Destiny's Love Episode 23 Recap
> Destiny's Love Recap
Chi Yu attempted to smooth over his strange behavior, which Wen Suxi found baffling, by jokingly referring to their "horn game." Wen Suxi expressed her disappointment that the street lamps and fireworks were absent, unable to grasp his intentions. To cheer her up, Chi Yu produced a small sparkler. As they enjoyed the sparkler, Wen Suxi suggested a romantic scene where a girl walks backward, facing a boy, and he tells her to stop.
Chi Yu played along and repeated the line. As they were about to leave, Chi Yu sternly warned her against canceling their contract or disappearing without notice, threatening a lawsuit that would entail consequences beyond monetary compensation. Later, back at Wen Suxi's residence, Hua Yecheng discovered a hidden camera installed by Jiang Yu on Tang Mao's orders near the house, commenting that Tang Mao was going too far by spying on Wen Suxi.
Hua Yecheng, annoyed by the surveillance and the heat, told Chi Yu that he wasn't offering his help for free before leaving. Meanwhile, at the Summer Fashion Week runway show, Ping’s new artist, Jiahan, approached Hu Dongkai, expressing her nervousness about her first finale walk. Jiahan then confronted Duo La, revealing that Ping had replaced Duo La as Hu Dongkai's partner for the finale walk to capitalize on the rumors of Duo La and Hu Dongkai's breakup.
Duo La, unconcerned, simply walked onto the stage. Jiahan then added that Ping had a deeper reason for the change, suggesting Duo La wasn't suitable for the show's "Youth and Love" theme, adding that "love" would be displayed when she and Hu Dongkai walked together. Disgusted, Hu Dongkai interrupted, telling Jiahan to save her "youth" for herself, as his love was already on the runway with Duo La.
He then joined Duo La on stage, pointed at her, and kissed her publicly, asking, "Can we not break up?" The media swarmed them, snapping photos. Hu Dongkai quickly pulled Duo La away to change clothes. In the car, he initially asked if Ping had orchestrated the kiss, but Duo La found it unlikely. He explained his public display as a way to combat the breakup rumors and to punish Ping.
Duo La was pleased by the outcome, believing Ping would be infuriated and powerless. They celebrated their success, toasting to a new year of partnership. Cai Shumeng, hoping to connect with Tang Mao, brought him his favorite coffee to his office. Tang Mao, who was accessing documents from his safe, coldly instructed her to knock before entering and asked her to leave. At that moment, Jiang Yu entered to report on the surveillance.
Tang Mao took Jiang Yu outside to speak privately. Jiang Yu reported that the cameras installed near Chi Yu's home had been discovered, and a mysterious hand was visible in the footage. Tang Mao ordered him to identify the individual. While Tang Mao and Jiang Yu were talking, Cai Shumeng discovered a hard drive in the open safe containing evidence of Tang Mao's money laundering activities.
She quietly returned everything to its place before Tang Mao returned, pretending nothing had happened. When Tang Mao re-entered, he was surprised to find her still there and dismissively told her the office was clear, so she could now leave. Cai Shumeng, ignoring his coldness, confessed her feelings, stating she would "stay with him forever no matter what happens," and tearfully asked why she was "inferior to Wen Suxi."
Tang Mao reminded her of a past incident in Japan with "Mr. Qian," implying her willingness to compromise for business, and asserted that this was "the difference between you and Wen Suxi." He rejected her and warned her to "stop making troubles" if she wished to remain employed. She left, distraught. While Chi Yu was secretly protecting Wen Suxi at a film editing facility, he intercepted a man photographing her.
After snatching the photos, Chi Yu interrogated the man, who confessed Tang Mao had instructed him to "stalk Wen Suxi," documenting her activities, a task he had been performing "for a long time." Soon after, Tang Mao encountered Wen Suxi at the same facility and invited her to his car for a drink, claiming he saw her car and wanted to say hello.
