Introduction
From The First Frost: Drama Info and Recap Episodes 1 to 8 and The First Frost: Drama Recap Episodes 9 to 16, we know that Sang Yan does the most work for the main couple’s romance. After Yi Fan decides she’ll step up in her relationship with Sang Yan, I chose this article image where Yi Fan is now the focus and Sang Yan’s image is blurred.
Part three of the article series is full of ups and downs of the drama. You’ll be happy and angry watching the eight episodes covered in this part. Curious how the story moves in The First Frost ( 难哄 )? Let’s check Episodes 17 to 24 out!
Drama Recaps Episodes 17 to 24
Episodes 17
The farthest distance is unspoken “I love you”
Yi Fan is so shy she doesn’t know where to start. Su Tian, her colleague who delivered a baby, advises her to start with what Sang Yan likes. It seems like he only likes playing games.
Sang Yan knows Yi Fan likes him, but he doesn’t do anything, waiting to be chased. His colleagues tease him not to wait. When San Yang returns home, Yi Fan sleeps occupying his whole bed! So he sleeps on the couch. She tries to be domineering and puts both hands on his shoulder. When Sang Yan leans closer, Yi Fan’s mind goes blank. When she is looking directly at Sang Yan’s bright eyes, she becomes flustered and runs away!
At the same time Sang Yan and Hao An gather with colleagues, Qiao Qiao comes looking for Hao An. Duh, they’re so enthusiastically meeting each other and talking (I noticed she dresses up cutely, too!) that Qiao Qiao forgets the real purpose for seeing Hao An that she finds a 1-year-old puppy named Woodie in the animal shelter. She takes the dog to Grandpa the next day. He is so happy that he advises Hao An to seize the opportunity to get Qiao Qiao back.
Yi Fan invites Sang Yan to have dinner in a restaurant. She dresses up, he is a little stunned. Unfortunately, Sang Yan meets some people from work. Yi Fan’s half-sister is also there. Seeing that Yi Fan doesn’t like to be there, he takes her away. Yi Fan receives a call from work about a natural disaster so she has to go on a business trip.
Episodes 18
I am not interested in covering the natural disaster, because it seems like every Chinese drama includes natural disasters for social propaganda. What Yi Fan experiences when covering the natural disaster makes her not live with regrets. She goes to the noodle shop where they used to eat in high school and remembers all their memories. Yi Fan braves herself to call Sang Yan and warns him “You said if I pursued you, you might consider it.” After hanging up the phone, she breathes a sigh of relief. She doesn’t know that Sang Yan is on his way to see her.
They finally confess each other feelings in front of the nostalgic noodle restaurant!
Episodes 19
Bai Jiang doesn’t mean I’m a loser, but that I only lost to you, Wen Shuan Jiang!
Bai Jiang is Sang Yan’s game name. Wen Shuan Jiang is Yi Fan’s game name.
Back then, high school classmates reunited during the first winter vacation after they were admitted to college. Sang Yan overheard Qiao Qiao talking with Yi Fan. Yi Fan would not return to Nanwu during the winter vacation and started playing games to pass the time. Sang Yan overheard Yi Fan’s game ID name: Wen Shuan Jiang. After returning home, Sang Yan searched online and saw the game Yi Fan often played. He made his game name close to Yi Fan: Bai Jiang.
This episode is full of people’s reactions to the news that Yi Fan and Sang Yan are dating.
Now that the couple is officially together, I’m kinda glad that the drama shifts the attention to Hao An and Qiao Qiao. Hao An also confesses to Qiao Qiao, but she rejects him. She’s still scarred after being rejected by Xiang Lang. Su Hao An leaves sadly, and Qiao Qiao is also depressed. He then invites Xiang Lang to ask him more about Qian Qian. Xiang Lang says that Qiao Qiao may look always cheerful, but she often hides her sadness and appears tough.
Episodes 20
To catch you every time you feel vulnerable
Sang Yan and Wen Yi Fan began to formally date like couples. The more you watch romance dramas, the more you know that dates in Ferris Wheels are a must. So that’s what they do, even though Sang Yan fears heights. Of course, there is also a saying that if you can kiss on the Ferris Wheel, the couple will grow old.
Poor Qiao Qiao feels lonely. She goes to Overtime and nonchalantly asks about Hao An, but they say he hasn’t been at Overtime for a long time. She texts Yi Fan but receives no reply. She goes to see Grandpa the next day and he sulks because the new Woodie isn’t like the old Woodie. She advises Grandpa to be patient.
It seems Yi Fan is being blackmailed by a man who sends her a photo that scares her and a call saying he misses her so much. When sitting with Sang Yan on the couch, she tells him about her past after her father died, her mother remarries, returning to her grandma, and being thrown into her aunt’s house. Her relationship with her stepfamily is not good. She’s accustomed to hiding her heart. Sang Yan comforts her:
“Just because of your taste in choosing a partner, you deserve the best of everything.”
Episodes 21
Where is hope? Hope is everywhere with you in the future.
From the honeymoon phase in dating, comes real life to be adjusted. Yi Fan seems to be soaked in a honeypot every day thinking about Sang Yan. Unfortunately, Sang Yan has been very busy recently and works overtime, so there are not many opportunities for the two to meet.
We start seeing the mysterious man of Yi Fan’s past. There is a car accident near the house that Yi Fan covers. She is about to go over for an interview when she sees the victim’s face. How could it be him?! She almost slips to the ground. When the news is broadcast, she deletes her name. However, she doesn’t tell Sang Yan about the man.
Valentine’s Day is coming soon, and Yi Fan gives Sang Yan the couple bracelets, one for him and one for her with each other’s names on them. Sang Yan gives her a recorder with his messages for her.
