In this episode of Lost Romance, Xiao En gets… an ending. But then she returns to the real world, where she searches desperately for Ao Ran.
Recap
Qing Feng shows up in Xiao En’s bridal room before the wedding. Su Shan and Qiu Tian clear out to give them space.
“No regrets?” Qing Feng asks.
Xiao En shakes her head. She’s already here on stolen time. She doesn’t want to be afraid of a future she knows nothing about.
Qing Feng nods and wishes her and Ao Ran eternal happiness. Xiao En decides to cast one last spell, since her ending is almost here anyway. She says that Qing Feng will find his love and the ending he’s looking for. He tells her to go get her happy ending with Ao Ran.
Qing Feng goes to Ao Ran’s room next, and teases him about having seen Xiao En before he could. Before Qing Feng leaves, Ao Ran asks if he knows something about Xiao En. Qing Feng responds that he might, or he might not, but would it change anything? Ao Ran says no, and Qing Feng tells him to focus on being happy.
Ao Ran waits at the altar. When the doors open and Xiao En walks in, they have eyes only for each other. When she gets up to the front and they stand facing each other, he holds out his hand and repeats the words she once said to him, that in this world, she is one-of-a-kind, and no one can replace her. “I love you,” he says, “I will always love you.”
Xiao En responds that meeting him is the biggest wonder of her life, and takes his hand. But suddenly, his image starts flickering. Her eyes fill with tears as she looks around and realizes that time has frozen, and she’s the only one who can still move. But Qing Feng is still able to look around, his face suddenly a frown. Xiao En turns. Ao Ran unfreezes for a moment and takes her wrist, asking where she’s going, but then he freezes again.
Xiao En looks at Qing Feng, who gives his head a small shake, looking sad. She starts crying. She didn’t get to say “I love you” back and they never got to exchange rings. It can’t end like this. But then she freezes, too.
In the real world, Chun Tian reads the happy ending of the novel and notices that a tear has slipped out of the corner of Xiao En’s eye. She gently dabs it. Xiao En’s eyes slowly flutter open.
Xiao En looks around slowly, slightly confused. Chun Tian looks relieved, but also starts yelling at Xiao En, asking if she knew how worried she was, seeing her like this for so long. Xiao En asks “Qiu Tian” to slow down. Chun Tian looks concerned — does Xiao En not recognize her anymore?
Xiao En realizes that if Qiu Tian is back to being Chun Tian, that means she’s in the real world and she didn’t disappear. But what about Ao Ran? Chun Tian tells her to wait while she runs off to go find a doctor, but Xiao En sits up and takes off her IV.
Chun Tian returns with a nurse as Xiao En starts trying to stumble out of her room, saying she needs to go find Tian Xing. Chun Tian and the nurse wrestle her back into bed. Xiao En grips Chun Tian’s wrist and asks her to go find Tian Xing. He will definitely recognize her. But Chun Tian tells her that after Tian Xing’s hospital caught on fire, there’s been no news of him. He’s probably dead.
Xiao En refuses to believe that Tian Xing could be dead and starts scrambling out of bed again, saying she needs to go find him.
Meanwhile, Tian Xing flatlines. Su Shan Na and Jie Sen are sent out of the room while the doctor tries to resuscitate him. A group of thugs wearing black show up. Jie Sen tries to fight them off, but is unsuccessful and they barge into Tian Xing’s hospital room, holding knives to his doctor and nurse’s throats to prevent them from administering care.
Tian Xing flatlines again… but then he wakes with a gasp, saying, “Where are you going?”
Everyone is stunned. His doctor recovers quickest and manages to elbow herself out of her attacker’s grasp. She tries to check on Tian Xing, but then the thug recovers and pushes her out of the way, ready to stab Tian Xing with his knife. A hand grabs his wrist. It’s Qiao Zhi, who punches him and starts fighting off the other man. Jie Sen rushes in to help.
They manage to hold off the attackers until police arrive to arrest them. Afterward, Jie Sen looks at Qiao Zhi with suspicion, asking why he’s here. He’s still suspicious when Qiao Zhi says he was here on a rescue mission — is he sure he didn’t save the wrong person? Qiao Zhi responds that saving Tian Xing is the only way Ming Li can be saved. Jie Sen doesn’t look convinced.
