Bian Cheng confesses to Tang Xue, but it’s not great timing because she’s struggling to figure out who she is after learning about Yu Bing’s truth. Meanwhile, Yu Bing is determined to explain himself to her.
Recap
Tang Xue looks uncomfortable with Bian Cheng’s confession. She starts to say, “I…” but then trails off.
Bian Cheng finishes the thought for her: she doesn’t like him anymore, right? He says that he just wanted to express his feelings to her. She doesn’t have to do anything in response. He just wants an opportunity to protect her and do something for her. He knows who she likes, but also uses this opportunity to sow some more doubt. Without mentioning him by name, Bian Cheng says he knows all about how Yu Bing lied to her when she was younger and has abandoned her now. He had enough opportunities to tell her the truth but he didn’t. Bian Cheng says it’s okay if Yu Bing doesn’t like her; he likes her. He doesn’t need to be the one by her side, but he doesn’t want to see her be unhappy.
Tang Xue forces a small smile and thanks him for what he’s tried to do. But she says that they should just let the past be the past. She puts the letter into his bouquet and walks away.
Zhou Ran watches this all happen from a distance. Later, she tries to make Bian Cheng feel a little better as they chat by the school track, saying that even she was moved by Bian Cheng’s speech and gaze. Bian Cheng admits that he had been wanting to say these words to Tang Xue for a long time.
Zhou Ran finds it remarkable that Tang Xue is able to win over so many people’s hearts. But not hers, Bian Cheng notices. He asks why she detests her own cousin so much.
Zhou Ran thinks back to her childhood: when she was in elementary school, her accomplishments were always overshadowed by Tang Xue’s skating. When they were in the same class in high school, Tang Xue stole her spot for a speech contest, then volunteered her for a running race that she didn’t want to participate in. The main issue was that they had such different communication styles and didn’t quite understand the other, but in the end, Zhou Ran was always left feeling snubbed.
But Zhou Ran tells Bian Cheng that there isn’t any real reason why she doesn’t like Tang Xue. She switches the subject to ask him what he plans on doing next. Bian Cheng says that today’s battle has only made him more resolute in not letting go of Tang Xue this time. He guesses that she probably didn’t like hearing about Yu Bing today either, and invites her out for a drink.
Tang Xue is still thinking about Bian Cheng’s words when she walks home, and is surprised to find Yu Bing standing on the street outside her house.
She asks him if she really was so unlikable when they were little. Yu Bing admits that he felt bullied by her and that’s why he switched schools. Tang Xue apologizes for her past behavior, recognizing that even though it was unintentional, she had crossed the line at times with her actions.
Yu Bing apologizes as well; when he first met her again earlier this year at Lin Da, he had also crossed the line trying to retaliate. But that’s all in the past now. Can’t they start over?
Tang Xue says she can’t let go. The reason she avoided Yu Bing’s phone calls was because she didn’t know how to face him. She’s most angry with herself. She never realized how she appeared to other people, and is embarrassed that her fond childhood memories of their friendship were just illusions she tricked herself into believing. She doesn’t even know who she is anymore.
Yu Bing says he knows who she is. She is her. When they were younger, he only one side of her, but once they met again at Lin Da, he was able to see all of her. He knows all her flaws, but also all her strengths. She’s the one he likes.
“Really?” she asks. He pulls her into an embrace and promises to never lie to her again. She half-cries, half-smiles as she tells him that he’s not allowed to loathe her anymore. He’s only allowed to like her.
Huan Huan and Zhen Yu spend some more time together before she has to go back home. He suggests they go visit the city’s White Tower Temple, a popular tourist attraction. They invite Tang Xue, who says she’ll be bringing someone along.
Tang Xue calls Yu Bing to ask if he wants to go out on a date to the temple. They schedule to meet the next morning. As they say goodbye, Yu Bing tells her he’s permitting her to dream of him. She responds that she’s allowing him to hit on her in his dreams.
The next morning, Yu Bing is disappointed to see that it’s not a private date but a four-person date (the two words sound similar in Mandarin.) Huan Huan is also disappointed that Yu Bing has tagged along. She thought Tang Xue was upset with him. Are they dating? Zhen Yu seems pleased that Yu Bing and Tang Xue are back together, but feigns innocence in front of Huan Huan.
