Summit of Our Youth Episode 16 Recap
> Summit of Our Youth Recap
Gao Rui and Lin Zhihua were forced by Ms. Zheng to participate in drinking games at a dinner. Gao Rui felt trapped, jokingly calling for help as he saw Ms. Zheng and her associates as predators in a "spider's cave." Lin Zhihua attempted to refuse a drink by toasting with tea, but Ms. Zheng insisted he drink it to acknowledge her as his "big sister."
Just as Lin Zhihua was pressured, Gu Xuejiao burst in, announcing herself as Mr. Lin’s assistant and immediately taking a drink. She then engaged in more rounds of toasts, even proposing she and Ms. Zheng become "sworn siblings," until Ms. Zheng became thoroughly intoxicated. As Lin Zhihua pulled Xuejiao away, he questioned her apparent high alcohol tolerance, recalling her poor performance at a previous party.
Xuejiao explained she took hangover pills to "be prepared," adding that the last time she got drunk, it wasn't from alcohol but from "Mr. Lin's handsome face." She also claimed her high tolerance stemmed from childhood, as her father used to let her taste wine. Lin Zhihua then jokingly offered to "cure" her dizziness, leading to a kiss. The success of Lin Zhihua’s contract signing with B&C Motors was celebrated.
Gu Xuejiao, with the help of Sun Tiantian, custom-ordered a cake. She admitted she needed to "recharge her energy" from the stress of Series A funding. Despite the celebration, Lin Zhihua remained serious, stating he couldn’t fully relax until final victory was achieved. Xuejiao tried to comfort him and leaned in for a kiss. Their intimate moment was interrupted when Gao Rui and Lin Zhiyue unexpectedly burst into the room with confetti, exclaiming "Surprise!"
The atmosphere immediately turned awkward, and Gu Xuejiao quickly retreated into a nearby room. After the celebration, Lin Zhiyue tried to arrange for Lin Zhihua to drive Gu Xuejiao home. However, Gao Rui, oblivious, suggested riding back to school with Lin Zhihua. Lin Zhiyue, seeing Gao Rui's lack of awareness, pulled him into her own car, feigning a need to return to the office.
As she drove, Lin Zhiyue mused that young love, despite its "secret ops" and "tangled" nature, was also "beautiful." Lin Zhihua dropped Gu Xuejiao off at her house. She complained about the difficulty of their "underground work" and how close they came to being caught by Lin Zhiyue and Gao Rui. Lin Zhihua playfully reminded her of her ability to "talk your way out of anything."
Just then, Li Sitong, Gu Xuejiao's mother, came out to dispose of trash, forcing Xuejiao to hide behind some bushes. Later, Lin Zhihua coincidentally got a ride from Gu Xuejiao's father, who was unaware of the young couple's relationship. Gu Xuejiao's father praised Lin Zhihua and cordially invited him to visit their new home. At home, Gu Xuejiao’s family enjoyed their new affluent lifestyle.
Li Sitong treated herself and two others to massages, much to Gu Mingze’s chagrin, as he was left without a masseur. Her father enthusiastically shared his encounter with Lin Zhihua, prompting Gu Mingze to suspect Lin Zhihua and Xuejiao were dating. Li Sitong quickly defended Xuejiao, asserting her daughter was also excellent. Gu Mingze later complained about Xuejiao’s willful nature and expressed regret that someone as outstanding as Lin Zhihua would endure her.
Li Sitong, however, maintained that Xuejiao was "excellent, too." Back at the lab, the C1 project failed B&C Motors’ technical department acceptance. Lin Zhihua insisted that the project's technology was robust and had been thoroughly tested. Gao Rui attempted to arrange a direct meeting with B&C's technical department, but Ms. Zheng informed them that B&C would seize all the lab's technology and patents to continue the C1 project internally, citing a contract breach.
She presented a notice of contract violation, demanding a hefty penalty if they refused to surrender the patents. Recognizing B&C's intention to acquire their technology for free, Lin Zhihua and Gao Rui immediately walked out of the meeting. Following the disastrous meeting, Gao Rui returned to the lab, but Lin Zhihua was nowhere to be found. Shu Lan informed Gu Xuejiao that Lin Zhihua had turned off his phone and was unreachable.
