My Dear GuardianĀ Episode 40 (Ending) Recap
> My Dear GuardianĀ Recap
Pei Yu confronted the Old Master, throwing a piece of steak onto the floor and demanding he eat it, a symbolic act mirroring the Old Master's past humiliation of Pei Yu. Pei Yu revealed he knew the Old Master had no intention of letting him return alive, seeing him as a disposable tool for difficult tasks. The Old Master, seizing an opportunity, sat on the ground, but before he could reach for a hidden gun, Pei Yu swiftly shot him.
As Liang Muze arrived at the scene, he confirmed the Old Master's death and Pei Yu's escape. Discovering a secret passage nearby, Liang Muze pursued Pei Yu. During their struggle, Pei Yu, finding himself at a disadvantage, taunted Liang Muze by mentioning Xia Chu, hoping to provoke Liang Muze into killing him. Liang Muze, however, remained composed, asserting that Xia Chu had only ever loved Zhuo Ran, and Pei Yu was merely Zhuo Ran's shadow.
Liang Muze declared Pei Yu unworthy of death at his hands. Moments later, Liang Muze's support arrived, and Pei Yu was apprehended. Meanwhile, upon learning that Long Yi had escaped, Rao Feng, undeterred by the lack of immediate backup, raced to the dock and pursued him alone in a speedboat towards the open sea. Rao Feng bravely leaped onto Long Yi's boat, engaging him in fierce hand-to-hand combat.
After a perilous moment where he almost fell overboard, Rao Feng regained his footing, picked up a discarded gun, and shot Long Yi, sending him sprawling into the water. As Long Yi attempted to swim away, Rao Feng fearlessly dove in after him, handcuffing himself to Long Yi underwater before dragging him back onto the boat and bringing him into custody.
Mi Gu visited Pei Yu in the detention center, providing an update on Zhuo Mei Qin, assuring him she was doing well with numerous volunteers taking turns to care for her. Pei Yu remarked that Mi Gu was pitifully foolish, unlike a woman in her thirties. Mi Gu retorted that no woman was truly silly unless she chose to be.
With tears in her eyes, Mi Gu asked if Pei Yu had ever genuinely cared for her, even for a fleeting moment. Pei Yu coldly replied he had not, consistently regarding her only as a convenient tool. After his class, Zhang Yichi received a call from Li Juan, who informed him she was on her way to the airport, implying they might not easily meet again.
She urged him to prioritize his health and expressed her belief that he had always been an excellent doctor and would undoubtedly become an excellent teacher. After hanging up, Zhang Yichi, noting the time, realized it was also the day Chen Mengzhen was leaving for Beijing with Luo Xiaojun. He immediately hailed a taxi, urging the driver to speed up, determined to reach the airport. However, Chen Mengzhen and Luo Xiaojun ultimately departed without him.
Liang Shaoxue, volunteering at the institution, spent time with Zhuo Mei Qin. Zhuo Mei Qin expressed a strange sense of familiarity and an accelerated heartbeat whenever she saw Liang Shaoxue, as if they had known each other for a long time. When Xia Chu arrived for a check-up, she confirmed Zhuo Mei Qin's good health, playfully suggesting that perhaps the transplanted heart recognized Liang Shaoxue.
After Xia Chu departed, Zhuo Mei Qin revealed to Liang Shaoxue that her transplanted heart belonged to a young soldier, adding that if he were alive, his heart might also race upon seeing Liang Shaoxue. Deeply moved, Liang Shaoxue requested to listen to Zhuo Mei Qin's heartbeat, which stirred memories of her once listening to Tian Yong's heart. Zhuo Mei Qin then asked Liang Shaoxue to write a letter to Pei Yu on her behalf.
In the letter, Zhuo Mei Qin urged Pei Yu to shed his disguise and stop living as Zhuo Ran. She confessed her regret for taking Zhuo Ran away and leaving Pei Yu, explaining it was truly unavoidable and not an act of partiality. She acknowledged his years of pretending to be Zhuo Ran to comfort her, stating she had always recognized him.
Zhuo Mei Qin expressed deep remorse for their past mistakes, wishing she had held onto him and prevented him from kneeling before that "demon" on the boat. She tragically declared she would have preferred they both died that night rather than seeing him live a miserable, compromised life for her sake.
She implored him to stand up, shed his masks, and be his true self, even for a day or an hour, assuring him of her enduring love and willingness to face their sins together. After reading the letter, Pei Yu was overcome with emotion, repeatedly shouting, "I am Pei Yu!" Three months later, Pei Yu was executed.
Liang Shaoxue, fully recovered from her illness, returned the parrot, now named "Master Le Tian," to the institution so it could accompany other patients. She firmly believed Tian Yong was still with her, sensing his presence in every laughter and in the poems she recited, feeling he witnessed everything.
Rao Feng had managed to decrypt the WeChat messages Tian Yong had sent from his "Mr Parrot" account and placed them inside a book for Liang Shaoxue to read whenever she wished. Liang Shaoxue and Rao Feng also reconciled. Liang Shaoxue shared her plans to pursue a master's degree in Chinese literature at her mother's alma mater. Her mother, Mu Min, would return to China to support her studies, and they had rented an apartment downstairs from Liang Muze's place.
Liang Shaoxue warmly invited Rao Feng to join them for dinner whenever he was free. Later, while on the subway, Liang Shaoxue read Tian Yong's final letter. In his message, Tian Yong shared a "voiceless memo," expressing his constant readiness to bid farewell as a preparation for their next meeting, offering it as comfort for days they couldn't be together.
He asked her to remember his smiling goodbyes and a poem about those who become stars in the sky and lights on the ground, leaving footprints for others. He expressed gratitude to the world for his life and to Liang Shaoxue for giving him "eternal time," assuring her that his soul would always be hers. He promised that all their pain and waiting would not be in vain but would transform into love and courage, wishing her a blissful life.
As she read his words, tears streamed down Liang Shaoxue's face. Liang Muze and Xia Chu finally had some rare time off and enjoyed a reunion dinner with Liang Muze's parents. During the meal, Mu Min suggested redecorating the entire house and proposed visiting furniture stores the next morning. Xia Chu subtly nudged Liang Muze to decline. Mu Min, noticing Liang Muze's hesitation, probed him about what he would do if she and Xia Chu ever had differing opinions.
Xia Chu playfully joined in, pressing Liang Muze for an answer. Unprepared, Liang Muze was momentarily speechless and quickly changed the subject. Mu Min then thanked Xia Chu, playfully declaring that from that moment on, Liang Muze's entire life was entrusted to her. Xia Chu good-naturedly accepted the responsibility. Finally, Liang Muze participated in a military conscription publicity video. He introduced himself, explaining that his name, Liang Muze, echoed the saying "a fine fowl perches only on a fine tress."
He recounted his journey from being a protected youth until eighteen, to entering military school and donning the uniform. He vividly described the transformative experiences of soldiers: fighting under the scorching sun, shedding their immaturity, cleaving through waves, shedding sweat and blood, reaching for the sky, pushing limits, battling on the field, and passing on the spirit of defending dignity. He spoke of enduring extreme pain and profound joy, losing youthful waywardness, and gaining the unyielding spirit of a man.
The video concluded with a powerful declaration that they, the Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers, poured their hot blood into their youth and forged a Great Steel Wall with their responsibilities, united by a shared name and an unshakeable faith.
