When You Be Me Episode 1 Recap
> When You Be Me Recap
Mu Xiangxiang, an academically excellent student from a disadvantaged background, wished only to remain inconspicuous. However, her intention was thwarted when she and the top male student, Jiang Hai, simultaneously submitted their exam papers. This act sparked the jealousy of other girls, with the school's dominant figure, Fang Lingli, and her followers, Xiaokui and Mixiang, locking Mu Xiangxiang in a restroom as a warning.
While trapped, Mu Xiangxiang called for help, and serendipitously, Qiao Nan, a popular student known as Brother Nan, passed by, unlocked the door, and casually left. As Mu Xiangxiang emerged, she found a button from Qiao Nan's clothing and watched him walk away. Qiao Nan was passionately devoted to motorcycle racing and taekwondo, pursuits that earned him much admiration. His skillful and spirited performances in taekwondo sparring sessions solidified his reputation, leading everyone to call him Brother Nan.
However, the school Director, upset by Qiao Nan's extracurricular activities, summoned him to the office. During this time, Mu Xiangxiang arrived to submit her financial aid application, leading to their second unexpected encounter. The Director reprimanded Qiao Nan for prioritizing taekwondo over his impending senior year, to which Qiao Nan provocatively responded that he might not even make it to senior year, surprising the Director.
The Director warned Qiao Nan that his actions, including a recent on-campus fight involving students from another school—which Qiao Nan insisted was merely a friendly taekwondo exchange—were grounds for expulsion and that his club's closure was inevitable. Qiao Nan retorted that they would address it when the time came, indicating his continued defiance. Mu Xiangxiang waited outside the Director's office, intending to return Qiao Nan’s button.
However, Qiao Nan, accustomed to admirers, mistakenly brushed her off as just another girl trying to give him a love letter. Later, on his way home, Qiao Nan intervened when he saw a young boy being bullied. This act of heroism soon backfired, as the thugs he confronted returned with a larger group, chasing him. Qiao Nan tried to help the boy escape safely by instructing him to run in the opposite direction.
He ended up accidentally falling into the river. Unable to swim, Qiao Nan cried out for help. His pursuers, fearing a fatality, quickly fled. Coincidentally, Mu Xiangxiang was passing by and pulled Qiao Nan from the water. She declared that this act of rescue made them even, balancing out his earlier help at the restroom. Upon returning home, Mu Xiangxiang carefully put Qiao Nan’s button away.
That night, Qiao Nan slept alone by the river, while Mu Xiangxiang was at home. Both had a shared dream where Qiao Nan was ensnared by seaweed, and Mu Xiangxiang swam to his rescue. The following morning, they awoke to a shocking discovery: their souls had swapped bodies. Mu Xiangxiang found herself in Qiao Nan's athletic form, while Qiao Nan had transferred into Mu Xiangxiang's body.
Mu Xiangxiang, now in Qiao Nan's body, rushed home and addressed her father as "Dad." Her father, noticing her unusually assertive behavior and unfamiliar demeanor, grew alarmed.
To prove her identity, Mu Xiangxiang rapidly recited intimate family details, including her parents' full names (Mu Defeng and Xu Xiaoyu), her school and class (Yingcheng Middle School, Class 1, Grade 2), their family motto "Peace of mind brings smooth sailing," her past math exam score (109 points), her father’s love for magic tricks, her mother’s signature fried egg noodles, and even how her aunt frequently took advantage of their family’s generosity, prompting them to pull down curtains during meals when the aunt was upstairs jumping rope.
These deeply personal revelations further terrified her father, who began reaching for the phone to call the police. Just in time, Qiao Nan, now inhabiting Mu Xiangxiang's body, appeared and, playing along that he was Mu Xiangxiang's classmate, quickly ushered Mu Xiangxiang (in Qiao Nan's body) away, hand-in-hand. After confirming that their situation was indeed real and not a dream, they arrived at Qiao Nan's house.
Qiao Nan, in Mu Xiangxiang's body, initially speculated that they might have entered a parallel dimension where their appearances had changed, a theory based on movies he had seen. However, upon seeing his own parents, whose appearances were unchanged, he began to doubt his theory. To further test if they were still in their own world and to prove his identity, Qiao Nan handed his treasured figurines to Mu Xiangxiang, instructing her to present them to his father.
