I must have been a boring person in my previous life since I’ve an special affinity for dramas lacking dramas, this puppy swaying like a pendulum, and
the slow-burn romance of these past episodes.
There are no emotionally-charged upheavals in these episodes so far. The lead characters, Zhen Zhen and Peng Cheng, encounter conflict from external forces, like their clients, rather than personality clashes.
Oddly enough, even when Zhen Zhen and Peng Cheng have contrasting approach to solving their clients’ problem, their life values and work styles COMPLEMENT each other. That is, the strength of one person balances the weakness of the other. Together they produce a strong chemistry.
That’s one definition of chemistry for me: two elements (or individuals) mixing and reacting to each other, and fundamentally changing themselves into a new compound (or better persons). Note: I didn’t mention attraction because to me — contrary to popular opinions — sexual/romantic attraction is a very limited and limiting view of chemistry. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in “Men in Black” had chemistry. Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio in “Karate Kid” had chemistry. Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in “The Shawshank Redemption” had chemistry. Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment in “The Sixth Sense” had chemistry. Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde-Pierce in “Frazier” had chemistry. Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder in “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” had chemistry. Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones in “The Fugitive” had chemistry. Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards in “Seinfeld” had chemistry.
Heck. Even Harrison Ford and Chewbacca in “Star Wars” had chemistry. lol.
You see what I mean? Chemistry goes beyond the sizzling looks, breathless moments, and sexual tension.
Anyway, to continue…
The manner in which Peng Cheng and Zhen Zhen handle unexpected chaos delivered by their clients, show their admirable traits. For instance, hidden behind the brash exterior of Peng Cheng is a family man. He prioritizes family above work and money. This doesn’t seem much to go on with but then Zhen Zhen happens to prioritize family, too.
Likewise, hidden behind that goody-two-shoes image of Zhen Zhen is a real conscientious person. She won’t stop until a fair deal is reached. Again, this doesn’t seem much, but Peng Cheng wouldn’t agree to an underhand scheme. In Episode 2, his friend wanted him to be part of a shady scheme to get rid of a live-in girlfriend, and Peng Cheng walked away although he would have earned a hefty commission.
That Peng Cheng is a scrupulous person despite his lackadaisical work habit is a good sign. Zhen Zhen won’t fall with a guy who’s unprincipled and dishonest.
Their slow-burn romance allows Zhen Zhen to gradually see Peng Cheng in a new light and recognize his full worth. For so long, she’s been carrying a torch for her class senior and world-renowned Jing Ran that it’s unlikely she’s going to change her mind quickly and fall in love with Peng Cheng at first sight. But as that old proverb goes, “Constant dripping wears away a stone.”
Like a stone, her heart may be unreceptive to Peng Cheng’s advances at the moment, but eventually his persistence and innate goodness will wear her down. It’ll be fun watching her open up to him.
For instance, in Episode 5, we see her moved by Peng Cheng’s thoughtfulness.
She doesn’t know that Peng Cheng heard Aunt Bai talking to her son on the phone. He discovers that she’s the type to hide things from his son so he wouldn’t worry about her.
PC: Aunt Bai, why didn’t you tell him what happened?
Aunt Bai: I can’t tell my son I’m in the hospital. If he knew, he… he would be worried.
She starts to cry. PC is about to comfort her when ZZ walks in. She immediately jumps to the wrong conclusion and accuses him of upsetting the lady.
ZZ: Aunt Bai, what’s wrong? Shao Peng Cheng! I asked you to watch over Aunt Bai: How did you make her upset again?
PC: What?
ZZ: Get out.
Aunt Bai: It’s not…
He tries to point at Aunt Bai to indicate that it wasn’t his fault that she’s crying, but he drops it. He knows that, in ZZ’s current state of mind, he can’t convince her anyway without involving Aunt Bai.
Outside the door, he eavesdrops on their conversation.
Aunt Bai: It’s not just the Fengshui Master that got me. Once I thought of Jing Ran’s papa, my heart was just so sad. We’ve lived in that house for decades. I have a deep affection for it.
ZZ: Aunt Bai, you aren’t well. There’s no need to discuss these matters right now.
Aunt Bai: Jing Ran’s father was an especially romantic person. Once I came home from work, to find that the curtains in the house were changed to a color I liked. The sofa had been switched out for the black leather sofa that I liked. And on the table would be a vase of particularly beautiful, fresh flowers. That tree in our yard was actually planted by Jing Ran’s Papa and me. We wanted that tree to accompany Jing Ran as he grew up. In the future, when we grew old, we would sit under the tree and remember all the beautiful memories from our youth.
