Smile to Life Episode 7 Recap
> Smile to Life Recap
Xu Duocheng visits Caiyun alone. Caiyun, feeling neglected, tells Xu Duocheng, "Chengcheng, stop playing. If you're busy, you can leave now. You don't have to be perfunctory here." Xu Duocheng replies, "I'm not perfunctory." Caiyun then complains that her husband, Jianghai, had visited earlier but didn't bring apples, only oranges, and specifically wants apples. She also notes, "It's strange. He used to come with you. But now he always comes in the morning, when you're not around."
Xu Duocheng, sensing something amiss, promises to get apples for Caiyun. Outside, she reflects, "He's avoiding me on purpose. It doesn't make sense. Why is he avoiding me?" She then calls Bao Rui to ask about Jiang Nan. Bao Rui tells her that "Jiang is writing a song in seclusion," having recently received commissions for new songs. Xu Duocheng understands this means Jiang Nan is avoiding her but is somewhat relieved that "at least he's getting better at work."
Meanwhile, Bao Rui finds Jiang Nan at home, clearly upset. Bao Rui observes Jiang Nan attempting to cook Coke chicken wings, commenting, "Jiang, what's going on? Did you have a fight?" Jiang Nan brushes off Bao Rui's attempts to discuss Gu Jiayi, who has been contacting him. Bao Rui tastes Jiang Nan's Coke chicken wings, calling them "delicious" but "a little burned." Jiang Nan defensively asserts, "All home-made Coke chicken wings are the same.
It's a bit burned, which makes it unique." Bao Rui subtly hints that Jiang Nan is trying to replicate Xu Duocheng's cooking, but Jiang Nan doesn't explicitly admit it. At a Taekwondo gym, Zhu Linfeng attempts to woo Yu Keqin, who has taken up "such violent sports" to relieve stress from work and a difficult colleague, Qiqi, as well as her sister, Shan. Zhu Linfeng offers, "Maybe you can be my girlfriend. I can pull strings for you."
Keqin challenges him to a fight, promising to accept if he wins, and swiftly defeats him. Later, Keqin meets Xu Duocheng. Keqin, still vibrant from her exercise, discusses her recent Taekwondo practice, while Xu Duocheng mentions her own "Eight Jin Gang Skills" routine. Xu Duocheng shares that she hasn't seen Jiang Nan recently and feels that her life has become "a little unreal lately." She yearns to return to her "ordinary girl" life and misses traveling.
Keqin offers to join her, saying, "I'll risk my life. It's a big deal to go out to relax with my sister. I must be allowed to leave." They decide on Jingcheng, a scenic and affordable place a colleague of Keqin recently visited, with Keqin promising to plan the trip. At home, Jiang Nan hears strange noises from the kitchen and grabs a baseball bat to investigate.
He is startled to find Zhu Linfeng cooking and jokingly expresses relief, initially mistaking him for Bao Rui. Jiang Nan teases Zhu Linfeng about his eating habits and questions how he entered, to which Zhu Linfeng replies he used the password after Jiang Nan's phone was off. Zhu Linfeng reveals he is now dedicated to love, specifically pursuing "Yu Keqin," Xu Duocheng's best friend, which surprises Jiang Nan.
Seeing the "wonderful fate" of their girlfriends being best friends, Jiang Nan jokes about Zhu Linfeng's past unrequited crush, while Zhu Linfeng declares he's now "openly chasing" Keqin, believing "a man has to take the initiative" in love, otherwise she'll find someone else. Jiang Nan makes a sarcastic comment about him, and then jokingly asks him to leave. Xu Duocheng's mother attempts to tidy her daughter's room, looking for a bottle of vitamins she remembers seeing.
Xu Duocheng quickly diverts her, claiming she finished the vitamins or gave them to Keqin. Her mother, noticing the mess, begins to nag, prompting Xu Duocheng to insist on cleaning the room herself and asking her mother to leave, so she can quickly hide her ALS medication. Her mother, sensing something is amiss, suspects Xu Duocheng has "secrets," but Xu Duocheng quickly sends her away with an excuse to eat fruit. Alone, Xu Duocheng worries, "This won't do.
They'll find out sooner or later. I have to think of a way." Jiang Nan, after taking a call from Caiyun, is criticized by Bao Rui for staying up late. As they drive, Gu Jiayi's subordinate follows them. Jiang Nan seeks Bao Rui's advice under the pretense of "a friend's girlfriend" getting close to his rival, but Bao Rui quickly deduces he's talking about Xu Duocheng and Zhan Zhilin.
Bao Rui advises Jiang Nan to be more proactive in love, stating, "the woman is a delicate flower, which needs to be watered carefully," and warns that Zhan Zhilin is more adept at charming women. Jiang Nan, however, remains resistant.
When Jiang Nan tells Bao Rui to drive to Youfu Road, which Bao Rui recognizes as Zhan Zhilin's piano store, Bao Rui, thinking Jiang Nan wants to show Xu Duocheng his new song, initially says he's not good at being a "third wheel." As they arrive, Bao Rui spots Zhan Zhilin helping Xu Duocheng with her leg inside the store.
Panicked, Bao Rui frantically distracts Jiang Nan, first criticizing his "hairstyle" and "clothes," then insisting, "our car is very dirty today. . . I think we should wash the car first. . . as a decent person." Despite Jiang Nan's confusion at this sudden detour, Bao Rui pulls him away. Believing Xu Duocheng's condition has worsened, Zhan Zhilin takes her to the hospital.
