My Huckleberry Friends Episode 25 Recap
> My Huckleberry Friends Recap
The school year for senior students had just begun, and Yu Zhouzhou visited Mi Qiao in the hospital. Mi Qiao expressed how much she missed Yu Zhouzhou and how bored she was of staying in the hospital, finding solace in not having to endure subjects like "the gunshot of Lexington" anymore. Yu Zhouzhou brought a package that had been mailed to Mi Qiao's class.
It was from a magazine, informing Zheng Yanyi that his comics had passed their review and would be officially serialized. Mi Qiao happily revealed that after their previous argument, she had secretly submitted his comics to several other magazines, never giving up on his talent. Yu Zhouzhou mentioned that Zheng Yanyi had regretted their fight after Mi Qiao left, spending days staring out the window, looking distraught.
However, Mi Qiao insisted they hold onto the news, explaining that Zheng Yanyi, being a Pisces, lacked confidence and security. She believed he should only be told at his "most difficult time," like a luminous pearl needing a pitch-black night to truly shine. Soon after, Benben arrived at Mi Qiao's room with food. Mi Qiao playfully teased him about being so idle despite being officially accepted by a hotel.
Benben then proudly showed them his acceptance letter, which stated he ranked first in the Comprehensive Ability Assessment of Hotel Management. Mi Qiao asked him to get some water. As Benben went to refill the kettle, his adoptive father, who worked at the hospital, spotted him. His father had been boasting to colleagues about Benben's new position as an assistant lobby manager at a starred hotel, attributing it to his own excellent parenting.
Upon seeing Benben in casual clothes at the hospital, he furiously accused him of skipping work. A loud argument erupted in the hallway, with his father yelling about Benben’s lack of achievements since childhood. Angrily, Benben retaliated, shouting that he had lied, that he hadn't been accepted by the hotel, and that he wanted to make his own choices without constant interference. Mi Qiao, overhearing the painful exchange, watched Benben leave.
Yu Zhouzhou and Mi Qiao could only witness the scene, unable to intervene in his family matter. That evening, Yu Zhouzhou stayed with Mi Qiao, playing a game of "Staring Contest Truth or Dare." Mi Qiao reiterated her feelings about Zheng Yanyi, then turned her thoughts to Benben. She called him "even dumber" than Zheng Yanyi for giving up a promising hotel career to stay by her side.
Though she acknowledged it was "shortening her life," she also admitted that she was truly happy to have him there, stating that since his father had already hurt him, she wouldn't do so again. She playfully concluded that she would "reluctantly accept" his presence, as she needed a follower. She refused Yu Zhouzhou's offer of medicine, saying Yu Zhouzhou's company was more effective than any medication. Meanwhile, at Zhenhua High School, Director Pan confronted Wu Wenlu for allowing P. E.
classes for senior students a week into the new term. Wu Wenlu defended his decision, arguing that students needed physical activity and fresh air, and that it was on the schedule. Director Pan dismissed this, stating students were staying up until midnight to study and couldn't afford to waste time on P. E. He eventually conceded that students could choose whether to attend.
As Director Pan continued to inspect the classrooms, trying to find students slacking off, he discovered a romance novel at Chen Yao's desk. He threw it at Wu Wenlu, mocking his management skills with historical allusions. After class, Wu Wenlu called Chen Yao to his office. Instead of punishing her, he asked her to read a particularly dramatic passage from the novel with emotion, promising to return the book and even retrieve another confiscated one if she did well.
Chen Yao struggled through the reading, eventually breaking down in tears at the class meeting, deeply regretting her distractions. The next day, Wu Wenlu held a unique "tea party" class meeting, providing snacks and encouraging students to speak freely. Xu Zhiqiang, who had climbed one rank from 42nd to 41st in the recent exam, shared his "CS philosophy" of perseverance.
Chen Yao tearfully apologized to her classmates for dragging down the class average and to Wu Wenlu for her past idleness, noting his newly grey hair. She then read from her notebook, vowing to wake up early, forgo naps, study diligently, and ultimately chase after a "better version of herself," rather than celebrities. Inspired by Chen Yao, Zheng Yanyi bravely stood up, declaring his love for the anime "Slam Dunk" and its protagonist Hanamichi Sakuragi.
He admitted to seeing himself as a "marginal figure" like the character Yanyi, always at the bottom despite diligent note-taking. But inspired by Chen Yao and his classmates, he proclaimed that he, Zheng Yanyi, was not a marginal student and could achieve whatever others could.
