Original subtitles

♪Hey, you, you, you, why is it you again?♪

♪Always stumbling upon my little secrets♪

♪Falling on my brows, my lashes, even the strands by my mouth♪

♪Like my favorite kitten on a rainy spring afternoon♪

♪Hey, you, you, you, why is it you again?♪

♪You effortlessly awaken my protective instincts♪

♪Hitting all my little thoughts, my doubts, and my temper♪

♪Like my favorite beer and fried chicken in autumn, or spicy boiled fish in winter♪

♪Why is it you again? That sweet way you speak♪

♪As if the whole world knows my mind is full of you♪

♪Why is it still you? That secret smile behind your cool facade♪

♪I might as well play along. Let me protect you♪

♪Why is it always you? The smile at the corner of your lips♪

♪Before I knew it, the words blurted out, "I like you. I only like you."♪

♪Before I knew it, the words blurted out, "I like you. I only like you."♪

=Love Has Fireworks=

(Based on "Investment Men and Women" by Hong Er on Jinjiang Literature City)

=Episode 25=

Ms. Liao went straight to Mr. Kong

without going through you.

There was nothing you could do.

It's a real shame.

Thank you, Ms. Fang.

Then you'd better head back.

I'll go downstairs and pack up my things.

(Moving 140 items...)

(It's a simple idea.)

(If you want something,)

(fight for it.)

(Don't dwell on what you've lost.)

(Don't dwell on the criticism you're facing right now.)

(This is the moment to keep going.)

(What matters now)

(isn't the present,)

(it's the future.)

(Every hardship and every bit of patience)

(is a sign you're moving closer to your dream.)

(If you can't endure this,)

(then you only deserve what you have now.)

(That's the truth.)

(No matter how defeated, discouraged, or angry you are,)

(none of that matters.)

(What matters is staying true to yourself.)

(Over and over again,)

(keep thinking, keep trying.)

(Don't give up. Keep going.)

(Stay focused)

(on the outcome you want.)

(As long as you keep running toward hope,)

(hope will arrive sooner than you expect.)

(Shanlifang Hotel Group)

At this stage,

our business team

needs to make full use

of its connections

and invite as many industry leaders as possible

to the event.

The PR team

should invite as many media outlets as they can.

Influencers, too.

Let's make this event

as impactful as possible.

What about the service team?

I want 60 percent of the key staff

reassigned internally.

And keep it confidential.

The remaining 40 percent will support the event.

What do you think?

What about you, Mr. Li?

I think Ms. Fang's plan is excellent.

Right now,

we don't have the manpower

to investigate further.

We'll investigate the truth.

It'll be after the banquet.

Why are you just getting back?

Were you in meetings all night?

Don't tell me you've been lying here all night.

No. I was about to fall asleep.

Weren't you home long ago?

What's wrong?

Feeling down and couldn't sleep?

No.

Are you sure?

Then what's this?

Give up already?

Not thinking about it anymore?

Ready to call it quits?

I know it's unfair to you.

But if you stop fighting for it,

your job isn't going to come back on its own, right?

It's not that.

It's not that?

Stop making excuses.

I spent so much time training you and teaching you.

Was it all for nothing?

One setback and you're back to square one?

You've only been suspended,

not fired.

Look at you, feeling sorry for yourself.

Will you let me say something?

Fine. Go ahead.

I'll hear it.

You came home

and started taking it out on me.

I couldn't get a word in.

What else could I have done

about Liao Shiyu?

I've done everything I could.

I've tried my best.

She just doesn't like me.

She's targeting me.

What else can I do?

So?

So you just let her push you around?

No.

You still don't get it?

See for yourself.

(Event Info, Venue, Shanlifang Ballroom)

(Main Stage, Head Table, Buffet Area)

When did you start this?

Last night.

I started planning it last night.

It's still rough.

But I have you, right?

(Shanlifang Charity Gala Proposal)

(01 Objectives, 02 Event Info, 03 Agenda, 04 Guest List)

You thought of a charity gala, too?

Who else did?

Fang Yun.

You two really

think alike.

