Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available.]

[Lover or Stranger Ep29]

Hi.

Sorry, we haven't...

You...

Meizi,

who is it?

Do we have a customer?

You scared the crap out of me.

When did you come back?

It's been two days.

You haven't changed a bit.

You seem a bit older.

I...

It's the sun.

This is for you.

You took a detour to the flower shop?

No, I just randomly picked this up.

Thanks.

It seems

that you are doing great.

I think so, too.

You are not too shabby yourself.

Mozart.

Good boy.

Good boy, Mozart.

Excited?

Nothing's changed.

Where's my stuff?

Here.

I've been busy lately.

So, it's kind of messy here.

Kind of?

What have you been busy with?

My thesis.

These?

Then why are you reading economics?

You changed your major?

I did, I switched to MPA.

I thought I told you not to.

You told me, and I heard you.

But I did it anyway.

Also, I'm about to graduate.

You did this for Color Initiative.

That's one of my motives.

I consider this major more meaningful.

Is this for me?

Looks like you, doesn't it?

I almost forgot.

What are you doing?

Cook.

Cook, you?

Take a chill pill.

I will cook for my brother.

God!

Do you need my help?

Nope.

Youxi made this?

Have faith in your little sister.

Once, she cooked us a meal,

Xiaodong spitted out the eggshells.

Let me have a try.

I tried to replicate it.

I have no idea how does it taste.

Xiaodong is back?

She told me, but I forgot.

The new address. It's not far from here.

I don't have time, I have a meeting this afternoon.

I'm full, take your time.

Darling.

I think I already told you, business is business.

I won't let your company have this project.

Sun Lei's boyfriend.

Got it.

When did you last eat?

It's good.

You don't like the food there?

It's not bad.

But it's not quite as good.

The local delicacies are actually good.

Were you busy there?

Kind of.

We only had one physician and one surgeon, which is me.

So,

we really needed to be all-round.

But life became simpler,

and more fulfilling.

Sometimes, when the teachers are absent,

I would even teach.

Also, you won't need to pay for the flowers there.

They are everywhere.

Local citizens are all

very nice to us.

Sounds great.

Right, what about you?

Why did you come back?

Our country has been developing rapidly.

That's it?

I need your help with something.

What?

Meizi,

help me bring that

packed ingredients in the kitchen.

It's very impressive.

Here.

Let me.

All gone?

Nice.

It's delicious.

Look.

We get a discount

when importing ingredients from Japan.

So, I thought maybe I can just order more.

This way,

other than selling them in the restaurant,

we can also sell the ingredients.

So, everyone can cook their own meal at home.

It's convenient, take a look.

See?

We've got different recipes.

Be extremely careful with this.

Of course, I know.

Not bad, quite impressive.

You are really good at this.

Sure I am.

Right, will you

be staying in the city for a while?

I suppose.

According to the original plan,

I should've returned last year.

But they really needed me there.

I thought about it and couldn't leave them.

I came back

to see you.

I would regret

not visiting you.

So, when do you plan to go back there?

Actually, I haven't made up my mind.

I used to think that once I come back here,

I would be lured by the life here.

But now, I understand.

I see why you couldn't leave those kids.

So, whether I will return

and keep working there or not,

I will visit those villagers.

The view there is wonderful this time of the year,

do you want to join me?

The weather has been fine,

and I've been thinking about it.

When I'm not this busy,

I'd like to go on a trip.

Right,

how is Huo Youze doing?

Youxi told me that he should be home today.

Really?

So, do you plan to meet him?

I don't.

But I suppose I should.

Yes.

-Boss. -Boss.

You're here.

Right, the uniforms are ready.

You can have a try.

Okay.

You seem busy, maybe I should go.

Okay, I'll walk you out.

Right, when the restaurant opens, I'll send flowers.

There's no need for that.

I don't have many friends here.

It will be just your flowers.

That's embarrassing.

You can just come and eat.

Okay.

I'll leave you be.

See you.

Come visit when you have time.

Sure.

Bye.

Let's practice again.

What should we say when the customers are here?

Welcome.

Right.

What about when they leave?

Wrong.

Thank you for coming.

Right.

When they arrive?

Welcome.

You need more practice.

We can't open the restaurant like this.

Yes, take that.

There, it needs adjustment.

Don't put that many things on it.

Brother, you're back.

Did you see Song Xiaodong?

I just watched her from distance,

and left.

She was busy.

It's good.

You didn't talk to her?

Nope.

Visit her tomorrow with me then.

I also miss Xiaodong.

