A Different Mr. Xiao – Zhao Yiqin, Duan Xingyu

In the year 2223, temporal agent Xiao Jing, in order to save a life, must seek out the extinct medicinal herb "Dioscorea nipponica Makino" He embarked on a time-travel journey during daylight meteor showers, going back two hundred years and inhabiting the body of Xiao Jing, a student of Professor Song who specialized in researching Dragon-Tuber Dioscorea. However, Song Yiju, who relies on Xiao Jing for academic credits, remains oblivious to these changes. The assistant physician before her, Xiao Jing, is no longer the obedient good friend she once knew.

Xiao Jing had made comprehensive preparations before the time travel, familiarizing himself with information about everyone around Professor Song. However, the information about Song Yiju was a complete blank. In order to successfully obtain the Dragon-Tuber Dioscorea, Xiao Jing decides to evade the unknown variable of Song Yiju. Unexpectedly, Song Yiju takes the initiative to confront him, and Xiao Jing has no choice but to engage. During her makeup exam, Song Yiju sets up an elaborate formation, claiming it to be a secret code agreed upon with "Xiao Jing" long ago. However, Xiao Jing has no recollection of this. Song Yiju relentlessly presses on, expressing her suspicions: "You are not Xiao Jing, then who exactly are you?"

Recalling the various interactions with Xiao Jing in the past, Song Yiju began to test the waters with the Xiao Jing before her, but Xiao Jing successfully defended against her attempts, leading to a subtle power struggle between them. Quietly fond of painting in secret, Song Yiju sneaked into a renowned avant-garde artist's exhibition, Ouyang Yu, and accidentally bumped into the real Ouyang Yu while he was repairing a sculpture. This left a scratch on the sculpture. In order to avoid being held responsible by the gallery, she had to use self-made pigments to restore the color. This action successfully caught the attention of the great artist Ouyang Yu.

Upon learning that Dong Yunfeng, who held the iris key to the traditional medicine laboratory, was attending a blind date party at a bar in the evening, Xiao Jing and his robot companion Xiao Sa had to disguise themselves and infiltrate the party in order to scan the iris. Unexpectedly, they came across Song Yiju. Xiao Jing felt like he was facing a formidable opponent. However, to his surprise, this time Song Yiju unintentionally helped him succeed. Xiao Jing, using his charm of "embracing and holding," managed to obtain the iris and left the bar.

Song Yiju posted a blind date invitation for Xiao Jing on the campus forum and even started selling yellow roses to make money. Xiao Jing arrived just in time to intervene and immediately turned it into a scientific presentation about roses. Amid their argument, an unexpected scene of Xiao Jing embracing Song Yiju occurred within the flower garden.

In class, Xiao Jing used Song Yiju as a model to demonstrate acupuncture points, but the process was overly aggressive, leading Song Yiju to mistakenly believe that Xiao Jing was playing tricks on her. This deepened their conflict. Ouyang Yu, under the pretext of needing to hire a part-time colorist for his OY Studio, extended an invitation to Song Yiju, which she happily accepted.

The operation planned by Xiao Jing and Xiao Sa to "steal medicine" was foiled due to an allergic reaction of one of their fellow researchers. They had no choice but to try again at night. Song Yiju needed to produce a batch of pigments for her part-time job as an artist, so she decided to infiltrate her grandfather's traditional medicine base to gather raw materials. On a night with a dark moon and strong winds, Xiao Jing and Song Yiju had another coincidental encounter.

Xiao Jing and Song Yiju were trapped in the laboratory, simultaneously searching for an exit while engaging in casual conversation. Despite her lack of academic prowess, Song Yiju surprisingly possessed extensive knowledge about which medicinal herbs could produce specific colors. Having lost her parents at a young age, she was raised by her grandfather. Her pursuit of traditional medicine was merely to bring joy to her grandfather, while her true passion for painting had to remain a secret.

Hearing about Song Yiju's background, Xiao Jing was drawn into his own memories. In the year 2223, he too had lost his parents, and his younger sister, his sole family, had fallen seriously ill. She needed the Dragon-Tuber Dioscorea to save her life, which was the reason he had traveled through time to this era.

Song Yiju's school was planning a student visit to the traditional medicine base for research purposes. Coincidentally, the investors behind the base would also be visiting on the same day. Professor Song intended for Xiao Jing to lead the group for the investors, disrupting Xiao Jing's plans.

Ouyang Yu and Song Yiju playfully engaged in face painting at the studio. Their overly sweet interaction was witnessed by Ouyang Yu's investor, Wei Yuwen, a wealthy and attractive woman who pursued Ouyang Yu. In a fit of pique, she decided to investigate Song Yiju.

Xiao Jing and Song Yiju attempted to strike a deal, hoping to have Song Yiju ask Professor Song to let him lead the school trip. However, they didn't come to an agreement. Xiao Jing hatched a plan, pretending to apologize, he took Song Yiju out and they indulged in a large bucket of ice cream. This resulted in Song Yiju causing chaos the next day due to a misunderstood situation. Xiao Jing used the excuse of taking her to the restroom to sneak into the laboratory for the Dragon-Tuber Dioscorea. However, what he found was a young Dragon-Tuber Dioscorea sapling that still required three more months to grow. It turned out that Xiao Sa, the robot, had miscalculated the timing and arrived too early.

Just when Xiao Jing was feeling completely defeated, he heard Song Yiju's cry for help. He rushed over and took her to the hospital when she fainted from exhaustion. Out of guilt, he took care of her attentively. Professor Song observed all of this.

Wei Yuwen, who was having relationship issues, decided to drown her sorrows in alcohol. At the entrance of Xu Huaicong's bar, she noticed a flower basket sent by Song Yiju and came up with a plan. Wei Yuwen acquired the highest-tier membership card at the bar and used it as leverage to force Xu Huaicong to arrange a meeting with Song Yiju.