She's planning to hold a charity gala

and raise donations.

Donations?

Trying to bury the bad press with good publicity?

It'll shift attention,

but it's nowhere near as effective as a public apology.

A public apology?

You've seen Liao Shiyu's attitude.

There's no way she'd agree.

Exactly.

If only half the executives in this world

could swallow their pride,

there wouldn't be so many scandals dragging on.

I thought this whole thing had crushed you.

You had me worried.

What's there to worry about?

I was worried you'd get so mad

you'd trash the place.

I was crushed. Completely.

But then I watched the video

you made for Fulaxida.

I'm warning you,

you need to pay me royalties for using my image.

I told you to delete the photos.

Not only did you keep them, but you also turned them into a video.

What?

Did you watch the company video

I made?

Who told you to watch it?

I hadn't finished

the editing, the filters, the beauty effects, and the skin smoothing.

And you watched it?

Well,

you know

what you look like.

No amount of editing is going to change that.

It's a little ugly,

but you did a pretty good job.

Of course.

But look,

Fulaxida has had its setbacks, too.

Right?

And it got through them.

So I believe

someone can get through this, too.

I remember

the last thing you said in that video.

"As long as you keep running toward hope,

hope will arrive sooner than you expect."

So, let's keep running.

Liao Shiyu

kicked me off the sponsor team,

but I believe Shanlifang

will ask me to come back.

As long as you keep running toward hope,

Uh...

What comes next?

Hope will arrive sooner than you expect.

Not bad.

You've got the gist of it.

I didn't teach you for nothing.

- You're a good apprentice. - I'm a good apprentice.

I knew it.

Not bad.

Now you can guess what I'm about to say.

Dad, I'm confident

this will resolve the crisis soon.

Of course, I trust you.

After breakfast, go get some sleep.

You were up all night.

That won't do.

It breaks my heart.

Don't worry. I'm fine.

I heard Wang's parents came to Shanghai.

Yes.

His mom is sick. She's in the hospital.

Have you gone to visit her?

I don't think she likes me.

Shiyu,

don't dwell on little things.

You're someone who'll run Shanlifang.

I know,

Dad.

If anything happens at the company, don't be afraid.

I'll help you.

I'll try not to worry you.

Based on Ms. Fang's suggestion,

this proposal includes the venue layout,

the banquet agenda,

and a recommended guest list.

Of course, it's only for your reference, Ms. Liao.

Does anyone else have any comments?

Why does the logic behind this proposal feel so familiar?

Why did you say?

Nothing.

I was saying it's an excellent plan.

It's thorough.

If you don't have anything constructive to add,

don't interrupt.

Ms. Fang, you planned everything perfectly.

Mr. Li, you certainly live up to your reputation.

Our joint sponsor team has done a great job.

Please send this proposal to every department.

We'll move forward with it.

Ms. Fang,

what do you think of the PR plan?

You may all leave.

Zhizhong is impressive.

Even with such a busy schedule,

you still found the time

to put together a plan like this for Shanlifang.

Well done.

That said,

this proposal

might actually turn this crisis into an opportunity.

My team didn't make this.

I'm sure you recognized who did,

Ms. Fang.

Qian Fei?

She came up with the charity gala, too?

Or did you tell her about it?

No. Not at all.

She just happened to have the same idea as you.

Really?

I have to admit,

this proposal is remarkable.

From the design to the execution,

even the staffing list is detailed.

Did she really put a plan this thorough together all by herself

in such a short time?

That's why I said you have a good assessment of people.

People's potential is limitless.

And the fact that she asked me to submit it on her behalf,

I suppose you know why.

Liao Shiyu.

Exactly.

Thank you, Mr. Li Jr..

I'm just doing my job.

Actually,

what I admire isn't just Qian Fei's ability.

Even if she hadn't been suspended,

this wasn't part of her job.

She was treated so unfairly,

yet she still gave her all to help Shanlifang

without asking for anything in return.

I really admire that.

No one made her do it.

She did it because she wanted to.

Let's head downstairs.

Okay.

I'm back.

I'm starving.

What are you up to now?

