When We Were Young Episode 17 Recap
> When We Were Young Recap
Li Yu brings his mother home, noting the renovated bathroom and dining table, though the TV remains unchanged. He mentions contacting Yang Xi by ringing the bell and offers to cook for his mother, recalling Yang Xi's compliment about his cooking. However, his mother suggests they talk downstairs, where she reveals that she feels disconnected from the home and is marrying a divorced Chinese man with a five-year-old son next month.
Li Yu is devastated, questioning if she will be "that boy's mum," to which she assures him she will always be his mother. She invites him to Japan for a few days, wanting him to see her life there, but Li Yu declines, questioning why she lied about her marriage. Li Yu then locks himself in his room. His father informs Yang Xi's family that Li Yu's mother is waiting for him at the airport and even changed her flight.
Yang Xi's parents, along with Yang Chao, Yang Xi, and their neighbors, try to persuade Li Yu to say goodbye. Hua Biao arrives and climbs up to Li Yu's window, smashing it open and declaring he will "stick Li Yu up no matter what happened." Inside, Hua Biao finds Li Yu holding a photo of himself with his mother and crying.
Yang Xi's parents are surprised by her newfound diligence in studying, particularly after Mr. Kong's compliment on her history performance. Li Yu's father tells Yang Xi’s parents that he has been sleeping in his factory as Li Yu refuses to talk to him or let him in, asking Hua Biao to send lunch to Li Yu as Hua Biao is unable to properly care for him. He believes Li Yu must persuade himself to come out.
Hua Biao tells Li Yu that his mother was forced to leave and has indeed gone to Japan to get married, prompting Li Yu to tear up his photo with her and tell Hua Biao to leave. The mystery of the "special day" is solved when Hemei visits to deliver new textbooks, revealing that she told the teachers Yang Xi had taken sick leave for the first day of school.
Hemei tries to give Yang Zhao a scarf as a thank you, but he refuses, explaining that scarves from anyone other than a girlfriend signify a "hookup." Despite Hua Biao’s attempts to make Li Yu eat, Li Yu rejects the food, remembering his mother when seeing sweet and sour pork ribs. He tells Hua Biao to leave him alone. Everyone tries calling Li Yu, but his line is busy.
Yang Xi finds Hua Biao, and they see Li Yu online in chat room 7785 with the username "Hermit Woodcutter," seemingly waiting for his mother. Yang Xi asks Hemei to anonymously chat with Li Yu, guessing his preferences such as his love for green, his aversion to sugar/vinegar in pork ribs, his interest in English, Toriyama Akira, and autumn, and his dislike for physics and rainy days.
When Li Yu asks who she is, Hemei, prompted by Yang Xi, claims to be a fortune-teller and proposes a bet: if her next guess is true, he must meet her outside. Li Yu refuses to come out, and their final guess—that he likes basketball—is incorrect, foiling their plan. Auntie Du expresses her frustration that Li Yu rejects her food, fearing he might be "against all the mums" because of his own mother’s marriage.
Hua Biao cooks for Li Yu, creating a mess in the kitchen but managing to prepare a meal that Li Yu eats. Hua Biao realizes he has lost his small stone necklace, cherished by his grandmother. Li Yu finds it for him. Hua Biao then finds Li Yu's collection of Raccoon instant noodle cards.
Li Yu reveals he had been trying to collect all 108 "Stars of Destiny" cards to win a 1000 yuan prize to visit his mother in Japan without asking his father for money. Hua Biao insists they must collect all the cards, using math to calculate they need 570 packs of Raccoon instant noodles. They spend the afternoon eating noodles and collect 107 cards, missing only "Yi Zhou Tong," and are exhausted.
That evening, Yang Xi helps Hua Biao care for his grandmother and learns the story behind Hua Biao's stone necklace: his parents died in a bus crash when he was three months old, before they could finish carving his name on a jade they bought for him.
Yang Xi has Hemei share the story anonymously with Li Yu through the chat room, emphasizing that "no one's life is perfect" and one must "accept the unfairness of life" to "value its beauty." Li Yu realizes the story is about Hua Biao. He emerges from his room to find Hua Biao sleeping outside, reassuring him he feels "much better" and agreeing to go to school with them the next day. Huang Chengcheng is absent during this time, busy with ballet tryouts.
