A girl falls in love, at first sight, with a reticent man.
Notable Actors/Actresses
Notable Actors/Actresses
Yang Zi: Tong Nian
Li Xian: Han Shang Yan
Director:
Scriptwriter:
Chinese Title
親愛的，熱愛的
親愛的，熱愛的
Dear, Beloved
[Ep1] Team K&K gets second place at the Cybersecurity Tournament (CTF), losing out to Team SP, and Han Shang Yan ("Han" or "Gun") is quite upset about this loss. As he's leaving the event, a woman offers her hand for a handshake, he ignores her. His cousin, Wu Bai (“Bai” or “DT”), the team leader (Captain) for K&K is staring at this woman.
Network: iQIYI
Recapper: FanFanX
Recap Grade: A
First Impression: 4/5
First Impression: 4/5
FanFanX: Lucky No. 7. Finally started watching this series, and am pleasantly surprised by its charm. She makes me smile. His scowl is as enjoyable as his smile. xD This is just in time for Valentine's - and his birthday!
Mini Recaps
On the bus ride back, the boys start arguing about who's fault it was that lead to their loss. Finally Han tells them enough, and reprimands them for arguing after losing. He also says that there are only two rankings in a competition: winner and garbage. He ends up getting off the bus and walking away.
Later, an upset Han walks into the internet cafe that Tong Nian ("Nian Nian") is manning for her cousin, Hu Dou Nan - it’s love at first sight for the bubbly Tong Nian. He just scowls at her and gives curt responses to her questions. He’s not in the mood and is just there to blow off steam. He buys the overnight pass which is from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., and she tells him that they close at 7 a.m., so he’s welcome to stay until then if he wants to. lol Uh huh. She just wants him to stay.
Later she makes him ramen with snacks (free of charge) and daydreams about giving it to him and how their first meet cute would go. Ha. It doesn’t go quite like that in real life. When she delivers this sumptuous meal to him, Dou Nan shows up and makes him pay for it. lol The rest of the time Han is there, she is spying on him. She also finds a way to get his WeChat number and then spends her time sketching him, too. Ha. She’s seriously so into him. He checks out at 2 a.m. and she tells him that it’s still early. lol Yeah, for her! He tells her it's actually quite late. After he leaves, Dou Nan points out to her that he left his ID card. So she runs out after him and he remains polite but curt.
He returns home to K&K Club, and cleans up around the place, including the mess in one of the boys' rooms as they're sleeping. He's not as heartless as he appears.
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| K&K Club. Yes, these are huge cargo shipping containers. But look there's a slide (far left)! lol |
Han's thoughts: The bigger the dream, the greater the sacrifice. Coming back to the country, and forming Team K&K, I wanted to help these young people. They have the talent and dream of winning the championship for China. Their parents gave the most important time of their children's growth to me. They gave their children that future. Facing such responsibility, I have no choice but to be even stricter in their training. This is tough love. After all, they're only about 20 years old. They're headstrong, playful, and sometimes not mindful. When will they be able to reach the goal? These members of Team K&K, do you know that the responsibility that I shoulder is greater than you can imagine? But believe me, I can do it.
Meanwhile, Tong Nian keeps sending Han promotional messages for the internet cafe hoping for a reply on WeChat. Han sees receives the notification of the messages but ignores them. His boys are surprised that he's using WeChat. Han then has the boys train outside even though it's raining out. He later points out to his boys that everyone remembers who is in first place and no one remembers second place. The team goes to a restaurant for lunch but everyone is sitting around awkwardly waiting for him to appear. Han pulls aside Wu Bai to give him his card and PIN, asking him to withdraw money from his personal account for red envelopes as the new year's holiday is approaching. Wu Bai notices that he's receiving WeChat promotional messages and offers to remove the app but Han says to let it be as it's not important. He then leaves Wu Bai in charge as he'll be away for two days. Once he leaves, everyone sighs in relief and starts eating. lol
At school, Tong Nian’s xue zhang (school senior), Zheng Hui harbors a crush on her. He brings her and her best friend, Sun Ya Ya, each a cup of fruit juice. He pulls aside Ya Ya to speak to her about something. He is so shy that he chooses to talk to Ya Ya about Tong Nian. However, he can barely get the words out, so she actually figures out that he has a crush on Tong Nian. lol He's so awkward. He confirms this and she offers to help him. He thanks her profusely for her help.
Han is out of town, and goes to see his friend Mi Shao Fei (“Xiao Mi”). Xiao Mi is surprised but so happy to see him, and he hugs Han whilst crying. He's trying to recruit him for Team K&K. They go to dinner, and Ou Qiang (“All” who is on Team SP) shows up. And he’s waving over someone else to join them.
[Ep2] Wang Hao (“Solo”) is walking over to join them. Han gets up and leaves without speaking to him. Solo owns SP and Ai Qing has joined his team, and he’s there to recruit Xiao Mi as well.
Later, Solo goes to see Han at his hotel, who opens the door and when he sees that it’s him, he tries to close the door on him. Solo forces his way in but Han doesn't really want to talk to him. He allows him to talk business only. Solo tells him that Xiao Mi is joining SP. After they're done talking business, Han turns his back on him and asks him to leave. Solo tries to continue the conversation but finally leaves after he realizes that Han isn't going to budge.
Flashback: 10 years ago, they were all on Team Solo. After their win, Han announces his departure from the team and his retirement to the shock of everyone. Then he throws his championship ring into the crowd. As a result, Xiao Mi also decides to quit the team. Later, a very angry Han confronts Solo by physically beating him up, and Solo just lets him do it. Han also tells him that he's not fit to be a leader, and Solo promises him that he won’t be one.
Currently, Han still can’t forgive Solo for whatever past transgressions.
Before he leaves for his return flight to Shanghai, Han goes back to see Xiao Mi at work and he grabs a drink for himself, Xiao Mi and All. Before he leaves, he tells them "friends for a day, friends for a lifetime".
[Ep3] Dou Nan gets Tong Nian into the game that Han was playing, and he was using the handle "Grunt" at the time. But she's clueless about playing the game and is quite terrible at it. She finally ends up playing a game with Han, who thinks he’s playing with a little kid (xiao hai). lol
At K&K Club, there’s a team meeting with manager Su Cheng, and to get ready for their next competition, Ling Shan ("9-7") goes over the team’s history:
Team SP consists of:
- Wang Hao “Solo”, representative of CTF China (former leader of Team Solo)
- Ai Qing “Appledog”, leader and coach*
- Mi Shao Fei "Xiao Mi", Sub-defender*
- Ou Qiang "All", Main defender, Sub-attacker*
- Hua Ti, Captain
- Inin, Assist
- Following, Main defense
*formerly part of Team Solo
When he was at Team Solo, Han was known as “Gun,” but then he retired from playing games after winning their last competition together. Later, he co-founded K&K in Norway and then formed Team K&K in China.
At Guangzhou airport, Tong Nian sees Han and his team, as she’s there for her music promotional event, and she tries to follow them. He doesn’t notice her trying to get his attention from inside the bus, but his team players do.
Ai Qing gets her access to their competition. When Tong Nian sees Han, her eyes are glued to him. She then sees him smile for the first time ever. He finally notices her and actually recognizes her. She's so awkward - she has delayed responses to his questions - as she just blurts out the answers. She grabs onto his shirt to keep him there, and now his team thinks she's his girlfriend. lol Han and the team leave. She stays behind to wait for their return, but then she asks the spectators about Grunt and learns that they’re not playing again until the next day.
On her way out of the venue, she finds out that Grunt has the stomach cramps. She runs into 9-7 who gets her back inside and takes her to Grunt. When she finds Chen Zhe ("Grunt"), she realizes in shock that it’s an entirely different person, who is another K&K team player. lol As it is, 9-7 is calling her da sao (older sister-in-law), and scolds Han for not getting her a pass. Han is wondering what's going on, so he asks her why 9-7 is calling her da sao. Han asks Grunt about knowing her, both deny knowing each other at all, so Han takes her outside as she's carrying her "Grunt Love" sign (another fan gave her it). lol He thinks she's flown there to see Grunt but she repeats that she doesn't know him but won't admit the truth. She ends up asking him why he's called lao da (Leader) as she doesn't know who Han is in the CTF circle. The boys are nosy and end up interrupting their conversation, complaining about being hungry. 9-7 grabs Tong Nian's stuff and invites her to join them for their meal.
[Ep4] 9-7 brings her to the team bus and introduces her as da sao to everyone. She asks to not be called that and he tells them to not call her that as she's shy. But they still keep calling her that. lol Wu Bai notices her on the bus but doesn't say anything.
Director Xiang (director of the competition) wants to arrange a lunch with both Solo and Han. But Han declines as he is still angry with Solo. On the ride back to the hotel, Han remembers the past with the members of Team Solo. They had just won a championship and were celebrating on a public bus. Xiao Mi pulls out beers and they toast to winning the national championship.
After arriving at the hotel, Tong Nian is told to meet Han in his room. Once inside the room, she discovers Grunt is also there, and they're questioned together about being in a relationship. They both deny it. Grunt realizes that she's there for Han and says something that ticks off Han. Now Tong Nian is forced to admit that she is actually likes Han, and had been looking for him. Han dismisses Grunt, who can't wait to leave. lol He then asks why she likes him, and he gets really close to her face and asks her what part of him she's attracted to, so she finally explains the whole situation that led to her being there today.
They’re interrupted by her phone. She goes into the bathroom to take the call - it’s a phone interview with a radio host, as she's an online singer, "Xiao Youyu" (Little Squid). (The squid in the English title of this series.) After a series of questions, she is asked if she has a boyfriend. She admits that she is single, and then asked what kind of boys she likes.
TN: I like handsome boys. He looks cold when he doesn't talk but has a warm smile. This is my ideal type. Hehe, describing Han to a T.
Afterwards, Han asks her to join the team for lunch and he finally asks for her name. Ha. Totally in reverse. In the elevator ride down, Han pulls out his candy tin and offers it to Tong Nian. Dai Feng ("Demo") interrupts them and is so flustered that he walks in and out twice before deciding to take the elevator up but doesn't ask Han or Tong Nian about their destination, so they're forced to ride the elevator back up. Ha. Demo gets off on his floor, and they ride the elevator back down to join the team for dinner.
Moments later, Demo appears and tells Zhao Yi (“One”), Grunt and 9-7 about encountering Han and Tong Nian in the elevator. He says that lao da is in a bad mood, as he had his candy tin out. He explains that he only eats candies when he's impatient and troubled.
Tong Nian takes a while to choose her food as she is worried about eating something messy, food in her teeth, etc. She brings back this plate of meager portions and Han mentally notes that she's afraid of him. He calls over to 9-7's table and asks for two of them to come over. 9-7 drags over Demo and finds out that he wants them to talk to them. I think he's trying to make her less nervous.
9-7 asks what her name is and the boys sing a song about her name. They're so cute! 9-7 and Demo continue asking her questions. She tells them that she started university at age 15, double majored in bioengineering and electronic engineering, and is currently a graduate student in programming. They find out that she has more than 1 million fans as an online singer on NetEase Music and is a Weibo VIP. They ask her about playing games and she says that she doesn't know how to. They offer to teach her how, and that this point Han dismisses her as the driving is waiting outside. He also tells the boys to never call her da sao again. He leaves and she follows suit. He has the driver send her back to her hotel and jumps on a call. She starts crying on the drive back as he seems indifferent. Aww. She wonders why her first love is so painful.
Wu Bai informs Han that their grandfather is looking for him. Han calls him back using Wu Bai’s phone, and listens to him ranting on about Han being 30 years old, his obsession with playing games, not dating, and that he wants him to get married and have kids already. Han Grandpa will be arriving in two days' time and wants to be picked up. He will also be there to find him a wife.
Tong Nian goes back to her hotel and starts looking for information about Han. She finds out about Team Solo, his national championship wins, has millions of fans, his involvement in the CTF circle, and his retirement from playing. She goes to see her friend, Lan Mei, who accompanied her for her music event. Lan Mei's husband is a fanboy of Han's and talks about his many accomplishments. He also mentions that his idol was rumored to be the third party in Solo and Ai Qing’s relationship ten years ago which caused the team to disband and that Han started K&K to try to win back Ai Qing.
[Ep5] Her friends find out that she's met Han and they've talked but he won't tell her much. Lan Mei's husband wants to know everything. She explains that there was a misunderstanding and she had dinner with them. They want to know why but she finally says that it's complicated and hard to explain. She admits that she's met him twice. Lan Mei's husband says that they have a game tomorrow and suggests that the two of them go together.
Wu Bai tells Han that he has met Tong Nian before as they have entered the same coding competition previously.
K&K is battling SP for the championship. Tong Nian is at the venue with Lan Mei but they don’t have tickets to get in. Of course not. After a bunch of pressure (guilt-tripping) from the boys, Han relents and has Demo admit Tong Nian. Demo calls her da sao, and says that he's there to bring her in. Lan Mei asks when she got married and didn't tell her. lol She says it's nonsense. He hurries to bring in her and Lan Mei inside as it's five minutes before the start. Lan Mei finds out that his lao da is the Gun God, and says that Tong Nian's boyfriend is Gun God, who is her husband's idol. In front of Demo, Tong Nian clarifies that Han isn’t her boyfriend as they’ve only met three times, including today. Demo is actually impressed by Han’s prowess and hurries to tell the rest of the team. lol And he does have a big mouth. Su Cheng tells them to stop gossiping. Too late!
During the competition, Tong Nian sits next to Han which makes her uncomfortable as it will further cement the misunderstanding that she is Han’s girlfriend. She explains that she should move away as it will create trouble between him and Ai Qing. However, Han curtly tells her that her information is inaccurate as he is single and not interested in a relationship - with women or men. Ha. Covering it all.
K&K loses the competition to SP who had recruited veterans Xiao Mi and All into the team. Before leaving, Han tells Tong Nian that she doesn’t have to bother clearing up any misunderstandings about them as they will never meet again anyway. He has no plans to get involved in a relationship as he only wants to train the boys to become world champions.
9-7 explains to the boys that Han is angry with Solo because the team got disbanded due to his personal issues. Grunt also mentions that Su Cheng is the mother of Solo’s daughter.
Back in Shanghai, a dejected Tong Nian tries to get over her crush on Han. She is invited to give a talk on Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the university with Zheng Hui and Ya Ya.
[Ep6] Zheng Hui wants to confess to Tong Nian but he remains shy and has no courage to do so. Ya Ya prods him but he just stammers at Tong Nian instead. Zheng Hui says that he won't be returning home for New Year’s holiday so Tong Nian says that Ya Ya isn't going home either and suggests they hang out. Tong Nian leaves, and Ya Ya kicks him. xD She says if he doesn't tell her, how will she ever know? He says he wants to take it slow and their relationship grow. Ya Ya sighs in exasperation and rolls her eyes at this. LOL!
Tong Nian is still thinking about Han. She decides to bike over to K&K Club to have a look from the outside. She takes pictures from the outside but declines the offer for a tour from the security guy. She leaves on her bike and crosses paths with Han who is on his phone, but neither one of them notices the other.
At K&K, Han gives everyone a red envelope and the boys are ecstatic. He also gives one to One's mother, who cleans the place. Everyone is going back to their hometown for the holidays, except for Demo. Han finds out that Demo has nowhere to go as his parents are divorced, so he brings him back to his house with Wu Bai. He thinks it will be good to have someone who can distract and make his grandfather happy (ergo, keep attention away from him). During dinner, when Demo offers Han a chicken drumstick, he turns moody and just goes to his room. Wu Bai has no idea what happened.
The drumstick reminds him of the past when he was starting out with Solo, Ai Qing, Xiao Mi, and All in the gaming field. They struggled as they were low on funds and experience but they were quite happy together. The drumsticks of one chicken were once considered a reward for an achievement. Solo had given one to Han and the other to Ai Qing. They had started out in Beijing in a very small, cramped place and eventually moved to a large house in Shanghai. Han had also used his education trust fund set up by his late father to help with the team’s expenses. A knock on the door interrupts his trip down memory lane.
[Ep7] Demo has brought food for Han but runs away and trips on the steps to get away from his potential ire. The boys are afraid of him and he wants it that way. Demo tells him to eat and says that he cooked more dishes as he wasn't sure why he wouldn't eat earlier. Han apologizes for his rudeness.
The next day, they go together to pick up Han Grandpa from the airport. That evening, Grandpa visits Tong Nian’s parents as they’re longtime friends. However, the true purpose of the visit is to matchmake Tong Nian’s cousin, Hu Yue Jiao, with Han. Han is forced to go into the house with his grandfather. He's his usual not-so-charming self. Tong Nian's mother calls for her to come downstairs to greet the guests. When Han and Tong Nian see each other, both are surprised (well, she’s almost horrified). Her mother tells her to change her clothes as she's in pajamas. She leaves to go upstairs but Han stops her and they manage to have a silent conversation on the staircase about this being her home. lol (~15:30, they’re so funny and cute here.) Her mother interrupts this "conversation" and Han (with a smirk) asks about where the bathroom is. Grandpa also thinks that Tong Nian will be a good match for his other grandson, Wu Bai.
On the way to dinner, Yue Jiao, Dou Nan, and Tong Nian end up in Han’s car. Han is rude to Yue Jiao as he won’t let her sit in the front, and won’t move his clothes. He also bluntly tells her that he isn’t interested in her. Before they go inside the restaurant, he tells Tong Nian that there is no point acting that they are strangers because Wu Bai will be joining them for dinner and the secret would get exposed anyway. When Wu Bai turns up, Han tells him that their grandfather is going to matchmake him with Tong Nian. Wu Bai is confused and asks why he's involved. Han says that he can't help him. Wu Bai gets his revenge - by telling everyone that Tong Nian is referred to as da sou among K&K team members giving the impression that they are dating. Hahaha. (~27:52, when he just drops the bomb!) While Han and Tong Nian are unable to explain their complicated relationship to the elders, Dou Nan chimes in that Tong Nian likes Han. She denies it and tells him to shut up. Han decides to admit that they’re dating and offers his hand for a handshake. Her mother looks displeased and turns her back on him, while her father shakes his hand. Hahaha. So awkward. XD
Grandpa mentions to Tong Nian's mother that "an older man will pamper his wife more." She doesn't seem to agree. He then mentions that their birthdays are so close: Han's is 2/14 and hers is 3/20. Grandpa tells Wu Bai to sit next to him and pretty much orders Han to sit next to Tong Nian. She asks Han why he lied and he explains that Wu Bai wants to get out of this blind date as he already has a crush on someone. He suggests that she can find a reason for them to break up later this evening. Grandpa urges Han to put some food on his girlfriend’s plate, so Han proceeds to do exactly that. He begrudgingly piles on the food onto her plate. (~36:18, How is she supposed to eat off of her plate?! XD) She finally politely tells him that she has plenty to eat now. Grandpa asks him to pour her a drink, so he fills up her glass with juice to the brim. Her mother had noticed Han’s coldness towards Tong Nian so she’s pretty angry for her daughter. She also doesn’t like that Han is much older than Tong Nian.
On the drive back, Tong Nian suggests that they should just announce their breakup the following month. Han says that he will let her make that decision when she’s ready. Oh, so now they’re both going along with the fake relationship?
[Ep8] On New Year’s day, Han Grandpa orders Han to pick up Tong Nian and bring her to their house for dinner. He’s not happy about this and makes Demo go with him.
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| He just shows up without a word. Until she removes that basket. |
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| Her mother is not happy to let him into their house. |
Han goes over to Tong Nian’s house with fruits, but only after Demo had to tell him to not show up empty-handed. Bwahaha, this much fruit? LOL Her mother is not so welcoming but her father is receptive to him. He tells them that he’s there to take Tong Nian to see his grandfather. Her father goes upstairs to tell her that Han is there to take her to dinner, which is either at the request of Han or his grandfather. Slightly snide. :P She shoves her father out to get ready.
Tong Nian gets into Han’s car and Demo pops up from the back seat and says da sou. She shrieks from his sudden appearance. XD Her face and Han’s face! On the way to Han’s house, they stop at the supermarket to do some grocery shopping. Han allows Tong Nian to pick whatever she wants but won’t allow Demo to do the same. So there’s a conversation about snacks and Han asks Demo "Do men eat snacks?" Haha, yes, they do. Tong Nian grabs the snacks from Demo and says that she likes these snacks, too. Han allows it. Heh.
Demo: It is said that the men who are fierce to outsiders are gentle to the family. Those who are fierce to families are afraid of outsiders. He’s pointing out that Han is giving her preferential treatment. Hehe.
At the car, Han has his hands full with the groceries and asks her to grab the car key. So she searches in his jacket pockets. He finally gets real close to her face and says, in his pants' pocket. She reaches into the pocket and digs around and eventually finds them. (~22:46, gotta watch it for his eyes. LOL!) Then they stop at a vegetable market to pick up some fresh produce and she’s impressed by his negotiating skills. Uh huh.
Han kicks Demo and Tong Nian out of the kitchen as they’re clueless about making dumplings. So he makes Wu Bai help him, who is almost as clueless. The way Wu Bai goes to stab the cabbage with a chef’s knife. lol Meanwhile, Tong Nian entertains Han Grandpa with her singing, however, he’s requested music from a Beijing opera, “The Legend of the Red Lantern.” It’s quite high pitched - as expected. xD He’s quite pleased by this. While I’m recalling (or recoiling from?) my childhood. Ha. Grandpa prepares a necklace as a gift for Tong Nian and asks Han to give it to her by putting it inside a dumpling. Nope. Han serves the dumplings with a separate plate just for Tong Nian. His grandfather throws a fuss when she gets to the last dumpling and there’s still no necklace in sight. Han just places the necklace in its case on the table and tells her that it’s from his grandfather. lol I prefer his way. His grandfather says it was sterilized - uhm, what about the necklace after it’s cooked?! A definite no! She’s happy to receive this necklace.
While they’re cleaning off the dining table, Demo tells her about the three unfriendlies at K&K: 1) Grunt, the caustic; 2) Captain Wu Bai, the conversation stopper; and 3) Lao da, the demon. lol
Han drops Tong Nian at her parents, but before she goes in, he asks if she wants to listen to music. She agrees and he plays a song (You Zhang Jing (尤长靖) | Love Is Not Up To Me (愛不由我)) in the car. She’s enjoying the private moment with him (and he has a tiny smile!) until Dou Nan startles them with an invitation to go inside for tea. lol She quickly gets out of the car, tells Han good night. Then she tells her cousin to not bother him and she practically shoves him inside. She likes him but is respectful to him.
After the holidays, all the team members are back at K&K Club. They find out that Demo had spent the new year with Han. And the boys decide to catch him while he’s in the shower (thinking he’s possibly crying). This poor kid. lol He starts telling them about how Han is gentle on the inside and won't let their da sao do any housework, cooks well, etc. No one really believes him though. He suddenly realizes that he needs to finish showering and makes them go away. Haha.
A singles competition is going to be held in Norway and Grunt and 9-7 have been selected to participate. Su Cheng informs Han that he and the team (including Wu Bai) will be traveling on the same flight as Ai Qing, Xiao Mi, All and Inin from Team SP to Norway. Han has no choice but to agree. The boys scatter.
Su Cheng then asks if she needs to keep an eye on his grandfather and he says that he'll be busier than he will be, visiting friends and family. She then says, that's right, he's [Han] a bachelor and doesn't have to give an account to anyone. Tong Nian suddenly pops up into Han’s thoughts. Ou?
Flashback: Han told Ai Qing that he knew Solo was leaving after this competition. He then wondered what the point of winning was if Solo left his own team. Ai Qing and Solo also appeared to be in an intimate relationship.
Tong Nian puts on the necklace from Han Grandpa. Meanwhile, Han is contemplating opening an account on NetEase Music and requests help from one of the players. 9-7 ends up in his room, and is quite nervous as he has no idea why he's in there. Han asks him for help in opening an account on NetEase Music. 9-7 does it but says that he's not musically inclined, so why is he opening an account?
Lan Mei and Tong Nian are hanging out and looking at their NetEase Music apps.
Tong Nian's post as Xiao Youyu: What were you doing when you were 11 years old? I'm feeling a surge of emotion. At that age, I had test papers in my bag...whereas someone has already won a championship.
Lan Mei teases her for showing affection so publicly. Tong Nian is looking at incoming comments. Many are asking who this "someone" is. She gasps when she sees a comment from “GN” - she knows it’s Han. Ah, this is why he wanted an account. Both girls are excited about this.
Back at K&K Club, Han is asking 9-7 what else he can do on the app besides leaving comments. 9-7 says that he can send personal messages if it’s someone he knows. Han says why didn’t he say so sooner, as he just posted a message to Tong Nian publicly saying that he will be away and leaves his phone number.1 Heh. 9-7 replies that he didn’t ask him, then he grabs the phone from Han and tells him that he can follow da sao's account so he can get all of her updates, including if she's released a new song or places she's been. Teehee. Han then rudely snatches the phone back from 9-7 and dismisses him by telling him to go to sleep. So tactless. He follows her, and she follows him back. Now everyone's asking about why she's following an account without a profile picture, which makes some of them follow him, too. lol
Tong Nian decides to call him but hides in the bathroom to call him. Han is already starting to fall asleep but notices the incoming call and answers it. He sleepily tells her that he's going to Norway tomorrow and then gives her his return flight and promptly falls asleep.
On the flight to Norway, Han sits next to Ai Qing, who tries to make conversation with him but he cuts her off and ignores her every time she tries.
Flashback: Ai Qing and Solo used to be lovers. Later, the quintet drink beers on their rooftop and talk about their dreams and what they'd do after winning the world championship. Solo said some day he'll buy the building that they're living in now. They were all quite close with each other.
In Norway, they are at K&K’s headquarters, where both teams will be training, and are greeted by Nan Wei, Su Cheng's husband. Later, Han receives a call from his stepmother, Han Jia Jia, who wishes him a happy birthday and then is asked to collect a necklace from an antique shop on her behalf. After he picks up the antique necklace, he goes back to the hotel and Ai Qing is waiting for him. She invites Han for a drink as it is his birthday. When she brings up the past, Han gets angry and leaves. Ai Qing chases after him and gets stopped by a few men who are trying to take advantage of her, and she starts yelling his name and asking for help.
[Ep10] Han returns to fight them off but nearly escalates the situation. Luckily, Xiao Mi arrives trying to get him to calm down. There is still a lot of anger in Han towards things that happened in the past, so he just walks away.
When Xiao Mi and Ai Qing are back at the hotel, it turns out that she had actually ordered a birthday cake and coffee for Han earlier. Xiao Mi offers to take them to him. Han asks him why he chose to join SP instead of his team to which Xiao Mi says that it’s because it’s where he started. Xiao Mi also tells him that he can’t make Solo and Ai Qing repent forever for a mistake that happened in the past. He tells him that the cake and coffee are from Ai Qing. He says that the three of them have something to tell him - to wish him a happy birthday and then he leaves.
Han tends to the cuts on his hand and then listens to a voice message from Tong Nian with valentine's day and birthday wishes. She also sends a message wishing him a good night and to remember to make a wish with his birthday cake. He’s looking at the cake from Ai Qing and he blows out the lit candles and makes a wish. Then he goes to see Xiao Mi and asks him to celebrate his birthday with him. They’re at a bar and Han is extra affectionate to the owner’s cat there. Xiao Mi points out that he’s still as avid a cat lover as he ever was. He was holding a kitten in one of the flashback scenes, too. Hehe, but he’s wearing black all the time - I can only imagine the cat fur. xD
Xiao Mi wishes him a happy birthday and Han says it's old-fashioned.
HYS: Is living worth celebrating? We're born to face unhappiness. Why should we be born?
XM: If there's no unhappiness, how do you know what happiness is? Listen to me. We're born to experience the world and have a good time.
Han just looks at him. They clink their bottles of beer and drink to that.
At the competition, Team SP arrives and Wu Bai keeps his gaze on Ai Qing. They make eye contact and she acknowledges him with a nod. Both teams are there to represent China. Xiao Mi loses in the first round and Han tells him no matter the individual win or loss, just root for China. Before his round starts, Ai Qing looks for Wu Bai (who is a real loner) to encourage him. He tells her that this win isn’t just for their country but for her. She thanks him for liking her so much. Wu Bai admits to admiring and liking Ai Qing since his days in high school. Ah, this is his crush. In the end, Wu Bai defeats the second-ranked player to win the championship.
Tong Nian calls to congratulate him on their win, and even though it’s noisy there, he remains on the phone with her. He asks if she wants to hear the cheer for China and she agrees. He holds up the phone to the cheering crowd. Awww, he’s sharing this moment with her. He then tells her that he’s going to give an interview soon and needs to hang up. She starts to say something but just congratulates him again and hangs up the phone and excitedly runs downstairs to tell her parents about K&K’s victory. Her father shares in her enthusiasm, and her mother doesn’t look impressed and looks quite angry. Tong Nian leaves to go watch the awards ceremony.
With the tournament over, Han invites Xiao Mi and All for a drive to relive their past brotherhood days.
[Ep11] The three men are singing a song together on their drive, which they all sang back as Team Solo with Solo and Ai Qing. Han takes them to some place with an expansive view of Norway. Han brings up Solo and SP, which leads to an argument between Han and All. Han is angry with Solo and frustrated that Ai Qing has forgiven him. All is angry at Han for retiring abruptly and running away 10 years ago. All asks him if ever considered anyone else's feelings besides his own at the time or since. Later, Han offers his candy to his friends, and suggests they have a piece of candy to lighten their mood. He explains that when he eats the candy, then he can’t talk as easily. Ah, it’s his own way of keeping himself in check. The three are back to being friends.
Elsewhere, Ai Qing feels that the meaner Han is, the more he cares about someone. This is because he doesn’t know how to express himself as his parents died while he was still young and was raised by his stepmother.
It’s pouring out and Tong Nian is on the way to the airport in a taxi cab. The driver guesses that she must be going there to pick up her boyfriend as she has no luggage and seems to be in a hurry. He then tells her that the last time he surprised his wife at the airport, she was so happy that she gave him a huge hug.
TN: I don't think my boyfriend will do so. He keeps everything in his heart. He's not romantic and isn't a sweet-talker. But he keeps his love for me in his heart. I can see it from his eyes. They say eyes are windows to the soul and she sees his.
Tong Nian misses Han at the airport but she bumps into Wu Bai. Aww, and she's carrying a sign, too. So he takes her to the team bus. Wu Bai gets on the bus and tells Han that his girlfriend is here but Han barely registers it. Grunt nudges him and points to Tong Nian standing outside, and says that da sao is here. His response when he sees her outside the bus: to critique her green cap. LOL It's funny because it's so bad! She tells him it matches her skirt and scarf. He asks what's going on, and she says that she was there to welcome him back. He just stares at her in his usual way - almost scowling - but Wu Bai interrupts them. He tells her to come up into the bus first, she'll be frozen if she waits for him to call her. HAHAHA. Now Han looks at his cousin and then looks back at her and tells her to get on the bus, but he’s clenching his jaw.
Tong Nian gets on the bus and sits down behind Wu Bai. Han asks her if she's cold. She says that she isn't and pulls on her long coat to cover herself. He tells her to not dress like this again as she might catch a cold. A few rows behind them, 9-7 and Grunt are listening and watching this conversation with great interest. She asks if he doesn't like her dressed like so, and he looks around and quickly says that she can wear whatever she likes. Hehe. She replies that he can tell her what he wants her to wear and she'll wear it. Ha. Grunt and 9-7 are laughing now and proceed to reenact their conversation and then start laughing even louder afterwards. Han hears them and looks around uncomfortably again. He moves over in his seat, to be a bit closer to her, and asks if she understands that this will create a misunderstanding. She asks him what the misunderstanding is about. He tells her to not discuss this topic with anyone, especially men. She just nods. Wu Bai finally says that he'll sit in the back and moves to get away from them. Too awkward for everyone. lol Grunt and 9-7 laugh heartily at this.
Su Cheng is anxiously waiting for Solo and their daughter, Xiao Ai at a cafe. Su Cheng greets her daughter who doesn’t respond. She doesn’t seem to like her mother and won’t look at her either. Xiao Ai is angry at Su Cheng for abandoning her father years earlier when he was still poor. She lives with her father, and she has a hearing problem and wears a hearing aid. She needs to stay with her mother for a few days.
Tong Nian follows Han and the team back to K&K Club. However, she’s not sure if she’s allowed to go inside so she stays outside and waits. She waves at Han when he notices her standing at the door. lol He opens the door for her and tells her to stay close and not to look around. He leaves to take a call. She's impressed by their setup and discovers their slide. She screams as she's going down the slide. Haha.
She finds him in the conference room making his call. She wonders if she can take any photos (of him) and figures that he wouldn't notice. She's wrong. He notices and puts his call on hold, to message her through WeChat to delete it. lol She’s giddy to know that he did receive her promotional messages and knows it’s her. Ha. Then he makes her come into the room, and asks for the cellphone. She tries to grab at his cellphone instead. LOL, she's so flustered. He clarifies that he wants her cellphone. She says that she's deleted the photos already and shows him her phone. She then plays a WeChat message of her friend asking her about meeting the Gun God. Haha, oops. He asks if she always mentions him to her friends. She denies it - she only talks about him a little bit. Lies. lol She then says that she only talks about him in his profession. Uh huh, sure. He starts his video meeting but is slightly distracted by her. When his call ends, he notices that she's fallen asleep at the table. He calls the team on the intercom to come into the conference room and to bring lunch, including two portions for him. However, she wakes up from this call, and the team arrives with lunch. Really, Han?