ZZ: Aunt Bai, you still have Jing Ran. He wants you to sell the house and live with him abroad. So he can be with you and take care of you. Sometimes a house is just a tangible structure. A family together, that’s the real home.
See there, she values a family togetherness. So does Peng Cheng…but from a different perspective. When he overhears Aunt Bai’s description of her old home, he knows what he must do. He goes back to the house and hires men to renovate the living room according to HIS restoration plans that very same night.
Aunt Bai is moved to tears when she sees the living room restored to the way her husband decorated it before. Now, to me, the noteworthy thing here is she called her husband “romantic”.
In my point-of-view, if her husband was romantic, then Peng Cheng is DOUBLY romantic. Not only did he duplicate the romantic surprise of Jing Ran’s papa, but he’s also doing it all for purely sentimental reasons — to indulge an old lady’s nostalgia. Now, if that isn’t romantic of him, then I don’t know what is.
And that’s why Zhen Zhen tears up.
However, I’m sure she is NOT going to call Peng Cheng’s action “romantic” because her concept of romance is connected to the long-distance, anonymous, infatuation she has for Jing Ran. She sees Jing Ran in a romantic light because she espied him playing the violin — in the rain, no less. Indeed he cut a romantic figure playing Jules Massenet’s “Meditation from ‘Thaïs'”.
But if only Zhen Zhen were to stop and think this through, she should have realized that some things didn’t add up with Jing Ran. This was his second visit home, and on both occasions, he was in a rush. Considering that his mother was selling their family home, he didn’t seem particularly concerned about his mother’s own feelings about leaving the home. He didn’t attempt to ascertain his mother’s readiness to move.
Compared with Peng Cheng, it’s Peng Cheng who’s more attuned to Aunt Bai’s emotions than her own son. He correctly “reads” Aunt Bai’s motives. He tells Manager and Zhen Zhen, “This old lady didn’t actually want to sell this house. That’s why she came up with these stories to scare off Miss Luo. I reckon this isn’t the first time this has happened. I’m not sure how many people she’s scared off before.”
But after he hears Aunt Bai’s teary confession in the hospital, he begins to pity Aunt Bai. Knowing that she’s reluctant to sell the house because her memories are linked to that house, he restores the house to the way it originally was in order to give her closure: to relive her memories once again before letting go for the last time.
Aside from Jing Ran’s violin playing, another sign that Zhen Zhen is confused about the meaning of romance is the cactus. Jing Ran spots her on the road, oblivious to the pouring rain, because she’s listening to her recording of his violin-playing. He’s going to the airport but he has time to bring her back to the office. She quickly runs inside the office and returns with a potted plant.
ZZ: Mr. Jing, I would like to apologize once more for the mistake I made. This pot of succulent is grown by me. I want to give it to you. As an early birthday present.
JR: (looking surprise because how did she know his birthday) ??
ZZ: Oh! Aunt Bai told me a couple of days ago that it’ll be your birthday in a couple of months.
JR: Thank you. But I can’t bring this on the plane with me. Also, I don’t quite know how to raise these types of plants. How about this? You can give it to my mom. She’ll definitely take care of it.
I thought it was foreshadowing of their ill-fated romance. For one, she has no clue who he actually is, i.e., he didn’t care for plants, since she’s admired him from afar only. She’s trying too hard. For another, he has his own timetable, e.g., a flight to catch, and she’s trying to “implant” herself in his schedule. He obviously cannot bring the potted plant on a plane but she went ahead and gave one to him. In the future, he can’t accommodate her impulsive deeds.
In comparison, the diary that she returns to Peng Cheng is well-received.
ZZ: Is this the diary you lost before?
PC: How did you find it?
ZZ: I’m not telling you. I’ll just say that I put a lot of work into getting that back. The renter told me that they used the tourism guide you’d written in there for their own travels. (lol. She doesn’t know yet that it was his mom who wrote them.) And they found a lot of interesting underwater sites using that. They were really beautiful. They said to thank you.
PC: Thank you.
ZZ: You have to give back that IOU I wrote you before.
PC: What IOU? I forgot where I put that a long time ago. You…Just know that you don’t owe me anything anymore.
She’s giving him a gift that she knows he wants, not a random plant.
One last thing to note in these episodes: the ideal types of Peng Cheng and Zhen Zhen.
