With You Episode 15 Recap
> With You Recap
As exam results were pending, Jiang Niannian played the role of a soothsayer, predicting fortunes for her classmates. Geng Geng, curious about her fate, approached Jiang Niannian, asking, "Soothsayer, please predict my fortune." She provided her birth details, February 13, 1987, at one past a half.
Jiang Niannian told Geng Geng that while she might score 600 points, her English was destined to be poor, and her "fate root was weak," implying she wouldn't perform well in the upcoming exam, and needed "an angel to help." Yu Huai then entered the classroom and scolded Geng Geng for being superstitious, asking how she expected to excel in science. Geng Geng lightheartedly called him "Angel Yu" and pleaded for his help.
Shortly after, Mr. Zhang entered the classroom with the exam papers, announcing with pride that their class achieved a remarkable fourth place ranking in the entire grade. He singled out several students for their significant improvement that semester, including Lu Yangyang, Zhao Xun, and Geng Geng. Geng Geng, surprised and delighted by her good fortune, turned to Yu Huai and asked, "I'm your guardian angel, right?" to which he readily agreed.
Mr. Zhang encouraged the class to maintain their excellent momentum and promised to commend them at the upcoming parents' meeting, wishing them a joyous Spring Festival holiday. After Geng Geng's English class, she was leaving the English school when she unexpectedly encountered Yu Huai, who was also exiting. Shortly after, Geng Geng's father arrived to take her to a restaurant for dinner, and they invited Yu Huai to join them.
Geng Geng introduced Yu Huai to her father as her desk mate, praising him as the top student in their class. Having heard of Yu Huai's reputation from the parents' meeting and his national competition prize, Geng Geng's father respectfully invited him to join them for lunch. During the meal, Yu Huai engaged in a lively discussion with Geng Geng's father about ancient philosophy and opportunism.
Yu Huai asserted that knowledge transcends age and that social progress hinges on the contributions of dissidents, rejecting the idea that opportunism is merely human nature. Geng Geng's father, while listening, suggested that prejudice often stems from ignorance. Unfazed by potentially offending her father, Geng Geng firmly supported Yu Huai's views, stating, "I think Yu Huai is right. We shouldn't be opportunists."
Geng Geng's father later confided in Geng Geng that Yu Huai was an "extraordinary" student with a "promising future," urging her to learn from him. Yu Huai, in turn, teased Geng Geng about her upcoming birthday gift, promising she would know "the day after tomorrow." As the Spring Festival approached, Yu Huai and other classmates planned a birthday celebration for Geng Geng.
Her father, unaware of these plans, arranged a surprise birthday dinner at home, complete with a cake and gifts from Lin Fan's mother, who was celebrating Geng Geng's birthday for the first time. On her birthday, Geng Geng, eager to join her friends, announced her plans to her father.
This led to a tense exchange, as her father initially insisted she stay home, feeling hurt that she preferred to be with friends over family, and expressed, "You're not allowed to go anywhere today." Geng Geng countered that she was born of her mother, intensifying the argument. Lin Fan's mother intervened, presenting Geng Geng with a new camera as a gift and wisely counseling Geng Geng's father that teenagers prioritize their social engagements.
Eventually, Geng Geng's father conceded, allowing her to go out but stipulating that she return early, ensure her safety, and first spend some time setting off firecrackers with her younger stepbrother, Lin Fan. Before heading out, Geng Geng fulfilled her father's condition, accompanying her younger stepbrother, Lin Fan, to light firecrackers outdoors. Lin Fan, in an attempt to get Geng Geng to stay longer, persuaded her to let him light one more.
Tragically, this last firecracker exploded, injuring Lin Fan, who collapsed to the ground. Panicked, Geng Geng rushed inside to her father for help. Lin Fan's mother, in a state of extreme anxiety for her son, burst out of the house and accidentally knocked into Geng Geng, sending her stumbling backward. Geng Geng hit her head hard against the wall, nearly losing consciousness.
