Resumen, trama, sinopsis de Her Blaze

Sinopsis de Her Blaze

Three years ago, the mathematical genius Rao Yuci was framed by her best friend and business partner Bai Liangliang. Accused of assaulting her own mother while under the influence of drugs, Rao Yuci was forcibly committed to a mental health treatment center by her family. Meanwhile, Bai Liangliang sold off the company they had built together and secured a high-level position at the Lisen Group. In an instant, familial bonds, friendship, love, and career—everything that once defined Rao Yuci's life—vanished. As the prodigy fell from grace, she etched into her memory the face of the person who had pushed her into the abyss.

Three years later, Rao Yuci is discharged from the center, having fully recovered. With meticulous planning, she vows to tear off Bai Liangliang's mask of hypocrisy and expose her heinous deeds, leaving them nowhere to hide in the light of day...

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In the ancient Mesopotamian plains, the legend of the goddess Inanna tells of a deity of love and justice who descended into the underworld to visit her sister, Ereshkigal. Instead of a sisterly welcome, Ereshkigal, consumed by rage, vowed to turn her into ashes, eventually stealing Inanna’s crown and glory while leaving her trapped in darkness. This myth mirrors the tragic fall of Rao Yuci, once a brilliant mathematical genius.

Yuci was the visionary behind the startup "Chuxia," alongside her best friend Bai Liangliang, her first love Bai Muran, and their associate Li Mingxuan. However, Liangliang orchestrated a ruthless betrayal, manipulating Yuci into a perceived state of drug addiction and mental instability to seize control. The scheme led to Yuci’s confinement at the Xinkang Treatment Center.

While her devastated mother, Xu Zhaohe, was assured by doctors that the "systematic treatment" was safe, Liangliang visited Yuci not out of pity, but to revel in her victory. She revealed that Bai Muran had loved her long before he ever met Yuci, and that they had simply exploited Yuci's genius to build the company.

Liangliang further twisted the knife by announcing they had sold Chuxia to the Lysen Group for a massive sum, securing herself a high-ranking executive position while Yuci was forcibly restrained by medical staff and left to rot in the ward. Three years later, Yuci is finally discharged. Returning to her old home, she finds it preserved—the rent had been paid for years despite it remaining empty.

Inside, she discovers an old photo of the four friends during the founding of Chuxia, a name that once symbolized the "perfect fulfillment" of friendship and love but now represents a legacy of theft. Though she could have left the center earlier, Yuci stayed to observe the shifting rules of the world. She spent those years gathering fragments of information about the Lysen Group, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

She identifies the Chairman’s son, Li Qiang—a reckless and anxious playboy—as the most vulnerable point to dismantle the company’s power structure. Meanwhile, Bai Liangliang has become a powerful Vice President at Lysen, maintaining a carefully crafted image of benevolence. During a charity event at an orphanage, she displays practiced kindness toward a young girl, only to have her facade shattered by a desperate call from Li Qiang.

He had misappropriated massive funds from the family office, and with Chairman Li Wancheng on the verge of discovery, he turned to Liangliang in a panic. Coldly, Liangliang suggests that if he has no way to fill the "hole" in the accounts, suicide might be his simplest solution. Li Qiang’s subsequent death by jumping from a building ignites a firestorm within Lysen, pushing the tension between Chairman Li Wancheng and CEO Jiang Dongchao into an open war.

At the funeral, Wancheng bars Jiang from paying his respects, declaring it a strictly internal memorial. As the company’s stock price plummets, Wancheng and his brother, Li Wantian, prepare to use the scandal of the missing funds as a pretext to oust Jiang, who managed the family office's affairs. Recognizing this crisis as her entry point, Yuci approaches Jiang Dongchao directly.

She warns him that the Chairman is pulling the strings to remove him and offers a way to break the deadlock. She hands him an envelope containing the "Kelly Criterion"—a mathematical strategy for optimizing investment stakes—along with a bold prediction: the price of a rare metal called LT will soar from $26,300 to $70,000 that very night.

Jiang, a former Wall Street veteran, decides to gamble his career on her genius after a contact, Dr. Dai, confirms that a major research report is indeed scheduled for release. Jiang takes over the trading room, ordering the staff to lock the doors and allow no entry. He commands his team to close all existing positions to free up capital, ignoring the traders' fears that they are "gambling with their lives" by going against a bearish market.

Jiang remains resolute, ordering them to buy every available lot of LT. Outside, a furious Li Wancheng and Li Wantian demand entry. When the staff refuses, claiming Jiang has the only key, Wantian smashes the glass window with a tool to force their way in. As the clock strikes 10:30 PM, news breaks that MIT scientists have achieved a breakthrough in room-temperature superconductivity using LT materials.

The market reacts instantly, and the price of LT skyrockets to $70,000, exactly as Yuci predicted. Jiang wins the war, securing Lysen’s commercial rating and his own position. That evening, he holds a lavish celebration, promising to fulfill the dreams his employees wrote on slips of paper hidden inside balloons. During the party, Jiang sends Liangliang to the observation deck to meet a "special new hire."

Liangliang approaches the figure with a professional smile, introducing herself as the head of the Investment Department. The woman turns around, and Liangliang’s expression freezes in horror. Standing before her is Rao Yuci, the "Inanna" who has returned from the abyss. Amidst the fireworks, Yuci greets her former friend with a cold, triumphant smile, telling her it has been a very long time.

Three years after her sudden disappearance, Rao Yuci returns with a cold brilliance to join the Lysen Group. Years ago, Yuci was the secret to the success of the Chuxia Business Investigation Company, developing a unique data analysis model that made the firm a market leader. However, she was ruthlessly betrayed by her partners—Bai Liangliang, Bai Muran, and Li Mingxuan—who sold the company to the Lysen Group and conspired to have her committed to a psychiatric facility.

Now free, Yuci seeks retribution, and she has selected the weak-willed Li Mingxuan as her first target. Upon entering Lysen Group, HR Director Ren Jing strongly recommends Yuci for the core Futures Investment Department. To everyone's surprise, Yuci chooses Investment Department 3, a neglected and decaying wing of the company. The manager, Yu Peidong, is a paranoid man who was nearly fired over a past recording scandal; consequently, he strictly forbids the use of mobile phones in the office.

While he is curious why a talent like Yuci would settle for his department, she simply states she is there for a specific project. Yuci’s return sends a shockwave through Bai Liangliang, who is now a high-ranking executive. CEO Jiang Dongchao wastes no time in testing Liangliang, revealing he is fully aware of their history and Yuci’s past "illness." Jiang views Liangliang and her associates as dangerous, particularly following the suspicious suicide of the Chairman’s son, Li Qiang.

Fearing for her position, Liangliang begins looking for a new protector in Chairman Li Wancheng, while Li Mingxuan finds himself drowning in 13. 05 million in debt to loan sharks. Yuci confronts Mingxuan, offering to clear his debts if he works for her. To bind him to her, she transfers 1. 05 million to his account, instructing him to keep his phone active during his meetings with Liangliang so she can eavesdrop.

Chairman Li Wancheng summons Bai Liangliang to demand the truth about his son’s final moments. Though Li Qiang had begged her for help on the phone before his death, Liangliang had coldly suggested that death was his only escape. She lies to the Chairman, claiming Li Qiang was distraught because he couldn't reach Jiang Dongchao. By subtly blaming the CEO, she reaffirms her loyalty to the Li family. Meanwhile, under Yuci’s manipulation, Mingxuan meets with Liangliang.

Liangliang, now secretly allied with the Chairman, attempts to force Mingxuan to frame Jiang Dongchao at an upcoming board meeting, promising him control of Investment Department 1 in return. As a power struggle erupts over a shareholder move to dismiss the CEO, Yu Peidong informs Liangliang that Yuci has taken over the "Dada Wine Industry" project. This project is close to Jiang Dongchao’s heart, leading Yu Peidong to suspect that Yuci is actually trying to protect the CEO.

He decides to remain a bystander until he can see which side will prevail. That night, Mingxuan is brutally beaten by loan sharks. Yuci visits him in the hospital, recalling how she once saved him from an embezzlement crisis only to be betrayed. She agrees to help him one last time, but under a final, crushing condition.

The following morning, the company is thrown into chaos when Li Mingxuan climbs onto the rooftop, threatening to jump and demanding to see both Li Wancheng and Jiang Dongchao. As the two men arrive, Jiang attempts to mitigate the PR disaster, admitting to his lack of oversight regarding Li Qiang while urging the Chairman to focus on the threat to the company’s reputation. Yuci, however, walks calmly toward the edge of the roof.

With cold precision, Yuci deconstructs Mingxuan's facade, telling him that a man as selfish as he is lacks the true courage to die. She exposes his "cowardice" as a calculated tool he uses to manipulate others into cleaning up his messes. As Mingxuan collapses in a fit of desperate pleading, Yuci speaks a few final words into his phone to the listening Bai Liangliang before switching it off.

She looks down at the broken man and tells him that his true punishment is just beginning: he is finally going to experience what it means to live a truly failed life.

Jiang Dongchao remains a master of preparation. Before confronting Li Wangcheng, he had already secured the support of Li Wantian and the majority of shareholders for his reappointment at the upcoming meeting. Handing over an unissued letter addressed to the shareholders, Jiang framed himself not as a rival, but as Li Wangcheng's most loyal ally and "brother."

While Jiang maintained a calm exterior, his departure left Li Wangcheng in a silent rage, as he lashed out at the documents on his desk. Meanwhile, Bai Liangliang faced a crisis after the rooftop incident. She instructed her assistant, Tina, to have Li Mingxuan claim his actions were a result of an accidental overdose due to stress.

Li Mingxuan immediately saw through the deception, realizing Bai was attempting to label him as mentally unstable, just as she had done to Rao Yuci three years ago. The situation took a sharp turn when Jiang Dongchao called with two non-negotiable orders: Bai was to fully cooperate with Rao Yuci on the Dada Wine Industry project, and Li Mingxuan was to be expelled from Lysen immediately.

After the call, a shaken Li Mingxuan warned Bai that Rao was no longer the kind person she once knew; she had returned with a cold heart and would not spare anyone who had wronged her. As the corporate war escalated, Rao Yuci noticed she was being followed. Her shadow was Chen Mo, a psychological counselor from the Xinkang Treatment Center, who claimed to be conducting a routine follow-up.

Rao, suspicious and dismissive, insisted she was cured and rejected his attempts to evaluate her. Sensing his presence was more than just professional duty, she quickly distanced herself from him. Bai Liangliang, looking for a way to secure her own future, visited Xian Pengyu at Yuanjian Capital. With Bai Muran currently abroad, the two shared an intimate moment in a private elevator.

Xian later led her to a vantage point where they observed Liu Yang meeting with Huang Xiushui, a powerful market analyst known for his ability to influence foreign funds through storytelling. Simultaneously, Yu Peidong sent the young intern, Tian Tian, to the club to gather information on the Dada project. Her beauty immediately caught Huang Xiushui’s eye—a detail Bai Liangliang was quick to use to her advantage. Bai later finalized a scheme with Liu Yang regarding Dada Wine Industry.

Zhaohui Private Equity would lead the investment, while Bai worked the internal channels at Lysen. The plan involved using a fraudulent but "perfect" financial report and Huang Xiushui’s influence to create enough hype to lure Jiang Dongchao into the deal. Bai’s personal terms were clear: the moment Jiang announced Lysen’s involvement, she would take her profits and exit.

To ensure the analyst's cooperation, Bai gave Tian Tian a black card to buy an expensive dress and instructed her to be the perfect companion at a dinner that evening. At the dinner, Huang Xiushui captivated the guests with a poetic history of ancient wine jars. Bai Liangliang, having prepared herself with a hangover remedy, dominated the drinking session to secure the deal.

As the night ended, she pushed a hesitant Tian Tian to accompany Huang further, suggesting that high rewards require personal sacrifice. This exchange was watched by the media blogger Han Congfei. Meanwhile, Rao Yuci conducted her own investigation, meeting with Zhou Lufeng from Baiying Business Investigation to obtain the real, unvarnished financial report for Dada Wine Industry. Late at night, Chen Mo waited outside Rao Yuci’s home.

When he tried to analyze her psychological state, Rao turned the tables, accurately dissecting his own professional ambitions and failures. However, when Chen Mo crossed a line by mentioning her parents and her three years away, Rao responded with a sharp punch and a freezing warning to stay away from her family. Seeking to undermine Jiang Dongchao, Bai Liangliang presented a "double win" strategy to Li Wangcheng.

She proposed that if he supported the Dada project, Lysen would see massive IPO profits. Crucially, she revealed that the company’s financials were fraudulent. Once Jiang Dongchao was committed, Li Wangcheng could leak the evidence of his negligent oversight to the media, destroying Jiang’s reputation and allowing the Li family to reclaim total control of the Lysen Group. Armed with the real audit, Rao Yuci confronted her manager, Yu Peidong, about the irregularities in Dada’s books.

Yu, however, told her to simply follow orders and not cause trouble for the leadership. Undeterred, Rao went directly to Jiang Dongchao. To her surprise, Jiang was indifferent to the fraud. He explained that in business, the truth of a report matters less than whether the "story" can attract money. Bai Liangliang soon arrived with Huang Xiushui, mocking Rao’s integrity and reminding her that the project was now under the control of Investment Department One.

Chen Mo continued to pursue Rao, eventually taking her to see a deaf girl named Nuannuan and her mother. He proved that the family Rao had dismissed as scammers were genuinely struggling to afford a hearing aid. Seeing their reality, Rao softened. She left money for the family and apologized for her suspicion, marking a rare moment of vulnerability. The Dada Wine Industry project launch was a grand event, featuring Huang Xiushui’s romanticized presentation of the brand's history.

Amidst the success, the owner of Dada, Young Master Jiang, grew overconfident. He publicly patted Jiang Dongchao on the shoulder and reminisced about their shared childhood in a poor village, unintentionally embarrassing the executive. Enraged by this breach of status, Jiang Dongchao privately ordered Bai Liangliang to make the man "disappear" from his sight permanently. As the event concluded, Liu Yang handed a hotel room card to a struggling Tian Tian, pressuring her to visit Huang Xiushui. While she walked toward the room, Rao Yuci received an urgent call from Zhou Lufeng, who had discovered a very familiar name among the secret backers of the Dada project.

Tian Tian entered the hotel suite with a heart full of admiration for Huang Xiushui, genuinely believing this was a rare chance to learn from a respected industry figure. However, Huang’s elegant mask quickly slipped, revealing a repulsive desire. He suddenly lunged at Tian Tian, attempting to assault her. She struggled desperately, managed to break free, and stumbled into the depths of the suite, eventually locking herself inside the bathroom. Outside the door, Huang Xiushui remained disturbingly calm.

He coldly warned her that her internship at the Lysen Group was just a title, and that his "mentorship" was where her real career began. Desperate, Tian Tian called Bai Liangliang for help. To her horror, Bai chose to side with the predator. Bai suggested that Tian Tian had walked into the room of her own accord and should accept the "deal" for her future.

She emphasized that Huang and the interests of the company far outweighed Tian Tian's personal safety, urging the girl to sacrifice herself and warning that making Huang or Jiang Dongchao unhappy would have dire consequences. Just as Huang was about to force his way in and Tian Tian felt utterly abandoned, Chen Mo arrived at the hotel. Having been alerted by Rao Yuci, he burst into the room and knocked Huang to the ground.

Chen Mo sternly rebuked the man for hiding behind the title of "teacher" while committing such acts, reminding him that as a public figure, his reputation would be obliterated if this were exposed. Faced with the threat of scandal, Huang's arrogance vanished, and he let them leave. Meanwhile, Jiang Dongchao was heading to the hotel with Rao Yuci, determined to proceed with the press conference.

His logic was simple: as long as a project generated profit for Lysen, he didn't care about the underlying corruption. Rao Yuci countered this by revealing that Li Wancheng was already closely monitoring the fraudulent financial reports. She warned him that if this "landmine" detonated, Jiang would not only be held accountable by the company but would also face a career-ending blow to his reputation. To save him, Rao Yuci orchestrated a strategic pivot.

She convinced Jiang to use the spotlight to deliver a high-profile declaration. By positioning himself as a guardian of the investors' hard-earned money, he would not only preserve the Lysen brand but also establish himself as an unassailable industry benchmark. With such a public reputation, Li Wancheng would find it nearly impossible to move against him. At the press conference, Jiang Dongchao publicly announced the suspension of the investment in Dada Wine Industry, calling for a total reassessment.

