Only Side by Side with You Episode 1 Recap
> Only Side by Side with You Recap
The bustling nightlife of Shanghai provided a stunning backdrop, but for Nan Qiao, co-founder of Future Up, the evening was spent under the plain white lights of her lab, engrossed in her passion: drone research. A second-generation elite whose father was a retired general, Nan Qiao had studied in Germany since she was sixteen, dedicating herself entirely to drone development. However, her brilliance in engineering contrasted sharply with her social awkwardness.
Currently, her company faced a severe financial bottleneck, with their main control unit's supplier suddenly backing out and demanding ¥20 million upfront. All company funds had been directed towards multi-rotor drone research and development, leaving them in a bind. Wen Di, Nan Qiao's best friend and the company's external affairs manager, had exhausted all avenues. Most investors had either refused to meet or expressed reservations about their business prospects.
Finally, she managed to secure a meeting with Hou Yue and Ji Ming from Yufeng Capital, but they insisted on meeting Nan Qiao personally at midnight at the Lucid Dream bar. Knowing Nan Qiao's eccentric personality—she could design core drone components in three days but struggled to spend three hours with a stranger—Wen Di reluctantly informed her.
She gave Nan Qiao cash for the bar, warning her that such places could be expensive, and even provided stomach medicine to protect her from drinking too much. Wen Di constantly reminded Nan Qiao to smile and urged her to remember the investors' names. Nan Qiao, for her part, brought one of her drones in a suitcase, considering it her "amulet." Wen Di worried Nan Qiao wouldn't even know how to enter the bar.
Upon arrival, Nan Qiao, unsure of the main entrance, found herself in the underground parking garage. There, she stumbled upon a tense standoff between several armed men and a handsome man, Shi Yue, who was the owner of the Lucid Dream bar. Shi Yue, calm and collected, was asserting his "rules" against the men who claimed to be acting on behalf of "Sister An."
When Nan Qiao approached, asking for directions to the bar, the men mistook her drone case for "goods" she was delivering to Shi Yue, even suspecting her of being with the police because of her white blouse and canvas shoes. Nan Qiao, oblivious to the danger, opened her case and launched her drone. The men, thinking it was a surveillance device, frantically tried to swat it down.
Observing the chaotic scene, Shi Yue seized the opportunity, shedding his coat to expertly dispatch the assailants. He then caught up with Nan Qiao, who had retrieved her drone and was trying to flee. Together, they took the elevator upstairs to the bar. Inside, Nan Qiao found the private room A12 and introduced herself as "Future Up's Nan Qiao." Hou Yue and Ji Ming greeted her, expressing how rare it was to meet her personally instead of Wen Di.
Nan Qiao attempted to present her project plan and discuss follow-up funding, but the investors insisted on drinking first. They praised her "alcohol tolerance" and continuously plied her with more wine, quickly getting her half-drunk. Shi Yue, who had been tracking his phone after Nan Qiao inadvertently took it with her suitcase, entered the room.
A heavily inebriated Nan Qiao tried to pay the bill for the ¥2,998 wine, offering ¥3,000, but Shi Yue pointed out the 15% service fee meant it wasn't enough. Just then, Hou Yue quickly concluded that Nan Qiao's project timeframe was too long and promised to "calculate it" and "contact her again," before he and Ji Ming abruptly departed. Shi Yue then took charge of the stumbling Nan Qiao, guiding her to his car.
She mistook it for the taxi she had called. During the drive, she complained about his driving and ended up vomiting in his car. At her apartment building, she struggled with the fingerprint lock, and Shi Yue helped her get inside. The next morning, Nan Qiao awoke on her sofa, horrified to find Shi Yue still in her apartment. She repeatedly asked who he was, then tried to call the police when he teased her.
After a series of confused recollections, she labeled him as a "mafia boss," "bar waiter," and "driver." Shi Yue clarified he was the boss of Lucid Dream and reminded her she hadn't paid enough for her drinks and had vomited in his car. She demanded he leave, but he explained that he couldn't; she had held onto him, locked the door, and his phone was still locked inside her drone's suitcase.
He also revealed that he had looked through her drone research notes while she was passed out, which included details on "indoor hover technology" and "BVR (beyond visual range) flight," noting they were based on "Dr. Thyssen Friedrich's dissertation." Nan Qiao, in a drunken stupor, had also mumbled about her failures and the company's financial troubles. Nan Qiao plugged in Shi Yue's phone to charge, and he called for a pickup, stating he didn't want to drive his vomited-in car.
Hungry, they shared instant noodles with orange juice. Shi Yue noticed she didn't know how to share and asked if she had siblings; she replied she lived alone. He then asked how she planned to compensate him for the car. She offered to write an IOU for his insurance company, which she signed "Nan Qiao." Shi Yue half-jokingly suggested she could use her "invaluable" flying drone if she couldn't pay.
She proudly demonstrated her self-made drone's carbon fiber material and high rotation speed, correcting his dark humor about its potential for harm by asserting its safety. As he prepared to leave, he left the IOU with his phone number, stating he already knew her name and address, adding, "Who knows? Maybe you'll need me." Shortly after leaving Nan Qiao's apartment, Shi Yue met with his partner, Qie Hao. Qie Hao playfully suggested Shi Yue was interested in Nan Qiao.
Shi Yue instructed Qie Hao to "settle" Hou Yue and Ji Ming from Yufeng Capital. He explained that Nan Qiao's investment plan had to fail. When Qie Hao questioned why he wouldn't help a girl he was pursuing, Shi Yue revealed his strategy: "In order to capture something, you'll have to let it go first." He wanted to "push her to desperation, and then have her chase after him."
He ordered Qie Hao to use "Sister An's" name to inform Hou Yue and Ji Ming that they were not to provide any money to Nan Qiao. Later that day, Nan Qiao was on a pedestrian bridge, helping a young boy fix his broken drone. She carefully repaired a crack in the camera connector and gave him advice on safe landings.
As the drone soared high, Nan Qiao glanced across the cityscape and saw her fiancé, Zhou Ran, embracing another woman, Xia Jing, on a nearby bridge. A massive digital billboard across from them displayed the message: "Zhou Ran and Xia Jing in love for 99 days."
A flood of memories washed over her: Zhou Ran publicly announcing his investment in Future Up as a shareholder, supporting her dream, and proposing with a diamond ring, asking her to take her time with her answer. Overwhelmed, Nan Qiao immediately called Zhou Ran. He answered, lying that he had just left the office and was with co-workers, needing to discuss things with a client, and assuring her he'd be home late. Nan Qiao, her voice firm, simply said, "Zhou Ran, let's break up."