Xiao Jing must wait for another three months in 2023 for the Dragon-Tuber Dioscorea to mature. However, his seven-day temporal visa has already expired, leaving him as an illegal time traveler. To avoid being apprehended by the temporal authorities, he has to be even more cautious. Wei Yuwen finally managed to coerce Xu Huaicong into bringing Song Yiju over. After a session of "friendly communication," Wei Yuwen got drunk, thinking she had achieved her goal.

Xu Huaicong accompanied the intoxicated Wei Yuwen back home, but ended up being vomited on. As he was washing clothes shirtless, Wei Yuwen misunderstood his intentions and physically assaulted him. Professor Song entrusted Song Yiju to Xiao Jing while he was away on a business trip. After an intense debate, they temporarily signed a peace treaty for coexistence.

In the evening, Xiao Jing roped Song Yiju into helping in the kitchen, resulting in the destruction of various side dishes. During a power outage, Song Yiju tried to scare Xiao Jing with a ghost story, but ended up scaring herself instead. Fortunately, Xiao Jing embraced her in time. The night was unexpectedly filled with humor, and their nonsensical cohabitation continued with their quirky horse-catching antics.

Song Yiju was not skilled in her studies and struggled with a question, resulting in continuous deductions by the supervisor. Xiao Sa was sent by Xiao Jing to oversee the situation. In an attempt to help Song Yiju, Xiao Sa used clumsy acting to play the role of a "medical promoter," but it backfired and caused Song Yiju to miss the opportunity.

Song Yiju wanted Xiao Jing to arrange an internship for her at the hospital. However, Xiao Jing, with a deep respect for the field of traditional medicine, firmly declined her request. In the hospital, a patient named Zhang Jilong insisted on being discharged against medical advice. Xiao Jing went to persuade him. Zhang Jilong's actions reminded him of his sister back in the year 2223. She had pleaded for him to give up her treatment to prevent being a burden. This memory weighed heavily on Xiao Jing's heart. Just as he firmly declined Zhang's request, recalling his sister's situation, Song Yiju unexpectedly witnessed the scene. It was as if she had grasped Zhang Jilong's sentiment. She believed that emotional distress was also a form of illness and advised Xiao Jing to consider the patients' feelings more. They engaged in a heated argument, but Song Yiju's words actually left a mark in Xiao Jing's heart.

Upon learning that Zhang Jilong's final wish was not to waste his remaining time in a foreign place but to ensure his last moments were without regrets, Song Yiju started persuading Zhang Jilong's children. However, her efforts were in vain. Xiao Jing also understood Zhang Jilong's desire and went to persuade his son. With the assurance of medical resources, they fulfilled Zhang Jilong's final wish. Xiao Jing and Song Yiju, who had been at odds, finally reached a reconciliation for the first time.

What made Song Yiju even happier was that, thanks to Ouyang Yu's influence, she secured a part-time job at OY Studio and successfully got her work included in OY's exhibition. However, when the investor Wei Yuwen learned about this, she threatened to withdraw her investment. It was then that Song Yiju discovered that Ouyang Yu was the renowned OY.

In Ouyang Yu's resting room, Song Yiju attempted to apologize to him by offering tea instead of alcohol. Unexpectedly, she ended up with real alcohol. Ouyang Yu had to escort the unsteady Song Yiju back home, only to find Xiao Jing opening the door. As Xiao Jing and Ouyang Yu sized each other up, their meeting as rivals was charged with jealousy.

Xiao Jing and Ouyang Yu competed to take care of Song Yiju. However, the intoxicated Song Yiju wanted to enjoy the attention of both handsome men. Eventually, under Xiao Jing's determined gaze, Ouyang Yu reluctantly left. The inebriated Song Yiju energetically pounced on Xiao Jing, her caretaker, in a suggestive manner, initiating an ambiguous bed scene. Just as the romantic atmosphere was building, it was abruptly disrupted by Xiao Sa, the protective robot. At this point, Xiao Jing wasn't aware that he was slowly developing feelings for Song Yiju.

Wei Yuwen and Xu Huaicong, both drunk, were manipulated by a drinking game to kiss each other. Xu Huaicong was captivated by Wei Yuwen's enchanting dance under the dim lights. The next day, they mutually agreed to treat the incident as a one-time occurrence, settling any potential debt between them.

During the registration for the internship exam, Song Yiju hurried to school only to realize she had lost her student ID. In her moment of distress, Ouyang Yu appeared as if out of nowhere, delivering Song Yiju's student ID. They ended up having a meal together in the cafeteria, engaging in interactions reminiscent of a drama. Xiao Jing observed all of this, feeling jealous.

After Song Yiju caused a series of credit-earning projects to collapse, Xiao Jing also wanted to showcase his affinity by starting a home-style tutoring service. Song Yiju struggled with her studies, resorting to stealthily enjoying snacks as her strategy. However, her culinary pursuits were thwarted by Xiao Sa. Surprisingly, during their first encounter, Song Yiju and Xiao Sa found common ground and formed a friendly "Anti-Xiao Jing Alliance."

Xiao Sa's role as a double-sided spy was quite demanding. On one hand, he informed Xiao Jing of developments, while on the other hand, he took the liberty to alter Song Yiju's internship exam score. He amusingly mused to himself: "This household would fall apart without me!"

After undergoing Xiao Jing's intense pre-exam training, Song Yiju unexpectedly qualified for the internship exam. However, her success was met with skepticism from classmates, leading to her being bullied. Wei Yuwen appeared just in time and assertively rescued her. With a cup of milk tea and a conversation, they became best friends. But what Song Yiju found most unbearable was that Xiao Jing actually questioned her performance face-to-face...