Tang Xue and Yu Bing go off on their own, leaving Zhen Yu and Huan Huan behind to toss coins at a shrine. Zhen Yu gives Huan Huan some coins. She pays him back with a bill. A young pickpocket spots her putting her money away and purposely bumps into her to steal the envelope. When she notices, she and Zhen Yu start chasing after him.
The boy hands off the envelope of money to another boy and the two split ways. Zhen Yu follows the original pickpocket. The boy suddenly slows down and falls to the ground, clutching his chest. At first, Zhen Yu thinks he’s faking it, but then he realizes that the boy is actually unresponsive. He starts administering CPR while telling Huan Huan to call an ambulance.
A doctor shows up and takes over. Zhen Yu quickly tells the doctor what happened and what he’s observed so far. The doctor asks if Zhen Yu is in medicine. Zhen Yu explains that he’s a medical student. Huan Huan watches him admiringly with shining eyes.
Tang Xue drags Yu Bing to a shrine and starts praying to the goddess there. She urges Yu Bing to join her, without really looking at who she is praying to. It’s not until Yu Bing teases her that she realizes she’s been praying to the goddess of fertility. Embarrassed, she mutters her apologies and quickly drags Yu Bing out.
They sit on a wall and enjoy the view around them. Yu Bing starts to put his arm around Tang Xue’s shoulders right as she’s about to put her own arm around him. They jostle for a bit, each trying to put their arm over the other’s, before Tang Xue grabs Yu Bing around the neck and pulls him in. He comments that she’s not feminine at all, and she proudly says that she isn’t. She’s a self-identified flamingo, not a sparrow.
Tang Xue calls Huan Huan to check up on her and Zhen Yu, and is confused by what they tell her. They’re at the hospital with the boys who pickpocketed Huan Huan. Huan Huan has to catch her bus home later, so she says she probably won’t be able to see Tang Xue until they all return to campus for the new semester.
A doctor comes out of the hospital room; Huan Huan and Zhen Yu ask him for an update. The doctor explains that the boys are brothers who lost their father at an early age. They often hang around the temple trying to scrounge up money for their mother’s medical bills. Unfortunately, it looks like the older brother has a heart condition. Zhen Yu wonders if they can crowdsource and fundraise for the two brothers to help them. They decide not to go into the room, worried that it may have a negative impact on the boy’s health, and instead press the rest of the cash they have into the doctor’s hands, asking him to give it to the brothers.
Zhen Yu tells Huan Huan about how he decided to become a doctor. When he was younger, he watched a documentary on refugees and their plight. At the time, he wished he could become a superhero and solve all their problems. Later, when he met Tang Xue’s mother and she helped fix his stutter, he became inspired to become a doctor.
Huan Huan teases him, asking where that dreamer side of him went. He cheesily responds that he’s still a dreamer, but his dream is now her. She tells him that she likes people who are constantly moving upward in pursuit of her dreams. She warns him not to grow complacent, otherwise he’ll lose his charm.
At night, Tang Xue and Yu Bing start to set up for hotpot dinner at her house. He’s just wrapped his arms around her when there’s a knock at the door, and he jumps away, startled. Yu Bing breathes a sigh of relief when Tang Xue opens the door and he hears Zhen Yu’s voice.
After dinner, they play cards. The loser has to get their face drawn on by the other players. They end up all having at least a little bit of marker on their faces. Tang Xue falls asleep, and Zhen Yu and Yu Bing help clean up. While they’re tidying up, Zhen Yu suddenly remembers Huan Huan’s words about not getting complacent and gets distracted. He asks Yu Bing if he seems like the kind of person who has no dreams. Yu Bing responds that he seems like the kind of person whose dream is to get the girl and then spend the rest of his life revolving around her. Don’t girls like that? Zhen Yu asks. Yu Bing says it probably depends on the girl.
Zhen Yu gets a call from Huan Huan and goes outside to take it. Yu Bing tries to pick up Tang Xue to put her to bed, but is surprised to find that she’s actually kind of heavy. He gives up and goes to her room instead and ends up poking around a bit, noticing how much of her life he’s missed.
