In A Good Way Episode 13 Recap

I’m not going to sugar coat what a major letdown episode 13 of In A Good Way turned out to be. All the fantastic momentum of episode 12 was sucked into a twin vortex of expulsion woe plus interrupted confession tension. If either had worked out well then I wouldn’t be as peeved, but with neither plot thread unfolding in a satisfying way I was left asking “that’s it?!?!” when the final scene rolled. Even worse was the lack of a preview. That is a big no-no in my book since it leaves my mind scrambling to make sense of what exactly comes next. The episode started off well and I thought the fall out from the protest concert was nicely done. Everyone with eyes saw the major hugging between Liu Chuan and Jia En and now it’s impossible for her to deny it must mean something. I liked how she tentatively tried to make sense of her own feelings and the quickened pace between her and Liu Chuan when he plainly asked her out on a date. When she accidentally called it a date and then backtracked, only to have Liu Chuan correct her that he sees it as a date, that was the highlight of the episode for me. That, plus Xiao Wei almost completing her blossoming transformation into a girl with backbone as well as Bai Xue giving Jia En the green light to go ahead with Liu Chuan.

I knew Bai Xue would get there, and their conversation was so beautifully moving with both sincerity and sadness, because friends can still wish each other well even if it hurts. Ren Wei is slowly turning his friendship with Jia En into the type of friendship Bai Xue had with Liu Chuan, where one side harbors an unspoken affection for the other while still toggling comfortable camaraderie. I don’t feel the frisson of tension or awareness between Ren Wei or Jia En even if they finish each other’s sentences and know every little detail about each other. It’s reassuring that Ren Wei is working through his own metamorphosis with respect to how he feels about Jia En, and he’s still her best friend and always has her back. The tension sapping in this episode was really the problem of coupling the potential Jia En and Liu Chuan expulsion with that last and final step confession between them that would have opened the floodgates for their future interactions. Suddenly everything grounded to a halt and then Liu Chuan finds himself needing to play the white knight by selling his principles out to dear old dad. I can’t handle the possibility that Liu Chuan made a deal with the devil to save Jia En, and that the exchange may actually end his freedom journey early and at a cost to the first girl he’s ever opened his heart to. He’s come so soooo far and he was so soooo close, and then the coldest cold water ever was poured on our poor thwarted OTP. Aish, next week can’t come any faster.

Episode 13 recap:

Wu Bai finishes his song to the cheers of the audience. Jia En and Liu Chuan are totally oblivious and still hugging, only reluctantly breaking apart when the crowd starts chanting for an encore. Ren Wei continues to look distressed after witnessing the hug. Xiao Wei bravely gets on stage and introduces herself as the person who was treated unjustly. She admits to taking a bribe from Professor Chang and lying that she was not the injured party. Now she wants to be brave and tell the truth, and her freedom is becoming a better person with each day. She asks for the students support for this petition and she promises to be strong to fight for her own justice. Professor Chang has been standing in the rear listening to this and turns to leave only to spot the angry Chancellor standing there as well. The Chancellor glares at him before storming out.

Team Freedom is cleaning up afterwards and Liu Chuan pauses when he walks past Jia En and gives her a small smile. Tracy goes up to Jia En to ask if she’s finally getting a credit in love. Everyone’s been talking about the two people hugging the longest time at the concert was Jia En and Liu Chuan. Jia En insists nothing is going on but Tracy keeps pressing her until Ren Wei walks by and tells Tracy to lay off Jia En already. Tracy grumbles and wonders why Ren Wei is butting in since it has nothing to do with him. Ren Wei gets a page from Jia En’s parents since they can’t reach her and she freaks out when she sees 8 missed pages on her pager. Ren Wei offers to take her home and they head off only to have Liu Chuan ask to have a word with Jia En. Cue awkward four way looks all around and Jia En looks at Ren Wei and he steps forward to ask Liu Chuan to talk with Jia En at a later time since she really needs to go home to her parents. Liu Chuan agrees and everyone awkwardly disperses.

Jia En and Ren Wei are silent on their walk home with both of them deep in thought. Ren Wei wonders what Jia En is thinking and why she hugged Liu Chuan for so long? Jia En knows Ren Wei must’ve seen the hug and wonders if she should discuss it with him? But she doesn’t even know how she feels so what is there to discuss? Ren Wei wonders if he should bring it up with her and if she has feelings for Liu Chuan? Jia En wants to brush it off as just a hug but doesn’t know if she really cares about it. Ren Wei starts to talk and Jia En cuts him off and tells him not to ask anything.

They arrive at the teahouse and Jia En’s parents chew her out for being MIA all night. Ren Wei takes the blame and makes the excuse that Jia En was helping him with an assignment. Her parents are mollified and remind them to call home next time they stay out late. They drag Jia En inside leaving Ren Wei staring after her and then slowly walking away. He thinks about the conversation with Jia En when she told him to find a girl who is close to him like a friend and he talk comfortably with. He stops and looks back at the teahouse for a few moments before continuing to walk back to campus. Jia En lays in bed unable to sleep and thinks back to that hug. Ren Wei is also sleepless in his dorm room, and then the camera pans to Liu Chuan and Momo also being awake in their room.

