What If Episode 5 Recap
> What If Recap
In Leshan, Xia Guo lived a simple, busy, but happy life. As Chinese New Year approached, Mrs. Yu gave Xia Guo a gift of bird's nest, suggesting she spend the holiday with her own mother this year. Mrs. Yu explained that her daughter Yan was coming back with her husband, and she wanted the family to be together. Since Yan would need her room, Xia Guo, not being a formal part of the family yet, should go home.
Xia Guo understood the implication and decided to return to her mother for the holiday. Xia Guo planned to greet Yan before she left. When Yan arrived, everyone was happy to see her except Yu Jian. Yan distributed gifts she had brought back. She then told her mother the truth: she had to leave soon to accompany Andrew to Chengdu to meet clients and would not be staying for the reunion dinner.
Yu Jian was very unhappy with Andrew, finding him inconsiderate for not visiting their father in the hospital or even coming upstairs immediately. He couldn't understand why Andrew wouldn't stay for the New Year celebration. Yu Jian felt Yan should prioritize staying home with her parents. He accused Andrew of not showing respect for their family, leading to a heated argument between the siblings. Andrew came upstairs, impatient to leave and urging Yan to hurry.
This sparked an argument between them as well. Andrew seemed primarily focused on his clients and work, showing little interest in spending the holiday with Yan's family. The situation became awkward, and Yan eventually left with Andrew. Xia Guo took the food Mrs. Yu had prepared down for Yan, but Andrew threw the items into a trash can, citing the inconvenience of carrying them. Despite their argument, Yan and Andrew resolved their conflict with an embrace.
Later, Yu Jian realized Xia Guo had left and learned from his mother that she had gone home for the New Year dinner. Yu Jian was angry, believing his mother had pressured Xia Guo to leave despite knowing she had a difficult relationship with her own mother. He felt Mrs. Yu had unfairly pushed her away. Yu Jian intended to apologize to Xia Guo on his mother's behalf and went to find her.
Xia Guo arrived at her mother's home for the reunion dinner. Her mother, who had remarried, introduced Xia Guo to her new family, including her stepfather Mr. Zheng, Third Grandpa, Second Grandma, and First Uncle. Her mother praised Xia Guo, stating she was an executive at a large company. The atmosphere felt unfamiliar to Xia Guo. Mr. Zheng repeatedly urged Xia Guo to drink alcohol, although she usually didn't. Not wanting to cause trouble during the holiday, she complied.
She noticed her mother also being encouraged to drink heavily by Mr. Zheng, observing a possible lack of contentment in her mother's life. After drinking more than she was accustomed to, Xia Guo felt overwhelmed. After the dinner, she contacted Yu Jian to pick her up. Seeing Yu Jian, Xia Guo broke down crying. She confided in Yu Jian that she felt like she didn't belong anywhere for the New Year and didn't know about her mother's true circumstances.
She felt like a child with nowhere to go, but Yu Jian's presence gave her a sense of belonging. Yu Jian carried Xia Guo home on his back. When they returned, Mrs. Yu was waiting up. Seeing Xia Guo, she immediately offered to heat up food despite the late hour, deeply touching Xia Guo. Meanwhile, Yan was also facing difficulties in her life, feeling dependent on Andrew and having to do things she didn't like, simply to appease him.
Back at work, Ms. Nan introduced a new assistant, Xu Li. Xia Guo felt marginalized as Ms. Nan reassigned the online business Xia Guo previously handled to Xu Li, telling Xia Guo to focus only on warehouse work. Xia Guo was even excluded from department meetings.
Unsure what she had done wrong, she later learned from a colleague that Ms. Nan's treatment was due to Xia Guo accepting a red packet from Mr. Xue and being perceived as being too close to him. Her colleague also revealed a secret: Tim was the chairman's son, implying he held a protected position. Ms. Nan had deliberately sent Tim to the livestream event with Xia Guo, knowing that if anything went wrong, Tim would not face severe consequences.
This, in a way, protected Xia Guo from potentially harsher punishment herself. The colleague explained the intense power struggles between Mr. Xue and Ms. Chen within the company, stressing the necessity of picking a side, which Xia Guo struggled to understand, believing doing her job well should be enough. Wanting to make a positive gesture, Xia Guo bought coffee for everyone.
She was delayed getting into the elevator with the drinks but Mr. Xue saw her and helped her by using his VIP elevator access card. Despite this, she was late for a department meeting. She arrived during the meeting and began distributing the coffee, which angered Ms. Nan. Ms. Nan told her to leave the meeting, stating it was a main business meeting that didn't concern her warehouse duties. Xia Guo felt hurt and went to cry on a balcony.
Mr. Xue encountered her there and took her to his office. Xia Guo then proposed to become Mr. Xue's assistant, explaining her desire not to return to Leshan and emphasizing her capability and past performance. She asked him to trust her. Mr. Xue replied that he would consider her request.
