When We Were Young Episode 3 Recap
> When We Were Young Recap
Upon entering Hua Biao's house, Yang Xi was struck by the countless awards and certificates adorning his living space, confirming his academic prowess. Hua Biao then led her to the backyard, where she was overjoyed to discover her stolen pink Giant bicycle. Hua Biao explained that after he rescued a group of thugs, they felt indebted to him, and he had them retrieve the bike from the thief.
To Yang Xi's surprise, Hua Biao's grandmother was the familiar "Buns Granny" whom Yang Xi knew and who affectionately called her "Maruko." Later, Hua Biao carried Yang Xi onto the rooftop, where they shared a watermelon. He recounted a childhood memory of his family sleeping on the roof to escape the summer heat, which made him appreciate his current home.
They resolved their past differences, and Hua Biao playfully nicknamed Yang Xi "Scud Yang" for her ability to run despite her injury. Feeling guilty that his actions led to Yang Xi's leg injury, costing her a chance at 10 crucial bonus points for the college entrance examination, Hua Biao insisted on tutoring her to compensate. Yang Xi was skeptical, confiding that Li Yu had tutored her for two years with no improvement.
Hua Biao proposed a secret pact: if her grades improved, it would be a success; otherwise, they would simply pretend the tutoring never happened. As Hua Biao walked Yang Xi out, they found Li Yu waiting to take her home. Li Yu observed their growing closeness with evident displeasure. Noticing the bicycle wasn't her original one, Li Yu questioned her, but Yang Xi quickly urged him to keep the matter a secret.
Li Yu, Situ Ertiao, and their friends were regulars at a local game arcade, consistently frustrated by a top player known only as "X. H." Eager to finally defeat this rival, Situ Ertiao convinced his friends to skip English class for the arcade. Hua Biao tried to stop them but failed, so he covered for their absence by telling their teacher, Mr. Kong, that they had upset stomachs.
Later, during math class, Mr. Kong caught Yang Xi reading a wuxia novel. Hua Biao intentionally made a noise to draw attention, and Mr. Kong called Yang Xi to the blackboard. Citing her injury, Hua Biao offered to be "her leg" and carried her to the front. He attempted to whisper the answer, but when Mr. Kong noticed, Hua Biao subtly wrote hints on her leg, helping her solve the problem.
A jealous Li Yu later snatched the novel, which Mr. Kong promptly confiscated. The school director caught Situ Ertiao and his friends at the arcade and punished each of them with 100 laps. As the class leader, Hua Biao stepped forward and offered to run the laps for them, arguing it was his responsibility and would prevent them from missing more classes. As Hua Biao struggled through the punishment, his classmates from Class 3 were deeply moved by his sacrifice.
They rushed onto the track and joined him, running in solidarity and fully accepting him as their leader. Later, Li Yu retrieved the confiscated wuxia novel from Mr. Kong's cabinet, fixing the cabinet door to conceal his entry, and returned it to Yang Xi, leading to their reconciliation.
Furious about the recent truancy and the class's poor performance, Mr. Kong issued an ultimatum: if Class 3's average score on the upcoming math test was below 80, their Mid-Autumn Festival party performance would be canceled. Realizing the class couldn't improve in time, Hua Biao devised a cheating strategy based on the "Bagua map." He and Li Yu, the top students, would sit in the center, passing answers to the weaker students around them.
Mr. Kong misinterpreted the new seating arrangement as a good-faith effort to prevent cheating. During the test, the plan worked for most, but Huang Chengcheng, a weak link, failed to copy the answers correctly. The class achieved an average score of 83, delighting Mr. Kong, who praised Hua Biao for his perfect score and Yang Xi for her personal best of 89. However, Huang Chengcheng's extremely low score raised his suspicion.
Upon re-examining the papers, Mr. Kong discovered identical answers clustered around the top students, revealing the widespread cheating. He confronted Huang Chengcheng, who, upset that Li Yu had helped Yang Xi but not her, confessed the entire scheme and named Hua Biao as the mastermind. Though deeply disappointed, Mr. Kong gave the class a second chance.
He ordered them to keep the incident secret, mandated after-school study sessions, and scheduled a re-test in three days, stating that "effort" and "honesty" were all that was needed to earn back their party performance. Later, Hua Biao's grandmother visited the school asking for "Xiao Hu." Situ Ertiao overheard the nickname and connected it to "X. H." from the arcade. His suspicion was confirmed when he later saw Hua Biao at the arcade, realizing his classmate was the legendary top player.
