Way Back Into Love Episode 3 Recap
> Way Back Into Love Recap
Lu Jia, determined to escape her current employment, deliberately proposed a relationship with Ye Angyang, aiming to violate the company’s strict no-office-romance policy and get herself dismissed by Xu Jiaxiu. Ye Angyang, initially stunned by her sudden proposal, listened as Lu Jia explained that she simply wanted to regain her freedom.
She stated that while she wished to pay the penalty and throw the money at Xu Jiaxiu's face, her recent stock losses made her short on funds, and she refused to endure working for him for a full month. Ye Angyang, eager to be with Lu Jia, readily agreed to help, assuring her that as a company partner, Xu Jiaxiu would never fire him, thus ensuring she would be the one dismissed.
Lu Jia enthusiastically suggested they immediately change to couple head portraits and wear couple clothes to work the next day, along with a high-profile bouquet of flowers. However, Ye Angyang, believing these "little tricks" wouldn't fool Xu Jiaxiu, insisted they follow his own, more subtle approach. The next morning, Lu Jia arrived at work and presented Xu Jiaxiu with the financial statement she had supposedly worked on overnight, complete with self-imposed dark circles.
To her annoyance, Xu Jiaxiu calmly informed her he had already reviewed the report an hour ago. Lu Jia then discovered her computer's host unit in his office; he had fixed her old computer and extracted the data himself. She internally cursed him for being cheap, refusing to buy a new computer, and for seemingly causing her to work late on purpose. Xu Jiaxiu merely told her to take her host computer and leave his office.
Later, in an attempt to make their fabricated relationship known, Ye Angyang spoke to Xu Jiaxiu in his office, subtly mentioning he was dealing with "personal emotional problems." Simultaneously, Lu Jia intentionally sent a message to the company group chat saying, "Why are you guys still talking about work? I miss you," only to quickly retract it and claim it was a mistake.
Colleagues like Xiaoda, Zhang Liang, and Wang Di, having seen the message, immediately began speculating about a possible office romance, with many pointing to Mr. Ye due to their known history as high school classmates. Confident that her plan was working, Lu Jia confronted Xu Jiaxiu, confirming the company's rule about one party being dismissed in an office romance and announcing her relationship with Ye Angyang, expecting to be fired.
Instead, Xu Jiaxiu directed her to page eight of the employee handbook, which outlined rules against non-work-related messages in the group chat, imposing a 500 yuan fine, doubled if not paid within 24 hours. Lu Jia, frustrated, grudgingly sent the red envelope to the group, only to recoup a measly 0. 25 yuan.
She then learned that Janice, the CTO and head of the Project R&D Department, had won the most money from the red envelope and didn't even have to clock in daily, which Lu Jia found incredibly unfair. Venting her frustration, Lu Jia tried to drink many cups of coffee to make up for her financial loss, muttering under her breath about Xu Jiaxiu's "shamelessness" and how "good looks" don't pay bills.
Xu Jiaxiu, overhearing her, pointed out that her compliment was merely a statement of fact and calculated how many 1. 3 yuan coffee packets she would need to drink to break even. Recognizing that her initial "Plan A" failed because Xu Jiaxiu was "a complete straight man" when it came to "relationships and flirtation," Lu Jia decided with Ye Angyang to implement "Plan B"—a more "drastic" and open display of affection.
They followed Xu Jiaxiu to a coffee shop where he was meeting clients, knowing he always chose cost-effective places to save time and money. Despite Ye Angyang's suggestion to go inside, Lu Jia insisted they couldn't jeopardize corporate business. As Xu Jiaxiu met with a stream of clients, Lu Jia and Ye Angyang waited outside, enduring numb legs from their prolonged public display.
Eventually, they went inside, making a heart shape with their hands and sitting opposite Xu Jiaxiu, only to be interrupted by a waiter asking for their orders. They quickly left when Xu Jiaxiu finished his meeting. As they continued their performance outside, sand blew into Lu Jia’s eye, and Ye Angyang leaned in to help her. Xu Jiaxiu, observing this moment as he escorted his last client, misinterpreted their closeness. He simply told them to "continue" and walked away.
Lu Jia, desperate, chased after Xu Jiaxiu, jumping into his car. She explicitly declared her relationship with Ye Angyang, reminding him of the company’s anti-office-romance policy and demanding that he fire her so she could "pack her things and get lost." Xu Jiaxiu, however, stated that the company would do "whatever it costs to retain talents" and calmly threatened to simply break them up, rendering their relationship non-violating.
