Negotiator Episode 16 Recap
> Negotiator Recap
Xie Xiaofei informed Tong Wei that he was leaving China, surprising her. He explained that his father was upset about the mess he had made and wanted him to return to New York, suggesting this might be their last meeting. Tong Wei feigned composure, stating she should be happy that no one would cause her trouble anymore.
Xie Xiaofei, however, urged her to cherish their past relationship despite his mistakes and asked her to see him off at the airport the next day. He added that even though he had caused her much trouble in two months, they did love each other and pleaded with her not to deny his request. Tong Wei, without explicitly agreeing or refusing, simply asked for his departure time, to which Xie Xiaofei replied, "Three o'clock." She acknowledged, "I understand."
Qin Tianyu was drinking alone at a bar when he overheard people gossiping about him. They discussed how he had used his girlfriend to win a big case for Ke Wan, only for the project to fall through and him to lose his girlfriend, calling him shameless and scheming. Qin Tianyu, enraged, confronted them, shouting, "So what if I talk about you? Say it again if you dare!" He ended up fighting and was thrown out of the bar.
Shang Bichen, who was passing by, saw him lying on the ground. Concerned, she approached him, asking why he was there and offering to take him home. Qin Tianyu, bleeding and in distress, angrily told her to leave him alone. When she expressed worry, he defiantly asked what was wrong with him, then answered his own question, "Just like a failure!" Shang Bichen insisted, "In my heart, you're always an amazing person."
Qin Tianyu retorted that as her superior, he would always have a "halo above his head" in her eyes, but warned her that one day she would be "just like Tong Wei, falling in love with another man." Shang Bichen denied this, asserting, "I won't. I only like you." Qin Tianyu, cynical, stated he wouldn't "believe that lie again." Shang Bichen reiterated, "I've never lied to you. It's true," and led him away, bringing him to her shared apartment.
At her apartment, Shang Bichen warmly welcomed Qin Tianyu, informing him he was her first guest, and showed him her small bedroom. She described her daily life, working in a high-class law firm by day and returning to a shared apartment at night, which still cost ¥3,000 in rent out of her ¥5,000 monthly salary, leaving little after other expenses. Qin Tianyu admitted his own conditions were worse as an unpaid intern when he started at Fu Tong.
Shang Bichen then shared her struggle: she fought to get into a Shanghai school from her hometown and then faced immense competition to join Fu Tong. Her mother constantly pressured her to return home and marry, warning that at 25 she'd be "an old, unwanted woman" in their hometown, almost disowning her for her refusal to leave Shanghai. Despite the hardships, Shang Bichen said she wasn't pessimistic, crediting Qin Tianyu for giving her the courage to stay in the city.
She recounted how he had appeared "like a knight in shining armor" when she felt lost, comforting, encouraging, and helping her, even treating her to a meal and giving her a ride home. She expressed her hope to have her own home in Shanghai in the future. Qin Tianyu humbly stated she "spoke too highly" of him, but Shang Bichen insisted he wasn't aware of his own goodness.
She clarified that she wasn't telling him this to benefit from him, but simply to let him know that in her heart, he was "always incredible and amazing" when he felt sad or upset. Touched, Qin Tianyu thanked her and apologized for his earlier rudeness, which Shang Bichen graciously dismissed, saying she didn't take it to heart.
As Qin Tianyu prepared to leave, thanking her for the honey water, Shang Bichen urged him to finish it, explaining its benefits for someone who had too much alcohol. After an entire night of contemplation over Xie Xiaofei's request, Tong Wei decided to go to the airport. She brought her father's fountain pen, which had witnessed the beginning of their relationship, intending for it to also mark their end. Xie Xiaofei sent Li Xiang Zhong to pick her up.
In the car, Li Xiang Zhong offered her some water. When Tong Wei regained consciousness, she was astonished to find herself on an airplane. She quickly pieced together what happened, realizing Xie Xiaofei had orchestrated this and that Tong Tiantian was an accomplice, as Xie Xiaofei later confirmed when Tong Wei accused him. Tong Wei was furious, demanding he book her a flight back to China immediately upon landing in the US.
