Binary Love Episode 23 Recap
> Binary Love Recap
Fang Yuke surprised Linlin at a hotel where she had just arrived, finding the decor strangely elaborate with roses and balloons. Linlin, initially wondering if she was in the wrong room, called Fang Yuke, who then emerged from behind her. Linlin, stunned and speechless, asked him why he was there. Fang Yuke simply replied that he wanted to see her, then stepped forward and kissed her. The two then spent the night together in the hotel.
Later, Linlin, Zhu Li, Jie Jie, and Ruting gathered for a celebratory dinner. Zhu Li had ordered many dishes to celebrate Linlin's promotion but joked that Linlin would receive the bill, as it was her treat for getting promoted. Ruting mentioned that Xie Duanxi had been cooped up in the lab every day lately, returning home very late, and she had nothing else to do anyway.
Jie Jie revealed she had a date nearby later, which made the dinner convenient and efficient, but she kept the details of her date a secret. Zhu Li shared office gossip about a team leader and his secretary, but everyone, including Linlin, was unsurprised as the news had already spread throughout the company. Zhu Li then mused, "I mean, if one day Fang Yuke cheats on you. . ." Linlin immediately rebuked her, "There is no 'if.' Just eat."
After dinner, Linlin left for a meeting, Ruting left, and Jie Jie departed for her date, leaving Zhu Li alone. As Zhu Li ate a tart by the roadside, she spotted someone resembling Xie Duanxi. Just as she was about to approach, a car drove past, and when it cleared, Xie Duanxi had vanished. That night, Zhu Li was drinking and crying when Jie Jie found her.
Zhu Li insisted she had something extremely important to tell Jie Jie, but first, they needed to drink. Jie Jie initially declined, but upon hearing Zhu Li offer to pay, she promptly ordered a drink. Zhu Li then posed a hypothetical question: "If one day. . . you find your best friend's boyfriend cheats on her, are you going to tell her or not?" Jie Jie immediately reacted, asking if Xiao Yi had cheated.
Zhu Li realized that Jie Jie and Xiao Yi were together, but clarified that it was Xie Duanxi she was referring to. Jie Jie believed that some matters had to be disclosed, but Zhu Li worried about Ruting's temper, fearing she would "freak out." Jie Jie countered that Ruting only "looks scary," but "in fact, she is soft on the inside," citing her own Xiao Yi as an example. Zhu Li admitted she feared Ruting's sadness, not her anger.
Jie Jie advised her, "In spite of sadness, people have to look ahead." Fang Yuke and Linlin were relaxing on the sofa when he asked her when she would be free. Linlin, though recently very busy, agreed, acknowledging his sincerity. Fang Yuke explained he had a niece who loved Barbie dolls in wedding dresses, but as a man, he didn't know how to choose one. He asked Linlin to accompany him.
Linlin suggested buying online and having it shipped directly, but Fang Yuke said his niece disliked the ones he had already bought. He wanted Linlin to go to a physical store with him. Linlin checked her schedule and found she was only free on Thursday, but Fang Yuke had a client meeting that day. She then agreed to accompany him the following morning. The next morning, Linlin and Fang Yuke went to pick out the gift.
Fang Yuke told her to simply "pick whichever you like." Linlin looked at the wedding dress Barbies and wondered aloud which niece he was referring to, as she had met most of his relatives. Fang Yuke confirmed she had met her, describing her as smart and full of "wonderful ideas in her head." Linlin found the description "pretty cute," and Fang Yuke responded, "She is just like you." Linlin then chose a simple yet beautiful design.
Fang Yuke was pleased, believing "she's gonna love it." While at the store, Linlin received a phone call from Ruting and stepped away to answer it. Ruting, suspicious of Xie Duanxi's recent behavior, asked Linlin about Fang Yuke's whereabouts last Friday. Linlin confirmed he was working and came home around 11:00 PM.
Ruting, realizing Xie Duanxi had lied to her about being with Fang Yuke that day, then asked about Saturday before abruptly saying she didn't know what had happened and would only return to Linlin once she "figured it out." This left Linlin feeling suspicious. After returning home, Linlin discreetly questioned Fang Yuke about his work, then later, after he fell asleep, she examined his clothes and checked his phone, finding taxi receipts and searching for his client's company name.