Frustrated, Lu Jia demanded the driver pull over and got out, only to realize she had lost a shoe in her haste and left her bag and phone with Ye Angyang. Ye Angyang, who had been calling Xu Jiaxiu in concern, cursed "Grumpy Xu" for being "inhumane" when he learned Lu Jia had been dropped off. Later, Lu Jia met with Meng Tiantian, lamenting her "doomed" connection with Xu Jiaxiu, calling him a liar and vindictive.
Meng Tiantian speculated Xu Jiaxiu’s grudge might stem from Lu Jia’s father, Lu Hongwei, having ruined his first love with Yang Shanni years ago in the woods, or from Lu Jia drunkenly kissing him at Meng Tiantian’s wedding, given his known neat-freak tendencies. Lu Jia vehemently denied the possibility of falling for Xu Jiaxiu again, vowing she "would never fall for the same man twice."
She also complained about the "crappy contract" that mandated a three-month salary penalty if she resigned before a month's notice. Meng Tiantian suggested she "laze away" her remaining time, but Lu Jia explained Xu Jiaxiu kept her overwhelmed with tasks. Meanwhile, at home, Lu Hongwei was having his pants stitched by Jiang Wenting, a neighbor.
Their relationship was a secret, as Lu Hongwei feared Lu Jia’s disapproval, acknowledging his daughter's sensitivity since her mother's passing and promising Jiang Wenting he would find the right time to tell Lu Jia. Lu Jia arrived home to find Jiang Wenting leaving and making excuses about sewing her father’s pants. Lu Jia, who had long been aware of their relationship but chose to say nothing, silently observed the scene before retreating to her room.
Lu Hongwei then noticed Lu Jia was wearing Meng Tiantian's shoes. The next day, Lu Jia was late again due to her long commute. She offered to have two hours of her pay deducted, despite being only a minute and 59 seconds late. Ye Angyang, attempting to maintain the illusion of their office romance, loudly returned her lost bag and shoe, hinting that she had left them at his place overnight.
Lu Jia, however, decided to end the pretense, telling Ye Angyang that Xu Jiaxiu’s refusal to dismiss her, preferring instead to break them up, indicated he "definitely" couldn't find a replacement. Ye Angyang expressed sadness over the abrupt end of their "transient relationship." Determined to leave, Lu Jia realized she had to find another way. At that moment, Zhou Yunbo, representing his "dummy company" Wode Technology, tried to pitch a "can't-lose" project to Xu Jiaxiu.
Xu Jiaxiu, citing a shortage of staff, was initially hesitant. Lu Jia, seizing the opportunity, volunteered to take on the project. She proposed a bet: if she completed the outsourcing project on time, Xu Jiaxiu would release her from her contract; if she failed, her resignation notice period would extend from one to three months. Ye Angyang immediately offered to help her, boosting Lu Jia’s confidence that they would win.
Xu Jiaxiu agreed to the bet, wishing her good luck, and Lu Jia confidently told him to prepare a "farewell dinner." As they began selecting a project, Lu Jia discovered Ye Angyang couldn't program, meaning she would be doing most of the work, focusing on her specialty in design and interface. They chose a project involving transferring an Android program's interface to iOS.
Zhou Yunbo then revealed the project had a tight deadline of one week, much to Lu Jia's dismay. Despite Ye Angyang's plan to split the design work and finish in five days with 12-hour workdays, Lu Jia calculated her grueling schedule: 12 hours of work, 4 hours commuting, 2 hours for eating and showering, leaving less than six hours for sleep. She also worried about disturbing her father and Doctor Jiang's dates at home.
She sought advice from Lan, a representative from the personnel outsourcing company, who suggested renting a nearby apartment to save travel time. However, Lu Jia calculated that an apartment, costing at least 3,000 yuan a month, wasn't cost-effective for her 8,000 yuan after-tax salary, even factoring in reduced tardiness penalties. Lan then mentioned that Janice, the company's CTO, was looking for a roommate.
Just then, Janice made a dramatic entrance on a motorcycle, dressed in black leather, her short, messy hair complementing her cool demeanor. She was immediately surrounded by admiring colleagues like Xiaoda, Zhang Liang, and Wang Di, all calling her "Master." Later, Lu Jia had a vivid dream where she again confessed her relationship with Ye Angyang to Xu Jiaxiu.
In the dream, Xu Jiaxiu shockingly declared he would fire Ye Angyang, not her, claiming he had wanted to get rid of him for a long time. Ye Angyang, horrified, then begged Xu Jiaxiu to fire him instead. Lu Jia woke up, realizing it was all just a dream.
