Episode Summary
In this episode, Gu Xuejiao turns the tables on Zhou Wanjun during a tense dinner by revealing her superior exam score and her family's impending financial windfall from a property demolition. A misunderstanding leads Xuejiao to meet Lin Zhihua's parents, deepening their bond. The main storylines converge at Jun Mountain, where the friend group is on a graduation trip and Lin Zhihua is attending a tech conference, leading to a comedic mishap involving Yi Tianyu and a final confrontation between Xuejiao and a resentful Zhou Shiyun.
Spoiler Alert
The tension is palpable from the start as Zhou Wanjun invites Old Gu's family for a meal, only to serve a simple dish of boiled cabbage, a clear slight against them. Gu Xuejiao, however, isn't easily intimidated. Noticing oil floating on the dish, she coolly remarks that it's not authentic.
The conversation quickly turns to the recent college entrance exam scores. When Zhou Wanjun asks about her results, Gu Xuejiao cryptically says she was off by a dozen or so points. Zhou Wanjun, assuming she means she barely missed the line for a bachelor's degree, offers fake sympathy, suggesting a third-tier university would be fine. Gu Xuejiao then drops the bombshell: she was referring to the score for the prestigious Beijing University. She reveals her actual score, which is significantly higher than Zhou Shiyun's, leaving Zhou Wanjun humiliated. She promptly pulls her daughter, Zhou Shiyun, aside for a lecture. Still trying to save face, Zhou Wanjun suggests that even with a high score, Xuejiao's admission isn't guaranteed and that her family couldn't afford for her to retake the year if she fails. Xuejiao confidently dismisses these financial concerns by turning on the TV, where a news report announces a demolition plan that includes her family's property, ensuring them a hefty compensation. Back home, her family discusses the compensation, and Xuejiao wisely advises them to choose a replacement property in the northern part of the city, predicting it will become a key development area in the next decade.
Meanwhile, as the friends await their acceptance letters, Sun Tiantian decides to pursue her dream of becoming a pastry chef. While out buying cakes, she spots Lin Zhihua with a wealthy-looking woman. After seeing them enter a villa together followed by sounds of a commotion, she mistakenly believes he's involved in a messy affair and frantically calls Gu Xuejiao for help. Xuejiao rushes to the scene to "rescue" him, only to be discovered by Lin Zhihua himself. The misunderstanding is cleared up when it's revealed the woman was his mother, and the commotion was just his parents arguing. His parents' demeanor instantly changes upon meeting Xuejiao, and they warmly share photos from Lin Zhihua's childhood. Later, as Lin Zhihua walks Xuejiao home, he takes a picture of their long shadows cast in the evening light. Xuejiao suggests he join their upcoming graduation trip to Jun Mountain to relax, but he declines, appearing preoccupied. Still, she manages to make him smile and captures the moment with a photo.
Lin Zhihua's path is destined to cross with the group's anyway. He delivers medicine to his friend Gao Rui, who happens to mention that an academic conference he's attending will be held at the Jun Mountain Hotel.
The day of the graduation trip arrives, and Gu Mingze has invited Zhou Shiyun to join them, crowding into a car with Gu Xuejiao, Sun Tiantian, and Yi Tianyu. At the same time, at the conference in Jun Mountain, Lin Zhihua leads his team from Beijing University. His colleague, Lin Jiadong, is busy handing out flyers to promote their drone technology. Lin Zhihua later impresses a Dr. Cai from Bochi Motors with his detailed explanation of their autonomous driving technology, earning a private meeting.
The two groups finally converge. As Gu Xuejiao sets up a picnic, Yi Tianyu spots a peg on the ground and plots to fake a fall, hoping to land in her arms. Just then, Lin Zhihua, finished with his conference, walks toward Xuejiao. In a panic, Yi Tianyu rushes to intercept him but ends up colliding with Lin Zhihua, and they both tumble to the ground.
In a brief side-story, Lin Zhihua's sister, Lin Zhiyue, goes to her parents' house and hears a noise, fearing a burglar. She messages her brother, who clarifies that he let his sick friend, Gao Rui, quarantine there.
Later, while Lin Zhihua and Gu Xuejiao are enjoying a barbecue, he receives a call from Lin Jiadong about potential investors. Lin Zhihua instructs him to only entertain Dr. Cai. The episode concludes with another confrontation, as Zhou Shiyun corners Gu Xuejiao and accuses her of intentionally showing off her exam score to humiliate her. Gu Xuejiao calmly replies that she was simply telling the truth and advises her not to overthink it.
