Oh my is it Episode 15 already? Although I really like this episode’s conflict and development, I don’t think the drama can close within the next episode. Just how many episodes is this show?

  You know last week we ended with the Director turning around and giving An Xi a look? I thought she would at least say something, but no, she simply puts on her shades and whips her head around. Let’s just say that if this wasn’t a public blogpost, I would be calling her a word that starts with b and is five letters long.

 

An Xi shudders at Director’s cold shoulder and wonders if she’s always so cold to everyone.

Director actually brought Yong Qing along for this village tour, and upon reaching the road, she tells Yong Qing to give up on You Qian. She has already proposed to You Qian the idea of marrying Yong Qing, but he rejected her. Yong Qing has such good qualifications and will have many suitors, but for some girls, “You Qian is the best guy that she can get.” She mutters, Treat this as my last benevolent act towards you. 

Yong Qing overhears her and thinks that she’s referring to You Qian. She quickly tries to convince her god-mother that You Qian is a honest and loyal guy, but Ms B**** says that she’s even more suspicious of him because he chose to stay when he knew that she’s suspicious of him.

Methinks you need a head check-up.

An Xi returns home to find this.

Hahaha, turns out that every year, all of them will play and have fun after An Xi returns from visiting her father. It’s to assure her dad that An Xi is living well and happily.

Da Yu gives You Qian the investigation report he has on Yan Ze so far, “People say that Manager Hu is good at hiding while you are good at observing.”

Yong Qing walks in and chases Da Yu out. She just rambles on about how strange her god-mother is, for talking to An Xi, touching the surfboard that she dislikes and for convincing her to give up on You Qian. Then she realises – hey it’s not that strange, it’s her cutting ties with You Qian. However,  You Qian simply picks up on all the strange signs. Why was the Director at the sea when the designated purification site wasn’t by the sea?

Yong Qing worries about him being destroyed by her god-mother, and he suddenly says, “Thank you.”

She looks visibly touched, until he continues, “But if you sell me my old house, I will be even more thankful.” Well, it’s no wonder that Yong Qing leaves in a huff after that .

After she leaves, You Qian starts to think back to all the signs, like how the Director made a ‘work trip’ to Pu Lang Village when the contract has not been concluded, how Yong Qing is also born on April Fool’s Day, and finally, the name ‘Lunar Maria’.

He dashes into Director’s room (who is re-affirming to herself that she doesn’t need to have a reunion with An Xi) and asks if she went to the village. She spouts some nonsense about how women are the most tied up with romance/emotions, but You Qian cuts in, “An Xi, she’s your daughter right?”

Deng deng deng deng. 

Director looks up in shock but admits that indeed, she did give birth to An Xi 28 years ago. Why did she not reunite with her? “Because she doesn’t have that value” Ouch? You Qian reminds her, “A daughter isn’t born because you need her. She exists because you let her exist.”

I think Ms Director needs a Dummy’s Guide 101 on how children are brought into the world. Ironic much. You Qian is taken aback and tells her that even if she throws away all those sandbags of burdens, “One day, these sandbags will return and pull you down.” Director is pissed off, “Why don’t you see which is the first sandbag that I will throw away?”

She immediately removes him from his current project, and calls Jennifer in. (Jennifer is the in-charge of the Russian project). She reports to Yan Ze’s office later on, and turns out the both of them are dating. Although Yan Ze initially scolds her for entering his office, he plays along when she offers information about the project.

Back at home, You Qian listens to the recording and frets over how much An Xi misses her mother. Grandpa’s alarm rings, signalling that it’s time for medicine. He confides in Grandpa the situation, even admitting that An Xi’s mum is the Director.

Grandpa thinks that You Qian must not tell An Xi about her mother – the Director is not someone that An Xi can deal with. If An Xi approaches Director with enthusiasm, she will feel worse when she meets Director’s “cold butt”. You Qian replies sadly, “I really don’t want her to be hurt.”

An Xi is delightedly rolling around on her bed, when You Qian enters her room (in Pu Lang Village, mind you).

“Why are you here?” “I miss you.” Hahaha aww.

