My Huckleberry Friends Episode 28 Recap
> My Huckleberry Friends Recap
During the Gaokao pep rally, Director Pan delivered an enthusiastic speech, specifically commending Xin Rui and Chu Tiankuo for receiving direct admission. Chu Tiankuo, soon to step down as President of the Student Union after a year, gave a speech thanking his teachers and fellow students. Jiang Chuan, feeling particularly upset on behalf of Ling Xiangqian, and Yu Zhouzhou and Lin Yang, who were bored and listening to music, were in the audience.
Lin Yang struggled to memorize "Chu Shi Biao" for the exam, leading Yu Zhouzhou to criticize his inability and suggest he copy it ten times. Lin Yang then playfully asked if Yu Zhouzhou had known his Chinese skills were poor since freshman year. After the rally, Chu Tiankuo began packing his belongings, intending to leave school unless necessary. He encountered Yu Zhouzhou and Lin Yang studying together, a sight that brought a pang of sadness to his heart.
Chu Tiankuo asked Yu Zhouzhou if she regretted quitting the previous exam, to which she firmly replied "Never," a sentiment he echoed. Lin Yang interjected, explaining that Ling Xiangqian's decision to quit the exam was her own choice and Chu Tiankuo had no obligation to follow suit, as he, Yu Zhouzhou, and Jiang Chuan were motivated by their collective bond with Ling Xiangqian to go find her. Chu Tiankuo then sought to speak with Yu Zhouzhou alone on the rooftop.
He confessed to feeling like he was constantly swimming "upstream" in life, unlike Lin Yang who seemed to go "downstream," and that he felt tired of living, constantly afraid of making mistakes and presenting a false image. Yu Zhouzhou acknowledged that Lin Yang spoke impulsively, and reassured Chu Tiankuo that he was not wrong. She understood his curiosity about why they acted so freely, unconcerned with the bigger picture, and why his youth wasn't as overtly "widely known" as theirs.
She gently suggested that if he had made the same choices as them, he might feel even worse. Xin Rui was also preparing to leave school. As she packed, Chen Yao's comments about her "luck" in getting direct admission due to Ling Xiangqian's cheating and Yu Zhouzhou's withdrawal deeply agitated Xin Rui. She lashed out, feeling her hard work was dismissed and her success attributed to others' misfortunes.
She questioned if everyone believed she was inherently inferior to Yu Zhouzhou, that Yu Zhouzhou had "saved" and "changed" her, and that she only received what Yu Zhouzhou didn't want. Yu Zhouzhou, who had overheard this outburst from outside the classroom, later met Xin Rui at a bus stop. Xin Rui apologized and admitted her jealousy, as well as genuinely liking Lin Yang.
Yu Zhouzhou was disappointed, pointing out Xin Rui's continued dishonesty and suggesting her feelings for Lin Yang stemmed more from hatred for Yu Zhouzhou than genuine affection. Xin Rui retorted that Yu Zhouzhou's "protagonist game" advice to strive for excellence had ironically led her to believe that by doing everything Yu Zhouzhou did, she would achieve the same recognition, yet Yu Zhouzhou remained the "heroine."
She accused Yu Zhouzhou of being condescending and using her as a means to display "boring empathy," asserting that Yu Zhouzhou still saw her as the "Xin Rui who can't lift her head." Yu Zhouzhou countered that Xin Rui was mistaken, having failed to even be her true self. As Gaokao approached, Lin Yang's mother prepared numerous nourishing tonics for him, which he drank every day until he got a nosebleed.
He complained to his father about over-nourishment, and his father bribed him with a game console to drink more. Similarly, Yu Zhouzhou's aunt insisted she drink traditional Chinese medicine to regulate her menstrual cycle, fearing it would affect her exam performance. Finding the medicine too bitter to swallow, her uncle compassionately drank it for her. Meanwhile, Jiang Chuan dedicated his time to accompanying Ling Xiangqian and helping her review for the exams.
He brought her study materials; after he fell asleep from exhaustion, Ling Xiangqian secretly took a picture of him, realizing for the first time how endearing he could be. He then confessed that she was his future. One afternoon, Yu Zhouzhou found Lin Yang with a nosebleed, joking that his mother's "nourishing food" was making him "explode." He leaned on her shoulder, feigning dizziness, while she gently pulled on his ear.
Later, on the rooftop, Yu Zhouzhou gifted Lin Yang a pen "Blessed by the Temple of Confucius" for good luck in his exams, teasing him for his sudden superstition despite his usual adherence to "Mr. Democracy and Mr. Science." In return, Lin Yang recited "Chu Shi Biao", claiming half his nosebleed was for Zhuge Liang's sake.
