Chapter Summaries

Su Jin received a major Netflix stake and advanced her business and film plans as her trailer drew attention from major festivals and brands. She won the Elite University Championship semifinal, then learned from Ethan that her success had inspired other students and followed a fan account dedicated to her.

• Su Jin completed her ninety-seventh daily check-in and received a 2.8% stake in Netflix, lifetime VIP membership at Maison de Couture, and a plan to distribute her companies’ content overseas.
• Su Jin learned that Berlin, Venice, and Cannes were competing to premiere her film, and she planned to attend Berlin after her Chanel shoot.
• Su Jin approved the acquisition of Windbreaking Pictures, setting an opening offer at 85% of the asking valuation and offering the founder 15% in options.
• Su Jin arrived at MIT’s semifinal amid a large crowd of spectators and fans, then completed all five difficult questions with two minutes remaining.
• Su Jin won the semifinal, while Ethan told her that an MIT freshman had started a fan account and that her achievements inspired him and other students.
• Su Jin followed the fan account and thanked Ethan for telling her she was not moving forward alone; Ethan said he would see her film at the Berlin Film Festival.

Su Jin settled into her Beverly Hills estate, visited Dior for a couture fitting, and toured Netflix headquarters, where she discussed recommendation algorithms with its engineering team. Back home, she approved an avant-garde renovation plan and ended the day before the still-empty wall awaiting Shen Nian’s painting, with her Berlin premiere approaching.

• Su Jin arrived at her Beverly Hills estate and asked Cheng Yan to have Shen Nian paint a vision of Los Angeles at night for its four-by-six-meter wall.
• Su Jin visited Dior’s private salon, tried on seven gowns, and reserved Galliano’s white wedding gown for a future use.
• Su Jin toured Netflix headquarters with Jessica Zhang, discussed recommendation algorithms with Raj, and arranged to meet Ted Sarandos for dinner the following Tuesday.
• Su Jin approved Michael’s plan for a Calacatta Viola feature wall, brass stair railings, warm lighting, and artworks selected by David, including a Louise Bourgeois print for her bedroom.
• Su Jin read Anderson’s message confirming her February 15 Berlin premiere and left Ethan’s question about returning to Boston unanswered as she contemplated the empty wall and Shen Nian’s future painting.

Su Jin chose Shen Nian’s third poster draft and proposed turning her artistic language into a furniture brand, which they named Moment Echo, or ME. In Los Angeles, Su Jin secured Ted Sarandos’s interest in a Netflix co-production suspense series and an international design competition show, then returned home and posted a photo from her Boston morning.

• Su Jin selected Shen Nian’s third poster draft and proposed a furniture brand pairing Shen Nian’s designs with a Milan workshop and Su Jin’s funding and distribution.
• Shen Nian chose American black walnut for her first chair, agreed to call the brand Moment Echo, or ME, and planned to bring the chair to Su Jin in Hong Kong next month.
• Su Jin met Ted Sarandos with Lu Shen and pitched a suspense series about a Chinese mother searching for her missing daughter, as well as the global design competition show The Creator Project.
• Ted agreed to pursue both projects, with Su Jin funding The Creator Project and Netflix handling worldwide distribution.
• Su Jin returned to her Beverly Hills home, posted a Boston outfit photo on Instagram, and went to sleep as the post rapidly gained likes and comments.

Su Jin received a Disney stake and prepared a Chanel look for the Berlin red carpet before winning the Elite University Championship in London. Afterward, she asked Ethan to connect her with Sony so she could develop a game based on Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

• The system awarded Su Jin a 1.5% stake in Disney and unlocked access to its global distribution network for her productions.
• Su Jin selected a silver-white Chanel gown for the Berlin red carpet and met Geneviève Durand, who agreed to plan her styling.
• Su Jin solved the Elite University Championship’s final challenge and won first place for MIT with an efficient 320-line system.
• Professor Harris praised Su Jin’s code, and she thanked him before Ethan congratulated her on the terrace.
• Su Jin told Ethan she wanted to make a worldwide game based on Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, and Ethan gave her the contact details of Takeshi Yamamoto at Sony.

After returning to Paris, Su Jin tried on shoes at Roger Vivier, accepted an invitation to guest-host Saturday Night Live, and hired Geneviève Durand as her personal stylist. She charmed the SNL audience with her appearance and jokes, then planned to go to Milan with Shen Nian after Berlin to make a chair.