Want to become a nun?

Alright.

Get up and cook.

I'm starving.

I'm mediating.

Meditating?

Meditation can't help you think

if you're on an empty stomach.

Right?

Come on. Go cook.

If you want anything, go wash the vegetables.

Leave them there when you're done.

I'm only cooking today.

I'm not doing the prep work.

I... I don't know how.

Then don't eat.

Fine.

Wait here.

I'll do it.

Hey, you're flooding the place.

How long have you been washing them?

You've only washed a few leaves,

and you're wasting water.

Something's off.

What's with you today?

Something's wrong.

You've been picking at everything.

You're never like this.

What's your problem? Fire away.

If you've got an issue with me, say it.

Shoot it.

I talked to Zhao De.

Why was the PR proposal you gave Shanlifang

different from the one we worked on together?

Different?

Do I need to compare them in front of you?

Now I remember.

Yeah.

I made a few changes

and polished a little.

Polished?

You deleted the most important part.

Don't you know the whole point of that charity gala

was to apologize to the public,

not to protect Shanlifang's image?

You knew that, didn't you?

Yeah, I deleted it.

So what?

Let me tell you this.

If I hadn't,

Liao Shiyu would've never agreed

to hold the gala.

Then what would've been the point of all that planning?

Why should the client

follow your proposal?

Can you guarantee

Liao Shiyu would've done everything according to your plan?

You can't, right?

Our job in investment banking

is to help companies go public.

That's it.

As long as you've done your best, that's enough.

I told you last night

I'll help you get your job back.

I keep my word.

If getting my job back was all I wanted,

I wouldn't have walked out

of that meeting

without saying a word.

I really thought better of you.

I never should've discussed it with you.

So helping you was my mistake?

You judged everything by your own standards

and thought you were helping me.

But what you think is good for me

isn't helping me at all.

You're way too controlling.

What?

I'm controlling?

Li Yifei, you're hopeless.

Where are you going?

Where are you going?

I already washed the vegetables.

Great.

Amazing.

Now there's no dinner.

What was the point of washing them?

What a waste.

Great.

This is pretty good.

Something's not right.

You've been suspended,

and you don't seem worried at all.

Something's off.

How could I not be?

Work is important,

but going home for the Chinese New Year is important, too.

How are all the tickets already gone?

Chinese New Year

is just around the corner.

The world's biggest

mammal migration.

You're always well prepared.

How did you not book your ticket earlier?

I was swamped with work lately.

It completely slipped my mind.

Now I can only try my luck.

Look. From here to here.

Let me check.

The success rate for grabbing a ticket over the past few days

is only about 20 percent.

What about earlier?

Earlier... Let me see.

There are tickets for this day.

(Shanghai - Xi'an)

If I go back too early,

my dad will definitely start overthinking.

If he finds out I'm having trouble at work,

he'll worry.

Can't do that.

True.

Someone as dedicated as you

would never take that many days off early.

Have you booked your ticket?

Don't even mention it. It's giving me a headache.

My family insists

I bring a boyfriend home.

I have no idea what they're thinking.

Since when have you become such a well-behaved child

like Jun?

It doesn't really matter.

I only go home once a year.

I just don't want to upset them

over something like this.

What about Jun?

He seems really into you.

So what?

His mom dotes on him.

She won't let him spend Chinese New Year somewhere else.

What about you?

Need my help?

You'd better grab your ticket.

I'll ask around in a few chat groups.

This stir-fried eggplant doesn't taste as good anymore.

Not as good

as our landlady's.

Really?

Then why did you make her mad that she left?

Serves you right.

Making fun of me, huh?

You did it on purpose.

Fine.

Just wait.

Where's my phone?

I'm changing the password to my game account.

I'm sorry.

I was wrong.

You were wrong?

Look at you.

Your own problems aren't solved,

and you're making fun of me.

I've really got to say this.

If I can't win over the girl I like,

at least I'll keep trying.

I borrowed your game account to play with her.

That's my way of quietly supporting her.

Now look at you.

You're with Qian Fei every single day,

but you won't confess.

