Sweet Combat Episode 13 Recap
> Sweet Combat Recap
Song Xiaomi helped Ming Tian with his cooking, and as she watched him busy himself by her side, she couldn't help but imagine them as a newlywed couple, even envisioning sweet embraces. Ming Tian gently woke Song Xiaomi from her daydream, and she mentioned how her mother, busy with classes and TV shows, couldn't take care of her, so she learned to cook by watching her mother on television.
Later, Fang Yu enthusiastically arrived at Ming Tian’s home with some purchased food, only to see Song Xiaomi and Ming Tian, along with his siblings, looking intimately close. She quietly departed, feeling a surge of jealousy that Ming Tian had rejected her offer to help, yet seemed so affectionate with Song Xiaomi. As the preliminaries drew near, Zhengze Academy students intensified their training. Sun Hao underwent a fitness test where he encountered Ma Yichen.
Ma Yichen mockingly suggested Sun Hao would be eliminated in the first round and questioned Ming Tian's absence. Sun Hao retorted that the arena would reveal the true loser. When the fitness test results were posted, Ming Tian was surprisingly in first place, which stunned Ma Yichen. Despite this, Ma Yichen continued to disparage Ming Tian, calling him an "unskilled laborer."
Fang Yu immediately stepped in to defend Ming Tian, reminding Ma Yichen that Ming Tian had three S-rank Zhengze students as coaches and was improving rapidly while Ma Yichen idled. Luo Guanyan then invited Ma Yichen to observe Ming Tian's training firsthand. Watching Ming Tian execute fluid, skilled moves, Luo Guanyan noted his talent.
Ma Yichen dismissed it as pretense, but Luo Guanyan pointed out Ming Tian's dedication, practicing immediately after his fitness test, and questioned Ma Yichen's confidence against such an opponent. This observation spurred Ma Yichen to return to Zhiying Boxing Club and begin training with renewed intensity. Fang Yu's grandfather, displeased with her "diverse" life including attending a dance and teaching taekwondo, compelled her to take over a stagnant company project.
Meanwhile, at Cheng Yanan’s martial arts hall, she suggested to Luo Guanyan that his continued training there was inappropriate given their rivalry, especially since they were likely to meet in the finals. Luo Guanyan agreed to resume training after the Zhengze League Match and extended an invitation to dinner as a thank you for her saving him from the snake. Cheng Yanan initially demurred, but Luo Guanyan clarified it was a date.
Cheng Yanan, thinking he was trying to gain information for the competition, called him out, leading Luo Guanyan to playfully call her "stupid." As Luo Guanyan left, he encountered He Xiaofeng, who expressed her disapproval of his presence at Cheng Yanan's gym. Luo Guanyan maintained he had nothing to hide, but He Xiaofeng pressed him to choose between Zhiying and Cheng Yanan, and then between herself and Cheng Yanan.
Luo Guanyan gently refused her advances, stating he only saw her as a good friend and already had someone he liked. He Xiaofeng, realizing he meant Cheng Yanan, lashed out, disparaging Cheng Yanan's appearance and personality and vowing never to give up on Luo Guanyan, threatening to prevent any romance between him and Cheng Yanan. Back at the martial arts hall, Cheng Yanan's father discovered she had told Luo Guanyan to leave.
A heated argument ensued, escalating into a physical confrontation, with Cheng Yanan eventually being knocked down. Fang Yu arrived just then and offered her assistance, though Cheng Yanan downplayed the incident, saying it was just her father's way of showing affection. Fang Yu, needing to attend to company matters, asked Cheng Yanan to return some gift-wrapped books to the library for her. Cheng Yanan, curious about the contents, teased Fang Yu about hiding erotic novels, making Fang Yu defensive.
Cheng Yanan then agreed to help, jokingly promising to act as "China's #1 best friend" and prevent Song Xiaomi from having a chance with Ming Tian. Fang Yu dismissed her, but Cheng Yanan feigned offense and threatened not to return the books. Later, Song Xiaomi approached Ming Tian, insisting on cooking at his house. Ming Tian, reluctant to bother her, suggested taking his siblings to KFC instead.
