Subtitles by DramaFever
[The Way We Were]
[Episode 31]
Rooney!
You seem to be in a good mood. Did something good happen?
It's because of what's about to happen.
What do you mean?
Honey, I want to ask you...
Do you still... love that person right now?
Love him? More like hate him.
Do you hate him because you love him?
If one day he's remorseful and comes to ask you for forgiveness...
will you fall in love with him again?
How cheap do you think I am?
Rooney, what's up with you today?
Don't bring this up anymore. I don't want to discuss it.
Sorry.
Honey, do you have the desire, interest, or energy...
to begin a new relationship?
To head into a whole new life.
I don't know what you mean.
A new relationship.
Maybe even... marriage.
Now?
I really don't have the energy for that.
Is that for me?
Cai Qi...
I'm proposing to you right now.
Rooney, you really know how to pick a time.
This is literally the worst time to propose.
Cai Qi, my suggestion is that you marry me.
And then, maybe you can try to love me.
That might not happen.
That's okay too.
Just let me love you then. It's not too bad of an outcome.
Cai Qi.
I love you.
From the first moment I met you.
But I knew it was complicated, especially when I knew you were pregnant.
You used me and told me to keep it a secret from everyone.
I knew you had a complicated background.
I even thought you were Cheng Wei's lover at one point.
So I had to keep myself professional.
But to be completely honest...
During this horrible period for you, I began to feel like I had a chance.
I don't want you to be consumed by hatred.
I don't want it to dictate your life.
It's not that you don't have the right...
But no one is worth destroying your own life over, right?
So... Cai Qi, please marry me.
Even if you'll never love me, even if you end up loving someone else, it's okay.
Does it fit?
Yeah.
- Then let's try this. - Okay.
Darling, I still remember something you said to me once.
So what if it's over?
We can still go on to live a happy life, right?
It's the truth!
Dear parents, students, and faculty...
We're gathered here today to honor our hardworking students
for their efforts and accomplishments.
Today marks the end of one journey, but it's the beginning of the next.
The journey of your life.
Please give a warm welcome to the headmaster, Mr. Hopkins.
What are you doing here?
Why can't I be here? He's not my brother-in-law, but he can be my friend.
Did Miao Ying come?
When you see Shu Che later, don't tell him that she came.
Where is she?
Behind that tree.
Don't stare!
If she finds out, she'll say I sold her out again.
There is nothing better than graduating from the school of Standord University.
And now, this very last thing that I'll ask you to do
at the Business School of Standord University...
I would like the students to all rise, please.
Now please show your respect and appreciation to your family
and friends who came here and dedicated support to you
over the last twenty years.
They came here today to share this...
the most important moment of your life.
Graduate Class of 2014, please step forward to receive your diplomas.
Let's stand here.
Thank you.
Congratulations.
- Congratulations. - Thank you.
Congratulations.
- Congratulations, son. - Thanks Mom.
Dad.
- Did you come here for work? - For personal reasons.
I'm leaving tomorrow.
You came for my graduation?
I don't think anything is more important than witnessing this moment in your life.
Won't it be complicated for you to explain your presence here?
Of course, but I still had to come.
Your dad didn't tell anyone except relevant personnel that he was coming.
- He left quietly. - So I could be a good father.
Congratulations on your master's degree.
- Thanks Dad. - This is great.
["The land has gone to waste."]
Come on, it's time to eat.
- Shu Che, serve the wine. - Okay.
Here.
- Don't give me too much. - Thank you.
Today is perfect for celebrating. Come on.
To our son's academics! Cheers!
- Congratulations. - Thanks, Mom and Dad.
Time really flies.
We haven't even had the chance to discuss the future yet
and here you are, graduated.
I already have my future planned in my heart.
You're planning on going back to school for a J.D. after the holidays.
Yes.
You want to do something related to law in the future?
My degree doesn't necessarily determine my career.
I still have some questions about myself and the world.
I want to find the answers through law.