Instead, you keep upsetting her

and disrespecting her.

How am I disrespecting her?

I respect her too much.

Qian Fei has more important things to deal with right now.

Her job's unstable,

and she's under a lot of pressure from her family.

I can't take advantage of that.

When everything's going well for her,

when she's happy

and ready for a relationship,

I'll make my move and nail it.

You know,

that's confidence.

Got it?

Take my advice.

You should learn from me.

Talk to Qian Fei.

Open up to each other.

You only had the conversation

because of your mom.

How is that the same as me?

It's not.

Fine.

We'll see how long you can keep being this stubborn.

Doesn't taste good.

Do you have no hands and legs?

Can't you take the trash out?

You think I'm your maid?

No. I...

I was going to take it out, but I fell asleep.

Have you eaten?

If not,

go make yourself something.

Don't stay hungry.

Where have you been?

You didn't reply to messages.

What's wrong?

You're ignoring me.

Drinking coffee this late?

Aren't you worried you won't sleep?

Forget it.

Well,

I'll do you a favor

and drink one for you.

I carry this with me now.

You really have lived up to your surname.

You can't smile unless there's money.

You're not mad anymore, are you?

I'm suspended now.

So you're my only source of income.

If I stay mad,

how am I supposed to make money from you?

That's more like it. A generous landlady.

I like that.

So we're good now?

Fei,

when you're coming home for Chinese New Year,

bring your boyfriend home as well.

I'd like to meet him.

That'd be awkward.

He has to be with his dad.

Didn't you say

he wasn't getting along with his dad?

Just bring him to our house.

I've got plenty of fatherly love.

You've got more than enough.

Let's share some with him.

Dad,

you're becoming quite the smooth talker.

They've made up.

He has to go home for the Chinese New Year.

So he can't come this year.

How about this? I'll find a way to bring him home to meet you next year.

How does that sound?

Alright.

If he can't come,

let me talk to him.

What?

Uh...

He's not with me right now.

He went out.

I'm here.

Hello, Mr. Su?

It's me, Mr. Su.

You're Li, right?

That's right. It's me.

I'm sitting next to Fei.

She told me all about you.

Your surname is Su.

Everything's going well.

It's just bad timing.

I really do have to go home and spend Chinese New Year with my dad this year.

I promise you,

I'll visit you during the Chinese New Year next year.

Don't worry.

I'll take good care of Fei.

Oh, right.

You have to promise me something, too.

Please take good care of yourself.

And

please say hi to Ms. He for me.

Alright.

Okay. Of course.

Should I put Fei back on?

No need?

Alright then. Okay.

You, too.

You froze?

You have no idea

how scared I was.

I thought you'd get carried away

and start making things up to my dad.

Thank goodness we got through that.

You scared me to death.

There's a lesson here.

If you're going to lie, prepare your script first.

I only lied to my dad about having a boyfriend

so he'd stop nagging me.

Now I'm trying to keep the lie going,

and it's turning into a whole TV series.

It's okay.

I can keep playing your fake boyfriend.

And don't worry.

After hearing

my calm and reliable voice,

your dad completely trusts me now. He likes me.

Fine.

You did a good job.

You did well as an extra.

I've finished half of the mission of the Chinese New Year.

I'm just wondering what you're going to do next year.

What do you mean? You think I can't find a boyfriend within a year?

I figure you'll end up

renting me again next year.

You might already be some girl's live-in husband by then.

Why?

Why would I be a live-in husband?

You're broke.

What girl would marry you

unless you married into her family?

Didn't you take me in?

Don't stand at the door.

I'm going to take a shower.

(Work Experience: July 2018 - June 2020, Senior Executive)

(2016 - 2018 Senior Programmer) Lu Ze.

(M.S. in Computer Science) Your education

and work experience are impressive.

But...

your last startup failed.

Yes.

Alright. Please introduce yourself.

As my resume says,

I have six years of R&D experience.

I founded a software company with a team of forty.

And before we could finish

developing the product,

our investors pulled out.

After much thought,

I decided to shut down the company

to minimize losses.

