Episode Summary
Tong Qiu gets promoted to Assistant Manager, causing friction with her former boss but joy for her family. Ma Weiguo tries to reconnect with Jin Tong by funding her art, but his past rejection of her makes it awkward. Wang Chunsheng alienates his wife Li Jing by fawning over an influencer, causing Li Jing to leave home. The roast duck shop falls into chaos without her. Li Lianbao discovers Ma Weiguo is lying about his "Harvard Professor" connection.
Spoiler Alert
Forever Young (2025) Episode 25 Recap
Tong Qiu’s Accidental Power Grab
The banking subplot just took a messy turn. Thanks to President Qiu dumping all the credit on her—and some assist from Ma Weiguo—Tong Qiu brings in a massive investment. Her numbers are through the roof. President Liu notices. He immediately sidelines Manager Jia and promotes Tong Qiu to Assistant Manager.
Tong Qiu doesn't celebrate right away. She panics. She feels like a fraud who stole Jia's job. She actually tries to explain herself to Jia after the meeting. Big mistake. Jia is already bitter. He thinks this was a calculated scheme by her and completely ignores her. The rest of the office cheers, but the guilt is eating her alive.
She calls Zhang Xiaoshi for a sanity check. Xiaoshi is a pro at this. She says a few simple things, and suddenly Tong Qiu snaps out of it. The guilt vanishes, replaced by the joy of a pay raise. She rushes home to tell her parents. Ma Weiguo shows up to keep the party going. He brings some leaders over to celebrate her promotion. Tong Qiu lets loose and drinks way too much.
Ma Weiguo’s Regrets and Jealousy
Ma Weiguo is acting weird about Jin Tong. He’s been digging into the background of her friend with the luxury car. Jin Tong catches on and gets annoyed. She confronts him. Ma Weiguo pivots and offers to help fund her art exhibition.
Jin Tong isn't buying it. She points out that friends help friends, but his motives seem murky. It brings up old wounds. She confessed her feelings to him ages ago. Back then, he ran away like a coward. He avoided the topic entirely. Now he wants to be the hero? It’s complicated.
Later, Ma Weiguo goes back to his bucket list. He writes about his three "brothers." Then his mind drifts to Jin Tong and his illness. He’s spiraling a bit until Wang Chunsheng shows up with soup to snap him out of it.
The Influencer Disaster
Wang Chunsheng is having a mid-life crisis in real-time. He’s meeting with an internet celebrity named Xia Tian. He wants to look young, so he actually asks his wife, Li Jing, how to use a face mask. Read the room, Chunsheng. Li Jing is jealous and throws a snarky comment before walking away.
The meeting is worse. Chunsheng is fawning over Xia Tian. Li Jing can’t even get a word in. Later, Chunsheng brings home a designer bag for his wife. Li Jing is thrilled for about five seconds. Then she finds out Xia Tian gave it to him to give to her. She tosses the bag aside.
She wanders over to the roast duck shop to clear her head. She runs into Ma Weiguo. He plays therapist. Li Jing complains that her husband and son, Wang Fei, are obsessed with internet marketing and ignore her. Ma Weiguo knows the real issue is the pretty influencer, but he listens anyway.
The Fallout
The next morning, the house is empty. Li Jing is gone. Wang Fei tells his dad she went to stay with her parents. Chunsheng calls her in a panic. She brushes him off, saying her parents are sick. She tells him to focus on his work.
The consequences are immediate. Without Li Jing, the roast duck shop is a disaster zone. Service is slow. It’s chaotic. Chunsheng and his son are helpless at home, too.
Meanwhile, the pressure is back on at the bank. President Liu is hounding Tong Qiu because Ma Weiguo still hasn't bought that financial product. To make it worse, the bank just raised the performance targets for everyone. The staff is miserable.
Finally, a major crack forms in Ma Weiguo’s story. Li Lianbao asked a friend to check on that "Harvard Professor" Ma keeps talking about. The verdict is in: the professor doesn't exist. Ma Weiguo is lying to them.
