Recap: Lost Romance (Ep. 20)

It’s the end! Will Tian Xing ever win Xiao En over? Will there be any resolution to this corporate drama that I don’t really care about? Read on and find out.

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Recap

Tian Xing tells Xiao En that he’ll make her forget about her ex. She responds that anyone can make her forget about him — anyone except Tian Xing. He asks why, but she doesn’t have an answer. He says that means he still has a chance. Once he sets his mind to something, he won’t give up.

Tian Xing starts to walk away, but Xiao En grabs his arm to stop him. She won’t change — he shouldn’t waste his time. He says that’s his problem. She says that he shouldn’t hurt himself for other people.

“But it’s not anyone else,” he says, “It’s you.”

• 

• 

Ming Li is upset when Tian Xing tells her that they can’t report Hu’s money laundering to the police, because what he’s doing isn’t illegal. Art’s value is based on what the buyer is willing to pay. The only way they can prove it’s illegal is if they can prove that the money ends up in his own pocket.

Tian Xing knows that Hu is very careful. That’s why the art gallery owner didn’t know who he was. But they might be able to use that do their advantage. He suggests they take a gamble.

Ming Li takes Hu up on his earlier proposition to help her get a lucrative investment if she will help him vote Tian Xing off the board of directors. The money gets transferred to her bank account almost immediately. Right afterward, Qiao Zhi texts her, reporting that Hu has ordered flowers again. He watches from around the corner as the florist delivers a bouquet to the art gallery.

Qiao Zhi waits until the florist leaves before entering the gallery, handing over a bag, and telling the owner that he wants to buy chess. The owner wordlessly hands him a small black pouch.

Qiao Zhi brings the pouch to Tian Xing, confirming his suspicion that the flowers are a signal. Tian Xing dumps out the contents of the pouch to reveal a bunch of diamonds. No wonder they were unable to find Hu’s secret account.

Hu gets a call from someone that something has already been taken away. He frowns and hurriedly excuses himself from his meeting with Ming Li.

Tian Xing, Jie Sen, and Shan Na follow Hu to his secret meeting location, an empty, rundown looking apartment. Jie Sen and Shan Na search the room while Hu smirks, but it’s empty. Hu is ready to leave, but Tian Xing takes a second look at the mattress in the room. He cuts it open and diamonds start spilling out onto the ground.

Hu tries to make a run for it, but runs right into Ming Li and Qiao Zhi, who push him back into the room. Tian Xing tells Hu that they won’t press charges if he returns the money he stole. Hu shrugs and smiles, encouraging them to try and investigate him. They won’t be able to find anything. Everything he’s done is legal, and Tian Jian was the one who signed the contracts.

Ming Li grabs Hu by the collar, demanding to know why he would do such a thing. Qiao Zhi pulls her back.

Hu angrily says that he sold his soul for 30 years working for Tian Liang Group, yet what does he have to show for it? Thirty years ago, their father may have put in the money, but Hu was the one who put in the work to build the company up to where it is today. Yet he didn’t even get a stake in the company, and the elder He dared ask him to support Tian Xing after his death. Is he their family’s dog? He points out that if they didn’t already have the desire to betray one another, no scheming on his part would have succeeded. He just wanted to show their father that leaving the company to them was a mistake.

• 

• 

Ming Li tries to attack Hu again, but Tian Xing holds her back. He tells Hu that he can leave, considering the thirty years he gave to Tian Liang Group.

Ming Li is furious that Tian Xing let Hu walk away scot-free, but Qiao Zhi explains that he already handed over the diamonds they acquired earlier as evidence to the authorities. Tian Xing says that he couldn’t say more to Hu, because it’s true that Tian Liang treated him unfairly. But Hu will still have to take responsibility for his crimes.

Hu prepares to flee the country, but gets pulled over by the police.

Tian Jian and Ming Li’s mother cries as she walks the two siblings to the police station. Tian Jian reassures her that it’s not like he’ll be locked up forever. Once he gets out, he’ll be able to finally do the things he wants. Their mother turns toward Ming Li and says that sometimes trying to be a strong woman isn’t good. She asks Ming Li to stop trying to force her to be strong, and she’ll stop trying to force Ming Li to be the kind of woman she wants her to be. After Ming Li gets out, she’ll try and learn to respect her. Ming Li blinks back tears and tells her mother to not cry in front of her.

