Resumo do episódio 7 de The Company
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Chan Er lived in seclusion, burdened by a deep sense of inferiority. Despite an invitation from the refined Young Master Jiang Ling to the prestigious Liuyun poetry gathering, she hesitated, believing her humble status and plain appearance made her unworthy. A Nuan, the spirit of the Mermaid Candle, gently encouraged her, providing an exquisite gown and jewelry.
A Nuan insisted that most beauties are merely the result of fine dressing and warned Chan Er to return early, as the night roads were treacherous. Chan Er also mentioned that the officer who had previously harassed her had been found dead. A Nuan dismissed the man as a villain who met his rightful end, promising to always protect her. Carrying the token Jiang Ling had given her, Chan Er arrived at the pleasure boat hosting the gathering.
However, she secretly witnessed Jiang Ling’s true, brutal nature. He was ruthlessly punishing a girl named Yan Yan and her lover, Mr. Chen. Despite Yan Yan's desperate pleas to work for him forever to save her lover, Jiang Ling remained cold, even trying to force her to kill Chen herself. When the situation escalated, Jiang Ling ordered his men to sever Yan Yan’s arm.
Terrified by the horror, Chan Er accidentally made a sound and was forced to dive into the water to escape, leaving her token behind. The next morning, Yan Yan’s severed hand—identified by her bracelet—was found by the lake. Shaken by the sight while washing clothes, Chan Er returned to her workplace, the Spring Cloud Pavilion, where Jiang Ling intercepted her. He presented the token she had dropped at the scene, using veiled threats about her "fragile health" to intimidate her.
Meanwhile, Bi Zhi and Su Beilu arrived at the pavilion searching for the Mermaid Candle. Learning Chan Er had left, they obtained her address—a house near a crooked willow tree by the western lotus pond—and hurried to find her. Back at home, Chan Er urged A Nuan to flee with her, but she found A Nuan preparing a lethal poison from flowers. A Nuan argued that they had to strike first against a hypocrite like Jiang Ling to survive.
During their heated argument, A Nuan confessed a dark truth: the food, the jewelry, and even the beautiful dress Chan Er wore to the gathering had all been stolen by her. Furthermore, A Nuan admitted to killing the officer. Horrified by A Nuan’s ruthlessness, Chan Er recoiled, but A Nuan insisted everything was for her sake, comparing her actions to the mud that allows a lotus to bloom. Before they could reconcile, Jiang Ling’s men set the house on fire.
Trapped in the inferno, A Nuan held Chan Er close, promising to stay with her until the end. Bi Zhi and Su Beilu arrived just in time, with Su Beilu rushing into the flames to pull Chan Er to safety. When she regained consciousness, Chan Er was still desperately calling for A Nuan. Bi Zhi, however, revealed a sobering truth: A Nuan was never real.
She was a manifestation of hope and a psychological defense mechanism Chan Er had hallucinated during her years of suffering. Su Beilu confirmed that he had found no one else inside the burning house. As Chan Er finally accepted the reality of her past, the vision of A Nuan faded away forever. To help Chan Er escape Jiang Ling’s reach, Bi Zhi and Su Beilu staged her death by placing sheep bones in the ruins of her home.
Chan Er decided to leave and start a new life, gifting the Mermaid Candle to Bi Zhi as a final farewell. As they departed, Bi Zhi reminisced about his old friend, Qin Ziyi. He recalled a night of drinking where Ziyi expressed a longing for freedom despite being trapped in political reforms.
Not long after that night, a maid named Caiwei brought news that Ziyi had been framed for the death of the Second Young Master and placed under house arrest. Bi Zhi realized with a heavy heart that their night under the stars had been their final meeting. Returning to the present, Su Beilu noticed Bi Zhi’s clothes were healing themselves through nanobots.
Bi Zhi felt a wave of caution; if Su Beilu was not Ziyi’s reincarnation, it was too dangerous to keep involving him in these journeys. Stepping through a portal, they arrived in the year 2021 to begin their next chapter.