You Qian asks how her visit went and she cute-ly rambles about how ‘responsibility’ doesn’t exist in her dad’s dictionary. “Is that why my mum left him?”

You Qian suddenly offers to say bedtime stories for her LOL and insists that she lies down now.

After she places her head on the pillow, he really whips out his phone to read a story about Blue Beard. “Wait, are you serious about reading stories to me? How old am I??” You Qian gives her a look, so she gives up and motions for him to continue.

You Qian happily continues, but his reading is just plain flat and fast like onedaybluebeardneedstoleavethehouseandhegiveshiswifeabunchofkeys andsaidthatshecannotopenthedoorattheendofthecorridororhisfury –

An Xi saves us all by sitting up, “Stories aren’t meant to be read like this.”

She takes the phone from him and reads emphatically, “You can open every door…but the one at the end…or else, you won’t be able to imagine my fury.”

You Qian asks indignantly why she’s reading a heartwarming story like a horror story.

An Xi is like, “You chose this story for a heartwarming bedtime story??” She continues reading and turns out that the last door opens to a room that has all the ex-wives’ bodies. You Qian quickly snatches his phone back hahaha.

She asks why he’s so strange today, coming all the way to the village and reading stories to her. Then she realises, did she talk about her mum during her drunken rant? You Qian gives her another look and she throws her arms in despair, “Just how many things did I say?”

HAHA.

You Qian smiles at her and takes her hand. He tells her it’s alright if she cannot find her mum, “Let me be your closest family member…I won’t let you feel lonely, I promise.”

Touched An Xi and Smooth-talker You Qian.

In the morning, An Xi wakes up to find a glistening You Qian-Edward Cullen (okay I kid) and cannot resist giving him a cute peck on his cheek.

He immediately wrinkles up his face and she throws herself back on the sofa, thinking that he isn’t awake. But he turns his face and says, “The bible says that you must turn your other cheek when your cheek is kissed.”

I’m pretty sure the bible didn’t say that HAHA. He sits up straight and declares, “I have a dream”. An Xi laughs and finally relents.

Now that she has kissed him, can he open his eyes? He opens them and smiles, and then realises that they have an audience.

HAHA.

They quickly sit down in a burst of giggles. Mei Wen is like, “I came up to call her for breakfast, who would know that it’s buy one get one free?” She assures You Qian that the best guy with qualifications right now in the village is Jiang, showing that You Qian has no competition.

Over breakfast, An Xi basically irritates everyone at the table by giving You Qian all the good food and coffee, just when Mei Wen reaches out for them at the same time. She asks why they aren’t eating, and Mei Wen replies, “We are full.” An Xi grumbles that Zhi Lin and Mei Wen are angry for nothing, “Look, Ya En is fine.”

 

Ya En points at the fruit juice, “That is supposed to be mine.” Zhi Lin continues, “You even snatch the fruit juice of a sick patient.” Haha.

An Xi feels bad and offers to stay behind after You Qian returns to Taipei, but when You Qian says that he will come back after his work ends, the two ladies immediately reject An Xi’s idea.

An Xi later bewilderedly wonders if she, the boss lady, just got chased away by her workers hahaha.

You Qian brings her to the literal cliff hanger and tells her that he has always wanted to return to that spot with her again. It was the first place she brought him after they met for the first time. An Xi shouts into the air that she has struck lottery because Unibrow and You Qian are the same person.

You Qian smiles and tells her the other reason why he wants to come here. This place is so near to the skies and the sees; it’s a great time to meet her father. “Uncle, I am Xia You Qian. I really like your daughter, so entrust her to me. I will take great care of her and make her happy!”

Since the skies continue to be calm and the seas doesn’t rebel in a tsunami, You Qian concludes that her father must have agreed.

You Qian returns to work, calm and collected even though Da Yu was worried for him. Da Yu informs him that someone saw Jennifer and Yan Ze hanging out together, so You Qian instructs Da Yu to get Jennifer to his office. As Drama of Coincidences would have it, Director happens to hear Jennifer on the phone, en route to You Qian’s office.

