Episode Summary
Siting and Feng Rui visit the family of a former student and discover Siting's missing father has been living there for years under a new identity. The father reveals he fled due to guilt over a student's suicide and fear of public backlash. They share an emotional reunion, but Siting firmly tells her father she and Feng Rui are strictly friends now. Meanwhile, Wang Shu Han gets a major promotion working for her boyfriend.
Spoiler Alert
A Fresh Start or a Great Escape?
Feng Rui is really stepping up his game as the supportive ex. He sees Tan Siting stressing out about finding her father. He offers a different perspective. He suggests her dad might not want to be found at all. Maybe the man just wanted a clean slate. He might be living a totally new life to escape his past. This actually makes sense to Siting. It helps her calm down.
From Shoe Sales to Corner Office
Wang Shu Han is having a great week. She helps her boyfriend land a massive project. He is clearly impressed by her skills. He doesn't just thank her. He hires her. She goes from working retail to a corporate job at his company. He even gives her a big, bright office. She has the career and the guy. She is pretty happy about it. She posts a photo on her social media to show off a little.
The Connection We All Saw Coming
Siting and Feng Rui go to visit the family of Qu Zhen. You remember her. She was Siting's student. They visit Qu Zhen's mom and bring some food. The mom is very chatty. She starts talking about her husband. He isn't a local. He is Han Chinese. She says he is a hero who saved many people in the area. He even influenced Qu Zhen's love for ballet.
Siting starts connecting the dots. This sounds way too familiar. She pulls out the photo of her missing father. She shows it to the mom. The mom confirms it immediately. That is her husband.
The Reunion
The mom takes them straight to the father's house. Siting loses it. She starts crying immediately. She spent fourteen years looking for this man. She dealt with failure after failure. Now he is standing right there.
He looks different. Years of hard labor have changed him. His skin is dark from the sun. He looks just like a local villager. He sees Siting and freezes. His eyes turn red. He looks incredibly guilty.
Why He Ran
We finally get the full story. The dad explains what happened years ago. He saw his student, Xiao Wei, getting bullied. He wanted to punish the bully. But he ignored how Xiao Wei felt during the process. He handed in his resignation letter that day.
He walked out of the building. He heard a loud crash behind him. He turned around. Xiao Wei had jumped. She died right in front of him. There was blood everywhere. The guilt destroyed him. The public blamed him too. He was terrified the backlash would hurt Siting. He ran away to protect her. He kept running until he couldn't run anymore. He ended up here and met a young Qu Zhen herding cattle.
Breaking Bread
They sit down together. The dad makes yak butter tea and milk curds. Siting just listens. She doesn't scream. She doesn't blame him. She looks at his weathered face. She thinks about her own time in France. She went there alone. She had to fight to survive in a strange place. She realizes her father went through the exact same struggle. It wasn't easy for him either.
Awkward Matchmaking
The dad pulls Feng Rui aside. He admits something interesting. He recognized Feng Rui back when they were moving disaster relief supplies at the vineyard. He just couldn't bring himself to speak up then. He likes Feng Rui. He thinks Feng Rui is a good guy. He tells them they should get back together.
Siting shuts this down fast. She corrects him. She says she and Feng Rui are just friends now. They can't go back to how things were.
