Chapter Summaries

Gong Xue completed her first scene on Mount Lu after following Wang Haowei’s advice to relax and focus on taking pictures. Later, she shared White Rabbit candy sent by her parents with the crew, while Chen Qi spotted a promising opportunity in Story Club’s call for submissions.

• Gong Xue successfully filmed her first scene, and Wang Haowei praised her progress.
• A parcel arrived for Gong Xue with a letter from her parents, White Rabbit candy, and a copy of Story Club.
• Gong Xue asked Wang Haowei how to share the candy, then gave Chen Qi two pieces and thanked him for helping her with the scene.
• Chen Qi read Story Club and noticed its submission rates, deciding that writing short fiction could provide him with a steady income.

He Chengwei, an editor at Story Club Magazine, read a martial-arts submission called “Kapok Kasaya” and was captivated by its fast-paced tale of a Shaolin relic, a brave young couple, and a temple under attack. The manuscript stopped just as Ding Mo fell from a cliff, leaving He Chengwei desperate to know what happened next.

• He Chengwei reviewed a hand-copied manuscript and decided the story could be used.
• He Chengwei received a new submission from Mount Lu titled “Kapok Kasaya.”
• He Chengwei read how Ding Mo met Lin Ying, learned Wang Cheng threatened Shaolin, and hurried to Mount Song.
• Ding Mo helped Master Yuanhui escape the attack on Shaolin, then drew the pursuers away with a fake kasaya.
• Qi Tianyuan defeated Ding Mo and knocked him off a cliff, and He Chengwei found the manuscript ended there.

Story Club’s chief editor accepted Chen Qi’s cliffhanger martial-arts story, Kapok Kasaya, and sent He Chengwei to meet its mysterious author. He Chengwei reached Mount Lu and learned that A Qi was Chen Qi, the screenwriter working with a film crew.

• He Chengwei showed the chief editor the manuscript, and the editor praised its cliffhanger and ordered it published in full under the name A Qi.
• The chief editor told He Chengwei to visit the author at Mount Lu and offer a payment of seven yuan per thousand characters if his work proved strong.
• Chen Qi reflected on his plans to adapt Kapok Kasaya into a film and described his changes to the romance between its leads.
• He Chengwei traveled to Guling and discovered that A Qi was Chen Qi, a screenwriter staying there with a film crew.

Chen Qi entertained the film crew with stories while working as a passerby on Romance on Mount Lu, then met He Chengwei, an editor from Story Club, who praised Kapok Kasaya and asked about its conclusion. Chen Qi finished recounting the ending, leaving He Chengwei moved to tears.

• Chen Qi joked during filming, and Wang Haowei redirected him to focus on Gong Xue’s scene and helped him add a gesture for her character.
• At lunch, Chen Qi told the crew about Shen Wansan’s wealth but stopped at a cliffhanger, claiming the rest involved feudal superstition.
• After returning to the hotel, Chen Qi met He Chengwei, the Story Club editor who had come to see the author of Kapok Kasaya.
• Chen Qi said the novel’s second half would be ready in a few days, then explained how Ding Mo avenged himself, became abbot, and parted from Lin Ying.
• He Chengwei cried after hearing Chen Qi recount the ending.

Chen Qi secured a writing deal with Story Club and submitted Kapok Kasaya, a wuxia story adapted from a movie plot. When the magazine reached readers in September, Liu Wanbao became engrossed in the serial and was left desperate to learn what happened after its cliffhanger.

• Chen Qi discussed genre limits with He Chengwei, who praised his storytelling and offered him seven yuan per thousand characters for submissions.
• Chen Qi accepted the offer and planned to write fighting-focused stories, adapting movie plots into fiction.
• Story Club’s September issue was printed and distributed across Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui.
• At Shanghai railway station, Liu Wanbao bought Story Club and started reading Kapok Kasaya while waiting for his train.
• Liu Wanbao became absorbed in the story, then cursed its cliffhanger and realized he had missed his train.

