The Way we Were
Timing and Subtitles Brought to you by the Can We Go Back? Team @ Viki
The Way We Were
Episode 31
- Rooney. - Hi.
Today, you are looking good.
Has something great happened?
It's because something good is about to happen.
What do you mean?
Dear, I want to ask you. Right now...
Do you still love that man?
Love him? I hate him.
Is it because you loved him so much that you hate him just as much?
If someday he was sorry and came
to ask you for forgiveness,
could you fall in love with him again?
Am I that fickle?
Rooney, what's up with you today?
You don't need to bring this up again. I don't want to talk about it.
Sorry.
Dear, what if you have the desire, the heart,
and the strength,
to begin a new romance
and invest in a new life.
I don't understand what you're saying.
A new relationship, even...
marriage.
Right now?
That... I really can't.
For me?
Cai Qi...
Right now, I'm asking you to marry me.
Rooney, you can really pick the time.
There couldn't be a worse time to propose marriage.
Cai Qi...
I advise you to marry me.
Afterward, gradually try to fall in love with me.
I couldn't fall in love with you.
If that's true,
it doesn't matter.
Just let me, from my side... love you well.
If it's like you say, it's still not a bad thing,
Cai Qi... I love you.
The first time I saw you, it just happened.
But I knew that it would be difficult.
Especially because I soon knew you were pregnant.
You asked me to help you hide from some people. Not let me...
know the mysterious, complicated part of your background.
I even thought that you were Chen Wei's underground lover.
So I wasn't expecting too much.
But honestly,
during these moments
when you feel like it's the worst time for you,
at long last, it has become an opportunity for me.
I don't want to let you live in resentment
or even to let this resentment drive you forward.
Destroying someone isn't worth it.
But, nobody is worth
you destroying your own life. Isn't that right?
So... Cai Qi... please, marry me.
Even if you can't love me,
even if it's until you have the heart to fall for someone else, it doesn't matter.
Does it feel right?
Yes.
- Then let's try it, alright? - Yes.
Dear, I still remember
you once said something to me.
What's over is over.
We can still have a happy life, right?
Totally true.
Dear parents, students, and faculty,
we're gathered here today to honor our hard-working 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.
- Usually on graduation, graduates... - What are you doing here?
I shouldn't have come?
- who obtained their MBA... - He won't be my brother-in-law. But he's still my friend.
- at Stender University... - Did Miao Ying come?
- ...That's exactly why you came here. - When you see Shu Che, don't tell him my sister came.
- ...through unremitting efforts three years ago. - Where is she?
- Behind that tree. - The business school was then a university... - Hey, don't look at her,
she'll realize I betrayed her again.
...And I can assure there is no thing better
than getting your graduate degree from the (Business) School of Stender University.
And now, this is very last thing that I will ask you to do
at the Business School of Stender University...
I would like the students to all rise please.
Now, please show your respect
and appreciation to your family and your friends
who came here and dedicated their support to you
over the last twenty years.
And they came here today to share this,
the most important moment of your life.
Graduate Class of 2014,
please, step forward to receive your diploma.
Here.
- Thank you. - Congratulations.
Congratulations.
Congratulations. You did a good job.
Congratulations.
Good job.
Congratulations.
- Thank you. - Congratulations.
Congratulations.
- Congratulations. - Congratulations.
Congratulations on your graduation, my son.
Thank you, Mom.
Dad. Did you come to the US for official matters?
It's for private reasons. I'll be going back tomorrow.
You came to attend my graduation ceremony?
I don't think there is anything more important than witnessing this important moment of your life.
Won't leaving the country for personal reasons give you trouble?
Of course, it will. But I still had to come.
Your father just informed the affected departments for this trip.
He didn't startle anyone and left keeping a low profile.
Becoming just a high profile father.
Congratulations on your Masters' graduation.
Thank you, Dad.
This is great.
[The field will soon get covered by overgrowth.]
Come, let's eat.
Son, pour the wine.
Okay.
Come.
Pour me less.
Thank you.
Today is so worthy of being celebrated.
Come. For our son's successful educational endeavor.
Here, cheers.
Congratulations.
Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Dad.
Ah, time really flies fast.
The two of us haven't even seriously talked about your future and you've already graduated.
I've already clearly designed my future in my heart.
You plan to return here after the summer break to study for a JD Law Degree?
That's right.
You want to be in a field related to law?
Learning law might not really concern my future profession.
I still have some doubts about myself and reality.
I want to find the answers by studying law.
You never thought of discussing it with us before deciding? To get our opinion?
