Be Together Episode 3 Recap
> Be Together Recap
Xia Yan’s long-distance relationship with her boyfriend, Lin Hao, continued with frequent calls. Han Shuang, Xia Yan’s friend, found their constant affection, even after seven years, a bit much, though others envied their enduring love. Lin Hao, who had just returned, promised Xia Yan that he would handle all the housework, including cooking, cleaning, and laundry, envisioning her as his pampered "little princess."
He humorously suggested that instead of eating food, he'd rather "eat his little princess," before heading to take a shower. Zhao Xiaolei, their other friend, conveniently decided to stay out that evening, leaving the couple to their privacy. On her first day at SG, Xia Yan introduced herself to the operations department, mentioning her previous role at Star Technology.
Director Xue immediately set a stern tone by outlining the company’s "bottom-tier elimination" policy: employees ranking last for two consecutive months receive a warning, and a third month means termination. She demonstrated this by informing Qi, who had been last for three months, to submit his resignation to HR. Director Xue emphasized SG's focus on results, stating that efforts without achievement were meaningless.
She then critiqued Yoyo’s team’s plans as uncreative and assigned Xia Yan to take over Qi’s unfinished task of finalizing the guest list for the upcoming "Security Information Elite Forum," giving her a strict one-week deadline for her three-month trial period. Feeling sympathetic, Xia Yan caught up with Qi as he left and offered him a contact for an advertising agency, providing her own phone number for any assistance.
Meanwhile, Han Shuang faced a confrontation with her boss, Uncle Pai, who accused her of not making any sales in a month and bringing "unsavory people" to the shop after hours, as seen on surveillance cameras. He confiscated her door access card, asserting he would handle the shop’s opening and closing himself. Undeterred, Han Shuang declared her intention to start a live stream to sell furniture.
Later, Uncle Pai was ecstatic when Han Shuang’s live stream successfully sold three of their most expensive furniture sets. Han Shuang explained the potential of live-stream marketing. Uncle Pai quickly apologized, returned her keys, and promised to support her, even allowing her friends to visit and keeping the bar counter he had threatened to remove. Han Shuang cynically accepted, attributing his change of heart to profit.
Back at SG, Yoyo warned Xia Yan that Director Xue's assignment regarding Professor Yuan Da Hai was a "mission impossible," a task that had led to Qi's termination. Xia Yan, however, was determined, asserting that "impossible" was not in her vocabulary. She learned that Professor Yuan was a highly respected expert in cybersecurity. Xia Yan attended one of Professor Yuan's university lectures and, afterward, approached him to discuss her ideas for a custom security lock system.
Professor Yuan initially showed interest but, upon learning she was from SG and seeking his participation in their event, he became enraged. He called security and had her removed, adamantly refusing to engage in any "commercial events." Despite Xia Yan’s attempts to explain their forum wasn't commercial, she was dismissed. Xia Yan persisted, even falling while chasing him one day as he returned home, but he remained unwilling to listen.
Frustrated, Xia Yan discussed the issue with Han Shuang, who, drawing a parallel to Zhao Xiaolei's quirky stubbornness (refusing a high-paying job to care for kittens), suggested that even stubborn people have "soft spots." This prompted Xia Yan to call Qi for more information. Qi revealed that Professor Yuan had previously only collaborated with companies linked to his students or academic institutions and had even fought with university leaders for a student's research sponsorship.
Xia Yan realized that Professor Yuan's "soft spot" was his students. She quickly drafted a proposal for a university intern recruitment program, hoping to present him with an offer he couldn’t refuse. However, Director Xue immediately rejected the proposal, telling Xia Yan to focus on her core responsibilities instead of HR matters. Later, Yoyo enlightened Xia Yan about SG's "talent incentive policy," which allowed employees to submit cross-departmental suggestions for a bonus if adopted.
Xia Yan was elated, realizing this was her chance to resubmit her recruitment plan. Soon after, President Xu Chengyi complimented Xia Yan on her recruitment proposal, recognizing her shrewd analysis of Professor Yuan and her clever use of company policy. He did, however, express concern about her prominent dark circles, playfully advising her to rest properly to avoid looking unattractive and risking her relationship.
Armed with her approved university recruitment proposal, Xia Yan waited for Professor Yuan, who, upon seeing her again, accused her of persistent efforts for "capitalists" and even "lying." Xia Yan, despite falling while chasing him, presented her "SG Recruitment Plan for Xinzhou Institute of Technology," explaining it was specifically for his students and had already been approved by SG, ensuring its implementation regardless of his participation in their event.
When Professor Yuan still expressed skepticism about the company's commitment, Xia Yan pledged that if SG failed to uphold the plan's charitable spirit and content, it would face significant compensation and public discrediting by a notary, and she herself would never appear before him again. Convinced by her determination and the security of the notarized proposal, Professor Yuan finally agreed to participate in the forum.
Xia Yan reported her success to Director Xue, who, though initially surprised, grew irritated upon learning that Xia Yan had negotiated university recruitment as a condition. Director Xue accused Xia Yan of making unauthorized decisions. Xia Yan calmly countered that the recruitment proposal had been approved and filed by HR prior to the agreement. Silenced, Director Xue then questioned the operations department's progress on the "Show Me" talent show, learning they were fifteen participants short.
Annoyed by the low efficiency, Director Xue publicly reassigned Emmy's talent show tasks to Xia Yan, stating that "the capable ones can take on more duties" and no one would be allowed to hinder the company's progress, much to the surprise of her colleagues. Later that evening, Lin Hao arrived at Xia Yan's apartment with groceries, ready to celebrate her achievements. He and Zhao Xiaolei began cooking, but Xia Yan was still working late.
When Lin Hao called her, she apologized, explaining she had lost track of time due to work and asked them to eat without her, promising to return as soon as she could. Simultaneously, President Xu brought Xia Yan a late-night meal at the office. Xia Yan explained she was reorganizing the "Show Me" talent show plan, noting that the current pool of internet celebrities lacked diversity. She proposed inviting a wider variety of talents to challenge societal standards.
Xu Chengyi encouraged her ideas and told her to organize them for him to review the next day, but insisted she eat first, even giving her an egg from his meal. He playfully commented on her working late and suggested the company might need to offer "emotional compensation" if her relationship suffered. Back at the apartment, Lin Hao and Zhao Xiaolei ate.
Zhao Xiaolei confided in Lin Hao about her younger brother, a junior college graduate in marketing management, struggling to find a job. Lin Hao readily offered to help him, saying it was no trouble to assist Xia Yan’s close friend and a fellow student union alumnus, earning Zhao Xiaolei’s heartfelt gratitude.
