Dream Garden Episode 11 Recap
> Dream Garden Recap
Xiao Xiao informed Lin Shen that she would be having dinner with Li Yixin the following evening. She expressed sympathy for Li Yixin, who had few friends growing up and was often bullied by Sun Rui at school, adding that Li Yixin considered her a very good friend and had even offered to help gather evidence against Sun Rui for the anonymous online posts.
While walking past the school track, Xiao Xiao saw Li Yixin wiping sweat from a male student. This immediately reminded Xiao Xiao of Sun Rui's accusation that Li Yixin was a "third party," as the student's WeChat avatar closely resembled Sun Rui's boyfriend's. Noticing Xiao Xiao, Li Yixin quickly approached her, explaining that she was not flirting but was trying to extract Sun Rui's computer password from Peng Xu to help clear Xiao Xiao's name.
She passionately affirmed Xiao Xiao's importance as a friend and then revealed that she had feelings for someone else—a charismatic person who had supported her after a previous breakup. Xiao Xiao met Fan Qi to ask him to investigate the recent social media attacks and the background of the anonymous leaker. She casually mentioned that she was temporarily staying at a friend's house. Fan Qi readily agreed to help, but not without a condition.
In return, Xiao Xiao gave a psychology lecture on stress management at Dianfan Group, where Fan Qi was the CEO. During a celebratory dinner, Fan Qi announced an increase in year-end bonuses and publicly thanked Xiao Xiao. Later that night, a heavily intoxicated Xiao Xiao insisted she needed to be home by midnight. Fan Qi carefully dropped her off at Lin Shen's house, his demeanor outwardly gentlemanly but his internal feelings unsettled.
The next morning, Xiao Xiao, having blacked out again, apologized to Lin Shen and promised to cook hot pot for him that evening. As Lin Shen returned home from work, he saw a figure resembling Xiao Xiao lingering downstairs. Upon entering the apartment, he found Xiao Xiao already home, leading him to realize the person he saw downstairs was actually Li Yixin.
He pondered why Li Yixin would be at his building late at night, a concern that troubled him while Xiao Xiao remained oblivious. Li Yixin attempted to trade a picture of herself before plastic surgery for the full video from Sun Rui. Sun Rui, however, questioned the authenticity of the photo and threatened to delete all evidence, leading to a physical altercation in which Li Yixin sustained an injury to her face.
Lin Shen, passing by, intervened and took Li Yixin to the infirmary. Xiao Xiao, hearing the news, rushed to the scene but was pulled aside by Lin Shen to talk. Li Yixin explained that she had been trying to get the complete video from Sun Rui to clear Xiao Xiao's name and had been hesitant to involve Xiao Xiao earlier. Lin Shen confirmed he had already contacted the school, and someone would speak with Sun Rui.
Xiao Xiao expressed deep sympathy for Li Yixin, believing her to be the true victim in the situation, while Lin Shen remained silent. Noticing Li Yixin's adoring gaze at Lin Shen, Xiao Xiao finally realized Li Yixin's crush was indeed Lin Shen. Li Yixin confessed that Lin Shen was the one who had comforted her during her breakup, which made her feel special to him.
Li Yixin held Xiao Xiao's hand, stating that both Xiao Xiao and Lin Shen were profoundly special to her, and she intended to confess her feelings to Lin Shen. Troubled by this revelation, Xiao Xiao spent a sleepless night. Lin Shen, seeing her light still on, knocked on her door, but Xiao Xiao, remembering Li Yixin's words, chose not to answer. Shao Ning suggested a double date with Xiao Xiao, Lin Shen, and Yan Luo for the weekend.
Xiao Xiao informed him that Yan Luo already had plans, causing Shao Ning some disappointment. Xiao Xiao later confided in Lin Shen about her complicated feelings regarding Li Yixin, describing the situation as "too frustrating to keep silent, yet too delicate to discuss." Lin Shen offered her coffee with sugar, saying something sweet might help. As he naturally took the cup she had just used, some of her lipstick transferred to it.
An employee passing by caught a glimpse, misinterpreting the innocent gesture as a passionate kiss, leaving them stunned. Later, Fan Qi visited the office to return an earring Xiao Xiao had left in his car, visibly irritating Lin Shen, who reacted with thinly veiled jealousy. Shao Ning again advised Lin Shen that if he liked someone, he should actively pursue them, but Lin Shen remained uncertain if Xiao Xiao reciprocated his feelings, or if her affections lay with Fan Qi.
When Fan Qi invited Xiao Xiao to dinner, Lin Shen strategically assigned her extra work just as her workday was ending, successfully compelling her to cancel her plans with Fan Qi. It was revealed that Sun Rui was the one who edited and uploaded the video, and an identical razor blade to the one Xiao Xiao received was found in Sun Rui's dormitory. With the full video eventually released, Xiao Xiao's name was finally cleared.
Shortly after, Sun Rui's boyfriend, Peng Xu, approached Xiao Xiao, begging her to intercede on Sun Rui's behalf, explaining that expulsion would severely impact her combined bachelor's and master's degree and future employment. Sun Rui denied sending the razor blade, but Xiao Xiao was skeptical, pointing out that none of this would have happened if Peng Xu hadn't "flirted" with Li Yixin.
Peng Xu admitted his initial attraction to Li Yixin but soon realized she was deliberately playing hot and cold with him to provoke Sun Rui. He claimed Li Yixin had initiated their interactions by coming to watch him play basketball. Xiao Xiao countered that Li Yixin only approached him to get Sun Rui's computer password, but Peng Xu revealed that Sun Rui's computer never had a password and that Li Yixin and Sun Rui had actually been good friends previously.
Sensing a deeper deception, Xiao Xiao was shown chat logs by Peng Xu, which included messages Li Yixin had sent and then quickly unsent, along with four selfies, three of which were immediately withdrawn. Li Yixin had kept only the last photo, claiming she was too late to withdraw it, and later used a selfie Peng Xu complimented as her profile picture, revealing her calculated manipulation. Xiao Xiao visited Li Yixin's dormitory with a fruit basket, finding only Xue present.
Xue revealed she was allergic to peaches, and incidentally, Li Yixin also disliked peaches, despite Xiao Xiao having seen a peach receipt among Li Yixin's belongings before. Xue explained that she and Li Yixin were not close. Xue had developed an allergic cough just before classes started and feared being replaced as Lin Shen's teaching assistant. She initially wanted to ask Sun Rui for help, but Sun Rui was preoccupied with arguments with her boyfriend.
It was Li Yixin who then proactively offered to substitute for Xue. Xue further disclosed that Sun Rui and Li Yixin's feud stemmed from a stray cat named Little Orange that Li Yixin brought to the dorm during their first year of graduate school. Sun Rui disliked the cat, and after it ran away, the two had a major argument, leading to their estrangement. Xue characterized Sun Rui as open and straightforward, while Li Yixin preferred to be solitary.
After much consideration, Xiao Xiao decided to intercede for Sun Rui. Upon hearing Xiao Xiao's complete account, Lin Shen theorized that a different truth, or perhaps "another Li Yixin," might be hidden behind the entire situation. Just then, Li Yixin called Lin Shen, claiming her dorm mates were isolating her due to Sun Rui's punishment and asked to meet him at Shaolin. Lin Shen agreed, prompting Xiao Xiao to sarcastically remark about his "deadly charm."
Lin Shen provided psychological guidance to Li Yixin and suggested self-hypnosis to help her uncover the root of her anxiety. During her self-hypnosis session, Li Yixin vividly re-experienced intentionally scattering peach crumbs on Xue's desk.
