Dating in the Kitchen Recap, Plot, Synopsis
Dating in the Kitchen Synopsis
The most unbelievable thing in the life of the girl Gu Shengnan is when she was suffering a double hit of break-up and unemployment, waiting for the prince to come to rescue her on a white horse, she met Lu Jin.
But who would have thought that this prince is a tricky and picky, snarky and arrogant, upgraded version of “Monk”, but this “Monk” is not vegetarian!
The arrogant foodie Lu Jin had a lot of conflicts with the talented chef Gu Shengnan after they met, but he was always attracted by Gu Shengnan’s exquisite cooking.
In the process of getting along, they fatedly got closer and closer.
Finally, president Lu Jin took off his cool elite mask and turned into a loyal boyfriend, and the “little faerie” also learned how to love.
They reaped simple happiness in food.
Dating in the Kitchen Recap
Episode 1 Recap
This is a story of the encounter between food and love. The female lead, Gu Shengnan, is extremely skilled at cooking delicacies, and her craftsmanship is astonishing. She works in the back kitchen of a high-end hotel, has a cheerful and kind personality, and gets along lively and harmoniously with her colleagues. The sunlight, along with the alarm clock, woke her up to a busy day. Gu Shengnan got ready and came to the hotel's back kitchen.
Three baskets of ingredients were already waiting for her to handle. Her assistant and colleague beside her was thinking about her signature dish, called Slap Fried Rice. The fragrance of rice wafted from the small kitchen, attracting the assistant who squeezed into the narrow aisle. Gu Shengnan suddenly remembered she was missing an ingredient. The assistant left after taking a phone call. The back kitchen was left unattended, and a wire caused a burst of fiery red light.
When she returned, the fire was spreading rapidly, burning various bottles and jars. Gu Shengnan ran out, grabbed a basin of water, and immediately rushed back. The male lead, Lu Jin, is a president with a discerning palate. Under the guise of inspecting the back kitchen, he encountered a kitchen fire, which led to the two meeting.
Gu Shengnan mistakenly believed this president was the arsonist, and carrying a basin of water, she went up, effectively splashing out a lot of resentment. Because Lu Jin was there to acquire the hotel, Gu Shengnan had caused considerable trouble. The manager now wished the kitchen had just caught fire, which would at least be better than Lu Jin getting soaked. Without a word, he summoned Gu Shengnan and threatened to fire her.
Meanwhile, he had to apologize to Lu Jin, hoping to play down the incident. Lu Jin, full of resentment, tasted the dishes the manager served one after another. This one tasted like plastic, that one was soaked in garlic; he couldn't taste anything, it was like chewing wax. With no other choice, he decided to give it one last shot and asked for a bowl of Gu Shengnan's Slap Fried Rice. Lu Jin miraculously changed his mind.
Misfortune came in waves. Gu Shengnan's friend, Xu Zhaodi, was cheated and lost her wallet while clubbing. She was yelling and shouting on the phone. Gu Shengnan's sense of justice rushed straight to her head, and she instigated her friend to seek revenge, but they mistook the swindler's car. Coincidentally, they pranked Lu Jin's sports car and got caught red-handed. Is there anything worse than being caught in the act?
President Lu Jin stared at her with deep-seated bitterness, his face showing something like "Is this woman a ghost or something, haunting me like this?" Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, the best is to run away. She babbled Korean in a panic, preparing to slip away, but unexpectedly, Lu Jin's Korean was better than hers, and he insisted on communicating with her. Her spirits flagged, and she knew she couldn't leave now.
Under Lu Jin's coercion, he even made her reenact the crime scene and recorded a video as evidence. With the upper hand, Gu Shengnan could only apologize nicely and promise compensation. Lu Jin wrote his phone number on her bag and continued to threaten her, saying he would call the police if he didn't get a response within half an hour. As luck would have it, today was Lu Jin's birthday.
His assistant suggested various leisure options, but Lu Jin gave no face at all, dismissing the assistant himself and his boring suggestions. He went out alone to find food, but the navigation led him to a food stall. Gu Shengnan also came to the food stall to see her grandfather. Here, outdoor tables and chairs were decorated with colorful lights, the atmosphere was thick with everyday life, and the constant scraping sound of woks and bowls added to the ambiance.
Everything was slow-paced, comfortable, and laid-back. Her grandfather sat at the table and immediately asked about Gu Shengnan being fired. After a few casual words and some comfort, he handed her a large red envelope. He then lamented having no children. Gu Shennan wasn't happy about this and mentioned her grandfather's son, her father. As her grandfather sighed and turned to leave, he reminded Gu Shengnan not to touch his wok spatula.
A straightforward and innocent granddaughter like her would, of course, use her grandfather's wok behind his back. How could she be an obedient girl who does exactly what she's told? At Lu Jin's table at the food stall, before he had even ordered, a bowl of clam noodles was served. His doubts vanished, replaced by fascination with the color, aroma, and taste. He picked up his chopsticks and ate with great relish.
Hearing the sound of cooking still coming from the kitchen, he stepped forward, ready to go inside and see the true face [of the chef]. The chef in front of him had her back turned, tying her apron with swift movements. Her headscarf was neatly tied, her hair neatly coiled. Her technique for turning the spoon and flipping sauces was skilled. Of course, she was also preparing to use her grandfather's wok spatula, truly seizing the opportunity.
As the saying goes, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it. Gu Shengnan was busy cooking in the front, and Lu Jin was exploring behind her. Who knew Gu Shengnan's grandfather was also following behind? The grandfather was wondering why there was a stranger in the kitchen. As he opened his mouth to ask, Lu Jin didn't speak, but Gu Shengnan, head down and back bent, scurried away and disappeared.
Gu Shengnan, having slunk out, fled in a panic, not even noticing that she had knocked over a spoon. Lu Jin picked it up, examining it thoughtfully, and made up an excuse for going into the back kitchen before putting the spoon away. After all, he was very interested in the female chef he had just seen, or perhaps he wasn't sure if he was interested in the clam noodles or the female chef.
Episode 2 Recap
After Lu Jin left, the back kitchen returned to quietness. The grandfather felt there was nothing to do, but then he discovered a stack of money on the counter, quietly left by Gu Shengnan. Who said lonely old people are pitiful? Gu Shengnan wanted her grandfather to feel that he was not childless; he still had her, his granddaughter, and she could show him filial piety. She tried her best to provide him with familial happiness.
During the lunch hour, Lu Jin sat again at the long table where he first dined. He was anxious inside but pretended to be calm and suppressed it. Because of Lu Jin's fondness, and his fondness was only for Gu Shengnan's cooking skills, Gu Shengnan, who had just been fired, was rehired. She had gone back and forth. When she returned, Gu Shengnan was lively and energetic, standing across from the manager like the Chu-Han border, confronting him.
She used every trick in the book: being unruly, playful, and unreasonable. With her cooking skills in hand, it would truly be a disservice to all the potatoes she had peeled over the years not to be arrogant and cocky. When it was time to be proud, she had to be proud. Gu Shengnan changed into the head chef's uniform that very day, and her title became Chef Gu.
For no other reason than that Lu Jin in room 1123 could only eat the food she made, and Lu Jin's opinion was crucial to the acquisition of the entire hotel. Weighing the pros and cons, Gu Shengnan's position was much more important. In less than a single day, the 'liberated serf' was singing. After work, her phone buzzed with messages from the WeChat group. Messages from Xu Zhaodi and another friend arrived.
Using the excuse of celebrating her promotion, they took it upon themselves to book the room next door to 1123. So, in the dead of night, bouncing, shouting, and screaming filled the entire hotel room, even shattering the silence of the adjacent 1123, disturbing Lu Jin.
It didn't matter if the private room was expensive, it didn't matter if the bar drinks were like drinking money, the money was going to be spent anyway, so they might as well have fun. After three rounds of drinks, their minds became chaotic. Gu Shengnan curled up on the sofa, half-asleep and groggy, only remembering that she seemed to have just told her friends that she wanted to repay the kindness of 1123.
If it weren't for the occupant of 1123, she probably would have been begging on the street. Now, she took a breath, woke up dizzily, ready to repay the kindness, but where did her yelling friends from earlier go? One by one, they had disappeared. The alcohol fogged her mind, she couldn't think of too many details, her mind was filled with repaying kindness, repaying kindness.
Carrying a wine bottle, barefoot, wearing pajamas and with messy hair, she disregarded everything and 'climbed mountains and crossed ridges' to reach the target destination, 1123. Meanwhile, Xu Zhaodi, who had abandoned her friends without a word, appeared at a bar. Coincidentally, Lu Jin's assistant gracefully walked over to strike up a conversation. Just as he had ordered a drink and hadn't even sat down, his phone rang.
He didn't get the beautiful woman's contact information and was called back urgently by his boss on the phone, seemingly in a great hurry. Here in 1123, there was a heavy thud on Lu Jin's balcony. A Cinderella fell down. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the girl who had splashed water and messed up his car. His face immediately didn't show the expression of seeing Cinderella.
Seeing the guest from 1123 standing in front of her, Gu Shengnan shouted excitedly with sincere gratitude, and then in her excitement, she threw up all the alcohol stain on Lu Jin. Lu Jin was about to reason with her, but Gu Shengnan fell heavily to the ground again, completely drunk. Lu Jin even suspected she did it on purpose to avoid being scolded. Covered in dirt and alcohol stains, Lu Jin needed to wash up.
He took off his clothes and went into the bathroom to shower. Gu Shengnan was woken by the sound of water. She thought the other person was possessed by a pervert and had malicious intentions, and instantly sobered up, thinking of ways to defeat the enemy decisively. Lu Jin heard the sound and pulled the door open to check, only to see the hungover woman after another heavy fall. If the enemy doesn't move, I don't move.
Just keep falling like this. This was Gu Shengnan lying on the floor at this moment. Lu Jin put her back on the bed and continued his shower. No matter how he moved her back and forth, she played dead and didn't budge. The assistant happened to return, opened the door, and saw the pajama-clad girl lying messily on the bed, and the president who had taken off his jacket and looked helpless. This time, it was hard to explain.
Lu Jin stammered, intending to clarify the whole situation. During the detailed explanation, he casually pointed, and there was no one on the bed! Is this girl really a ghost? She comes and goes without a trace. The next morning after her hangover, Gu Shengnan went to work. 1123 had already set up a themed lunch for her, specifically asking for dishes made with red wine. Gu Shengnan had a burst of inspiration, pairing steak, pear, pigeon, and pudding.
She used whatever she could find, creating a rich variety of dishes that were bright and attractive in color, exquisitely plated, and contained various clever little touches subtly hidden within them. Plates of delicious dishes were sent to the long table. Lu Jin's curiosity and anticipation were both satisfied, doubling his satisfaction, so he requested to meet this amazing female chef.
Gu Shengnan immediately felt guilty and hid, sending a dish with rich meaning via an attendant next to her, refusing Lu Jin's request for a meeting. Since the chef wouldn't come, Lu Jin personally deigned to walk to the back kitchen. The well-informed attendant, with sharp eyes, immediately sent a warning signal. As expected, she couldn't avoid it. Gu Shengnan was a step slow, and they met in the hallway.
Gu Shengnan quickly twisted around to change, donning her work uniform and mask, letting her long hair down, and naturally brushing past Lu Jin. However, she had turned around in a hurry just now and hadn't realized her headscarf had fallen off. Lu Jin held the headscarf and called for the long-haired girl walking towards him to stop.
Episode 3 Recap
Turning around, their eyes met. Gu Shengnan wore a mask, half-covering her face. Lu Jin held the headscarf in his hand, comparing the half-face in front of him with the girl who brought bad luck. Their eyebrows and eyes were similar. It wouldn't be appropriate to directly pull off her mask; that would be too rude.
He said sorry, admitting his mistake, and made a move to leave, but then, catching her off guard, he casually asked about the headscarf, if it belonged to Gu Shengnan. Blame it on his overly casual tone which made people lower their guard. Without thinking, Gu Shengnan automatically completed the lost and found process.
Lu Jin was now 100% certain: the mysterious female chef was the same person who needed to pay for the car two days ago, and also the Gu Shengnan standing in front of him now. In the hotel's back kitchen, Gu Shengnan muttered to herself gloomily, wondering if he had recognized her or not. It seemed he had, so why didn't he say anything or lose his temper?
Before she could figure out the answer, orders kept printing nonstop from the menu machine in the back kitchen, one after another, so many they could bury someone. And they specifically requested that only she make them; no one else could interfere, not even to help. It seemed that sometimes exclusive favor wasn't necessarily a good thing. Gu Shengnan mustered her spirit, ready to meet whatever came her way. The barefoot aren't afraid of the shoed. She decided to fight!
In the entire back kitchen, other chefs were busy, and she was busy too. When the other chefs became free, she was still busy making desserts. Meanwhile, President Lu Jin and his assistant Meng Xinjie were in room 1123, savoring the flavors around the long table filled with exquisite delicacies. Gu Shengnan was still battling away in the back kitchen, surrounded by pots and pans.
After eating and drinking their fill, Lu Jin met with the hotel owner, evaluated a list, and drove the price down very low. He walked out for a stroll by the pool, talking on the phone with Li Man abroad about the acquisition, and was in a good mood. Tired after a day's work, Gu Shengnan curled up on a chair in the back kitchen and fell asleep again.
The manager, annoyed by her slacking off, sent her out to get some fresh air to wake up. Lu Jin was standing by the pool, but in Gu Shengnan's eyes, there was only the giant inflatable Fortune God doll next to her. Beside it was another deflated one lying flat on the ground. She pressed the inflation switch, and air instantly filled the balloon doll, also knocking over Lu Jin, who was standing by the water. Another tragedy unfolded.
Apologizing, and still having to apologize after apologizing, endless 'I'm sorry's. Gu Shengnan stood before the door of 1123, bowing to assistant Meng Xinjie. Meng Xinjie urged her to quickly pay back the car money, because there really wasn't any other convincing apology besides that. After scolding Gu Shengnan and turning back, Meng Xinjie reminded his boss that Gu Shengnan must have an ulterior motive, and every time he met her, something bad happened.
Lu Jin, on the other hand, thought it was a different kind of ulterior motive, for example, having ulterior motives towards him as a person. So, he picked up the phone and ordered another dish. As evening approached, the other chefs got off work. Just as Gu Shengnan was about to leave, an order clanked and rattled out of the machine.
In an instant, Gu Shengnan felt like a deflated ball, unable to bounce to a greater height no matter how hard she tried. President Lu Jin from 1123 ordered a Witch's Brew. This dish had no requirements yet also had requirements: choose any ingredients, and the taste must contain love to be considered successful. Such a soup with significant meaning, Lu Jin wanted her to make it?
While mumbling, Gu Shengnan still carefully decided to make a bowl of mushroom soup. Knives and cutting boards on the counter tapped rhythmically. Onion and mushrooms, diced and minced, were added to the pot one after another. The milky white soup gave off a fragrance that slowly drifted. After setting the timer, Gu Shengnan didn't know where she had curled up to sleep again.
Unexpectedly, Lu Jin's craving and anticipation for delicious food had reached the point where he couldn't sit still. After waiting for a long time and the food didn't arrive, he reappeared in the back kitchen. The mushroom soup on the stove was still simmering. He casually scooped a spoonful and felt it tasted good. Then, his limbs became numb and he fell to the ground, unable to get up.
