All Rise Episode 16 Recap
> All Rise Recap
Jiang Chen noticed Ren Jiatong was unwell and offered to accompany her to the hospital. She was diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis and needed an IV drip and hospital observation. Ren Jiatong initially wanted to just take medicine, but Jiang Chen insisted, feeling responsible since she had consumed cold beer at his housewarming party. He gently persuaded her, reminding her she was human, not a machine, and her health was important.
As they sat, Jiang Chen realized Ren Jiatong feared needles, not work. To ease her anxiety, he shared a childhood story about a high fever and IVs in his foot when his parents were away, and his grandparents' amusing advice to cry to get them to return. He never cried, partly to avoid potential disappointment if they didn't return, and also to save face in front of a pretty nurse.
Ren Jiatong then confessed her own fears, including a deep aversion to caterpillars, which once made her cry all day. Jiang Chen playfully warned her that if he lost to her in their current competition, he would use caterpillars to haunt her, then promised to stay by her side until her IV was finished. The next morning, Guo Xiaoyu left for work, promising Ren Jiatong she would ask for more leave for her and bring back tasty food.
However, she soon returned to retrieve her forgotten charger cable, inadvertently witnessing Jiang Chen speaking to Ren Jiatong. Jiang Chen, having seen that Ren Jiatong didn't reply to his WeChat message, directly confessed his feelings for her, sensing she felt the same way. He acknowledged Jun An's strict policy against office relationships and their complicated family backgrounds, which might make them both wary of romance.
He admitted his own inexperience with relationships and couldn't promise a perfect future, but he hoped she wouldn't reject his affection or avoid him. He assured her he understood boundaries and would, at the very least, be an extraordinary friend. Guo Xiaoyu, after hearing this, was visibly distracted. Later at the office, Guo Xiaoyu sat at her desk, visibly distracted.
She confided in Yan Fei, asking if it was true that if colleagues dated at Jun An, one of them had to leave. Yan Fei, initially assuming Guo Xiaoyu had a crush on a male lawyer, warned her to keep it secret due to potential "ulterior motives" and quipped that only someone "stupid" would date a male lawyer, quickly amending her statement to exclude certain individuals like Zhou Nian.
Guo Xiaoyu then expressed feeling hurt that someone she deeply trusted didn't seem to trust her back. Yan Fei empathized, suggesting the person might have learned from past betrayals that those closest to them know best how to "strike a nerve," likening it to non-compete agreements. This conversation sparked an idea for Guo Xiaoyu regarding their current case.
Meanwhile, the interns discovered through the Creative Director's social media that he regularly attended anime conventions and was obsessed with a particular anime figure. Coincidentally, Jiang Chen owned a rare piece of this merchandise. Ren Jiatong, despite being on sick leave, came up with a plan. She, dressed as the anime character, along with Jiang Chen and Li Ke, staged a "chance encounter" to sell the collectible to the Creative Director.
Jiang Chen, parting with his cherished item reluctantly, learned the director's delivery address was indeed RE Company. Li Ke confirmed this by showing surveillance footage of the Creative Director receiving a flash delivery and entering the RE building, as well as his car's entry and exit from the company's parking garage.
Ren Jiatong’s research further revealed that Tian Kai Xin’s founding team split not just over profit, but also due to philosophical differences; the Creative Director held onto their original vision, while others wanted to pursue an IPO, ultimately leading him to join RE, a "deep-pocketed" top gaming company where he could fulfill his creative dreams. Song Yifan praised their investigative work and announced a team dinner, stating he would initiate contact with RE Company's legal department.
Guo Xiaoyu remained unhappy that Ren Jiatong hadn't informed her about Jiang Chen. Ren Jiatong, finding Guo Xiaoyu, apologized for leaving earlier and tried to appease her with "mini pastries," a treat Guo Xiaoyu loved. Guo Xiaoyu confronted Ren Jiatong, asking if she and Jiang Chen were together. Ren Jiatong explained they weren't officially a couple and she hadn't fully figured out their situation, which was why she hadn't shared anything.
