Lie to Love Episode 22 Recap
> Lie to Love Recap
Following up on his plan to sow discord, Xie Minghao revealed to Shi Chuchu that Su Xieyi is Shen Zhihong’s biological daughter, while Su Xieqing was adopted by the family. He explained that Su Xieyi had gone abroad with her mother when she was young, so few people knew her true parentage. Shen Zhihong and his wife had agreed that if they had two children, one would take his surname and the other his wife's.
After Xieqing was adopted, Su Xieyi took her mother's surname. This revelation led Shi Chuchu to suspect Su Xieyi’s motives for joining Ocean Hotel. Shi Chuchu immediately confronted Li Zeliang, questioning if the real reason he wanted to fire Su Xieyi was her investigation into Ocean Hotel.
Shi Chuchu recounted how Zhiwei Corporation, where Shen Zhihong was involved, went bankrupt and Shen Zhihong committed suicide due to commercial fraud allegations during a collaboration with Ocean Hotel—a project Li Zeliang had overseen. Li Zeliang admitted that Su Xieyi had indeed joined Ocean Hotel to investigate the truth, which included him.
He insisted, however, that his relationship with her was genuine, as it began before the Zhiwei case, and that he had tried to send her away to protect her. Unconvinced, Shi Chuchu warned him not to let love blind him, stressing that his interests were intertwined with those of Ocean Hotel and all its employees. She found it difficult to fully trust Su Xieyi, despite Li Zeliang's reassurances that Huo Jian was the true culprit.
Meanwhile, Xie Minghao continued his schemes by meeting with Dai Zi Ang, the General Manager of the rival Zhengde Group. Xie Minghao highlighted that with Ocean Hotel's chairman Huo Jian recently arrested, market confidence was low, exposing the company's internal issues and poor cash flow. He urged Dai Zi Ang to seize this opportunity to crush Ocean Hotel.
As bait, Xie Minghao offered the project plan for Li Zeliang’s new Lantian Bay project, revealing it contained cost-cutting measures that could be exposed. He explained that Li Zeliang would stake all of Ocean Hotel's assets on Lantian Bay to boost morale, making its failure a fatal blow. Dai Zi Ang was intrigued by the "lure" but balked at Xie Minghao’s demand for a fee far higher than standard legal rates, postponing any agreement until the plan showed results.
Upon returning home, Li Zeliang found Su Xieyi installing handrails along the corridors. She explained that with the new handles, he could move around safely without his prosthetic leg, even entering and exiting the kitchen freely. Li Zeliang was deeply moved, tearfully apologizing for the two years they had lost and expressing how much he cherished her. Su Xieyi, in turn, expressed her happiness in being able to do things for him.
He playfully refrained from kissing her, citing her recent tooth extraction. Later, while discussing the Lantian Bay project, Li Zeliang suggested to Su Xieyi that they equip all units with smart home technology, despite the higher costs, seeing it as the future. Su Xieyi, who was in the bathroom, playfully pretended she couldn't hear him, repeatedly asking him to come closer. When he finally leaned in, she pulled him into the bathroom, declaring that business could wait.
A few days later, while Li Zeliang and Su Xieyi were dining out, Dai Zi Ang approached their table. He sarcastically called Su Xieyi "Sister-in-law" and warned her that Li Zeliang had a habit of stealing other people's things—first his business, then Huo Jian’s career, and implied Su Xieyi might have been "stolen" as well. Li Zeliang retorted, advising Dai Zi Ang to focus on his own company.
Unfazed, Dai Zi Ang warned that with Huo Jian gone, Ocean Hotel would face difficult times. The encounter made Su Xieyi realize the new challenges Li Zeliang faced as chairman, and she offered to return to work at Ocean Hotel to help with the crucial Lantian Bay project. Li Zeliang readily accepted. Dai Zi Ang later summoned Xie Minghao, questioning his motives for helping him, knowing he was Su Xieyi’s brother-in-law.
Cornered, Xie Minghao confessed his hatred for Li Zeliang, admitting, "He stole my woman." He revealed that he was in love with Su Xieyi and had only cared for her sister to stay close to her. To prove his value, Xie Minghao claimed to have two trump cards besides the Lantian Bay project: Su Xieyi and Shi Chuchu. He reasoned they could exploit Shi Chuchu's unrequited love for Li Zeliang to manipulate her.
Xie Minghao visited Su Xieyi, who had just recovered from her tooth extraction, bringing supplements. Feigning illness, Su Xieyi retired to her room, leaving Xie Minghao with Li Zeliang. Xie Minghao then feigned sincerity, explaining that after Shen Zhihong's death and Xieqing's breakdown, he became the family's sole guardian and developed a dependence on Su Xieyi for comfort. He clarified, however, that he only truly needed Xieqing to recover.
Li Zeliang identified this as a "transference effect" and warned him to treat Su Xieyi well, unaware that Su Xieyi was listening from her room. Ji Yingsong reported a strange finding to Li Zeliang: five years ago, Zhiwei Corporation's performance declined after switching to a supplier named Yunxiao Fishery. He discovered that for three years, Zhiwei had transferred payments to Yunxiao, but the payments did not correspond to any goods received. Yunxiao Fishery had since gone bankrupt.
Li Zeliang instructed Ji Yingsong to find Yunxiao's owner, noting that as Zhiwei's former financial officer, Su Xieqing should have known about the missing goods. The next day, Li Zeliang accompanied Su Xieyi to visit Xieqing. They found her drawing a wedding gown, which Su Xieyi explained was a custom order she never got to wear, representing her biggest regret.
Su Xieyi left to pay the hospital fees, and in her absence, Li Zeliang gave his business card to Xieqing, urging her to call if she remembered anything. Su Xieyi ran into Xie Minghao, who had also come to pay the fees, and they returned to the room together. They found Xieqing highly agitated, triggered by Li Zeliang's mention of "Zhiwei." She frantically repeated, "It wasn't me," and screamed about a "secret" and the "K of Spades."
After they left, Xie Minghao resolved to move Xieqing to a safer location to protect their secret. Later, Su Xieyi shared a childhood memory with Li Zeliang, recalling how she once protected a young Xie Minghao from bullies by taking a thrown rock to her head, an injury that required stitches. This prompted Li Zeliang to recall a nearly identical story Xie Minghao had told him, but in his version, it was Xieqing who had protected him. This stark contradiction made Li Zeliang finally realize that Xie Minghao’s obsessive feelings had always been for Su Xieyi, not her sister.
