My Girlfriend Episode 18 Recap
> My Girlfriend Recap
Earlier, Ding Xiaorou attempted to have a calm discussion with her mother about her work, emphasizing that she sent money home on time. However, her mother was unyielding, simply reiterating her demand for Ding Xiaorou to return home. Ding Xiaorou then confided in SA Yi and He Mingzhu about her mother's ultimatum to return to their hometown.
Her mother, who did not understand Ding Xiaorou's freelance work, insisted she maintain the facade of a conventional "from nine to five" job, requiring Ding Xiaorou to leave the house by 8 AM daily. Ding Xiaorou explained that her mother believed any non-office work was "not doing the right thing," and she felt she was already very unprofessional in her mother's eyes.
The ultimatum presented three choices: return to her hometown immediately, marry into the city, or her mother would stay with her until one of the first two conditions was met. He Mingzhu suggested that marrying into the city was Ding Xiaorou's only viable option, calling it a path to both "left-hand love and right-hand dream." SA Yi jokingly referred to the situation as "God-assisted," noting that Zhen Zheng's recent confession, combined with her mother's push for marriage, seemed to align.
Despite her friends' attempts to offer "ingenious schemes," Ding Xiaorou felt she couldn't lie to herself, leaving her friends to lament her "woman's fight" predicament before heading off to their own responsibilities. Meanwhile, Ding Xiaorou's mother, after buying groceries, was accidentally jostled off a bus and twisted her ankle. Chi Xin, who was driving by, offered to take her to the hospital.
On the way, Ding Xiaorou's mother sternly accused Chi Xin of exploiting Ding Xiaorou's kind nature for his show and making money from it. Chi Xin tried to explain that their program had no malicious intent, but she dismissed his words, stating that people in his profession always had clever justifications. To prevent Ding Xiaorou from worrying, Chi Xin asked her mother not to call her, claiming Ding Xiaorou was busy with work.
He then called Zhen Zheng, feigning a conversation about a business meeting to cover his absence. At the hospital, the doctor confirmed Ding Xiaorou's mother only had a minor skin injury that would heal with ointment. Chi Xin insisted on caution, emphasizing that health was a serious matter. Outside, they unexpectedly encountered SA Yi, who feigned surprise at seeing Ding Xiaorou's mother there, pretending she heard from Ding Xiaorou that her mother had arrived.
SA Yi was called away for an urgent surgery but asked Chi Xin to "treat my aunt well." Chi Xin then offered to take Ding Xiaorou's mother for breakfast, listing various food options. However, Ding Xiaorou's mother expressed a strong desire to try the "potted ice cream" that her neighbors had raved about, knowing it was one of Ding Xiaorou's creations.
This led Chi Xin to He Mingzhu's cafe, where Ding Xiaorou happened to be, discussing her dilemma with He Mingzhu. Seeing them arrive, Ding Xiaorou quickly hid. He Mingzhu enthusiastically greeted Ding Xiaorou's mother, praising her youth and good looks, and began listing the cafe's ice cream flavors. Chi Xin, noticing Ding Xiaorou hiding, went to great lengths to cover for her.
He caused a distraction by pretending there was a large mosquito in his eye while subtly trying to guide Ding Xiaorou's mother toward a specific ice cream flavor to buy time. When SA Yi called Ding Xiaorou's phone, Chi Xin quickly intercepted it, pretending to be on a call with "Zhou Dong" about selling stocks due to a "dangerous" market, further confusing SA Yi. Ding Xiaorou used this opportunity to slip away into the restroom.
Ding Xiaorou's mother then expressed a need for the restroom, and Chi Xin, fearing Ding Xiaorou would be discovered, directed her to the men's toilet, claiming the women's restroom lock was broken. Ding Xiaorou managed to escape while Chi Xin diverted her mother. However, Ding Xiaorou's mother soon confronted Chi Xin, revealing she had known all along that Ding Xiaorou was hiding in the locked women's restroom and that they were "united to lie to me."
She stated that despite her age, her mind was not "stupid." She lamented Ding Xiaorou's "freelance" career, which she misunderstood as "helping plastic models change clothes" and compared to "work part-time" in their hometown, "fishing for three days and basking in the net for two days," seeing it as an unstable job. Chi Xin clarified that it was called "window design," Ding Xiaorou's interest and dream, making it very different.
