Episode Summary
Li Jinyu returns to his family's company to secretly investigate the death of Ye Meng's mother, but his methods and secrecy backfire, causing a deep rift.After he acts distant and two-faced at a party, Ye Meng's trust in him shatters, and she asks for a divorce.Now in charge of the Hailan Port project, Jinyu is blackmailed by Jiang Luzhi into making her the PR head, creating a direct professional conflict with Ye Meng's team. As they navigate their new, hostile work environment, Jinyu tries to subtly protect Ye Meng while she grows more suspicious of his true motives.
Spoiler Alert
Li Jinyu makes a dramatic return to the Hanhai Group, putting on a show of peace with his mother, Li Lingbai, while secretly plotting his next move. He uses a surveillance video to blackmail her, successfully gaining control over the Ningsui Hailan Port project. Lingbai reluctantly agrees, but she has her own sinister plan: to let Jinyu take the fall for the troubled project, setting him up as the perfect scapegoat.
The tension between Jinyu and Ye Meng is thicker than ever at a company celebration. To everyone else, they are strangers, but their hidden history electrifies the room. When Gou Kai openly flirts with Ye Meng, Jinyu’s jealousy flares. However, the moment his mother appears, he transforms back into a docile, obedient son. This sudden switch is a cold blow to Ye Meng, making her feel like she's looking at a complete stranger. Jinyu later corners her behind a wine cabinet to confront her, but the argument only ends in another bitter stalemate.
After the party, Jinyu’s offer to drive Ye Meng home is rejected. Instead, Gou Kai steps in, using the pretense of discussing a clue to give her a ride. He reveals a critical piece of information: Wang Xingsheng once served time for financing fraud. This revelation strikes Ye Meng with force, as she realizes the timing of her mother's suicide is alarmingly coincidental with the fraud case. Meanwhile, Jinyu notices he’s being followed and correctly assumes his mother has people watching him.
Later that night, Jinyu finds Ye Meng at her hotel, finally explaining his true motive for joining Hanhai Group: to help her investigate Wang Xingsheng and the secrets behind the old project that led to her mother's death. But his confession comes too late. Ye Meng, already wary of his secrets and fearing his loyalty will ultimately lie with his mother, is unable to trust him. She presents him with divorce papers, leaving Jinyu heartbroken and in tears.
In the midst of this turmoil, other relationships are also being tested. Fang Ya'en, struggling with her own messy divorce from Chen Jian—who she discovers is sabotaging her Sapphire Bar's business—warns Ye Meng that ending a marriage is never simple. Her budding relationship with Cheng Kairan also hits a snag when she suggests they keep their distance to protect his business, a suggestion that leaves him so distraught she quickly retracts it.
A furious Jiang Luzhi storms back from Ningsui to Jiangbei to confront Gou Kai, angry that he brought Ye Meng back to replace her. Gou Kai bluntly admits he was only using Jiang Luzhi to make Ye Meng jealous and now intends to pursue Ye Meng seriously. Heartbroken and enraged, Jiang Luzhi quits.But before she leaves, a chance encounter with Tai Mingxiao reveals a bombshell: Li Jinyu is the company's "Little Mr. Li," the son of the boss. Armed with this knowledge and understanding Li Lingbai's ruthless nature, Jiang Luzhi realizes Jinyu's divorce is a desperate attempt to protect Ye Meng. She seizes the opportunity, threatening to expose everything to Ye Meng unless Jinyu makes her the head of the new project.
The power dynamics shift dramatically when Ye Meng and Gou Kai arrive at Ningsui Hailan Port. Li Jinyu announces that he is now in charge and has formed an in-house PR team led by none other than Jiang Luzhi, effectively terminating their contract. However, Ye Meng cleverly uses a clause in the contract to save her team from being fired. Jinyu retaliates by imposing harsh new conditions and appoints Cheng Kairan to manage shop operations, a strategic move to secretly block Ye Meng's investigation into Wang Xingsheng. Cheng Kairan, shocked to learn of Jinyu's hidden identity as a wealthy heir, agrees to the arrangement, hoping to help both Jinyu and Ye Meng.
Suspicious of the new alliance between Jinyu and Jiang Luzhi, Ye Meng calls Fang Ya'en, asking her to look into Cheng Kairan to uncover Jinyu's real plan. For now, the relationship between Ye Meng and Jinyu is strictly professional at the office and cold and distant at home. Pushed to his limit, Jinyu makes a final, desperate move: he calls his two grandmothers, hoping they can intervene and salvage his crumbling world.
