Memory of Encaustic Tile Episode 34 (Ending) Recap
> Memory of Encaustic Tile Recap
As the demolition of the hutong looms, the residents begin to pack up their lives. While packing, Zhang Qi overhears his mother speaking to a photograph of his late father. She tells the photo about their new, luxurious house and how he would have chided her for being extravagant. She also expresses immense pride in Zhang Qi's promising future, then asks her son to give the photograph a proper military salute, which he does. Shiyin's family is also moving.
After finishing her packing, she visits Wu Huan. He is happy to see her and mentions that he and Tang Ya are getting married, though they plan to keep it simple with just a celebratory meal. Shiyin offers her sincere congratulations and advises him to treat Tang Ya well. They share a nostalgic moment about leaving the homes they grew up in, but Shiyin reassures him that even though the place is disappearing, their friendship will endure forever.
While packing, Zheng Jian finds a cherished music box belonging to his late wife, Jin Ning. His son, Zheng Sunian, notices his father's reluctance to leave the old apartment, which is filled with memories of Jin Ning. To ease his father's worries, Zheng Sunian reveals that he has decided to move back to Beijing permanently and wants his father to live with him, a promise that deeply touches Zheng Jian.
Zheng Sunian and Shao Xue have dinner at Boss Qian's bustling eatery in the hutong. Boss Qian, who has partnered with the restaurant's owner and shed his wig after finding love, playfully urges the couple to get married. Inspired by the suggestion, Shao Xue proposes they hold their wedding right there in the hutong. She believes it would be more meaningful than a fancy hotel and would give their families one last happy memory in their beloved neighborhood.
Zheng Sunian wholeheartedly agrees. Shiyin, now a successful television host, generously offers to arrange a designer Western-style wedding dress for Shao Xue as a gift. Shao Xue is thrilled and eagerly looks through catalogs with her friend, dismissing traditional Chinese gowns as old-fashioned. Unbeknownst to them, Shao Xue's mother has painstakingly handmade a beautiful traditional gown for her daughter as a surprise. She and Shao Hua look on with disappointment as Shao Xue focuses on the Western dresses.
Shao Hua tries to hint at the gift, but his wife quickly changes the subject to avoid ruining her surprise, leaving the parents feeling disheartened. Zhang Qi arrives from abroad for the wedding, bringing along a woman named Bi Lan, whom he introduces as his girlfriend. Later, Bi Lan privately explains to Zheng Sunian that she and Zhang Qi were originally in a contract relationship, but she developed genuine feelings.
She recounts how Zhang Qi unceremoniously broke up with her on a plane and now she is only pretending to be his girlfriend while in town for a seminar. She mischievously warns that she could change her mind about their breakup at any time, a threat that keeps Zhang Qi on edge. Zheng Jian visits his wife Jin Ning's grave, bringing her fresh flowers and the music box he found.
He shares the news of their impending move and, more joyfully, tells her that their son is finally marrying Shao Xue, the girl she always adored. He tearfully asks her to think of names for their future grandchildren and to send them to him in a dream. He plays the music box for her, promising to join her after he has had the chance to meet their grandchildren.
On the morning of the wedding, Shao Xue's mother is in a panic because the Western dress hasn't arrived. Shao Xue calmly reveals that she canceled it, and to her mother's immense joy, she announces her intention to wear the traditional gown her mother made for her. Later, as Shiyin's professional makeup team gets her ready, Tang Ya stops by to offer her well wishes.
Shao Xue congratulates Tang Ya on her marriage to Wu Huan, and is pleasantly surprised to see Shiyin greet Tang Ya warmly and also offer her blessing, a sign of her friend's growing maturity. When Zheng Sunian arrives with his best man, Zhang Qi, to pick up the bride, Zhang Qi playfully rushes into the room first and locks the groom out. He takes the moment alone with Shao Xue to confess that he once had strong feelings for her.
He asks if there was ever even a small part of her that liked him back. Shao Xue answers honestly, telling him that her heart has only ever belonged to Zheng Sunian, but that Zhang Qi is her best and most important friend. Touched by her sincerity, Zhang Qi opens the door, embraces Zheng Sunian, and tells him to cherish her. The wedding ceremony takes place in the hutong courtyard.
Shao Hua tearfully walks his daughter down the aisle and gives her hand to Zheng Sunian. At the altar, the couple exchanges emotional vows. Zheng Sunian calls Shao Xue the "hibiscus flower" of his life, the one who guided him out of darkness. Shao Xue confesses that her dream is no longer to see the world, but simply to spend the rest of her life with him. After they kiss, all the friends and neighbors of the hutong gather for a final group photograph, capturing a perfect, timeless memory of their community before they all part ways.