The lights flicker on in the dorm lobby as Liu Chuan goes down to call Jia En. He gets a busy signal because Jia En is using her phone to page him at the exact same time. He hangs up the phone and then gets a page from her so calls her right back. It’s the same old awkward conversation these two are perfect at doing. Liu Chuan asks if her parents yelled at her when she got home and hears that Ren Wei helped her out. Liu Chuan notes that Ren Wei really takes care of her and is relieved that she’s fine. She apologizes for not staying to help clean up and he assures her it’s no big deal. Jia En is very happy today in doing something of great importance and purpose. Liu Chuan agrees even if they can’t change anything. She compliments him on what he said on stage today but he brushes it aside and says he got the motivation from her starting this entire protest. Liu Chuan asks Jia En out to grab a bite to eat since there is something he wants to say to her. Jia En is silent so Liu Chuan asks again if she heard him ask her out to eat? Jia En says sure and Liu Chuan makes the date for next Monday after class and he’ll go pick her up. They tell each other to get some rest after the long day and then end the call.

It’s morning time and Ren Wei is tossing and turning in bed. Jacky walks into the room and climbs into bed with Ren Wei because he can’t sleep alone. Ren Wei isn’t in the mood for his crowding him and Jacky assumes Ren Wei’s bad mood is due to having a bad dream. Ah Di comes in and Jacky shares his nightmare about chasing two mermaids. He couldn’t catch them no matter what and then turns out he can’t swim and ended up almost drowning. Ah Di explains the dream as Jacky going after an unattainable dream and he’s going to fail no matter what. Jacky thinks Ah Di is an expert at explaining dreams and tells Ren Wei to share his dream. Ren Wei explains his bad dream is Jia En being chased by a bear and when the bear caught her it gave her a bear hug. He went to pull the bear off her and discovered that he was the bear. Ah Di and Jacky are totally off-topic and wonder what kind of bear it is and how to escape a bear in real life by playing dead. Ren Wei tells them to shut up but Ah Di actually explains it perfectly as the person having the dream is struggling between whether to hug Jia En or not. Ren Wei is in no mood to listen to their crazy talk and grabs a ball to go out and shoot hoops.

In the other men’s dorm, Ah Qing is wide awake and tries to rouse the sleeping Ri Qi and Liu Chuan up on such a beautiful day. He thinks they did well yesterday especially with how furious Professor Chang looked. Ri Qi wonders why Ah Qing is in such a good mood and Liu Chuan correctly guesses that Ah Qing is going on a first date today. Ah Qing confirms he’s going out with Tracy and explains his dating expertise. The first date needs to be nice but not too expensive. It’s better at a place that’s not too crowded so the girl feels a bit mysterious. He shares even more tips such a bringing a toothbrush on a date and secretly brushing in the bathroom in case a chance for kissing comes up. Then afterwards the best idea is to find a place for a secluded stroll. He suddenly realizes both guys are listening intently and not interrupting him this time. Both of them try to play coy, with Liu Chuan saying it’s not a big deal to listen to him once in awhile and Ri Qi asking for the name of the cozy nice restaurant. Heh.

Ah Qing and Tracy are near the airport and she wants him to take a picture when the plane is landing behind her. Ah Qing apologizes for running out of film and when he grabs the camera his address book falls out. Tracy grabs it to flip through and realizes it contains tons of phone numbers of girls all saved under the letter G. She correctly guesses that G is for girlfriend. Ah Qing tries to explain that the girls are his exes and she’s unique at #37 which is a prime number. Tracy rattles off tons of prime numbers and says it’s not unique at all and then huffs off with Ah Qing chasing after her. He catches up to her near school and shows her his address book where he’s re-arranged her number to be under E and he’s deleted all the other numbers under G. Tracy feels like he doesn’t respect her and she can be moved to another place in his heart any time. Ah Qing explains that putting her under E is for eternity but she knows he doesn’t know why she’s mad even if he keeps apologizing. Ah Qing doesn’t need to understand because he is really sorry and pretty much sweet talks his way to getting Tracy to smile again.

Professor Chang calls Xiao Wei into his office and reveals that he reviewed her test and found two big grading errors which raises her grade to 88 now. He admits it was his fault and asks if this whole incident is over? Xiao Wei nods and happily runs out. Professor Chang sits down after she leaves and it’s clearly not over for him. Xiao Wei finds Jia En outside and happily reveals that she’s gotten a passing grade in her midterm.

