The Hope Episode 20 Recap
> The Hope Recap
In 2017, in Xingzhou, Cheng Yushan witnessed Li Ran being beaten by a group of thugs on her way home from school. The thugs were aggressive, demanding Li Ran's phones and money, accusing him of trying to steal their business. Li Ran, injured, later found a bag of milk and bread left beside him under a bridge.
The next morning, Jiang Qinglang arrived early to pick up Cheng Yushan for her mathematics competition, offering his father, Jiang Chuan, as their driver. Jiang Chuan, admiring Cheng Yushan's talent as a mathematics genius, tried to shake her hand to "increase his IQ." On the way, Jiang Qinglang offered Cheng Yushan two plans to help her relax: quiet study or conversation, music, and jokes. Cheng Yushan chose to study quietly.
He had also packed breakfast and yogurt for her and gave her gum, which he said helps calm nerves before an exam. Inside the gum wrapper, Cheng Yushan found a note from Jiang Qinglang that read, "After a storm comes a calm, you're number one." Meanwhile, Li Ran arrived at the robot competition with his creation, "Fire Rain." The arena contest rules stipulated a three-minute match, with victory achieved by completely disabling the opponent's robot.
If both robots remained active, judges would decide based on lethality, damage, operation, and tactics. The reigning champion was Ma Long with his robot, "Mastiff," from the Silver Wing Robot Club, known for its strong power and enhanced AI auxiliary combat system. Li Ran was a first-time competitor, and "Fire Rain" had been designed and built in less than a month, making many observers doubt his chances against the formidable Mastiff. The match began with both robots cautiously probing. "
Fire Rain," smaller and more agile, attempted to evade Mastiff's frontal assaults and find opportunities for flank attacks. However, Mastiff delivered a heavy blow to "Fire Rain's" front, then relentlessly pursued and overturned it, seemingly predicting its movements. As Mastiff continued its attack, shattering pieces flew from "Fire Rain." In a critical moment, "Fire Rain" attacked Mastiff's left camera, damaging its vision and partially disabling its machine vision function.
Taking advantage of Mastiff's blind spot, "Fire Rain" provoked it, drawing Mastiff into a trap where it was thrown and overturned for the first time in the competition. Mastiff quickly recovered and deployed a hidden cutting weapon from its tail, its first time revealing this formidable tool. It clamped down on "Fire Rain," dismembering its equipment and power cabins. With only a minute left and "Fire Rain's" weapon system nearly destroyed, it was revealed to be a mother-son robot.
The smaller sub-robot then launched itself, and in a flash, struck Mastiff's main control board, causing its power, control, and communication modules to fail, leading to "brain death." "Fire Rain" emerged victorious, becoming the new arena champion, much to the excitement of the crowd. Despite winning the match, Li Ran was awarded a second-place trophy for the overall competition. After the competition, Li Ran excitedly cycled to Cheng Yushan's home to share his news.
However, he saw Jiang Qinglang dropping her off from his car. Cheng Yushan's mother then asked if Jiang Qinglang was her boyfriend, openly expressing approval due to his good looks, polite demeanor, and wealthy family, even suggesting they attend the same university. Li Ran, holding his trophy, felt a pang of disappointment and did not share his achievement with Cheng Yushan. Later, the results of the joint exam were posted.
Shen Yao, who usually ranked in the top three, dropped to eleventh place. Cheng Yushan, Li Ran, and Yu Yang all scored over 500 points, much to the delight of their classmates. The announcement of Li Ran securing the runner-up position in the robot competition then flashed across the screen, making Class 11 the center of attention and pride. Observing the jubilant students from a distance, Shen Yao appeared frustrated.
He later noticed that the medication in his room had been moved and correctly guessed that Sang Xia had been there. Meanwhile, Lei Ming received a court summons. His friend informed him that Zhixiang was suing him for copyright infringement, demanding three million yuan in compensation. If he failed to pay within three months, he would be placed on the defaulter list.
His friend advised him to sell the house his father had left him, stressing that desperate times call for desperate measures. Lei Ming argued that while he might be a "jerk" for prioritizing Class 11 (his "true love") over Zhixiang (his first "marriage" for money), he had the right to choose. His friend warned that a defaulter's reputation would be far worse than a "jerk" who repents. At home, Cheng Yushan's stepfather entered her room while her mother was out.
He tried to convince her to consider marrying his wealthy nephew, He, who drove a BMW and earned 400,000 yuan annually from his hardware store chain. He suggested they could get engaged before her college entrance exam. Cheng Yushan firmly refused, reminding him of her upcoming three-day training at Sang Xia's house and the weekend math competition.
When Jiang Qinglang called, her stepfather snatched her phone, accusing her of talking to a "lecher" and threatening to release "videos" he had on his computer if she didn't comply. Cheng Yushan bravely confronted him, stating that she understood he installed cameras not for lust but to control her, her mother, and their entire home, labeling him as a coward who lacked both courage and ability, fearing the loss of his meager influence should she succeed. He slapped her.
Undeterred, Cheng Yushan packed her suitcase and left, daring him to release the videos and see who the police would arrest. Cheng Yushan arrived at Sang Xia's home, where Sang Xia comforted her, applying a face mask to her reddened cheek and soaking their feet together. Cheng Yushan confided in Sang Xia about her mother's past struggles in their rural village, where boys were given rice and girls only sweet potatoes.
She recounted how her mother had cared for her grandparents for four years, only to be forced to sign away her inheritance to her uncles on her grandmother's deathbed. Her mother moved to Xingzhou for work and married her stepfather to secure Cheng Yushan's school enrollment. Cheng Yushan expressed no blame towards her mother, understanding that her mother could not protect her when she could not even protect herself.
However, Cheng Yushan declared her intent to protect her mother and eventually take her away, ensuring she would not endure further pain. Sang Xia affirmed Cheng Yushan's strength and advised her to collect evidence such as recordings, screenshots, chat logs, police reports, and injury assessments if she ever decided to seek legal protection. Later, Li Ran encountered Cheng Yushan's stepfather at a noodle shop. He followed him, attempting to steal his phone, but was caught and beaten.
Jiang Qinglang, wearing a helmet to conceal his identity, intervened, joining the fray. After they fended off the stepfather, Li Ran, bruised but relieved, asked Jiang Qinglang why he had helped. Jiang Qinglang candidly admitted his feelings for Cheng Yushan, declaring his intention to confess to her after the college entrance exam and proposing a fair competition for her affection. Li Ran, pretending not to understand, simply walked away.
