My Calorie Boy Episode 19 Recap
> My Calorie Boy Recap
Jingjing’s father believed that her Taekwondo background made a sports major a secure choice for her future, suggesting she could open a Taekwondo academy or a wedding planning company after graduation. However, Jingjing emotionally resisted having her life planned, asserting her desire to study interior design. She confronted her father, asking how he was different from the dancer Xu Jingjing's mother, who also dictated her daughter's life.
Jingjing’s mother, observing her daughter's newfound assertiveness and determination, tried to persuade her husband. She highlighted Jingjing's improved academic performance and the immense effort she had put into her presentation. Despite this, Jingjing’s father remained practical, worrying about the extremely low admission rates of the unified art exam, which he considered more competitive than the regular college entrance exam.
He feared that if Jingjing failed after investing so much, she would be too devastated to retake the standard college entrance exam. Determined, Jingjing broke her piggy bank but found the money was far from enough for the tuition. She sought a summer job at a Taekwondo gym, only to discover Gao Zhan had just been hired. Recognizing her plight, Gao Zhan proposed a co-teaching arrangement to Instructor Fan, offering to split his salary with her.
Jingjing gratefully accepted his help. Gao Zhan revealed he was saving money for myopia surgery, a prerequisite for his dream of attending the Public Security University. He explained his mother would never approve, as his father had died in the line of duty, leaving her with a deep-seated fear of him following the same path. Understanding his struggle, Jingjing approached her art teacher, Miss Zhou, about her own financial difficulty.
Gao Zhan supported her, and Miss Zhou agreed to let Jingjing pay daily for the first five days to see if she was suited for art, after which a lump-sum payment would be required. Jingjing later told her parents she would handle the tuition herself, determined to prove her commitment to her skeptical father. Meanwhile, the dancer Xu Jingjing's mother pressured her to attend intense summer classes with a renowned teacher, Miss Zhao, to prepare for a prestigious dance academy.
She emphasized the years of money and effort invested in her ballet training, making it clear refusal was not an option. Xu Jingjing reluctantly agreed. Jingjing's father also conceded, but to save face, he secretly instructed his wife not to tell Jingjing he had paid the tuition. However, her mother gave her the money anyway, confessing it was from her, given behind his back. Touched, Jingjing promised to work hard.
Hearing that Jingjing and Gao Zhan were working together for the summer left Kang Jiawei feeling downcast. In art class, another student, Wang Jiayao, gave Jingjing a sympathetic look upon learning that the notoriously strict Mr. Qin, nicknamed "Snape," was their teacher. At the same time, during their Technology Thesis Writing Class, the dancer Xu Jingjing secretly asked Kang Jiawei to cover for her, as she had signed up for a hip-hop class without her mother's knowledge.
On Jingjing's first day of art class, her drawing was publicly humiliated by Mr. Qin, who tore it up, criticizing its flawed perspective and lack of shading. He dismissed her explanation of being a beginner as an excuse, declaring his class was not a hobby group. Jingjing's bad mood carried over to the Taekwondo gym. When she complained about Mr. Qin, Gao Zhan suggested the teacher was just being responsible, which he argued wasn't a bad thing.
Infuriated by his lack of support, Jingjing stormed off. Later, Mr. Ni's attempt to propose to Gao Zhan’s mother, Hui, was unexpectedly cut short when she suggested they separate for a while. She insisted the issue was her own, not his or Gao Zhan's, leaving Mr. Ni bewildered. Feeling betrayed by Gao Zhan's earlier comment about her art teacher, Jingjing called Kang Jiawei to vent.
Hearing Gao Zhan's name, Kang Jiawei pretended he was about to have dinner with the dancer Xu Jingjing. Not to be outdone, Jingjing claimed she was also going to dinner with Gao Zhan. This sparked a petty social media battle, with both posting pictures with passive-aggressive captions, each trying to make the other jealous. Gao Zhan later asked his mother about the breakup.
She explained she didn't want the complexities of forming a new family to affect his preparation for the crucial college entrance exam. Gao Zhan relayed this to Jingjing, who advised him to stand with Mr. Ni and help win his mother back. Jingjing accompanied Gao Zhan to meet Mr. Ni and his son, Dapeng, and proposed a plan.
She suggested a sincere, sophisticated proposal—befitting his mother's job as a magazine editor—and that they prove through their actions that the new family would not hinder either Gao Zhan's or Dapeng's studies. Afterward, while admiring Jingjing's room design sketches, Gao Zhan confessed he found her beautiful, humorous, and kind. He then invited her to apply to universities in Beijing with him, noting the city also had excellent art academies.
As Gao Zhan and Jingjing grew closer, Kang Jiawei resolved to tell Jingjing the truth about his online identity. Before he could, Gao Zhan called him for urgent advice on how to talk to girls. He recounted how Jingjing had seemed unhappy and left after he suggested she study in Beijing. Exasperated, Kang Jiawei reminded him of a time he had scientifically explained why Jingjing felt cold instead of simply asking to turn up the AC.
He advised Gao Zhan that being a friend meant being an "ally"—to first join her in her irrational complaints and then, once she had calmed down, gently offer his real opinion, always ready to retreat if she wasn't receptive. Gao Zhan admitted he was restless and could only think of Jingjing, desperate to learn how to understand girls.
Later, Kang Jiawei confessed his own cowardice to his father, using an analogy of a difficult problem he didn't dare solve for fear his answer would be wrong. His father advised him to re-examine the problem, implying some answers take time, and cryptically quoted, "Love is a hand that wants to touch, but pulls back."
