The Trick of Life and Love Episode 16 Recap
> The Trick of Life and Love Recap
Li Qian's spontaneous response to Ning Chengming's kiss made her realize she was in love with him. As their passionate kiss deepened, an image of Cao Mei unexpectedly flashed through Ning Chengming's mind, causing him to abruptly pull away. Li Qian was left bewildered. She pondered why the kiss had stopped so suddenly, wondering if her "bad at kissing" skills were to blame, or if it had triggered some memory for him.
Internally, she decided that if she were to confess her true identity to Ning Chengming, it would inevitably cause a storm. She resolved to subtly instill in him the idea that "lies are not always malicious" in hopes of earning his forgiveness and preserving their relationship. Meanwhile, Ning Chengming himself was confused by the sudden surge of memories during their kiss and speculated that kissing Li Qian might be the trigger.
Later, as Li Qian tried to quickly retreat to her room after showering, Ning Chengming stopped her, noticing she hadn't dried her hair. He insisted on blow-drying it for her, telling her she'd get sick otherwise. Li Qian, a self-proclaimed "corporate slave" with a busy schedule, tried to argue her way out of it, but Ning Chengming playfully noted that her hair was dry by the time she finished her "sophistry."
Afterwards, Ning Chengming asked if he could kiss her, catching Li Qian off guard. She refused, stating she wasn't ready. Ning Chengming then explained that kissing her seemed to trigger fragmented memories from his past, including unhappy childhood moments with his parents. However, he found it strange that these memories evoked no strong feelings of pain or sadness. The only feeling he recognized as "like" or happiness came when he thought of Li Qian.
Li Qian, pleased, encouraged him to keep thinking of her to stay happy. She then suggested they go on a date the following day, marking it as their first day of officially "dating." The next morning, Li Qian apologized to Yu Qingqing for abruptly leaving her at the class reunion the previous night. Yu Qingqing, however, was still upset, warning Li Qian that falling for Ning Chengming was "playing with fire" and would lead to more trouble.
Li Qian, accepting the potential consequences, then asked if Yu Qingqing had gathered any information. Yu Qingqing confirmed that the "account book" was indeed the key, and that Guanding's CFO, Dong Wei, was in a nearby city. Conveniently, a company called Aoke, which owed them money, was also in the same city. Li Qian decided to go there under the guise of collecting payments, planning to seek out Dong Wei.
Yu Qingqing then revealed the shocking news that Ning Chengming had a fiancée, Cao Mei. Piecing together the information, Li Qian realized that Guanding was holding a shareholder resolution meeting the very next day. She surmised that Ning Chengming's disappearance was orchestrated by Ma Hao to prevent him from opposing an acquisition; his absence would be counted as an abstention, allowing Ma Hao to successfully acquire the company and resolve its cash flow deficit.
Li Qian immediately requested Dong Wei's personal information from Yu Qingqing. Meanwhile, Cao Mei received a photo of Ning Chengming with an unidentified girl whose face was blurred. She noted that it was indeed Ning Chengming but wondered about the girl. After taking this into consideration, she confidently assured Director He over the phone that Ning Chengming would return very soon. For their date, Li Qian took Ning Chengming to watch a movie and attend a renowned "emotional doctor's" lecture.
At the cinema, they watched a romantic film called "Eraser," which Li Qian claimed was her favorite, despite Ning Chengming recalling her preference for comedies or horror. Li Qian seized the opportunity to interpret the movie's message as forgetting past mistakes and making a fresh start, urging Ning Chengming to unconditionally forgive and trust the person he loved, forgetting all her "faults." She even declared herself a "tenth-level scholar of Eraser."
Ning Chengming was somewhat confused by her interpretation but went along with it. At the lecture, the speaker, Mr. Wang, discussed the nature of "lies" and how "white lies" could strengthen love by being "packaged truth" that protects its fragility. Ning Chengming appeared to grasp this concept, telling Li Qian he wouldn't blame her if she ever told him a well-intentioned lie, as he would know it was for his good.
Li Qian saw this as her chance to confess, but Mr. Wang interrupted with a psychological test, asking couples to write down good and bad things in their lives to reveal their views on love. Li Qian cheerfully listed many good things, joking that she had no bad things.
In stark contrast, Ning Chengming wrote about the tragedies in his life: losing his parents in a car accident as a child, his current amnesia, feeling disliked by his students, and considering himself a "jerk" in love, concluding that his life had lacked good things "until I met you." Deeply moved by his heartfelt confession that she was the "only lucky thing in his unlucky life," and his plea for her to "always stay beside" him, Li Qian was overwhelmed.
She wanted to tell him the truth, but felt she first needed to uncover the full conspiracy to protect him from further danger. Unable to confess at that moment, she asked for more time, promising to tell him everything honestly and apologize without deception after she returned from her upcoming business trip, hoping he would forgive her and that she wouldn't lose him.
The next day, Li Qian embarked on her business trip to the nearby city, exchanging playful texts with Ning Chengming, reminding each other to stay safe. She soon located Dong Wei, Guanding's former CFO, and confronted him. Dong Wei, startled, immediately tried to flee, leading Li Qian on a determined chase through the streets, even commandeering a skateboard to pursue him. Meanwhile, back home, Ning Chengming went to the market to buy snakehead fish for Li Qian.
He quickly noticed he was being followed. Unbeknownst to him, Lu Shao, who had been secretly monitoring Ning Chengming, also saw the suspicious individuals on his surveillance feed. Realizing Ning Chengming was in danger, Lu Shao urgently dispatched Qi Wei to protect him. Ning Chengming attempted to escape his pursuers, who told him they were "getting paid to catch" him. In his haste, he tragically fell down a flight of stairs and lost consciousness.
As he tumbled, a flood of memories returned to him, including pivotal moments related to Cao Mei, Ma Hao, and even Li Qian's earlier claim of being his fiancée. When he finally awoke in the Central Hospital of Haoran City, his memories were fully restored. Li Qian eventually caught up to Dong Wei, who, under her questioning, confessed everything.
He revealed that Ma Hao had blackmailed him, leveraging his son's urgent need for surgery to force him into creating 20 million in fraudulent accounts. The intention was to cover up the truth during an audit and ultimately frame Ning Chengming. Dong Wei confirmed that Ning Chengming had discovered the scheme and confronted him.
Ning Chengming had then taken a handwritten copy of the false accounts but returned the real ledger to avoid tipping off Ma Hao, though Dong Wei believed it was likely destroyed by now. Dong Wei also clarified that he himself had not taken any illicit money from Ma Hao, stating that the funds for his son's surgery were a loan from Ning Chengming, which he was diligently repaying in installments. Li Qian recorded his confession and had him sign it.
Shortly after securing Dong Wei's statement, Li Qian received a frantic call from the Central Hospital of Haoran City, notifying her that Ning Chengming, for whom she was the emergency contact, had been admitted due to an accident. At the hospital, a distraught Qi Wei was by Ning Chengming's bedside, emotionally recounting the "miserable" and "evil" struggles he endured fighting Ma Hao and the other executives during Ning Chengming's absence. Now fully recovered and appearing sharp in his glasses, Ning Chengming calmly asked Qi Wei for an update on Ma Hao's recent activities.
