Binary Love Episode 19 Recap
> Binary Love Recap
As their final year of university began, everyone started making new choices for their future lives. Zhou Linlin reminded Zhu Li that their interview at BQ was only an hour away, urging her to hurry and get ready. Zhu Li expressed her desire to look perfect, as BQ was the ultimate dream for design students, hoping to leave a good first impression.
Linlin teased her that interviewers would fall in love with her because she was so beautiful; Zhu Li then clarified that interviewers were mostly women. Zhu Li confirmed she had given up plans for a master's degree abroad to start at BQ sooner. They also briefly discussed Ruting, who wasn't worried about finding a job or continuing her studies because she had a family business to inherit. Linlin again rushed Zhu Li to leave for the interview.
Meanwhile, Fang Yuke and his team, including Da Zui, were checking out their new office space. Da Zui was impressed by the prime location, suggesting their company, "Fangzhou Technology," would soon be listed for funding. Fang Yuke had indeed settled on the name "Fangzhou Technology," explaining it conveyed a sense of technical revolution. Zhu Li quickly went to buy makeup, leaving Linlin to take the elevator alone. There, Linlin unexpectedly encountered Mr. Xiao.
Recognizing him, she commented that he must be a major client of BQ, given the sophisticated design of his bar. Xiao Yi confirmed his importance to BQ, and Linlin explained she was there for a designer interview, admitting to some nervousness. Xiao Yi confidently told her that a gifted designer like her would be very welcome at BQ. Upon entering BQ, Xiao Yi was greeted as "Mr. Xiao" by everyone.
He was there for a meeting about a new brand project and introduced Linlin as an interviewee, wishing her good luck before heading to his meeting. When called for her interview, Linlin went in. Shortly after, Zhu Li emerged from her interview feeling overwhelmed by its difficulty. Linlin, however, had found her interview surprisingly straightforward, despite both being interviewed by Hanna, the Director of the Design Department.
Hanna had asked Linlin about various design styles, and when Linlin offered to sketch them, Hanna declined and immediately offered her a salary of 8,000 RMB after tax, higher than Linlin's requested 6,000 RMB. In contrast, Zhu Li was asked to answer detailed questions in English and was offered 6,000 RMB before tax, leaving her feeling disheartened, especially since Linlin had even been offered coffee during her interview.
Hanna later explained to her staff that she would keep both girls for the probation period. She noted Linlin's quick and quality sketching of different design styles, and subtly revealed that Linlin had previously worked with Mr. Xiao and attended a master class, hinting at the special treatment. A heavy rain began to fall. Zhu Li, having an appointment with a rental agent, offered Linlin a ride, but Linlin declined, saying she was meeting Fang Yuke for dinner.
Linlin then texted Fang Yuke, telling him not to come pick her up, as she could run over. However, Xiao Yi emerged from the building, saw Linlin in the rain, and quickly offered her his umbrella, suggesting they walk together as he was also heading in the same direction. He asked about her interview, and Linlin replied it went smoothly, though she was unsure of the outcome.
Xiao Yi reassured her, stating that truly talented designers transcend formal interviews and he believed she would succeed. He then inquired if her aspirations remained the same. Linlin explained that her ideals were now more concrete, shaped by her half-month quarantine during the pandemic. Witnessing volunteers' laborious disinfection efforts daily made her ponder the true essence of industrial design: to create solutions for everyday problems. Xiao Yi noted that her thinking had matured significantly.
Just then, a breathless Fang Yuke arrived, recognizing Xiao Yi from his MMP bar. Fang Yuke thanked him for helping Linlin, and Xiao Yi gracefully left. Linlin commented to Fang Yuke that meeting Xiao Yi was like something out of a novel. Fang Yuke, playfully jealous, dismissed it as a "horror novel," then vowed to grow Fangzhou Technology rapidly, collaborate with BQ, and become her client himself.
As they walked away in the rain, Fang Yuke, with Da Zui and a friend, successfully pitched Fangzhou Technology's software development project to investors. He highlighted their unique advantage: complete independent intellectual property rights for their software, a solution he developed during his undergraduate studies, which would free the industry from reliance on foreign patents. This pitch secured their first investment. Both Zhou Linlin and Zhu Li received their acceptance offers from BQ, celebrating their success.
That night, Xiao Yi, reviewing the list of accepted interns, smiled when he saw Zhou Linlin's name. Fang Yuke then surprised Linlin by taking her to BQ, where he revealed he had rented an office for Fangzhou Technology on the floor above BQ. He explained he wanted to be close to her and believed in his ability to earn more money, having secured the location even before she received her offer, confident she would get in.
