Deep Affection Eyes Episode 20 Recap
> Deep Affection Eyes Recap
Having recently regained her freedom after her divorce, Fang Yanen expressed her contentment with her current life to Cheng Kairan. She explained that she cherishes the freedom she now has over her time, choices, and emotions, and has no desire to return to a restrictive relationship. She sincerely thanked Cheng Kairan for his kindness and help towards her and her son, Jiayu.
As Cheng Kairan leaned in, seemingly for a kiss, Fang Yanen warned him to stop, prompting him to feign an issue with his seatbelt as she exited the car. Later, Lin Yangyang met Li Jinyu to discuss the Haiban Port Phase III project. Before anyone else arrived, she confessed her long-standing affection for him.
She revealed that her mother had arranged their marriage and promised that if he agreed, she would be a supportive wife who would not interfere with his freedom. Li Jinyu dismissed her romantic overtures, stating he was only there for business. Just then, Ye Kang, the bank president working with their project, arrived. Lin Yangyang pointedly introduced him to Li Jinyu, mentioning that Ye Kang's daughter, Ye Meng, also worked at Haiban Port and had recently given them a tour.
Realizing Ye Kang was Ye Meng's father, Li Jinyu became annoyed with Lin Yangyang's manipulation and warned her to focus on the project instead. Li Jinyu later vented to Cheng Kairan, who correctly guessed the source of his foul mood. Li Jinyu explained that Ye Meng's father had returned and witnessed his dinner with Lin Yangyang, concluding that he was a scumbag toying with his daughter's feelings.
After some playful teasing, Cheng Kairan advised that since Ye Kang works at a bank, money wouldn't impress him. He suggested Li Jinyu ask Ye Meng directly about her father's preferences, as she would know him best. Upon returning home, Li Jinyu found Ye Meng was already aware of the dinner and Lin Yangyang's public confession. He pleaded with her to help him redeem himself in her father's eyes, even offering to kneel on a durian—a fruit he dislikes—as penance.
Following Ye Meng's advice to appeal to her father's hobbies, Li Jinyu joined him for fishing the next day, bringing special bait. He explained to Ye Kang that Lin Yangyang was an arranged match by his mother and that he had no feelings for her. He clarified that his marriage to Ye Meng was secret because he had just joined the company and feared gossip would harm her. Ye Kang's mood brightened considerably after he reeled in a large fish.
When Ye Meng arrived, she saw Li Jinyu's wet clothes and mistakenly thought her father had forced him into the river. They quickly corrected her, explaining that Li Jinyu had voluntarily jumped in to retrieve Ye Kang's fallen fishing rod. That evening, Li Jinyu prepared the fish for dinner with Ye Kang's guidance. In the kitchen, Ye Kang praised Li Jinyu's improving knife skills, while Li Jinyu humbly credited his father-in-law's teaching.
During the meal, Ye Kang toasted to Li Jinyu, expressing his confidence in him to care for Ye Meng and encouraging them to support each other through their differences. Meanwhile, Cheng Kairan discovered the whereabouts of Zhou Yu, a key figure in their investigation. He learned Zhou Yu grew up in an orphanage and was never adopted because of a man named Wang Xingsheng.
Years ago, Wang Xingsheng had used the guise of charity to acquire land for the Haiban Port project, swindling money and ruining the orphanage's reputation upon his arrest, which caused a family to back out of adopting Zhou Yu. Ye Meng and Li Jinyu visited the orphanage and found Zhou Yu, who was hostile, blaming their project for children losing adoption opportunities. The orphanage director intervened, explaining that the project was initially called Tianhui City.
The developer, Wang Xingsheng, had worked through a trusted partner—a woman named Shuyi who had grown up in the orphanage—to convince them to invest their land for shares. However, this partner used the orphanage's name to commit investment fraud. The revelation devastated Ye Meng, as Shuyi was her mother. The director added that the resulting scandal ruined their reputation, and Zhou Yu was a direct victim. Distraught, Ye Meng returned home and confronted her grandmother, furious about the long-held secret.
A flashback revealed Shuyi, convinced by a seemingly reliable project, getting scammed and then desperately traveling to find the man responsible. Ye Kang admitted he had asked the family to hide the truth to protect Ye Meng and her mother's memory. Ye Meng tearfully confessed she had spent years blaming herself for her mother's depression, feeling betrayed by their "protection." That night, Li Jinyu found a distressed Ye Meng on the terrace.
She reminisced about how her mother was her best friend who always prioritized her happiness. Li Jinyu comforted her, suggesting that while her father clearly loved her, he was also avoiding his own pain. He encouraged her to talk things through with him, emphasizing that family shouldn't hold grudges. In a separate scene, a call revealed Li Lingbai's true motive for the arranged marriage: to quickly offload Haiban Port to the Lin family.
Li Jinyu prepared a special dinner to facilitate a family reconciliation. Ye Kang apologized to Ye Meng, admitting his wife's death was a huge blow and he'd hidden the truth to protect her and avoid his own pain. Ye Meng expressed her understanding, and they agreed to let go of the past and look forward. After dinner, as Li Jinyu walked him out, Ye Kang expressed his full trust in his son-in-law.
Li Jinyu then raised the issue of the fishing village's demolition for Phase III, but Ye Kang, echoing Ye Meng's sentiment to "look forward," confirmed his support for the development. As Ye Kang left, Li Jinyu heard a thud and found Grandma unconscious. At the hospital, the doctor revealed she has a brain tumor, leaving the family with a difficult choice between high-risk surgery and conservative treatment.
