Recap: Lost Romance (Ep. 7)

Ao Ran doesn’t know what to do with Xiao En’s confession and still doesn’t trust that she’s being sincere. Qing Feng starts to grow more of his own personality and does his part in trying to convince Ao Ran of Xiao En’s sincerity. Xiao En realizes that trying to change Ao Ran is too difficult and turns to a new target: Chu Chu.

Recap

Xiao En returns home to find Chu Chu in the kitchen. She freezes, then quickly tries to fabricate an excuse, saying she lives next door and must have gone to the wrong house. Chu Chu finds it strange that Xiao En would have Ao Ran’s house key. Xiao En tries to joke that maybe the same person installed the locks and used the same lock.

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But Ao Ran says enough with the charade — how long does she think they can keep up the lie? He tells Chu Chu the truth, that Xiao En is living with him.

Tian Jian contemplates the situation with the striking workers, remembers what Uncle Hu said about needing someone to be a bridge between the workers and the executives, and makes a decision. He holds a press conference to announce that he’s reached a settlement with the striking workers, to the satisfaction of both parties.

Chun Tian watches the press conference from her desk at work, shaking her head with a wry smile as she comments on how fortunate the He family is. The men are all so handsome and the women are all so beautiful. She glances over at Xiao En’s empty desk and sighs, saying that she misses her.

Jie Sen and Su Shan Na watch a broadcast of the press conference as well. He sighs, wondering if there’s still a place at Tian Liang Group for Tian Xing. Su Shan Na says that instead of worrying about Tian Xing, they should be worried about Tian Jian and his sudden rise. Jie Sen doesn’t see anything to be worried about; Tian Jian seems like a nice guy to him. Su Shan Na seems to think otherwise: why did Tian Jian suddenly choose to make his move now? Ming Li won’t be happy about this.

Ming Li finds Tian Jian after the press conference, full of smiles and praise, but Tian Jian doesn’t believe her smile and thinks she’s angry. He claims that everything he’s doing is for the good of the company. Ming Li continues with her smiles and thanks him for his hard work. Before she leaves, she mentions — almost as an afterthought — that he’ll be transferred to a different department, starting tomorrow.

Xiao En makes dessert for Ao Ran and Chu Chu. Chu Chu seems uncomfortable with how subservient Xiao En is being. Xiao En tries to joke that they can go ahead and eat — she didn’t poison the food. Chu Chu just stares at her with wide eyes.

Xiao En leaves them alone, but hides around the corner to eavesdrop. Ao Ran asks Chu Chu about her injury and how often she has to renew her prescription for medication. When he finds out that she takes the bus to pick her medication every three days, he says that he’ll drive her from now on. She got injured during a work trip, so it counts as a workplace injury and he is responsible.

Chu Chu gifts Ao Ran a small lamp she made out of wax. Xiao En watches jealously. She tells herself not to go over: she’s the fake one, they’re the real ones. But she finds herself walking over to interrupt Ao Ran and Chu Chu on the pretense of collecting their dishes to wash them. Chu Chu seems to take the hint and suggests she should get going because it’s getting late.

Xiao En starts walking back toward the kitchen while continuing to eavesdrop as Ao Ran insists on sending Chu Chu home and she says there’s no need. Chu Chu eventually agrees to let Ao Ran take her home. She suddenly screams.

Xiao En knows that this is the moment Chu Chu is going to fall again. She throws her plate into the air and hurls herself toward Chu Chu, edging out Ao Ran. Xiao En slides onto the ground underneath Chu Chu as Chu Chu falls forward… and lands, with her lips pressed to Xiao En’s.

Ao Ran drops Chu Chu off in front of her home. She stares up at him with wide eyes and he gently cups her face and leans in for a kiss. But before their lips touch, he pauses, remembering how Chu Chu and Xiao En had accidentally kissed earlier, then pulls away. He reminds her to take care of her injury before driving off. She watches him go, looking disappointed.

Xiao En tosses and turns in bed, unable to sleep. She feels like all of her efforts have been wasted.

When Ao Ran gets home, he finds himself thinking about Xiao En. Internally, he calls her silly for getting herself hurt while trying to come between him and Chu Chu. He starts to pull out a first aid kit, but then decides against it and puts it back in the cabinet.

Chun Tian visits Xiao En at the hospital. She’s brought Xiao En’s favorite snack, dried squid, but Xiao En is still deep in her coma and unresponsive. Chun Tian frowns sadly, saying Xiao En was right: the snack tastes better when it’s shared. She leaves a half-full bag of the snack on the bedside table for Xiao En.

