I’ll break up my commentary in two parts. I’ll post the link here to part 2 when I’m done writing it.

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To recap, here’s the list of titles and featured objects.

First Chapter. (I’ve been) Waiting. A secret kept
Featured Object: Notebook

Chapter 2. Closer. What made me meet someone like you
Featured Object: Milk bottle

Chapter 3. Considerate. Get a little closer
Featured Object: Band-aid

Chapter 4. Hidden approval. My secret
Featured Object: Schoolbag

Chapter 5. Secretly. The name engraved in my heart
Featured Object: Flowerpot

Chapter 6. Distance. When you are in another city
Featured Object: The New Year decoration with “Good fortune”

Chapter 7. Promise. The most important little things
Featured Object: Teddy bear

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There are two teddy bears in this episode.

The obvious one is the stuffed teddy bear that Jiaxu gave her back in Episode 3 and that Sang Zhi was returning in this episode.

He’d won the toy from the claw machine, when he handed it to her, he said, “I got you a plushie. Don’t cry anymore.”

If you remember, I kept STRESSING that she hadn’t in fact cried about losing her money at the claw machine. This was a lie made by her brother and Jiaxu to cover up her embarrassing feminine accident.

The way I see it, Jiaxu gifted her with the toy, and pretended that it was to stop her from crying because he really wanted to say something that he couldn’t voice aloud to her. He wanted her to know that she didn’t need to feel mortified anymore because he was going to erase the whole awkward incident from his mind.

To him, the teddy bear was his tacit way of reassuring her that it was okay to be…well, a girl with her monthlies. 😂😂 He didn’t need to use words when he could use the teddy bear.

And to her, the teddy bear displayed his consideration of her feelings, without any words necessary.

Now, Sang Shi brought the teddy bear with her to the airport. By this time, Jiaxu had already been gifted her three stuffed animals: the red fox, this teddy bear, and the dog that looked like Sang Yan…but she chose to bring the teddy bear with her.

Why?

The way I see it, this is all about Newton’s Third Law of Motion. For every action in nature, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Jiaxu GAVE her the teddy bear with an unstated reason; she was RETURNING the teddy bear to him with her own real reason undeclared.

Just like he gave her the toy because he couldn’t express the words without embarrassing her further, Sang Shi was giving him back the teddy bear because she couldn’t utter the words she really wanted to tell him without causing them both embarrassment.

Do you get it?

We’re seeing a mirrored action. She delayed giving him back the teddy bear till the last possible moment.

He walked her to the departure line, then heaved a deep breath.

To me, he sounded relieved. Things didn’t go as badly as he (and her family) feared.

Sang Zhi didn’t go off with her “online boyfriend.” ✅

She wasn’t abducted by stranger. ✅

She could go on the way she was, that is, focused on her studies, protected by her parents, and undisturbed by unsavory suitors. ✅

Best of all, she would emerge a bit wiser from this experience. ✅✅✅⭐️

Yes, in Jiaxu’s mind, there was plenty to be grateful for.

DJ: All right.
SZ: (turning around to face him)
DJ: Listen to your parents after you get home. Don’t let this affect your studies. Okay?

Hear that? He spoke as if danger had been averted and the situation was under control. His mission was accomplished. He saved Sang Zhi. All she had to do was obey her parents and concentrate on school.

SZ: (not meeting his eyes) You don’t need to tell me anymore.
DJ: What?!

I like how this moment was filmed.

The director chose to bring the camera close to their faces. This way, we could observe the expressive facial expressions and sense the connection between the two characters.  I also like the small hesitations as they spoke. This tells me that they were grappling with their feelings.

For instance, Sang Zhi spoke her words slowly, with her eyes looking down. Obviously, her downcast eyes hid her downcast feelings. She was hiding her distress from him. She didn’t want him to see how miserable she was feeling as she was about to leave him for the last time.

Then, she slowly looked up at him and their eyes met. Her steady gaze contrasted with his perplexed look.

You could tell by his eyes that he was trying to read her feelings. But unfortunately, since he only had a second to decipher what was running in her head, he guessed wrong. He thought she was sulking because he was lecturing her. He thought she was telling him to stop preaching to her already about good behavior.

That’s why he said, “What?” with an amused face. To him, she looked like a repentant child after being properly scolded by a mean and strict Gege.

Sang Zhi was alluding to a promise he made to her. She wanted to tell him, “You don’t need to tell me anymore if you get a girlfriend,” but she couldn’t.

In her mind, she couldn’t bring up his promise because it would only embarrass them both. For one, she didn’t want to remind him since he already appeared to have forgotten his promise and gotten himself a girlfriend. (What good was it for?) For another, she would look pathetic because she trusted him completely while he meant the promise as a joke.