Han points out that Demo was third last during the last hand-speed test. Demo says that he's been practicing and has scored 201 with the reaction testing software. Han replies that DT's result was 106. Tong Nian asks what the reaction testing software is and Han has 9-7 provide the answer. It's the software used to test their response and speed time. They open the software, then hear the beeping sound and at the moment, click the mouse in response. She asks why it's by sound as it's not how they would play. She suggests having software that can train their hands and eyes, such as using colors instead. She then offers to make the reaction testing software but will need feedback from the team players. The team starts saying they're not interested and have no need for this, so Han gets up and pulls out his candy tin, and instead of eating one himself, he puts one on the table in front of Tong Nian. Later, he sends her home and she says that she’ll call him when the software is ready.
Back in the dorms, Tong Nian stays up all night working on the software. She doesn’t sleep.
Su Cheng brings Xiao Ai to K&K Club. She refuses to listen to Su Cheng when she tells her to eat breakfast and instead goes down the slide. She then tells her mother that she’ll eat if her mother goes down the slide. Her mother refuses as she’s wearing a dress. She’s standing there gloating, when Han walks by and carries her to the table where breakfast is waiting and tells her to eat her breakfast. She still refuses, so he sits across from her and watches her and then makes a comment about Solo’s bad parenting as she needs discipline. Su Cheng tells him to mind his own business, and then she suggests going to the amusement park. Is she trying to bribe her?
Xiao Ai refuses to go to the amusement park as she’s supposedly been to all of them and because she purportedly doesn’t want to move. Han starts badmouthing Solo's parenting skills, which irks her. He tells her that while she may have a bad relationship with her mother, she should at least respect the elders, which is something her father should have taught her. She says that she didn’t show any disrespect and finally agrees to go. He says she just agreed to go so it’s a deal and she insists that he goes with them. He then walks away and says that he’ll meet them outside in 10 minutes. Point goes to Han shu shu.
He’s walking away and looks back to see how long it’ll take her to realize that she’s been tricked into going - about six seconds. So smug. lol (~42:06, his expressions here are so cute.)
Tong Nian messages him that the software is ready.
[Ep12] On their way to the amusement park, Han meets Tong Nian at her school. He's impressed at how quickly she created the software. She's invited to go along with them to the amusement park. Xiao Ai actually gets along really well with Tong Nian. Xiao Ai also knows that Tong Nian likes Han, for reasons she doesn’t understand. Xiao Ai asks “Gun God” to buy tickets for a cruise. Later, Han and Tong Nian are on one boat (sitting across from each other) while Su Cheng and Xiao Ai are on a different one. Han offers to take photos so she can post it to her WeChat. She says no as she usually doesn't post pictures. Xiao Ai calls out Tong Nian Jie and then waves at her to sit next to Han and takes a photo of the two of them.
Han immediately tells Xiao Ai to delete the photo, which she refuses to do and says that she'll post it to her WeChat. He gets upset and tells her that he'll throw her into the river when they get to shore. lol Tong Nian gets him to sit back down and Xiao Ai continues taking photos of them. Hehe. While Han is making threats to Xiao Ai, Tong Nian continues doing cute poses for the photos. lol Tong Nian just laughs at their bickering.
When they're back on land, Han asks for Xiao Ai’s cellphone. When she refuses, he proceeds to chase her around the seated Su Cheng and Tong Xian - so it's two parents with two kids now. xD Su Cheng even makes a comment about it. lol After more bickering, Han leaves to get them food, and Tong Xian goes with him to give Xiao Ai and Su Cheng some time alone. Xiao Ai is suddenly sitting down clutching at her midsection. Su Cheng frets over her, and Xiao Ai grumpily asks if she’ll do this every time she’s on her period. Ou.
Later, everyone goes on the rollercoaster ride except for Han who says that he can't as he has to reply to some emails. As it turns out, he has acrophobia (fear of heights). He stays nearby playing on his Game Boy Pocket. Ah, the nostalgia. Xiao Ai makes fun of him for playing Tetris but is unable to beat his high score. Tong Nian asks to try the game, and is able to beat his score. He takes back his game console, and seems impressed before walking away first. Xiao Ai is even more enamored with her now. Su Cheng tells Tong Xian that no one’s ever beaten his score before. Heh.
Han drops off Su Cheng and Xiao Ai at SP. Before they part ways, Xiao Ai and Han bicker about her father, and her parting comment to Tong Nian is to look for her post of their photo on WeChat.
Xiao Ai’s WeChat post: I like this candid shot. A big idiot and a little cutie. Do you know who the big idiot is? xD Burn!
Tong Nian zooms in on their picture, and then zooms in even further on him. This is the second photo that Xiao Ai took, when he was even more irritated. Haha.
Han offers to take Tong Nian back to campus, but she wants to show him the software and it needs to be debugged on their computer first.
At SP, Solo tells Ai Qing that Xiao Mi will have to improve if he wants to remain on SP’s top team. The upcoming competition is his last chance to stay among the top rated players. All and Xiao Mi interrupts and announces that his daughter is back. Xiao Mi returns with Su Cheng, and she's happy to show him his present - photos of Han (and Tong Nian) on her phone. He asks her who bought her a present (the shopping bag that she's carrying) and she slowly says that her mother bought it. (She actually said mother.) The guys then proceed to look at the photos of Han and laugh about his expressions and mention his acrophobia. It’s obvious - they miss him.
Back at K&K Club, Tong Nian installs the software and tests it out in the guest room. Han returns to his room to shower and ends up falling asleep at his desk. When he wakes up, it’s dark out and Tong Nian is still waiting for him in the guest room.
She shows him her software: a color changing speed testing and a piggy hitting game. Cute game. I want it! He leans down next to her for a closer look at the screen, and she’s so bothered by his close proximity that she gets up and tells him to sit down and have a try at it. lol He then offers her a beer while he tests out the software. It’s her first time drinking beer (it’s only 3% alcohol) and she chugs it. Uh oh.
It's not long before she becomes drunk. As a result, she suddenly gets real close to Han, which makes him uncomfortable. Ha. She then rests her cheek against his and asks him if her face is warm and he asks what she’s doing. She suddenly puts her arms around him to ask about the software, and he removes her arms and turns around to ask her if she’s drunk. She lurches forward and ends up backing him up into a shelving unit. She then leans her chin on his chest and then tries to touch him with her hands, but he grabs them to keep her from making contact. She also starts telling him about how she went to pick him up in the rain (airport) and made him this software and he should at least tell her that he likes it and to stop touching her. lol But she’s the one trying to touch him! Ah, drunk logic. He admits that he likes her software. Then he says that he won’t touch her and asks her to not be so close to him. She agrees to not touch him and so he lets go of her hands but then her forehead slams right on his chest. Haha. He looks pained and exasperated by this. He tells her that he'll get a few people to test her software. And then he tries to remove her head from his chest but can’t figure out where to place his hands. Bwahaha! (~29:46) It's like he's trying to figure out how to hold onto a bowling ball but he can't find the finger holes. He finally puts his hands on the sides of her head to move her away. At this point, Demo, Grunt, 9-7 and One are all outside with their ears perked up trying to listen into the room. Han has her sit down and tells her to wait for him. She nods but when he turns around to leave, she gets up to follow him, and from behind, she puts her arms around his waist and asks where he’s going. This makes him almost lose his balance and he holds onto the furniture in the room to stay upright and tries to walk. Hahaha! (~30:00) I can’t help but laugh at this because it looks like he’s trying to parkour his way out of the room. He asks her what she’s doing, and at this point, Grunt calls through the door that they’ve brought desserts for da sao and asks if he would like some. I think he needs a net, not sugar. lol Now, Han and Tong Nian have stopped moving, and he’s standing with her on his left side with her head practically tucked under his chin and her arms still around his waist. He tells her to put down her hands and she shakes her head and says that she feels dizzy. The boys outside finally leave as they don’t hear a response from Han nor Tong Nian.
He tries to find an excuse to get out of her clutches. 1) Offers to get her food, but she's not hungry, and she has her arms around his neck now. 2) Mentions giving her a present. She asks if he's telling the truth, and he says yes, but she has to let go of him. He puts her back down in the chair and slowly and quietly exits the room and when he’s out of the room, he tiptoes back to his room. Tong Nian has been quietly following him as well, and giggles when he’s inside his room. He quickly pulls her into his room and she stumbles in and flops down onto his bed. He pulls her up and says that it'll cause a misunderstanding if others see her on his bed. He tries to get her to move to the sofa but she flings him off of her, which makes him bump his head on a metal partition in his room. She sits down on the sofa on her own but asks about why the lights are off and acts like he’s about to take advantage of her. lol He turns on the lights.
He tells her to stay on the sofa, to not go anywhere and to not touch anything. She seems to agree. He goes to the bathroom to take care of the gash on his forehead and puts a bandage on it. She gets up and looks around the room and finds the antique necklace. She assumes that’s the gift for her and puts it on her head. lol She thanks him for the necklace and he tells her to put it down but she seems unhappy about it, so he says that it's for her but to remove it. She removes it from her head but keeps it in her hand and thanks him again for the necklace. Then then she falls onto him and pushes him back into the partition. She’s passed out on him. He is now hyper aware of how close their faces are, and they look like they're about to kiss but they don't. Show is teasing us.
He moves his head away from hers and she remains on his chest as actually strokes her head. He then quietly laughs and even closes his eyes as he continues to stroke her head. Squee!
Later, she's sleeping on the sofa and he's trying to wake her up. He asks where her phone is so her friend can come pick her up. He leaves to get her stuff from the guest room.
The boys are in the guest room (it’s right next door to their room) and find the two empty cans of beer and they're speculating out loud about their relationship, and assume that she must be in Han's room. Han overhears their conversation from outside, and asks them what they're doing. The boys scurry outside and come up with poor excuses for being in the room. He decides to question/lecture the boys about their dating life, and after doing so, they can’t wait to go back to their room. lol
Han grabs Tong Nian's belongings and takes it all back to his room. He asks a still-sleeping Tong Nian (still clutching the necklace in her hand) where her cellphone is. He opens her book bag to look for the phone and finds a paper on K&K entitled "The Top Team's Tactics Analysis” which he looks at briefly before putting it back in her bag. He finds her phone, but it needs to be unlocked with facial recognition, so he pulls open her eyes to unlock the phone. LOL (~41:30). He uses her phone to call Lan Mei who answers and immediately asks if she's kissed the Gun God during their day trip. Heh. Errr, no, but wasn't that head rub better than a kiss somehow? Han introduces himself and Lan Mei is shocked to hear him.
[Ep13] He asks her to pick up Tong Nian. She tells her husband who is now very excited to leave and pick up their friend go meet his idol.
Han removes the necklace from Tong Nian's hand and puts it in its case and then into her bag. Whoa, what? He tries to walk her out to the car but she's barely able to walk as she's not really awake. He then carries her over his shoulder to load her into his car. He meets outside Tong Nian’s home, and is greeted by Lan Mei and her very excited husband, who shakes his hand, gushes over him and excitedly asks for a photo with him. His wife points out that this is an inappropriate time. He then shows his unwavering support for Han and Team K&K. He seriously fanboys him and then bear hugs him. Heh. Han is startled by this, but agrees to take the photo now. Haha. Lan Mei takes their photo and they’re both looking at the photo and her husband excitedly chatters about him. Han interrupts and reminds them to take home Tong Nian first. Ha.
He takes her out of the car but she's barely able to stand and just flops onto him. So he carries her over his shoulder again, like one would a bag of rice. Haha. Lan Mei asks about his interest in Tong Nian. He replies that they are not close as they've only met a few times. And it's not important whether he likes her or not. Lan Mei says it's quite important. He says to let nature take its course and love will grow. Oh? Now the married couple are squealing over the fact that he’s this responsible and considerate. While he’s waiting for them to take Tong Nian, he asks Lan Mei’s husband to exchange WeChat information for any future issues. Lan Mei’s husband is awestruck by this and doesn’t move until his wife prompts him to hurry up. He excitedly pulls out his phone to exchange their information. Haha. Han gets into his car and watches as her friends knock on the door and her mother receives them.
During the K&K meeting the next day, Han is doling out criticism of his team's work but last night's events are replaying in his mind. He seems to be in a bad mood. Wu Bai tells him that his stepmother called him to have him bring the necklace to his grandfather. He calls his stepmother to tell her that he may have lost it at the airport. He offers to compensate her for it but she doesn't believe him and still wants it returned to her. So he says that he'll return it to her in three days' time.
Tong Nian wakes up at home and isn't sure if that head rub was a dream. She's wondering what happened last night and where her phone is. She looks through her backpack and the case with the necklace falls out. She kind of remembers what happened. She finds her phone in her jacket with a note from Lan Mei telling her to call her when she wakes up. She calls Lan Mei and asks her what happened yesterday. Ha. She tells her the story she made up for Tong Mom - they had a drink and were pranked, and they sent her back home (with no mention of Han). Then she says that she’s a disgrace for getting drunk off of one can of beer. Hehe. She asks if she did anything when she was drunk and Tong Nian just says dejectedly that she needs to get off the phone. She's brushing her teeth and thinking about how embarrassed she is, especially as he hasn't responded to her.
Han asks to borrow money from Wu Bai, to cover the costs of the necklace that he inadvertently gave to Tong Xian. Wu Bai asks why he doesn't get it back from her. He says that he doesn't want to ask her to return something that he gave to her. Dude, what? He receives a message from her suggesting that they break up as their relationship is fake anyway. He asks if she's made up her mind. She says yes. She's actually crying and he's sighing about this but he agrees with a simple "OK". She starts sobbing. :( Meanwhile, Han receives the money from Wu Bai.
Her mother finds her looking sad and asks her if they broke up. Her mother tells her that he doesn't spend enough time with her. Tong Nian defends him by saying he's just busy. Her mother consoles her and tells her that she'll definitely find someone who loves her the most, who won’t allow her to cry but only to laugh, and love her the way they do. And he'll treat her preciously. She then says that as her parents, they'll always be there for her.
At school, Tong Nian is still upset and doesn't say much to Ya Ya nor Zheng Hui. She’s heartbroken and goes to the bathroom to cry. Her friend finds her and asks her what’s going on. Tong Nian tells her that she’s going through her first breakup. After their talk, she bucks up and gets ready for their project meeting, which is at the police station. She's tearing up again outside the police station. Zheng Hui seems oblivious to her tears/sad mood. For someone who likes her, he’s quite unobservant about her moods. The three meet with a police officer about their AI work for criminal investigation. She starts tearing up again afterwards and the girls leave together.
While the team is running on the track, Han is spacing out as he fails to hit the stopwatch. Su Cheng asks him what's going on and he says it's nothing. Su Cheng also notices that Demo seems off but Han doesn’t seem to register it. Su Cheng hands him an envelope from Xiao Ai to give to Tong Nian, which he reluctantly accepts.
Tong Nian had actually asked Xiao Ai to put together some encouraging photos for him, even though they're separated now. The photos are of him and his friends when they were still Team Solo.
At home, Tong Xian is looking at the necklace and finally stows it away in a drawer.
Han is playing the piggy hitting game on Tong Nian’s USB drive (which he still has) while listening to music on his NetEase Music app. Then he looks at the folder of photos - they’re all of him. He wonders how she has so many photos of him. He also finds the animation video she made of him and her (when he told her he wasn't interested in women), which he laughs at but then he becomes pensive again. 9-7 and One interrupt him to ask for help in comforting Demo who seems to be in a bad mood. Han doesn't respond so the two leave him alone.
Han goes to see Demo who is crying and not at all his usual chipper self. Demo just climbs up into his bed and turns his back to him and Han asks what he's crying about. He tells him that his parents are divorced and neither one of them wants him. Aww. Han pulls out his candy tin and eats a piece of candy. Demo then starts lecturing him about the severity of diabetes. lol Then Han relates that his own parents died early and he was raised by his stepmother, ergo Demo is old enough to not let their divorce affect him.
When Han goes back home, he tries to sneak in to avoid his grandfather. No such luck, as he catches him as soon as he takes three steps to go upstairs.
[Ep14] Grandpa asks about the necklace and Han replies that he's lost it. Grandpa gets upset and says that his stepmother is getting remarried and he wanted to have the necklace. Han promises to transfer the money to her as compensation for the lost necklace. He transfers the funds and realizes that he is now broke. He then checks his NetEase Music app and notices Tong Nian's latest post about her mood being like a rollercoaster and he just sighs. Han then goes on a cooking frenzy but has no appetite and leaves the feast for Wu Bai and his grandfather. But every dish is spicy and Grandpa is unable to eat anything.
The CTF tournament wants to record a theme song and invites online singers to audition. Tong Nian and Lan Mei are participating in this contest, and she tells Lan Mei that they’ve broken up. Lan Mei tells her what he said that night they picked her up - including “letting nature take its course and love will grow”. Tong Nian admits that she had asked to break up. This is the part I am confused about - was she that embarrassed and decided to rashly ask to break up?
During her introduction to the judging panel, Tong Nian mentions that she likes singing very much and likes to sing to the people she likes. She mentions that if she doesn't do it and sing to him, then he wouldn't know her feelings - that she likes him. And then Han arrives late as one of the judges. (Solo is also on the panel). Han ends up choosing the song for her to sing - "Little Donkey." She sings this song as she thinks about the first time she saw Han at the internet cafe, and when she finishes the song she is asked what feeling she was conveying. She says the little donkey was her beloved. And then he asks what happened to her little donkey - she quietly says that he's gone. She starts tearing up and goes to sit down and Han looks away. Later, the panel decides to go with Tong Nian and Lan Mei as their singers. Han leaves the room and he hears Lan Mei mention his name as he’s walking out, and he stops. Tong Nian is watching him, but he won’t look back and just continues walking away.
During the recording session, Tong Nian isn’t able to get into the right mood for the song. Lan Mei talks to the audio engineer in the control room and offers to help her get into the right mood. Tong Nian is disappointed that Han didn’t come to the session. Lan Mei suggests that she try to sing as if he was there and watching her, and she also stays in the live room (where the mic is) to keep her company while she’s singing. Such a good friend.
Han is actually at the studio and listening to her sing, but he doesn’t let her see him. He goes through the effort of getting change to buy the studio bottled drinks from the vending machine. Solo and Director Xiang come by to watch her, and the manager tells them that she was terrible in the first ten minutes but she’s so much better now. The drinks arrive and Lan Mei finds a note on one of the bottles (加油! Jiayou!) and shows it to Tong Nian, who realizes it’s from Han. She rushes out to find him but he’s nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Director Xiang tells Solo that he’s interested in pursuing her. Solo says “a gentle reminder, you cannot pursue this girl” but doesn’t tell him the reason. (He’s seen their photos together. Ep12.)
At K&K Club, Han is walking up and down the spiral staircase late at night, and 9-7 comes out to check on him but Han doesn't tell him what's wrong. I'm not sure if he even knows why yet. Han is awoken the next morning by One's mother, and she notices that he's looking unwell and it turns out that he has a fever. Later that day, he asks Wu Bai to get his car from the university and to refuel it, too. Han then asks Su Cheng about what monthly allowances he's entitled to. She tells him this is something he’s always refused before but tells him the amount: 1,000 RMB for meals and 2,000 for a car. She then asks him "Dining, wining, whoring and gambling, which are you involved in?" Ha.
He admits to her that he lost his stepmother's antique necklace, has borrowed money from Wu Bai and it's still not enough. He then asks for her to transfer the funds to his account. She offers to send him a red envelope on WeChat which he thanks her for.
Wu Bai returns from getting Han’s car and then checks in on Han after One's mother mentions that he has a fever. He says that he's rarely sick and asks if it's because of falling out of love. Han glares at him and asks if he knows how to talk. Heh. Han then says that he won't be going back home as he's not feeling well, and might be nagged to death if he does. Wu Bai says that their grandfather said that if he doesn't return, he'd come stay at the club. Heh.
Han goes with Wu Bai and has him drive them home. Han asks him if he's refueled the car (jiayou = add oil) and Wu Bai tells him that he's first in the country, does he have to do better? lol (Colloquial use of jiaoyou = cheer/encouragement). Hehe, I live for puns. :P Han rolls his eyes at this and says he was asking about the gas tank. lol Obviously. Wu Bai says that if the gas tank was empty, how would he have driven it if he didn't refuel it? These two. lol Han then asks if he looks like he had a breakup. Wu Bai says yes and drives them home.
Tong Nian is back in the studio and wonders if Han showed up. She finds out that he didn't and looks very disappointed. Lan Mei walks over to Director Xiang and asks why Solo and Han didn't come today. He tells her that they are busy men, and then he gets up to sit next to Tong Nian. Lan Mei sits in between them and asks about Han. Director Xiang says that he heard from K&K insiders that Han has a girlfriend and it’s a fairly recent relationship. Really, dude?
Both girls think he has a new girlfriend now. Tong Nian says that it has been two weeks since they broke up. Lan Mei suggests that she give up.
Han Grandpa wants to see Tong Nian as she hasn’t visited in a while. On Tong Nian’s birthday, he relentlessly bugs Han to pick her up and then bring her back to their house. Han agrees on the condition that Wu Bai goes with him.
At the university, Zheng Hui goes to see Tong Nian.
[Ep15] Zheng Hui reminds her that it's her birthday. She tells him that she doesn't feel like celebrating it today. She's thinking about Han having a new girlfriend, so what's the point of celebrating when she is single. Awww. Zheng Hui tells her that he's graduating soon and tries to give her a present and starts saying something (confess to her?) but then she sees Han walking towards them.
Han asks her what's with the sad face. You, dude, you. She denies it. He asks Zheng Hui if he's bullying her. Then she gets this tiny smile on her face. Zheng Hui quietly denies it and explains that he's her xuezhang and they're both in the programming competition and to not misunderstand anything. (He is actually quite cute but his bashfulness seriously annoys me. lol)
Han asks if it's the ACM competition, and then asks if he competed with that guy over there, as he looks over at Wu Bai, who is waiting by the car and gives a small wave. Zheng Hui recognizes him and starts getting excited about him being the world champion.
Han says, “It isn’t shameful to lose to him” and then pats him on the shoulder and says, “Young man, be a good loser”. Are we talking about ACM or Tong Nian? Then he asks Tong Nian if they can leave now. She asks where they’re going. He just tells her to hang out with them and they will bring her back before 9 p.m.
He walks to the car, and she smiles and dimples after him. So cute. Now she quickly says goodbye to Zheng Hui and follows after Han. Zheng Hui just stares after them. This poor guy stands no chance. She asks Han how he knew she was at school. He says that he asked Lan Mei’s husband (guess they’re really not giving the guy a name, lol), who then asked Lan Mei.
When they arrive at the house, Wu Bai tells him that he's not coming in because he wants to avoid this situation. Haha. Tong Nian finds out that Han Grandpa wants to see her and she's happy to help out Han.
Grandpa has ordered her takeout food and Han picked up a cake for her. During this meal, Grandpa steers the conversation towards marriage, and an annoyed Han finally leaves the table with the excuse that he has a phone conference. Sorry, Grandpa but you’re really too overbearing right now. Grandpa yells at him to come back as he goes upstairs towards his room, and complains that his grandson does nothing but play on his computer. Tong Nian calmly tells him that she doesn't mind that he's on his computer. She explains to him that it's not playing but serious competitions. Han stops upstairs to listen to their conversation.
Grandpa thinks Han and Wu Bai's explanation for their jobs as a coach and professional player, respectively, are just their way of comforting him. She tells him that it's not to comfort him - that truly is their job. She goes on to explain how the esports industry was different back then, with a lack of coaches and clubs. But Solo and Han managed to carve out a niche for themselves. She's very proud of him, and understands his love for CTF. She also explains that he had retired at the peak of his career and she feels sad for him. Han Grandpa didn’t know about his retirement. She then gives his retirement speech verbatim: “In the past two years and three months…I won and lost, I laughed and cried. I was questioned, rumored and criticized. I never argued and it's not necessary to justify myself. Tonight, it comes to an end. I gained fame but what I pursued was a mockery.”
She then tells him that Han has immense love for this industry, and perhaps greater than her own love for programming. She goes on to explain that she admires Han for being able to be himself in such a niche industry. Grandpa replies that AI didn't exist previously either so he admires her for her work, too.
He says that he'll try to understand him better as he is his grandson. He also says that if her parents don't understand him, then it'll make things difficult for her. He had noticed that her parents did not like Han, but she says they haven’t mentioned anything to her. He brings up marriage again and she tries to change the subject. He then explains that his grandson has some weaknesses but also many strengths. She says that she knows this and still thinks that Han is perfect.
In his room, Han is watching his retirement speech and realizes that she had repeated it verbatim, down to the tone and inflection of his voice. And he hears the crowd getting upset about him leaving and begging him to stay. Now he's remembering that day all over again.
Han leaves his room and makes an effort to spend time alone with Tong Nian. They’re in the backyard together. He puts down a plate of cut mango for her and then asks her what she knows about him and she says that she doesn't know much about him except from the competition videos that she's seen.
He starts sharing intimate details about himself - his birthday, born in Norway but chose to be a Chinese citizen at age 18, professional CTF player who retired after two years, studied and graduated in industrial design, after graduation established K&K Club in Norway. He's the first investor and one of the owners of the club. She replies that she knows all of this from online. She looks bored. Hehe. Then he starts listing his flaws: unsociable, doesn't like green peppers or eggplant. He likes sweets because whenever he's upset and wants to swear, he'll eat one so he can't talk. He hates being constrained and restricted, and dislikes quarreling with his grandpa, who likes to try to decide his future for him. He loathes those who look at CTF with suspicion and distrust. She hasn't said anything, so he asks if he's said too much. She replies that she likes listening to him. He then pulls out his candy tin and eats a piece of candy. He tells her to take this as a formal introduction. Then she asks if he's going to start swearing - because he just had a piece of candy. Haha, I was wondering that myself.
He glares at her in his usual manner and says that he is not a gentleman, has a bad temper, doesn't like romance, and doesn't even have time for a date. His entire life is about K&K and the players. It's routine, monotonous, no pastime, not traveling or holidays and he hates socializing. He also doesn't have days off, holidays or annual leaves. He tells her that he's giving her another chance - and asks if she wants to break up. He wants an answer and she hesitates for a few beats.
She tells him that she doesn't want to break up. He gently pats her on the head in response and agrees to not break up. He asks for them to get to know each other more, and he actually smiles at her. She agrees and smiles back. They're interrupted by his phone and he takes the call. It’s a conference call with K&K headquarters which includes Nan Wei.
They sit down at the table and she eats the cut mango as he takes his call. She’s watching him, and he eventually asks why she’s staring at him. She replies that it’s nothing and to continue his call and to ignore her. A woman from the Norway team informs him that his phone is still on. Hehehe. The team teases him and says that they know there’s a woman next to him. His response: It’s a frog. LOL After Nan Wei teases him for a good minute, Han replies in English, “Sorry, my bad. My girlfriend is here.” SQUEEEEE. He said it! She excuses herself and says that she’ll wait for him inside while he continues his call. She gets up and dimples at him as she’s walking away. Nan Wei says it’s so sweet. Haha. Han tells him to cut it out and to go on. XD
She gets inside the house and Han actually goes to the window to watch her for a second. Awww. Nan Wei reminds him of his promise - if K&K can’t win the championship this year, it’ll be dissolved. Han confidently says that the title of national champion this time belongs to them. Then he says that he needs to take the xiao hai (little kid) home. Ah, that nickname from when they were playing games stuck. Nan Wei then teases him for saying before that she was just a friend, when she’s really his girlfriend. Han ends the call. Wu Bai tries to sneak in but gets caught by Han who needs to borrow money again - it's for Tong Nian's birthday. Wu Bai = Han’s personal banker. Wu Bai reluctantly hands over his card.
Han then finds Tong Nian in the kitchen, who he notices is scratching herself. He asks if she was bitten by mosquitoes. In her head, she's thinking that she shouldn't tell him that she has a mango allergy, so she says yes, it was the mosquitoes. OMG. She just ate something that she’s allergic to just because it was from him! He tells her it’s time to go, so she grabs her stuff to leave. Grandpa comes out to say goodbye to her and asks Han to drive her home. He tells him that he was planning to do so and doesn't need his reminders. lol
They get into the car and she continues scratching herself. But then she asks for his car key, and shows him his birthday present - it's a keyring with a metal gun on it for Gun.
He takes her to the mall to buy her a birthday present. He picks out a huge stack of games (at least 40!) for her to learn to play, and a PS4 console. He then grabs some sticky notes to categorize the games by difficulty for her: Turtle - very slow and easiest. Pig - looks stupid but is smart - medium difficulty. Panda - their country's national treasure - the hardest. She says that she's not any good at playing games. He gets closer to her face, looks in her eyes and tells her that he's giving her an excuse to go see him. Ahhh, and he says he's not romantic. This is geek romance at its finest. (~33:42) She just beams at him. Awww. He continues rating and ranking the games for her. She puts a piggy sticky note on him and then he writes her name on one, and puts it on her, declaring that she’s a pig - and now they’re both laughing. I've been rewarded for my patience - they’re both smiling and laughing!
When he drops her off at school, he tells her that he's leaving for a business trip the next day and he'd be back the following week. He tells her that she doesn't need to pick him up (haha), and that she can call him between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. every day. Then they have an awkward conversation about her being in school - she's on break but he didn’t know that until now. lol He then awkwardly asks if she wants to hug. She stammers out a no and says there are other people around. lol She points out the sweet potato stand to him, and he just gets out of the car to get her some sweet potatoes. But then he disappears for a while, and she falls asleep waiting for him. Bwahaha. When he returns, he gives her the sweet potatoes and two bags of food. She also takes PS4 and games back to her dorm room. Han, c’mon, he could’ve helped her here. Ya Ya asks her if she suddenly got rich and realizes that she may have a boyfriend again. Tong Nian doesn’t deny it but won’t talk about him either.
The next day, 9-7 wakes up late and apologizes to Han for doing so. Han just says that it's okay, instead of doling out his usual scolding. 9-7 is caught off guard by this but leaves to talk to Demo and Grunt.
[Ep16] Xiao Mi is celebrating his birthday with All and Solo. The doorbell rings and there's a delivery from Han to Xiao Mi - a birthday cake. During this birthday meal, Solo tells Xiao Mi that he needs to improve his rankings, and if not, he'll be transferred out of the top team.
9-7 talks to Han about why he joined the industry. His [Han’s] generation imposes a great impact on his (younger) generation. Wu Bai joined CTF because of Ai Qing. Grunt admires Solo and imagines him as his opponent. 9-7 then admits that he joined CTF because of Han. Han tells him that he has higher expectations of him. 9-7 thanks him for giving him direction in his life. And then he asks him if he'll call Xiao Mi for his birthday. Han tells him to leave but then he texts Xiao Mi: “I'm waiting for you to return to the world stage. Happy Birthday, from Han Shang Yan”
Both teams arrive in Sanya for training and are greeted by Zhou San, the editor of CTF Weekly, who is in charge of handling the event. It appears she has known Solo, Han and Ai Qing for a long time, at least since the days of Team Solo. She is very interested in Han as she takes his picture (only his) and gives him extra attention. However when she asks about his dating life, he cuts her off and asks her to not disturb him. Han and Solo go over the teams’ activities with Director Xiang. But Han is not happy about his players not having enough training time as they'll be too busy with this activity schedule. Zhou San shows up and asks Han to not quarrel at this camp for her sake. Han looks at her and then Solo, and says that he knows what he's there to do and then takes his leave.
It’s nighttime and Tong Nian is doing a countdown to when she can contact Han. When it's time, she messages him but he doesn't respond. He’s in his hotel room reading her messages though. (Is this room built around an aquarium?! He has walls of live fish.) She suggests that they do a video call so he doesn't have to type and won't be disturbed. He laughs and finally replies that he’ll agree to it. So they both set up their computers for this call.
Tong Nian changes her clothes and when she returns, Han is calling her. She answers the call, and is greeted by a view of Han’s chest with the open V-neck of his robe. She immediately covers up her eyes. He asks if she can see him, which she says yes to in a panicked tone, and kind of peeks through her fingers. lol He asks if the angle is okay and she looks and realizes that he's sitting back now. He explains that he had meetings all day and his throat is a bit sore. She tells him that he doesn't need to talk. So they both agree to leave it on while they go about their business. He needs to watch some videos so he puts the call on mute. The doorbell rings and it's Zhou San in her robe, who barges her way into Han’s room.
Tong Nian sees Zhou San on the screen and is calling his name but he can't hear her. Remember, he has their video call on mute. Zhou San sits down across from him and starts talking about helping Xiao Mi. He ignores her but then she gets up and stands right next to him. Tong Nian starts waving and shouting at her screen to get his attention but he's not looking at the screen. She then calls him on the phone, and he sees who is calling, looks a bit panicked, but he doesn’t answer the call. Instead, he grabs Zhou San by the lapel of her robe and tries to get her to leave but she won’t. She instead runs from him and then just splays out on the sofa at the end of the bed and continues talking about Xiao Mi and how she can help him by using the media. This angers Han and he calls her shameful. Then he yells that he hates shady deals.