She turns and makes eye contact with Qiao Zhi, who stands at attention. She asks Qiao Zhi to take care of her mother for her, then surprises him by saying, “Thank you.” She knows that she should have said thank you long ago. He’s the one who has been by her side helping her from the start. Qiao Zhi looks like he’s about to cry.

• 

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Tian Xing holds a press conference as the new chairman of Tian Liang Group to address the company’s financial troubles. After the press conference, he runs into Chu Chu. Jie Sen makes up an excuse to leave them alone and drags Shan Na away.

Chu Chu asks if Tian Xing has time to go see the sunrise now that he’s back. He apologizes, saying that he’ll have to cancel. He doesn’t need to see the sunrise anymore — he’s found what he needs to feel supported and happy. Chu Chu looks disappointed, then asks if he found a girlfriend. His energy feels different. Lonely people can always recognize other lonely people, but she notices that he doesn’t seem lonely anymore.

Tian Xing responds maybe, but she’s not a girlfriend yet. Chu Chu looks hopeful for a moment, but then Tian Xing says that she will be his girlfriend eventually. Chu Chu wishes them the best, believing that the person who makes him the happiest is also the person who is best for him. Tian Xing thanks her, then tells her that it’s easy to let oneself be immersed in sorrow, but getting out of it is just as easy — all it takes it is a change in mindset. Her father would want her to be happy.

Chun Tian and Xiao En read an article on how Tian Xing has returned to Tian Liang Group and restructured the company and the board. As a result, the stock price is starting to recover. Chun Tian says that their arrogant CEO doesn’t disappoint when it comes to business. Xiao En agrees — Tian Xing gives off that reassuring vibe that everything will get better, it’s only a matter of time.

Chun Tian gives Xiao En a look. She seems abnormally calm talking about Tian Xing. Has she really let him go? Xiao En declares that of course she has — she’s a modern woman and nothing can slow her down. But they’re suddenly interrupted by a familiar buzzing sound. A drone flies into their office and hovers by Xiao En and Chun Tian’s desks.

Xiao En gets a call from Tian Xing. Chun Tian urges her to pick up. Tian Xing smiles and says that the coffee should have arrived, right? On cue, a deliveryman shows up to hand-deliver coffee to Xiao En.

Tian Xing tells Xiao En that he originally wanted to ask her out for breakfast, but he had a meeting so he couldn’t. Instead, he’s settling for getting coffee with her like this. Xiao En retorts that she wouldn’t go even if he had asked her out. He shrugs and says, “Cheers,” with a smile.

After he hangs up, Xiao En looks at Chun Tian in disbelief. Does he not understand what she’s saying? Did she not say that they should all move on? Chun Tian points out that he never agreed. This is his way of telling Xiao En that it won’t be so easy to reject him.

Tian Xing continues to stalk Xiao En with his drone, bringing her and Chun Tian snacks when they take a break outside, hovering over her shoulder when she takes a break alone, and following her as she walks home.

When she stubs her toe on a rock while walking, he immediately calls her to ask if she’s okay. He’ll have someone send medication over to her. She stares at his drone in disbelief. Does he not have work to do? He smiles and responds that this is good — she’s finally starting to care about him.

The drone continues to show up at Xiao En’s workplace. It also follows her home, with a note saying, “Good night. You’ve worked hard. Sleep early.”

Editor Yao sighs as he looks over proposed covers for Tian Xing’s autobiography. He reminds Xiao En that they’re trying to sell Tian Xing’s face, so his face should be as big as possible on the cover. He gives her three days to come up with a better final cover. It’s like a redux of the past.

Xiao En complains to Chun Tian at their usual break spot. Tian Xing’s drone shows up with a little gift bag. Xiao En shakes her head, sighing that she’s lost. She finally understands what it feels like to be stalked. Chun Tian takes the gift bag from the drone and finds a bunch of Tian Xing’s headshots inside. It’s exactly what Yao asked for. Xiao En smiles at the drone.

