When a Snail Falls in Love 如果蜗牛有爱情 - Episode 4 (Recap)

kakashi: We meet more people and realize that this kidnapping case isn't really just a kidnapping case. And what is going on in that Ye Corporation?! At least, Ji Bai gives Xu Xu another chance and she takes it very seriously. She wants to stay in that Major Crime Investigation Unit. And she has determination. 
Trotwood: I felt for her here. I trained for six months to do an 8K, 23 obstacle, obstacle course race and still couldn't do those damn monkey bars. I do weigh probably 4 times her weight but still. 
Eleanor: Trot, you are impressive. I am so unfit. I used to be super fit, like as in my tricep stuck out without flexing and I had great knee definition (yay for rowing)...now...I am ashamed *starts thinking about exercise routines*
JoAnne: Just call me Tudou.
Shuk: I lettered in Track in high school, but that was a looooooong time ago. Nowadays it's once a week at the pool and once a week at the gym, on average.

Episode 4

We're with a man in a parking garage - that man is Zhang Shiyong (Jiang Bing), as we later find out. He is attacked by a man in a mask with a baseball bat. Zhang Shiyong manages to hide underneath a car and the assailant (who could be Yang Yu, but it's not quite clear) leaves. Very shaken, Zhang Shiyong calls the police on his mobile to make a report.
I literally yelled at the screen: "Pull in your feet! Pull in your feet!"
Ack! This scene was nerve-wracking and terrifying! Yikes! That shot though - awesome! Ooh! The tension!
I wonder if I would fit under a car...
I always love it when the bad guy yells "Don't move!" as if their target should go "Okay", stop, and wait to get pummeled / shot / killed.  Our little skeevy guy is pretty fast on his feet. Has this happened to him before? Hmm..

After the title melody, we are in the hospital, where Zhang Shiyong is recovering after his kidnapping. [I was confused at first because this came right after that bit under car. And then I remembered the pattern of the cold open.] A bit of dehydration, a few scratches - he is actually rather fine, it seems. Ji Bai and Husband are on their way to his room to hear his statement. Oh - our patient is flirting with the nurses? I think he can be dismissed. He tells the officers how the kidnapping happened (it seems he was roofied!). And Yang Yu got the blades by forcing Zhang Shiyong to call his secretary. Husband is satisfied.
Oh man, he comes off as so smarmy. No wonder his wife didn't care what the kidnapper did with him. I don't trust him one bit. He gives me the creeps. 
He is completely skeevy--to the point where I wondered how anyone (not just his wife) could believe he was sincere about anything. How did get to this position where people trust him with money? He makes me want to wash with disinfectant.
I like this actor.  He was Jerry's bestie in My Best Ex-Boyfriend and he managed to be likeable but potentially sketchy.
I don't believe anything this man says. He states details...until he doesn't.

Rather abruptly, Ji Bai asks whether Zhang saw his attacker's face. (Hm, I'd say from his expression that he does not like this man. At all. Does anyone?) Zhang Shiyong claims he hasn't. Ji Bai wants him to think harder, especially back to that previous attack (he listened to the recorded report from that parking garage incident while investigating the case - that happened awhile ago). But nope, Zhang Shiyong still claims he knows nothing. 
Hmmm, methinks that Ji Bai smells a rat! 
The look below mirrors the look we were all probably giving him at this point. He is a lying liar who lies. I think we can all agree--even this early in the game.
It's the soul patch+goatee combination. You just can't ever trust those guys.
And answering the phone while being interrogated by an officer is bad cricket.

Back at the dormitory, Yao Meng is still singing Ji Bai's praises. Xu Xu is not reacting, not even when Yao Meng says she would have had to marry the Captain in olden times, after a rescue like this. Xu Xu replies that Yao Meng is welcome to take him instead.

LOL I do quite like Yao Meng. 

Yup. She's a fav. But I love love love this friendship. She is exactly what Xu Xu needs.

