Nothing But Thirty Episode 23 Recap
> Nothing But Thirty Recap
Chen Yu directly asked Zhong Xiaoqin if she and Zhong Xiaoyang were together. Zhong Xiaoqin paused, considering how she hadn't given Zhong Xiaoyang a clear answer during their hot air balloon ride. Chen Yu realized he no longer had the right to restrict her, understanding that their distance would only grow. Wang Manni reached out to Zhong Xiaoqin, asking to meet.
Though Liang Zhengxian claimed he would settle in Shanghai, he hadn't committed to marriage, which Wang Manni suspected was merely an excuse to keep her from going to Hong Kong. Zhong Xiaoqin was also troubled by her own situation. At thirty, she felt she was no longer young. While a younger man pursuing her was flattering, and she didn't dislike Zhong Xiaoyang, she worried he might not be serious about their potential relationship, fearing both commitment and the lack thereof.
Chen Yu's focus at work suffered due to his divorce, leading to an editing error where Xiamen footage was mistakenly used for a trade zone conference video. His supervisor, Ms. Lu, informed him that upper management, finding a suggested three-day suspension and three-month pay cut insufficient, decided to remove him from the frontline. He was to be suspended for ten days and then transferred to a different department.
Despite Chen Yu's plea to stay in news, offering to accept any pay cut, Ms. Lu explained her inability to change management's decision, advising him to accept it and sign the transfer. Meanwhile, Lin Youyou continued to send Xu Huanshan pictures of delicious food. Xu Huanshan always smiled broadly when he saw her WeChat messages, but quickly deleted the chat history.
Gu Jia, already overly cautious about a recent flu outbreak and insisting on extensive disinfection at home and keeping their son, Zi Yan, from kindergarten, noticed Xu Huanshan's peculiar happiness. That night, she secretly checked his phone but found no unusual messages, only her own as the most recent, which intensified her suspicion that he was hiding something. During a gathering, Wang Manni took Gu Jia and Zhong Xiaoqin to her ex-boyfriend Jiang Chen's coffee shop.
She continued to express her frustration with Liang Zhengxian, who had been delaying his return to Shanghai. After she blocked him on WeChat out of exasperation, he only called to ask for more patience, which she found excessive. Gu Jia confided in her friends about her growing unease regarding Xu Huanshan.
She recounted how he had reacted with an uncharacteristic bright smile to a WeChat message the day before, only for the message to disappear when she checked his phone later. Gu Jia had a strong premonition of infidelity but lacked proof. Both Wang Manni and Zhong Xiaoqin tried to reassure her, urging her not to overthink things and become overly sensitive.
Jiang Chen, the café owner, then shared his philosophy on coffee roasting, likening the necessary seven-day resting period for beans to the idea that "many things can't be rushed." At the office, an awkward tension persisted between Zhong Xiaoqin and Zhong Xiaoyang after her recent rejection. Colleagues openly speculated about a quarrel, noticing their changed habits, like identical low step counts on WeChat and no longer leaving work together.
Zhong Xiaoqin, annoyed by the gossip and finding a gift of oolong tea from Zhong Xiaoyang under her desk, grew increasingly frustrated with him, feeling he acted on impulse. A few days later, Zhong Xiaoqin went to her driving lessons, still irritated that Zhong Xiaoyang, who had originally suggested and promised to accompany her to learn to drive a stick shift, was now nowhere to be found.
As she complained to her coach, Zhong Xiaoyang appeared in the car, revealing he and the coach were good friends. Zhong Xiaoqin questioned why he had ignored her. Zhong Xiaoyang explained he needed time to think about his next steps. Zhong Xiaoqin then asked if any of his previous five girlfriends were older than him. He admitted they weren't, leading her to accuse him of only being curious about dating an older woman.
Zhong Xiaoyang earnestly defended his feelings, praising her unique, resilient nature, likening her to clouds that never seek to be the main character and can always self-repair. He acknowledged the difficulties of their situation, including their office romance and her ex-husband, but promised to handle all challenges if she would simply accept him. Zhong Xiaoqin confessed her fears, explaining that with age, she now evaluates decisions based on "time and effort," unlike her younger self who pursued anything desired.
She worried if she would be a "time and effort consumer" for him. Later, Zhao Jingyu returned to Wang Manni's store to cause trouble. When Wang Manni refused to serve her, Zhao Jingyu threatened to file a complaint and then slapped her in front of customers and colleagues. Humiliated, Wang Manni tearfully told Zhao Jingyu that she loved Liang Zhengxian for himself, not his money, and would be with him even if he became penniless.
That evening, her store manager compassionately advised her against impulsively quitting. She explained that while their profession is often misjudged, their work is respectable, and Manni shouldn't throw away her livelihood while her relationship was uncertain. A colleague of Chen Yu's, referred to as Brother Man, brought Zhong Xiaoqin a special green cake from Singapore, a gift Chen Yu had specifically requested for her.
Through this interaction, Zhong Xiaoqin was shocked to learn that Chen Yu had been suspended from work and his position changed. Brother Man elaborated that Chen Yu's ambition and clashes with producers had led to his current plight, where he was excluded by colleagues. He suggested Chen Yu apologize to the producer to try and regain his old position. Zhong Xiaoqin returned home to find Chen Yu lethargic and the room filled with smoke.
She tried to provoke him into action by deliberately adding hot water and fish food into his fish tank, knowing how much he cared for his fish. Chen Yu reacted, angrily stopping her and telling her to take her anger out on him, not his fish. Zhong Xiaoqin then tried a gentler approach, telling him a story about African Lungfish that survive dry seasons by burying themselves and re-emerge in the rain.
She encouraged him, saying he was like one of these fish, currently forced into the mud but capable of perseverance. Chen Yu, however, responded cynically, pointing out the harsh realities and high mortality rate of lungfish, claiming survival was "all fate, all luck." Zhong Xiaoqin countered that luck still required action, like buying a lottery ticket, and warned him about his smoking impacting his health and his fish.
Moved by her concern, Chen Yu suddenly confessed his regret over the divorce, admitting his impulsiveness and asking if they still had a chance. As Zhong Xiaoqin processed his words, her phone buzzed continuously with messages from Zhong Xiaoyang. Meanwhile, representatives from Beijing Park visited Xu Huanshan's company, commending his fireworks show for its success and proposing a contract for the next half-year. Lin Youyou was among the visiting staff, her admiration for Xu Huanshan palpable.
That evening, Xu Huanshan invited Lin Youyou to dinner, intending to set boundaries. He thanked her for the food pictures but firmly stated his marriage and responsibility solely to his wife, Gu Jia, who he credited for all his achievements. Lin Youyou, however, challenged his perception, suggesting he and Gu Jia were fundamentally different.
She implied that he was living in a shell, constrained by Gu Jia's expectations, unable to indulge in simple pleasures or express his true self, merely "acting in a role she gave him." Her words clearly resonated with Xu Huanshan, unsettling him.