Liu Wanbao brought Story Club back to Chengdu and arranged subscriptions for local cultural stations after seeing how eagerly passengers discussed Kapok Kasaya. The issue sold out across Jiangnan and drew new subscriptions, while Chen Qi’s popular novel remained unnoticed by mainstream literary circles.

• Liu Wanbao returned to Chengdu, realized martial arts stories could entertain rural audiences, and persuaded the Jinniu District Cultural Center to order copies of Story Club.
• Liu Wanbao ordered sixty copies and sent author A Qi a letter praising Kapok Kasaya and inviting him to write about Sichuan.
• A Shanghai boy asked his father to subscribe to Story Club after classmates eagerly shared the magazine, and his father agreed after reading it in the public toilet.
• Story Club’s distribution staff reported that the September issue had sold out across Shanghai and other cities, with demand for at least thirty thousand additional copies and more than a hundred subscriptions from Chengdu.
• The Story Club editors credited Kapok Kasaya with boosting sales, discussed inviting A Qi to Shanghai, and considered future events for writers and readers.
• Chen Qi remained an overlooked popular-fiction author, and mainstream literary circles paid no attention to Story Club or Kapok Kasaya.

Chen Qi received a request to write a novel set in Sichuan but decided to wait until he felt inspired, while the crew of Romance on Mount Lu rehearsed and prepared for a National Day celebration. He watched Gong Xue film a heartbreak scene and praised her performance, though she privately doubted his sincerity.

• He Chengwei brought Chen Qi a new issue of Story Club and letters, and took the second half of Kapok Kasaya away.
• Chen Qi answered a letter from the Chengdu Jinniu District Cultural Center asking him to write a novel set in Sichuan, but postponed the idea.
• Zhang Jinling and Gong Xue rehearsed a scene in which Geng Ying tried to drive Zhou Yun away from Geng Hua.
• Wang Haowei announced that the crew would prepare performances for National Day, and Tang Guoqiang told them he would marry after the holiday.
• Wang Haowei directed Gong Xue to run in a heartbroken state, and the crew praised her after she repeated the scene for filming.
• Chen Qi praised Gong Xue's running, but she wondered whether he meant it because his approval mattered to her.

Chen Qi joined the Romance on Mount Lu crew and Guling Hotel staff for a National Day celebration, where Tang Guoqiang persuaded him to perform a duet. The chapter ended as Chen Qi and Tang Guoqiang were called to the stage to sing Toast Song.

• Chen Qi met Gong Xue and Zhang Jinling on a rainy walk, and Zhang Jinling insisted he prepare a song or dance for the party.
• Tang Guoqiang brought a cassette to Chen Qi's room and got him to practice Toast Song as their duet.
• On October 1, the Guling Hotel hosted a National Day celebration for the Romance on Mount Lu crew and hotel staff.
• Wang Haowei and the hotel manager hosted the celebration, which opened with a loyalty dance, Peking opera, and poetry recitals.
• Gong Xue, Zhang Jinling, and other women sang The Spring Water Tinkles, bringing the audience to life.
• The hosts introduced Tang Guoqiang and Chen Qi to sing Toast Song, and the crowd applauded enthusiastically.

Chen Qi performed a deliberately over-the-top song at the crew’s party, then gave Gong Xue acting advice after she asked about a scene she had filmed. Their conversation led Gong Xue to share painful memories of her childhood, rural labor, and military training, and Chen Qi left her with a way to draw on her emotions in future performances.

• Chen Qi sang theatrically at the party, making the crew laugh and tease him.
• Chen Qi met Gong Xue on a walk and agreed to explain how she could improve her acting.
• Chen Qi described three acting approaches and asked Gong Xue to draw on an emotion she had experienced herself.
• Gong Xue told Chen Qi about her childhood, her injury while working in the countryside, and her difficult march during army training.
• Gong Xue cried as she spoke about missing her parents, and Chen Qi encouraged her and told her to remember the feeling for her acting.