He cited the company's lack of foundation for financial derivatives and argued that traditional industries were too easily exploited by capital players. He emphasized that since the project was from his own hometown, he refused to let it become a mere tool for raising funds. Afterward, a furious Bai Liangliang demanded an explanation, only to be warned by Jiang to stop her petty schemes. He bluntly told her that Rao Yuci was far more intelligent than she would ever be.

The fallout was swift, and Huang Xiushui was arrested by the police on charges of molestation. Later, Rao Yuci met with a traumatized Tian Tian and Chen Mo at a street stall. Drawing from her own painful past, Rao told Tian Tian that the day’s tragedy was born from the girl’s own hesitation and misplaced hope. She explained that one must flee at the first scent of danger and become strong enough to fight back.

Rao shared a story her mother once told her about the cycle of nature—the mantis, the oriole, and the boy with the slingshot—concluding that only kindness remains unmasked and avoids hurting others. Bai Liangliang’s rage eventually led her to Rao Yuci’s office, where the confrontation turned physical. Rao remained cold and composed, even kicking Bai to the floor. When the staff arrived to check on the noise, they found Rao walking out calmly, leaving a shaken Bai behind.

Days later, Rao tracked down Bai’s family home. Discovering that Bai’s mother was struggling to care for her paralyzed husband on a meager pension, Rao offered to rent Bai’s old room for an exorbitantly high price, effectively inserting herself into Bai's private life. Despite the tension, Bai tried once more to prove her loyalty to Jiang Dongchao, warning him that Rao Yuci was a danger to the company.

Jiang merely mocked her, noting that while she shared his youthful ambition, she lacked the wisdom he had back then. He warned her that he saw through all her moves and would show no mercy if she tried to test his boundaries again. When Chen Mo discovered Rao Yuci had moved, he reached out to Bai Liangliang for help, hoping to check on Rao’s mental state. Bai saw an opportunity in his request and began plotting her next move.

Meanwhile, Rao was alone in her new room, flipping through an old photo album. The pictures captured her college days when she and Bai were as close as sisters, and it was through Bai that she had met and fallen in love with Bai Muran. Determined to strike back at Rao, Bai Liangliang placed a long-distance call to Bai Muran, pleading for him to return to China immediately.

The following day at the office, Sima Yang briefed Rao on the company's power structure, explaining that while their department handled the basics, the real authority lay with Chen Xi, the Vice President of the second investment department. As the morning information-sharing session was about to begin, Rao was heading into the meeting room when she suddenly froze, hearing a hauntingly familiar voice behind her.

The sudden return of Bai Muran acted like a stone cast into a stagnant pond, shattering the fragile peace Rao Yuci had managed to build. As she turned to see that familiar face, memories of past pain rushed back. Before his appearance, Bai Liangliang had taunted her with a photo of the two of them together, mocking her past. When Bai Muran arrived, he forced her into a suffocating embrace until she struggled to break free.

Despite her retreat, he pressed forward with cold words, admitting he had only chosen her three years ago for her genius and the success of the Chuxia project. He callously stated he could never love a "lunatic," a remark that drove Rao Yuci to throw her coffee into his face—a scene witnessed by Ren Jing.

Whispers soon flooded the company as her medical records from the Xinkang Treatment Center were leaked, labeling her as a dangerous "madman" suffering from a psychotic disorder. While most colleagues reacted with fear, Yu Peidong remained unfazed. As a veteran of Lysen, he knew the sting of betrayal; his own promotion had been sabotaged by a leaked recording orchestrated by Bai Liangliang.

He made it clear to Rao Yuci that he had no interest in factional infighting; his only goal was protecting the investments entrusted to Lysen. Ren Jing called Rao Yuci to demand an investigation into her background, but Rao Yuci refused to let her privacy be violated. Following Bai Liangliang’s suggestion, Ren Jing brought in Chen Mo, a psychological counselor, to evaluate her.

Rao Yuci reacted with hostility, questioning the definition of "normal" and accusing Chen Mo of being a shadow who merely tracked and recorded her moves. The situation escalated when she discovered that Bai Liangliang had brought her mother, Xu Zhaohe, to the office. The sight of her mother triggered unbearable memories, and Rao Yuci begged her to stop following her before fleeing in a panic.

While Bai Liangliang pretended to comfort the distraught mother, she secretly gloated, hoping the stress would trigger another breakdown. Wandering aimlessly after leaving the office, Rao Yuci saw a mother and son sharing a tender moment, reminding her of the days when Xu Zhaohe used to be gentle, tying her shoelaces and giving her a bunny-themed water cup.

When Chen Mo tried to persuade her that her family and friends were not her enemies, she countered that no one who hadn't been abandoned for three years could understand her. She wasn't back to seek reconciliation or forgiveness; she was there for justice. She reflected on the 1,095 days of pain she had rehearsed for the moment she would face Bai Muran again, realizing her trembling wasn't out of fear, but out of a simmering resentment.

In the restroom, Tian Tian stood her ground against Bai Liangliang’s threats. She warned that if the company tried to suppress her, she would sue Lysen and ensure the summons reached the legal representative, Li Wancheng, personally. Despite the rumors, Tian Tian joined Rao Yuci for lunch and mentioned her intention to resign. Rao Yuci cautioned her that running away would only lead to becoming a victim at another company.

When a group of male colleagues nearby began gossiping about Rao Yuci’s history of violence, Yu Peidong intervened by slamming his tray onto their table and warning them to shut their mouths before sitting down to show his support for Rao Yuci. Yu Peidong later confronted Ren Jing about the two security guards stationed outside Dept 3, accusing her of siding with Bai Liangliang.

He reminded her of the past sabotage that had ruined their relationship and led to his demotion, but Ren Jing dismissed him and suggested he take a leave of absence himself. Meanwhile, Sima Yang met secretly with Bai Liangliang to provide a "proof of loyalty": a photo of a knife Rao Yuci had supposedly ordered online. He hoped this information would secure his spot in Investment Dept 1.

When Sima Yang reported that the package had arrived, Rao Yuci invited Bai Liangliang to the rooftop observation deck. Believing she held all the cards, Bai Liangliang arrived at the rooftop and mocked Rao Yuci for being a "freak" and a "ghost" who would eventually fall from the summit. She anticipated that Rao Yuci would attack her with a weapon, but when the package was opened, it contained only a birthday music box and a dish of Clear Water Duck.

Bai Liangliang lost her composure and slapped Rao Yuci, appearing manic in front of the arriving Ren Jing and Chen Mo. Further damage was done when her own assistant reported her recent unstable behavior, including smashing vases and taking medication. Ren Jing concluded that Bai Liangliang, not Rao Yuci, was the one who was a danger to the company. Only then did Bai Liangliang realize she had walked straight into Rao Yuci’s trap.

The root of Bai Liangliang’s bitterness stretched back fifteen years to when she had visited Zhang Xinyi’s villa. The luxury fueled a deep-seated envy when compared to her own cramped home, where she was forced to eat leftover duck from her father’s restaurant. Her father had once harshly scolded her for her vanity when she tried on a guest's clothes, accusing her of being a thief.

This memory of the "black dog" in her heart—the part of herself she dared not face—had driven her ambition and her descent into darkness. Rao Yuci’s victory proved that everyone has a "roar" within them that can be used for either fear or justice.

Following the fallout of the rooftop incident, Lysen’s human resources department issues a company-wide announcement: Bai Liangliang is suspended from all duties, and Chen Xi is appointed to temporarily oversee Investment Dept 1. Desperate, Liangliang reaches out to Bai Muran for help, but he has already decided to stop being her stepping stone. Harboring his own ambitions to replace her, Muran dismisses her with excuses.

Chen Xi later visits Liangliang’s office to gloat, mockingly promising to be an excellent "stepmother" for the department while Liangliang takes an forced vacation. Meanwhile, Ren Jing meets with Rao Yuci and subtly suggests she should resign for the sake of the company’s "safety." Yuci counters that Jiang Dongchao actually needs new talent like her to break the current stagnation.

The tension is interrupted when Yu Peidong barging in to drag Yuci back to her desk, insisting she focus on making money. After they leave, Ren Jing warns Jiang Dongchao over the phone that Yuci is dangerous. Jiang, however, is intrigued by Yuci's boldness, noting that the human heart is even more unpredictable than the market. Yu Peidong is highly entertained by how Yuci nearly drove Liangliang to a breaking point.

Now fully supportive of her, he proposes they team up to take down their common enemies. He even suggests a secret code for their collaboration: if Yuci calls him a "total idiot," he will know it is time to act. On the golf course, Bai Muran tries to recommend himself to Jiang Dongchao as the permanent head of Dept 1. Jiang remains noncommittal and instead invites Rao Yuci to a quiet restaurant for authentic Jiangxi cuisine.

Over Nanchang fried rice noodles, Jiang reminisces about his past in New York before shifting to business. He reveals his plan to acquire Bosi Real Estate and hands Yuci the Linwei Alley Urban Project proposal. He offers a major incentive: if she completes the acquisition, she can lead any of the three investment departments. Liangliang is not without her own resources.

Miss Gao, Jiang’s assistant, feels indebted to Liangliang for helping her son with school and risks her position to provide Liangliang with a copy of the Linwei Alley project. Armed with this leverage, Liangliang visits Li Wancheng, promising she can handle Jiang Dongchao if she is reinstated. Li Wancheng remains skeptical, making it clear he only cares about results and that she must prove her worth before they can negotiate.

Seeking her own leverage, Yuci asks Han Congfei to investigate the relationship between Liangliang and Xian Pengyu. Han tails Pengyu for days and uncovers a mystery: while Pengyu holds no official title at Yuanjian Club, he owns a company called Yinyu Technology. The firm doesn't engage in tech but owns a commercial building that has curiously remained vacant and unleased for a long time.

Inside Investment Dept 3, Sima Yang rallies the team by explaining that the Linwei Alley project is the key to controlling Yang Jinwan, the head of Bosi Real Estate. The team is excited by the prospect of a high-profile project, and Yu Peidong decides to take it on for the sake of his employees' futures. However, Yuci flatly rejects the project during a meeting with Ren Jing.

She confesses she knows she was merely used as a "knife" to eliminate Liangliang and refuses to be a puppet for the company’s internal games. Her refusal leaves Yu Peidong bewildered and furious. With Xian Pengyu’s help, Liangliang discovers the biggest obstacle to the urban renewal is a property at No. 88 Linwei Alley, owned by her stepfather, Mr. Xu. Twelve years ago, her mother married the gentle Mr. Xu after her previous husband fled from debt.

Despite Mr. Xu’s kindness and financial support for her education, Liangliang’s heart remained hardened by her past. Fifteen years ago, a young Liangliang was consumed by jealousy over the wealthy lifestyle of her friend Zhang Xinyi. After overhearing Xinyi’s mother speak disparagingly about her family's shop and her mother's multiple marriages, Liangliang sought revenge by publicly exposing Xinyi’s private diary. That act of ruthlessness defined her character.

In the present day, Liangliang finds the frail Mr. Xu at a rehabilitation center. Showing no familial affection, she pushes his wheelchair to a bridge and uses a cold, threatening tone to pressure the old man into signing the house over to her.

Late at night, as Bai Xia was closing her deli shop, an unexpected delivery arrived—an electric wheelchair sent by her daughter, Bai Liangliang. Moved by the gesture, Bai Xia believed her daughter still cared for the family. However, she was unaware that Liangliang was standing nearby in the shadows, clutching the property ownership certificate for No. 88 Linwei Alley, which she had successfully secured from her stepfather. Watching from a window above, Rao Yuci saw everything.

For her, merely forcing Liangliang out of Lysen was not the end; she intended to let her rival experience the true agony of losing everything after fighting so hard to gain it. The next morning, Chen Mo waited for Rao Yuci at a convenience store near the old house. When Yuci asked why he was helping her against Bai Liangliang, Chen Mo chose not to answer directly. Instead, he handed her a personal letter and left.

The shop owner noted that Chen Mo often waited there for her and advised Yuci to cherish him. In the letter, Chen Mo acknowledged her improving health, despite her intermittent tremors, and the strength she possessed to influence others. He urged her to see the world as more than a place of petty interests and to find the courage to defeat the demons of her past. At the Lysen office, the transition of the Linwei Alley project was underway.

Chen Xi moved into Bai Liangliang’s former office and immediately ordered it to be redecorated, claiming the room had poor feng shui. When an assistant tried to stop her, Chen Xi retorted that Jiang Dongchao had no intention of letting Liangliang return. However, a call from Liangliang soon chilled Chen Xi's confidence.

Liangliang warned her that the project had only been handed over because Rao Yuci allowed it, and that Chen Xi should be careful about who the real enemy was. Sensing the weight of the situation, Chen Xi ordered the workers to put everything back as it was. Despite the animosity from her colleagues over abandoning the main project, Rao Yuci visited the snack street with her loyal assistant, Tian Tian.

There, they encountered Chen Mo again as he helped translate a message for Nuan, a deaf-mute girl. Nuan’s friend was leaving for her hometown because the alley was being demolished to make way for skyscrapers. The sense of loss was palpable as Li Quanyou, the owner of a Malatang stall, delivered a farewell speech to the gathered crowd.

He reminisced about the years they had spent there, from being students to becoming parents, before the merchants joined in a heartfelt song to say goodbye to the place they had called home. That evening, Chen Mo walked Rao Yuci home to No. 88 Linwei Alley and asked if she would consider letting go of her plans for revenge. Yuci firmly declined, believing that she could never truly start over if she abandoned her current path.

Meanwhile, Chen Mo recalled his time at the treatment center, where he had first begun studying psychology to heal himself and had been drawn to Yuci’s case. Rao Yuci soon submitted a new proposal to Jiang Dongchao, focusing on the relocation of the displaced merchants to protect Lysen's reputation. This plan drew sharp criticism from Yu Peidong, who dismissed it as idealistic and unprofitable.

Undeterred, Yuci investigated potential locations and discovered that the Yinyu Commercial Building was owned by Xian Pengyu through a tech company that conducted no actual tech business. Realizing that Xian Pengyu was a hidden player with a complicated relationship with Liangliang, Yuci decided to use him as her leverage. In the background, Bai Liangliang’s influence continued to spread. Her ally, Gao, provided her with Yuci's relocation plan, while Xian Pengyu offered her financial support.

Xian Pengyu then moved into his commercial building, declaring it his base of operations to take down Jiang Dongchao. Simultaneously, Liangliang lured Rao Shusheng into a risky investment, suggesting he buy up properties in Linwei Alley to profit from the price difference once Lysen moved in. To raise the funds, Shusheng tried to convince his wife, Xu Zhaohe, to use Yuci’s savings.

This sparked a fierce argument, as Zhaohe was determined to protect the money for their daughter, reminding him of the three years Yuci had suffered alone in the treatment center. The episode concluded as Rao Yuci arrived at the Yinyu Building to confront Xian Pengyu. The two finally met face-to-face, marking the beginning of a calculated new phase in Yuci's gamble for justice.

Rao Yuci, acting on a tip from Han Congfei, uncovers the long-standing feud between the Xian family and Jiang Dongchao. She uses this information to secure a meeting with Xian Pengyu. Though he initially mocks her as naive, she proposes transforming his vacant commercial building into an indoor food street. She argues this would not only mask his irregular operations but also serve as a scalable business model for Linwei Lane’s transformation.

Seeing an opportunity to counter Jiang Dongchao, Xian Pengyu agrees to the partnership. Back at the office, Rao Yuci attempts to bridge the gap with her colleagues by bringing them snacks, including a fruit salad for the distant Yu Peidong. During a department meeting, Tian Tian presents the vision for the "indoor market," emphasizing the importance of preserving the city’s human connection and "firework" atmosphere.

While Wang Meng and Sima Yang are moved, Yu Peidong remains outwardly skeptical, reminding Yuci of the harsh gap between idealism and reality. As rumors of the "street stall project" spread throughout the company, many ridicule Yuci, but Wang Meng notices similarities between Rao Yuci’s determination and Yu Peidong’s own history. Seven years ago, Yu Peidong promised a dying friend he would help others suffering from rare diseases.

