Episode Summary
Zuo Qian Dai struggles with her feelings for Ye Qi, leading to a major misunderstanding when she sees him with Lu Li, who admires him. This culminates in Zuo Qian Dai angrily rejecting a gift from Ye Qi. A sudden rainstorm forces Ye Qi's friends (Chai Zi Yu, Jiang Ruo Song, Gu Zheng Xing) to take shelter at his place, while Lu Dao and Zhou Jie Yue end up at Zuo Qian Dai's. Both groups discuss relationships and comics, leading to further miscommunications, particularly when Zuo Qian Dai's text about shojo manga being "shameful" is misinterpreted by the guys. The episode ends with both groups staying up late, Ye Qi seeking romantic inspiration from his friends, and Zuo Qian Dai playing games, still thinking of Ye Qi.
Spoiler Alert
First off, Zuo Qian Dai is still deep in her "I'm totally over Ye Qi, except I think about him constantly" phase. You know how it is. She’s in class, trying to focus, but her brain is all Ye Qi, Ye Qi, Ye Qi. The universe then decides to throw her a curveball: the teacher calls her name, only to realize she's the only student who showed up. Everyone else? Off to some big audition competition. Naturally, the teacher tasks Zuo Qian Dai with rounding up the truants. She's not thrilled, especially since she secretly thinks a talent like Ye Qi should be at an event like that, but she really, really doesn't want to see him. Teacher's orders, though!
Meanwhile, over with Lu Dao, his sister Lu Li is starting to get suspicious about his dynamic with Gu Zheng Xing. Lu Dao’s quick to deny anything, but Lu Li’s got that knowing sisterly intuition. Adding fuel to the fire, Gu Zheng Xing invites Lu Li to act in something and even offers her the lead role. Lu Dao tries to shut it down, but Lu Li is all in, super excited. Gu Zheng Xing, ever the observant one, notes that Lu Li’s leg shape is pretty close to a photo he has, though not an exact match. Hmm, interesting.
Back at the audition venue, Zuo Qian Dai manages to wrangle the students back to class. She bumps into Gu Zheng Xing, who casually mentions that Ye Qi bought her a present. Zuo Qian Dai plays it cool, like it's no big deal. Elsewhere, Lu Li, who apparently stans Ye Qi’s work and sees him as an idol, strikes up a conversation with him. They’re just chilling by a flowerbed, chatting away. Zuo Qian Dai, who had started to get her hopes up about Ye Qi’s gift (thinking maybe he wanted to make up!), walks by and spots them together. Cue instant, classic misunderstanding! Ye Qi, oblivious and happy to see her, tries to give her the gift. But Zuo Qian Dai, now fuming, dramatically slaps the gift out of his hand and storms off. Oh, honey, no!
And then, because this is a drama, the heavens open up – torrential rain, folks! Ye Qi is at home, moping and assuming Zuo Qian Dai is heartbroken over some other (non-existent) breakup. Soon, his place turns into a temporary shelter as Chai Zi Yu, Jiang Ruo Song, and Gu Zheng Xing all dash in to escape the downpour. Across town, Lu Dao and Zhou Jie Yue have done the same at Zuo Qian Dai’s apartment. With everyone cooped up, the conversation naturally turns to guys and girls. Lu Dao asks about Jiang Ruo Song's job, prompting Zhou Jie Yue to text him for an update.
At Ye Qi’s, the guys are talking about their comic work – after all, they all met helping Ye Qi with his manga. One of them is being cagey about admitting he drew comics, which leads to a bit of a mix-up. Jiang Ruo Song, possibly flustered, gives a super short, cryptic reply to Zhou Jie Yue’s text. This, of course, sends Zhou Jie Yue into a panic, and she starts talking about calling the police! Zuo Qian Dai knows the guys are just being secretive about their comic work (which they’ve forbidden her from revealing), so she’s desperately trying to calm Zhou Jie Yue and Lu Dao down without spilling the beans. The tension!
The boys' club at Ye Qi's starts debating how girls really feel about guys who draw shojo manga. Gu Zheng Xing optimistically suggests that maybe girls find it cool or even attractive. Just then, Zuo Qian Dai sends a message declaring that it’s a "totally shameful job." Ouch. This, of course, makes the guys think that all girls secretly look down on it. Talk about bad timing and crossed wires!
With the rain showing no signs of stopping, the three guys decide to crash at Ye Qi’s. This unplanned sleepover actually sparks some inspiration for Ye Qi. To mine even more material for his work, he keeps his buddies awake, grilling them for their thoughts and experiences on love and romance. Back at Zuo Qian Dai’s, she’s leading a gaming session, and even while picking her character, Ye Qi is clearly on her mind. And in a moment of parallel action, the guys at Ye Qi’s have also given up on sleep and are now playing a dating sim together, dissecting its romantic tropes.
