Episode 11 Recap
After Ai Li Si spots He Hao Yi, Ai Li Si is sent on a chase after him as he takes off on a run to catch the truck selling Ai Li Si’s favourite pudding. As Ai Li Si is made to run through the streets, memories from when Ai Li Si first met He Hao Yi to when she was subtly hinting to him who she liked in high school flashes by her.
Before these memories, a memory of He Hao Yi sitting at the bottom of the pool and him bungy jumping with her appeared in her dreams before she awoke from her fever. But it wasn’t until Song Han Ming suggested she head out of the office to try her sales skills and started her chase of He Hao Yi in a similar fashion to when he chased her 13 years ago did her memories come back one after the other.
Stopped at a walkway overlooking the streets below, Ai Li Si smiles at arriving at the memory of her at her house telling He Hao Yi what she felt liking someone meant. She also recalls the one at the bus stop where she told him he was her very best friend. She recalls how both these moments were her attempts of having him understand how she felt about him. He didn’t get it thought which has her think how she could be blamed for not seeing that he liked her when he did the same back then.
She calls out to him. He stops and turns, a surprised frown on his face as he notes Ai Li Si’s behind him. “I remember who I liked when I was 17!” she shouts. She smiles widely, happy in recalling such a memory. She approaches him to finish of the last part. “The person I liked is you.”
He Hao Yi smiles and nods, like he’s happy and affirming he hears her. (It also feels like he’s saying, “that’s my girl, you recalled a good memory!”) They stand there smiling at each other before He Hao Yi presents her the box containing the pudding.
They move to sit on the wharf next. Despite Ai Li Si having said so, He Hao Yi is a bit sceptical that Ai Li Si really liked him back then because her actions didn’t show it nor did she ever say it. Ai Li Si swears that she did. Not only that, but she was being very obvious about it, too. He Hao Yi doesn’t think so. He thinks she’s just saying it because the relationship between them has changed and she’s forced herself to say it. He gets up and leaves her side to take a walk.
Ai Li Si isn’t surprised he’s being like this. He curses him for being an idiot, using the name he hates her using. “You’re a big idiot, Ah Di!” she says before muttering that she should have long done what she’s about to do when she was 17. Ai Li Si gets up after him, turns him around and kiss him. Eyes open, He Hao Yi stands there too surprised by Ai Li Si to respond to her kiss. Ai Li Si steps back after a moment and tells him that it was something she owed him 13 years ago before walking away, a smile on her face. He Hao Yi doesn’t let her walk far as he pulls her back to return the kiss he moments ago failed to do.
He Hao Yi and Ai Li Si stay out till night falls. Sitting together with Ai Li Si enjoying the pudding He Hao Yi bought for her, they run through the things Ai Li Si recalls. She recalls the time she went to the library to check out the latest volume of Naruto, the time he had a fever and missed his mum, the time they skipped study hall to read the newest Naruto manga and the time he gained the title of the school’s prince when he went and saved Bai Shu Lei from being hit by a basketball. Ai Li Si’s mention of Bai Shu Lei being the one He Hao Yi went to save has him correct her. He tells Ai Li Si it was her that it was her he rescued not Bai Shu Lei.
Having started the train of clearing things up, He Hao Yi brings up her rejecting him as her dance partner and why she did. Ai Li Si tells him it was because he had a lot of girls wanting to dance with him. When he moves on to asking her about that night she left him at the dance and whether the important matter she had to tend to was Chen Qi Tai, she had no memory of it. This leads to the discovery that Ai Li Si hasn’t really remembered everything. She didn’t remember why she, Bai Shu Lei and Liu Xiao Fen fought over Peter. She didn’t remember the attack at her house just before going to the hospital or anything bad for that matter.
He Hao Yi realises that she only remembers the good memories and cross out all the bad ones from her mind. It has He Hao Yi wonder if he should wait till she remembers everything, or to let things be as long as she’s happy. He Hao Yi is brought out of his thoughts with Ai Li Si’s waving hand, which has him automatically tell her nothing was wrong before skipping to ask what else she remembered. Ai Li Si tells him that she remembers he doesn’t like being called Ah Di, which has him tell her that it was only when she calls him that he doesn’t like it. This leads He Hao Yi to ask about the mysterious friend she had in high school. Since he was the one she liked, he asks her what the deal was with this mysterious friend. Ai Li Si doesn’t divulge, telling him that it’s a secret she promised that person to keep.