Despite being rejected by Jiang Dongchao and facing years of immense debt, he never abandoned that commitment. A turning point occurs when Director Liu informs Yu Peidong of a major donation to the rare disease center. To his shock, the delivery is handled by Li Mingxuan, a former traitor who has reformed under Rao Yuci’s influence. Li reveals that the donation actually came from Rao Yuci herself.

Witnessing the profound gratitude of the patients’ families, Yu Peidong finds his passion rekindled and officially orders the commencement of the food street project. Jiang Dongchao is surprised to see Yu Peidong align with Rao Yuci. Learning that his old critic Zhou Lufeng has resurfaced, Jiang visits him in Linwei Lane. Zhou, now running a small investigation firm, presents Jiang with an internal report on a green building materials company—a document sent by Rao Yuci.

Jiang realizes that while Yuci seemingly returned the Linwei project to him, she has secretly retained the real leverage. Meanwhile, Bai Liangliang continues her scheme to destroy the trust between Jiang and Rao Yuci. She manipulates Rao Yuci’s father, Rao Shusheng, into using his daughter's savings and taking out loans to buy ten shops in Linwei Lane.

Shusheng, who resents Yuci and views her as a source of bad luck, signs the contracts in hopes of making a fortune, unaware he is a pawn in Bai's game. Bai Liangliang’s resentment stems from a hidden past. Five years ago, Rao Yuci’s mother, Xu Zhaohe, arranged a banking job interview for Yuci through Auntie Liu. Yuci kindly recommended Bai for the same opportunity, but Bai overheard Liu dismiss her as unqualified.

To protect her pride, Bai lied, claiming she chose to pursue a master's degree instead, while secretly harboring a deep-seated grudge against Yuci. After the shop ownership changes, Rao Shusheng and the other original tenants force the vendors to vacate immediately in the freezing cold. Chen Xi blocks the vendors from hiring moving companies, but Yu Peidong steps in, coordinating a fleet of trucks through his contact, Old Chen. The Third Department comes together to help the vendors move, leaving Rao Yuci feeling vindicated while Bai Liangliang remains immersed in the illusion that she has finally won.

Bai Liangliang visits her mother, Bai Xia, with a cold determination that leaves no room for reconciliation. She openly confronts her mother about the property certificate for Mr. Xu's house, admitting she was the one who took it. When Bai Xia asks why her own daughter would treat her with such cruelty after everything she did to raise her, Liangliang's long-buried resentment boils over.

She views her mother as the person who snatched her away from her father and dragged her into a miserable, parasitic life, moving from house to house among various men. To Liangliang, the shadows of her childhood are a hole she can never crawl out of.

She tosses a bank card onto the table, stating the money is enough to buy several houses like the one in Linwei Alley, and demands that her mother and Mr. Xu leave the city and stay out of her life forever. Bai Xia firmly rejects the money, refusing to accept charity from a daughter who looks down on her, though she agrees to move away to avoid being a burden.

Meanwhile, Rao Yuci hosts a hotpot dinner for her colleagues from Investment Department 3. Yu Peidong brings up her decision to stay in their department, wondering why someone of her talent would settle there. Yuci explains that in a world where people treat life like a game and money is the only prize, Department 3 is full of the only normal people she has met at Lysen Group.

She sees them as friends who still hold onto their ideals and original intentions, giving her a long-lost sense of humanity. Her words resonate deeply with the team. Yu Peidong admits he may not have fully understood her before, but he promises that from now on, they will face any storm together. Seeking a way back into the company, Bai Liangliang takes the property deeds she acquired to Jiang Dongchao as proof of loyalty.

After he treats her to a meal of fried rice noodles, she feels confident that she has regained his favor. She claims the house at No. 88 Linwei Alley was the hardest part of the urban renewal plan to settle, and by securing it along with the surrounding shops, she has paved the way for the project's success. She begs him for another chance to serve at Lysen. However, her plan backfires.

Earlier, Rao Yuci had already met with Jiang Dongchao to expose the true intentions of Bosi Group’s leader, Yang Jinwan. Yuci pointed out that the urban plan was a mere facade to prevent a buyout, while the real value lay in Bosi’s secret expansion into green building materials. By securing those companies first, Jiang would hold the real bargaining power. Consequently, when Liangliang presents her deeds, Jiang coldly informs her that she has lost to Yuci once again.

He warns her to stop trying to be the "oriole" waiting to swoop in. Defeated, Liangliang calls Rao Shusheng to weep about what Yuci has done. The corporate landscape shifts rapidly as Ren Jing is ordered to take over all materials for the Linwei Alley project from Investment Department 2. Chen Xi is outraged by this sudden move and tries to confront Jiang Dongchao, but he refuses to see her.

Frustrated and desperate, she intercepts Yuci in the elevator, accusing her of playing dirty. Yuci is unimpressed, reminding Chen Xi that she knows exactly what went on behind the scenes during the snack street relocation. She tells Chen Xi to know her place, noting that someone who couldn't even defeat Bai Liangliang has no right to challenge her. The renovation of the commercial building finally finishes, successfully recreating the nostalgic atmosphere of the old snack street.

Rao Yuci and her team gather at the new site, celebrating the fruit of their labor. Chen Mo uses his phone to take a group photo of Department 3, capturing a rare moment of genuine happiness for Yuci. Elsewhere, Bai Liangliang continues her social maneuvering at a golf course. While there with her boyfriend, Bai Muran, she "encounters" Xian Pengyu.

The two pretend to be strangers in front of Muran, but they are secretly involved in an affair, later meeting at a hotel. During their time together, a comment from Xian Pengyu about people relying on their powerful elders sparks a new idea for Liangliang. Liangliang soon pays a visit to Bai Qingyu, the Chairwoman of Baiye Group and Jiang Dongchao’s mentor. She meticulously presents a pair of phoenix-patterned scissors for an art gallery opening, winning the older woman’s favor.

During their conversation, Liangliang carefully reveals that she has been forced to take a "break" from work. She frames it as her taking the blame for a project failure to protect Jiang Dongchao’s reputation. This manipulation works, as Bai Qingyu begins to suspect that Jiang is trying to sideline the Bai family influence at Lysen, prompting her to consider intervening.

At the office, Ren Jing settles Chen Mo’s payment for his services but questions whether his professional assessment of Yuci was biased. She warns him that if he was intentionally helping her, the accuracy of his report would be in doubt. Chen Mo remains firm, telling her not to question his professionalism. The conversation is interrupted when a furious Rao Shusheng storms into the office.

He blames Yuci for the massive financial losses he suffered in Linwei Alley and, in a fit of rage, slaps her across the face in front of her colleagues. Yu Peidong and the rest of Department 3 immediately rally around her, restraining the man. Chen Mo arrives amidst the chaos as Rao Shusheng, realizing he has no support, is forced to leave. The physical and emotional toll leaves Yuci in a daze, and she wanders to the riverbank.

Chen Mo follows her, encouraging her to finally stop holding back her pain. Safely away from the prying eyes of the company, Yuci breaks down and sobs in his arms. Seeking justice for her, Chen Mo later tracks down Rao Shusheng. He traps the man inside a bathroom, locking the door from the outside.

Through the door, Chen Mo delivers a chilling warning: he doesn't care who Rao Shusheng is, but if he ever lays a finger on Yuci again, he will not be shown any mercy.

Jiang Dongchao meets with Ren Jing early in the morning to discuss the impressive progress of Investment Dept 3. Pleased with their performance, he instructs her to prepare invitations for the team to attend the upcoming Boundary Forum and promises them a significant reward. However, their meeting is interrupted by a call from Jiang’s mentor, Bai Qingyu. Jiang hurries to a private dinner, only to find Bai Liangliang already seated there.

As someone whose career was built entirely on Bai Qingyu’s sponsorship, Jiang remains deeply indebted to the Bai family, who hold the power to determine his professional fate. During the meal, Bai Qingyu speaks in sharp metaphors, advising Jiang that as people age, they must learn to "do more and talk less" to avoid becoming a nuisance. She pointedly asks Liangliang to fetch more soup while specifically requesting that the "old pork ribs" in the pot be discarded.

The underlying threat is clear: those who are no longer useful will be tossed aside. Reminding Jiang that the Bai family has always been his primary support, she reinforces his loyalty. Understanding the subtext, Jiang rises to pour tea for his mentor, but Bai Qingyu immediately hands the cup to Liangliang. Accepting the gesture and calling her "Grandma" affectionately, Liangliang signals her restored status and her intimate connection to the family's power.

Empowered by this backing, Bai Liangliang makes a forceful return to Lysen Group. She begins by sending a bouquet of flowers to Chen Xi. While Chen Xi initially assumes the gift is an apology from Jiang Dongchao for stalling her projects, Liangliang soon clarifies her intent. She proposes an alliance, arguing that they are not competitors but partners with a single common goal: neutralizing Rao Yuci to secure their own positions within the company.

Meanwhile, in the Investment Dept 3 meeting room, the team analyzes the data for the Linwei Alley project. Tian Tian reveals that while the project resembles a standard land acquisition, the real profit lies in the massive market for renovating existing buildings. Yu Peidong notes that regardless of who owns the land, the renovation rights are the "lucrative meat" that Yang Jinwan is truly after.

To secure a lead, Rao Yuci and her team coordinate a series of meetings with local suppliers, emphasizing a partnership based on "security" and promising not to dismiss employees—a sharp contrast to the harsh terms typically offered by competitors like Bosi. Late at night, Chen Xi visits Jiang Dongchao’s office under the guise of bringing him supper. Using her charms, she successfully secures the right for Investment Dept 2 to participate in an internal bidding process against Dept 3.

Despite her lack of preparation, Chen Xi isn't worried because Liangliang has already set a trap. Liangliang calls Sima Yang, demanding that he steal Dept 3’s project proposal before the deadline, adding further pressure on the team. On the day before the morning exchange meeting, Ren Jing meets privately with Rao Yuci. She reveals that the HR department intends to cast their vote for Dept 3, expressing confidence in Rao Yuci’s ability to persuade Jiang Dongchao.

Ren Jing admits that while she serves the company, she also has someone she wishes to protect—referring to Yu Peidong. Understanding the silent protection Ren Jing has been providing, Rao Yuci acknowledges the weight of the upcoming bid. The following morning, the atmosphere in the meeting room is tense. Chen Xi takes the stage first, presenting an exhaustive report on over eighty green building material companies.

The team in Dept 3 is horrified to realize the data is identical to their own. When it is Rao Yuci’s turn to speak, she unexpectedly remains silent and announces that Dept 3 is withdrawing from the presentation. A furious Yu Peidong lashes out, accusing Chen Xi and Liangliang of blatant plagiarism. However, since Dept 3 officially gave up their chance, Jiang Dongchao remains cold and declares Investment Dept 2 the winner.

Back in their office, Yu Peidong demands an investigation to find the mole. As tension peaks, the truth is revealed through a flashback to the previous day. Liangliang and Chen Xi had discovered that Wang Meng was pregnant. Leveraging the company’s "forced ranking" policy, they pressured Wang Meng to hand over the data in exchange for a transfer to Dept 2, warning her that her current department was at risk of being dissolved.

Unbeknownst to them, Rao Yuci had overheard the entire conversation. To protect Wang Meng from the impossible choice, Yuci had stepped in and sent the report to Liangliang herself, instructing Wang Meng to follow through with the transfer and act as if she had truly betrayed the team. As a result, Wang Meng is officially moved to Dept 2.

The transfer causes a deep rift; Yu Peidong engages in a heated argument with Ren Jing, accusing the HR department of being "thugs" and looking for ways to sabotage him. Meanwhile, Sima Yang and Tian Tian vent their frustrations in the group chat, labeling Wang Meng a traitor. Wang Meng stays silent, stoically bearing the weight of the secret plan. Elsewhere, Bai Muran remains frustrated that he hasn't been reinstated.

When he confronts Jiang Dongchao, he learns that Liangliang has essentially taken his spot at his grandmother's request. Liangliang feigns innocence, attributing the decision to Bai Qingyu’s wishes. This realization deeply unnerves Muran, as it becomes clear that his grandmother does not view him as a leader. When he visits his grandmother, he finds his mother performing menial tasks like burying medicine dregs—a superstitious sign of her low status.

Bai Qingyu warns Muran to be content as a wealthy socialite and to stop interfering in the group’s business, essentially branding him a "mascot." Recognizing Muran as a discarded pawn with a grudge, Rao Yuci decides to turn him into a tool for her own agenda. She reaches out to him, setting up a meeting for the following evening. Later, as she leaves the office, Chen Mo is waiting for her.

He walks her home, offering words of encouragement and tentatively suggesting that he could be the person to protect her. However, Rao Yuci remains guarded, telling him she is used to walking alone. She informs him she has other business to attend to and leaves to meet with Bai Muran.

Five years ago, Bai Muran approached Rao Yuci with hidden motives, masquerading as a supportive partner. He called her a true genius and encouraged her to pursue her "unrealistic" dreams of starting her own company. Along with Bai Liangliang and another partner, they held their first shareholders' meeting, naming the venture Chuxia. To Rao Yuci, the name represented the perfection of love, friendship, and her career.

However, beneath the surface, Bai Muran and Bai Liangliang were already entangled in an affair, weaving a web of betrayal that would eventually push Rao Yuci into an abyss. In the present day, those once-warm vows have turned cold. Meeting with Rao Yuci, Bai Muran shows no genuine remorse, suggesting that everyone shared the blame for the events of three years ago and claiming his only failure was an inability to resist temptation.

Rao Yuci, having long ago seen through his facade, keeps her temper in check. She sharply observes that in the eyes of the Bai family, Muran has become a "useless good-for-nothing." She points out that his grandmother, Bai Qingyu, clearly prefers a capable daughter-in-law like Bai Liangliang over an incompetent grandson. Rao Yuci proposes a deal: if he wants a path to survival and the recognition he craves, he must team up with her to take down Bai Liangliang.

Though his insecurities are exposed, Bai Muran rejects her, declaring that he will never cooperate with a "lunatic." Undeterred, Rao Yuci turns her attention to his financial records. She knows that the gambling platform run by Li Qiang is registered in Southeast Asia and utilizes a complex network of accounts to hide the final destination of the funds.

Recalling that Bai Muran spent several months working in Southeast Asia, she suspects a direct link between his finances and the illicit gambling operation. At Lysen Group the following morning, Wang Meng reports for duty at Investment Department 2. The staff ignores her, but the transfer has significant implications. Chen Xi initially assumes the move was Bai Liangliang’s doing, only to discover that Ren Jing was the one who placed Wang Meng there.

When Jiang Dongchao questions Ren Jing about the decision, she explains that Wang Meng’s deep knowledge of the green building materials acquisition is vital for the project's success. Privately, Ren Jing’s motive is to protect Yu Peidong; by reducing the headcount in Department 3 through this transfer, she hopes to convince Jiang Dongchao to cancel the "bottom-out" elimination policy for that department.

Jiang Dongchao, who has always relied on Ren Jing, understands her dedication, though Yu Peidong remains oblivious to her sacrifices. Their relationship originally fractured when Ren Jing blocked his path to a leadership role in Department 1 by moving him to Department 3. Bai Liangliang observes this dynamic with amusement, noting that Ren Jing’s apparent opposition to Yu Peidong is actually a form of protection.

She knows that if Yu Peidong tried to challenge her directly, he would be utterly destroyed. Meanwhile, Rao Yuci’s father, Rao Shusheng, finds himself cornered by aggressive creditors. In desperation, he turns to Bai Liangliang for help. While she feigns a willingness to assist, she immediately contacts a thug named Biao, paying him to intimidate Rao Shusheng and providing him with Rao Yuci’s phone number.

Soon, Rao Yuci is bombarded with harassment calls, and her family home is defaced with red paint. Distraught by the constant threats, Rao Yuci's mother, Xu Zhaohe, signs a guarantee agreement to take on the debt. Chen Mo, witnessing the family's suffering, tries to give Xu Zhaohe his bank card to ease the financial pressure, a gesture that Rao Yuci notices from a distance. Late that night, Chen Mo calls Rao Yuci as she sits alone.

He shares the story of his own childhood to comfort her. He describes growing up in a silent home with deaf-mute parents, where silence was synonymous with happiness until their deaths left him in a different, agonizing kind of quiet. He admits that grief nearly drove him to a point of no return, but he was saved by a young girl who gave him an umbrella during a rainstorm. That girl was a young Rao Yuci.