Yes, they're terrific together. It worries me that they would be set up to both like Ji Bai when they're such nice people separately and together. I don't want them to be enemies.

It reminds of those old cartoons with the big happy dog gamboling around the smaller, smarter one.  I hope they are besties through the end.

When Xu Xu calls her a "rare commodity" on the spouse market and "very pretty", Yao Meng is really flattered (and almost shocked, when Xu Xu adds that even Ye Zixi isn't able to hold a candle to her in terms of looks).

I agree and not just because I don't like Ye Zixi. Yao Meng is pretty in the traditional sense, but she has such an open, warm, smart character. I'm really intrigued by the combination. She has some traits of the traditional candy heroine/best friend (hard worker, not paying attention to looks) but she's also physically athletic (which for women usually translates to a serious Ji Bai type or the big sized slow jock type), perceptive (which for female characters usually translates into the Xu Xu type), and bubbly and fun (which for female and male characters usually translates into a character that is kind of dim). She combines these into the perfect friend and colleague and roommate for Xu Xu.

Raised like a son, a tomboy, and a champion in all kinds of sports, she does not seem to see herself as pretty at all.

Aw! I like a good female friendship! Yay! 💕💕

Trot has hit the nail on the head - she takes bits from all our stock female characters and combines them into an actual human you could meet. (And not want to kill.)

She is the best character in the show so far. She's very self confident, but also happy to be complimented on her looks.

Yang Yu's and Zhang Shiyong's testimonies don't line up, it seems - or something else is going on here that we are not told about? (wow there's a surprise [cough cough]) Ji Bai tells Zhao Han outside the hospital that Zhang might not be aware of "what is going on", seeing how he's just a lowly son-in-law and that they need to keep investigating this case. Husband brings up Xu Xu's great intuition. Bad idea. Ji Bai even gets angry at him for not following his orders to "get rid of her". Go she must! But our dear Husband talks back to him! He seems to be really rooting for the tiny snail. Aw.
This also shows that Ji Bai is someone who can be reasoned with, otherwise Zhao Han would know not to talk to him at all about it. 

Can I do it now?  . . .I'm really trying to focus . . .but  . . . HURRAY HUSBAND!!!!! (glitter galore)
*blows one of those paper things that makes a noise when it uncurls*  Yay Husband, going about his awesome Husband day, doing awesome Husband things!
It's great that he goes to bat for someone he believes would be a great team member. And clearly Ji Bai trusts his judgement, even if he doesn't like the response.

When they're at the car, Zhao Han refuses to open for Ji Bai straight away because of the Xu Xu disagreement. His friend's behavior puzzles Ji Bai, and it's quite funny :D He seems to think Zhao Han likes Xu Xu - which he does, I guess, but I don't think in that way. He just doesn't think it's fair to kick Xu Xu out!
Aw. He is so lovely. Fight with Ji Bai being silly Zhao Han! Fight for Xu Xu!
Oh, yes he's lovely because he is so earnestly fair.  He knows she messed up, but he also knows that her skills will compensate for this error. No one is perfect right away. 
Look how adorable he is. Now I'm worried that they're being set up to both like Xu Xu.

I guess you can only go against Ji Bai's wishes for so long - Husband unlocks the car after this verbal exchange.

LOL those faces. How many times did they crack up while filming this scene?

Don't care because I could watch this gif all day.
I loooooove the whole elbows-on-the-vehicle!!! And these guys are clearly BFFs. ^^
I have a major soft spot for cop partners. My dad had a long-time partner who everyone called Bear, and they knew each other like husband and wife. (not in the biblical sense, of course.)

But it's not over! While driving, Zhao Han continues to defend Xu Xu. He even says if anything, the mess up is his fault, so he should be punished. The woman is so mature and confident, he never thought of her as a trainee like he should have. He's ready to have his wages deducted etc. etc.! Fine, goes Ji Bai. No bonus. Haha. I love these two! They're such great friends.