He declared his unwavering intention to follow her wherever she went, even to the moon, tracing his habit back to childhood when he spilt ink on her on the first day of primary school. Yu Zhouzhou, though a bit overwhelmed, thanked him for always being there. On the first day of Gaokao, Yu Zhouzhou’s aunt meticulously checked her exam essentials. Outside the school, Director Pan and other teachers wore red shirts, cheering on students.
Chen Yao, on her way to the exam, got stuck in a traffic jam and burst into tears while calling her mom, fearing she would miss the test. Fortunately, their homeroom teacher, Wu Wenlu, happened to pass by on his bicycle and swiftly rode her to the exam center. During the morning session, Yu Zhouzhou experienced menstrual pain. After the exam, Lin Yang noticed her discomfort and worriedly asked if her stomach still hurt.
He quickly escorted her to a nearby hotel room to rest. She felt much better after a nap, and they shared milk and bread, continuing to review together. Before the afternoon exam, Yu Zhouzhou, seeing a distraught Zhou Shenran at the entrance having forgotten his pen, unhesitatingly offered him one of hers. Outside the examination hall, Mi Qiao’s father waited, not with anxiety, but with profound longing for his daughter.
He shared with Xin Rui, whom he didn’t recognize, that Mi Qiao would not be taking the exam as she had expressed a desire to go to a "freer place," having chosen to remain "forever in the good age of eighteen," like others who departed too soon. Xin Rui later encountered Xu Zhiqiang, now a soldier in uniform, who congratulated her on her direct admission. This was the first sincere congratulations she had received, drawing a genuine smile from her.
Before leaving for Inner Mongolia, Xu Zhiqiang encouraged her to always be herself. When Gaokao finally concluded, Director Pan told the students to celebrate by tearing up their exam papers and throwing their books into the air. The students joked about the surreal ending to their high school years, with one lamenting the hundreds of yuan spent on red marker pens for annotations.
Lin Yang, Yu Zhouzhou, Jiang Chuan, and Ling Xiangqian celebrated by going to the beach, joyfully playing games. During college application season, Yu Zhouzhou again encountered Zhou Shenran and his mother. His mother insisted he apply to universities in Beijing to be near his father and to outscore Yu Zhouzhou, whom she disparagingly called a "little bitch."
Yu Zhouzhou then shared the parable of the "Himalayan monkey," explaining that much like the villagers who couldn't use the Midas touch spell because they kept thinking of the monkey, Zhou Shenran's anxieties about his father were an obstacle. She openly admitted her childhood dislike for him, but revealed she later understood their shared unhappiness – he feared losing his father, while she feared not having one.
She reassured him she had no interest in competing for his father's affection and urged him to be truly "Zhou Shenran," not just "Zhou Shuguo's son," and to release the "Himalayan monkey" that plagued his mind. Zhou Shenran's mother, overhearing, continued to verbally abuse Yu Zhouzhou, calling her a "bastard" and accusing her of seducing men.
Moved by Yu Zhouzhou's words, Zhou Shenran, for the first time, defied his mother's wishes and applied to a university of his own choosing, not in Beijing. At a class reunion, Lin Yang invited Yu Zhouzhou but then deliberately ignored her, playing games with other classmates. Yu Zhouzhou sat and chatted with Ling Xiangqian for a while.
Ling Xiangqian shared that she had been reading Buddhist texts, a practice she found helpful in dealing with external pressures, but still felt uncomfortable under others' gazes, expressing relief that Jiang Chuan was by her side. Yu Zhouzhou then decided to leave. Seeing her departure from the corner of his eye, Lin Yang quickly chased after her.
He confessed that Jiang Chuan and others had advised him that he was "too enthusiastic" and that Yu Zhouzhou didn't truly care for him, so he had pretended to ignore her to provoke jealousy and ascertain her true feelings. He expressed frustration that she still didn't seem angry. Yu Zhouzhou admitted she "was" a little angry and that she wasn’t always expressionless, revealing playfully that she was just "good at pretending" and was "an actor."
Lin Yang then admitted he had been faking his drunken state. He asked her a series of questions: if she was angry earlier, if she was unhappy when he ignored her, and if she would still come if she didn't like it. To all, Yu Zhouzhou honestly answered "yes." Finally, he asked, "Do you like Lin Yang?" Yu Zhouzhou, shy but sincere, nodded her head, affirming her feelings, to Lin Yang's delighted satisfaction.
