The Best Thing Episode 19 Recap
> The Best Thing Recap
He Suye and Shen Xifan, now officially in a relationship, were filled with joy, feeling that everything around them was beautiful. That night, they both tossed and turned in bed, too happy to sleep. They messaged each other early the next morning and made plans for their first official date that evening.
Shen Xifan suggested they go out for a delicious meal and said she could take the bus, so He Suye decided he would wait for her at the bus stop. The next day, both He Suye and Shen Xifan were radiant with happiness. Shen Xifan excitedly announced her new relationship status to her friends Xu Xiangya and Lin Yishen, who were thrilled for her. At the hospital, nurses teased He Suye about his unusually good mood.
He Suye, still in high spirits, praised Li Jie's rewritten paper—which Li Jie felt needed a complete overhaul—and encouraged everyone to "keep up the good work" before rushing off. Perplexed, Li Jie messaged Grandpa Yu, hinting that something significant had occurred. Later, He Suye received a call from Grandpa Yu, who had also heard about his improved mood. Grandpa Yu directly asked if it was because of Shen Xifan, and He Suye confirmed it.
Surprised at the speed of their relationship after He Suye's low spirits during the New Year, Grandpa Yu advised him to cherish Shen Xifan and not get carried away. After work, Shen Xifan took the bus and found He Suye already waiting for her with a bouquet. To his surprise, Shen Xifan had also brought him flowers.
He Suye presented Shen Xifan with magnolia flowers, explaining their poetic significance from an ancient text: "Riding on a red leopard, accompanied by a striped lynx. With a magnolia-wood carriage and banners adorned with osmanthus." He joked that since actual leopards and lynxes were hard to find, he brought her magnolias instead. Shen Xifan simply stated she gave him flowers because she knew he liked them.
They walked to He Suye's apartment hand-in-hand, their happiness evident to all who saw them. At He Suye's home, he personally cooked chestnut chicken soup and other dishes, while Shen Xifan helped set the table and arrange the flowers. During dinner, He Suye received a voice message from Grandpa Yu, who had seen a photo He Suye sent.
Grandpa Yu criticized He Suye for not treating Shen Xifan to a lavish meal on their first date, calling the simple home-cooked dinner "stingy." He Suye jokingly asked a nervous Shen Xifan to explain. Shen Xifan, addressing Grandpa Yu as "Professor Yu," sweetly told him that she had asked He Suye to cook because his food was amazing and "better than anything from a restaurant."
He Suye then revealed that his grandpa already had a good impression of Shen Xifan from her first follow-up visit, where he had covered for He Suye. His grandpa had praised her beauty and urged He Suye to pursue her. He suggested that Shen Xifan meet his grandpa soon. Shen Xifan was initially hesitant about meeting his family so quickly but agreed when He Suye assured her it would just be a casual meal.
She even told He Suye to relay to his grandpa that she liked him too, to which He Suye playfully warned that his grandpa might end up liking her more than him. After dinner, they settled on the sofa to watch a movie. He Suye asked Shen Xifan to teach him how to fold a jumping paper frog. Despite his intelligence in other areas, He Suye struggled with origami.
Shen Xifan playfully teased him for his clumsiness, causing him to feign anger, which prompted her to gently coax him. Shen Xifan then shared her realization that every day she spent with him was incredibly happy. Recalling his previous "worst-case scenario" of waiting for her return from studying abroad, Shen Xifan wondered what would have happened if she still hadn't figured things out by then.
He Suye thoughtfully explained that a relationship is a two-way street where happiness should be mutual. He told her that if he ever caused her unhappiness, she should tell him so he could make amends. If his efforts weren't enough, he said she shouldn't force herself to stay and could break up with him, emphasizing that he genuinely wished for her to always be happy.
Deeply moved, Shen Xifan hugged him tightly, feeling fortunate to have confessed her feelings in time. Later that night, He Suye walked Shen Xifan home and shared his door code: 112167, the ISSN of the English edition of the TCM Journal where his first SCI paper was published. He told her to use it to let herself in whenever she came over.
Back in her room, Shen Xifan looked at the flowers He Suye had given her and reflected on his words about mutual happiness, realizing it was a simple truth she hadn't grasped before. The following day, Shen Xifan received a message from He Suye with a photo of a successfully folded paper frog, which he attributed to online tutorials and "hard work making up for clumsiness."
However, Li Jie soon messaged her, revealing that he had folded the frog after He Suye threatened to withhold help on his English paper. Shen Xifan found this amusing. Later, Yan Heng confronted Shen Xifan, questioning why she chose "a lame TCM physician." Shen Xifan firmly told him that being with He Suye made her happy and content, something Yan Heng couldn't provide, and sincerely wished him well.
Yan Heng's project concluded that day, and he checked out of the hotel. As the front office manager, Shen Xifan extended professional courtesies, though inwardly, she hoped he would never return. Finally free from her past, Shen Xifan called He Suye to tell him she missed him. He Suye softly reciprocated, prompting Li Jie and their colleagues to quickly leave the couple to their private moment.
