AdventurouSeoul

[Episode 4 Recap]   

Episode 4 started off with good news: Yang Xi's leg is all healed! (But she would have to wait half a month until she can start training for the contest). 

Back in the classroom, it was study hall. Everyone was fooling around except Li Yu and his group. Li Yu saw Yang Xi and Hua Biao playing around with each other. His jealousy lead him to ask Teacher Kong to give him permission to help Yang Xi study for ALL of her courses. Teacher Kong disapproved since Li Yu already have a lot on his hands plus Hua Biao could help her in physics since physics is Hua Biao's specialty. 

Hua Biao tried to teach Yang Xi about acting and counter forces. Yang Xi still didn't understand the concept, so Hua Biao asked the Thirteen Naughty Children for help. Humor is added when Hua Biao asked them to demonstrate the different forces by having them hit each other. In the end, Yang Xi finally understood. Yang Xi was thankful for the help, but told Hua Biao that he doesn't need to work so hard to help her with physics. One of her running teammates told her good news in the morning: the running contest have been delayed! So, Yang Xi can still compete!

While Yang Xi and Hua Biao are having their alone time, Deng Deng and Li Yu also have theirs. Deng Deng was persistent in telling Li Yu that she likes him. Unfortunately, Li Yu doesn't feel the same. When the study session ended, Li Yu went to get Yang Xi to go home. He found her drinking Bei Bing Yang (the yellow soda in glass bottles) with Hua Biao and the Thirteen Naughty Children. (You can clearly see that Li Yu is upset).

When they both got home, Li Yu asked Yang Xi to write a letter to his mom. Li Yu found out that Hua Biao and Yang Xi gave each other nicknames. He saw that Yang Xi's mind is full of Hua Biao, which he clearly doesn't like - "Why do you play with him?" Yang Xi playfully teased Li Yu if he is jealous that she became good friends with Hua Biao. Li Yu ended up writing the letter himself; he revealed that he had never sent out any of the letters Yang Xi wrote and that he always wanted Yang Xi to stay with him.

Since the running contest has been postponed and Yang Xi's leg is healed, she started practicing again. However, she is out of breath/shape due to her inactivity. Hua Biao saw Yang Xi struggling and offered to help. He asked her to follow and run with his basketball. With Hua Biao's help, Yang Xi was able to keep on running. 

Next week, the class will be taking the physics test. Hua Biao will be in charge of leading the study session since he is strong in that subject. Yang Xi wanted Hua Biao to help her on the test, so she have been doing nice favors for him (putting air into his bike, being nice to Hua Biao, etc). 

Hua Biao is also going to compete in the physics contest. Wanting to prove that he can also compete, Li Yu sternly asked Teacher Kong to join. Teacher Kong was initially against Li Yu competing, but eventually allowed him to. How Li Yu and Hua Biao prepared for the contest is completely different: Li Yu studied all night, while Hua Biao relaxed and briefly studied. During the test, Hua Biao finished first and Li Yu was the last one to leave. 

It was revealed that Hua Biao placed first place at the physics contest, in fact, he got a perfect score! As prize for coming first, Hua Biao will be traveling to Hong Kong. While Hua Biao was making his first-place speech, Yang Xi noticed a dejected Li Yu and came to comfort him. 

Li Yu looked at Hua Biao's perfect paper hanging on the class wall. Afterwards, he went up to Hua Biao and admitted defeat. He originally didn't believe Teacher Kong's praises of Hua Biao, but now he is convinced. "This moment, I have lost the first place in class, but I get a priceless friendship."

Since Hua Biao got first in the physics contest, the school decided to excused him from the upcoming test. Instead, he would help monitor the test for cheating. With Hua Biao as a proctor, Yang Xi had high hopes of getting answers from him, but unfortunately for her, Hua Biao didn't help since he learned his lesson from the previous cheating incident. 

When the scores came in, she wasn't happy. Yang Xi got a 25 on the test, which is the lowest score she had ever gotten. Upset, she schemed something to get back at him.  