Hehehehe bad Ji Bai! Bad! That's so mean! Though I will admit I quite die for Wang Kai smirks. 

This show really does friendship well. You can believe that these people chose each other and why they keep choosing to be friends and not just colleagues.

Yes, the flow is very easy and comfortable.

Yao Meng is still talking about Ji Bai, now wondering what kind of women he likes. Xu Xu remarks that it doesn't seem to be Ye Zixi. Also, she says she's never been in love. She has never met a suitable man! (Yao Meng calls her E.T.) Right then, Xu Xu receives a text from Husband. All his pestering seems to have had some effect - he has bought some time for her. Ji Bai has issued a final ultimatum: Xu Xu has to pass the physical in three months or she's out. As is he, her superior.

Aw! This shows Zhao Han has faith in her too! He knows she can do it, and I guess hopes that Ji Bai will see sense eventually. But come on Xu Xu, you've got to pass that fitness test! Jiayou~

Xu Xu takes this very seriously and she asks Yao Meng to devise a training plan for her! When they're on the training ground, Ji Bai and Husband arrive too. Ji Bai smiles a tiiiny little bit when he sees the two women, but I'm not sure why. Does he like seeing Xu Xu's vigor? Or Yao Meng's great form? (Sidebar: I really like this actress, but she does not at all come across as sporty, unfortunately). Actually, I think they're making fun of Xu Xu's clumsiness.

*distracted* men in T-shirts 😍 See Ji Bai! She's trying! She wants to stay!

And the old lady in me says "Stand up straight!"

I know! So slouchy!

I wonder if Ji Bai was being such a butt-head just to make her try harder. Because he knew all about her before she even arrived, and wants her to shore up her weaknesses as a member of the team.

Yao Meng suggests Xu Xu should start lifting weights :)

How do you say Weight Lifting Fairy in Mandarin?

And here comes Ji Bai, to scold Xu Xu again. She really is on his shit list, right? He seems to think she's lazy and arrogant because she thinks she's a genius. Haha, she even agrees to that. See I was right before. She probably was one of those people who didn't understand the point of all that running around since she was scoring higher than anyone else without it. But she's learned her lesson after that roof incident.

But his point is this: she has to play by the rules of the major crime unit or she's endangering everyone.

Maybe he is paying her more attention because he thinks it will toughen her up? He kind of has a point, but ugh, I don't like his delivery. I would NOT do well in any sort of military situation being told what to do. haha. 

I don't think he was mean here. he's just stating facts that he's probably stated a gazillion times before. He doesn't have to be nicer to her because A: he's her boss and B: he just saved her life. She's smart enough to know this isn't a personal grudge, but he's doing this for both her and the team's safety.

Once again, Trot and I are in agreement.

Same here!

Hm, Husband says something interesting after they're out of earshot: that Ji Bai is taking his anger out on that woman, because of his father (the dead cop). There's a Chief Zhan (we haven't met him yet), whom most people consider a joke. But Ji Bai sees him as rash and irresponsible - and at fault for Zhao dad's disappearance/death. So what, whenever someone acts irresponsible, Ji Bai blows a fuse? Ah, it's more than that ... Ji Bai adds "My people will return in the same condition in which they left". Right, Zhao Han's father perished during a mission. So Ji Bai can't have someone he would potentially lose.

Aaaah!!! This makes so much more sense now! 

See. It's all about protecting his people. I think especially Husband. They seem to be more than just friends--more like brothers.

I'm goo, at this point. Mushy goo.

He really is The Lion.

Beautiful night shot!

So beautiful!!! 😍😍😍 This reminds me of when I was in Shanghai, on the Bund. It was stunning. Absolutely stunning. Gorgeous. Breathtaking. 

Xu Xu - who has a snail cushion, awww - is doing some exercises. Planks, actually. If she can do them for that long, I'd say she's pretty fit, but apparently not. She's also thinking about the case. And she has realized that it is not a normal kidnapping case.

She's got a good core at least? 

I was distracted by her pajamas. Very cute, look nice and cool too.

