Episode Summary
In episode 18 of "Be Passionately in Love," Xu Zhi and Chen Luzhou officially become a couple after she sends him a heartfelt text message, calling him her "romantic poet." Their newfound happiness is quickly complicated by family drama when Chen Luzhou's younger brother, Chen Xingqi, runs away from home and arrives in Beijing. The situation intensifies when their mother also appears. In a dramatic confrontation, she reveals the long-buried secret that she is Chen Luzhou's biological mother, explaining the painful history of how he ended up in an orphanage and was later brought back into her new family under a painful deception.
Spoiler Alert
Be Passionately in Love Episode 18 Recap: A Confession, a Reunion, and a Painful Past Revealed
The episode picks up in the tense aftermath of their argument, with Chen Luzhou still hesitating to leave. Unwilling to part on bad terms, he tells Xu Zhi he’d regret it if he just walked away. Xu Zhi, sensing his mood, gently asks if he’s still angry and suggests a run around the track to clear his head. As he finally turns to go, she asks for her hair tie back, a small gesture that keeps them connected for a moment longer. On his way, a message from Xu Zhi lights up his phone, changing everything.
She reminds him of their old joke: if she ever spent money on him, she’d have to write an 800-word essay. Since she paid for the KTV outing, she offers a condensed version. Her message transcends any simple apology. She confesses that if she merely wanted to date him, she could fill pages with romantic clichés. But her feelings run deeper—she wants a future with him. She reveals she secretly visited the same art exhibition he did, a quiet act of solidarity. In a moving declaration, she promises that even when they’re eighty, she’ll be the one running ahead to get him a rose, because her boyfriend, "Chen Jiaojiao," is a romantic poet at heart. The name is an intimate callback to the romantic persona he once jokingly adopted. Struck by her words, Chen Luzhou sprints back to her and asks, "So, am I your boyfriend now?" Xu Zhi playfully teases him, "Weren't you the one who denied being Chen Jiaojiao?" With that, the tension breaks, and their relationship is finally, officially on.
It's Official, and Family Drama Arrives
Elated, Chen Luzhou’s first call is to his best friend, Zhu Yangqi, to announce the news. Zhu Yangqi and his own romantic interest, Cai Yingying, are thrilled, though Zhu Yangqi can't resist teasing his friend for taking so long to win her over. Later, while taking Cai Yingying back to her training school, they find the main gate locked. In a sweet, chivalrous moment, Zhu Yangqi helps her climb over the back gate, offering his leg as a step and draping his jacket over her to keep her warm.
The next morning, Chen Luzhou and Xu Zhi meet for breakfast, settling into their new reality as a couple. Xu Zhi mentions her roommates want to treat him to a meal to thank him for his help with the drone, but Chen Luzhou, still comically intimidated by them, politely declines. Their bliss is soon interrupted by a message from his classmate, Li Ke, rushing him to the library. There, his friends speculate that he must have spent the night with his new girlfriend. To deflect, Chen Luzhou claims he was just keeping Zhu Yangqi company at a hotel for a couple of days.
The friends later gather for a game of basketball, where Zhu Yangqi suggests they all become roommates. Chen Luzhou explains it’s not feasible right now; having just switched his major, he has a mountain of coursework to catch up on and needs the convenience of the dorms. He promises they can reconsider in their second year. The conversation shifts to academics, where it's revealed Xu Zhi aced her recent calculus exam with a perfect score. When Zhu Yangqi defends Chen Luzhou’s own academic prowess, Li Ke laughingly points out that he only scored a 96, accusing Zhu Yangqi of seeing his friend through a thick filter of admiration. Chen Luzhou simply smiles, proudly calling Xu Zhi his "little dark horse."
As his birthday approaches, the friends suggest Xu Zhi should plan a surprise. But Chen Luzhou, ever considerate, shuts it down, knowing her demanding major is already causing her enough stress. Their conversation is cut short by a series of frantic messages from his younger brother, Chen Xingqi, who claims to have arrived in Beijing. Chen Luzhou dismisses it as a prank until a photo proves it: his brother is really there.
Spoilers: The Truth Comes Out
Chen Luzhou and Xu Zhi rush to meet Chen Xingqi. The younger brother immediately calls Xu Zhi "sister-in-law," though she gently asks him to just call her sister. Chen Luzhou’s protective instincts kick in, and he tries to buy his brother a ticket home. But Chen Xingqi refuses, confessing that he ran away because he couldn't stand their father, Chen Jishen, who is either absent or verbally abusive.
The family crisis escalates when Chen Luzhou’s mother calls, announcing she is also on her way to Beijing and needs to talk. He agrees to meet her, entrusting Xu Zhi to look after his distraught younger brother.
The confrontation between mother and son is a turning point. Chen Luzhou reveals he already knows she is his biological mother. He overheard her during a past argument, admitting that he was the child she carried for ten months and that she would never abandon him a second time. He asks the question that has haunted him his entire life: "How did I end up in an orphanage?"
His mother finally tells him the whole, heartbreaking story. She was young, pregnant with him, and struggling to find work when she met Chen Jishen. He was willing to accept her and her unborn child, so she agreed to marry him. However, Chen Luzhou’s biological father later reappeared, creating a massive, ugly scene. To make him leave, she agreed to give him custody of their son. But his biological father, a reckless car enthusiast, was in a severe accident shortly after and fell into a coma. With his paternal grandmother also mentally unwell, the young Chen Luzhou was tragically sent to an orphanage.
Years later, his mother learned what had happened and found him. By then, her second son, Chen Xingqi, was a sickly child. Desperate, she concocted a lie for her husband, Chen Jishen, claiming that bringing Chen Luzhou into their home would serve as a charm to ward off disaster from Chen Xingqi. Chen Jishen eventually discovered the deception, but his wife pleaded that the boy was innocent. They made a cold pact: they would raise Chen Luzhou, but he would be sent abroad the moment he turned eighteen.
While Chen Luzhou is learning this, Chen Xingqi is having his own heart-to-heart with Xu Zhi. He confirms that Chen Luzhou was adopted and has never been close with the family, noting that the way he acts around her is completely different. Just as the conversation deepens, Chen Luzhou’s mother arrives to pick up Chen Xingqi. Before she leaves, she looks at the son she was forced to abandon, telling him simply to take good care of himself, leaving him to grapple with the devastating truth of his past.