Back at home, Hua Biao was packing for his trip to Hong Kong. His grandma tried to slip money into his bag, but Hua Biao humbly declined and insisted he has his own stash of money. His grandma then asked him to watch the pressure cooker while she is out. Hua Biao received a call from He Mei that Yang Xi had been kidnapped. Being the loyal person Hua Biao is, he came running to help. Yang Xi revealed that he got tricked. During the same time, they heard an explosion and saw smoke coming from afar, but didn't think much of it.

The next day at school, Yang Xi received devastating news from Teacher Kong: she won't be able to participate in the running contest since the school have decided to give the opportunity to someone else. Heart-broken, Yang Xi narrated the scene, "During your youth, you have something that is all your pride. In the end, you will have to put it in your pocket silently." Yang Xi's pride was long-distance running. Even though she was injured, she persisted to continue on. In the end though, she doesn't have a choice but to give it up. 

Back at home, Li Yu sent a message (through their secret basket) asking Yang Xi if she wanted to talk. Just then, she received a call from He Mei that the house that exploded the other day was actually Hua Biao's. Yang Xi rushed to Hua Biao's house and discovered that there was a huge hole in the roof. Already upset about not being able to participate in the race, she cried that she can't do anything well. Hua Biao, being the sweetheart he is, didn't blame Yang Xi for the explosion. 

The flashback revealed that Hua Biao actually turned off the pressure cooker before leaving the house, but his grandma came back and turned it on again. While the roof is getting fixed, his grandma is staying over at someone's house. Yang Xi said if their classmates knew about what happened to his house, they would helped him, but Hua Biao doesn't want the class to know. 

Another flashback is shown. Hua Biao's grandma is upset at him for not watching the pressure pot. (Though it was her who turned it back on. I am afraid to say, but I believe this is a hint that she is showing symptoms of dementia). Hua Biao is clearly upset for being blamed for something he didn't do, but he admitted he was wrong. I wonder what else Hua Biao is hiding behind that smile of his?...  

[My Thoughts So Far]   During the previous episodes, Li Yu was struggling to accept the fact that Hua Biao is his competition in regards to both academics and Yang Xi. Before Hua Biao came to the school, Li Yu was at the top of the class. He studied hard, while Hua Biao just fools around. In regards to Yang Xi, Li Yu had always been there for her. Now that Hua Biao appeared, he have been helping Yang Xi. After losing to Hua Biao at the physics contest, Li Yu finally admitted defeat and accepted Hua Biao as a friend.  

Lastly, once again, I am very disappointed and upset at Yang Xi's prank for Hua Biao. Her justification for it wasn't even valid. How was it Hua Biao's fault that she got a low score on the test? YOU, YOURSELF, should be responsible for your own score. She shouldn't rely on cheating; she should've learned from the previous cheating incident. I also don't like the fact that Yang Xi wasn't putting any effort in studying. She never thought of having a 2nd backup plan in case she couldn't compete or what if she didn't placed in the running contest? I understand that academics is not easy for everyone, but I wished she would put in some effort. Like Teacher Kong said before, "I don't have a good brain, but I am diligent". My hope by the end of this drama is to see Yang Xi develop into a mature and responsible person.

[Episode 3 Recap]    

Episode 3 started off with Yang Xi visiting Hua Biao's house to apologize. They both made up and called truce. Li Yu was waiting outside for Yang Xi. (You can clearly tell he was very upset and jealous lol) Before leaving, Hua Biao surprised Yang Xi with her pink Giant, but according to Li Yu, that wasn't her actual bike. Yang Xi was thankful for Hua Biao's effort, so she didn't tell him the truth.

A new day of school began. Yang Xi got in trouble for not paying attention in class, so Teacher Kong made her go solve a problem on the board. Luckily, Hua Biao was there to give her a piggy back ride plus secretly helped her solve the problem. During break, Yang Xi wanted her book back and playfully asked Li Yu for it. Upset at her for not paying attention in class, he slammed the book on the desk, catching Teacher Kong's attention. He took the book away, which lead to Yang Xi and Li Yu becoming upset at each other.

