City of Streamer Episode 30 Recap
> City of Streamer Recap
Rong Jiashang and Feng Shizhen spent their days immersed in conversation and sweet nothings. Rong Jiashang was impressed by Feng Shizhen's diverse talents, including English, mathematics, archery, and cryptography, a skill she had acquired through her university's math club. Feng Shizhen revealed that Meng Xu'an had taught her many other abilities, such as using guns and daggers, horsemanship, basic self-defense, lock picking, and intelligence gathering, all intended to train her as a spy, not an assassin.
She explained that she often challenged Meng Xu'an's views and acted independently, even having a heated argument with him on the day they parted ways. Rong Jiashang observed that Meng Xu'an was obsessed with conquering others and aimed to destroy the Rong family. He then suggested that Meng Xu'an might have feelings for Feng Shizhen, which she scoffed at, describing Meng Xu'an as a man who hated the world, comparing him to a "grenade in a stove" ready to explode.
She asserted that he disliked even himself and couldn't possibly love anyone else, believing he only spared her out of empathy as she reminded him of his younger self. Rong Jiashang, however, simply stated that she understood nothing about men and dropped the subject. The next day, Rong Jiashang took Feng Shizhen to an antique shop where he selected three paintings by Mr. Qi for his father, having already purchased a bracelet for his mother.
He then offered the paintings to Feng Shizhen as housewarming gifts. As they were about to leave for dinner, Shiori Hashimoto unexpectedly appeared. Feng Shizhen discreetly stepped aside, leaving Rong Jiashang to speak with Shiori. Shiori explained that she was in Peking on business with her father and expressed sympathy for Rong Jiashang's recent broken engagement. She offered to talk if he ever felt upset.
She then tried to get him to help her choose art pieces for her father, claiming she wasn't knowledgeable, but Rong Jiashang politely declined, stating he wasn't an expert either. When she invited him to dinner, he promptly refused, citing a prior engagement. Shiori, left with no choice, departed looking displeased. Back at their residence, Feng Shizhen noted Rong Jiashang's strong aversion to Shiori. Despite having broken up years ago, Feng Shizhen found his animosity surprising.
Rong Jiashang explained that he had once been foolish enough to believe Shiori genuinely liked him. However, he soon discovered her two-faced nature when she secretly dated other rich young masters in Chongqing while still involved with him. He had overheard a conversation between Shiori and her mother, which revealed Shiori's true intentions.
She later approached Rong Dingkun, not merely to marry into the Rong family with her Gold Kylin dowry, but to manipulate Rong Dingkun into assassinating her elder brother, Hashimoto Taiichi. Her ultimate goal was to support her younger brother, Hashimoto Taiji, in taking over the Hashimoto family business. Rong Jiashang relayed that Meng Xu'an's actions at the auction, which resulted in Hashimoto Taiichi's death, ironically fulfilled Shiori's malicious wishes.
Feng Shizhen, feeling sorry for Rong Jiashang for having been deceived twice, once by Shiori and then by herself, expressed her remorse for having originally come to the Rong family under false pretenses. Rong Jiashang quickly dismissed her apologies, assuring her that she was nothing like Shiori.
He confessed his deep love for Feng Shizhen, admitting that he often woke up in fear that she wouldn't be by his side and that their relationship was merely his wishful thinking or her pity. Suddenly, Rong Jiashang received a phone call from a confidant in Shanghai, who reported that Rong Dingkun had shown signs of regaining consciousness, mumbling weakly before lapsing back into a coma.
The doctor confirmed that Rong Dingkun was out of danger and would eventually wake up. The confidant also mentioned having uncovered new information regarding Feng Shizhen's long-standing case, too complex to discuss over the phone. Rong Jiashang, deciding he needed to return to Shanghai immediately, bid a hasty farewell to Feng Shizhen, promising to be back in two days.
He jokingly wished she would cry and beg him to stay, to which she retorted that if he didn't return soon, she might assume the Rong family was going bankrupt. When he asked if she would despise him if he lost everything, she playfully assured him that as long as he remained handsome, she would consider earning money to support him.
Six days later, Shiori Hashimoto, seeking Rong Jiashang, arrived at his hotel in Peking only to find that he had already returned to Shanghai. She then invited Feng Shizhen to lunch, who reluctantly accepted. During lunch, Shiori subtly probed Feng Shizhen about her relationship with Rong Jiashang. Feng Shizhen revealed her intention to settle in Peking and continue working as a substitute teacher at a local school.
