Greedy for Your Radiant Summer

Sang Li is a scholarship student at Jingdu University’s Design School, known for her beauty but hiding a modest background. Her parents run a struggling grocery store in Jin City, forcing Sang Li to work multiple part-time jobs to support herself and send money home. For three years, she has harbored a secret crush on Lu Tinghe, a classmate from Dijin High School. She believed he was also a scholarship student from an ordinary family, unaware that he is actually the only son of Lu Youlin, the wealthiest man in Jingbei. Lu Tinghe transferred to Dijin High in his senior year after studying in the UK, and during that time, Sang Li frequently bought him egg pancakes and helped him with studies, interpreting his passive acceptance as mutual interest. However, she never confessed, feeling unworthy of someone she perceived as equally disadvantaged.

Three years later, Lu Tinghe returns to Jingdu University as a graduate researcher in Biomedical Science and the founder of a successful biotechnology company. Their reunion begins with a comedic accident when Lu Tinghe knocks over Sang Li’s art club easel with a basketball. Sang Li, panicked and wanting to hide her lingering feelings, falsely claims that her friend Chu Yan is her boyfriend. Lu Tinghe, amused and intrigued, sees through the lie but plays along, inviting them all to dinner. During the meal, Sang Li suffers a medical embarrassment when her period starts unexpectedly, and Lu Tinghe discreetly arranges for sanitary pads to be delivered to her via a stranger in the restroom. He then lends her his expensive shirt to cover her stained skirt, an act that deepens her confusion and attraction.

The narrative reveals the stark contrast between their lives. Sang Li lives in a dilapidated neighborhood and works late shifts at a Western restaurant, while Lu Tinghe drives a McLaren and moves in elite circles. Despite this, Lu Tinghe consistently seeks out Sang Li, taking her to eat street food egg pancakes—the same ones she used to buy him in high school. He reveals that he knew her true financial situation all along but chose to let her believe otherwise to protect her pride. Meanwhile, Sang Li believes Lu Tinghe is dating Ning Mo, a beautiful and high-status senior in the Biomedical Science department, which reinforces her decision to keep her feelings hidden. She witnesses Lu Tinghe with Ning Mo and assumes they are a couple, further distancing herself emotionally.

Conflict escalates when Sang Li’s best friend, Tan Weiwei, gets into a physical fight with Gu Wanying, a rival who had sent inappropriate messages to Tan Weiwei’s boyfriend, Chu Yan. Sang Li is caught in the fray and injured. Lu Tinghe intervenes, displaying unexpected tenderness by tying Sang Li’s hair and checking her wounds, which sparks jealousy and curiosity among their peers. Shortly after, Sang Li is fired from her part-time job at the restaurant due to a complaint from a powerful figure, leaving her in financial distress. Unbeknownst to her, this is orchestrated by Lu Tinghe, who is determined to ensure she does not have to struggle alone. The story follows Sang Li’s internal battle between her deep-seated insecurity and her growing realization that Lu Tinghe’s actions are driven by genuine affection rather than pity. As Lu Tinghe closes in, shedding his aloof exterior to reveal a man who has cherished her since high school, Sang Li must confront the truth about their past and decide whether to accept a love that bridges their vast social divide.