However, Song Xiaomi persisted, claiming she had promised his younger siblings a home-cooked meal for their good exam scores. Cheng Yanan, having been following Song Xiaomi to "help" Fang Yu, intervened and insisted on joining them, making up an exaggerated exam score to justify her presence. While Song Xiaomi and Cheng Yanan bickered, Ming Tian seized the opportunity and quickly ran off.
Undeterred, Song Xiaomi and Cheng Yanan proceeded to Ming Tian’s home and prepared an elaborate meal for him and his siblings, earning praise from the younger children. Song Xiaomi, proud of her culinary success and confident she had "caught" Ming Tian's family, snapped a photo of their happy gathering. At her office, Fang Yu received the picture from Song Xiaomi.
Seeing everyone enjoying Song Xiaomi's meal, especially Cheng Yanan who had previously shown disdain for her cooking, Fang Yu was furious and immediately blocked Song Xiaomi. Driven by a desire to "win," Fang Yu then spent time watching cooking shows and preparing ingredients, declaring that cooking "was not that hard." The next morning, Fang Zhou was astonished to see Fang Yu, who had never cooked for him, preparing a full table of food.
Though he was wary of her culinary skills, Fang Yu coerced him into trying her dishes. She later brought her prepared chicken dish to the company, but her cooking attempt was disastrous. Fang Zhou called her to report that the chicken was undercooked and had sent employees rushing to the restroom. Ming Tian's training continued to be physically demanding.
Both Song Xiaomi and Cheng Yanan encouraged him to rest, but Ming Tian insisted on going to his cafe job, stating he couldn't take a leave during his two-month promotional period. Song Xiaomi, feeling responsible for a training kick that caused him pain, offered to take his place at the cafe, also mentioning her need for money. Cheng Yanan supported the idea, urging Ming Tian not to let a small injury affect his performance in the upcoming competition.
Later that day, Fang Yu stopped at the cafe. Feeling overwhelmed, she approached the rabbit mascot working there, unaware that Song Xiaomi was filling in for Ming Tian. She confided her anxieties, asking if boys prefer girls who can cook, are petite, sweet, and know how to act cute, implying she lacked these qualities. The rabbit, which was Song Xiaomi, gave a teasing but affirming response, then removed the head.
Fang Yu was stunned to see Song Xiaomi, who revealed she was covering Ming Tian’s shift. Fang Yu was mortified to realize that Ming Tian had been the rabbit mascot all along during her previous confessions. She ran off in embarrassment.
Flashbacks confirmed Fang Yu's realization: Ming Tian, as the rabbit, had specifically saved strawberry ice cream for her and delivered a speech about learning to accept help and care from others, a message Fang Yu now understood was directed at her. Song Xiaomi and a friend discussed the incident, with Song Xiaomi explaining that it was understandable Fang Yu didn't know about Ming Tian's various jobs.
Song Xiaomi was pleased she had prevented a "private meeting" between Fang Yu and Ming Tian and vowed not to tell Ming Tian about Fang Yu's misidentification, wanting to use the situation to her advantage. That night, Fang Yu, still mortified by the cafe incident, called Cheng Yanan late at night, unable to sleep due to her embarrassment. Cheng Yanan chastised her for revealing too much to a "random rabbit mascot."
She advised Fang Yu to simply "pretend that you don't know" that Ming Tian was the rabbit, as he didn't know she knew. Fang Yu struggled with the idea of pretending, feeling she would be too awkward. Cheng Yanan then suggested a drastic solution: to be even stricter during training and push Ming Tian so hard that he wouldn't even recognize his own siblings, thereby eliminating any awkwardness and allowing Fang Yu to "save face" against Song Xiaomi.
The next morning, Fang Zhou discovered a cut on Fang Yu’s hand. Fang Yu tried to lie, claiming she cut herself on loose wool threads, but Fang Zhou, seeing through her flimsy excuse given the hot weather, pressed her. Fang Yu finally admitted she had hurt herself while attempting to cook in the middle of the night, driven by a desire to prove herself against Song Xiaomi.
Fang Zhou wisely pointed out that Fang Yu only cared when Song Xiaomi cooked for Ming Tian, not for anyone else, concluding that Fang Yu was simply blind to her own feelings for Ming Tian.
