The Hope Episode 26 Recap
> The Hope Recap
In 2008, Xingzhou City, a young Shen Yao prepared for a play, but the role was given to another child, Guo Haoran. Shen Yao's father intervened, leveraging the fact that Guo Haoran's mother had just joined his company, to reclaim the part for his son.
Shen Yao's father constantly instilled in his son the belief that he must always be first, as "the trophy for first place is always one," and only by being first would others care for and respect him. Li Ran was summoned to the principal's office by Sang Xia. Outside, he overheard Shen Yao's father, Mr. Shen, discussing Shen Yao's impressive volunteer work with the Autism Children Care Association with Mr. Fang from the Wings Program.
Mr. Shen also mentioned that Li Ran and his grandmother had temporarily resided at their home, subtly implying Li Ran's less privileged background. Just then, Lei Ming arrived, announcing that he would represent Li Ran, acting as his half-guardian since Li Ran's grandmother was unavailable. Mr. Fang congratulated both Shen Yao and Li Ran for passing the preliminary selection for the Wings Program, but stated that only one spot was allocated to their school.
Mr. Shen suggested that the program should prioritize candidates with long-term endurance and a stable family background, rather than "opportunists" who show a "short-term outbreak" of effort. He emphasized that Shen Yao fit this description, having always focused on academics and charity. Lei Ming countered that the Wings Program was intended to "give wings to students without wings," not to provide extra gliders to those already well-equipped.
Feeling undervalued due to his past "messy" academic record and his family background, Li Ran concluded that the program only sought "clean, good seed" top students who had "never made mistakes." Distraught, he left the room. Lei Ming remained to speak with Mr. Fang. Later, he conveyed the final assessment criteria to Li Ran. Both Li Ran and Shen Yao had passed the initial selection, and the ultimate decision would depend on their scores in two upcoming physics practice exams.
If Li Ran surpassed Shen Yao, the Wings Program spot would be his. Lei Ming encouraged Li Ran, telling him that his true goal was "that Dragon Gate" of Tsingpei, not "that carp" (Shen Yao). Meanwhile, Jiang Qinglang requested a two-week leave from school, just three months before the college entrance exam. Gao Jingjuan, his teacher, initially refused, concerned that it would jeopardize all his efforts. However, Jiang Qinglang's mother surprised everyone by approving the leave.
She explained that she had secretly attended his rap competition in Beijing, where his performance was a heartfelt expression of his true self. His rap spoke of not wanting to be a "soulless test-taker" but to pursue his dream and become her "most proud child" in his own way, acknowledging that "life's book isn't just one directory" and asking his mother to let him choose once. Hearing this, she understood his desire to bravely step out of his comfort zone.
She allowed him one year to pursue his dream without financial support from the family, as a "gap year" to see if his passion could sustain him. If not, he would return to take the college entrance exam the following year. Moved by her support, Jiang Qinglang revealed he had known about his parents' hidden divorce, which they had planned to keep secret until after his exam. He decided to live with his mother.
This confrontation had been building; earlier, he had presented his parents with tickets for a trip to Finland, hoping for a reconciliation, only to discover they never left, which led to him revealing what he knew and his desire to become a rapper. Sang Xia was astonished that Lei Ming had approved Jiang Qinglang's leave. Lei Ming explained his reasoning by recalling two former students, Dong and Lei Lei, who had formed a band.
He saw a genuine happiness in them on stage that he never saw in Jiang Qinglang when he was just studying, and he didn't want to be the reason Qinglang regretted not pursuing his dream. After school, Mr. Shen invited Li Ran to an expensive restaurant. He attempted to persuade Li Ran to withdraw from the Wings Program, offering him four years of university tuition and living expenses for both him and his grandmother, until he found a job.
He also presented him with a bank card for his grandmother's living expenses, calling it "a token of my goodwill." Mr. Shen emphasized that Tsingpei was a "long shot" for Li Ran, pointing out that the Wings Program only offered a 30-point reduction, which, given Li Ran's current grades, was "a drop in the bucket." Upon returning home, Li Ran's grandmother confronted him about having dinner with Mr. Shen.
Li Ran then revealed her chronic renal failure diagnosis, informing her that her current medication was ineffective and that she needed expensive treatment at a major hospital. He suggested that if he withdrew from the Wings Program, they would have the money from Mr. Shen for her treatment. His grandmother vehemently refused, breaking the bank card and declaring she would rather die than accept such money. Late that night, Li Ran found his grandmother collecting scrap metal.
She confessed to him the true reason his father, Guanglin, never went to university. Three months before his college entrance exam, Li Ran's grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer. Director Shen, Shen Yao's grandfather, offered to cover all medical expenses, provide Guanglin with a technical job at the factory, and a three-bedroom apartment. The condition was that Guanglin withdraw from his special recruitment slot at Xingzhou Sci & Tech University, allowing Shen Hao (Shen Yao's father) to take it instead.
Guanglin sacrificed his dream for his family. Hearing this, Li Ran raced home and found a blood-stained watch, a painful reminder of his father's death. His father, an alcoholic, had asked Li Ran to buy liquor. Annoyed by his father's drunken state, Li Ran put on headphones and ignored him, leading his father to go out alone and die in a motorcycle accident.
At the hundred-day pledge ceremony, Li Ran confronted Shen Yao, declaring that he would not give up on the exams and would "win back" what his father had lost years ago.