You didn't consider discussing it with me before making your decision?
- Ask our opinions. - I think I can make my own decisions.
Regardless, it's not as if my opinion could sway you anyways.
But I don't understand, didn't you plan on studying
and starting a company at the same time?
I thought you'd planned on going back to start a company after getting your MBA.
You have your MBA now, and your company was doing well.
Why would you suddenly quit and decide to study law?
You know why I shut my company down.
Of course.
Our family has been through a lot this year.
Most of that is because of me.
I'm going to take this opportunity to apologize to you and your mom.
Enough.
There's something I want to discuss with you.
This past year has really tested our family's relationship with each other.
Me and your mom, me and you. We were all tested.
How about... since you've graduated...
my suggestion is that you temporarily stop studying abroad.
Instead of going to law school, why don't you go home?
Let's spend some time together and fix our relationships.
Let's try to go back to the way we used to be, how about it?
I already got a J.D. offer from school.
Not bad! Wanting another degree isn't a bad thing.
But your DNS analyzer already passed developmental stage
and become an official product.
It would be a pity to stop now.
So I was wondering if you'd start a company back in China.
This project has a lot of market potential in China.
Getting investors won't be difficult.
If you need, and only if you want it, I can help you.
I won't stick my hand in if you won't allow it.
All in all, I just wish you'd put a pause on studying abroad for now.
Go back to starting a business.
Your mother thinks the same.
You can ask the school to defer their offer.
Even if it's just for one year.
If you still want to come back here in a year, I'll support you.
In a year, the subway project bidding will be finalized.
Before that, it's better that I stay within your sights
so I don't cause more trouble for you. That's your actual intention, right?
Shu Che.
How can you speak to your father like that?
Why do you have to make everything sound so ugly?
As expected, you're a smart man.
You're right, I won't deny that that's one of my goals.
However...
communication is difficult when we're all apart.
It can cause a lot of misunderstandings.
If we can't communicate, we can ruin our relationship.
Our cold war would continue and we'd cause a lot of unnecessary troubles.
Either way, these reasons are all connected.
Naturally, my main goal is to rectify our relationship.
This is the thing, Dad.
Do you think our cold war is because we don't spend a lot of time together?
Isn't it?
I think that even if we're together all day...
I'd still be unable to understand or agree with some of your views.
So, rather than keep me under your eye and fighting you all the time...
why not just let me live according to my own wishes?
Not to mention, Miao Ying and I have broken up for good.
You don't have to worry about me causing trouble for you.
Shu Che.
Why can't you see the positive side of your dad's suggestion?
If you come back to China, you can run a successful company
and our family can be together, spend time together, isn't that great?
Yes.
You can get a J.D. later on in life.
Lots of successful businessmen go back to school after they retire.
- You don't have to give either up. - That's right.
Since you're just suggesting and this is a discussion...
Then I choose...
not to accept it.
Dad, Mom. I'm grateful to you guys for sending me here to study.
And for making me independent and giving me the freedom to choose.
So please allow me to continue my studies here.
I just don't get what independence you're speaking of.
Spending my money and rebelling against all my decisions?
Do you feel that when you listen to me, you lose your sense of self...
and that only by rebelling do you feel a sense of purpose?
Shu Che.
Let me inform you, this kind of independence is illusory
and this kind of confidence is weak.
If you have the ability to be absolutely financially independent...
that's when you can discuss independence and freedom with me.
You're right!
Spending your money while speaking of such things is unfounded.
This kind of living truly lacks boldness.
From now on, I'll go on my own and not spend a cent of your money.
I'm going to get my J.D. on my own.
I'm going to prove to you guys that I'm capable.
Shu Che!
- Shu Che! - Let him go!
Shu Che!
Why can't the two of you just have a meal in peace?
Sit.
What are you doing at my place?
Shouldn't you be celebrating with your parents right now?
It must not have been easy on your dad, flying over just for your graduation.