Luo Zu’er is the type of girl that Peng Cheng is NOT attracted to. She’s the opposite of Zhen Zhen. Although Peng Cheng likes to call Zhen Zhen “dumb,” it’s Luo Zu’er who’s the real airhead here, and talks like a machine gun.
She’s from the same social group as Peng Cheng so they have a lot of things in common: rich, pampered, and self-centered. Personally, I find her cute and I wouldn’t have minded if Peng Cheng fell in love with her and “reformed” her (but that would be a different story entirely, haha). It’s funny that she likes to be touchy-feelly with him and he acts all prim-and-proper.
They appear at the doorstep of Aunt Bai, looking like a squabbling couple. She wants to hold his arm but he scolds her for touching him.
I like the way Peng Cheng’s eyes naturally searched out Zhen Zhen. He’s worried that she’ll get the wrong idea that he’s dating the Rich Girl.
It’s clear that he and Rich Girl are long-time friends. He nags her for her atrocious manners with the familiarity of old friends. “Don’t point! Where are your manners?… What did I just say? Are you going to look at the house? If you’re not going to look at the house, we’re leaving.…Look at the house then. Could you please not touch me…. Why are you always touching people’s things? What if you break something….Would you stop pulling on me?”
And it’s obvious as well to ZZ and Aunt Bai that the Rich Girl is buying the house for Peng Cheng. She keeps asking if HE likes the house. At point, she tells him outright, “For you, I would spend any amount of money.” lol.
When he glances at ZZ to see if the Rich Girl’s amorous advances is bothering Zhen Zhen, she only pumps her fist in encouragement. She’s like saying, “Go! Go! Go!” or “Do your best!” and “I’m rooting for you.” She can’t possibly be jealous when she’s cheering him on, right?
It’s too bad for Peng Cheng that he can’t get rid of a human equivalent of a gum-stuck-to-a-shoe because Zhen Zhen’s idol appears in the flesh at their company.
Their encounters with the OTHER love interest can’t be any more different.
When Zhen Zhen met Luo Zu’er for the first time, Peng Cheng was fending off Luo Zu’er. Zhen Zhen’s reaction? Amusement.
This time, when Peng Cheng meets Jing Ran again after their last encounter at the hotel, Zhen Zheng is tongue-tied at the sight of Jing Ran. Peng Cheng’s reaction? He side-eyes Zhen Zhen and sizes up the scene. He drags Jing Ran out of there before Zhen Zhen chats him up.
She lights up and smiles nonstop at the meeting. She’s in a state of euphoria. (lol. I get the same look when somebody offers me four scoops of my ice cream.)
To say that Peng Cheng is displeased with her is an understatement. He’s more like … disgruntled? Ah! Disgusted is the word.
He didn’t say a word, of course but he let his eye-rolling and eye-squinting do the talking. lol.
When he can’t stand her simpering at Jing Ran anymore, he calls her out of the room and scolds her. “You sell houses, not your body. Can you compose yourself? Acting all coy, whatever you’re doing.”
Hahaha. It’s funny that he mentions “selling bodies” because that’s exactly what he didn’t want the Rich Girl to think — that his body came along with the purchase of the house. But his reprimand brings her down to earth and she focuses on the work again.
There you have it. My short (lol) review of Episodes 4 and 5.
Wait! I forgot to mention the time when he scared her.
And it didn’t work. She scolded him for his childish prank.
I didn’t see him as a jerk here. I thought he was a goof-ball. He reminded me of young Macaulay Culkin in “Home Alone.”
…Except sweeter. He didn’t have to sit up with her till 2am just to scare her.
Thanks for this review! 👍🏻 Let’s go through your chemistry list- ☺️
Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in “Men in Black” ✅
Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio in “Karate Kid” ✅
Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in “The Shawshank Redemption” ✅
Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment in “The Sixth Sense” ✅
Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde-Pierce in “Frazier” ✅
Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones in “The Fugitive” ✅
Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards in “Seinfeld” ✅
Harrison Ford and Chewbacca in “Star Wars” ✅
Can we add Yang Yang and Zheng Shuang in “LoveO2O”? 😆
For the others I’m not familiar with them. Great movies there and tv series. 😉 I like what you said about how PC and ZZ has one’s strength that balances the weakness of the other. That’s how they work.
How nice of Peng Cheng to do the makeover for Aunt Bai’s house the way her husband did years ago. I thought that was really nice. Yes, I love that he didn’t resort to scheming in getting his first house. I think he has a lot of dialogues too in this drama. He says a lot of lines like Luo Zu’er 😄 She is so clingy to PC I’m like 🤦🏻♀️ But I like the way PC tells her to stop. 😄
I think when ZZ gave him his Mom’s diary is when he realised that he likes her.