And that’s why I thought the teddy bear – and not the fox nor the dog – was the appropriate gift for her to return. Just like when he first gave her the toy and told her to stop crying, she was returning the toy as a sign of HER consideration for HIS feelings. She didn’t want to embarrass him by pointing out that he broke his promise. She was no longer making demands on him regarding his love life. She wouldn’t impose on him and inconvenience him anymore.

He didn’t know it, but the stuffed animal was her way of returning the favor and reassuring him that she was going to erase this whole awkward incident about his broken promise from HER mind.

Of course, he didn’t understand either that the return of the teddy bear gift was her tacit way of cutting ties with him.

DJ: (recognizing the bear immediately) Isn’t this the bear plushie I got for you?
SZ: Mmm. It’s for you.

His consideration for her feelings before = her consideration for his feeling now
He wouldn’t bring up the awkward feminine incident = she wouldn’t bring up his broken promise about the girlfriend
He would forget about it = she would forget about this, too.

She was moving on.

Personally, I thought this showed remarkable maturity for her age. She was letting him go without groveling, blackmailing, or begging him to love her.

Seriously, that’s the kind of drama I don’t need to see. It’s cringe.

SZ: (seriously) I wish you happiness every day.
DJ: (wagging the toy) You must stay happy too. Mmm?

This reminded me of their Lunar New Year greetings. Be happy!

SZ: I’m going now.
DJ: Bye bye.

She turned to look at him one last time, and he thought he was cheering her up by wagging the toy again. He put on a smiling face for her.

I guess, his smiling face worked. At least, she had that image of him to remember him by. She smiled back at him, with teary eyes. And he urged her, “Go now.”

As she walked away, there was a montage of their happy moments:

When he surprised her with a milk bottle pressed against her cheek
When he won the teddy bear for her from the claw machine
When he piggy-backed her because of her injury on Sports Day
When he hugged her after she got bullied
When he attended to her injury
When he gave her spending money because her money was taken by the bullies
When he tutored her in physics
When he took her to the science museum
When he took her backpack and carried it for her
When he brought her juice to calm her down after the bullying incident
When he cooked her noodles with extra chicken
When he did a pinky-promise with her over the flowerpot in the museum

To me, there are two ways to interpret this montage.

This is the obvious way, and I’m sure 99.99% of the viewers saw it this way —

Sang Zhi was remembering all the sweet things he’d done for her. She had fallen for him because he was a sweetheart of a guy. It was just too sad that he couldn’t be her sweetheart. How could he be her sweetheart when he was already taken by someone “better” than her and, more importantly, close to his age.

Darn her youth!

Like the lyrics of the OST “To have you,” she believed she lost him because she didn’t reach out to him sooner and save him for herself. All she could do now was to lock up all these memories in her heart, like the mementoes she would keep in her treasure box, and mark them, “In requiem of first love.”

Then, this is the obscure and overlooked way, and I guess I’m the lonely one on this planet, —

The montage ALSO applied to Jiaxu.

He was remembering all the times when he reached out to her, and rescued her.

That morning, when Sang Yan called to tell him that Sang Zhi had gone off to meet her “online boyfriend, he had rushed to the airport in a panic. He didn’t think he would reach her fast enough. Fear gripped him as he imagined being too late to save her from that “online boyfriend.” He was so glad he got to her in time.

That’s why as he watched Sang Zhi’s back disappear, he smiled and exhaled.

If you notice, that’s the last face we get to see of this airport scene: his face.

He was relieved because no harm had befallen the girl he liked. She was going back to her safe place. Though he could only watch her from afar, he got to her side when she needed him to be. Most importantly, he believed that Sang Zhi was going to be fine moving forward.

Of course, he didn’t know that he was the source of Sang Zhi’s unhappiness and she was saying goodbye to him.

To me, this montage is better understood when viewed from both sides of the aisle. That is, from his and her perspective.

Lol. I just had to insert Judy Collins/Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.”

That’s my long take on the FIRST teddy bear.

Now here’s my short take on the other teddy bear: Sang Zhi who wore a teddy bear hoodie.

At first, I viewed the hoodie as just a cute touch by the costume director (was there one? I thought Zhao Lusi took care of the costumes on the set?).

But on second thought, the hoodie whether incidental or not, made for great visual. For three reasons:

One, the hoodie made Sang Zhi looked so woebegone. Like the teddy bear being returned to its giver, she was being sent back to her family. She knew that Jiaxu didn’t want to keep her. He even bought her plane ticket and made sure she got on board her flight.

Two, the hoodie reminded me that Sang Zhi’s love was like the teddy bear. Her first love was as pure and innocent as the teddy bear.

And three, now that the toy teddy bear was returned, there was nothing to stop her from crying and grieving to her heart’s content.

Awww. Great acting by Zhao Lusi!

That’s it on the teddy bears. My takes.

Next, the airport scene.