Despite Xu Duocheng's protests, he insists, "If you want to live for two more years, you have to listen to me from now on." The doctor confirms that Xu Duocheng has reached the "stage of getting sick," detailing potential symptoms like "muscle weakness in the limbs and trunk" and "muscle atrophy."
When Xu Duocheng asks how much time she has left to play the piano and to live, the doctor estimates "three to five years" typically, but potentially "more than ten years" with proper management. Xu Duocheng accepts the news, saying, "Actually, I know everything. I just want to make sure. Maybe I can live more." Meanwhile, Jiang Nan, still trying to find Xu Duocheng, visits the piano store.
A staff member tries to tell him something, but Bao Rui quickly intervenes, claiming Xu Duocheng isn't there and whisking Jiang Nan away. Concurrently, Gu Jiayi's subordinate, Fang, identifies Zhan Zhilin's piano store. Fang reports that Xu Duocheng works there as a piano teacher and that Zhan Zhilin accompanied her to the hospital due to her not feeling well. Gu Jiayi, seeing this as "a great opportunity," immediately instructs Fang to send people to investigate at the hospital.
Zhan Zhilin takes Xu Duocheng to a secluded spot in the countryside, a place he frequents when feeling down. He encourages her to express her pent-up emotions. Xu Duocheng, finding release, shouts, "Xu Duocheng, you have to live! You have to live a good life! Stay strong. Xu Duocheng. You have to work hard!" Feeling "much better," she tries to get Zhan Zhilin to do the same, but he claims he has no worries.
As Zhan Zhilin later drops Xu Duocheng off, reminding her to "take your medicine on time" and acknowledging he is "the only one who can share your secret," Jiang Nan suddenly appears. Jiang Nan confronts Xu Duocheng, demanding, "We're in an employment relationship, so I'm asking you that in the future, apart from the time of classes at the musical instrument store, don't have any contact with him."
Xu Duocheng, angered by his sudden re-appearance and controlling behavior after he had "disappeared for no reason," retorts that her relationship with Zhan Zhilin is also an "employment relationship" and he shouldn't drag her into their conflict. She defends Zhan Zhilin, stating he "takes good care of me." Jiang Nan dismisses this, suggesting, "If you weren't my girlfriend, would Zhan Zhilin still be nice to you?"
He further accuses her of being "shallow and ridiculous" and "being chased by a rich man overwhelms you," leading to a heated argument and an unhappy departure for both. Gu Jiayi's subordinate successfully captures photos of Xu Duocheng and Zhan Zhilin together, which Gu Jiayi sees as a sign of Zhan Zhilin's "progress to be so fast" and gathers "enough material."
She smugly considers how to use this against Xu Duocheng, whom she refers to as Jiang Nan's "bean sprout" and wants to "show you what she really is." A frustrated Jiang Nan, still upset from his argument with Xu Duocheng, rejects Gu Jiayi's call, leading her to directly send him the incriminating photos. Jiang Nan immediately confronts Gu Jiayi, accusing her of orchestrating the candid shots.
Gu Jiayi denies this, feigning indignation and asking if he truly believes her to be a "despicable and insidious woman." She claims her agent informed her that paparazzi were selling photos of "Xu Duocheng and Zhan Zhilin" to "The Truth" (a media outlet) and that she bought them to prevent Jiang Nan from being "embarrassed" by sensationalized stories of them "wander[ing] in the flower sea."
She informs him she has deleted the photos and hopes they "can still be friends in the future." Jiang Nan convenes a meeting with Bao Rui and Xu Duocheng, showing them the photos. Xu Duocheng inquires about their origin, and Jiang Nan explains Gu Jiayi claimed to have bought them from paparazzi. Both Xu Duocheng and Bao Rui express concern about potential backups and the trustworthiness of the source, with Xu Duocheng asserting, "There's nothing between us."
Jiang Nan, however, implies the photos suggest otherwise, escalating the tension. Bao Rui intervenes, suggesting, "You two. . . live together" as a preemptive measure to "turn passive into active" in case the photos leak. Both Jiang Nan and Xu Duocheng initially object strongly, but Xu Duocheng eventually agrees, concluding that "moving out might be the only solution."
She then presents four conditions: first, they must keep their cohabitation a secret from her parents; second, she won't pay rent but expects food and accommodation; third, she demands her "own cabin," not a tent; and fourth, Jiang Nan must apologize for his "excessive words." She specifically reminds him of his hurtful remark, "Don't be so shallow and ridiculous. Being chased by a rich man overwhelms you."
Jiang Nan is reluctant to apologize, prompting Xu Duocheng to leave, telling them to consider her terms. Bao Rui urges Jiang Nan, "Why is it so hard for you to just apologize? It's no big deal that a man apologizes." But Jiang Nan vehemently refuses, calling Bao Rui ignorant. At the piano store, Xu Duocheng urgently meets with Zhan Zhilin, first ensuring no one followed her.
She apologizes, "I may have caused you trouble," revealing they "were photographed at that flower sea a few days ago." She explains Gu Jiayi sent these photos to Jiang Nan and expresses concern that the photographers might leak them, which "it'll affect you." Zhan Zhilin reassures her, "You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault. No matter what they say, it doesn't matter to me." He playfully comments that "it's quite special to be cared for."
Xu Duocheng then suggests they "shouldn't see each other again" to avoid further complications. Zhan Zhilin, however, tells her not to "take everything on yourself," and philosophically remarks that "the person you are destined to meet will be met no matter what. You can't stop it. There's nothing you can do." He then abruptly excuses himself, claiming he has "something else to do," and leaves.
