Resumen del episodio 20 de The Company
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Bi Zhi observed Wu Yunong and Wei Zhuoran as they took their turn in the intense black and white confrontation, sincerely hoping their love was as genuine as it appeared. However, beneath the surface, the couple was plagued by deep misunderstandings. Wei Zhuoran felt immense insecurity from being labeled as a man who lived off his wife, and he wrongly suspected Wu Yunong of being unfaithful.
He complained that people laughed at him for being a "kept man," demanding that she stop singing publicly once they secured the ten thousand silver dollars prize from the game. Wu Yunong, a passionate singer and performer, asserted her right to make an honest living, but Wei Zhuoran was convinced she was chasing male attention rather than a career.
He accused her of being gloomy after their marriage, always complaining about his income despite his profession as a foreign-educated doctor, and criticized her for her extravagant tastes, which he believed fueled her desire for a glamorous life. He even went so far as to accuse her of flirting with Pan Yunzhe. Wu Yunong retorted that he was heartless and useless, unable to even cover his clinic's rent, and that she had saved him from eviction.
Their argument escalated into a physical altercation, with both calling each other "useless." Amidst their heated quarrel, Miss Ning arrived, carrying what she called a "brocade pouch" from Elder Yu. Wei Zhuoran, momentarily distracted, immediately opened it. Inside was a farewell letter from Xiuyun addressed to Wu Yunong, congratulating her on her impending marriage to Wei Zhuoran.
Miss Ning further explained that Xiuyun had attempted to send the letter three years prior on September 17th, but it was returned because Wu Yunong was supposedly traveling with Wei Zhuoran at the time. She added that if Wu Yunong had bought the tickets for Xiuyun as requested in the letter, Xiuyun would have departed on the 19th and avoided the tragic shipwreck. This revelation infuriated Wei Zhuoran.
He recalled being away on a two-month business trip to Beiping during that precise September three years ago and challenged Wu Yunong to reveal who she had actually been traveling with. Cornered, Wu Yunong confessed that she had been performing privately out of town to earn quick money for their wedding and new home.
Unable to disclose the nature of the performance, she had fabricated the story of traveling with Wei Zhuoran, even claiming she had paid for their honeymoon herself. She defended her actions as necessary to make ends meet before their marriage. As their argument grew more intense, they wrestled until Wei Zhuoran accidentally hit his head on a stone, causing blood to stream down his face. Wu Yunong, seeing the blood, was instantly distraught and rushed to his side.
As he drifted in and out of consciousness, Wei Zhuoran muttered that he had seen Hong Chi lying injured on the ground but was inexplicably propelled forward, unable to help. He warned Wu Yunong that this was not just a game, that the chess pieces could truly be "taken," and urged her to be careful and make it to the end, before falling unconscious. Wu Yunong cried out for help.
Elder Yu observed Wu Yunong's victory in the confrontation with disdain, concluding that her manipulative tactics were more profound than he had initially perceived. He scoffed at the idea of her being his goddaughter, remembering how he had once introduced his own daughter, Xiuyun, to her, delighted when they became as close as sisters.
However, he now accused Wu Yunong of betraying him from within, not only failing to prevent Xiuyun from secretly meeting Zhou Mingxuan but actively assisting their elopement. He bitterly attributed Xiuyun's boarding the "ship of no return" to Wu Yunong's perceived negligence, claiming she was too engrossed in her own romance to heed Xiuyun's plea for tickets.
Elder Yu then admitted his own failing as a father, believing he had raised Xiuyun in such a naive and trusting way that she was easily deceived. He revealed that Zhou Mingxuan already had a wife and a son, making him a liar who would have devastated Xiuyun with the truth. Elder Yu recounted how he had chosen to be the "villain" himself, locking Xiuyun in her room to prevent her departure.
Xiuyun had tearfully pleaded to see Mingxuan, insisting he was not what her father thought, while Elder Yu condemned her naive belief in "freedom in love" and other "absurd ideas." He then read Xiuyun's farewell letter, which explained her decision to elope with Mingxuan to England, where he promised to support her studies. She pledged to return to him after completing her education.
In a moment of distress, Elder Yu had desperately called for Hong Lie and Hong Chi, his bodyguards, to retrieve Xiuyun. But his butler informed him that the Hong brothers had already moved out of Rain Manor, having been set up with a martial arts center in the city by Pan Jingting, and were too preoccupied to return. Elder Yu lamented their perceived betrayal, just before news arrived of the Eastern Ferry sinking, confirming Xiuyun's death.
Overcome with grief, he reminisced about Xiuyun being his "caring daughter," who always stayed by his side, playing chess, taking walks, and singing with him, seemingly afraid he would be lonely. He then fiercely demanded the game continue, vowing to make everyone "pay" for Xiuyun's death. Bi Zhi resumed his game with Elder Yu. This time, Pan Yunzhe was the next player.
Pan Yunzhe was desperate to win the money prize to salvage his failing business, a venture his father, Elder Pan Jingting, adamantly opposed. Pan Yunzhe, seething, accused his father of being responsible for Xiuyun and Zhou Mingxuan's relationship. He revealed that Zhou Mingxuan, a senior manager at Overseas Trade, had found Xiuyun's folding fan left at a tea room.
Elder Pan, seeking to cultivate a connection with Zhou Mingxuan for business reasons, had then introduced him to Xiuyun without verifying Zhou's marital status. Pan Yunzhe recalled how he, unknowingly caught in his father's scheme, had personally arranged Xiuyun's meeting with Zhou Mingxuan. A flashback showed Elder Pan introducing the two, then leaving them alone. Pan Yunzhe confronted his father, reminding him that Elder Yu was an old family friend and what he had done was unforgivable.
