Episode Summary
Facing a lawsuit from a former client, Hu Manli is held responsible by Lanyang Insurance for a four million debt, given only a month to pay. This stress impacts her son, Ding Da'er, whose life becomes disorganized after Xue Xiaozhou moves out. Xue Xiaozhou learns the truth about Hu Manli's debt and realizes she pushed him away to protect him. He tries desperately to borrow money to help her, even attempting to sell his company shares. Hu Manli's accounts are frozen, she faces eviction as the court moves to seize her house, and Lanyang Insurance ultimately offers to cover only 10% of the debt after she pleads with President Jin.
Spoiler Alert
A Better Life: Episode 26 Recap & Spoilers
So, things kick off with some serious trouble brewing for Hu Manli. Remember that risk disclosure she ghost-wrote for a client, Ma Yong, like seven years ago? Well, back then, Ma Yong was all "don't worry, I'll handle any risks!" Fast forward to now, his business has tanked, and suddenly he's singing a different tune. He's flipped the script and is suing Lanyang Insurance, demanding a whopping four million in compensation. And guess who Lanyang Insurance is throwing under the bus? Yep, Hu Manli. They're basically saying it's all her fault and giving her a one-month deadline to cough up the cash. Hu Manli refuses, naturally, but the lawyers are threatening to sue her directly. Ouch.
This stress is bleeding into her home life. Since Xue Xiaozhou moved out, things with her son, Ding Da'er, have gone haywire. The kid's wearing the wrong uniform, not finishing his English homework – the whole nine yards. His teacher even texts Hu Manli to complain. Already fuming from the lawsuit drama, Hu Manli gives Ding Da'er an earful when she gets home. But then comes the gut punch: she realizes he couldn't do his homework because she forgot to print the English worksheet. Talk about mom guilt. She immediately makes a super-detailed list of daily tasks and sticks it on the fridge, trying to regain some control.
Meanwhile, back at the office (or wherever colleagues gather), Tang Ling decides to throw a "congratulatory" get-together for Xue Xiaozhou. But Xue Xiaozhou isn't buying her fake niceness. Tang Ling, clearly enjoying the drama, throws some serious shade and casually drops the bomb about Hu Manli's alleged misconduct and the massive debt she's facing. Click. That's the sound of Xue Xiaozhou finally connecting the dots – Hu Manli didn't push him away out of anger, she did it because she didn't want to drag him down with her financial nightmare. Around this time, Hu Manli's dad, Hu Degong, also gets discharged from the hospital, and she brings him home to live with her. More responsibility piled on!
Xue Xiaozhou immediately rushes over to Hu Manli's place, upset that she kept such a huge secret from him. She tries to explain she didn't want to burden him, especially with four million on the line. There's a brief misunderstanding where Xue Xiaozhou thinks she's getting back with Ding Zhiyuan (maybe the ex/Da'er's dad?), but Hu Manli quickly clarifies Ding Zhiyuan was only there because of his parents. Determined to help, Xue Xiaozhou starts trying to borrow money, calling everyone he knows, but keeps hitting a brick wall. Nobody has that kind of cash lying around.
Things get even tighter for Hu Manli when her bank account gets frozen. She can't even make her mortgage payments now. Desperate, Xue Xiaozhou goes to Qiu Lisu and offers to sell his company shares to her for three million. The company doesn't have the cash readily available either, so Xue Xiaozhou basically threatens to cause a huge scene (maybe involving investors or higher-ups?) if she doesn't agree. Backed into a corner, Qiu Lisu promises to get him the money within a month.
But time is running out faster than that. Lanyang Insurance's lawyer calls Hu Manli, demanding the money ASAP and giving her only one week. Xue Xiaozhou tells her to hold on, wait for the month he needs to get the funds from Qiu Lisu. Hu Manli frantically texts her lawyer, begging them to ask the company for that month's extension, only to find out... the lawyer has blocked her number. Cold. Just as she's reeling from that, she gets a call from the court. She dodges the call, but then a text message arrives: they're moving to seize her house.
It's hitting rock bottom. Hu Manli tells Ding Da'er he needs to go live with Ding Zhiyuan, but the poor kid really doesn't want to face Qiu Lisu (looks like there's history there). Right then, court officers show up at the door to seal the property. Hu Manli quickly shooes Ding Da'er back into his room and desperately pleads with the officers, begging them to cut her some slack. But they're just doing their job and insist on proceeding by the book.
Leaving Ding Da'er to somehow take care of the frail Hu Degong (who just got out of the hospital, remember!), Hu Manli makes a beeline for Lanyang Insurance to see the big boss, President Jin. Security stops her at the entrance, but luckily, a colleague, Wang Chunlu, spots her and helps her get inside. Back at the house, Ding Da'er is completely overwhelmed trying to care for his grandfather and ends up calling Xue Xiaozhou for help.
In President Jin's office, Hu Manli lays it all out – she has dependents, she needs more time. President Jin seems sympathetic and reveals he actually tried to argue her case at headquarters. Unfortunately, too many departments within Lanyang Insurance had filed complaints against her, and his hands were tied. The final blow? The company is only willing to cover a measly 10% of the four million compensation.
And that's where Episode 26 leaves us hanging! Hu Manli's facing eviction, massive debt with almost no help from the company, her son is struggling, and Xue Xiaozhou is scrambling against the clock. Yikes!
