Fell Upon Me Episode 21 Recap
> Fell Upon Me Recap
Gu Ming began recounting past events to Jiang Ling, stating that he would help Jiang Ling remember. He revealed that his mother had been terminally ill with late-stage pancreatic cancer, with doctors warning that she had little time left and the survival rate was very low. The medical bills continuously mounted, and his father had vanished, leaving him to face the overwhelming costs alone. He felt a profound sense of helplessness.
Driven by desperation, Gu Ming admitted to secretly taking the class milk money. However, upon seeing An Zhenzhen on the verge of jumping from a building, his conscience was stirred, and he returned the money. But his mother's treatment required far more funds. A training institution then approached him, offering payment if he helped their students cheat on exams by transmitting answers. He accepted, hoping to earn enough for his mother's care.
As his mother's condition worsened and the financial burden grew, Gu Ming decided to escalate the cheating operation. He proposed expanding the signal range to cover all exam sites across the city, aiming to earn significantly more money, estimating he would need at least 1 million yuan. He meticulously chose the Renaissance Building rooftop as the optimal location for broadcasting the cheating signals because from there, the signal could cover more exam sites and yield greater profits.
Twelve years prior, in 2012, Gu Ming was on the Renaissance Building rooftop, nervously fine-tuning a signal transmitter. Jiang Ling arrived, out of breath, immediately confronting Gu Ming and urging him to stop, warning that his actions would ruin him. Gu Ming, however, was desperate, explaining that no one could help him, and his mother's critical illness left him with no other choice but to earn money this way.
Jiang Ling pleaded, reminding Gu Ming that they were classmates and would help if he just told them. But Gu Ming insisted this was life-saving money and begged Jiang Ling to let him proceed, even offering to split the money with them after it was done. An Zhenzhen then quietly appeared, discovering the situation. She tried to intervene, offering to talk to her wealthy parents, who she believed would treat Gu Ming like family and help solve his problems.
Gu Ming scoffed at the idea of her family helping him, cynical about their ability to fix everything and revealing that he was the one who stole the milk money. An Zhenzhen, horrified, told him to stop, warning that these actions weren't worth it and would ruin his life. Gu Ming retorted that his life was already ruined, highlighting her privileged background compared to his own struggles with a gambling father and a dying mother.
He again pleaded for them to let him go. Gu Ming's hope was instantly crushed, and he felt as though he had fallen into an endless abyss, losing the courage to live. He stumbled towards the edge, wanting to jump to end it all. Jiang Ling warned him of the danger and urged him to come back and talk. An Zhenzhen, screaming in terror, rushed forward to pull him back, but in the struggle, she accidentally fell from the rooftop.
Back in 2024, on the Renaissance Building rooftop, Gu Ming fully confessed to Old Jiang that An Zhenzhen had indeed fallen from that very spot twelve years ago. He cruelly asked if Old Jiang was satisfied now, pressing him to remember the incident and accusing him of forgetting because he had become a famous writer who stepped over a friend's corpse. Old Jiang vehemently denied being a writer and refuted Gu Ming's claims, asserting that he had never published anything.
As Old Jiang struggled with this disturbing revelation, his emotions instantly collapsed. The surrounding environment seemed to twist and distort, and he again saw the signal transmitter from the past on the building's top, and An Zhenzhen's figure fleetingly appeared before his eyes.
A mysterious voice then seemed to urge him to "wake up" and pursue his mission, hinting that An Zhenzhen would reappear once he had completed his task, alluding to a cryptic riddle: "Full moon night, end of the world, time reversal, white feather not a bird." Simultaneously, An Zhenzhen awoke in what appeared to be a hospital bed, feeling disoriented as if everything had been a dream.
She tried to call Jiang Ling, but the person who answered denied knowing anyone by that name, claiming she had the wrong number. Descending to her living room, An Zhenzhen was overwhelmed to find her parents exceptionally loving and harmonious, a stark contrast to their previous relationship, which brought tears to her eyes. Her parents doted on her, insisting she eat well for her studies and planning a weekend outing for her, even though she barely touched her breakfast.
At school, her parents dropped her off, urging her to study hard. An Zhenzhen immediately noticed Jiang Ling's seat was empty. When she asked her friend Qiu Qian about Jiang Ling, Qiu Qian reacted with confusion, stating she didn't know anyone by that name and thought An Zhenzhen was speaking nonsense or reciting Tang poetry.
An Zhenzhen's classroom appeared different; the usually steady and studious class monitor, Gu Ming, was now energetic and outgoing, while Qi Shuo, who was previously more boisterous, had become quiet, mature, and the new class monitor, excelling in academics and even reading philosophical literature in English class. An Zhenzhen felt increasingly disoriented, as if she had entered an alien world.
Later, during a break, she briefly thought she saw Jiang Ling enter the classroom, but his presence vanished just as quickly, reinforcing her sense of unreality. During English class, Qi Shuo was disciplined for reading a book during the lesson, but he continued to ponder abstract questions like "to be or not to be." The teacher, displeased, then asked Gu Ming to answer a question, but he claimed ignorance, a stark contrast to his past studious self.
Qiu Qian confidently answered the question. An Zhenzhen continued to feel a profound sense of unease, wondering if she was still dreaming. During lunchtime, An Zhenzhen's friends teased her about liking studious guys, to which she reaffirmed her preference. She declined to join them for lunch, preferring to sit alone, feeling that something was fundamentally "off" about her surroundings.
Later, she observed some students climbing outside, only to realize they were Gu Ming and Qi Shuo, playfully engaging in an outdoor activity, further highlighting their changed personalities. An Zhenzhen repeatedly questioned if she was still dreaming, finding it impossible that this new reality was just a dream. That night, back in her dorm room, An Zhenzhen observed more changes. Qi Shuo's family life appeared transformed as well, with his parents showing him much affection during a phone call.
This heightened her confusion, leaving her to ponder whether her current experiences were reality or merely a vivid dream, echoing the mysterious riddle she had heard earlier about time reversal and illusions.