You Qian very astutely points out to Jennifer that even if she’s dating Yan Ze, Yan Ze will never make it public, thus striking a sore sport. Director then calls Jennifer over to her office (what a busy day for Jennifer!) and asks her why You Qian wants to find her. Jennifer has to hide the fact that she and Yan Ze are dating, so she intentionally lies and says that You Qian asks her questions about the Russian Project. Ms B looks to the side and thinks triumphantly that her suspicions are right.

Puh-lease, do you think you are very smart??

You Qian knows that something is wrong and tells Da Yu to check if any land in the village has already been bought + who is the Russian project leader on the other side. An Xi notices that You Qian is quite down when he returns home, and finds him at his study.

“Are you very troubled?”

“Mm, troubled.If I’m not wrong, the company will be in a crisis soon, but Director doesn’t believe me.” An Xi asks why and he replies that it’s her innate trait to suspect people.

An Xi thinks that they are very strange – how on earth do they buy groceries at the market? You Qian looks at her and she elaborates, “If someone tells me that the melon is delicious, you will just need to buy and cook it at home to know if he’s telling the truth!”

But You Qian doesn’t see it that way. If the boss says that the melon is nice, you have to be suspicious – how does he know that it’s nice? If he now says that he can sell it for a cheaper price, then you have to be even more suspicious – why does he have to sell it cheap? This means the melon has something wrong.

An Xi is totally judging You Qian now hahaha. Like what on earth man these creatures live a tiring life.

You Qian smiles, “How come things sound so simply from your mouth?” An Xi is sad because if she was Ms Hu, she would be proving to the Director that You Qian is a good melon. But since Director doesn’t like her and won’t like her forever…

You Qian stands up to hug her and console her. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a good or bad melon, as long as she’s happy then it’s okay.

An Xi discovers from Grandpa that You Qian likes to eat a particular stall’s bean curd and queues up the next day for it. Da Yu brings them to You Qian, who leaves because she doesn’t want to disturb him. You Qian happily brings the bag (with two bowls) out but Da Yu stops him and pleads, “One is mine…pleaseee.”

Hahaha anything for bean curd.

Yan Ze runs into An Xi outside and pretends to be in a bad mood, so the innocent An Xi immediately offers to meet him for dinner so that he can cheer up. Jennifer sees this scene and enters the building in a bad mood, while You Qian leaves the building and also becomes angry.

Somehow, I really like the colour and the leads’ placement in this scene. Anyway, You Qian finds out that the two are meeting that night and he’s worried.

 

It’s not that he doesn’t want An Xi to be friends with Yan Ze, but for now, can’t she keep her distance? An Xi asks why and he replies that Yan Ze has been very strange lately, to which An Xi quickly replies, “Obviously he will be strange when he’s not in a good mood!”

 

She thinks that You Qian is jealous and assures him, “He’s not my type. The kind I like is those nerds that don’t like to smile.” “Those?” “Just one, just one.” She brings out the bean curd and he insists that she feeds him.

“Bean curd, aaaahhhh.” HAHA. She relents and feeds him, causing him to widen his eyes, “Bean curd must go with girlfriend to taste nice!” They happily finish the bean curd together. An Xi reminds You Qian to bring Grandpa for a health checkup. She’s happy with the great weather but You Qian sighs and points out that a good, sunny day is the prelude to a thunderstorm.

Da Yu informs You Qian that just like he has expected, many plots of land in the village don’t belong to Jiang anymore. You Qian guesses that the Russian company is playing two-handedly with them – on one hand, they pretend to strike a contact with Ocean, on the other, they buy up plots of land so that they can sell them to Ocean at a higher price. Da Yu points out that it was the Director who decided to place the purification site in Pu Lang village…so if the Russian Company wants to buy up pieces of land first, that means there is an insider. You Qian hopes that it’s not Yan Ze.

Speaking of Yan Ze, he’s glad that he can finally leave this place. Jennifer enters his office and they end up quarrelling because she wants to go public while he keeps pushing her away. “Where’s your confidence? Or do you think that you can’t keep me?” Jennifer spitefully reminds him that they are on the same boat. After she leaves, he orders flowers from the bouquet shop. Jennifer thinks that it’s for her, but we all know who it’s for.

