The Early Spring Episode 22 Recap
**SPOILER ALERT**
Table of Contents
TL;DR (Quick Overview)
THE NUMBER YOU HAVE DIALLED IS NOT IN SERVICE
Six years and one grand gesture too late, Luan Nian finally realizes what he lost, chasing Zhitao’s shadow across the country while she quietly rebuilds a life without him. A chance work reunion in Harbin brings them face to face again, but pride and heartbreak keep them frustratingly out of reach.
A Wedding Anniversary, Interrupted
At his parents’ home, flipping through old photographs, Luan Nian’s mother mentions offhandedly that today marks her own wedding anniversary with his father. Right then, a text comes through, Zhitao’s farewell message, thanking him for six years together and wishing him well. He calls her back instantly, only to hit an automated voice telling him the number’s been disconnected.
Sensing something’s badly wrong, Dr. Liang asks if he’s unhappy, even floating the idea of flying to Harbin for Chinese New Year to meet Zhitao’s family and start discussing a wedding. Quietly, he admits they’ve already broken up.
His father, ever cynical, assumes he’s the one who ruined it, while his mother gently urges him to be gentler with her going forward, to keep his temper in check, and to remember how much these years actually meant.
A Resignation Nobody Warned Him About
At the office, Lumi is surprised to see Luan Nian as she thought he was suppose to fly out to the US. He asked her where her mentee was and she tells him she resigned. Lumi shows him a designer bag Zhitao sold her at half price during the company flea market, mentioning she’d offloaded her entire luxury collection, changed her number and moved away without a trace, and only promised to reach out again someday.
Furious, Luan Nian corners Tracy over how a key employee’s resignation could get approved without his knowledge. Tracy reminds him, flatly, that under his own policy, staff below Specialist level only need departmental sign-off, and since Zhitao never actually earned that title, and he was already preparing to leave for the US, it was never really his call to make.
A Devastating Discovery
When he presses her about knowing all along about their relationship, Tracy admits she’d tried to talk Zhitao out of leaving, but Zhitao had insisted there was nothing left holding her there. Then Tracy shows him something else entirely, a video circulating through the industry of a man’s suicide, and reveals the victim was likely someone very close to Zhitao.
Guilt hits Luan Nian instantly, remembering, with sudden horror, the last real conversation they’d had, him dismissively asking if she was just off to the movies with Sun Yuanzhu. He rushes to find Sun Yu, only to confirm Zhitao’s already gone, completely off the grid, new number, no forwarding details, nothing. At that moment he remembers saying that if you leave, there is no turning back and she was adamant to ensure that would happen.
A New Life in Harbin
Back home, Zhitao helps her father recover from his broken bone, and her mother gently reminds her they can manage fine on their own, urging her not to give up on whatever dreams she’d built in Beijing.
Zhitao admits, honestly, that she’s simply exhausted after years of moving from city to city, and that all she wants now is to stay near her parents and enjoy the snow of home again. Her parents support the decision fully, and she promises them she’ll buy a place of her own, start a business, and thrive wherever she lands.
A Confession to an Empty Line
Meanwhile, in Norway with Tan Mian and Song Qiuhan, Luan Nian’s friends note aloud how deeply this loss has hit him, recalling how hard he once fought for her, even flying home overnight one New Year’s Eve just to see her face.
Watching the aurora light up the sky, memories of their old road trip flood back, and overwhelmed, he dials her disconnected number anyway, speaking into the silence, apologizing for everything, admitting just how much he loves and misses her. Tan Mian tells him simply to book a flight and go find her. Luan Nian tells him, sadly, that she’s erased every trace of him already.
Chasing a Shadow
Back in Harbin, Zhitao spots a familiar-looking figure on the street and chases after him, only to find a stranger’s face staring back. Disappointed, she reflects on how easily she’d once moved past her first love, Xin Zhaozhou, wondering why this heartbreak feels so different, a slow, quiet wound that’s left her hollow in a way nothing else ever has.
What she doesn’t know is that Luan Nian’s actually been in the same city, following behind her at a careful distance, collecting flight tickets, never once making himself known.
Building Something New
Determined to rebuild, Zhitao registers her own company, Qingtao Creative Event Studio, and hires an eager young employee named Fu Dong at seven thousand yuan a month, promising him real growth alongside the business. He buys a used car for their work trips, and though she still hasn’t gotten her own license, she promises she will soon.
As the team grows, Fu Dong invites her to their New Year’s celebration, but she declines gracefully, wanting the younger staff to enjoy the night freely, offering instead to cover their expenses.
After purchasing her own apartment, she calls Sun Yu to share the news, proudly showing off the bookshelf she’d built specifically to hold the books Sun Yuanzhu left behind, inviting her to visit and offering to connect their two businesses.
She calls Lumi too, who promises to visit within days. Organizing the shelf later, an old photo from their Tibet trip slips out, and after a long, quiet moment looking at it, she puts it carefully back.