Guo Xiaoyu, relating it to the past complex relationship between Ms. Bai and Mr. Song, advised Ren Jiatong against bottling up her feelings, emphasizing that friends are there to share worries. Just then, an email from Zhou Nian arrived, announcing Song Yifan had selected Jiang Chen to assist on the Tian Kai Xin project, adding to Guo Xiaoyu's sense of "dilemma" regarding Ren Jiatong. Jiang Chen presented his compiled research and insights on the two games to Song Yifan.
Song Yifan challenged him, asking if he, as Tian Kai Xin's founder, would sue a giant like RE. He explained that a lawyer's job is to understand the client's true, often unspoken, intentions. He concluded that Tian Kai Xin's founder, personally, didn't want to "burn bridges" with his former creative partner, and professionally, a mid-sized company in Series C funding couldn't afford to "go head-to-head" with a "market behemoth" like RE.
Song Yifan emphasized that non-litigation lawyers seek "win-win" outcomes, where "harmony is precious" and "harmony fosters prosperity," unlike litigation which is purely about winning or losing. He then instructed Jiang Chen to prepare for a "dawn raid," explaining it as an unannounced, early arrival to catch the opposition off guard, quickly secure crucial evidence, "demoralize" them, and gain a strategic advantage in negotiations. Song Yifan and Jiang Chen then carried out the "dawn raid" at RE Company.
They arrived before the scheduled meeting, catching RE's game development lead off guard, who claimed no knowledge of any infringement. Unexpectedly, Jiang Ruocheng, Jiang Chen’s father, arrived with his own legal team, representing RE Company. He immediately chastised Song Yifan for the "interrogation" before formal negotiations. During the talks, Jiang Ruocheng maintained a firm stance, arguing that any similarities between the games were purely coincidental and denied any infringement by RE.
He presented documentation, including a declaration signed by the Creative Director upon his hire, confirming he had not brought any trade secrets from his previous employer. He also provided RE's strict training materials, which prohibited the transfer of commercial secrets. Jiang Ruocheng asserted that any alleged infringement was the Creative Director's personal action, and RE was "unaware." He announced that RE would dismiss the employee and cease further cooperation with him, and also stop developing the implicated game.
However, he stressed that RE would "not accept any claims of infringement" and would "not offer any form of apology." After the negotiation, Song Yifan introduced Jiang Chen to Jiang Ruocheng as an "outstanding candidate" from Jun An's "Talent Hunt Program." Jiang Ruocheng appeared thoughtful, expressed interest in the program, and indicated a desire to visit Jun An. Soon after, Jiang Ruocheng visited Jun An.
Li Ke, upon seeing him, learned from a colleague that Jiang Ruocheng was a university classmate of Zhuang Xin, the firm's director, and, more significantly, Jiang Chen's father. This news disheartened Li Ke, who felt his tireless efforts to secure a permanent position paled in comparison to Jiang Chen's apparent advantage of "having a good father."
Ren Jiatong, overhearing this, quickly stepped in to defend Jiang Chen, emphasizing that his standing at Jun An was earned purely through his own merit, as he had outperformed both her and Li Ke in past projects. Later, Jiang Chen met Ren Jiatong on the rooftop. He recounted a heated argument with his father in the parking lot, where Jiang Ruocheng had claimed he was not "good enough" to be a lawyer, lacked resilience, and wasn't aggressive enough.
Jiang Chen was deeply hurt, recalling how his father used to praise his childhood play-acting as a lawyer alongside his mother (the judge) and father (the prosecutor). He lamented that his father had forgotten those memories, especially after starting a new family and having another son. He felt his father now saw him as "not good enough" and claimed he no longer cared for his opinion.