Not long after, Demo, 9-7 and Grunt are wandering around the halls of the hotel and are startled to see Zhou San, who is sitting on the floor and wrapped up like a cocoon with a blanket. LOL! Oh, Han. HAHAHA.
The boys notice that she's right outside Han's room. She asks for their help, but Grunt makes Demo ring Han's doorbell, who tells them to come in. Haha, so no one helps her. The boys are agog by the view of the fish in his room, while he’s still trying to get the video call to come back up but there’s no response from Tong Nian. Han then tells orders them to get him a plane ticket and another room for Tong Nian. Grunt tells him that girls don't like clingy guys. Haha. Han ignores him. Demo books everything with his phone. Han then asks Grunt, who has the most dating experience, how to give a girl a sense of security. LOL, the silly way he gestures for this. (~28:28)
Tong Nian is listening to her music box until she receives a text message from Han asking for her ID number. She wonders why he’s asking for it but nonetheless sends it. He then replies with her flight and hotel information, and he calls her. She asks who that girl was, and he replies that she's a lunatic. Hahaha. It’s better in Chinese. She agrees to go, and then he hangs up the call. The boys pretend they didn't hear anything. lol Grunt then asks him if it's too extravagant to book two rooms. He dismisses them. And this is how Han is becoming even more destitute for her: necklace, bottles of juice, games, PS4 console, hotel and airfare. His sincerity and affection is valued higher than objects for her though.
Tong Nian arrives at the hotel and waits for Han in the lobby. She daydreams about how they'll greet each other - how they'll shout each other's names and she'll run up to him and jump into his arms with her legs wrapped around his waist. The daydream is cute. In real life, she shouts his name and runs towards him, and then sees Zhou Yan next to him, which stops her mid-run. He finally notices her and takes her to her room. Zhou San loses her smile and just glares as Tong Nian leaves with Han, and ignores Team SP's questions. On their way to her room, she is distracted by the fish, but Han notices her untied shoelaces and crouches down to tie her laces. Aww, such a boyfriend thing to do. He gently scolds her for having her shoelaces untied and says that she could have stumbled and then taps her forehead. She just nods and they continue walking to her room. He gives her the room key and she's impressed by her room. She comments that this place is so big that she could get lost at any moment, and she also has a bad sense of direction. He then asks for the account password for her cell phone: it’s his birthday combined with hers (02140320). A small smile sneaks out as he installs software on her phone. He then tells her to always have her phone with her, whenever or wherever she goes. He explains that he’s not monitoring her. It’s just so he can find her with the tracking software, in case she gets lost or she meets some bad people. She can also find him anytime and anywhere. She says that she's surprised that he knows how to do this and he admits that Grunt taught him. Ah, that was Grunt's answer to giving her a sense of security. He tells her to get some rest. Before he leaves, she asks him what she's supposed to do tomorrow and he says there's plenty to do here and to just have fun. He leaves her room and smiles again. Aww, he's happy to see her.
Han is going into a meeting, so he gives her a pass and tells her to have fun and to be safe. Ai Qing notices Tong Nian and follows her out. Wu Bai can't help but stare after Ai Qing and looks a bit upset to miss his chance to hang out with her.
Ai Qing catches Tong Nian and suggests that she write "family member" in the blank position on her event pass. Tong Nian says that it’s a bit inappropriate. Ai Qing tells her to tell Han that if he doesn't write it next time, then she won't follow him around. lol Ai Qing invites her to coffee. They discuss their age gap of ten years. Tong Nian explains that she’s too young to have been a fan of his from before, but once she learned about him, she’s been a fan of his since. Ai Qing tells her that he's nicknamed "women killer" as he cuts off all women (fans) who are obsessed with him. Ou, is she the exception?
[Ep17] Ai Qing asks if she wants to know about his past. Tong Nian wants to know about things that are not readily available online. Ai Qing tells her about the cat that Han raised when they were together as Team Solo. However when the cat died, he didn't allow anyone to even mention it. She and Solo think that in a relationship, he has a first-love complex. He's quite possessive and gets jealous easily. He'll also rejoice like a child because of some trivial matters. But he struggles with some things. Tong Nian asks her who is his first love, and Ai Qing says it's her. Tong Nian is surprised by this. Ai Qing explains that there's never been rumors of him having a girlfriend, and the way he looks at her is the way he looked at the beloved cat. Tong Nian asks if this is the truth. Ai Qing replies that it's 90% true, but she would have to ask him about the remaining 10%. All interrupts their chat and Ai Qing asks what he's doing. All says that he's taking a closer look at her now as Han is so protective of her. Then he tells Ai Qing that Solo is looking for her. Tong Nian thanks her for telling her everything before she leaves. Ai Qing thanks her for being a part of his life, which is always about CTF.
Tong Nian is outside thinking about Han and how much pressure he has. And then she sees him at the window and starts waving at him. He sees her from inside and gives her a slight wave. Then she tries to talk to him with hand gestures but he doesn't understand and makes a circular motion with his index finger by his temple, indicating that she's crazy. Hehe. She continues trying to communicate with him via signals but he just wonders if she had a heat stroke and just gives the "OK" sign. Bwahaha. She tells him to wait for her and then she shows up outside their training room with food. She calls his name (a bit too loudly, lol) and he hurries to pull her to the other side of the door. He explains that he had no idea what she was gesturing earlier and that he's not against any intimacy behind closed doors but to be careful in public. She tries to get him to take a sip of the coconut she brought him but he stops her and says that as a man, he's not afraid of any rumors but she'll suffer in the end. She says that she understands and shoves the straw in his mouth. Ha.
As he's sipping on the drink, she takes the opportunity to link her arms into his and cuddles her head on his shoulder. He looks at her in surprise and he’s thinking about the fact that he just left her ten minutes ago and she's already behaving this way now. They’re leaning up against the open door to the conference room, and it suddenly gives way and everyone looks over at them. They both stand up and stop all bodily contact.
Solo leaves the room with Xiao Mi, and they get a look at the couple. All stands behind the door, out of sight, to listen to their conversation. He tells her to go to the beach and to remember to bring her phone, make sure it's charged, and goes on and on about the phone until she tells him to stop rambling on and on, and that she's not a child. She hands him the two bags of fruit for everyone else and tells him that she only bought the coconut for him. They say goodbye and All is grinning about this. But when Han catches him standing there, he drops his smile and runs away. lol Han walks back in and says "someone" bought them some fruit. His team teasingly asks him who that “someone” is. Hehe.
Tong Nian is sitting at the beach and spots Solo and Xiao Mi kicking a ball. Xiao Mi introduces himself to Tong Nian and she admits that she knows who he is. Xiao Mi leaves to buy them drinks. Solo asks for them to chat. He asks about the day that she sang "Little Donkey" and if something happened between her and Han. Then he apologizes for invading her privacy. She asks him how he knew Han before as he lived in Norway at the time. He explains that they chatted online, and Han came from Norway to meet him. Xiao Mi returns with a cold drink and pours them all a glass. Han finds them, and sniffs her drink, and tells her that it's alcohol and that children shouldn't have alcohol. His choice of words isn't the best - but he has a point - that one beer. He chugs her drink, and then he tells Xiao Mi that they need to have a chat later. He ignores Solo, and he walks away with Tong Nian.
Zhou San finds Tong Nian alone and asks if she wants her to accompany her. Tong Nian politely refuses but Zhou San insists on and suggests they have a meal together. She even grabs her to take her to a restaurant.
Han and Xiao Mi have their chat. Han asks him to join K&K again. Xiao Mi knows that his results are poor and he doesn't want to hold him back. Han keeps badgering him about joining K&K and Xiao Mi asks that it be dropped or else they'll have another fight. He drops it and tells him to go back to training. Before he leaves, Xiao Mi gives him a squeeze as he knows that he's being a good friend. Han receives an alert on his phone of Tong Nian's whereabouts. It's raining out and he goes looking for her without an umbrella.
Zhou San orders all of this food but doesn't eat any of it and just watches Tong Nian eat instead. Zhou San asks if she's his girlfriend, and their families have met and had a meal together. Zhou San then points out that she's too young for "a man like Shang Yan" and is not a good match. She goes on to explain that she's been a fan of his from the beginning and learned about programming from her older brother, and that she joined this industry because of Han. She really belongs on his women-killer list. Tong Nian calmly replies that Ai Qing has told her about his many fans. Zhou San huffily replies that she's more than just a fan, and that if she had been with him earlier, he wouldn't have retired so early. Tong Nian just smiles at her and takes a sip of her drink.
Zhou San then mentions that there must be a large age gap between them, and asks if she's graduated from university yet. She replies that she's graduating from her masters' studies this year. Tong Nian is thinking "What's wrong with being young, old woman?" Hehe. But she only gives her a smile. Han finds them and keeps his distance but he can hear their conversation. He hears Zhou San go on about how a woman who can help a man's career is the last person to stay with him, and those young and beautiful girls who hinder his career vanish easily. She smiles as she concludes that it'll be a short-lived romance.
Tong Nian then starts swatting at the (imaginary) flies flying around her, and points out that there's one on Zhou San’s arm and swats her with the chopsticks. Hahaha. Han is smirking at this. Tong Nian then asks her what her point is in telling her all of this. She replies that she has no point - only that he's not the right fit for her. Han walks up behind Tong Nian and moves the empty chair right next to Tong Nian even closer to her, and asks who is the right fit then? Both females smile at him and say his name, but he's only looking at Tong Nian. She asks how he knew she was there and he says that he just knew. Zhou San interrupts them to tell him to eat and gets a pair of chopsticks ready for him and places it in front of him. Then she tells him that she thought he was busy and she [Tong Nian] seemed pitifully alone, so she brought her here. Tong Nian purses her lips and almost rolls her eyes at this. Han only looks at Tong Nian and asks if the food is good. Tong Nian looks at Zhou San and just nods her head. Han then gets up from his seat and turns her seat so she's facing him directly, and tells her that she'll enjoy her food more when she's facing this direction. Hahaha. He then mentions that his grandfather just called and mentioned that he misses her. She says that she will call him later as she misses him, too. They continue smiling at each other. (I can't take this sweet display!!!) Zhou San finally gets the hint and makes the excuse that she has something to do and needs to go. Tong Nian barely spares her a glance and just waves at her, and Han just tells her to go ahead. And the two remain staring at each other. Zhou San leaves and looks back at them, and Tong Nian scrunches her nose at her. Haha.
Tong Nian asks about calling his grandfather, and Han tells her that he didn't call for her. He asks if she wasn't jealous of her, and that he was just cooperating with her to make her happy. He asked what she told her. She says that she said she was his fan. He says that she's a fanatical fan and wants to be in the inner circle. Tong Nian says that she seems good in her industry. Han leans in closer and says what if she's good - he doesn't like her. She giggles at this, and then she notices that his shirt is wet. He says that he got caught in the rain. She asks why he didn’t have an umbrella. He says that he had hurried over as he was worried about her. He tries the food and she asks if the food is any good. Han's response “Her character isn't good. But the restaurant and food she chose are good. Eat more.” She giggles and says that Zhou San's been talking endlessly while she's been eating.
They arrive back at the hotel and are walking along the beach, when they notice Su Cheng having a serious conversation with Solo about their daughter. Su Cheng wants custody of Xiao Ai, but Solo is the one who's raised her. She wants to be there for her daughter, as her mother was there for her, including her menstruation concerns. (Ah, that's why it was pointed out in Ep12.) He says that he'll think about it.
Han and Tong Nian are looking at beluga whales. Tong Nian asks about Xiao Ai's parents. Han explains that Solo and Su Cheng were each other's first loves but then they broke up. She was born after their breakup but Solo didn't know about it until after she had already given birth. Su Cheng couldn't afford to take care of her, so they got married for Xiao Ai's birth registration and citizenship and then they got divorced. Solo has been taking care of Xiao Ai since the divorce. After telling her all of this, Han says xiao hai shouldn’t talk about this. He then takes out his tin and eats a piece of candy.
They spend more time together - up close with the beluga whales. (Ah, they’re at Atlantis Sanya resort, if anyone wants to know, and the rooms we’ve been seeing are their underwater suites.)
Later, Tong Nian is entertained by the fish in his room, but he's fallen asleep sitting up on the sofa. Ya Ya and Chun Chun (their other roommate) are curious to know why she's in Sanya, and asks if she's there with her boyfriend. Tong Nian replies yes to the text message. Ya Ya starts scolding her like she's her mother. lol The notifications from her phone wake him up, and he tells her to get some rest. He also tells her that he has a full day of training tomorrow and asks if she'll be okay alone. She says she'll be fine and goes to leave but he grabs onto her wrist and gives her his room key. He tells her to not sneak in when he's asleep, and to order whatever she'd like and put it on the account. She explains that she has money and he says that he invited her here so he should take care of her spending. (This isn't good for his dwindling budget - he's already in the red!) She agrees and leaves.
The next day at training, he's looking at the tracking software and wondering what she could be doing. He asks 9-7 what xiao hai could be doing. 9-7 laughs and says who’s xiao hai - he means da sao, right? Han says just answer the question. lol 9-7 asks: Maybe she's playing games? Sleeping? Has she fallen ill? He gets upset at the last one. 9-7 tells him to go since he's so anxious. The team is relieved when he leaves. Heh.
In her room, Tong Nian is doing work on her computer. Han shows up and almost knocks on her door but decides to go back to his room to call her instead. She notices that he's back early, and he says it was just training. (Uh huh, since when was it just training? lol) She says she'll go by to see him then and they hang up.
They're both getting ready to see each other, including Han practicing expressions in the mirror. Ha! Yet he only greets her with his customary stone-face. She points out an ugly fish to him and mimics the fish's expression. Do fishes have expressions? Haha. Then she asks him to make a face but he won't, until she does it again. He asks what she's been doing all day, and she tells him that she's been preparing a gift for him in her room - it's a secret. She asks what he's doing tonight, and he says that he has to take care of headquarters' affairs in the evening. He invites her to join him at tomorrow’s training at the cybercafe. She excitedly agrees.
Wu Bai goes to see Han and asks him about Xiao Mi. He tells him that he rejected his offer. Wu Bai asks him if he wants them or Team SP to be the final champion? There can only be one champion, and he hopes that Han's decisions are based on the results of K&K and not the brotherhood of the past.
[Ep18] The next day, Tong Nian is at their training session. 9-7 takes a break and goes to talk to her. She's brought her laptop and he asks if she plays at home or at a cybercafe. She admits that her aunt runs a cybercafe. Then she whispers that's how she and Han met. He's surprised that Han went to one, and then asks if they fell in love at first sight. Han is now watching the two of them talking and finally walks over. Han asks if he's on holiday and 9-7 hurriedly stands up and says that he thought da sao might be bored so he wanted to chat with her. Han suggests that he should write up his retirement report then. Ha. 9-7 hurries back to his station. She asks Han if her hat is ugly as she didn't have time to comb her hair this morning. He gets very close to her face to look at her. She finally asks if there's something on her face, and then she runs off to go wash her face in the bathroom.
As she's leaving, she crosses paths with Zhou San who shoots her a dirty look. Tong Nian decides to turn back around, hurriedly walks past Zhou San to stand right next to Han and startles him as he's taking a drink of water. Zhou San stops in her tracks and walks in a different direction. Han asks if she went to the bathroom and she says she's not going and she just glares at Zhou San. He gets up from his seat and follows her gaze, and Zhou San smiles at him. He keeps his usual scowl but when he looks at Tong Nian, he laughs realizing that she’s jealous. He tells her that she'll be here for two hours. Then he asks her if she plans to watch her and not go anywhere. She asks if she’ll be there every day. He says yes. So she grabs onto his arm, looks up at him with her cute, big eyes and says that she’s leaving tomorrow, and asks how long he is staying. He says one week or longer, he’s not sure. He looks away and has a little smirk on his face and tells her not only is she staying here but they'll have meetings, competitions and a party. She loudly repeats the word "party" and Wu Bai smirks at this. (As usual, he's been listening this whole time. Ha.) She quietly asks why they're having a party. At this point, Zhou San takes a photo of them. Han says they've been together at most four days and she can't handle this? She finally says that she's supportive of his job and tells him to go do his job. He walks away and Zhou San makes sure to talk to him. Wu Bai is watching this with interest.
After a time, 9-7 asks Han where da sao went. He looks around and notices she’s not at her station, but then he looks at his phone and says that she's playing outside. She's sitting outside and he joins her with coconut drinks. He asks what she’s doing and she says that she’s thinking about her project. He asks what project and she says she has many. She decides to tell him about the AI criminal investigation project. They’re creating a face recognition system to help find suspects of old cases. He asks if they've cracked any cases, and she replies they've solved over 1,000 cases. She cutely asks to be praised so he pats her on her head. She then asks for a reward, so he stands up and gets real close to her face, and he asks what she wants. They teasing us again. She replies that she wants to see him play a game in person because she wants to understand him better. So they go back to the training room and he makes Demo get up from his station to play a game. He tells 9-7 to start a game, who asks for mercy. The game starts and everyone's watching - Han beats 9-7. He asks if she's satisfied now. She is.
It's dinner time and everyone finishes eating but Tong Nian is still waiting for Han to eat. He sits down and gives her most of the food from his container and only eats the rice. He tells her that the bus is leaving in 15 minutes and he starts clearing off the mess on the tables left by the boys.
There's a friendly competition between K&K and SP players during the session. Grunt, All, Hua Ti, Following win, while Xiao Mi loses to Wu Bai.
Han and Tong Nian are sitting by the pool and she's telling him about her AI medical treatment project. The K&K players drop by with their floaties for the pool and Han makes them do 50 push-ups before they're allowed to relax. She finishes telling him about her project. The AI software was more capable than the team of medical professionals at identifying lung nodules from old cases and old x-ray films, and small nodules that were not previously identified. The boys finish with their push-ups and are allowed to finally go play in the pool.
It's nighttime and he drops her off at her room. She asks if he's still working as it's 10 p.m., so he says that he has two conference calls. She tells him to let her know when he's done with his calls. He asks if she wants to go with him, so they can both work and stay in each other's company. She grabs her laptop and goes to his room.
Eventually, she falls asleep on the sofa, and he stares at her and lightly touches her face. His face is so soft here. But this wakes her up and he asks her if she regrets not exploring Sanya while she was here. She says no, because this isn’t much different than her usual life. He tells her that he finds her to be very different than he had originally thought of her. She asks what he meant but he doesn’t explain and instead tells her to go back to her room to rest.
The next morning, the team goes for an outing. The boys are told to self-train at this park. 9-7 gets frustrated about being so tired from all the training and lack of rest. Han reminds him to remember his enthusiasm when he first started and how hard he had worked then.
Now Tong Nian shows him what she’s been working on for the past couple of days - a card game for him to enjoy. She’s explaining how it works, and he’s thinking about the fact that she hasn’t been resting just to develop a game for him. He leans in to kiss her but they're interrupted by the boys shouting from the rope bridge across the way. Now they’re both a bit flustered and the moment has passed. Aww. Tong Nian suggests that they join the guys. Han, who has acrophobia, is not able to make it across. Tong Nian realizes that he is unable to walk across, but tells him this is called the lovers' bridge - if lovers walk over it, they can be together forever. She starts shouting loudly that Han Shang Yan is afraid of heights, and then she tries to get him to go across but he's unable to. (Poor guy can't do it but it's cute watching them together, especially when she tries to drag him. Hehe.) He doesn’t make it across and instead runs back the way they came.
It's time for her to go to the airport. Before she leaves, she asks him for a uniform set to go with her pass. He doesn't say anything so she gets into the taxi cab, but then he removes his K&K jacket and hands it to her and tells her to take it back and wash it. Awww, his still warm jacket is better than her own. ;) She hugs the jacket and smiles on her ride. And this time, he watches her leave the entire time.
Back in the dorms, Ya Ya is concerned that Tong Nian’s boyfriend is some creepy old guy (an uncle) who is toying with her, as they’ve broken up before and gotten back together.
After Tong Nian has left Sanya, Zhou San finds Han and tells him that he must be so tired from being with a younger girlfriend and having to keep her company, and she doesn’t take care of him. He replies that he is not feeling well because he is reluctant to part with her, and then says, oh, right, she hasn’t been in love in a long time and has no idea about such feelings. xD He basically tells her to stop wasting her time on him and walks away from her.
Tong Nian is watching an advanced tutorial video of a CTF competition. When Ya Ya finds out, she is excited to teach her but doubts that her boyfriend is some CTF master.
[Ep19] Ya Ya doesn't believe that Tong Nian's boyfriend is a bonjwa, a player who dominates an era, expanding CTF China's market and wins a number of titles. She asks Ya Ya if she's referring to Team Solo, and Ya Ya fangirls over the team and says that she must meet them one day. Tong Nian says that her boyfriend is Gun, but Ya Ya thinks this uncle has lied to her, so she asks to join her on their next online chat. That evening, Tong Nian invites Ya Ya to play an online game with K&K - Grunt, 9-7 and Demo. She’s shocked and excited by this. But when Han shows up, Demo leaves the game. Tong Nian has never played this game so he guides her through it. He's basically killing time and just letting her practice with a dagger. Haha.
Afterwards, Ya Ya tells her that she was inspired by Team Solo's story, their hard work, being a pioneer in CTF, and it gave her the confidence to become more outgoing as she used to be very shy and bullied, and motivated her to pursue programming. She admits to having a crush on Xiao Mi, as she shows Tong Nian her collection of photos of him and has even compiled highlights of his competitions.
Han is being seen by doctors in his hotel room - he has tonsillitis with a fever. Zhou San is bothering him, so he asks the doctors to take her with them as she makes him feel worse. lol Tong Nian asks him for a favor, so he meets up with Xiao Mi later. Han messages Tong Nian that he'll be returning to Shanghai a day later. She pulls out the antique necklace and decides to wrap it around her wrist several times to wear it as a bracelet. O_o Either way it's an expensive piece of jewelry.
Solo picks up Xiao Ai after school and tells her that she is having dinner with her mother. She refuses to go and claims that she has too much homework. He doesn't force her to go, so he calls to cancel with Su Cheng, who is disappointed and stays at K&K Club.
SP's Director discusses Xiao Mi's low scores with Solo, and tells him to make a decision about him, as he’s his xiong di and the one who convinced them to hire him.
Tong Nian and Lan Mei are holding an autograph signing session for fans. Han surprises her by showing up at the signing event - he's back a day earlier. He teases her and asks if she likes him as she was so quick to sign the previous guy’s shirt (fanboy wanted an autograph on the shirt he was wearing, haha). Director Xiang finds out that Han is in a relationship with Tong Nian and realizes that he almost courted death. lol A while ago, Solo did try to warn him.
At the university, a guy asks Ya Ya out on a date which she politely refuses twice. The guy finally leaves. Xiao Mi shows up in the seat behind her, and taps her on the shoulder a couple times, which she ignores. But when he taps her shoulder a third time, she finally turns around and angrily yells that she’s studying and then she’s shocked at who she’s yelling at. XD Time seems to have stopped in this classroom except for them. He introduces himself to her - as if he needed to - and she excitedly says that she knows who he is.
He then asks if he’s bothering her and should leave. She quickly denies that he's bothering her at all, and then she goes into full fangirl mode, laughing and crying in joy. XD He asks if she's crying or laughing. She says that she can't speak. lol He then asks if they should go outside to talk. She nervously shoves all the stuff into her bag and leaves with him. The classroom is no longer frozen in time. How cute!! (~33:10) I did not expect this potential pairing!
She is literally following him around like a little kid and grinning like crazy. He asks why she is smiling at him. Tong Nian is waiting outside for them and asks if she's happy or can't think straight. Ya Ya says the latter. XD Xiao Mi says that he's not Han or Solo, so why is she happy? She tells him that he has a following, and there’s even a fan group for him since the days of Team Solo. Xiao Mi smiles and walks off ahead of them. Ya Ya tells Tong Nian that April 1st is now her anniversary date for meeting her idol. Tong Nian says who has an anniversary date on April Fools' day. lol (I have a friend who got married on this date - on purpose.) Ya Ya then notices Xiao Mi is with Han and All. She's so happy. All asks Xiao Mi what it feels like to have a fan? Hehe. Ya Ya starts yelling excitedly and jumping up and down. Han offers her his hand for a formal handshake and All shoves his hand away and shakes her hand and then offers to hug her. Xiao Mi shoves him into a puddle (LOL) and tells him to stop scaring his fan. Han scolds both of them for being so childish. Haha. Today's the 10th anniversary of the founding of their team, so Han suggests celebrating it, and Ya Ya is allowed to go, and asks if she's part of Team Solo now. She can't stop chattering to Tong Nian, who tells her if she doesn't move, they'll disappear without her. She hurriedly walks to catch up.
The five of them go to Han’s house. Han and Tong Nian go to the kitchen, leaving the three of them in the living room. Ya Ya mentions that it would be nice if Solo was here, too. All jumps to sit down right next to Ya Ya to tell her not to mention this name in front of Han, but Xiao Mi quickly reaches over to shove him away from her, and pulls Ya Ya away from him and closer to himself. Hehe. Who's the fan of whom now? All and Xiao Mi start play fighting each other as All wants to tell embarrassing stories about Xiao Mi. Back in the kitchen, Tong Nian offers to do the dishes but Han won't let her and threatens to kiss her in front of everyone if she doesn't stop. She runs away. lol
Later, Ya Ya finds Xiao Mi alone and asks him about his past and what he’s been doing since retiring 10 years ago.
[Ep20] He tells her that he’s been helping his mother and hasn’t been building up his career. He shares the same sentiment as Han - without Team Solo, it wasn't the same anymore. He says that he came back because he knew Solo felt guilty for everything, and he wanted to try it again. She tells him that she’s quite nervous talking to him because she really likes him. Ou, did she mean to admit that?! She quickly amends it to liking him as a fan. lol He admits that when Han originally asked him about this for April 1st, he thought he was getting pranked. Aww. She shows him his fan group which consists of more than 100 real fans. She also explains that the fans cried (including herself) when he announced his comeback.
Later, the five go on a picnic, and it's Han's first time. Tong Nian brings him a piece of food and he just eats it without appreciating it. Tong Nian tells Han that she’s wanted to say this to him before - she asks him to open his heart a little for himself and for her. What she wants to do the most is what they're doing right now - standing and enjoying the breeze - being in the moment. So she has him close his eyes and just take it all in and asks him to hold her hand. Later, when he drops the girls off, Tong Nian shows Han that she is wearing the necklace that he has given her as a bracelet. He tells her to not lose it, but gives her the impression that it is something he picked up at a market. He's so casual about this.
The next day at school, Tong Nian and Ya Ya encounter a sniffling Zheng Hui. His mother is sick and needs a liver transplant, so he asks Tong Nian if her father, who is a liver tumor specialist, could look into her ailment. She brings home Zheng Hui to see her father, who suggests that he brings his mother to Shanghai for a checkup. After she explains Zheng Hui’s home situation (discreetly via text message), her father also offers his mother a place to stay in their house.
Zheng Hui brings his mother to stay at their home and Tong Nian’s mother seems rather fond of Zheng Hui, and she tries to encourage her daughter to invite him over to their house more often. Tong Nian says it’s inappropriate as he’s a boy. lol She then asks her mother if she likes Han. Her mother asks if they’re still in contact, and adamantly admits that she doesn’t like him. She tells her mother that she's misunderstood him as he's actually a good person - loyal and sincere to his friends. Her mother keeps complaining about him and is relieved that they broke up.
Solo tells Xiao Mi that he’s going to be demoted to the second team after the next competition. And he won’t be able to join the national competition this year. Xiao Mi asks him to not inform All yet as it’ll distract him. Ya Ya messages Xiao Mi to ask what Han likes and he replies that he’ll find out for her. She then says that she’ll treat him, her idol, to a meal for the information.
Tong Nian shows up at K&K Club with a present for Han - but he can’t look at it until she puts it in his room. It's a pretty light-colored fluffy cat. He seems a bit sad by the sight of it. He asks her to put the cat back in the box. She tells him to keep it company. He finally admits that it looks like the one he raised before. (Ah, the one that Ai Qing had mentioned previously. Ep17.) She explains that she asked Xiao Mi about it. She puts the cat on his lap and leaves. The boys are outside waiting to say hi to their da sao. Han follows her out and she suddenly turns back and goes to hug him. He smiles and goes to hug her back but notices the boys are all hovering nearby. These boys keep interrupting them. The boys invite her to stay for dinner but she says that she's on a diet and is leaving. The boys finally give them some space but they're still hovering nearby.
She tells Han that there's an envelope on the box and tells him to remember to miss her. Then she surprises him with a quick peck on the lips before she leaves. Aww. (~32:25, blink and you might miss it.) The boys all say bye to her, and Han watches her leave and waves to her. Then Han sees the boys and they all pretend to be talking about game strategy. lol
Back in his room, Han sits down happily with the cat. Then he opens the envelope. There’s a note: "The past is in the past. They are with you in the future. I'm also with you. Tong Nian." And then he pulls out the stack of photos from the Team Solo years, including one of him with the kitten. He's remembering his time with Solo and the team/his friends, and he smiles at the playful cat.
Xiao Mi surprises Ya Ya with a visit on campus. (She saw him already but sneaks away to get changed.) She rushes out to meet him but Xiao Mi is noticing how pretty she is as she’s trying to catch her breath. Hehe. He says he’s there to collect on that meal. But to her surprise, he asks to eat at the cafeteria as he’s been away from school for a long time now. Now she’s grabbing food for them, and running back and forth from their table. (Is this even a real university with this cafeteria? lol Because this is the best “school lunch” I’ve ever seen. Shows are giving me unrealistic expectations.) She runs off to get even more food and he grabs her by the hand and tells her to sit down as it’s more than enough. There’s enough food on this table for six people. lol Later he gives her a ticket to the next tournament.
Tong Nian’s aunt goes to visit Han Grandpa and mentions that Zheng Hui is a suitable match for Tong Nian. He’s appalled by this. Why is she telling him this?
[Ep21] Tong Nian’s aunt explains to Han Grandpa that Han and Tong Nian have already broken up. Uh oh. Understandably, Grandpa is upset.
9-7 discovers the cat in Han's room. He realizes that it’s the present da sao gave to Han. It's odd for 9-7 to see his usually cantankerous lao da being so gentle with a cat, and almost walks into a wall when he leaves. lol He tells the others and they all try to sneak peeks at him playing with the cat. xD He brings the cat home and Grandpa flips out. Grandpa asks him about his situation with Tong Nian but he doesn’t clarify anything. Grandpa has already made an appointment with Tong Nian's mother and needs him to take him there.
Tong Nian's mother finds them outside of the house, and she allows Grandpa to go in but pulls Han aside to talk to him privately. Grandpa is inside the house with Tong Nian and meets Zheng Hui and his mother. He's quite standoffish with Zheng Hui. lol
Outside, Tong Nian's mother tells Han that she doesn't think they're compatible, especially as he's so much older than her. She also tells him that Tong Nian is pure and inexperienced. She also bluntly tells him that she doesn't like him. She doesn't know that they're back together. She also tells him about how sad Tong Nian was after their break up. She asks him to stay away from Tong Nian and he promises to do so. Crap.
Tong Nian finds out that Han is outside so she runs outside to find him. She calls him but he’s not reachable. He sees that she's looking for him but he stays out of her sight. She continues waiting until her mother makes her go inside as there are guests inside. My head hurts from this 亂七八糟 (chaotic mess). Later Grandpa asks her to give Han another chance, to know him. She tells him to not interfere in the young people’s business. But she already has!!
Han calls Xiao Mi and joins him at a bar. Xiao Mi tells him that he regrets retiring when he was at his peak. Xiao Mi tells him that he's not suitable for playing games. All arrives and Han leaves as he’s worried about his xiao hai wandering around outside. :( Neither one of them knows who he’s referring to.
Han returns to Tong Nian’s house and she sees him. But he's being very cold and rude to her. She's not sure why he’s avoiding her. She thinks it’s Zheng Hui’s presence in her house so she explains that his mother is ill and she’s there to see her father. He doesn’t respond. So she asks him about the cat and he says that he gave it away to the housemaid. She offers to take care of the cat but he tells her to go home. She keeps pressing him so he finally tells her that he likes to be alone, is in a bad mood and doesn’t want to talk. This is so painful to watch for both of them. :(
Back at home, Han is dealing with his nagging grandfather. After tricking Wu Bai to come to the house, Han leaves for K&K Club. He sees Tong Nian's post on NetEase Music with a photo of the cat: “It's cute. Why doesn't he like it?” He sighs and tosses the phone onto his desk.
[Ep22] Han ignores her messages but finds a way to keep an eye on her. He's climbed up a tree outside her house to look into her window. LOL Oh, Han, nothing is by half measures for him. What happened with his acrophobia?! He’s discovered by the neighborhood patrolman, who recognizes him by his car. The patrolman says that he's quarreled with his wife before, and waited outside her house every day and couldn't sleep, when he was younger. Han gets down from the tree and gets into his car. The patrolman asks if he knows why he waited for her? He then says it's not romantic - he actually waited for her to come and continue to quarrel. He goes on to say that women won't stop when they start quarreling. And when you want a break by ignoring them, they won't let you go. They’ll also rehash over old grievances. This guy goes on to say "If they have such strong memories, shouldn't they get admitted into key universities". LOL This whole one-sided conversation is killing me. Then the guy nudges Han and says that he's chatting with him and he's supposed to reply. XD Han just sighs and says "If you have nothing to do, just continue to patrol." Ha. Then he hands him a piece of candy and tells him to have more sweets, smoke less and his wife will be happy. The guy just looks at the piece of candy as Han drives away. lol
The next day, Han leaves for Norway (his stepmother’s wedding) and tells Demo that he’s using a different phone so they will need to reach him on that number. Before he goes to the airport, he sits outside Tong Nian’s house. He finally leaves after seeing Tong Nian leaving on her bike. Aww. She doesn’t see him but she brings breakfast to K&K Club and finds out from 9-7 that he’s left for Norway. She’s surprised by this and 9-7 thanks her for the breakfast and leaves.