Liu Chuan brings two letters from Wu Bai and Chang Cheng Yue thanking them for a great free night and the passion to pursue their youthful freedom. Jia En runs in to share even better news which is that Xiao Wei got a passing grade on her midterm after Professor Chang re-graded it. Ah Qing suggests a party tonight to celebrate and Jia En sneaks a look at Liu Chuan. The group discusses going to the KTV to sing the same songs and then Jacky starts pretending to be Wu Bai singing “You On My Mind” and then making to call for everyone to hug. Jacky and Ah Di start hugging but Tracy says they aren’t doing it with any feeling and wants the two people hugging the longest at the concert to show everyone how it’s done. Jia En asks them not to joke around and runs off to class. Ren Wei looks concerned and Bai Xue shoots Liu Chuan a look before excusing herself as well. That leaves Ren Wei staring at Liu Chuan in the club room.

Bai Xue catches up to Jia En and asks to speak to her. She apologizes for lying before, for denying that the person she likes in turn likes Jia En. That really is true. She just wasn’t ready to deal with that truth. She knows that Jia En treasures the friendship with her and today she wants to tell Jia En how to treasure this friendship. She wants Jia En to be true to her own heart and not think about hurting Bai Xue. She doesn’t want anyone’s pity and she doesn’t want a love that comes from Jia En sacrificing her own right to love. Jia En has freedom and now needs the courage to pursue what she wants. No matter what, don’t worry about what Bai Xue thinks and never forget that they will always be good friends. Gosh, these two are just so wonderful and why can’t more dramas write such compelling female friendships. Jia En hugs Bai Xue and thanks her. Both of them are crying now and Bai Xue pats Jia En before walking away.

Professor Chang is meeting with the Chancellor who has pulled him as the school representative for the national banquet and replaced him with another professor. Professor Chang reveals he re-graded the test and did find errors and corrected it. He’s apologized to Ding Xiao Wei and it’s been resolved. But this protest was started by Lin Jia En and using loud protest for their own agenda is a disruption to the school. Professor Chang suggests that expulsion for Jia En is the most suitable penalty. The Chancellor points out that the protest is not started just by Jia En and is with the involvement of the entire Treasure Hunting club.

Jia En walks by the basketball court and finds Liu Chuan balling there with a bunch of guys. Someone points out Jia En’s presence and Liu Chuan runs over to talk to her. She asks him if their dinner tonight is cancelled and he looks surprised and asks why she thinks that? Jia En reminds him that everyone is going to the KTV tonight. Liu Chuan grabs his stuff and walks back to the dorm with her while discussing what she prefers to do tonight, KTV with everyone or dinner with him? She made the plans with him first but worries that this will seem like they are secretly on a date. She then corrects herself and says she shouldn’t have used the word “date” and apologizes to Liu Chuan. Thank god my man is playing straight and tells Jia En that this is EXACTLY a date. Jia En stares at him and says they are just going to grab a meal and then Liu Chuan says this is a date to him. Jia En stares at him and starts to stammer so Liu Chuan decides to just tell her right now what he was going to say to her tonight. He takes a step forward and says that the reason he hugged her at the concert was because…….because…….because…….

Douchebag Professor Chang shows up right then and there and saunters over to tell Jia En that he’s given Xiao Wei her justice but the university is going to expel all the students of the Treasure Hunting club for protesting without a permit. Liu Chuan and Jia En don’t think they did anything that requires expulsion since they were in the right. Jia En confronts Professor Chang, asking if this is his decision or the school’s decision. He lies that he tried to speak up for them. UGH DIEDIEDIE! Jia En and Liu Chuan run to see the Chancellor to discuss the potential expulsion. The Chancellor doesn’t want such a severe punishment but this is the first mass protest in school history and he can’t allow students to disrupt the school order for any reason. Liu Chuan explains they tried to go through the proper channels but never got anywhere. Liu Chuan takes the blame for the entire protest but asks the Chancellor to be fair going forward and not let injustice continue at school. Professor Chang says this protest is not Liu Chuan’s doing but Lin Jia En started it. Both Professor Chang and Liu Chuan keep arguing about who is responsible for this protest but the Chancellor summons a school board meeting to discuss it. The school board meeting turns into a discussion of the pros and cons of letting students protest and whether the motivations matter.

Liu Chuan and Jia En walk into the Treasure Hunting club looking glum and reveal that the university is looking to expel them both. Ah Qing sticks up for Liu Chuan as does Ren Wei willing to transfer for Jia En. Ever the calm one, Liu Chuan asks Bai Xue for what happens if the school decides to expel a student? Bai Xue reveals a student got expelled and was gone three days later. Xiao Wei comes running in and is willing to apologize to Professor Chang and even drop the class as long as Jia En doesn’t get expelled. Jia En doesn’t think they need to back down to injustice even now and thinks they succeeded already. Ren Wei doesn’t think so if Jia En and Liu Chuan get expelled but trash like Professor Chang gets to stay. Tracy suggests asking for help from someone powerful outside of school if anyone knows of such a personage. Liu Chuan says nothing to that. Xiao Wei cries about college life without Jia En but she in turns asks Xiao Wei to finish her education for the both of them. Xiao Wei hugs Jia En in tears asking her not to leave while everyone looks on all upset and feeling helpless.

