When We Were Young Episode 17 Recap
> When We Were Young Recap
Xu Konglin, still hoping to help Xia Er recover her memories, took her to an amusement park. After riding a roller coaster, a visibly tired Xu Konglin checked on Xia Er, who was energetic and teased him for being scared of heights. He reminisced about a time when Chu Yinyin wanted to ride the roller coaster but ultimately backed out because of his own fear. Xu Konglin explained his intention was to revisit past experiences that might trigger her memory.
Xia Er confirmed she still couldn't recall anything. He tenderly told her not to be too hard on herself and that he was willing to do anything to help her. Internally, Xia Er felt a pang of sadness, realizing that Xu Konglin only wished for the return of the real Chu Yinyin, and she feared his reaction if he discovered her true identity.
Later, Xia Er and Lin Jiayi worked late into the night on their designs in a meeting room. When Xia Er tried to return to her dormitory, she found the door locked from the inside, forcing her to spend the night with Lin Jiayi in the meeting room. The next morning, Li Nike led a group of classmates, including Xu Konglin, to the meeting room.
She loudly questioned Chu Yinyin’s absence, speculating that she was avoiding submitting her work, then dramatically feigned shock upon finding Xia Er and Lin Jiayi asleep inside. This public display caused Xu Konglin to feel a surge of jealousy. Convinced that Li Nike was behind the incident, Li Bai confronted her, accusing her of deliberately locking Xia Er and Lin Jiayi in the room. Li Nike denied it, sarcastically suggesting they were simply too dedicated to their competition work.
Li Bai warned her to stop targeting Xia Er, but Li Nike retorted that his and Xu Konglin's interference would only make her intensify her efforts, vowing to make "Chu Yinyin" lose everything if they continued to get involved. Li Bai insisted she stop playing tricks, to which Li Nike defiantly told him to worry about his "Chu Yinyin." Li Bai later found Xia Er on the rooftop, deep in thought.
He told Xia Er to confide in him if she was unhappy, revealing that he liked the current Xia Er. He urged her to live for herself, not for Chu Yinyin, and offered to be the first person she could confide in if she had any secrets, promising to protect her. Xia Er initially dismissed his words, claiming her amnesia meant she had no secrets.
Li Bai, however, reassured her that he didn't care about her past or "what kind of Chu Yinyin" she might be, only the person standing before him, and vowed to protect her from Li Nike. Moved by his sincerity, Xia Er finally revealed her true identity, confessing that she was Xia Er, an orphan from New Southern Vocational School, and not Chu Yinyin.
Li Bai, though surprised, accepted her revelation and playfully acknowledged his "win" over Xu Konglin by being privy to her secret first, promising to keep it confidential. Xia Er then shared more details of her past, including how her adoptive mother, Chu Mingzhu, once arranged a DNA test which revealed that Xia Er was not an orphan but had a biological mother and a twin sister who looked identical to her.
Despite this, she still felt abandoned by her biological mother, though she had decided to let go of the resentment, grateful for her supportive friends and her caring "dad." She reiterated her plan to return Chu Yinyin’s life to her after the school uniform competition and go back to her own world.
Li Bai then delivered a shocking truth: Chu Mingzhu's actual blood type indicated that neither Xia Er nor the original Chu Yinyin were Chu Mingzhu's biological daughters, explaining that he and Xu Konglin had lied earlier to protect her. Xia Er realized that the real Chu Yinyin must have learned this from Li Nike, leading her to leave home, and confirmed that the real Chu Yinyin had amnesia and was living a simple, happy life with Xia Er's friends.
Enraged, Xia Er condemned Li Nike's malicious actions. Li Bai cautioned her to remain calm, improve her ability to maintain her cover, and keep her identity a secret from Xu Konglin until they could uncover the full truth behind Chu Yinyin's disappearance and memory loss. He assured Xia Er he would handle Li Nike and encouraged her to focus on winning the competition. The final list for the school uniform competition was announced.
Xia Er and Lin Jiayi successfully qualified from Qing Teng International. Li Bai and Xia Er noticed "Xia Er" from New Southern Vocational School also made the finals, confirming it was the real Chu Yinyin. Li Nike also saw the list, and she and her classmates discussed their surprise at a vocational school qualifying, suspecting foul play.
At New Southern Vocational School, Teacher Zhu announced that "Xia Er" (the real Chu Yinyin) had successfully qualified for the school uniform competition finals and would represent their school at Qing Teng. He also mentioned that winning could secure her a chance to study at Qing Teng International School. Chu Yinyin found the name "Qing Teng International School" familiar but couldn't recall why.
Lin Jiayi informed Xu Konglin that he was leaving the country and that Chu Yinyin would need a new partner for the competition, implicitly suggesting Xu Konglin help her. Xu Konglin noted he had already withdrawn from the competition. Meanwhile, Li Nike overheard their conversation and angrily confronted Xu Konglin, questioning why he would consider helping Chu Yinyin when he wouldn't help her. She vowed to cause Chu Yinyin public humiliation.
Following this, Li Nike was seen secretly photographing Xia Er's design drafts. Li Nike then anonymously sent these stolen designs to Chu Yinyin at New Southern Vocational School. Chu Yinyin initially found the designs uninteresting but decided to modify them, impressed by their underlying creativity. Her friends, Qi Xiao Er and Leng Shao, and other students, praised her improved designs.
Witnessing this, Li Bai, who had secretly arrived at New Southern and observed the striking resemblance between Chu Yinyin and Xia Er, resolved to prevent the two from meeting. He disguised himself as a pop star, "Li Tie Zhu" (White Li), and announced auditions for a music video to distract Chu Yinyin. Despite his persistent attempts, Chu Yinyin remained focused on the school uniform competition, uninterested in his offer, and left to refine her designs further.
