Episode Summary
In both 2023 and 2007 winter Beijing, love and dreams collide. Su Zihao learns Tong Leyi is in a cross-national relationship, only for her to suddenly end it. Meanwhile, in 2007, Zhou Shui secretly reconnects with Dai Daji through a bear costume, leading to their New Year’s Eve confession and passionate beginning. As they start living together, life in Beijing tests their ideals. Eighteen years later, they return to the same apartment building, now filled with memories and changed lives.
Spoiler Alert
Winter 2023, Beijing.Su Zihao helps his longtime friend Tong Leyi move apartments, only to be hit with a surprise: she’s in a long-distance relationship with a photographer. Her boyfriend has just come back from abroad and even plans to give up a job opportunity in Tokyo to stay by her side. Sounds romantic, right?
Su says the guy reminds him of Zhou Shui. But Leyi? She breaks up with him — just like that. Cold as Beijing’s winter air.
Flashback to Winter 2007. Same city, very different lives.
Zhou Shui is broke, lonely, and stuck in a dusty apartment. Through a paper-thin wall, he hears a girl with a Sichuan accent on the phone. A peek through the door reveals her face — it’s Dai Daji.
He almost knocks. He doesn't.
Daji’s mom wants her to give up and come home, but she refuses. She’s set on spending New Year’s in Beijing, waiting for someone important. Spoiler: she’s waiting for Zhou Shui.
Meanwhile, Zhou Shui is determined to stay too, though he feels totally useless. After another failed job interview, Daji is at her lowest when a dancing bear mascot appears out of nowhere, handing her a teddy bear. She breaks down, sobbing to this stranger — the bear — saying she might never get to see the person she promised to meet for New Year’s.
Yep, you guessed it. The bear is Zhou Shui. He can’t be her hero, he says, but he can be her “bear.”
The next day, the bear is back — delivering breakfast, cheering her on in the dark.
But the truth slips out when Zhou Shui gets into a street fight with the scammer who once conned him, and Daji sees his face beneath the costume. Tong Leyi, watching this unfold in the present, sarcastically says Zhou’s been emotionally manipulating Daji (“PUA” style). Su Zihao doesn’t quite get it.
New Year’s Eve strikes.
Daji can’t find Zhou. Alone and broke, she orders dumplings from Old Chives’ street stall. He sees through her struggle and gives her a free bowl.
And then — fireworks. Zhou appears, lighting up the night, and confesses: “I like you.” Before she can respond, they're interrupted by police. They run, hand in hand, and kiss on a bridge as the clock hits midnight, January 1, 2008. That’s when their love story officially begins.
Back in their tiny apartment, passion ignites. Clothes are flying — until their friends walk in. Classic.
Living together, chasing dreams.
To make room for love, Shen Jingshu moves out to live with Yaling, a gym rat with a soft spot for her. Turns out, six months ago, he was scammed into this same apartment, and ever since falling for Jingshu, he’s been sliding breakfast pancakes under her door every morning. Smooth move, honestly.
Daji and Zhou find a discarded vanity table downstairs. She’s always wanted one. He carries it back, filming her joy with his camera. Their first month together is a blur of love and staying in. A hundred days feel like a dream.
Inside this cramped, chaotic apartment, they start their “Beijing drifter” life — young, broke, but full of hope. They say they’ll be together forever.
Su Zihao, ever the realist, uses AI to predict their love will fall apart in two years.
Spring 2008. The struggle gets real.
Daji finally lands an interview with a late-night talk show. It’s a mess. She stumbles her way into a surprise appearance on air, earning just 50 yuan and no success. She uses it to buy KFC and waits under the blanket for Zhou.
Zhou, realizing how tight money is, decides to pause his dreams of filmmaking and look for a job. But Daji insists — he should chase passion, not a paycheck. She’ll hustle for both of them.
Still, Zhou doesn’t want her to starve for his dream. He starts selling raw footage to a website. It's not much, but it’s something. He sees every person in Beijing as a film — a story about the gap between dreams and reality.
He begins capturing the lives of everyone in their building. Someday, this might all mean something.
Flash-forward — 18 years later.
Zhou and Daji return to the same apartment building. Old Chives is gone. Their friends have moved on — Yanjing and Beixin now own a gaming company. Shen Jingshu bought the whole building. And yes — Yaling married her.
Life has changed. But the memories? They’re still there, flickering like fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
Final thoughts:
This episode is a beautiful mix of past and present, of love found and love held onto — for now. It’s filled with little visual metaphors — a bear costume, a vanity, a bowl of dumplings — all quietly telling us that sometimes, love is about the small things. And sometimes, it’s about running from the cops at midnight, fireworks blazing.
Stay tuned. This story’s just heating up — and heartbreak might be closer than it seems.