In the car, Tang Mao probed Wen Suxi about Chi Yu, expressing his suspicion that Chi Yu was "a weird man, unreliable in words and deeds," and voiced concern for her well-being. Wen Suxi admitted Chi Yu was peculiar but confessed she had grown accustomed to his quirks. She revealed that he frequently fell ill, rarely ate, and once passed out after consuming a "ginkgo nut," suggesting a possible allergy. Tang Mao’s expression flickered at this information.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yu called Tang Mao to report that Chi Yu had confronted their stalker but had since left. Tang Mao, however, declared it irrelevant, stating he now understood Chi Yu's weakness. Later, Wen Suxi discovered her previously lost phone in Tang Mao's car. She confronted him, accusing him of deliberately turning it off, as it still had battery.
She demanded to know what transpired that night, where he had taken her, and when Chi Yu had come to pick her up. Tang Mao, visibly flustered, tried to calm her down. Just then, Chi Yu appeared, ordering Tang Mao to release Wen Suxi. When Tang Mao refused, Wen Suxi pressed him again for answers. Cornered, Tang Mao falsely claimed he too was drunk that night and had simply entrusted her to Chi Yu, looking to Chi Yu for confirmation.
Chi Yu then led Wen Suxi away, and Tang Mao instructed Jiang Yu not to pursue them. To reassure Wen Suxi, Chi Yu explained that they were together that night, recalling that she had asked him if it was a dream. As he spoke, he moved closer, and when their foreheads touched, Chi Yu suddenly sensed Wen Suxi’s next imminent danger: a vision of her lying frozen in a cold, ice-bound church, surrounded by frozen candlesticks and a cross.
Simultaneously, Wen Suxi also experienced a profound connection, seeing glimpses of Chi Yu’s past life with Ji Wan. The familiar, heartbreaking sensation brought tears to her eyes, and she cried out that she saw him, yet not him, but felt a pain that was "so familiar." Chi Yu then asked her what she had "exactly felt." Pondering the strange images and feelings in her mind, Wen Suxi resolved to confront Chi Yu for answers.
However, she encountered Hua Yecheng at the door instead. She pressed him about what happened the night she got drunk, but Hua Yecheng brushed it off. He then informed her that Chi Yu "doesn't want to see you for now."
Hua Yecheng advised Wen Suxi to "try to accept the fact" that "they don't belong to the same world," and described himself and Chi Yu as "vagabond poets wandering in time and space, in charge of guarding the energy equilibrium of lives in the universe." Wen Suxi retorted sarcastically, wondering if she was meant to be "a free bird wandering in the sky, in charge of bamboozling simpletons."
Hua Yecheng then gravely warned her not to become "too intimate with him" to avoid "the agony of the destined separation." Confused, Wen Suxi questioned what he meant by "separation." Determined to uncover the truth about that night, Wen Suxi messaged Tang Mao and met him at his house, preferring to talk outside. She immediately confronted him about finding her phone in his car and accused him of deliberately turning it off.
Tang Mao admitted to turning off the phone, claiming he was distraught hearing his "beloved woman" mumbling another man's name while "got drunk." He then launched into a passionate declaration of love, stating she had become "an inseparable part of his life" and asking for more time to "forget her," confessing that he "loved her once" and couldn't "get rid of this habit," believing no one could replace her in his heart.
Wen Suxi cut him off, stating she didn't want to discuss such things. Tang Mao then pressed her about her memories of that night, particularly regarding Chi Yu taking her home. When Wen Suxi admitted to having no recollection, Tang Mao deceitfully claimed that he, Jiang Yu, and even Wen Suxi herself, all suffered from memory loss regarding the incident, subtly implying Chi Yu's interference.
He falsely assured her that "nothing special happened that day" and redirected her to Chi Yu for answers. Tang Mao then appealed to Wen Suxi not to let this "trivial thing damage their friendship" and to trust his "constant concern." However, Wen Suxi firmly rejected him, stating, "We can't be friends. Your concern makes me really uncomfortable. So, from now on, please don't have any concern for me. That's it. Good bye." She then walked away.
Shortly after, as Wen Suxi was heading home, Cai Shumeng, driven by jealousy after witnessing the exchange between Wen Suxi and Tang Mao, sent Wen Suxi an anonymous text message. The message claimed, "I know the inside story concerning the leak of the film copy. Come to your former company by nine o'clock tonight. I'll tell you the truth that Qian Ning owes you."