It seems even after Song Han Ming admitted that he was Peter that night 13 years ago, no one believed him.
He Hao Yi soon realises the fact when he has Ai Li Si is given a notebook the next morning for her to record all the things she’ll be noting down about her friends and colleagues. He Hao Yi’s intention is for her to make more friends by learning about them and be a happy Ai Li Si.
Taking up the suggestion Ai Li Si starts off with Liu Xiao Fen (who He Hao Yi suggests to be Ai Li Si’s first ‘interviewee’) before going to her colleagues at AI, Manager Zhao, Juan Mao and Sha Sha. Following them, she heads to get to know Song Han Ming. He Hao Yi apparently didn’t want her to go to him, but as Ai Li Si considered Song Han Ming one of her friends, she went despite He Hao Yi’s wishes.
Ai Li Si meets Song Han Ming at the gym. Her visit has her learn a little more about herself. The removal of his shirt (which has Ai Li Si cover her eyes with her small notebook) brings about a flashback to the past when he did the same. Back then, she didn’t show one bit if shock in the presence of his bare toned upper body. More importantly, the recalling of that time let Ai Li Si hear how much the 30-year-old her didn’t care for celebrations of her success nor care about keeping friends. Song Han Ming had wanted to celebrate her rise to Research Associate, but she saw no reason for celebration. Not only that, she didn’t see how her rise had anything to do with Song Han Ming. Song Han Ming, who’s probably very used to the 30-year-old’s answers tells her that it’s because he was her only friend. This had her tell him she didn’t need any friends.
Back to the present, the meeting with Song Han Ming is moved to a sitting area in the company. It has her let Song Han Ming know that she recalls him as being her mysterious friend and that she was still keeping his secret for him. Her mention of He Hao Yi and how she feels not as cold of a person with him next to tell him has Song Han Ming remind her that she should hold off on relationships until her memory returns. Ai Li Si thinks for a moment as she tries to understand the feelings she has for being with He Hao Yi. She tells him it is a feeling of needing to be by his side before attributing it to something like fate.
With the contrasting answers from the current Ai Li Si and her thirty-year-old self, Song Han Ming worries for her, but he decides to let the words sit. He promises in his thoughts that no matter what happens, he will protect her.
Song Han Ming lets Ai Li Si ask the questions she wishes from him. She begins with asking how he became the way he is. Song Han Ming smiles. He pretends not to know her meaning and asks her to clarify. Ai Li Si uses the nicest words to describe his previous self. Holding back a laugh, she uses words such as “sincere”, “honest” and “patriotic”. Song Han Ming returns with suggesting her just say he’s someone who will obey traffic rules (straight and narrow kind of guy maybe?)
He then goes on and answers her seriously. He tells her that there were things he wanted to forget, he wanted to prove himself to someone as well as work hard with someone. Sensing Song Han Ming is about to say some important things, Ai Li Si picks up her notebook to jot it all down. Song Han Ming grabs it from Ai Li Si and tells her that she doesn’t need to write it down as she’ll remember everything once she regains her memory.
He begins drawing on the bottom of the pages, just like he used to on his own notebook when he was watching Bai Shu Lei’s swimming feats. As he does this, Song Han Ming’s desire to forget, prove himself and work hard is seen through a flashback of him willing himself to finish his run around the block. He is seen telling himself that he can no longer be the useless Song Han Ming.
In another moment in time, Ai Li Si is seen forcing herself to ignore a crying boy who’s tripped and fallen to the ground. She is heard muttering to herself that the boy’s cries has nothing to do with her and she shouldn’t be wound up in emotions so easily before she walks away.
Song Han Ming, though not seen near Ai Li Si, was seemingly within the vicinity to witness this moment as the bottom of a handful of pages is now filled with drawings depicting an animated scene of Ai Li Si walking away. He stares at the pages as he flips through them, still in thought.