Uncle Hu is displeased to discover that his group of hired thugs was unsuccessful. He yells that he wants results, not excuses. After hanging up, he mutters that Tian Liang is his to take down and no one can stop him. Later, he calls for aggressive investments in some of Tian Liang Group’s subsidiary companies.
Su Shan Na sobs happily by Tian Xing’s bedside, telling him she always believed that he would pull through and that she’s so glad he’s back. He just smiles and nods.
Xiao En undergoes a series of tests but the doctors are unable to find anything wrong with her. She’s told that she’s perfectly healthy and can be discharged. She immediately starts asking a nurse if she knows where Tian Xing is. When Chun Tian finds out that Xiao En really believes that Tian Xing is looking for her, she immediately storms out looking for a doctor, saying that Xiao En is clearly not well.
Qiao Zhi, Su Shan Na, and Jie Sen watch over Tian Xing and try to decide where they should hide him next. Tian Xing doesn’t speak, but instead silently contemplates what they told him about his asking, “Where are you going?” in a very urgent way when he woke up.
Chun Tian takes Xiao En back to her apartment. She warns Xiao En to stay alive and well from now on; she’ll be really angry if Xiao En falls into a second coma. Xiao En hugs her, then notices pieces of a broken mug on the ground by her bed. She frowns. Chun Tian says she can clean it up, but Xiao En insists on doing it herself.
She picks up a broken piece of the mug and faintly remembers how sick she was the night she fainted into a coma. She accidentally cuts her finger and Chun Tian fusses over her, but Xiao En wonders if she’s still in the dream and that’s why it doesn’t hurt.
Mama He wants to see Ming Li, but Tian Jian won’t let her. He gets a phone call and hurriedly tells her to put on the news. A press conference is being held at the care center where Tian Xing is staying. Tian Xing’s doctor and Su Shan Na announce Tian Xing’s recent recovery.
Xiao En sees the news and immediately grabs her coat, ready to go out and find Tian Xing. She remains convinced that he’s looking for her.
Qiao Zhi comments to Jie Sen that Tian Xing is smart to make his location public. Now, it’ll be more difficult for Tian Jian to take action, because the whole world is watching. He understands why both Tian Jian and Ming Li were never able to best Tian Xing.
Later, he updates Tian Xing on the press conference, then begs him to help save Ming Li.
Xiao En shows up at the care center after the press conference. The security guard won’t let her through, but she sneaks past him and takes off running onto the hospital grounds. She finds Tian Xing’s room, but hesitates before going in, and gets discovered and taken down by Su Shan Na, Jie Sen, and a couple of security guards.
Xiao En is returned to Chun Tian, who takes her home. At home, she tries to figure out how she can meet Tian Xing. Chun Tian explains all the power shifts that have happened within the He family while Xiao En was unconscious. When Xiao En finds out that Tian Jian is currently in power, she decides that she needs to do the thing she should have done a long time ago.
Xiao En goes to the police station to report that Tian Jian is the one who pushed Tian Xing off the roof. The police are rightfully skeptical, because Xiao En doesn’t have any proof other than her word, and remind her that secretly surveilling Tian Xing with her drone is a crime itself.
Tian Jian finds it unbelievable that Tian Xing could wake up and worries about what this means for him. Uncle Hu reassures him that it doesn’t matter what his father’s will says, the board of directors is on his side. But then he gets a phone call from the police, informing him that Tian Jian has been accused of pushing Tian Xing off the roof. Uncle Hu is furious that Tian Jian didn’t disclose this to him before.
The police personally inform Tian Xing of the allegations against Tian Jian. Qiao Zhi confirms they found a drone that day, but also mentions that it was destroyed. Tian Xing asks about the witness’s whereabouts — he’s certain that her safety is at risk.
Editor-in-chief Yao yells at Chun Tian for letting the novel be published the way it was written. She frowns and apologizes, but says that she did try to her best — she had the author revise it 87 times but it still ended up the way that it did. She gives Yao some good news: Xiao En has woken up. Yao finds himself smiling before he catches himself, then puts on a tough expression and tells Chun Tian to make sure Xiao En comes back to work ASAP.
After he leaves, Chun Tian gets an angry phone call demanding to know how she could edit and publish someone’s work without their permission.
Xiao En rides home alone on a completely empty bus. At one stop, several men in black board and sit around her in the back. She immediately gets suspicious. She requests the next stop, and the man behind her leans in and warns her that she’s not allowed to move. They’ll get off with her.
