Episode Summary
Lin Zhihua returns and recruits Gu Xuejiao as his assistant, leading to a tense work dynamic. Their relationship culminates in a public heart-rate test and a passionate kiss, which is secretly photographed and witnessed by a heartbroken Yi Tianyu, who then gets into a serious car accident. Meanwhile, other characters like Gu Mingze and Sun Tiantian see positive developments in their personal and professional lives. The episode ends with Gu Xuejiao learning about Yi Tianyu's accident.
Spoiler Alert
The episode kicks off with Lin Zhihua in Germany, contemplating a drunken confession from Gu Xuejiao. He now knows that in a previous life, he was the person she despised the most. In this life, however, he has become her most respected teacher. He resolves to embrace their current relationship and build on it.
Back at the university, Gu Xuejiao is cleaning the lab, her thoughts consumed by Lin Zhihua, when he suddenly appears behind her, causing a stir among everyone present. Lin Zhihua explains to a surprised Dr. Cai that his trip was a strategic move against the Bochi Company. By leveraging another company, Junlian, as a backup, he successfully pressured Bochi into allowing him to establish his own startup team back home—a first for the company. His first order of business is to recruit Gu Xuejiao as his assistant.
Their initial task is daunting: checking over ten thousand lines of code. The work confirms for Gu Xuejiao that Lin Zhihua is a relentless workaholic, and her drunken words about him weren't just nonsense.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhihua's sister, Lin Zhiyue, plans to invest in a new milk tea developed by Sun Tiantian. However, she finds the business proposal too professional for a student, suspecting someone else wrote it. Lin Zhihua recognizes the work as Gu Xuejiao's, having seen a similar project on her computer. Later, he asks his sister for love advice, pretending it's for a friend who has fallen for a career-driven woman. Lin Zhiyue's perspective gives him hope.
Another suitor, Yi Tianyu, decides to confess his feelings to Gu Xuejiao by giving her tickets to his basketball finals. However, Sun Tiantian intercepts him, promising to deliver the tickets but keeping one for herself.
The episode's climax arrives during a demonstration of a new AI monitoring system that measures heart rate through a seatbelt. As the inventor, Lin Zhihua must test the device, and he asks Gu Xuejiao to join him. After they both have a drink, the test begins. Gu Xuejiao's heart races as she recalls the farewell party, while Lin Zhihua's heart pounds with the fear that she might discover he also traveled back in time. Their fluctuating heart rates are displayed for all to see.
Flustered, Gu Xuejiao flees outside after the test, with Lin Zhihua close behind. He reassures her that he won't stand in the way of her dreams before pulling her into a passionate kiss. While she resists at first, she eventually melts into his embrace. Unbeknownst to them, a group of photography students captures the moment. Just then, Yi Tianyu arrives to see Gu Xuejiao, only to witness the kiss. Heartbroken, he runs off and is tragically hit by a truck.
The next day, a pixelated photo of the kiss circulates on the school's online forum. Gu Xuejiao messages Lin Zhihua, who immediately writes a program to scrub the images from the site.
In a quieter subplot, Gu Mingze and Zhou Shiyun have a brief, positive encounter at his game launch event. She reveals she's returning to school, no longer defining herself as a failure, which leaves him overjoyed. Gu Xuejiao also helps Sun Tiantian secure a much better investment deal for her milk tea business with the help of Lin Zhiyue.
The episode concludes on a tense note. Sun Tiantian finally remembers Yi Tianyu's basketball game. Gu Xuejiao rushes to the court, but the game is already over. She calls Yi Tianyu, but his father, Yi Dafa, answers with the devastating news of his son's accident.
