The Trick of Life and Love Episode 30 Recap
> The Trick of Life and Love Recap
Li Qian woke up the next morning and immediately confronted Ning Chengming for having gone to meet Cao Mei alone the previous day, deeming it highly dangerous and asking what would have happened if he had been taken advantage of. Ning Chengming playfully feigned ignorance, and their lighthearted exchange continued until Qi Wei arrived at the door. Upon seeing Li Qian in her pajamas, Qi Wei quickly retreated.
He then urgently informed Ning Chengming that Lu Shao was in distress due to a video call from his family, prompting Ning Chengming and Li Qian to go to Lu Shao's room. Lu Shao's aunt was on the video call, and she insisted that Ning Chengming bring Li Qian to visit, hinting that she was aware of their cohabitation and wished to vet Li Qian herself.
After Ning Chengming ended the call, Lu Shao explained his reluctance to speak with his parents, who consistently treated him like a third-grader and attempted to send him to a nursing home. Ning Chengming clarified that Lu Shao’s mother only remembered him as a child from before her illness, and in her mind, he would always be one. He warned Lu Shao that his house and computer would be confiscated if he continued to refuse visits.
Ning Chengming then instructed Lu Shao to bring Qi Wei along for the next visit, which confused Qi Wei. Later, both Lu Shao and Qi Wei playfully addressed Li Qian as "sister-in-law," much to her embarrassment. They were also surprised to see Ning Chengming cooking for Li Qian, with Lu Shao remarking that anyone who could make Ning Chengming cook was like a code expert to him.
Lu Shao then asked Li Qian to intercede with Ning Chengming to reduce his rent, causing Li Qian to label them a "strange family." Concerned about their safety as Cao Mei became increasingly erratic, Lu Shao provided Ning Chengming and Li Qian with miniature locators to monitor their whereabouts and ensure their personal security. Ning Chengming tenderly helped Li Qian put on her locator, a moment interrupted by Lu Shao and Qi Wei's teasing.
He assured Li Qian that he would protect her from Cao Mei. Meanwhile, Li Jingfan was eagerly preparing for his birthday banquet, excited about Li Qian’s impending return. He personally oversaw every detail, instructing Li Jun to ensure the dishes were perfectly clean due to Li Qian’s mysophobia and meticulously arranging flowers so she could appreciate their scent. He expressed concern that Li Qian might not attend, but Li Jun reassured him.
Li Chen and Gu Lan discussed Li Jingfan’s intense preparations, with Li Chen remarking that after over a decade, his father couldn’t remain calm about his daughter’s return. Li Chen then showed Gu Lan Li Qian’s room, decorated in a vibrant pink that made it look like a princess’s chamber.
Gu Lan was surprised, and their brother, Li Jun, then appeared, explaining that he had designed the room 15 years ago and hoped Li Qian would love it and move in that very night. Li Chen and Gu Lan offered insincere compliments on the room’s décor, with Gu Lan jokingly calling Li Jun "a domineering president with a pink girlish heart."
Ning Chengming messaged his online mentor, "Jianghu," who was actually Gu Zhe, announcing that he had "graduated" (a euphemism for becoming intimate with Li Qian). Gu Zhe, visibly shocked and annoyed, challenged Ning Chengming's experience and suggested Li Qian must be "mediocre in appearance and dull-witted" to fall for him. This triggered an online argument, with Ning Chengming calling Gu Zhe narrow-minded and an incompetent "emotional anchor."
When Li Qian entered, she took Ning Chengming's phone and discovered his online alias, "0205," was registered with her birthday. She realized that she and Ning Chengming had been conversing online without knowing each other’s true identities. Gu Zhe then messaged Ning Chengming, challenging him to a physical confrontation under the ferris wheel of Jinmao Square. Li Qian, fearing Ning Chengming would get injured before Li Jingfan's birthday banquet, forbade him from going, and he reluctantly agreed.