Liu Chuan gets a page that hardens his face and he immediately leaves. Jia En runs after him and asks if he’s alright. Liu Chuan is fine, he just needs to return a call but unfortunately their date tonight will need to be cancelled. Jia En asks to accompany him to return the call and Liu Chuan gets an order from dear ole dad to come home as he’s sending a car to pick him up. Jia En stays with Liu Chuan until a Mercedes pulls up outside of campus and Liu Chuan gets in. He leaves with a very curt “Jia En, goodbye” and I’m not feeling good about this.

Ren Wei asks his buddies Ah Di and Jacky for help thinking of ideas and warns them to be prepared to transfer if they don’t have any ideas. Jacky wants to buy Professor Chang’s book since he wants to sell it so badly. They wonder if they can go help him fix his computer or sing to him to exorcise his mean spirit and turn him into a good guy. Ahahaha. Even better is that they really do it. The Men of Steel grab a guitar and go sing outside of Professor Chang’s a song about evil and plotting and justice. When Professor Chang confronts them, Ren Wei switches to a song asking if he dares to fail them if they don’t have money to buy his textbook. Professor Chang warns they will get expelled as well if they don’t stop this nonsense.

Liu Chuan sits down across from his dad who immediately asks if Liu Chuan’s desire for four years of freedom has ended early for something so minor. He gave Liu Chuan freedom because he trusted him and thought he could do better for himself than what dad planned for him. Who knew he would mess it up. Liu Chuan didn’t mess up and it wasn’t for nothing, he’s fighting for the rights of all students just like a government representative needs to fight for the rights of his constituents. He looks down on people who fight only for their own gain. Dad is fine with Liu Chuan having his own principles but did he weigh the costs of following such principles? Liu Chuan doesn’t put weight on the cost, he only cares about how important it is for the person who has been harmed. He gets up to leave if all his dad wants is to lecture him but that is not what his dad wants. What’s the point of lecturing him since Liu Chuan has his own ideas, he called him home to help him. He asks Liu Chuan to stay the night at home and talk with him some more over dinner.

Jia En sits in front of her computer which her dad bought for her when she got into college, who could have imagined she might be after just one year in school. Ren Wei comes in and asks her not to look so depressed and sit around moping. He came today to be by her side to tell her parents the truth. Jia En doesn’t think she did anything wrong and Ren Wei says he’ll help her carry the burden of this situation. They head downstairs and stand in the middle of the room looking all stiff and making Jia En’s dad hilariously call them a pair of door statues. Jia En cuts to the chase and reveals that she might get expelled by the university. The protest to help Xiao Wei has led to the school considering expulsion. Ren Wei says the school is to blame for their lame rules and he’ll transfer with Jia En. Dad doesn’t think the school is lame if people are fighting to get in.

Jia En starts crying and her mom asks what’s next for Jia En? She doesn’t want to test again to get into another college and will start working to help the family. Dad speaks up that he’s not so poor that he can’t support his daughter taking the transfer exam and going to another school. Mom suggests going to speak with the professor and the school while Ren Wei intends to keep looking for another solution. Jia En’s parents are relieved that Ren Wei isn’t being targeted for expulsion as well and wants him to stay out of it so they don’t feel even worse to his parents. Jia En keeps apologizing but Ren Wei promises to be by her side through this difficult period. He knows that with her ability she can get into any college and do well there.

Jia En sits in her room and wonders about Liu Chuan, thinking about how angry his parents must be right now. She calls and leaves a voice mail for him. She asks if he’s doing well and reveals that her parents know that she might be expelled. They didn’t blame her but it makes her feel even worse. She really wants to know how he’s doing and talk to him as well. Can he call her back when he has time? Liu Chuan listens to this message and looks really resigned.

Liu Chuan sits down to dinner with his dad and immediately apologizes for not handling things properly this time and he doesn’t have the ability to resolve the problem now. He’s willing to accept his dad’s help but he only has one request. Liu Chuan explains another student is involved in this situation and he wants her to be saved as well. Dad asks why he needs to help her? Liu Chuan reveals she is very important to him and dad asks if she’s more important than his future but Liu Chuan doesn’t answer. His dad calls the Chancellor and reveals that the university’s request for research funding from the government might be in danger of passing. He then brings up the recent protest and he knows the university has allowed the professors to sell their own textbooks in the past. Dad then drops the big bombshell that his son was involved in the recent protest and reveals Liu Chuan is his son. The Chancellor immediately agrees to handle it and Liu Chuan’s dad asks that another student Lin Jia En also get let off the hook. After hanging up, he calls Professor Chang and does the same dog-and-pony trick, and the entire time he’s doing these calls Liu Chuan looks utterly pained.

