Rattan Episode 18 Recap
> Rattan Recap
As Si Teng awoke, she found Qin Fang holding her hand, his gaze full of worry. Noting she was still feverish, he offered to prepare hot water to soak her feet. Unaccustomed to such care, Si Teng dismissed him for privacy. Once alone, she was startled to discover small white flowers blooming on her fingers. The next morning, feeling better, Si Teng instructed Yan Furui to arrange a car to Changming Academy.
Jia Guizhi then approached, requesting to be freed from the Rattan Kill. She wished to remain in Darna to be with her deceased husband, Zhao Jianglong, who was buried at her old home. Si Teng granted her freedom, telling her to forget Bai Ying. After she left, Yan Furui expressed concern over Si Teng's plan to integrate with Bai Ying, citing Bai Ying's cruelty towards the Jia family. Si Teng remained silent.
Later, at the airport, a young woman flirted with Qin Fang as he retrieved luggage. Observing this, Si Teng impatiently urged him to hurry, remarking that good-looking men are never short of company. Upon arriving at Changming Academy, Wang Qiankun greeted them enthusiastically. He explained that while he had already relayed Si Teng's question to his master, Canghong, she could now speak with him directly.
Wang Qiankun introduced the academy as the Astronomy Enthusiasts Association and asked Si Teng if she had ever considered writing a book, but Yan Furui cut him short, reminding him that Canghong was waiting. Inside, Si Teng questioned Canghong about what happened to her body after Qiu Shan, Li Zhengyuan, and Huang Yu killed her. Canghong recounted that they had intended to incinerate the body, but it inexplicably disappeared during an attack on their way.
A flashback revealed Qiu Shan vowing that he had killed Si Teng himself and that her offspring was also dead, ensuring no one with her bloodline remained. Expressing regret for a past moment of mercy, he declared he would never leave Xingyun Pavilion and tasked his descendants with eternally guarding a strand of her hair—her root foundation—to prevent future trouble. After learning the details, Si Teng released Canghong from the Rattan Kill.
Canghong remarked that she seemed different from the person he remembered from his childhood. Si Teng then asked two more questions: why only Qin Fang's blood could revive her, and what it signified that white flowers bloomed on her unconsciously. Canghong could not answer the second question but assured her that Wang Qiankun would assist in investigating the first. After Si Teng and Qin Fang departed, Canghong instructed Wang Qiankun to treat them as honored guests.
Elsewhere, Qiu Shan, having reverted to his elderly form, scoffed at the deaths of Li Zhengyuan and Huang Yu, defiantly vowing that Si Teng would not succeed. Wang Qiankun and Yan Furui schemed to get a blood sample from Qin Fang. Meanwhile, Qin Fang dreamt of Si Teng questioning the purpose of the Yi's existence.
In the dream, he assured her that her existence had meaning but sadly acknowledged that humans and Yi could never truly be together, watching as she walked away. Waking with a start, he jostled Wang Qiankun, who was attempting to secretly draw his blood, causing Wang Qiankun to prick himself with the needle. After making a quick excuse, Wang Qiankun fled. Qin Fang then saw Si Teng, who suggested a walk. Outside, they released fish into a pond.
Si Teng remarked she envied them, not for their freedom, but because they could always be with their own kind. Qin Fang countered that being "kindred" is about sharing the same path, not species. When he noted a lone fish swimming against the current, Si Teng suggested it was just lonely, lacking a companion on its unique path. She then added, "But luckily, we're not."
To create an opportunity to draw blood, Wang Qiankun and Yan Furui took them to the cinema. During a movie about a human falling for an alien, Wang Qiankun mused aloud about whether such a relationship could work, pointedly asking Qin Fang's opinion. As Wang Qiankun prepared the needle, Qin Fang abruptly pulled Si Teng out of the theater.
Outside, he passionately confessed his feelings, declaring he didn't care if she was human, Yi, or alien—as long as it was her, he could accept it. He pleaded with her not to integrate with Bai Ying, saying, "I like the you that's standing here right now," and finally confessed, "Si Teng, I love you." As a stunned Si Teng processed his words, a white flower bloomed in her hair.
Si Teng responded by calmly challenging him, asking if he could still feel the same "even if" he were Bai Ying's descendant. When a stunned Qin Fang denied it, Si Teng laid out her reasoning: if he wasn't related to her, how could his blood have revived her, and why would he have been in Darna? She pointedly asked if he truly didn't care about the possibility of being a Yi himself, leaving him speechless.
Si Teng reminded Qin Fang that she had visited his family's old home before with Shao Yankuan. In a flashback, Shao Yankuan showed her his family's textile mill, which was facing financial ruin. In the present, Si Teng explained that Shao Yankuan was a poor manager, and the war worsened his debt. It was during this period that Bai Ying's name first appeared in Qin Fang's great-grandfather's notebook.
Qin Fang reacted angrily, accusing Si Teng of investigating his family behind his back. She retorted that his reaction was childish and she had waited for confirmation before speaking.
She then revealed what Yan Furui learned from an old woman in Qin Fang's hometown: the family's Huamei Textile Mill had closed without paying debts, but the Qin family's debts alone were cleared after they "curried favor with someone from Shenhai"—a Ms. Bai, with whom one of them allegedly had an affair. Si Teng left Qin Fang to ponder what this implied about his lineage.
