Go Ahead Episode 35 Recap
> Go Ahead Recap
Ling Xiao sends a message to Li Jianjian before leaving work and then departs the office with Feng Xixi. Li Jianjian arrives to pick up Ling Xiao, and as Feng Xixi accompanies Ling Xiao out into the hallway, Li Jianjian immediately greets him. The two hold hands, openly displaying their sweet affection in front of Feng Xixi, who good-naturedly complains about being a "third wheel."
Meanwhile, Qi Mingyue returns downstairs, feeling conflicted and hesitant to go upstairs to face Tang Can. She later tells Li Jianjian that Zhuang Bei had confessed his feelings for her. Realizing this is why Qi Mingyue is avoiding Tang Can, Li Jianjian encourages her to tell Tang Can, especially while Tang Can is in a good mood. Li Jianjian brings Qi Mingyue home, where Tang Can is trying on clothes for an upcoming audition, in high spirits.
Qi Mingyue is flustered and unsure how to approach Tang Can. Li Jianjian initially offers to speak on Qi Mingyue's behalf but then pushes Qi Mingyue to talk, saying she has something to tell Tang Can. Qi Mingyue bravely tells Tang Can about Zhuang Bei. Tang Can remains calm, revealing she had known about it two days prior and had already clarified things with Zhuang Bei, agreeing they would remain friends.
She expresses no resentment towards Qi Mingyue, understanding that feelings cannot be forced. Tang Can then asks Qi Mingyue if she would consider Zhuang Bei, but Qi Mingyue replies that she had already blocked him, emphatically stating her strong dislike for being pursued. The next morning, He Ziqiu, having breakfast at Li Jianjian's house, brings up Zhuang Bei. Qi Mingyue asks He Ziqiu to convey to Zhuang Bei that they are truly not suitable.
Zhuang Bei also finds Qi Mingyue to suggest they remain friends. Separately, He Ziqiu and Zhuang Bei are later seen drinking together, both preoccupied with their own thoughts and using alcohol to cope. After their conversation, everyone encourages and praises Tang Can, knowing she is going for an audition that day. Tang Can waits for a long time at the office before meeting the director and producer. They are satisfied after learning about her background.
Just as Tang Can feels hopeful, the director and producer inform her that they need her to be a stand-in for the female lead, Sun Li. They promise to prioritize her for their next project if she accepts the offer, advising her to go home, consider it, and reply later. Tang Can's mood drastically changes; she leaves the audition room dejected. Later, Jin Yuxiang (Qi Mingyue's mother) suddenly tells Qi Mingyue that she must buy a house.
Jin Yuxiang reveals her plan: she will pay 50% of the down payment, and Qi Mingyue will repay the mortgage after getting a better job and a raise. Qi Mingyue is angry about her mother's unilateral decision, believing her salary is too low to afford a house or the monthly mortgage. When Qi Mingyue tries to refuse, Jin Yuxiang reveals she has already paid a 200,000 deposit, which is non-refundable.
Qi Mingyue feels her life, including work and love, is messy, making a house seem meaningless to her. After this conversation, Zhuang Bei also comes to find Qi Mingyue, wanting to clarify things with her. Still upset, Qi Mingyue speaks impolitely to Zhuang Bei, even saying that the mere thought of him makes her uncomfortable. She then leaves. Li Jianjian receives a call from Qi Mingyue, inviting her to talk that afternoon. Tang Can also joins them.
Tang Can recounts her upsetting audition experience from that morning, feeling her long-awaited dream of becoming a lead actress had slipped away again, despite her previous confidence. Li Jianjian and Qi Mingyue empathize with her. Tang Can then asks Qi Mingyue what's wrong. Qi Mingyue tells them about her mother's insistence on her buying a house with a loan.
She explains that if they take out the loan, their family would be "emptied out," facing monthly payments of over 10,000 for 30 years, worrying her about a potential economic crisis if any unforeseen circumstances arise. Tang Can reflects that while she once believed "all roads lead to Rome," now it feels like "this road is blocked" on every path.
Tang Can and Qi Mingyue feel dejected for a while but then encourage each other, resolving to try regardless of how difficult the future might be. Listening to Tang Can and Qi Mingyue discuss their parents, Li Jianjian recalls an incident where she passed by Li Haichao's noodle shop. Wanting to tease him, she asked what he was doing.
Because Li Jianjian had told Li Haichao she disliked voice messages, he was slowly typing out a message, character by character, wearing his reading glasses. Watching from outside the window, Li Jianjian felt a pang of sadness, realizing her father was growing old. From that moment on, Li Jianjian proactively told Li Haichao that sending voice messages would be fine. Tang Can and Qi Mingyue comfort Li Jianjian for a while. The three friends then eat dinner and return home.
Upon arriving home, they discover a box of express delivery on the table, sent by Tang Can's father. Li Jianjian opens it to find a variety of Tang Can's favorite foods, made by her mother. Her mother, despite not expressing it verbally, had been thinking of Tang Can at home and was too shy to give the food directly, so she sent it. Li Jianjian and Qi Mingyue are fascinated by the pickled foods, eagerly inspecting them.
Tang Can, however, feels a mix of emotions, sitting quietly, as her dream of a lead role had just vanished. She then asks her mother (via her father on the phone) if the museum job her father had mentioned previously was still available. Qi Mingyue also calls her father. He is very angry upon hearing about the 200,000 deposit.
He is currently on a business trip and had not agreed to the house purchase when Jin Yuxiang (Qi Mingyue's mother) first suggested it, saying they would discuss it upon his return. Qi Mingyue reassures her father not to worry, explaining that while the deposit is non-refundable, it can be transferred to someone else. Her father then specifically warns Qi Mingyue not to give the household register page to her mother for the loan.
Tang Can's father also calls her, speaking on behalf of her mother. He explains that her mother had always treated Tang Can as a "little star," boasting to everyone about her daughter having acted in many TV dramas and commercials, despite Tang Can's adult career struggles and never becoming a professional actress.