The sound of him falling startled Gu Shengnan, who crawled out to check. Lu Jin had drunk raw poisonous mushrooms. It was best to throw it up quickly. Saving a life was urgent. Gu Shengnan immediately mixed detergent with water and poured it down his throat, patting him to induce vomiting. Lu Jin rolled over and threw up the mushroom soup, and then started hiccuping and blowing bubbles. For a moment, many colorful bubbles floated in the air.
It was hard to tell whether to find it dreamy and romantic or be relieved that Lu Jin had escaped danger after being poisoned. The back kitchen surveillance video of this incident was spread everywhere the next day. The moment Lu Jin opened the door, he was greeted by more 'I'm sorry's. A group of people collectively apologized to him. Finally, Gu Shengnan hurried over, skillfully bowing and shouting 'I'm sorry' as if it were routine.
The scene was inexplicably familiar, so familiar that Lu Jin felt sorry for himself. This was simply the most unlucky day of his life. Afterwards, in the hotel hallway stood Gu Shengnan and the hotel manager. The scene was slightly different from the confrontation a few days ago. This time, Gu Shengnan was about to be fired again because Lu Jin said he would never eat her food again. Of course, a manager wouldn't cherish a mere kitchen helper.
Chef Gu was about to be unemployed again. In the vast city, traffic flowed like water and people came and went, brushing past each other fleetingly. No one would worry whether Gu Shengnan would lose her job, after all, it was none of their business.
Episode 4 Recap
Gu Shengnan sent out many resumes but received no replies. As if misfortunes weren't enough, she received a call from Meng Xinjie urging her to pay. Had the dark days of a bleak future just arrived? She was still young, she was still so excellent, there were still plenty of opportunities, Gu Shengnan said this to a photo of her and her grandfather. With family around, there was always a reliance, and the courage to continue.
Xu Zhaodi was walking along the road, sending voice messages back and forth to comfort Gu Shengnan, hoping she would cheer up, preferably to the point where she wouldn't blame her. Just as she was talking, Meng Xinjie drove up and stopped in front of her. After hearing just a couple of sentences, he realized they were all old acquaintances; Xu Zhaodi and Gu Shengnan were best friends, and both had offended his boss. This world was really pitifully small.
Lu Jin went to several restaurants and came to one conclusion: either eat or go hungry. Whose fault was it that Gu Shengnan's skills were too exquisite, causing Lu Jin to temporarily be unable to find anything else edible to fill his stomach? He had gone hungry all day, and now late at night he was out looking for food he could eat, disdaining this and finding that unappetizing.
He circled around and ended up at Gu Shengnan's grandfather's food stall again, stopping for a portion of clam noodles Gu Shengnan had just finished making. The appearance, smell, and taste were extremely familiar. He had just said he would never eat anything Gu Shengnan made again, and now Lu Jin was contradicting himself unexpectedly, at the speed of light. Gu Shengnan looked down on his behavior and mocked him a few times.
Unexpectedly, Auntie Wang and a drunk man got into a dispute behind her. She quickly ran over to mediate, and seeing things going wrong, she turned around and swung the bottle without hesitation. The bottle dodged Auntie Wang, dodged the drunk man, and dodged Meng Xinjie, but it didn't dodge Lu Jin's head. His clam noodles hung suspended on his chopsticks, and in the end, they didn't make it into his mouth. It was another hungry night. Lu Jin fainted.
Meng Xinjie stood at Gu Shengnan's doorstep, stopped her, and took her all the way to the hospital. Gu Shengnan crept in along the wall, meekly, it was another time she had to apologize and pay compensation to President Lu Jin. At this point, it didn't matter who was unlucky and who wasn't.
Lu Jin asked Meng Xinjie to thoroughly calculate the sum for Gu Shengnan, from the car to the bottle, adding up incident by incident, including emotional damages, a total of 130,000. Gu Shengnan asked him to find another rich person, such as her grandfather or Auntie Wang and other elderly people with savings, but Lu Jin retorted with one sentence: 'Contact a lawyer,' pushing her back. She had no choice but to repay it herself, slowly.
Meng Xinjie then handed her a cooking repayment agreement, clearly prepared in advance. The previous calculation and the mention of a lawyer were just a pretense, a trick to scare her. Are all bosses so cunning and calculating? So, she provided her home address and contact number, and Gu Shennan began preparing for the long road of repayment. For the first meal, Lu Jin wanted a seafood feast.
Gu Shengnan packed a box of lobster and abalone from her grandfather's shop and took off running, returning to her small place in "Cheng Deli" to quietly work on the big task, using a variety of cooking methods: pan-frying, deep-frying, boiling, braising, simmering, slipping, and roasting. Lu Jin, dressed in a sharp suit and wool coat, stood at the noisy intersection, observing this alleyway filled with a strong sense of life.
Electric bikes skillfully weaved around pedestrians, aunts lifted poles to dry clothes, and grandmothers squatted at doorways, eating rice mixed with the sounds of the bustling world. The small lives flowed slowly and unhurriedly. Lu Jin was wide-eyed, carefully savoring the atmosphere here, when someone rushing down the stairs at the corner knocked him into a box of cabbage in the corner. His president's coat was stuck with the cabbage, making him look battered and comical.
At a table in the Finnish restaurant, Xu Zhaodi sat down, and Meng Xinjie opposite her began revealing each other's secrets. Gu Shengnan's address was sold out by Xu Zhaodi. To avoid Lu Jin's questioning, Gu Shengnan promised her that she would take the initiative to have Xu Zhaodi treat Meng Xinjie to a meal. The mutual scheming and exploitation between good sisters were openly discussed.
Xu Zhaodi said Gu Shengnan was immoral, while Meng Xinjie praised himself for actually resisting the temptation. The door to "Cheng Deli" was knocked. It really wasn't easy to come for a meal. What was even more difficult was yet to come. Gu Shengnan wore a standard waiter's vest and tie, standing with a graceful posture and professional gestures. Her attitude was clearly business-like. The utensils were meticulously covered with lids.
She served a plate of crab roe, sea urchin, and caviar. A thin mist settled over the dish, and hot steam rose. Smelling it up close, the aroma was refreshing. Lu Jin let out a deep sigh of satisfaction and began to eat. At the Finnish restaurant, Meng Xinjie and Xu Zhaodi called the waiter for the check. Xu Zhaodi directly requested to split the bill, and from then on, they would go their separate ways and not meet again.
As night fell, in Cheng Deli, the dim yellow light shone peacefully on the table. Gu Shengnan broke the atmosphere by handing him a bill for 2,600. The details were clearly itemized, logical and justified. Lu Jin looked at it and thought it wouldn't be that expensive at all, at most five or six hundred.
Gu Shengnan, however, played a sly game, fabricating that the red wine Lu Jin brought himself was expensive, and the service fee was a percentage, so the price naturally rose, forcefully extorting the 2,600. Lu Jin just considered it an unavoidable loss, like capsizing in a ditch or being taken advantage of. He took his coat and left, receiving a warm send-off from Gu Shengnan as he went.
In the blink of an eye, the hotel owner came again to negotiate the acquisition. The price Lu Jin offered was too low, and he wanted to ask for a higher one. Lu Jin remained unfazed, confident and unwilling to negotiate the price, and sent the hotel owner away. When he came to "Cheng Deli" for dinner again, Lu Jin still brought his own red wine.
Gu Shengnan was happy, thinking she could extort another sum, but Meng Xinjie explained that this wine was not circulated on the market, meaning it had no price, and she didn't need to open or decant it. She didn't earn a single penny today. Gu Shengnan was frustrated and found her uncle, a fashion designer, to ask if he had any mischievous ideas.
Episode 5 Recap
When he came to eat again, Gu Shengnan walked out gracefully. The sip of water Lu Jin was drinking had to be caught with his hand to prevent it from spilling on his clothes. Gu Shengnan wore a blue dress, her long hair down, and was not wearing the typical waiter's suit and tie.
Speaking in a cute Taiwanese accent, she presented the bill to Lu Jin, listing the dishes consumed that day, the services she provided, and the total amount in RMB. Lu Jin signed the bill. The price of 4,000 suddenly became 5,000. Gu Shengnan righteously included the cost of makeup and hair in the service. In other words, as long as she said the new clothes were worn for him, she could charge.
In the end, Lu Jin could only reluctantly eat dessert, but after he signed the bill, Gu Shengnan even took the dessert away. This truly showed that the higher the moral standard, the stronger the devil. The situation made Lu Jin very passive. When he returned and told Meng Xinjie about it, Meng Xinjie exclaimed that it was all a scheme and leaned in to quietly give him advice.
Meng Xinjie's smug look and tone of success annoyed Lu Jin, who began a pointless rivalry. The two childishly said 'You say it once, I'll count once,' until their voices became hoarse. The next day during the meal, Meng Xinjie's first seductive tactic was to send flowers, showing he understood romance. However, the start was not smooth; the fresh roses Lu Jin had just bought were taken by Gu Shengnan to make rose jam.
Tactic number two: a man reading by the window in the sunlight is the most handsome. So the next day while Gu Shengnan was cooking, Lu Jin sat steadily behind her with a book, pretending, and deliberately tilted his chin at a nice angle. His strange behavior made Gu Shengnan want to kick him out just by looking at him. If words couldn't drive him out, then a handful of fried chilies would.
She almost choked herself out of the room as well. Meanwhile, Meng Xinjie, who was hoarse and couldn't speak, was eating alone when Xu Zhaodi unexpectedly sat down in front of him. She babbled a long string of apologies for the harsh words she had said before and politely asked for help. There was an international order open to Finland, and she hoped Meng Xinjie could be a temporary translator to help her secure this order.
Just as there are unexpected changes in the weather, people get sick with colds, and occasionally, their voices become hoarse from talking too much. He wanted to help but couldn't temporarily. But how could Xu Zhaodi believe this? She thought Meng Xinjie was petty and holding a grudge and didn't want to help her, so she grabbed her bag and left. Lu Jin's lunch was ready. Today he was having silver cod with rose jam.
While serving the dish, Gu Shengnan praised Lu Jin's roses for being really fresh, completely missing the deep furrow in his brow. When paying the bill, Gu Shengnan was nibbling on a sugar-coated haws skewer while reciting the bill. Seeing Lu Jin staring, she offered him a taste. Sugar bits got stuck to the corner of her mouth, which she didn't notice.
Gu Shengnan lifted his chin and carefully wiped his mouth for him, close enough to feel each other's breath. Breathing each other's breath, Lu Jin's mind was full of what Meng Xinjie had told him about turning the passive into active. His excuse was poorly thought out; he said Gu Shengnan also had sugar bits in her hair and imitated him by wiping her mouth too. He wiped seriously and got even closer, so Gu Shengnan ran away.
The next day, for her post-meal talent, Gu Shennan played the guzheng for him. When signing the bill, she couldn't find a pen. When she found one, it was too high to reach. Lu Jin stood behind her, wrapping his coat around her and helping her get it. Gu Shennan, with her girlish heart overflowing, ran off and hid again. Lu Jin smiled, took down the resume Gu Shengnan had pinned to the wall, and left.
Signing the bills became increasingly difficult. If one was calculated incorrectly, it was free. If one had oil stains spilled on it, she had to compensate. The progress of cooking to repay the debt was nearing 100%, but Gu Shengnan pushed him back again and again. The debt couldn't be repaid anytime soon, but Gu Shengnan was in a good mood every day.
In the end, she directly reset the debt repayment progress back to zero, completely falling into the vortex of love. Lu Jin also stayed at Gu Shengnan's house for longer and longer periods. They got along intimately and happily. The hotel acquisition was also negotiated successfully; everything was sweet and smooth sailing. One day, Gu Shennan was immersed in the vegetable market selecting ingredients when someone called her.
It turned out her resume had received a response; a hotel was interested in hiring her. This was good news, but Gu Shennan refused, giving the reason that she had to cook. The house in "Cheng Deli" successively received many packages, large and small. The room was gradually decorated more exquisitely, and many items for two people were added, making it warm and comfortable. However, Lu Jin rarely answered Li Man's calls. The Finnish businessman was across the table.
Xu Zhaodi was frantically typing on translation software, nervous and anxious. The Finn, feeling disrespected, was very angry. After cursing at the translation software, he left. Xu Zhaodi was extremely anxious but couldn't communicate, having no chance to explain or persuade him to stay, thus helplessly letting the important client slip away. Meng Xinjie, however, suddenly appeared and retained the other party with fluent Finnish. Li Man couldn't reach Lu Jin by phone, so he found Meng Xinjie.
His first question, spoken heavily, was who the woman next to Lu Jin was, Gu Shengnan. At this time, Gu Shengnan, who was working hard and happily cooking for Lu Jin, was busy yet joyful. Meanwhile, her uncle, the designer, suddenly paid a visit. Seeing that the room was full of Lu Jin's things, he had a look of sorrowing over her misfortune and being angry that she wasn't fighting back, his words carrying a questioning tone.
Episode 6 Recap
Gao Quanan, the uncle, who calls himself a senior fashion designer, sat on the sofa with the pride of having secured global order volumes. From the kitchen, Gu Shengnan saw him sitting on Lu Jin's blanket, rushed out, and snatched it away. The uncle casually picked up a book; Gu Shengnan pointed the tip of her knife directly at him and ordered him to put it down.
He touched everything he was told not to touch, shaking Lu Jin's cup and reading his book. It was as if he had grown accustomed to a peaceful life and was now licking blood from Gu Shengnan's knife tip and courting death. If he didn't have some thick-skinned and shameless skills, Gu Shengnan probably would have thrown him out the window long ago. Lu Jin came back after buying soy sauce.
After these days, he was accustomed to greeting the neighbors, feeling happy and relaxed. As a result, when he came back, he and the uncle faced each other across the table, staring at each other. A strange standoff froze in place, an inexplicable petty competition in a magnanimous posture to see who could win Gu Shengnan's favor more. Throughout the meal, the uncle was a glaringly bright third wheel the entire time.
Gu Shengnan and Lu Jin completely ignored him, feeding each other intimately. The enraged uncle complained to Xu Zhaodi after leaving. Xu Zhaodi casually agreed a few times and hung up the phone. The uncle was probably even more enraged at this moment. The sky grew dark. Lu Jin lay down on the sofa for a nap, covered with the dedicated blanket Gu Shengnan had defended with her life that morning. His features relaxed and his breathing even.
Gu Shengnan watched him and couldn't help but get closer, taking out her phone to capture the rarely seen relaxed Lu Jin. The shutter clicked. Lu Jin stirred. Gu Shengnan was startled. Her body fell forward, bringing their lips together. After two seconds of stunned silence, both made up excuses. He quickly said goodbye, and she said she tripped over the blanket. Hotel Room 1123. Meng Xinjie opened the door for Li Man.
She had quietly returned to the country without notifying anyone. At this moment, she was examining Lu Jin's room. By the bedside was a spoon neatly stored in a box, with the character "顾" (Gu) engraved on the handle. There was a resume on the floor with Gu Shengnan's name on it, along with a photo of her smiling. In the hotel, Lu Jin, holding the sugar-coated haws skewer, was caught completely off guard.
Li Man had always been his excellent partner and had helped him a lot in his work. Li Man, who was Lu Jin's secretary a few years ago, had faced a choice once. Lu Jin decisively chose her between his then-girlfriend and her. If the work wasn't done well, the company would suffer losses, but girlfriends could be changed anytime. Li Man appreciated such a Lu Jin, rational and fearless.
Now as a friend, Li Man silently reminded Lu Jin that this place did not belong to him. His belonging was in Switzerland; this was just a small business trip. She also booked his flight to Zhuozhou for him. Gu Shengnan's cuteness, playfulness, shyness, and straightforwardness, event after event, played like a carousel in his mind. He had to say goodbye to all of this.