Honestly, that was my first time seeing someone so important!
What's wrong?
- Is working hard? - What do you mean?
Is work hard, I asked.
No, it's not.
There's no money that can't be earned with a little work.
The hardest thing is time management.
Work and school, you have to make time for both.
If not, there are consequences.
You saw for yourself last time in that criminal law class.
If you aren't as thick-skinned as I am, you might just drop out after that.
I was an idiot back then. I probably still am.
That's not your fault. You don't know how the rest of us suffer.
I'm pretty ashamed.
I haven't worked a single day in the seven years I've been here.
- Not even an on campus job. - What's there to be ashamed about?
You don't work because you don't have to.
You could totally rely on your dad, but you just have to rely on yourself.
You could easily be a boss, why would you work? I wouldn't if I could do that.
I have a question.
Let's say I work full-time during the summer.
Is there a job where I can earn $10-20,000 in two months?
You're aiming too high. That's really hard.
Why are you suddenly so interested in this?
Are you helping someone find a job?
- I'm not looking for someone else. - You want to work?
A summer job?
Not just. I need a longterm job.
Longterm? You're not going back to China for the summer?
No.
I have to make enough for next semester's tuition and living expenses.
That's not necessary, right?
Don't tell me you really want to experience how the people suffer.
From now on, I want to be like you and complete my J.D. on my own.
I don't want to ask my parents for a single cent.
A declaration of independence...
Did you fight with your parents?
My dad doesn't want me to study law.
He wants me to go start up a business in China.
Actually, he just wants to keep me within reach so he can control me.
It's normal for your dad to have certain expectations for your future.
My parents are the same.
They'll often sit down with me to discuss my future.
They always have a lot of suggestions and demands.
You just have to talk with them. Fighting won't resolve anything.
Your parents' demands can be talked about.
My dad expects straight up obedience.
The two of us have fought over control of my life for ages.
If I don't cut off my financial dependence on my family...
I'll never really be free.
I see. Congratulations.
For what?
For weaning off your parents.
And also for the fact that you're soon to be dirt poor.
Don't scare me! I'm freaking out over here.
Do you know the second part of the poem? "After endless mountains and rivers..."
"one suddenly comes across the shade of a willow and a village."
Exactly!
Every new beginning deserves to be celebrated.
On the arduous journey you're about to embark upon...
there's a shaded haven in the distance, and that's me.
Please keep me safe and give me your blessings.
- Call me your mentor. - Mentor.
Please allow me to bow... or not, it's not convenient here.
Son, we're leaving. Don't forget to eat the fruit on the table.
Don't stay angry at your dad. We just want the best for you.
Mom.
["The land has gone to waste."]
Shu Che!
I'm not going back either.
I sent a few applications out to several law firms.
I want to see if I get an interview.
Awesome, at least I have a buddy then.
Don't worry about work, I'll see if I can find anything for you.
Thanks Mentor.
Shu Che!
Hello, ma'am.
Hi. You're...
- I'm Xiao Qing. - You're Shu Che's classmate?
I also study law. Next semester, he'll be my junior.
Mom, what are you doing at school?
We're about to head to the airport.
He's in the car. Do you have anything you want to say to him?
- I'll leave you guys. Bye, ma'am. - No need, Xiao Qing. They're leaving.
You want us to just return to Yanzhou like this?
I'm begging you, just say goodbye to him.
Dad. I'm not going back this summer.
There's still three months until the semester starts.
I have to stay here and work to earn living expenses.
Don't worry, I can manage.
Have a safe trip. I'll see you.
I can give you a chance.
You can prove to me that you can reach the top without stepping on my shoulders.
Prove that even without me, you have the potential to go far.
Thank you.
Bye, Mom.
Goodbye.
Take care, Shu Che.
That girl who was with him, what does she do?
She goes to law school. She's a year above him.
- Is she his current girlfriend? - Didn't look like it to me.
Whose child is she? What do her parents do?
