Content note: this page mentions sexual violence and murder.
The source of Yifan’s trauma
The last stretch of the drama finally explains why Wen Yifan is so guarded. When she lived with her uncle’s family, she was menaced by Che Xingde, a predatory relative by marriage. After a confrontation in which Sang Yan is involved, Che Xingde is arrested. At trial he admits to raping and murdering a young woman and is sentenced to death. His sister is jailed for helping him cover it up.
Leaving her mother behind
Yifan also faces her mother’s long pattern of putting herself first. She chooses to step away from that relationship instead of continuing to wait for an apology that won’t come.
The proposal
After a painful separation, Yifan and Sang Yan get back together. In the finale, they and their friends go to their high school’s 100th-anniversary celebration, return to their old classroom and replay the moment they first met. Sang Yan proposes with a ring hidden in a ballerina music box, a nod to Yifan’s past as a dancer, and she accepts.
