Episode 22 recap: Qi Lian confirmed that Xu Jing Yang never existed.
After Qi Lian dropped off Jiang Xiao Yuan at her home, he collapsed by the side of the car. Jiang Xiao Yuan became extremely anxious and called her grandmother to help take Qi Lian to the hospital. It was then revealed that Qi Lian had fainted due to exhaustion, and his underlying injury had not healed.
Jiang Xiao Yuan knew that Qi Lian's injury was caused by their joint suicide attempt with Huo Bai Yu. She felt overwhelming guilt and helped Qi Lian lie down to rest while she held his hand beside him. Chen Fang Zhou called Qi Lian, but Jiang Xiao Yuan answered the call to avoid waking Qi Lian. She learned that Qi Lian's childhood friend, Dong Zi, had returned and wanted to meet Qi Lian. Upon hearing Jiang Xiao Yuan's voice on the phone and knowing that Qi Lian was in the hospital, Chen Fang Zhou immediately inferred a connection between Jiang Xiao Yuan and Qi Lian and expressed his strong support for their marriage.
Qi Lian, aware of Dong Zi's return, casually mentioned Xu Jing Yang. He couldn't understand why nobody else remembered Xu Jing Yang, as only his memories contained information about Xu Jing Yang. Jiang Xiao Yuan doubted whether the photo Qi Lian saw was really Xu Jing Yang and asked him to show it to her. When she discovered that the mature face in the photo bore no resemblance to a fourteen-year-old, she immediately raised questions.
Qi Lian recalled a fight from his youth. He received a notification that Chen Fang Zhou had been arrested, which prompted him to rush over with his men. The opposing side had a considerable number of people, and a fierce battle quickly ensued. In order to save Xu Jing Yang, Qi Lian charged up the stairs alone. Xu Jing Yang was tied to a chair, and he realized that Qi Lian's action was extremely dangerous. He urged Qi Lian to leave quickly, but Qi Lian would never abandon him and continued his advance. Xu Jing Yang rushed forward to intercept an attack aimed at Qi Lian and was eventually forced to fall from the building. Qi Lian remembered the image of Xu Jing Yang lying motionless on the ground, covered in blood, after falling to the first-floor level. It was a scene he found difficult to accept.
Jiang Xiao Yuan believed that Dong Zi and the others must know something and suggested that Qi Lian attend the gathering. She had also come to realize that she herself was Jiang Xiao Yuan and could not return to the previous dream. She made the decision to bravely face everything in reality. Qi Lian attended the reunion alone, and when Chen Fang Zhou saw that Jiang Xiao Yuan was not with him, he deliberately teased him. Qi Lian's childhood friends were all doing well and had their own lives, but it was thanks to Qi Lian's support that they had come this far. Qi Lian looked at them with a heavy gaze, causing them to feel uneasy and look away. Qi Lian directly asked if they were hiding something from him, and when no one spoke up, he angrily slammed a glass of alcohol on the table. He then grabbed a whole bottle of alcohol, intending to drink it and sever ties with these brothers once and for all. This action prompted everyone to no longer conceal the truth. They revealed that Qi Lian's brother, Chen Tianyang, developed a mental illness after the fight and was later sent abroad for treatment by his father. When he returned, he forgot about Chen Tianyang but had been searching for someone named Xu Jing Yang all along.
Qi Lian couldn't believe the truth, suspecting that he himself was also a subject of the Lighthouse System. He couldn't accept it and ended up drinking heavily. Jiang Xiao Yuan received a warning call at home, where the caller warned her not to investigate the truth in her waking hours. If she did, not only would she go insane, but everyone around her would also have to accompany her in death. Terrified, Jiang Xiao Yuan quickly checked on her grandmother and was relieved to find her in good health. At that moment, Chen Fang Zhou called Jiang Xiao Yuan and informed her that Qi Lian was in trouble. Jiang Xiao Yuan rushed to find Qi Lian, only to discover that he was just drunk. She held Qi Lian tightly and expressed her worries, while Qi Lian, in a fragile state, embraced her tightly, pleading for her not to leave him.
Jiang Xiao Yuan was in tears, overwhelmed with concern for Qi Lian. Chen Fang Zhou was taken aback by this and helped support Qi Lian into the car. Inside the car, Chen Fang Zhou told Jiang Xiao Yuan that Qi Lian had liked her since their school days but had kept it to himself, fearing that it would affect her college entrance exams. After all these years, Qi Lian still only had feelings for Jiang Xiao Yuan and hoped that she wouldn't keep him waiting.
Recalling the threatening phone call, Jiang Xiao Yuan tightly held Qi Lian's hand and pitied him for waiting all these years, only to end up with her as a madwoman. Worried about causing trouble for Qi Lian, she asked Chen Fang Zhou to take Qi Lian back to rest. However, unexpectedly, Chen Fang Zhou's car got into an accident on the way. When Jiang Xiao Yuan arrived at the scene, Qi Lian's father was already there and blamed her for causing harm to Qi Lian once before. He forbade Jiang Xiao Yuan from getting close to Qi Lian, triggering memories of her past. She decided to stay away from Qi Lian and their friends to keep them safe.
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