How would I know? It's not like I checked her family's residence card.
What's her name?
I think it was... Xiao Qing.
Law school?
Could she have influenced him to study law?
Do you think your son is that easily influenced?
Have you met her before?
That was my first time meeting her.
I see.
"To get out of this and go back home!"
"My fields will be overgrown with weeds. I must go back."
"To get out of this and go back home!"
"My fields will be overgrown with weeds. I must go back."
I suppose my dad saw that line I wrote on my blackboard.
["The Return" by poet Tao Yuanming] "My fields will be overgrown with weeds."
"I must go back."
He still wants you to go back.
"It was my own doing that made my mind my body's slave."
"Why should I go on in melancholy and lonely grief?"
"I realize that there's no remedying the past..."
"But I know that there's hope in the future."
"After all, I have not gone far on the wrong road..."
"And I am aware that what I do today is right, yesterday wrong."
I know.
This is what he's really thinking.
Cheers!
Congrats Katherine, on Citibank. Congrats Benjamin, on PwC.
We'll be leaving for Hong Kong at the beginning of August.
We only have two more months left with you guys.
She's getting depressed in advance.
It's not like we'll never see each other again.
Yeah, the world is so small. Who knows, we might even live together again.
Even though we exchange students all come from different places...
but we've gone from being strangers to being friends under the same roof.
This world is so small.
But after graduating, we'll all go our separate ways.
With all this distance, you realize once again that the world is huge.
Come on. Since we're all here in this moment, let's toast.
- Cheers! - Cheers!
Xiao Qing, you were saying before dinner, who are you looking for a job for?
Oh right!
I need to ask you guys to help my friend find a summer job.
What friend? What kind of job? Give us some details.
His name is Shu Che. I don't know if you guys remember.
Shu Che. Isn't he your boss?
Weren't you a legal adviser for his company?
Yeah.
Why is he looking for a job then?
- The company is temporary closed. - Closed? Wasn't it doing well though?
It got an investor really fast, and earned like millions.
I also remember you saying your salary raised by a lot.
- Why would it fall apart? - It didn't really fall apart.
It's... really complicated.
Anyways, he hopes to make enough money for tuition and living expenses.
Isn't he the son of a government official?
But he doesn't depend on his family and probably won't in the future either.
A mayor's son who's been a CEO before... it has to be a job that fits him, right?
He doesn't have much work experience...
but he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
I hope you guys can help find him a high end job with a good salary.
How high end? How about this?
I'll ask around and see if any of my friends are looking for a CEO.
Qing'er, look at your mom!
She's looking great, right?
- It's all because of me. - Oh, be quiet!
Qing'er!
I got all the nutritional supplements you ordered me.
Take a look!
That was fast!
You're so much better than your dad.
He turned the tables as soon as he saw I was recovered.
He's practically making me make up for all the suffering I put him through!
Guys, I have something to tell you guys. I hope you'll understand.
What?
I'd decided to purchase my ticket home...
but you know how I submitted my resume to a couple law firms?
I want to stay and see if an opportunity comes up.
I want to see if one of them will give me an interview.
You guys know this is the best time to find an internship.
If I don't find one now, it'll be harder once school starts.
Also, if I don't find a law firm to intern for in my last year...
It'll be hard to get a work visa after I graduate.
So I want to use this summer to hopefully find something.
Does that mean you're planning on staying in America in the future?
I want to try every possibility.
I might stay at a law firm here, or go back home and find work.
I just want to use these few years to see what suits me best.
Okay, I support you. Stay there and don't worry about coming back.
There you go again!
You're jealous, aren't you? Well, deal with it!
Qing'er, I'm doing well and recovering.
If I keep at it, things will keep getting better.
You can just stay there. Don't come back! If we miss you, we'll fly over to visit.
Just focus on getting an internship. I support you!
Dad, I'm not sure what I want yet, and I'm still unclear about the future.
I want to experience everything that can be experienced.
Subtitles by DramaFever