In class the next day, Professor Chang takes roll call and asks where Jia En is? A student says Jia En has been expelled and Professor Chang says its just a rumor and Jia En has not been expelled. He tells Xiao Wei to make sure Jia En comes to class tomorrow. Jia En is working in the teahouse when Ren Wei comes by with a bag of comic books to help her pass the time. She’s still moping and he offers to take her to a Wu Bai concert to cheer her up. She’s still uninterested and he asks what she wants to do? Jia En asks what Ren Wei would have done had be been expelled last time for failing his class? Ren Wei would have felt like his life was over, but thankfully Jia En helped him last time so he’ll stick with her through this crisis no matter what. Jia En plops down on the table and says she feels like a piece of meat on the butchers block. Ren Wei doesn’t think she looks like meat, she’s radiant as an angel these days exuding the aura of justice. Xiao Wei comes running in to tell Jia En that she’s not being expelled. Jia En is so happy and Ren Wei jokes that maybe it’s the Men of Steel who helped her out. Jia En gives both Xiao Wei and Ren Wei a happy hug and poor Ren Wei looks a little affected to be hugged by Jia En.

Jia En runs to Liu Chuan’s dorm room to share the news that they are not getting expelled. Ah Qing opens the door and reveals Liu Chuan didn’t come back to the dorm last night. She asks Ah Qing for Liu Chuan’s home address and wants to go find him. Ah Qing wishes Jia En good luck in bringing hope to Liu Chuan. Jia En follows the address given by Ah Qing and rings Liu Chuan’s doorbell. He comes out and opens the door for her.

Thoughts of Mine:

God I’m so annoyed! C’mon drama, you could still have all that expulsion angst even after Liu Chuan tells Jia En that he likes her. Having him stutter three times trying to get the words out and then Professor Turd interrupting was just lame. Seriously, this time I’m calling you out on it. Especially on the heel of Liu Chuan telling Jia En that he’s considering their dinner a date. It’s like someone proposing and all that is missing is the ring. Normally the words like “I like you” isn’t all that important, especially over in K-dramas were the predilection is to grab and kiss first. Here it’s of critical importance because anything less leaves Jia En room to just try and explain it away or not address it directly herself. I like that this drama has lots of other issues these students need to deal with besides romance, but at this point the OTP needs to at least get their feelings out in the open so they can deal with it along with their other concerns. I also think the threat to expel Jia En and Liu Chuan was ridiculous. Who expels students for organizing a protest? Expulsion is for breaking school rules and nowhere was there any rule singled out as being broken. Liu Chuan is also way too smart to not pull out all the rules and confront the school authorities with their overreaching. I didn’t buy it even if the end result was lots of crying on Jia En’s part and poor Liu Chuan being forced to ask for help from the one person he likely never wants help from. I also don’t like his dad knowing that Jia En is important to him, I worry he’ll squirrel that information away and use it to keep Liu Chuan in line later on. I don’t think his dad is evil incarnate (that would be Professor Turd), but right now Liu Chuan looks totally beaten down and that makes me want to beat down everyone in that drama that is putting pressure on him when all the guy wanted to do was tell the girl he likes that he likes her! Hopefully all this is setting up for some majorly awesome development around the corner because I need that to wash away the frustration left by this episode.

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Comments

In A Good Way Episode 13 Recap — 32 Comments

  1. Thanks for the recap! I share the same sorrow and disappointment! 🙁 why?!?! I hope this writers aren’t being pressured to elongate the story for more air time. Please show do not do this to the viewers and throw away all the hard work from the cast, crew, and writers! We appreciated all the fine details and saw all the effort put into the story line, plot, characters….and even down to the reasoning of the nicknames with the basketball thing. Maybe I’m just being impaitient?!?! But seriously I’m more interested in the bts videos and pictures at this point! ~sigh~ IAGW jia you!!!!!!!

  2. Thanks for the EFR (extra fast recap,LOL…)
    I was not that disapointed about that episode. I think it sets the stage well for what is to come: that is the fight for freedom of
    Liu Chuan, and finally it is also nice to really see the sour interaction between son and father. We know that IAGW is not only about love and this relationship is a huge piece to understand LC. For me it is as important as his relationship with JE (come on, we all know they are a couple already, officially or not…)
    It is painful to see LC to be so beaten down… From personal experience I know how painful this kind of relationship with a well-meaning but toxic parent can be! Fighting Liu Chuan! Win your freedom with the help of your woman!!!

    • I knew this was coming. They’re building up the angst part of the drama since we’re midway now. I’m not that disappointed too but I’m so looking forward (again) for the nxt ep. Poor LC, it seems JE is his weak spot. I hope JE takes BX advice to fight for what she wants – which of course is LC! Btw, can someone tell me what Rong rong was saying to Lego towards the end of the Bts? They were so cute! If i can’t get it from drama, at least we have the bts to substitute haha

      • I admit that the writers threw a cold bucket of icy water over us today.

        My favorite moment of this episode is the same as Koala’s.

        Jia En looks for Liu Chuan where he was playing basketball with the guys at the court. “About tonight’s karaoke…” Jia En lowers her voice awkwardly as Ah Qing and Ren Qi are nearby. Liu Chuan notices her dilemma and informs her, “Let me grab my things and we will go to a quieter place.”

