Forward Forever Episode 40 Recap, Plot

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The third round of the competition began, and Chong Liming stepped onto the stage to face Pinoah. Despite his attempts to protect his injured waist, he sustained repeated heavy blows, causing his wound to bleed anew. Wen Gou, seeing his master in pain, wanted to throw in the towel, but Yu Chu firmly disagreed, knowing Chong Liming would never admit defeat. Chong Liming, enduring the severe pain and his bleeding wound, leaped into action, relentlessly pressing Pinoah.

Taken by surprise, Pinoah steadily retreated and was ultimately defeated by Chong Liming. Yu Chu was moved to tears by his victory. A Yi and Mr. Su, along with the enthusiastic crowd, cheered Chong Liming's name. Even Peter Hong was swept up in the excitement, waving and applauding Chong Liming. Yu Chu then walked onto the stage and shared a passionate kiss with Chong Liming, a moment Mary observed with visible anger.

Chong Liming, noticing Yu Chu's tears, gently reminded her that he had told her not to cry, questioning why she was still weeping. Wen Gou and Yu Chu helped the injured Chong Liming to his room. Later, A Yi, Si San, Wen Gou, Can Yan Xin, and Wagner gathered to celebrate his victory. The group playfully encouraged Chong Liming and Yu Chu to kiss.

Yu Chu appeared embarrassed, but Chong Liming cleverly distracted her and managed to steal a kiss, which earned him a light swat from Yu Chu. During the lively celebration, A Yi pointed out that Mr. Su had praised Chong Liming. Chong Liming, however, sarcastically asked if the revolutionaries simply wanted to see him humiliated. A Yi countered that the World Martial Arts Competition was about China's honor, transcending individual camps.

Chong Liming then explained that he participated because foreigners were holding a "World Martial Arts Competition" on Chinese soil but forbade Chinese participation, a slight no Chinese could endure. A Yi further pressed, attributing foreign arrogance to disunity among Chinese. Chong Liming suggested that constitutional monarchy would have united them. A Yi then spoke of pursuing a more advanced republican path.

Chong Liming, however, steered the conversation away from politics, urging A Yi to simply enjoy the celebratory drinks with their brothers. A Yi, respecting his wish, agreed to put the political discussion aside for the moment. Yu Chu visited Hua Jiuqing, anxious to hear about Chong Liming's match and his condition. She poured a bottle of Keliline onto Hua Jiuqing's bed and untied her.

Hua Jiuqing, struggling, initially reached for the drug but ultimately resisted its allure, triumphing over her addiction. That night, Hua Jiuqing quietly left the Ritz Hotel and was deeply moved to find Big Cat faithfully waiting for her, expressing her gratitude for his unwavering support. Later, Mr. Jin questioned Hua Jiuqing about her addiction, to which she admitted it had been "for some time" and apologized for concealing it. Upon learning that she had successfully quit, Mr. Jin was relieved.

Chong Liming's victory sparked immense public interest, with match tickets on the black market selling for 50 each and still being scarce, as citizens eagerly wished to witness a Chinese warrior defeat foreign opponents. Upon waking, Chong Liming found Hua Jiuqing had departed, leaving scattered Keliline capsules and a thank you note.

He expressed his disapproval to Yu Chu for using Keliline to test Hua Jiuqing, but Yu Chu's concern stemmed from her not wanting to see him get hurt again. Meanwhile, Mary met with Deqi, claiming the French minister was exerting pressure and demanding changes to their prior agreement. Deqi, assuring Mary he would persuade Chong Liming to withdraw from the competition, entreated her to speak favorably of them to other foreign ministers.

Deqi then attempted to have Yu Chu convince Chong Liming to withdraw, but was met with a firm refusal, as she insisted he issue the order himself. Reluctantly, Deqi confronted Chong Liming, explaining the delicate political implications and urging him not to jeopardize the ongoing peace talks. Chong Liming, however, criticized Deqi for seemingly siding with the foreigners. As British reporters arrived to interview Chong Liming, he disregarded Deqi's strong objections and stepped out, leaving Deqi exasperated.