• Su Jin received ownership of Tetiaroa, a private island in French Polynesia, as her 130th daily check-in reward.
• At Roger Vivier, Su Jin tried on many shoes, kept three pairs, and met Simone, whom she told about owning the island.
• Su Jin accepted SNL's invitation and asked Geneviève Durand to become her personal stylist; Geneviève agreed to work with her.
• Geneviève styled Su Jin for SNL, where Su Jin explained computer vision and joked about being unable to boil an egg, delighting the audience.
• After the recording, Su Jin's Instagram following rose from thirty million to thirty-five million, and Geneviève arranged to discuss her Berlin look the next day.
• Su Jin messaged Shen Nian that they would go to Milan after Berlin to make the chair.

Su Jin auditioned actors for She Comes from the East, pitched Sony producer Takeshi Yamamoto a Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio game, and selected outfits for Berlin. In Los Angeles, she rejected a Disney board seat but agreed to develop an animated film based on Chinese mythology, leaving to pursue her next projects.

• Su Jin auditioned three Huace Starlight actresses for She Comes from the East and circled Zhou Di’s name after her interpretation of the character’s anger impressed her.
• Su Jin pitched Takeshi Yamamoto a three-protagonist AAA game inspired by Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, and he agreed to prepare a proposal.
• Geneviève showed Su Jin three outfits for Berlin’s red carpet, premiere, and awards ceremony, and Su Jin approved their intended order.
• Su Jin declined Bob Iger’s invitation to join Disney’s board but proposed an animated film about Nüwa, Chang’e, and Yu the Great, and Iger agreed to make it.
• Su Jin told Iger she would play the animated film’s heroine herself, then left Disney headquarters reflecting on her drive to keep creating.

Su Jin dazzled audiences at the Berlin Film Festival with her red-carpet appearance and acclaimed performance in Winter Harbor, then defended her achievements after a former roommate accused her of being kept. Her colleagues, MIT, and professional partners publicly supported her, and she watched the allegations turn in her favor as her following grew.

• Su Jin walked the Berlinale red carpet in a Chanel gown, drawing intense attention from photographers and reporters.
• At the Winter Harbor premiere, Su Jin’s portrayal of Lin earned a standing ovation and the festival’s highest score so far.
• At the press conference, Su Jin said she had earned her success, explained that being alive meant pursuing meaningful work, and affirmed she would remain in academia.
• After returning to her hotel, Su Jin saw that Wang Siyu had accused her online of being kept by a sugar daddy and questioned how she had gained her wealth.
• Su Jin asked Zhao Mingyuan to publish evidence and sue Wang Siyu, and contacted Anderson and Professor Harris for support.
• Huace Starlight, MIT, Netflix, Dior, and Shen Nian publicly backed Su Jin, while online opinion shifted in her favor and her Instagram following passed forty million.

Su Jin attended the Berlin Film Festival awards, where “Winter Harbor” won Best Film and several other awards, though Isabelle Huppert won Best Actress. After urging audiences to see Lin’s story and declining to act in another film, Su Jin traveled to Paris for a Harper’s Bazaar shoot and planned ME’s first furniture collection with Shen Nian.

• Su Jin walked the Berlin red carpet in a white Saint Laurent suit as “Winter Harbor” won awards for sound, score, editing, art direction, cinematography, and director.
• Isabelle Huppert won Best Actress over Su Jin, who applauded her sincerely; “Winter Harbor” then won Best Film, and Anderson brought Su Jin onstage to share the Silver Bear.
• Su Jin told the audience to go see Lin and later told Anderson she would not make another film, encouraging him to take “Winter Harbor” to Cannes.
• Su Jin flew to Paris, where Little Golden Egg told her that her Instagram following and the video of her applauding Huppert had surged in popularity.
• Su Jin modeled ten different looks for the French edition of Harper’s Bazaar, then visited Shen Nian’s studio to review ME’s first collection and name its reading chair “Nian.”
• Su Jin planned ME stores in Paris, New York, and her Beijing courtyard house, and told Shen Nian that production would begin in Milan the following month.

A man learned that Su Jin was almost certainly his long-lost sister and decided to meet her at Cannes in front of the cameras. In Paris, Su Jin collected a bespoke Bentley, bought Qing antiques at auction, and resolved to use modern technology to revive lost craft traditions.

• A man received DNA results showing a 99.97 percent probability that Su Jin was his sister, learned she was in Paris, and planned to approach her at Cannes.
• Su Jin completed her 137th daily check-in, chose the Yunnan Camellia Bentley, and drove it to Shen Nian's studio.
• Su Jin and Shen Nian attended an auction, where Su Jin bought a set of Qing kingfisher-feather phoenix hair ornaments.
• Su Jin bought a peachbloom-glazed scholar's set and told Shen Nian she would use technology to restore lost crafts and make their techniques reproducible.

