Love between Lines Episode 13 Recap
> Love between Lines Recaps
With the Lyman design project successfully completed, Hu Xiu spent her weekend helping her friend at the Regard cafe. During the shift, she learned that Pei Zhen had gone to the murder mystery club across the street. Knowing that Qin Xiaoyi was also working there that day, Hu Xiu feared a confrontation between the rivals would be disastrous. She rushed to the club, hoping to warn him, but found the session had already started.
Unable to buy a ticket, Hu Xiu used a distraction to sneak inside. While wandering the immersive corridors, she encountered players in various roles—including a "time traveler" who mistook her for a hidden character and tried to lead her toward a "gambling tycoon’s son." Eventually, she located Qin Xiaoyi, who was playing the role of "Commander Qin." However, her intrusion was caught on security cameras.
The club staff, led by a man known as Freckled Li, moved to escort her out for violating the rules. Hu Xiu pleaded for a moment to speak with Qin, but the situation escalated when they ran into Pei Zhen. To everyone’s astonishment, Pei Zhen ended the conflict by publicly announcing that Qin Xiaoyi was actually his younger brother.
The revelation shocked the local architecture community, as no one knew the independent Qin Xiaoyi had ties to the powerful Pei family. On the way home, Qin explained that they were not blood brothers; they became family when his mother, Wanyue, married Pei Zhen’s father. This complicated history fueled the cold tension between them. Qin, referred to as Xiao Zhiyu within the family, had always felt like an outsider.
This was highlighted during a stiff family lunch where his mother and stepfather tried to bridge the gap with praise and snacks like "crab shell pastries," only for Qin to remain distant, reminding them that he had chosen his own path long ago. The next day, Gong Huaicong—the club owner and Qin’s former classmate in America—spoke with Hu Xiu about Qin’s past. He recalled Qin as a solitary student who worked exhausting part-time jobs and never received family visits.
Everyone had assumed he was from a poor background, never imagining his stepfather was a wealthy industry titan. However, Pei Zhen provided a darker perspective, labeling Qin a "thief" and claiming that at age twelve, he had been caught trying to crack the family safe. Despite these claims, Hu Xiu’s trust in Qin remained firm. Later, while helping a neighbor, Granny, with heavy laundry at the lane house, Qin noticed Hu Xiu’s hands were red and sore.
He protectively put disposable gloves on her hands, explaining he had learned this trick to prevent sores while washing dishes in the cold during his years working abroad. Hu Xiu felt a deep surge of sympathy for the hardships he endured to maintain his independence.
Her friend later suggested that Qin's decision to share a house with Hu Xiu was likely motivated by more than just work, hinting that he had feelings for her—an idea Hu Xiu found hard to believe. As the firm officially received the authorization for the Lyman project, they held a celebration banquet. A representative from Huasheng Materials named Mr. Wu joined them.
Aware of Hu Xiu’s background in real estate, Mr. Wu made pointed remarks implying she was only successful because of Qin’s "special support," even suggesting she had used the "back door" for her early promotion. Qin noticed Hu Xiu’s distress when she began nervously pinching her fingers—a habit he had realized she only did when upset. He quickly made an excuse about a conference call to lead her away from the table.
On the drive home, Hu Xiu began to act bizarrely after eating undercooked mushrooms at the banquet. Her hands lost all strength, and she soon began to hallucinate, joyfully shouting that it was snowing and that flower petals were falling from the sky. Qin watched with quiet amusement as she became lost in her imaginary world. In her dazed state, she looked at him and softly admitted he was very handsome, calling him by his real name, Qin Xiaoyi, rather than his professional title.