My personal values are

to be as humble as water, lead with integrity,

embrace responsibility and innovation, and benefit society.

If your company is willing to give me a chance...

What's your salary expectation?

I'm looking for

over 20,000.

Mr. Lu, to be honest,

we usually

don't hire

people who've started their own business,

whether they succeeded or failed.

From our experience,

former entrepreneurs

often have

the wrong mindset.

As the saying goes,

"once you're your own boss, it's hard to work for someone else."

I think we'll pass.

I wasn't finished.

May I continue?

Go ahead.

I've heard what you just said

countless times

in other interviews.

You're right.

From an employer's perspective,

people like us who've failed at startups aren't appealing.

Before I started my business,

I was a pretty capable

software engineer.

But after I became,

I had to handle everything, from running the company

to looking after my employees' morale.

Hence, I had less and less time

to focus on

my technical skills.

But I'm also grateful.

That failed startup

taught me a great deal.

It helped me better understand what this role requires.

So

I sincerely hope you'll give me a chance.

A chance to prove myself.

I'm sorry.

Sorry, babe.

I'm late.

It's fine.

How did the interview go?

The interview, well... Take it one step at a time.

Yours starts at 2 PM, right?

I'll drive you there.

Sure.

Ms. Yao Jingjing,

have something to eat.

I'm not done yet.

Eat something first.

I'm almost done.

Let me make a few more changes.

Don't be nervous.

With how capable you are,

you could wing it and still do fine.

The problem is, I'm competing

against major companies.

But look at me.

I'm really stressed.

Didn't Qian Fei say

the PR department

loved your proposal?

It's just a charity gala.

It's a cakewalk for you.

I have complete faith in you.

But this is Shanlifang.

Your former employer.

And I rubbed the boss's daughter the wrong way.

Just thinking of that stresses me out.

This is so hard.

I don't think my chances are good.

Forget it. I'm out.

I'm not going.

Ms. Yao Jingjing.

Have you forgotten your motto?

If you don't work for it,

no one will give you the life you want.

No matter how anxious you feel,

keep a smile on your face and face everything.

After all,

your career is the only thing that'll never let you down.

Babe.

Shanlifang is about to go public.

If you can help them

get through this PR crisis,

it'll only do your career good.

Besides, the boss's daughter

is way too high up

to bother with a bidding event

or publicity work like this.

Just do what you do best.

In that case,

let's do it?

Let's do it!

Alright.

Come on. Let's smash it.

(Meeting Room)

Yifei, why don't you say something?

The quality inspection results

from the trial fields we've selected

haven't been ideal.

If things keep going at this pace,

I'm afraid the remaining funds won't last until the project's midpoint.

Should we raise money through equity financing?

It's too early.

If we wait any longer,

finding a suitable land is one problem,

but I'm worried that our cash flow will dry up.

Then all our hard work will go down the drain.

It's just a piece of land.

Maybe we should think differently, right?

We might find a better solution.

What do you mean?

Take a look at this photo.

All the sites we've looked at

have been on flat plains.

This photo

shows a plateau.

It gets plenty of sunlight and has distinct climate zones.

The soil formed

under these unique conditions

might actually be better suited

for our trial project.

Right?

A plateau isn't a bad idea,

but we're short on time.

If we send people there now

to do a field survey,

won't it delay

the later stages of app development?

Then why don't we

work on both at the same time?

We can send people to do the field survey

while reaching out to potential investors.

There's still time.

I'll ask my contacts there

to send us soil samples

from at least four or five counties around Ngapa

within three days.

Would that work?

Ma Li, I believe that before today's meeting,

more than one person

had approached you about investing.

Yes.

Some suggested splitting off a new company.

They said they'd value the new company at 200 million.

They were even willing to invest 40 million in a Series A round

based on nothing more than a pitch deck.

And you had second thoughts?

I've never seen anything like this before.

What they see is Fulaxida.

They're betting on agriculture.

It's a key industry

the country urgently needs to develop.

I think with new capital,

our company will be in a much stronger position

to expand into the market.

Do you all think so?

Let me make myself clear.

I'd like to ask everyone,

what's the core spirit

of Fulaxida?