Her father quickly emerged, helped Geng Geng back into the house, and assured Lin Fan's mother that Geng Geng was not to blame, urging her to focus on Lin Fan's well-being. Geng Geng, still reeling from the accident, left her father's home to seek solace from her biological mother. She explained Lin Fan's situation, only to find that her mother had completely forgotten her birthday.
It wasn't until Geng Geng explicitly mentioned that it was her special day that her mother realized her oversight. With a look of deep remorse, her mother gripped Geng Geng's hand and profusely apologized. Meanwhile, Yu Huai's friends at their planned birthday dinner were growing concerned about Geng Geng's absence, wondering if she had forgotten or met with an accident, though Yu Huai brought snacks, indicating his own concern.
Yu Huai attempted to call Geng Geng, but her phone was unreachable. Lin Fan's injuries were superficial; he had suffered minor burns to his chest and was choked by smoke, but he woke up the following morning and was expected to be discharged that afternoon. Lin Fan's mother, consumed by guilt, sought out Geng Geng at her biological mother's home.
She expressed profound regret for accidentally pushing Geng Geng during the chaotic moment of the accident, admitting, "I got crazy back then. I pushed you, but I didn't mean to retaliate or blame you. My mind went blank." Geng Geng, understanding a mother's frantic concern, empathized with her, remarking that her own mother would also react "crazily" but "wouldn't push me," though she might "stab them with a knife" if she knew Geng Geng was deliberately harmed.
Lin Fan's mother humbly accepted full responsibility and apologized once more. She then earnestly asked Geng Geng to return home, to which Geng Geng agreed. Geng Geng later joined Yu Huai and her friends, including Xu Yanliang, for a meal at Fanta Park to make up for missing her birthday. Yu Huai, limping slightly from a sprained foot, had been teased as "the cripple." Geng Geng apologized for her absence, explaining she "had a trouble that day."
During the meal, their friend Zhou Mo exuberantly announced that Yu Huai had won "the third prize" in a competition, which secured him a "nomination for college," jokingly implying he was now free to pursue romance. Geng Geng congratulated him, only to learn it was a prank designed to tease her. Afterwards, Geng Geng noticed Yu Huai's sprained foot, but he brushed it off.
Geng Geng confided in him about Lin Fan's injury and revealed that Lin Fan was her stepmother's son, explaining that her parents divorced in junior high. She reflected on the fragility of relationships despite promises of "forever," contrasting it with the stability she longed for. Yu Huai shared his own distant family life, admitting he "envied" Geng Geng's frequent contact with her mother and her father's understanding.
Geng Geng thanked him for the "hyacinth" (which Yu Huai clarified was an "ostrich eggshell" from Africa that he crafted), and proposed they "plant a tree" together, as "a tree seems more stable in the face of time." Yu Huai agreed. He then asked Geng Geng, "Be my desk mate as ever," to which she assented. Later, as they sat by a lake, Geng Geng got something in her eye.
Yu Huai gently blew it out for her, a gesture that, from a distance, led Xu Yanliang and their other friends to comically speculate, "Are they kissing?" Suddenly, Lu Xinghe, who had returned from Beijing, appeared before Geng Geng, wishing her "Happy birthday!" He revealed he had spent his vacation taking English classes at New Oriental in Beijing, and that if things progressed well, he might not return to Zhenhua next semester.
He then presented Geng Geng with a special birthday gift: a painting of her, "specially drew. . . on the wood board," expressing his wish for her to remain "carefree forever like the girl playing drums." Geng Geng thanked him and wished him "a good journey" and "may everything go well." As Geng Geng walked away, Lu Xinghe followed, stopping by a railway track.
As a train roared past, he seized the moment of overwhelming noise to loudly declare his feelings, repeatedly shouting, "Lu Xinghe likes Geng Geng!" After the train departed, Lu Xinghe was gone, leaving Geng Geng in a complex emotional state, on the verge of tears. She reflected on starting her "17-year-old life" with newfound feelings of "loving and being loved," preparing to return to school despite potential academic challenges and self-doubt. The new semester began with Mr. Zhang informing the class about the upcoming division into science and liberal arts streams for Senior 2.