At the beginning of class, Er Tiao and his friends skipped class to go play arcade games in a hidden building across the school. They eventually got caught by the school director. As punishment, he ordered them to run 100 laps. Hua Biao, as the class monitor, took responsibility and ran for them. 

The whole school and his classmates came to cheer on Hua Biao and even finished running with him. While everyone was distracted with Hua Biao running 100 laps, Li Yu sneaked into Teacher Kong's desk and took back Yang Xi's book. 

Back at Yang Xi's home, Er Tiao and He Mei came over. Yang Xhao (Yang Xi's older brother) brought home a bee-house and preformed a mini magic trick. (It seems that He Mei has a crush on him). Before leaving, Er Tiao gave Yang Xi's book back to her (telling her that Li Yu asked him to give it to her). Er Tiao asked if they are still 2 years old, since they're in a fight, but can't face each other.

Back at Li Yu's home, he was making something with a piece of wood with his dad's assistance. 

The next morning, we found out that Li Yu made a foot pedestal for Yang Xi's injured foot to rest on his bike. With this, they both made up.

The next day in class, Teacher Kong gave them a lecture on how bad the class' average scores were. For the upcoming math test, if the average score is less than 80, he would cancel the mid-autumn party. (The mid-autumn party is the last party in high school and the class have been planning for it a long time ago). Hua Biao called a meeting between Yang Xi, Li Yu, and Er Tiao to scheme how the class will pass the math test. With no hope, they devised a plan to cheat. (Eight-Diagram tactics - Hua Biao and Li Yu, who are the best at studying, will stay in the center.) 

On the day of the test, Teacher Kong had no idea that his students were cheating. After grading the tests, he announced that the class average is 83, which meant that they could have the mid-autumn party! Teacher Kong was so happy for them because he thought his stimulation and encouragement had a good effect on the class. (Hua Biao got perfect scores, which raised the class average and Yang Xi got the highest score in history).

Teacher Kong reviewed the tests again and noticed that they all made the same mistakes as the people sitting near them, which raised his suspicion. He called Huang Deng Deng in to ask why she had such a bad score this time. He threatened to tell her parents if she didn't tell the truth. In tears, she confessed the truth. She was more hurt that Li Yu let Yang Xi copied his test, but not her (lol I loved how humor was added to this serious concern. It added a comic relief.)

At the end of the day, Teacher Kong let the class know how disappointed he is at them cheating. "You would rather spend time to try every means to cheat. Why can't you just humbly work hard to study? ... You are playing with my trust to you. Deceiving the new me here? Humiliating my passion? I am young without experiences. But in the new semester, I went to your home, everyone of you. I meant it. I have promised the head master. We, Class Three, can be a dark horse. I myself know it is difficult, but I have worked hard. I don't have a good brain, but I am diligent. " In the end, Teacher Kong decided to keep the cheating a secret from the school, but there were 2 conditions:

During the evening self-studying sessions, the class must restart/make-up any missed lessons.

In 3 day, they all would have to retake the math test again (This time by being honest and working hard - no cheating).

Hua Biao’s narration: "If you have made a secret agreement with whom because of a word, a thing, or a tiny issue, in the eyes of us when we were 18, you were in the same boat."

Episode 3 ended with Hua Biao's grandma looking for Hua Biao at school. Er Tiao found out that Hua Biao's name is Xiao Hu.

[My Thoughts So Far]

This episode's highlight was the cheating incident. It showed a funny side when Teacher Kong couldn't catch them cheating, but there was also a realistic side when Teacher Kong confronted the class. I was disappointed at Hua Biao and Li Yu for being the mastermind behind the cheating. I'm especially disappointed at Li Yu, since he doesn't like it when Yang Xi has similar schemes. I also was upset at how the class ganged up and got mad at Huang Deng Deng for confessing the truth. I applauded Deng Deng for being truthful because cheating is wrong. The class had NO right to be mad at her. If I was in her situation, I would've confessed too.   

