What If Episode 11 Recap
> What If Recap
In Leshan, Xia Guo and Yu Jian were married. After the wedding, Xia Guo's morning sickness suddenly stopped, which worried Yu Jian's mother. Her mother was also concerned because Xia Guo continued to wear makeup and tight jeans, fearing the cosmetics could harm the baby and the jeans could constrict the developing child. Yu Jian and his father tried to ease her worries, explaining the baby was only the size of a quail egg and wouldn't be restricted.
Xia Guo appreciated Yu Jian and his father covering for her, but she understood her mother-in-law meant well and assured them she could take care of herself. Yu Jian arranged for a car from his company to drive Xia Guo to and from work, ensuring she wouldn't experience bumps on the electric bike. Xia Guo was touched by his thoughtfulness and thanked him for his care. Xia Guo quickly adapted to her new role at work.
Her proposal was well-received and praised by her superiors. To earn more money for her family, which was facing some difficulties, Xia Guo proactively sought out another project, telling her supervisor, Ms. Tao, that she was motivated by the commission. Ms. Tao cautioned her about the tight deadline given her pregnancy, but Xia Guo insisted she could handle the workload.
One day, Yu Jian's mother brought lunch to Xia Guo at work and wanted to stay to watch her eat, which interfered with Xia Guo's meeting. She loudly announced Xia Guo's pregnancy to her colleagues and asked them to take extra care of her, causing Xia Guo considerable embarrassment. During their interaction, the food container fell to the ground. That evening, Xia Guo stayed late at home to work.
To get her to rest, Yu Jian's mother secretly pulled the circuit breaker, claiming the power was out throughout the neighborhood. However, Xia Guo saw lights on in the building across the street and knew her mother-in-law was lying. Frustrated, she called Yu Jian and urged him to come home and talk to his mother. Yu Jian arrived home and saw his mother pushing the circuit breaker back up.
He was exasperated by her secretive behavior and even more so when he learned she had gone to Xia Guo's office that day. He felt his mother was overly anxious and that going to her workplace to supervise her was unnecessary. Yu Jian tried to explain to his mother that they needed to respect scientific advice, relax, and understand that Xia Guo's marriage was not solely for the purpose of bearing children for their family.
His mother, however, remained unconvinced, feeling Xia Guo was still too young and didn't understand the importance of safeguarding the pregnancy. Later, Wen Ya visited Yu Jian's home with gifts. During the visit, Xia Guo learned that Wen Ya had made an advance payment for Yu Jian's design work. This made Xia Guo uncomfortable, as Yu Jian had never mentioned it.
Xia Guo added Wen Ya on WeChat and became more upset when she saw Wen Ya's WeChat Moments post featuring a photo Yu Jian had taken of her, captioned "A wonderful day." Xia Guo's intuition told her Wen Ya had feelings for Yu Jian, and given their frequent work-related meetings, she felt uneasy. Xia Guo told Yu Jian she could not accept Wen Ya visiting their home again.
Yu Jian tried to reassure her there was nothing between them, attributing her feelings to pregnancy hormones, but Xia Guo insisted she was not emotional and demanded that Wen Ya's visits stop. The scene shifts to Xia Guo living with Mr. Xue in Shanghai. Xia Guo learned from a colleague that a highly accomplished returnee was being appointed as the new acting director of their department.
After work, while buying black pepper at the supermarket to cook steak, Xia Guo received a recommendation from a woman she met there. The next day, at a company meeting, Xia Guo was surprised to discover that the woman from the supermarket was Li Qiuman, the new acting director, who introduced herself as Yvonne.
In the meeting, Yvonne immediately asserted herself by presenting her own proposal for the same project, titled "Spring In Europe," before Xia Guo had a chance to present hers. Yvonne's proposal, with its sophisticated concept and color scheme ("nimbus grey," "gilding," "amethyst," "dark green"), impressed some colleagues. However, Mr. Xue interjected, pointing out that Xia Guo had already developed a proposal, "Spring Morning," with the marketing team, and it was already in progress.
He noted both proposals had merit, with Yvonne's targeting a higher-end audience and Xia Guo's incorporating traditional Chinese elements. Yvonne insisted on simultaneously refining both proposals and presenting them to Mr. Xue and the company for a final decision later, which Mr. Xue agreed to. Yvonne also stated she would choose her assistants after getting to know the team better. After the meeting, Yvonne asked Xia Guo to show her around the company.
They continued their conversation from the supermarket about cooking steak. During their walk, Yvonne received a call from her daughter, Migao, who had just returned to the country and wanted her mother to come home for lunch. Yvonne then invited Xia Guo to come along to her home to continue discussing company matters.
At lunch, Yvonne mentioned that Migao was allergic to soybeans, a trait she inherited from her father, and that because of this, they couldn't have related seasonings like fermented chili bean paste in the house. Yvonne's words seemed to carry hidden meaning, and Xia Guo, sensitive to the clues, found Migao somewhat familiar. Back at the company, Xia Guo secretly checked Li Qiuman's Weibo and discovered that she and Mr. Xue had attended the same university.
That night, Xia Guo fell asleep on the sofa at home. Mr. Xue returned and covered her with his jacket. When Xia Guo woke up, a room key fell from Mr. Xue's pocket. She picked it up and realized it was a hotel room key belonging to Li Qiuman (Yvonne). Xia Guo had a sense of foreboding, feeling that Mr. Xue had been deceiving her.
She recalled the conversation at lunch, where Yvonne mentioned Migao's soybean allergy, inherited from her father, and how this prevented certain foods from being in their home. The situation echoed the fable of the hare who trusted the porcupine's quills, only to be unknowingly wounded by them.
