Mr. Honesty Episode 22 Recap
> Mr. Honesty Recap
After Xia Di and Gu Bo completed their police statements, Xia Di realized Gu Bo was injured protecting her. Gu Bo dismissed his injury as a "mark of glory," then playfully suggested that if he couldn't be her boyfriend, he could be her bodyguard. He promised to learn taekwondo, kickboxing, and Thai boxing to protect her better. Finding him "too noisy," Xia Di silenced him with a kiss.
Gu Bo, feigning protest, then declared she must take responsibility for kissing him and demanded another kiss, playfully threatening to continue annoying her otherwise. Xia Di obliged with a deep kiss, proclaiming him hers and jokingly "stamping" him. Gu Bo, delighted, confirmed it wasn't a dream and acknowledged her claim. Xu Yiren apologized to Fang Zhiyou, feeling she had caused him distress over the unpleasant family dinner.
Fang Zhiyou dismissed her apology, saying he wasn't aggrieved but had come to understand the hardship of her childhood. As they walked, Li Zhe appeared, requesting to speak privately with Xu Yiren, to which Fang Zhiyou consented. Li Zhe asked about her well-being and if Fang Zhiyou had mistreated her, but Xu Yiren reassured him that they were doing well.
Xu Yiren then questioned Li Zhe about his seriousness regarding Yu Qing, advising him to reconsider if his feelings stemmed solely from Yu Qing being the girl he was looking for, warning him not to give her false hope. Li Zhe recounted a traumatic past involving the loss of his parents, revealing he had contemplated suicide until "that little girl" inadvertently saved his life, making their encounter deeply significant.
He expressed gratitude to Yu Qing but admitted she seemed different from his memory, asking Xu Yiren if Yu Qing was truly that girl. Torn, Xu Yiren internally debated telling him the truth, fearing the emotional impact on Li Zhe. She ultimately withheld the truth, urging Li Zhe to let go of his animosity towards Fang Zhiyou and suggesting they find peace, referencing a story about "49 kites flying in the sky and 49 boats floating in the rivulet."
Li Zhe recognized this as the story he once told the young girl he met. Later, Fang Zhiyou asked Xu Yiren about her conversation with Li Zhe. He referenced the half of a storybook in his office, revealing Li Zhe held the other half, and playfully wondered if they intended to "tear him into halves." Xu Yiren explained she wanted Li Zhe to abandon his hatred, observing that they both still cared for each other despite their conflict.
Fang Zhiyou acknowledged that for Li Zhe, hating him had become his sole motivation for many years. Xu Yiren mused on the peculiar nature of fate, having met Li Zhe first yet now being with Fang Zhiyou. She found solace in not having recognized Li Zhe back then, thus avoiding a difficult dilemma between the two men. Fang Zhiyou asserted that regardless of who she met first, she was "doomed to be his girlfriend."
Meanwhile, Li Zhe, back in his own space with his half of the storybook, recalled the tale of the squirrel and the bear, a story he believed only he and the girl knew. He then pondered aloud why Xu Yiren knew the story, questioning which of them was truly the girl from his past. Gu Bo escorted Xia Di home, reluctant to part ways and suggesting they walk longer, even after circling her house multiple times.
Xia Di, teasing him as a "clingy boy," eventually invited him inside to try her freshly baked cookies. Though the cookies were burnt, Gu Bo insisted on eating them, claiming they tasted "bitter" but Xia Di herself was "sweet," equating it to the saying "after the bitter comes the sweet." Gu Bo then attempted to confess something significant, but his words were cut short by a call from Xia Di's editor.
The editor expressed concern about the declining click rate of Xia Di's novel, "Mr. Honesty," specifically criticizing the male protagonist's character arc, as a man who supposedly never lied was now deceiving the female lead. Xia Di, revealing her personal disdain for liars, stated that no man who had ever lied to her had escaped unscathed.
Gu Bo, who had been concealing his own privileged family background, was visibly affected by her words and chose to continue hiding his truth, changing his intended confession to simply assuring her he was not a frivolous man and would be responsible for her. The next day, representatives from Hongtu and other companies stormed Fangyuan, demanding an explanation from Fang Zhiyou.
They accused Fangyuan of leaking their confidential bids to Jiaye, claiming they had heard it directly from Mr. Xie of Jiaye while he was intoxicated. He Yuwen attempted to calm the agitated crowd, but they insisted on speaking only with Fang Zhiyou. Stepping forward, Fang Zhiyou assured them there was a misunderstanding and promised a thorough investigation and full accountability.
He Yuwen then revealed that their internal investigation, led by Luo Yang, traced the leaked bids to an IP address originating from Xu Yiren's computer. Despite this, Fang Zhiyou reiterated his commitment to uncovering the truth. In a subsequent company meeting, Mr. Liu openly accused Xu Yiren, pointing out the email was sent from her computer. Xu Yiren vehemently denied the accusation, questioning why she would be so foolish as to use her own device for such an act.
Mr. Liu threatened to resign if Fang Zhiyou continued to show partiality towards Xu Yiren. Fang Zhiyou firmly declared he would not favor anyone and would not fire any employee without clear evidence. Li Zhe learned of the turmoil at Fangyuan and instructed Mr. Xie to solidify the accusations against the company, promising him a generous reward.
Simultaneously, Fang Zhiyou discussed the situation with Gu Bo, explaining that he could not publicly defend Xu Yiren because they were together when the email was sent, which would make him seem biased. He also revealed that the company’s surveillance cameras had been deliberately turned off that night and tasked Gu Bo with finding out who was the last person to leave the office.
The following day, Mr. Xie and his men confronted Xu Yiren at Fangyuan, accusing her of accepting payment in exchange for a winning bid for his company and then failing to deliver. Xu Yiren denied taking any money and threatened to call the police. Ignoring her, Mr. Xie ordered his men to vandalize Fangyuan. Fang Zhiyou immediately shielded Xu Yiren, sustaining a hand injury in the process.
He stubbornly refused to go to the hospital, insisting Xu Yiren bandage his wound instead. He reassured her not to feel guilty, explaining that the attack was aimed at him because she was his girlfriend. He promised to swiftly uncover the truth and prevent such incidents from recurring. Gu Bo’s investigation revealed that Jiaye was merely a shell company, recently established with no legitimate projects, and was incapable of handling the Moon Bay project.
This led him to conclude that Jiaye's true purpose was to destroy Fangyuan and Fang Zhiyou's reputation, suggesting that only someone with deep hatred would resort to such self-damaging tactics. Realizing the implications, Xu Yiren immediately confronted Li Zhe at Dasheng Model Company. Li Zhe calmly offered her a position at Dasheng, claiming he could protect her better than Fang Zhiyou. Xu Yiren insisted on the truth about the accusations.
Li Zhe then posed a question in return: if she told him whether she was the lost girl he met thirteen years ago, he would tell her everything. Xu Yiren admitted she was. Li Zhe, in turn, confessed to orchestrating the entire scheme: he had bribed Jiaye's Mr. Xie to participate in the bidding and arranged for the fake quotations to be sent from Xu Yiren's computer.
He explained his motive was not for Jiaye to win, but to ruin Fang Zhiyou's reputation, knowing Fang Zhiyou would unconditionally protect Xu Yiren, thus forcing him to choose between saving her or saving his company.
When Xu Yiren questioned who specifically sent the email from her computer, Li Zhe, realizing she was recording their conversation with a voice recorder hidden in her sleeve, snatched it away, telling her to abandon her efforts to help Fang Zhiyou and ending with the statement that he had met her first.