While on the phone, Gu Shengnan was still worried about what he would eat later, making him truly not know how to say goodbye. Lu Jin finally asked Gu Shengnan out, treating her to prawns. Gu Shengnan happily ate and muttered that it wasn't Mingxia but tiger prawns, complaining that a restaurant that couldn't distinguish ingredients might as well close down.
Lu Jin gently rubbed the walnuts coated in amber sugar Gu Shengnan had given him, knowing he didn't like sweet and had used less sugar. The goodbye he had drafted countless times in his mind now became so hard to say. Lu Jin still sternly said with a stiff heart that from now on they owed each other nothing, he wouldn't come anymore, and she didn't need to cook to repay the debt anymore.
The walnuts coated in amber sugar Gu Shengnan made for him herself were given away, but she was not happy. Before, when Lu Jin ate the things she made, she was happy just watching him. Not anymore. In the corridor in front of the home in "Cheng Deli", the voice-activated crystal lamp Lu Jin had specifically installed flickered on and off. Children stared at it for a long time, thinking it was a distress signal from someone trapped inside.
Upon closer inspection, they realized it was Gu Shengnan using the door to crack walnuts. The walnuts for Lu Jin were cracked one by one like this. Lu Jin was leaving soon. She didn't know what she was reminiscing about by cracking walnuts here. Besides, reminiscing was always useless, except for the sour feeling of grievance that made one uncomfortable. It couldn't bring anything back. The scene alternated between bright and dark.
A woman sat there, swinging the door, which was already strange enough. As she was cracking, the kindly old neighbor asked her what was wrong. It was one thing to keep the grievance bottled up inside where no one knew. The worst was when someone asked. Being asked made Gu Shengnan unable to hold back anymore. Bitterness immediately welled up in her eyes, and she began to cry loudly. Drowsily until dawn. Fortunately, she didn't suffer from insomnia that night.
What Gu Shengnan, in a bad mood, loved to do was charge into the vegetable market and bargain with people, requiring a full day's effort and patience. The female boss at the vegetable market trembled inwardly when she saw her arrive with a dark face, and her eyes also darted around nervously. After bargaining, she found that nothing had improved. Returning to this home, Lu Jin's shadow was everywhere.
His water cup and blanket were still there, the book and the turtle named Lu Xiao Guimao were still there, but the most representative person was not. She threw all these things out, out of sight, out of mind. But the TV seemed to understand her thoughts, playing shows about either heartbreak or love. Getting barked at by a dog downstairs, stepping in chewing gum with her slippers, bad luck seemed to follow one after another with Lu Jin's departure.
Episode 7 Recap
The expensive and fancy light bulbs at the stairwell entrance also blew out one after another, making the stairwell dim. Gu Shengnan complained about Lu Jin, "How can the wires in this small building handle so many power-hungry light bulbs?" Before she finished speaking, she couldn't see the fruit peel under her foot and stepped on it. Caught completely off guard, she slipped and rolled down the steps. Li Man and Lu Jin flew to Zhuozhou.
The newly acquired hotel needed to interview many employees, and work instantly became busy, leaving Lu Jin with no time to think about Gu Shengnan, whom he had left behind in Suhai. Except for lunchtime, in the scarce narrow gaps of time throughout the day, Lu Jin would still think of Gu Shengnan. His photo album contained many pictures of her signature dishes, with vibrant and tempting colors. Now he could only look at them, longing for her return.
The amber walnuts he brought over were still neatly in his suitcase, squeezed together with a pile of instant noodles. He didn't know which was ruining the other. Lu Jin let out a long sigh. He was very tired, from body to soul. Life had become the same as before. Today, his lunch was unsettled again. The severe fall restricted Gu Shengnan considerably. She stayed at her grandfather's food stall and couldn't go anywhere far.
Xu Zhaodi came by and wandered around, which counted as visiting her. She grabbed a bottle of water and hurried away mercilessly. Gu Shengnan accused her, but Xu Zhaodi casually used the excuse of having too many orders and being very busy to retort. Good sisters, no loyalty. Xu Zhaodi left, and a long-lost reunion arrived. When Gu Shengnan was a child, she argued with her grandfather, got angry, and ran out crying with a snotty nose.
She met Cheng Ziqian. In Gu Shengnan's memory, he was a gentle and caring big brother. Gu Shengnan, full of resentment, told Cheng Ziqian that she was going to run away from home and never speak to her grandfather again. But children's words count the least; two days later, when they're happy, they forget everything. Cheng Ziqian stopped her, took her to his home, comforted her, and played and ate with her.
Since then, Gu Shengnan had never seen this kind big brother again. Now, after many years had passed and even Gu Shengnan had grown up, this person appeared before her eyes again. Cheng Ziqian still looked so gentle. Escaping Gu Shengnan, Xu Zhaodi turned around and told Meng Xinjie about Gu Shengnan's unlucky fall, guessing that perhaps the kiss had transferred the bad luck to Gu Shengnan.
As a result, after only a couple of sentences, the two started competing with their words. After a few playful jabs, Meng Xinjie was led astray by a sentence from Xu Zhaodi and ended up saying affectionate words to the female owner who was waiting for him to order. The female owner screamed, and Meng Xinjie took a solid punch from the boss, sitting in front of Lu Jin with a swollen black eye.
Explaining the whole story to Lu Jin, Meng Xinjie's clever mind came up with an idea. Incidentally, he mentioned, seemingly unintentionally, that Gu Shengnan had fallen from the stairs and rolled all the way down, deliberately making Lu Jin anxious. But he said it very slowly, gently, mournfully, and pitifully. The next second, Lu Jin called his secretary. Naturally, he wanted to return to Suhai. They say nothing is useful when you're anxious.
Due to the typhoon passing through, all flights and high-speed trains in Zhuozhou were suspended with no tickets for sale. Lu Jin's heart was dry with anxiety, as if it had nowhere to settle. The torment was burning his rationality. He had no choice but to resort to the worst option and chartered a taxi. This meant he would arrive in Suhai ten hours later. The taxi driver was also very smart.
Driving him was one thing, but it didn't stop the driver from doing business. Along the way, he picked up passengers for shared rides and took orders. The familiar atmosphere of everyday life flooded into the taxi again for Lu Jin. An older sister talked to him about her and her husband, saying that couples should live in harmony.
A young man talked to him about his grand ambitions, looking forward to his career growing bigger and stronger in the future. Initially, he didn't want to engage with these noisy disturbances and trivial matters of life that had nothing to do with him. But the more he listened, the more he missed the girl in Suhai. She was also someone who lived a relaxed and happy small life, someone who would look forward even when things weren't going well.
Today, Cheng Ziqian accompanied Gu Shengnan to the hospital for a follow-up check-up. After it was finished, he walked her back to her door. As soon as Cheng Ziqian left, Lu Jin appeared at the doorstep. When they met again, longing and resentment were mixed together, filling both their hearts. Patience had been completely worn away since the journey here. Lu Jin asked her what was going on with Cheng Ziqian's presence here.
Gu Shengnan mustered all her calmness and asked him what he really wanted. He was the one who wanted to say goodbye back then, and now he was back, asking about Cheng Ziqian with a sour tone. Lu Jin couldn't explain it either. He was just worried about Gu Shengnan. He had to come back and see her to feel at ease. Words were sometimes inadequate and useless; his feelings were in his chest, but he couldn't express them clearly. Lu Jin cupped Gu Shengnan's face and kissed her. After the passion subsided, rationality returned. After saying "I'm sorry," Lu Jin turned and left.
Episode 8 Recap
Lu Jin, feeling agitated and irritable, called Meng Xinjie back, who was still holding up Li Man in Zhuozhou. Sitting alone in the Pine Bridge No. 1 villa, the trees by the water rustled in the wind, and the scenery was tranquil, but he couldn't appreciate it at all. There was someone in this place whom he couldn't explain, making him involuntarily want to get closer, yet reality didn't allow it. Tormented on both ends, he wanted to leave here.
Gu Shengnan's door was knocked. The hotel manager, who had been extremely ruthless back then, arrived in person to visit Gu Shengnan, carrying a fruit basket and an offer letter. The salary was generous, and his attitude was good. The next day, Gu Shengnan's chef uniform was neatly put on in the hotel's back kitchen. Meanwhile, the order for 1123 was printed again.
She nervously held a plate of food, rang the doorbell of 1123, and the person who opened the door was completely unfamiliar. It turned out 1123 had already left; now 1123 no longer equaled Lu Jin, but was just a strange yet familiar room number. Lu Jin instructed Meng Xinjie to book a flight. Since he couldn't stay, it was better to leave sooner and feel less reluctant. Gu Shengnan returned from delivering food, looking dispirited.
As soon as she entered the back kitchen, everything was in chaos around her. Her assistant told her that Lu Jin had become the new boss of the hotel and a new general manager was appointed. Naturally, new officials like to make their presence felt immediately, and the new leaders would inspect the back kitchen. The manager brought in the new leader, a Manager Cheng, named Cheng Ziqian. Gu Shengnan looked at Cheng Ziqian with pleasant surprise and smiled.
During their late-night chat between best friends, Gu Shengnan talked about Lu Jin with Xu Zhaodi. Xu Zhaodi said Lu Jin looked dusty and dishevelled after the ten-hour car ride back, and encouraged her to keep him if she liked him. So, she finally decided to do it by making a dish. Xu Zhaodi got all her information from Meng Xinjie.
Early in the morning, Gu Shengnan made the Witch's Soup, put it in an insulated container, and hurried off to Pine Bridge No. 1. She held onto the insulated container closely the whole way, but was a step too late when she arrived. Lu Jin had already left for the airport earlier. Without time to complain, she immediately headed towards the airport again. Traffic jams during the morning rush hour were not surprising.
Lu Jin intentionally took a detour, driving past the entrance of the "Chenge Li" alley. He looked for a long time without saying a word, truly parting ways with the people here. Because he suddenly changed direction and made a big detour, he missed his flight when he got back. His itinerary changed to high-speed rail again. Xu Zhaodi called to inform her. Gu Shengnan finally ran panting into the high-speed rail station hall.
The empty hall made her feel disappointed. Suddenly, a figure rushed over, bumped into her back, and the Witch's Soup she was holding in her arms slipped out. The soup, mixed with her intentions, spilled all over the floor, impossible to pick up. But a hand held the soup container and picked it up for her. He sniffed it and smiled knowingly. It seemed he wouldn't be able to leave this place for now.
Lu Jin comforted her, saying she could just make another container. Outside Pine Bridge No. 1, three people were squatting, watching the fun: Xu Zhaodi, Meng Xinjie, and the old uncle. They had sent Gu Shengnan to meet Lu Jin, hoping the two would reconcile, looking like three old people seeing their daughter off to marriage. However, inside the villa, instead of Gu Shengnan, stood Li Man. He had meticulously plated a portion of the Witch's Soup.
Gu Shengnan only entered at this moment. The misunderstanding made her originally joyful expression completely disappear. Li Man kept calling her 'colleague', which sounded disrespectful, more like mockery. He even snatched the cake from Gu Shengnan's hand and paid her a thick envelope of compensation. Much of the passion that had finally ignited was extinguished. Gu Shengnan returned and began to cry and complain, making a fuss as if she had suffered an immense grievance.
She was angry that Lu Jin had clearly said he could only eat food she made, yet the very next day, Li Man's Witch's Soup was served at the dining table. Other dishes were fine, but Witch's Soup was a symbol for lovers. Thinking about it made Gu Shengnan pant and couldn't stop. That night at Pine Bridge No. 1, Li Man made Beef Wellington. Lu Jin took a bite and the taste was not good, even awful.
For the sake of appearance, he only said he wasn't hungry. But when Li Man brought out the cake Gu Shengnan had given him, a small turtle cake with lively, spirited eyes sat right in the center. Lu Jin took a bite and felt reborn. Li Man, however, looked unhappy. He didn't eat a bite and went upstairs to rest.
Lu Jin looked at the little turtle, called it 'Lu Gui Mao', the nickname Gu Shengnan often used for him, and laughed heartily. The next day, leaders inspected the hotel. Lu Jin, Li Man, and Cheng Ziqian appeared together in the hotel's back kitchen. Lu Jin's eyes occasionally glanced towards Gu Shengnan, but she seemed unaware of his gaze. The manager particularly praised Gu Shengnan's cooking skills. Li Man then conveniently asked Gu Shengnan to make a dish.
Two plates of Beef Wellington came from the same person's hands, using the same ingredients and method. Lu Jin ate with great relish, but Li Man put down his steak knife after just one bite. He called Gu Shengnan from the back kitchen and questioned her methods and ingredients sentence by sentence. Li Man disagreed with Gu Shengnan using local mushrooms with imported steak, stating that this pairing was completely inappropriate. He also mentioned her educational background along the way.
It was obvious that this was either a show of authority or an attempt to expose her shortcomings. Gu Shengnan didn't listen to his nonsense and simply said one thing: good ingredients are all about freshness, and local mushrooms are simply fresher than overseas imports.
Episode 9 Recap
The dispute reached a stalemate. After Gu Shengnan finished speaking, she returned to the back kitchen, expressionless, holding two knives and chopping ingredients, making clanking sounds. Just now, Lu Jin interrupted Li Man's aggressive behavior and came to the back kitchen a step later, stuck between the two women and not knowing what to do. Lu Jin tried to comfort Gu Shengnan, but his words sounded like he was defending Li Man.
He said Li Man was simple, that Li Man was just there to discuss the preparation of a dish. Gu Shengnan felt even more choked up after hearing his words. Even at this point, Lu Jin still hoped she would be generous towards Li Man. She couldn't do it, and the two started arguing. Lu Jin completely couldn't understand Gu Shengnan's anger, thinking she was unreasonable and illogical.
Gu Shengnan's persistent logic was that if Lu Jin ate her food, he shouldn't eat food made by others. In her opinion, this was no different from having a foot in two boats. The huge disparity in their social status began to show. One was a president who lived a high-quality life and spent money lavishly, while the other was a small chef living in the humble "Chenge Li". What could maintain such a large gap?
Lu Jin couldn't think of a suitable relationship for the two of them for a while; words came to his mouth, but there were no terms to describe it clearly. He needed time, but Gu Shengnan didn't want to give him time. Deliberation and hesitation were worthless in love; all decisions relied on a surge of impulsive passion.
Gu Shengnan said Lu Jin's place wasn't in this back kitchen; at least he should be in the villa at Pine Bridge No. 1. Li Man had returned to Switzerland, but Li Man's words coincided with the current situation: this place didn't belong to him. Early one morning in "Chenge Li", Gu Shengnan went out to throw trash. She heard that a new neighbor had moved in next door but found it strange that there was no noise at all.
Then, the door next door opened, and Lu Jin stood inside, immaculately dressed in a suit. As a new neighbor, Lu Jin brought wife cakes as a meeting gift. The next step was to carry vegetables and step into Gu Shengnan's house to borrow fire and freeload a meal. His plan was clearly succeeding when Cheng Ziqian happened to come see Gu Shengnan.
President Lu Jin and Hotel General Manager Cheng Ziqian unexpectedly ran into each other in the small "Chenge Li". For a moment, he didn't know how to explain. He said he was going home, and turned around to immediately arrive. Cheng Ziqian looked at Gu Shengnan's house, then looked at Lu Jin's house, his expression full of confusion. During the meal, Cheng Ziqian suggested there was a chef class in Sakura Bay they could attend.
