Please Classmate Episode 19 Recap
> Please Classmate Recap
The episode opens with classmates gathering to bid farewell to Ye Jingxi, who is leaving the country. Everyone expresses their reluctance to see him go. Ye Jingxi light-heartedly tells Yuan Caixi that he would stay if she didn’t want him to leave, and he promises to return soon, as there is someone important to him still there. Li He teasingly tells Ye Jingxi to study hard abroad and not return, to which Ye Jingxi retorts about Li He's meanness.
Ye Jingxi asks Yuan Caixi to call him if she misses him, offering to book her a flight and act as her bodyguard. Yuan Caixi reciprocates, telling him to call them if he misses everyone. Ning Zeyu and Ye Jingxi exchange pleasantries, with Ye Jingxi warning Ning Zeyu to report any bullying from Li He towards Yuan Caixi, threatening to come back and teach Li He a lesson, much to Li He’s annoyance.
Yuan Caixi, too, expresses how much she will miss her brother, Ye Jingxi, as they all wish him a safe journey and urge him to keep in touch. Later, during morning exercises, students complain about the continued physical training despite being in the review stage for exams. A classmate wonders why Lin Chuan is leading the exercises for three days instead of Li He, who has been training alone, finding it strange.
Yuan Caixi suddenly faints after the run and is rushed to the infirmary by Ning Zeyu. In the infirmary, Han Yayi informs a recovering Yuan Caixi that Ning Zeyu carried her there. Ning Zeyu explains that the school doctor believes Yuan Caixi is overly tired and hasn't rested enough, also noting her sparse lunch. Yuan Caixi dismisses it as merely standing up too quickly.
Meanwhile, Han Yayi finds Li He, who is training intensely, and tells him about Yuan Caixi fainting. Rushing back to the classroom, Li He confronts Yuan Caixi about not informing him of her injury. He takes her phone, setting three daily alarms for meals and demanding she send him photos of her dinner. Li He expresses deep concern, listing her past clumsy incidents, and insists she eat regularly. Yuan Caixi agrees to his terms.
She then hands him study materials, mentioning he has missed class for several days, and asks him to review them at home. Li He, after thanking her as "monitor," unexpectedly invites her to dinner. Yuan Caixi is left pondering Li He's dinner invitation, unsure if her neither accepting nor refusing response means it's a date. She consults her younger brother, Yuan Haoxi, who is practicing guitar. Hypothetically, she asks him what he would do in such a situation.
Yuan Haoxi quickly suspects Li He is the one who asked her out. He advises that if he genuinely wished to treat the girl, he would assume she accepted; otherwise, he'd take it as a refusal. Yuan Haoxi tries to grab her phone to call Li He for clarification, but Yuan Caixi snatches it back. He then teases her by singing, prompting her to angrily kick him out of her room and lock the door.
Alone, Yuan Caixi types and deletes several messages to Li He, unable to decide what to send. Later, Yuan Haoxi discusses Yuan Caixi's "abnormal" behavior with their mother, initially attributing it to "the unreasonable days of girls" before suggesting it might be pre-exam anxiety, advising their mother to give Yuan Caixi some space. Eventually, Li He arrives outside Yuan Caixi's window, inviting her out. When she hesitates, he playfully threatens to climb up and carry her down.
Yuan Caixi, after trying on several outfits and fixing her hair, finally joins him. Yuan Haoxi, seeing her, compliments her beauty and relays their mother’s instruction for them to eat out. Li He takes Yuan Caixi to a fried chicken shop, where he points out that the shop's name shares her last name, expressing how seeing any part of her name makes him feel "cordial." Yuan Caixi jokingly asks if he feels the same way about "Yuan Shih-kai."
He helps her with the fried chicken, which she enjoys. Their outing continues with a visit to an accessories shop and a claw machine, where Li He wins a plushie for her. Next, they watch a horror movie, but it is Li He who is terrified and seeks comfort from Yuan Caixi. Afterwards, he asks her to train with him, requesting her to be his "coach."
Yuan Caixi initially resists, but Li He insists, putting a resistance band on her, stating that senior year demands both intelligence and physical strength, and questioning if she wants to lose to Ning Zeyu in both. They engage in a "spring run" training together. During the training, he reveals it's his 18th birthday and thanks her for a wonderful day. He also informs her of his upcoming match next Saturday and his intensive training.
Yuan Caixi playfully warns him that if he doesn't win first place, she'll tell everyone to make him feel ashamed. Li He then asks her to come to his match, explaining that seeing her at the finish line would make him run faster because she is "his finishing line." Yuan Caixi then surprises Li He by singing "Happy Birthday" to him, just as Ning Zeyu arrives and witnesses the scene. Li He walks Yuan Caixi home.
As they approach her house, they both call out each other's names simultaneously. Yuan Caixi confirms she will attend his match at No. 2 Experimental Middle School next Saturday. Yuan Haoxi emerges from the house, annoyed by their prolonged goodbyes and repeated mentions of the birthday and the match. He pulls Yuan Caixi inside, urging her to come home. Before she enters, Li He reminds her to come to the match.
Yuan Caixi, visibly happy, bids him goodbye, and both continue to smile even after she has gone inside. Later, Han Yayi calls Yuan Caixi to report on her conversation with Lin Chuan about Li He. While she couldn't extract the full secret, she confirms two things: Li He was genuinely just chatting with the junior from the track and field team, and he is indeed hiding something from Yuan Caixi.
Yuan Caixi, no longer teasing, reveals that she knows Li He's secret but cannot share it with Han Yayi. Han Yayi expresses frustration at being kept in the dark by everyone. Li He returns to a dark house, but his parents surprise him by emerging with a cake and singing "Happy Birthday" for his 18th birthday. His father jokingly claims to have found him in a trash can 18 years ago.
Li He cuts the cake, offering the first piece to his mother, acknowledging her "suffering day," and the second to his father as the "head of the family," before taking his own. His mother then mentions that Ning Zeyu visited earlier, saying he had something important to tell Li He. His father suggests Li He take a piece of cake to Ning Zeyu, emphasizing the importance of sharing joy with friends.
Li He tries to decline, stating that Ning Zeyu doesn't eat sweets, but his mother insists it's a matter of politeness. Following his parents' advice, Li He takes a piece of cake to Ning Zeyu's house. Ning Zeyu answers the door and acts distant, denying Li He's claim of brotherhood, saying they were "plastic brothers" last month.
Li He asks why Ning Zeyu had sought him out earlier, but Ning Zeyu claims he forgot and doesn't want to think about it further. He then refuses the cake, stating he doesn't like sugar, "especially the one from others." Li He asks if Ning Zeyu went to the school earlier, implying he saw Li He and Yuan Caixi together. Ning Zeyu gives an ambiguous reply, "Would I see something if I went to the school?"
He then wishes Li He a happy birthday and declares his intention to seriously prepare for the college entrance exam to "take back the first place," before abruptly wishing Li He good night and closing the door, leaving Li He bewildered. In class a few days later, students again lament the quick passing of another week. A student invites Ning Zeyu to a lecture, but he states he has already attended it.
When invited to have barbecue after evening classes, Ning Zeyu declines, and even when offered other options like dessert, hotpot, or singing, he makes an excuse and leaves. A student speculates that Yuan Caixi might be tired from a recent test, to which Ning Zeyu cryptically responds, "It’s not your fault. You will know." Another student asks Ning Zeyu if he knows what's happening, and he replies, "I’ve been her classmate for three years.
Do you think if I know it or not?" The student finds his behavior very strange. In the final scene, Yuan Haoxi returns home and calls for his mother, but there is no response.