As she listens to his voice, Rao Yuci finally falls into a peaceful sleep. The next morning, she finds that Chen Mo stayed on a bench outside her building all night to ensure her safety. She buys him breakfast, her face brightening with a rare smile. Back at the office, Wang Meng is treated as little more than a drudge by Department 2.

However, once the green building materials plan reaches a breakthrough, Chen Xi makes a public show of thanking her for her data support. Using Wang Meng’s pregnancy as a pretext, Chen Xi "graciously" suggests she focus on her health, effectively stripping her of the project and handing the contracts and final negotiations over to Yuliang. Bai Liangliang’s assistant, Tina, watches the blatant exploitation with a flicker of pity.

During a break, Rao Yuci brings Wang Meng a coffee and offers a new perspective. She reminds Wang Meng of Ren Jing’s underlying goals and points out that being in Department 2 is actually a strategic advantage. Only by staying there can Wang Meng access the records of every past project and find the evidence needed to expose Chen Xi’s corruption. Wang Meng realizes that her presence in the department is not a punishment, but an opportunity to strike back.

As Rao Yuci prepares her next move, she reflects on the bitter lessons of the past. She remembers the early days of Chuxia, when they celebrated their first million in earnings. That innocence was shattered when Bai Muran and Bai Liangliang revealed their true colors, admitting they only used her genius to build a company they could sell to Lysen for their own gain. Watching them celebrate their betrayal years ago, Rao Yuci remains fueled by the knowledge that they never deserved her forgiveness.

Following the recent events where Wang Meng began her undercover work in Investment Dept 2, she successfully secures the evidence needed to bring down Chen Xi. Ren Jing immediately launches an investigation into the misappropriation of funds. Despite Chen Xi’s desperate claims that Wang Meng tampered with the data for revenge, Ren Jing remains firm, noting that the evidence is conclusive and they would not have acted without multiple points of concern.

As a result, Chen Xi is suspended, and the green building materials acquisition project is officially returned to Investment Dept 3. Yu Peidong and his team celebrate the news, with colleagues already addressing him as "Director Yu" (or VP). While he tries to maintain his composure, he is clearly delighted by the prospect of becoming the next Vice President. However, Bai Liangliang is not convinced of Yu Peidong’s promotion.

Knowing Jiang Dongchao’s leadership style, she predicts he would never allow those in high positions to have close personal ties. She believes Jiang Dongchao will instead promote the highly capable Rao Yuci. Bai Liangliang calculates that if Rao Yuci takes over Investment Dept 3, it will naturally create friction and resentment among the staff there, effectively handling her rival without Bai Liangliang having to lift a finger.

Meanwhile, Rao Yuci is busy weaving her own web, hoping to exploit the competition between Bai Liangliang and Bai Muran. Her plans are interrupted by a mysterious email from a group calling themselves the Beauty Pearl Society. To prove their sincerity, they attach a childhood photograph of Bai Liangliang with her father. Shortly after, Bai Liangliang’s mother (referred to as Auntie) visits Rao Yuci at her apartment to bring her some food.

Noticing the luxury of the place, she is puzzled as to why Rao Yuci is renting a room from her when she clearly has a home of her own. Rao Yuci keeps her explanation vague, stating it is a long story to be told another time. At the Qiming School for the Deaf, Jiang Dongchao and his wife, Wan Lingling, represent Lysen Group during a significant donation event. There, they encounter Chen Mo, who is helping the children.

Jiang Dongchao, recognizing Chen Mo from his previous work conducting stress tests at Lysen, decides to put him in charge of the upcoming fundraising campaign. The principal expresses deep gratitude for the support, which will provide much-needed equipment and facilities for the students. During this time, Bai Muran attempts to bribe Ren Jing with a designer bag to find out about his future at the company. Ren Jing refuses the gift, advising him to give it to Bai Liangliang instead.

She conveys Jiang Dongchao’s decision that Bai Muran should continue to "rest" for the sake of the Bai family, effectively revealing that he has been sidelined from all major projects. Realizing he has become a mere figurehead, a frustrated Bai Muran picks up Rao Yuci to discuss an alliance against Bai Liangliang. As they leave, Rao Yuci intentionally ignores Chen Mo, who is standing nearby, choosing to keep him out of her complicated professional battles.

In the car, Rao Yuci explains her strategy to Bai Muran. She reveals that the previously stalled Hengxing New Energy Vehicle project has been revived by a massive $1. 1 billion investment from the Beauty Pearl Society. She describes the organization as a mysterious consortium with unknown backgrounds, possibly linked to Middle Eastern or American capital. Rao Yuci suggests that whoever helps Jiang Dongchao connect with this group will secure the leadership of Investment Dept 1.

Taking this information to his grandmother, Bai Qingyu, Bai Muran confirms that the society is a rising force that even Jiang Dongchao is eager to find. On the day of the Boundary Forum, the Lysen elite gather, though Jiang Dongchao and Rao Yuci are notably absent at the start. While Yu Peidong feels confident about his future, Ren Jing warns him that things might not be so straightforward.

Her prediction proves true when Jiang Dongchao makes a grand entrance accompanied by Rao Yuci. After a touching charity performance by the children from the deaf school—which Rao Yuci is surprised to see Chen Mo facilitating—the formal proceedings begin. While Bai Muran takes the opportunity to network with the blogger Han Congfei, he also finds time to pull Chen Mo aside.

He warns Chen Mo not to expect any sincerity from Rao Yuci, claiming she is now solely focused on her ascent and has no room for emotions. When everyone returns to the hall, Jiang Dongchao takes the stage to deliver a speech about transformation and rising from nothing, comparing it to the story of Gatsby.

He concludes by shocking the room with the announcement that Rao Yuci is the new Vice President of Lysen Group and will be overseeing Investment Dept 3. The room erupts in a mix of applause and disbelief. Yu Peidong, stunned to find his former subordinate now outranking him, claps mechanically while hiding his disappointment. Bai Liangliang is equally furious, later insulting Rao Yuci as a "bug" who crawled out of a treatment center.

Rao Yuci retorts with her own barbs but privately realizes she must hide her true self; in this environment, she believes solitude is her only armor. Later that night, Ren Jing finds a dejected Yu Peidong drinking alone. She reveals that she had been the one trying to protect him all along. She admits that while he was the only one who truly wanted to stay at Lysen for the career, she only stayed to protect what she cared about—him.

Overwhelmed by the realization that his resentment was based on a misunderstanding, Yu Peidong takes Ren Jing's hand and invites her for a walk, finally allowing their long-standing tension to dissolve.

After the Boundary Forum, Jiang Dongchao took Rao Yuci to a local noodle shop. While they ate, he noted that the "show" on stage was over, and she returned the presentation materials to him. Rao Yuci admitted the event was a vital lesson; she realized that in her ascent, she had to rely solely on herself. Jiang Dongchao was pleased to see her ambition.

He informed her that since Chen Xi was suspended under investigation, the head position of Investment Department 2 was vacant. He wanted her to prepare to take over both Department 2 and Department 3. When he questioned her relationship with Bai Liangliang, Rao Yuci simply called her a "very good friend." This relationship was rooted in a realization from five years earlier. Back then, Rao Yuci was seen as a genius, while Bai Liangliang secretly plotted against her.

Rao Yuci had shared her dreams with her "friend," hoping they would both get into Professor Han’s graduate program and expressing her desire to date Bai Muran. This period was a turning point. She realized that everything has an A-side and a B-side. The A-side was the beautiful friendship and pure love she believed in, while the B-side consisted of the details she had once overlooked—ambiguous glances and whispered secrets between Bai Liangliang and Bai Muran.

Understanding this hidden reality gave her the power to see the full picture and control those around her. That night, Bai Liangliang received an anonymous Lego box containing a childhood photo of her and her father. On the back, Rao Yuci’s name was written clearly. Panicked, Bai Liangliang called Rao Yuci to demand what she was planning.

Knowing that finding her father was Bai Liangliang's obsession, Rao Yuci offered a deal: if Bai Liangliang made a "satisfactory choice" during the next day’s meeting, she would provide a clue to his whereabouts. The photo sent Bai Liangliang into a spiral of memory. Years earlier, her life had collapsed when she and her mother moved from a villa to a shack.

Her mother’s frequent remarriages and the instability of their lives caused Bai Liangliang to project all her desires for security onto her father. She blamed her mother for the destruction of their family and remained fixated on the only home she ever truly acknowledged—the villa where she once lived with her father. Despite years of searching for the house's original owner, the trail had gone cold. The next morning, Rao Yuci dressed in a professional suit prepared by Jiang Dongchao.

He reminded her that the clothes she wore reflected the person she was becoming and that she now represented the face of Lysen. At the meeting regarding the vacancy in Department 2, Bai Muran self-nominated, citing his success overseas and his ability to lead the acquisition of a green building materials company. Jiang Dongchao, however, favored Rao Yuci. To resolve the tension, Bai Liangliang proposed a vote.

Though Bai Muran expected her support, the results were a landslide: Rao Yuci received three votes while he received only one—from Rao Yuci herself. After the meeting, Bai Muran confronted Bai Liangliang about her betrayal. She coldly explained that openly opposing Jiang Dongchao was a losing battle that would only worsen their standing. Meanwhile, Bai Liangliang contacted Rao Yuci for the promised clue. Rao Yuci revealed that her father had once worked for the Beauty Pearl Society.

This triggered a memory for Bai Liangliang; she recalled Xian Pengyu mentioning that a blogger named Han Congfei had connections to that organization, and she sought his contact information. Rao Yuci later met privately with Han Congfei. She instructed him to stall Bai Liangliang if she came asking about the Beauty Pearl Society, promising to arrange a meeting only when the timing was right.

When Han Congfei expressed suspicion about Chen Mo, the doctor always near her, Rao Yuci sharply warned him not to cross the line or investigate her inner circle. She reminded him that as long as he followed her instructions, she would continue to provide him with high-level intel for his career. Their partnership had begun three years ago.

At the time, Han Congfei was a struggling blogger who had witnessed a mental breakdown where Rao Yuci stabbed her mother and was sent to a treatment center. Rao Yuci had reached out to him from the facility, pinpointing his career frustrations and offering to make him a million-follower finance blogger. She provided him with exclusive, non-public data on Jiang Dongchao, helping him secure a major interview that launched his fame.

Even Jiang Dongchao was impressed by the depth of Han Congfei's articles, unaware of the source. Ren Jing later approached Rao Yuci to gauge her stance on Yu Peidong. Rao Yuci maintained that he would always be a manager she respected, which eased Ren Jing’s concerns. Following this, Ren Jing officially announced that Department 2 and Department 3 would merge under Rao Yuci’s leadership.

During the transition, Rao Yuci warned the staff that she would not tolerate those who intended to coast along. Yu Peidong arrived with Sima Yang and Wang Meng, acting humble and calling himself "Old Yu," but he pointedly ignored Rao Yuci’s attempts to communicate and even removed her from the department's group chat. That evening, the two met secretly for hotpot.

Yu Peidong explained that his hostile behavior in the office was a calculated performance; he knew Jiang Dongchao didn't want Rao Yuci to have any allies. By pretending to be enemies, they protected their partnership. As they discussed business, they noted the strange silence from the Bosi company while Lysen was aggressively acquiring green building materials firms. Rao Yuci mused that even the messiest situations have an underlying logic, though the eventual revelation of the truth might not make Jiang Dongchao very happy.

Bai Muran and Rao Yuci met privately at a bar, where Bai Muran issued a cold warning. Relying on the prestige of the Bai family, he threatened Rao with severe consequences if she dared to conspire with Bai Liangliang against him. Rao Yuci found his bravado amusing, noting that Bai Liangliang was so desperate to block his ascent that she had even turned to her own enemy for help.

When Bai Muran questioned her motives, Rao claimed her only goal was to ensure Bai Liangliang failed to find the mysterious Beauty Pearl Society. She then handed over compromising photos of Bai Liangliang with Xian Pengyu, leaving Bai Muran visibly shaken by his girlfriend's infidelity. Meanwhile, after a tryst with Xian Pengyu, Bai Liangliang questioned him about Han Congfei’s sudden rise to fame.

She noted that Han had transformed from an obscure blogger into a high-society guest simply by writing about the Beauty Pearl Society. She pressed Xian on whether Han actually possessed inside information, but Xian claimed to know nothing about the society's internal workings. When he suggested she stay the night at his hotel to escape her loneliness, she declined, leaving him to drive her home.

At the Lysen offices, Jiang Dongchao prepared a high-end reception for Yang Wanjin, whom he addressed as "Sir Yang." The elder man was unimpressed, mocking Jiang for trying to emulate old Hong Kong cinema with cigars and tea. Yang Wanjin spoke of the legacy of his company, Bosi Real Estate, and contrasted his family’s history with Jiang’s humble origins in a small village.

He viewed Jiang’s attempts to acquire Bosi’s green building materials companies as the actions of a "reckless savage." During the tense meeting, Yang Wanjin received a call from the Beauty Pearl Society and used the moment to intimidate Jiang, declaring that Bosi would eventually devour Lysen. Rao Yuci continued her elaborate scheme by arranging for Bai Liangliang’s mother, Bai Xia, and Mr. Xu to move into a luxury villa.

She even converted a gym into a specialized rehabilitation room for Mr. Xu’s recovery. However, these comforts came with a price. Rao Yuci began training the hesitant Bai Xia to transform into a sophisticated figurehead. She hired posture and speech coaches, preparing the older woman to debut publicly as "Madam Bai," the face of the Beauty Pearl Society.

Reflecting on her time in treatment, Rao Yuci likened her plan to the Tarantella spider—once she gripped the lifelines of her enemies, they would be forced to dance to her tune with no hope of escape. As the trap was set, Han Congfei met with Bai Liangliang and handed her a coveted invitation to a Beauty Pearl Society banquet. At the same time, Jiang Dongchao met with Bai Muran.

Bai Muran offered to use his personal connections to secure the society’s favor for Lysen, but he demanded a high price: Bai Liangliang’s removal from the company and full control over Investment Dept 1. On the night of the gala, the venue was filled with elites eager to glimpse the mysterious organization. The host introduced the guest of honor, Madam Bai. To Bai Liangliang’s absolute horror, her mother stepped onto the stage, impeccably dressed and projecting an aura of power.

Bai Liangliang was forced to maintain her composure, knowing that exposing the fraud would also reveal her own humble origins to the high-society crowd. During a private confrontation, Bai Liangliang accused Rao Yuci of cruelty for dragging her mother into this game. Rao Yuci countered by calling her a hypocrite, pointing out that if she truly cared for her mother, she wouldn't have kept her identity a secret.

Nearby, Bai Muran was busy trying to ingratiate himself with the fake "Madam Bai." Following Rao Yuci’s instructions, Bai Xia agreed to all of his requests, leading him to believe he had secured a powerful ally. After the guests departed, the conflict between Bai Liangliang and Bai Muran turned vitriolic. After Bai Muran mocked her and revealed he knew about her affair with Xian Pengyu, Bai Liangliang warned him not to forget their shared history.

She reminded him of the night they conspired together—one hiding a knife in Rao Yuci’s study and the other tampering with her medication. Their combined actions had directly caused the drugged and disoriented Rao Yuci to stab Xu Zhaohe. That night, Jiang Dongchao received evidence from Bai Liangliang that the woman posing as Madam Bai was actually a common street vendor.

When confronted, Rao Yuci admitted she had used Jiang’s prestige to stage the performance as a lure to bring the real organization out of the shadows. Her gamble paid off when a man identifying himself as an "Actuary" for the Beauty Pearl Society approached her. He revealed that the real society had observed her charade and intended to help her achieve her goals.

Though he refused to name his employer, he stated he was under orders to cooperate with her fully. Rao Yuci immediately put his resources to use, demanding access to a specific offshore account.

Following their initial meeting, Rao Yuci coordinates with the actuary from the Beauty Pearl Society. The actuary confirms his instructions are to provide her with full cooperation, prompting Rao Yuci to request access to a specific offshore private bank account. As she moves closer to her goal, she reflects on the past, specifically the actions of Bai Muran and the "knife" that was used to push her into a personal abyss years ago.