I think I'm able to make my own decision.
Anyway, my opinions as your father can't change your mind anymore.
But I don't understand. Didn't you plan initially to simultaneously study and open up your business?
After getting your MBA degree, you were supposed to come back to the country and open your business there?
You have now gotten your MBA degree.
Your company had also entered the right track. Why then did you suddenly close it down
and give up on starting a business, only choosing to study law?
You know very clearly why I had to stop my business.
Of course. In this past year, our family went through some unhappy situations.
The fault is all mine.
I want to use this chance today
to sincerely apologize
to you and your mother.
Okay, already.
It's like this. There's something that I want to discuss with you.
For the tribulations of this past year, you can say that our familial relationship has gone through vigorous testing,
either it was between your mother or it was between me and you.
Now... that you've graduated, I'm suggesting
if you can temporarily not study abroad anymore.
Don't study in law school. Let's go home.
Let us three be together for a while.
Repair our relationship.
Try to redeem our family's original atmosphere. How about it?
I've already received a JD offer from the law school.
That's all right. It's not bad if you want to get another degree.
But, that DNS server of yours
has already been successfully developed and converted into a product.
Stopping it now is such a waste.
So what I am suggesting is for you to come back home and continue setting up the company there.
Your project most likely will have a huge market in our country.
So looking for an investor won't be that hard.
If there is any difficulty, I can help you, but that's only on the premise that you need my help.
If you won't allow it, I shall not intervene.
Anyway, I just hope that you can temporarily stop your study plans
and restart your start-up as a (profitable) business plan.
This is also what your mother most likely wants.
You can request an admission delay from the law school.
Even if it's just for a year.
After a year, if you still want to return there to continue your studies, I will support it.
After a year, the subway bidding
will have been finalized.
Before that, it will be better for me to stay within the boundary of your control, so I won't give you any more trouble.
That's what you really mean, right?
Shu Che, how can you talk to your Dad that way.
How come every word sounds unpleasant when it's said by you?
You were always a smart kid.
You said it correctly. I won't deny it. I did think of what you said.
But... if we're not together, it will be harder to communicate and a lot of misunderstandings will come up.
If we can't harmoniously interact, it will only worsen our relationship.
It might cause a long-term cold war between us and even bring about unnecessary trouble.
Anyway, all these reasons are interconnected.
But my main motive is still
to improve our (father-son) relationship.
It's like this, Dad.
So do you think our cold war is because of not being together for a long time?
Isn't it?
Even if we're together,
there are certain thoughts of yours
that I'm unable to understand or acknowledge.
Rather than leaving me under your watchful eye to keep contradicting you,
why not just let me choose what I want to do?
Also, Miao YIng and I have truly broken up.
There's no need for you to worry that I'll cause you any more trouble.
Shu Che, why can't you understand your father's suggestion in a positive way?
If you come back to our country, you can start up your business while the iron is hot.
Also, wouldn't it be great if our family could enjoy some joyous family time together?
You can also continue studying for your JD law degree in the future.
A lot of meritorious people even return to their alma maters to study, even if they're nearing retirement.
- It doesn't really delay them. - That's right.
Since yours was just a suggestion and this is a discussion,
then I choose
not to accept it.
Dad, Mom, I am very grateful that you sent me abroad to study.
And let me have the ability to be independent and the freedom to choose.
So, I beg you
to agree and let me continue studying here in the US.
Now, I don't understand what you really mean by "independence".
You spend my money. You constantly go against my will!
Do you think by heeding what I say, you will be losing your inner self?
That only through rebelling against me, you can find your feeling of existence.
Shu Che. I am telling you clearly,
that is an empty sense of independence and weak confidence.
One day, if you're capable enough
and you don't need any financial assistance from us,
only at that time, can you talk about "independence and freedom" with me.
You are correct!
Talking about my independence and freedom is indeed pointless!
True, this kind of existence is weak!
From now on, I will support myself. I will not cost you one more dime!
I will finish my studies on my own and prove it to you!
I can do it!
Shu Che! Shu Che!
Let him go!
Shu Che!
You two can't even have a meal together in peace!
Sit down.
Why did you come over here?
Aren't you supposed to be with your parents?
It was so good for your dad to come all this way to attend your graduation ceremony.
To tell you the truth, this is the first time I saw such an important person for myself.
What's wrong with you?
Is it hard to get a job?
What's that suppose to mean?
I'm asking if it's hard to get a part-time work?
It's not hard.
As long as you are willing to bend over, there's always money to be made.
But to me, the hardest part is the time distribution.
Making money and studying. I have to do both.