It was an opportunity to study further without having to spend their own money. Of course, Gu Shengnan wanted to go and brought her little follower Da Laba from the back kitchen. Cheng Ziqian bought three suitcases for them. The news immediately reached Lu Jin's ears. He was smug and deluded, thinking, look, Gu Shengnan didn't say it, but she still bought a third suitcase for him.
As a result, Meng Xinjie's one sentence of truth poured cold water on him, leaving not a trace of his earlier excitement. Sakura Bay was very quaint and pleasant. As soon as she arrived, Gu Shengnan posted photos on her WeChat Moments. In the photos, Cheng Ziqian was very close to her. Meng Xinjie saw it and quickly showed it to Lu Jin. Lu Jin, consumed by jealousy, had no news in his own WeChat Moments.
He knew without asking that Gu Shengnan had blocked him. His call to Gu Shengnan was also hung up directly. Looking at the photos in her WeChat Moments again, Lu Jin was quite visually impacted. Gu Shengnan carefully noted down many distinctions about various ingredients that the teacher talked about. After a day of studying, Cheng Ziqian took her to a high-end private dining restaurant. They talked about Gu Shengnan's future dream.
A chef's ultimate ideal is to own their own restaurant, and Gu Shengnan was no exception. As night fell, as soon as Gu Shengnan left, Lu Jin, who had been hungry all day, was reaching the limit of his patience. He took Meng Xinjie to Sakura Bay. Today was a rest day. Gu Shengnan and Cheng Ziqian traveled around, enjoying the scenery, flowers, plants, towers, and temples, playing wherever they went. They went archery.
Lu Jin lurked behind, watching with his own eyes as Cheng Ziqian's hand touched Gu Shengnan's hand. He was so angry his teeth ached and he shot a few arrows at Cheng Ziqian in the air. They went to eat cotton candy. Lu Jin followed behind, disdaining Gu Shengnan's preference for such low-quality taste, that she could eat saccharin and be so happy. They went to the temple to pray for blessings. Meng Xinjie secretly watched.
Lu Jin asked about the real-time situation. Gu Shengnan's wooden plaque said "lose weight overnight". Lu Jin swapped Cheng Ziqian's wooden plaque and hung his own plaque, which only had the character '行' written on it, next to hers. They went to the flower garden. Cheng Ziqian took more beautiful photos for her. Lu Jin was completely filled with anger. After playing all day, Gu Shengnan was drowsy. Cheng Ziqian helped her into the hotel to rest.
Lu Jin and Meng Xinjie were still following behind. The situation inside the room behind the door was unclear. Lu Jin was as anxious as ants on a hot pan. Meng Xinjie was hit on the head and forced to think of a solution. He was so hungry, what solution could he think of?
He arranged for a hotel staff member to deliver slippers and peeked inside the moment Cheng Ziqian opened the door, then came back to report to Lu Jin. He couldn't see clearly one time and was sent to look again, even with extra money added. As a result, the staff member sent to gather information came back and knocked on the door, saying the man had left and the woman had given her four hundred yuan.
So, for these four hundred yuan, the staff member exposed Lu Jin? She led the person straight to his door, then stepped back, and behind her stood the woman, Gu Shengnan, looking fierce as if she had come to interrogate a prisoner.
Episode 10 Recap
Lu Jin was caught red-handed. He stood up awkwardly; it was another situation where he had to explain but didn't know how. Could he say that he was afraid her date with Cheng Ziqian would be too sweet, so he specifically followed the two of them for a whole day? How could he do that? A president must be elegant.
He had followed them elegantly all the way and disliked things elegantly all the way, and now he had to answer elegantly as well. He sent Meng Xinjie away and said he was out on a private visit. No one would believe such a grand and empty excuse. Mutual questioning increased. One said you can't control me, the other said I have the right to control you.
In the end, it still came down to the issue of position, of what position one was using to care about the other. Every time Lu Jin was asked this, he stammered. Gu Shengnan had been anxiously waiting for this sentence. Seeing that Lu Jin had no intention of continuing, she simply gave up and walked out of the room. Lu Jin hurriedly caught up, wanting to say something to keep Gu Shengnan, but he just babbled some nonsensical words.
However, Gu Shengnan was very happy listening because everything he said was because of her and things he decided to do for her. Gu Shengnan turned around and smiled from the bottom of her heart, asking Lu Jin if he liked her. Lu Jin's emotions were stirred, his eyes wet, and he said yes. Just then, a large crowd surged forward; they were all employees from the hotel industry.
For this famous person, whom meeting him was considered a blessing cultivated in a past life, everyone seemed exceptionally attentive. Separated by the crowd, Gu Shengnan and he looked at each other from afar. The smile stayed on her cheeks for a long time without fading. From afar, she used her finger to gesture a heart shape. Lu Jin responded with a heart shape and said to the surrounding crowd, "Everything's fine."
On the doorknob of Gu Shengnan's house in "Chenge Li", an extra breakfast bag appeared every day. Along with it came Lu Jin's daily wake-up alarm, calling Gu Shengnan to wake up from her dreams. Life suddenly became brighter. At nine o'clock, Gu Shengnan arrived at her post. Yu Zhuchu called her over and found an excuse to lecture her.
He said she was late and also brought up some old grudges, such as accusing her of not deveining the shrimp cleanly last time. Gu Shengnan became angry; this wasn't the first or second time Yu Zhuchu had bothered her. Just as she was about to flare up, Cheng Ziqian came to the back kitchen to announce a new task.
In a few days, the chairwoman of the Zheng Hong Group, which was acquiring the hotel, who was also Lu Jin's mother, would come to inspect the hotel's back kitchen. At that time, a new head chef would be selected based on the dishes. Upon hearing this, the old-fashioned chefs in the back kitchen all said this election was meaningless.
In the end, Cheng Ziqian was straightforward: each person would propose a new menu, and whoever's menu was chosen to entertain the chairwoman would be the new head chef. Gu Shengnan started to get busy, so busy that she forgot Lu Jin was still waiting at home for dinner. When she finally remembered, the moon had already replaced the sun. Only then did she call Lu Jin to the back kitchen to help taste the dishes.
She made Beef Wellington and abalone soup, adding new creativity that made the dishes simply perfect. Lu Jin naturally enjoyed eating them, but for Chairwoman Zheng, who would actually be enjoying this dish, perfection was nothing special. Lu Jin advised her not to pursue perfection. When a person has seen too many perfect things and is almost numb to perfection, then perfection becomes nothing more than ordinary. What can truly touch people's hearts are instead the imperfections that create flaws.
Regrets have flavor; sour, sweet, bitter, and astringent are all flavors. Lu Jin spoke about how his mother started a business alone with him, step by step, to her current position as chairwoman. All the various hardships and flavors were experiences gained along the way. Finally, he wished Gu Shengnan success. Master Yu, having taken off his chef's uniform, listened to all of this from a corner and quietly left.
Meng Xinjie saw Lu Jin off at the entrance of the "Chenge Li" alley and left. Before leaving, he reminded him that such easygoing days wouldn't last long, as his mother was coming back. Lu Jin, however, was thinking of enjoying the present, and future matters could be dealt with in the future. As soon as Lu Jin arrived downstairs, he ran into Cheng Ziqian, holding a bouquet of roses, clearly with ill intentions.
Lu Jin lied, saying Gu Shengnan was away on a long trip. He snatched the flowers and tried to hurry Cheng Ziqian away. During the pushing and shoving, Gu Shengnan came down from upstairs, and the lie was exposed in an instant. Cheng Ziqian still entered the house. A cake was ruined by a rose again. A thick layer of crushed rose petals was sprinkled on the cake, looking like it had a good texture.
Gu Shengnan said to eat it, and Cheng Ziqian and Lu Jin grabbed the same piece of cake. Cake crumbs got on the corner of Gu Shengnan's mouth, and the two started vying to wipe it for her. Even eating cake had to be a competition. Lu Jin ate with his hands and looked down on Cheng Ziqian using a fork, while Cheng Ziqian ate in large bites and looked down on Lu Jin who chewed slowly. As for who choked, Gu Shengnan had no way of knowing.
Episode 11 Recap
Rice paper unfolded, ink applied. Chairwoman Zheng of the Zheng Hong Group was practicing calligraphy with a calm mind. Her demeanor was elegant, and her entire being exuded the steady composure gained after experiencing difficulties and hardships. What she held seemed not just a brush for writing characters, but a blueprint for guiding the nation. It was clear that this was a woman of great leadership.
Li Man entered from behind her; his capable attire made him look efficient and effective. Chairwoman Zheng asked him what had changed, what could possibly keep Lu Jin in this small city and not return to Switzerland. Li Man chose his words concisely, saying it was because of Gu Shengnan's cooking skills. He did not explicitly mention Lu Jin's feelings for Gu Shengnan, but the underlying meaning was clear to anyone, let alone a chairwoman who controlled a group.
She ordered Li Man to book the plane tickets; she was going to personally meet this female chef who fascinated Lu Jin. By the waterfront bamboo sounds in front of Songqiao No. 1 Villa, Chairwoman Zheng and President Lu chatted about the past. She recalled the potential partners she had introduced to Lu Jin before; they were either the shipping magnate's daughter or President Jiang's daughter.
Lu Jin said one was too spoiled and willful, and the other's personality was too strong, neither was suitable for getting along with him happily. But when Chairwoman Zheng said Gu Shengnan had the same personality, Lu Jin was overjoyed and immediately said their personalities complemented each other, a perfect match. The same personality trait, when found in different people, could make Lu Jin so double-standard.
Chairwoman Zheng set aside these distant matters and said she believed Li Man was very compatible with Lu Jin. But Lu Jin still found a reason to dismiss him. He thought he was too familiar with Li Man to become lovers, and even if they could become lovers, compared to Chairwoman Zheng, she would lose an effective assistant (in Li Man). On this matter, Lu Jin was quite considerate of his mother. Chairwoman Zheng didn't say more.
She just told Lu Jin to arrange a time to meet the legendary Gu Shengnan. Hearing about meeting the parents, Gu Shengnan wasn't as shocked as Xu Zhaodi and the old uncle. The two of them excitedly gave Gu Shengnan a lesson. From inside to out, clothing, makeup, hairstyling, everything was designed to make her appear close to Lu Jin's age, mature like a thirty-year-old intellectual woman. Even when shocked, maintain a calm expression; this is how one appears cultivated.
Speak softly and gently, and if insulted, smile and politely leave. After learning all these things, the next day Lu Jin came to the old uncle's studio door to pick her up. He was calling and looking for her, almost didn't recognize her. Eyelashes, lipstick, a little dress, high heels that twisted her ankle, a bothersome small bag. She sat across from Chairwoman Zheng, clearly a bit uncomfortable.
Whatever Chairwoman Zheng asked, Gu Shengnan answered gently with a smile, until Chairwoman Zheng asked the classic question, "How much will it take for you to leave my son?" Gu Shengnan truly didn't know how to respond. Although she liked money, Lu Jin couldn't be sold as money. Just then, Gu Shengnan remembered Xu Zhaodi's words and politely left. Worried that Gu Shengnan was discouraged, Lu Jin came to Gu Shengnan's small apartment in "Chenge Li" that night.
However, Gu Shengnan said she completely understood and even joked with Lu Jin, saying if she was really worth a lot, she might consider agreeing to that condition. Lu Jin pulled, wanting to leave, but Gu Shengnan used charm and pleading to make him stay. The hotel head chef selection officially began the next day. Sitting at the dining table were Manager Shen from the hotel, Cheng Ziqian, Li Man, and Chairwoman Zheng.
The sounds of work echoed in the back kitchen early. Fresh ingredients spread their fragrant aroma. Soon after, they were served to the leaders, each with its own flavor. Holding the evaluation forms, Li Man glanced at Gu Shengnan, marked it, and handed it to Manager Shen. After reading it, Manager Shen announced that Gu Shengnan was the new head chef for the dinner. All the chefs applauded her; some were willing, while others were not convinced.
Li Man looked at her and also applauded her, from the heart. On Gu Shengnan's first day off as head chef, the old chefs in the back kitchen started gossiping. It turned out the client from room 1123 was the big boss who was acquiring the hotel. Between Gu Shengnan and this 1123, what else didn't these gossiping people understand? As soon as she got off work, Gu Shengnan contacted Lu Jin via WeChat.
She was promoted today and wanted to treat Lu Jin to dinner. Lu Jin, dressed in a sharp suit, thought they would be having dinner alone. In the blink of an eye, Gu Shengnan brought him to her grandfather's outdoor food stall. Seven or eight tables were surrounded by relatives. Beer, drinks, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and the mingled atmosphere of everyday life. Her grandfather loudly announced to everyone that his precious granddaughter was the head chef of a five-star hotel.
Today is a happy day, everyone should enjoy themselves to the fullest. At the end of his speech, he also introduced Lu Jin, the hotel's owner. After the applause, just as Lu Jin was about to say something, he was interrupted by a young man who asked if they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Lu Jin answered the question and admitted it.
Her grandfather then told Gu Shengnan to go to other tables to toast, getting Gu Shengnan out of the way, and started asking about Lu Jin's age and health. President Lu, who had seen many important occasions, looked a bit flustered. After finally seeing off her grandfather, Gu Shengnan's great-aunt brought him medicinal wine. Lu Jin's face turned even greener.
Episode 12 Recap
Gu Shengnan went to other tables to toast and didn't return, she was having a great time with her little friends like Lao Liu and Mili, even boring drinking games seemed interesting in this food stall, Lu Jin was left alone on the side, next to him was either her grandfather, her great-aunt, or another relative who sold chicken feet, it was truly miserable no matter what.
Lu Jin stared at the happy Meng Xinjie for a long time, his gaze could almost make sparks fly off his clothes. Xu Zhaodi kindly reminded him to quickly look at his boss, only then did Meng Xinjie stop smiling from ear to ear and ask his boss what he needed. Lu Jin leaned close to his ear, almost speaking telepathically, asking Meng Xinjie to investigate Lao Liu and Mili who were with Gu Shengnan.
He didn't know when it started, but whenever someone got too close to Gu Shengnan, he would get agitated with jealousy, letting no bit of it go. Her maternal uncle Gao Quanan handed him a tissue and started talking to Lu Jin about Gu Shengnan.
He said that she grew up eating from many households, never had her parents' love since she was young, and lived with her grandfather and the neighbors around the food stall, everyone was not related by blood but were closer than relatives, everything here cared for her. Finally, he told Lu Jin not to bully Gu Shengnan, if he felt it wouldn't work out, then end it, don't drag her along.
At this moment, everyone was in a frenzy, singing children's songs and swaying freely, seemingly like a chaotic dance of demons, but also very warm, especially Gu Shengnan, whose happiness was undeniable, she casually swayed her head and arms, yet she shone brightly in Lu Jin's eyes. After giving instructions to Lu Jin, her maternal uncle met Meng Xinjie, who cunningly negotiated a price with him, and finally a mysterious deal was struck.
Before taking Xu Zhaodi back, her maternal uncle kept Xu Zhaodi for another drink, and the phone in his pocket was connected to Meng Xinjie on the other side. Drunk words are true words, Meng Xinjie listened as Xu Zhaodi said that she thought Meng Xinjie was the most special, he covered his mouth happily, but the next second he heard Xu Zhaodi saying goodbye to him, his face instantly became flatter than anyone else's.
