As Beautiful as You ep 31 recap/spoilers

Episode 31 recap: Xingchen Acquired by Hanhai

Episode 31: That night, Ji Xing and Han Ting were lying in bed, both deep in thought. While Ji Xing hadn't told Han Ting, she had discovered that the boss behind Hanhai was actually Han Ting himself. Meanwhile, Han Ting was considering merging Xingchen into Hanhai.The next morning, Han Ting woke up to find Ji Xing missing, and the safe seemed to have been opened. He realized Ji Xing must have seen the merger contract he had stored in the safe - a contract he had prepared long ago to acquire Xingchen and merge it into Hanhai, even deciding on the new company name.

Sure enough, when Ji Xing woke up, she hesitantly opened the safe and saw the Hanhai merger documents, understanding Han Ting's plans. She decided to take action to prevent Han Ting from acquiring too much of Xingchen. That morning, Rili and Su Zhizhou came to discuss financing with Ji Xing, and she decisively signed a contract with Chang He. This diluted Han Ting's stake in Xingchen, so he could no longer control the company at will.

Knowing Ji Xing had accepted Chang He's financing, Han Ting became very anxious. He couldn't let Chang He acquire Xingchen's shares, as that would play into Ji Xing's hands. Once Chang He entered Xingchen, Han Ting would be held accountable by the board, and Ji Xing would use that to kick him off the board. So he had to prevent Chang He from acquiring Xingchen's shares at all costs.

After much thought, Han Ting decided to negotiate with Chang He. He offered his own shares in Guanghua as an exchange, hoping Chang He would transfer 20% of Xingchen's shares to him. Chang He readily agreed, as Han Ting's Guanghua shares were worth far more than Xingchen's, and Chang He himself liked Zeng Di and knew she still had feelings for Han Ting, so the exchange also benefited him.

In the evening, Ji Xing hesitantly returned to Han Ting's home. She thought his plan had backfired, as now Chang He was also a Xingchen investor, so Han Ting could no longer pursue the acquisition. But Han Ting bluntly pointed out that Chang He was only investing because Han Yuan was scheming behind the scenes, and all this was targeted at him. He also told Ji Xing that small companies struggle to survive in the market, and can only go further by standing on the shoulders of giants. He mentioned that Xingchen would not have survived its startup days without his investment.

Hearing this, Ji Xing was devastated. She felt like a pet cat, a mere pawn, completely controlled by Han Ting. She felt used and manipulated. The two ended up parting on bad terms.

Ultimately, Xingchen was acquired by Hanhai. The Dongyang Group was thus empowered, and the stock market was booming. But a rift had formed between Ji Xing and Han Ting, and from then on, Ji Xing dealt directly with Hanhai regarding company matters.