        As they walk into building compound, Liu Chuan says casually, “It’s up to you…. Do you want to have dinner with me or sing karaoke with the rest?”

        Jia En hesitates, “Although it’s true that we made a dinner appointment first… but everyone will be at the karaoke, it feels odd that we are not around… It feels like we are secretly dating…” She corrects herself. “I don’t mean the way it came out… I mean it’s not a date…” She stammers.

        Liu Chuan corrects her gently but firmly, “It’s a date.”

        Jia En denies it quickly. “No, it’s not…”

        “To me, it’s a date.” He was smiling gently but his eyes showed that he was serious.

        Jia En understands the implication of what he is trying to say and she stammers.

        After he listened to Jia En’s recorded message when she told him of her parents’ reaction to the news of her pending expulsion and how she felt, she was clearly holding back tears and Liu Chuan made a decision to do something which he really didn’t want to do.

        If Liu Chuan does confess in later episodes, I feel that his actions have already shown what kind of man he was, a friend who faces difficulties rationally and who can be counted on.

        I like it how at the end of episode Jia En actively sought him out as she was concerned. Jia En, your sweet and hurt Li Chuan deserves lots of love from you in the next episode!

  3. hoping for the best that the writers will make a comeback on the next episode.i admit i was not expecting that the writers will have LC get help from dad knowing the feel and flow of the drama, i thought they will have the school handled the situation with fairness and justice..but instead we need a powerful man to get JE and LC out of the situation..succckss :(((

    im just hoping that maybe the writers are setting up for our OTP to evolve..perhaps get LC ready to fully want for freedom and forget the deal…and JE can finally have some time to think LC’s presence in her life-if he is more than a friend.gosh no preview just makes it worst!

  4. This ep doesn’t come as a surprise. IAGW does look like a ‘what if’ story that may have its bigger part in 1995 and then a time jump ten years later when JE returns to Taiwan to finish the unfinished business.

    It’s very painful to watch LC when dad rang up the uni people. He became the very people he despised all his life, so dirty and corrupt. Really feel his pain. Lego again delivered a perfect performance.

  5. I knew the father-son issue is gonna come into play down the road, but I didn’t see it happening this early. And this parental conflict (if it would involve Jia En) just seems so out of place with the overall concept/theme/flavor of the whole drama. It just seems so over the top compared to the laid back showcase of college kids figuring out their dreams, freedom and blossoming love.

    But since we’re on this parents issue already, I hope that the writer can use this to showcase this time around Jia En doing some actions that would show her support and feelings for LC. The good thing about LC-JE relationship is that they’ve always been there for each other, its just that LC shows it more through his actions. So hopefully now its JE’s turn.

    • honestly i don’t think the parental conflict is so over the top here. considering how much fictional angst a k drama pulls, this is pretty low key. and i can actually believe the school to be purposefully blind to the reasons behind the protest. considering the time and context, having students protest does not look good for the school. students are expected to learn there and be good citizens without making trouble. what JE did was so unexpected that she was years ahead of the time with her actions.

  6. Seriously feel Liu Chun’s pain – when he succumbed to what he abhorred most- which is abusing power to one’s advantage! The helpless disappointment and hurt in his eyes were obvious and now that Jia En is tied up in all of this – I hope their budding relationship does not end up being tainted.

  7. I think the Chancellor deserves a rude whack to the head. He did nothing to investigate what brought about the protest – well if you take making a call to a random secretary to say please watch the situation something – then wholeheartedly taking in Prof Douchebag’s version and suggestion to expel Jia En even after Prof Douchebag ‘admitted’ a mistake in his calculation.

    The protest was not without basis and if he had bothered to hear the students out in the beginning and ask for concrete evidence that the papers were being graded correctly (instead of taking Prof Douchebag’s word) then there would have been no protest. Especially if he had bothered to find out about the students leading the protest he’d have discovered they were good students and that there would have been some good reason for their protest.

    Call himself an educator!

  8. The dreaded episode 13 huh. I hope it doesn’t turn out like many dramas tend to when the happy couple is trapped in a bind, with one lead asking for help in desperation and as a result leaving the other lead for a while. I really enjoyed the last episode and this one up to the last half hour, when Liu Chuan’s face was continuously a :(. Xiao Wei’s standing up for herself, and Bai Xue letting go of her feelings for Liu Chuan to tell Jia En to pursue her own feelings were good moments.

    And did we ever hear the results of the school board meeting? While unlikely to be good news, shouldn’t we know the decision before Liu Chuan decided to accept his father’s help?

  9. After waiting a whole week – What a letdown! And on the joint English & Chinese Valentine’s Day too! And no preview! Couldn’t they have just given us morsel.
    Good thing we had the BTS. Rongrong’s fingerling was adorable!

  10. Definitely not the kinda episode I was expecting given the written preview. The video preview from last week gave a sneak peek into the beginning of our dear professor’s move to get back at jiaen for the protests, and I do understand that the school may want to make an example out of jiaen’s case to show the rest of the student population that it does not pay to kick up such a big fuss and cause such a commotion on campus. Not exactly fair to jiaen, but realistic and understandable. Yet again, it’s dramaland! So can’t we throw caution to the wind and have them either retained by the school board or subjected to a temporary suspension from school? Sigh.

