Recap
Zhang Yuan goes to find He Luo after one of his company talks, still dressed in his suit and tie. She refuses to look at him and he thinks she’s still angry at him, but she still follows as he takes her to a rooftop. He brought her there to show her a set of condominium buildings that are under construction, implying that he’ll buy one of the condos for them.
He Luo asks how his meetings with investors have been going, a small truce. She says that she was angry with him not because she was being selfish, but because she was just looking out for him. The fact that he was hiding something from her bothered her more than the truth of what he was hiding. It made her feel like he thought she would hold him back. (Which is kind of true.)
He tells her that she’s his one reason for doing anything. She responds that he’s good at talking pretty. He shouts off the rooftop that she’ll be the only person in his life he’ll talk pretty to. This gets a smile out of her.
It starts raining and Zhang Yuan uses his jacket to shield them. He Luo gently dries his face with her sleeve. He moves in for the kiss.
He Luo reminisces about all her happy memories with Zhang Yuan during his stay in Beijing while closing up his rental apartment. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuan signs a contract to buy a condo.
Chang Feng gossips with Yun Wei over dinner about Zhang Yuan buying a condo. Yun Wei takes this opportunity to compare him with Zhang Yuan. Chang Feng’s always coming up with (unsuccessful) schemes to make some quick cash. Chang Feng promises her that he’ll make big money one day and give her a good life. She doesn’t seem to believe him, but he emphasizes that he really will.
He Luo is in withdrawal after Zhang Yuan returns home and sadly eats a jian bing that reminds her of him. She admits to Feng Xiao that she doesn’t know how to respond to Zhang Yuan trying to be an entrepreneur. He says that it isn’t a bad thing to enter the start-up world while being a student. After all, studying and education are just a means to an end: the eventual end goal is still entering industry. He brings up some good points, but He Luo still has her doubts.
Feng Xiao guesses that the main reason He Luo feels doubtful is because Zhang Yuan isn’t picking the path that she wanted him to choose, because it seems the most secure. He Luo admits that sometimes she can be a bit too conservative. Feng Xiao says that being happy is what’s important. He Luo agrees, and lauds Feng Xiao for his skill in making her feel better.
That night, He Luo writes a letter to Zhang Yuan, apologizing for being so stubborn and getting angry with him. She admits that her stubbornness is borne out of a fear of the unknown, and even now she doesn’t know which path is the right one for him. All she knows is that her life would be radically different without him, so no matter what he chooses to do, she will wholeheartedly support him.
Later, He Luo video chats with Zhang Yuan while out on a lawn frequented by couples. She just wanted to feel like one of those couples the only way she could. She tells him that she prepped some entrepreneurship materials for him, and he marvels at her quick change of heart. She nags him about his stubble then nags him about eating properly and taking care of himself. They joke around for a bit, but then Zhang Yuan’s stomach starts bothering him. He tries to hide it, but He Luo notices and starts admonishing him for not taking care of himself again. He hangs up in order to go to the bathroom. She seems excessively concerned once he’s gone.
Wei Rui storms into Zhang Yuan’s dorm room, yelling his name angrily while he returns from a trip to the bathroom. She scolds him for missing class then shoves some papers in his face. He’s been missing so many classes that he’s at risk of losing his academic standing. She tells him that he has to start caring and going to classes otherwise he’ll risk not even being able to graduate. Zhang Yuan tries to wave her off, clearly not wanting to deal with her, but she’s persistent and keeps trying to shout sense into him.
He Luo and Tian Xin meet up for coffee and Tian Xin tries to pry details of Zhang Yuan’s visit from her. She’s disappointed to find out that the most they’ve done is kiss, despite spending the night together. She tells He Luo that she should visit Zhang Yuan more. He Luo likes the idea but admits that she’s embarrassed to face his roommates. Last time, Da Gang hid a condom in Zhang Yuan’s ashtray. Tian Xin asks if they used it, and He Luo seems scandalized by the idea. “Oh, so you don’t use them when doing it?” Tian Xin teases.