You Qian returns home to find a sleeping Grandpa. Grandpa wakes up and tells him that An Xi has left to meet Yan Ze.

The two actually went to an orphanage (? Care centre) to play with the kids. An Xi worries about the relationship between the Director and You Qian, and Yan Ze encourages that An Xi can try to please the Director. “If you are willing, I can create opportunities for you.”

 

You Qian descends in anger, “Do you have a problem? Must you find someone else’s girlfriend to accompany you?” Yan Ze tries to pull the I’m-sad-but-if-you-mind-I-can-be-alone card, and You Qian cuts in, “I mind.” LOL. He waits for An Xi outside, and Yan Ze tells her that he has found news about her mother.

 

As they leave, the florist delivers a bouquet of roses. Yan Ze claims that he bought them to give one rose each to the child, but since it’s too late, he wants An Xi to keep them. You Qian astutely points out, if that was his plan, “Why didn’t you ask the florist to package them individually?”

He is even more stunned when An Xi thanks Yan Ze for helping her to find her mother. Yan Ze knows that You Qian must be on him, “But how much?”

Back at home, An Xi reveals that they have a common experience – his dad didn’t once fight for him when his parents divorced, and her mum abandoned her. Both of them don’t have the option to choose; they were chosen. Besides, An Xi has all her friends + You Qian, but Yan Ze has no one. Not even Yong Qing, since the one he hates is Yong Qing’s dad.

She grumbles that You Qian has spoilt her good mood after hearing Yan Ze’s announcement.

You Qian worriedly nags, “I know that you are willing to believe others. That’s your strength, and also your weakness. I’m not trying to change you or anything, but no matter when, can you spend an extra 2 minutes to think and protect yourself…can you?”

Sho shweet.

You Qian waits for Yan Ze in the parking lot, and goes straight to the point, “Since when do you know that the Director is An Xi’s mum?”

Yan Ze asks if You Qian doesn’t believe that An Xi can change the Director. Maybe he can even change An Xi into someone who is just like the Director. You Qian murmurs, “You want the Director to recognise An Xi, and then? What do you want?” An Xi is An Xi, and he doesn’t want her to change or be hurt by people whom don’t care about her. “She won’t play the two-face trick with you.”

That irks Yan Ze. What does he mean?

We are suddenly plunge into a flashback four years ago, where Yan Ze was drunk and unhappy about his life career, which is forced on him by his step-father (Yong Qing’s father). He demanded for You Qian to replay chess move, since he was the one who taught You Qian chess in the first place. In the real world, rules are set by those whom you owe a debt to. However, the moment Yong Qing entered the room, Yan Ze put on his caring face.

Back in the present, Yan Ze reveals how deep his wound goes – his stepfather always took his hard work for granted, but thought of him when he needed help. The only reason why You Qian is accepted by others is because of his work ability, but You Qian retorts that both An Xi and Yong Qing treat him as a genuine brother and friend.

Yan Ze scoffs in disbelief at the notion that You Qian has never thought of making use of An Xi’s position as the Director’s daughter. You Qian tells him not to reveal who An Xi’s mother is if he still treats An Xi as a friend.

But Yan Ze simply walks away.

-the end-

I’m sorry this recap came a little late because I was and still am caught up with real life commitments! I had fun watching this episode, and I felt like the conflict is pretty good because at the very least, I am emotionally invested against the Director and now Yan Ze. However, they both aren’t straight out bad characters, and I can foresee Yan Ze being changed by Ya En.

I think the main couple has a good chemistry going on now and their couple scenes flow super smoothly and naturally. The script has a very colloquial quality to it, if you know what I mean. The words don’t sound too scripted, and especially when the couple acts them out, I can just imagine a real-life bickering couple. In fact, I see some of that in reality all the time!

I do think that Yan Ze is being too idealistic if he thinks that he can snatch An Xi away from You Qian – does he think that the girl is even ‘capable’ of cheating (capable in quotation marks because that’s not a capability at all). However, it will make sense if he just wants to be in An Xi’s good books so that he can be in the Director’s good books. No idea.

Am not prepared for this show to end in the next episode, so if it does, I will be quite surprised! Looking forward to how it’s going to be done though!

<3thoughtsramble