Ding Xiaorou's mother, however, persisted, sharing her dream for Ding Xiaorou: a healthy life, a good marriage, and a stable job that ensured "no starvation, no freezing." She also expressed her dislike for the city, with its crowds, traffic, high prices, and poor air quality. Despite her complaints, she thanked Chi Xin for taking her to the hospital and asked to be dropped off near home, not wanting to delay his "work."
Ding Xiaorou, informed by He Mingzhu that her mother's injury was minor, felt relieved and continued making ice cream at the cafe for the rest of her "workday." Later that evening, Ding Xiaorou returned home, attempting to maintain her pretense by claiming she had been in meetings all day and was exhausted. Her mother, however, exposed her lie, asserting that Ding Xiaorou had not gone to work and had merely been "tired of acting" at the cafe.
She then revealed that she had purchased "sleeper" tickets for their return to their hometown "the day after tomorrow." Ding Xiaorou admitted to lying about her life not being as good as her mother imagined, but insisted it was "absolutely not as bad as you think." She reminded her mother of her strict upbringing and her own dreams that she wished to achieve.
But her mother was unyielding, stating she had already bought the tickets and would pack Ding Xiaorou's belongings. Upset, Ding Xiaorou stormed out of the house. Worried, her mother immediately went to Chi Xin for help. Chi Xin found Ding Xiaorou sitting alone in the downstairs garden at night. He gently chastised her for being out alone, reminding her of a previous incident where she was tracked and that her mother was worried about her, feeling "Unfamiliar" in the city.
Ding Xiaorou angrily retorted, asking him to leave her alone and accusing him of being a "meddling neighbor." She then unleashed her anger, blaming him for her predicament. She claimed that if she hadn't participated in his program, her mother wouldn't have found out, and if he hadn't taken her to the cafe that morning, she wouldn't have been so embarrassed. She felt she had "leeway" before, but now her mother was determined to take her home.
Chi Xin was stunned by this revelation. Ding Xiaorou, crying, lamented that she was leaving the city not as she had envisioned, with "many things I haven't completed here: my friends, my dreams, my window." She felt her "little flame of hope," carefully nurtured through many setbacks, had been extinguished. Chi Xin apologized, suggesting her mother was just angry and she should try to explain.
Ding Xiaorou countered that her mother had already bought tickets for the day after tomorrow, and from experience, her mother "never changes" her mind once a decision is made. She spoke passionately about the importance of pursuing one's true desires, even "unrealistic dreams laughed at by others," believing the process itself was fulfilling.
Later, Chi Xin, still preoccupied by Ding Xiaorou's heartfelt words, was approached by Zhen Zheng, who briefed him on the next set of guest short films, highlighting "dreams" as a key theme. This sparked an epiphany in Chi Xin, and he immediately sought out Jiang Yuan to obtain Ding Xiaorou's speech video from the charity gala, recalling her words about dreams. Jiang Yuan informed him that the video was with Ding Haifeng, who was about to leave by plane.
Chi Xin, with Jiang Yuan's help, rushed to the airport to intercept Ding Haifeng and retrieve the video. Jiang Yuan, observing Chi Xin's intense focus and determination, remarked that it was the first time she had seen him "completely out of mind" for a girl. Chi Xin simply stated that Ding Xiaorou was "a good girl" and he intended to "treat her well."
Meanwhile, Ding Xiaorou was at the cafe, eating an excessive amount of ice cream as her friends, SA Yi and He Mingzhu, tried to cheer her up. They noticed she wasn't dressed for work and deduced her mother had discovered her pretense. Ding Xiaorou confessed that she was leaving for her hometown tomorrow.
Her friends were dismayed, and SA Yi offered to speak to her mother, but Ding Xiaorou stopped her, explaining that her mother was already angry and it would only make her angrier. She explained that while she loved her "window work," she had no choice but to prioritize her mother, who, unlike Ding Xiaorou who still had her friends, only had her. He Mingzhu suggested a "slow-down plan" and "save the nation by curve," hoping her mother would eventually understand.
Despite their efforts, Ding Xiaorou was left in despair as her friends departed. Chi Xin, having secured the video, then rushed to Ding Xiaorou's house to show it to her mother.
