Love in Time Episode 19 Recap
> Love in Time Recap
At 10:20 PM, He Zhengyu arrives to rescue the injured Jialan. After a check-up, she awakens, not severely hurt, and jokes that he nearly had to meet her at the funeral parlor. His deep concern for her is evident, but their reunion is cut short as the time-space overlap ends, and he vanishes before her eyes. Shortly after, Jirong pleads with Jialan to forgive her brother, Wu Anwen.
Out of consideration for Jirong, Jialan is initially inclined to drop the matter. However, the He Zhengyu from 2021, who is also present, insists that Wu Anwen must face legal consequences for trespassing, threatening Chen Kexin's safety, and intentionally injuring Jialan. Realizing this is a crucial opportunity to change the future, Jialan changes her mind and declares her firm intention to press charges.
When Jirong questions his harsh stance, He Zhengyu reveals a shocking truth: Wu Anwen has accumulated a gambling debt of eight million yuan. He explains that Wu Anwen orchestrated the entire cheating scandal involving Jiang Shenghao to force a divorce, hoping to get money from Jirong to pay his debts.
Wu Anwen initially tried to involve Chen Kexin, but after being thwarted by He Zhengyu and Jialan, he framed Jialan out of spite, bribing paparazzi and streamers to incite a cyberbullying campaign against her. He Zhengyu stresses that only legal intervention can stop his downward spiral. At the detention center, Wu Anwen mistakes a visiting lawyer for his sister, Jirong, and has an emotional breakdown, frantically begging for her forgiveness.
However, when the real Jirong arrives with her lawyer, she confronts him about his gambling relapse and the eight-million-yuan debt. Accusing him of orchestrating the scheme to profit from her divorce, she reminds him of a previous three-million-yuan debt she had covered and his broken promise to quit gambling. Understanding that forgiveness would only enable him, Jirong confirms her decision to press charges. In 2022, He Zhengyu’s memories update, making him believe he has successfully saved everyone.
When the doorbell rings, he rushes to answer, expecting Jialan, but finds Jirong alive and well. Overjoyed, he believes they have changed the future, only for Jirong to deliver devastating news: Jialan died three months ago. A confused He Zhengyu races to the hospital, where a nurse confirms that Chen Jialan, a reporter, was killed in a hit-and-run accident three months prior, and the perpetrator was never found. To confirm the details, He Zhengyu goes to the police station.
The accident report shows the crash occurred at the same location, Jiudianliang Road, but the date of death was earlier than in the previous timeline: December 12, 2021. The report notes the only camera at the scene was broken and there were no witnesses. Later, He Zhengyu joins Jiang Shenghao at Jialan's grave. Jiang Shenghao reveals that he and Jirong have divorced, a decision she made due to the conflicts caused by Wu Anwen.
He bleakly concludes that some things, like life and death, are simply fate. Back in 2021, a worried Jialan realizes the 2022 He Zhengyu has not appeared. After missing the time-space overlap, she pulls the 2021 He Zhengyu with her to 2022. There, she calls Zhou Dajun, who confirms He Zhengyu has been unreachable all day. Meanwhile, a worried Jirong, also unable to contact He Zhengyu, encounters the 2021 He Zhengyu on the street.
Overcome with relief to see her alive, he embraces her tightly. Jialan, also happy to see Jirong safe, hides to avoid startling her. Concerned by He Zhengyu's emotional state, Jirong attributes it to grief over Jialan's death and urges him to see a psychologist. After she leaves, Jialan and He Zhengyu deduce that while they saved Jirong, the continued time-space overlap means their own fates are still unresolved.
Jialan introduces the concept of entropy, wondering if He Zhengyu is the "consumed energy" sacrificed to create the "entropy decrease" in Jirong's destiny. One morning in 2022, He Zhengyu and Jiang Shenghao wake up in their car after a night of heavy drinking at Jialan's grave. He Zhengyu's memories update again, this time with a conversation between Jialan and the 2021 He Zhengyu.
In the memory, a tearful Jialan professes her love, saying he is the only true love she's had since her parents died. She heartbreakingly states that if one of them must lose their energy for the timeline to change, she hopes it is her. She reasons that her death is more "cost-effective," as she was already in a coma, whereas he is healthy and vibrant.
Later, He Zhengyu encounters Sun Defeng at the prison and learns he is now Wu Anwen's lawyer, confirming their law firm partnership has dissolved. A suspicion forms in He Zhengyu's mind: while Wu Anwen was in custody at the time of Jialan's accident, Sun Defeng was free. If the two were already colluding back then, Sun Defeng might be connected to Jialan's death.