Ren Jiatong sympathized, noting the "wall" that often exists between fathers and sons, similar to her own family dynamics. She suggested his father might be upset because Jiang Chen didn't consult him about his career path, which might have made him "lose face." However, she assured Jiang Chen that his excellent performance at Jun An would surely change his father's perception.
Jiang Chen clarified that his passion for law came from his own deep understanding and love for the profession, not just his father's early influence. Ren Jiatong concluded that if they could align on their professional ideals, their other differences "might not necessarily be opposite." Inspired by Ren Jiatong's words, Jiang Chen immediately found Song Yifan and, after sending him an email at 3 AM, proposed a new solution for the Tian Kai Xin case.
Acknowledging a conflict of interest because his father was representing RE, Jiang Chen requested to withdraw from the case. However, he then presented his idea: RE Company should invest in Tian Kai Xin. He explained that this solution was inspired by Song Yifan's "win-win" philosophy and his "friend's" insight that "fathers and sons aren't necessarily opposites."
He argued that this strategy would enhance game quality, eliminate market competition between them, resolve Tian Kai Xin's Series C funding issues by securing a powerful partner in RE, and grant RE exclusive distribution rights. Song Yifan was greatly impressed by Jiang Chen's "truly impressive" performance and even joked about wanting to poach him from Ms. Bai's team, thanking Jiang Chen's "friend" for the inspiration. After work, Jiang Chen accompanied Ren Jiatong to the supermarket.
She playfully teased him about showing his "wisdom teeth" when happy about his conflict of interest, hinting at his focus on her. She also gently pointed out a large pimple on his chin, attributing it to work-related stress, and joked about her "heavy hand" when she couldn't resist trying to pop it. He offered to buy her two packs of spicy food as "labor reward" for discussing RE's games.
She then suggested he cook her noodles, initially refusing to do dishes but ultimately agreeing. During their conversation, Ren Jiatong asked why Jiang Chen had blocked his father's contact information after their parking lot argument. He casually explained how quickly he had blocked his father's phone and WeChat. Ren Jiatong gently chided him, reminding him that his father was not "elderly" and his "looks are the upgraded version of yours."
She suggested that despite his father's tough exterior, he was likely frantic inside, wanting to reconnect with his son and not lose such a "talent." She even fantasized about proudly rejecting Jiang Ruocheng's attempts to poach Jiang Chen with a high salary, stating that Jun An's lawyers wouldn't be impressed. Upon returning to their apartment building, they were surprised to find Jiang Ruocheng waiting in Jiang Chen’s living room, having entered using Jiang Chen’s birthday as the password.
Ren Jiatong quickly excused herself, citing another female colleague's imminent return and needing to retrieve something from her own apartment, leaving the father and son to talk. Jiang Ruocheng maintained his stern yet concerned demeanor, criticizing Jiang Chen for living alone and attempting to monitor his interactions, to which Jiang Chen urged "boundaries" between fatherhood and detective work. Jiang Ruocheng mentioned his calls to Jiang Chen earlier, which hadn't gone through.
Jiang Chen explained he had installed an anti-harassment app that blocked his father, a habit Jiang Ruocheng immediately criticized as unprofessional for a lawyer. Jiang Ruocheng then disparaged Jiang Chen's "coarse" and "cheap" suits, questioning why he didn't wear the tailored suits he had gifted him. Jiang Chen retorted that he kept those suits as motivation.
Jiang Ruocheng challenged him, saying true "promise" meant wearing his gifted suits while still holding his objections, then winning cases for Jun An against him. He finally revealed his purpose: to see how "my son pursues the girl he likes in off-the-rack clothes, eating instant noodles." Jiang Chen immediately denied his father's assumption, clarifying that his relationship with Ren Jiatong was "not what you think." Moments later, Guo Xiaoyu, exhausted from work, returned home.
She excitedly described to Ren Jiatong the impressive lawyer RE had hired for the negotiation. Ren Jiatong then dropped the bombshell, revealing to a stunned Guo Xiaoyu that this "super skilled lawyer" was none other than Jiang Chen's father.
