My Love, Enlighten Me Episode 12 Recap
> My Love, Enlighten Me Recap
Following her successful transfer to the design department, Liu Nuannuan arrives for her first day, bringing a homemade cake to introduce herself. Her new boss, Ms. Liee, dismisses the gesture, stating her department has no time for such things. Upon learning that Nuannuan is a "zero-foundation" newcomer with a secretarial background, Ms. Liee deems her unqualified and immediately dispatches her to a factory to oversee a large order, instructing her not to return until she understands the basics.
After a two-hour journey, Nuannuan meets the workshop director, who is surprised to see a newcomer alone. He gives her a tour, explaining the fabric processing, before having her check and sign off on an order form for a batch of red dresses. Upon returning to the company, Nuannuan is confronted by an enraged Ms. Liee. A critical detail—golden buttons—was missing from the accessory description on the form Nuannuan signed, a blunder Ms. Liee warns will not be tolerated again.
The factory refuses responsibility, forcing Nuannuan to personally remove all 800 buttons from the finished dresses. As she works, a distressed Han Xue calls, but Nuannuan, overwhelmed, hangs up to meet her deadline. Han Xue is left staring at a positive pregnancy test, deeply troubled. After a sleepless night, Ms. Liee immediately sends the exhausted Nuannuan to the market to find ten specific types of mother-of-pearl buttons. After a painstaking search, she finds them all.
Grateful for Han Che's past help, she considers buying him custom cufflinks but is shocked by the 2,300 yuan price tag. Back at the office, she discovers most of the buttons were already in the company's storeroom, a frustrating realization slightly eased when she learns one type was genuinely hard to find. Ms. Liee then concludes by criticizing Nuannuan's casual attire as unsuitable for the design department. Meanwhile, Han Che's project team discusses their slow progress.
Gu Li explains their disagreement over using an open versus a confined space for their visual presentation. The team prefers the "open space" for its potential to create a "visual marvel," but Gu Li worries about unpredictable factors like weather and light. Han Che dismisses these concerns, pushing for the more ambitious option and stating he hired them to create miracles, not to repeat themselves. The team notes Gu Li's uncharacteristic emotional instability during the tense exchange.
That evening, Nuannuan arrives home to find Gu Li and Han Che playfully arguing over who will be the godfather to her cats, Chitterlings, Beef Tripe, and Duck Blood. During dinner, Han Xue lashes out at Gu Li with uncharacteristic harshness, causing him to leave, hurt and confused. Shortly after, Lin Jiayi arrives. Han Xue reveals her pregnancy to a shocked Lin Jiayi.
Gu Li returns and knocks, asking what he did wrong, but Han Xue angrily tells him to leave, accusing him of presuming to understand her. Later, Lin Jiayi accidentally knocks over the box containing the cufflinks Nuannuan bought. Mistaking the initials, she murmurs "Hanchen," leading Han Che to believe the gift is for Fang Hanchen. Visibly disappointed, he makes an excuse and leaves. After he's gone, Lin Jiayi realizes Nuannuan's feelings are actually for Han Che.
Nuannuan later finds Han Xue, who confides she plans to have an abortion. Nuannuan urges her to tell Gu Li, but Han Xue struggles with the idea, uncomfortable with having feelings for her brother's friend. The next day, Nuannuan suggests using Suzhou Ming k'o-ssu as an alternative for a key runway piece, as the rare Nantong original k'o-ssu is unavailable from suppliers and not used for commercial projects.
Ms. Liee explodes with fury, meticulously detailing the technical differences between the two fabrics. She berates Nuannuan for her "nearly good enough" attitude, declaring it intolerable and telling her that if her solutions are "nearly good enough," then she can "nearly good enough" leave the company. Devastated, Nuannuan goes home and cries.
When Han Che, still upset about the cufflinks, finds her, he shows no sympathy, stating that "nearly good enough" is an attitude problem and he would have fired her too. Feeling utterly misunderstood, Nuannuan accuses the "genius" Han Che of not comprehending the struggles of ordinary people and resolves to find the original k'o-ssu herself. She packs a bag, leaves a note asking Han Che to care for the cats, and sets off for Nantong.
As she travels, her phone loses signal. A man claiming to be from Gu Village offers her a ride, explaining the bus route has changed. Nuannuan gratefully accepts. Meanwhile, Han Che grows worried when he can't reach her. His assistant calls, reporting that Nuannuan sent a three-word text ("Call me") to Han Xue before her phone went dead. Furnished with her last known location near Gu Village, Han Che immediately cancels his meetings and races to find her.
In the car, Nuannuan realizes the driver has deviated from the navigation route. Thinking fast, she photographs him, bluffing that she has sent her live location to the police and five contacts. She fabricates a story about managing a major economic development project involving the village's heritage k'o-ssu, claiming the village director is expecting her with a large order and that the entire village will search for her if she disappears. Unnerved, the driver abandons her on the roadside. As a torrential downpour begins, Nuannuan slips and falls into a roadside ditch, losing consciousness while Han Che drives frantically toward her location.