In Norway, his stepmother is pestering him about the necklace and knows that he gave it to a girl - because she badgered Wu Bai into telling her. She shows him her dowry (more jewelry) from when she married his father. She tries to give it all to him so he can propose to the girl but he says he doesn't need it. She now thinks that he's been dumped. She tells him that she's responsible for him until her death. He tells her that she's not his biological mother. She recalls seeing him for the first time and puts her hand out to about waist level and says that they were destined to be mother and son for a lifetime since then. Awww. T_T She then asks about his girlfriend but he evades her by leaving.
Han stops by K&K headquarters to see Nan Wei. Nan Wei says that the headquarters is going broke because he's spending more of their budget at the China branch. Han promises to make them world champions and attract more business if he receives the money. Han suggests that they draw cards - the one who draws the higher card is the winner.
Flashback: They’ve played this game before. If Han's card is higher, then Nan Wei has to listen to him; and if Nan Wei's is higher then Han will have to deal with the consequences. Han's Ace beats Nan Wei’s King. So Nan Wei needed to quit his job and help build an online club with him. Ah, the beginning of K&K.
In the present, Nan Wei pulls the Ace and Han pulls the Joker. Han tells him to not forget about the $1M budget. Nan Wei asks about his girlfriend and he says that he doesn't have one.
Tong Nian is worried as she hasn't been able to reach him for four days.
Han is back at that bar with the cat (Ep10) and receives a call from Wu Bai: His cat has diarrhea and Demo’s mother is there to take him back home. Wu Bai suggests that he comes back after the wedding so he can be there for SP’s group match. Wu Bai goes to hang up but Han asks him about their grandfather, and then he asks if Tong Nian came by to see him. Wu Bai doesn’t say anything but leaves the phone on speakerphone. The boys come running to answer his question: 9-7 tells him that da sao came by the morning he left and she brought breakfast for them. He also reprimands him for not telling her that he left for Norway and Demo chimes in that he doesn’t show any concern for da sao. Hehe, these boys are so cute. Han asks Wu Bai who told him to put it on speakerphone, and then he hangs up. The boys laugh at this.
Han’s stepmother insists on keeping him company in his hotel room, even though she has her own room next door. lol She’s watching a movie as he’s working. She also starts pestering him about seeing a picture of his girlfriend. He leaves the room. Later when she returns to her room, she finds a drawing under her door - Han drew her a picture of Tong Nian complete with her headphones and laptop screen. Awww. She laughs at it. He comes back to confirm that she’s seen it. He tells her that he's not going to the party after her wedding tomorrow as he needs to return to see his best friend [Xiao Mi] in the competition tomorrow. She's okay with this, so long as it wasn't something she said. Not long after, she slips a photo of herself with him as a kid under his door. Aww. On the back of the photo: “No matter how many times you fail, I'll be your strong backing, your umbrella and your admirer. My baby Yan Yan, I love you forever." T__T I can't handle these two.
Xiao Ai suddenly shows up at the university looking for Tong Nian. She wants her mother to leave as she feels that she’s trying to take her away from her father. Ya Ya brings back all of this food and Xiao Ai just ignores her. Ya Ya comes up with a plan: let Xiao Ai stay overnight and then they will take her to the competition tomorrow to meet her father. Ya Ya contacts Xiao Mi who hands the phone over to a very worried Solo, who is relieved to hear that his daughter is safe and sound.
All hears that Xiao Mi will be dropped from team one. Xiao Mi is worried about Solo’s reputation though. All says he’ll support him and they’ll win tomorrow’s competition.
At the competition, Ai Qing brings Tong Nian the extra tickets. Ya Ya fangirls over seeing her and says that she's the best main attacker ever. Han is rushing back from Norway to get to the competition.
[Ep23] Han makes it to the competition just in time for the start. Xiao Ai points him out to Tong Nian. Team SP wins. However, instead of just giving a victory speech, Xiao Mi also announces his retirement and he thanks everyone who's supported him all these years. He (with red eyes) then pulls All out of the line up and says that All is the only player from Team Solo who is still playing and is representative of all five members of Team Solo and he’ll get the national championship and then the world championship for them.
An upset Han confronts Solo. Ai Qing tries to stay in between them but Han pushes her out of the way. Han grabs Solo by the lapel and asks him who asked Xiao Mi to retire. Ai Qing tries to get him to let go of Solo but he pushes her away again. He starts scolding Solo for not taking better care of Xiao Mi. Xiao Mi shows up to calm down Han, and tells them to stop fighting. Han then asks him to join K&K again but he’s not interested, and rejects him a third time. He tells him that his ranking is too low and it wouldn’t help K&K.
Xiao Mi walks away and finds his team members all somber instead of celebrating their victory. All is upset with Xiao Mi for quitting but Xiao Mi tells him that he no longer has the strength to keep doing this as he's done his best. Now both men are crying. He repeats to All that he's only one left of Team Solo. They bump fists, and the team all hug.
Then All goes to find Han and tells him that Xiao Mi made the decision on his own, and that Solo and Ai Qing were unaware. On his way out, Han is stopped by Tong Nian as well. She asks how he is doing and he asks where she wants to go. She says wherever he wants to go. All stops her to tell her to comfort him as Xiao Mi’s news is a big blow to him.
Xiao Ai goes looking for her father and it takes as while as he’s hiding under the bleachers. When she finds him, he doesn’t say anything at first. After she pleas and cries, he finally says that his life is a mess and that he can’t do anything right. She comforts him by saying that he’s the best father ever. He starts sobbing and tries to stifle it. T_T
Ya Ya finds Xiao Mi and tells him that there are a lot of fans out there but he just suddenly announced his retirement. She’s worried that some of them will be angry. She takes off her jacket to cover his head with it but he stops her. She’s worried that he won’t be able to stand it. He says that he’s a man and he needs to say goodbye. She tells him: “Ouxiang (idol), remember that no matter what decision you make, we, your old fans, will always trust and support you.” Then they exit the venue together. His fans come up to him and tell him how much they like him and how long they’ve supported him and ask that he not disappear again - they’ll always support him. He thanks them for their support.
Tong Nian follows Han back to K&K but he tells Grunt, 9-7 and One to take care of the guest and not let her follow him, and then he leaves. She tells the boys that Xiao Mi announced his retirement. Demo comes in looking for Han, as his mother is here and wants to see Han. Su Cheng goes to deal with Demo's mother. She wants to cancel Demo's contract. Tong Nian feels useless waiting around for Han so she leaves. As she's leaving, she hears Demo's mother arguing with Su Cheng. His world is crumbling.
Solo returns to SP and receives Xiao Mi's termination contract. He asks to have the compensation doubled to be deducted from his next quarter bonus. Then he goes to see Xiao Mi to go over the termination contract. The two men hug before he leaves. Ya Ya is waiting outside for him. She gives him a hug and tells him that he’s worked hard.
Tong Nian and Yan Yan go to K&K club with Xiao Mi. Tong Nian looks for Han as Xiao Mi wants to see him. Han meets with him and Ya Ya is worried that they'll fight. Xiao Mi asks if he wants to get a drink. Han drives them to the park and the two guys take off their jackets and hand them to the girls. Then Han says “let's get sweaty before drinking”. They're running to release all of this pressure. But Han remains cold to Tong Nian.
They end up at a restaurant. Everyone drinks except for Tong Nian as Han pours her a glass of juice. (He's remembering her one beer.) After several drinks, Xiao Mi stumbles out and looks like he’s going to vomit. Ya Ya accompanies him and he denies needing to vomit over and over but he still looks like he needs to. lol He tells her that he loves Han and is the closest to him but he’s angry at Han for retiring 10 years ago which resulted in his own retirement then. And he regrets it but there’s nothing he can do about it now. She tells him to look to the future, rather than at the past.
Back at the restaurant, Han is barely responding to any of Tong Nian’s questions. However, he tells her that he was in Norway for matchmaking purposes. He tells her that they're on different wavelengths. He also says that he's 30 years old and of marriageable age. She starts crying but tells him he shouldn't go on a blind date while in a relationship with her. He tells her that he doesn't like her and forcing it won't work. He's keeping his promise to her mother but breaking her heart. She leaves the restaurant in tears. :(
[Ep24] Ya Ya is outside dealing with a drunk Xiao Mi but notices a crying Tong Nian walking by. Ya Ya tries to comfort her but Xiao Mi finally starts vomiting. Ya Ya tries to take care of Xiao Mi but then runs after Tong Nian and asks her what he told her. She tells her about his blind date and then she starts crying harder. :(
Han is with Xiao Mi, who finally admits that he’s been holding it in because he didn’t want to vomit in front of a girl, ergo Ya Ya. I knew it! lol Xiao Mi asks him about bullying Tong Nian and to not take out his bad mood on her, and asks if he’s a man. Han finally tells him that Tong Nian’s parents don’t like him. He doesn’t think it’s worth it for her to risk her family’s happiness over him.
Tong Nian and Ya Ya are waiting by Han's car as they were worried about them driving after drinking. Han asks her why she's still there and tells her it's none of her business. And then the designated driver shows up. She's crying and refusing to go with them now. Ya Ya convinces her to go with the guys. A sniffling Tong Nian is forced to ride in the back in, between Han and a drunk Xiao Mi, while Ya Ya rides in the front with the driver.
During the ride, Xiao Mi falls asleep and his head lands on her shoulder and Han shoves his face away from her. lol Mixed signals, dude. Sigh. (~10:09 his face, and then the shove and poor Xiao Mi’s face.) The girls are dropped off at the school first. Han tells Tong Nian to not be sad as he's not a good boyfriend and she should spend her time doing something productive instead of dating.
Tong Nian stays up to continue working on her projects through her tears. Ya Ya and Chun Chun try to console her but she says that she wants to be productive. She says she won’t feel so bad when she’s busy, and both girls hug her. :(
Back at K&K Club, Demo is in his room crying and waiting for Han to deal with his mother. Han tells him to stop crying. He pulls him up by his jacket and tells him that there are more pitiful people than him. Demo asks who could be more pitiful. Han says that “An adult made his comeback after a long time. Because of bad results, he was forced to announce retirement. Isn’t it miserable?” Demo nods. Demo then says that he’s under a lot of pressure, as he’s unable to improve his rankings and is worried about holding back the team. His mother won’t support him and wants to take him away. Han tells him “if he’s not defeated, then hang in there.”
The next day, an exhausted Han deals with Demo’s mother. He shows up in a suit to meet her. He cleans up quite well. He takes her and Demo to a fancy restaurant. He explains his background as a CTF player and understands her concerns. Demo's mother says that she doesn't believe her son has the talent to become a world champion. Han disagrees and says that he does, and Demo looks at him in surprise. He believes his five boys are capable of winning the world championship. He convinces her to allow her son to follow his dream and offers her a generous contract that she can't refuse. Han returns to K&K Club and falls in his room. Luckily 9-7 and One are standing outside and they run in to check on him. He claims that he’s fine and asks them to leave him alone. He’s probably so drained from everything.
Another day, Han calls Lan Mei’s husband, who answers while he’s on the toilet (because it’s his ouxiang calling, LOL) to meet up. There's even a flush accompanying the call! lol Lan Mei insists on tagging along. She’s angry that they’ve only dated for three months and they’ve broken up twice already. At the cafe, he hands them money and asks them to use it for anything that will cheer up Tong Nian. This idiot. Lan Mei asks if it’s a “breakup fee”. Hahaha. Her husband accepts it but Lan Mei is angry and says her family is well-to-do and 2,000 RMB seems low. Ha. She then asks if this is how he treats all of his girlfriends. Han admits that except for her, he's never had a girlfriend before. She prods her husband to ask him if he's only had one girlfriend, why does he always ask to break up with her. She wonders if he regrets it and wants to reconcile. He says not at all. Lies.
Lan Mei goes to see Tong Nian and asks if she asked to break up this time. She says that she doesn’t want to talk about it. Lan Mei shows her the "breakup fee" from Han. Tong Nian leaves to return it to him. Lan Mei is worried now as he didn’t want her to know. Tong Nian calls 9-7 on the way and finds out that they’re at the airport leaving for Beijing for the competition.
She finds Han at the airport and talks to him in private. She tells him that although their time together was short, she was very happy and he was her first boyfriend. She doesn't agree with his attitude towards relationships, but in other aspects, she thinks he's a good person. She will continue to support him and K&K until the day they win the championship. Then she hands him the money as she doesn't want it. He takes it and walks away.
He gets his team to go to their gate. He continues watching her and tells 9-7 to get her a taxi. He watches her as she's outside waiting for the taxi but hides when she turns around. He sneaks one last look before he leaves to join his team. He won't let her know that he cares because of his forced (and asinine) promise to her mother. Noble idiocy by proxy.
In Beijing, Director Xiang wants Han to record a clip with his girlfriend for promotional purposes but Han refuses, and also tells him to not ask her either. He says that 1) it’ll affect her studies and 2) they’re no longer in a relationship, and then he gets up to leave. Director Xiang asks if he can pursue her then. Han turns around and gets right in his face and asks him who did he say he was going to pursue? Director Xiang says that he was kidding. Courted death a second time. lol (~43:05, the look on Han’s face directed at this guy.)
[Ep25] Ya Ya goes to check on Xiao Mi. She still calls him ouxiang. He’s planning to return to his hometown in two days’ time. Now, the girls and Xiao Mi are watching the SP competition on a laptop at a cafe. Ya Ya points out that if he likes the field so much so why is he leaving. She suggests several different options to get closer to his dream and interest. Tong Nian points out that Solo, Han and Ai Qing have all retired but are still in the CTF circle. The girls manage to convince him to stay.
Ya Ya goes with him to look for a place to live. But she has issues with almost every place, so the search continues until they find the perfect space. But he’s worried about the place being too spacious and that he has no future plans yet. She helps him imagine himself living in the place by having them sit on the couch, close their eyes and envision where the furniture, plants, and what everyday sounds and smells would be like. When she mentions music playing, he asks who would be playing this music, she says it would be by someone who likes him very much. At this point, he opens his eyes and looks over at her, and leans over as if he was going to kiss her but then she opens her eyes and it doesn’t happen. Show is teasing us! She asks if he made a decision and he says he’ll rent it. She then asks him for help with Tong Nian and Han.
Ya Ya pulls out Han's K&K jacket from Tong Nian’s closet, and takes a photo of it with Tong Nian’s phone and captions it "Throwing away a worthless thing" and then posts it to Tong Nian’s WeChat. Han sees the post, sighs and then eats candies. He’s walking around aimlessly at the mall and remembering all of their time together. He’s tormented by all of this.
Later, Wu Bai finds Han hanging out at the house. He finds a bag of games, which Han says are breakup gifts for Tong Nian. Wu Bai laughs and says that his relationship is costly. I've been saying this! Wu Bai says first the antique necklace, and now breakup gifts. Maybe he used the returned breakup fee for these? xD Wu Bai then asks if he has spare cash, could he pay him back? Han asks to borrow more money! Wu Bai asks if he's planning another breakup. Hahaha. He leaves and Han says he’s so stingy.
Xiao Mi is at K&K Club and waiting to see Han. He tells him that he's found a place to stay.
Xiao Mi is having a housewarming party and is using it as an attempt to get Han and Tong Nian back together. Team Solo is here (except for Ai Qing) plus Xiao Ai. Han ignores Solo. Meanwhile, Xiao Ai asks Tong Nian if she can imagine herself as her father's girlfriend. Everyone else laughs at this - except for Han and Solo. Tong Nian asks her what nonsense she is saying. Then she offers to go to the supermarket to buy stuff, Xiao Mi gives her a very long list of things to buy (washing powder, bags of rice, salt, flour, and cases of water). Han asks how she can go by herself to buy all of this and carry it back. Xiao Mi suggests that he goes with her then. He fell into the trap. lol
Han leaves with her and everyone else watches. Rubberneckers. lol
After returning with Xiao Mi’s groceries, Xiao Mi claims that his wrist hurts so Han has to stay and help unload all of the groceries and bring them upstairs. Then Tong Nian tries to get him to stay for dinner but he declines as he has work. He then hands her the bag of breakup gifts - the games. She goes back up to Xiao Mi’s apartment but he’s watching her go up the stairs for a minute. When he turns around to go back to his car, he’s walking as slowly as humanly possible, and she comes back down to see him like this. :( They’re stuck in this miserable loop. Sitting in the car, he’s remembering his promise to her mother again. He then texts Xiao Mi from the car that he won't be going back up as he has something to deal with.
Ya Ya comes down the stairs and finds Tong Nian going back up to Xiao Mi’s apartment with a disappointed look. Ya Ya runs down to confront Han and tells him that Tong Nian treats him so well, why can't he treat her better? She then demands his phone as she wants to show him something. Tong Nian has redone the official K&K China website for him. She hopes that he’ll come back up. She also tells him that Tong Nian is a good girl and to stop making her suffer. She finally leaves and he just sighs.
Upstairs, the group is drinking (except Tong Nian). All makes a toast to Xiam Mi for moving and then a toast to his dumb luck for having a beautiful female fan. Ya Ya says that she's also a die-hard fan of All. She whispers to Xiao Mi that she's a fan of the team. She is but... All says that she only has Xiao Mi in her heart and then toasts to the two of them only. Xiao Mi then toasts a thank you to everyone, and to Han. Xiao Mi says that he understands where Han's heart is, always with them. Ya Ya then reminds Tong Nian about Zheng Hui's mother's surgery. Tong Nian apologizes for not being able to stay for dinner and leaves to go to the hospital.
[Ep26] Tong Nian arrives at the hospital and asks Zheng Hui about his mother's surgery. He says that it went well and ended quicker than expected. Han has followed Tong Nian to the hospital. (Is he still using that tracking software? Or did he not leave from outside Xiao Mi's place?) He finds them sitting and talking in a waiting area, and keeps his distance. She asks if he's hungry and he says that he isn't. Zheng Hui then moves his chair closer to hers and sounds like he's about to confess but he's stammering and she assumes that he's worried about his mother. She comforts him by saying that she'll be fine as she's in her father's care. He tries to spit it out - that he likes her - but a hand lands on his shoulder - it's Han’s. Tong Nian is surprised but happy to see him and asks him why he’s there. Han suggests they go go for drinks. Zheng Hui greets him as Tong Nian's ge ge. Han resorts to not make connections, and Tong Nian says that he's not her brother. lol He asks what he should call him then. Tong Nian says their elders are close, so Zheng Hui quickly bows and greets him as Tong Nian's shu shu. XD Tong Nian is now smiling at this. Han asks if they're going to get food. She asks how he knows, and if he heard them. He says that he passed by and overheard it and suggests that they leave now. Zheng Hui puts a hand on Tong Nian's arm and suggests they go then. Han grabs Zheng Hui's arm and says didn't he say he was going, and drops his arm. They leave together but Zheng Hui looks a bit scared.
When they get to the restaurant, Zheng Hui pulls out a chair for Tong Nian first and then goes to sit next to her but Han inserts himself into that seat and Zheng Hui almost sits right on top of him. Han just looks at him (with what qualifies as almost a smirk) and says thank you. LOL! (~5:24, tell me you didn't rewatch this at least 3x. XD) Zheng Hui then says he'll sit across from her. Hehe.
Tong Nian is wondering to herself, this is awkward and what is he doing? Zheng Hui pours her a cup of water and gives it to her. Then he pours himself one and Han reaches over and grabs it from him and says thank you, he's really thirsty and starts drinking it. lol The waiter brings by the menu and Zheng Hui knows what she likes, so he orders them two strawberry tarts and says it’s his treat. Then Han orders the following: a beef curry rice, spaghetti, a round table platter, chicken wings and red velvet cake. And he puts down the menu with this smirk. (~6:14, why am I enjoying this and encouraging it?! XD) Tong Nian just gapes and blinks at him.
The food arrives but Han isn't eating anything. XD So bad! Tong Nian is thinking that she needs to find a way to end this. Han glances at her and thinks don't try sending him away. She asks Han if he was going back to the club. He says that he's visiting a friend at the hospital. She asks who the friend is and in which department. His response is to just stare her down. XD I can’t help it - his expressions are the best. She averts her eyes and tells Zheng Hui to go back to the hospital to take care of his mother. Haha. Han just watches this with a smirk. (~7:10) She gets Zheng Hui to leave and Han tells him to pay the bill first. Zheng Hui laughs nervously at this. Then Han says that he’s joking, he’ll pay for it, just hurry up and go, and then waves him off like he’s a fly in his way. LOL
After he leaves, Tong Nian sits on the other side of the table. Han moves to sit directly across from her. He then tells her that he went to Norway to attend his stepmother’s wedding.
At Xiao Mi's, Ya Ya is helping him clean up his place after everyone else left. He asks that she stop calling him ouxiang as they're friends, and to call him Mi Shao Fei or Xiao Mi.
Han and Tong Nian are on a walk now. He asks about her WeChat moment post. She says that Ya Ya did that, and she deleted it as soon as she saw it. She's concerned that he saw it. He asks about the caption and she says it wasn't her and the jacket is very important to her.
TN: It's comfortable that we can talk and have a walk....like what we're doing now. It seems that we can get...closer to each other at such a moment. I wonder if there are opportunities in the future,... we can get along like this more.
HSY: In fact...I've been feeling bad. There were words which I regretted right after I spoke. I think maybe you... She laughs and dimples at him. What are you laughing at?
TN: I know that you feel bad. You feel bad because of me, right? He smiles and nods. Then I'm very happy now.
A street performer interrupts their conversation. He pulls her into a dance on the street, and they’re both laughing now. Aww, their smiles and laughter here. (~12:58)
Ya Ya gets ready to leave Xiao Mi's place and he calls out her full name and she asks "what is it, ouxiang?" He walks up to her, gets very close and asks her what did she call him just now? She stutters out "Xiao Mi ge". Hehe. He tells her that it's late and offers to go with her to the subway station. She's pleased by this. These two are so cute together.
Back in the dorms, both girls are staring into space and giggling to themselves. Both girls interrogate each other about what happened this evening but neither confirm or deny what happened.
Back at home, Grandpa complains to Han about his noisy cat. Han says he's bringing it back to K&K Club tonight. Han teases his grandfather by dangling the cat in front of him and his grandfather notices his happy mood. Han is thinking about Tong Nian but he doesn't tell him that. Han sees his CDs and says that he'll buy him some new ones later. Grandpa is confused by this sudden filiality. Han then asks about his camera phone being broken and just hands him a new one. Grandpa becomes concerned and asks if he needs to borrow money from him. lol No, he goes to the bank of Wu Bai. He tells his grandfather that everything's fine and then asks him if there's anything else he wants, and to write them down and he'll take care of it one by one. He tells him that they are the only ones left in their family and need to take care of each other. He walks off to get the cat ready to go back to K&K.
Solo agrees to allow Su Cheng to take Xiao Ai abroad. He feels that it is better for her as a mother to look after Xiao Ai as it may be inconvenient for a father to do so as she’s growing up. She wishes him well, and says that Xiao Ai isn’t just her daughter but also his.
Su Cheng tells Han that she's taking Xiao Ai with her. Han says that he's not involved with their issues. At home, Solo tells Xiao Ai that she needs to live with her mother. He also tells her that they had had an amicable breakup. Xiao Ai thinks that her parents got divorced after her birth because her mother did not want him or her. He tells her that she's misunderstanding the situation but he would tell her when she’s grown up. Why isn't he telling this precocious child now? She shouts that she wants to be with him and not her. She goes to her room and refuses to unlock the door. She runs away to Tong Nian again.
The girls are surprised to see her. She tells them that she's no longer her father's favorite person now that her mother's back. Solo and Han meet Tong Nian, who Nian brings the guys into the dorm as Xiao Ai refuses to come out. Solo tries to talk to Xiao Ai but she won't listen. She now thinks that neither parents wanted her. He tells her that he's never thought of abandoning her. At this point, she takes out her hearing aid and throws it on the floor. Tong Nian picks up the hearing aid.
Solo walks over and kneels down in front of Xiao Ai and explains to her that all of the pain and failure in his life were made by his own choices and he regrets it but he's never regretted having her because she taught him what cherishing is. He's been able to witness her grow from a baby until now and to be with her through pain and happiness - are the best memories of his life. She's still inconsolable and won’t allow her father to comfort her. She shoves him away.
Tong Nian hands Solo the broken hearing aid and suggests letting her stay with her for two days so she can calm down. He agrees and the two guys leave. Tong Nian then tells Xiao Ai that she knows that she's not angry with her father, and in fact, she just loves him very much. Xiao Ai then cries in her arms. Aww. :(
Outside, Solo is replaying Xiao Ai's words in his head. He tells Han that he wants her to live with her mother because he's not able to care for her in the way that she needs - the care she could receive from her mother. He explains that when she gets hives now, he can't even apply the medicine for her now as she's growing up. And there are things that he can't do for her, even as her father. He admits that he doesn't understand her thoughts now. He tells him that sometimes he looks at her and feels content and other times, he feels like his life is a failure.
After Solo leaves, Han calls Tong Nian and asks her to bring out Xiao Ai. Tong Nian finds a way to bring her out to Han, who then tells her (typed out on the phone) that he'll tell her about her parents' story if she'll go with him to get her a new hearing aid. She replies that he can't just buy one - he needs a prescription. He then guesses that she has an alternate hearing aid. She asks how he knows that. He suggests she wear it so she can hear the story. Han shu shu has outsmarted her again. She confirms it’s in her bag and Tong Nian goes to get Xiao Ai’s bag.
[Ep27] Tong Nian and Xiao Ai are walking behind Han. Han looks back at them and Tong Nian lets Xiao Ai go with him but she asks him to not be too fierce with her. lol He does have a fierce scowl, but I’m used to it now. They sit down and he tells her her parents' story. Su Cheng used to be a professional player, and the three of them were friends. Eventually, Su Cheng and Solo broke up but he doesn't know the reasons. She asks if her father didn't want her and her mother insisted. Han needs a moment to think and then offers her a piece of candy. She refuses so he eats a piece and tells her the rest of the story.
The Truth: Thirteen years ago, they were both professional players and started to date. Ten years ago, Su Cheng showed up with two-year-old Xiao Ai looking for Solo. Han let her come inside to wait for him. Han also told her that Solo has a girlfriend now, Ai Qing. Solo is upset that she didn't tell him about their child. She admitted that she couldn’t afford to raise her as she’s sick and needs treatments. She admitted that she was not trying to hold onto him. She also didn’t want her daughter to have a poor life with her. She begged him to raise her as she's truly his daughter. She begged and sobbed for him to take her. With tears, he said that he knew that she was his but wanted to know why she gave birth but didn’t tell him. They had broken up and when she had found out that she was pregnant, she was already three months along. She said that she didn't want his child and her to become a stumbling block and burden for him in the future. Ai Qing interrupts their conversation and demands an explanation from him. Solo jonly told her that it was his child, and it was before they were even together. Ai Qing was upset at the lack of discussion, so it was over between them.
Xiao Ai realizes that her father had chosen her and given up on the team. And Han hated her father for this. He confirms this.
Back then, Han had offered to tell Ai Qing that the child was his and that Solo was only the scapegoat, and then Han would raise the child. Solo had asked him how he would raise the child, and what kind of man he thought Solo was. Han was focused solely on getting to the national championship. Han told him that he's not the only member of Team Solo, and he needed to think about Xiao Mi, Ai Qing, All and the alternates. Solo told him that the child was innocent. Han said not feel guilty about it and that if he and Ai Qing break up then it’s all over. Han argued that they had all suffered so much and it wasn’t the time to give up. Han didn't want him to give up the team that they had established together, and it was due to Solo's hard work.
Xiao Ai says that her father is a good father. Han says that he wasn’t a good team leader. Xiao Ai replies that he’s been trying to make up for it. Han explains to her about optimal age - a professional player who was at his peak was wasted. Xiao Ai says that from his perspective, her father disappointed his friends. She then asks him to put himself in her shoes, she was young and deaf. Her father couldn't leave her alone. She said fortunately, her father didn’t give her to Han, because if he was her father, they’d quarrel every day. Haha. But I'd imagine Han might be a different person if he'd raised her, and her as well. We'll never know.
Su Cheng arrives and Han leaves them alone to talk. Su Cheng tells her that he was her first love and to ask her all of her questions. She then says that she doesn't have any other children, and only took care of her for a short time. And she doesn't have much experience of being a mother, and asks if they can take each other as friends. Xiao Ai asks why she gave birth to her as she didn't love her father nor her. She says that she loved him very much, and that's why she gave birth to her, as a memory. Xiao Ai says that she treated her as a souvenir. Her mother apologizes for being so simple-minded back then. She had wanted to give her a better life and thought her father would be best suited to provide it. Xiao Ai said then she ruined him and his career instead. Su Cheng admits that she was selfish at the time, and didn't expect what happened with the team breaking up. She admits that her current husband was her former team leader, and she knew him before meeting Solo. Her husband has always loved her and helped her, and he stayed by her side when she was all alone. Xiao Ai asks why they broke up. Su Cheng said that Solo had no time for her as he was very busy with his team. She was angry and always arguing with him. At the time she understood that he was busy with work but she also wanted him to keep her company.
Tong Nian asks Han if he's already forgiven Solo a long time ago. He doesn't answer but flicks her on the head. lol They’re watching Xiao Ai and Su Cheng sitting peacefully next to each other. At home, Solo appears to be sick but he’s waiting to hear about Xiao Ai. Han drops off Su Cheng and Xiao Ai at Solo's. Xiao Ai tells Tong Nian why he won’t get any closer to the place - because his place used to be the dormitory and training site for Team Solo. Ah, his dream came true (Ep9) - he bought their old place and lives in it still.
It's raining heavily outside, Su Cheng carries the umbrella and shields her daughter from the heavy downpour. She walks her daughter to her front door and says that she won't go inside. Xiao Ai thanks her for respecting her. Su Cheng thanks her for giving her the lesson. Xiao Ai then tells her that if she wants to go out, she'll tell her directly, and she doesn't have to avoid her and talk through her father. Xiao Ai smiles at her and says that her father is pitiful. Su Cheng tells her to go inside and Xiao Ai hugs her before she goes inside. Awww. T__T
Xiao Ai goes inside and her father fusses at her for not having an umbrella. He then makes her sit and blow dries her hair and comments about how long her hair is. She reprimands him for eating unhealthy boxed lunches again. He says it's too much work to cook for himself. She tells him that she'll eat with him so go and cook for her as an apology. T__T She then asks for her favorite dishes. She finally takes the blow dryer from him and shows him how to do it properly.
Later Xiao Ai makes him drink some cold medicine. Solo tells her that he was wrong. She says that he can't say that - even if the whole world is wrong, her father can never be wrong. She says that it was because of her. He could've won the world championship if not for her. She’s crying but hugs her father. She says, “Father. You’re the best team leader in China in my heart.” Just hand me all of the tissues now. He’s trying to not cry, strokes her hair and says “I know. Thank you.” She leans back and he wipes the tears off of her face and says that he’ll continue cooking for her.
Tong Nian’s voiceover: Time is cruel. If they knew this would be the outcome,...they might have made a different choice.
Solo asks who sent her back and she says it was Han shu shu. Solo goes out in the rain to see Han and thanks him for bringing her back. He invites him to come inside but Han says with Su Cheng going back to Norway, there's too much to deal with at the club. Solo says it's a rain check for next time and tells him to drive carefully.
Su Cheng meets with Ai Qing at a restaurant. Su Cheng wants to apologize to her. Ai Qing says that she doesn't hold grudges like Han. Su Cheng explains that she was drowning at that time, and had to go to Xiao Ai's father. Ai Qing says that she doesn't blame her for bringing Xiao Ai to them. She blamed Solo for never discussing Xiao Ai's adoption with her, and she was also the last person to know that he was quitting the team that led to the dissolvement of Team Solo, making every member more important than her as Solo's girlfriend. Su Cheng says that it must've been hard for her. Ai Qing admits that it was harder for Solo who had no experience raising a child and had to learn bit-by-bit with books, and when she realized that, she let go of her anger. Ai Qing says that all of this is in the past and it can stay there. Su Cheng asks her if she takes away Xiao Ai to Norway, if it will make Solo sad. She's worried even though he agrees to it. Ai Qing suggests that she should ask for Xiao Ai's opinion as she's already 12 years old.
Tong Nian goes to Han's house and hears from Han Grandpa that Han didn't give away the cat. She asks him why he lied about it. He says that he was in a bad mood that day but he doesn't tell her the real reason. He still remembers his promise to her mother and the harsh words she used. He tells her that there are some things that she doesn't have to get the answer to. She asks about his matchmaking in Norway and he says that he lied about that, he was actually there for work and to visit his stepmother.
