Chapter 1–5: The Return and the Tension of "Siblings"

Miao Jing returns to Tengcheng after six years and moves back into the old apartment she once shared with Chen Yi. Chen Yi, now a pool hall owner with a "stray dog" aura, is shocked and irritated by her return.

• Romantic Undercurrents: While they act like strangers, the domesticity of her cleaning his room and washing his clothes creates immediate friction.

• Possessive Highlight: In Chapter 5, when Chen Yi’s girlfriend Tu Li slaps him, accusing him of hiding another woman, Chen Yi roars, "For fuck's sake — that's my sister!" His anger stems from the messiness of their "sibling" status which masks a much deeper connection.

Chapter 6–10: High School Flashbacks and Latent Protection

These chapters alternate between the present and their teenage years, where Chen Yi was a delinquent and Miao Jing was a "bookworm."

• Yearning/Possessive Highlight (Flashback Ch 6): During a surprise dorm inspection, Chen Yi hides illegal daggers on Miao Jing’s person to avoid being caught. He acts intimately, ruffling her hair and wrapping her in his body heat to fool the teachers, whispering, "Hide it under your clothes".

• Romantic Scene (Flashback Ch 10): After Miao Jing’s mother abandons her, Chen Yi initially tries to throw her out but eventually takes her in. He takes her scavenging for scrap metal in abandoned factories, a gritty bonding experience where they are like "two stray dogs... seeking signs of life in the desolation".

Chapter 11–15: Fake Boyfriends and Physical Proximity

Miao Jing asks her colleague Lu Zhengsi to be her "fake" boyfriend to test Chen Yi or provide a shield.

• Romantic Scene (Ch 11): On the balcony, Chen Yi pulls off his shirt and throws it over Miao Jing’s head. Wrapped in his scent of tobacco and sweat, she feels his "low, husky, frivolous laugh" behind her.

• Possessive/Yearning Highlight (Ch 14): When Miao Jing visits the pool hall with Lu Zhengsi, Chen Yi insists on teaching her how to play. He presses his broad frame against her, his fingers lingering on her elbow and shoulder. He is clearly affected by her presence, his Adam's apple bobbing as he mutters hoarsely for her to "relax your wrist".

• Romantic Scene (Ch 13): During a movie date where both of their partners are present, Chen Yi and Miao Jing meet in the smoking area. They share a single cigarette, and the butt left in the ashtray bears Miao Jing’s lipstick mark.

Chapter 16–21: Escalation and the "Affair" Proposal

Chen Yi breaks up with Tu Li, realizing he can no longer be intimate with her because of his fixation on Miao Jing.

• Major Romantic/Possessive Highlight (Ch 21): During a drive in the rain, their bickering turns into a physical explosion. Chen Yi pulls the car over, yanks Miao Jing onto his lap, and kisses her with a "bloodthirsty, plundering" intensity. He pins her hands behind her back and mocks her about her "fake" boyfriend, ultimately proposing, "Miao Jing, how about we have an affair?".

Chapter 22–32: Old Feelings and the First Night

Flashbacks reveal that they have crossed the line before.

• Romantic Scene (Ch 22): While Lu Zhengsi is coming up the stairs to help Miao Jing move, Chen Yi corners her in the room and kisses her. It is a "smooth and tacit" moment of heat before he steps back and leisurely lights a cigarette as the boyfriend enters.

• Yearning/Possessive Highlight (Ch 27): Miao Jing offers herself to Chen Yi on the couch. The scene is a mix of resentment and desire. Chen Yi is furious that she is "playing games" with him but can't stop himself. They spend the night on the small sofa, "wedged together tightly," and in a half-asleep state, they share tender, deep kisses.

• Major Romantic Scene (Flashback Ch 32/37): This describes the summer before Miao Jing left for college. A drunken Chen Yi ends up in her bed. What starts as a dazed mistake turns into their first night together. Miao Jing whispers, "Don't go... stay," and they finally stop pretending they are just siblings.

Chapter 33–41: The Fire and the Truth Revealed

The pool hall is burned down, and Chen Yi is hospitalized in the ICU.

• Possessive Highlight (Ch 39-40): In the hospital, Miao Jing uses a fruit knife to "interrogate" Chen Yi about his six-year disappearance. She presses the blade to his Adam's apple. When she asks if he thought about her, he admits he did "a lot... day after day. Year after year". Despite the threat of the knife, the scene turns sexual as she kneels on his lap in the hospital bed, and they eventually make love.

• The Reveal: It is revealed that Chen Yi became a police informant (Operation 708) to take down the Zhai Fengmao crime syndicate, which is why he pushed her away and disappeared—to keep her safe.

Chapter 42: The Finale – Choosing the "Stray Dog"

Miao Jing resigns and plans to move to Colombia for work, a dangerous location.

• Final Romantic/Yearning Highlight: Chen Yi, frantic and still recovering from his injuries, chases her to the train station. He boards the train at the last second. Miao Jing gives him a folder with his documents and a choice: stay in Tengcheng or go with her to start a new life where there is "no Chen Yi from Teng City... only the cool, handsome, arrogant Chen Yi".

• Miao Jing finally breaks down, crying, "Gege... I really don't want to be alone anymore". Chen Yi pulls her into his arms, and they leave Tengcheng together for an unknown future.