What If Episode 1 Recap
> What If Recap
Life is compared to a one-way train journey towards different destinations. The question is posed whether, given a chance to choose again, one would stick to their original path or forge a different one. Xia Guo enjoys a comfortable and happy life in Leshan with her boyfriend, Yu Jian. One morning, she brings breakfast to Yu Jian's home, where they share a sweet moment before she joins his parents for breakfast.
Yu Jian, an interior designer, often sketches Xia Guo and has drawn over seven hundred portraits of her. After breakfast, Yu Jian drives her to work. At the office, Xia Guo learns about a potential transfer assessment to the Shanghai headquarters from her colleague, Ms. Ping, who cannot pursue the opportunity due to family commitments.
Ms. Ping encourages Xia Guo to try, lending her study materials, explaining that passing the assessment could mean working in Shanghai, a significant salary increase, and a completely changed life as a professional elite. Ms. Chen, the Market Department Director from Shanghai, visits the Leshan branch. Her visit is a response to receiving nearly expired goods. Manager Wang Chang'an attempts to shift blame onto Xia Guo for the issue, but Ms. Chen, discerning the situation, clears Xia Guo of fault.
Xia Guo is struck by Ms. Chen's fashionable and capable demeanor, greatly admiring her as a strong career woman. Xia Guo and Yu Jian have agreed to marry after Yu Jian turns 30, prompting Xia Guo to want to earn more money before then. While discussing their future, Xia Guo receives an urgent call about a dispute at the factory stemming from the expired goods.
She rushes to the factory, where workers are arguing and refusing to unload the goods unless compensated. Xia Guo attempts to mediate but is pushed during the scuffle and scrapes her hand. Despite her injury, she focuses on finding a solution. Ms. Chen arrives and observes Xia Guo proposing a practical plan: redirect the nearly expired goods directly to local supermarkets with existing relationships, which would save labor and costs compared to returning and destroying the goods.
She presents sales reports to support her idea, explaining that even nearly expired goods sell in smaller cities like Leshan if discounted, and supermarkets are willing to handle unloading. Impressed by Xia Guo's quick thinking and resourcefulness, Ms. Chen approves the plan and tasks her with implementing it. Later, Yu Jian picks Xia Guo up from work. Xia Guo expresses her desire for him to join her in Shanghai.
Yu Jian is initially hesitant about leaving Leshan, citing his parents' likely opposition and his comfort zone. However, after Xia Guo's persistent pleading, he agrees to go with her. As a designer, Yu Jian applies for positions in Shanghai and gets an interview invitation from G. Archi. He tells Xia Guo he is going to Chengdu for a business trip, keeping the interview a secret.
After his interview, Yu Jian calls Xia Guo during her transfer assessment to tell her he was successfully hired by the Shanghai company. Xia Guo is thrilled and touched by the news. When Yu Jian's mother learns of his plan to move to Shanghai and leave his stable civil servant job, she is very upset, fearing for his future and wanting him to stay close to home.
She goes to the mahjong parlor to find Xia Guo's mother, Wang Yan, hoping for support, but is surprised when Wang Yan expresses strong support for Xia Guo pursuing opportunities in Shanghai, believing it's better for girls to be independent. Xia Guo and Yu Jian share dinner and excitedly look at apartments online, discussing their dreams of life in Shanghai, visiting landmarks like the Oriental Pearl, eating xiaolongbao at the City God Temple, and even getting Disneyland annual passes.
The phone rings; it's a call from the company headquarters. Xia Guo learns that she failed her transfer assessment, losing the opportunity to go to Shanghai. She is devastated. Yu Jian, upon hearing the news, immediately decides not to go to Shanghai either, explaining that he wouldn't go without her. This decision, however, makes Xia Guo even more upset, as she feels responsible for him giving up a coveted opportunity.
At work, Wang Chang'an publicly mocks Xia Guo for failing the assessment and staying in Leshan, suggesting she must accept being ordinary. He then orders her to go buy him alcohol and cigarettes, seemingly just to exert his authority over her. Still unwilling to accept a predictable life, Xia Guo is determined to pursue her ambition. She finds Ms. Chen, who is about to return to Shanghai, and asks for a chance to speak with her.
Despite her limited time, Ms. Chen agrees. Xia Guo candidly expresses her strong desire to go to Shanghai. Ms. Chen recalls her written test score wasn't high, but Xia Guo argues that her practical ability as a top sales performer in the Leshan branch is more relevant for a large city market like Shanghai.
She adds that her boyfriend was hired by a Shanghai company, making her failure particularly difficult, and admits she admires Ms. Chen's success and even her high heels, wanting to achieve something similar. Ms. Chen finds Xia Guo's honesty and ambition compelling. She asks if Xia Guo can accept the potential losses that might come with such a choice.
When Xia Guo confirms she can, Ms. Chen gives her a second chance, instructing her to complete her work handover quickly and meet her at the Shanghai headquarters by the first of the next month. Xia Guo is overjoyed that they can still go to Shanghai. They celebrate with Mr. Tang, a friend, and Yu Jian's former peers, including Wen Ya, who asks Yu Jian for design advice.
They discuss their departure, with Mr. Tang and Wen Ya wishing them well. Amidst the farewells, Yu Jian receives a call from his mother. They rush to the hospital, where Yu Jian's father has been admitted with a severe spinal fracture requiring urgent surgery. This unexpected crisis forces Xia Guo and Yu Jian to face a difficult crossroads, weighing their plans for Shanghai against familial responsibilities and prompting them to carefully consider their next steps.