[Ep28] Han is packing his stuff to take to K&K Club as Su Cheng is leaving and he needs to keep an even closer eye on the players. Han Grandpa is going back to Norway in a few days' time. Han has named the cat "Xiao Youyu" and Tong Nian asks how he could name it after her handle. Why do you think, silly girl? She then says that it's a cat that eats squids so the name is perverse. Haha. I'll make sure to name my next cat Xiao Jin Yu then. XD She suggests changing the name and he says, what if he changes her name - Tong Shang Yan? She laughs and says it’s fine. Then she calls him Han Nian and he glares at her.
Back in the dorms, Tong Nian tells Ya Ya that she is worried about her mother not liking Han. She doesn't even know the half of it. Ya Ya says that there is no man better suited for her than him. Aww. Later Tong Nian tells her mother that Han Grandpa is going back to Norway soon. She suggests that they take him to visit his hometown and she learns that her grandfather is also from the same village. Her mother goes to call Han Grandpa to make arrangements. They take two cars and Tong Nian is stuck riding with her family while Dou Nan rides with Han and Grandpa.
They take a break during this trip, and Han takes Grandpa to the bathroom. Tong Nian brings bottles of water and popsicles - a water for Grandpa and a popsicle for Han. Han opens the popsicle and offers it to Tong Nian. Dou Nan runs over to snatch it away and takes a bite of the popsicle. She gets annoyed with him and Grandpa says that he needs help going to the bathroom to wash his hands again, and takes away the third wheel Dou Nan so couple can still have a moment alone. Hehe. Han smiles at this. They walk back to their cars and he shields her eyes from the sun by clocking it with his hand. Awww.
When they are in the village, the elders give Han a lot of pressure to get married and have kids. (He's the eldest of all the "kids" there.) Han excuses himself and Tong Nian follows him out.
They end up sneaking away and exploring the village together. Han plays Chinese chess with the local elders - whoever wins, gets a treat. After several games, Han has amassed a large collection of fruit juice bottles. It’s pretty here! Haha, see the bottles behind Han? The same ones that he bought at the recording studio in Ep14. Tong Nian takes the opportunity to snap photos of him.
She hears a little boy playing a guitar and says that he's not too bad. Then she says those who can play guitar are all handsome. Later on a boat ride, Han plays the guitar and sings a couple songs to her.
Falling in love with you is just like milk falling in love with bread.
A natural pairing that could never be discarded after meeting.
A combination that's not overdone, just the right touch of sweetness.
Your smile is the main ingredient for happiness.
The memories are fermented, baking into a distinctive flavor.
Can you be my place of support eternally?
That first line is so corny but I love it. (Yang Zi | Milk Bread song)
Han had actually paid the boy 20 RMB for the guitar and told him to have a meal while he borrowed it. lol Not romantic, my foot!
When it is time to get back to the family, Han suggests that she go back first and he’ll go back later. He wants to avoid any misunderstanding by the elders. I think he mostly means her mother. On his way back, Han sees a cute cat figurine and buys it for Tong Nian.
Han asks Wu Bai to go with Grandpa to Norway and to come back in three days’ time for training. Then he leaves for K&K Club as Su Cheng is leaving tomorrow and he needs to keep an eye on the boys.
Han texts Tong Nian to check her bag and return the item to him when she has time. She finds a box with a note "Does it look like our Xiao Youyu?” She pulls out the cat figurine and says it looks totally different. Not even close. lol She checks out the cute cat figurine while Han is playing with the real Xiao Youyu at K&K Club.
It’s time for Han Grandpa to go back to Norway. He presses Han about getting married next year. Han says she’s still so young, but Grandpa presses for an answer. Han says yes. Then they leave for the airport. Grandpa is sad about leaving as he will miss his grandsons.
[Ep29] Before leaving, Grandpa tells Han that he is proud of his achievements and knows that he has a lot of fans. He tells him whether it’s good or bad, he will be supportive of him.
Su Cheng says goodbye to the boys at K&K Club. They're all sad to see her go. She thanks them for their care over the past year and then deep-bows them. No dry eyes in sight, as even Han gets emotional. She then asks Han for the K&K Club logo sign as a keepsake.
Before going to the airport, she stops by to see Xiao Mi. She's there to convince him to join K&K Club to take over her position as team manager. Su Cheng explains that K&K was co-founded by Han and her husband and K&K in China was built by her and Han. She thinks that he's most suitable as he understands what CTF is, the family pressures faced by the players, and what difficulties one needs to overcome during a game, and he'll want what's best for the players. She also says the important thing is that he knows how to deal with Han's temperament. She hopes he'll give it a chance and help them. She offers her hand and he shakes it but she asks if he's still hesitating. He says, “It's weird if I agree now. We’re adults.” She corrects him and says "We're not adults. A person with a dream is always young."
After she leaves, Xiao Mi thinks about their conversation. He then receives a call from his father yelling at him to come back immediately and be an intern in the district office. His grandmother takes the phone from him and tells Xiao Mi to stay in Shanghai for half a year and enjoy himself. He hangs up and thinks back to the past, when he was begging Han to not leave the team. And he thinks about how much he still wants to win the championship and how much he regrets retiring the first time.
Han is worried about K&K facing Team Buff. Ya Ya tells Tong Nian that there’s a saying in the field, “Solo created, Buff dominated. She then says that “Team Solo was the pioneer and built the kingdom. Before Team Solo dissolved,...Team Buff had been their strongest opponent. They are arch-enemies."
Xiao Mi goes to see Han at K&K Club, and they go out for a meal. Xiao Mi tells him that he wants to be the team manager. He explains that he is familiar with this field, and this circle. The main point is that his teammates were his opponents. He's studied their styles and personalities in depth. And then he says that he's very close to him, which Su Cheng said was the most important thing. Han is surprised that Su Cheng went to see him, but he’s pleased by this and wonders why he hadn't thought of this. I’m happy to see Xiao Mi find a place at K&K. But I’m a bit befuddled at the fact that there aren’t any clauses in his previous contract about not working for the competitors for X-amount of time, NDAs, etc. No, just me with my legal brain teasers??
Han gives Xiao Mi the official tour of K&K Club and the two guys drink beers in his room. Later, they're both drunk and passed out. The next day, Tong Nian drops by his room looking for him and thinks he's sleeping on the couch. Han actually sneaks up behind her as she continues to talk to Xiao Mi who is hiding under the blanket. When she's about to pull off the blanket, Han finally says something which startles her and the cover comes off of Xiao Mi. Both guys are laughing even though she’s swatting at them for tricking her. Haha. Xiao Mi leaves to go home and pack and bring his stuff as he’ll be living at the club now.
After they clean up the mess on the floor, Han starts mopping the floor and makes her sit, so she just stares at him. He asks why she’s staring at him and she tells him that men who do housework are handsome. lol I guess. Han makes her leave so she can stop trying to help clean up the room, and stop stepping on the wet floor. lol When the boys see her, they all run over and are so excited to see her. (L-R: Demo, 9-7 and One. 9-7 and Demo are the cutest of this bunch.) Since they look idle, he gives them different cleaning assignments at the club.
Grunt notices Xiao Mi at the club and sees hat he’s filling out an application form. He tells the boys this and they’re all wondering what’s going on. Han interrupts them and introduces them to their new team manager, Xiao Mi. The boys are not happy about this. Wu Bai returns and is asked by Han to help convince the boys.
From the viewing room, Tong Nian and Han are watching the boys and Xiao Mi in the training area. She asks why he isn't helping Xiao Mi as the boys are ignoring him. He says because helping him would show favoritism, and he's worried about pushing them. Xiao Mi tells Team DT to go for a meeting but no one moves. Wu Bai walks in and tells them to get moving. Now Grunt says that the captain is speaking and they should go to the meeting. The team leaves for the meeting room. Xiao Mi wordlessly pats Wu Bai on the arm for the support. Han smiles down at Wu Bai for handling that. Han tells Tong Nian if Ai Qing can deal with the men at SP, then Xiao Mi can handle them, too.
[Ep30] Xiao Mi is giving intel on Team Buff but the boys are barely paying attention and being disrespectful to him. Xiao Mi is going over the team's positions with Buff as their strategist. Grunt tells him that they already know all of this. Xiao Mi tells him then he's going to tell him something that he doesn't know. Buff is actually the one who can't lead. Buff can't stand being surpassed, and once he is surpassed, he starts to panic and gets overwhelmed. Buff's problem is the intense desire to win. Everyone on their team is 30 years old this year so they just want to win. To defeat them, they need to pressure Buff and aggravate him. He wants to break down his last defense. He then says that their lao da was the best at this. Wu Bai then gets up and says now they know what Xiao Mi's capabilities are. Information of all national teams are stored in his brain. He is well-versed in the history of CTF competitions. He tells them that if they don't want him to help them, then they can continue with their current attitude. Xiao Mi says that they have a deadly weakness - conservatism and their strategies are old as well. Han has been watching this meeting on a screen from upstairs. Han asks why Tong Nian is there and she says that she wanted to play with Xiao Youyu and picks up the cat. Han tells her that the semi-final game will have K&K in Shanghai and SP in Guangzhou. The two teams will compete in the two cities at the same time.
He asks if she wants to go to it (yes). Then he asks if she wants a ticket (yes). She asks if he has any tickets (no). He asks her why she would need a ticket - if she's going with him. Hehe. He has this little smile on his face when he says this. She asks about Ya Ya coming, and he says that she can go to Xiao Mi. She then asks if she's his girlfriend. He says of course, what else. She asks if there's anyone like him - break up and make up whenever he wants. He asks if there needs to be a formal ceremony. She makes a sound in the affirmative.
HSY leans closer: Tong Nian, should we...kiss?
TN: Who does that? I don't want - He puts his hand on her neck and pulls her close and kisses her. (~6:25, Aww.) Once she’s over the initial shock, she closes her eyes and they kiss for a while. See Xiao Youyu watching them? :) A real kiss!
They stop kissing and he tells her that he's sorry for letting her down this round. She then kisses him once and he smiles at her. Then he goes to kiss her again and she says no more kissing and puts the cat in between them and tells him to kiss the cat. lol So cute!
Tong Nian leaves and notices that the boys are cleaning as Han requested earlier. Don’t tick off, lao da is their motto. lol On their way out, she offers words of encouragement to Xiao Mi, who says that he won't be a burden to Han. Han tells him that he's taking Tong Nian home and will be back for him.
Han returns and Xiao Mi looks frustrated at his computer. He shows his problem to Han: There’s a great disparity of competency in his team - Wu Bai, Grunt and 97 all rank in the top 10 but Demo still needs improvement and One stays at 73. One is pulling down the team's competency. Han says it'll take time but Xiao Mi points out that he was pulled out because his ranking was too low for SP. Han says the most important thing is to get rid of Team Buff.
At SP, Solo sees that Xiao Mi is the new manager for K&K and he doesn't seem unhappy about it. The Director says that Xiao Mi's the best person for team manager, but it also makes him quite dangerous as he knows everyone's strengths and weaknesses. She cautions him that if he loses this time, it won't be just about the team but headquarters will also doubt his capabilities. However, she has faith in their manager, Ai Qing.
Back at the dorms, Tong Nian is playing a new song that she's just recorded. It's the milk bread song that Han sang to her on the boat. Her female friends are all excited and wondering if she's found Mr. Right. The male fans are woefully regretting that she's in no need of milk or bread. lol
At K&K Club, 9-7 informs the team that da sao has released a new song and it's almost at the top of the list. The boys mention that lao da is being criticized by the fans on Weibo. Han wants to know what's going on and 9-7 is forced to explain. Han then asks for him to sign him up for an account. 9-7 says last time it was NetEase Music and now it’s Weibo. But he’s telling everyone this! lol Han glares at him and 9-7 says he’ll get it done now. Grunt and Demo are both shocked by this. Why are these boys so cute?!
Meanwhile, Tong Nian is sketching herself and Han sitting by the water with the juice bottles behind them. (Aww, coincidentally it’s a sketch of my screenshot in Ep28.) Suddenly she receives a notification on her laptop. She shows it to Ya Ya and Chun Chun - Han registered for a Weibo account. The boys from K&K and Wu Bai, Solo, Ai Qing, and others are all congratulating him - Gun God is back. The girls wonder what he'll post. He’s actually posted a link to K&K Club's Official Site. It’s not the one created by Tong Nian. Ya Ya thinks it's too casual and concludes that it's just for promotional purposes but Tong Nian is still smiling about this. He has over 100,000 fans already and it’s still climbing, and Tong Nian isn’t sure how she’s garnered over 30,000 comments suddenly. Then she finds out why - because he followed her and she’s the only one he’s following. She’s so giddily squealing about this.
His comment to her: “Are you the milk and I the bread? Or I the milk and you the bread?” Squeee! (~17:33, I just like hearing the tone of his voice asking the question. lol) She asks Ya Ya if she should leave a reply. She tells her of course and to do it quickly. Her response: “I don't care. Breakfasts from now on consist only of milk and bread.” So cute! She gets up to grab her phone and leaves to call Han.
He sees her name pop up on his phone and tells his team it's a telemarketer but he leaves the room. lol The boys decide they want to eavesdrop on his call, so he finds a spot further away from them. She asks him if he opened a Weibo account. He says that she already knows the answer to that so he’s going to hang up now as he needs to go back to the training room. They play the you-hang-up-first game. But then she tells him to wait and he gives her another five minutes. She dawdles so he starts the countdown. This guy, SMH. She thanks him for opening a Weibo account for her sake. He says if that’s all she’s going to say then he’s going. She mentions creating a face recognition system for him so they won't need a room card to enter and exit anymore. He continues counting down to half-minutes and seconds.
HSY: Half a minute is gone.
TN: So soon?
HSY: I will say something serious. I miss you. So this is what it feels like...to be followed closely.
TN: How does it feel?
HSY: You know.
TN: I know.
HSY: This feels good. I am hanging up.
TN: Are you hanging up already? - Pause - All right. Then you hang up first. I’ll hang up.
HSY: Mm.
TN: Bye bye.
HSY: Bye bye.
(~19:36 This call is actually shot with them standing next to each other, and walking around each other. They look so cute, especially with the way he’s looking at her!) They're both left smiling after this call.
On the day of the competition, there are relatives dropping by for a visit at Tong Nian's home. She complains to her cousin and he says that she can say that she's going to a concert. She says her mother isn't stupid. He suggests school. Then she does an imitation of her mother’s scolding: "Nian Nian - what's so urgent that it can't be settled after we eat? You insolent kid!" LOL (~23:34) It is so much better (and more funny) in Chinese. Then she mentions that the internet is too slow for her to watch it upstairs. She wants to watch it downstairs but the guests are there. Moments later, when her mother is busy showing her bedroom to the guests, she and Dou Nan sneak by to go downstairs.
At the competition, Bi Dong Ran (“Buff”) declares to the media that they will beat K&K. Xiao Mi gives a pep talk to K&K pumped up before the start of the game. Han gives him his K&K pass and tells him that from now on, he's an official member of Team K&K. Han and the team meet face-to-face with Buff and his team. Han says he admires him for not giving up at 30 years old. Buff says what is there to be afraid of. He'll fight once more to win the championship. Then he says that losers like him who quit when he sees an obstacle wouldn't understand this. 9-7 and Grunt get upset and try to move forward but Han and Xiao Mi raise their arms to hold them back. Buff says to not forget that he's won against him before. Han walks right up to Buff’s face and tells him "How you failed in the past,...Today you will lose to the team I lead in the same way." Then he turns around and asks if his team heard that. Together the boys in unison tell him “Don't worry, lao da”, and they walk out first.
Tong Nian and her cousin are downstairs watching the competition on a laptop. Her cousin starts cheering loudly (he's always loud, lol) and she tells him to keep it down. He says, it's his ouxiang. Tong Nian’s mother and the relatives come back downstairs and the two of them move to another part of the room and watch the competition with headphones on. Her mother asks her to stop playing on the computer and to join them on the couch and talk to their guests. Dou Nan explains that they’re watching the CTF competition. See, big mouth. Then Dou Nan asks some questions about some of the terminology and Tong Nian explains it to him. (BO1 is a one-match win. BO3 is two wins out of three games. BO5 is three wins out of five games.) Her mother is standing behind them and notices what she is watching. The relatives are impressed by her knowledge, but her mother rolls her eyes at this, and shoots her an angry look. Her mother tells the relatives that she’ll take them on a walk, and then she wags her finger at the two of them. She didn't realize her mother had been standing behind them, so now she’s upset with her cousin. lol Scapegoat Dou Nan.
Team K&K wins over Team Buff. Tong Nian is screaming happily inside and shaking her cousin in glee, while her mother and relatives are outside wondering what she's so happy about. Team SP wins over Team CL, so the finals will be Team K&K versus Team SP in Beijing in a month’s time.
Xiao Mi tells Han that he heard from Ai Qing that Team Buff’s players had quit their jobs to compete. They’re all 30 years old and were fighting for their dreams. Buff looks very dejected.
[Ep31] Buff and Han confront each other. Buff takes off his Team Buff pass and shoves it at Han and tells him to take it with him to win the championship. Han accepts the pass and tells him to leave without worries. He may have lost but he respects him enough to want him to lead his team to victory. Xiao Mi wants to take the boys to celebrate their victory, and Han tells him to go ahead without him, and there’s no curfew for tonight. Xiao Mi leaves to find the boys. Han stays on the balcony and lays down to listen to some music. He thinks back to when he told Team Solo what his dream was - to win the world championship.
Xiao Mi goes back downstairs and the boys surprise him with a song. He thanks them and says that they achieved a good result for his first time being team manager. He's truly honored. Then he says that he's buying tonight and asks them to not fight with him over it. The boys cheer. He remembers how different this is from his first day on the job when they were all ignoring him. His toast: "While we are still young, let's work hard for the finals!"
The next day, Tong Nian sends a message to his phone to turn on his computer. He turns on the computer, but when he goes to close the laptop, she sends him several messages on the computer: "Don't switch it off. It's me, Tong Nian. The world's best, Han Shang Yan. You must have to worry over many things. But may I take some of your time?” He sees the playlist and laughs. Then she sends another message: "Can you open the door for me?" He realizes she’s here and he closes the laptop and gets up to look for her.
He finds her outside the building and asks when she got here. She tells him to not worry as the connection was bad. lol He says that it’s not good that she keeps logging into his computer, and then he pats her on the head. She says that she won't invade his privacy. He teases that he's hiding stuff but can't remember which computer it’s on. They hang out at the club and play darts. His stomach seems to be bothering him, so she worries that he's more stressed out than the players. She just looks at him, and he finally asks why she's staring at him again. She walks up to him, puts her arms around his neck and kisses him. She stops and becomes shy and tells him that she has something to show him. She pulls out her laptop on his desk to show him and he guesses what it is - K&K main website. He says he’s seen it and knows that she’s uploaded his video. She gets and sits on the sofa and says that it’s meaningless and as she wanted it to be a surprise. He looks at the site for a moment longer.
Then he goes to where she’s sitting and tells her that he’s actually very happy and thanks her, and then puts his hand on one side of her face and leans over to kiss her - but Xiao Mi barges into the room and totally ruins the moment. LOL (I just like how they shot this, the way his fingers move to touch her hair/face.) There's an awkward pause. Han asks him why he's in such a rush to see him. Xiao Mi reminds him that he sent him a message last night, asking him to come here earlier. Ha. He then says if he'd known, he wouldn't have come so early. Hehe. Han tells him to go away. Xiao Mi leaves and says to continue what they were doing and asks if he should close the door. XD
Tong Nian tells him if he has work in the morning, to go ahead and do it as she's fine. He tells her there's no need to rush as he pays his salary. She says that he's a useless boss. He asks when is he like that? Tell him. Then he leans down in an attempt to kiss her again. She says wasn’t his stomach bothering him? He stops trying and just laughs at this. LOL He says he’s got work to do. And they’ll continue when he returns. She coyly asks, continue what? These two are flirting so much. He leaves and then she laughs in glee.
In the conference room, Xiao Mi and Han discuss the top 10 ranking situation. Wu Bai is still in the top 5. Grunt and a member of Team SP are ranked fifth. 9-7 should be ranked ninth. Han asks about Buff's ranking. Xiao Mi says he's ranked fourth, and he knows that he wants Buff to join their team and replace their weakest member. Han wants to know if it's possible and Xiao Mi says it is because the team members will willingly accept it for Wu Bai, who has the highest ranking of the team. If he joins the team, he'll be an uncle to the K&K players, but they still have to convince him. He also knows that if Buff comes onboard, they'll have to replace one of their current team members for that position. Han tells Xiao Mi to locate Buff, but he will contact him himself.
Han is on a series of calls, including one with Nan Wei and the team in Norway. Nan Wei says that they can't meet his budget demands. Tong Nian overhears this and offers to give him some money. He stands up and puts his hands on her wrists and then asks what the sharp thing is. She says it's the present he gave her and pulls up her sleeve to show him the antique necklace that she wears as a bracelet. Again, this is where his money went. lol She tells him it's money she earned with her singing. He thanks her but won't accept it. He then hugs her. Nan Wei calls him back and tells him that he's investing all of the family fortune again., Then he tells him to leave some money for himself, otherwise what girl would willingly be with him? Han asks her as he's holding onto her, "If I don't have money, will you be willing to follow me?" She says yes and they smile at each other. Nan Wei hears her and asks if he's with his girlfriend right now. Then he says, this is too awkward and just hangs up. lol Tong Nian tells Han that she’ll take care of him. She goes on to say that if he doesn't have money after this, she'll take care of him as she can earn a lot of money in her field. He says he knows, and he's sending her home. She says that she'll be a rich woman. He tells her that he's a man, and if he lets her take care of him, it's weird. Give him some face. I knew he wouldn’t take it.
Xiao Mi goes back up to see Han but he sees that Han's door is closed and waits around. He doesn’t want to repeat what happened in the morning. lol Suddenly the door opens and Han almost hits him with the door. Oops. Xiao Mi immediately says that he wasn’t eavesdropping and was just waiting to tell him that he has news about Buff: His train leaves tomorrow. So he has to go there early, as he still has a chance to meet him at the hotel. Han asks for the hotel information to be sent to his phone.
Han sends Tong Nian back home. She gets out of the car to go inside but then she walks around to the driver's side.
TN: I can see you furrowing your eyebrows again. She's rubbing his eyebrows and the space between his brows with her index finger. Do you know? I often see you doing this. Each time your eyebrows are like that, I feel upset, too. Can you not keep so many things inside your mind? She removes her hand, and he smiles at her.
HSY: Sure. Then, I'll let go of those things which worry me the most.
TN: But... What worries you the most?
HSY: What do you think?
TN: No response. She’s just looking at him.
HSY: It's fine. Even if there're many worries,...I'll feel better once I solve each of them. Besides,...Don't I have you by my side? She just smiles. Then he pulls his head and torso out from the driver's window and pulls her in for a kiss.
The kiss ends and they’re smiling at each other. She puts her finger on the area between his eyebrows and rubs it again and says “I’m going”. They smile at each other, and then she goes inside. He’s watching her the entire time. He sits back and reclines the car seat. But the neighborhood patrolman (Ep22.) sees him and says that he’s here again. lol Then he asks if they’re quarreling again and it will hurt their relationship if they continue to do so. Han says that they’re not quarreling.
The garrulous patrolman tells him that when he met him last time, he went home and told his wife about a loyal young man guarding there the whole night. The wife blamed him for not being more encouraging. Hehe. Her exact words: "As long as you are handsome and willing to wait,...there's no lady who won't turn around." He asks if he's succeeded as he's smiling blissfully today. Han says “If I’m not driving today…I really want a drink with you.” The patrolman says, “Even if you’re not driving, I still have the night shift. Fine. You guard your lady. I guard my area. I’m going. All the best.” Aww.
The next morning, they have an exchange of text messages.
TN: Today, we have been together for four months.
HSY: Exactly four months. Last year, on December 23, I entered the shop before 12 o’clock. She smiles at this.
TN: I miss you.
HSY: If you miss me, come down.
She runs over to the window to check, and is happy to spot his car. She hurries to put on a jacket and sneaks downstairs and then sneaks past her father who is talking to the dog. She runs up to Han’s car but doesn’t find him inside, so she walks around the front of the car. He pops up from behind the car and waits for her by the driver’s door. She sees him and jumps into his arms and stays there. Awww, they’re so happy here. He tells her that she jumps well. She asks if he didn’t leave at all. He says that he had nothing to do either and it’s nice to listen to the music here, and the scenery is nice. Then a young girl walks up and takes a photo of them. This breaks up their hug and he asks what’s going on. The girl apologizes and says that they are sweet. Uh, yes, but who walks right up to strangers and takes a photo at such close range? The girl leaves and Han asks if she wants to sit in the car as he needs to leave in ten minutes.
Tong Nian gets into the car and he reaches over her to recline her seat for her. She starts blushing and he asks why her face is red. She denies it. He tells her it’s cool out and puts a jacket on her lap and tells her to not catch a cold. Again, not romantic, my foot. She asks if he didn’t sleep the whole night. He says that she could say that, and she asks if he’s sleepy. He shakes his head no and says that he’s trained himself. When he is training for competitions, he normally stays up late. So he stayed outside in the car all night.
TN: Do you have time to catch up on your sleep?
HSY: When I see your smile, I feel energetic. XD
She then asks if he’s hungry and if she should cook something for him. He says not to waste their short time together. He says it’s been four months and asks what kind of present she wants. OMG, Han, stop spending money! lol She says she doesn’t want anything. He presses her again.
TN: I want…I want to never break up forever.
HSY: Forever? He’s looking at her weirdly.
TN: What is it?
HSY: Are you saying that…you want to get married? She sits up now. Isn’t it too early to marry now? Are you in a rush?
TN: I’m not. I meant that…
HSY: Your parents’ situation is complicated. We’ve only dated for a short time. You haven’t graduated either. You may not know but your mother has some prejudice against me. Oh, I am so relieved that he finally tells her about this! I still don’t have a solution. If I mention marriage now,...I’m afraid she will come to me with a knife. She looks at him with surprise.
TN: My mother is prejudiced against you? How do you know?
HSY: I’m just guessing.
TN: I thought you didn’t know.
HSY: Put aside marriage first. I can promise you any other conditions.
TN: You might have misunderstood. I didn’t say that I want to marry now. Then he suddenly pulls her head down near his lap. O__o
She’s confused and concerned and asks what’s going on? He says that her father just came out. He sees her father with the dog in the side mirror. She’s panicky and says don’t let him see her, or else she’ll be dead. And then he puts his jacket over her head to cover her with it. LOL! If he did find them in this position, this could be much worse. XD
Han then says he’ll create a diversion and tells her to sneak back in if she doesn’t hear any sound. Han gets out and acts like he’s on a call as her father walks by. Her father notices him and asks why he’s there so early. Han says he happened to pass by and dropped by. Her father asks him if it’s because he still can’t forget Nian Nian? Han tells him to not misunderstand as he was really passing by. He goes on to say that he thought of himself sending Nian Nian back and felt nostalgic. (Hehe, I’ve been waiting to hear him call her this!) He goes on to say that his feeling for Nian Nian is deeper than what her father may think. Her father replies that the two of them didn’t interact for a long time, and after some time, he will certainly forget her. Her father admits that when they were in their hometown with his grandpa, he saw it - that he really likes his daughter. Han walks a bit away from the car so her father and the dog go with him. At this point, Han starts looking at her from the side and points with his eyes for her to get moving. He puts his arm on her father’s shoulder so he can’t look over as Tong Nian gets out of the car and sneaks past behind the car. Her father’s going on about their breakup and that he needs to understand his priority as her father as he saw how much she cried. As she runs out from behind the car, Han goes to hug her father and pats him on the back, and he waves at her to go inside. The hug ends and her father asks what’s wrong with his hand as it keeps moving. lol He says it’s from playing on the computer, and her father says that playing the computer hurts the body, especially the eyes and he needs to change this. Han says that he feels better and thanks him for his guidance. They’re interrupted by Han’s phone, so Han answers the call and gets into his car. Finally her father leaves with the dog. He collapses in relief in the car when everyone goes their merry little way.
Tong Nian is trying to sneak back upstairs to her room but her mother hears her, so Tong Nian acts like she is just walking down the stairs now. Her mother asks if she’s going out this early, and Tong Nian says that she just woke up. Her mother points out that she’s wearing her sneakers. She says that she wants to accompany her father on the dog walk. Her mother says that he’s already left with the dog. Her mother asks her what’s wrong as she normally sleeps in until the afternoon. Tong Nian claims that she will sleep early and wake early, and will be a diligent and good person. Her mother comments that she’s being strange but she drops it. I’ll be so happy when they can stop sneaking around.
Tong Nian ends up falling asleep on the couch. Ha. So much for what she told her mother. Her father gets back and tells her mother about seeing Han today. He then asks her why they broke up. She tells him that she’ll tell him but he can’t ask Tong Nian about it. She only says that it was Han’s fault. Her father says that when he was talking to him earlier, he thinks he’s more mature than he had originally thought and he thinks that Han cannot let go of her. Her father thinks they still have a chance but her mother asks if Zheng Hui isn't a better fit and then shoves him out of the kitchen.
Later, Tong Nian is eating breakfast by herself and thinking about her morning with Han and giggling to herself. But her father is on the couch and notices her happy mood. She drops her smile when her mother walks in. Her father is prodded by her mother to ask her what’s wrong and she starts acting pitifully sad in front of him down to the fake crying, so he tells her it will pass and quickly leaves her alone. Then she starts laughing quietly. Haha.
[Ep32] Han misses Buff at the hotel, so he looks for him at the train station, which is a large place to cover alone. Han starts yelling his name, Bi Dong Ran and Buff responds from the food court area. Han asks if he still wants to play. Buff knows that he’s there to hire him, so he asks why. Han answers it’s because of his ranking. Han then asks if he’s thought about his salary requirement. Buff asks what he thinks he’s worth. Han says the title of the leader of the national champion team sounds good but it’s worthless, as he’s older and would have to retire in two years. Buff agrees and asks why he wants to hire him - then asks if he’s being hired for the main team. Han says that’s what he’s hiring him for but he has to start as a substitute first. He can’t play the national game as he needs a running-in period with other players. Han says that the running-in between him and the other players and his personal status will determine if he can join competitions. Han’s plan is to let him join the team after the national championship, and then play for the Asian Cup. Han says it will all depend on him. Buff promises to not let his ranking go down, and Han needs to put him in the main team. Buff is worried his switching teams would affect the morale of the team so Han says that he can sign the contract now, doesn’t need to appear at the club for the time being, and after the national finals, then he’ll have a meeting with the boys. The boys will only care about the results at that point. Buff says this was an unexpected twist - as the person who saves Han in the end is going to be him. Han tells him to stop trying to ingratiate himself and it’s just because of his good ranking. Han cautions him to not lose his edge in the next two months or else the contract will be canceled. Han returns his pass to him.
Xiao Mi allows Buff to stay at his place, as it’d be a waste to let it stay empty right now as he’s already paid for the rent and internet.
Tong Nian tells Ya Ya about her conversation with Han - that he said he wanted to get married. (That's not exactly what he said...) Ya Ya and Chun Chun are both shocked that they're getting married. Ya Ya says they've only kissed each other and now she wants to get married. Tong Nian says it's fine if they get married, as she doesn't want them to break up. And if they don't break up, they'd get married anyway. Ya Ya points out his faults: he only focuses on games (Tong Nian doesn't mind); he's ten years her senior; and notoriously well known for his bad temper. Tong Nian says that a man with no career is incorrigible. Although he’s older than her, they have no communication barriers. Ya Ya exchanges looks of concern with Chun Chun when Tong Nian turns her back on them for a second. Tong Nian continues listing his good traits. They also don’t know how good his temper is. He’s a nice man, can cook, loves exercising, and in fact, they’ve misunderstood him. Most of the time, he’s very gentle. Ya Ya asks if she’s sure that she’s talking about him. Tong Nian says yes, it’s him. Ya Ya finally says that she's blinded by love.
At the same time, Han is asking Xiao Mi his opinion on marrying Tong Nian. Xiao Mi shouts out that they're getting married, and 9-7 overhears this. Xiao Mi tells him that except for his good looks, he's not good husband material. 9-7 asks if he's getting married. Han puts 9-7 in a headlock and tells him to not have loose lips. Xiao Mi takes Han away and 9-7 quickly tells the boys that lao da is getting married.
However, Tong Nian is worried about getting her parents’ consent, especially with her mother’s great dislike for him. Ya Ya tells her to let him visit her parents more, and Tong Nian explains that they don’t know that they’ve reconciled. Ya Ya says that she should inform them, and Tong Nian says she wouldn’t dare as she’s afraid that her parents will lecture him, and she doesn’t have him to be scolded, wronged again and misunderstood. She also doesn’t want Han to know how much her mother criticizes him (he knows already). Ya Ya says then she should leave it alone for now and they should help Xiao Mi ge with cleaning first and then she practically skips away. lol
Ya Ya is over at Xiao Mi’s place and explains to Xiao Mi and Buff that she’s been cleaning the place. Then she also tells them that Tong Nian is at the store picking up food and drinks. Xiao Mi explains that three months’ rent has already been paid for. Ya Ya then says that the bathroom is clean and they’ve stocked it with toiletries. Xiao Mi tells her to stop doing things and he’ll take care of it himself. Buff then asks him if this is his wife and she’s so nice. Awkward pause. He says that she’s not his wife, and she says that he’s not her husband. Buff then says that he’ll prepare a wedding present then. Ya Ya explains that she’s the classmate and best friend of Han’s girlfriend. Buff comments that the two of them have a good relationship. Xiao Mi says that they’re helping each other. Suuuure. lol Another awkward pause. Ya Ya tells them that she needs to go find Tong Nian and leaves the apartment. Buff asks him if she likes him. Xiao Mi denies it and tells him to take a tour of the bedroom.