Su Jin watched Cheng Yan buy Shen Nian’s painting for thirty-two million, then returned to Beijing and set out SJ Group’s three-year plans. After recruiting three specialists and purchasing top-level negotiation skills, she received an invitation to become Roger Vivier’s first global brand ambassador and chose to leave the offer unanswered for now.

• Cheng Yan won Shen Nian’s Place of Return at auction for thirty-two million, and Su Jin messaged Shen Nian the final price.
• Shen Nian unpacked her walnut sideboard, Hill, and Su Jin admired its carved, wave-like surface and hidden brass handle.
• Su Jin convened SJ Group’s first strategic meeting and announced plans for ME stores, global distribution of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, and recreating peachbloom glaze in Jingdezhen.
• Su Jin spent her remaining system points to recruit a PR professional, a luxury operations director, and a Jingdezhen glaze expert, then exchanged her allowance for top-level negotiation skills.
• Su Jin received Roger Vivier’s invitation to become its global brand ambassador and told Little Golden Egg she would let the brand wait before replying.

Su Jin used her daily check-in reward to become a major Aman Group stakeholder, then interviewed candidates for SJ Group’s game team and the suspense drama She Comes from the East. She hired a physics simulation specialist and brought Shen Du directly onto the drama, while Gu Yan was sent to meet Sony’s technical team.

• Su Jin bought two fragrances and received a 4.7 percent stake in the Aman Group, along with a board seat and lifelong stays at its hotels.
• Su Jin hired the first game-team candidate, a physics simulation specialist who had worked at Pixar, and dismissed the second candidate after he disparaged the project.
• Su Jin interviewed Gu Yan, a Harvard-trained procedural-generation researcher, and arranged for him to meet Sony’s technical team in Boston.
• Su Jin interviewed Shen Du, a London-trained stage actor, canceled his audition, and offered him a role in She Comes from the East.

Su Jin reflected on ME’s sold-out launch, refused to increase production, and chose a Cannes gown called “Spring in Maine.” News that the Lausanne Foundation was sponsoring Cannes stirred an old, uncertain memory of a promise about Lausanne and the brother she had forgotten.

• Shen Nian told Su Jin that ME’s reading chairs had sold out across its stores and that resellers were charging three times the price, so Su Jin decided to raise prices without making more chairs.
• Su Jin saw that Shen Nian had placed wordless billboards featuring the Hill sideboard in Paris, New York, and Beijing.
• At Chanel’s atelier, Su Jin rejected the Iceberg gown and named the beaded pink gown Spring in Maine.
• Geneviève told Su Jin that the Lausanne Foundation had become a major Cannes sponsor and that people speculated it was searching for someone.
• As Fang Ying drove through Paris, Su Jin recalled a childhood promise to take her to Lausanne and remembered that she had an older brother.

At the Cannes Film Festival, Su Jin walked the red carpet in a gown and one-of-a-kind jewelry before meeting Su Heng, the older brother she had not seen since childhood. She declined to return with him immediately, asking for time, and left with his contact card.

• Su Jin wore the jewelry arranged by Zhao Mingyuan and walked the Cannes red carpet in her blush-pink Chanel gown.
• A man invited Su Jin to a private lounge on the third floor, where she met Su Heng.
• Su Heng told Su Jin that he was her older brother, described how he had searched for her, and said their family lived in Lausanne.
• Su Jin thanked Su Heng but said she could not go with him because she did not know him and needed time.
• Su Heng left his phone number for Su Jin and departed, and she put his card in her clutch.

At Cannes, Su Jin unexpectedly won Best Actress for "Winter Harbor," and Su Heng revealed he was her older brother, who had searched for her for twenty years. Su Jin accepted his place in her life cautiously, agreeing to take things slowly as the ceremony continued.

• Su Jin accepted Shen Nian's Best Art Direction trophy and told the audience that Shen Nian said spring had arrived.
• Su Heng presented Su Jin with the Best Actress award for "Winter Harbor."
• Su Heng revealed that he was Su Jin's older brother and had searched for her for twenty years.
• Su Jin said she had an older brother who had found her and declared that the trophy belonged to Lin while the moment belonged to her.
• Su Heng invited Su Jin to come home, and she answered that they should take things slowly.
• Su Jin returned to her seat with the Silver Palm and watched the awards ceremony continue.

Su Jin arrived at her family’s centuries-old castle in Italy and met her ninety-three-year-old grandfather. After seeing portraits that resembled her and her mother, she recognized her mother in an old photograph as her grandfather welcomed her home.