There was a frenzy that night, and Xu Zhaodi wasn't the only one who was drunk, Gu Shengnan was also drunk, both drunk and hungry, when Lu Jin held her, what he heard was not sweet talk, but a very honest "I'm hungry".
He rushed into the kitchen and carefully selected ingredients, then brought out a pot of drained instant noodles, Gu Shengnan waited with a weary expression, but Lu Jin was still timing and counting down three minutes, Gu Shengnan really couldn't stand it anymore, she crushed a packet of noodles and ate them dry with sauce. Lu Jin was shocked, he broke off a piece incredulously and cautiously to try, and the result was truly unexpected.
President Lu, who had seen and eaten everything, was once again defeated by the little things in life. He felt very good, very fortunate, that he didn't leave then, and chose to stay by Gu Shengnan's side, allowing himself to have so many relatives too.
Early in the morning, Gu Shengnan went downstairs to go to work and ran into Cheng Ziqian, Cheng Ziqian drove her there, and while chatting he mentioned that Li Man also greatly admired her during the head chef selection, and talked about how much of a goddess Li Man was when she was his classmate, popular among the senior and junior students. Gu Shengnan was angry listening to this, compared to herself, Li Man was truly too outstanding.
Unable to contain her anger, she directly asked Cheng Ziqian to pull over, scanned a shared bike, and rode it to work. The back kitchen exploded with gossip again, it turned out Gu Shengnan's backer wasn't 1123's Lu Jin, but the new General Manager Cheng Ziqian. Chairwoman Zheng's lunch for tomorrow was finalized to be arranged by Gu Shengnan, the veteran chefs in the back kitchen complained even more upon hearing this news.
Whoever Gu Shengnan assigned tasks to would refuse to do them, each one either claimed they couldn't learn or had forgotten how to do it, fooling Gu Shengnan as if she were a fool. Gu Shengnan was so angry she slapped the table and shouted, and Master Yu, who had always disliked Gu Shengnan, was even angrier than her, he threw down his apron and stared at a box of ingredients in the back kitchen for a long time.
Xu Zhaodi's client this time was a German, she quickly learned and used two German phrases on the spot, luckily the other party gentlemanly said they could speak Chinese, and she felt relieved. The usually idle Meng Xinjie didn't play on his phone, didn't zone out, and even took small notes during this company meeting, it was completely unlike himself, as if possessed by the spirit of diligent study.
Lu Jin looked at him strangely, ended the meeting early and questioned him, what kind of big change could make Meng Xinjie turn over a new leaf and become a new person? Of course, it was because of Xu Zhaodi's drunk words about using that drink to say goodbye to him, those few heart-piercing phrases completely motivated him to buck up.
So, the little assistant who usually followed his boss around all day today hurriedly took leave to learn Indonesian, probably because Xu Zhaodi might need him as a translator someday, having an extra language would give Xu Zhaodi one more option to choose from. Because of this, he didn't even answer his boss's call during class, his boss was also asking him about love. But his own efforts hadn't worked out yet, so how could he manage Lu Jin?
Unexpectedly, as soon as he came out of the small classroom, he saw Xu Zhaodi chatting animatedly with someone, and they even left the mall together, Meng Xinjie watched, his teeth itching with frustration.
The chefs in the back kitchen were uncooperative, Gu Shengnan was in a bad mood today, and she wasn't very interested when Lu Jin came to see her, Meng Xinjie, this temporary love guru, couldn't be relied on, so Lu Jin patiently asked Gu Shengnan what he could do to make her happy. So Gu Shengnan and Lu Jin both arrived at the wet market, Lu Jin, in a display of extravagance, directly asked for all the most expensive items.
Episode 13 Recap
The young man selling vegetables saw it was Gu Shengnan, who often buys vegetables, so this bag of vegetables definitely couldn't be sold at the original price, based on the experience taught by the elder sisters at neighboring stalls.
The young man was bold and knowledgeable, directly saying these duck eggs were of good quality, high value, and authentic Gaoyou duck eggs, and would sell them to Gu Shengnan at cost price, implying he would rip off anyone but Gu Shengnan. Gu Shengnan didn't fall for this at all, casually moved a stool and sat down in front of the vegetable stall, took out a small black box, and started scanning the young man with it.
The young man said he was a seller with a conscience, the little box beeped, it turned out to be a simple lie detector, Gu Shengnan pulled out such a thing from who knows where.
Gu Shennan asked the cost price, the young man replied four yuan eight, the lie detector beeped, losing face the young man quoted a lower price, the lie detector still beeped, Gu Shengnan sized up the young man with a playful look, now he really couldn't keep his face. Gu Shengnan pressed further, the lie detector kept beeping, the young man gave up, admitting the duck eggs were actually of average quality and not authentic Gaoyou goods.
Gu Shengnan ultimately defeated the opponent's psychological defense and secured six salted duck eggs at the lowest price of three yuan five. Lu Jin watched the amusing but insignificant haggling over the price from the side, seeing Gu Shengnan scan and pay with a triumphant air and leave, quietly doing cleanup.
Throughout the whole market, Gu Shengnan walked ahead with her lie detector and scanning, whatever difference Gu Shengnan haggled down, Lu Jin followed behind and scanned again to make up the difference for the stall owners. The young man who sold the duck eggs thanked this 'uncle', and Lu Jin's expression curdled quite a bit upon hearing 'uncle'.
After buying vegetables and returning, night fell, the stairs lights in "Chengde Li" brightened upon sensing sound, illuminating generously with ten light bulbs. Lu Jin and Gu Shengnan stood at the entrance, neither showing intention to go in, waiting for the lights to dim. Just as their lips were about to meet, Gu Shengnan's lie detector seemed to get excited too, its sudden beeping shattering the silence.
They tidied this and tidied that, whiling away the long period the lights were on. Just as the mood started to return, Grandpa Zhang coughed as he came up from around the corner, praising how well Lu Jin had fixed the lights. Their intimacy interrupted, the two had no choice but to say goodnight and go home separately. Gu Shengnan in 302 asked her little turtle, "Do you like me?"
, while Lu Jin in 303 said to the Gu family spoon he collected, "I like you." Over and over, she asked, and he answered. They couldn't hear yet could hear, happiness lingered on the night lit by the warm lights.
Chairwoman Zheng's lunch was about to start, Gu Shengnan carefully prepared dish after dish, finally at the last dish, Red Wine Braised Truffles, Gu Shengnan was about to personally introduce it to Chairwoman Zheng, but upon opening the dish cover, she saw a terrible dish. The ingredient was still truffle, but it hadn't been processed, placed together with a pile of rotten vegetable leaves. For some unknown reason, the dish had been swapped, Gu Shengnan quickly denied it.
Lu Jin at the dining table wholeheartedly defended her, instructing Manager Shen to remove it, but Li Man turned the dish around and carefully explained it to Chairwoman Zheng. The symbolism of this dish was also extremely bad, subtly implying Gu Shengnan was dissatisfied with the hotel acquisition and expressing her anger through this. Chairwoman Zheng didn't particularly like her to begin with, and now she was unable to defend herself.
All the chefs in the back kitchen discussed what had just happened together, Master Yu's words directly pointed at Gu Shengnan, saying she must have had a grudge with Lu Jin back then, then Lu Jin came to the back kitchen to find Gu Shengnan. Lu Jin comforted Gu Shengnan, telling her to go home and rest, called for Gu Shengnan's little follower Da Laba, asked a couple of questions, and then found Master Yu.
He pressed him hard, one leading to another trick, questions coming thick and fast, leaving no room to breathe, finally the exasperated Master Yu shouted out his confession that he had swapped Gu Shengnan's dish. But in the end, everything was just Lu Jin's fabrication, what was truly real and effective were the words Cheng Ziqian had just recorded nearby, where Master Yu clearly confessed his crime. The art of war is based on deception, and this was exactly it.
Master Yu was leaving. Having found out the truth, Lu Jin came to find Gu Shengnan to deliver the good news, just bumping into her as she came downstairs. It turned out Xu Zhaodi and her maternal uncle had gone to Matsubashi One to protest loudly for her. This kind of behavior was not polite at all, nor was it beneficial to Chairwoman Zheng's already poor impression of her.
The good news had to be put aside, to be told another day. At Gao Quanan's custom studio, Meng Xinjie came to fulfill the deal they had agreed on last time. Her maternal uncle would help Meng Xinjie pursue Xu Zhaodi, and Meng Xinjie would provide the orders for their company's clothing needs. It was a win-win, each getting what they needed.
Before he finished speaking, Meng Xinjie suddenly got excited, asking about the handsome guys around Xu Zhaodi, especially the foreigner who came out of the mall that day. At a bar and nightclub on the other side, Xu Zhaodi called for help, asking her maternal uncle to pick her up. She and the German hadn't reached the point of going home together, and at a crucial moment, her maternal uncle, this close confidant, was reliable. Coming out of the bar entrance, her maternal uncle, in a suit and sunglasses, with a Northeastern accent, pulled up in a sports car in front of her.
Episode 14 Recap
Xu Zhaodi liked that German mixed-race guy, and Gu Shengnan was about to have dinner with Lu Jin's mother. Both needed advice. Late at night in the Japanese restaurant, her maternal uncle, Gu Shengnan, and Xu Zhaodi began discussing. When the conversation turned to dinner attire, her maternal uncle was about to start custom-making clothes for Gu Shengnan, but Gu Shengnan quickly said it was just an informal meal, so her maternal uncle had to give up.
Since Lu Jin hadn't had time to tell Gu Shengnan the good news about the truth being revealed that day, she always thought it was Cheng Ziqian who helped her clear her name. On the way there that day, preparing to attend the banquet, she held a cake throughout the ride. Lu Jin watched from the side, envious; he looked forward to anything Gu Shengnan made with her skills.
But when they arrived at the hotel, this box of cake was sent directly to Cheng Ziqian's office. Lu Jin thought about how Gu Shengnan had meticulously explained the ingredient selection and preparation methods to him, such as the cake base being made from dark chocolate with a precise percentage, or the raw chocolate frozen for seven hours, or even the hand-sifted matcha powder. These things were tasteless now; only sour vinegar was fermenting within Lu Jin.
Arriving at the hotel, Gu Shengnan got nervous thinking about having dinner with Lu Jin's mother later and needed to go to the restroom, letting Lu Jin go in first by himself, as being late was impolite. When she came in again, many leaders were sitting around the dining table. This scene was completely different from what she was told; this meal was originally only supposed to be her, Lu Jin, and Lu Jin's mother.
Now a large group of people were sitting here densely. Her seat was arranged in the corner, with Li Man between her and Lu Jin, and Cheng Ziqian on the other side, whom she had just seen after delivering the cake. Chairwoman Zheng began introducing Gu Shengnan's culinary skills to everyone and, inspired, suggested she make a dish on the spot. In front of so many people, and because of Lu Jin, Gu Shengnan couldn't refuse.
She took the knife and spatula tools from the chef's hand. Li Man kindly reminded her to tie her apron, being careful not to stain her clothes. This made Gu Shengnan look more like someone who only came to cook. Gu Shengnan took a deep breath and focused on the ingredients. Chairwoman Zheng, however, raised her glass and began toasting with many partners.
Lu Jin was annoyed and told Li Man to show off his skills as well, but Chairwoman Zheng stopped him, saying Mr. Li's status was inappropriate. Then was Gu Shengnan's status appropriate? Lu Jin took off his jacket, went up himself, and picked up the knife and spatula. Gu Shengnan really couldn't bear this humiliation; this was simply an insult. She fought back tears and left directly. Lu Jin disregarded everyone's face and followed her.
In the taxi, Gu Shengnan could no longer hold back her grievances and sobbed uncontrollably. Arriving at "Chengde Li", she walked aimlessly. A figure flashed behind her; the eerie atmosphere scared away her tears. She turned around and saw the drunk Master Yu carrying a wine bottle, staggering in front of her.
Master Yu complained incessantly in his mouth, saying it was all because of Gu Shengnan, all because of Lu Jin and Cheng Ziqian; these few people ganged up to scheme against him. He threw a wine bottle, but it hit Lu Jin on the head. Lu Jin hugged Gu Shengnan from behind, protecting the small, wronged her. This was the second time Lu Jin's head was hit by a wine bottle, and coincidentally both times were because of Gu Shengnan.
Last time was bad luck, this time was different; this time it was because he loved Gu Shengnan. And in the dim long alley, Gu Shengnan generously kissed Lu Jin this time, embracing him without regard for others. Xu Zhaodi secured another order and had an even more pleasant conversation with the German. It was a time when both her career and love life were developing simultaneously. Today, she was celebrating with colleagues over dinner.
Meng Xinjie hid in his car secretly watching Xu Zhaodi in the restaurant and just happened to see the German man Xu Zhaodi was flirting with park his car and also enter the restaurant. If he wasn't looking for Xu Zhaodi, he could eat this restaurant. While saying he was like a perverted stalker, he hid under the car, taking refuge in a corner like a repairman unseen by the German mixed-race guy.
The next day, Meng Xinjie was late for his Indonesian class. He was rushing towards the small classroom when he ran into Xu Zhaodi who was on a dinner date with the German mixed-race guy. He probably wouldn't be able to make this class. He followed the German all the way to the restroom, heard him say he was going to some hotel.
This definitely wasn't good news; this person had just told Xu Zhaodi he was going to a meeting. Meng Xinjie quietly followed and finally sent a message to Xu Zhaodi, guiding her to find her so-called perfect lover. Xu Zhaodi knocked on the hotel room door. A woman opened the door. Xu Zhaodi went in and found a group of beautiful women surrounding the German mixed-race guy, being enthusiastic and seductive.
This time Meng Xinjie's words came true; this German is a liar, a pit of fire. The most ridiculous thing is that she happily jumped into it. She really misjudged him. Xu Zhaodi couldn't stand it, plus the German disrespectfully stepped forward to provoke her. She sneered twice, slapped him, and got a punch back. This German is someone who can hit women.
It seems sometimes being mixed-race isn't enough to be excellent, and being a foreigner doesn't necessarily mean being gentle and polite. Meng Xinjie saw Xu Zhaodi being hit, swung his fist but didn't hit anything, and was thrown directly to the ground. Two people in distress, looking at each other miserably on the ground, finally actually laughed. It's good to see true feelings in adversity.
Episode 15 Recap
Amidst the ruins, reinforced concrete and cranes together created a noisy, dusty construction site. Lu Jin's half-brother Lu Zheng and his mother were urgently discussing future interests. Their father's name was Lu Mingting, the chairman of Mingting Group, and he was formerly married to Chairwoman Zheng of Zhenghong Group. Although Chairwoman Zheng and Chairman Lu had been divorced for many years, they still frequently met in the business world, though mostly to suppress and contain each other.
Lu Zheng, as the younger son, was dedicated to mechanics, which was why he appeared at the construction site, because the hoisting and lifting machines were so attractive. His mother was afraid that Lu Jin and Lu Zheng would compete for shares, but Lu Zheng himself was very open about it and didn't care at all; attending meetings at Mingting Group was something his mother forced him to do as a routine.
After the incident at the hotel exposing the German scumbag, although Meng Xinjie didn't help much and was directly injured, he got the top-tier treatment of being bandaged by Xu Zhaodi. Calculating this way, it was worth even getting beaten up into a swollen mess. The progress of winning over Xu Zhaodi was nearing 100%. Lu Jin didn't yet know that his brother Lu Zheng was already in Suhai.
