Episode Summary
Xue Xiaozhou faces severe workplace bullying from his manager, Tang Ling, for his lack of sales, culminating in him being forced to wear a humiliating T-shirt. He nearly quits but gets drawn into Hu Manli's scheme involving her father, Hu Degong, who is revealed to be manipulating situations to help Manli secure a large insurance deal with Zhou Shufang. Xiaozhou feels used but ultimately collaborates with Manli, successfully closing the deal after navigating family disagreements between Zhou Shufang and her daughter-in-law, Sun Jie. Meanwhile, Ding Zhiyuan struggles between his obligations to his son Ding Da'er and his new relationship with Qiu Lisu, leading to an awkward confrontation orchestrated by Hu Manli during a family camping trip. Minor plots involve Ai Linjiang's persistent but unsuccessful pursuit of Wu Ya, and Ma Xiaowei pressuring Ai Zhonghua for money.
Spoiler Alert
Recap & Spoilers for "A Better Life" Episode 10
So, our guy Xue Xiaozhou has officially survived a whole month at his new job. Unfortunately, survival doesn't equal sales, at least not big ones. His team leader, Tang Ling, is seriously ticked off because everyone's just closing tiny deals. She wants them chasing the big fish. Since Xiaozhou hasn't closed anything, Tang Ling decides public humiliation is the way to go. She rips into him in front of everyone and makes him wear a T-shirt that basically screams "Sales Floor Bottom Feeder" (the text says "卧室垫底王" - Wòshì Diàndǐ Wáng, roughly 'Bedroom Bottom King,' implying he's the worst).
Xiaozhou, understandably, has had enough. He threatens to report Tang Ling for workplace bullying, but she just fires back with a threat to fire him. Fed up, Xiaozhou storms out.
Just then, his phone rings. It's Hu Degong, asking for help again. Xiaozhou really doesn't want to get tangled up with this guy's drama, knowing he's been tricked before, but Hu Degong is persistent and wears him down.
Turns out, Hu Degong went to Ding Zhiyuan's school to give him some kind of medicinal wine, only to find out Ding Zhiyuan and Hu Manli have split up. Hu Degong loses it, yelling and causing a scene. Hu Manli hears about the commotion and rushes over. Xiaozhou arrives shortly after, only to have his mind blown: Hu Degong is actually Hu Manli's father! To make things even weirder, Hu Degong tries to strike a deal with Xiaozhou: if Xiaozhou helps him "teach Ding Zhiyuan a lesson," Hu Degong will buy that increasing whole life insurance policy from him. Xiaozhou is just standing there, completely stunned.
Hu Degong lays into Ding Zhiyuan, calling him ungrateful and trying to physically attack him. Hu Manli manages to pull her father away. Still fuming, Hu Degong scoffs at Ding Zhiyuan's lack of loyalty and mutters something like, "Insurance can only protect your money, not people's hearts." This sparks an idea for Hu Manli. She spots Xiaozhou, quickly makes an excuse, and persuades her dad to go home.
Later, Xiaozhou starts connecting the dots. He realizes Hu Manli has been playing him all along. Using her father to manipulate him into helping her, taking him to that book club to meet Wei Yuanxiang, even tracking down A Dong – it was all part of her plan to get him to work with her. She tries to explain herself, but Xiaozhou isn't buying it. She eventually convinces him to go to a restaurant to talk.
At the restaurant, Xiaozhou is still fuming about being manipulated and dealing with the workplace bullying. In a rather bold move, Hu Manli actually puts on that awful "Bottom Feeder" T-shirt herself and starts walking around the restaurant. Xiaozhou quickly throws a jacket over her. Having made her point (or maybe just trying to show solidarity?), Hu Manli lays out her insurance plan for Zhou Shufang: use one million Yuan to buy an increasing whole life policy.
Armed with the proposal, Hu Manli and Xiaozhou visit Zhou Shufang. Xiaozhou explains the details: after Zhou Shufang passes away, the money would go to Sun Jie's daughter, Nan Nan, and also to A Dong. This immediately causes friction. Sun Jie insists the money should be an education fund solely for Nan Nan. Zhou Shufang is adamant about leaving something for A Dong's retirement. They start arguing, neither willing to budge.
Hu Manli jumps in, using her own failed marriage as an example. She proposes a solution: for A Dong to legally receive the inheritance money, he needs to officially marry Zhou Shufang. Surprisingly, both Sun Jie and Zhou Shufang are happy with this arrangement! They sign the policy on the spot.
Boom! Xue Xiaozhou finally lands his first major sale. He playfully pretends he won't give Hu Manli her cut of the commission, just to give her a little taste of what it feels like to be messed with. She's annoyed, but he's clearly enjoying the moment.
Meanwhile, Hu Manli packs up to go camping with her son, Ding Da'er. One of the other moms there, Wang Shiyan's mother, happens to be a big fan of Ding Zhiyuan and asks why he didn't come. Hu Manli vaguely brushes it off with an excuse.
At the same time, Qiu Lisu is introducing Ding Zhiyuan to a big-shot club owner named Li Fendou (who also happens to be Qiu Lisu's landlord). Li Fendou is eager to network with the respected Professor Ding. However, Ding Zhiyuan keeps thinking about how much Ding Da'er begged him to come camping. Guilt wins out, and he abruptly leaves the meeting to head to the campsite. Ding Da'er is absolutely thrilled to see him.
Naturally, Qiu Lisu isn't happy about Ding Zhiyuan ditching Li Fendou. She sends her secretary to apologize profusely. Still holding a grudge against Hu Manli, Qiu Lisu decides to crash the camping trip and stir the pot.
Back at the campsite, Ding Zhiyuan, Hu Manli, and Ding Da'er are grilling with the other families. Wang Shiyan's mom pries into Ding Zhiyuan and Hu Manli's relationship history. Hu Manli keeps it brief, saying they met when she was selling insurance.
Then, Qiu Lisu shows up, bringing Ding Zhiyuan earplugs (a weirdly passive-aggressive gift?). Ding Da'er is clearly upset. The other parents start whispering. Seeing her chance, Hu Manli makes a public announcement: she and Ding Zhiyuan are separated, and Qiu Lisu is his current girlfriend. She even "thanks" Qiu Lisu for "allowing" Ding Zhiyuan to join them for the camping trip. Ding Zhiyuan is furious but feels cornered and leaves with Qiu Lisu. Later, Qiu Lisu wants him to apologize to Li Fendou, but Ding Zhiyuan refuses, saying he doesn't want to associate with people like that. Despite the drama, Hu Manli posts happy-looking photos of the "family" camping trip on her social media, and her friends shower her with likes.
In other news: Ai Linjiang is still trying hard to win over Wu Ya. He's been sending her flowers daily for a month, but she's completely unfazed and just gives them away to patients. He keeps texting her relentlessly until she finally deletes his contact. On a brighter note, Xue Xiaozhou gets his commission – 30,000 Yuan! Knowing Wu Ya likes cats, he buys her one as a gift. She loves it and wishes him luck landing more deals.
Finally, there's a tense moment when Ma Xiaowei confronts Ai Zhonghua, demanding three million Yuan for some business venture. Ma Xiaowei mentions visiting an art gallery displaying Ai Zhonghua's very expensive paintings, subtly flexing that he knows Ai Zhonghua has the money. Ai Zhonghua refuses, and Ma Xiaowei threatens to involve Ai Linjiang.