Outside with the groceries, Tong Nian and Han are sitting in the trunk of his car. She suggests that they bring everything up, and he moves her into the shade and tells her that he’ll take care of everything and to enjoy her ice cream. Ya Ya comes down and the girls offer to help him but he insists that he’ll take care of everything.
The five of them celebrate the addition of Buff to the club. A now very drunk Buff falls out of his chair as he’s thanking Han. Then he tells him that it's a shame that he retired so early. He should have at least retired when he won the world championship. He goes on to say that if he hadn't retired, the world champion would have been a Chinese team back then. Han doesn't say anything in response. Buff thanks him for saving his life.
Afterwards, Tong Nian drives Han’s car back to but she seems quite nervous and almost gets them in an accident by attempting to pull out onto the road without looking. He pulls out his phone and she asks who he is calling and he says the police. Ha. Then he amends it to calling for a designated driver. She protests and says that she said she could drive them. She blames him for talking to her and distracting her. So he hangs up the phone and tells her to go ahead and drive, and he's putting his life in her hands. (Honestly, if I were scared to drive, I'd rather not risk it, and let someone else drive. Safety >> pride!) She manages to pull out the second time without incident but she drives very slowly which angers the other drivers on the road. Han grabs onto whatever he can to hang on to in case something does happen. She tries to reverse park the car but she's having issues. He's trying to guide her but she's getting frustrated. He gets Grunt to come park the car for them. Grunt complains that he was on a video chat with his girlfriend. Han explains that he’s too drunk to be driving, and Grunt finally goes to park the car. (To be fair, reverse parking a car of that size is not easy on the first nor third attempt. At the same time, I know if she had lined up using the mirrors, she would’ve easily parked it as the lot was virtually empty. lol)
Tong Nian is watching Grunt park the car and laughs suddenly. Han asks what she's laughing at and she says nothing. But she's remembering when Han questioned them about their relationship in his hotel room (Ep3). With a smirk, Han asks if she’s remembering the last time Grunt had the stomach cramps? She denies it and he asks if she's playing dumb. She says that it's been a long time and it's so embarrassing and asks him to not mention it.
He drops the topic and smiles at her. Grunt finishes parking the car and hands him the key. Before he leaves, Grunt tells him that he heard that he was getting married. Han and Tong Nian look at each other in surprise. Han asks him who told him - was it 9-7? Grunt tells him to not be shy as getting married is a happy event. Han pushes Grunt to move along and tells him to get Tong Nian a ride. Tong Nian asks if he's made up his mind about getting married. He looks at her and says if she's in a hurry, then they'll get it done quickly. She says that she's not in a hurry at all. He says then they'll wait until after the finals and let him think about how to handle her parents. She agrees that it's hard to deal with her parents. They get inside the club and One's mother greets him. He asks why she's still there. She says that she's been waiting for him - to offer her assistance with the wedding. Han laughs uncomfortably and takes Tong Nian with him and tells her that they'll talk another time.
Back in his room, they wait for her ride to get there. Tong Nian is thinking about several things: If he’ll have money for the wedding, all of the constant pressure he faces, and gaining her parents' consent. She asks him since they think they will get married, if they will? He says that they're depressed from training and if there's any gossip, they will spread it immediately and not take it to heart. She says oh, so they were the ones who said this and not him. She then tells him that she's not affected by what they say, as she only cares about what he thinks. Grunt knocks on the door tell them that it's too late to get a ride and then he offers to drive da sao back. Han says that it's okay and he'll book one later. As it turns out, Grunt lied, as he’s out there gleefully high-fiving the boys. Why though?
Inside the room, Tong Nian mentions that she knows he's short on money, and is worried about them getting married right now as it's money-consuming, and he has some much on his plate already. He takes this to mean that she's implying that since he doesn't have any money, he can't take care of her. She explains that she doesn't want to pressure him, or to hide anything or force anything upon himself. He asks if she has anything to tell him. She says she doesn’t. Then he brings up that she didn’t tell him about Zheng Hui living at her house. She says that she was afraid that he'd get worried and angry after she told him. He says then she doesn't know him too well. She replies that he doesn't know her too well either. She brings up when she was visiting his grandfather last time, she ate the mangoes but she has a mango allergy. He asks her why she forced herself. She replies because he cut it for her and she was happy as she ate them. She wasn't expecting an allergic reaction. (Errr, but she knew she was allergic?! *scratches head at this “logic”*)
He says that she asked for them to be honest with each other but how would he know that she can’t eat them if she doesn’t tell him? She admits that it was her fault but then she says as a girl, he shouldn't expect her to tell him everything. This leads her to say if he really loves her, then he would observe her and then he'd understand her. And if he understood her, then he'd know she was allergic to mangoes. He looks at her in consternation. I am, too. She goes on to say that she likes strawberries and doesn't care if he has money. She only cares if she's a part of his future. She says that she likes the time they share with each other and she doesn't like him to have worries. He tells her to stop as this is going to be endless, and says let's calm down. FYI, two words no angry woman wants to hear: calm down. And then he leaves in frustration.
Han is outside breathing pretty heavily as he’s trying to process his anger and their conversation. She wants to go after him but she decides to stay in the room to give him time to calm down. Grunt finds him and asks him if da sao has gotten back safely and Han looks over at his door and tells him that he thinks so. Grunt then says that he's going out and Han doesn't say anything. Grunt thinks he’s being weird but he quickly walks away. Han then considers going back to the room but he chooses to go somewhere else.
Later, a calmer Han returns and sees that Tong Nian has fallen asleep on his bed. However, she's sleeping across (horizontally) the bed, so he puts a pillow under her head and pulls the comforter over her. And he sleeps sitting on the floor and leaning up against the bed, sharing the pillow with her. Awww.
When he wakes up in the morning, he notices her still sleeping, so he adjusts her hair and gives her a light kiss before leaving. On his way out, he runs into Grunt and asks him for advice on what to buy to coax a girl. Grunt says buy lipstick if he has the money, or else, buy food. It depends on how the budget. (I'm all for food. Ha!) Han doesn't say anything but Grunt realizes it's for da sao and suggests buying her food. He suggests puff, strawberry cake, chocolate and such. (He's quite cute here, as I usually find him to be too much of an agitator. lol) Han walks off.
While he’s gone, Tong Nian wakes up in a panic. LOL, her expression here - who wakes up like that?! She peels off the comforter and calls his name a couple of times. She thinks that he didn't come back last night. Now she's brushing her teeth (and where did she get a toothbrush? lol) and worried that he's not replying to her message either.
Han is grabbing boxes of strawberries and then asks the lady at the bakery about their strawberry cake. She says that they're out of strawberry cake but they have the mango cake. Haha, of course! He says that it's still early so why don't they make more. She apologizes and asks if he'd like to come back tomorrow, and then suggests looking at their chocolate cake. He just leaves with his boxes of strawberries.
Later he returns to K&K Club with the strawberry boxes and a few bags of food. He hurries to his room and finds a smiling Tong Nian waiting for him. He puts all of the food down and calmly apologizes for losing his temper and losing control of his emotions. She just smiles at him, so he asks if she's no longer angry with him. She smiles and shakes her head. She seems to have forgiven him. He sits down next to her and seriously tells her that he'll try to change and not repeat the same mistake.
She nods and then she puts her arms around his neck and pushes him back into the arm of the couch. Now she’s draped over him, but he keeps his hands raised so he’s not touching her. His hands just stay in that general position. lol She says okay and he goes on to say that he's not good at coaxing girls. He explains that Solo would buy snacks for his girlfriend when he had money. He goes on to say that he thinks a girl like her likes snacks, too. She appears to be looking at his lips as he's talking. He goes on about buying her strawberries, strawberry cake, and strawberry macaron. He says she can give him a list and he'll buy it accordingly. With her head tilted, she says that she wants to eat it now, as she continues staring at his lips. He looks over at the stuff and then back at her and says that he'll go get it for her.
[Ep33] When Han moves to get up, Tong Nian just pushes him back down.
Then she grabs his lips and presses them together like it's a sandwich and then she bites on his lips and releases them. (~2:13, LOL!!!) He looks at her incredulously and asks what she’s doing. She pokes at his lips and says it’s a strawberry and that she’s eating one. LOL (I knew she was looking at his lips too closely!) She then keeps strumming at his lips with her finger, and he sniffs at her mouth and asks if she’s had any alcohol. She looks coyly at him and then pulls out the empty bottle from the couch. HAHA. She stands up with it and says that she drank the entire bottle. She asks him if she’s amazing and stands the bottle on her head. It appears that while he was gone, she had found his alcohol stash and decided to drink the entire bottle. lol He asks her who let her dri -- and she interrupts to say that he can't talk, and needs to answer her one question.
She drunkenly asks if she's really his first girlfriend. He says yes, and then she just jumps right onto his lap. He groans in pain, as she tells him he's hers, and then gives him a little peck on the lips. He tells her to cut it out. She then puts her hands on the side of his head and asks him if he knows that she likes him very much and if he knows how cute he is. Then she continues playing with his lips and cheeks and says why is he so cute, piglet. She likes him so much that she wishes to be with all the time and gives a small peck on his lips. She likes to see him lose his temper - another peck. She likes to see his serious look - another peck. And then she mashes his face between her hands, and then starts shaking his head as she says in short, she likes him very much. He begs her to stop it, but she appears to have passed out on him. lol
He says her name twice and she suddenly jerks awake again and squeezes his face and says that she really likes him, and then she falls back to sleep muttering about how he's so cute. XD!!! His poor face. He really starts whimpering from this. Haha.
Han manages to sneak out of his room, looking and sounding relieved. However, the boys (and One’s mother) are all watching him from downstairs and they’re all giggling.
9-7 says they're ordering delivery food and asks if he wants one. He says no. 9-7 then asks about da sao. He says no need as she's asleep. They all gasp and turn around to gossip. lol He then tells them to wait, and says to order one. They all start laughing and 9-7 says "No problem. Lao da, you've worked hard", and puts his arms into a heart shape. Haha. Everyone starts guffawing at this. Where’s Demo?
Zheng Hui and his mother are at Tong Nian's house, and they've brought gifts. It's nearly 5:30 in the afternoon, and Tong Nian's father asks if they're hungry. Zheng Hui says he's hungry and she says she's fine. Zheng Hui's mother says they'll leave. He tells them to stay for dinner. He then goes into the kitchen where Tong Nian's mother has been unsuccessfully trying to reach her. So she calls Lan Mei, who's on a date with her husband, and says she's not with her. They hang up and Lan Mei wonders if she's with her husband's ouxiang. So she calls Han, who is sitting down for a meal with the boys and not actually eating and seems to be in a daze. Lan Mei asks him if Tong Nian is with him. He tells her that she drank too much last evening and she's still asleep. The boys are now quite fascinated by his conversation. Lan Mei tells him that her mother is looking for her, and tells him to not let her answer the phone. The call ends and the boys are all waiting with bated breath. But they all look down and away when he stands up. He then hears her phone ringing and runs to his room and yells at her to not answer the phone. But it's too late, she sits up to answer it. He's unable to stop her and ends up falling onto the bed, and then she lays back down onto him as she's answering the call. Her mother asks where she is and Tong Nian drunkenly/sleepily says that she's at Han Shang Yan's place and he's right next to her. Her mother is appalled that she's sleeping there with him and asks if it's appropriate. Look at Han’s face - the look of a man who knows he’s royally screwed. lol
Tong Nian replies that she's so sleepy, that she'll sleep longer and drops back to sleep with the phone in her hand. Her mother is still on the line, so Han quickly grabs the phone and says that she isn't feeling well and is resting here. He then says that he'll take her back and go with her to explain it to her personally. He then says goodbye quickly and hangs up the call. He looks around like a trapped animal here. (Well, he is still stuck under Tong Nian. lol) Now Tong Nian turns in her sleep and hugs him. Tong Nian's father asks where she's sleeping and her mother angrily says it's Han Shang Yan. Her father wonders if she changed her mind. Her mother says no, she was beguiled. She repeats what Han told her. Her father says he's very spoony for her, and says that thinking about it now, it's good. At least he loves her wholeheartedly. Dad gets it. Her mother asks what's with him - his daughter is sleeping at some guy's place and he's not worried? He says he is worried and says that they have guests. She tries to get him to leave immediately and bring back their daughter. He asks her what’s wrong with her but he tells her that Tong Nian is no longer a child; she’s an adult. He asks her to consider her feelings.
He explains to her that he's talked to Han before and thinks that he knows his place and won't cross the line. Dad knows. Her mother starts going on and on about Zheng Hui and why won't she fall in love with him. Because that's not how the heart works. Her father mentions that Han is good with the elderly, and her mother says why does it sound like he's changed sides. She asks whose side is he on. He says he's on her side but he's stating his opinion. He then puts his arms around her and says that she's the boss and he'll listen to her. Haha. She's not having it. He reminds her that they need to tend to the guests. Don’t get me wrong, I understand Mom’s concerns but I don’t know why she won’t even let her own daughter decide for herself.
Tong Nian wakes up finally. Han, who is sitting in a chair next to the bed and playing on his Gameboy Pocket, very calmly informs her that her mother has called her 47 times. She sits up and starts screaming at this. LOL I’m never ever going to forget Yang Zi in this. He explains that he didn't pick up the calls but she did. She screams again and asks where her phone is.
He calmly hands her the phone and she looks at it. He asks her if she knows what she said to her mother. She asks what she said and if she said anything inappropriate. He pretends to contemplate this for a second and nods. He tells her "You said that you were sleeping here...and Han Shang Yan was next to you." She starts to scream even louder at this. He flinches from the noise disturbance. She starts yelling about how she could say such a thing. He, again, calmly tells her to hurry and wash up. He'll be accompanying her home. She asks why he would accompany her.
He finally looks at her and says, "Your mother was going crazy and wanted to kill me. I have to explain it to her." She realizes how screwed she is. She starts pulling on her hair, and saying that she's so screwed. She finally gets out of the bed to get ready.
She is now looking at the assortment of strawberry cake slices, strawberry macarons and fresh strawberries on his desk. She then peeks over at him as he's getting dressed. He's buttoning up a dress shirt. He asks what she's looking at. She says that he looks quite handsome in a suit. Han in white makes me stare, too. Then she asks why he's wearing a suit. He won't give her the reason but asks if she's hungry. She says no. So he tells her that they need to deal with her parents first. They arrive outside her parents' house and she helps him put on his necktie and straightens his collar. She asks him why he doesn't just stay outside. She tells him that she's worried about him getting scolded by her mother. He asks if she knows that she made a mistake. She says it wasn't intentional. He teases her and says he thinks it was, and then says, don't be afraid. They go in to see her parents. Her mother pulls her to the side and starts asking why she's at his place, didn't they break up and what's going on? Her father tells her to go upstairs, and urges her twice to do so. She is worried about Han, so she refuses to go upstairs and instead plops down onto a chair and says that she won't say or do anything and asks to sit there and listen.
Han apologizes to her parents, and says to let him explain it first. He says that two years ago he founded K&K Club, and he met Tong Nian for the first time at an exhibition. She looks at him and thinks, didn't they meet before the new year and she pursued him? He goes on to say that he thought they'd never meet again. However, this year when he led the team to a competition, she happened to be a participant of an event. So they knew each other formally and he was particularly excited. He goes on to say that he, a man in his thirties, acted like a young man. Tong Nian thinks to herself that she was the excited one and he ignored her. He goes on to say that in the beginning, it was hard for Nian Nian to accept his age, as he's so much older than her. I love hearing him call her Nian Nian. Because it shows how much closer they are now.
He mentions the incident at the new year's dinner and apologizes for it now. He says that he felt guilty for hiding anything. As Nian Nian wasn't willing to accept his status, he didn't dare to visit them without her permission. She's wondering what he is talking about. He's throwing himself under the bus so she doesn't get into more trouble with her parents. He goes on to say that as a man, he thinks the most important thing is career - first career, then family. But since he's met Nian Nian, he shakes his head and says, all these no longer matter, and he's looking right at her as he's saying this. She just looks at him. He continues saying that she had asked for a breakup right after they'd reconciled. He says that the bottom of his world fell out and he came back, which led to what happened today.
He says that he brought her to the club and asked her if she couldn't accept his tight schedule, he'd give up all his shares and switch his career. Then he pulls her up from her chair, and lays it on thick, "For your sake, I'm willing to give up K&K club which I founded. Nian Nian is young. To her, I may just be part of her relationship. But to me, she's become a part of my life. So I ventured to bring her here today...and visit you as I hope that you can give me a chance. If Nian Nian really wants to break up with me,... I'll leave immediately. If she's willing to be with me, I hope that you can hand her to me with peace of mind and let me take good care of her for a lifetime." Methinks that this last part is the real truth.
Her father moves closer to her mother to say quietly that it's actually hard for him. Meanwhile, Tong Nian is looking at him with questions in her eyes, and Han just gives her his customary half-smirk. Her mother won't budge but her father says he's charismatic. Her father finally says, although they don't quite understand how playing the computer can be a career, he's heard that his career is developing well. Tong Nian nods vigorously at this. He understands that as it's an emerging industry, Han has to invest more time and effort than other industries. He says he has one question - where will the focus of his future career development be, as he knows that the headquarters is in Norway. Han says he'll be in China, and he'll be in China most of the time. Her father feels reassured by this. Her mother interjects and says that they still haven't explained why Tong Nian slept at his place. He tells them that he's sincere towards Nian Nian, and before gaining their permission, he won't do anything untoward to her. Her mother counters that she doesn't care if he's sincere, as she wasn't this way before and since she's known him, she plays on the computer and tags along with him all the time. (Uhm, she's a programming student - why wouldn't she be on the computer anyway?!) Her mother sends her to her room, and forces her to go upstairs with her. She then scolds her for staying at some man's place before she's even married and finally leaves to go into her room next door.
Downstairs, her father tells him that her mother has never been this harsh or had this attitude towards her. He suggests that he go upstairs and comfort her. Han looks at him and her father tells him to go ahead. I think Dad really does like him.
Han goes upstairs and knocks on her door. She's surprised to see Han. He explains that her father told him to come upstairs and comfort her. She tells him to come in. He tells her this is inappropriate. She tells him to come in before her mother hears him as she's in the room next door. She drags him in and closes the door. She asked how he knew this was her room. (Ah, maybe because he’d see it from outside, that night in the tree, and was able to figure out which room was hers?) He asks her if this decoration style hurts her eyes. lol It's a lot of girly stuff and quite pink. She says no, then she sits down and tells him to sit down. He says that her mother seems to disapprove of him. She denies it and says that her mother just has high expectations for her. She asks him about what he said downstairs - meeting her two years ago (lie), love at first sight in Guangzhou (lie), the new year's dinner incident (lie). He says it was a special case - and if he didn't acknowledge their relationship from what Wu Bai had said, then he would've been misunderstood as a man, who ditched a girl after playing her. And her parents were less likely to let him off. (Ah, so that's why he agreed to their fake relationship in Ep7.) She gets up and walks right up to him and says that she has one more important question to ask him. He asks if it's about his promise of being responsible to her. She nods. He pulls her into a hug and he's remembering the first time she was drunk and hugging him with the bracelet in her hand and then passed out.
Han's inner thoughts at that time (Ep12): You know what? In fact, what I wanted to say at that time was...Tong Nian, I think I've started falling for you. And then he rubbed her head. Awww, he really had started falling for her then. So this explains the antique necklace and what he tells Lan Mei and her husband later. (And the mess thereafter.) Gaaahh, the truth is much too sweet!
HSY: All the auras are fake. Besides you, this man named Han Shang Yan has nothing. I have nothing and am alone. Only this is true. She smiles and hugs him back.
Their hug ends and he asks if she believed it. She nods.
HSY: A child as stupid as you is rare.
TN: Who says? My IQ score is 140.
HSY: Yes, you're the smartest one.
TN: Of course. He’s looking at her quite seriously.
HSY: I never lie about...my love for you. She smiles and nods.
He then says that it's his first time in her bedroom, and he shouldn't stay too long. Otherwise, her parents will be mad at him again. She won't let go of his arm. He asks if she's reluctant to part with him. She nods. He tells her that they can have a video call after he goes back, but he needs to take a shower first. She says, then go ahead, and he smiles at her and bops her on the nose and says bye before leaving her room. His dress shoes make loud clicking sounds on the hardwood floors so she puts a finger to her lips to get him to move quietly. He walks out quietly and she runs over to an open window to wave at him.
Back at K&K Club, Han is looking at his collection of strawberry desserts. He eats one of the slices of cake and then calls his stepmother. She's cooking but is happy to answer his call. She then gives him a guilt trip about not calling her unless it's for the holidays. He asks if they can be serious. He asks her for a favor - to come back and meet the parents. He asks if she remembers the drawing of the girl he gave her. She does. She asks if he got her back. He says yes. Now she's excited about him getting married so she can have a grandchild. She starts counting the months as to when she needs to get the baby stuff. lol He asks if she can meet her parents first. Haha. She says absolutely. She asks what the girl likes and he says she's already given her a gift - the only thing is, he paid for it. LOL! And then he hangs up on her. She's left wondering what gift he's referring to.
Han brings some of the desserts to Xiao Mi and talks to him about getting married. Xiao Mi says that the girl gets the short end of the stick if they really get married. Han asks why. He says that except for going to Sanya, have they done anything together - such as going to the movies, holding hands and watching the sunrise together, going to the library to whisper at each other, or anything else at university. He continues that this is the sorrow of having an old boyfriend, especially with his personality. Hehe. Han pulls out his phone and asks what her plans are for tomorrow. She says that she’s proctoring an exam He just says got it and to do well. Xiao Mi looks over curiously but Han only tells him to eat all of the desserts before leaving.
The next day, Tong Nian rides her bike to class but when she goes to park her bike, she accidentally knocks over the guy and his bike next to her trying to park his bike. The guy starts yelling at her and is angry about his bike. Han shows up and de-escalates the situation by telling the guy to pick up his bike and get to class, and if it’s not able to be repairable, then he’d compensate him. Tong Nian is happy to see him and asks him why he’s there. He asks why he can't be at her school. She notices the time, and then the bell rings and she realizes that she’s late. Hehe, he definitely distracted her. She runs off to her class and asks him to grab her bag.
He stands outside the classroom to peek at her and dangles her bag from the doorway to get her attention. She gets the bag from him and tells him that she needs to be in there for 60 minutes so he can hang out somewhere. He’s wearing his usual black clothing but with a white shirt - and he looks good. :D
Later when she looks out the window, she sees Han standing there holding a bouquet of purple flowers that appears to have been picked by him. She smiles at him, waves and then giggles. After the exam, two students walk past Han who is waiting with the flowers. The girls ask him which department he’s in. He says that he’s with their proctor. They ask if they can be friends on WeChat, and at this point, Tong Nian pops out her head and tells the girls to leave if they’ve finished their exam. Ha. The girls leave and Han laughs. He continues waiting for her and when she reappears, he hands her the flowers. Not romantic, but he's trying so hard here.
Tong Nian is having a meeting with her professor and other proctors, so Han is allowed to enter the lecture room with her. Her classmates notice that Han is there with her and they want to take pictures of them to shatter the class monitor’s heart and Zheng Hui’s. Everyone knows about how Zheng Hui feels, except her. He sits down with her and she asks why he’s there. He looks at her, grabs her hand and places it on his leg, and covers her hand with his. Then he asks if he can’t come to her for no reason? She says of course he can. Ya Ya comes running in and tells her that she’s here, and runs past them, and then turns back and notices Han is there. Hehe. The professor shows up and scolds Ya Ya for being late and then he asks for everyone’s papers (exams).
Tong Nian turns to Han and tells him to say that he’s her brother and he’s there to pick her up. She changes her mind and says just make up a reason for his presence. She gets up to hand in her paper and goes back to her seat. The professor notices Han and asks who he is, why he’s here, and if he came to the wrong classroom. Tong Nian looks worried now.
[Ep34] Han replies that he’s attracted by the university’s reputation. The professor loudly says that he should be visiting the campus then and asks why he’s here as all these students are proctors. Then he asks if he has a friend. Poor Tong Nian’s face belies her anxiety over this. Han says of course, and the professor points to the students and asks who his friend is, and everyone, including Tong Nian, shakes their head. Han looks at Tong Nian who is still shaking her head vigorously, and the professor asks if it’s his girlfriend. Han confirms it and Tong Nian just looks at him with surprise. The professor then asks if he’s taking her out to the movies. Han shakes his head and says that it’s been many years since he’s seen a movie. The other students are surprised that she’s with someone so monotonous. She scrunches her face at them. lol The professor asks if she didn’t protest as it’s so boring to date a person like him. Han says no, she didn’t, and then puts his arm around her and pulls her close and says that she’s a good girl. The professor smiles, and the other students talk about how pitiful Tong Nian is, wondering if he’ll break up with her. She looks at Han, who smiles at her but then drops the smile, and just taps his fingers on her shoulder. The other students say that Tong Nian is silly in everything except in studies, and asks the professor what will happen if they break up. The professor then points to Han and says he’s still the same. Han gets up and tells him he’s the same, as he still likes to make jokes. The two men laugh, and the professor introduces him to the students now as his junior as they know each other from the industrial design program when they attended at the same time. The professor dismisses everyone, and Han sits back down next to Tong Nian. They’re both smiling now.
Her professor tells Han that they only talked briefly on the phone yesterday, and mentions wanting to talk to him about his business - CTF. He suggests going to his office, and Han says not today. The professor understands and leaves them be.
Han notices her handwriting on the chalkboard and comments that she has nice penmanship. She asks to see his handwriting so he writes her name on the left-hand side of her original text, and then he writes his name on the right-hand side. She asks him what he’s doing, and then with pink chalk, he draws a heart in the middle, in between their names. Awww. She laughs and he says let’s go. They leave but she runs back to clean the chalkboard as she doesn’t want other students to see it. She runs back out to him and Zheng Hui appears and says that he’s finally found her.
Zheng Hui says that he has something to tell her, and has brought her a present. She thanks him but she asks why he’s brought her a present. He sees Han and asks to speak to her in private, but she tells him to speak freely and they’re in a hurry. He starts to confess and Han pulls him aside and tells Tong Nian to go and he'd meet her later. She leaves and Han tells him that he’s already tried three times to steal his girlfriend. It finally dawns on Zheng Hui that they’re together. Han goes on to say that she’ll be his wife soon, and if he tries again, he’ll deal with him. Han then pats him on the shoulder and goes to leave.
Zheng Hui mutters that he didn’t know. Han says well, now he knows and turns to leave, but Zheng Hui stops him. He asks how much older he is than her, does he know what she likes, and points out that he and Tong Nian have good academic performance together. They also share the same hobbies and are of the same world. He also says that loving someone is different from keeping a pet. Oof. He declares that unless Tong Nian explicitly rejects him, he’s not giving up, and then he walks away from Han. He found his backbone but is he going to find the courage to actually confess to her?
Tong Nian and Han are walking around campus, and she asks him how he knows her professor. He says that he’s a nice person. She asks him if she knows that his nickname is the Great Devil and he fails many students. He says that he’s an interesting person, as he taught English for forty years but then he went to get his master’s in industrial design, She points out that he’s teaching English literature so why would he study industrial design. Han says that studying can be a pastime for some, and that “it’s senseless if everything you do needs to have a purpose.” (I recall seeing this sentiment on One’s jacket a few eps back.) Han then asks her why he’s bad at dating. She replies that she’s never dated anyone before and doesn’t have any experience, so she doesn’t know either. So they’re both new at this, and they can learn together. He asks her if he looks fierce and hard to get along with when he always keeps a straight face. She says of course not as she knows it’s a pretense as he needs to do so to lead a group of boys. She then tells him that they’re not afraid of him. So he asks if he should look fiercer then? She laughs and says she finds him to be even cuter when he’s fiercer and then rubs his hair. I totally get it. lol
She asks why he’s there today and he says that he’s there to see her. He tells her what Xiao Mi said and he thought that it made sense so he came to keep her company. But he said before that he has no time for dating. She takes him to the cafeteria and tells him that she always wanted her boyfriend to wait in the hot pot line for her. He tells her to grab a seat as he waits in the long line. Later he sits down to eat and she waits with bated breath for his opinion on the food, and he says that it’s better than the club’s boxed lunch. He tells her that their global group final is being held in Norway and he wants to bring her. She happily nods and he tells her to get her visa ready. They’re eating and he has a speck of food on his lip, so she reaches into her bag to pull out a tissue for him and he pulls out his tissue to wipe her mouth, too. Aww. Tong Nian thinks to herself that she has faith that Han will lead K&K into the national finals.
The national final is quickly approaching and the boys are training hard, and she’s there alongside them. (Ah, I see Demo here!) Tong Nian tries to get Han to eat but he refuses to eat as he’s too involved with work. So she feeds him the food, and eventually he decides to feed himself. But he then goes back to watching the videos and stops eating again. So she takes over again. She stands behind him and feeds him. LOL (~20:10) Wonder how much of a mess is on his lap (from the dropped food). So cute.
Han Jia Jia is in Shanghai. Han tells her that Tong Nian’s parents don’t like him very much and she’s surprised that they don’t like her impressive son. He explains that they’ve had an unhappy period but won’t elaborate on it. They’ve known each other for less than 200 days and it’s only a few days that they’re really together. She asks if she’s graduating soon and he says that he’s not sure. She asks if she’s really his girlfriend. Then she asks if he knows how to sacrifice for someone. If he really loves her, then he has to sacrifice for her. It’s only love when he sacrifices for her. Han calls Tong Nian and asks what she’s planning to do after graduation. She said that she wanted a job but her advisor insisted that she stay to complete her PhD, so she’s starting that program next year. He admits that his stepmother is here and tells her to not panic. He says that they’ll visit her parents tonight, and she says she’ll try to make it. They hang up and he tells his stepmother about Tong Nian’s plans. She says no wonder they don’t like him - he’ll lower the IQ level of the family. LOL!!! She’s busting his chops. She then makes him change into something more formal.
Han and his stepmother meet with Tong Nian’s parents at a restaurant. Tong Nian is stuck in a taxi cab sitting in traffic and worried about Han’s meeting with her parents. She has a conversation with the driver who explains that his wife’s parents didn’t like him either but he won them over by showing up and doing all of the chores, including grocery shopping, plumbing work and cleaning. His wife didn’t do housework so then they knew he’d take care of her. She explains that he doesn’t let her do any chores, not even to wash a cup. The driver tells her that such a man is rare, and when there’s less traffic, he’ll find a shortcut to get her there.
Han Jia Jia tells her parents that Han has lived in Shanghai on his own, since he was 19 years old. She had expected him to need money and return home but he didn’t return, not even after a year had gone by. So she got on a flight to Shanghai and saw what he was doing. She says that once they get to know Han better, they’ll know that he’s a good kid. She also says that she knows that she’s not his biological mother but she acknowledges him as her only son.
Flashback: Han Jia Jia is at Team Solo’s house and banging on the door shouting for Han, and she knows that he’s inside. He’s walking on the rooftop and she spots him and tells him to come down. She wants to take him home. And he’s used the funds that were set up by his late father. She asks him if he plans to play like this for the rest of his life, and he says that this is not playing - this is a project of technology and wisdom. And he believes that China has just gotten started and they will be at the top one day. Wang Hao’s (Solo) mother shows up and tells them to stop arguing outside, and she’ll show her a video of them winning a competition. She tells her that if she doesn’t like it after watching it, then she’ll help her drive Han back to Norway.
She says that after watching the video, she understood that it’s never easy to be crowned as a champion, and these kids had gritted their teeth and had tough training, and swallowed their bitterness. She tells Tong Nian’s parents that he’s had to bear this since childhood and he endures all the hardships alone without sharing it with anyone. She goes on to say that no one is perfect but Han is a good kid. She recalls that he took on the expenses of the entire team for 2.5 years and he’s still running this club. And even though he’s losing money, he insists on running the club. He had told her before that it was for his personal dream but now it’s a dream of more people. She says as a mother, she thinks he’s great. She then apologizes for monopolizing the conversation, and for going on and on about her son. Her father says that they are talking casually and this is how parents talk about their children. Han receives a call from Tong Nian but declines the call.
His stepmother asks if they can get engaged as soon as possible. Her parents are surprised by this and say that it’s too soon. They want them to see how the relationship goes first. Han pushes for marriage then. I’m confused as to how pressing for marriage will help win them over though. Han and his mother have a silent conversation with their eyes about her beating around the bush and not getting to the point while he wants to get this over with, with a quick battle. His mother says that he’s too affectionate and doesn’t mince his words and asks them to forgive him. She suggests that they go ahead and eat. Tong Nian’s mother uses the excuse of getting some snacks for Tong Nian and has Han go with her.
