Liars in Love Episode 23 Recap
> Liars in Love Recap
As Jiang Lai confronted Zhang Ran in Li Tingjiang's office, directly asking, "You're not Zhou Yu. You're Zhang Ran. This is your secret, isn't it?" their conversation was abruptly interrupted. Zhang Ran received a devastating phone call from the hospital, informing him that his grandfather, Zhang Guodong, had passed away. The nurse added that his father, Zhou Mingde, had signed the surgery consent form on Zhang Ran's behalf, claiming Zhang Ran was on a business trip.
At the hospital, Zhang Ran was consumed by grief, expressing his sorrow to Jiang Lai. He lamented that he couldn't have arrived sooner for his grandfather to know his true identity, heartbreakingly saying, "I lost my grandpa, Jiang Lai. Why couldn't I get there faster? If I got there faster. . . Then he would know who I am, Jiang Lai. He didn't even know who I am."
Jiang Lai comforted him, showing him a wooden carving the nurse had given her, on which his grandfather had personally carved their names. She assured him, "He always knew." Recalling how Zhou Mingde had signed the consent form and fabricated a business trip, Zhang Ran grew suspicious. He declared that something was amiss with his grandfather's death and vowed to investigate, revealing, "Everything is going as planned" in his mind.
Meanwhile, a friend informed Jiang Lai via phone that Li Tingjiang had visited a private medical institution and obtained a DNA test report, and was now on his way to the company. Jiang Lai rushed to the office and learned from Tingting that Li Tingjiang had indeed gone to the chairman's office. There, Li Tingjiang confronted Zhang Ran, realizing to his dismay that the hair sample he submitted had been swapped.
He menacingly told Zhang Ran, "What is fake can never become true. Let's see how long you can last." Later, Zhang Ran reflected on his near miss, admitting, "I was careless after all. It was a perfect plan. Why didn't I expect him to swap them?" He revealed to Jiang Lai that he had preemptively replaced the original sample with Chengzhen's hair. Despite Jiang Lai's concern that Li Tingjiang now held leverage over him, Zhang Ran calmly stated, "It's fine.
It's almost over. Almost." Zhou Mingde met with Zhang Ran (Zhou Yu), informing him of his upcoming birthday celebration and his intention to pass the company leadership to him, claiming fatigue. He also subtly reminded Zhang Ran of Zhang Guodong's past disapproval of him. Separately, Jiang Lai's friend tried to persuade her to take a new case as a "jerk detector," a role Jiang Lai had retired from to pursue architecture.
The friend, having already accepted a deposit, urged Jiang Lai to meet the client. The client, initially introducing herself as Fiona, revealed her true identity as Zhang Kexin, Zhou Mingde's ex-wife and Zhang Ran's aunt. Zhang Kexin then explained her intention to take down Zhou Mingde, asserting that while he was cunning, he could be provoked using someone he knew well. Jiang Lai enthusiastically agreed to help, stating, "It feels better if you can punish the scumbag personally."
Their plan was to challenge Zhou Mingde's principles repeatedly, as Zhang Kexin believed that "accusations of violence are fatal" for someone like him. Jiang Lai agreed that "facts are most convincing" over staged events. At Zhou Mingde's birthday banquet, Zhang Ran (Zhou Yu) offered a sardonic toast, alluding to his grandfather's death and stating his wishes for a long life had not come true for his own biological father.
Zhang Kexin made a dramatic entrance, mockingly stating her presence was out of "filial piety" to offer "incense" for her recently deceased father, Zhang Guodong, implying Zhou Mingde was disrespectful for celebrating so soon. Later, Zhang Ran presented Zhou Mingde with a gift labeled "From Zhang Ran." Inside was a photo of Zhang Guodong, Zhang Ran's parents, and Zhang Ran, which deeply unsettled Zhou Mingde.
Driven to a frenzy after finding the photo, which Zhang Kexin had placed in his office, Zhou Mingde interrogated his assistant about her whereabouts. Zhang Kexin had earlier confronted him regarding his erasure of her family's traces from their ancestral home. He then tracked Zhang Kexin to a filming location where Chen Yiyi was doing a live stream. After a brief warm reunion with Chen Yiyi, Zhang Kexin deliberately mentioned her "poor nephew, Zhang Ran."
Enraged, Zhou Mingde dragged Zhang Kexin away. She vehemently reminded him during this public altercation that he married into her family, and without her family's tragic fate, he would not control Zhang's Group. She also accused him of forcing her to relinquish her shares. Zhou Mingde, violently grabbing her, declared that Zhou's Group was his creation and now belonged only to him. Unbeknownst to him, Chen Yiyi's phone was still live-streaming the entire altercation.
A staff member quickly shut off the stream, but not before the violent outburst was broadcast. Jiang Lai noted that although the live stream was cut short, it was "enough to damage Zhou Mingde." With his reputation shattered, Zhou Mingde's downfall seemed imminent.