If any part gets held up, it will become a mess.
You saw my disgraceful experience in that class.
If I was any less shameless,
I would drop out.
At the time,
I was stupid and arrogant. Maybe I still am.
I can't blame you. It's because you don't know how hard it is to work.
That's a shame.
Seven years in the US and I haven't worked a day.
What is there to be ashamed of?
You don't work because you don't have to.
You could've relied on your dad, but you had to rely on yourself.
If you can be the boss, why would you work? I wouldn't work if I didn't have to.
I want to ask you.
If someone works full time during this summer break,
is there any job where they can make...
$10,000 to $20,000 in one or two months?
Wow... You're aiming too high. That is really hard.
Why are you suddenly interested in this?
Who are you helping to find work?
It's not for anyone else.
You mean it's you?
A summer job?
Not only summer. I want to find a long-term job.
Long term? You are not going back to China?
No. I have to make my tuition fees and living expenses for the next semester.
That's not necessary.
Are you really looking for a real experience?
From now on, I have to be like you, relying on myself.
Finish my studies. I won't ask for my family's financial support.
A declaration of independence.
Had a fight with your parents, huh?
My father doesn't want me to study law.
He wants me to go back to China and start my business again.
He's just trying to keep me close so he could control me.
It's normal that your father has plans for your future.
Just like my parents.
They would discuss the future with me too.
They would make all kinds of suggestions and requests.
You just need to communicate with them. Arguments can't solve any problems.
Your parents offer decent advice that you can listen to.
My father wants me to obey him completely. To control and fighting against that control,
is the permanent "tug of war" between my father and me.
As long as I haven't cut my financial ties with my family,
I will never have my freedom.
I understand. Congratulations.
Congratulating me for what?
Congratulations for weaning off breastfeeding.
At the same time, I want to also congratulate you for getting close to being broke.
Don't scare me. I'm still terrified.
You know the next sentence in that poem, "after endless mountains and rivers leaving doubt whether there is a path out"?
"Suddenly one encounters the shade of a willow, bright flowers, and a lovely village."
Right. All beginnings deserve to be celebrated.
On the bumpy road, you're about to walk on,
there is a bright and tall figure ahead of you... me.
Please, teach me and take care of me.
Call me Master.
Master. Please, accept me as a student.
I won't kneel now. I will do it another day.
Son. We have left.
"Don't forget to eat the fruit on the table."
"Don't be mad at your father. We just want the best for you. ...Mom."
Why not go home, seeing that my field and gardens are overgrown?
Shu Che. I'm not going back to China either.
I sent applications to a few legal firms. I want to see if I can get an interview.
Great. You can keep me company.
Don't be anxious about work. I will see if I can find something for you.
Thanks.
Shu Che.
Auntie. Hello.
Hello.
- You are... - My name is Xiao Qing.
You're Shu Che's classmate?
I am in law school.
Next semester, he will be a junior in my school.
Mom. Why are you here at my school?
Your dad and I are leaving for the airport. He's in the car.
Do you have anything else you want to say to him?
I will not disturb you. I am leaving. Goodbye, Auntie.
No, Xiao Qing, they are leaving soon.
Do you want us to go back to Yanzhou feeling as upset as last night?
I am begging you. Go say goodbye to him.
Father. I won't go back this summer.
There are three months before the new semester.
I have to work here and earn money to pay my bills.
Please, be reassured. I can do it.
Safe travels. Goodbye.
I can give you a chance.
A chance to prove you can climb high without stepping on my shoulders.
Without me, you can walk very far as well.
Thank you.
Mom. Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Take care, my son.
That girl who's with him. What does she do?
Someone from the law school. One grade level higher than him.
Is she his current girlfriend?
I don't think so.
Whose kid? What do her parents do?
How can I know that? I can't go look up her residency certificate.
What's her name?
I think her name is Xiao Qing.
Law school?
Shu Che wanted to study law. Do you think it was affected by her?
Your son can't be affected by anyone that easily.
Have you seen that girl before?
This is the first time.
Is that right?
[Ah, homeward bound I go!]
[Why not go home, seeing that my field and gardens are overgrown?]
[Ah, homeward bound I go!]
[ Why not go home, seeing that my field and gardens are overgrown? ]
My father must have seen the four characters on my blackboard.
Why not go home, seeing that my field and gardens are overgrown? (Homeward Bound -Tao Yuanming /Jin dynasty)
He still wants you to go back to China.
"Myself have made my soul serve my body:
Why have vain regrets and mourn alone?"
"Fret not over bygones,"
"and the forward journey take.