Xuejiao, understanding that a man facing career setbacks could be vulnerable, speculated that Lin Zhihua was likely at the Summit coffee shop, working on a solution. She found him there, making coffee. When asked about his plans to "artistically fight back against B&C," Lin Zhihua vaguely replied, "One step at a time." Xuejiao pressed him, expressing her frustration that he was "acting cool" while the team was busy trying to find solutions and a lawyer.
She reminded him that C1 represented years of his hard work and that the failure could cause the "whole team to fall apart." Lin Zhihua suggested the team take a break, but Xuejiao insisted this was "not the time to slack off." She even offered to cover his shift at the coffee shop so he could return to the lab. Meanwhile, Shu Lan’s boyfriend introduced them to Lawyer Zhang, an alumnus of Capital University, who specialized in such cases.
Lawyer Zhang noted the "overlord clauses" in B&C’s contract, offering a potential legal angle. However, he warned that B&C’s legal team was formidable and that litigation would be costly, potentially costing at least five percent of the claim amount. Determined to fight, Gu Xuejiao immediately contacted Sun Tiantian to cash out her "creative shares," declaring, "We're taking this to court. This time, I'm fighting back."
Lin Zhihua met with Mr. Zhao of Junlian Company, an alumnus of Capital University who had also lost a patent to B&C two decades ago. Lin Zhihua brought up B&C's first locally-developed model, which Mr. Zhao had spearheaded. Mr. Zhao, initially dismissive, admitted his past experience with B&C had turned him away from discussions not related to "making money." Lin Zhihua probed, asking if Mr. Zhao's project had its funding cut before delivery.
Mr. Zhao pointed out that Lin Zhihua had initially rejected Junlian's interest in C1 to partner with B&C. Lin Zhihua confessed that C1's "delivery failure was part of my plan all along" and revealed his ultimate goal: to "have them gone from China for good." He then requested Mr. Zhao's original contract and termination agreement from his past dealings with B&C. Back at the lab, B&C employees arrived and began moving out all the equipment.
Gu Xuejiao furiously confronted them, but they simply stated that the equipment now belonged to B&C due to the contract violation. Anxious and angry, Gu Xuejiao rushed to Lin Zhihua’s home and demanded he meet the lawyer with her the next morning, reminding him she had already paid the legal fees. Concurrently, Gao Rui invited Lin Zhiyue to dinner. After several drinks, he gathered his courage and asked her to be an investor in their project.
Lin Zhiyue cautioned him that if their patents were stolen, her "big boss" would likely not approve of investing in a "worthless" company, but she offered to try to persuade him. Gao Rui, still somewhat drunk, insisted that Lin Zhihua wouldn't dare refuse her family's investment and promised that he would personally ensure the deal went through.
After a night of heavy drinking, Gao Rui woke up disoriented in a hotel room, finding Lin Zhiyue’s earring nearby, leading him to believe they had a sexual encounter. Lin Zhihua also had a discussion with his father about family investment. He refused his father’s offer, stating he didn't want to be "tied up" by family business and the emotional baggage of his parents' strained, "in-name-only" marriage.
His father and mother later argued about his decision, with his mother calling his father a "coward" for not intervening. His father retorted that their son had "figured us out long ago" and refused to "keep acting in front of him" like they had "all our lives." The next morning, Gu Xuejiao and Lawyer Zhang waited impatiently for Lin Zhihua. Lawyer Zhang reminded them that his consultations were "charged by the hour."
When Lin Zhihua finally arrived late, Xuejiao reprimanded him outside. Lin Zhihua calmly explained that he needed to "act the part" of giving up to make B&C "let their guard down." He revealed that he had already begun gathering evidence of their unethical business practices from other teams that B&C had wronged. His plan was to "unite all their enemies and work together to take B&C down," a strategy inspired by a game he played.
Xuejiao, now understanding his cunning strategy, agreed to continue the act for the lawyer's benefit. To maintain appearances, she loudly reprimanded him for his tardiness as they headed inside. Once seated in the lawyer's office, Xuejiao playfully corrected Lin Zhihua's "slack" posture, demonstrating how to "slack off right" and teasing that he learned it from her brother, who also pretends not to care to "run away from reality."
