Episode Summary
Yang Xue'an intentionally misrepresents Yi Yi's work in a newspaper article, accusing her of having reactionary ideas. To escape the political fallout, Yi Yi leaves town on Wen Pu's advice. Wen Pu cleverly turns the scandal into a public debate, which ultimately clears Yi Yi's name. Meanwhile, Zhou Yunqing breaks up with Yang Xue'an over his actions. Just as this crisis resolves, a new one emerges when the wife of Wen Pu's old comrade, Zhao Hangong, reveals he is 10,000 yuan in debt because of a mistress. Wen Pu spends all night trying to borrow money to help him, leading Yi Yi to suspect he is in trouble.
Spoiler Alert
A Design Becomes a Weapon
Things kick off with Yi Yi at the factory. She's showing design drawings to her assistant, Xiu Rong. Yang Xue'an walks in. He claims he's there to interview her about the factory's design philosophy. You and I both know he's up to something.
Xiu Rong, who is a bit older, senses trouble immediately. She tells Yi Yi to call her husband, Wen Pu. But Yi Yi doesn't want to bother him. She thinks it's just a normal interview. So, she explains her design inspiration to Yang Xue'an. She tells him it came from the flying figures in the Dunhuang murals.
The next day, it all blows up. A newspaper headline is blasting Yi Yi's work. The article calls her design "reactionary." It turns out Yang Xue'an published a rough draft without her permission. It was a test pattern she had thrown away. It wasn't even her final design.
The Fallout
Yang Xue'an didn't just misrepresent her work. He turned it into a political attack. Xiu Rong is panicking. She again begs Yi Yi to call Wen Pu for help. This is serious.
Yi Yi still hesitates. Wen Pu is a political commissar. She doesn't want to drag him into her problems. Just then, the phone rings. It's Wen Pu. He already heard what happened. He tells her not to panic. His advice is to get out of town. He suggests she go on a research trip for inspiration until things cool down. Yi Yi agrees and decides to leave.
Wen Pu's Counter-Move
After Yi Yi is gone, her sister-in-law, Zhou Yunqing, shows up at the office. She's worried sick about Yi Yi getting caught in this mess. Wen Pu is also there. He finds a letter Yi Yi left for him on her desk. He calmly tells Zhou Yunqing and Xiu Rong not to worry. He says he will handle it. That seems to calm Zhou Yunqing down a bit.
A Breakup and an Apology
Zhou Yunqing is furious with Yang Xue'an. She confronts him for publishing a garbage article without consent. He argues that he did nothing wrong. They have a huge fight. She finally has enough and breaks up with him for good.
Back at the newspaper, Yang Xue'an's editor chews him out. He finally realizes how much trouble he's in. He and the editor go to Wen Pu to apologize. They even offer to print a formal retraction and apology.
Wen Pu turns them down. Instead, he proposes something much smarter. He suggests they use the controversy to start a public discussion. Let the people debate aesthetics and design. He's confident that the more people talk about it, the clearer it will be who was right and who was wrong.
While all this is happening, Yi Yi is away from the city. She's not bothered by the drama. She focuses on her work and misses Wen Pu. The whole scandal eventually blows over, and she is completely vindicated. Wen Pu goes to visit her, and they have a sweet reunion.
A Comrade's Crisis
Just as one fire is put out, another one starts. We learn that an old comrade, Zhao Hangong, is in deep trouble. His wife shows up crying to Wen Pu. She spills everything.
A Debt Comes Due
His wife reveals that Zhao Hangong has been keeping a mistress in Shanghai for a long time. He rented a villa for this woman. He bought her expensive gifts. He even took on his current work project just for her. The mistress is a socialite who doesn't work and plays around with investments.
Now, Zhao Hangong is in debt for 10,000 yuan. That's an insane amount of money for the time. His wife is desperate and even kneels before Wen Pu, begging for help.
To clean up his old friend's mess, Wen Pu gets to work. He spends the entire night on the phone. He calls every single one of his old army buddies to borrow money. He uses his own reputation to ask for favors. He manages to scrape together a little over 5,000 yuan. It's a lot, but it's nowhere near enough.
All through the night, Yi Yi tries to call Wen Pu. The line is constantly busy. After waiting for hours, she realizes something must be seriously wrong.