Ai Li Si asks whether it was Bai Shu Lei he was trying to prove himself to. Song Han Ming doesn’t confirm nor deny, only saying that later he realised proving himself to her wasn’t important anymore. What he wanted was for his friend (Ai Li Si), who was once cheerful and carefree, to be cheerful and carefree like before.
Ai Li Si asks him who that friend is. He avoids the question by having her go onto the next question. She finds out that Song Han Ming’s favourite sport is swimming before they return to the office with He Hao Yi waiting at Ai Li Si’s desk with a cup of coffee.
He Hao Yi’s been visiting her at the Business Department now that they’re officially a couple. He’s been sending the team food as a kind gesture for looking after (or maybe encourage the team to look after) Ai Li Si as a member of their team.
As Ai Li Si takes her seat at her desk, He Hao Yi stays around to drink the coffee Ai Li Si had turned down. She had told him she already had some with Song Han Ming which had He Hao Yi accept without issue—because the point of his visit is not to build jealousy between the two, it’s for He Hao Yi to figure out Song Han Ming is Peter, Ai Li Si’s mysterious friend and Bai Shu Lei’s secret admirer from high school. The fact is discovered when He Hao Yi decides to read through Ai Li Si’s notebook to see what gathered so far (which Ai Li Si happily lets him).
He flips through the notebook and notice the pages of drawings at the bottom. It has him recall Peter’s habit. As on Bai Shu Lei’s letter, he liked drawing at the bottom. He Hao Yi also recalls the time he was sitting next to Song Han Ming, and Chen Qi Tai took from him his notebook, leaving him only one page. “Song Han Ming… Peter,” he says in his head. “Don’t tell me he’s that mysterious friend.”
Standing above some stairs in the company, He Hao Yi meets Song Han Ming to ask him about He Hao Yi’s realisation. Song Han Ming doesn’t give him a straight the answer. Instead, he answers his question with another question: “You won’t be leaving Ai Li Si this time, will you?”
Not seeing how he, Bai Shu Leo and Liu Xiao Fen could be seen as having left Ai Li Si, He Hao Yi responds that it was Ai Li Si who left them. Song Han Ming moves to have He Hao Yi see that it was he and the others who left (deserted) Ai Li Si first. It was them who didn’t show up when Ai Li Si requested to meet them. He Hao Yi tries to explain that he went, only that she was gone when he got there. This has Song Han Ming ask him whether he expected her to wait until they showed up, to persist in staying around until they all had a change of heart. He Hao Yi doesn’t answer, choosing to present a cool, unaffected front, like he was there listening to yet another one of Song Han Ming’s lectures which he has no interest in listening to.
Song Han Ming enlightens him on the isolation and bullying she endured after that incident at camp. Oblivious to the effects Bai Shu Lei’s position as Queen to the female students has on Ai Li Si, He Hao Yi utters that he thought it was only Bai Shu Lei and Liu Xiao Fen who were angry at her. This has Song Han Ming rhetorically ask him whether he was fool or something else, before posing him a question for him to think over: “Bai Shu Lei is Queen to the girls at the school. If she’s ignoring Ai Li Si, what do you think the girls will do?”
The question has He Hao Yi shake his head, admitting that he had never thought about Bai Shu Lei’s status on Ai Li Si. When He Hao Yi asks why Ai Li Si didn’t go to him about it, Song Han Ming points out his relationship to Liu Xiao Fen and Bai Shu Lei—Liu Xiao Fen is his sister and Bai Shu Lei is his sister’s best friend, implying their close ties to each other and how he most likely will side with them. He reminds him that he also misunderstood her as well. He Hao Yi should have been the one looking for Ai Li Si.
He Hao Yi attempts to explain how he had misunderstood the situation, how he thought Chen Qi Tai was Peter and that she liked him, which (he implies) is why he didn’t go look for her.