Meanwhile, Bai Jingjing returns to Linwei Alley only to find her mother’s residence deserted. Consumed by rage, she sends a threatening message to Rao Yuci, warning that she will retaliate against Rao Yuci’s parents. At the same time, Rao Yuci’s father, Rao Shusheng, finds himself cornered by debt collectors. Desperate, he reaches out to Bai Jingjing for financial help, but she responds with cold manipulation.

Bai Jingjing mockingly reveals that she never intended to help him; instead, she orchestrated his failed investments and fueled the discord between him and his daughter for years. She even admits that she had Bai Muran plant the knife that led to Rao Yuci accidentally injuring her mother, Xu Zhaohe.

Overwhelmed by the realization that he was merely a pawn in a cruel game, Rao Shusheng calls his wife to apologize for failing their daughter before suffering a massive stroke and collapsing. Rao Yuci and her mother, Xu Zhaohe, rush to the hospital. Although the doctors stabilize him, they explain that the hippocampal cerebral infarction has left his chances of recovery slim.

Determined to protect her mother from further hardship, Rao Yuci decides to settle all of her father's outstanding debts herself. She meets with the creditors and ensures the payments are handled. Furthermore, Rao Yuci visits Bai Xia (Bai Jingjing’s mother) and Xu Zhaohe at their residence, quietly paying three years of their rent in advance while claiming she needs to travel for work.

Bai Xia, moved by Rao Yuci’s consistent kindness, begins to suspect that her own daughter, Bai Jingjing, was the true architect of Rao Yuci’s past suffering. The actuary later approaches Bai Jingjing with a deal: in exchange for information regarding her biological father’s whereabouts, she must plant a listening device in Jiang Dongchao’s office. Driven by her obsession with her roots, Bai Jingjing agrees and uses a bribe to enlist the help of Assistant Gao to plant the bug.

At the Lysen Group, Rao Yuci attempts to resign, citing the conclusion of the green building materials acquisition. She tells Jiang Dongchao that she knows she was used as a tool to manage Li Wancheng and balance the company’s power dynamics. Jiang Dongchao refuses her resignation, instead suggesting she take a long leave. Before departing, Rao Yuci provides him with crucial evidence regarding Li Qiang’s offshore financial activities, which leads directly to a private account held by Bai Muran.

Jiang Dongchao presents this evidence to Li Wancheng at the cemetery, revealing the truth behind Li Qiang's death. Meanwhile, Rao Yuci speaks with Yu Peidong, encouraging him to reclaim his rightful authority as Vice President, as she plans to step away to handle her final private matters. Rao Yuci then visits the school for the deaf where Chen Mo volunteered.

She learns from the staff that Chen Mo’s parents were also deaf-mutes who died in an accident, yet he had dedicated his life to healing himself and the children. Moving on to the snack street, she visits Nuan Nuan’s family. Nuan Nuan draws a picture for Chen Mo’s upcoming birthday, and Rao Yuci helps the family register a brand for their sweets to ensure their stability. Before leaving, she entrusts a letter for Chen Mo to Nuan Nuan’s mother.

Bai Jingjing, having fulfilled her end of the bargain with the actuary, receives a key that leads her to the home of Professor Han. This location triggers a dark memory: years ago, Jingjing had framed the professor for sexual misconduct to cover for her own academic failures and family pressures, leading to his disgrace. Inside the house, she connects to a video call with the man she believe is her father. The reunion turns devastating.

The man tearfully confesses that he is not her biological parent. He reveals he had illegally adopted her as an infant, but six years later, her biological mother (Bai Xia) and the police tracked them down. It turns out Jingjing had been abducted and trafficked multiple times as a child. This revelation of her traumatic and "unwanted" origins causes Bai Jingjing to suffer a total mental breakdown. This was the final stage of Rao Yuci’s plan—forcing Jingjing to face the same "heart-piercing pain" she had once inflicted on others.

After returning from his leave, Chen Mo visits the school for the deaf, where the principal informs him that a young woman came looking for him the previous day. Chen Mo later meets with Nuannuan’s mother and receives a letter and a painting left by Rao Yuci. The letter serves as a final farewell, suggesting their story has come to an end.

When Chen Mo rushes to the Lysen Group to find her, he is shocked to learn from a director that Rao Yuci has already submitted her resignation to Jiang Dongchao. Meanwhile, Bai Muran arrives at Room 1303 of the Season Apartments, believing he is meeting the mysterious "Madam Bai." Instead, he finds Rao Yuci. The room’s screens display his private Southeast Asian account records and the transaction history of his embezzlement.

Rao Yuci exposes his crimes: he misappropriated investment funds from the Lysen Group to speculate in cryptocurrency, and after suffering massive losses, he targeted the gambling-addicted Li Qiang. Bai Muran created a fraudulent gambling platform to funnel Li Qiang’s money into his offshore accounts, even dragging Li Mingxuan into the debt trap. Rao Yuci reveals that the Beauty Pearl Society was a trap she designed to catch him.

She shows him a photo of Bai Jingjing with her biological mother, proving that the "Madam Bai" he relied on was a fiction. Rao Yuci then forces him to face their dark past, recalling how he and Bai Jingjing drugged her and placed a knife in her hand to make her stab her own mother, all to frame her as insane and send her to a mental hospital.

She mocks him as a mere "mascot" and a disposable pawn who will be abandoned by the Bai family once she reports him to the police the next morning. Driven to a state of hysterical rage and terror, Bai Muran stabs Rao Yuci with a fruit knife and flees. However, Rao Yuci had anticipated his violence.

She had programmed her smartwatch to monitor her heart rate; when the trauma caused it to spike, the device automatically triggered an emergency alert to the hospital and transmitted her location. Chen Mo, having obtained the address from Bai Jingjing’s biological mother, arrives just in time to find the wounded Rao Yuci and rushes her to the emergency room. At the Bai residence, Bai Qingyu learns of the offshore account scandal from Jiang Dongchao.

She delivers a chilling ultimatum to Bai Muran: he must surrender to the police and sever all ties with the family to protect the reputation of the Baiye Group. When she begins calling lawyers to organize a press conference to publicly denounce him, Bai Muran desperately tries to stop her, only to be met with a harsh slap. His own mother can only urge him to obey his grandmother.

Bai Muran finally realizes that to his family, he was never more than a tool. In a small eatery, Jiang Dongchao meets with Bai Jingjing and reveals he was aware she had been bugging his office through his assistant. He uses the shop as a metaphor for her life, stating that he only keeps it open because it reminds him of home, but he can make it vanish the moment he is tired of it.

He reveals that he has already provided Li Wancheng with the evidence that Bai Muran was the one who drove Li Qiang to suicide. As Jiang Dongchao leaves, a horrified Bai Jingjing realizes they were all used as shields to dismantle the Li family, and she wonders who will eventually "consume" Jiang as he has consumed others.

At the hospital, doctors tell Chen Mo that although Rao Yuci’s physical wounds have been treated, she has fallen into a hysterical coma—a psychological defense mechanism where she subconsciously refuses to wake up and face her reality. Meanwhile, the police arrive at the Bai estate to arrest Bai Muran for the assault, only to find his body floating in the swimming pool. Having lost her grandson, Bai Qingyu’s cold gaze shifts toward the hospital where the unconscious Rao Yuci lies.

Several days have passed since the stabbing, and Rao Yuci remains in a deep coma. At home, her mother, Xu Zhaohe, gazes at old photographs of her daughter, her tears never-ending. When she calls Dr. Zhou to check on her daughter's condition, the news remains grim: Yuci is still unconscious. Inside the quiet void of her mind, Yuci’s consciousness drifts through a dreamscape of falling snow in front of a treatment center. In this vision, Bai Liangliang approaches her.

Strangely, the searing hatred Yuci felt in the real world seems to have evaporated. She tells Liangliang how peaceful she feels, admitting that while she sought revenge in reality, it never brought her happiness. She expresses a wish to stay in this tranquil illusion forever, where everything could be as it once was between them. However, Liangliang shatters the peace with cold mockery.

She reminds Yuci that she was abandoned by everyone—loathed by her father, distanced by her mother, and betrayed by those she trusted most. Liangliang declares she won't stay in this fantasy, as she never stops for anyone or anything. The narrative shifts back three years to the Xinkang Treatment Center, where medical staff forcibly restrained a younger Yuci.

Despite her desperate screams and struggles, she was treated as a mere object of control by Director Han, who viewed her through a lens of clinical detachment. To survive, Yuci began a daily ritual of deception; every time she stood in line for medication, she would hide the pills under her tongue, only to spit them out later and hide them in paper wraps beneath her mattress.

Her behavior eventually caught the attention of three other patients: Santie, Professor Yang, and a man known as Master. During a routine check-up, Director Han noted Yuci’s apparent stability and asked about her reaction to the increased dosage. Yuci pleaded to see her family, but Han refused, citing her previous emotional instability. Determined to make contact, Yuci waited for the director to leave her office before slipping inside to use the phone.

Outside, Santie and a group of patients created a chaotic distraction to block the orderlies, with Santie intentionally shouting out passwords to assist Yuci. Yuci finally managed to dial home, but the call was intercepted by Bai Liangliang. While Xu Zhaohe was in the same room, Liangliang coldly lied, telling her it was just a spam call and blocking the number.

When Director Han burst into the office, Yuci smashed a glass and held a shard to herself, desperate enough to demand one more call. This time, she reached her father, Rao Shusheng. His voice was devoid of warmth, telling her he was busy and that she should simply focus on her treatment. The rejection broke Yuci, and she collapsed in tears under the complex gaze of Master.

Later, Liangliang visited the center to deliver a plant on behalf of Yuci's mother. She used the opportunity to twist the knife, telling Yuci that once a person's fate changes, even the heavens stop helping. She suggested that betrayal doesn't always need a reason. Seeing the light completely vanish from Yuci’s eyes, the trio of Master, Santie, and Professor Yang decided it was time to intervene.

They replaced her hidden stash of medicine with candy and left a card signed "Mr. Rabbit." When Yuci eventually confronted them in the garden, they introduced themselves. Professor Yang was a former corporate director and psychology expert who succumbed to bipolar disorder under the weight of professional pressure and the loss of his family. Santie was a professional basketball player whose career ended with an Achilles tendon rupture, leading to deep depression.

Master was a finance mogul with a vast network of influence. Though Yuci was initially guarded, Master challenged her to make a wish to test their capabilities. She asked for a laptop, and by that night, she received not only the computer but a bank account with one million as "chips" for her future games. Accepting their help, Yuci spent the next three years undergoing an intense transformation.

Santie pushed her physical limits, emphasizing that a brilliant mind is useless without a strong body. Professor Yang taught her to read people through micro-expressions and movements, using the staff—such as a nurse who recently started dating a taller man—as practice to deduce their personal lives and traumas. Master provided strategic oversight, teaching her how to analyze data to find hidden truths and how to view the world from angles others ignored.

As her "graduation" approached, Yuci and the trio meticulously mapped out her return. Master used his resources to uncover critical vulnerabilities: Li Mingxuan’s mounting debt of 13. 05 million and Li Qiang’s reckless use of five-times leverage in the stock market to cover his gambling losses. Yuci identified Bai Liangliang’s desire for power within the Lysen Group as her primary target, planning to seize Liangliang’s position first.

She also recalled a mysterious phone number Liangliang had contacted frequently, sensing it was a secret that Master could help her investigate. Armed with these secrets and a renewed spirit, Yuci prepared to "wake up" and step back into the world to reclaim her life.

Two months after the incident that left her unconscious, Rao Yuci finally wakes up with Chen Mo by her side. During her recovery, the two spend time in the hospital garden where Yuci observes the bougainvillea. She notes that her mother, Zhaohe, always loved these flowers because they require little care to bloom beautifully. Looking back, Yuci realizes her mother likely envied the plant’s wild strength and resilience.

Chen Mo observes that Zhaohe has become much stronger while staying by Yuci’s side throughout her hospitalization. While Yuci acknowledges her mother's love, she admits she spent years avoiding her father's inexplicable loathing for her. Yuci recalls a pivotal moment from five years ago during her college graduation. While her friend Bai Jingjing was praised, Yuci faced Rao Shusheng’s fury.

After Yuci rejected a position at a bank to pursue a graduate degree under Professor Han, Shusheng berated her in front of everyone, accusing her of being unrealistic. Yuci had long wondered if she and her father were enemies in a past life; even after she helped him pay off his debts recently, the knot in their relationship remained. She tells Chen Mo that she eventually needs a real answer from Shusheng.

The quiet moment is interrupted by the arrival of Yu Peidong, who brings updates regarding the Lysen Group. He reveals that Assistant Gao was fired and detained for installing a bugging device in Jiang Dongchao’s office. Furthermore, Jiang Dongchao has secured the support of key shareholders and is moving forward with the acquisition of the Platinum Group (Bosi).

While Bai Jingjing has vanished, Chen Xi has returned to Lysen to lead the Public Relations Department and temporarily manage Business Department One. Yuci warns Yu Peidong to stay vigilant, as Chen Xi will likely target Department Three. Yu Peidong also confirms that Bai Muran is dead, his death ruled a suicide following the exposure of his market manipulation. However, he warns Yuci that Bai Muran's father, Bai Qingyu, is a dangerous man who will eventually come looking for her.

At Lysen, Chen Xi relishes her restored power, mocking Ren Jing by claiming the CEO position is now within her reach. That night, Chen Xi visits Jiang Dongchao’s office under the pretext of delivering a speech script for the upcoming shareholder meeting. She attempts to seduce him, but Jiang Dongchao remains indifferent, merely getting up to close the office blinds to shut out the world.

Witnessing Chen Mo’s dedicated care for her daughter over the past three months, Zhaohe confides in him about her deep sense of guilt. She regrets leaving Yuci in the treatment center for so long and feels that Yuci’s current silence is a sign of total disappointment. When Chen Mo points out that Yuci’s trauma stems largely from her father’s coldness, Zhaohe finally reveals a long-hidden family secret: Yuci was supposed to have a twin sister.

Thirty years ago, Zhaohe was pregnant with twins whom Shusheng named Yuci and Yunian. However, a medical checkup revealed a rare condition where one fetus was thriving by absorbing the nutrients intended for the other. Because Zhaohe was already struggling with gestational diabetes, Shusheng chose to carry the burden of this news alone. When Yuci was born, she carried a mark on her arm—a physical reminder of her absorbed twin.

The tragedy was compounded when Shusheng’s mother died the same day, leaving his father indifferent to the new baby. Later, a factory fire that killed two workers led superstitious neighbors to label Yuci a "jinx." These coincidences fueled Shusheng’s fear and resentment, leading him to believe that perhaps it was the other twin, Yunian, who should have survived. After hearing the story, Chen Mo advises Zhaohe to keep these details from Yuci for now to avoid further emotional distress.

Seeking to mend their bond, Zhaohe visits Yuci with her favorite homemade meals—tomato scrambled eggs and celery with shrimp. She brings an old photo album, showing Yuci pictures from her childhood. Zhaohe tearfully apologizes for her weakness and her failure to protect Yuci from Shusheng and the manipulative Bai Jingjing. She admits she brought food to the treatment center every week but never dared to see Yuci face-to-face, fearing she would trigger a breakdown.

Moved by her mother’s vulnerability, Yuci finally forgives her, and the two share a tearful embrace. Once she is discharged, Zhaohe brings Yuci back to their family home. Yuci looks at the familiar surroundings while learning that her father remains in a coma. Meanwhile, in a different part of the city, Bai Jingjing’s mother wakes up from a dream of her daughter returning, only to find herself alone in an empty house.

Soon after, Yuci receives word that Master is gravely ill. She rushes back to the treatment center, only to find that Master, San Tie, and Professor Yang—the "Bad Guy Trio"—have staged a medical emergency just to lure her back for a visit. They joke about their poorly placed medical equipment, but the tone turns serious when they advise Yuci to stop living in the shadows of the past.

Master warns her that whether she likes it or not, she has entered a game where she and those she cares about will inevitably be swept up in the coming conflict. At the Lysen Group’s shareholder appreciation event, Jiang Dongchao takes the stage. Departing from corporate tradition, he shares a personal story about his wife. He describes their time as university classmates and their struggles working abroad.

He speaks of the moment he reached the peak of his career, only to be told that his wife had cancer. Watching the broadcast from the wings, Chen Xi views his emotional display with a mocking, cynical smile.