Chun Tian suddenly notices that Xiao En appears to have gotten injured again. Her lip is scraped. Chun Tian dabs some ointment on Xiao En’s lip while telling her about how He Tian Jian recently appeared on TV. She doesn’t notice that the sleeping Xiao En’s finger twitches for a moment.

Qing Feng brings Ao Ran a coffee at work in the morning. Ao Ran asks if he can talk to Qing Feng about a personal matter. Qing Feng immediately guesses what it is — that Xiao En confessed to him. Qing Feng tells Ao Ran that she hasn’t gone crazy. She’s being sincere. Ao Ran is surprised that Qing Feng knows. He asks if Qing Feng initially brought her to his house in order to help her. Qing Feng says yes and no — she was able to actually fix his toilet, right?

Qing Feng tells Ao Ran that Xiao En was the one who brought him to the hospital. She didn’t tell him because she was afraid he would react poorly. Qing Feng looks Ao Ran in the eye and tells him he doesn’t have to accept Xiao En’s feelings, but he shouldn’t question her sincerity. She’s not a bad person. Ao Ran has misunderstood Xiao En this whole time.

“So… she actually likes me?” Ao Ran asks, looking like he’s still trying to digest this information.

“What do you think?” Qing Feng responds, before leaving.

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Chu Chu invites Xiao En out to grab a coffee. Xiao En acts like her usual, friendly self, but Chu Chu seems subdued and sad. Chu Chu says she hopes she didn’t disrupt Xiao En’s work by inviting her out. Xiao En says that it’s not like the CEO is home during the day anyway, but Chu Chu continues looking sad and doesn’t smile back.

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Xiao En notices the cut on her lip and asks if she’s okay. She says she’s fine and asks Xiao En if she got hurt. Xiao En cheerfully responds that her healing ability is nearly as strong as Wolverine’s, but the comment barely gets a smile out of Chu Chu.

Chu Chu asks Xiao En some more questions about what it’s like to work as Ao Ran’s housekeeper before asking the real question she wanted to know: does Xiao En like Ao Ran?

Xiao En freezes for only a moment before laughing and then saying that yes, she does like Ao Ran. But who at the company doesn’t? He’s handsome and rich. That doesn’t seem to reassure Chu Chu, who sadly says that Xiao En doesn’t seem like everyone else. Xiao En tries to claim that she’s just another infatuated woman, then asks why Chu Chu cares.

Chu Chu declares that she also likes Ao Ran, but she starts looking like she might cry. She tells Xiao En that she’s been so good to her, so she feels guilty whenever she gets close to Ao Ran. Xiao En forces a smile and says that Chu Chu shouldn’t feel guilty. It’s not like she’s forcing Ao Ran to be close to her.

Chu Chu brightens up and takes Xiao En’s hand, asking if she’ll give them her blessing. Xiao En finds herself nodding, and Chu Chu responds with gratitude.

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Ao Ran stares at Xiao En while she prepares dinner. It makes her uncomfortable and she suggests he go watch TV elsewhere, but he doesn’t respond and keeps staring. Xiao En lays out the dishes — Ao Ran keeps staring — and sits down to eat with him. When they go for the same side dish, she immediately defers to him, saying he’s the boss.

As they start eating, Ao Ran wonders if Xiao En really likes him. He finds it impossible — she’s always running her mouth, this must have just been another crazy moment of hers. Xiao En wonders why Ao Ran is glaring — is he angry that she stole a kiss from his precious White Lotus?

Uncomfortable with his persistent gaze, Xiao En stuffs her face then claims she’s full and gets up to do other chores. Ao Ran stops her, telling her to meet him in his study.

Ao Ran tells Xiao En that he’s thought about what she said yesterday and understands what she meant by liking him. But he likes someone else. He hands over an envelope, saying he’s giving her the part of him she likes the most.

Xiao En opens up the envelope to find a fat stack of cash. He tells her that given their current situation, he thinks it’s not right for them to continue living under the same roof. Xiao En wonders what she should do.

She pushes the envelope back toward him, then walks around to his side of the desk and drops to her knees. She apologizes to Ao Ran, saying that she’ll stay in her room and never try to come between him and Chu Chu again, but she really needs this job. She grabs his arm, crying, and begs. He tells her that he’ll let it go just this once.