He was currently infatuated with love, going on a picnic by the lake with Gu Shengnan. The wind by the lake blew Gu Shengnan's hair, strands swaying with the wind. Gu Shengnan spun gently within the iridescent bubbles. Lu Jin looked at her smile and felt that it was probably love. Such a smile would involuntarily make him happy too, and he mimicked Gu Shengnan's half-silly, half-cute gesture of waving the bubble machine.
Even when taking pictures of her, he insisted that every shot be beautiful. However, unexpectedly, as he stepped back to find an angle, a stumble caused the camera to fall into the lake. Now that there was nothing to do, Gu Shengnan actually started asking about his ex-girlfriends. Was it Li Man? Why did they break up? When did he fall in love with her? The questions were sharper one after another.
Lu Jin was unusually inarticulate, stammering out everything because he just loved her. After answering all the questions, he wanted to ask back, but Gu Shengnan didn't fall for that, just saying she wouldn't tell him. The highlight of the picnic arrived. Fresh ingredients were placed on the grill. Marinating, massaging, sprinkling seasoning, brushing oil, plating, and calling Lu Jin—Gu Shengnan did it all in one go.
Lu Jin finished his call with Li Man; it was time to serve the food. At the Mingting Group board meeting, Lu Zheng was present. There were problems with the company's securities, and cash flow was tight. Lu Mingting was having a headache over this. The next second, the secretary came in and told him that the subsidiary Lanyu Construction had faked its accounts, and the bank had cut off Mingting's loans to avoid suspicion.
Upon hearing this, the board unanimously suggested Lu Mingting discuss a merger with his ex-wife's company, Zhenghong Group. Consequently, Lu Mingting's already precarious heart finally couldn't withstand the blow and he fainted directly onto the floor. To make Gu Shengnan happy, Lu Jin said he could invite her friends to come out and play together. At this moment, there were no less than ten people in the apartment room, even including Gu Shengnan's colleagues from the kitchen.
Lu Jin's longed-for alone time instantly vanished. He used his eyes to signal Gu Shengnan to come back and chat with him. After three attempts, Gu Shengnan still went off to play with others. On the small path outside the apartment at night, Cheng Ziqian stopped Lu Jin. He also liked Gu Shengnan. What could Lu Jin give Gu Shengnan? Was it constant companionship or even caring for Gu Shengnan's family?
But Lu Jin only had one sentence: Gu Shengnan loved him, she was his woman. That night, the group arranged rooms for sleeping. Meng Xinjie planned to put Lu Jin and Gu Shengnan in the same room. However, plans couldn't keep up with changes. Xu Zhaodi refused to sleep with Meng Xinjie, and Da Laba also had questions. So, in the end, Gu Shengnan shared a room with a kitchen sister. The kitchen sister was forthright.
With a pile of snacks and beer, she wanted to have a long sisterly chat with Gu Shengnan all night. Gu Shengnan, however, was eager to go out and find Lu Jin. The kitchen sister immediately said mysteriously that she had had a relationship with Lu Jin. Gu Shengnan instantly lost her intention to leave and began consulting her in detail.
Episode 16 Recap
The sister talked about how Lu Jin ate the dish she had added lemon juice to during the day. Wasn't the rumor that Lu Jin could only eat food made by Gu Shengnan? Now Lu Jin ate her dish. Although she just took someone else's dish and added a drop of lemon, this was enough to show that Lu Jin was hinting at something. A magical analysis with this logic made this kitchen sister fall into emotional distress.
She didn't like Lu Jin and couldn't give him an equal response. These words were simply wasting Gu Shengnan's time. She quickly agreed with the sister, and then started pouring her drinks. After finishing the toast, or rather, even without a toast, she coaxed the kitchen sister into drinking. After finally getting the person drunk, Gu Shengnan immediately went out. She latched the door but forgot to take her phone. She didn't know which room Lu Jin was in.
She just happened to bump into Meng Xinjie, who came out to look for Xu Zhaodi. Everyone knew what was going on, but one said he was looking for the boss to report, and the other said she was looking for her best friend for a late-night chat. As they passed each other, they secretly exchanged room numbers and went off to find their respective persons. Gu Shengnan finally found Lu Jin's room.
As she hugged him, just about to get intimate, Da Laba and Master Wang, gathered around a mahjong table, called out to her. It turned out Lu Jin's anxious urging was because they were "three short of one" (needed a fourth player for mahjong). When she woke up the next morning, Lu Jin had left a note and was already gone. The group had urgent matters to handle, and he probably wouldn't be back for three to five days.
Lu Jin had also extended the resort booking for another week, hoping she would have a good time. Although the note was about parting, it was bittersweet. Meng Xinjie and Lu Jin went to the airport together. In the car, Meng Xinjie was sending mushy voice messages to Xu Zhaodi. Lu Jin also childishly took out his phone. Without asking, one knew what he was doing.
Meanwhile, in the hotel kitchen, Gu Shengnan was teaching Da Laba how to make Tiramisu. Even when teaching others how to make cakes, she would reminisce about Lu Jin to describe the feeling. She unconsciously showered Da Laba with lots of 'dog food' (PDA/affectionate talk about her relationship). Talking about this matter with Lu Jin on the phone was full of longing. They simultaneously told each other, "I miss you."
When Li Man handed documents to Lu Jin, he was still flipping through photos of him and Gu Shengnan in his album. And not long after the sweet phone call, Aunt Wang anxiously said on the phone that Gu Shengnan's grandfather had fainted and was now in the hospital emergency room. The news was like a time bomb that shattered all order. Her grandfather had a heart attack and would need surgery later.
Gu Shengnan was by her grandfather's bedside in the hospital corridor. Because there were no beds available, all subsequent treatment was difficult to carry out. There was nothing she could do but wait anxiously. Lu Mingting, who had fainted at the meeting, was also in the hospital. A group of people followed behind him. As he was talking to the hospital leaders and doctors, he happened to see the anxious Gu Shengnan.
Only then did he learn that the young girl's grandfather didn't have a hospital bed. He instructed the hospital to arrange a VIP ward for her. For Lu Mingting, this was just a casual act. Lu Jin woke up late at night. He called Gu Shengnan but got no answer. Lu Zheng came to the hospital to see Lu Mingting. After only a couple of sentences of concern, the father and son found their conversation didn't click.
At this moment, Gu Shengnan came in holding a bento box to thank Lu Mingting. Lu Zheng's mother snatched it and put it on the table, ignoring it. After Gu Shengnan left, she winked at Lu Zheng, signaling him to throw away the bento box. Lu Jin handled matters for several days in a row. He could probably go back tomorrow.
He was sending a voice message to Gu Shengnan to report this good news, but Li Man came over and told him there was an unexpected setback in the process. So that voice message was ultimately not heard by Gu Shengnan. In the large VIP ward, there was only the unconscious grandfather. When the nurse came for rounds, she urged Gu Shengnan to pay the hospitalization fee. She and her old uncle were both stunned.
So that old gentleman had only arranged for the room but hadn't paid? A hospitalization fee of one thousand a day might be nothing to Lu Mingting, but it was simply an astronomical sum for Gu Shengnan. Just the checkups in the past few days had already cost a lot of money. Now hospitalization was another expense. She didn't want to trouble Lu Jin, so she could only borrow from her old uncle.
The feeling of borrowing money was really bad. Gu Shengnan bore a lot of grievances alone, looking at her old uncle's bank card. Lu Zheng also came out of the next ward. They happened to run into each other. Lu Zheng said her food smelled very good. The food from that day had not been thrown away; instead, it was eaten by Lu Zheng. Gu Shengnan generously invited Lu Zheng.
If he liked to eat, he could come to her family's food stall. Gu Shengnan's days became busy. During the day, she had to juggle the food stall and the hotel kitchen. At night, she had to accompany her grandfather by his bedside. She had to do the purchasing herself and manage the stall herself. During this period, it naturally also became a time without Lu Jin. Da Laba from the kitchen gave her money.
She couldn't help but secretly shed tears. Then, during a break at noon, Lu Jin sent a WeChat message. She, while chewing instant noodles, also said, "It's pretty good." In the days of non-stop busy rotation, she finally fell asleep in the back kitchen of the food stall from exhaustion. A diner slapped the table and called her, which woke her up from her sleep. A man questioned why there was hair in the food and demanded a free meal.
After speaking, without waiting for Gu Shengnan's agreement, he was about to get up and leave, but was pushed back by someone. Lu Zheng took out a whole bag of hair from his pocket. He made a gesture to call the police. The man immediately backed down, paid the bill, and left. Gu Shengnan treated Lu Zheng to a hearty meal, ensuring he was satisfied. When late night arrived, Gu Shengnan came to the hospital again.
The fatigue from her aching back and sore waist immediately filled her whole body. She fell into a groggy sleep. Her grandfather's surgery date was set. Gu Shengnan held a stack of medical records, worrying about the surgery fee. Chairwoman Zheng, with a serious face, walked towards her. She thought Gu Shengnan would become a burden to Lu Jin because of this matter.
Episode 17 Recap
After Chairwoman Zheng officially and politely visited Gu Shengnan's grandfather, she stood with Gu Shengnan in the bright and spacious hospital corridor, knowing without thinking that this was to break up the couple. She was not in a hurry to deny the relationship between Gu Shengnan and Lu Jin, or say that they were not a match. Because she had been young too, and struggled for half her life to achieve today's Zheng Hong Group.
Ambitious people all deserve to be respected. But Lu Jin was too important to the Zheng Hong Group. He was decisive and astute, which were rare qualities for a leader. However, once he had an emotional soft spot, it was like a time bomb, a fuse that could trigger a collapse at any time. Gu Shengnan was like Concubine Yu behind Xiang Yu in the Chu-Han contention, a burden rather than a strategist.
And Liu Bang had Empress Lu assisting him; becoming king was not accidental but inevitable. Though a beautiful companion is good, one cannot give up everything for a beauty. Life is not just about living with sweet and loving romance. Regarding these things, Chairwoman Zheng certainly could not allow such potential problems to arise. For Lu Jin's sake and for the group's sake, she dialed Lu Jin's phone number in front of Gu Shengnan.
A familiar voice was full of eagerness and concern, but Gu Shengnan could only suppress her tears and say everything was fine. Nothing was more heartbreaking than pretending to be strong in front of her closest lover. Gu Shengnan was about to break down. At her grandfather's ward door, she met Cheng Ziqian. She said with grievance and bitterness that she was tired, the medical expenses were too much, and she had tried hard but couldn't raise enough.
Her grievances found an outlet and surged into her heart. Tears mixed with sobs, and Cheng Ziqian hugged her with concern. Cheng Ziqian advanced payment for her grandfather's medical expenses and took care of her grandfather eating together with Gu Shengnan, as if nothing bad had happened.
Grandfather dismissed the two of them and summoned Xu Zhaodi and the old uncle for a small meeting, where they began discussing whether Lu Jin or Cheng Ziqian was the best match for Gu Shengnan. Xu Zhaodi supported Cheng Ziqian, saying he was young, gentle, and knew how to care for people; the old uncle supported Lu Jin, saying he was gentlemanly, wealthy, and mutually in love. Grandfather agreed with Xu Zhaodi.
During his hospital stay, Cheng Ziqian had been busy running around, and just Lu Jin's mother was not easy to deal with. The day of Grandfather's surgery finally arrived. Gu Shengnan kept waiting outside the operating room. When the doctor announced the surgery was successful, Gu Shengnan breathed a sigh of relief. This was probably the only thing worth being happy about recently.
Out of the ward, Gu Shengnan hesitated for a long time but still got through to Lu Jin's phone. Lu Jin, who was tied up with many matters in Vancouver, finally achieved satisfactory results. Everything was handled, the summary meeting ended, and he could return to the country tomorrow. But Li Man privately booked his itinerary for tomorrow, stating he was going to do a field inspection for a day.
The itinerary was postponed, but work could not be sloppy, so Lu Jin agreed. After the meeting ended, he invited everyone for a meal. Li Man still had documents to integrate and asked him to wait a moment. After Lu Jin went out, he left his phone on the table. Gu Shengnan called. The phone rang, and after the call went through, what she heard was Li Man's voice.
After her surprise, Gu Shengnan asked Li Man to tell Lu Jin to call her back. Li Man agreed but quietly deleted this call record. At night, Lu Jin and Li Man strolled on the streets they had walked before. A long time ago, Li Man had just been transferred here to help Lu Jin acquire this place. Ten years had passed in a flash. Lu Jin had someone he liked by his side, but this person was not her.
Li Man took Lu Jin through the old streets and went to the restaurant they used to eat at for a drink. During the meal, he finally told Lu Jin he liked him. Lu Jin politely avoided responding, got up, and left. Li Man was left alone facing the full table of food and drinks, feeling melancholy. Late at night at the hotel, Li Man called, saying his bathroom had no towels and asked Lu Jin to bring one over.
There was an implied meaning. Lu Jin refused. Li Man got a clear answer: he had no chance of becoming Lu Jin's lover. But he still thanked Lu Jin for being straightforward with him. So Li Man explained the matter of deleting the call record to Lu Jin and finally apologized.
Episode 18 Recap
When Lu Jin on this side heard about Gu Shengnan, he couldn't sit still anymore, unsure whom to blame; Li Man's liking him was not wrong either. A plane departed that night, carrying Lu Jin's eagerness to return home. In the hospital, Grandfather summoned Cheng Ziqian, expressing his support and hoping he could become Gu Shengnan's reliance.
So Cheng Ziqian submitted the private chef proposal to Gu Shengnan, hoping to help him fulfill his future wishes and asking Gu Shengnan to consider it. The result was obvious: Gu Shengnan's refusal was subtle yet resolute. She said she would definitely return the medical expenses to Cheng Ziqian. Gu Shengnan sat in the hospital corridor, her expression blank. In a trance, she seemed to see Lu Jin. Lu Jin was also anxiously looking for her.
Their eyes met, and they immediately embraced. The embrace Gu Shengnan had longed for was now within her reach. Sinking into Lu Jin's embrace, she felt him caress her hair. Just as she was nestled against him, Chairwoman Zheng Hong's words echoed in her ears: Is it really okay as long as Lu Jin is happy with her? Gu Shengnan withdrew from his embrace and quickly apologized.
Lu Jin, however, generously said his entire body was a tissue for her crying nose. Outside the hospital, Gu Shengnan put up her indifferent facade, expressing her anger towards Lu Jin with little emotion. Lu Jin immediately picked her up horizontally, intending to take her home. He apologized to Gu Shengnan, saying he was very sorry he wasn't there when Grandfather was sick, and very sorry he was away for work during such difficult days.
All her grievances felt ten times worse when someone responded to them than when she toughs it out herself. Although late, he still returned. Gu Shengnan suddenly remembered the Chu-Han contention analogy Chairwoman Zheng Hong had mentioned, and she asked Lu Jin about it. Lu Jin believed that the winner is king and the loser is outcast, which is understandable. He would probably choose Liu Bang.
Although she knew Lu Jin didn't understand why she was asking, at this crucial moment, Chairwoman Zheng Hong's analogy was once again validated, and the slightly touched feelings Gu Shengnan had just had were dashed back into the cold depths. The old uncle's visitors were increasing daily. Just as he was peeling an apple for Grandfather, Lu Jin pulled him aside to analyze the situation.
Why was Gu Shengnan so strange, why was she deliberately being distant to him, and why did he, as Gu Shengnan's boyfriend, know nothing about such a big matter as Grandfather being sick? After the old uncle's analysis, he thoroughly explained Gu Shengnan inside and out. It was because of Gu Shengnan's self-esteem, because she loved him and didn't want to burden him, and because Gu Shengnan lacked a sense of security.