She asks him what he’s doing and if he thought they’d agree to the relationship with his stepmother present. He says no, he brought her over as he wants to formally be in a relationship with Nian Nian. She says he announces that he wants to marry her and feels like he’s forcing her to accept this. He admits that he’s falling more in love with Nian Nian and wants to see her every day. He hopes that such a life can last a lifetime, and that’s why he brought up marriage. She then asks about Nian Nian being pregnant, and if that’s why he’s in a rush to get married. He denies this and says that he’s given his word that before getting married, he wouldn’t cross the line. She asks how Nian Nian feels about him, and then answers her own question - she can see that Nian Nian likes him very much. Han says that he believes that they’re very much in love like her and her husband. He asks her to believe in him and give him a chance, as he promises that he loves and cherishes Nian Nian. And if Nian Nian doesn’t agree to marriage, he won’t force her, and he’ll leave her.
Before her parents leave to go home, Han asks her mother to keep their conversation today a secret as he wants to give Nian Nian a surprise. He tells them that he’s going to take his team to the national final, and he wants to bring Tong Nian to Beijing with them. He assures them that they will book two rooms at the hotel. Her father tells her mother that she’s graduated and she’s already a big girl now. Her father tells Han to go ahead with his relationship with Nian Nian and he does not need to report such things to them. Ahh, he finally gets the green light! Her parents drive off and Han thanks his stepmother. She says if he really wants to thank her, then he should go somewhere with her.
[Ep35] Han Jia Jia asks (or forces him) to be taken to Solo’s house, which is the place they used to live in as a team. She wants to see Solo’s mother. He just sighs and tells her to come back early. She insists that he needs to go with her, as Solo’s mother used to take care of him when they were first starting out a decade ago. He reluctantly goes with her as she threatens to shout his name in the neighborhood. She rings the doorbell and Solo’s mother answers the door and recognizes them even though it’s been a decade. Solo’s mother calls for Xiao Ai to come downstairs to say hi to their guests. She greets Han as “Freak”, and her grandmother chides her to address him as Han shu shu. He watches her and waits and she ever-sooo-slowly says “Hi, Han shu shu.” XD His response: “Go, fetch us two glasses of water.” lol Solo’s mother tells him that he hasn’t been to see her since his return to China, and he says that it’s been bad timing.
While Han Jia Jia and Solo's mother are catching up, Xiao Ai and Han are making faces at each other, fake kicking and being a typical pair of rotten children again. lol His stepmother mentions that Han is planning to get married, and Xiao Ai says he's getting married to her Tong Nian jie? His stepmother says that she has the generations mixed up and needs to call her Tong Nian ayi. He looks at her and she mutters that she's only a few years her senior. (The age gap between Xiao Ai and Tong Nian is pretty close to the one between Tong Nian and Han.) Her grandmother tells her to go do her homework, and Han chimes in the same thing. Xiao Ai goes up to her room. Han is looking around at the place as the women chat, and it brings back a lot of memories. Up in her room, Xiao Ai messages her father that Han shu shu is at their house.
Tong Nian has been waiting at home for her parents and asks where they've been. Her mother says that they met Han's stepmother and to stop being so nervous. She asks what they talked about, and if they talked about her. Her mother says that they talked about her trip in Shanghai and everyday things. Her mother then says that they got to learn more about him. Her father changes the subject and asks if she's planning to go to Beijing to watch the game tomorrow. She admits that she is, and her mother says to tell the truth from now on about everything between her and Han. Her mother says to tell Han jia you and then leaves the room. She asks her father what they talked about and he says that he has some medical files to review. She thinks they’re behaving oddly. Yeah, her mother did a 180. Ha.
Solo’s mother is showing Han and his stepmother around the place. They get to Solo’s bedroom, and his mother says that he won't allow her to change anything in it. Han doesn’t enter the room and just stands at the doorway until his stepmother drags him inside, as they're looking at the trophies. Solo's mother says that he won't let her clean them - the ones from Team Solo years. Xiao Ai shows up and says that her father keeps things in his heart but Han shu shu shows his grudges on his face. Han picks up an old photo of them from happier times (when they tried to get him to go on a ride but he couldn’t overcome his acrophobia) and looks at it. Solo hasn't made any changes to the place.
Solo's mother says he must have some fond feelings in this room and tells him to look around. He leaves to go upstairs to the room in the attic, and then he climbs out onto the rooftop. (The place where they had many discussions, including the last time they fought before the fallout.) Han receives a call from Solo and he answers the call. Solo asks where he is. Han says that he's at his house and says that the view isn't too bad. Solo asks if he remembers them sitting on the rooftop, drinking frantically and talking about dreams. Han asks why he's kept this old house. Solo tells him that he couldn't let go of it. It had been his and Han's dream to buy the entire area so no one could complain about their noisiness. Solo tells him that the place contains their most brilliant and hardest years and he couldn't bear to let anyone else live there. Solo asks if he wants to meet him tomorrow in Beijing and tells him to bring his girlfriend. Han says they'll talk about another time and says he's hanging up. Han continues sniffling.
Back at K&K, Han notices that 9-7 isn't in his bed. Han finds him in the training room. 9-7 says that he can't sleep because he knows that the arena they're competing at tomorrow is where Han won his last championship. He's feeling touched yet pressured by this. 9-7 asks if he has anything to say as tomorrow is the finals. Han tells him "The strong are silent, the weak emerge." Afterwards, Han is packing for the trip and pulls out an envelope of old photos that Tong Nian had given him before (Ep20). He thinks, "The same group of people, the same venue...but we've changed." He's smiling at the photos, and then he finds her note again, "The past is in the past. In the future, they are with you...so am I. Tong Nian."
The next morning, Han picks up Tong Nian from her parents' place. He tells her no matter where he goes for competitions in the future, he'll let her know, and if she wants to go, he'll take her along. He also tells her that even if he doesn't talk to her on the phone, he'll let her know that he's thinking of her. Then he kisses her. Awww. He then takes her to meet his stepmother before their flight. His stepmother greets Tong Nian and then shakes her hand and notices the pretty bracelet that Tong Nian is wearing. Hehehe. She comments on how beautiful it is but is giving Han a knowing look. I'm cackling at this. Tong Nian thanks her for the compliment. She tells Tong Nian to sit across from her and then sends Han away, to go sit somewhere else. Ha.
Han Jia Jia tells her that besides the club, Han only has her in his heart. She explains that the fiercer he seems to her, the more he cares about her. She advises to not look at the surface only. He doesn't feel secure, so that's why he pretends to be indifferent. Tong Nian says that she knows this, and his stepmother says that she knows that she's a smart girl. She asks her if it's difficult to work on her PhD, and she says that it's not that hard. Then she tells her that she just needs to focus on her studies, and have Han do all of the housework. Tong Nian tells her that he usually does all of the housework so she hasn't done any before. His stepmother is happy to hear that and says he really loves her. She mentions that her son has a lot of pet peeves and says to blame her, so bear with him. Hehe. Tong Nian denies that he's a problem.
HJJ: Although he's a man, he has a vulnerable heart. He's afraid of losing things, especially relationships. He's stubborn and has a one-track mind in a relationship. In the future, if the two of you have a quarrel,...it's okay to quarrel, but never say something like...breaking up or abandoning him. He can't stand it.
She then looks over at Han sitting behind them, and he looks over and points at his watch. She tells him that she knows, and that she just started talking. lol I almost feel like Han is the parent here. She tells Tong Nian that he sacrificed and suffered a lot to establish K&K. She explains that she didn't know until she saw all the awards and realized that behind these trophies are many people's hard work, and she continues talking to her about her son.
On the flight, Han pulls down his bag from the overhead bin and pulls out many snacks for Tong Nian. She says that she can't finish all of this. He says that he's prepared all of this for her to eat. Xiao Mi laughs quietly at this dedication and care for her. She says that she can’t finish all of this. He asks if it’s wrong that he prepared all of this for her. She says that she was wrong and thanks him. Tong Nian asks the boys if they want any of it but they wouldn’t dare accept any of it. Haha.
So she proceeds to eat all of these snacks, and soon her cheeks are stuffed like a hamster with its reserves. He asks if she's thirsty - she shakes her head no. Then he asks if she's still hungry - shakes her head no again. Then he looks up at the overhead fan and asks if she feels cold - she goes to say no and sprays whatever is in her mouth at his face. (~26:10, LOL, the look on Han’s face. So basically she’s been overloading her mouth and then shook her head like one would a full soda bottle and it finally exploded.) Sitting on the other side of her, Xiao Mi covers up his face to stifle his laughter (I think the actual actor was trying to not laugh and was quite unsuccessful, hehe). Han only says it's fine and that he'll wipe it later with a tissue. XD At this point, the boys pop up behind their seats to see what's going on. 9-7 says that from the way she's eating, she's going to gain 5kg when she gets off the plane. Xiao Mi says sotto voce, he doesn't know how to treat her well, so he just feeds her. LOL I’d say this is Grunt’s fault then? 9-7 says no wonder he had no girlfriends before. Heh. Han glares at him and 9-7 pops back down into his seat. Xiao Mi tells 9-7 that he's learned a lesson, so don't complain if he's single. lol 9-7 replies that he's [Xiao Mi] just started a relationship so don't look down on them, the single men. Xiao Mi doesn’t say anything but starts eating something.
Through her very stuffed mouth, she tells Han that everything is delicious. He tells her to eat more then. She continues shoving more food into that already stuffed mouth. LOL Just look at her face. XD
They arrive at the hotel in Beijing and Solo is waiting for Han. Solo asks Xiao Mi to borrow his lao da for a night. Xiao Mi says it's fine, just return him early - he's their dependent, he can't be away for too long. Like he's a pet. LOL Xiao then announces the schedule to the boys and they leave. Tong Nian says that she's going with the team. However, Solo insists that she comes with them.
Solo takes them to an old restaurant that they used to frequent together. He explains that they used to come here and drink whether they lost or won a game. Han doesn't look very keen on going inside but Tong Nian holds onto his arm and tells him let's go in.
At the table, Han tells Solo that last time he paid for their meal before they dissolved, and Han says that he'll pay for this one. Han is sitting diagonally from Solo and isn't making direct eye contact. Solo asks him if he would like some alcohol. Han agrees and says to get one case first. Han counters with two cases, and they go back and forth and end up at four cases. Tong Nian interjects and suggests they order one case at a time. Solo agrees with her but then he orders six cases of beer.
Now there are empty beer cases by their table and bottles of beer and alcohol on the table. Tong Nian asks Han if Solo is drunk as he is very flushed with very red eyes. Han says that he can't drink. Tong Nian asks Solo how the five of them got along in the past. Solo replies that they lived together happily. He explains that they not only had happiness - he looks over at Han who isn't looking at him - but trouble, too. He explains that whenever he felt troubled, there was always a line in his heart. He says that he'll recite it to her, and Han also knows it.
WH: Lao Han, listen. You know this line. Our dream has been sleeping for a long time. From now on, all experiences and honors in the past...will be renewed.
She claps when he's finished. Solo asks her how it sounded. She said it was a good poem. Han takes a sip of his drink. Solo sits down, and Tong Nian points out to Han that Solo is crying. She then asks Solo if he's okay. Solo just stays hunched over in his seat and covers his face. Han looks over and then tells her to pay the bill and hands her his wallet.
After she leaves, Solo gets up to sit next to him and continues drinking. Han gets up and says that he's drunk and let’s go. Solo starts coughing and dry heaving. At the hotel, 9-7 meets them to help Solo into the room. Han says to take him into the bathroom, and so they get him there. Then Solo asks Tong Nian to leave them alone for a bit. She tells Han that she's going to leave the room and to call for her if he needs any help. He nods and gestures with his head for her to leave, and so she leaves the bathroom with 9-7.
Solo starts whistling and says that they had a good time tonight. Then he asks how long they have not drunk like this. Han looks quite emotional, but he finally looks over at Solo and takes a deep breath.
HN: Do you know that over the past decade,...I wish to drink with you like what we did today? Whether I'm happy or sad or whenever I win a game,...I wish you'd be around to share my joy. Solo just looks at him. But what about you? Han gets up and grabs him by his shirt and makes him stand up.
HSY roars: You hid like a coward! Solo removes his hands from his shirt.
WH yells: I didn't hide! How old was I? I became a father muddle-headedly. He grabs Han by the shoulders and shakes him. I became a father, do you understand? I didn't want to encumber you. He puts his hands on the sides of Han's neck. Han Shang Yan. You'd get to the world stage. You were going to the world stage, do you know it? Han pushes him away, and Solo falls into the tub full of water beside him and just sits in it.
HSY yells back: So we could climb to the peak after you've abandoned us? He climbs up to stand in the tub. Wang Hao, listen! He points to himself. No matter how high and far we fly...I'd always hope you'll be the wind that supports us. His face breaks. He's crying and looking so heartbroken. Solo just looks up at him.
HSY with a sob: Do you know...how lonely I was? He sits down into the tub crying.
WH: Han, I'm sorry. He starts sobbing.
HSY: Do you know...how long I've waited...for your apology? His voice breaks.
WH: I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Splashing water with every apology. Han looks so beaten and just sobs and sobs. Solo stands up, reaches over to grab him by the shoulders and pulls him up. Han just continues crying and doesn't say anything.
WH: Get up. He makes Han look at him, right in the eyes. He puts his forehead against his. I'm sorry. Han cries and finally goes to hug him. Both men are sobbing on each other's shoulders now. T__T
Ai Qing arrives in the hotel room. Tong Nian tells her that they're inside. Ai Qing asks if they're okay. Tong Nian says they're drunk. They ordered beer and drank at least 20 cans of beer and two and half bottles of liquor. She also says that they won't allow anyone to go in. Ai Qing said that she knows as Solo called her. She tells her to not worry as they are good drinkers. Tong Nian says that Han told her that Solo couldn't drink. Ai Qing says doesn't she know he likes to lie? Tong Nian is surprised by this. Ai Qing tells her that she's going in. Tong Nian repeats that they don't want anyone to go in. Ai Qing says it'll be fine.
Ai Qing goes in and tells the guys to come out and dry themselves. She throws towels at them. Solo gets out of the tub first, and offers his hand to Han who accepts it. Both men look emotionally spent. Ai Qing is now crying quietly at the sink. Han says that the first championship they won was in Beijing, and so was the last. Solo laughs at this. Ai Qing apologizes to Han. He looks like he’s trying to suppress another sob. T__T His face just breaks me.
AQ crying: This is what I want to...tell you the most over the years. I'm sorry. She sniffles. I finally have a chance to say it to you today. He looks at her. At the peak of your career, we've held you back. If we hadn't done so, you'd go further.
WH: It was because of me. Ai Qing. It was my fault. She looks at him and continues crying.
AQ: Solo, you're always the best team leader in my heart. She laughs and then the three of them hug.
Flashback: They're here for the championship and Solo has booked them a hotel suite. Ai Qing and Han are amazed by how spacious the suite is, the large beds, and Ai Qing finds juice bottles in the fridge. She brings over three for them but then notices the price. 20 RMB each, so she suggests they split one bottle and pours it into three glasses. They clink their glasses and take a sip. Han says he'll buy them a case of it when they've won the national championship, as they must endorse this juice.
Tong Nian and 9-7 run in to see what's going on and find the three of them hugging and crying. Ai Qing says the kids are here, so they break up the sobfest. Ai Qing tells Han to not drop the ball, as it isn't that easy to beat them. Solo offers a fist, and Han fist bumps him. Then Solo leaves and Tong Nian follows him out. Ai Qing offers her fist to Solo and he bumps her fist.
[Ep36] After the emotional upheaval, Tong Nian takes care of Han. He apologizes for what happened and she tells him that it’s been a long time coming and it’s good for him to say everything. She then offers him her bank card with her savings and earnings of 67,952 RMB. She tells him that whether his grandfather or stepmother supports him or not, she will always support him. He looks at her and then thinks to himself: “I dedicated myself wholeheartedly like this before. It’s easier said than done. Leaving a leeway is the safe distance between people,...whether in friendship or relationship.” He starts searching his pockets for his candy tin, and Tong Nian gets up to buy some for him but he stops her and has her sit back down.
HSY: Just give yourself to me, the money isn’t necessary. Give me a hint when you want to get married. This isn’t a proposal. I just want to tell you…I’m glad to have you. I hope I can always have you with me…in the days to come. She smiles brightly at him, and then he puts his head on her shoulder and closes his eyes. Aww.
When they return to the hotel, the boys are waiting for them in Han’s room. Tong Nian hands them the bags of drinks and snacks before leaving. Han asks about Wu Bai’s whereabouts. Demo says that he told them that he didn’t want to get in the way of Han’s relationship and went back to his room. lol Han gives them a pep talk. He advises them to not give up halfway and to give it their all. In the CTF field, a generation only lasts a few years as the requirement for hand speed, age and brain is extremely high. He hopes they strive for the best at their optimal age and go as far as they can so they will have no regrets. Han notices that Tong Nian has been eavesdropping from the bedroom.
He sits down next to her to say that he has something to tell her tomorrow. She presses him to tell her today as she won’t be able to sleep now. He gets up to walk and she grabs onto him from behind and pleas with him to tell her now. lol (~9:40) So cute, and her face cracks me up. He’s laughing but then he removes her hands and turns around and bidongs her. Ou. He puts his face real close to hers and playfully says he’ll “execute” her if she doesn’t stop. She laughs at this and they’re just looking at each other but they’re interrupted by 9-7 suddenly barging into the room. Boy, you need to knock! When he realizes that he’s interrupted something, he says never mind and turns around and closes the door behind him.
As soon as the door closes, Han leans down to kiss her. She seems quite surprised by this kiss and becomes bashful afterwards. (~10:15) He then tells her that he needs to prepare for the game tonight. She offers to keep him company and leaves to get her laptop.
On her way back to his room, she runs into two guys looking for Han. They say they’re his friends, so she brings them back to the room, and when Han opens the door, both guys go to bear hug him. Han introduces the two guys to the boys: they’re his former teammates (alternates), Xiao You and Yi Qian. Appledog had told them where to find him, and they’re in town to watch the game. :) The boys leave and Tong Nian says that she’ll leave with them but Han asks her to stay. Han catches up with his friends and she enjoys watching a relaxed Han getting ribbed by his friends.
The boys return to their room with Xiao Mi and Wu Bai. Xiao Mi briefs them on Team SP’s new lineup: Hua Ti, All, Inin, Following, and Bug (who has replaced Xiao Mi). He mentions that Hua Ti and All are both going to retire soon so they’ll be more determined to win this championship. Wu Bai says whether it’s their first or last battle, they need to stay steadfast and play their best game.
Back in Han’s room, his friends have left and he finds a sleeping Tong Nian at the desk. He looks at her computer screen and a message pops up: “Gun God, your Xiao Youyu is sleepy and will pass out soon. I know tomorrow’s game is very important. But I believe in you. You’re the best.” He clicks on the message and the screen auto populates with old and new photos of him, and zooms out to form a mosaic - a photo of him holding a guitar. He looks at her and lovingly pats her head.
The next morning, Han reaches over a sleeping Tong Nian to try to turn off the alarm on her phone. She wakes up and is startled to find herself in the same bed as Han. She shoves his arm away, peels off the comforter to check her clothes and sits right up. He covers his eyes with his hand and asks her what time she set the alarm for as it’s so early. She says she set it for 7 a.m., and reaches over to grab her phone to turn off the alarm. He asks her why she set it so early as the game isn’t until the afternoon. She doesn’t reply but stays sitting up. He says let’s sleep longer. She says no, and won’t look at him. She starts blushing and he asks why her face is so red. She denies it and he says that she’s happy that she took advantage of him again. Heh. She denies this. Then she says that she fell asleep yesterday, so why didn’t he wake her up. He tells her that he called her name but she was holding onto his waist and refused to let go. But then he flops back down onto the bed with a mischievous smile and she realizes that he’s lying to her. Haha. (~18:40) I love this guy’s scowls and smiles. She starts hitting him with a pillow, but then he pushes her down onto her back and hovers over her.
She looks up at him nervously, so he asks why she’s so anxious. His face gets closer and closer to hers.
HSY looking at her seriously: I’m yours...it’s just a matter of time…Except you, no one is allowed.
TN: What are you saying?
HSY with his head propped up on his right arm: I'm saying, only you dare to wake me up. Then he strokes her nose with his left index finger. Except you,...who dares to do so? Hehe.
TN: I won’t set the alarm next time. She’s looking anywhere but at him. He smiles and rolls over to lay his head on her stomach. He closes his eyes.
HSY: Let’s sleep longer.
TN: Han Shang Yan.
HSY: Don’t talk, I’m sleepy. She purses her lips at this. I slept at 3 a.m. last night. She looks around and moves her arms. Don’t move. It’s comfortable. When we live together in the future,...I’ll set the alarm clock. You’re not allowed to set it. She beams at this.
TN: Mm. (She agrees.) She closes her eyes, and Han laces their fingers together. Awwww, how sweet is this?! (~18:50, about 2 minutes). And they stay asleep this way.
In the lobby, Xiao Mi, Wu Bai and the boys are waiting for Han. Grunt comments that lao da is so happy with his girlfriend that he’s forgotten about them. 9-7 tells Xiao Mi to call him, who tells him that he wouldn’t dare. 9-7 then asks Wu Bai to go get him. Wu Bai looks at his watch and says that there’s still one minute left. Han appears and the boys are all looking at him. He asks why they are looking at him - is he late? The boys deny this and say that he’s on time. Heh. Then he turns around to watch Tong Nian walking towards them. The boys exclaim in glee at the sight of Tong Nian in her K&K jersey. Wu Bai says this is the first time Han has given their jersey to a girl (well, except for Su Cheng and One’s mother). Heh. The boys point out that this is lao da’s way of telling everyone that da sao is his. Now 9-7 says that he'll show her the exclusive way of cheering - with their index fingers converging in the middle. Han just shakes his head at this but he’s smiling.
Han and Xiao Mi cross paths with Ai Qing (in her very red power suit) who exchange some friendly words about the upcoming match and then reminisce about winning their last championship in this stadium. Back then Solo had begged Han to not retire and to take over the team as a leader. Today is also Ai Qing's first time on stage as a commentator. Solo and Han each encourage their teams to do their best before the match starts.
Before the match, the results of a poll on which players that fans wanted to watch the most were announced. Gun, Solo and Appledog are the top three, followed by All and Xiao Mi. An unexpected celebrity match is scheduled for that evening. Then they start the five-minute countdown for the start of the final match. Han gets up from his seat and leaves and Tong Nian follows him out. She asks if he didn’t know, and he shakes his head. Director Xiang finds them and begs for an annoyed Han to do the match. Han just looks at him and Director Xiang says if he doesn't say anything, he'll just assume it's a yes, and then he leaves. Tong Nian says that she's jealous of Ya Ya (who has seen Xiao Mi play), as she hasn't seen him in an arena, where he's won a championship.
After SP wins the match, all former members of Team Solo plus Tong Nian are back at that restaurant (that Solo and Han drank at) for a meal. Everyone teases Han for bringing (ergo showing off) his girlfriend, as he’s the only one who’s brought their significant other. Later, while Han and Solo are reminiscing together, All is telling everyone about Xiao Mi’s beautiful die-hard fan who adores him. Xiao Mi leaves the table to call Ya Ya. The group looks over at Han and Solo, and mentions that - without the two of them - they wouldn’t have been able to form a team or maintain it respectively.
Xiao Mi has sent Ya Ya a case of facial masks (it's blatant PP). She’s looking at the box and finds his note: “You came to my mind right after I received it. I don't know why. Do you know why?” (I didn’t want to include it - but she put one on his face when they were first checking out his apartment. (Ep25) That’s why these make he think of her.) She smiles at the note. Their call ends and Chun Chun comments that the masks are a cute love confession. Take note, guys, it's not cute. :P
[Ep37] The celebrity match is a success. Many fans turn out showing their support for Team Solo. Team Solo beats the current top five players. Tong Nian is so proud and happy for him. Afterwards, she jumps into his arms and refuses to come down. He finally threatens to kiss her in public if she doesn’t. She quickly lets go. lol Solo suggests a party which everyone is in favor of, except Han who says that he’ll be there later.
Han takes her to the train station where he first set foot in Beijing in his CTF journey. Han tells her about his original dream and everything that’s happened since then. Then he tells her that he still has one dream which has not been fulfilled yet. He proposes to her with his first championship ring. She is surprised and doesn't say anything for a while. She hesitates to accept the ring, and brings up her parents and wonders how to explain it to them. He tells her that he's already asked them when his stepmother was visiting. He also tells her that he'd promised them that he'd take care of her. She starts tearing up and asks for time to consider it. He thinks she’s rejecting the proposal so he keeps the ring and tells her that he will propose another time as he has been too impulsive this time around.
On the ride back to the hotel, it's awkward as they're both thinking about the proposal. She wonders if he'll be upset but she doesn't know why she didn't accept and doesn’t know what’s bothering her. He wonders why she didn't accept and if there's an unresolved problem between them. They're both lost in their own thoughts.
When they get back to the hotel, he tells her that he's going out to meet his friends. She asks if he's okay before he leaves and he says he's okay. No, neither one of them are okay right now.
Once he leaves, she calls Ya Ya about Han’s proposal. Tong Nian says that she felt like something was missing. Han shows up at Solo's and Xiao Mi asks him if he proposed to her, in front of everyone. Han doesn't say anything but his attitude is indicative of it. He says that he wasn't rejected but he had stopped halfway and then he eats a piece of candy. They decide to go out.
Tong Nian goes to see Wu Bai. She asks him if Han's been rejected by other women before. He says no, she's his first love and he has never liked anyone else. Then she asks him why he does like her. He says because she's the first one who doesn't like him because of CTF, and usually people will run away when they see his bad temper. Then he asks why she likes him. She replies that she fell in love at first sight. Wu Bai gets this look on his face. lol She explains that she just knew he was someone special. He's also handsome and charismatic and she admires him. Wu Bai says he's gentler since she's appeared in his life, and he likes the new him, too. She asks if Han will hold a grudge and become sensitive, when rejected. Wu Bai points out that after Solo broke up the team, he still remembers it until now. lol Yes, only a 10-year-long grudge - but he was much younger then. He tells her to stop beating around the bush. So she admits that Han proposed to her, which she rejected as it was too sudden and she didn't know what to do. She asks if he will become angry. Wu Bai says that's good, so he'll understand the risk of losing her and learn how to love her properly.
Han returns to the hotel the next day and finds Tong Nian sleeping on the couch. She wakes up and he suggests going to breakfast. She goes to the bathroom to get ready but they're awkward around each other. On their flight back to Shanghai, Han and Tong Nian talk about what happened. Han tells her that when they're together, she's always being affected by his emotions and loses a part of herself. She tells him it’s because she thinks he’s a good person and she thinks that she’s not good enough for him. She admits that she’s afraid of being someone useless to him. He replies that she’s helped him a lot, as she’s taught him how to love someone, and he’s working hard to be a better person.
They agree to sleep now. Then Tong Nian leans over and tries to kiss him from her seat while still buckled in, but a “sleeping” Han (his eyes are closed) leans away from her and keeps leaning out of her reach. But he’s got such a gleeful little smile on his face. *my heart eyes are here!* When she returns to her own seat, he smiles and sits back up in center position. Tong Nian then unbuckles her seatbelt and gets up to peck him on the cheek. Now he’s laughing with her. And she comes back to kiss him once more. (~41:00, so cute!!) They've made up.
Han drops off Tong Nian at her parents' house. She tells him that her parents are out and then asks him to come in but he declines. But when he sees her looking sad that he changes his mind and decides to go inside with her.
[Ep38] Once inside, she asks him if he wants to go upstairs or in the living room. Now they're sitting next to each other on the sofa but they're on opposite ends of the sofa. lol She's nervously fidgeting and she brings up the first time he was there for a blind date with her cousin and the second time when he upset her parents. Awkward pause. lol While she goes to get him water and he looks at her photos on the wall. When she returns, he comments that she was pretty as a child and it's a pity that she wasn't a star. She says that she was a child star. He says that he can see that she had a nice childhood. She says that her parents love her and they allowed her to do everything. He then asks if she's happy with him, and says that she is. Then she asks about what his stepmother and her parents talked about. He asks which day and continues playing dumb when she elaborates. He tells her that he said "Before I was 30 years old,...I didn't know many things. I hope that both of you will tolerate me. But I'm sincere towards Tong Nian. But words are not enough. I want to marry her. I want to use my actions to prove this. I also hope that you will agree to it sincerely." She asks what her parents' response was. He says that if he were her parents, he'd be unhappy, too. Then he goes to list all of her good qualities: pretty, good temperament, filial, friendly, studious, and more importantly, her family doesn't lack money. He says that was the only thing he had to offer but it was useless. She asks what her parents said afterwards, and he says that her father asked him what he has to offer his precious daughter and goes on about begging on his knees and in tears for her hand, and his promise to be single forever. She realizes this last part was a lie. lol She goes to smack him but he stops her and hugs her instead. He tells her that he doesn't like to speak the truth, and other than "I love you" don't believe whatever he says. She leans back to look at him and he says that he's teasing her. She quietly asks if he regrets retiring. He says that there's no turning back in life. He's not alone - as he still has a team standing behind him and many Chinese youths who are working hard towards winning the championship. Suddenly they hear her father's voice announcing his return and they quickly break up their hug and sit down on two separate pieces of furniture. lol Her father comes in and is surprised to see Han (but his car is parked right outside…) but he tells them to continue to chat and invites them to have lunch together later. Tong Nian points out that it's nighttime. Haha. Her father says that he's getting older and leaves to put away things.
Now they're at the dinner table and while Han is eating, her mother just watches him. lol Her father puts food in his bowl, and tells him to eat more. Han says since his grandfather left, he's been used to having boxed meals. Her father says it's bad for his health, and if he has time to visit, he says to come over for dinner. Her mother asks if they won at their competition. He says that they didn't and her father says that it's okay to be in second place. Tong Nian says that Han has told his players that there are only champions and losers to him. Han kicks her for mentioning that. Her mother asks him why he gives himself so much pressure. Awww. He doesn't respond and just continues shoving rice into his mouth. She offers to refill his bowl and gets up to get him more rice. Her father tries to hand her his bowl and she just looks at him. lol He goes with her to get more rice.
Tong Nian then asks why Han kicked her, and he tells her to talk less as it'll create trouble and they might not want to hear it. Later, Han is washing the dishes and her father insists that he can't do it as this is meant for the women in his household, specifically, his wife. lol Tong Nian and her mother walk in, and her mother asks if her father isn't ashamed to let Han wash the dishes as it's usually his job anyway. LOL Her mother tries to convince him to not wash the dishes as he's also a guest at their house. She asks Tong Nian to take him away, but she tells her mother that he's usually the one who does the chores. Han says that he's almost done and tells her parents to go watch television and so they leave. Tong Nian offers to help him but he won't let her and tells her to just watch him. He tells her about what her father said that women do all the chores at home, and she laughs at this as he's usually the one who does the chores.
Tong Nian and Han say goodbye for the night but she won't let go of his hand. So he's essentially dragging her out with him. lol He asks her what she wants to say, and she seems to want a good night kiss but is going in a roundabout way in telling him - by bringing up how couples usually part ways in a movie. He smiles but then tells her: "Nian Nian, I hope that you can be brave when you're with me. You can do whatever you want. Don't be afraid. Don't fear me either, okay?" She nods and he leans down to kiss her but they're interrupted by a bright light and a voice asking what they're doing.
It's that garrulous patrolman. Ha. They break apart and turn around to look at him and the patrolman recognizes Han. He tells Tong Nian that he's envious of her as "this great young man almost bought a parking spot here...so that he can spend the night here everyday. Whenever I'm on the night shift, I'll surely see him." Hehe. Then he asks if they've quarreled and she denies it. He goes on to say that she's lucky to have such a loyal guy. Han tells him to stop talking as she's easily embarrassed. The patrolman gives him a pat on the back and then heartily shoves him towards Tong Nian. Heh. He leaves and Tong Nian says that there's "someone" who always guards the outside of her home, and Han denies this by saying that that guy is mistaken. She continues teasing him as he walks to his car. He grabs her by the shoulders and leans her against his car and kisses her. He then tells her to go back and she shakes her head and then hugs him before running off. They play the you-go-first game before she finally leaves and closes the door.
Back inside, Tong Nian's mother comes to see her and comments that she's so happy that she can't keep her mouth closed, as she has such a big grin on her face. Her mother admits that she originally thought her choice in being with Han would make her behave badly, and that he was not sincere towards her. But she has since realized that she really misunderstood him. She knows that he's a person who is very serious about career and love. And the most important thing is that her daughter is very happy. Aww. Tong Nian admits that she is very happy and blissfully so with him, and she cares so much about him that she always listens to him on many things and doesn't have her own opinions. She admits that he's recently told her often that he hopes that she can express her own views more often instead of just following along with him.
Her mother tells her what he told her when they met with his stepmother.
TN’s mother: He said that initially, he only knew one thing,...which is the championship. But now it's different. In his eyes, there are two things. Championship and Tong Nian. Tong Nian beams at this. He even said that he wants to marry you. After he marries you, he will be even better. He can then continue to train his Chinese champions. Meanwhile, you can study as many PhDs as you wish to. It's because he hopes that you have your own dreams,...and he will support you wholeheartedly.
TN: What else did he say?
TN's mother: What else was there? I still have to think first.
