Episode Summary
Hu Manli's life falls apart as she loses her job and suspects her husband's affair. Xue Xiaozhou gets manipulated into contributing to her downfall, leading him to quit his job. Hu Manli gets blacklisted from the insurance industry.
Spoiler Alert
Episode 4: Double Whammy for Hu Manli
So, things are really heating up! This episode sees Hu Manli's life taking a nosedive, both professionally and personally.
It starts with Hu Manli catching Xue Xiaozhou and Qiu Lisu in what looks like a compromising situation. She jumps to conclusions, naturally, and almost sends a spicy message to Ding Zhiyuan (Qiu Lisu's husband) to expose what she thinks is going on. But then she chickens out and deletes it.
Later, Hu Manli visits her dad. He's worried because he heard she lost her job. To save face, she lies and says she quit to find something bigger and better. Dad offers his special tonic wine to Ding Zhiyuan, but Hu Manli is super uncomfortable because she doesn't want her dad to know about Ding Zhiyuan's affair. She makes a quick exit.
Heartbroken and jobless, Hu Manli hits a bar and gets completely wasted. Even the bartender, who she's been trying to network with, can't get her mind off her troubles. She's so drunk that the bartender has to send her to the hospital.
Speaking of hospitals, Xue Xiaozhou is there taking care of his mom. He runs into a very drunk and very upset Hu Manli. She accuses him and Qiu Lisu of plotting to get her fired and generally unloads all her problems on him. She even brings up Cao Ling's situation – remember how Cao Ling begged Hu Manli to keep her past breast cancer a secret? Well, apparently, that backfired big time.
After Hu Manli gets her stomach pumped, Xue Xiaozhou is still there. In her hazy state, she warns him to stay away from Qiu Lisu and spills the tea about Qiu Lisu's affair with Ding Zhiyuan. Xue Xiaozhou doesn't want to get involved and heads back to work.
At the office, Xue Xiaozhou gets an earful from the team leader, who blames him for Hu Manli's firing. Apparently, Chen Fang, who's been holding a grudge against Hu Manli, manipulated Xue Xiaozhou into taking her down by pretending to act on Jin Zhenhua's orders. Chen Fang even gets his wife, Tang Ling, to anonymously report Hu Manli to the insurance association.
So, in one fell swoop, Hu Manli's marriage and career are in shambles. Zhong Ning tries to cheer her up and tells her to find a new job ASAP because she has a huge mortgage to pay. Hu Manli regrets turning down Li Qingqing's job offer. To keep up appearances, she posts fake pictures of herself at fancy spas on social media.
Li Qingqing, who admires Hu Manli, reaches out to her after hearing about the firing. But then, BAM! Hu Manli gets a notice from the insurance association saying she's banned from the industry for two years! Xue Xiaozhou confronts Chen Fang, who denies everything. Xue Xiaozhou then goes to Jin Zhenhua to explain the situation, but Jin Zhenhua thinks Xue Xiaozhou is just retaliating against Hu Manli because of a dispute over a client's late paperwork.
Xue Xiaozhou suspects Chen Fang is twisting the truth, so he confronts him again. Chen Fang sticks to his story and reminds Xue Xiaozhou that he shouldn't have gone to Jin Zhenhua. Frustrated, Xue Xiaozhou quits!
As he's leaving, he runs into Hu Manli, and they exchange some harsh words. Hu Manli tries to call Jin Zhenhua but can't reach him. Then, she realizes her precious notebook, filled with 20 years of industry knowledge, is missing!
Xue Xiaozhou, on the bus with his stuff, finds Hu Manli's notebook in his box. He tries to call her, but she's blocked his number. Hu Manli, meanwhile, calls Chun Lu and offers her all her client contacts in exchange for a cut of the profits.
Wu Ya is furious that Xue Xiaozhou quit. To appease her, Xue Xiaozhou decides to apply for a job at Taiying International. He gets the job and is assigned to Tang Ling's team, but she gives him the cold shoulder.
