The Trick of Life and Love Episode 18 Recap
> The Trick of Life and Love Recap
Li Qian and Yu Qingqing were discussing the future of Star & Quark when an assistant inadvertently revealed that Gu Zhe intended to sell the company to Lirong. Li Qian was furious, feeling that despite Gu Zhe nominally owning the company, she and Yu Qingqing were the ones who had worked tirelessly to build it. Meanwhile, Ning Chengming was insistent on meeting Li Jingfan. He contacted Li Chen and Li Jun to relay his request.
Li Jingfan, annoyed by Ning Chengming's persistence after being told he was unavailable, decided to avoid his office altogether. Instead, he chose to visit his daughter, Li Qian, aiming to teach Ning Chengming a lesson in proper conduct. At the same time, Cao Mei, having been rebuffed by Ning Chengming when she tried to invite him for lunch, began to investigate Li Qian’s background, noticing that Li Qian was the woman often seen with Ning Chengming.
Driven by anger, Li Qian confronted Gu Zhe, demanding to know why he planned to sell the company to Li Jingfan. Gu Zhe was speechless, and Yu Qingqing, despite her earlier attempts to stop him, admitted she was initially kept in the dark and later tried to convince him to tell Li Qian the truth. Furious at Gu Zhe's cowardice, Li Qian stormed out. At a crossroads, she unexpectedly encountered Ning Chengming.
She was momentarily relieved, but Ning Chengming merely cast a cold glance at her and ignored her, leaving Li Qian heartbroken. Determined to explain, she approached him, and he coldly granted her five minutes. Li Qian apologized for her initial deception, explaining it was for his safety and that she intended to tell him everything once the danger had passed, even claiming to be his "half-savior."
Just then, Li Jingfan and Li Jun drove by, and Li Jingfan instructed Li Jun to discreetly listen to their conversation. Ning Chengming, however, revealed that he had been aware of Ma Hao's scheme for a month and had already put contingency plans in place with Qi Wei, preparing even for his own death. He claimed that Li Qian's intervention was the only variable that disrupted his carefully calculated plan and allowed Ma Hao to escape.
Li Qian became agitated, questioning if he had also calculated her and reminding him of the pain his potential death would cause to those who cared for him. Ning Chengming dismissed her emotions, stating that their relationship was unequal and that nothing more would transpire between them, sternly warning her not to pursue him further. His words were cuttingly cold, showing no sign of affection.
Li Qian, hurt, retorted that she was not the only one deeply involved in their shared experiences. Separately, Yu Qingqing, fueled by jealousy over Gu Lan and Li Chen, enlisted Gu Zhe's help to sabotage their relationship. They located Gu Lan's car, and Yu Qingqing deliberately smeared lipstick on it.
Gu Lan arrived and confronted Yu Qingqing, who feigned an accidental slip of the hand and offered to pay for the damage, albeit with an IOU, slyly implying Gu Lan, as a "young lady of a big noble family," wouldn't quibble over such a trivial matter. When Li Chen intervened, defending Yu Qingqing and downplaying the incident, Gu Lan became enraged. To Gu Lan's shock, Li Chen declared himself her future husband, giving that as his reason for mediating.
Gu Lan, mistakenly assuming Yu Qingqing was Gu Zhe's girlfriend, angrily told Gu Zhe to take her away. Realizing their plan had backfired spectacularly, Gu Zhe quickly called Li Qian, promising to return. Meanwhile, Li Jingfan, witnessing Li Qian's distress, summoned Ning Chengming to his office. He reprimanded Ning Chengming for his treatment of Li Qian. Ning Chengming deftly redirected the conversation to business, asserting that as a shrewd investor, Li Jingfan should focus on high-yield projects, not personal affairs.
He reiterated that his past relationship with Li Qian was a product of his amnesia and not his true intentions. Ning Chengming then revealed he had known Li Qian's mother, Ren Yue, having met her at a hospital when he was Li Qian's teacher three years prior. He acknowledged the strained relationship between Li Qian and Li Jingfan, and proposed a partnership that would not only bring substantial financial returns but also mend their fractured father-daughter bond.
Concurrently, Cao Mei's investigation uncovered Ren Yue's history: she was the daughter of Ren Bonian, a former food tycoon. Ren Yue, described as headstrong, left for France at twenty to avoid an arranged marriage, where she met Li Jingfan. At that time, Li Jingfan was a widower with two sons, known for his playboy reputation, but he fell deeply in love with Ren Yue.
Ren Yue had conceived Li Qian with Li Jingfan and returned home pregnant, only to be disowned by her father. She lived in a house inherited from her own mother, which is now Li Qian's residence, and Li Qian herself only learned she had a father at the age of eighteen. Despite popular belief, Li Jingfan was not unfeeling; rather, he deeply loved Ren Yue, even proposing marriage, which she declined, likely due to her secret ALS diagnosis.
Li Jingfan later moved back to Haoran City for Ren Yue, but she consistently refused to reconcile or allow him to see their daughter. After Ren Yue's death when Li Qian was in college, Li Jingfan's protective concern for Li Qian became well-known among Lirong's senior executives. Amidst these personal revelations, Li Qian also received distressing news that GC was threatening to cancel their order and demand compensation due to Star & Quark's factory failing quality inspection. Ning Chengming, aware of Cao Mei's continued inquiries about the Lirong negotiations, instructed his assistant to vaguely state that talks were ongoing without a firm agreement.