TN whining: Hurry and tell me.
TN's mother: He said that he knows you've been spoiled by us since birth. He said this suits him. He thinks he doesn't have any strengths. He can only train the boys, do the chores...and spoil you. Then she pinches Tong Nian's cheek. Tong Nian hugs her mother's arm and puts her head on her shoulder.
TN: Mother, do you know? Han Shang Yan is extremely good. When he was poor and stayed with his teammates,...he cooked and cleaned. He's not spoiled and is kind toward his friends. She sits up and looks at her mother. Basically, I hope you can learn more about him.
TN's mother: Do you think that I didn't observe him? I think that he's slowly changing for you. It's like two people walking together. Without words,...your steps will synchronize...and you will see the scenery that the other admires. Do you understand? T_T Tong Nian nods. It's not only an effort from one side.
TN: Mother, thank you for your understanding.
Her mother asks if he asked about her future and Tong Nian admits that he proposed. She asks if she agreed and Tong Nian shakes her head and says no. Her mother asks her why. She admits that she didn't in time and asks if there's something wrong with her. Her mother says that there isn't anything wrong and just hopes that when she makes any decisions that she's given it a lot of thought. Great advice for adulting, period.
At K&K Club Buff admits to Han that he's nervous about a new beginning with an unknown ending. Han then gathers the boys for a meeting, and they're all concerned about him being upset about being losers as they ended up in second place. Han thinks about this and then calmly tells them to self-reflect as they face the wall, and then puts his hands together and says that they'll have a short meeting soon. The boys are confused about his lack of fury and ask Xiao Mi about it but only he tells them to get ready for the meeting. The boys continue muttering about how scary it is. LOL They are waiting for the other shoe to drop. Ha. The boys go into the meeting room and are met with Buff. Han explains that Buff is part of their team and will be training with them for a half month, and five members plus an alternate will be undergoing complementary training in turns. After the half month is up, they will have two things to consider: individual results and overall teamwork. Then they will decide the final competition team and train for half a month for the competition. He asks if there are any questions. There are no questions and the boys feel that this is a fair way to decide Buff’s inclusion on the final team. Han then hands Buff his uniform, and Buff thanks him as lao da. Han then tells Xiao Mi to have Wu Bai meet his new teammate.
Xiao Mi shows Buff where his computer station is and the boys are a bit somber about this. Then he sends 9-7, Demo, Grunt and One to Han's room for a private meeting. They reluctantly leave to go see Han. Demo asks Han to tell them who the final five players are. Han says that he doesn't have a list yet and it'll depend on the outcome of the next half month of training. Demo says that he knows that he and One are the weakest ones, so it must be one of them. Han says if they don’t want to be eliminated, then they better work harder. Demo says that he knows Buff is ranked fourth and except for DT, no one else can win over him. Grunt tells him to be more ambitious and have more faith. He tells him that as long as he believes himself to be the strongest, then he will be. Han suggests that he bring their fighting spirit and dismisses everyone except for 9-7.
He asks 9-7 to stay behind. Grunt tries to offer words of encouragement to Demo and One. Han asks 9-7 to keep the team together, which he agrees to. 9-7 knows that Han doesn't want to change the team as they're all like his children. He admits that he cares about all of them, however if K&K doesn't change, they can't win. 9-7 says that he, and everyone else understands this.
During the physical training, Buff comes in second last and Demo comes in dead last. Later, at lunch, 9-7 makes an effort to be friendly with Buff, who is eating alone. Demo asks Buff to join them at their table.
Zheng Hui goes to see Tong Nian at the dorms. She sees him outside her window and says that she’ll be out in a minute. He actually walks inside the girls' dorm and appears at her door, which startles her. She finishes hanging up her clothes (for drying), tells him to take a seat somewhere and apologizes for the mess. He asks if she's been too busy dating. She doesn't answer but he says that he doesn't believe that Han hasn't been to her room before. She confirms that he has been there but nothing's happened as Han isn't like that. Zheng Hui removes his glasses and walks closer and closer to Tong Nian. He raises his voice and asks her if she thinks that Han treats her like a sister who admires him or a side prize that he won on his journey to the top? Was that really necessary for him to say that? He's starting to scare her. She tells him that perhaps this is not a good place to talk and says that she doesn't feel well now and asks him to leave and she'll treat him to coffee next time. He lurches forward and grabs her by the sides of her arms, and has her up against a closet door. He tells her to look at him carefully and finally says that he likes her. He starts shouting that he likes her over and over which confounds her. He goes on to say that he's liked her for two years and asks if she can feel that. He continues whether it's knowledge, charisma, age and even field, he's the person most suited for her. And he'll earn more money and become even better, and he'll win over Han. He continues to passionately tell her that he’ll give her happiness and he’ll do his best. She finally breaks free from his grasp, walks away from him and tells him that she knows he’ll earn a lot of money and he'll be better. He continues chasing her around the room but she tells him that this is not what she wants repeatedly. She thanks him for liking her but asks that they end this here.
He quietly asks why. He asks what it is that makes Han Shang Yan better than him. He starts yelling why can't he compare to him, and then begs her to tell him so he can change. She tells him that he’s excellent and then asks if he knows what it's like to be with another person. She explains that when she's with Han, there's a feeling that they complement each other, and they know what the other thinks without saying. She says since she's been with him, she doesn't care if he has too little to give her. Instead she worries whether she's given him too little. When she's with him, she only hopes that he will be happy and that he will be happier every day. Zheng Hui asks if she's certain that she likes him. She admits that she loves him and she loves him very much. She loves him more every day. Zheng Hui looks saddened by this, and says that he hasn't been feeling well as he's unable to eat nor sleep well. He pleads with her to give him a chance. She walks over to him and thanks him for liking her. Then she says that she believes that there's a better girl who will suit him more. She apologizes as he walks away looking so heartbroken and in tears. :( As she's watching him leave, she realizes that she really loves Han, not because he's the famous Gun God but because she knows his emotions. She wants to be with him as he works towards his dreams.
Meanwhile, Team K&K are all training quite hard, and everyone appreciates this rare opportunity. Out of the six players, only five can enter the stage. Han looks at the rankings on his phone: Demo is ranked a few positions above One.
[Ep39] One is aware that he has the lowest rankings of the six of them. Wu Bai's position is already confirmed as he’s one of the top ranked players. The five remaining members are challenged to a one-on-one with Han. Han knocks them out one-by-one except for Demo. The official lineup is now 9-7, Buff, Wu Bai, Grunt and Demo. Thus making One an alternate.
One is not happy about this outcome and walks off. Xiao Mi goes to console him and tells him that he understands how he feels as this is how he was taken out. One knows that this is in the best interests of the team. Han finds them and asks One if he's satisfied with the result. He says he isn't and Han suggests that he keep it up. He reminds him that he's only 20 years old, so grit his teeth and play until he's 31 years old like Buff. There are four major competitions each year, and so there are four world champions. In 11 years, it means there are 44 world championships awaiting him. Losing one is nothing. He also says that Buff can only play for two more years at most and then he has to retire. One says one year will be enough for him to get back his position, and then he returns to his training.
Afterwards, Tong Nian asks Han why he had the challenge if he already knew how they were ranked and knew who would stay to compete. He explains that as players, a real battle carries more weight than rankings.
A large delivery arrives at the club. Tong Nian has bought a new espresso machine for the club. Later she shows Han how to make a latte complete with latte art and he seems impressed. However, Demo asks for that first cup for himself and she gives it to him. Han looks at her in consternation. (~15:30, Han’s face, lol!) Han says that she just gave it to him. She says he didn’t say he wanted it first so she gave it away. He just stalks away. Ha. Now all the boys ask da sao to make one for them and she starts making them one-by-one, as Han watches jealously. The boys leave to enjoy their coffee elsewhere.
She finally asks Han if he wants one. He does. So she makes him with a pig's head (meaning stubborn). He calls out a greeting to his cup, “Hello, Tong Nian” - she looks at him in confusion - and then he proceeds to sip his latte. Hehe. She gets fake upset and asks why he just drank her - and then says no, she's not a pig . She asks why did he drink himself. Ha. Reminded of their pig notes.
The Asia Pacific semi-finals will be taking place in Shanghai. SP and K&K are to compete against each other while Australia is competing against Thailand.
Solo is accompanying Xiao Ai on her flight to Norway, to her mother’s. However, she's annoyed because she knows that he's quite busy with the upcoming semi-finals but doesn't know why he insisted on going with her. She asks why he's always thinking of others and wonders if others have thought of him and then turns away from him. He tells her that he hopes that she'll grow up and be able to take care of herself, and then fall in love and get married and be happy. This will be the happiest thing in his life. He then says he hopes everyone that he loves can live happily forever. Xiao Ai turns around, hugs her father’s arm and rests her head against him. She says that she doesn't want to grow up. Awww. She admits that she doesn't want to go to her mother's. He says that time is cruel and it never waits for anyone. He tells her to keep her mother company and her mother needs her more. He says he'll see her after the game. She tells him that she hopes they beat K&K so he can get to the world championship. She tells him that he’s the best father and that he's irreplaceable.
Flashback: Five-year-old Xiao Ai did not want to eat her food, even though her father was feeding her. Her father asks her why, and she admits that she wanted to see her mother as missed her. Ah, this is also the time Ai Qing had been here and realized how hard he had it as she had refused to eat. Now we know why she wasn't eating.
[Ep40] No one can sleep the night before the competition. The boys stay up to discuss the game plan. Xiao Mi goes looking for Han in his room. Xiao Mi asks if he's really given up competing. Han says that he's passed his prime, and the past is the past. He also says that he would rather train the kids who can play for ten years, as opposed to his two years of game play (like Buff). What he cares the most about is the honor of the club. Xiao Mi knows that Han is also worried about Solo's situation. Meanwhile, the girls decide to hangout at a 24-hour convenience store near K&K Club and wait until dawn to go K&K Club.
The next morning, Xiao Mi and Han are sleeping in Han’s bed. Han tries to wake up Xiao Mi but he refuses to get up. He just grunts and pulls the covers tighter over himself.
The girls show up early at K&K club but Tong Nian can't get in because she failed to set her own face for the facial recognition program that she set up. Han can see what’s going on outside from his computer. He watches as Tong Nian proceeds to make different faces at the screen to get the door to open. She's so busy making faces that she doesn't notice when Han walks up until Ya Ya points him out to her. Yang Zi proves my mother wrong when she said that I couldn’t do anything with my ability to make silly faces. lol When she notices him, he makes a silly face at her. She then covers her face in embarrassment and squeals unhappily, while Han just laughs at her and lets them in. She explains that they’ve been in the area since midnight.
Ya Ya wants to get some sleep, so Tong Nian takes her to a free bed. Meanwhile, Han is unable to figure out how to use the espresso machine and Tong Nian has to show him the steps again. When she realizes that he's not really getting the gist of it, she makes him sit and wait while she makes him a drink. She's made him one with a heart in his cup. Awww. While he's sipping his latte, she asks him if he thinks they're fated to be together. She brings up their first meeting at the cybercafe, when they both happened to be in Guangzhou for different reasons, and just now, when she was trying to figure out how to get in but he appeared right there. Girl, he has access to the front door cameras. He asks if she’s sleepy, and she says, of course she is. He tells her to get some rest in his bed. She won’t go until he finishes his coffee. Then he says that he can’t finish it as he can’t bear to finish drinking this heart she’s made him. She squeals at this sweetness. She continues pestering him and asking him if they’re destined to be together, until he finally agrees.
Later Tong Nian is sleeping in Han’s bed, and Xiao Mi tries to wake her up with his foot when the alarm goes off on his phone. Heh. She asks what time it is. He glances at his phone and replies that it’s 8 o’clock. She then mutters let’s sleep longer. At this point he realizes that there’s a girl in the bed with him, and she realizes that he doesn’t sound like Han. So they both start yelling and jump out of the bed to look at each other and wonder how this happened. Hahaha. (~16:53) Han runs in and apologizes for forgetting about Xiao Mi. LOL Tong Nian runs away from the embarrassment and says that she’s going to wash her face. Xiao Mi leaves and Han apologizes to her and explains to her that they got drunk last night and he didn’t realize he was in his bed. (Uh, but he tried to wake him up earlier though?!) She tells him that she forgives him but this can’t happen again. Xiao Mi suddenly runs in and says there’s an emergency.
Grunt is in bed, clutching his stomach. It's his gastritis again. But he insists that it's not serious. Han tells Xiao Mi to prepare a backup for the game and to send Grunt to the hospital. Grunt insists that he'll be fine after taking some medicine and that he's played while being sick before. Grunt tries to take more medicine but Demo grabs the bottle and tells him that he can't take anymore as he’s already taken plenty. Han goes to leave and Grunt tries to follow him but he practically falls out of the bed trying to follow him. Grunt hobbles over to Han and begs him to let him play in the finals. With tears running down his face, he begs him to not replace him as he's waited three years for this moment, and he's practiced every day, and now he's going to be substituted. He keeps begging him but Han says that his health is more important, and that they've already secured their spot to go to the international semi-finals. Grunt is still worried about losing today. Han asks him if he doesn't trust his teammates, as they can still win the championship without him. Han tries to leave but then Grunt passes out and they end up calling for an ambulance. When the paramedics carry out Grunt, Han tells Xiao Mi to go to the hospital with Grunt.
Han calls for a meeting and asks 9-7 to get Wu Bai, who is jogging with One. One is replacing Grunt in the game. He tells them what he told Grunt - they already have a spot in the international semi-finals, so it’s all right if they win or lose today’s match. However, since they’re on home ground, they must win the championship.
SP wins and locks in the third spot for the finals. While they are seated for the final match to begin, Tong Nian looks over at Han and realizes she's been waiting for this moment, his proudest moment, to accept his proposal. She tells Han that they should get married and that whether the team wins or loses, she’ll always be with him. He beckons her to get closer with a finger, and tells her to look at the big screen - they’re on the screen, so she waves. He then tells her that they can get married after the competition is over. K&K is the Asian champion. Afterwards, Han suggests having the celebratory party at K&K Club, but he tells Tong Nian that he has somewhere important to take her first. He has her wait while he asks Solo for a favor. Ai Qing congratulates Wu Bai and gives him a hug. He then asks her out for coffee and she agrees.
Han asks for Solo’s clothes right off his body. lol Solo asks why, and Han says that he needs to go see Tong Nian’s parents. They swap clothes and when the boys, Xiao Mi and Tong Nian find them, they’re confused as to why. (Oh man, Han always looks so good in a white shirt to me.) Solo leaves and returns to bring Han his suit jacket but provides no further explanation. Han tells Tong Nian that they’re leaving, but they run into Lan Mei and her crying husband. Tong Nian asks her friend why her husband is crying. Lan Mei says he’s old but young at heart. She had brought him to see his ouxiang under the pretense of business. Aww. The sobbing husband then grabs Han by the shoulders and tells him that he's finally won the championship title. Han tells him to stop crying. And if he cries every time they win, he'll never stop. He then invites him to the K&K celebratory party. Han takes Tong Nian with him. Now Lan Mei’s husband is really ecstatic but still incredulous at hanging out with them. 9-7 cheerfully tells him that he’s like family now vis-à-vis Tong Nian and Lan Mei.
Director Xiang brings an actress to see the boys - who turns out to be a fan of 9-7 and wants his autograph.
Xiao Mi leaves to make a call and Ya Ya follows him out. On the phone, he tells his grandmother that he's won the championship title with Han. His grandmother and parents are very happy for him. He sees Ya Ya walking towards him and quietly tells his grandmother that he'll let her hear the voice of the girl that he likes. Awwww. When Ya Ya reaches him, he hands her the phone to talk to his family. She introduces herself and says hello. Grandma and the parents say that she has a sweet voice. (She does!) Xiao Mi’s father grabs the phone from Grandma and asks if she’s Xiao Mi’s girlfriend. She says that she doesn’t know if she is. Xiao Mi asks what is it? She repeats what his father asked and Xiao Mi tells her to say yes. SQUEEE. I love this second couple! His family can’t wait to meet her.
[Ep41] Buff speaks to his wife and then asks to speak to their son, to tell him that they won the Asian Championship. His son is so elated for his father and says that he’s the best.
Ya Ya hands the phone back to Xiao Mi. Xiao Mi’s grandmother tells Xiao Mi to bring home Ya Ya soon. He says “I will bring my girlfriend home to meet you soon.” Ya Ya looks over at him with surprise but she’s happy. Grandma asks him to describe Ya Ya: long hair with huge eyes; whenever he’s at his worst, she shows up and helps him; she helps silently and won’t let him know; and he goes on. :) As she's watching him talk about her on the phone, she's thinking about their every moment together. Cute couple montage here.
Ya Ya's thoughts: In his heart,...I am already his girlfriend. I feel very at ease right now. She's smiling at this. Knowing you is a miracle, my hero! He hangs up the call and then he leans over to kiss her on the cheek. She smiles brightly. You were once a faraway shining star,...but now you're here in front of me...and in my heart. She looks away with a huge smile and then covers her cheeks with her hands. Awww. I love this couple as much as I love the main couple.
Han and Tong Nian are trying to leave the venue but are greeted by the crowd. She asks him how they are going to through this. He says don’t worry and to count on him. He announces that this lady standing beside him is his wife - and she’s pregnant, and they’re trying to get a pregnancy check-up so please make way for them. LOL! Tong Nian looks at him and just laughs. They make their way to a waiting taxi cab.
When they get inside the taxi, she congratulates for being a big fool. He smiles at her and then gives her a quick kiss on the lips. (~6:22) He stops to look at her and she smiles and dimples at him, and then she reaches for him to continue kissing him.
Han has brought her back to her parents. He seems a bit nervous but he tells her to go along to whatever he says later. They go inside and her parents congratulate him for his team’s win as they had watched it online. Her father is excitedly going on about the game but Tong Nian interrupts him to say that Han wants to talk to them about something.
He apologizes for coming unannounced and asks them to take a seat. Then he says that they know that he’s won the championship now. They congratulate him again and say they support him, but then Han thanks them for their support and deep-bows to them. Her parents tell him to stop bowing but he continues to do so.
HSY: On this special day,... I ask for your permission to entrust your daughter to me. He finally stands up.
TN: I didn’t know about this. He didn’t tell me this.
HSY: I am very lucky to have met Nian Nian. She taught me how to smile. Every time I see her smile,...all the troubles in my life vanish. She’s smiling at him here. Cute couple montage here. He turns back to her parents. I know that you’re unhappy with my past. I can understand this. I am not romantic at all. Dating is like fighting a war. The children in the team are deathly afraid of me. When Nian Nian appeared,... She’s starting to tear up. …I learned to love a person. Another cute couple montage. I hope that in the days to come,... I will learn to love her well. She’s sniffling and tears are running down her face. He turns back to look at her.
HSY: Nian Nian,... though I am older than you,... He smiles. …but a lot of times, I am more childish than you. She smiles and shakes her head at him. I hope to exchange our roles in the future. You don’t have to always give in to me. I will make you the center of my world. Let me take good care of you,...okay? She sniffles and then looks at her parents.
She asks her mother what she should say, and her mother tells her to ask herself that, and not her. Her father gets up and tells Han that he has a question.
TN’s father: Xiao Han. I have only one daughter. I have never let her suffer hardship since she was young.
HSY: Don’t worry. I won’t let her suffer. Her father nods.
TN’s father: People often say that daughters are fathers’ little beloved. She continues tearing up.
HSY: I will love her like you and love her even more.
TN’s father to her: Silly child, don’t cry. He’s wiping off her tears with a finger. Then, I have nothing else to say. He goes to sit back down next to his wife.
HSY to TN’s mother: I know that you’re worried. But in the days to come, I will love her with my all. The age gap, I cannot change that. I will treat each day as a lifetime.
TN’s father: That’s good.
TN’s mother: Then, you must love Nian Nian well. Do you hear me?
HSY: Since we have made our decision,...I hope to get our marriage certificate. I am here today to get Nian Nian’s residence permit from you.
Her parents agree and go upstairs to get her residence permit. He breathes a big sigh of relief when they leave the room, and looks like he wants to flop down. Tong Nian laughs and asks him why he didn’t tell her earlier. He says who told him she wanted to get married right before the finals. Hehe. He points out that when she agreed, he came here immediately. He asks if she’s seen a more sincere man after receiving a proposal? She shakes her head at him and giggles. He then asks where she’d like to go for their honeymoon. She asks, a honeymoon? He says the next step after marriage is a honeymoon - is there a problem? She beams at him, shakes her head and links her arms with his. Her parents return and she quickly lets go of him. Her mother has the residence permit in her hand. Before handing it over, her mother tells him that if he faces any difficulties in the future, he should come to them as they are family now. Awww. T__T She goes to hand it over but then pulls it back and tells them to have dinner with them three times a week. Tong Nian tells her mother of course, and Han says that he often picks her up from school. Her mother finally hands the permit over to Han. Her father tells him that she’ll be his wife, so please treat her well. She goes to hug both of her parents and starts crying that she’s not leaving forever. When she realizes Han is still standing there, she tells him to get over there. Han walks a tiny bit closer but still stands there awkwardly trying to figure out where to put his hands. lol He finally just goes in to hug the trio. Everyone’s crying happily and hugging now.
They leave her parents’ house and when they exit the exterior entrance, he tells her that he forgot something. She asks him what it is and offers to go back inside to get it. He stops her and carries her into his arms. She tells him not to as there are a lot of people who can see them. He tells her to treat this as their wedding rehearsal then. He says if she feels shy, then just put her head on his shoulder. She says no but she's smiling. Her neighbors walk by and smile at them, and the patrolman sees them and says jia you to them. (~18:33, less than minute long. Just look at their unbridled joy and love!!)
Back inside, Tong Nian’s mother (who is now wearing a K&K jersey, lol!!) and father are looking a bit sad and deflated and sitting away from each other. Her father gets up to sit next to her mother, and holds her hand, and they both smile knowing that Tong Nian is happy.
Han and Tong Nian head back to K&K Club for the victory party. Han asks her if she's thought it through - as once they tell everyone, there is no going back. She asks if he's considered it clearly. She says that she’s confident only when he's made up his mind. He tells her to give him 10 seconds.
And then he pulls her in for a kiss. In the background, everyone else is dancing but now they stop to gawk at Han and Tong Nian kissing. Hehe. Their kiss ends and he tells her that he's ready now. They turn and find everyone waiting for them, and then the cheering starts. A smiling Han asks them if they're done enjoying yet. They say they're not and he says, then continue. They tell him that the two of them should continue, too. Hehe.
9-7 asks him where they went as he left them on a celebratory night. Han says with the Asian championship, he went to get their da sao's residence permit and waves it up high with his right hand. Grunt takes it from him to look at it. Xiao Mi yells that he’d love to have one, too. Ya Ya just smiles at this. Dude, you only admitted she was your girlfriend a few hours ago. lol Buff says, "Congratulations, Gun God for getting off the market!" Everyone cheers at this. Ya Ya and Lan Mei both hug her to congratulate her. Lan Mei tells her husband that her best friend is great as she’s made Gun God her husband. And Lan Mei's husband says, "Most importantly, Gun God is now my brother-in-law!" Hahaha. The team gives them well wishes for their wedding and hope they have a baby soon. Upstairs, a guy calls out his name and tells him that his friends are waiting upstairs for him. He leaves and tells them to take care of their da sao. They say no problem and continue chanting da sao over and over.
Han and Xiao Mi go upstairs to where Solo, Ai Qing and All are waiting out on Han’s balcony. Ai Qing says that Solo looks like a traitor in his K&K clothes. Haha. He says it’s a new style. Xiao Mi says as Han’s friends, they’ve occupied his room and ruined his sweet times.
Ai Qing realizes that the cheering downstairs just now was not about the championships but... All mentions that he has the most unpleasant face and worst temper, with no interest in women, and invests all of his money into his career until he becomes poor but he's getting off the market before them? Everyone else laughs at this. All goes on to say that this is unimaginable. He feels like dying and then pretends to jump off the balcony. lol They then toast to working hard towards victory. But Han says that he's unable to drink alcohol with them as he's driving Tong Nian somewhere later. He grabs a juice instead. He hopes that each one of them can find their own happiness. Solo asks where he is going and Han just puts a finger to his lip, indicating it's a secret, and smiles before leaving. (Gah, his smiles in this ep are killing me!) Xiao Mi says it's for his wedding night. Hehe. The foursome stay behind to toast to the championships.
Back downstairs, Han is watching the team continuing to celebrate. Han tells Wu Bai that he's leaving this place to him, and Wu Bai tells him to remember to call their grandfather. Han tells him to not stay single and be lonely anymore and go date someone. Han says that it feels quite good. Wu Bai admits that he's envious as few in this world find their true love, and they also trust each other. Wu Bai congratulates him and Han tells him jia you. They end on the unique K&K cheer. Han leaves and Wu Bai runs to join the boisterous boys in chanting "Champion" over and over.
Han and Tong Nian are at the registration office but it's closed - they’re too early. lol They sit down to call Han Grandpa. Han greets him with the news that he and Tong Nian are currently at the marriage registration office. Han Grandpa is surprised, and Han tells him that in two hours' time, she will legally be his granddaughter-in-law. Grandpa says he's finally done something to make him happy and then asks to speak to Nian Nian. Han puts the phone on speakerphone and Grandpa tells Tong Nian that they need to have three weddings: Shanghai, their hometown, and Norway. Tong Nian asks if that's too many. He says they have to, and also have a Western wedding and a Chinese wedding. Just five weddings in total. O_o Nope. Han says okay as it'll keep Grandpa busy. They end the call and Han says there's something more important.
He gets up and kneels down on one knee in front of her. He pulls out a ring but then asks her which finger to put it on - the middle finger or ring finger? She calls him a fool and says the middle finger is for engagement, so it should be the ring finger now. He puts the very large championship on her ring finger but it's too big so he moves it to her thumb. Still too big. lol She says that she feels like an emperor now. Haha. Han tells her that this is his first and last championship ring he has kept. He explains that he had thrown away the one he received with Team Solo, so this is the only one left. He apologizes for retiring too soon and can't win her any more championship rings. She tells him that this one is pleasing and she likes this ring.
He then tells her that he's normally a person who doesn't express his emotions much, and keeps it all inside. He also finds romance to be unimportant and unnecessary. He then holds her right hand in his hands and kisses her hand and rests his forehead against it. His thoughts: "One lifetime is long...but I give it all to you. I love you." She smiles but asks him why he didn't say anything. He says that he's said it. Nope. He didn’t. So typical of Han. :)
They go back to the doors of the registration office, so they can first in line. He asks where he’ll live when they’re married. She says that he’ll stay where he should. Then he asks her where she will stay and she asks what he thinks. He says if she’s staying at K&K Club, he’ll get a bigger bed for her. If she’s moving into his place, then there’s already a bed for her and she can move in anytime. He says that he’ll leave Xiao Youyu for her to care for and feed. He says if it’s at her parents’, that’s fine for him, too. She then asks about her PhD studies. He says, then he’ll move to her hostel. Haha. She tells him that he can’t get into a female hostel. He replies that climbing a building isn’t a problem for him. Love conquers acrophobia? lol They decide that they’ll need to talk about this later.
He tells her to take a rest. She asks how she is going to rest here. He removes his jacket and puts it on the ground and sits down next to it, and leans against the doors, and gestures for her to join him. So she lays down on the jacket and rests her upper torso and head against his legs. They continue talking and laughing for a while before they both close their eyes. More of cute couple montage! Later, there are four couples staring at the sleeping couple from above. lol They're saying that they should've come earlier, too, but it would’ve been way too early. Han wakes up first and then wakes her up. When they stand up, an employee walks by to open to unlock the doors and asks who was first in line. They’re the first couple to go in. Show, why didn’t you show us their registration photos?!
Team K&K and SP are riding together on the K&K bus. Tong Nian is sleeping on Han's shoulder as he's watching the live report about the finals on a tablet. Ai Qing receives a call asking where they are. Ai Qing says they're late for the airport because of Han. Grunt interjects and says that it was because of da sao putting on her makeup. Ai Qing retorts that it was him putting on his makeup. Grunt denies it but everyone laughs at this. He wears a lot of eye makeup. Ai Qing hangs up the call and Wu Bai locks eyes with her for a moment. The bus suddenly stops and Tong Nian wakes up from the jerking movement. She sleepily asks if they're there yet. He says no and she just snuggles him to go back to sleep and he kisses her forehead. Awww. (~39:12) Everyone else groans and cringes from their PDA. Haha. Han looks over and everyone acts like they're not watching them, but they all resume laughing at the couple.
At the airport, Solo greets Han by saying that he's late again. The two men walk off together, with Han still holding Tong Nian's hand, and their teams are behind them. Both teams are heading into the World Championships. They hope to win the championship for their country.
The End.
Remarks
by FanFanX
[First Impression (Ep1-7)] Our smart and bubbly Tong Nian is very into Han Shang Yan, a moody and consummate workaholic who has no time for dating or anything else. And now they’re in a fake relationship, so he doesn’t have to listen to his grandfather’s incessant nagging.
I’m also enjoying the interactions with K&K team players and am piqued by the backstory of Han and Solo’s past, and Team Solo. (Yeah, I’m sure these two names together were purely coincidental, ha.)
[Actors/Actresses] I haven’t seen either lead in anything before. I found Yang Zi to be pretty likable in this. She’s good at being flustered but she isn’t brainless, and she’s cute without being entirely childlike. She really makes laugh with her funny expressions, especially the exaggerated screaming. And without giving away too much, it's hilarious what she does to Li Xian in this.
[Behind the Scenes and Extras] Ep20 & 36, the two unscripted kisses that made it into the series. (Done with the director's suggestion.)
Li Xian is fun to watch as well - from his scowling to beaming, and all of the microexpressions in between. (It appears that he cracked a lot in BTS clips anyway.) I do find him quite appealing with his very healthy-looking tan. (I can only stare when he appears in an outfit other than black on this series.) I’ve read from several places that Yang Yang was the first choice pick for this role but he turned it down for another esports series. Sorry, but I can’t see anyone but Li Xian as Han Shang Yan. Li Xian has the right expressions, proper seriousness, and flexibility to carry out this character.
Li Ming De (Marcus Li) as 9-7 stood out to me with his sweet, silly and thoughtful demeanor. And I love how he was the first to dub her as da sou.
Jiang Pei Yao as Sun Ya Ya is a delight! It took me a while to realize she was Ruan Qing Xia from You Are My Hero (as the smarter half to everyone’s favorite second couple).
Lee Hong Chi as Mi Shao Fei is cute and so lovable. He has so much heart and seems so genuine. I noticed that he’s only ever been in this series, and in mostly movies. I hope I see more of him either way.
Zhang Ge as Xiao Ai is a wonderful child actress with such depth and nuance to character. At 12 years old, she really showcased some powerfully moving scenes in this series with her father, mother, Tong Nian and even Han. I feel that they did such an amazing job of casting her as she also resembles the actor (Li Ze Feng) who plays her father, too.
Shi Qing Yan (Miffy Shi) is forever stuck in my mind as a selfish mean girl from Sunshine of My Life, so it was so refreshing to see her as a sweet and thoughtful but feisty friend in this.
I’ve also decided that I don't care much for Hu Yi Tian as a ML - always icy. In this series, as Wu Bai, this was the perfect amount of him on screen, and he was kind of funny albeit still withdrawn.
I love these three together: Yang Zi is busting Li Xian’s chops as Zhang Ge just listens and laughs.
Ep32, Li Xian and Yang Zi discussing the mindset of their characters during their first real argument scene. (Netizens and I are distracted by Li Xian’s smile though.)
Ep37, I love how cute Yang Zi and Li Xian are but at the end, Li Ze Fang (Wang Hao/Solo) wants a hug from Wang Zhen Er (Ai Qing/Appledog) who tells him to go away. Haha.
And because I wanted to share one more video of these two goofballs, which appears to be during a promotional photoshoot session.
And here is Yang Zi being…Yang Zi!
Final one: Yang Zi and Li Xian being themselves but I can't get over Li Xian's smiles and laughs here.
My favorites:
Chen Xue Ran | Nameless Generation - I rarely skipped the intro because of this song. Huge Chen Xue Ran fan. :)
Li Xian | Give To The Future - Han in a nutshell.
You Zhang Jing | Love Is Not Up To Me -This is the song Han plays in the car for Tong Nian in Ep8, and it appears with some of their other key moments. I love this song just a smidge more than Milk Bread.
是有一些难言的理由Shì yǒu yī xiē nán yán de lǐ yóu
There are some reasons that are difficult to put into words.
也早习惯寂寞这朋友Yě zǎo xí guàn jì mò zhè péng you
I’ve already gotten used to my friend, Loneliness.
躲得过你关心的眼眸Duǒ dé guò nǐ guān xīn de yǎn móu
I can avoid your caring eyes,
躲不过心动Duǒ bù guò xīn dòngBut I can’t avoid my feelings.
Yang Zi | Milk Bread - The cutest love song about bread falling in love with milk.
Food = Love? :) Who is the bread and who is the milk? I know what my answer is…
[Ending] Happy, sweet and hopeful.
[Footnotes]
1. [Ep9] flash2351: HSY immediately leaves a public message on Tong Nian's account saying he will be away and leaving his phone number. Which is what makes 9-7 telling him that he can send private messages barely a minute later super hilarious.
[Review & Rating]
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