On the eve of his major speech at the shareholder meeting, Chen Xi meticulously refined the script for Jiang Dongchao. She deliberately wove in a poignant narrative about his late wife’s battle with cancer, painting him as a man of profound sentiment who nearly lost everything during the subprime mortgage crisis.

By recounting how he almost followed his colleagues in jumping from the heights of Morgan Stanley, only to be "rescued" and recruited by Li Wancheng to lead Lysen, the script was designed to solidify Jiang’s image as a loyal leader and smooth the way for upcoming capital maneuvers. Standing before the audience, Jiang Dongchao delivered the performance with practiced gravity.

He spoke of his wife’s dying wish for him to pursue his dreams, claiming Lysen’s current prosperity was born from her sacrifice. While the audience was moved, Li Wancheng remained cynical. He admitted to a colleague that he had heard this same story years ago and didn't care for the sentiment—only for the profit Jiang could bring. The acquisition of Bosi officially commenced with Jiang Dongchao leading the charge, aggressively buying shares in the Hong Kong market.

However, a sudden challenger appeared: Yinyu Technology. In a stunning move, the firm spent over a billion yuan to seize a six percent stake in Bosi. This thrust the actual controller, Xian Pengyu, into the spotlight. As the son of Xin Shaonan, the powerful head of Yuanjian Group, his intervention sparked intense market speculation, though the move was actually being orchestrated behind the scenes by the Baiye Group. The emergence of Yinyu Technology immediately put Jiang Dongchao on high alert.

He summoned Ren Jing to discuss Rao Yuci, who had recently been discharged from the hospital. Jiang admitted he had never opened her resignation letter because he was certain she would return. He warned Ren Jing that a talent as ruthless and thorough as Rao Yuci would become a lethal blade against Lysen if she joined their rivals. In this critical phase of the merger, he ordered Ren Jing to ensure Rao did not become an unpredictable threat.

Meanwhile, Yu Peidong informed Rao Yuci that Jiang was cannibalizing Lysen’s resources, sidelining projects like green building materials to fund the Bosi acquisition. Simultaneously, Xian Pengyu had abruptly shut down the Snack Street. When Yu Peidong tried to investigate, the leasing department remained tight-lipped about the reason. Rao Yuci visited the now-deserted alley herself and saw the desperation of the vendors.

One mother told her that without their stalls, she and her husband were forced to send their child back to the countryside. Feeling a heavy sense of responsibility, Rao Yuci contacted Xian Pengyu, demanding a meeting. As Jiang Dongchao dug deeper into Yinyu Technology, he realized the company was a front, and the real target was him. The situation dredged up a dark chapter from his past. Years ago, Jiang and Xian Donghai, Pengyu’s father, were close classmates.

During Yuanjian’s attempt to acquire Yinghuo Shipping, Jiang used his knowledge of the VAM (valuation adjustment mechanism) agreement to betray Donghai, using the Xiongshi Fund to sabotage the deal for his own profit. The blow led to Donghai’s death. At the funeral, Xin Shaonan had publicly slapped Jiang and exposed his treachery, a moment that left an indelible mark of hatred on the young Xian Pengyu.

Chen Mo, fearing for Rao Yuci’s safety, desperately tried to persuade her to stop her crusade. He confessed that seeing her in the hospital had left him terrified of losing her. However, Rao Yuci remained resolute. In a letter to him, she explained that years of betrayal—by her friend Bai Liangliang and ex-boyfriend Bai Muran—had left her with nothing but obsession.

She admitted that while Chen Mo had brought light back into her life, caring for him created a weakness she could not afford in her quest for justice. To protect her goals, she pushed him away, choosing to face the coming storm alone. When Rao Yuci finally met with Xian Pengyu, he mocked her persistence, calling her a "good person" who lacked the hidden cards necessary to win.

He argued that by closing the Snack Street, he was actually helping her by removing one of her weaknesses. Rao Yuci countered that while becoming a "bad person" is easy, maintaining one's integrity is the true challenge. After she left, Bai Liangliang emerged from the shadows. Having aligned herself with Bai Qingyu of the Baiye Group, she had partnered with Xian Pengyu to bring down Lysen.

She revealed she held a ten percent stake in Baiye, which they planned to use as a final weapon once Jiang Dongchao had fully committed his personal assets to the Bosi merger. Seeking another path, Rao Yuci arranged a meeting with Xin Shaonan. She urged the elder woman to consider the lives of the ordinary vendors and suggested that Xian Pengyu was being manipulated into a personal vendetta by those who closed the Snack Street.

Xin Shaonan, impressed by Rao’s background as a "math genius" and the founder of Chuxia, noted that she was well aware of Rao's past. While she claimed she would not interfere with her son’s choices, she enigmatically told Rao that they were not enemies and that the future remained to be seen. As the tension reached its breaking point, Jiang Dongchao decided to confront the new generation directly.

He arrived at the offices of Yinyu Technology to find Xian Pengyu waiting for him. The two men stood face-to-face, the ghosts of old betrayals and the fire of new ambitions clashing in a silent, high-stakes standoff.

Jiang Dongchao meets with Xian Pengyu for a tense confrontation. Jiang attempts to persuade Pengyu to withdraw from the ongoing acquisition war over Bosi Real Estate, suggesting that they can share the profits rather than fight to the death. However, Pengyu reacts with nothing but contempt. Having spent years preparing for this moment, he has no intention of stopping.

He vividly recalls his father, Xian Donghai, dying of a heart attack—describing the purple skin, dilated pupils, and the silent scream of the dying. Determined to see Jiang ruined for his role in that tragedy, Pengyu compares his team to hyenas waiting to tear down a lion (referring to Jiang's Lion Fund). He slides a box of heart medicine across the table as a warning.

Jiang accepts it with a cold smile, retorting that Pengyu should keep a dose for himself, given the power of genetics. Returning home, Jiang seeks comfort by smelling an old handkerchief, only to discover it has been washed by the new maid, stripping away the scent he relied on to calm his nerves. In a fit of rage, he turns on his wife, Wan Lingling, and physically assaults her. Their young daughter, Chloe, watches from the shadows.

Instead of fear, the child feels a warped sense of justice, believing her mother is being punished for being "naughty" and failing to obey. After the outburst, Jiang seamlessly shifts back into his role as a doting father, reading Chloe a bedtime story. When she admits to being afraid of monsters, he tells her that to avoid being hurt, she must become a monster herself.

Jiang later pressures Rao Yuci to return to Lysen Group, mentioning that Xian Pengyu has shut down her snack street project. He promises that only he and Lysen can help her achieve her dreams, emphasizing that a team is more effective than a lone wolf in the world of capital. Meanwhile, an actuary from the Beauty Pearl Society visits a mysterious "Master" at a treatment center. They discuss the three-month market deadlock.

The actuary is curious about the "winning card" the Master holds and what Yuci’s ultimate plan might be, but the Master remains elusive, hiding behind a mask of senility while focusing on a game of chess. The public battle for Bosi Real Estate shares intensifies. Major shareholders like Yang Jinwan hold 14% and Baiye Group’s Bai Qingyu holds 10%.

Yinyu Technology and Lysen Group engage in an aggressive bidding war, with Yinyu reaching a 9% stake while Lysen pushes to 12%. When asked about her stance, Bai Qingyu gives a vague public statement about prioritizing stability, signaling to the market that Baiye Group intends to sit back and profit from the chaos between the rivals. This uncertainty causes rumors to swirl, and Jiang’s situation worsens when his internal PR team suddenly goes on collective leave.

Jiang correctly identifies this as a move by Li Wancheng to undermine his control. Taking advantage of the distraction, Yinyu pushes its stake to 19%. Jiang realizes his funds are stretched to their limit and can only manage to tie the bid; he desperately needs a new variable to break the deadlock. Rao Yuci eventually announces her return to Lysen, providing Jiang with a much-needed sense of security.

However, Jiang immediately begins manipulating her, claiming that the company's capital is entirely tied up in the Bosi acquisition. He tells her he must go back on his word regarding the funding for her Green Building Materials and snack street projects. He subtly suggests that if she could secure direct support from Li Wancheng, the deadlock could be broken and her projects could proceed. Understanding the hint, Yuci decides to negotiate with Li Wancheng herself.

That night, the pressure takes its toll on Jiang as he is haunted by nightmares of his childhood, witnessing his father beating his mother. The following morning, Yuci meets with Li Wancheng for tea. She is blunt, revealing that the critical evidence Jiang previously provided regarding Li Qiang’s death actually came from her. She uses this leverage to highlight the long-term value of her environmental and urban renewal projects, directly asking Li Wancheng for the funding Jiang claimed was unavailable.

Meanwhile, having gained the upper hand in the market with the help of Bai Liangliang, Xian Pengyu celebrates by taking her to the restaurant where they first met years ago. He reminisces about how he saved her from a predatory drinking session and paved the way for her career, even considering a proposal. However, Bai Liangliang remains cold.

She reminds him that memories are worthless to her and clarifies that their relationship is strictly professional, or at most, a physical arrangement. She warns him that she is no Cinderella and has no interest in love, leaving him alone at the table after a final, hollow toast to their partnership.

As the merger battle reached its climax, Jiang Dongchao prepared for the final offensive with a sense of unease. He left a set of instructions with his assistant, Xiao Zhang, regarding a safe in his car containing two letters—one for his wife and one for his lawyer. He noted that the passcode was his daughter Chloe’s birthday, stressing that these should be handled only if he failed to return from the building.

Once inside, word arrived that Li Wancheng’s funds had cleared. Jiang immediately ordered his team to divert the capital, originally meant for Rao Yuci’s development projects, into the stock market to aggressively increase Lisen Group’s holdings in Bosi Real Estate. Rao Yuci soon discovered that her project funding had been rejected. Realizing she had been used as a pawn to secure money from Li Wancheng for Jiang's personal corporate warfare, she confronted him in the trading room.

As news reports announced that Lisen had reached a twenty-three percent stake in Bosi, surpassing Yinyu Technology, Rao argued that a healthy merger should involve cooperation with Yang Jinwan to help Bosi transform, rather than a cold numbers game. Jiang remained unapologetic, claiming that her dreams could only be realized through his victory.

When he tried to use his charitable works as a shield, Rao exposed his facade, stating that his "kindness" was merely a calculated move for tax avoidance and that every act of his had a price tag. Meanwhile, Yang Jinwan was furious with Xian Pengyu for using Bosi as a weapon against Jiang. During a tense meeting, Xian’s mother, Xin Shaonan, demanded her son apologize to the elder statesman, but Xian remained defiant.

He mocked Yang’s old-school methods and suggested the veteran should retire to make way for the new generation. Yang, however, laughed off the young man’s arrogance, noting that Xian and his allies only held nineteen percent and were still lagging behind Lisen. Xian countered by hinting at a hidden advantage involving Baiye Group’s ten percent stake, unaware of the betrayal already in motion.

The battlefield shifted during a strategic press conference where Bai Liangliang appeared representing the interest of Madam Bai. She announced that Baiye Group would stand firmly with Bosi Real Estate to repel external threats. This move caught both Jiang Dongchao and Xian Pengyu off guard; while they had been depleting their resources to drive up Bosi’s market value, Bosi and Baiye had been waiting to consolidate control, bringing their combined stake to twenty-four percent.

Yang Jinwan took great pleasure in telling Xian that he had lost. Infuriated, Xian insulted the "Sir," calling him a mere upstart and vowing to settle his father’s debt on his own terms. Seeking leverage, Rao Yuci consulted Zhou Lufeng about other major shareholders and learned of the "Cryptex Fund." At the treatment center, she realized that the Master had created this fund years ago during his time in the stock market.

When Professor Yang and the Master noticed Rao’s distress, they offered their support. Rao was direct, stating she needed the fund's shares to protect her projects. Seeing her determination, the Master agreed to hand over the Cryptex Fund’s four percent stake in Bosi to her as a birthday gift. The emotional fallout of the war hit Xian Pengyu hard. Bai Liangliang found him drunk and broken on his sofa.

Xian, who believed they were kindred spirits, was devastated when Bai Liangliang coldly admitted she had never had any feelings for him. She revealed she had simply used him as a stepping stone to get closer to Jiang Dongchao. Xian realized that the very quality he loved in her—her directness—was what allowed her to hurt him so deeply. Despite his heartbreak, Bai Liangliang urged him to quit and hand his shares over to Baiye to avoid total ruin.

Xian ordered her to leave and never return, finally letting go of his feelings for her. Rao Yuci later met with Li Wancheng to apologize for the misappropriated funds. Li revealed he had anticipated Jiang’s betrayal and allowed it to happen so Rao would see Jiang's true nature and align with him instead.

Rao informed Li that she now held the four percent stake from the Cryptex Fund and intended to give it to Xian Pengyu to disrupt the power structure. Although this meant Lisen might lose to Yinyu, Li Wancheng told her to follow her instincts and provided her with a new, dedicated grant to restart her stalled projects. The Meizhu Society soon took an interest in the shifting tides.

Their actuary approached a weary Xian Pengyu, mentioning his father, Xian Donghai, and suggesting that their organization enjoyed stories of revenge. The actuary pointed Xian toward Rao Yuci, indicating she held the key to his potential victory. When Xian finally met with Rao, he was stunned to find she possessed such a significant trump card. Rao remained calm, making it clear that while she had the leverage, its impact would depend on how it was used. She then questioned Xian on what his actual plans would be should he emerge as the victor.

Before transferring her 4% stake, Rao Yuci met with Xian Pengyu. She asked about his plans after his revenge was complete, sensing that he had pursuits beyond his vendetta. Xian Pengyu, impressed by her foresight, called her a "little genius" for having a hidden card of her own. When he asked what he had to pay for the shares, he was shocked by her simple condition: the reopening of the snack street.

Rao Yuci explained that while this stake decided the fate of the Lysen, Baiye, and Bosi groups, she chose to trust him because she believed he was fundamentally a good person. Moved, Xian Pengyu signed the contract. The injection of this equity caused an immediate reversal in the battle for Bosi. Yinyu Capital surged ahead with a 25% stake, narrowly overtaking Yang Jinwan’s 24% and the Lysen Group’s 23%.

This shift left Jiang Dongchao, once the most likely victor, at a distinct disadvantage. Both he and Li Wancheng watched the news with heavy hearts, though for very different reasons. With the snack street set to reopen, Chen Mo congratulated Rao Yuci on achieving her dream. Yuci expressed her deep gratitude for his constant companionship, which had helped her step out of the darkness of her own anger.

Sitting together at sunset, Chen Mo shared the story of a boy who felt he could survive alone after losing his parents, only to realize how lonely that path truly was. He admitted how terrified he had been while she was in the hospital and told her he wanted to protect her from that loneliness. As the sun set—a moment Chen Mo noted lasts only 600 seconds—he asked to spend every one of those moments with her in the future.

They shared a kiss, finally making their feelings clear. On the day the snack street officially returned to life, the atmosphere was festive as vendors returned. Xian Pengyu arrived to thank Rao Yuci, acknowledging that her shares allowed him to turn the tables. Seizing the opportunity, Yuci urged him to ally with the Lysen Group to deal with Jiang Dongchao.

Following a strategy previously suggested by Li Wancheng, she pointed out that if Lysen lost the merger battle, Jiang Dongchao would be held responsible. It was the perfect time to force him out. After consideration, Xian Pengyu agreed that if it meant getting Jiang out of the company, he was willing to cooperate with Li Wancheng. However, the tide was turning elsewhere.

Bai Jingjing saw through Rao Yuci’s maneuvers and convinced Bo Qingyu that to fully control Jiang Dongchao, they needed to show him he had been betrayed. Bai Jingjing presented Jiang Dongchao with a dossier on the "Cryptex Fund" and its controller, Wu Zhice, known as the "Master." The documents revealed that Wu Zhice was also the founder of the Xinkang Treatment Center and had been in close contact with Rao Yuci for three years.

Realizing he had been a pawn in Yuci’s game, Jiang Dongchao’s fury reached a breaking point. Li Wancheng soon met with Jiang Dongchao, pretending to sympathize with the risks Jiang had taken for Lysen. He suggested that due to shareholder pressure, Jiang should temporarily step down with a payout.