Wu Wenlu concluded the meeting by emphasizing that current struggles were mere "stations" in life, and that the students, like Chen Yao, Zheng Yanyi, and Xu Zhiqiang, would one day become the proud "spokespersons" of their 2003 Arts Class 3. Afterwards, Chen Yao confessed to Wu Wenlu that she hadn't been acting, and now genuinely found the challenge of self-improvement more interesting than romance novels, returning the books, which she revealed she had bought herself.
Meanwhile, Chu Tiankuo informed Mi Qiao that the Anime Club room would be reclaimed due to inactivity. Despite the doctor's warnings against exertion, Mi Qiao secretly left the hospital and went to the school on the day the club was to be disbanded. She found Zheng Yanyi trying to prevent others from removing the club's flag, arguing it was unfair given Mi Qiao's hospitalization. Mi Qiao intervened, personally taking down the flag she had originally hung.
She told her fellow club members, "Leaving is for a better reunion," and that the disbandment was a temporary measure before they could "make a comeback someday." She vowed to keep the flag and re-hang it upon her return. The members then emotionally re-enacted a scene from their musical, depicting Du Fu and Li Bai, reciting lines like "The silver saddle shines. The white horse rustles like a meteor" and "He can kill one guy in every ten steps.
No one stop him within a thousand miles." During this poignant moment, Mi Qiao suffered a nosebleed, which she dismissed as due to dry weather. Back at the hospital, Mi Qiao's father worriedly confronted her about her unauthorized trip, reminding her of her recent emergency room visit and the doctor's strict orders to avoid activity before her surgery in half a month.
Mi Qiao downplayed her nosebleed, claiming it was just the dry weather, but her father worried it was a sign of heart issues like arrhythmia and blood supply problems. Later that night, seeing her exhausted father sleeping in the corridor, Mi Qiao gently shaved his beard, silently vowing to be more obedient. Mi Qiao's health continued to decline, leading to multiple emergency treatments.
After one particularly close call, she hugged Benben tightly, begging him to take her out of the suffocating hospital. Despite the doctor's orders, Benben took her to a supermarket. Seeing her weakened state, he put her in a shopping cart and playfully pushed her through the aisles, allowing her to pick out all her favorite snacks and treats, including two bags of chips and a chocolate.
When she asked for more forbidden foods, she reasoned that since she had already broken one rule by leaving the hospital, she might as well break more. She also picked a lion mask, describing her dream of staging "The Wizard of Oz" with herself as Dorothy and Benben as Toto, her beloved dog. Benben expressed sorrow that she couldn't eat all the treats they bought, but Mi Qiao said just seeing them made her happy.
When Benben asked if she desired anything else, Mi Qiao shyly admitted her wish to wear a dress just once. Benben took her to a clothing store, and as the curtain opened, he was awestruck, telling her she looked "better than in jeans." Though Mi Qiao initially felt a long dress was too "gorgeous" for her "noisy" personality and not for someone like her, she eventually admitted she loved it.
They then "stole" the shopping cart from the supermarket and went on a spree at a snack street, happily indulging in various foods. Mi Qiao, however, was disappointed not to find a sugar figurine, a treat she had never tasted. Benben promised to get her one the next morning, ensuring it would be there when she opened her eyes.
Back in her hospital room, Mi Qiao wore her new mask and, with a melancholic smile, asked Benben to describe his ideal appearance for her. She playfully requested him to have dashing sword-like eyebrows, deeper eye sockets, and a "tear nevus," which he obligingly drew on his face with eyeliner. She then leaned in and kissed him.
Later, while Benben slept by her bedside, Mi Qiao quietly took his hotel acceptance letter and placed it on her sleeping adoptive father in the hallway, hoping to mend their strained relationship. Before drifting to sleep, she softly whispered, "Tomorrow should be a good day." The next morning, Benben arrived with the sugar figurine, but Mi Qiao was no longer there. Her father and the doctor were already in the room, weeping.
Simultaneously, Zhenhua High School held its 18th birthday adult ceremony. To honor Mi Qiao, members of her Anime Club attended the ceremony wearing the costumes from their very first performance, a scene that surprisingly didn't draw Director Pan's ire. Yu Zhouzhou, wearing the hat Mi Qiao had given her, stood crying alongside Zheng Yanyi and their classmates.
As she walked through the "adult door," Yu Zhouzhou tearfully reflected that while everyone else would grow old, Mi Qiao would forever remain eighteen, eternally in the prime of her life. Separately, Xu Zhiqiang, who consistently ranked at the bottom of his class, saw an army recruitment banner on the street and decided to enlist.
During a Chinese exam, in the final ten minutes, he stood outside the classroom and loudly called for Xin Rui, wanting to see her one last time before his induction physical. Moved by his unexpected gesture, Xin Rui handed in her paper early and stepped outside. Xu Zhiqiang, observing her from a distance, urged her to study hard.