Xiao En texts Tian Xing the night before his autobiography is to be published, reminding him of the date. He asks if he’ll receive a copy. She responds that Editor Yao will personally deliver him a copy of the book. Tian Xing is about to write back in protest, wanting her to be the one to come by, but she says good night.

Tian Xing idly picks up the last romance novel that he hasn’t read yet: the story that Xiao En fell into. He chuckles at first, recognizing the usual tropes of shower scenes and cheetah metaphors, but then he does a double-take when he reads Xiao En’s name — and then his own.

Tian Xing’s eyes widen as he suddenly remembers everything. Then he faints.

Xiao En idly reads the news at a bus stop when she sees a headline saying that Tian Xing has been rushed to the hospital. She runs to the hospital, but the receptionist won’t tell her anything. She tries calling him, but he doesn’t pick up. She rushes to his house, but no one answers the door. She tries calling Shan Na, then Jie Sen. No luck.

Xiao En finally returns home, looking forlorn, then finds Tian Xing waiting for her outside her apartment building. She quickly turns away to hide her tears and tells him that he should go home after he confirms that he’s okay. She tries to go into her building, but he blocks her way, asking what’s wrong.

She tells him how worried she was after seeing the news and not being able to find him or reach anyone. He just smiles. She demands to know why he’s smiling. He responds that she worried about him, which means she actually likes him. Xiao En claims that she was just worried because she just bought Tian Liang stock and the book is about to published

Tian Xing just keeps smiling. He shows her what he brought — her favorite fried chicken. She pushes it away, not in the mood right now, but then realizes what he said and stares up at him. Did she ever tell him that she liked fried chicken?

He smiles back at her. She looked for it even when in a storybook world — it’s obviously her favorite. He holds open his arms to her and says, “It’s me. It really is me.”

But Xiao En continues to stare at him. Did he finish the book? He says yes. She laughs slightly in disbelief. So he’s pretending to be Ao Ran and using fried chicken to try and win her over? If he’s really Ao Ran, then why didn’t he recognize her before?

Tian Xing says he doesn’t know why he didn’t remember anything before, but after he opened the book, he remembered everything. Xiao En shakes her head. He’s just treating the book’s plot as reality. Tian Xing sighs. What can he do to prove that he’s actually Si Tu Ao Ran?

Tian Xing holds up a hand, blocking her face from his view. Didn’t he tell her before that this kind of expression doesn’t suit her? She gently pulls his hand away, daring to allow herself to hope. He leans in close and whispers something in her ear about what they did that night in bed. She smiles slightly and calls him a pervert, but he points out that it wasn’t written in the book.

• 

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Tian Xing kisses Xiao En and she kisses him back. They go up to her room, where she asks between kisses, “I’m not dreaming, right?”

Afterward, Xiao En asks Tian Xing how he is also Si Tu Ao Ran. He teases her about being the one to harass him first, then admits that he used to be afraid of the dark, like Ao Ran. But there was no one to help him confront his fear, so he ended up hiding that part of himself. The part of him that he hid away is like the dark side of the moon, a version of himself that no one else ever sees. Si Tu Ao Ran is the part of himself that he abandoned. The part that was afraid of the dark, that was naive and never enough. Si Tu Ao Ran was every part of Tian Xing that he felt was a disgrace.

Xiao En asks how that part of him had turned up in her book. Tian Xing says he should be asking her that. All he remembers is that when he fell off that rooftop, he felt a deep sense of despair. He felt so tired, like he never wanted to wake up. Maybe they’ll never know who broke into whose world, but he thinks Xiao En got the short end of the stick. She was the one who got stuck with the He Tian Xing that even he didn’t like. But she found a way to love him and support him despite all of that. She was the one who pulled him out of the dark side of the moon. If not for her, then he probably would’ve stayed repressed, until… until he exploded? Xiao En guesses.

Tian Xing smiles then asks if Xiao En remembers the night where they lived their loser lifestyle. He teases her, saying that she taught him that if he fell, he didn’t have to get up immediately. He could try lying down instead.

Tian Xing repeats the quote that first spoke to Xiao En, about being an adult in a storm and a child under clear skies. Only with her can his world truly have clear skies. Xiao En smiles and jokes that it looks like she’s truly amazing. So how will he reciprocate?

