Episode Summary
The love triangle between Xiu Ju, Shen Yanzhou, and Shen Yanqing intensifies after a drunken night. Xiu Ju discovers her antagonist, Han Shijie, is secretly her brother. Han Shijie then frames Yanzhou, leading to his arrest and torture. Forbade from helping by Yanqing, Xiu Ju uses her newfound connection to Han Shijie to blackmail him into freeing Yanzhou. The episode culminates with Xiu Ju rejecting Yanqing's affections and confronting her unresolved feelings for Yanzhou as she tends to his wounds.
Spoiler Alert
Girls Fighting Fate: Episode 18 Spoilers
The tangled relationships and simmering rivalries within the Shen family reach a boiling point. The episode opens with Shen Yanzhou carrying a heavily intoxicated Xiu Ju home, only to be met by a furious Zhuang Hui. She forces Yanzhou to his knees, ordering him to sever his improper connection with Xiu Ju, who is then carried off to Shen Yanqing's room.
Inside, Yanqing's initial delight at finding Xiu Ju on his bed quickly turns to rage when, in her drunken state, she murmurs Yanzhou's name. He leaves the room, seething. The next morning, the tension is thicker than ever. As Xiu Ju tries to help a limping Yanzhou, Yanqing forcefully pulls her to his side, asserting his dominance by insisting he will be the one to escort her.
The drama follows Xiu Ju to her shop, where Han Shijie arrives to cause trouble. After Xiu Ju has him thrown out, a jade pendant falls from his clothes and shatters. He reveals it's his only clue to finding his long-lost sister and threatens the Shen family's business if it isn't repaired. Later, in a moment of shocking realization, Xiu Ju pulls out an identical jade pendant—the villainous Han Shijie is her brother.
Meanwhile, Yanzhou is ensnared in a trap. An old classmate, Qin Shouping, lures him to a "reunion" that is actually a gathering of anti-warlord radicals. Before he can escape the setup, military forces raid the building and arrest everyone, including Yanzhou. The conspiracy runs deep, as it's later revealed that Han Shijie orchestrated the entire event with Qin Shouping, all part of a larger scheme with Liu Ruyan to seize the Shen family's assets.
When news of the arrest reaches home, Yanqing forbids any rescue attempts. While he suspects a setup, he selfishly hopes the ordeal will teach his brother a lesson. Desperate, Xiu Ju turns to Shen Zhile, who, with help from Xiao Ye, bribes a prison guard. Xiu Ju finds Yanzhou battered and bruised, and in a tearful, fleeting moment, she promises she will save him.
Making good on her word, Xiu Ju confronts Han Shijie. Using her own jade pendant as leverage, she demands he secure Yanzhou's release in exchange for information about its original owner. Unbeknownst to her, Yanqing had also taken steps, informing the military that his brother was wrongfully arrested but delaying the request for release. He is caught by surprise when Xiu Ju succeeds first.
In the aftermath, Yanqing gives Xiu Ju ointment for Yanzhou's injuries. Xiu Ju, however, makes her position clear. She states she rescued Yanzhou purely out of familial duty. In a final, symbolic act of rejection, she returns the hairpin he once gave her. When she tends to Yanzhou's wounds, he recalls a past moment when she did the same. He asks her the question that now hangs over all of them: is she there as his sister-in-law, or as Xiu Ju?