Jiang Dongchao, hiding his rage and knowing Li Wancheng was trying to oust him, countered by claiming that everything was under control and that he had already secured an alliance with the Baiye Group to finalize the Bosi acquisition. The day of Rao Yuci’s birthday arrived. Chen Mo went to her home to surprise her by baking a cake with her mother's help. Meanwhile, Yuci received a call from Jiang Dongchao and went to his office alone.

The atmosphere was chilling. Jiang mocked her idealism and conceit before suddenly attacking her with a golf club. Rao Yuci fell to the floor, bleeding from a head wound. As she lay semi-conscious, Bo Qingyu and Bai Jingjing appeared. Bai Jingjing knelt before the injured Yuci, mockingly revealing a secret she had found in Rao Shusheng’s diary. She told Yuci that she was originally supposed to have a twin, but she had "absorbed" the other embryo in the womb.

This, Bai Jingjing claimed, was why her father loathed her—her existence was a reminder of the child he lost. She pointed to Yuci’s birthmark as a brand left by the dead sibling, cruelly suggesting that Yuci was destined never to be loved. As her phone rang with calls from a worried Chen Mo, Jiang Dongchao stepped in her path, dismissing her "noble" efforts as the true source of everyone’s hardships.

Bo Qingyu watched coldly, warning Jiang that he had been too rough, but she added her own ultimatum. She threatened the lives of Chen Mo, Yu Peidong, the entire Investment Dept 3, her parents, and the people of the snack street. They demanded her total submission, warning her never to struggle against them again. Back at the house, as Chen Mo prepared to go look for Yuci, he received a sudden update: Rao Shusheng had finally woken up.

Mrs. Bai arrives at Rao Yuci's home with a birthday cake to celebrate, only to find Yuci staggering toward the door, her forehead drenched in blood following Jiang Dongchao’s brutal attack. Terrified, Mrs. Bai immediately reaches for her phone to call the police, but Yuci desperately stops her. Straining to speak, Yuci begs her to stay silent and simply help her, wanting to avoid further escalation. Mrs. Bai reluctantly agrees and contacts Chen Mo, who rushes Yuci to the hospital.

After a doctor bandages the deep wound and warns her about the risk of permanent scarring, Chen Mo’s anger boils over. He suspects Bai Jingjing is behind the assault, but Yuci remains silent, insisting she simply had a fall. Despite her injuries, Yuci heads straight to the hospital room of her father, Rao Shusheng. Though he has finally regained consciousness, his mind is clouded and delirious. In his confusion, Rao Shusheng mistakes Yuci for her twin sister, Yunian.

He repeatedly whispers a warning, telling "Yunian" to be careful of the other child, fearing that Yuci would be the death of her. Hearing these words, Yuci’s last hope for reconciliation is extinguished. She realizes her father has always harbored a deep-seated hatred for her, viewing her only as a monster responsible for her sister's tragedy. She laments that while she spent years hoping for his understanding, he only ever remembered her in the worst light.

Chen Mo tries to comfort Yuci, admitting he knew the truth about her past and her father’s feelings but kept it hidden to spare her pain. Yuci is devastated to learn that those closest to her, including Chen Mo and her mother, Xu Zhaohe, had conspired to keep her in the dark. Feeling betrayed, she pushes them away, declaring she no longer wants to trust anyone.

After returning home, Yuci sits alone in the dark, eating the birthday cake Mrs. Bai gave her while sobbing in despair. She reflects on the painful stages of growing up: first realizing the world isn't as beautiful as imagined, then facing malice while feeling powerless, and finally deciding to fight back even if it leads to her destruction. The story shifts back to three years ago during Yuci's recovery at the Xinkang Treatment Center.

She, Master (Wu Zhice), and Santie are engaged in a meditation session led by Professor Yang. On the eve of her discharge, Wu Zhice confides in Yuci about his past. In 2014, he was a ruthless stock market manipulator who orchestrated a massive crash to earn a fortune. However, he never expected his own son would be a victim of that crash. After a final, desperate phone call that Wu Zhice ignored, his son committed suicide.

Overwhelmed by guilt, Wu Zhice founded Xinkang. He tells Yuci that when he first saw her desperate plea for help, he saw the shadow of his son, who was also a mathematical genius. From that moment on, he decided to treat Yuci as his own daughter. As a farewell, the group holds a gathering, using their imagination to turn empty cups into wine. They toast to Yuci’s bravery, encouraging her to face the outside world without fear.

Before leaving, Yuci gives each of them a gift. She gives Santie a tribute to the "Mamba Mentality" and provides Professor Yang with new binoculars to explore the universe. She also leaves a gift for Wu Zhice, who later finds a letter hidden inside a cryptex that Yuci managed to unlock. The letter was written by his son, reflecting on how the peak of success is a cold, lonely place hidden behind mist and the darkness of human hearts.

His son wrote that if he could start over, he would choose a simple, peaceful life. Reading this, Wu Zhice finally finds closure and seeks his son's forgiveness. In the present day, Mrs. Bai meets with Han Congfei to understand the conflict between her daughter and Yuci. Han Congfei reveals everything, admitting he once wrote an irresponsible article that branded Yuci as mentally unstable, which became the catalyst for her suffering.

He details how Bai Jingjing systematically destroyed Yuci’s life, from sabotaging her projects to tricking Rao Shusheng into buying overpriced real estate in Linwei Lane, which left the family in massive debt. Han urges Mrs. Bai to convince Bai Jingjing to let go of her malice before more damage is done. Meanwhile, the Lisen office is thrown into chaos by the arrival of representatives from the Baiye Group. Ren Jing is surprised to see Bai Jingjing arriving alongside Bai Qingyu.

On the rooftop, Ren Jing and Yu Peidong discuss the implications of this visit. Their fears are confirmed when Jiang Dongchao informs them that as part of a new strategic partnership, Baiye Group has appointed Bai Jingjing as the Chief Financial Officer. She will now have full authority to monitor Lisen’s capital flow, placing the company’s future directly in her hands.

As Bai Liangliang prepares to depart with Bai Qingyu, her mother, Bai Xia, suddenly rushes out and blocks their car. Bai Qingyu instructs Liangliang to handle the matter herself and orders the driver to pull away, leaving the mother and daughter alone. Bai Xia immediately strikes Liangliang with a sharp slap, expressing deep regret for her past leniency. She laments that if she had been stricter years ago, Liangliang might not have transformed into the cruel "monster" she is today.

Liangliang, however, remains unrepentant, blaming her mother for dragging her away from the wealthy man she believed was her father and robbing her of a life of luxury. The argument turns even more bitter as Bai Xia reveals that the wealthy man was never Liangliang's father, a reality Liangliang refuses to accept.

Liangliang mocks her mother's "failed" life, claiming she grew up surrounded by the "greasy smell of saltwater ducks" from her mother’s stall and was driven to darkness by the constant gossip of others. Declaring that she will continue to be a "monster" to get what she wants, Liangliang tells Bai Xia to pretend she never had a daughter and never to see her again.

Overwhelmed by grief and the realization that her daughter is lost to her, Bai Xia walks alone into the freezing river as her world collapses. Meanwhile, Rao Yuci’s sudden disappearance puts Yu Peidong and Ren Jing on high alert. They find the shift in power at the company highly suspicious, noting that Bai Qingyu’s sudden alliance with Jiang Dongchao and the return of Bai Liangliang are too coincidental to ignore. Ren Jing decides to confront Jiang Dongchao directly.

When she asks about Yuci’s absence, Jiang brusquely claims he personally approved her leave, despite the lack of official paperwork. He warns Ren Jing to remember who she truly works for and demands to be notified the moment Yuci returns to the office. Chen Mo is also frantically searching for Yuci and eventually meets with Yu Peidong and Ren Jing to share his concerns.

He reveals that Yuci had been injured, claiming she "fell," but he doesn't believe her story and worries she is trying to handle a dangerous conflict alone. After Chen Mo leaves, Ren Jing reveals two critical observations from her visit to Jiang’s office: the carpet had been replaced, and his golf bag was missing.

Convinced these are signs of a violent struggle, Yu Peidong suggests checking surveillance footage, but Ren Jing stops him, arguing that Jiang would have already erased the evidence and a premature move might provoke him. In the wake of Bai Liangliang successfully securing the cooperation between Lysen Group and Baiye Group, Jiang Dongchao decides that Chen Xi has outlived her usefulness.

When Chen Xi attempts to argue that Bai Liangliang shouldn't be involved in their new project, Jiang mocks her lack of intelligence. He bluntly tells her that while Liangliang has actual capability, Chen Xi is merely someone who makes money through illicit means and "inside-outside" schemes. Desperate, Chen Xi threatens to tell his wife, Wan Lingling, about their affair. To her horror, Jiang immediately calls his wife on speakerphone and dares Chen Xi to speak.

Paralyzed by cowardice, Chen Xi remains silent as Jiang tells his wife he will be home early for dinner. He then gives Chen Xi a final ultimatum: know her place or vanish from the company forever. After days of silence and recovery, Rao Yuci finally emerges and reaches out to the founder of Lysen Group, Li Wancheng.

She meets him at a snack street, where the elder man reflects on how he and his associates started the group from humble street stalls. Yuci shows a deep understanding of the company’s history and the current bottleneck it faces due to industrial shifts. Li Wancheng admits that while the company's financial reports look good under Jiang Dongchao, the money invested in overseas projects has mysteriously vanished.

Yuci points out that Jiang is a master at crafting a persona of a patriotic entrepreneur to hide his "gray areas." She suspects he is using the company’s projects to line his own pockets and is currently pushing the tripartite cooperation specifically for personal gain. To uncover the necessary financial evidence of his corruption, Yuci tells Li Wancheng that she must return to Lysen Group. She believes that if Jiang slips up during this upcoming deal, it will be their best opportunity to bring his schemes to light.

Jiang Dongchao and Bai Qingyu hosted a dinner with Yang Jinwan, proposing a tripartite alliance to monopolize the housing renovation market. They promised to resolve the privatization issues surrounding Bosi Real Estate, successfully convincing Yang to join their cause. During the conversation, Yang noted that the proposal aligned with ideas previously discussed with Rao Yuci, though he had initially suspected her of being a spy for the Lysen Group.

Tragedy struck when Bai Liangliang received news from the police that her mother, Bai Xia, had drowned. She visited the morgue and left a property deed and a bank card with her mother’s remains, tearfully claiming that her actions—while driven by resentment and a desire to escape her humble upbringing—were intended to keep their family together. Later, Bai Liangliang visited the hospital to pay the outstanding medical bills for Mr. Xu.

She remained silent when asked about her mother, burdened by the memory of telling Mr. Xu years ago that she was destined for a different, larger life. Returning to the Lysen Group, Rao Yuci submitted to Jiang Dongchao to secure her position, pledging to be his instrument. Jiang, relishing her surrender, reinstated her but immediately ordered her to halt all active projects in Investment Departments 2 and 3.

When Ren Jing questioned Rao Yuci about her recent disappearance and injuries, Rao Yuci deflected the inquiries, focusing instead on her assigned task. Despite Ren Jing’s warnings that this move would provoke backlash from Yu Peidong, Rao Yuci remained resolute in her forced obedience. Meanwhile, Bai Qingyu instructed her team to formalize the contract with Yang Jinwan to prevent any withdrawal. She also harbored deep-seated bitterness toward Rao Yuci, blaming her for her grandson’s death.

Rao Yuci later returned to Bai Xia’s former residence and discovered a box containing the woman's handwritten journals. Having witnessed the cruelty of the people around her and the depth of her own vulnerability, Rao Yuci resolved to navigate the darkness, believing that she must immerse herself in the conflict to ultimately dismantle the corruption.

Rao Yuci makes a grand return to the office, greeted by confetti and a chorus of "Welcome back" from her colleagues. Yu Peidong stands at the front of the crowd leading the celebration, but Yuci offers no pleasantries. Walking straight toward her office, she delivers a shocking announcement: effective immediately, all projects under Investment Departments 2 and 3 are halted. This includes the high-priority green building materials acquisition and the traditional Snack Street Renewal Plan.

The room falls into a confused silence until Yu Peidong demands an explanation, reminding her that she was the one who led them on these projects from the start. Yuci remains cold, stating that the past is the past and the company must now focus entirely on the tripartite cooperation and the upcoming financing conference. When Yu Peidong angrily suggests she has lost her mind, Yuci simply warns him to "live to fight another day."

She then instructs Ren Jing to process the resignation paperwork for anyone who refuses to follow the new arrangements. Later, Ren Jing reports the staff's intense reaction to Jiang Dongchao. When Jiang asks about Yu Peidong’s stance, Ren Jing confirms he is furious. Jiang is pleased by this conflict. Ren Jing assures him that she understands the philosophy for survival at Lysen: to go far, one cannot afford to have any weaknesses.

Meanwhile, Tian Tian begins packing her belongings to quit. Sima Yang tries to talk her out of it, arguing that Yuci’s decisions are acceptable, but Tian Tian dismisses him as a sycophant and leaves. Yuci later meets Tian Tian at a cafe. Tian Tian admits she doesn't blame Yuci and remains grateful for the time Yuci saved her when she first arrived at Lysen.

Back then, Yuci was fearless, encouraging others to be strong and let the unkind feel the "backlash" of their actions. However, Tian Tian notes that while Yuci looks stronger now, there is fear in her eyes. She believes Yuci is choosing to bear everything alone and urges her to stay true to her authentic self so that those who oppose her will truly be afraid. The confrontation moves to a darker note as Yuci meets Bai Jingjing.

Jingjing is full of venom, claiming she wants Yuci to pay with her life for the death of her mother, Bai Xia. Yuci counters that Jingjing is responsible for the current tragedy, just as her selfishness killed Professor Han five years ago. A flashback reveals that back in university, Professor Han had been very supportive of Jingjing due to her top grades.

However, knowing her father had suffered a stroke and that her family was struggling, he kindly recommended her for a high-paying role at a state-owned enterprise instead of his research program, which required total devotion. Jingjing felt insulted and retaliated by framing the professor for sexual misconduct, forcing him to resign. Later, when Yuci visited the disgraced professor, he was so traumatized that he refused to close his door, fearing more false claims.

When Jingjing showed up to harass him further, the stress triggered a fatal heart attack. In the present, Jingjing remains unrepentant, blaming Yuci for everything and claiming Jiang Dongchao will never believe Yuci because she has Bai Qingyu’s backing. Yuci presents the belongings of the late Bai Xia, specifically a bundle of letters that serve as a diary.

In these letters, Bai Xia detailed the heartbreak of finding her daughter only to realize the child didn't recognize her and constantly asked for her father—a man who was actually a gambler. Bai Xia had learned the trade of Saltwater Duck just to provide for Jingjing and even married a man she didn't love just to fulfill Jingjing's wish for a father figure.

Despite reading the depth of her mother's love and sacrifice, Jingjing tears the letters to pieces, refusing to accept that her mother wanted her to "settle for less." Yuci warns her that one day she will realize she has hurt the people who truly cared for her and that by the time she wakes up, they will all be gone. Left alone, Jingjing briefly wavers, asking her mother’s spirit if she was wrong, before stubbornly hardening her heart again.

Meanwhile, Bai Qingyu calls Jiang Dongchao to move forward with the financing conference and the formal announcement of the tripartite cooperation between Lysen, Bossi, and Baiye. She reminds him that while they have succeeded halfway, they must now negotiate the distribution of interests. Jiang immediately summons Ren Jing to prioritize the meeting agenda above all else. That evening, Ren Jing and Yu Peidong share drinks at an observation deck.

Yu Peidong laments that Lysen has lost its soul, turning into an intrigue-filled colosseum. He points out that the green building materials companies only trusted them because of his and Yuci's personal involvement, and now they are being crushed by corporate whims. Though Ren Jing urges him to believe Yuci has a reason, Yu Peidong decides to resign to "clear the battlefield" for her. Chen Mo eventually confronts Yuci about the mass resignations and the visible injury on her face.

He fears she is losing herself in the darkness. He tries to explain the truth behind the Rao Shusheng incident, but Yuci coldly interrupts him, stating she no longer needs the "truth" and has made peace with herself. She claims that some people value interest over light and perhaps they are right. Chen Mo insists she is wrong, recalling the genuine happiness she felt when helping the people of the snack street. He begs her to return to her true self, but Yuci only offers a quiet apology as she prepares to follow through with her ruthless plan.