Lu Jin's mind was suddenly enlightened, and he left full of confidence, happily forgetting to pay for the drinks. After seeing Lu Jin off, Gu Shengnan instinctively showed up. The old uncle, like a matchmaker, helped Gu Shengnan analyze things again. The troubled Gu Shengnan began to question herself, asking, "Do I really not deserve Lu Jin?"
She was hoping the old uncle would say comforting words, but he did the opposite, advising her to break up rather than stay together. Gu Shennan became even more distressed. She liked Lu Jin so much, but the distance between them was so great, and no matter how hard she tried, she didn't feel she was good enough for him. The old uncle, however, said distance creates beauty.
Gu Shengnan then asked the old uncle if she would hold Lu Jin back. The old uncle said she didn't even deserve to hold Lu Jin back. It sounded like he was looking down on her, but Gu Shengnan was extremely happy after hearing it. Lu Jin was pushing his luggage, preparing to go find Gu Shengnan, when Chairwoman Zheng Hong stopped him.
With an air of wanting to control her son, Lu Jin counter-questioned her about everything she had done. Did she ask Gu Shengnan the story of Xiang Yu and Concubine Yu, or did she imply to Gu Shennan that she was Concubine Yu and simply didn't deserve Lu Jin? It seemed she had done all of these things. Zheng Hong insisted on stopping Lu Jin, repeatedly emphasizing that being emotional at work would lead to utter failure sooner or later.
Lu Jin politely agreed with her, but he said he didn't want to become a machine that only knew how to work, and even less did he want to live without Gu Shengnan. Cheng Ziqian left to study abroad for further education. He left letters for Grandfather and Gu Shengnan, hoping they would both take good care of themselves. Lu Jin appeared in Grandfather's ward.
Grandfather deliberately made things difficult for Lu Jin, saying the gifts and tonic soup he brought weren't suitable. He asked Lu Jin to move and rearrange chairs and vases, and after a lot of fuss, told him to put everything back in its original place. After visiting Grandfather, Lu Jin went to the food stall to find Gu Shengnan. To spend time with Gu Shengnan, he was willing to help out.
For the first time, the big boss tied on an apron to peel potatoes and devein shrimp, for the first time, he served dishes and opened drinks for customers, and for the first time, he wiped down greasy tables and stoves. It was also the first time he served the entire food stall by himself, serving no one.
Gu Shengnan, however, said that if he wanted to have a date with her, the food stall had to be full within half an hour. So, in less than half an hour, the food stall was filled with employees from Zheng Hong, all in suits and ties, sitting stiffly and emotionlessly. Lu Jin felt a wave of embarrassment and cursed Meng Xinjie's terrible efficiency. Gu Shengnan didn't mind, she just cooked as much as there were people.
These office workers were extremely obedient. If Lu Jin told them to eat, they ate; if he told them to talk, they talked. When Lu Jin asked if it wasn't tasty, they all replied loudly in unison, "Delicious!" The scene was strange but funny. As soon as Grandfather heard Aunt Wang describe Lu Jin's performance, he immediately ordered someone to bring his family heirloom spatula. Lu Jin stood in the ward holding the pot and spatula with one hand, as if standing in punishment.
Episode 19 Recap
Grandfather supported this family and raised Gu Shengnan by holding the pot and spatula and cooking rice for fifty years just like this. It was definitely hard work; Grandfather had his hardships, and Lu Jin naturally had his hardships, but during this period, Gu Shengnan was the most exhausted among them, swallowing all her grievances with clenched teeth. Even though the days were so tough, she still waited for her Lu Jin, and bright days returned again.
Grandfather sincerely told Lu Jin many things: Since Gu Shengnan has chosen him, Grandfather hopes Lu Jin will cherish her well, not disappoint her, and not make her sad. So this time, the soup Lu Jin cooked himself, Grandfather drank it and praised it endlessly. Lu Jin brought Gu Shengnan to an undeveloped shopping mall, where even the walls were unpainted concrete slabs. How could a place like this be worth coming for a date?
While Gu Shengnan was feeling confused, Lu Jin held her hand and walked towards a wall, a wall that was no longer grey and white, but had many graffiti paintings on it. Painted with hot pot, red wine, toast, and fruit, various rich ingredients – all painted by Lu Jin for Gu Shengnan. They freely did graffiti, splattered ink, splattering all their sweetness onto this wall. They deeply embraced, and gently kissed for a long, long time.
Afterwards, they came to a real shopping mall. Lu Jin accompanied Gu Shengnan to pick out clothes. A work call suddenly interrupted their brief time together. When Lu Jin looked up again, Gu Shengnan in a pure white, flawless wedding dress appeared smiling right in front of him, like the goddess Venus.
Lu Jin stared blankly for two seconds, then left first using work as an excuse, leaving Gu Shengnan here all in white, smiling kindly at his reaction just now. At Xu Zhaodi's home, Meng Xinjie brought out the hot pot and considerately peeled shrimp for Xu Zhaodi. When Xu Zhaodi was a child, she wanted to eat hot pot, but her family had no money to eat out.
Her mother boiled cabbage in salt water and tricked her into thinking it was hot pot; the taste was simply terrible. So she didn't like hot pot at all when she was little. It wasn't until she grew up that she knew hot pot had soup base and a special split pot. Meng Xinjie felt a pang of sympathy and said he would cook hot pot for Xu Zhaodi every day from now on.
In Old Uncle Gao Quanan's studio, Gu Shengnan, troubled by love again, came for consultation. His place now seems not to be selling haute couture clothing, but a relationship counseling service. Gu Shengnan shook him, asking him to analyze what exactly Lu Jin meant, why he ran away as if a mouse seeing a cat when he saw her in a wedding dress.
Old Uncle was saying Lu Jin might think Gu Shengnan was pressuring him into marriage when Xu Zhaodi came in from outside, looking distraught, looking shocked as if she had lost her virginity, making both Old Uncle and Gu Shengnan forget what they were doing just now. In the villa, Lu Jin, thinking of Gu Shengnan in her wedding dress, called Old Uncle.
Outside the villa, Meng Xinjie, thinking of Xu Zhaodi's hot pot, also made a call to rush the money. At the cocktail party, Lu Jin spoke eloquently as the new president. When speaking of the poetic line "For her, I grow gaunt and pale," the side door opened. Gu Shengnan wearing a blue dress appeared, and the spotlight followed, making her exceptionally dazzling. Lu Jin reached out his hand, she lightly placed hers on it.
A perfect couple stood in the center of the stage. Lu Jin formally introduced his fiancée. While everyone was applauding, Chairwoman Zheng Hong's face was gloomy, and she called Lu Jin away. So, when Gu Shengnan was bored, she ran into Lu Zheng and only then did she learn that Lu Jin and Lu Zheng were half-brothers.
Lu Zheng was forced by his mother to attend the party, but his mind was completely not on the world of fame and fortune. He took Gu Shengnan to play with his remote-control car. In the venue, Gu Shengnan lifted her dress and chased the little car all over the floor, until she ran into the returning Lu Jin. Lu Jin had just discussed acquiring the Mingting Group with Lu Mingting.
Lu Mingting was puffing himself up, pretending he still had choices, still had other ways out. Lu Jin strategized within his tent, ensuring victory a thousand miles away. Just let Lu Mingting watch and see. In the car going home, Gu Shengnan talked a lot about Lu Zheng, making Lu Jin quite jealous. When they got back, she brewed him a nourishing tea and also verbally provoked him. She only realized she had gone too far when she was pinned down in Lu Jin's arms. After meekly apologizing and escaping, from a distance, she started talking disrespectfully again.
Episode 20 Recap
Meng Xinjie went to the jewelry store. The next day, he set up a large cluster of roses downstairs from where Xu Zhaodi worked and held a bouquet made of lamb rolls. He knelt on one knee, held up a sparkling ring, and proposed to her. If she didn't have delicious hot pot when she was a child, then he was willing to eat hot pot with her for a lifetime.
Everyone cheered excitedly, watching to see who this romantic scene was for, until Meng Xinjie called out Xu Zhaodi's name. This woman, who seemed to be chosen by love, turned around and left amidst everyone's envious and spectating gazes. Meng Xinjie faced the small hot pot in front of him alone, picking the meat rolls from the bouquet one by one and throwing them into the pot, eating them in a huff.
In his ears were Xu Zhaodi's words to him: How could they possibly be together based solely on liking each other? She came out of such a difficult environment; she was unwilling to settle. So, in the end, Meng Xinjie's shabu-shabu hot pot was swallowed down with tears as he ate. Early in the morning, Gu Shengnan, who was still sleeping in, received a call from Chairwoman Zheng Hong inviting her to do gardening in the vegetable patch.
Several hectares of vegetable greenhouses were filled with fresh fruits and vegetables grown by Chairwoman Zheng Hong for Lu Jin, but the soil was too fertile, causing weeds to grow, and they were eager to absorb the nutrients from the vegetables. How could this be allowed? Zheng Hong said that since everyone was doing it for Lu Jin's good, why not ask Gu Shengnan to remove the weeds for Lu Jin.
If it was just talk without effort, how could doing something good for Lu Jin be taken seriously? Chairwoman Zheng Hong always liked to use various things as metaphors when talking to Gu Shengnan, from the previous "not being a femme fatale" to now "weeds growing." As soon as Gu Shengnan nodded in agreement, Chairwoman Zheng Hong suddenly had something else to do and left, leaving Gu Shengnan alone to face the large area of fruits and vegetables.
Gu Shengnan could humble herself for Lu Jin; she would just pull weeds if it meant pulling weeds. When Chairwoman Zheng Hong returned to check, Gu Shengnan had not only failed to pull the weeds, but had also pulled quite a few vegetables. She wanted to show Chairwoman Zheng Hong with her actions that all beings are equal; there's no such thing as weeds or non-weeds, everyone is life.
After a tough afternoon of labor, her body was hot, and as soon as the evening breeze blew, Gu Shengnan developed a fever. Lu Jin felt Gu Shengnan's forehead temperature. Regarding why Gu Shengnan had a fever, why she worked, and what she said to Chairwoman Zheng Hong, Lu Jin heard the whole story clearly. Chairwoman Zheng Hong said that Gu Shengnan was very much like her when she was young. Was this praising her or scolding her?
Lu Jin said directly that it was definitely praising her. Having been praised, Gu Shengnan came up with another whim: she wanted to eat canned fruit. Eating things with preservatives while sick? Lu Jin naturally disagreed. Gu Shengnan started acting spoiled, whining and pouting, which made Lu Jin instantly surrender. It's just canned fruit, right? He could make it for her.
So, on the long table that was supposed to be for office work, box after box of fresh fruit was placed. After a long time, late into the night, Gu Shengnan finally got to eat the canned fruit as she wished. However, perhaps growing up had made her palate pickier, as she felt the canned fruit wasn't as delicious as when she was little. To repay Lu Jin's care, Gu Shengnan decided to start delivering meals to Lu Jin.
But Old Uncle said this would disturb Lu Jin's work. Gu Shengnan swore that she would obediently just deliver the food and not talk too much. Downstairs at Zheng Hong's company, Gu Shengnan was stopped by the front desk, and Lu Jin happened to come out. So Gu Shengnan went to the next location with the car, listening to Lu Jin and Li Man speaking fluent English on the phone.
Mingting Group seemed to have really used a move to bring themselves back to life, submitting a new project development proposal to Wayne. And Lu Jin was actually the last one to know about this matter. This meant that all the preparations made before could go to waste. The car turned around and returned to Zhenghong. Lu Jin called in the team responsible for the Mingting project and sternly lectured these insensitive white-collar workers. What Gu Shengnan saw from the back was Lu Jin's true appearance as an overbearing president; it was really too captivating.
Episode 21 Recap
Gu Shengnan was overjoyed facing her Old Uncle. Lu Jin's overbearing CEO aura was simply too handsome. She imitated Lu Jin's cold and ruthless look, and then screamed as if going crazy. Old Uncle watched from the side, thinking this was a young girl whose eyes were blinded by love. For this, Gu Shengnan officially upgraded herself. She was no longer Gu Shengnan; she was Mrs. Lu, the woman behind that successful man.
Because Mingting Group and Wayne reached a cooperation project on the reconstruction of the Sinan Villa area, Lu Mingting ultimately turned the tide, rescuing Mingting Group, the fruit of his life's work, from danger. All the investments and effort Zheng Hong Group put into acquiring the Mingting project would be in vain. The board meeting was filled with differing opinions; some advised withdrawing funds to stop losses in time, while others were unwilling to see their efforts wasted.
Opinions varied widely, a hundred schools of thought contended. Just as everything was gradually coming back to life as Lu Mingting wished, Wayne Group suddenly terminated the cooperation unilaterally. Mingting Group's hope was dashed right next to despair; after the great ups and downs, it became stagnant again. It turned out that Lu Jin personally visited the younger daughter of Wayne Group.
She and the President's wife were at odds like fire and water, and she directly cut off the cooperation between Wayne Group and Mingting. Lu Jin cut off all of Lu Mingting's retreat routes, forcing Lu Mingting to personally seek Gu Shengnan's intervention. Only then did he have a chance to have a good talk with Lu Jin. The elderly man, leaning on a cane, pleaded with Lu Jin to spare Mingting Group.
After thirty years, this humble request, mixed with coercion and helplessness, finally arrived late, its value and significance as light as a feather. How Lu Mingting abandoned him and Zheng Hong back then, how he left so resolutely and never came back; in his childhood, besides learning to bring honor to his mother, there was no involvement of a father figure. Wasn't it too late to ask for forgiveness now? Zheng Hong Group was determined to acquire Mingting.
Although Lu Jin spoke with conviction when facing Lu Mingting, an unnamed anger ignited in his heart after leaving. At the boxing gym, Lu Jin went wild on the sandbag for an hour, blood seeping through the bandages on his knuckles. Gu Shengnan felt heartbroken seeing this scene and rushed forward to stop him. A lover is the best antidote. Lu Jin embraced and kissed Gu Shengnan.
Their passionate and intense entanglement melted away all their vexation in the haven of tenderness. The next morning, they were still nestled in each other's arms. No one expected that an argument with Lu Jin would completely end Lu Mingting's precarious life. At the funeral, Lu Zheng and his mother, Bai Ju, dressed in black, mourned in grief. Lu Zheng remembered the words Lu Mingting tightly held his hand and instructed him when he was critically ill.
Mingting must not be destroyed; he must protect this group. And in a distant, unseen corner, Lu Jin held a bouquet and an umbrella, his expression solemn. Zheng Hong also quietly placed a bouquet for him. Lu Zheng naively came to see Lu Jin, his intention was obvious without thinking. Let go of Mingting Group, stop acquiring it. But the business world is the business world; it shows no mercy to any emotion.
Only when Lu Zheng can become strong enough to stand on his own can he protect Mingting and show it to Lu Jin. Lu Zheng returned without success, looking at the dark clouds in the sky, he secretly made up his mind. On one hand, Lu Jin was discussing how to acquire Mingting Group, and on the other hand, Lu Zheng began to harbor malicious intentions. The peace between the two brothers completely ceased to exist; this struggle finally surfaced.
Lu Jin was going to Vancouver. Before leaving, he arranged everything for Gu Shengnan. She just needed to work happily and spend money happily. Lu Zheng spent three or four days researching at a car dealership and finally found his old classmate Zhang Yimin, gambling the entire fortune of Mingting on a cooperation project for a Southeast Asian resort. Hearing that Lu Jin went to Vancouver, he utilized Zheng Hong's Vancouver branch to secretly acquire small shareholders of Mingting.
