Memory of Encaustic Tile Episode 9 Recap
> Memory of Encaustic Tile Recap
To prepare for her role as a translator for visiting foreign guests, Shao Xue agrees with her friend Shiyin that wearing makeup is a matter of etiquette. Since neither has any cosmetics, they go to Zhang Qi's house. There, Zhang Qi provides them with his mother Zhang Ling's expensive, unused makeup collection. Shiyin, impressed by the quality, shoos Zhang Qi away and gives Shao Xue a dramatic makeover.
When she proudly presents her work, Zhang Qi and a newly arrived Zheng Sunian are stunned into silence. Shao Xue’s face is caked in ghostly white foundation with garish red cheeks and lipstick, resembling a paper figurine. Shiyin quickly defends it as a "makeup style for the camera" that they simply can't appreciate, then makes a swift exit. Zheng Sunian kindly tells Shao Xue that he prefers her usual look and comforts her by helping her practice her English introduction.
Later that evening, after avoiding her mother, Yu Dongge, Shao Xue is horrified to see her reflection and discovers her face is intensely itchy. The next morning at school, the allergic reaction has worsened, and her face is red and swollen. Her teacher sends her to the hospital, canceling her translation duties. The doctor diagnoses an allergy to the makeup and prescribes a strict diet, advising her to avoid irritating foods.
Back home, her father secretly gives her snacks to subvert her mother's all-vegetable meals. Zhang Ling learns that her expired makeup was the cause and brings Zhang Qi to apologize. Shao Xue playfully tricks him into thinking she’s been disfigured before revealing the rash is just red. As punishment, she makes him her personal follower for a week. At a follow-up appointment, the doctor notes that Shao Xue's skin isn't healing, likely because she hasn't followed the diet.
Yu Dongge realizes her husband is to blame. The confrontation leads to Shao Xue having a breakdown, crying that her mother is being cruel and doesn't love her. Overwhelmed, Yu Dongge relents and asks her husband to get Shao Xue some food she likes. Shao Xue runs off, but Zheng Sunian finds and consoles her.
He reassures her about the missed opportunity and, to calm her fears of being disfigured, promises that if no one else wants her in the future, he will marry her. Feeling better, Shao Xue goes shopping with her mother, who has decided to buy her proper cosmetics. They run into Zheng Sunian at the department store, who is secretly there to buy gentle makeup for Shao Xue himself. Flustered, he pretends he is shopping for his own mother, Jin Ning.
He later gives the products to Jin Ning, and she correctly guesses they were an undelivered gift for a young girl, teasing him until he escapes to his room. The school announces an upcoming 10th-anniversary celebration, inspiring Shao Xue to direct a stage play. However, she struggles to find actors as all her friends decline. Zhang Qi is too busy studying, Zheng Sunian bluntly says he doesn't want to act, and Shiyin is preoccupied with choreographing the opening dance.
Just as Shao Xue feels abandoned, her quiet classmate Tang Ya volunteers to help, to Shao Xue’s immense relief. Yu Dongge observes that her neighbors, Jin Ning and Zheng Jian, seem to be fighting, a fact she discusses with Zhang Ling. Zhang Ling is initially skeptical, given Jin Ning's gentle nature and their usual harmony, but seeing Jin Ning's demeanor confirms the argument.
The argument started when Zheng Jian berated Jin Ning for watching TV during dinner, embarrassing her in front of Sunian. To avoid her husband, Jin Ning has dinner at Shao Xue’s house. Shao Xue tactlessly asks her about the fight, mortifying her parents. Jin Ning tries to downplay it, but Shao Xue tries to comfort her by explaining that her own parents fight constantly, which only makes the situation more awkward for everyone.