Linlin found his "weird confidence" contagious. He promised another surprise the next day, and Linlin correctly guessed their company logo was Morse code. Fang Yuke then led Linlin to a new house he had chosen, conveniently located near their workplaces and boasting excellent design and greenery. Linlin adored the place, especially the large floor-to-ceiling window. Fang Yuke proposed they buy it, given his company's good financial standing, and entrusted Linlin with the full responsibility of decorating it.
Linlin playfully warned him of her expensive taste, to which Fang Yuke sweetly replied he would pay "by installments. . . with the rest of my life" before they shared a kiss. Meanwhile, Ruting began working at her father's company, finding the work uninteresting. She was tasked with the "City Floating Garden Project" but expressed her disinterest to a subordinate, telling them not to call her "Miss Ye" as she wasn't her father.
She called Xie Duanxi, complaining about her work and urging him to "elope" with her. Xie Duanxi, a first-year graduate student pursuing a master-doctor combined program, stated it would take at least four more years to graduate, leading Ruting to joke they could have a two-year-old child by then. He suggested they start their "procedure" with him picking her up and dropping her off daily.
Ruting contrasted his situation with Fang Yuke, who had started his own business for more freedom. When Xie Duanxi pressed her, Ruting admitted she preferred him. They were later seen happily decorating their new home. Zhu Li, struggling to find affordable housing near BQ, complained about the high rent being several times her salary. Da Zui and a friend offered to show her a suitable apartment via video call, but she dismissed their suggestions and hung up.
When Linlin returned, she found Zhu Li looking at the floor plan of her new house, which Fang Yuke had bought. Linlin happily shared details about their ongoing decoration, prompting Zhu Li to accuse her of "torturing her for four years" and "throwing a nuclear bomb," feeling Linlin was flaunting her relationship.
Another roommate, Wang Jie, tried to console Zhu Li by suggesting she would get used to being alone, which only agitated Zhu Li further, causing her to storm off to eat. Linlin, dismissing Zhu Li's outburst as "graduation syndrome," turned her attention to designing a new electronic wristband product, her "next dream." In a company meeting, Zhou Linlin presented her electronic wristband design, a product she called her "next dream," complete with design sketches and color schemes.
A colleague quickly dismissed the concept, arguing that the ideal of an automatic disinfectant spray within a wristband was impractical, as no such miniature atomizing devices existed. Linlin countered that design should be people-oriented, and solutions could be found once the concept was clear. However, the colleague reiterated that BQ was a design firm for clients, not for inventing products, and attempted to move on. At that moment, Xiao Yi entered and, having heard the discussion, intervened.
He acknowledged BQ's role as a design company but quoted Philippe Starck, stating, "Never put limits on yourself," and lauded Linlin's bracelet for "pushing the envelope." He then revealed that domestic research institutions had already developed mass-producible miniature atomizers. Therefore, Xiao Yi declared, BQ would launch its own product brand, starting with Linlin's wristband design, and instructed everyone to fully cooperate, expressing confidence in its market potential.
Hanna, the Design Director, was taken aback by this sudden announcement, calling it "too hasty." Xiao Yi explained that this move had been "brewing for a long time," awaiting the right product to kickstart it. Impressed by his decisive authority, Linlin later asked a colleague about Xiao Yi's identity, learning that he was not merely a significant client but "the boss" of BQ.
At her father's company, Ruting was reminded of a meeting for the City Floating Garden Project, a project she had previously dismissed. When Xie Duanxi unexpectedly arrived, Ruting worried her father would see them. Xie Duanxi, however, calmly informed Ruting's father that he was temporarily taking over the "City Floating Garden Project" while his tutor was abroad.
Ruting's father then offered Ruting the leave she had earlier requested, but she quickly retracted her request, asserting her obligation to be fully involved in such a crucial project. Her father, surprised by her sudden interest, asked when she began caring so much about the company, to which Ruting confidently replied, "From now on." Later that night, Xiao Yi found Zhou Linlin still working diligently at the BQ office.
He offered to move the next morning's wristband project meeting to the afternoon so she wouldn't have to stay up late, but Linlin insisted on finishing her work that night. When she tried to get hot water from a broken dispenser, Xiao Yi ingeniously used the coffee machine to prepare hot water for her, and even offered to order her food, which Linlin politely declined. Just then, Fang Yuke arrived, concerned that Linlin might be hungry staying up late.
He attempted to intervene in Xiao Yi's attentive gestures, but Linlin formally introduced Xiao Yi as "my boss." Upon this revelation, Fang Yuke, though clearly still wanting to be with Linlin, decided to go upstairs to his office, stating he had some work to finish, and promised to wait for Linlin downstairs to take her home.
Xiao Yi later encountered Fang Yuke in the lobby, inquiring if renting such an expensive office space for a startup right above BQ was causing him significant pressure. Fang Yuke, unfazed, responded that none of that mattered; the most important thing was simply being "close to Linlin."
