deliberately confessed when Captain Liu questioned her. Captain Liu offered Ouyang Jing a chance to continue her liver cancer research in prison, and she eagerly accepted a life sentence.

• Song Shiwei pieced together that Ouyang Jing had killed Ouyang Ye through a carefully prepared poisoning plan and arranged for Bai Qiuhe to take the blame.
• Song Shiwei’s thoughts revealed Ouyang Jing’s abuse by Ouyang Ye, her severe depression, and the valuable liver cancer research she had developed.
• Jiang Cheng relayed Song Shiwei’s revelations to Captain Liu, who questioned Ouyang Jing and heard her confess to killing Ouyang Ye.
• Captain Liu offered Ouyang Jing the chance to continue her research in prison on the condition that she remain there for life, and Ouyang Jing gladly agreed.

Captain Liu arranged for Ouyang Jing to confront Bai Qiuhe about the murder of her adoptive parents, and her deductions frightened Bai Qiuhe into confessing. Jiang Cheng then revealed that Bai Qiuhe’s birth parents had sold her, leaving her to face the consequences of her crimes.

• Captain Liu asked Ouyang Jing to help bluff Bai Qiuhe into talking, and Ouyang Jing identified the murder weapon and its likely location.
• Captain Liu contacted Jiang Cheng, and they arranged a joint interrogation of Bai Qiuhe by video call.
• Ouyang Jing reconstructed the murder from a few clues, and Bai Qiuhe confessed within minutes, including details of her later plans.
• Jiang Cheng told Bai Qiuhe that her birth parents had sold her and her younger sisters to obtain a son, while her adoptive parents had raised her as their own.
• Bai Qiuhe panicked and denied Jiang Cheng’s account, while he condemned her for murdering her adoptive parents and vowed that the police would uphold justice.

Jiang Cheng arrested Bai Qiuhe after exposing her crimes, and the livestream audience celebrated her capture. Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining reaffirmed their commitment to each other, then made an enormous breakfast that brought the group together the next morning.

• Jiang Cheng brought Bai Qiuhe out in handcuffs and announced that the evidence against her was conclusive, meaning she would go to prison and could no longer appear on the show.
• The livestream viewers celebrated Bai Qiuhe's arrest and praised Song Shiwei for helping expose criminals.
• Xu Zizhen admitted she felt foolish for believing Bai Qiuhe's fake mystic, and Xi Zining promised they would stay together and keep bickering as they grew old.
• Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining stayed up talking and cooking, then invited Song Shiwei to join them for the huge breakfast they had prepared.
• Song Shiwei and Jiang Zhuxin helped Xu Zizhen and Xi Zining finish the meal with the production crew, and the group's mood brightened after Bai Qiuhe was gone.

Song Shiwei’s inner gossip exposed the low prices and possible corruption surrounding the villagers’ melon sales. The village Party secretary and the buyer arrived with a story about excess supply, while the villagers remained unsure whom to believe.

• Song Shiwei and the others visited the melon fields, where her inner gossip revealed embarrassing secrets about several villagers.
• Song Shiwei’s thoughts claimed the buyer paid the farmers far less than city customers paid and planned to lower the price further.
• Song Shiwei’s thoughts accused Secretary Lin of profiting from the villagers, but the farmers defended him and recalled how he had found them a buyer.
• Secretary Lin arrived with the fat buyer, who claimed he could not buy more melons because the harvest was too large.
• The buyer offered to purchase all the villagers’ melons for Secretary Lin’s sake, while Song Shiwei suspected they were being manipulated into accepting a lower price.

Song Shiwei exposed Boss Zhang and Secretary Lin’s staged attempt to lower the price of the villagers’ melons, and the villagers realized the pair had been cheating them for years. Her inner voice also revealed that a previous secretary had planned to build Qingyuan Town’s watermelon brand.

• Song Shiwei predicted that Boss Zhang would criticize the melons and pressure the villagers to accept a lower price, and Boss Zhang did exactly that.
• The villagers defended their harvest as Boss Zhang claimed it was inferior and difficult to sell.
• Secretary Lin and Boss Zhang argued over the price, while Song Shiwei recognized their exchange as a double act and noticed Secretary Lin had injured his hand slapping a tree.
• Song Shiwei’s inner voice revealed that Boss Zhang and Secretary Lin had colluded to exploit the villagers for five years, and the villagers realized they had been cheated.
• Song Shiwei recalled that the previous secretary had wanted to build a Qingyuan Town watermelon brand and find dependable partners to sell the melons nationwide.

Song Shiwei exposed Secretary Lin’s corruption, exploitation of the villagers, and affair with Boss Zhang’s wife. The villagers realized they had been cheated for years and stopped trusting Secretary Lin’s offer to make up the price difference.

• Song Shiwei revealed that Secretary Lin had colluded with melon dealers to buy the villagers’ watermelons cheaply and had profited from kickbacks and resale.
• Song Shiwei exposed that Secretary Lin had refused to pay for his wife’s cancer treatment while buying expensive gifts for his mistress.
• Song Shiwei revealed that Secretary Lin planned to transfer assets through his wife before leaving with Boss Zhang’s wife, who was carrying Boss Zhang’s child.
• Secretary Lin offered to cover the price difference himself, but Song Shiwei warned that he planned to fleece the villagers another way.
• The villagers recalled years of selling popular watermelons for far below their market value and understood that Secretary Lin had been taking their profits.

Secretary Lin tried to persuade the villagers to accept a low price for their watermelons while secretly planning to recover his money through other charges. Song Shiwei exposed his offer of a bribe in front of the villagers, leaving him forced to claim the money was compensation for the variety show crew.

• Secretary Lin expected the villagers to praise him for offering to buy their watermelons at the old price, but they questioned why his offer ignored the reported shortage.
• Secretary Lin lied that the villagers' watermelons were inferior, then pulled Song Shiwei aside and offered her a hundred thousand yuan to cooperate with him.
• Song Shiwei announced the bribe to the villagers, and Jiang Zhuxin, Xu Zizhen, and Xi Zining joined in by asking what they would get for cooperating.
• Secretary Lin claimed he was personally offering a hundred thousand yuan to compensate the crew for promoting Qingyuan Town watermelons.
• Song Shiwei asked whether the hundred thousand yuan was for each person, while thinking about Secretary Lin's allegedly embezzled money and his hospitalized wife.