Episode Summary
Episode 20 sees Yaling tempted by Boss Liao's money to leave Shen Jingshu. Zhou Shui and Dai Daji quit their jobs to start their own company after discovering Lai Chaoyang's deception. Shen Jingshu leaves Yaling for Boss Liao, revealing her real name is Luo Guixi, while Yaling takes the money and leaves Beijing.
Spoiler Alert
So, it's 2012, and Yaling and Shen Jingshu are trying to get back the money owed to them from Boss Liao. Liao only wants Yaling to come inside, which makes Shen Jingshu nervous. She's worried Yaling will get violent and tells him to be careful. Yaling offers to pay back the 100,000 yuan (including interest) within a year. But Liao says Yaling doesn't need to worry about it. Instead, he tempts Yaling with a stack of cash – half a million yuan, to be exact! The catch? Liao wants Yaling to break up with Shen Jingshu and let her be with him. He argues this would save Yaling 50 years of struggle. Yaling is furious and nearly flips the table, telling Liao that his money doesn't impress him. Back home, Yaling and Shen Jingshu are all smiles, acting like money is nothing to them. Zhou Shui and Dai Daji are super impressed by their attitude and joke about turning it into a screenplay.
Yaling tries to get a job at a gym, but gets rejected because he lacks qualifications. Meanwhile, Lai Chaoyang is busy schmoozing clients. Zhou Shui, feeling bold, pitches their project, but Lai Chaoyang isn't thrilled with the impromptu pitch. Later, Zhou Shui apologizes to Lai Chaoyang. Lai Chaoyang gives them 100,000 yuan for the project, promising them the leftover 8-9,000 yuan as a bonus. Dai Daji is happy to see Zhou Shui stepping up. However, when Dai Daji returns to the office, he overhears Lai Chaoyang inflating the project cost to 500,000 yuan while only budgeting 100,000 yuan for them. Back home, Zhou Shui and Dai Daji realize their worth. Zhou Shui has a crazy idea: quit and start their own company! He believes that's the only way to truly realize their potential. Dai Daji, being a loyal friend, agrees to quit with him.
Yaling's job hunt continues to be a disaster. That night, he becomes obsessed with the 500,000 yuan, saying he'd need to teach a million classes to earn that much. Shen Jingshu tries to talk to him. Yaling even slaps himself, trying to convince himself that he doesn't want the money, that Shen Jingshu is worth more. But the 500,000 yuan has become a demon in his mind, and he finds himself back at Liao's office. Liao ups the offer to a cool million! This time, Yaling doesn't put up a fight. Later, Shen Jingshu gets a call from Liao, who tells her that Yaling left his phone behind.
Dai Daji is about to hand in their resignations, but Lai Chaoyang invites her to dinner. She calls Zhou Shui, saying she needs to discuss something with Lai Chaoyang and will be home late. Shen Jingshu returns home, feeling uneasy. Yaling has cooked dinner and acts all cheerful. Shen Jingshu cautiously asks what he did that day. Yaling casually mentions he passed by Liao's teahouse, where the offer was raised to a million, but he acted like he didn't care. Shen Jingshu is relieved until Yaling suggests they take the money and run back to their hometown. Shen Jingshu is heartbroken. She tells Yaling to take the money if he wants, but she wants nothing to do with it and has no intention of leaving Beijing.
At dinner, Lai Chaoyang makes unwanted advances toward Dai Daji. He tries to persuade her to stay, suggesting she should think of her own future and that she could even take over the company one day. He grabs her hand, promising a great future together. Dai Daji pulls away, disgusted, and repeats what Zhou Shui said about Lai Chaoyang: "Don't think you're a good person!" Dai Daji and Zhou Shui officially quit! They happily head home, but find Yaling drunk on the floor and Shen Jingshu packing her bags. Yaling confesses he "sold" Shen Jingshu for a million yuan.
Zhou Shui and Dai Daji chase after Shen Jingshu, but she gets into Liao's car, despite Dai Daji saying they won't be friends anymore if she leaves. Shen Jingshu reveals that her real name is Luo Guixi. She changed her name because people made fun of it, and "Shen Jingshu" sounded elegant. Dai Daji tries to convince her that her name doesn't matter, but Shen Jingshu feels she never had a choice. The next day, Yaling leaves with the million yuan, admitting he couldn't understand Shen Jingshu, but the money helped him understand himself.
