Chapter Summaries

Yao Lan rode to the administration building with Zhou Yuwen and his mother, learning about his difficult upbringing and writing success while noticing the mismatch between his modest mother and expensive Mercedes. The family arrived at the building, where Zhou Yuwen’s class assistant Shao Yun came to greet Yao Lan.

• Mrs. Zhou told Yao Lan that she had raised Zhou Yuwen alone after divorcing his father and praised his writing and success.
• Mrs. Zhou claimed Zhou Yuwen’s Mercedes had cost only two or three hundred thousand yuan, and Zhou Yuwen awkwardly agreed.
• Zhou Yuwen drove Yao Lan and his mother through the campus to the administration building, explaining that he had visited during summer vacation.
• Mrs. Zhou offered Yao Lan local specialties, and Zhou Yuwen suggested bringing them to her home after work instead.
• Shao Yun, Zhou Yuwen’s class assistant, spotted Yao Lan and came over to greet her.

Zhou Yuwen registered at Nanjing Forestry University with his mother, collected his supplies, and moved into an old dorm. As his mother repaired his bedding and urged him to build relationships with his roommates, Zhou Yuwen said he planned to rent a place after military training.

• Yao Lan introduced Zhou Yuwen to his class assistant, Shao Yun, who helped him complete registration.
• Zhou Yuwen drove his mother around campus and collected his bedding and other supplies.
• Zhou Yuwen and his mother found his room in the old dorm building and began settling in.
• Zhou Yuwen's mother sewed a tear in the school-issued quilt and urged him to live with his roommates and make friends.
• Zhou Yuwen told his mother he planned to rent a place near the school after military training.

After seeing his mother off, Zhou Yuwen delivered her local specialties to Yao Lan and spoke with her at her home. Yao Lan asked him to help manage the class and offered him the position of class monitor.

• Zhou Yuwen drove his mother to their relatives' home, then returned to school after promising to keep in touch and take care of her reminders.
• Zhou Yuwen called Yao Lan and brought her the local specialties his mother had prepared, along with two white tea gift sets he had bought.
• Yao Lan asked Zhou Yuwen about his novel-writing success and his Mercedes-Benz, then complained about managing her household and work.
• Yao Lan told Zhou Yuwen she considered him dependable and asked whether he wanted to be class monitor.

Zhou Yuwen agreed to let Yao Lan recommend him as class monitor, then returned to campus and met three of his new roommates. Tang Yi arrived last and exchanged bunks with Gao Qiang.

• Yao Lan encouraged Zhou Yuwen to try for class monitor, and he agreed while warning that his writing might keep him busy.
• Zhou Yuwen drove back through Nanjing Forestry University’s busy freshman registration area and parked his Mercedes-Benz outside Building A9.
• Zhou Yuwen met Gao Qiang, who introduced himself and offered him a cigarette, and Lu Cancan, who was reading by the window.
• Tang Yi arrived complaining about the dorm and the campus, then accepted Gao Qiang’s offer to swap the lower bunk for his bed.

Tang Yi settled into the dorm with Zhou Yuwen, Gao Qiang, and Lu Cancan, chatting about his belongings, tastes, and habits. When his girlfriend arrived to see him, Gao Qiang was surprised that Tang Yi already had one.

• Gao Qiang tidied his bed and chatted with Tang Yi, who said he was from Wujin in Changzhou.
• Zhou Yuwen offered the roommates snacks, and Tang Yi unpacked clothes and a Tissot watch while boasting about their prices.
• Tang Yi joked with the others about the dorm, shared cigarettes, and told them he listened to folk songs to fall asleep.
• Tang Yi answered a phone call and told his roommates that his girlfriend had come to see him.
• Gao Qiang exclaimed in surprise that Tang Yi had a girlfriend, and Tang Yi acted as if it were perfectly normal.

The author explained his familiar writing style, modest expectations, recent breakup, and gratitude toward readers who had followed his novels for years. He promised to keep writing the kind of stories his readers wanted, while admitting he feared the next recommendations would bring criticism.