Xie Xiaofei confiscated her phone, reminding her it was common knowledge to turn it off on a plane, and calmly tried to soothe her. He suggested she enjoy this "surprise vacation" since she was already suspended from work, saying they could chat about their future relationships if they had nothing else to do. Tong Wei accused him of kidnapping, but he playfully dismissed it, insisting she wear her safety belt.
She demanded her father's fountain pen back, which he had taken, saying he was "so touched" by the "farewell present." He refused, mimicking her earlier actions, and she told him to leave her alone as she wanted to sleep. Upon arriving in the United States, Tong Wei, despite the beautiful summer weather, was in no mood for a vacation.
At the airport, she loudly accused Xie Xiaofei of kidnapping, to which he simply told bystanders they were having a girlfriend-boyfriend argument. He seized her phone when she tried to book a flight back, reminding her that she couldn't leave without her passport, which he was holding hostage. With no other option, Tong Wei reluctantly got into a car with Xie Xiaofei.
As they drove towards the sea, they bickered; Tong Wei called him a "kid," and when he retaliated by calling her "Wei Wei," she demanded he call her "Sister." Xie Xiaofei joked that she was a baby to want to be called sister. She again tried to persuade him to return her passport and take her to the airport, but he refused, threatening to throw her passport away if she was "mean" to him again.
He then declared they would "chase the sun," hinting at their destination. They stopped at a scenic lookout point, where Xie Xiaofei candidly asked Tong Wei to be his girlfriend for three days, promising her complete freedom afterward. He explained that he had never fully had her to himself and wanted to use these three days to create unforgettable memories of their love before she left him.
He envisioned them as a "normal couple" during this time, allowing her to publicly be his girlfriend. Tong Wei expressed fear that after these three days, her heart would "hurt for the rest of [her] life." She questioned why he came back to bother her if they were destined to break up.
Xie Xiaofei insisted he wanted them to "love without holding anything back" and for her to "never be able to forget" him, aiming to be "the man she loved the most in her life," even if they couldn't be together. Tong Wei called him "very selfish."
Xie Xiaofei admitted he was a "jerk" and "selfish," then pressed her to admit she wanted a future from him, accusing her of pretending and being "afraid that [she'll] love [him] so much that [she] can't control [herself]." With tears in her eyes, Tong Wei asked him to just leave her.
Xie Xiaofei then revealed why he couldn't give her a home or a future: as the Xie Corporation's only heir, his family was "a mud pit" he didn't want her to be burdened by. He told her that the sick person she saw at the hospital was his mother, Wan Ying. His parents' marriage was opposed by the family because his father, Xie Tianyou, was from a wealthy background, while his mother had no family connections.
Despite his father's love, his mother's life became miserable after marriage. She was ostracized and ridiculed by the other women in the extended family. His mother frequently asked his father to let her work, but he refused, stating that women in the Xie family couldn't leave the house for work. During a family gathering, after drinking too much, his mother once again expressed her desire to work.
To save face, his father lashed out, threatening to cut all ties if she insisted on working. Unable to endure such a life, his mother left with her luggage and was tragically hit by a car, becoming a vegetable. Xie Xiaofei explained that his mother had been depressed since he could remember and then suffered a fate worse than death, remaining in a vegetative state for over a decade.
He described his family as a "black pit" that could destroy a proud woman like Tong Wei by mentally tormenting her, eroding her confidence, and turning an elite professional into someone feeling insignificant. He had witnessed his mother's gradual decline and didn't want Tong Wei to follow in those "disastrous footsteps." Tong Wei, deeply moved, questioned why he hadn't told her this earlier.
Xie Xiaofei replied that she was a proud woman, and he didn't want her to become like his mother or see her suffer. He asserted that "letting go is also a form of love." Since he couldn't offer her a future, he asked her to promise to be his "rightful girlfriend" for three days, to give their love "a beautiful ending," after which they would have nothing to do with each other. Moved by his confession, Tong Wei agreed.
