Cheng Xin recovers quickly from Wade’s attack. Doctors explain that modern medicine could have repaired even catastrophic bodily injuries, though a brain injury would have been different, underscoring both the era’s medical power and the danger she narrowly avoided.

The police explain why Wade nearly succeeded: murder has become so rare that law enforcement has lost practical vigilance. Another Swordholder candidate suspected Wade and warned the police, but because the warning lacked proof, the police delayed until they discovered Wade had faked a call from AA.

While Cheng Xin remains hospitalized, officials, representatives of major institutions, members of the public, AA, and AA’s friends visit her. Cheng Xin becomes more comfortable distinguishing men and women in this feminized future society, and the modern world begins to feel less alien, though confinement makes her eager to explore it more fully.

AA shows Cheng Xin the holographic film A Fairy Tale of Yangtze, a celebrated love story about two lovers separated along the Yangtze River. The film’s restrained sorrow, natural flow, and beautiful contrast between the lower Yangtze Delta and the Tibetan Plateau move Cheng Xin deeply, making her reflect that she lives at one end of the river of time while the other end is now empty.

After Cheng Xin can walk, AA takes her to art shows and concerts. Cheng Xin finds the era’s art unexpectedly realistic, serene, vital, and optimistic rather than chaotic or despairing, suggesting a profound cultural transformation during her hibernation.

When Cheng Xin says she loves the era, AA reveals the startling reason the culture impresses her so much: the creators of the films, paintings, and music are Trisolarans. The discovery shocks Cheng Xin and shows how deeply Trisolaran influence has entered human civilization during the Deterrence Era.