Episode 2 introduces new characters: Kong Xiao Jun (Class 3's new teacher), Yang Xhao (Xiao Xi's older brother), and the Thirteen Naughty Children (Group of non-intimidating gang lol)   

[Episode 2 Recap]    

Episode 2 starts off with Li Yu eating dinner with his dad. His dad bought him some books, but Li Yu said that he doesn't read those anymore. (This shows that his Father is focusing too much on work/gone too much that he doesn't even know Li Yu's interests anymore).

Enter Kong Xiao Jun, the new teacher of Class 3. He personally visited all his students' home and announced proudly to parents that he will turn Class 3 into a dark horse - "a candidate or competitor about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds". (Definition was taken from Dictionary.com).

Another new character is introduced: Xiao Xi's older brother, Yang Zhao. He is currently studying the connection between voltage and bioimpedance. (In case anyone is curious, "Bioimpedance is a measure of how well the body impedes electric current flow". - Definition was taken from UiO Department of Physics). While eating dinner at the table, he brings his gadgets to experiment. Of course, Xiao Xi's parents thinks that Yang Zhao's interest is useless. 

Just then, Teacher Kong rings the doorbell. After reading all of Yang Xi's bad scores, her mom told Teacher Kong that, though Yang Xi doesn't do well in academics, she excels at long-distance running. Unfortunately, Yang Xi had to break the news to her mom that she couldn't compete in the race anymore due to her injury. Her mom got upset because, if she couldn't run in the race, she could've been studying instead of reading her "KongFu story" and then ripped up her book. Upset, Xiao Xi ran out of the house saying: "Can't run. Not good at studying. Can't I be a student anymore? You have never seen me good."

Yang Zhao came to comfort her "What Mom is sad about is not your grades. It's that you have no idea what you want to do. What you can do, what you want to do." (I thought this was a heart-warming scene because he really cares about Xiao Xi.) 

Li Yu happens to see what happened and gave her a newspaper clipping the next morning. It stated that being a class leader/monitor can also give students bonus points on the college exam, which gives Xiao Xi hope since she is the class monitor.

As they rushed to school, they run into the Thirteen Naughty Children. The Thirteen Naughty Children are a group of gangs who hangs around their school. They stop Xiao Xi and Li Yu to look for Hua Biao. Thankfully, Hua Biao came to the rescue and gave Xiao Xi a piggy back ride to class. (The jealous look on Li Yu's face when Hua Biao took her away lol) When Er Tiao came to class without shoes (they were stolen by the Thirteen Naughty Children), Hua Biao left class to get them back. (This shows comradeship - Even though Hua Biao is a new student, he really cares about his classmates.)

Teacher Kong finally makes his appearance in class. He is very clumsy, but enthusiastic about what's best for the class. He selects Hua Biao as the new class monitor, angering Xiao Xi who is already the class monitor. Since she is upset, Teacher Kong puts a difficult problem on the chalkboard. He said whoever can solve the problem on the board can become the class monitor, since it shows that the person is good at studying (a quality the class monitor needs to have). Li Yu went up to solve the problem, but struggled and wasn't able to solve it. Hua Biao, even without showing his work on the board, was able to get the answer right. Thus, making Hua Biao the new class monitor.

Xiao Xi is upset because being the class monitor was the only chance left for her to get bonus points on the college exam. Hua Biao, not knowing that he was adding fuel to her anger, asked about her pink Giant. Xiao Xi had enough and wanted to get back at Hua Biao, so she wrote a fake letter pretending to be Hua Biao declaring a fight with the Thirteen Naughty Children. Xiao Xi also made a classmate pretend that the Thirteen Naughty Children called out Hua Biao to fight. After hearing that, Hua Biao left to fight. (I was very upset at Xiao Xi during this scene. Her actions are really childish).

Class continued after Hua Biao left and Xiao Xi was enjoying her time. During the lecture, the school director rushes in and said the Dean's office called that the place Hua Biao went to fight is covered with broken glass and blood on the ground. They rush to the scene, to find out that Hua Biao was rushed to the hospital. There, they divide up to search for Hua Biao. 

Crying, Xiao Xia apologized and eventually found Hua Biao. Hua Biao was shocked to see a crying Xiao Xi and ensure that his injuries aren't severe. 

