Only Side by Side with You Episode 10 Recap
> Only Side by Side with You Recap
The new product test meeting for Future Up was underway, but Chang Jianxiong was noticeably absent. Wen Di called him to inquire about his whereabouts, and he explained he had been delayed by an important matter. His mind was preoccupied with a recent encounter where Brother Tai had revealed details about Shi Yue's past relationship with An Jie, hinting at a rivalry over power and women.
By the time Chang Jianxiong arrived at the Future Up building, Nan Qiao and Shi Yue had already driven off together. Wen Di questioned why he didn't pursue them, but Chang Jianxiong simply suggested they go for a drink instead. In the car, Nan Qiao spoke to Shi Yue about her childhood, describing Chang Jianxiong as her "little security guard" who harbored animosity towards any man who approached her.
Shi Yue remarked that her constant mentions of Chang Jianxiong made him feel like a third party. Nan Qiao playfully dismissed this, stating that Shi Yue hadn't even entered their social circle yet, let alone qualified as a third party. She then expressed her desire for Future Up not to become a battleground for their rivalry.
Shi Yue, in his thoughts, acknowledged that their true competition was not for the company, but for Nan Qiao herself, though he kept this unspoken. Chang Jianxiong and Wen Di settled down for drinks at a sky bridge. Wen Di, with a direct gaze, asked Chang Jianxiong how deeply he felt for Nan Qiao, startling him so much he spat out his drink.
She encouraged him to be bold and confess his feelings, emphasizing that only by speaking them aloud could there be any possibility of their relationship progressing. However, Chang Jianxiong insisted he first needed to confirm if Nan Qiao liked him, and only then would he naturally express his feelings. Wen Di chuckled, admitting she couldn't comprehend such "straight male thinking" and subtly implied his passive approach was causing him to lose opportunities.
He then asked her to compare him and Shi Yue. Wen Di candidly described Shi Yue as a wild and unrestrained "bad student" who dared to try new things and would likely declare his love early on, while Chang Jianxiong was a rule-abiding "model student" who couldn't even say "I like you." She concluded there was no comparison between them. Chang Jianxiong then pressed her, asking who she would choose.
Wen Di deftly avoided a direct answer, instead urging him to fight passionately for love. She noted that everyone clearly saw him and Shi Yue as love rivals, but Chang Jianxiong countered that their competition was purely a business one, asserting that only businessmen were justified in using unscrupulous methods. He explained that his decision not to pursue Nan Qiao and Shi Yue earlier was to show he didn't believe there was anything significant between them.
His investment in Future Up, he claimed, was solely to protect it from harm. With that, he declared it was time for him to find his own trump card. Wen Di then asked when his feelings for Nan Qiao began. Chang Jianxiong reminisced about a childhood memory: when Nan Qiao's father had locked her in a dark room, he had folded a paper airplane and flown it in.
Her joyful laughter at that moment made him vow to keep her smiling forever. Nan Qiao and Shi Yue arrived at a grassy field to test their new drone prototype. Two sleek drones, one black and one white, gracefully ascended and soared freely, controlled effortlessly by a mobile phone.
Nan Qiao mused that for users, the ultimate experience would be a drone that required no phone at all, one that could move purely "according to one's heart," unburdened by operating systems. As they relaxed on the grass, Nan Qiao shared her long-held wish to gift her father a drone for his birthday, hoping to make him proud. Yet, she felt that the harder she tried, the further away she got from her goal.
Shi Yue advised her that family was for companionship, not for competition, and that setting a "destination" for family relationships only led to disappointment if not reached. He then shared his most cherished moment: the time he was running away with Nan Qiao from a gangster in an underground car park, thrilled to find someone who could keep pace with him. Nan Qiao listened intently, a deep connection forming between them.
Later, Shi Yue and Nan Qiao visited an artisan named Mr. Chen who specialized in carvings. With Nan Qiao's father's birthday approaching, Shi Yue encouraged her to give him the drone as a gift and have a meaningful word engraved on it. He also asked Nan Qiao to name his own drone. After some thought, she wrote down "Bandit," which Shi Yue recognized as perfectly suiting him, and he requested Mr. Chen to carve it.
That evening, at his bar, Lucid Dream, Shi Yue personally mixed a cocktail called "ABS" for Hao Jie. Hao Jie, impressed by Shi Yue's bartending skills, joked that he was putting professional bartenders out of business. He then tasted the drink, describing it as "simple, rough, and direct enough, with a bit of sweetness behind the bitterness," like a man's inner heart.
Hao Jie, noticing Shi Yue's unusually good mood, speculated if it was because Chang Jianxiong had refused to collaborate with Brother Tai. Shi Yue acknowledged that Chang Jianxiong had shown a certain level of principle but suggested two possibilities for his refusal: either Chang Jianxiong possessed incriminating evidence against him and didn't need Brother Tai, or he simply wasn't interested in Brother Tai's information.
Shi Yue cautioned Hao Jie to prepare for the worst, leading Hao Jie to understand he needed to investigate Chang Jianxiong's hidden cards. The next morning, Hao Jie went to Ouyang Qi's pet shop, where she was busy bathing a dog. Ouyang Qi remained cool and dismissive towards Hao Jie's flirtatious demeanor. As she snatched a towel from him, her phone accidentally fell into the water.
Hao Jie immediately offered to help, assuring her that even if the phone was broken, he could recover all her data. Ouyang Qi, however, reacted with fury, grabbing her phone back and angrily driving him out of the shop. Later, Ouyang Qi sought solace at an arcade, where Nan Qiao and Chang Jianxiong found her. Ouyang Qi had been the girlfriend of Nan Qiao's deceased brother, Nan Si, who had passed away three years prior.
Nan Qiao, in an attempt to help Ouyang Qi move on, sternly told her not to buy her father a birthday gift this year. She explained that Ouyang Qi was no longer Nan Si's fiancée or her father's future daughter-in-law and therefore had no obligation to the Nan family, though she and Chang Jianxiong would always remain her friends. Ouyang Qi, visibly hurt, left the arcade and returned to her pet shop.
There, she was overcome with sadness, recalling a poignant memory from the same arcade. She remembered meeting Nan Si, Chang Jianxiong, and Nan Qiao there for the first time, playing games and forming an unexpected bond. Nan Si had affectionately teased her about her energetic movements during a racing game and openly expressed his deep affection for her, a sentiment Ouyang Qi had clearly reciprocated.