Gu Zhe, confident that Ning Chengming was a "keyboard warrior" who wouldn't show up, waited at the ferris wheel and even rode a carousel, feeling victorious. Yu Qingqing observed Li Qian’s radiant demeanor and correctly inferred that she and Ning Chengming had become intimate, prompting Li Qian to admit they lacked a "sense of ritual" in their relationship. Just then, Qi Wei rushed in, reporting Ning Chengming missing.
Li Qian immediately suspected he had gone to meet Gu Zhe and instructed Yu Qingqing to rush to the Jinmao Square ferris wheel to intercept Gu Zhe, warning that they might otherwise have to bail "two" people out of the police station. Yu Qingqing managed to drag Gu Zhe away just as he received a message confirming Ning Chengming's arrival. Simultaneously, Li Qian used the locator Lu Shao had provided to find Ning Chengming and bring him back.
As they walked away, Gu Zhe and Ning Chengming continued their childish taunts via message, each claiming the other was too afraid to show up, much to the exasperation of Yu Qingqing and Li Qian, who admonished them for their immaturity. Yu Qingqing took Gu Zhe to a coffee shop, where she had painstakingly dressed up for a "business meeting."
She revealed her intention to rekindle a past romance with a "comely school junior" named Wei, who now held a valuable high-tech patent, hoping to integrate him into their company. Gu Zhe attempted to escape by faking a stomachache, but Yu Qingqing prevented him. When Wei arrived, both Yu Qingqing and Gu Zhe were thoroughly disappointed by his changed appearance; he was now unkempt, unfashionable, and noticeably bald.
Yu Qingqing tried to end the meeting quickly, but Wei persisted, expressing that he had harbored feelings for her for years and developed post-traumatic stress from her sudden disappearance during their brief high school romance. He confessed his enduring love and his belief that she, unlike others, would accept his baldness, admitting he wore a wig.
Yu Qingqing, exasperated, pulled his wig off in front of Gu Zhe, complaining that Wei would even knit wigs and force her to touch them, despite his "hereditary baldness." Gu Zhe initially burst out laughing but quickly composed himself under Yu Qingqing’s glare. Humiliated, Wei left. Gu Zhe, still amused, assured Yu Qingqing that he did not have hereditary baldness and would knit a wig for her if she ever needed one.
Li Qian then led Ning Chengming to her late mother Ren Yue's former studio, a place where her mother used to paint. She revealed a portrait of Li Jingfan, proudly stating that it was painted by her mother, a secret hidden for fifteen years.
Li Qian recounted how her mother had playfully told her that her father was various superheroes, and how, as a child, she had discovered the hidden paintings but pretended not to know, playing along with the secret. She then shared her childhood anger and a period of cold war with her mother for withholding the truth, only to deeply regret it when her mother fell ill.
Li Qian showed Ning Chengming several unfinished paintings her mother had created for the man she loved, some even on her deathbed. She tearfully confessed her own selfishness and cowardice, admitting she had avoided Li Jingfan to evade the pain of her mother's death, fearing that accepting him would mean fully acknowledging her mother's absence. Ning Chengming comforted her, explaining that he and she were different.
Her mother, he said, was like a "female warrior" whose decade-long battle with illness had given him time to mentally prepare, whereas Li Qian was only four when she had to face the harsh reality of her parents’ fractured marriage. He affirmed that none of it was her fault. Li Qian thanked Ning Chengming, calling him her "sole good luck in my unhappy life" for helping her rediscover her emotions.
She then gave him "homework": to "be happy even if life is hard, and find joy amid hardship," to which Ning Chengming responded, "OK, Teacher Li." After framing the portrait of Li Jingfan, intending it as a birthday gift, Ning Chengming received a message. He told Li Qian he had a company matter to attend to but urged her to go to Li Jingfan's birthday banquet on time, promising to join her in half an hour.
After he departed, Li Qian heard a noise from the entrance. Believing it was Ning Chengming who had returned for something, she went to investigate, but was suddenly seized by an unknown assailant who choked her and carried her away.