Altogether, the shares amounted to over forty percent in Zheng Hong's hands. If they absorbed more shareholders, Mingting would directly change ownership. Lu Zheng heard this without rushing or panicking, letting them acquire. Gu Shengnan went out to throw away trash and happened to run into Lu Zheng. Facing someone whose father had just passed away, Gu Shengnan couldn't say anything harsh or refuse him. She invited him in and cooked a sumptuous lunch for him. As a result, Lu Zheng was allergic to crab and woke up in the hospital with Gu Shengnan by his side.
Episode 22 Recap
Lu Jin couldn't get through to Gu Shengnan on the phone. Li Man also informed him that Mingting's acquisition price had been raised by a third party. Now there were two issues: first, to find out who this third party was and see who was pulling the strings behind it; second, whether to follow up with a price increase. Lu Jin was determined to acquire Mingting, so of course, he would increase the price.
Moreover, with this sudden mysterious third party, things required caution, so he asked Li Man to personally keep an eye on it. Lu Zheng's car dealership was filled with ear-splitting cheers and excitement. A group of young people were racing remote-controlled cars, and small cars sped across the assembled tracks. Gu Shengnan brought her Old Uncle and Xu Zhaodi to find Lu Zheng. The speed and passion on the small remote-controlled cars made the group of young people's blood boil.
Until night fell, and everyone dispersed after their fun to get late-night snacks. Lu Zheng invited Gu Shengnan to go together, and when they said goodbye to Old Uncle, the two of them left with Lu Zheng holding Gu Shengnan's waist. Old Uncle immediately called out to her, using the excuse that her grandfather had something to attend to, separating Lu Zheng and her. The next day, Gu Shengnan and Lu Jin learned about remote-controlled cars.
While taking a break, she ate a cream puff and had cream left on the corner of her mouth. Lu Zheng leaned in very close to wipe it away for her. The action was too intimate, and Gu Shengnan quickly picked up her bag and left in a fluster. Meanwhile, a pinhole camera on a remote-controlled car on the table was still blinking red. In the evening, Old Uncle rarely came to Gu Shengnan's house for dinner.
Before they could start eating, Lu Zheng arrived full of apologies to make amends, saying he had probably done something wrong yesterday to make Gu Shengnan angry, so he bought her a remote-controlled car as a gift. Gu Shengnan, who had originally been trying to avoid suspicion, suddenly changed her attitude. Upon seeing the car, she became incredibly excited and, neglecting Old Uncle at the dinner table, started assembling it with Lu Zheng.
After Old Uncle left, he explained Lu Zheng's recent behavior to Lu Jin. When Lu Jin called Gu Shengnan, in order not to make Lu Jin suspicious, Gu Shengnan didn't mention that Lu Zheng was with her. At the same time, a photo of Lu Zheng wiping cream from the corner of Gu Shengnan's mouth appeared on Lu Jin's phone. Lu Jin took a flight that same day to see Gu Shengnan.
The joy in Gu Shengnan's eyes when she saw him showed her happiness. Lu Jin handed her a photo. Gu Shengnan quickly explained that she had indeed gone to play with remote-controlled cars with Lu Zheng, but nothing more than that. Lu Jin gently reasoned with her, never speaking impatiently, but telling Gu Shengnan that she needed to understand whose girlfriend she was, whose fiancée she was, and that she needed to maintain a proper distance.
Lu Jin was truly exhausted after a flight of over ten hours to see her. Gu Shengnan realized her mistake. She felt both distressed and regretful that Lu Jin was exhausted because of her oversight. The next day, Lu Jin visited Lu Zheng's car dealership, still regarding the photo incident. Not only did Lu Zheng not explain, but he also waited until Lu Jin decided not to dwell on it anymore before stating directly that he liked Gu Shengnan.
This finally touched Lu Jin's sore spot, and he punched Lu Zheng, causing blood to flow from the corner of his mouth. Gu Shengnan happened to appear at this moment. The scene of Lu Jin and Lu Zheng looked like a brotherly conflict triggered because of Gu Shengnan. Gu Shengnan ran over to help Lu Zheng up and defended him, saying that no matter what, Lu Zheng was still his younger brother, how could Lu Jin hit someone?
What puzzled Lu Jin was why Gu Shengnan was here. Gu Shengnan felt even more inexplicable; Lu Jin had said he trusted her, yet now he also appeared at the car dealership and had injured Lu Zheng. Lu Zheng gently patted Gu Shengnan's hand and said there must be a misunderstanding. This scene was even more jarring in Lu Jin's eyes. Lu Jin left, Gu Shengnan was sad, and Lu Zheng was secretly pleased.
Regarding her company's external brand cooperation, everyone unanimously recommended Xu Zhaodi. This time, the brand partner was a rich old man. To deal with this kind of client, she was beautiful and smart; which partner wouldn't be captivated? The director also decided to give this project to her. No one asked if she could handle the promotion; Xu Zhaodi was forced to start preparing materials.
She sought help from colleagues for cooperation, but who would be willing to do this kind of busy work that doesn't share profits or record merits? She worked overtime by herself to complete the proposal. The old man was very satisfied, and touching her hand lecherously invited her to change jobs. It seemed this deal couldn't be done. She explained to the director to let someone else do it.
The director also spoke with a serious tone, saying beauty was her advantage, and the old Xu Zhaodi never hesitated; what had happened now? Maybe it was because of Meng Xinjie. Xu Zhaodi returned home disheartened and completely devoid of fighting spirit. She clarified with Old Uncle about the matter of Lu Jin's phone call that day. Her not telling Lu Jin that Lu Zheng was at home was such a wrong step, doing a kindness that resulted in trouble.
Of course, Lu Jin would think she was intentionally concealing it. When Lu Jin came to see her again, they apologized to each other. One shouldn't have hit someone, and the other shouldn't have gotten so close to Lu Zheng. The moment the misunderstanding was cleared up, the gloom in their relationship disappeared.
From then on, Gu Shengnan threw away the toy car she assembled with Lu Zheng, and deliberately avoided Lu Zheng, until Lu Zheng blocked her at her door and called out to her.
Episode 23 Recap
It's hard to believe Gu Shengnan was so cautious returning to her own home, not even daring to wake the voice-activated light in the stairwell which had ten bulbs. She walked all the way to her door in the dark, and just as she let out a sigh of relief, Lu Zheng appeared.
Lu Zheng took advantage of her kindness, sobbing and saying unfairly that his mother cried every day at home and he had nowhere to go, then he insincerely said he would leave if he was bothering Gu Shengnan. Gu Shengnan's soft heart again brought her into contact with Lu Zheng. They went drinking and got completely drunk. Gu Shengnan poured out all the complaints about Lu Jin that were hidden deep in her heart.
She was so drunk and muddled that she had no idea Lu Zheng carried her and took her back to Lu Jin's house. Lu Jin held Gu Shengnan, the person in his arms sleeping soundly under the dim yellow light. Gu Shengnan defending Lu Zheng to him, Gu Shengnan promising him she would never interact with Lu Zheng again—scene after scene surfaced, and Lu Jin silently shed tears.
It was clearly a contest between them as brothers, so why involve Gu Shengnan? All her kindness was being cherished by him yet simultaneously being used by Lu Zheng. He didn't know whether to be angry or heartbroken; Gu Shengnan shouldn't be entangled in matters between him and Lu Zheng. Waking up from a hangover, Gu Shengnan wasn't in her own home, nor did she see Lu Jin. Lu Jin's mother, Zheng Hong, sat upright beside her.
She didn't need Gu Shennan's explanation; the person Gu Shengnan should explain clearly to was Lu Jin. Chairman Zheng Hong left a check and departed. It was obvious that if she couldn't explain it clearly, she should leave Lu Jin. Gu Shengnan couldn't contact Lu Jin, and when she went to the company to find him, she was ignored. This silence, as if he didn't know her, made Gu Shengnan very anxious.
Lu Zheng, however, encouraged her to ask him personally. Whether they reconciled or broke up, at least it would be a definite answer, which was better than this kind of cold treatment. That evening at Songqiao No. 1, Lu Zheng brought Gu Shengnan to find Lu Jin. As soon as she saw Lu Jin, she cried profusely, looking very wronged. Lu Jin saw Lu Zheng's car in the distance and remained composed.
He answered Gu Shengnan ambiguously, then turned and left. The door of Songqiao No. 1 closed, shutting out Gu Shengnan's hope along with it. On the way back, Gu Shengnan looked listless. Lu Zheng suggested she go out and clear her head. And in order to take care of the little turtle named "Lu Guimao", Gu Shengnan left the key with Lu Zheng. One day when Lu Jin visited Chengde Lane, he saw Lu Zheng.
He threw the photo of Gu Shengnan and Lu Jin together into the bin as if it were trash. The former Xu Zhaodi was brilliant and unstoppable; there was no difficult client she couldn't handle. Now, she returned home dejected, meeting Meng Xinjie who had been waiting patiently outside her door. She looked completely lacking in spirit. Meng Xinjie then tried to comfort her with his own personal misfortunes, but it still had little effect.
Xu Zhaodi asked about what Meng Xinjie had once said; he had said he would support her. But having seen the ups and downs of human relationships and the cold realities of the world over the years, she didn't hold much hope for that statement. Meng Xinjie, however, straightened his clothes and stood solemnly, saying that if he said it, he would definitely do it.
Although he was destined not to be a wealthy and capable young master in this life, he was willing to become steadfast for Xu Zhaodi and protect their love with companionship. So, Meng Xinjie's proposal was a complete success, but another problem followed: a house. Xu Zhaodi had drifted in this city for years; she needed a home of her own, not one she rented. Meng Xinjie knew she lacked a sense of security and agreed to everything she said.
The truth was, Meng Xinjie's savings budget was only one million yuan, while a house Xu Zhaodi dreamed of cost nearly five million. How could a small assistant like him afford it? For this, Xu Zhaodi borrowed money from her Old Uncle. As for Meng Xinjie, the only wealthy boss around him was Lu Jin. For love, he had originally intended to ask Lu Jin for a ten-year advance on his salary.
Who knew that Lu Jin's own love life wasn't going smoothly recently, so he started doing good deeds and directly wrote a check for this foolish brother. The big obstacle on Meng Xinjie's path to happiness was finally cleared. He hugged and kissed Lu Jin. The Mingting shareholders' meeting finally began. Lu Jin attended with a group of Zhenghong employees. Lu Zheng finally sat at the same negotiation table as him. Regarding the sale of Mingting, Lu Zheng seemed relaxed and cheerful, stating that whoever offered the highest price would acquire it.
Episode 24 (Ending) Recap
Lu Zheng has been provoking Lu Jin with Gu Shengnan in various ways these past two days. At the shareholders' meeting, based on Zhenghong Group's acquired shares plus the voting rights transferred to Zhenghong Group by some shareholders, Zhenghong Group now holds more than fifty percent of the shares, allowing them to nominate Lu Jin as the Chairman of Mingting. However, Lu Zheng suddenly produced a lawyer's letter.
This was because of the resort project Lu Zheng collaborated on with Zhang Yimin, which Lu Zheng gambled all of Mingting on. Mingting then deliberately defaulted on the contract. Lu Zheng secretly transferred the project rights to a company he established, leaving Mingting to bear the huge compensation. Once the project turned into cash, he would acquire Mingting back, just as Zhenghong did when they initially acquired shares.
Zhenghong Group, which just took over Mingting, had already spent a large amount in the early stages of acquiring shares. Now, this compensation was not a small sum for Zhenghong either. Lu Zheng intended to drag Zhenghong Group down with Mingting, even if it meant sacrificing Mingting. Having achieved his great revenge, Lu Zheng looked at Lu Jin with a triumphant expression.
He remembered Lu Jin once told him that business was not about emotions, but now, facing Gu Shengnan, he himself failed to do that. So, Lu Zheng personally heard Lu Jin admit his emotional actions. However, what Lu Jin was referring to was the business world; any tactic in the market wasn't enough to provoke anger. What truly couldn't be forgiven was Lu Zheng using Gu Shengnan to try and defeat him.
Lu Zheng was too naive; he was eager to act before thoroughly understanding the rules of the business world. Once the resort project threatened Mingting's safety, it would inevitably harm the interests of all shareholders. So, the first thing Lu Jin did upon taking control of Mingting was to unite all shareholders to freeze the project. Therefore, even if Mingting had to pay compensation, Lu Zheng wouldn't get a single cent afterwards.
Secondly, Lu Zheng was too simple; he easily believed others. Zhang Yimin walked in holding the contract, without even glancing at Lu Zheng, his old classmate. Lu Jin signed a cooperation agreement with their parent company, thus joining hands to become new shareholders of Mingting through debt-to-equity conversion. Therefore, that lawyer's letter was completely worthless now. This battle was initially thought to be won by Lu Zheng, but in fact, he lost from the very first step.
Gu Shengnan vented her frustration at "Lu Guimao," a turtle that couldn't understand human language, at home. The moment she opened the door, Lu Jin appeared before her eyes. She was furious; he put on a show in front of others without telling her, causing her to be genuinely and truly sad for nothing. Lu Jin, dominating, pulled her tightly into his arms.
This was the embrace she had longed for for a long time, this was the person he had been separated from for so long. He missed Gu Shengnan very much. In the bright morning sunlight, Lu Jin styled Gu Shengnan's hair. He had his own way. He gently coiled her hair and pinned it up with a spoon. This spoon, which he always carried with him, had the character "顾" clearly visible on it.
Back then, he hadn't eaten for days and was starving. Gu Shengnan's bowl of clams and rice noodles made him irresistibly curious to find out who this great chef was. So, Gu Shengnan, who had her long hair pinned up with a spoon that day, became Lu Jin's first moment of heart fluttering. Zheng Hong found Gu Shengnan and gave her a choice. The mother wanted to return to Switzerland with her son, and the son loved Gu Shengnan.
Since you couldn't have both fish and bear paws, what would Gu Shengnan do about the choice between Lu Jin's maternal love and romantic love? She knew Lu Jin loved his mother very much, so she could choose to yield. She didn't want Lu Jin to feel guilt towards his mother when he looked at her. Lu Jin was about to leave, and there seemed to be nothing left to hold onto in the small home in Chengde Lane.
Gu Shengnan also chose to leave for a while, anywhere was fine; she missed Lu Jin everywhere. The moment she opened the door, Lu Jin said that his mother admired Gu Shengnan very much and was living very happily, so there was no need for Gu Shengnan to yield. He sincerely invited Gu Shengnan to have a casual meal. At Zheng Hong's house, she personally cooked for Gu Shengnan. She finally accepted this daughter-in-law!
Mingting was ultimately still left for Lu Zheng to manage. He was gradually becoming capable of handling things on his own, just as Lu Jin had said. At Gu Shengnan's new private kitchen, Lu Jin and Gu Shengnan were decorating. Meng Xinjie and Xu Zhaodi showed up with their marriage certificate to ask for wedding money. The simultaneous appearance of Li Man and Cheng Ziqian couldn't help but lead to speculation.
Old Uncle came with Auntie and forced Lu Jin to call them by their proper titles. Meanwhile, Lu Zheng was currently at Mingting Group. The way he lectured employees looked exactly like Lu Jin, making people burst into laughter. When everyone dispersed, inside the "Like You" private kitchen, on a red sports car cake, Lu Jin placed a humorous dough figure. A dazzling light on it brought joy. Lu Jin said: Marry me.