But, that’s not actually what she does. She was just imagining a possibility. Xiao En tells herself that she can do it. It’s just a few tears. She can force them out.

She pushes the money back toward Ao Ran and walks to his side of the desk. But when she starts to kneel, she finds that her body won’t let her. So instead, she tells Ao Ran that her feelings can’t be bought with money, and she turns to leave, head held high.

He stops her, asking if there’s anything else she wanted to say to him. Xiao En starts to try and fake some tears, but when she turns to face him, what she ends up saying is that there’s nothing left to say. He’s made it clear he never wants to see her again.

Ao Ran says that he never said that. Xiao En turns to him in surprise. Surely, he’s not planning on two-timing? Ao Ran scoffs, saying he’d never date her. Xiao En says that she’s been trying so hard to change the ending of this story; she won’t let Ao Ran’s words stop her from trying. She tells him that if he doesn’t want to see her, she’ll leave.

She turns to leave, but finds that her foot is stuck. Her body won’t let her leave. She physically lifts her legs up with her hands in order to start walking out.

Ao Ran surprises her by saying that she should report back to the marketing department tomorrow. She scurries back to his desk in surprise. He’s letting her go back to work? Ao Ran says that this doesn’t mean he trusts her. He’s still going to be keeping an eye on her, and he suggests she keep her distance from Chu Chu.

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Xiao En starts to leave, but can’t help but look longingly back at the envelope of money. Ao Ran notices and holds out the envelope, saying that she can take it because she keeps turning back for it. She quickly grabs the envelope and thanks him, bowing herself out.

Ao Ran shakes his head after she’s gone, saying that Qing Feng lied to her. There’s no way her confession was sincere.

Xiao En packs her bags to leave, but gives her bed one last hug. She’ll miss it the most. On her way out, she glares around the living room, determined to rearrange the furniture and break Ao Ran’s house rules. Then she glares at the refrigerator, wanting to fill it with all the strong-scented foods Ao Ran abhors. But instead, she decides that she’ll clean out the fridge instead, leaving it as empty as the day she found it. She pulls out all the groceries and starts cooking.

She’s in the middle of cooking when the power suddenly goes out. She immediately thinks of Ao Ran and rushes up to his room, saying she already has a story ready for him. She finds him holding the lamp Chu Chu made and starts backing away, realizing she’s not needed.

Ao Ran stops her, asking where she’s going. She says that she’s going to check the circuit breaker. He already has his lamp and doesn’t need her. He takes a step after her, but lets her go.

Xiao En finds that the circuit breaker had been tripped and turns it back on. She starts up the stairs toward Ao Ran’s room, right as he also starts toward the stairs down. They freeze at the same time. Xiao En decides that Ao Ran must know everything is fine because the lights turned back on. There’s no need for her to tell him. She returns back to the kitchen.

She tells the ingredients that Ao Ran already has someone in his heart. Even if the ingredients stayed here, they wouldn’t get his love. But they have her, and she’ll give them the care they deserve. She angrily eats all the food she makes, but slowly her anger turns to sadness and she finds herself wiping tears away as she stuffs her face.

Xiao En leaves before the break of dawn. She glances wistfully up at the place that was her home for this short time. Ao Ran goes downstairs to his living room after Xiao En has left, looking around his now-empty and quiet home.

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At work, Ao Ran pauses as he enters his office, looking at the desk where Xiao En used to sit. When he notices Qing Feng arriving, he quickly acts like he wasn’t just staring at the desk. Qing Feng asks if he’s okay, noticing that he doesn’t seem to be in a good mood, but Ao Ran claims there’s no reason for him to be in a bad mood. When he sits down, he continues to look at Xiao En’s desk out of the corner of his eye.

Su Shan and Qiu Tian welcome Xiao En back with a shower of confetti and the stapler and scissors she was banned from taking with her. They’re delighted to have her back and celebrate that they can now go eat at a restaurant across the street. Chu Chu smiles to see them celebrating together, and Xiao En smiles back when they make eye contact. Xiao En invites Chu Chu to join them for lunch, but Chu Chu quickly makes an excuse about needing to go to the accounting department and scurries out of the office.

Tian Jian drives out to his new placement, which is in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city (they may even be in the country at this point?) The warehouse only has a rough, handwritten sign declaring it as part of the Tian Liang Group. The lights in the warehouse are off when Tian Jian manages to enter the jammed front door. He finds the light switch and jumps when he turns around to see an old man smiling at him. Is the man a ghost?