Aren't planks supposed to be done on a hard surface?

The next morning, she goes jogging (and notices a very painful bruise on her body - from when Ji Bai threw her away from the kidnapper). She's jogging along but then stops in front of a restaurant. I'm not sure what caught her eye ... or is she just hungry? Of course, Ji Bai has to turn up and chide her for "not even running three kilometers" before stopping for food. He's interrupted by the arrival of a black Porsche. It's Zhang Shiyong. Smiling broadly, he invites them into the restaurant for breakfast. 

Wait ... is he trying to flirt with Xu Xu??!

I don't even know. Ji Bai *shakes head*

I think he'd flirt with any woman between the ages of 14 and 114. I know people like this, and I just don't understand them. It seems like it takes so much energy--like it's some contest.

Tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny...you know.

[giggle] It's just part of his smarmy personality. Along with what Jo said. And the loud jacket.

Once inside, Zhang Shiyong is doing his very best to impress the police officers with his knowledge of tea etc. and with his special relationship to the owner. Fail, cause Ji Bai has been here before too. They continue a rather barbed conversation while Xu Xu just sits there ... observing.

LOL Ji Bai is NOT going to be impressed by money and connections dude. He also seems pretty incorruptible to me if that's what Zhang Shiyong is trying to do - get a cop on his payroll or something. 

He just doesn't need anything else than what he already has. And what could skeevy Zhang Shiyong have that Ji Bai could possibly want? What could he know that Ji Bai would bend to get? Nothing.

So has Ji Bai lost regular contact with the Ye family in the middle-to-recent past?  Or is he well acquainted with Zhang Shiyong as the husband of a childhood/family friend, and all of this is just a show meant for Xu Xu? That's what I'd assumed.

I really enjoyed how XiaoSmarmy got pawned by CaptainHotness, all in front of Little Snail.

Afterwards, Ji Bai and Xu Xu walk back ... and he invites her to share her analysis. It doesn't matter how useful or accurate it is though; she has to pass that physical. Fine! This is what Xu Xu observed: Zhang Shiyong tried to impress Ji Bai, like a peacock. He also tried to find out whether Ji Bai has a woman. All to compare. In the end, he was unhappy. But it seems Ji Bai is listening.

Hmmm, I think that Ji Bai likes the Snail however much he pretends he doesn't. I think he was impressed by her deductive skills, but he also knows that she needs to bring her fitness up to speed to keep her and the team safe. 

Oh he totally likes her.

And knows she totally has to pass the physical. He needs to help her with her sit-ups, yunno, hold her legs and stuff.... [visions of SeGa and HyunBin]

Xu Xu fears to offend him now, though. Ha! Because she thinks Ye Zixi and Zhang have an "unusual" relationship ( I remember being surprised when she said this. And I'm still surprised. Not by the fact that Zhang Shiyong would have an "unusual" relationship with a woman but that Xu Xu would know that there is such a thing with Ye Zixi.  Did I miss something?) and because Zhang actually thinks Ji Bai might affect that relationship. He indeed tried to impress "the female", especially since he sees Ji Bai as competition. And how she knows all this? Intuition. This time, Ji Bai doesn't belittle her. He just makes her run back to the station really fast, because her attendance bonus will be deducted if she's late.

Kaikai. Maybe watching him in a drama isn't such a good idea. I get too distracted by just looking at him. Is his not answering her affirming his deduction? Methinks yes. 

But she had said in an earlier episode already that Zhang Shiyong and Ye Zixi were having an affair. At that time, Ji Bai dismissed her observation. He seems to feel differently now, though.

He's either talked with the little minx or rethought and decided Snail was correct about the relationship. And she looks so teeny next to him!

We're at the Ye Corporation next - it seems to be a senior management meeting. There's a lot of people we haven't met yet (but we will) and some we have (like Zhang Shiyong and his wife, as well as Ye Zixi), so let's not spend too much time introducing them. The most important thing is this: the company is in the red because of an overseas real estate investment project. They fight over who's at fault, but it's pretty clear that Ye Zixi is neck-deep into this. Exasperated, the Head of the company tells them to stop fighting.