At the next stop, several people board the bus. Xiao En takes advantage of the situation to scramble off, so that the men behind her are slowed down by the other people boarding. She nearly gets hit by a car as she runs across the street, then into a closed market.
Qiao Zhi shows up on a motorcycle in front of Xiao En and throws her a helmet, telling her to get on. Instead of accepting his help, she keeps running.
The car that nearly ran into her before pulls up in front of her, blocking her way. She lifts the motorcycle helmet to use as a weapon as the car door opens, but then her eyes widen when she sees who’s sitting inside: He Tian Xing.
He holds out a hand, saying, “I’ve finally found you.” Xiao En leaps into the car and throws her arms around her neck, sobbing the same thing. Tian Xing looks confused, while Su Shan Na and Jie Sen gape at each other.
Chun Tian meets with the author of the novel, who is upset that Chun Tian edited and published her novel without her permission. Chun Tian tries to explain that she published the exact documents she received, but the author doesn’t believe her. They compare their respective, unedited versions of the same document and discover that the contents are different despite everything else being the same.
The author looks around the meeting room and frowns, then shivers, saying that something about the fengshui of the office isn’t right. She needs to go home. Chun Tian also scurries out with a fearful expression after the lights suddenly flicker.
Xiao En keeps staring at Tian Xing on the car ride to their destination, but he doesn’t make eye contact. When they finally reach their destination, Xiao En tries to help as Jie Sen and Su Shan Na ease Tian Xing into a wheelchair, Su Shan Na snaps that she doesn’t need her help. Tian Xing calls Xiao En, “Miss Zheng,” which confuses her, but then sends Jie Sen and Su Shan Na ahead of them so they can talk in private.
Tian Xing speaks formally to Xiao En and thanks her for her courage in coming forward with her eyewitness account of his fall. He also says that she doesn’t need to worry about the invasion of privacy charges.
None of that is what Xiao En wants to hear. She asks if there’s anything else he wants to say. Does he not remember anything? Tian Xing is confused. Do they know each other?
Xiao En looks disappointed and says that they don’t know each other. She was just worried about him, but is glad to see that he’s okay. He reassures her that he’s been well-protected, but it’s her own safety she should be concerned about. For now, she’ll need to hide in the room that Shan Na has prepared for her.
Xiao En turns away to hide the tears slipping down her face as she remembers how Ao Ran promised that they would spend every special moment together and that he would never forget her.
Shan Na shows Xiao En to her room, then goes downstairs to express her worry to Tian Xing that Xiao En has ulterior motives. Tian Xing reminds her that they still need Xiao En’s help and to treat her with courtesy. Xiao En comes downstairs and interrupts them. Tian Xing sends Shan Na away, which she doesn’t seem to like.
Xiao En asks Tian Xing if he’s afraid of the dark. He responds that he isn’t. She suddenly tears up again and says she got it wrong before rushing back upstairs. He stares after her, confused.
Xiao En returns to her room, coming to the disappointed realization that Tian Xing is not the same as Si Tu Ao Ran. She leaves the building with her bag and a sorrowful backward glance. She’ll never be able to find her arrogant CEO again.
Xiao En goes back home, where she finds Chun Tian waiting for her on the stairwell outside her apartment. Chun Tian was worried, since Xiao En promised to pick her up from work but never showed, and also didn’t pick up her phone. She follows Xiao En into her apartment, saying she’s going to stay the night. Xiao En says that she’s fine, but Chun Tian responds that she’s the one who’s not fine and needs Xiao En.
Chun Tian shows Xiao En the hardcopy of CEO, You Nasty, and rants about how no matter what she tried, the story ended up being about Xiao En and Si Tu Ao Ran. Xiao En cries as she reads the story. Chun Tian tries to wipe away her tears, asking what’s wrong.
“The Xiao En in the story is me,” Xiao En responds.
Commentary
I don’t have much to say this week.
Nothing really surprised me about this episode, but I suppose it was still entertaining. I think it was pretty obvious, even before the episode, that Tian Xing would wake up not knowing who Ao Ran or Xiao En are. I’m most interested to see how the writers plan on explaining the link between the story world and real world, supposing we get an explanation at all.
I do like that Xiao En continues to do the unexpected thing, even in the “real world.” For example, when Qiao Zhi showed up on his motorcycle giving her a way out, she didn’t accept it, because that’s the logical thing to do.
The Drama Llama 