An older woman appears and introduces herself as the factory supervisor, and the old man as Uncle Hua, the security guard. He’s been here for twenty years but is mute.

When Tian Jian introduces himself as the new division head, the factory supervisor yells for a coworker and thus starts a chain of aunties and uncles all yelling for each other to come meet Tian Jian. The factory supervisor introduces these people as the factory workers. Tian Jian thinks there must be a mistake. He’s here looking for the new businesses division.

The factory supervisor says there is no mistake. This is the sole facility for the new businesses department, Tian Ling’s sakura shrimp processing factory. Tian Jian realizes what his sister has done.

Uncle Hu meets with Ming Li and asks why she sent Tian Jian to such an outlying factory. Ming Li claims she had no real reason. She just felt like Tian Jian could use some self-discipline. Uncle Hu just shakes his head. She knows the factory has no real value. The only reason it exists is because her father wanted to take care of the factory’s elderly workers and wait until they retired before closing down the facility. Why would she send Tian Jian there?

Ming Li says that Tian Jian needs to be reminded of his place and his role as the head of HR. Uncle Hu tells her that he watched her and her siblings grow up. He can’t bear to see them hurting each other like this.

They’re interrupted by a commotion at the door, as Qiao Zhi tries to stop Ming Li’s mother from entering the office. Mama He pushes her way in, ignoring him. She’s upset with Ming Li for sending Tian Jian to a middle-of-nowhere factory. Ming Li is supposed to be paving the way for Tian Jian and helping him be recognized at the company. Who is going to recognize him now?

Mama He crosses her arms and tells Ming Li that if she doesn’t bring her brother back, then she’s not leaving. Ming Li humors her, telling Qiao Zhi to prepare some tea and bring the whole pot over. Her mother won’t be leaving today. Then she gets up to attend to the rest of her schedule, ignoring her mother as she blusters after her. Uncle Hu watches them with a thoughtful smirk.

Xiao En, Su Shan, and Qiu Tian cheerfully walk through the doors to the lobby after a satisfying lunch. Xiao En is still joking around when Qiu Tian and Su Shan freeze — Ao Ran and Qing Feng have just left the elevators and are walking their way. Xiao En wonders if Ao Ran is walking toward her. She smiles in anticipation, thinking that he looks more handsome than ever now that she hasn’t seen him for half a day.

But Ao Ran walks right past Xiao En without even looking at her. He bends down to help Chu Chu pick up some papers she dropped.

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Su Shan fumes jealously, pinching Xiao En’s side now, instead of Qiu Tian’s, saying that someone in this lobby should be able to block Ao Ran from seeing Chu Chu. Xiao En pinches back, also furious, but knows that no one can stop him. Ao Ran and Chu Chu have the author’s gift of “Super GPS” that will help them locate each other no matter where they are.

Chu Chu and Ao Ran chat about lunch. Chu Chu says that she has some suggestions if he needs help picking. Su Shan and Qiu Tian are angry that Chu Chu is going to use their lunch discussions to curry favor with Ao Ran. Su Shan speculates that maybe Chu Chu is planning on reporting them to Ao Ran for spending too much time thinking about food instead of working, and that she might complain about how they never go out to eat with her. She’s poisonous, they say, glaring.

Xiao En agrees, saying she’s poisonous. Qing Feng notices her glaring daggers at Chu Chu.

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Xiao En broods by herself while taking a coffee break. She stands up and stomps the ground, willing there to be a circle of light around her like the circles that Chu Chu and Ao Ran have. But there’s nothing. She laments that this is a story of fireflies finding each other and falling in love, but she doesn’t give off any light.

She thinks back to the moment that Ao Ran walked past her. This time we see that even though Ao Ran didn’t look at her, Qing Feng did. A quick glance toward her, followed by a small smile.

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But Xiao En doesn’t seem to be thinking about that. Instead, she sighs that she played the secretary and she played housekeeper, yet neither seemed to work. She’s read a ton of romance novels, but the reality is different than her theories.

Chu Chu walks by Xiao En to pour herself a cup of coffee. Xiao En calls her out for not even saying a greeting. Chu Chu only obediently says a greeting when Xiao En feeds the words into her mouth. Xiao En asks if Chu Chu hates her. Is that why she didn’t greet her? Chu Chu is quick to deny it. Instead she surprises Xiao En by saying that she envies her in situations like these. She wants to be friends with everyone, but she never seems to be able to do the right thing.

