The Fox's Summer Season 2 Episode 22 Recap
> The Fox's Summer Season 2 Recap
Li Yanshu learned from a nurse that the person who agitated Fu Wanyu was a lady who had visited to apologize. The nurse explained that only family members were now allowed to visit Fu Wanyu in Room 7201 due to the previous incident. Realizing the visitor was Xia Meng, Li Yanshu immediately went to the Han residence to confront her mother. She angrily questioned how Xia Meng could remain calm and eat after everything that had happened.
Xia Meng attempted to explain that she had visited Gu Chengze’s mother to apologize, hoping it would help Li Yanshu and Gu Chengze be together. Li Yanshu rebuked her, calling Xia Meng selfish and stating that her actions only made their situation worse. She accused Xia Meng of being the person responsible for Gu Chengze and his mother's twenty-year separation, deeming it shameless to believe a simple apology could rectify the immense physical and psychological pain they had endured.
Overwhelmed, Li Yanshu expressed despair, wondering how she could ever face Gu Chengze, knowing he would see her as the daughter of his enemy. Meanwhile, Gu Taitai found Li Yanshu and demanded to know why she canceled the wedding, especially since Li Yanshu had seemed so eager to marry Gu Chengze. Gu Taitai scolded Yanshu, calling her foolish for daring to cancel a wedding with a member of the Gu family, implying it was a great honor.
Li Yanshu, however, observed that Gu Taitai seemed quite concerned about Gu Chengze. Gu Taitai vehemently denied this, claiming she only intervened because she couldn't tolerate Yanshu's arrogant attitude. She advised Yanshu to reflect and make the right decision, then dismissed her. After Yanshu got out of the car, she smiled genuinely for the first time since the cancellation, realizing that Gu Taitai did, in fact, care deeply for Gu Chengze.
Gu Jinyun learned the true reason behind Li Yanshu's wedding cancellation from Han Junyao. He hurried to tell Gu Chengze, who he found at a nightclub after a boxing session, a place Gu Chengze typically avoided. Gu Jinyun explained that Li Yanshu discovered Xia Meng was involved in the car accident and canceled the wedding out of guilt.
Gu Chengze revealed he already knew this, but his true concern was that Li Yanshu didn't genuinely love him and was merely using him to upset Gu Taitai. Gu Jinyun dismissed this, certain Li Yanshu was lying. Gu Chengze, however, insisted he would know if she were lying because his body acted as a lie detector, reacting whenever someone looked him in the eyes and spoke falsehoods. Amused, Gu Jinyun tested this theory by telling several obvious lies.
To Gu Chengze's ecstatic surprise, he experienced no physical reaction, realizing his hypersensitivity to lies had been cured. Overjoyed, he immediately called his doctor to report the change, postponing a full examination as he rushed off to find Li Yanshu. Gu Chengze searched frantically for Li Yanshu, but her phone was off. He eventually found her at the location where they had first kissed and where she had proposed to him.
Li Yanshu, with tears in her eyes, declared that their relationship had to end. Gu Chengze vehemently refused, reminding her that she was the one who proposed to him and that he would not allow their relationship to conclude. He acknowledged her feelings but argued that a simple breakup could not erase the profound pain caused by her mother's actions, which had led to his mother and him being separated for over two decades.
He then declared his "punishment" for her: she must be with him forever and is not allowed to leave. Li Yanshu, overwhelmed by guilt, stated that for every ten parts of love she had for him, there were a hundred parts of guilt. She confessed she couldn't forgive herself, especially after learning about his past suffering. She even told him that seeing his face would always remind her of a painful past, and she wouldn't be happy.
Gu Chengze, however, reassured her, urging her to have confidence in him and their relationship. He told her he understood her need to process everything and would give her all the time she needed, as long as they didn't break up. He promised to wait for her. Han Zhipeng, observing the deep misunderstanding between Li Yanshu and Xia Meng, approached Yanshu to talk.
He told her she had misunderstood her mother for years, revealing that he had known about the accident but not that Gu Chengze's mother was the victim. He explained that Xia Meng had been tormented by the incident and even tried to end her life. Han Zhipeng then clarified the details of the car accident: Xia Meng was not the driver; she was being driven home by her company boss because Li Yanshu had a high fever.
Although Li Yanshu still argued that Xia Meng's inaction was as reprehensible as being the driver, and asked if that made her the culprit, Han Zhipeng emphasized that Xia Meng was distraught over Yanshu's illness. Li Yanshu tearfully recounted how she had pleaded with her mother not to leave and remembered watching her mother get into someone else's car, unable to comprehend why she would abandon her.
Han Zhipeng explained that after the boss was arrested and sentenced, Xia Meng was implicated, lost her job, and, feeling unable to face her husband and daughter, was forced to leave them. Li Yanshu, though in tears, initially dismissed this as an unbelievable story. Han Zhipeng patiently told her that such "crazy things" do happen and that her generation could not fully comprehend the struggles of women in Xia Meng's time.
He asserted that Xia Meng loved Li Yanshu deeply, so much so that she preferred Yanshu's hatred and unforgiveness as a way to alleviate her own immense pain and guilt. Han Zhipeng, treating Yanshu like his own child, advised her to reconsider everything he had said, urging her not to make a decision she would regret, as life presents many important turning points.
Reflecting on Han Zhipeng's revelations, Li Yanshu was filled with deep regret and self-blame, realizing how much she had misunderstood her mother and how harshly she had treated her over the years. Overwhelmed by remorse, she went to a bar and drank heavily. Meanwhile, Gu Chengze diligently cared for his mother, pushing her in a wheelchair for walks. After a period of treatment, Fu Wanyu's mental state had significantly improved.
She asked Gu Chengze about the canceled wedding and told him that Li Yanshu was a good girl and he must treat her well, indicating her full acceptance of Li Yanshu as her daughter-in-law. Overwhelmed by the recent events, Li Yanshu decided to accompany Junrui to the United States for his piano studies, using the time to calm down and reflect.
At the airport, she told David, a friend, that she was not getting married for now, feeling exhausted, and promised to tell him the details later. When David asked if he should confront Gu Chengze, Li Yanshu sadly suggested the punch should be for her instead, indicating her deep self-blame.
When Gu Chengze arrived to see her off, he embraced her, reiterating that he would give her time to process everything but warned her not to make him wait too long. He reminded her to always remind herself of the fact that she loves him and to take good care of herself. Li Yanshu tearfully hugged him back before running through the security gate.
