Rising With The Wind Episode 2 Recap
> Rising With The Wind Recap
Jiang Hu returned an item to Xu Si that he had left at her place, and they discussed Free Unicorn's thirtieth anniversary. She noted its celebration was unusually subdued, a stark contrast to the extravagance of her recent marketing livestream. Jiang Hu then listed her detailed knowledge of Xu Si’s background—from Cambridge to an M&A role at ICT in Hong Kong—and questioned his current status as an unemployed individual seemingly pivoting to real estate.
Amused, Xu Si acknowledged her thorough research, attributing it to her interest in him after he had "scammed" her out of a small sum of money. Jiang Hu brought Xu Si to meet her father, Jiang Qisheng. Though not yet officially employed by Baoxing Investment, Xu Si introduced himself as an investor there to learn. Jiang Qisheng, recognizing him, questioned the urgency of Baoxing's acquisition project and implied Xu Si was already acting on their behalf.
After acknowledging Jiang Qisheng's industry experience, Xu Si was caught off guard when Jiang Qisheng stated plainly that Free Unicorn would not sell Teng Yue. Just then, Free Unicorn's CFO, Yue Shan, arrived, and Jiang Hu ushered Xu Si out, telling him to leave the shoes he brought as they were the wrong size for her father. Despite the rejection, Xu Si suggested they add each other on WeChat, proposing he could help her handle distressed assets in the future.
Jiang Hu refused, citing their bet that the loser would stay away and dismissing his previous comments as drunken talk. Xu Si playfully called her out for being difficult, insisting they become friends based on the adult principle of mutual benefit. Though Jiang Hu was skeptical, Xu Si pointed to her market foresight, suggesting she could contact him when she needed to sell assets.
He added that he would soon be employed again, dealing not just in real estate but also in distressed assets. Jiang Hu firmly rejected the notion, expressing absolute faith in her father, whom she called her "God." In Jiang Qisheng's office, he and Yue Shan discussed Free Unicorn’s dire financial situation: overseas investments were illiquid, tens of millions were owed to suppliers, and payroll was due.
Jiang Qisheng decided to temporarily mortgage Jiang Hu's personal assets to cover wages and stressed the urgency of finding Shen Gui to retrieve funds from a platform called Peace Loan. Yue Shan reported that Shen Gui, who was introduced to them by a man named Gao Yi, had become unreachable, and she couldn't contact Gao Yi either. After she left, a worried Jiang Qisheng also failed to reach Gao Yi. Meanwhile, designer Xiang Zhaoyang faced repercussions at her company, Aneda.
Her boss, Mr. Yan, reprimanded her for using her significant social media influence to publicly support a competitor, deeming it a serious issue. As he considered how to proceed, Jiang Hu arrived. Assuming she was there to gloat, Xiang Zhaoyang met her with sarcasm. Jiang Hu praised Xiang Zhaoyang's "Flowing View" design but noted it was unsuitable for Aneda. She then boldly offered Xiang Zhaoyang the role of chief designer for Teng Yue with superior terms.
Xiang Zhaoyang ridiculed the offer, pointing out that Jiang Hu held no official position and knew nothing about Teng Yue—a factory that had served as an OEM for twenty years and now sold only one outdated product. She concluded that the struggling Teng Yue didn't deserve a designer of her caliber. Elsewhere, Xu Si and his partner, Wu Guanglei, discussed Free Unicorn's crisis.
They knew Peace Loan’s head, Shen Gui, was missing and that Free Unicorn faced a funding gap of over a billion yuan. They theorized that once Shen Gui's disappearance became public, the resulting run on Peace Loan would crush Free Unicorn. To force the acquisition of Teng Yue, which was crucial to their surrounding land purchases, Wu Guanglei proposed leaking the news of Shen Gui's disappearance, and Xu Si coordinated its release.
Unaware of the scheme, Jiang Hu took her father to the Teng Yue factory, showing him a pair of the first shoes he ever made. They reminisced about the factory being his and Free Unicorn's starting point, where he also met his wife. Jiang Hu clarified to her father that her connection to Xu Si was only due to a bet. Jiang Qisheng expressed relief but warned her that Xu Si was smart, resourceful, and ambitious.
A flashback revealed Jiang Qisheng introducing a young tutor, Gao Yi, as the son of an old comrade who would live with them. In the present, Jiang Hu considered calling Gao Yi but hesitated. The next day, a shocking phone call awakened Jiang Hu. Outside the Free Unicorn office, angry investors protested, demanding their money back from Shen Gui. Jiang Hu's desperate call to Gao Yi was coldly dismissed with an excuse that he was busy.
Finally, Jiang Qisheng got through to Gao Yi, who confessed the Peace Loan investment was a deliberate scam he had orchestrated and that an associated company, Lido, was unaffected. As Jiang Qisheng sat in stunned silence, Yue Shan rushed in to announce Shen Gui's arrest and the collapse of Peace Loan. The news was the final blow, and Jiang Qisheng collapsed. Jiang Hu met with Xu Si to discuss selling Teng Yue.
He presented an offer based on current market rates, which she angrily rejected as predatory exploitation. Xu Si coolly called her childish for not accepting market reality, insisting the price was fair. He provocatively added that even ten times the amount couldn't save Free Unicorn, not even if her father was a "god." Furious, Jiang Hu threw a glass of water in his face and stormed out.
Moments later, both she and Xu Si, who had followed her, received near-simultaneous phone calls informing them that Jiang Qisheng had died of a heart attack. As Jiang Qisheng's funeral took place, Xu Si was welcomed as the new Executive Director at Baoxing Investment by Director Du. As the first-in-line successor, Jiang Hu inherited not only her father's estate but also his massive debts, reportedly over a billion yuan from loan guarantees.
Her situation was publicly described as shifting from "easy mode" to "death mode," with commentators agreeing that renouncing the inheritance was her only logical option. Jiang Hu presented a plan to save Free Unicorn to several of her father's old friends, begging for their help. They refused to back the company, though they offered to support her personally if she chose to start a new business or move abroad.
Calling her plan delusional, they bluntly told her she was inexperienced, the market was brutal, and she was like a "fish on a chopping block." They insisted that even her father couldn't have saved the company and that her best option was to go abroad and get married. As they left, one of the men called her unteachable. Shortly after, Xu Si observed Jiang Hu from his car, watching with concern as she drove erratically and nearly collided with a truck.