As expected, Qiao Nan’s father, upon seeing the figurines, angrily threw them away and harshly rebuked "Qiao Nan" as beyond saving. Recognizing his father’s characteristic anger and actions, Qiao Nan in Mu Xiangxiang's body realized it wasn't a parallel dimension but rather a true soul swap. They promptly dismissed the idea of calling the police, fearing they would be treated as scientific curiosities. Their immediate priority became finding a way to revert the swap.
They returned to the river where Qiao Nan had fallen in the previous day, hypothesizing that the water might hold the key to their predicament. Despite Mu Xiangxiang’s logical argument, based on physics, that jumping into the water again wouldn’t work, Qiao Nan insisted they try anyway. They both jumped in, but nothing changed, leaving Qiao Nan frustrated with Mu Xiangxiang's weak physical condition, which made him sneeze instantly.
He even considered using an electrical current to trigger a swap by touching a power switch, but ultimately lacked the courage. Instead, he bought an electric fly swatter, but it proved ineffective. Qiao Nan then attempted to kiss Mu Xiangxiang, believing it might be a method to switch back, as seen in films. However, Mu Xiangxiang vehemently pushed him away, bursting into tears out of fear that they would be permanently trapped in each other's bodies.
Qiao Nan, taken aback, quickly comforted her, reminding her to calm down and invoking her family motto about having "peace of mind." Soon after, Qiao Nan's friends, who had been trying to reach him for their traditional start-of-semester bathing ritual, called. Qiao Nan, now in Mu Xiangxiang's body, ignored their calls. He and Mu Xiangxiang began exchanging details about their lives and habits.
Mu Xiangxiang (in Qiao Nan's body) described her demanding schedule of schoolwork, online classes, English vocabulary memorization, and a part-time assistant teacher job. Qiao Nan, observing Mu Xiangxiang's poor physical state, insisted that she allocate at least an hour daily to train at the taekwondo club. Mu Xiangxiang, explaining her need to work odd jobs to support her family, pleaded with Qiao Nan (in her body) to cover her part-time work commitments.
Seeing her earnestness, Qiao Nan eventually agreed, but only if she promised to attend the taekwondo club regularly. Later, Qiao Nan's friends located him and again invited him to their traditional bathing event. Qiao Nan, still in Mu Xiangxiang's body, refused the invitation, attempting to explain their soul swap. His friends, however, dismissed his story as a prank, assuming that Qiao Nan and Mu Xiangxiang were in a secret relationship.
To prove his identity, Qiao Nan, in Mu Xiangxiang's body, challenged his friend Zhi Ge to an arm wrestling match, but Mu Xiangxiang's inherently weak body could not match Zhi Ge's strength. Frustrated, Qiao Nan in Mu Xiangxiang's body then revealed a highly personal secret about Zhi Ge—a mole on his left butt cheek—to convince them.
This stunned Zhi Ge, but the friends still misunderstood, concluding that such an intimate detail could only be known by Qiao Nan’s "woman," and began calling Mu Xiangxiang "Mrs. Nan." They further mocked Mu Xiangxiang's appearance, calling her a "flat-faced, short-legged, four-eyed toad" attempting to reach for "Brother Nan, the swan." Qiao Nan, in Mu Xiangxiang's body, defended her, causing more confusion among the friends who thought it was a lovers' quarrel.
Ultimately, Zhi Ge, believing they were giving Qiao Nan and his "girlfriend" space, forcefully led Mu Xiangxiang, still in Qiao Nan's body, into the men's bathhouse. Inside, Mu Xiangxiang kept her eyes tightly shut, unwilling to look at the other naked men, and remained wrapped in a white bath towel despite the heat. Meanwhile, Qiao Nan, in Mu Xiangxiang's body, was stopped at the entrance to the men's bath, being told that women were not allowed.
He then had a sudden realization: if he couldn't enter the men's bath, he could now "openly" go into the women's bath. However, upon entering the women's changing area and seeing a room full of naked women, he immediately suffered a nosebleed and fainted.