He Luo says that she and Zhang Yuan have agreed to wait until after they’re married. Tian Xin rolls her eyes a little at this and says that she and Zhang Yuan are giving her anxiety. He Luo sits back and complains about how Zhang Yuan is giving her anxiety by not taking care of himself and complaining about stomach issues. Tian Xin says that maybe He Luo should get him to go to the doctor.
At night, He Luo calls Zhang Yuan to try to get him to go see a doctor. She gets a bit worked up about it, but Zhang Yuan just humors her and doesn’t really seem like he will go. He Luo picks up on this, but Zhang Yuan says he has to go and hangs up before she can get another word in.
Wei Rui confronts Zhang Yuan after one of their morning classes that he’s finally showed up to. She asks if he ate and he says that he isn’t hungry, but she forces a breakfast sandwich into his hands anyway.
He Luo receives a scholarship from her department for making the most progress out of all her peers (even if she doesn’t have the top grades). She also gets picked to be a teaching assistant for a visiting professor from California. She and Feng Xiao chat about it while he drives her somewhere afterward. He asks her if she ever thought about going abroad. What’s so great about going abroad? she responds. Besides, if she wanted to, she would have left after graduating high school. Feng Xiao guesses that she stayed because of Zhang Yuan. She doesn’t confirm or deny it.
Chang Feng shows up on campus and tries to get Zhang Yuan to play ball with him, but Zhang Yuan is too busy and has to work. Chang Feng asks why he’s working — didn’t he make enough to buy a condo? Zhang Yuan responds that he made enough money for the down payment, but he still has a mortgage to pay for. He also tells Chang Feng to keep his house-buying a secret. After he leaves, Chang Feng calls Yun Wei and (rather loudly) tells her that she must keep secret the news of Zhang Yuan buying a house.
He Luo and Feng Xiao chat a little in the library about He Luo’s experience assisting the visiting American professor. They overhear some girls gossiping about He Luo and how they think she’s unqualified to be the teaching assistant. She didn’t even take the TOEFL. Feng Xiao moves to say something to them, but He Luo holds him back with a small shake of her head. Instead, he settles for loudly asking He Luo why she hasn’t taken the TOEFL even though her English is so good. The gossipers hear him and leave.
He Luo thanks Feng Xiao for his support, but they’re interrupted when she gets a phone call from Zhang Yuan. Feng Xiao quickly makes his exit.
Zhang Yuan apologizes for his tone of voice and frustration during their phone call earlier and asks her to not be angry at him. He tells her that he went to the doctor who said that his gastrointestinal issues were because of his irregular diet and that he’s otherwise fine. She accepts his answer and asks where he is: he lies and says that he’s in his dorm room even though he’s clearly in a hospital room. The boy sharing his room gives him some side-eye upon hearing his lie.
He Luo experiments with making fish soup in her dorm room while her roommates observe curiously. She’s trying to practice in order to make Zhang Yuan some soup while visiting him, but she can’t seem to get it quite right. The soup is supposed to have a milky white color yet hers is clear for some reason.
She calls Yun Wei to ask for help — Yun Wei’s grandmother makes a really good fish soup. But instead she finds out from Yun Wei that Zhang Yuan is in the hospital. He has gastritis. Zhang Yuan didn’t want Yun Wei to tell He Luo, but she thought she should know.
He Luo’s roommates whisper about all the possible fatal complications of gastritis, then shush each other. It only seems to make He Luo even more concerned.
Zhang Yuan gets woken up from a nap (still at the hospital) by a call from He Luo, who’s in a taxi. He stalls before answering, then lies and says that he was taking a nap in his dorm room when she asks where she is. She reveals that she already called his dorm phone — no one picked up. She’s caught him in his lie and asks why he didn’t tell her. He repeats the same line of not wanting her to worry. He tells her the full truth of his condition, saying it’s not serious, and not to believe all the people speculating the worst.