Chen Mo sits alone at a stall in the snack street, staring at photo stickers of himself and Rao Yuci. He recalls their recent meeting where he encouraged her to smile more, but Rao Yuci’s outlook remains bleak. She views the world as a place where the wicked snatch candy with guns while the good are trapped by rules and dignity until they "rot."

Choosing to embrace the shadows, she tells him she will enter the darkness to learn the rules of her enemies and walk that path to the very end. Rao Yuci’s return to Lysen is the pivotal step in her plan to topple Jiang Dongchao. Before their formal meeting, Rao Yuci met with the investor Yang Jinwan privately to expose Jiang’s corruption.

She presented calculations of Jiang’s overseas investments, noting that most projects resulted in lost assets, which she suspects is a front for embezzlement. Predicting that Jiang will move massive capital following the tripartite financing conference, she urged Yang Jinwan to feign cooperation with Jiang to secure physical evidence of the theft. Later, Rao Yuci brings Xian Pengyu to a formal meeting with Yang Jinwan.

Xian Pengyu, the "Little Genius," offers a sincere apology for his previous recklessness and expresses his absolute resolve to destroy Jiang Dongchao to avenge his father. When Yang Jinwan questions Rao Yuci’s motives, she recounts how Jiang embezzled her project funds and conspired with Bai Qingyu and Bai Liangliang to have her brutally beaten. Driven by mutual interests, Yang Jinwan agrees to the partnership.

Unbeknownst to them, Jiang Dongchao and Bai Qingyu are listening to the entire conversation from behind a sliding door in the adjacent room. Once Rao and Xian depart, Yang Jinwan joins Jiang to "prove" his loyalty by revealing the encounter. He demands to see Jiang’s hand before proceeding with the privatization of Bosi.

After ensuring all phones are switched off, Jiang Dongchao lays out his plan: he will use financing funds to acquire overseas tech companies, moving the money to his BVI accounts and offshore trusts. This will make Bosi a private entity under his control while providing a "clean" retirement fund for Bai Qingyu. Yang Jinwan listens in silent alarm, realizing Rao Yuci’s predictions are coming true. Meanwhile, Li Wancheng meets with his old friend Wu Zhice.

The Master is surprised to learn that Rao Yuci’s four percent stake in Bosi was actually a gift from Li, who promises to protect her like his own daughter. Rao Yuci later explains her strategy to Li; she knows that the less Jiang Dongchao trusts her, the more he will rely on Yang Jinwan, making it easier for them to set their trap. However, the plan takes a dark turn when Wu Zhice suffers a massive health crisis.

Already struggling with hypertension, the Master suffers an acute cerebral infarction brought on by a severe psychological shock. Shortly after, Jiang Dongchao calls Rao Yuci to meet at the snack street. He mocks her for thinking her actions were secret and reveals the cruel truth: he personally visited Wu Zhice to reveal that the person who actually bought the failing shares of Virtual Pulse Tech years ago was the Master's own son, Wu Xiangnan.

Realizing he had unwittingly ruined his son and driven him to suicide, the Master collapsed. Rao Yuci later visits the unconscious Master, whispering that she is close to finding the "key" to ending this nightmare. Determined to strike back, Rao Yuci delivers four funeral wreaths to Bai Qingyu’s office. She confronts her, stating that Bai’s cold and selfish nature drove her family to tragedy, including the suicide of Bai Muran. Rao warns that she will ensure the financing conference fails.

Infuriated, Bai Qingyu conspires with Jiang Dongchao to eliminate Rao. Jiang shares a theory about "the weight of the soul," suggesting that fear is what gives the soul its twenty-one grams of weight. He instructs Bai Liangliang to exploit Rao Yuci’s past trauma, intending to break her spirit through constant terror.

Following the plan, Bai Liangliang visits a hospital under the guise of caring for Teacher Xu and obtains a prescription for sleeping pills, which the doctor warns can cause hallucinations if overdosed. She then summons Sima Yang to a meeting, using a recording she found to blackmail him. She mocks his background as a "poor kid" who struggled to get into Lysen through financial aid.

Threatening to destroy his career, she pressures him to put the hallucinogenic drugs into Rao Yuci’s water. She promises that if he helps remove Rao from the company, Jiang Dongchao will reward him with a promotion to lead the Third Investment Department.

The morning after Wu Zhice’s sudden stroke, Rao Yuci stood before the office coffee machine, her mind drifting back to the laughter and camaraderie that once filled Investment Dept 3. Her trance was broken by Sima Yang, who approached to inform her that the machine was broken. He noted that while the administrative department had been notified, they hadn't arrived to fix it yet, and he offered to buy her a cup while he headed downstairs.

Later, Jiang Dongchao summoned Sima Yang for a private meeting. Learning that Sima Yang was from Nanchang while he was from Shangrao, Jiang treated him like a neighbor, praising his ability to survive as the last man standing in his department despite having no background or connections. Jiang remarked that while Bai Jingjing saw potential in him, Sima Yang still lacked a certain edge.

Opening the blinds to show the sprawling view from the top floor, Jiang lectured him on the importance of choices. He told Sima Yang that reaching the peak of one's life required the resolve to "burn one's bridges" to achieve greatness. Induced by this pressure and the promise of a promotion to lead the department, Sima Yang appeared to have made his choice. Meanwhile, Bai Jingjing watched from the shadows, confident that her web was closing in on Rao Yuci.

That night, the sound of glass shattering and furniture being overturned echoed through the Lysen Group offices. Bai Jingjing dialed Chen Mo, mockingly suggesting he come quickly to see his "insane" girlfriend before she was hauled away. When Bai Jingjing finally pushed open the office door to savor Rao Yuci’s collapse, she found the room in shambles. However, when Rao Yuci looked up, her eyes were sharp and clear, devoid of any madness.

Sima Yang stood calmly by the door with his phone, announcing that he had already called the police. The truth dated back a year, when Wu Zhice had introduced Rao Yuci to Sima Yang, a student he had long sponsored and trusted. Wu Zhice had advised Yuci that to survive within Lysen, she didn't need an obvious ally, but rather a friend who appeared to be an enemy.

Since then, every move Sima Yang made—including his supposed defection to Bai Jingjing’s side—had been reported to and orchestrated by Yuci. Sima Yang had even manipulated Bai Jingjing’s suspicions by pretending to "discover" threatening items like fruit knives on Yuci's computer and reporting Yuci's secret meetings to ensure Bai Jingjing felt in control. Realizing she had been played, Bai Jingjing lashed out, accusing Yuci of being a liar.

Once she calmed down, Yuci asked why their former close friendship had turned into such visceral hatred. Bai Jingjing laughed bitterly, claiming she hated how everyone perceived Yuci as kind and lucky. She viewed Yuci’s success as a mere birthright of privilege, while she herself had to bleed for everything only to remain in Yuci’s shadow. She even blamed Yuci for the death of her mother, Bai Xia, claiming she never got to know her because of Yuci’s interference.

Yuci looked at her with pity, noting how distorted and pathetic she had become. Chen Mo rushed into the office just as the confrontation peaked. Bai Jingjing looked at the two of them and smiled maliciously, stating that even if she lost, Yuci’s life would never be peaceful or happy. As the police led Bai Jingjing away for drugging Yuci, she left behind a file containing information that would shatter Yuci’s remaining stability.

Despite the scandal, Jiang Dongchao and Bai Qingyu decided to proceed with the financing conference as planned. Alone, Yuci opened the folder to find an old newspaper clipping. Twelve years ago, a fire at Rao Shusheng’s factory had claimed the lives of a deaf couple. On the day of the tragedy, Rao Shusheng had been at the factory fixing a voltage issue when he received a call from Xu Zhaohe.

She excitedly told him that Yuci had secretly opened a stock account and made enough money to buy him the new car he had always wanted. In his haste to see the surprise, Rao Shusheng left the factory without properly checking the electrical lines and locked the doors. That night, the wiring sparked a massive blaze, trapping the two workers inside.

The teenage Chen Mo, the son of that couple, had stood in the rain outside the Rao home with a brick in his hand, consumed by a desire for revenge. However, a young Rao Yuci had approached him, shielding him with her umbrella and insisting he take it so he wouldn't get sick. That simple act of kindness had stayed with him for years.

He eventually became a psychologist and found Yuci’s records at the treatment center where he worked, realizing their fates were intertwined. Now, as the full truth came to light, Chen Mo chased after Yuci to explain. He confessed that he had kept the secret to preserve what they had and because he had truly moved past the pain. He pleaded with her not to push him away, expressing his deep desire to protect her. Yuci, however, remained cold.

She admitted that she was a selfish person who never cared for his feelings, but argued that they had functioned that way from the start. She told him that while he had successfully moved into the light, she was still mired in the darkness of her own vengeance. Declaring that they belonged to different worlds, she told him they were finished and walked away.

On the eve of the major financing conference, Bai Qingyu called Jiang Dongchao to ensure he was fully prepared. She reminded him that after years of meticulous planning, they could not afford a single mistake. She pointedly mentioned the absolute determination he showed when he first returned from the United States to join the Lysen Group—a comment that forced Jiang to confront the dark memories he had long kept suppressed.

Ten years ago in New York, Jiang Dongchao maintained the public image of a devoted husband who had exhausted his fortune caring for his ailing wife, Dai Qian. In reality, he was her tormentor. While Dai Qian lamented that even the most beautiful sunset brought her pain because she could no longer enjoy life, Jiang was busy extinguishing her last chances at survival.

He ignored the doctor's suggestion to move her to a specialized cancer center in Houston, choosing instead to bribe the physician to pre-date her death certificate. He cold-bloodedly argued that since people die every day, her passing should at least serve a purpose for his career. Leaving his wife behind, Jiang flew back to China and secured a position under Li Wancheng at the Lysen Group.

When the doctor later called to report Dai Qian's "death," Jiang refused the address of her grave, feigning a desire for her to rest in peace while actually feeling only a sense of relief. The financing conference was a grand affair, drawing the city’s elite, including Bai Qingyu and the influential Yang Jinwan.

Jiang took the stage with practiced grace, delivering a moving speech about "Home" being a warm haven and his "green real estate" project being a noble dream to benefit the public through eco-friendly renovations. He promised investors immense returns, framing the alliance between Lysen, Bosi, and Baiye as a revolutionary force. However, just as he reached the climax of his presentation, the giant screen behind him flickered to life with a devastating video.

The footage captured Jiang and Bai Qingyu in a private moment, explicitly detailing their plan to raise funds only to siphon the capital into offshore accounts and untraceable trusts. The hall erupted in fury as investors realized they were being exploited for their capital. Bai Qingyu was stunned, while Yang Jinwan remained remarkably calm.

It was revealed that Yang’s earlier apparent betrayal of Rao Yuci was a ruse; he had recorded the conspirators using a camera hidden in his dragon-head cane while pretending to have his phone turned off. When Bai Qingyu accused him of being senile, Yang countered that he valued integrity above all else and refused to let the Bosi Group be tarnished by such a scandal. He declared that entrepreneurs who abandon their word are simply digging their own graves.

The shocks continued as the screen displayed a photo of Dai Qian’s headstone, followed by Xin Shaonan slowly pushing a wheelchair onto the stage. Sitting in it was Dai Qian, very much alive. She stood before the stunned audience and denounced Jiang as a man who had only married her for her family’s fortune and tried to stage her death once she lost her utility.

She revealed that she had suspected his intentions and, with the help of her dear friend Xin Shaonan, had moved to a different hospital just as a new targeted cancer drug hit the market. For years, Jiang had been fooled by a fake grave, never once bothering to verify if she had actually died. When Jiang tried to dismiss the exposure as a private family dispute, Rao Yuci and Li Wancheng appeared to deliver the final blow.

Rao Yuci told him he was naive for believing the world only functioned on cold transactions. She asserted that the idealism and morality he so despised were the very foundations that had brought his world of deceit crashing down. It was revealed that Rao Yuci had meticulously set this trap one week prior by uniting Yang Jinwan, Xin Shaonan, Xian Pengyu, and a woman named Wan Lingling.

During their secret meeting, Dai Qian revealed that her parents were the power players behind the Beauty Pearl Society, having used the organization to seek justice for their daughter. Rao Yuci also convinced Wan Lingling, who had suffered from Jiang’s domestic abuse and psychological control, to turn against him. By highlighting the danger to Wan’s daughter, Chloe, Rao Yuci persuaded her to search for evidence of Jiang’s financial crimes.

To conclude the exposure, Yu Peidong and the team from Investment Dept 3, along with HR Director Ren Jing, took the stage. They presented a secret audit of Jiang’s ten-year tenure, revealing dozens of failed overseas acquisitions that were actually fronts to funnel money into an offshore trust for his daughter, Chloe. With the evidence undeniable, Li Wancheng presented Jiang with a formal dismissal notice signed by the entire board. As the once-powerful executive stood silenced by his own greed, the police arrived and escorted him away from the venue in handcuffs.

Following the public exposure of his crimes, Jiang Dongchao was served with a dismissal notice signed by all board members. As his commercial empire collapsed, he desperately tried to manipulate his employees one last time by bringing up their personal debts and family struggles, but his words no longer held power. Wan Lingling stood before him, finally free. She declared she was leaving him and would no longer allow him to use their daughter as a tool for control.

She revealed that she was the one who provided Rao Yuci with the necklace containing the digital evidence of his illegal financial activities, choosing her daughter's future over his downfall. As Jiang Dongchao was led away by the police, Rao Yuci confronted him. She reminded him that his past sins would be systematically unraveled and that his ultimate retribution was falling at the very moment he felt closest to the peak.

She mocked his belief that good people don’t experience miracles, as his downfall was the miracle she had worked to achieve. Legal judgments followed swiftly. Jiang Dongchao was sentenced to life imprisonment for fund-raising fraud, with his political rights stripped and all assets confiscated. Bai Qingyu received six months for instigating intentional injury. Han Congfei's social media accounts were permanently banned after a public apology for spreading false information.

Miss Gao faced administrative detention, while the case against Bai Muran was closed following his suicide. Meanwhile, Chen Mo faced the consequences of his choices; his medical license was revoked, and he was barred from the profession for five years. Rao Yuci declined Li Wancheng’s invitation to return to Lysen Group. She visited Professor Yang and Santie at the Xinkang Treatment Center.

During their visit, Wu Zhice, who had been in a coma for days, miraculously regained consciousness, bringing the group to tears of joy. Before leaving the city, Chen Mo left a letter for Rao Yuci, delivered by the young girl Nuannuan. In the letter, he admitted he had been wrong to ask her to let go of the past without understanding its weight.

He confessed that his initial approach was not for revenge, but because he never forgot the girl who held an umbrella for him on a rainy night fifteen years ago. Rao Yuci returned to her childhood home to start anew. She spent her days repainting the walls, a ritual to wash away the stains of the past three years.

When she finally opened the door to her parents' room, she found her mother, Xu Zhaohe, caring for her father, Rao Shusheng. Sitting in his wheelchair, the elder Rao finally admitted his mistakes and his debt to her, allowing Rao Yuci to release her long-held emotional burden. A year passed. The legal proceedings against Bai Liangliang concluded. Although she required mental health treatment during the trial, the court handed down a combined five-year sentence for attempted injury and false accusation.

Xian Pengyu visited her at the treatment center, bringing her favorite hulatang from Guanyuxuan. As he watched her piece together a letter from her mother, he tried to comfort her by saying everything was over. Bai Liangliang responded with a mysterious smile that remained difficult to read. Lysen Group underwent a complete transformation. Wang Meng was appointed CFO, Sima Yang became the Vice President of Investment Department 2, and Yu Peidong took over as CEO.

During a press conference, Yu Peidong deviated from his script to speak from the heart. He admitted to his own past disillusionment and credited his "comrade"—Rao Yuci—for waking him up to the true responsibility of their industry. He pledged that the new Lysen would prioritize social responsibility and transparency. Among the staff, Tian Tian described Rao Yuci to the new recruits as a living legend.

One afternoon, Rao Yuci sat alone on a familiar park bench, finding a sense of peace. Her solitude was interrupted when Chen Mo quietly sat beside her and handed her a bottle of soda. With a simple greeting—"Hello, Rao Yuci"—they looked at each other and smiled. Rao Yuci realized that while life is marked by the colors of joy and sorrow, these memories require a sense of ritual to be processed. By finding closure with the past, she was finally ready to run toward the future without looking back.