Old Friends, New Rumors
Lumi’s visit brings her face to face with Fu Dong and Zhitao’s old classmate Xing Yi. At a local tavern, Fu Dong jokingly calls Xing Yi his future brother-in-law, teasing about how much he’s helped the business with reliable suppliers and his own family’s tavern connections.
Zhitao quickly waves it off, insisting to Lumi that she and Xing Yi are only close friends, nothing more. Later, her mother gently pushes her to consider Xing Yi, or at least try a few blind dates, warning her against staying stuck in old heartbreak. Zhitao insists she’s never liked blind dates, preferring to let love happen naturally, if it happens at all.
A Summit, and a Reunion
Back in Beijing, Lumi pitches Luan Nian on hosting the International Beer Industry Summit in Harbin. Will pushes back on the location, but Lumi holds firm, presenting a list of local suppliers where Qingtao Creative Event Studio sits ranked first. The moment Luan Nian sees the name, he announces he’ll personally oversee the entire project himself.
Arriving in Harbin, Fu Dong greets them at the airport, explaining Zhitao’s tied up preparing the venue. When Lumi tries arranging a meeting that evening, Zhitao promises a flawless summit the next day but conveniently avoids seeing them in person.
Walking through the hotel corridor later, Luan Nian catches sight of her across the way through a closing elevator door, their eyes locking for what seems like eternity. She greets Lumi and is happy to see her and Lumi is surprised that she will be hosting the summit herself. She walks down the corridor towards Luan Nian and he says “long time no see” and she ignores him and walks straight past.
A Cold Shoulder
At the venue, Lumi’s surprised to learn Zhitao’s hosting the live, multilingual summit herself rather than hiring an outside professional, purely to save costs. When Luan Nian approaches to greet her directly, she walks straight past him without a word.
Moments later, a nervous Fu Dong reports that Luan Nian’s demanding an iced Americano when the venue only has hot coffee available. Zhitao tells him simply to apologize and decline, using it as a small teaching moment about knowing when to push back against unreasonable client demands.
Zhitao goes on to host the entire summit flawlessly in three languages, drawing real admiration from both Lumi and Xing Yi, the latter calling her the hardest-working person he’s ever known. When she introduces Luan Nian for his speech, their eyes meet again, briefly, wordlessly.
A Jealous Ending
After the event wraps, Luan Nian watches Xing Yi fussing over Zhitao, bringing her traditional medicine, and jealousy gets the better of him. He asks Lumi for her home address, and though Lumi doesn’t have the exact details, she admits she’s already sent him the address of Zhitao’s parents’ tavern instead.
Acknowledging, almost admiringly, that Zhitao’s proven more ruthless in walking away than he ever was, Luan Nian resolves to win her back regardless. He teases Lumi that she’s clearly clever enough to have kept her job this long, and she agrees, entirely without modesty.
The Early Spring Episode 22 Recap: My Thoughts
In this episode, Luan Nian is consumed by regret, a love so deep he simply can’t move on from it, and honestly, doesn’t even want to. Zhitao, meanwhile, has moved on completely. Her decision was final, and she’s thriving in a way that’s genuinely impressive, building her own events company from the ground up, hiring staff, running things with real confidence. She looks more grown up now, surer of herself, every inch the boss she’s become.
The aurora scene in Norway wrecked me. Luan Nian, sitting alone, suddenly remembers their trip to Tibet, him asking her to come see the northern lights with him next, and now here it is, right in front of him, and all he wants is to share it with her. He calls a number that no longer exists anyway, sobbing, saying I love you, I love you, I love you, three times over, while Tan Mian stands behind him quietly crying for his friend.
The moment he says he knows he’s a mess and doesn’t deserve to be loved is so devastating. Imagine actually understanding that about yourself, and still not knowing how to make the person you love, love you back. Jing Boran, you are a phenomenal actor. You made me sob. That was the single best scene this entire series has delivered.
Later, watching him at his desk surrounded by boarding passes, just so he could secretly watch her from a distance, was somehow even more heartbreaking. He can’t let go, and really, he doesn’t want to. Cutting all ties completely was never going to be something he was capable of doing.
And Lumi, genius move putting together that list of suppliers in the Northeast, because the second Luan Nian saw it, his whole face lit up, he finally had an excuse to go after her properly.
Watching Zhitao spot him at the Beer Summit and walk straight past like he wasn’t even there was so hard to sit through, but you can see exactly how much she’s grown, how much maturity she’s carrying now. She’s determined, genuinely determined, to keep him out of her life for good.
Episodes twenty-one and twenty-two together are an absolute masterpiece. I felt every single piece of that pain, that lost love, executed so incredibly well. I also noticed the small details, her new phone number, even her ringtone being different now, subtle ways of marking just how completely she’s rebuilt her life apart from him.
And that OST playing under those scenes only twisted the knife further. Damn you, Liu Yuning.
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