When We Were Young Episode 15 Recap
> When We Were Young Recap
Chu Yinyin, determined to win the upcoming school uniform competition, believed victory would help the original Chu Yinyin secure a direct admission to an Ivy League University. While she pondered inviting Xu Konglin to be her partner, Li Nike took the initiative, walking directly to Xu Konglin and proposing they team up.
Xu Konglin instinctively glanced at Chu Yinyin, prompting Li Nike to subtly advise him against bothering Chu Yinyin, claiming Chu Yinyin had more pressing academic matters and that the competition would be a "waste of time" if she couldn't even pass her exams. Li Nike's words infuriated Chu Yinyin, who angrily rose to leave the classroom, exclaiming, "What crappy school! Is good grades in school life’s only goal? Do grades mean everything!"
Li Bai quickly followed her, quipping about her "split personality" due to her amnesia. To cheer her up, he produced tickets to her favorite idol's concert. Initially hesitant, Chu Yinyin soon beamed with joy, grabbing Li Bai's arm and agreeing to go. This scene was witnessed by Xu Konglin, who had also followed Chu Yinyin out.
After the concert, Chu Yinyin and Li Bai, while at a restaurant, stumbled upon their school's Teacher Shi on a blind date with an older man. They covertly observed the scene, but upon realizing Teacher Shi had spotted them, they quickly made their escape to avoid a reprimand. The following day, news of Teacher Shi's unusual blind date had become rampant gossip throughout the Qing Teng Academy.
Meanwhile, a visibly jealous Xu Konglin approached Chu Yinyin, asking about the whereabouts of a necklace he had given her, implying his displeasure over her going to the concert with Li Bai. Chu Yinyin searched frantically but couldn't find it, recalling it must have fallen off at the restaurant when they rushed out. Unwilling to admit fault, Chu Yinyin defensively remarked that it was "not that expensive anyway."
This dismissive comment deeply wounded Xu Konglin, who was dismayed by her apparent lack of care. After school, he went alone to the restaurant and painstakingly searched until he found the lost necklace. However, feeling hurt and undervalued, he decided not to return it to Chu Yinyin, believing she hadn't cherished it. Later, Chu Yinyin sought out Xu Konglin, inviting him to join her in the school uniform design competition.
Still smarting from their earlier argument and her perceived nonchalance, a sulking Xu Konglin rejected her offer, stating he had already promised to partner with Li Nike. Chu Yinyin, unaware of the depth of his anger, was upset and accused him of being untrustworthy. During class, after Teacher Lu announced the rules for the school uniform design competition, Li Nike immediately declared that she and Xu Konglin would represent their class, confident they would win.
Xu Konglin remained silent, his gaze fixed on Chu Yinyin. Observing the situation, Teacher Lu looked at Chu Yinyin, wondering how she would react. Chu Yinyin stood up and announced her intention to participate in the competition alone. She explained that she wanted to use this opportunity to reconnect with her past self and prove her capabilities, rather than constantly relying on others. Li Bai, still hoping to partner with Chu Yinyin, approached Li Nike.
He suggested he could replace Xu Konglin as her partner, though Li Nike, seeing through his efforts to manipulate partners, scoffed that he was "foolish" for trying to set up Chu Yinyin and Xu Konglin, and she scornfully rejected his proposal. Later, Xu Konglin attempted to offer discreet help to Chu Yinyin with her designs, but she firmly declined, reiterating her desire to win through her own efforts. This left Xu Konglin feeling dejected.
He later confronted Li Bai, accusing him of forcing Chu Yinyin to confront her memories and making her feel bad. He suggested that perhaps Chu Yinyin subconsciously wanted to forget the past and that he intended to understand her current needs rather than push her. Concurrently, at the New Southern Vocational School, Liu Qiang and Du Zizi showed significant improvement in their English, thanks to Chu Yinyin's tutoring. Liu Qiang even managed to secure an internship.
Du Zizi, who majored in fashion design, offered her expertise to Chu Yinyin to assist her with the school uniform project. Li Nike also leveraged her father's connections, asking him to arrange for professional fashion designers to assist her with her competition designs, justifying it by arguing for a guaranteed victory and its benefits for overseas university admissions.
Xu Konglin vehemently disapproved of her "deceitful" tactics, leading to further arguments about the integrity of the competition and the importance of winning fairly. Li Nike later found Chu Yinyin sketching design ideas alone in the classroom and approached her with sarcastic remarks, questioning her ability to handle the competition by herself.
Overhearing Li Nike's taunts, Xu Konglin, disgusted by her actions and wanting to spare Chu Yinyin further distress, intervened and declared his withdrawal from the competition, stating he refused to win through such "strategy." In response, Li Nike also withdrew from the competition, claiming she would stand by Xu Konglin. However, she maliciously confided in her friends that her real motivation was to see Chu Yinyin publicly embarrass herself.
Despite her internal turmoil and the mounting pressure, Chu Yinyin continued to work on her designs. When Li Bai once again tried to help by presenting her with his own design drafts, she found them terribly uninspired. Although she dismissed his artistic attempts, she grudgingly accepted his presence and implied she was open to his ideas, admitting her own current struggle with creative direction.
