The Hope ep 26 recap/spoilers

Episode 26 recap: Shen Yao and Li Ran became competitors.

Going back to 2008, when Shen Yao was still in elementary school, he participated in a school drama performance. Initially, he was just playing a big tree, but later his father used his connections to make Shen Yao the lead actor. However, they never asked Shen Yao if he was willing. Only when they saw Shen Yao's talent did his father praise him and tell him that only by becoming the first would he receive attention.

While everyone was in class, Sang Xia hurriedly called Li Ran over, and they overheard Shen Yao's father praising his son outside the principal's office. It turned out that the teacher from the Tianyi Program had come to find them. Shen Yao's father deliberately mentioned that Li Ran was staying at their house, implying that Li Ran's family conditions were not good. At that moment, Lei Ming arrived and claimed to be Li Ran's guardian.

This gave Li Ran some confidence, but for now, they could only choose one of them. Shen Yao's father made a lot of efforts to persuade the teacher, and Lei Ming naturally spoke up for Li Ran. However, Li Ran felt that they only wanted to choose a student who had never made a mistake and always excelled academically. Feeling disappointed, Li Ran left first.

Afterward, Lei Ming came to accompany Li Ran and Li Ran was still feeling a bit down. He had indeed worked hard, but the distance to his goal seemed so close, yet it still eluded him due to the difference in their backgrounds since childhood. Before leaving, Lei Ming also mentioned that the reason the teacher didn't choose Shen Yao this time was that from now on, everything between them would be equal. The teacher would only consider their physical performance and whoever scored the highest would qualify.

Jiang Qing Lang asked the teacher for leave, but the principal noticed that the signature was still wet with ink. Before Jiang Qing Lang knew how to explain, his mother suddenly arrived and readily signed for him.

In fact, my mother was also present at the performance that day. When Jiang Qing Lang was on stage rapping, it felt like he was speaking the truth to his mother. When Jiang Qing Lang's mother heard it, tears couldn't help but fall, realizing that it was time for her to truly understand her son.

His mother also mentioned that she had been arranged by the family every step of the way since she was young. Well, sometimes she envied her son, who could find his dream at the age of 18. Now that he was an adult, he could bear the consequences of his choices. She told him that he had one year, and if he couldn't achieve his goal, he should come back and take the college entrance examination again.

Sang Xia was surprised to learn that Lei Ming had let Jiang Qing Lang go. After all, the last two weeks were a crucial period of intense preparation. If anyone gave up now, it would be equivalent to giving up on the college entrance examination directly.

However, this time, Lei Ming felt that Jiang Qing Lang was extremely talented. If he really obstructed him this time, Jiang Qing Lang might regret it for the rest of his life.

After school, Li Ran was invited by Shen Yao's father to have dinner and was taken to a high-end restaurant. The intention was to pave the way for Shen Yao and make Li Ran voluntarily give up this opportunity. Shen Yao's father even made demands using his grandmother's age, and gave Li Ran a bank card, hoping to discourage Li Ran in his own way.

After dinner, Shen Yao's father drove Li Ran back home. When Li Ran returned, he found that his grandmother had already prepared the meal and was waiting for him. In fact, his grandmother also knew about the integration program, and she witnessed the scene where Shen Yao's father sent his grandson back. Li Ran confessed to his grandmother and mentioned that he knew she had chronic kidney failure and that the current medication was useless. He had to go to a large hospital for treatment. His grandmother became very angry and broke the bank card, stating that she would never accept the money no matter what.

At night, Li Ran woke up to drink water and found that his grandmother was not in the room. He panicked and quickly ran downstairs to search for her. He discovered that his grandmother was actually picking up recyclables to sell. Li Ran told his grandmother not to be angry, but his grandmother said she wasn't angry, just blaming herself for not having money or confidence. His grandmother also mentioned that before Li Ran's father took the college entrance examination, his grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer three months prior. His grandmother had to borrow money from the factory director. In fact, Li Ran's father had excellent grades back then and could have been directly admitted to university. However, because there was only one spot available, the factory director often agreed to lend them money, but the condition was that they had to give up the reserved spot for Shen Yao's father.

It was also because of these interests that Li Ran's father had to give up going to college. Li Ran hurriedly returned home and thought about how his father became addicted to drinking after being injured and spent his days in despair. His father had originally asked him to buy alcohol, but he found it too noisy and wore headphones. During the process of his father going to buy alcohol alone, he accidentally fell off a cliff while riding a bike and died on the spot. This incident had a great impact on Li Ran.

Now, with less than 100 days left until the college entrance examination, Li Ran invited Shen Yao to the rooftop and expressed that he would not give up on the exam. He said he would win back the opportunity that his father mentioned.