Shiori feigned disappointment at the prospect of Feng Shizhen and Rong Jiashang being in a long-distance relationship, questioning if Feng Shizhen could bear to leave Rong Jiashang alone in Shanghai. Feng Shizhen calmly retorted that he, in turn, trusted her to be alone in Peking, philosophical about relationships and fate. Shiori also shared her sorrow over Hashimoto Taiichi's death, remarking that the auction had turned into a disaster.
Feng Shizhen recounted how she had spotted an assailant on the roof aiming a gun at the stage and, realizing shouting would be useless, tackled Rong Jiashang to save him. Shiori admired her bravery, while Feng Shizhen admitted to being scared in retrospect. Later that day, Rong Jiashang unexpectedly returned to Peking, heading straight to Feng Shizhen's school. He revealed that his sister, Fanghua, had accepted Wu Yunchi's proposal.
Concerned about the marriage, Rong Jiashang asked Feng Shizhen to call Fanghua and discuss it with her. At the hotel, Feng Shizhen called Fanghua, who admitted she had thought long and hard about the proposal. Fanghua knew Wu Yunchi was a playboy with many female acquaintances, including a Yue Opera singer, and that his proposal stemmed from guilt rather than love.
However, she felt that marrying him was her best option, given her recent ordeal, and a way to move forward with her life. She also mentioned her father's "detailed and shrewd plans" for his children's marriages, but believed Wu Yunchi, despite his flaws, was better than any man her father would choose, whom she referred to as "rich brats".
She yearned to get married, enter the next stage of her life, become a rich man's wife, live a luxurious life, and even pursue medical studies in America with him. Feng Shizhen warned her that marriage wouldn't change a man and that a life without love would be a slow, painful ordeal, but Fanghua was resolute, stating that she and Rong Jiashang were also taking risks.
Feng Shizhen expressed her love for Rong Jiashang and her contentment with even a single day of shared happiness, which Fanghua envied, adding that she had learned that luck was a privilege not everyone had, and she had to choose what was in her best interest. Respecting her decision, Feng Shizhen wished Fanghua a happy engagement. After the call, Feng Shizhen told Rong Jiashang that Fanghua seemed to truly like Wu Yunchi and was willing to gamble on their marriage.
Rong Jiashang, however, knew Wu Yunchi's preference for lively, challenging women, noting that Fanghua's honest and devoted nature would make him overlook her. He lamented that as an elder brother, his influence would wane once they were married. Feng Shizhen then informed him that Wu Yunchi had even gone to church to be baptized for Fanghua. She hoped this gesture indicated a genuine change of heart and a commitment to a good marriage.
That night, Rong Jiashang appeared preoccupied, staring at Feng Shizhen, who sensed something was amiss. He confessed he missed her greatly and regretted not having met her earlier to prevent her past sufferings. Feng Shizhen, however, declared her present happiness, stating no one had ever made her as joyful as he did. Rong Jiashang then asked who could commit such a cruel act against a child.
Feng Shizhen, her voice filled with emotion, revealed that her biological father was the one responsible. She recounted how her mother had taken her to meet him before her death, asking her to call him "father," and how he had then killed her mother and pushed her into a river. This was why she had initially prevented Rong Jiashang from investigating her past in Bailiu Town.
She also recalled his subsequent inquiries at the police for her body, confirming his culpability. Rong Jiashang comforted her, but Feng Shizhen, now convinced of her father's monstrous deeds, vowed to avenge her mother's death, even if it meant killing her own father. She somberly reflected that compared to her biological father, Rong Dingkun, despite his terrible actions, was a far better father because he would never harm his own children.
Unbeknownst to Feng Shizhen, Rong Jiashang's subordinate in Shanghai had already completed the investigation into her true identity. The subordinate reported that Feng Shizhen's mother, surnamed Bai, and her brother had traveled from Guojia Town or Darong Town. While no one explicitly named Bai died, a "Miss Qian" in Darong Town, who was a stepdaughter of the Qian family but whose biological father was a Bai, matched the timeline of Feng Shizhen's mother's death.
This Miss Qian had married into the Rong family in Guojia Town. The subordinate presented Rong Jiashang with a faded photograph of Miss Qian and her husband. To Rong Jiashang's horror, the husband in the picture was Rong Dingkun, implying that Feng Shizhen was his half-sister. Distraught and refusing to believe it, Rong Jiashang violently reacted, grabbing his subordinate by the collar, demanding he explain.
He then threatened him to keep the secret, reminding him of his son in the hospital. The subordinate, profusely vowing loyalty, agreed to bring Miss Qian's sister, the woman who provided the photo, to Shanghai for Rong Jiashang to question personally.
