Sunshine by My Side Episode 1 Recap
> Sunshine by My Side Recap
In 2012, Sheng Yang was deeply inspired by a poised and impressive female advertising director, which led him to pursue a career in advertising design. Now working at an advertising company, Sheng Yang wakes early for an urgent morning meeting, rushing to the metro station without eating. On the platform, he witnesses a couple’s heated breakup, where the boyfriend rudely dismisses his crying girlfriend before boarding the train.
Once on board, the man immediately calls his friends, bragging about the breakup and making plans to play video games. Disgusted, Sheng Yang later confronts the man for carelessly tossing a finished drink bottle, sternly ordering him to pick it up. The experience reinforces Sheng Yang's belief in the value of sticking to one's original intentions in a fast-paced world. Arriving at the company first, Sheng Yang meticulously tidies the meeting room.
As colleagues and his boss gather, the discussion turns to the Shuming packaging box case. The client, suffering a business downturn, is using budget concerns to delay payment. However, they refuse to change design teams or lower their standards, essentially wanting to reduce costs without it being obvious. As Sheng Yang prepares to offer his insights, his team leader, Wang Youde, sends him to buy coffee for everyone.
While Sheng Yang is gone, Wang Youde takes his prepared notes and presents the ideas as his own. Upon Sheng Yang's return, the boss, unaware of the plagiarism, invites him to share his thoughts. Sheng Yang presents the same eco-friendly design concept, surprising his colleagues. The boss praises Wang Youde, remarking that Sheng Yang, as his apprentice, clearly shares the same brilliant ideas.
Sheng Yang realizes he was deliberately sent away so his idea could be stolen, but he keeps his composure as the meeting concludes. Meanwhile, renowned advertising director Jian Bing is on set for a knife advertisement. Known for her meticulous approach, she is unsatisfied with the lighting and calls for retakes. The client, Mr. Zhang, and his associate gossip about Jian Bing’s strained marriage to Director Xue, her former mentor and now husband, with whom she co-founded their company.
At the same time, Sheng Yang’s college classmate, Song Chen, begs for help with a design, admitting he missed a deadline after playing games all night. He guilt-trips Sheng Yang by reminding him of a past favor, and Sheng Yang reluctantly agrees to help.
Spotting a female director filming downstairs, Song Chen points her out, but Sheng Yang confirms it isn't the woman who inspired him years ago, cynically remarking that his single status is due to poverty, not a distant crush. After the shoot, the client, Mr. Zhang, expresses dissatisfaction with the ad, claiming it lacks the "vibe of a masterpiece." He proposes an outlandish sci-fi concept, which Jian Bing politely deflects.
She agrees to shoot an additional, more artistic version focusing on the knife itself, but firmly tells Mr. Zhang to respect her and stop discussing her private life. Furious, her husband Xue Yiming calls and berates her for agreeing to do extra work for a single fee, accusing her of indulging her artistic whims at the company's expense.
As they argue, a young actress approaches Xue Yiming to add him on WeChat, and he asks her to see Mr. Zhang off. Back at Sheng Yang's office, the client accepts the proposal. Wang Youde is tasked with finishing it by the weekend but immediately delegates the entire workload to Sheng Yang, despite Sheng Yang's protest that his notes were a rough draft needing refinement. Later, while driving, Jian Bing spots Xue Yiming with another woman.
She remains indifferent and drives past. Shortly after, her friend Liang Shanshan calls, sympathizing with her situation. Sheng Yang is then urgently summoned to a supermarket by his mother, Luo Meijuan. She pressures him to try on a new shirt she picked out, instructing him to keep the tag on so she can return it and repurchase it at a discounted price.
She then ambushes him with a blind date, revealing that the girl is set to intern at his company. Worn down by his mother's persistence and her metaphor comparing him to an "out of fashion" sale item, Sheng Yang goes to the designated restaurant and complains to his mother on the phone as he waits for his perpetually late date. At home, Xue Yiming tries to apologize to Jian Bing, but she cuts him off.
In a calm, measured speech, she sarcastically apologizes for not being a traditional wife, thanks him for being her mentor, and then expresses her long-suppressed bitterness, stating that he has "stabbed her too many times" and that they are now even. Declaring that she can no longer tolerate his constant infidelity, she proposes a divorce. Xue Yiming vehemently refuses, accusing her of being "brainwashed by feminism" and insisting she cannot succeed without him.
Unswayed, Jian Bing offers three conditions to stay together: he must stop pursuing other women, they must have a weekly date, and he cannot interfere with her projects. When he deems the conditions impossible, she walks out, declaring herself free. Jian Bing enters the very same restaurant where Sheng Yang is still waiting. He looks up, instantly recognizes the director who inspired him ten years ago, and is left utterly speechless.