Only a short distance have I gone astray,
and I know today I am right if yesterday was a complete mistake."
I know this is more like how he feels.
Cheers!
Congratulations, Catherine. You're working for Citibank.
Congratulations, Benjamin, you're joining PWC.
We are going to go back to Hong Kong in early August.
There are only two months left when we all can be together.
She has entered the 'goodbye' depression earlier than she should.
It's not like we can't see each other again.
Right. It's a global village now.
The world keeps spinning. Maybe, we will be under the same roof again.
Even though we come from different places,
we strangers have become friends under the same roof.
This world is so small.
But we will go our separate ways,
when we get so far apart, we will think the world is really big.
Here, cheers to the moment when we are together.
Cheers!
Xiao Qing. You didn't finish what you said earlier. Which friend are you helping to find work?
Oh, right. I want you all to help my friend get a summer job.
What friend? What kind of job?
His name is Shu Che. Do you remember him?
Shu Che. Isn't he your boss?
I thought you worked for his company...
Field Technology Ltd., as a legal consultant?
Right.
Why would he quit becoming a boss to look for a summer job?
Because he suspended his company's business.
Suspended? I thought the business was operating well.
You got the venture capital and made a few million.
You told me your salary doubled in two months.
How did it just suddenly collapse?
It didn't collapse.
It's... because of some complicated problems.
Anyway, he wants to work
to make enough money to pay his tuition and support himself.
Shu Che is a Deputy Mayor's son, right?
Right. He just never relied on his family.
He probably won't in the future either.
Deputy Mayor's son. He was also a boss.
Only gold collar jobs are good enough for him.
Even though he didn't have any blue-collar experience
and he was born with a silver spoon,
please, everyone, help him find a well-paid, high-class job.
How high-class?
I will ask around.
I will see which company needs a CEO, okay?
Yeah, right.
Qing'er. See your mom?
She's very healthy now, right?
This is all because of me.
Knock it off.
Qing'er. I received the nutritional products you bought for me.
Look!
So fast.
My daughter is so good. Unlike your father. Bullying me as soon as I got better.
He wants me to make up for all his suffering in the past year.
Mom, Dad. I have to talk to you about something.
I hope you will forgive me.
What's wrong?
I was going to book the tickets to come back home for the summer.
But I applied for a few jobs with some legal firms.
So I want to wait for those opportunities.
See if any legal firm is willing to give me a chance to interview.
You know the summer between the first and second year of my JD studies,
is the best time to find internships with law firms.
So if I can't get an internship this summer,
it will be more difficult after the new semester starts.
Also, in the last year of my JD,
if no law firm gives me an internship in the US,
it will be very difficult to get a work visa after graduation.
So I want to use this summer and fight for it.
Are you planning to stay in America and work for an American law firm?
I want to try all possibilities.
Maybe, I'll stay here. Maybe, I'll come back to China.
I just want to spend a few years...
figuring out what's best for me.
Good. Qing'er. You have my support. Stay there and don't come back.
Here you go again.
Are you not happy that our daughter is so good to me?
Qing'er. I am well. I am recovering.
As long as I keep working on it, I will be well.
You keep up the good work. Don't come back.
If we miss you, we will fly there to visit.
Stay there and look for internships.
You have my full support, okay?
Father. I haven't figured out what's best for me yet.
I am not sure about my future plans.
I want to try everything I can try.
Timing and Subtitles Brought to you by the Can We Go Back? Team @ Viki
♫ The brink of love and hate ♫
♫ The departure and getting together ♫
♫ I'm asking why you will care ♫
♫ I'm still thinking about it now ♫
♫ When I came back, you're still here ♫
♫ I'm counting on you ♫
♫ Our bodies parted but my heart is back ♫
♫ Remember this love, we know ♫
♫ This is love ♫
♫ Every time I feel I was hurt ♫
♫ Going afar without saying goodbye ♫
♫ How far should I go, how long should I go to heal the wounds ♫
♫ It's better to go back to the place where we had love ♫
♫ Leaving silently, without a goodbye ♫
♫ The room is cold and there's no sunshine ♫
♫ I long to keep the time we have for each other ♫
♫ I can't forget about you. I'm waiting for the echo of love ♫
♫ The brink of love and hate ♫
♫ The departure and being together ♫
♫ I'm asking why you will care ♫
♫ I'm still thinking about it now ♫
♫ When I got back, you're still here ♫
♫ I'm counting on you ♫
♫ Our bodies parted but my heart is back ♫
♫ Remember this love, our love ♫
♫ This is love ♫