The next morning, Linlin informed Fang Yuke that her meeting was canceled and she would wait for him at home. Fang Yuke suggested she go to bed early since he would be back late, but Linlin insisted on waiting. After Fang Yuke left, Linlin retrieved a strand of hair she had found on his clothes earlier, scrutinized it, and then discarded it in the trash. Soon after, Ruting arrived, visibly upset, and immediately declared, "Xie Duanxi cheated on me."
She presented Linlin with a collection of evidence, including Xie Duanxi's lab clock-in records and taxi records, showing his increasing frequency of overtime and visits to a particular location after work. She also cited takeout orders indicating he wasn't alone. Ruting highlighted Xie Duanxi's lie about being with Fang Yuke last Friday, contrasting it with Linlin's confirmation that Fang Yuke had been at work.
Linlin, however, found the evidence circumstantial, arguing it didn't directly prove infidelity and that Xie Duanxi wasn't "that kind of person." Ruting, determined to eliminate her doubts, pulled Linlin along to the hotel Xie Duanxi frequently visited. At the hotel, Ruting pointed out "the woman" she suspected Xie Duanxi was meeting. She secretly texted Xie Duanxi, who replied that he was doing experiments in the lab.
Moments later, Xie Duanxi appeared and embraced the woman, confirming Ruting's fears and leaving her heartbroken. As Xie Duanxi and the woman sat down to talk, he soon left. Ruting, initially wanting to confront the woman, decided to fix her makeup first, prioritizing her appearance even in distress. As she did so, Fang Yuke unexpectedly arrived, carrying a box, and greeted the same woman with similar intimacy.
The woman remarked that Fang Yuke's "girlfriend" must like "this kind of wedding dress," and that she would alter his suit to match the dress. Linlin, witnessing Fang Yuke's arrival and recalling the perfume she smelled on him and the long hair she found, concluded that Fang Yuke was also having an affair. She angrily blamed both Fang Yuke and Xie Duanxi for cheating together.
Misinterpreting Fang Yuke's discussion with the woman about altering a wedding dress (which was for Linlin's Barbie choice), Linlin and Ruting believed their boyfriends were having an affair and quickly hailed a taxi to follow Fang Yuke. During the chase, the taxi driver, realizing they were on a "catch-the-cheater" mission, made insensitive comments about young people and infidelity, even suggesting he would cheat if he were in the boyfriends' position.
Linlin and Ruting, enraged, yelled at the driver to stop the car, and a physical altercation ensued, leading them both to the police station. Fang Yuke and Xie Duanxi arrived to bail them out. Linlin and Ruting downplayed the incident, claiming they fought with the driver over an attempted detour and refusing to elaborate further, telling their boyfriends not to ask about it.
Upon leaving the police station, Linlin and Ruting agreed to continue their "shopping" (their code for investigating the woman) the next day. Meanwhile, Zhu Li, having finally relayed her sighting of Xie Duanxi with the "purple hair woman" to Jie Jie, was surprised to learn from Ruting that she and Linlin had already been investigating and that Fang Yuke was also involved with the same woman.
Zhu Li, incensed, declared her intent to make the woman "apologize" and called both Fang Yuke and Xie Duanxi "scums." She and Jie Jie decided to join Linlin and Ruting that night, using "shopping" as their WeChat code. Zhu Li enthusiastically prepared "professional outfits," including a hairnet and a jacket, for all of them, expecting a fight. However, traffic delayed their arrival.
Unable to wait any longer, Linlin and Ruting decided to enter the location by themselves, as they couldn't reach Zhu Li or Jie Jie due to dead phone batteries. To their surprise, they discovered it was not a clandestine meeting place, but a wedding dress shop. Meanwhile, Fang Yuke made a phone call to Xie Duanxi, stating that Ruting and Linlin had "found out about us."
He noted that Ruting and Linlin were "not such impulsive people," implying their current behavior was unusual. He concluded, "In this case, we have to do it in a different way." Xie Duanxi agreed, confirming, "There's no need to keep it from them now." They agreed to meet "tomorrow at the same place."
