The Trick of Life and Love Episode 1 Recap
> The Trick of Life and Love Recap
Late at night, Ning Chengming and Li Qian were speeding along a highway, one after the other. Ning Chengming tried to shake off his tail by taking several sharp turns, but Li Qian remained close behind. When they reached the outskirts, Ning Chengming suddenly stopped his car, startling Li Qian, who quickly slammed on her brakes. Ning Chengming walked directly toward Li Qian's car. Fearing she had been discovered, Li Qian quickly turned her car around and drove away.
Ning Chengming did not pursue her, returning to his own car. However, just as Ning Chengming buckled his seatbelt, a cargo truck crashed directly into his vehicle, spinning it 360 degrees. During the collision, Ning Chengming's head repeatedly hit the car, causing him to lose consciousness. Li Qian, who had not yet left, witnessed the scene in her rearview mirror and hastily hung up a phone call. Later, Li Qian stood outside the operating room, her hands covered in blood.
This was her second encounter with Ning Chengming, a meeting she had imagined many times, but never in such a dire circumstance. Eleven hours earlier, at a high-end hotel, an urgent announcement was made that SVIP No. 11, Mr. Fox, was about to arrive, causing the entire staff to go on high alert. Mr. Fox, also known as Ning Chengming, was rumored to have a handsome but never-smiling face, coupled with an intelligence as sharp as a fox's.
A hotel employee recounted a previous incident where he had precisely identified a staff member who secretly kept a dog in a guest room, simply by finding a single dog hair on the bedding. That employee was subsequently fired. His impending arrival naturally made everyone nervous. Though a woman, Li Qian was an exceptional fighter. As a child, she attended the same school as her current boss, Gu Zhe, who was often bullied.
Li Qian frequently stepped in to defend him. Years later, during a job interview, Li Qian was surprised to find Gu Zhe was the owner. Gu Zhe offered her a secretary position, but under Li Qian's strict guidance, he often behaved more like her subordinate. On this particular day, a major business deal was at stake. Li Qian caught Gu Zhe playing video games in his office and angrily demanded that he secure the contract.
Gu Zhe, confident in his abilities, agreed on the condition that if he succeeded, Li Qian would allow him to attend a live gaming event. Li Qian agreed. The negotiation initially progressed smoothly, with Li Qian accompanying Gu Zhe. As success seemed imminent, Li Qian stepped out to call Yu Qingqing, asking her to buy a ticket for the gaming event for Gu Zhe, fulfilling her promise.
After securing the ticket, Li Qian went to the service desk to pick it up. She placed her half-empty drink on the counter. Coincidentally, Ning Chengming also placed his cup there. Without looking, Li Qian instinctively picked up Ning Chengming's cup by mistake. To Li Qian's dismay, she discovered that Ning Chengming was the other party in the negotiation, alongside Ma Hao. During her brief absence, the meeting took a dramatic turn.
Upon her return, the opposing side refused to sign the contract due to a single remark from Ning Chengming. Gu Zhe, visibly intimidated by Ning Chengming, dragged a terrified Li Qian into the negotiation room. Ning Chengming had been Li Qian's university professor, and she had often felt his disdain due to her poor exam answers. Naturally, she was scared.
Gu Zhe confessed to Li Qian that he couldn't handle Ning Chengming, stating, "I swear, everything went well before he came in. Allen was even about to call me Bro! God knows he just said one word. . . the atmosphere changed completely." He explained that Ning Chengming had bluntly exposed their company's "performance fell by 12% year-on-year last quarter." Gu Zhe then packed his bags and fled, leaving the difficult situation to his "almighty secretary."
With no other option, Li Qian reluctantly followed Ning Chengming, hoping to gather information. She called Yu Qingqing, expressing her fear and asking for help. Yu Qingqing, identifying herself as Li Qian's "bestie in the world," suggested that Ning Chengming, who co-founded Guanding with his junior fellow Ma Hao, was now a prominent figure in the industry, having left his teaching position at Financial University.
Li Qian dismissed the idea of joining Ning Chengming's company, recalling the "dread of being governed by him" during her university days. Yu Qingqing then proposed an unconventional plan: "I have a male classmate in the university. . . he married his wife from T Country. He is a policeman in T Country now." She explained that this policeman friend knew about an "illegal trade in a night club" in Rayong that night.
If Li Qian could "deceive Ning Chengming into drinking there," he would be "involved and put into jail for one week at least," buying time for their negotiation. After receiving the address, Li Qian expressed her unease, but Yu Qingqing urged her to act quickly. Soon, Li Qian spotted Ning Chengming leaving the hotel and followed him. Li Qian continued to follow Ning Chengming.
While on the phone with Yu Qingqing in the garage, Li Qian reported that Ning Chengming seemed to have noticed her. Panicked, she drove away, only for the cargo truck accident to occur moments later. Back at the hospital, Li Qian anxiously questioned the doctor about Ning Chengming's condition. The doctor explained that Ning Chengming had "a sense of protection," resulting in "arms and ribs are slightly hurt" and his "limbs are not severely injured."
However, his "brain has hit," and "we are hardly to know the sequelae before he wakes up." This meant he "can't be discharged recently." Li Qian then received a call from Yu Qingqing, who reminded her that the original plan was intended only to delay Ning Chengming for two to three days. Yu Qingqing cautioned that if the delay was "too long, Ning Chengming will call Ma Hao" to continue the negotiation, which would be "going too far."
Meanwhile, Gu Zhe, while supposedly relaxing, called his girlfriend Tiantian, who gave vague answers about her whereabouts. Gu Zhe then discovered her with another man, confronting them and getting into a fight that left him with a bloody nose. Li Qian dozed off by Ning Chengming's bedside, drifting into a dream. She revisited her childhood, where her beautiful mother told her her long-absent father was a superhero.
Despite her mother's poor cooking, they shared a close, sister-like bond, with young Li Qian often taking care of her mother. The dream then shifted, showing Ning Chengming, her university professor, holding up her exam papers. He warned her that if she continued to choose 'C' for every question she didn't know, he would never let her graduate, forcing her to "be studying in college all your life." Li Qian woke with a scream.
Her cry stirred Ning Chengming, who slowly opened his eyes. Ning Chengming, disoriented, asked, "Who are you?" and "Where is this?" He couldn't even "see [her] clearly" and didn't remember being nearsighted. When asked his name, he replied, "Who am I?" and "Who are you?"
Recalling Gu Zhe's desperate plea to "handle Ning Chengming" and Yu Qingqing's warning about the potential for Ma Hao to take over the negotiation if Ning Chengming's incapacitation lasted too long, combined with the doctor's prognosis that Ning Chengming's brain "has hit" and he might have amnesia, Li Qian seized the opportunity. She leaned in close and declared, "You are Ning Chengming. . . I am your. . . fiancée."
