The Trick of Life and Love Episode 5 Recap
> The Trick of Life and Love Recap
A sophisticated hacker successfully breached the hotel's surveillance system, pinpointing Ning Chengming's room. From a remote location, the hacker guided an employer through the hotel, helping them evade detection. The hacker later reported that a new security patch on the hotel's system, which originated from China and was particularly challenging to bypass, made direct entry impossible. Meanwhile, Li Qian and Ning Chengming were having dinner.
Li Qian enthusiastically ordered a lavish spread for herself, while Ning Chengming received only a modest bowl of plain porridge. Ning Chengming, eyeing Li Qian's tempting dishes, questioned why his food hadn't arrived, only to be met with his unappetizing porridge. Li Qian insisted he could only have porridge due to his health, citing a doctor's advice. Suddenly, Li Qian spotted Gu Zhe nearby.
Panicked, she quickly pulled Ning Chengming under the table and urged him to go to the restroom. Despite Ning Chengming's protest that he hadn't even drunk his porridge, Li Qian used "doctor's orders" to compel him, and he eventually complied. Taking advantage of the situation, Li Qian asked Ning Chengming to order a takeaway snack for her. As he left to place the order, she took his phone and made her own phone line busy.
Gu Zhe, attempting to reach Li Qian, found her line was constantly engaged. Li Qian then secretly handed Ning Chengming's phone to the front desk to be returned to him and slipped away to her room. Upon returning to her room, Li Qian immediately called to check out, scheduling it for fifteen minutes later.
She mused about her perfect plan: Ning Chengming would retrieve his phone, bring back the snack, and only encounter Qi Wei, whom she had summoned, while she would have already vanished. After getting his phone from the front desk, Ning Chengming ordered the snack for Li Qian. Qi Wei received a text from "Ning" with the room number 1314 and a ten-minute deadline. He hesitated, fearing another reprimand from Ning Chengming, but was curious why he was in that room.
Shortly after, Gu Zhe unexpectedly appeared at room 1314, convinced Li Qian was hiding a man. He searched the room, questioning Li Qian about her long phone calls. Li Qian, maintaining her composure, expressed surprise at his presence, reminding him of his twelve o'clock flight. Gu Zhe accused her of hiding a "little boyfriend." Li Qian scoffed, claiming the man he saw previously was merely a hotel masseuse and chastised him for his overactive imagination.
She then revealed she had Jin Yi rebook his flight, and Gu Zhe immediately received a notification for a flight departing in just two hours. He complained about the early departure, but Li Qian urged him to leave, citing the company budget and the risk of missing his flight. Exasperated, Gu Zhe relented and left. Soon after, a man disguised as a service worker entered room 1314 using a room card.
Li Qian, hidden behind the curtain, recognized him as the assailant from the hospital. The man, receiving instructions from the hacker that Ning Chengming was not in the room and there were no check-out records, searched the room. Just then, Qi Wei arrived outside, calling for "Mr. Ning." The man opened the door to find Qi Wei, who became terrified upon seeing him, apologizing and pleading for release while mentioning his injured leg.
Li Qian, observing from her hiding spot, realized the man and Qi Wei knew each other. The hacker called, reminding the man that his time was up. The man pushed Qi Wei aside and fled. Qi Wei pursued the assailant but quickly lost him. Realizing the assassin was still after Ning Chengming and fearing Qi Wei's potential complicity, Li Qian deleted Qi Wei's contact information from Ning Chengming's phone.
Determined not to leave him vulnerable, she began packing their belongings, resolving not to tell Yu Qingqing about the events to avoid a lecture. In her office, Yu Qingqing was looking forward to Li Qian's return. She was alarmed to learn from an email that Lirong Capital was conducting due diligence on their company, Hengxing, and suspected Gu Zhe was planning to sell it. She tried calling Li Qian and then Gu Zhe, but both their phones were off.
Yu Qingqing then contacted Xinyi, a colleague at Lirong. Meeting at a restaurant, Yu Qingqing learned from Xinyi that Li Jingfan, Chairman of Lirong Capital, intended to invest. Xinyi remarked that it was a good match and that Yu Qingqing shouldn't worry, as Li Jingfan was Li Qian's father. Yu Qingqing reflected on how Li Qian, despite having such an influential father, had stubbornly worked as Gu Zhe's secretary for years, refusing her father's help even in college.
In a flashback, Li Qian shared a memory of her mother, Auntie Ren, who taught her that life's challenges lead to growth. Li Qian also revealed she had a half-brother named Li Chen, who runs a film company. She explained that she avoided their father, Li Jingfan, because his presence made her feel that her happy memories of her mother were a self-deception.
Determined to reject the investment, Yu Qingqing learned that both Li Jingfan and his son, Li Jun, would be at Lirong's client appreciation banquet that night. Meanwhile, Li Jun, Li Qian's elder half-brother, was reprimanding employees for investing in underperforming film companies when his younger half-brother, Li Chen, arrived. Li Jun questioned him about whether Li Qian knew of Lirong's investment in Hengxing.
Li Chen warned that their father was using Gu Zhe to pressure Li Qian and that if she found out, she would quit and disappear. Despite Li Chen's reluctance, Li Jun insisted he attend the client banquet, threatening to withdraw funding from his film company if he refused. Li Chen reluctantly agreed. On his way back with the takeaway, Ning Chengming ran into the hotel's VIP manager.
The manager's comment about him having "changed rooms" to 1314 made Ning Chengming realize that he and Li Qian had not been staying in that room from the beginning, contradicting her story. His suspicions aroused, he returned to the room and confronted Li Qian. He questioned her claim of being his fiancée and their relationship as traveling partners, stating he believed her story was untrue. Li Qian, realizing the immediate danger and the need for urgent action, admitted, "You are right. I lied to you."