Xiao En has a sudden epiphany. If Chu Chu learns to be independent, then she won’t need Ao Ran to show up and save her anymore. She suddenly leans in toward Chu Chu with a conspiratorial smile and asks if she’s free right now. Chu Chu nervously asks Xiao En what she has in mind as Xiao En drags her into an empty meeting room. Xiao En plans on training her into a woman who doesn’t need a man.

Ao Ran slams his phone down on his desk, drawing Qing Feng’s attention, and angrily starts to stalk out of his office. Qing Feng stops him, asking what’s wrong. Ao Ran says that the security office just informed him that Xiao En was spotted forcing Chu Chu into an empty room.

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Qing Feng asks if he really doesn’t trust Xiao En. Ao Ran says his mistake was trusting Qing Feng. He’s convinced that Xiao En only said she liked him to cover up the truth — that she bears ill will toward Chu Chu. Today, Qing Feng will see Xiao En’s true face.

Xiao En tells Chu Chu that she’s going to teach her survival skills. First question: why did Chu Chu refuse to go to lunch with everyone? Chu Chu claims she had work to do. Wrong answer. Xiao En tells Chu Chu she saw her sad bento box the other day. She knows that Chu Chu has family difficulties and that’s why she can’t always go out, but tells Chu Chu that if she keeps rejecting her coworkers’ invitations, they will dislike her. Chu Chu asks for suggestions on how to reject the invitation in a better way.

Xiao En says there’s no need to reject the invitation. Instead she should proudly pull out her bento box. Xiao En pretends to be Su Shan, making fun of Chu Chu’s sad lunch. Chu Chu giggles at Xiao En’s spot-on imitation. Xiao En then demonstrates what Chu Chu’s response should be, and imitates Chu Chu saying that she eats so simply to maintain her beauty and petite figure. Then, Xiao En says, Su Shan and everyone else will be inspired to bring in their own simple bento boxes and eat with Chu Chu.

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Chu Chu looks at Xiao En with shining eyes, saying that she’s so formidable. But Xiao En says that these are just the basics of navigating workplace politics. If you’re always trying to please other people, you’ll get tired. But if you’re always being yourself, it’s other people who will get tired.

She quizzes Chu Chu with another question. It’s the end of the work day, but everyone is still at their desks. What do you do? Chu Chu hesitantly responds, quietly sneak out? Wrong! Xiao En says that she shouldn’t even think about leaving and should instead cancel all her evening plans.

What about if their manager sees that Chu Chu wants to go, then smiles at her and tells her it’s okay to go? Chu Chu sighs in relief and thanks her for thinking of her. Xiao En gives Chu Chu a gentle smack on the head, calling her naive. The answer is the same as before: cancel all your evening plans.

Chu Chu asks what she should do if she really has something important to do. Xiao En tells her to drip a few drops of red ink on a handkerchief, then cough loudly so the whole office can hear. They’ll immediately tell her to go see a doctor. Chu Chu laughs, saying that seems a bit excessive.

Xiao En tells Chu Chu that in order to survive in a group, there are some rules that don’t make sense. But in order to survive, she has to at least understand them. Otherwise, she’ll find herself becoming a target.

Ao Ran and Qing Feng listen at the door. Qing Feng smiles and says to Ao Ran that this is Xiao En’s real face. Ao Ran doesn’t seem convinced, telling Qing Feng that he won’t trust Xiao En that easily. Qing Feng humors him, saying, “Sure, just keep watching her.”

Chu Chu puts her newly-learned survival skills to work. When Qiu Tian rolls over, asking Chu Chu to do something for her, Chu Chu glances toward Xiao En, who gives her a small nod. Chu Chu agrees to help Qiu Tian, but then stops her from rolling away and in return asks her to help with a thick pile of tasks that Su Shan needs completed. Qiu Tian takes back the work she asked Chu Chu to do and rolls back to her desk with a disgruntled frown. Chu Chu glances at Xiao En, who gives her a subtle thumbs-up.

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During a meeting, Chu Chu starts to feel sleepy so she drops a pen, then bends down to pick it up and uses that as a chance to yawn. Xiao En also bends down to yawn, then gives Chu Chu a conspiratorial wink.

Chu Chu stumbles as she walks into the office with a tray of coffee. Xiao En is there to help catch her and save the coffee, then helps her hand out drinks to everyone while Su Shan and Qiu Tian gape.

