First Love Again Episode 5 Recap
> First Love Again Recap
Ye Youning, finding himself back in the year 2019, was astonished by Xia Wenxi's harsh accusations. He believed his timeline had been set right, yet it had clearly gone awry. At the opening dinner of the Jiangcheng Institute, he suddenly fainted. Upon waking, he saw Xia Wenxi and was shocked to realize his grandpa had passed away. Ye Youning went to Xia Wenxi to ask how his grandpa died.
Xia Wenxi fiercely confronted him, asking if he was even human, having neglected his own grandfather for so many years and now holding a celebration party right after returning to the country. She told him that Grandpa Zhou had a leg injury and fell down the stairs while tidying up, leading to his accidental death. Ye Youning couldn't understand why his grandpa's leg was injured.
Xia Wenxi scorned him, demanding he ask himself when Grandpa Zhou died, and accused him of pretending amnesia when Ye Youning asked why his grandpa’s leg was injured. She insisted the injury was "all because of you." Disturbed, Ye Youning wondered why he had abandoned his grandpa for over a decade and never contacted him. The narrative then shifted to Jiangcheng in 2006, right after a basketball game.
As Ye Youning’s friends celebrated their victory, he decided to leave to catch an online lecture, despite his leg injury. Xia Wenxi, concerned, offered to walk him home, as they were neighbors. On their way, she spotted a small, adorable stray dog near a basketball court and immediately wanted to adopt it. However, upon returning home, Xia Wenxi’s mother flatly refused, stating she couldn’t keep a pet before the college entrance exam and instructed her to return the dog.
Saddened, Xia Wenxi sat on the street with the dog. Ye Youning, having anticipated her mother's reaction, revealed his own childhood wish for a dog and offered to adopt it himself, clarifying it was out of his own desire, not merely to help her. Xia Wenxi happily agreed to let Ye Youning keep the dog, suggesting they name it Sanfen (Three-pointer) in celebration of his winning shot that day.
A few days later, Xia Wenxi brought food for Sanfen when visiting Ye Youning. Noticing his severe leg injury, she insisted on taking him to and from school until he recovered, viewing it as a reward for taking Sanfen out to play. Later that weekend, Xia Wenxi met with Lin Jiaqi and other friends at a fried skewer shop to discuss Mayday concert tickets.
She eagerly shared her plan: a Mobile Phone Zone ticketing hotline would open tomorrow at 11:30 AM, and the first thirty callers would receive free tickets. Despite knowing they would be in class, she declared her determination to try, calling it her "last stand" and a lifelong dream. The next day in class, Mr. Yu announced an "I For the Olympics" English Speech Contest with certificates and bonuses, and the top scorer on the day’s test would represent their class.
Meanwhile, Xia Wenxi, fixated on the clock, prepared to make her call. Precisely at 11:30 AM, as she dialed, she accidentally dropped her old phone, and it landed near Ye Youning's feet. Mr. Yu, mistakenly thinking Ye Youning was playing with it, ordered him to pick it up and report to the office. Ye Youning silently complied, taking the blame.
Xia Wenxi, feeling remorseful, tried to go to the office to explain, but Mr. Wang, their class teacher, intervened on Ye Youning’s behalf. Citing Ye Youning's excellent academic record, Mr. Wang returned the phone with a verbal warning about future offenses. Ye Youning then handed the phone back to Xia Wenxi, who had almost forgotten to check for her concert ticket.
She quickly called the hotline but was dismayed to learn she was the thirty-first caller, missing out on the free tickets. Later, Lin Jiaqi, seeing Xia Wenxi’s disappointment, tried to get money from his mother for concert tickets, asking for a thousand, or even five hundred, yuan.
His mother, however, was unsympathetic, reminding him of his pilot retest in two days and urging him to focus on his studies before abruptly ending the call as she was about to board a flight. Feeling guilty about the phone incident and Ye Youning's injured leg from the basketball game, Xia Wenxi decided to show her gratitude by making him egg dumplings.
Simultaneously, at Ye Youning's house, his grandpa was cooking noodles and excitedly reminded Ye Youning that tomorrow was his birthday, promising to make up for all the birthdays he had missed and fulfill any wish. Suddenly, Grandpa Zhou received a call from Zhou Zhihua, Ye Youning's father.
Zhou Zhihua, who had been out of contact for a long time, immediately asked for money for his younger son's overseas education, claiming he was unable to cover it himself and hinting at Grandpa Zhou’s savings. Grandpa Zhou grew angry, scolding his son for only calling to ask for money and forgetting Youning’s birthday. Overhearing this, Ye Youning snatched the phone, verbally attacked his father, and angrily stormed out of the house, intent on confronting him.
Back in 2019, Future Ye Youning, reflecting on his grandpa's medical records, realized the car accident that injured his grandpa's leg thirteen years ago happened when his grandpa was chasing him. He immediately texted Xia Wenxi, asking about his younger self's whereabouts. Learning that Ye Youning had just left in a taxi and Grandpa Zhou was chasing him, Future Ye Youning urgently warned Xia Wenxi to "Quickly go stop Ye Youning and Grandpa Zhou!
Don't let them go to the bridge! Or something bad will happen!" Xia Wenxi quickly cycled after Ye Youning’s taxi, successfully intercepting him before he reached the bridge. She urged him to get out of the car, claiming a terrible accident, like a serial car crash or temporary collapse, would happen there. Ye Youning, perplexed by her illogical behavior, questioned her. At that moment, Grandpa Zhou arrived, slightly twisting his ankle but otherwise unharmed.
Taking his grandpa's hand, Ye Youning turned back home. In 2019, Future Ye Youning was relieved, believing the mission was completed and his crisis averted. However, when he called Yang Chuang to inquire about his grandpa, Yang Chuang, surprised to hear from him after so many years, denied ever receiving payments to care for Grandpa Zhou and revealed that Grandpa Zhou had tragically passed away a few days prior.
Future Ye Youning was stunned, unable to comprehend how his grandpa had died despite successfully preventing the car accident. He was left questioning where things had gone wrong. Grandpa Zhou had once reflected on Youning, lamenting that in his life, he simply wished for his family to be whole, but it was shattered.
He worried about his grandson, Youning, who never spoke his mind, trusted no one, and pushed away those who cared for him, especially when his father was mentioned. He feared Youning was living a bitter life, unlike other happy children his age. He hoped Youning would one day meet someone who would never abandon him, allowing him to finally let go of his burdens.