• The author said he had started the book to distract himself and described himself as selfish and unable to love or manage marriage.
• The author recalled a longtime reader encouraging him to keep his distinctive style, after which he stopped trying to innovate and continued writing within his comfort zone.
• The author described how his books consistently attracted about 1,500 followers, and said he had reached the Sanjiang standard before receiving four major recommendations.
• The author recalled readers telling him that his first book had accompanied them through their youth, and said their messages made him happy and gave him a sense of accomplishment.
• The author promised to include every woman in the harem, make sure it was their first time, and avoid poison points, while asking new readers not to flame him for similar plots.
• The author said he would keep writing for readers who enjoyed his books, though he thought he might not be able to continue much longer.

Tang Yi’s roommates saw his girlfriend, Xia Hui, and were surprised by her beauty. After she delivered a package from Tang Yi’s mother, the group arranged to play cards with Xia Hui and her roommate.

• Gao Qiang and Zhou Yuwen watched Tang Yi meet Xia Hui outside the dormitory and admired her appearance.
• Xia Hui gave Tang Yi a package from his mother and told him to get along with his roommates.
• Tang Yi invited Xia Hui to play cards with him and his roommates, and she agreed to bring her roommate.
• Gao Qiang eagerly volunteered to join them, while Tang Yi teased him for acting too desperate in front of girls.

Tang Yi, Zhou Yuwen, and Gao Qiang headed to the cafeteria, where Tang Yi showed off his knowledge of an expensive Mercedes-Benz and Gao Qiang declared he would drive an even better car after graduation. They met Xia Hui upstairs, and the chapter ended when Gao Qiang called her “sister-in-law” and she challenged him.

• Lu Cancan declined Tang Yi’s invitation to come along and stayed in the dorm.
• Tang Yi told Gao Qiang that the parked Mercedes-Benz E-Class cost over 600,000, prompting Gao Qiang to vow he would drive a better car after graduation.
• Tang Yi, Zhou Yuwen, and Gao Qiang walked through campus, where Tang Yi commented on the girls and scolded Gao Qiang for loudly pointing them out.
• The three met Xia Hui and their other acquaintances on the cafeteria’s second floor, and Tang Yi introduced Zhou Yuwen and Gao Qiang to her.
• Gao Qiang greeted Xia Hui as “sister-in-law,” and Xia Hui frowned and asked, “What did you call me?”

Tang Yi’s boast that Xia Hui was his girlfriend was exposed, and he introduced her roommate Ruan Yu to the group before they settled down to play cards. Ruan Yu declined to join and chose to read, while Zhou Yuwen reacted to her book with an inscrutable smile.

• Gao Qiang called Xia Hui Tang Yi’s girlfriend, and Xia Hui demanded to know who had told him that.
• Tang Yi admitted he had called Xia Hui his future girlfriend, and Xia Hui scolded him in Changzhou dialect while Gao Qiang misunderstood their conversation.
• Tang Yi clarified that Xia Hui was only his close friend and former high school classmate, then asked her to introduce her roommate.
• Xia Hui introduced Ruan Yu, and Tang Yi discovered that she and Zhou Yuwen were both from Xuhuai.
• Tang Yi and Gao Qiang invited Ruan Yu to play cards, but she declined and said she would read her book.
• Zhou Yuwen smiled when Ruan Yu raised her copy of Da Bing’s Amitabha, Mwah, leaving her wondering why he found it amusing.

Zhou Yuwen, Tang Yi, Xia Hui, and Gao Qiang played Fight the Landlord for small stakes, and Xia Hui won the first round after tricking Gao Qiang into letting her shed a card. Gao Qiang discovered that the bomb multipliers made his loss thirty-two yuan, and paid up despite his surprise.

• Xia Hui suggested playing cards for money, and Gao Qiang eagerly pushed for a fifty-cent starting stake with bombs doubling it.
• Tang Yi passed on the first chance to claim landlord, and Xia Hui took the kitty cards without looking at her hand.
• Gao Qiang played two bombs and agreed to let Xia Hui shed a single card, but Xia Hui used her own bomb and went out.
• Tang Yi counted seven bombs and said Gao Qiang owed Xia Hui thirty-two yuan, far more than Gao Qiang had expected.
• Gao Qiang insisted he had forgotten the rules, then changed his transfer from three yuan fifty to thirty-two yuan and paid Xia Hui.