It's staying grounded.

So tell me,

before our core business

has truly taken shape,

do we still have enough money?

Then what should we do?

Protect this company from being controlled by capital

while it's still in its early stages.

I firmly oppose raising another round of funding at this point.

I know you're unhappy.

I'm sorry. But I have no choice.

I have to exercise

my veto power.

Then you'll miss an opportunity for exponential growth.

That's only what you think.

This is how the capital game works.

Let me tell you.

Every venture capital firm calculates the odds of success.

Do you really think

they'd spend that much money

on an inexperienced startup team like yours?

Unless they believe

Qiansheng Group is backing us,

there's only one other possibility.

What's that?

They have an ulterior motive. Come on.

I don't get it.

Of course you don't.

As an investor, I know this all too well.

Capital is like water. It has no loyalties.

Water can carry a boat, but it can also sink it.

I'm refusing funding,

not because I'm afraid

my shares will be diluted.

I'm protecting Fulaxida's original vision.

Before we're strong enough,

financial giants will force a company

to become nothing more than a money-making machine.

They'll force us

to abandon the vision we promised at the pitch event.

Is that really what you want?

Is that what any of you want?

I believe

you know the answer.

Meeting adjourned.

Meeting adjourned.

You're unbelievable.

As expected of the son of Qiansheng Manufacturing's chairman.

Everyone else is begging for investment,

but you're turning it away.

Hold your horse.

Up until today,

have I ever used a single dime

from Qiansheng Manufacturing?

Now you're mad?

Feeling wronged?

Trust me.

When the time is right, I won't even have to ask.

Qiansheng Manufacturing will come to us.

You'll see.

It's not that I don't believe you.

I'm just afraid we'll miss a good chance.

It's rare to see you so obsessed with money.

Now I'm curious about which investors have been approaching you.

Let's just say,

there are quite a few.

That one from Shenzhen...

Ma Li.

Focus on

what you do best.

I'll deal with

all those capital tricks.

Have you found the new R&D team yet?

It's tough. Especially the core positions.

Don't bother looking at those.

They're no help.

It's only been a few days.

Where did the passionate Mr. Ma

from the event pitch go?

Is he gone? Has he changed?

I'm very confident about Fulaxida.

So am I.

I believe that in this day and age,

outsiders can disrupt the insiders.

They can strike from another dimension.

What did you just say?

Strike from another dimension?

The line before that.

Outsiders can disrupt the insiders.

Exactly.

It just occurred to me

that Fulaxida needs a different hiring strategy.

What do you mean?

Find allies.

I just thought of someone.

Investment from allies?

=Love Has Fireworks= (Next Episode Preview)

What?

Want it?

Flight ticket!

I'm starting to see you in a new light.

Wait. What did you think of me before?

What are you doing here?

Ms. Liao,

regarding the public apology I suggested,

I drafted a speech.

I hope you'll give it some thought.

The media will all be there tonight. I won't put you in an awkward position.

Anyway,

please read it first before you decide.

♪There's no need to know the ending from the start♪

♪Let the melody play through the chords with the wind♪

♪There's no need to keep every promise from the past♪

♪Leave some surprises for the unknown in life♪

♪There's no need to force things between two people♪

♪Perhaps I'll feel alone, yet still find you there for me♪

♪There's no need to dwell on right or wrong, nor fear♪

♪A hug means more than countless apologies♪

♪I'll send you into the wide world♪

♪To live with passion and become who you truly are♪

♪A quiet shoulder♪

♪Like a harbor waiting for your wandering soul♪

♪I'll wait for the day you return to a simpler life♪

♪The lights of home warm the night♪

♪A companionship that lasts forever♪

♪Shining brightly like the stars and the moon on high♪

♪I'll send you into the wide world♪

♪To live with passion and become who you truly are♪

♪A quiet shoulder♪

♪Like a harbor waiting for your wandering soul♪

♪I'll wait for the day you return to a simpler life♪

♪The lights of home warm the night♪

♪A companionship that lasts forever♪

♪Shining brightly like the stars and the moon on high♪