The three of us can have a nice meal.

No, I just want to eat at home.

Look at this phone,

it's still functional.

Over the years,

the world has changed a lot.

The most important thing is you are back.

Baby steps first,

I guess.

Stop looking at it.

You can definitely rise again.

Even if you can't, you still have me.

I can be the provider.

I have a job now.

But brother,

you can't avoid Song Xiaodong anymore.

Over the years,

I've been thinking,

what to say to her

if I meet her again.

I have a lot to say to her.

But where to start?

Allow me more time.

You are scared, aren't you?

A little bit.

I think 46

is a little bit too cheap.

Think about it, the cost of labour,

and the cost of the ingredients.

The cost of the ingredients may fluctuate.

In that case...

How about we raise the price by 4,

50?

4?

Expensive?

You have a point.

No one will order it

if it's too expensive.

How about we raise it by 3 and make it 49?

Although it's only a little bit cheaper,

the customers

may consider it

a better deal.

Okay,

we'll change the price to 49.

We,

we already printed these out, what should we do?

Maybe we should try to cover them with paper.

I'll go find some paper.

Just this one.

Welcome...

Youxi?

It's been a while.

I haven't seen you online as well.

We thought you didn't get our message.

I've been busy with my thesis.

I barely sleep now.

This is such a big deal,

why didn't you call me to help?

Help? With what?

The two of us can do the job.

Also, it feels better to do it ourselves.

So, you've become reliable?

I'm always reliable.

I just didn't have a chance to show you.

Right,

have you received the package I sent?

I have.

I used those ingredients

to cook my brother a meal yesterday.

When he saw the sesame,

he came to see you right away.

He's been here?

That was him?

Youxi?

Bro, Xiaodong will come to our place.

What? When?

Now.

Now?

Mozart.

Mozart.

Mozart.

Mozart.

Mozart.

Everything good?

Everything good?

He is so happy to see you.

Brother, I will be in my room,

you take your time.

It's been a while.

Didn't you see me yesterday?

I did.

Why didn't you come inside?

I saw you were busy, so...

You, are you here for me?

Of course.

We have a deal, remember?

Have you ever thought about it?

After this event,

we can just move here.

We can start a new life here.

What do you think?

Are you ready to let go of what you have?

I care more about you.

I would really, really love this place.

Then it's settled.

I will start working on it when I get back.

Pinkie swear.

Pinkie swear.

Seal.

You remember.

Of course.

So...

Should we take a walk?

Sure.

Could you please give me a ride to the restaurant?

I need to grab something.

Sure.

I'll go change. Wait here.

Xinxin and Sheng have graduated.

They have many new students now.

They told me about it in the letters.

I also think it's time to visit the school.

Right,

the last couple of years,

how have you been?

Not bad.

Life became simpler.

I had all the time

to think.

What did you think about?

About myself.

About why on earth did I

make those poor decisions.

About the improvements I can make.

Also, about the things I want to do in the future.

Whenever I thought of something, I would write you a letter.

You wrote letters to me?

I didn't receive any.

I never sent any.

I dared not send you those letters and that's why I wrote them.

It sounds like a diary to me.

Sort of.

What about you?

Pretty good.

After I returned to Japan,

I supported Meizi through college.

Although Feng offered us money,

I still wanted to be self-dependent.

Typical you.

But why

did you decide to open an izakaya?

It's kind of nice.

While I was in Japan,

I worked part-time at numerous izakayas.

Back then, I thought

it would make me feel safe

to have an izakaya of my own.

But accounting is pretty difficult for me.

Again, typical you.

Let's play the first note,

from the beginning.

Three, two, one, go.

One.

Two.

Three.

You keep playing.

Keep your hand on it.

Don't move your head.

Steady.

Right.

Good.

Mister, we have visitors.

Youze?

Continue.

You're back.

You look more mature now.

It's been a while.

Welcome.

Youxi told me that you teach here,

and you are good at it.

Compared to being a violinist,

being a teacher suits me better.

How is the school?

Rest assured,

Color Initiative is progressing steadily.

Xinxin now looks like

a real violinist.

She's gained herself some fame.

We often take Xinxin to visit Qianyi.

Qianyi taught her a lot.

Right, Qianyi has her sentence commuted.

Really?

Great!

Right, we brought gifts.

Here.

I made these myself.

They're for the kids.

You opened a restaurant in the city?

That's right.

You have plenty of opportunities to visit.

Thank you.

Kids, gather around.

Come here, come on.

Come on, come on.

Come here.

These are some gifts for you.