After their emotional conversation, Tong Wei and Xie Xiaofei's playful bickering resumed as they struggled to find their guesthouse. They mistakenly drove to the beach, with Tong Wei exclaiming, "We almost drove into the ocean!" They blamed each other for the navigation error, Tong Wei questioning his choice of a guesthouse over a hotel, and Xie Xiaofei insisting on the guesthouse for its "love" factor.
Just as they were arguing about being lost and talking about love, Xie Xiaofei noticed his phone had regained a signal, and they were able to continue towards their accommodation. Upon learning that Xie Xiaofei had returned to the US and taken Tong Wei to Hawaii, Xie Tianyou was furious.
He accused his son of causing a spectacle during negotiations with Chen Xi and letting Tong Wei completely turn his head, abandoning his goals for the Chinese market "in the name of love." Xie Xiaotian expressed his own confusion about why his brother and Tong Wei were together again after breaking up. Xie Tianyou ordered Xie Xiaotian to find Xie Xiaofei at all costs and bring him back to apologize to Chen Xi.
Xie Xiaotian reported that Xie Xiaofei had cut off all ties, making him impossible to find, but Xie Tianyou insisted, "Use every connection we have. Find him!" Tong Tiantian and her best friend Xuan Xuan went to a restaurant where they saw Sun Hao performing on stage with his band. Tong Tiantian was captivated by him, remarking on how handsome he was and his talents beyond basketball.
Xuan Xuan, noticing Tong Tiantian's lack of confidence, urged her to confess her feelings. Tong Tiantian hesitated, not wanting to pursue the same guy as Rebecca, deeming it embarrassing and a "lower level." Xuan Xuan then revealed a "top secret" that Rebecca had confessed to Sun Hao but failed, suggesting this was proof of Sun Hao's good taste and that Tong Tiantian should "boldly go after him." After Sun Hao's performance, Tong Tiantian, still enchanted, let him walk away.
Xuan Xuan teased her, but Tong Tiantian, still too nervous to approach him directly, went to the eatery where Sun Hao and his band were having a late-night snack. She asked the boss what they had ordered every day and then ordered the exact same meal – a bowl of soy milk with fried bread sticks – for herself and Xuan Xuan, claiming that if her idol ate it without getting fat, neither would she.
Xuan Xuan questioned if she wanted to be his fangirl or his girlfriend, to which Tong Tiantian nervously promised to confess "next time." Driving their red sports car on a wide road, Xie Xiaofei and Tong Wei finally arrived at the correct address for the guesthouse. The host, Rita, enthusiastically greeted them, exclaiming her joy at their arrival and that she had been waiting all afternoon. She had prepared a delicious dinner for them.
Inside, they noticed a wall adorned with photos of previous couples who had stayed there, and they took a picture together to add to the collection. The atmosphere in the cozy cottage was sweet and romantic. Rita, curious about their love story, asked them to share it. Xie Xiaofei playfully began, describing how he rescued Tong Wei from "trouble" while she was jogging in New York, claiming she fell in love with him because he was "too charming."
Tong Wei immediately refuted his version, laughing as she revealed the "real" story: he was a doorman at her hotel, fell in love with her at first sight, and then arranged for a friend to play a thief in a "damsel in distress" scenario so he could be her hero. Xie Xiaofei defended his actions, saying "sometimes it's worth playing tricks for love."
Rita, amused, asked Tong Wei if she knew it was an act all along and then concluded Tong Wei must have also fallen in love with him at first sight to play along. The couple then playfully argued about who fell in love first. Rita interjected, stating it didn't matter who fell first, only that they loved each other and were together now, praising them as a sweet couple.
Tong Wei asked Rita about her husband, who was away on a business trip but called every night, prompting Rita to excuse herself to answer the "annoying" call. Left alone, Tong Wei reflected on the host couple's enduring sweetness. Xie Xiaofei immediately restarted their argument, insisting she was the one who fell for him first, and they continued to bicker playfully.