Tian Xing stares seriously at her and says that he’ll commit his life to her.

Tian Xing and Xiao En get a courthouse wedding. After they get their marriage certificate, they tentatively call each other husband and wife and giggle. Tian Xing asks if this is really enough. He’s willing to give her the wedding of her dreams. But Xiao En says that this is what she wants the most. Their previous failed wedding still has her traumatized. She doesn’t want to even look at anything wedding-related.

Tian Xing pulls Xiao En to him and jokes that she’s already learned how to save him money. She responds of course — his money is her money. He agrees. What’s his is hers. “And I’m yours, too.” He’ll rely on her to take care of him from now on. They banter about how she feels like she’s sold herself to him. Then she says, “I’ve lost to you.”

Xiao En convinces Tian Xing to hitchhike for their honeymoon, something she’s wanted to try ever since watching it in a movie. They have little success getting someone to stop for them, so Xiao En decides that she should try to sell her looks. She starts dancing for the cars. Tian Xing stops her, insisting that he should give it a try instead. But it’s not until he starts dancing cheesily that someone stops for them.

• 

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At Ruge Publishing, Chun Tian catches Editor Yao laughing delightedly to himself as Tian Xing’s book hits all the bestseller lists within a week of publishing. Chun Tian suggests that she and Xiao En should get a cut of the profits, but Yao reminds her that this book is supposed to make up for the failure of a novel they insisted on publishing. But right afterward, Chun Tian gets a call — Qing Feng’s novel has become a bestseller too. Editor Yao tells her to call Cheng Qing. He wants sequels from him. Yao also agrees to give Chun Tian and Xiao En a raise and bonuses.

• 

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Xiao En and Tian Xing camp for the night and enjoy each other’s company.

In a book world, someone calls Chen Qing’s name. He turns to find Mu Shuang (Puff Kuo!), his beloved, walking toward him. They finally meet again. “This time, we’ll be happy, right?” he asks. “Of course,” she responds.

He takes her hand and they start to walk away, but then he pauses and turns back to look straight into the camera. “Thank you. Goodbye,” he whispers with a smile.

Xiao En wakes up saying Qing Feng’s name. Tian Xing clears his throat. She’s waking up saying another man’s name on their first day as newlyweds?

Xiao En hastily tries to explain that it might sound bad, but she means nothing by it: she just happened to dream of Qing Feng. Tian Xing guesses that he was with his first love and heading off to live a happy life together. They had the same dream. Perhaps Qing Feng specifically came to them to say goodbye.

Xiao En frowns, remembering that Qing Feng once said that all main characters disappear after their happy ending. Does that mean he’s disappeared?

Tian Xing hugs Xiao En and says that all characters live on in the readers’ hearts. Chen Qing and Liu Mu Shuang will live on in the hearts of readers who like them. And Qing Feng will continue to live on in their hearts.

Xiao En tries to get up, but Tian Xing reminds her that she’s forgetting something: a good morning kiss. It’s in all the romance novels. Xiao En refuses, saying that they haven’t brushed their teeth yet and it’s too stinky. You can’t believe everything you read in novels. They tease each other and eventually end up outside where they stare out at the morning scenery together.

Tian Xing silently thanks Xiao En for never giving up on him. He knows that through good and bad, when dawn breaks, she will be by his side. She thanks him for giving her two worlds and for her being her aoran, her pride. She promises to always be by his side.

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Commentary

It’s over! 😭😭😭

I’ve really enjoyed this show. If nothing else, it leaves me with all the warm and fuzzy feelings. It’s overdramatic in a cheesy way and there were definitely parts of this episode, like when Tian Xing fainted after remembering everything, where I laughed when I probably wasn’t supposed to. But it’s always been entertaining.

Qing Feng probably got the short end of the stick overall, but I love myself a Puff Kuo cameo, and I found these last few episodes in the real world with Tian Xing and Xiao En the strongest overall. (Sorry Qing Feng.)

Despite all of this show’s ups and downs, in the end, I’m sad to see Lost Romance go. But Tian Xing and Xiao En will live on in our hearts!