Episode Summary
Qin Tianyue and Feng Qingming attempt to expose Jiang Fangyuan's infidelity to Cao Zixuan with photographic evidence, but she dismisses their concerns, and Jiang acts triumphantly. Meanwhile, Zhang Shiqi witnesses Dong Jiajia expertly handle an emergency, challenging his perceptions; his attempt to compensate her for a torn skirt is refused, revealing her hidden vulnerabilities later. Xia Wanqing grapples with her husband Zhuo Fan's illness and anger, finding resonance with another woman's story about the burdens of caregiving and judgment. Finally, Ye Lang assists Xiao Min in transferring ownership of her cafe after her husband's betrayal involving an illegitimate child and financial demands.
Spoiler Alert
"Home about Us" Episode 23 Recap & Spoilers
Alright, so things kicked off with Qin Tianyue and Feng Qingming sitting on some major tea – photographic evidence that Jiang Fangyuan is playing the field, juggling at least three people while supposedly dating Cao Zixuan. They're trying to figure out the best way to warn her. Feng Qingming is literally trembling, clutching a coffee cup and muttering about how the "truth might cut like a knife." Seeing his friend freaking out, Qin Tianyue decides to be the one to deliver the bad news.
But talk about awkward timing! Just as they're steeling themselves, Cao Zixuan waltzes in... with Jiang Fangyuan right beside her. Smooth operator Jiang Fangyuan quickly excuses himself to the balcony while Qin Tianyue and Feng Qingming slide the photos over to Cao Zixuan.
Her reaction? Not what they expected. She glances at the pictures and lets out a cold laugh, basically accusing Qin Tianyue of being a nosy busybody crossing boundaries. She then coolly dismisses each woman in the photos as "old flames," insisting Jiang Fangyuan is completely devoted to her now.
Jiang Fangyuan, leaning casually against the balcony doorframe, has heard the whole exchange. He strolls back in, adjusts his suit impeccably, and then, with maximum smarm, thanks Qin Tianyue and Feng Qingming for being such "gentlemen" and looking out for Cao Zixuan's safety. Cao Zixuan hangs on his arm, beaming about how they're a "match made in heaven," and pats Qin Tianyue and Feng Qingming on the shoulder, telling them to maybe focus on other people's love lives. Ouch. Qin Tianyue is absolutely seething, clenching his fists so hard his nails dig into his palms. He catches that tiny, triumphant smirk on Jiang Fangyuan's face – it's the look of a predator toying with its prey.
Meanwhile, across town, Zhang Shiqi is mid-bite of foie gras when chaos erupts. He watches, stunned, as Dong Jiajia drops to her knees and expertly performs the Heimlich maneuver on a choking female diner. There's this striking contrast he notices – her hair falling softly around her neck while her hands apply pressure with textbook precision. It's a kind of gentle-yet-fierce competence that starts to shatter Zhang Shiqi's preconceived notions about women in the workplace.
During the rescue, Dong Jiajia's skirt gets snagged and torn on a table corner. Zhang Shiqi notices her trying to discreetly cover the rip and makes a mental note of the skirt's likely cost – a cool 6,200 yuan – probably thinking about compensation.
The next day, he shows up at her office building with a gift box. He sees Dong Jiajia stepping elegantly out of the elevator, looking perfectly polished. But Zhang Shiqi, ever observant, catches the little imperfections: a faint trace of hastily applied powder on her neck, maybe a speck of dust in her hair suggesting she rushed. She politely refuses his gift, saying saving someone was "just instinct." But Zhang Shiqi's eyes drift to the clumsy, uneven stitches where she tried to mend her skirt. It dawns on him: some tears, literal or metaphorical, can't just be patched up with expensive thread, and some acts of genuine kindness shouldn't be measured or repaid with fancy gifts.
He tries again later, presenting her with a brand-new dress, price tag still attached. Dong Jiajia turns it down again, firmly stating that "kindness doesn't need to be gilded." Zhang Shiqi seems intrigued. He takes her golfing, clearly enjoying watching her focused form as she swings, and maybe enjoying the envious glances she gets from others. However, he seems oblivious when Dong Jiajia quietly crumples her handkerchief after the seventh hole, a subtle sign of distress.
It's only later, while hanging from a rock-climbing wall, that Zhang Shiqi finally understands. Dong Jiajia had mentioned needing time to "center herself" and suggested pausing their meetings. At the climbing gym, he sees her boyfriend, who is visibly terrified of heights, tentatively reaching for her safety rope. He sees the flicker in Dong Jiajia's eyes and realizes her perfect, composed facade has been hiding cracks all along.
In a much quieter subplot, it seems He Huanhuan and Luo Xiaotong are navigating their own relationship boundaries, symbolized by cleaning up coffee stains – presented as a more honest interaction than exchanging unopened, perhaps obligatory, gifts.
Things get heavy over with Xia Wanqing. She's looking over divorce files for someone named Zhao Xiaoman just as her watch reminds her it's time for her husband, Zhuo Fan's, dialysis appointment. Ye Lang kindly steps in, taking Zhuo Fan to the hospital, accompanied by Cheng Xu. Alone, Xia Wanqing listens to a devastating audio recording from a woman named Wang Linlin, who's crying about the crushing burden of caring for her stroke-ridden mother-in-law for three years, calling the elderly woman a "vine sucking the marrow" out of her life.
This raw emotion hits a nerve later when Zhuo Fan, likely stressed and sensitive about his own health issues and how people perceive him, absolutely loses it. He smashes dishes in the kitchen, shouting about how "the whole city is laughing at him!" and slams his hand down on his wheelchair armrest in frustration. In the aftermath, Xia Wanqing steps on a sharp piece of broken ceramic, cutting her foot. In that moment of pain, she suddenly understands the unspoken despair in Wang Linlin's voice: the thing truly trapping a woman isn't always the sick relative she cares for, but the constant, heavy weight of judgment from the person closest to her – her husband.
Finally, Ye Lang finds himself outside the Lu Yin Cafe and notices a "For Transfer" sign stuck to the faded signboard like a scab. Inside, he finds the owner, Xiao Min, hiding in the shadows behind the bar, her eyelashes damp. She confesses the heartbreaking reason: her husband showed up with his illegitimate child, demanding a million yuan settlement before he'll agree to sign divorce papers. Ye Lang's hand tightens on the transfer contract, his knuckles showing white.
The next scene cuts to the police station, where Ye Lang sees the perpetrator – presumably Xiao Min's husband – looking disheveled, with blood trickling from his nose onto the tile floor. It suggests Ye Lang might have intervened quite forcefully. The episode closes as Xiao Min signs the cafe transfer papers. As she does, it feels like ten years of her life, her marriage, symbolized by her wedding ring, are shattering and falling away like shards of ice.
