Wenderella's Diary Episode 3 Recap
> Wenderella's Diary Recap
Wen Rou arrived at her family home without her wedding ring, her sister Wen Xin surprised by her unexpected visit. Over dinner with her stepfather Wen Yajun and mother Cui Xuelan, Wen Rou seemed distant. Her mother offered her favorite fried meat, noting Wen Rou's rare visits. Wen Yajun dismissed Wen Rou's small business, suggesting she return to Wanli if it failed.
Wen Rou clarified that her business was Polimoda, the brand Wen Xin had just mentioned as having snatched a collaboration with Xunmi away from Wanli. Wen Rou admitted she was there because her products had encountered issues and she needed Wanli's help with inventory. While Cui Xuelan outwardly scolded her for potentially damaging Wanli's reputation, she subtly defended Wen Rou, acknowledging the difficulties of entrepreneurship.
Wen Rou, with tears in her eyes, seized this opportunity, portraying herself as a struggling, unassisted entrepreneur whose Polimoda trademark was unfairly sold after she had paid for it, leaving her with unsellable shoes. Moved, Wen Yajun agreed to let her use Wanli's new season product inventory. Wen Xin attempted to object to her products being used, but Wen Rou quickly thanked both her father and Wen Xin with saccharine words, proclaiming them good sisters.
After dinner, Wen Xin confronted Wen Rou, knowing her display was an act and questioning why she would humble herself for the first time before their father. Wen Rou confessed that the situation involved Shan Liang and Xunmi, and a little pretense was necessary. Shan Liang's assistant, Jian Jian, reported that the shoes Wen Rou shipped to customers were from Wanli, not Polimoda.
Further investigation revealed that Wen Rou had never registered the Polimoda trademark; it belonged to an Italian keychain brand. The original brand owner had planned to sell the shoe trademark to Wen Rou, but an unknown party offered a higher price and acquired it, leaving Wen Rou's manufactured shoes untrademarked. Shan Liang, convinced Wen Rou was simply naive about business and was carrying the burden alone, decided to buy the trademark for her.
He met with Su Ziguang, who was the buyer of the Polimoda trademark. Shan Liang began offering increasingly higher prices, eventually agreeing to pay ten times the original cost. Su Ziguang accepted, intending to teach Shan Liang about "human nature's nastiness" and make him question if his wife was worth such a price. Shan Liang then went to handle the shoe inventory, following the factory's address to a small, unassuming cottage.
The landlord there informed him that Wen Rou had been living in that cottage for years. Shan Liang realized that all of Wen Rou's stories about her background were fabrications, and he was overwhelmed by disappointment and sadness. Upon Wen Rou's return home, she playfully greeted Shan Liang, but he, still reeling from his discoveries, responded by quoting cynical lines from a book about a woman loved despite her flaws, which visibly unnerved Wen Rou.
He pressed her for a confession. Realizing he knew the truth, Wen Rou admitted that her shoes' issue was the trademark, not quality, and that she bought a pendant with his card rather than receiving it as a gift from Han Qing. She also confessed to feigning a dislike for garlic and shallots to appear elegant and finally acknowledged that the humble cottage was indeed her home, where she had lived for years.
Tearfully, she explained that she wasn't as perfect as he believed, and her lies stemmed from her deep love for him and fear of losing him, similar to how Su Ziguang had rejected her for her imperfections. She expressed relief at her confession, believing she didn't deserve his forgiveness. She then quickly packed her belongings, stating she couldn't face him, and proposed a divorce, instructing him to send her the papers.
Shan Liang was left bewildered, feeling as though he were the one at fault. Wen Rou confided in Han Qing about revealing her true self, asserting that Shan Liang's love for her was as profound as Xu Xian's for the White Lady, despite Han Qing's reminder that her situation more closely resembled Cinderella's fairy tale. Meanwhile, a dejected Shan Liang told Jian Jian that proposing a divorce should have been his prerogative.
The next morning, Wen Rou brought breakfast to Shan Liang's office. Seeing another breakfast already on his desk, she feigned sadness, hinting that someone else had already catered to him. She then requested a ride home to retrieve some items, claiming to have forgotten her keys. In the car, she pointed out a red hair on the passenger seat, subtly contrasting it with her own linen brown hair to imply another woman's presence.
Upon arriving home, she discovered a strange lipstick on the coffee table, prompting her to shed tears and sadly conclude that the house was no longer her home. Later, Jian Jian, Xiao Mei, and Zou Jing showed Shan Liang surveillance footage, revealing that Wen Rou herself had strategically placed the "other" breakfast on his desk. They explained that her cold demeanor was an act, a series of "small gestures" orchestrated to win him back.
Shan Liang realized he had fallen into her ploy once more. The following morning, movers sent by Wen Rou arrived with a short list of items. Shan Liang, seeing her meager list, expressed concern and, after some deliberation, instructed them to take all of Wen Rou's clothes from her walk-in closet. He then pondered what else she truly needed, eventually sending all her cherished belongings, both practical and sentimental, to her.
Shan Liang, finding Wen Rou's diary, read about her heartfelt journey. She recounted her joy at his initial appreciation for her shoe designs and her subsequent fear that his focus on external appearances would lead him to abandon her if he knew her true background. She described overhearing him criticize Ms. Yuan's exaggerated dating profile as "blatant deception," reinforcing her belief that he would never accept her imperfect reality.
She reflected on his castle wedding proposal and how she spent all her savings to fulfill that dream. Wen Rou also detailed her struggle with the trademark issue, choosing to use Wanli's shoes for Xunmi despite her personal aversion to Wanli, to protect Shan Liang's nascent reputation at Xunmi. She concluded that Shan Liang was worth any sacrifice, affirming her profound love and determination not to lose him.
Shan Liang, deeply moved, believed Wen Rou genuinely struggled with her imperfections and self-image. He saw his act of sending her belongings back, while intentionally keeping her cherished pillow, as an unspoken invitation for her to return. Speaking with Han Qing on the phone, Wen Rou confirmed that Shan Liang had indeed kept her special pillow, the one she couldn't sleep without, interpreting it as a subtle olive branch and part of her "scripture retrieval" plan.
Meanwhile, Wen Rou's mother, Cui Xuelan, visited, expressing frustration over Wen Rou's business struggles and her refusal to work with Wen Xin at Wanli. Cui Xuelan revealed her secret support for Wen Rou's entrepreneurial ventures but found her stubbornness misguided. Wen Rou then revealed a diamond ring, announcing her marriage.
Cui Xuelan, relieved that her daughter had found a good partner, attributed it to "good genes," but Wen Rou clarified that her marriage was for love, not convenience, and that she was now getting divorced. She challenged her mother's past favoritism towards Wen Xin and her decision to send Wen Rou away, questioning if such actions truly constituted family "strength." Shan Liang, confined to his home due to an important phone call, held a regular company meeting there.
His employees, Xiao Mei and Zou Jing, while sympathetic, advised him to move on from Wen Rou, likening her deception and the "Cinderella" narrative to "marital fraud." Shan Liang, conflicted, argued that Wen Rou had shown genuine affection and made sacrifices, questioning why she shouldn't be given another chance and suggesting there was "room for negotiation." Late that night, Jian Jian found Shan Liang still distraught, clutching Wen Rou's pillow.
Jian Jian encouraged him to reconcile with her, but Shan Liang hesitated, still wounded by her deception and uncertain of her genuine feelings, yet also wondering if he had judged her too harshly. Concurrently, Wen Rou, having set a late-night alarm, prepared to post on Weibo, purposefully cultivating a weak, haggard, and insomniac appearance as part of her intricate plan to win Shan Liang back.