A flashback comes in at this point revealing what really happened. Ai Li Si had gone into the tent to take the bottle of liquor from Chen Qi Tai. She manages to take it off of him for a moment, but he manages to grab it back after she tells him she knows he’s not Peter. Knowing she wasn’t able to stop Chen Qi Tai, Ai Li Si makes a move to report him. This has Chen Qi Tai pull her back with arms wrapped around her. The struggle lasts a few seconds before Ai Li Si ends it with a bottle to his face. It knocks him unconscious. Ai Li Si gets up to leave, but comes back to try wake him after realising she’s knocked him out. When he comes around after a few calls and light taps to his cheeks, Ai Li Si moves to help him up, which from the outside, looks like she is kissing Chen Qi Tai and the start of the 13-year-old misunderstanding.
Back to the present, Song Han Ming advises He Hao Yi as well as Bai Shu Lei and Liu Xiao Fen to treat her well, otherwise he won’t be able to bear it. He Hao Yi tells him that wouldn’t happen as he won’t allow harm to come to her this time.
Before Song Han Ming and He Hao Yi part ways, Song Han Ming tells He Hao Yi to keep his secret of being that Peter from high school, especially from Bai Shu Lei and his sister. He Hao Yi is initially clueless that in what he is thinking of doing, but he later catches onto it and warns him to not over do things.
Right after He Hao Yi takes his leave, we see Song Han Ming hint that there is something more to the story than he’s let out to He Hao Yi. Speaking to himself, he reveals that Ai Li Si didn’t transfer school because she was ostracised and could take being alone. Chen Qi Tai looks to have something to do with that reason (or maybe Chen Qi Tai and Bai Shu Lei). The flashback involving Ai Li Si saving Song Han Ming from being bullied by him and his gang features again. It expands with Ai Li Si being targeted by the girls with a bucket of water in to the toilets. Ai Li Si had tried to get out, but the three girls on the other side kept her from getting out until they were done. Ai Li Si had spotted Bai Shu Lei off in the distance, outside the toilets. After the first dousing, Ai Li Si had called to her for help, but her calls went unanswered, not even after she seemingly caught sight of Ai Li Si.
The episode’s last couple of scenes has He Hao Yi and Ai Li Si arrive home with He Hao Yi angry with Liu Xiao Fen over her past treatment of Ai Li Si, and a kiss between Song Han Ming and Bai Shu Lei. It comes after many steps from Bai Shu Lei to take the first step towards Song Han Ming.
At the start of the episode Song Han Ming had mentioned the unlikelihood of Bai Shu Lei expressing her feelings towards him after they bumped into each other at the office. But should Bai Shu Lei take the initiative to take a step towards him first, he tells her that he would be touched by it. At that time, Bai Shu Lei had tried to express her feelings towards him, but in the end only managed to call him back to say only a word before deciding against it.
Since that failed attempt to voice her feelings, Bai Shu Lei has used her actions to show it. Dinnertime at the office, Bai Shu Lei goes to him to deliver a bento. It’s not just any bento, it’s one she personally made for him. She wouldn’t admit this though nor does she admit that this is an example of her taking a step towards him and submitting to him. Song Han Ming, who had noted both the bento being homemade and it being a sign of her submitting to him, gives her another piece about him which would help him respond better to her: he likes people who are upfront about their feelings and not be concerned about face and hiding their thoughts.
This leads Bai Shu Lei to try being more upfront with him. Locating Song Han Ming after visiting many bars, she thinks about expressing her arriving at the same one as him as a coincidence. However, after remembering what Song Han Ming had said about liking people who were upfront, she tells him that she had visited all the bars in the eastern district before she arrived at the one currently. It has Song Han Ming smile as recognises her efforts to be more upfront. Seeing him smile, she asks him for his opinion on how she did.
Song Han Ming tells her that this is not what he would call being upfront (he wants her to show it in a different way, i.e. be direct with her feelings, not how many bars she went before arriving at the current one). He then tells her it surprises him to see that she could have a time where she’s hesitant and scared. Song Han Ming turns to face her before comparing a Queen to a sword: she’s dazzling and incisive, which he seems to be implying Bai Shu Lei is not. Bai Shu Lei denies being hesitant and scared, which has Song Han Ming run through her most likely thoughts about him—how she must have gone from finding him ugly and denying the possibility of her falling for someone like him to developing curiosity in him, before going back to denying the possibility of falling for someone like him then going back to missing him a little bit.
Bai Shu Lei who had turned to face him, denying ever feeling hesitant and scared turns back to direct her gaze ahead. Song Han Ming’s guess about her thoughts of him are correct.