Zhang Yuan is working on his laptop in his hospital bed when Da Gang shows up wtih a surprise guest: He Luo. Zhang Yuan immediately jumps up and takes her by the hand. Seeing her unhappy expression, he tries to make her feel better by saying that he’s fine. She still doesn’t speak or look at him. Zhang Yuan makes a face at Da Gang, trying to signal him to leave, but he misinterprets it and instead starts He Luo that she really needs to make sure Zhang Yuan takes care of himself. He starts listing all the ways in which Zhang Yuan has not been taking care of himself.
He Luo finally speaks and tells Zhang Yuan that she brought him some congee. Da Gang finally gets the hint and leaves. He Luo starts to feed Zhang Yuan while he ruminates about how similar she is to his mom with all her lecturing him about what to eat. He jokes around while he feeds her, trying to get her to smile, but she remains stony-faced and just glares at him.
He Luo spends the night in Zhang Yuan’s hospital room, sleeping by his bed. They greet each other tenderly in the morning. Then He Luo admits that she didn’t actually have time to make the congee she gave Zhang Yuan — she just bought it from a restaurant. He jokes that he’ll be bedridden for a few more days now.
Zhang Yuan’s feeling better so he and He Luo go out for some fresh air. Zhang Yuan can tell that something is on He Luo’s mind and prods for what it is. She tells him about her classmates gossiping about her. He tells her not to care too much. She says she doesn’t care — but really she does. She changes the topic and starts talking to him about how important it is for him to network and develop connections, especially if he’s going to go down his own path. He quickly tries to get out of listening to her by offering to go buy her some water.
This only makes her pause and then she starts going off about how he always tries to run away whenever she talks about these things and how he really should confide in her about his problems. He sighs and gets ready to take a nap.
She pulls out a debit card and hands it to Zhang Yuan. “Is this your dowry?” he jokes. It’s actually her scholarship. She doesn’t really have anything to spend it on, so she’s decided to invest it in him and his business. He asks how much it is, then jokingly says “So little?!” when she says it’s 5000 yuan.
He gives the debit card back to her, telling her to keep it and spend it on whatever she wants. He promises that every cent he makes will be hers and that she’ll never have to worry about him making money.
He Luo tells him that she doesn’t need a lot of money. Does that mean he’ll take it easier now? He responds that all his hardships right now mean that he’ll be able to spend more time with her in the future.
He Luo video chats with Tian Xin and shows off her collection of train tickets from her frequent trips to visit Zhang Yuan. Tian Xin asks when Zhang Yuan will visit next. He Luo says he should be coming in the next few days. Tian Xin jokes that he should treat He Luo to a four star hotel, now that he has a title and occupation. She makes He Luo promise to keep her updated with their relationship progress.
Zhang Yuan and Wei Rui are in the computer lab when Fu Peng sprints in with good news: their game has gone viral and has passed 500K in downloads. Wei Rui asks if Fu Peng will treat them, as the hardworking employees, to something in celebration. Fu Peng says that he’s already made the reservations. Zhang Yuan doesn’t look as excited while his friends celebrate around him.
Fu Peng says that with this success, they can make their own gaming company and take the world by storm when they make a sequel to this game. Zhang Yuan quietly says that there won’t be a sequel. Fu Peng and Wei Rui think they misunderstand him, but he repeats his statement more forcefully and pulls out a signed contract declaring that he sold the rights to their game.
Thoughts
Zhang Yuan just really doesn’t like to make his life easy does he? At least this time he’s not actively, albeit unintentionally, sabotaging his relationship with He Luo. Though I’m sure this episode will have some way of stirring up issues. Perhaps it will derail his visit to Beijing, or he’ll try to keep all his problems to himself and be aloof and secretive toward He Luo again…
I don’t have too many thoughts this episode. I’m content to just watch some wholesome relationship development continue.
The Drama Llama 