• Su Heng brought Su Jin from Milan to the family estate, where he showed her the castle, its grounds, and its history.
• Su Heng led Su Jin along a corridor of family portraits, and Su Jin saw that a portrait of her great-grandmother looked exactly like her.
• Su Jin entered her grandfather’s study and met him for the first time.
• Her grandfather recalled how Su Jin had been taken away as a child and how he had searched for her for years.
• Su Jin recognized her mother in a photograph, and her grandfather told her that she had finally come home.

Su Jin returned to her family in Italy, accepted her inheritance as the family’s heir, and signed the documents before leaving for Beijing. Back at Huace Starlight, she reviewed the game team’s Liaozhai story selections and their plan to make combat depend on emotion and fear.

• Su Jin rode a horse with Su Heng’s help, and Grandpa welcomed her back and gave her an envelope containing twenty percent of the family’s shares.
• Su Jin initially refused the shares, then agreed to keep them for the future, and Grandpa told her she was already the family’s heir.
• Su Jin signed the inheritance documents in the study and promised Grandpa she would return whenever he missed her.
• Su Jin returned to Beijing, where Zhao Mingyuan brought her to meet the game team at Huace Starlight.
• Zhou Di presented twelve selected Liaozhai stories, and Gu Yan explained how the game would make fleeing, seeing, and overcoming fear its forms of combat.

Su Jin attended the Chanel, Dior, Paris Aristocratic Family, and Roger Vivier shows during Paris Fashion Week, commanding attention in each front row. After the Roger Vivier show, she left wearing the brand’s newest sandals, as Paris shone around her.

• Su Jin arrived in Paris and chose to go to her hotel before attending Chanel’s show at the Grand Palais.
• Su Jin watched Chanel’s show from the front row, greeted Virginie Viard, and signed autographs for fans outside.
• Su Jin attended Dior’s show at the Rodin Museum, where the CEO embraced her and praised her as the day’s standout.
• Su Jin wore a black leather trench coat to Paris Aristocratic Family’s show, and a photograph of her in the darkness spread rapidly online.
• Su Jin attended Roger Vivier’s show alone in the front row, and the brand director replaced her sneakers with smoky pink Très Vivier sandals.

Su Jin received a 5.2 percent stake in Wanda Film and traveled to Tetiaroa, where she spent the day by the sea. After reviewing the island’s facilities the next morning, she decided it would become a resort rather than a hotel.

• Su Jin checked in from Boston and received a 5.2 percent stake in Wanda Film, a board seat, and access to cinema-line distribution privileges.
• Su Jin messaged Zhao Mingyuan to arrange for someone to join Wanda Film’s board.
• Su Jin flew from Los Angeles to Tetiaroa with Fang Ying and Zhou Ye and settled into the villa.
• Su Jin spent the day on the island, then returned to dinner on the terrace and watched the Southern Hemisphere stars.
• The butler showed Su Jin a map and inventory of the island’s facilities, and she declared that it would be a resort, not a hotel.

Su Jin’s game trailer went viral worldwide while she traveled to Boston and attended the opening ceremony for She Comes from the East. She pressed Disney to give its Nüwa film a stronger Chinese mythological story, then received news that the trailer had passed three hundred million views.

• Su Jin’s one-minute game trailer was released without advance publicity and surpassed two hundred million views within three days.
• Su Jin arrived in Boston and attended the opening ceremony for She Comes from the East, where Zhao Mingyuan introduced her to the crew and Lin Xiaozhou, Zhou Di, and Shen Du stood with the cast.
• Su Jin went to Disney’s Burbank headquarters, reviewed concept art for Nüwa, and told Bob Iger and the team that the story needed a stronger core rooted in Chinese mythology.
• Su Jin posted a mirror photo captioned “Boston rain” and received Gu Yan’s message that the trailer had passed three hundred million views.

Su Jin received a 1.7 percent stake in Tencent, then shot a Paris Aristocratic Family advertisement in the desert. Back at the Su estate, she chose to take charge of the family businesses and asked for a ship of her own, to be named Jin.

• Su Jin received a Tencent stake worth approximately 7.3 billion US dollars as her 205th daily check-in reward.
• Su Jin chose a dark green leather jacket and a raw-edged black skirt for the Paris Aristocratic Family shoot.
• Demna photographed Su Jin beside her car in the desert and selected an unretouched image for the advertisement.
• Su Heng showed Su Jin the family’s shipping, banking, and real estate businesses and invited her to visit the family’s Tuscan estate.
• Su Jin said she wanted the next ship in her name, and Su Heng agreed to name it Jin.