1978: It All Began in a Lane of Our Own

Just as Gu Yanxi gets accepted into graduate school, fate plays a cruel joke on him. A cancer diagnosis sends his life plunging into an abyss of despair. When he has lost all hope, a glowing orb called the Tycoon System takes him back to 1978. When he wakes again, he has become the young head of a gang family in New York’s Chinatown. He rescues Shen Linchuan, a fellow countryman pursued by the FBI, and in doing so builds an invisible bridge to his homeland, a country waiting to be rebuilt. “I want to invest back home.” When Gu Yanxi says these words, everyone assumes it is just an overseas Chinese patriot’s burst of enthusiasm. But when Gu Yanxi arrives in Suzhou and buys a home at No. 37 Courtyard, fate’s real surprise begins to unfold. His fiery, forthright neighbor is named Song Ying. The gentle yet resilient woman next door is named Huang Ling. And then there are Lin Wufeng, Lin Dongzhe... Wait... Isn’t this the world of Homes in the Alley?! From desperation to a new beginning, from bystander to participant, Gu Yanxi’s return may add a few more legendary tales to this warm little alley.