Simultaneously, Hua Jiuqing encountered Peter Hong and warned him against collaborating with foreigners, cautioning that it could bring disaster upon the Green Gang. During the interview, a reporter pointedly mentioned Xie Daren's death from a drug overdose, questioning whether Chong Liming's martial arts victory could truly restore national prestige. Chong Liming vigorously countered, asserting that Xie Daren died at the foreign-owned Night Rose Club after consuming Furlong Powder, a substance derived from Keliline.

He explicitly stated that Keliline contained banned drug components and vowed to continue the competition while thoroughly investigating Xie Daren's case, leaving the reporters before they could respond. Angered by the implications, Chong Liming immediately instructed Can Yan Xin to summon all Shanghai newspaper journalists to the Ritz Hotel for a press conference. Meanwhile, Leon and William concocted a plan to secretly pocket daily profits from the gambling operations, effectively offloading all financial risk onto the Green Gang.

They met with Peter Hong, who provided Leon with a 300,000 tael check from Hua Nuo Bank based on the current odds. Dissatisfied and concerned about substantial losses if Chong Liming won the championship, Leon and William conspired to hire a Chinese assassin to eliminate Chong Liming, a scheme that Yang Zhen inadvertently overheard. Yang Zhen visited his mother, Ruowan, at the orphanage.

He tried to reminisce about flying kites together as a child, but Ruowan could only recall him falling from a tree and not the kite incident, which saddened Yang Zhen deeply. He vowed to cherish her and stay by her side for the rest of their lives. At a press conference, Chong Liming publicly exposed the Far East Company for importing Keliline, revealing it as a new type of prohibited drug.

The announcement caused a sensation, with reporters questioning his motives given Keliline's official customs approval. Chong Liming urged the public to recognize the truth, explaining that Keliline, banned in Britain due to its drug components, was being repackaged and resold in China by Taihe foreign bank. He argued that while the customs controlled by foreigners signed the approval, its true nature could be revealed through testing, and he intended to investigate the pharmacological report that falsely claimed it was harmless.

He acknowledged that exposing this during sensitive peace talks would offend many and could adversely affect negotiations, but stressed the dire consequences if a new drug epidemic were to spread throughout the nation. In response, reporters contacted Zhou Jue, who instructed them to publish Chong Liming's words verbatim.

Concerned that Chong Liming might be acting under imperial orders and potentially jeopardizing the ongoing peace talks, Zhou Jue instructed his subordinates to publish Chong Liming's statements about Keliline, accepting full responsibility for any repercussions. A Yi volunteered to speak with Chong Liming to understand his intentions, a decision Zhou Jue subsequently reported to Mr. Su.

Chong Liming confided in A Yi that he exposed Keliline primarily because he could no longer tolerate the insults from British journalists, an opportunity he gladly seized given the drug's harm to the Chinese people. A Yi acknowledged the malicious intent of foreigners to dominate China and debilitate its population with drugs.

Inquiring about the investigation, A Yi learned that Chong Liming had hit a dead end with customs and now needed the pharmacological report to definitively prove British drug trafficking. Chong Liming explained that simply testing the drug would only show its prohibited ingredients, not prove foreign culpability, as the existing pharmacological report made Keliline legal. He believed they needed to prove the report was tampered with or concealed information.

Yu Chu proposed that she and Si San would break into Taihe foreign bank's safe that very night to retrieve the document. A Yi, eager to participate in this crucial mission, also attempted to persuade Chong Liming and Yu Chu to join him in the South after their Shanghai tasks were complete. However, Chong Liming, citing differences in their beliefs and aspirations, politely declined, stating that his current focus was on doing his best in their immediate endeavors.

Yu Chu echoed his sentiment, affirming A Yi's path to hope but emphasizing their own distinct journey. They reassured A Yi that despite different paths, they would always remain family. As Chong Liming brought A Yi and Yu Chu back to their hotel room, they were surprised to find Yang Zhen kneeling there. Wen Gou explained that Yang Zhen had been there all afternoon, refusing to speak until Chong Liming returned. Chong Liming, taken aback, questioned Yang Zhen’s unexpected appearance and his survival.

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