The scene then goes into a flashback of what actually happened. Both Hua Biao and the the Thirteen Naughty Children was going to fight, but there was a worker who was fixing the lights. He got upset at them trying to fight there and accidentally caused the strings of the light to become undone. This caused the balls of lights, hanging from the ceiling to fall down. There was a light that was going to fall on the Thirteen Naughty Children, but Hua Biao jumped and tossed it away. This caused his hands to bleed.

After the accident, Xiao Xi felt sorry to Hua Biao. She was too embarrassed to apologize directly, so she asked Teacher Kong to give snacks/drinks to Hua Biao instead. There, Teacher Kong gives Xiao Xi a life lesson about not judging someone until you know them: "Judge a man should we know him more to make the judgments?". He also went to explain why Hua Biao was chosen as the class monitor. After visiting everyone's home, he determined that Hua Biao would be the best candidate. 

During the visit, we learned that Hua Biao lost his parents when he was less than 3 months and was raised by neighbors. His grandma said "Though he is naughty, he still is a good boy... He is very clever. If he didn't get expelled from his previous school, he would have won his 20th award." Viewers also learned the real reason why Hua Biao carries around the steel pipes - he was making a shower grip for his grandma. (This shows that he really cares for his grandma's safety and created something to make it easier for her.)

After Teacher Kong's lecture, Xiao Xi reflected and decided to apologize for her wrong-doings. First, she apologized and hugged to her mom. 

The next person she apologized to is Hua Biao. She borrowed Li Yu's bike to visit Hua Biao. She apologized and gave him a bunch of snacks. Before leaving, Hua Biao asked Xiao Xi to come in for tea. 

Episodes 2 ends with Li Yu coming to Hua Biao's house and waiting for Xiao Xi...

[My Thoughts So Far] 

Xiao Xi: I'm starting to not like Xiao Xi's character. She is really childish in this episode. Due to her hatred of Hua Biao, she created a white lie that could have severely harm Hua Biao much more. I'm glad that she reflected on her wrong-doings and apologized. 

Teacher Kong: I really adore Teacher Kong!!! I love how his character is so full of positivity and hope for Class 3, which is much needed. I feel that he is change that the class needs to succeed. 

Li Yu: We see that he has started to become jealous of Hua Biao, especially since Xiao Xi's attention is mostly on Hua Biao now.

Hua Biao: This episode, we learned how kind and caring Hua Biao is. He not only cares for his Grandma, classmates, but also his enemies. He is also forgiving.

Last thought: I love the quote Xiao Xi said about misunderstanding people. "Misunderstanding itself is not ashamed. It is the person who is misunderstood. He only have kindness. Eighteen years old. We start to learn to know a person." She is saying that at 18 years old, you are just learning how to understand people.

Filled with old stereo, tape cassettes, bikes, and old-fashioned school uniforms, "When We Were Young" is surely going to give you nostalgic feels. The drama takes place in the summer of 1996 and takes you through the youth of high school students. [Lead Characters Introduction]

Yang Xi (the female lead) may not be the brightest when it comes to academic, but excels at long-distance running. 

Li Yu, the childhood friend and neighbor of Yang Xi, is the opposite. He excels at academic, but not at capturing Yang Xi's heart (Sorry, I just had too lol). Li Yu is always offering to help and give Yang Xi a piggy back ride. 

Hua Biao (the main lead) is introduced as a mysterious transfer student. He's actually a science genius, but was expelled due to a lab explosion at his old school. Hua Biao is very thoughtful and always willing to help anyone. Behind his smile, Hua Biao is hiding something...

[Episode 1 Recap]

Episode 1 starts off with Xiao Xi getting excited about long-distance runner, Wang Jun Xia, winning gold at the Olympics. Her Mom, annoyed by her noisiness, ordered Xiao Xi to go running. If Xiao Xi could run 5000 meters under 20 minutes, she could get a bike. Xiao Xi triumphed and Li Yu gave the exhausted Xiao Xi a piggy back ride home. (This piggy back scene surprised me because most dramas doesn't have this level of skinship between a female and male friends. It shows how comfortable they both are with each other.)

