Happiness can never last too long in drama-land, can it? If this show were a rollercoaster, last episode would be that moment at the top of a drop where you get that brilliant, beautiful view and feel like everything is fine. And this episode is just a straight plummet down.
Qing comes up with some perfectly plausible reasons for why her father’s notes are in the Huo family secret recipe book. Her father had worked for the Huo family restaurant prior to his death and had been so important that he probably would have had a stake in Yanisi had he not passed away. She convinces herself that it’s not so weird and instead it must be fate or something that she found her father’s lost notes via Huo Ting En and La Mure.
She and Ting En chat a little more before they go to bed. Each has reasons to thank the other for opening up their worldview. Before they go to sleep (holding hands without much prompting – cute!), Ting En re-emphasizes to Qing that she can come to him with any problems she has. He doesn’t want her going to Ah Wei anymore.
Qing is so good at lying to herself. The circumstances of her father’s death seem pretty suspicious to me. In drama-land, accidents are basically just euphemisms for skillful assassinations. Perhaps someone didn’t want Wei Shi Li to have too much of a stake in Yanisi and took him out before he could cause problems?
Grandma Huo chats with her deceased son again, reporting that Ting En and Qing are dating and well-matched. She promises him that she’ll give everything they owe the Wei family to Wei Fen Qing.
Sure enough, the next morning, Grandma calls a meeting and tells everyone that she’s giving Qing a ten percent stake in Yanisi. Five percent for the stake she was going to give Ting En that he refused, and five percent as a gift for a future member of the Huo family. Everyone is shocked, including Ting En. Qing starts to refuse, but Ting En surveys the room and tells her to just thank Grandma. Grandma Huo tells them that they’re excused — they’re the busiest of everyone there what with a wedding to prepare for. That’s news to them, but they quickly shuffle out. Probably for the better because everyone else in the room seems pissed.
Later, Qing sees Ru Xi sitting alone and looking sad. (Okay I don’t actually think she looks that sad, she just looks like she’s sitting by herself, but later Qing says she looked sad so I’ll take her word for it…) She thinks about talking to her, remembering a moment in the past when Ru Xi gifted her a bunch of skincare products and taught her how to use them, but then decides otherwise. She sits by herself in a room, too, but Ting En soon finds her and tells her not to worry about what just happened. If anything, it’s just a sign that Grandma really likes her.
Ru Xi comes in, and Qing leaves to give them space. Ting En apologizes, but Ru Xi says she should be the one to apologize. She was too stubborn and thought that time could change everything, but now realizes that time can also change nothing. She plans on leaving and asks him to thank her if he’s going to say anything. Ting En says thank you, then says that he’s thought about how things would have been different if their parents hadn’t been involved in their initial meeting. Maybe they would have been good friends if they had met more organically. Ru Xi has the maturity to say, “Promise me you’ll treasure your time with Fen Qing,” and then leaves.
I’m so glad they’ve gotten their closure! And I hope that this really is closure and Hai Wei won’t try to scheme up something new. I might have issues with Xiao Man’s acting, but Ru Xi as a character has always been classy, and I really enjoy seeing that instead of female love rivals who are vilified.
Ting En finds Qing outside. She feels guilty and struggles over whether to tell “the truth” or not. But what is the truth? The truth is that even though the engagement is fake, her relationship with Ting En is real. When Ting En shows up, Qing tries to run away, but he turns off the lights and envelops her in a hug to prevent her from leaving. Qing admits that she wants Ting En to go comfort Ru Xi, but also doesn’t want him to. Ting En tells her that what she’s feeling is jealousy, and it’s time that he wasn’t the only one to feel jealous. Love is simple: he likes her, and she likes him. That’s the only truth that matters. He asks her if she really wants to give up her stake in Yanisi, and she says yes.
Meanwhile, Mei Li approaches Tian Zhi, asking what they’re going to do. Now that Qing has a ten percent stake in Yanisi, that means that they no longer have a controlling stake in the company. Tian Zhi frowns and tells his mother that he’ll take care of it and make sure they get control back. He’ll talk to Jack and take care of it.
Uh oh… has Tian Zhi gone to the dark side? He looks conflicted after he turns away from his mother, perhaps because he doesn’t like being the bad guy, but the fact that he has a direct line of communication with Jack does not bode well for his innocence…
Tian Zhi finds Ru Xi brooding by the pool. He asks if she’s going to give up, and she says she has to respect Grandma Huo’s choice. He tries to cheer her up by saying they should go for a swim and race. They joke around a bit, but in the middle he says seriously that he will support her.