Come here, come on.

Here.

Take it.

Did you thank them?

Thank you, mister.

Thank you, miss.

Here.

Thank you.

Nothing's changed here.

But you've evolved.

Yesterday,

when I watched you work,

I realised that you are now a different person.

I had a lot to say to you.

But all of a sudden,

I didn't know where to start.

I had many great ideas

back in college.

But over the years,

I've been doing things that I'm not interested in.

But now,

I can finally plan for my own future.

Maybe we should ask Sun Lei to join us.

That would be inappropriate.

Why?

I made a bet with her.

It was about who would be more successful

in twenty years.

But I realise

that she really wants to beat me.

Maybe she won't even consider me

as her employee.

Also, she has a boyfriend now.

Really?

I'll ask her about it next time.

Anyway, I'm happy for her.

Me too.

Sun Lei used to be

just like me.

The only way of love that we knew

was to make our partner dependent on us.

Now that I think of Qianyi and me,

if I let her go when I found out

that she was in love with someone else,

if I hadn't tried to keep her next to me,

none of those would have happened.

Things would be very different.

Now that I think of it.

I lost my memories

and had no idea what to do.

I was so messed up

until I came to the school

and saw the kids.

They work so hard, and they are so happy.

Everything is so real here.

All of a sudden, I forgot about my problems.

I still remember

that feeling.

At that time, I was trying to

come up with a way to keep you around.

I was being selfish

in terms of love.

But back then,

my feelings for you were real.

I did open myself to you.

But I knew,

I had to face myself.

And you,

you needed to face all that you've done.

Only when the two of us are equal,

our relationship can have an ending.

What about now?

I've been working hard.

I live my life,

and try to find my true self.

Once, I returned home from work

and saw myself in the mirror.

That was not Luo Qianyi that I saw,

I saw Song Xiaodong.

It was Song Xiao, who would always work hard

whether at present or in the future.

I've faced my true self.

Then, I would have to face you.

I knew,

I have to see you again,

just like this.

We both can be honest with each other.

When we first came to the school,

I saw the real Song Xiaodong.

I fell for that girl.

I can feel

that when we are with each other,

it is I that you feel,

not Luo Qianyi.

Although we've only been together for a short time,

I know that you mean it.

You really do love me.

Here, our best beef.

Hello, hi.

Hello.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

You don't need to bring a gift.

It's nothing.

Thank you, thank you.

This is my boyfriend, Jim.

Hello.

I wish you good luck.

Thank you.

Please, take a seat.

How about I open this bottle of wine now?

Please take a seat.

Okay.

Madam,

congratulations, I wish you good luck!

-Chao! -Chao?

Can I still join the board?

Stop it, it's just a small restaurant.

This is from Qianyi.

I thought of mailing this to you,

but I feel

I should hand it to you in person.

Thank you.

Take a seat.

Okay.

Coming right up.

Okay.

Chao, it's been a while.

Taste this.

It's good.

Nice, I want some edamame.

Here.

Where is Youze?

He went to an interview.

He is kind of busy, that's why he didn't come.

Meizi, help me take these out.

Let me.

Thanks.

Are you okay?

I'm fine.

Hope this letter finds you well.

I don't know whether I'll ever see you again.

That's why I write this letter.

My life is now simple and trivial.

Every day seems to be much longer.

Sometimes, I would think of you.

How have you been?

My left hand has almost recovered.

I can do a lot with my hands now.

Work, life,

every detail.

I seem to have a brand new understanding of them.

I realise that I can still

live a good life without the violin,

just like you.

You and I,

we used to have nothing.

Compared to you, I was blessed.

But I tried to use it as an excuse.

Thinking on the past,

fate has been playing

with our lives.

I've been thinking,

what is it that you have and I don't.

Why did I lose everything

but you've won a lot?

Now that I think of it,

I have never valued those

that I should treasure.

Everyone and everything around me,

they provided me with opportunities.

But I missed those opportunities.

If every one of us,

everyone who knows about our stories

can be more like you,

willing to help those kids through Color Initiative,

treasuring all that you have,

and making the best effort that you can,

the world would be different,

life would be different.

It is this feeling

that you can keep working hard

that I'd like to share with you.

I want to say, thank you.

I've already started to look forward

to hearing my music

the next time I play

I hope that one day,

I can meet with you guys again.

Youze,

Sun Lei,

Chao,

Youxi,

Yu Hang,

and you.

I'm not afraid of my future anymore.

And I hope

that you can keep working hard.

Best regards,

Luo Qianyi.