    Great acting from lego lee in the scene where he watched his dad make the calls to the principal and the professor: the look of self-loathe on his face made his emotions seem so palpable. Renwei’s finally facing his changing emotions towards jiaen head-on, possibly forced by liuchuan’s actions. What’s interesting is that his position in this tangle of relationships is becoming similar to that of baixue’s, in that both the girl he crushed on and the girl that was originally really close to him end up liking liuchuan, while for baixue, both the guy she likes and the guy that used to like her now are leaning towards jiaen. I’m wondering if this change in dynamics will end up with baixue becoming a person closer to jiaen’s description of a girl that renwei should look out for and ultimately draw them closer together.

    Liuchuan’s reaction to seeing jiaen at his doorstep seems far from encouraging. I sense angst in the next few episodes…

    On a completely different note, I might have watched the show a tad too many times and noticed something about the farewell scene shown after the episode ends. The situation in which each character gets off the car to return home seems to correlate with the relationships between the characters at the start of the show. When baixue gets off first, we have renwei trying to show concern for her only to get brushed off, just like how he tried his best to ‘take care’ of her at the beginning of the show (read: red tea confession saga). And also baixue can be seen staring at the car (presumably at liuchuan) as it drives off, implying her crush on him. When renwei gets off next, jiaen tries to hold him back and renwei gets a bit irritated at that and walks off, much like how jiaen was slightly too clingy to renwei at the beginning of the show and how he didn’t like that. When jiaen gets off next, she flashes liuchuan’s necklace and waves goodbye to him, which reflects their situation at the beginning of the show when she took his necklace by mistake. And when liuchuan himself gets off, it is noted that he is walking in the same direction his car came from, probably to find jiaen and the necklace (this last one might be a bit of a stretch). So maybe the writers aren’t aiming for a sad ending after all?

    Not looking forward to the angst in the next episode (I think liuchuan’s wings will be clipped hereon) but hoping for the best.

  11. Thanks for the recap!

    It’s really painful to see LC’s face as he watches his dad make those calls and do the very thing that he abhor. I believe that if it was not because of Jia En, LC would not have asked for his dad’s help. He was ready to find his own solution until he got that teary call from JE. Shows how important JE is to him.

    I just love JE and BX’s scene. Also XW giving that speech on stage – girl power!

    Tracy and Ah Qing is going be the couple that makes us smile and laugh a lot. Also waiting for Xiao Wei and Ri Qi to get together.

    RW is totally falling for JE – I hope this will not cuz any pain to BX later….

  12. ah i cant believe you didnt get the feels from this episode. there was so much tension and awkwardness between the otp, but neither of them played stupid about each other’s feelings. which thank god because in a k drama there would be super denial to the nth degree, and i was half expecting that from JE throughout the whole episode. but this episode hit every trope and feeling on the first steps to a relationship that i felt it was so realistic. a grand confession would so not be IAGW style nor would i really believe it. i especially love the moments where LC and JE both leaned on each other. LC with letting JE accompany him to call back his dad, and JE when she left that voicemail asking how he was. that is leaps and bounds from what they were before when it was ‘mind your own business’ or ‘i can solve it on my own’. i was really pleased with rongrong’s acting in this episode too since she’s seemed to tone down her approach a lot and is maybe taking some pointers from Lego Li with the subtle facial cues.

    best of all we got at least one official couple out of Tracy and AQ, and we’re super close to getting two more. i have faith in the show not to drag the dad storyline out longer than it needs to be and that LC wont be a noble idiot for too long. JE would surely catch on if he’s cold to her and its totally her personality to let up until she knows what’s going on, and then she’ll smack some sense into him. i’m liking the bread crumbs that im getting and i cant wait for the full meal.

    • I agree completely with your take on this episode. Even though not fully subbed, I really felt every moment between all the characters.

      The eps leading up to this one allowed it all to feel realistic and logical.

  13. I think we wouldn’t have felt so disappointed if they didn’t dangle the carrot at us that there’s gonna be a confession scene. The moments leading up to the confessions was just fantastic. Lego totally nailed that scene. I could literally see the sparks shooting out of his eyes when he told JE that it is a date.

    The show is totally selling the OTP. Everything feels so realistic. I really feel like I’m transported back to my high school days and starting out on my first relationship where everything is so tentative and unsure.

  14. Love reading the recap and all the comments. I actually do like the episode and the aftermath of the concert/protest which was a little too big for any schools’ liking. I do think that there will be some moments of angst for Liu Chuan but somehow, Jia En will be the one bringing him out of his doldrums. The writers are dragging a wee bit too long on the confession though…. Sigh. Feels like a perv in wanting them to start making out!
    I do like how the girls characters are fleshed out in this show though. Love love the talk between Bai Xue and Jia En and how what is important for both of them – their friendship- come to the forefront for both of them. If only more shows are like this where women can be portrayed in more a positive light!!!

