Our Dazzling Days Episode 23 Recap
> Our Dazzling Days Recaps
Zhang Xiaoman returned to his old, quiet house alone, where the familiar, dusty furniture felt like a dull knife cutting through his heart, bringing him to the verge of tears. The silence was soon broken by Wang Tieda, who, having heard movement inside, came over to investigate. Seeing his old friend, Tieda embraced him with a mix of surprise and joy.
Tieda shared that he had closed his dance hall and was now living a steady life with Nana, and had switched to pedaling a reversed tricycle for work. Xiaoman presented Tieda with a high-quality helmet he had brought back from Japan, intending to return the motorcycle Tieda had lent him years ago. However, Tieda insisted he had no use for it anymore.
Despite the warm reunion, Tieda and Nana couldn't help but notice that Xiaoman seemed distracted and unsettled, wondering what he had endured during his years abroad. Later, Xiaoman visited his mentor’s wife, Zhou Huiying. She greeted him warmly, noting how much weight he had lost and how tanned he had become. She informed him that Ding Guoqiang was currently in Tiecheng, selling grilled chicken frames near Bainiao Square.
To save money on travel, Ding only returned home once a month, often staying in a shared rental to avoid the long commute. Zhou Huiying, eager to welcome Xiaoman back, offered to make him handmade dumplings. However, as Xiaoman took the flour basin, a piercing, sudden ringing erupted in his ears. His hands trembled, and the basin crashed to the floor. Though Xiaoman tried to dismiss it as a simple accident, Zhou Huiying was deeply unsettled.
She immediately sought out Tong Guizhen, hoping she could help figure out what was wrong with him. Tormented by worsening auditory hallucinations that felt like a swarm of bees trapped in his skull, Xiaoman wandered through the dilapidated factory grounds. He passed the remains of the old dance hall, a somber reminder of past prosperity. Nearby, he saw Tieda being teased by customers while pedaling his tricycle, a sight that filled him with a quiet sorrow.
Realizing his unstable condition made it dangerous to operate a motor vehicle, Xiaoman officially returned the motorcycle to Tieda. Tieda reiterated that he now preferred his tricycle, as it saved on gas and gave him a good workout, making it a more practical tool for his business. Soon after, Tong Guizhen arrived at Xiaoman’s house with a bowl of fresh handmade noodles her husband had prepared.
She found Xiaoman in a worrying state, whispering to empty air and appearing to listen to voices no one else could hear. Worried about his condition, especially since he slept with his shoes on because he was constantly getting up to answer non-existent knocks at the door, Tong Guizhen brought along a former colleague, a director from the factory health clinic. During the examination, Xiaoman admitted to hearing constant, chaotic noises—voices, cars, and sudden bangs—that made it impossible to sleep.
The doctor observed that while there was no physical damage to his ears, Xiaoman was likely suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, triggered by his near-drowning incidents, both as a child and more recently in Japan. She emphasized that he needed to be admitted to Anning Hospital for a comprehensive evaluation and treatment. On the way to Anning Hospital, Xiaoman’s condition flared up again.
The overwhelming hallucinations left him panicked and disoriented, nearly causing him to wander into the path of oncoming traffic. At the hospital, the doctor provided a detailed diagnosis, confirming that Xiaoman was suffering from a hallucinatory mental illness requiring ongoing treatment, with his past traumas acting as a trigger factor. Meanwhile, Ding Guoqiang was facing his own troubles. Near the train station, city inspectors were chasing him for illegal vending.
Despite Ding’s pleas and his attempt to offer Hongtashan cigarettes as a peace offering, the officers insisted on confiscating his cart, claiming he was ruining the city’s image. In a desperate act of defiance, the elderly man sat on the ground and clung to the wheels of his bicycle. Xiaoman happened upon the scene and intervened just as the confrontation reached its peak.
Seeing his student, Ding was so moved that he abandoned the cart entirely and led Xiaoman back to his cramped rental. There, Ding proudly introduced Xiaoman to his fellow laborers as his prized apprentice returned from Japan, like an old father showing off his own son. That evening, the group pooled their meager resources to buy meat and Snow Beer, hosting a small barbecue in the yard.
They drank and sang loudly, their spirits high, until the landlord arrived to scold them for the excessive smoke and noise. As the night wore on, Ding sat privately with Xiaoman, expressing the deep pain he felt during the years they were out of touch and how he worried about Xiaoman's experiences. He confessed that if he had ever had enough money, he would have rushed to Japan to find him, even dragging him back.
Feeling the weight of this profound fatherly love, Xiaoman reached into his pocket and handed Ding a bottle of Japanese male enhancement medicine, hinting it was similar to the vitality shots Ding used to receive. Ding was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter through tears, quickly hiding the gift from his wife's potential knowledge. For a brief moment, surrounded by the lively songs of the workers, Xiaoman found himself able to smile, a long-lost expression.
The following morning, Xiaoman went to the East Chemical Plant office to handle his medical reimbursement. There, he met Sun Lulu, who now handled Finance, HR, and former labor relations after the departments merged. She looked on with sympathy as she explained that the plant was in a dire financial state, with a long backlog of unpaid claims, and many old patients had to pay out of pocket.
Lulu mentioned how their other classmates were struggling, with some selling grilled corn or moving away, and sadly shared that Baldy Song had passed away after tragically choking to death during a business dinner with clients. As they spoke, urgent news arrived that Ding Guoqiang had been detained at the security office by the main gate.
Frustrated by the confiscation of his cart, Ding, in a defiant act, had hung his "Ding's Grilled Chicken Frames" advertisement banner high up on a street lamp near the station. Captain Leng questioned him for picking quarrels and provoking trouble, but Ding stubbornly denied the charge, even claiming his banner had been stolen.
Xiaoman arrived and immediately took the blame, claiming he had used a pole to hang the banner in a drunken fit of anger over how the city inspectors treated his mentor. Xiaoman presented his mental health diagnosis from Anning Hospital, a report explicitly stating "Complex PTSD," arguing that his condition caused him to act out.
Despite Captain Leng’s warning that such an admission would lead to at least 15 days' detention for picking quarrels and provoking trouble, Xiaoman stood firm, unwilling to let his mentor, an elderly war hero, face punishment for damaging the city's image project. As Xiaoman was led away to the bureau for further questioning, Ding was left standing in the street, filled with self-reproach and cursing his own impulsiveness, devastated by the sacrifice his student had made.