Song Han Ming moves to thank her for coming anyway, because—as he tells her—he really hoped someone would accompany him. After Bai Shu Lei calls the bartender to get her what Song Han Ming is drinking, Song Han Ming tells her that he knows she will never fall for him. This has Bai Shu Lei interject, asking how he would know this, suggesting it’s not impossible. Song Han Ming continues, telling her that if there was a chance that they were to start a relationship, he wants her to know that he is a very possessive person. He doesn’t like too many men around his women and she can only look at him and pay attention to only him. He then acknowledging that such a request for a queen is too harsh and decides that it’s a good thing and she had better take her leave early.
Hearing him ending their association with each other in such a way, Bai Shu Lei turns around and steps off her seat. She tells him that she’s yet to mention the word leave so she’s not permitting him to say it first. She then leans in and kisses him.
Thoughts
All this time, we just automatically assumed He Hao Yi and Bai Shu Lei knew that Song Han Ming is Peter and they were acting the way they were with that knowledge in them. We just passed over the possibility of them not believing Song Han Ming even after he revealed himself back in high school! It can happen we suppose. Bai Shu Lei didn’t want to believe such a thoughtful guy like Peter could be paired up with that kind of appearance. He Hao Yi, he was probably too consumed with the sight of seeing Chen Qi Tai and Ai Li Si together to follow up that piece of information about Song Han Ming being Peter at the time.
We liked how the drama argues both sides of the story. Was it Ai Li Si who ran away and left when things got tough like how Bai Shu Lei and He Hao Yi like to accuse Ai Li Si of or is it that they were the ones who left and deserted Ai Li Si? Being bullied like that, locked in a toilet and having water poured over her, with only a powerless Song Han Ming on her side, it can’t be easy to take especially if it happened on a daily basis after that incident.
Yup, anyone would leave. Good job, Song Han Ming. That’s right, you tell it to He Hao Yi! Ai Li Si didn’t want to leave, she couldn’t endure it, not because it got a bit tough, it was probably unbearable. We love He Hao Yi and we can see that he has done a lot for Ai Li Si, but he had to be told. He and Bai Shu Lei (we’ll leave out Liu Xiao Fen because we think she would have forgiven Ai Li Si long ago were it not for her loyalty to Bai Shu Lei) both need to be told.
There seems to be something more to why Ai Li Si left the school and it looks like it has something to do with Chen Qi Tai and Bai Shu Lei.
That flashback where it has Bai Shu Lei apparently stare directly at Ai Li Si and ignore Ai Li Si’s calls for help suggest that maybe Bai Shu Lei was in on the bullying with Chen Qi Tai, but it just doesn’t feel right. Bai Shu Lei can’t be that mean. She never came off as so unforgiving, she’d let the girls torment her like that. Bai Shu Lei also had headphones on when Ai Li Si was calling for help. There’s every possibility Bai Shu Lei didn’t hear Ai Li Si’s call and didn’t see Ai Li Si even though it looked like Bai Shu Lei did. We think there has to be a misunderstanding there.
But, if Ai Li Si believed that Bai Shu Lei and Liu Xiao Fen left her to fend for herself and believed they thought she deserved everything she got because of the Peter incident, it’s no wonder Ai Li Si didn’t believe in having friends.
It’s also no wonder Song Han Ming turned out the way he did, too. Buffing up, becoming strong and transforming himself like that makes sense. He really was so powerless to help her back then, but he’s definitely doing his part now in protecting Ai Li Si. He’s also a great match for Bai Shu Lei, too. Though he had said he let go of wanting to prove himself to her, he has shown her and it looks like she is submitting to him—not fully since she won’t voice any of her feelings for him, but she sure is showing it.
That kiss at the end, we did not expect Bai Shu Lei to kiss Song Han Ming at the end of this episode! Now we’re really curious how Song Han Ming will react. Is he going to back away or kiss her back? Song Han Ming had requested He Hao Yi to keep his past a secret from Bai Shu Lei and He Hao Yi’s warning to not over do it gives off the feeling it’s related to Bai Shu Lei. So maybe this won’t go so well.
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