Upon returning home, the excited Xiao Xi proudly shows off her time, only to have her parents ignore it. Upset, she left the dinner table to go moped. Her Mom then asked Xiao Xi to serve tea, revealing an envelope with money under the teapot! Xiao Xi was so focused on her bike money, that she didn't realized she hurt Li Yu by saying she wasn't going to celebrate her birthday with him. Li Yu, hurt by Xiao Xi's comment, left his dinner uneaten. (I thought Xiao Xi was really rude and insensitive here. I really hope her character becomes mature by the time the drama ends.)

Back in his room, Li Yu reads his Mom's letter. We discover that his Mom is an actress and will be returning home soon (which puts a smile on his face awwww!). A bell by his window starts ringing and Li Yu heads toward a basket. Inside, there's a note from Yang Xi telling Li Yu to eat his dinner (she packed some into a food container) and to get ready to buy her bike tomorrow morning. (I found it cute how they have a secret communication through a basket - they ring the bell when they have something to say).

The next morning, Li Yu and Xiao Xi meets up with their two friends (Er Tiao and He Mei) to buy her bike. After buying her bike, Er Tiao offers to take pictures of Xiao Xi and her Giant. 

They got so distracted taking pictures that they didn't see a thief sneaking behind and taking off with the bike. Xiao Xi, being a long distance runner, chased after the thief into a school. My favorite part was the thief asking Xiao Xi, "Don't chase me. Are you a long distance runner?" Xiao Xi confidently answered, "I am. I'm not tired at all." Being the feisty person she is, Xiao Xi jumped onto the back of the bike and hit the thief. Right at that moment too, we see a mysterious person inside a lab mixing things. The mysterious person, distracted by what's happening on the school field, accidentally caused an explosion. The bike bumped into a brick, causing Xiao Xi and the thief to fly off. The explosion caused the window above them to break and a glass fragment plunged into Xiao Xi's left leg. She is rushed to the hospital, while the thief fled with her bike.

After the incident, Xiao Xi is resting her leg. Li Yu, on the other hand, is busy cooking for his Mom's return. (I noticed that Li Yu is good at cooking. Maybe he will become a chef later on?). Unfortunately, his Mom called that she couldn't come home. (After hearing that his Mom won’t be coming, it broke my heart to see Li Yu's smile changed into a sad face).   

In the end, Yang Xi ended up eating all the food lol. 

The next morning, Li Yu took Xiao Xi to the doctor to check up on her leg. They were supposed to take his bike, but the wheel of his bike had no air (due to an upset and jealous Huang Cheng Cheng). He ended up giving Xiao Xi another piggy back ride. During this scene, Li Yu narrates: "I have never expected that from one moment, our story ends".

School finally starts and Hua Biao, a mysterious transfer student, enters the scene. He's super handsome, but a bit weird because he carries around a steel pipe. Xiao Xi becomes outraged when she realized Hua Biao was the person who caused the explosion that lead to her injured leg. Hua Biao was sincerely sorry and carried Xiao Xi on his back to the doctor's office. There, Xiao Xi received bad news - she needed to rest her leg and won't be able to compete in the running competition. If she does, she won't be able to run again. This competition is important to Xiao Xi because it could add 10 points to her junior college exam. Upset, Xiao Xi wants to get back at Hua Biao for harming her leg.

Li Yu ends the episode with his narration: "Every pause indicates a new start. Summer of 1996. Our story, because of him, restarted".

[My Thoughts So Far]

This drama does an excellent job at bringing nostalgic feels. I enjoyed seeing old stereo, bikes, and the old-fashion outfits. I originally thought that Xiao Xi would be similar to other female leads in Chinese high school drama, but I really liked how she has a unique talent - long distance running. I'm also really impressed with Xiao Xi and Li Yu's comfort level with each other. Li Yu is always giving Xiao Xi a piggy back ride and I hope she doesn't take advantage of the fact that Li Yu would do anything for her. Lastly, I'm curious to learn more about Hua Biao and his reason for carrying a steel pipe (I'm surprised the school let him carried it lol).