He grabs a stuffed dragon from her bed, saying that he won’t allow it to watch his girlfriend sleep anymore and that it’s coming with him, then checks out a box on her shelf. Inside are some toys that, he notes wryly, she bought with his money. Then he spots the large toy spider he gave to Tang Xue long ago. He remembers how he had hoped Tang Xue would be scared, but she loved it instead. Then he grabs a blanket and gently drapes it over Tang Xue, kissing her on the forehead.
When Yu Bing returns home, his mother notices the faint traces of marker around his eyes, which look like faded eyeliner, and the pink dragon he’s holding. She seems worried that he’s gay.
Tang Xue’s father returns home the next morning to find her sleeping on the couch. He notices the empty fridge and the cleanliness of the house. Tang Xue says that she had some friends over for hotpot and they cleaned up afterward. He asks which friends. Was Bian Cheng here? Tang Xue evasively responds that it was Zhen Yu and someone her father doesn’t know.
Papa Tang says he hopes that Yu Bing wasn’t here. He doesn’t want Tang Xue hanging out with him. Tang Xue asks why he’s so opposed to Yu Bing. Everything happened so long ago and Tang Xue was at fault back then too. They’ve cleared things up now. Papa Tang says it’s fine for them to have reconciled, but he won’t allow them to become anything more. Tang Xue frowns.
Yu Bing’s parents go to his room and eavesdrop on his phone call with Zhen Yu. He’s talking about how “parents don’t know” and how he’s afraid they won’t receive it well. His mother accidentally knocks something over, startling him, and his parents make up an excuse about wanting to ask him what he wants for dinner.
At dinner, Yu Bing notices that his parents seem to be bothered by something. His mother admits that there is something bothering her, but she doesn’t know if it’s necessarily a problem in today’s world. Yu Bing asks if they remember Xu Feng. His mother fixates on the fact that it’s a male name. When Yu Bing admits that he likes Xu Feng quite a lot, his parents look alarmed. Yu Bing says he wants to get to know him better. His mother starts to protest, but his father stops her and tries to be supportive of Yu Bing. Yu Bing just looks confused.
Tang Xue has a new year’s dinner with her parents. They ask her to sing a song, but she refuses, saying that their encouragement tricked her into thinking she was a good singer. Mama Tang just laughs, wondering who told her the truth.
Papa Tang says it doesn’t matter how Tang Xue sings. The important part is that she’ll become a doctor, so as long as she studies well and becomes a vet, everything will be fine. He starts getting excited about getting a dog. Tang Xue looks down and looks uncomfortable. She silently promises to find a time to come clean with her parents. She doesn’t want to lie to them about skating or Yu Bing.
After dinner, Tang Xue gets busy sending virtual hongbao to everyone she knows.
Yue Wei is one recipient. She and Da Jiang joke and laugh with each other as they eat their new year’s dinner over hotpot at their usual restaurant.
Yu Yan also gets a hongbao while eating dinner in Canada with his mother and Coach Jin.
Yu Bing sends Tang Xue a photo of him with her stuffed dragon. She glances at her parents and shifts so that they can’t see her phone, then asks Yu Bing why he has her dragon. He responds that he’ll return the dragon for ransom. The ransom is… her presence.
Yes! More Yu Bing and Tang Xue always makes me happy. I’m glad that they were able to resolve their issues in such a reasonable way. Yu Bing said all the right things and all the things Tang Xue needed to hear. There is also a small amount of irony in the secrets that Tang Xue is keeping from her parents, when she’s so opposed to having secrets kept from her…
I’m glad we got a little more insight into Zhou Ran’s psyche at the beginning of this episode. It seems like the main rift between her and Tang Xue is just that their communication styles are so different. Tang Xue has never held ill intentions toward her, but always seems to interpret Zhou Ran’s words and actions in exactly the way that Zhou Ran doesn’t want. Zhou Ran loves to talk in circles and never says what she really means, while Tang Xue is always direct and to the point and doesn’t understand anything otherwise. It’s no doubt they’d clash. But I suppose Tang Xue’s biggest flaw is that she’s never ill-intentioned, but she ends up hurting people anyway. Sometimes intention doesn’t matter.
The Drama Llama 