Ode to Joy Episode 1 Recap
> Ode to Joy Recap
Ode to Joy is a mid-range residential community. Originally, units 2201 and 2203 on the 22nd floor of Building 19 were vacant, with only 2202 housing three young women sharing an apartment: Fan Shengmei, Guan Juer, and Qiu Yingying. Fan Shengmei, 30, is a senior HR at a foreign company, skilled in social etiquette, loyal, and determined to marry a wealthy man. However, those who like her are not wealthy, and the wealthy ones don't find her appealing.
With time slipping away, she, having become a 'leftover woman,' can only fight harder and harder on the path of blind dates. Guan Juer, 22, is currently an intern at a Fortune 500 company, a well-behaved girl from a good family, quiet and introverted. Her biggest wish now is to pass the year-end assessment and stay with the company. For this, she, who did not graduate from a prestigious university, has to put in more effort than others.
Qiu Yingying, 23, is an ordinary girl from a small city, a newcomer to the workplace, frank and straightforward but also simple-minded, and impulsive in her actions. Until one day, they welcomed new neighbors. Qu Xiaoxiao, 24, is a second-generation rich who returned from studying abroad. She is quirky, free-spirited, sharp, and seemingly cynical, but in fact, she is genuine and kind. She didn't return after completing her studies, but rather had her own plans.
This was because her father had a ex-wife and son before marrying her mother. Later, Qu's father prospered in business and, feeling guilty towards his ex-wife and son, he often bought luxury cars and villas for the two of them, never stingy with money. Qu Xiaoxiao's mother was very displeased about this and called Qu Xiaoxiao, who was abroad, to tell her the situation.
Qu Xiaoxiao, worried that her inheritance would be taken by her paternal half-brother, rushed back to China. To make her father think she was sensible, she asked her mother to buy her a small apartment in a mid-range community. Her mother bought her 2203 on the 22nd floor of Ode to Joy. That evening, Qu Xiaoxiao's disreputable friends gathered at her new home to throw a party to welcome her back.
The loud noise became unbearable for Guan Juer and the others, so they informed the property management. The property management knocked on Qu Xiaoxiao's door and asked her to turn down the music. Qu Xiaoxiao assured the property management that the party would end within ten minutes. Just as Qu Xiaoxiao was urging her friends to continue the party at a bar on the Bund, the police knocked on her door again.
After seeing off the police, Qu Xiaoxiao was furious. She angrily knocked on the door of 2202. Qiu Yingying and Guan Juer both stated that they had only told the property management, not called the police. Just as Qu Xiaoxiao was being relentless, Andy, who had newly moved into 2201, opened her door. She told Qu Xiaoxiao that she was the one who called the police, because according to Shanghai regulations, Qu Xiaoxiao's behavior constituted disturbing the peace.
She warned Qu Xiaoxiao that if there was a next time, she would immediately call the police. The next morning, Andy called her friend Tan Zongming, asking him to help her find a different apartment. Tan Zongming agreed without hesitation. It turned out that Tan Zongming, the president of Shengxuan Group, was Andy's long-time friend. Andy, a graduate of Columbia Business School, was originally a senior executive at a Wall Street investment firm.
Her return to China this time was at Tan Zongming's invitation. Her main purpose was to find her long-lost brother and, incidentally, help old Tan acquire Hongxing Group. Yao Bin told Qu Xiaoxiao that her brother had been in a car accident while driving a Lamborghini, and the car was totaled.
Qu Xiaoxiao, eager to impress her father, seized this opportunity and rushed home to tell her father that she needed a car, but that there was no need to waste money buying a new one, as the family's Polo car, used for grocery shopping, would suffice. Qu's father had just seen news about his son's car accident, which had completely wrecked the Lamborghini. He was filled with emotion and frankly said that a daughter was better.
Qu Xiaoxiao, having won her first battle, told Yao Bin about her victory. Yao Bin invited her to attend the opening ceremony of his friend's bar, MINT, and Qu Xiaoxiao accepted without hesitation. Fan Shengmei, at General Manager Lu's invitation, dressed up meticulously, intending to attend the MINT bar opening ceremony that evening in grand attire. She told Qiu Yingying that she was not going to the bar to have fun, but to find a rich husband.
Unfortunately, this conversation was overheard by the returning Qu Xiaoxiao. She disliked Fan Shengmei's snobbish appearance, walked over, and pretended to talk to Qiu Yingying, but was actually making veiled taunts to ridicule Fan Shengmei. After ridiculing Fan Shengmei, Qu Xiaoxiao was in a great mood. She went to the underground garage to drive her small Polo to the bar, but saw a Porsche in the garage.
After the driver got out, Qu Xiaoxiao was shocked and blurted out an expletive, because she never expected that this person was none other than Andy, who had warned her last night not to disturb her rest.