Blergh. Money. Hmm. Has Ye Zixi done something illegal perhaps? Embezzled the money? 

Or didn't check all the information she should have checked? Or let someone lead her astray (giving Zhang Shiyong the side-eye)?

That's what I'm thinking.

I sniffed and smelled scapegoat.

At the police station, Yang Yu rages and demands to know why they're not arresting Zhang Shiyong. It seems he's "emptied out the Ye family fortune". When he's shown a drawing of Ye Zixi that was found in his apartment, he screams "she isn't involved" over and over.

Yang Yu does not seem like he has all his marbles in possession. Ji Bai looks AMAZING!!! Stahp!!! It's distracting!!!

I'm confused. Except I'm agreeing with Eleanor. Did he knock boots with Zixi before? Or has it just been childhood heroine worship?

Xu Xu seeks out Ye Zixi after that - she wants to ask her things about Zhang's kidnapping. Or rather ... about Yang Yu. Ye Zixi has known him since they were kids ... and it seems he has been cut off from the Ye Corporation completely, even though his father was one of the founders. Xu Xu shares with the other woman that she believes that there is someone else involved in this kidnapping. Ye Zixi's reaction is interesting. She asks in her quiet and sad way whether finding that other person would result in a lesser sentence for Yang Yu. But when Xu Xu asks whether she'd like that, she doesn't answer ... but gets up to leave.

Hmmm. Ye Zixi really seems suspicious to me - like she's hiding something really important. I really don't like it. And yet she has this Madonna-esque look like she couldn't possibly be guilty because she is so beautiful. 

Maybe this is my bias showing, but I am always suspicious of these types because they frequently get away with everything.

There is a certain sense of remoteness and detachment about her along with the sadness. And a certain resignation. If I met her in real life I would not expect her to be a thief, but I would expect her to be suicidal or at the very least self-harming.

Her character is puzzling and complex. I can't really tell her motivation for anything.

Comments

What the heck is going on?! I seriously have no clue. But both Xu Xu and Ji Bai seem to believe that there is more to this case than meets the eye. You should compare notes, you two. That "more" is related to the Ye Company, particularly Ye Zixi, that much is clear too, and it seems to be about money. 

Yeah, they really do need to compare notes. The two of them together as a criminal catching duo would be super impressive.

Plus for every crime they solve they could have a smooch.

I'm with JoAnne on that one.

As for the Ji-Xu relationship, I like that he is indeed giving her a chance (though he does not seem to believe she can pass that physical in three months) and that he is now also listening to her analyses. Zhao Han went on and on about what a genius Xu Xu is, and Ji Bai kept a straight face, but I think he is more and more intrigued, the more he sees her at work. It is kind of uncanny how she reads people the way she does. These kind of psychologically trained people make me very uncomfortable in real life. You always feel that they are analyzing you - because they cannot help it. 

Yeah, I think he is intrigued and I think he is paying her extra attention as a way to maybe help encourage her. Let's hope that she can pass that physical dang it! 

I would be worried if it were someone else. Three months is plenty of time to train if you are going to do it properly and if you don't get injured. However, if you don't have the focus (looking askance at the chocolate cupcake my admin just put on my desk), then you won't make it. However, we all know that Xu Xu has that focus. It was at this point I wondered if that what was also bothering Ji Bai--the idea that she would be perfectly capable of learning these things but chose not to bother. As opposed to my complete inability to do those damn monkey bars even though I keep trying.

I could see that offending his sense of duty, yes. Everyone has to do it. No one is above it. And in this case, that sort of arrogance could get people killed - so it's not just his sense of duty, but his impatience with a person who dismisses something so fundamentally important to the safety of his team.

We all know she will make it now that she has the proper motivation. For me, I just want more Husband / Hotness interaction!!