Episode Summary
In this episode, Ni Xiangying's attempt to frame Chu Shaohua with a fake price list fails. This leads to a one-month sales competition between them to decide who stays in the department. Shaohua reunites with her old friend Kang Erniu and confesses the truth about her past. To boost her sales, Shaohua attends a high-profile party where she accidentally helps a gambler win a fortune and gets a new business idea, all while fending off another public humiliation attempt by Ni Xiangying.
Spoiler Alert
Another Failed Takedown
So, Ni Xiangying is at it again. She’s still trying to get Chu Shaohua fired. Her latest brilliant idea was to mess with the department’s price lists. She handed Shaohua a doctored catalog to work with. Once Shaohua finished pricing all the new and old products, Xiangying swapped the fake list for the real one. Then she ran straight to Manager Shen to complain. She insisted Shaohua made a huge mistake and demanded her termination.
But it backfired. Big time. Manager Shen checked the prices. Every single one was correct. Xiangying was left standing there looking like an idiot.
It turns out Shaohua was one step ahead the whole time. She knew the price list from Xiangying looked wrong from the start. So, she went to Assistant Huang to figure things out. He confirmed the list had been altered. Shaohua got a correct copy from him and used that instead. She saw Xiangying sneakily swap the lists back while she was supposedly busy moving inventory.
Shaohua warns Xiangying that this is the last time. Next time, she won't be so forgiving. Of course, Xiangying plays the victim. She goes to the company owner to frame Shaohua. The owner knows Ni Xiangying has a powerful backer, Tian Tongxin. He’s the second son of the Tian family, who are major shareholders. The owner tells Manager Shen to just move Shaohua to another department. Manager Shen thinks this is completely unfair but can't go against a direct order. He comes up with a compromise. Shaohua and Xiangying have one month. Whoever gets higher sales gets to stay in the stationery department.
A Reunion and a Confession
Things get worse before they get better. Tian Tongxin shows up to drive Ni Xiangying home. He speeds right past Shaohua, splashing mud all over her skirt. Right after, Wen Zhiqiu appears. He gives her a handkerchief and tries to impress her with some old medical books he found. Shaohua is not having it. She tells him directly that she isn't interested and he should stop trying.
Later, a film director named Manager Liu spots Shaohua at the department store. He wants to recruit her as an actress. She couldn't be less interested. Her only focus is beating Ni Xiangying. The sales contest gets a jolt when Tian Tongxin buys 200 pens just to boost Xiangying's numbers. That’s a whole month's worth of sales in one purchase.
After work, both Wen Zhiqiu and Manager Liu are waiting for Shaohua. She gets annoyed with Liu's persistence. But then she glances at the flyer he gives her. She sees a picture of Kang Erniu. Shaohua is instantly overwhelmed and tells Liu to take her to the film set.
They find Kang Erniu in the middle of a scene. The director isn't happy with her performance. On the second take, Erniu sees Shaohua in the crowd. Her eyes fill with tears, and she nails the scene.
The two friends have an emotional reunion. Shaohua moves in with Erniu and finally tells her everything. She talks about Chen Dashun's death. She confesses to killing Chen Ershun. Shaohua breaks down completely, letting out all the pain she's been holding inside for years.
The Party and the Gamble
Eighteen days pass. Shaohua has only sold about 80 pens. Manager Shen suggests moving her to a less competitive department, but she refuses to give up. She’s determined to beat Xiangying in the last twelve days.
Kang Erniu decides to help. She gets an invitation to a fancy party and brings Shaohua along. The plan is to sell pens to the wealthy guests. There’s a problem at the door. They only have one invitation. Erniu goes in and tells Shaohua to wait. Just then, Wen Zhiqiu arrives. Shaohua snatches his invitation, claims she's just "verifying" it, and walks right into the party. He’s left outside, completely baffled.
Inside, Shaohua starts observing the guests and pitching pens. Then she sees Xia Yuan and panics. She runs upstairs to hide and accidentally walks into a private casino. As she tries to leave, a man named Mr. Lu stops her. He’s losing badly and asks her to help him pick a bet. She chooses "small." He loses again.
Shaohua confidently promises to win back his money. She tells him to keep betting on "small" and to double his bet every time. He loses again. And again. The losses pile up. But Shaohua insists he stick with the plan. On the final hand, she tells him to double down one last time. The result is "small." Mr. Lu wins 50,000 silver dollars. He not only recoups all his losses but makes a huge profit.
This gives Shaohua an idea. She rushes downstairs and runs right into Ni Xiangying. Xiangying knows only 300 invitations were sent out. She suspects Shaohua snuck in. She grabs Shaohua’s bag, finds Wen Zhiqiu's invitation, and tries to embarrass her in front of everyone.
But the plan fails again. Mr. Lu shows up and smoothly defends Shaohua, saving her from humiliation. At the same time, Kang Erniu "accidentally" spills a drink on Tian Tongxin to distract him. Someone recognizes Erniu and asks her to dance, so she uses Tongxin as her dance partner. Xiangying is left fuming and alone.
Shaohua leaves the party and finds Wen Zhiqiu still waiting outside. She gives him back his invitation. He takes her for a late-night snack and tells her about his life. He came from a famous family in Suzhou and studied abroad, but his family lost all their money. He started over as an apprentice and now owns a large pharmacy. He asks about her past, but she says little. She only reveals she’s from the countryside. She tells him her only goal is to make money and that he should give up on her.