Since being rejected by Qiao Qiao, Hao An has been avoiding her. Qiao Qiao finally can get hold of him to discuss telling Grandma about Grandpa’s illness. After learning that he was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s, Grandpa purposely got into a fight with Grandma to make her not worry about him anymore, and went traveling. He secretly renovates a countryside home to the way they lived when they were young so that after he’s gone, she can recall their happy times.
Hao An is touched by Qiao Qiao telling him what she heard from Grandpa. He learned from Xiang Lang that Qiao Qiao always considers others to help them selflessly and hides her sadness in cheerfulness. He kisses her suddenly. He couldn’t longer live without a cute kind girl like Qiao Qiao. Although she feels it’s too sudden, Qiao Qiao still likes Hao An, so she doesn’t refuse.
Hao An and Qiao Qiao let Grandma know so she came back. The two accompany Grandpa to his countryside home. Seeing what Grandpa did, Grandma is very excited. With the help of Hao An and Qiao Qiao, the two reunite and clear up their misunderstanding. Grandpa and Grandma dance gracefully, followed by Hao An invites Qiao Qiao to dance.
Episodes 22
Opportunity is reserved for you
I love this episode because I learned from Grandpa and Grandma Su about the wisdom they shared about their long-time relationship and marriage. Grandma Su also tells them about her trip back to the place where Hao An’s parents and brother had a car accident. She stays at the site for some time thinking back about their memories and then lets them go. What a closure!
There is also a wedding of their old classmates. Everyone is there, chatting about their memories and drinking, drinking a lot! An old classmate mentions their school graduation ceremony when Sang Yan became super drunk and murmured about his being a “backup”. That was after Sang Yan and Yi Fan broke up. Hearing this, Yi Fan is very sad and she starts drinking and ends up more drunk than Sang Yan. Hao An also drinks a lot because he envies Sang Yan and Yi Fan announcing to the whole world that they’re dating. Qiao Qiao picks him up and he complains his exes didn’t want him to announce that they were dating.
It’s not over with Yi Fan and Sang Sang’s romance, tho, because there is still a danger, the mysterious man is lurking around Nanwu and watches Yi Fan walk out to go to the wedding. He knows now where she works. I’m sure subconsciously Yi Fan feels unsettled, too, since the next day she finds herself sleeping with Sang Yan on his bed again! She has sleepwalked again!
Episodes 23
Hide? Where to hide?
Qiao Qiao brings Hao An home for dinner. The whole big family sitting together and having fun. Hao An feels a family warmth he hasn’t felt for a long time. After dinner, Hao An and Qiao Qiao’s dad have a good talk.
Now we know the identity of the mysterious man. He is her aunt’s younger brother who first saw her when she was in high school. He actually dares enough to come to Overtime stalking Yi Fan who comes there to meet Sang Yan. The stalker greets her and scares her. Seeing this, Sang Yan automatically protects her behind him. Overtime staff come to help when the man trying to grab Yi Fan. Yi Fan doesn’t want to tell Sang Yan but comforts him that she could solve the issue and for Sang Yan not to worry. Yi Fan’s inner fear makes her sleepwalk again later.
It’s not over with this crazy guy’s just stalking. He’s hired at Nanwu as a security guard! That crazy guy follows her when she finishes work overtime, and threatens if she doesn’t help him he will tell the public that she seduced him in the past. Yi Fan is angry and scared, but she doesn’t know how to get rid of him. Luckily, Mu Cheng Yun shows up on time to pick Yi Fan up to attend his farewell party. His internship period is over.
Soon, there was an incident in Overtime that people got sick from food poisoning. Sang Yan is suspicious that the guy who caused a ruckus at his restaurant before has anything to do with the food poisoning. This issue is indeed caused by that guy, who takes revenge against Yi Fan and Sang Yan. Upon hearing this, Yi Fan is very angry. She goes to her mom’s house challenging them. She says that her aunt’s family expenses were all paid by her father. Also, her mom could afford to raise her after her father’s death, but instead, she sent her away. What a useless family!
Episodes 24
The reason I left is that I don’t want to be a storm in your life
This episode makes me angry because Yi Fan doesn’t want to communicate! I’m also angry because they, the screenwriters or the novelist (?) used the stupid noble idiocy trope.
Sang Yan is sent by his parents to check out his sister Sang Zhi because she’s in love with an older guy at the university.
Yi Fan calls Qiao Qiao and Hao An over to take care of Dan Dan since she’s going on a business trip for a few days. But Qiao Qiao finds something strange in the house. Yi Fan prepared a lot of cat food, and ALL her clothes were gone. Hao An also thinks it’s strange so he calls Sang Yan. Sang Yan rushes back overnight and finds a farewell letter from Yi Fan. Yi Fan says she has to leave, she doesn’t expect Sang Yan to forgive her, she hopes his life will be smooth and happy, and he won’t look for her anymore! After asking for work leave, Sang Yan searches for Yi Fan like crazy in every place she used to live. When Sang Yan is at Nanwu, Yi Fan’s ex-colleague Fu Zhuang congratulates him that Yi Fan resigned to get married to Sang Yan. Sang Yan finds out that the crazy guy has been Nanwu’s security guard for a month!
Where is Yi Fan?
She’s in Hong Kong, renting a house. After seeing many missed calls she calls Qiao Qiao and learns that Sang Yan looks haggard and depressed to find her. Yi Fan feels very distressed and tells Qiao Qiao to message Sang Yan that she’s okay.
Conclusion
My heart is still boiling with the end of the last episode covered in this article. Why did the screenwriters go that route? (I assumed it’s their fault since I didn’t read the novel) I am sure that the drama will end happily, but to what extent? Let’s hope it won’t be a last-minute happy ending. Therefore, let’s check out the last article about this drama!
