Episode Summary
Episode 16 sees Xiao Min's cafe disrupted by inconsiderate matchmaking groups, leading to a confrontation where Ye Lang is attacked. Meanwhile, Xia Wanqing arranges a disastrous date for Wang Da'an, whose offensive demands about heirs infuriate Gao Huihui and escalate to involve the police. Suspecting foul play from rival agency "Jin Yu Liang Yuan," Qin Tianyue sends Feng Qingming to investigate and Cheng Xu undercover. Cheng Xu discovers doctored photos and a hefty fee. The situation explodes when Gao Huihui's family storms Qin Tianyue's agency, live-streaming the confrontation and accusing Xia Wanqing of facilitating Wang Da'an's offensive behavior. Amidst the chaos and Xia Wanqing's suspension, Cheng Xu uncovers a crucial link: Wang Da'an's fortune-telling "master" is the ex-husband of Han Bing, the rival agency owner, suggesting a deeper conspiracy and scam operation.
Spoiler Alert
Episode 16 Recap & Spoilers: Things Get Messy!
So, we kick things off with Ye Lang popping into Xiao Min's cafe. It's buzzing with people, and he's ready to congratulate her on the success. But Xiao Min looks totally stressed out. Turns out, the place is packed with matchmaking groups who camp out all day nursing a single drink, killing her actual sales. Ye Lang figures out it's basically a bunch of people using her cafe as a free meeting spot for dates arranged by another agency. When he tries to talk some sense into them, four guys actually jump him! Xiao Min has to break it up by throwing water on them, furiously telling them to get lost and stop causing trouble in her place.
Meanwhile, over at the matchmaking agency, Xia Wanqing has set up Wang Da'an with Gao Huihui. This date goes spectacularly wrong, like, immediately. Wang Da'an, with zero tact, tells Gao Huihui he wants her to get a pre-marital health checkup first thing and then starts rambling about needing to know if she can bear sons to carry on his family line. Yikes. Gao Huihui is, understandably, completely insulted and furious, grabbing her bag to leave. Wang Da'an, realizing he blew it, desperately tries to stop her.
Ye Lang relays this horror story to Qin Tianyue (the agency boss), who immediately sends his guy, Feng Qingming, to investigate the rival agency, "Jin Yu Liang Yuan," that seems to be causing trouble. Right then, Xia Wanqing calls Qin Tianyue – the Wang Da'an situation has escalated and now involves the police station! Qin Tianyue speeds off to handle that mess.
Feng Qingming arrives at Jin Yu Liang Yuan and confronts the owner, Han Bing. She's completely unrepentant about stealing clients, basically saying it's fair game and shows she's capable. Feng Qingming calls her out for unethical, malicious competition, throws down some harsh words, and leaves in a huff.
Back at their own agency, Feng Qingming is livid, slamming down a Jin Yu Liang Yuan flyer. He declares that if they let these "marriage scammers" continue, the entire industry will suffer. He decides they need to go undercover and sends in Cheng Xu, someone the rival agency won't recognize. Cheng Xu gets suited up, looking sharp with a fancy watch, and heads into Jin Yu Liang Yuan, while Ye Lang waits outside, pretending to be a parking attendant.
Inside, Han Bing shows Cheng Xu a fancy, gold-trimmed album of potential female clients. Cheng Xu, playing it cool, notices something's off with the photos – tiny details like the hair and the background blur don't look quite right, suggesting they might be doctored. Han Bing gives him the hard sell about "precision matching" but says he needs to pay a whopping 20,000 yuan upfront before she'll even arrange a meeting with his supposed "destined one." Cheng Xu pays, but you can see he's onto them.
In Qin Tianyue's office, he's shredding Wang Da'an's contract, holding the list of likely photoshopped members Cheng Xu sent over. He's deeply troubled, realizing, "This feudal superstition stuff is just a front for a scam operation! If he actually finds a 'fortune-bringing woman' based on some 'master's' advice, we're complicit!" Just then, Feng Qingming bursts in with a tearful voice message from Xia Wanqing, who's desperate because she'll be fired if she doesn't make a sale this month.
Things get heated in the conference room. Xia Wanqing is nervously looking at the company performance charts where she's ranked low. Feng Qingming slaps down Wang Da'an's ridiculous "Eight Characters spouse selection chart" (a traditional fortune-telling method). "He's using a master's divination to find a woman born in a specific 'Yin' year, month, and hour! This isn't matchmaking; it's practically arranging a marriage for the dead!" Xia Wanqing, feeling the pressure of the company's 'last place gets fired' policy, snaps back defensively, "Qin Tianyue made that rule, and now I'm supposed to be a saint?" She throws a Chanel scarf – a gift from Wang Da'an – onto the table. "Do you realize this scarf is worth three months of my base pay? He didn't hesitate for a second when renewing his membership!"
Suddenly, chaos erupts outside. Gao Huihui's brother kicks open the conference room door, followed by a whole group of relatives and friends live-streaming the entire thing on their phones! He grabs Xia Wanqing's ID badge, shouting that she introduced his sister to a degenerate obsessed with having heirs, and now Gao Huihui is so traumatized she's deleted all her dating apps. He looks ready to punch Xia Wanqing, but Feng Qingming holds him back. Qin Tianyue tries to intervene, but Gao Huihui's mother collapses onto the floor, crying dramatically about how this "crooked shop" has ruined her innocent daughter's reputation.
The live stream camera focuses on Xia Wanqing's horrified face, and online comments explode, calling the agency a "pig-butchering scam" (a common term for romance/financial scams in China) and mentioning "master fortune-teller scams." Qin Tianyue quickly tries damage control: Xia Wanqing is suspended pending investigation, Wang Da'an gets a full refund, and they'll give Gao Huihui 50,000 yuan for emotional distress.
But Gao Huihui's friend isn't having it. She scoffs, "Fifty thousand? How many fake profiles does that buy you?" She then throws down a Jin Yu Liang Yuan flyer, showing they offer the exact same kind of "auspicious destiny/fortune-bringing spouse" package based on questionable criteria.
Amidst this tense standoff, Qin Tianyue gets an encrypted text from Cheng Xu: "I'm in the VIP data room. Found out Wang Da'an's 'master' is actually Han Bing's ex-husband!"
As heavy rain pours outside, Qin Tianyue stares at the neon lights of Jin Yu Liang Yuan. He suddenly remembers one of the photos Cheng Xu sent – a female VIP member with a distinctive mole behind her ear... suspiciously similar to a birthmark on Han Bing's neck.
Cliffhanger! It looks like Han Bing isn't just running a rival agency; she might be deeply involved in the scam herself, potentially even using her own (or altered) photos and leveraging her ex-husband as the fake "master." Things are definitely heating up! Can't wait to see how Qin Tianyue exposes this whole operation.