The next morning, Ting En takes Qing to a breakfast place he used to frequent with his father and Ting Li. He gets sentimental imagining what it would be like if they were still alive and got to meet Qing. Afterward, they go for a walk in a park that is inexplicably full of heart balloons and Ting En shares more of his family history.
But it’s a short-lived moment of bliss, because Tian Zhi and Mei Li have taken action. Tian Zhi finds out that his mother has been embezzling money from Yanisi. But Ting En is the one who gave his stamp of approval on all the documents as CEO. Tian Zhi suspects that Ting En is already suspicious, and decides that he needs to strike first. He will find a way to kick Ting En out of company. If Ting En isn’t CEO anymore, then he can’t look into it, and he also won’t be liable for it.
Qing goes to La Mure to find it in crisis. There is a news report and Department of Health complaint about tainted oil being used at La Mure and officials arrive to conduct an investigation. Qing quickly tries to do damage control, instructing Brian that they need to get ahead of the news and notify their customers first. She tries to call Ting En but can’t reach him.
That’s because Ting En is in the middle of a series of board meetings regarding the company financials. He suspects that Mei Li is behind it, and gets Xiao Bin to do some investigation, but he can’t find any concrete proof. Mei Li makes a motion to scapegoat someone at the company before the media gets hold of the story and their stock price plummets. Tian Zhi agrees.
Ting En gets the hint and says that he will take full responsibility and resign. The decision is up to Grandma Huo to make. Hai Wei implores her to save Ting En, but Ting En mouths “hurry up.” Grandma Huo declares that Ting En will be removed as CEO, effective immediately. As for La Mure, Mei Li already has a new manager in mind, Yu Qing, but Tian Zhi speaks up and says he should take over as a member of the Huo family.
Ting En stares at Tian Zhi, confused, then gives a small shake of his head. Is it because of the betrayal? Or is there something else going on? I still want to believe that Tian Zhi has a good bone in his body. He’s always been against his mother’s scheming and it’s so out of character for him to suddenly do a 180. His asserting himself as La Mure’s manager instead of Yu Qing, and his aside earlier about Ting En not being responsible if he’s no longer CEO, give me hope that perhaps he has a grander plan that’s not as cruel as it currently appears.
At the Huo family condo, Ting En gives up his seal as well as additional accounts to make up for the missing company money. It basically means he’s getting kicked out of the Huo family. Tian Zhi stands up and asks Ting En to cut all ties with Yanisi. The new La Mure will no longer be making his curry lobster. Tian Zhi says he should take his recipe, leave the Huo family, and open his own restaurant elsewhere. Ting En agrees that this seems pretty reasonable and leaves. Mei Li suggests that now that the son has left, perhaps his mother should… but Grandma Huo snaps, “Enough!” and even Tian Zhi thinks his mother has gone too far.
Tian Zhi’s words were a loaded statement! In some ways, it’s exactly what Ting En would want, to no longer be tethered to Yanisi and free to make his own way.
Hai Wei can’t reach Ting En so she ends up calling Qing instead, and tells her about Ting En getting kicked out of the Huo family. Qing tries to reassure her that she’ll find Ting En. Grandma Huo finds Hai Wei crying over a photo of Ting En. They cry together, but Grandma tries to find the bright side of things: at least this way, Ting En is free from the burden and expectations of the Huo family, and now Hai Wei can be free too.
Qing also struggles to reach Ting En, but ends up finding him at the campsite near their respective family members’ graves. She listens while he laments how lost he feels. It’s not just losing Yanisi and La Mure — it’s also the feeling of losing a brother, someone who, for money and power, could become a complete stranger to him. Ting En doesn’t want to be a chef anymore, but he doesn’t know who he is if he isn’t. He bitterly smiles that everyone leaves him one day, maybe she will too. But Qing promises that she will never leave Ting En. He leans in…
Oh man, this episode just created so many problems and questions and left us with no answers! But I suppose this was bound to happen, especially after all the happy feels of last episode. I just hope that Ting En and Qing can stay strong through the next few obstacles. They are at such a healthy point in their relationship and the drama has been doing so well with them, it would be a shame for one of them to act irrationally now.
The Drama Llama 