He argued that he had initially befriended Zhou Mingxuan to help his father, whose business had suffered from importing defective goods, and Zhou's company had helped mitigate the losses. Elder Pan dismissed his son as uneducated and useless, claiming Pan Yunzhe only lived off his inheritance. Pan Yunzhe retorted that it was his grandfather's money, not his father's. The argument escalated into a violent struggle, with Pan Yunzhe attacking his father.
Elder Yu, witnessing this, coldly remarked that it was only fair for Pan Yunzhe to torment his father, just as Elder Pan had contributed to Xiuyun's torment. Seeing the participants descending into violence, Bi Zhi quickly intervened, seizing Elder Yu and forcefully striking the bell, attempting to halt the dangerous game. Miss Ning warned Bi Zhi that by breaking the rules, he endangered his friends still in the game.
Elder Yu, however, compelled Bi Zhi to return to the chessboard and continue, contemptuously labeling Pan Yunzhe and Elder Pan as "useless cowards" who had forfeited the match. Su Beilu, hearing the commotion, rushed to Pan Yunzhe's room and found Elder Pan unconscious. With no other choice, Bi Zhi continued the game against Elder Yu. Next, it was Su Beilu's turn to play against Chongyang, affectionately known as Scrappy.
Su Beilu engaged the boy in conversation, learning that Chongyang's father was Zhou Mingxuan. After his father's death, his mother, unable to raise him, had abandoned him at the entrance of Rain Manor. Elder Yu had adopted him, and though Chongyang considered him a grandfather, he felt Elder Yu didn't truly like him. Su Beilu shared his own story of being orphaned and raised by his busy grandmother, who he later realized had sacrificed her health to provide for him.
He advised Chongyang that if one has no other family, the person who cares for them most becomes their true family, and they should cherish that bond. Suddenly, Hong Lie, still consumed by fury, appeared, demanding the ten thousand silver dollars to revitalize his martial arts center. Su Beilu, recognizing Hong Lie's irrational state, quickly instructed Chongyang to find Bi Zhi in the courtyard and inform him of his location, while he himself prepared to confront Hong Lie barehanded.
Bi Zhi then used the special 'draw' move in Liubo Chess, citing Elder Yu's own rules, to stop the fight between Su Beilu and Hong Lie. Bi Zhi ultimately won the Liubo Chess game through his wisdom and strategic play. He directly confronted Elder Yu, accusing him of orchestrating the entire setup on Xiuyun's birthday to seek revenge on everyone he believed responsible for her death.
Bi Zhi argued that Xiuyun's demise was a natural disaster, a shipwreck during a storm, not the fault of any individual. Elder Yu vehemently disagreed, calling each of them a "murderer" and refusing to acknowledge his own responsibility. Bi Zhi pressed further, questioning whether Elder Yu's controlling love was why Xiuyun eloped without telling him, and how much true freedom he had ever given her.
Elder Yu, rejecting any discussion of "freedom," insisted his love for Xiuyun was unconditional and sufficient, then demanded the game continue, threatening that no one would leave Rain Manor until it was finished. After Bi Zhi's victory, Chongyang approached Elder Yu, holding a cream cake with red berries, a cake Xiuyun dearly loved. Chongyang innocently recounted meeting "Aunt Xiuyun" with his father at a coffee shop.
He said Xiuyun had affectionately called him "Little Snowman" and shared her plans to study abroad with his father, promising they would all live together, including Elder Yu and Chongyang, upon their return. This revelation struck Elder Yu profoundly, as he realized Xiuyun had known about Zhou Mingxuan's family all along, and despite that, she had still planned to reconcile and return to him. The full weight of his misunderstanding dawned on him.
Bi Zhi then clarified that no one had ever intended to harm Xiuyun; instead, each person had quietly cherished her memory in their own way. He revealed that the cake Chongyang brought was from Wu Yunong, a gesture of remembrance. He also explained that Hong Lie and Hong Chi, despite their financial struggles, insisted on running a women's swimming class as a tribute to Xiuyun, with Pan Jingting secretly providing financial backing as his own way of honoring her.
Bi Zhi urged Elder Yu to let go of his "deep-rooted obsession," which had trapped him in Rain Manor for so long, preventing him from finding peace. Following Bi Zhi's words, the participants began to reconcile.
Wu Yunong tearfully apologized to Wei Zhuoran for her actions and offered to give up singing to stay by his side, but Wei Zhuoran, having reflected, apologized for his pettiness and reaffirmed her talent as a "stage queen," encouraging her not to abandon her passion. Pan Yunzhe apologized to Elder Pan, and they shared a brief moment of understanding.
Hong Lie and Hong Chi, too, expressed remorse; Hong Lie apologized for his "stubborn and dictatorial" nature, admitting he had inadvertently caused misunderstandings by trying to control everything for his younger brother. Hong Chi, in turn, confessed that he simply wished to be an equal and share the burdens. Su Beilu, after his intense encounter with Hong Lie, reassured Bi Zhi he was fine, despite having played a tougher game than he expected.
He briefly acknowledged Bi Zhi's ingenuity for stopping Hong Lie's attack. Just as they thought the ordeal was over and the Liubo Chess had been retrieved, Su Beilu suddenly collapsed, unconscious.