  15. Thanks for the recap and your thoughts. I want to throw some hope at you after this one.

    I LOVED the fact that JE went looking for LC this time. We didn’t get to see her sit restlessly beforehand as we did with LC before his library dash in ep 10, but we can imagine she did some self-talk, “Should I ask him if we are still going out for dinner when the gang has plans, or not?” “Do I want to go to dinner or out with the gang?”
    When he spots her off to the side of the bball court,(with JE ogling him, as she should!) he’s so happy to see her, but in LC fashion, rather than saying “I am so glad you are here, I was thinking about you.” He asks, “Why are you here?”

    And, yes, JE, this IS a date!!! YES!!

    I didn’t mind the wet blanket being thrown on our OTP with Dad’s intervention and the consequences thereof. I have kept Dad’s discomfort with LC’s situation, and LC’s imminent loss of freedom hanging out there worrying me since I found out about it. Kinduv like waiting for the parental shoe to drop. I would have liked if it came later, but now that it is here, it can be dealt with.

    They made the “four years of freedom” deal all those years ago before LC had a taste of it. It seems unrealistic of Daddy-o to expect that LC would gladly step back into the cage, doesn’t it? Deals only work when both participants are willing. Though it seems like LC is even more doomed now that he has conceded Dad’s power by allowing him to help with the expulsion. I wager that LC has learned a thing or two about his own power after experiencing the protest. Dad’s choice of “this girl OR your future” feels weak. Who says LC can’t have both?

    What is Dad going to do if LC doesn’t capitulate, call the Dean and have them expelled again? I don’t mean that LC will go back on his word, but he may be able to compromise on something that will satisfy both of them.

    I actually like the lack of an open LC declaration at this point because SHE KNOWS and:

    1. BX just just gave JE the go ahead; it’ll take some time before slow JE lets go of the guilt completely.

    2. The luuurve ball has been in LC’s court this whole time, JE has not been an active participant. This pause, which it seems to be coming soon, will make JE feel the loss of LC. Not just as a friend, but as the person who lights up her day, who warms her heart when he is near.
    She will have to go on the offense for him just like she did for XW. She wasn’t afraid to face Prof Dickface or the Cowardly Dean, she won’t be afraid of his father.

    I know the scenario has them separate for a few years after college, but I think there MUST be a romance during that time to give JE a reason to go looking for what she lost, right? Not just an unfulfilled one, right? Am I being too hopeful?

  16. I wonder if this drama is more about their missed opportunites in their
    relateship :

    – missed meeting of 3631
    – missed opportunity for LC’s confession

    • Yes,very likely. Those missed opportunities in our youthful days, be it silly things like 3631 or things beyond one’s control like the current un-father bypass. Agreed with Jomo that there would be a further development of the LCJE relationship which, even without a full on confession, has now elevated to something much deeper.

      While there are a lot of comments on the uni’s response being one dimensional, it depicted a system from an earlier era in a less open environment in Taiwan. These students did not have precedents or examples to follow in pursuit of their justice. I continue to have faith in the writers to deliver as it has been a most sincere production in a long while

  17. This episode wasn’t as good as the others, but I liked it nonetheless. My main gripe with it was the very lame / cliche missed confession. It was so atypical of IAGW! Was actually rather taken aback that the show REALLY WENT THAT WAY. Sigh.

    BUT the silver lining for me was that, Jia En clearly knows Liu Chuan likes her already. She’s not dumb, she doesn’t need it spelled out so explicitly. And I see indications that she’s willing to RECIPROCATE. YAY! When Ah Qing asked her to be LC’s strength and hope, JE’s smile was telling. I’m looking forward to more OTP interactions, and still have faith that the show IS NOT GOING TO SACRIFICE THE OTP FOR ANGST. But rather, its a way for JE to shine, to be LC’s source of courage to fight for HIS FREEDOM, something he has been sweeping under the carpet. For even during the protest, we can tell LC was the propelling force. TIME FOR JIA EN TO GET INTO HER REAL AWESOMES!

    Still, EP 13 had many heart warming moments for me. So it wasn’t all naught (though AGAIN the interrupted confession was a bucket of icy water). Bai Xue’s conversation with Jia En was pure GOLD. IAGW still remains the only drama in recent memory that always fills me with fuzzy warmth and gladness.

  18. Thx so much for the recap… I can’t wait for next episode… I fall in love with the moment between JE n LC.. ^^ I hope the date will became true soon

  19. Even though it appears as though he has not confessed, in actuality he did! because JE understood. Those unspoken feelings speak louder and she is ready to date and even confess soon.
    JE may be naive but not a fool.
    Her love is simple and endearing.
    Eg – too naive to know when LC asked for a glass of tea in her parents restaurant or the need for LC to come sit with her in the library.
    But she is smart to know what the hug meant, or to take a step back when BX was heartbroken.

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