Chu Chu struggles to push a cart onto the elevator. Xiao En walks by with Qiu Tian and sees her, then goes to help while Qiu Tian gawps again.

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Later, Xiao En chats with Chu Chu while heading out of the lobby, completely ignoring Su Shan and Qiu Tian, who raises a hand in greeting as they cross paths.

A security guard presents Ao Ran with footage of Xiao En’s whereabouts on a USB drive. Qing Feng hovers over Ao Ran’s shoulder as he plugs the drive into his computer. Ao Ran asks what he’s doing; he smirks and says that he wants to see Xiao En’s real face.

Xiao En goes into the bathroom to find Su Shan and Qiu Tian filling a tub with water. They silently motion for her to do the honors in dumping the bucket. But instead of taking the water, Xiao En starts knocking at the stall door, begging the occupant to hurry up because she really needs to go. Qiu Tian and Su Shan immediately hide while Chu Chu comes out, confused. Xiao En slides into the stall while Chu Chu is able to escape, unscathed.

Once Chu Chu is gone, Qiu Tian and Su Shan confront Xiao En about being so nice to Chu Chu, calling her a traitor. But Xiao En points out that if they actually care about Ao Ran and want to be with him, they should be nicer to the person he cares about. Also, there must be a reason Ao Ran likes Chu Chu, right? By being closer to her, maybe they can learn what Ao Ran likes about her and make themselves more attractive to him.

Ao Ran flips through the photos on the USB drive, but all the photos are just Xiao En and Chu Chu, laughing together. Ao Ran notices Qing Feng looking particularly interested in the photos and asks if he’s seen enough. Qing Feng shakes his head and asks Ao Ran if he has copies of the photos. He wants to keep some. Ao Ran gives him a confused look. Qing Feng smirks and then saunters away.

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Ao Ran and Qing Feng are heading out when they spot Chu Chu returning from lunch with Su Shan and Qiu Tian, chatting happily. Qing Feng comments that Chu Chu seems more cheerful and carefree now, and that Xiao En was willing to sacrifice herself in order to make her office more harmonious.

“So it’s Zheng Xiao En?” Ao Ran asks. Is Xiao En the person who Qing Feng wants to keep? Qing Feng responds with only a smile, then starts walking away. Ao Ran asks him what he means, but Qing Feng keeps walking and ignores him.

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Xiao En waits with Chu Chu at a bus stop after work. Chu Chu gives her a cute pop-up card as a thank you for helping her. She’s felt like work has gone a lot more smoothly lately and also feels more confident in herself, which she all attributes to Xiao En. Xiao En tells her that as women, they need to be independent and strong and recognize that they don’t need men. When Chu Chu looks a little alarmed, she quickly corrects herself and says that women can be successful on their own.

Chu Chu pulls out a pair of guest passes she won. Xiao En thinks that she’s trying to give them to her, and starts refusing, but then Chu Chu asks if she thinks that Ao Ran will agree to go with her if she asks. That’s not what Xiao En expected. Didn’t she just say that as women they need to be independent..?

Chu Chu takes Xiao En’s hand and says that she was the one who gave her the confidence to take this next step. Thanks to Xiao En, she feels confident enough to take initiative in her relationship.

Chu Chu’s bus shows up and she hurries to board, saying goodbye to Xiao En with a bright smile and wave. Xiao En smiles weakly in response, then falls over on the bench once she’s gone.

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Commentary

The second lead syndrome is strong in this show! Qing Feng is only gaining more and more personality as he deviates from his predestined role and I love it. I love the snark and the smirks and the way that he’s now always looking toward Xiao En, though she doesn’t realize it yet. She’s sparked him out of his robotic slumber and honestly, he’s way more interesting than Ao Ran right now! And those previews of him and Xiao En! My heart!

Xiao En’s intervention continues to make the flat book characters turn into more interesting, multidimensional beings. This episode, her character project is Chu Chu, and while Xiao En’s efforts have kind of backfired, it’s definitely made Chu Chu more interesting to have more of a personality and more of a mind of her own. At the beginning of this episode, I wasn’t sure how much more wide-eyed wonder I could take…

At this point, Ao Ran is probably the least interesting book character, still firmly devoted to his character-driven mistrust of Xiao En. We are starting to see moments of doubt creep in — like when he thought about getting Xiao En that first aid kit in the beginning — but just having a conscience isn’t enough of a personality. Hopefully his turning point will come soon. Right now, I would tell Xiao En to 100% pick Qing Feng.