Oh to be young again! Watching this show made me envy the first flush of romance when everything the guy does is bloody superlative.

He holds his breath and chokes. It’s breathtaking.

He croaks, “Yes. Yes, I like you.” It’s heart-fluttering.

He prods her, “So? Do you like me, too?”  It’s heart-stirring.

He smiles. It’s heart-stopping!!!

I totally get why she’s swooning here.

Ha! Too bad the aftermath of the proposal wasn’t as smooth-sailing. A big part of the excitement of a newly-formed coupledom is seeing the partners on the same page with each other.

1. On the same page, part 1: the morning ritual

Establishing a morning ritual is a major hurdle and Gu WeiYi needs some dating tips.

It might sound lame but he really should have complimented Situ Mo on her appearance that morning. STM knew that it was their “first day” so she took special care in dressing and making-up.

He already noticed the way she looked…

…so paying her the compliments wouldn’t have hurt.

He doesn’t need to tell her, “You look beautiful” every time he sees her, but he could have told her that she looked especially bright and cheerful that day.

And he could have also offered her a hug to encourage her to work hard that day,

instead of simply warning her that she was going to be late. When he called out her name,

she sure did have that expectant look on her face.

But all he said was “You’re going to be late.”

Even as simple “Come back earlier” would have put a spring in her stop.

The funny thing, too, about the his-and-her versions of the moment is the sound difference. When you playback Situ Mo’s version starting at the 5:50 mark, you can hear her angrily dropping her shoes, stomping her feet and slamming the door. In Gu WeiYi’s version beginning at 9:17, her mad sounds were muted. hahaha.

But if GWY needs dating tips, so does Situ Mo. Where is the rulebook that says she can’t greet him goodbye in a loving way? Rather than simply informing him that she’s off to work,

she could have arranged to meet him after work or

asked him to marry her (just to shock him).

2.  The German scholarship 

Gu WeiYi and the Math guy are informed that one of them may go to Germany on a scholarship. GWY doesn’t look interested in it.

Is the Math guy copying the way GWY’s clothing style?

3. On the same page, part 2: texting each other

Did I tell you that when I began dating, the internet and cellphones haven’t been invented yet? hahaha.

Nowadays there’s a slew of rules of texting etiquette. For instance, Situ Mo was definitely waiting for him to text and ask her if she safely arrived at work. GWY didn’t know that. (I didn’t know that either.)

Too bad she didn’t know that he had been pondering over his message and revising his text to please her. 

What Gu WeiYi needs a little bit of “callback humor.” Callback humor is calling back or referring to something that was said before in a funny way. It’s like an “inside joke” that only he and Situ Mo can remember.

For instance, he could have mentioned the snail rice noodle she had for breakfast, and followed up on it with, “Hey, Situ Mo, since you ate snail rice noodle for breakfast, how about I make you ham-and-eggs for dinner?”

GWY actually made a good example of “callback humor” later in this episode. Do you remember when?

4. Telling the Senior that he’s dating Situ Mo

I like the way he answered YuYin’s question. “Who’s your girlfriend?” He said Situ Mo’s name as if the answer should have been obvious from the start. Situ Mo was the only choice for him.

To her credit, YuYin didn’t make a fuss about their dating.

5. On the same page, part 3: the bus ride home

Another awkward moment. Since she didn’t get any text from him that day, she wasn’t expecting him to pick her up either. I thought it was funny how she was down on herself, ““No fragrance of flowers. Not tall as a tree. I’m a nobody.” Is that a haiku she was

I don’t know why he didn’t show up outside her building but he definitely earned bonus points for showing up at the bus stop and surprising her.

But again, he needs work on the other things. He’s got the right idea here.

He’s supposed to “box out” the other riders so Situ Mo can get on the bus without being trampled. BUT BUT BUT it would have been better if he held out a hand to help her step on the bus.

6. Watch-and-learn

I like that he’s observing other couples to learn the boundaries of a physical relationship. He begins to see that other couples are more relaxed with the skinship, like sitting on the guy’s lap because there are no seats left,

hugging the boyfriend tightly on the pretext of securing one’s balance, and

stealing a kiss in public.

But for me, closing the window for her is by far the sweetest thing he could have done for her at that moment.

I think this bus moment is important for GWY to understand that STM is not like other girlfriends who are physically demonstrative.  He’ll have to go at the speed that’s comfortable for her. 

7. On the same page, part 4: the dinner date

I’m often convinced that Situ Mo has no romantic bone in her body.

He knelt down to place her slippers in front of her.

If I were STM, I would’ve ruffled his hair as he did so.

He wanted to go out for dinner to celebrate their “first night” as a couple together but she wanted to take a shower instead.

He turned off the lights so they could have a candlelit dinner together but she turned them back on again.

He arranged the candles to form a heart, and she laughed at it. Really! She should have shown a bit of appreciation and said something nice like, “Oh! Is this for us? This is so romantic of you!”  

He ordered beef steak for them. SHE should have at least stood up to get the dinner plates and cutlery so they could eat like civilized people. Ugh! Who eats beef steak from disposable trays?

And who eats pork chops like this? Or any kind of food?

My reaction in a gif. 🙂

Anyway, his intention was to cut the beef in so he could feed her but she ruined the mood with her command to just “dig in.”

See that? If I were Gu WeiYi, I would have been pulling my hair in frustration. Situ Mo lacks situational awareness.

Case in point: watching a horror flick together. Of course, they should hold hands! But she was so focused on the movie (and herself) that she forgot to pay attention to the guy sitting beside her who was wanting to hold her hand.

If he didn’t stand up to turn off the lights, she wouldn’t have grab him and

and remembered that he was her boyfriend.

And this is Gu WeiYi’s “callback humor” that I mentioned earlier. He asked her if she wanted beer.

And she became suspicious because she remembered the last time he got drunk on beer.

Mo: What do you want to do?
GY: There’s something we can do without beers. (and he leans in for a kiss)

And that me is the most swoon-worthy thing he said for the day. “There’s something we can do even without beers.” pwahahaha. It reminds me of that time when he — ohgoodness!  Help! I’ve a brain freeze!  I can’t remember what he said when he teased her about joining him for some hanky-panky. lol.

8. His first text!

“What are you doing?”

That wasn’t so bad.

9. Voice-activated Yuan Yuan

WY: Who is Gu Wei Yi?
YY: Master.
WY: Who is Situ Mo?
YY: Lady Master.

Awww. This is their first joint possession. Part of me finds this set-up bizarre (like, new-age-y sort of weird), but part of me finds it cute.

Whoops. Gotta run.