Flourish In Time Episode 14 Recap
> Flourish In Time Recap
As the Chinese New Year approached, households busied themselves with preparations, and Lu Miao's family was no exception. Lu Miao's grandparents, visiting for the holiday, praised her recent exam results, with her grandfather humorously suggesting her mother had been a poor student herself, sparking playful banter. Lu Miao's grandmother also noted that Lu Miao's success was partly due to Jiang Haoyue's influence, then asked about him, prompting Lu Miao to eagerly go find him.
Lu Miao went to Jiang Haoyue's door, hoping to invite him to her home. Receiving no answer, she called him, only to find his phone disconnected. Meanwhile, Jiang Haoyue waited outside the police station for his father, Jiang Yi, who was being released after being caught in a small gambling ring. Jiang Haoyue, frustrated by his father's unrepentant attitude, questioned his father's character.
Jiang Yi, however, asserted his paternal authority, claiming Jiang Haoyue's mother, Chen Lu, had left them because he lacked money, and then provocatively mentioned Lu Miao's father, Lu Yongfei, implying he was responsible for Jiang Haoyue's leg injury. Jiang Haoyue angrily retorted that his academic success had nothing to do with his father and walked away, advising his father to "be on his own."
Despite the festive season, Lu Miao's mother received news of her impending layoff, a secret she kept from the family. Lu Miao sensed her mother's unhappiness, observing her spending an unusual amount of time in her room and noting her subdued demeanor at the New Year's Eve dinner. Despite her parents' attempts to reassure her and the joyous family gathering around handmade Taiping Swallow, Lu Miao remained concerned.
As the family toasted to a happy and peaceful New Year, Lu Miao hoped her mother would genuinely be happy. Later, Lu Miao and Jiang Haoyue went outside to set off fireworks. Lu Miao secretly sipped on glutinous rice wine she had taken from her grandmother, quickly becoming tipsy. She made a video call to her friends, including Xie Ziye, Shi Che, and Meng. In her drunken state, she insisted Jiang Haoyue let Meng drink the rice wine.
She then questioned his connection to Su Daifei and Qu Wei, asking if he was using their relationship to hide his true feelings for someone else, and why he wouldn't openly admit his affections. She boasted about her gaming skills, complained about the difficulty of studying, and fancifully asked Jiang Haoyue to "pick the moon" for her, declaring that she knew he liked her and urging him to say it out loud so their "hearts could connect."
Jiang Haoyue attempted to calm her and take her home. After bringing Lu Miao home, Jiang Haoyue was swept into memories of his own family's happier past, a time shattered by his father's gambling and his mother, Chen Lu's, eventual departure, leaving him behind with a promise to return. The next morning, Jiang Haoyue spoke with his mother on the phone, only for his father, Jiang Yi, to discover him and seize his phone.
Later that day, Lu Miao's grandfather discreetly handed Jiang Haoyue a red packet, ensuring him that Lu Miao had also received one to maintain fairness, and strictly instructed him not to tell their parents. He also offered Jiang Haoyue words of wisdom, advising him not to starve himself at school and reminding him that academic success wasn't the only path in life.
With her parents and grandparents departing for their hometown, Lu Miao found herself alone and felt a sense of liberation. She promptly visited a skewer shop, ordering a large selection of items her mother usually forbade, including beef, crispy sausage, corn sausage, chicken sausage, bacon, fish tofu, quail eggs, and lettuce, all with extra chili.
At the same time, Shi Che was at a small bookstore, seeking the owner's advice on charming girls, specifically how to be more humorous and have higher emotional intelligence. He practiced pick-up lines with the owner. Just then, Xie Ziye, whom Shi Che referred to as "Chlorophyll," arrived to return a book, providing Shi Che an opportunity to try out a new, albeit cheesy, pick-up line. Lu Miao then invited her friends to a party at her home.
However, Xie Ziye and others had prior commitments, leaving only Shi Che available. He became smug, believing he had secured a private date with Lu Miao. That evening, a heavy rain began to fall. Lu Miao, suffering from stomach pain and a high fever after indulging in too much forbidden food, was being looked after by Jiang Haoyue.
When the ambulance was delayed due to the severe weather and traffic congestion, Jiang Haoyue, despite his own leg discomfort in the rain, decided to carry Lu Miao to the hospital. On the way, he stumbled and fell, bringing Lu Miao down with him. At that moment, Shi Che, who was en route to Lu Miao's house for the party, discovered them. He quickly took over, carrying Lu Miao to the hospital.
Watching Shi Che disappear into the rain, Jiang Haoyue was overcome with self-doubt, reflecting on his disability and his inability to protect Lu Miao, questioning how he could ever truly like her or offer her a future. Jiang Haoyue called Lu Miao's mother to inform her of Lu Miao's hospitalization, emphasizing that it was Shi Che who had brought her.
As he stood alone in the rain outside the hospital, Jiang Haoyue's thoughts drifted back to the night his mother left, recalling how he was hit by Lu Miao's father, Lu Yongfei, while chasing her car, an accident that cost him his leg. When Lu Miao's parents arrived at the hospital, Lu Yongfei rushed to shield Jiang Haoyue with an umbrella.
Overwhelmed by years of suppressed anger and resentment, Jiang Haoyue finally confronted Lu Yongfei, bitterly stating that his life would not have been ruined if not for that accident. He expressed the profound pain of feeling helpless as the person he wished to protect lay ill before him, a feeling that mirrored his helplessness ten years prior.
He questioned Lu Yongfei's attempts at "making amends," asserting that he was merely trying to assuage his own guilt rather than truly compensating for Jiang Haoyue's lost leg. A quick memory of a younger Lu Miao defending him from other children and promising to protect him when she grew taller briefly crossed his mind.