I did asked myself why a cactus/ plant when you know JR is going on a flight? Thanks for your input on that one. It makes a lot of sense. I see it now. 😊
@agdr03!!!!
You got me hooked on “Where are we going, Daddy” variety show. 😂😂 I’m missing 2D1N so this is a fun replacement involving kids and dads.
Yey! I told you it was fun! 😄 Those kids and Dads have chemistry 😍😉
I can watch it again and still be happy just seeing them go through the activities. I’ve never seen a variety show this before so I got hooked easy. 😄.
What episode are you now?
I have special fondness for Puff ☺️ She’s a beautiful girl and a princess really. All of the kids are beautiful and handsome but there’s just something about Puff. 😄
6th? 7th? I don’t know exactly where I am now because I’ve been clicking on the “next” arrow.
I’m analyzing more the dads’ parenting styles based on the kids.
Puff is pronounced Puff-oh, right?
😂 I don’t who my favorite is yet, but I can’t connect with Puff-oh. Hahaha. I’m getting goosebumps when I see her because that was what my mother tried to do with me when I was young — turn me into a princess. I was scarred for life because I wanted to be a boy like my brothers (ever tried peeing standing up?!). 😂🤪😂🤪
Will write comments soon. I’m still working on Your Highness. Will transfer your comment there.
I’ve to watch this week’s episodes of Angel too. I already called in to say I’m taking today off so I’ve time to binge on dramas. The only problem is the cleaners are coming soon so I’ll have to give up my bedroom and study for them and be wandering around the house looking for a quiet spot. 😅
Deng Lun is a charmer. 🙂
I’m getting goosebumps when I see her because that was what my mother tried to do with me when I was young — turn me into a princess.
☝🏻Well you can’t blame her right? 😂 And I’ve only done peeing standing up – in the shower 🤣
Yes, Puff-oh ☺️ She’s just too cute for me. At one time she will have a fun night with Jasper’s Dad. Look at her happy face, it’s just 😍 for me. Lucky I’m not pregnant or else she’d look like my child, doesn’t matter if boy or girl. 😂
There’s only 12 episodes and your already on 7. 😄 You’re so busy with the dramas so it’s great you can just take the day off to binge 👍🏻
I’m waiting for episode 19 of Your Highness but still nothing.
I reckon maybe you’ll like NeiNei or Little Mangosteen.
Ooohhh I second that, Deng Lun is a charmer. A handsome charmer. ☺️
Wait is Ep 19 coming out today or tomorrow? I thought it was a weekend show? Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
I don’t find him “handsome” — I told you he reminds me of young Macaulay Caulkin (and look how he turned out. Ugh!). but he makes me laugh so he’s fine. I laughed out loud at that egg/respect-the-elder lesson. One of the dads already swallowed and un-swallowed the egg but Deng Lun was forced to eat it. He said he only ate the yolk part.
Smarty-pants.
I kinda like Jasper because I feel sorry for him. Little Mangosteen (I had to look up what a mangosteen was. hahaha. I thought it was a little mango!) has a crush on her own dad. Awwww.
I found Neinei’s syncopated English accent jarring in the early episodes. It was like listening to Bach’s “Minuet in G” played hip-hop style, if you know what I mean. But now I’ve gotten used to it.
I can’t remember when YHCM’s episode comes out. 😬 I’m waiting because Zi Chen, Nian Nian and the girl that likes ZC are finally together in that last scene in episode 18. I want her to be sorted already 😄
True about old Makaulay Caulkin but Deng is handsome. Not as handsome as Yang Yang though. 😄 That egg activity was funny but he was smarty pants. He’s actually in another variety show, don’t know the name but it’s like an escape room where you need to figure out how to get out. I think that’s the premise.
Oh, it’s probably only Asian countries that has mangosteen ☺️ I want to know why she was nicknamed Little Mangosteen 😊
Jasper is cute too. I’m not sure what you mean with Bach’s ‘Minuet in G’ but I know hip hop 😄 Max is a handsome boy too.
Your close to when the Moms come in for a whole episode. That’s fun too.
I’ll leave it here. Have a great binge-ing day! ☺️
Okay, see you later. I’m on wordpress right now writing the write-up for Your Highness. Every time you post a comment, it pops up. lol.
I’ve never seen a mangosteen before. lol. The fleshy inside of the fruit looked like cotton flower to me.
I like the dad with the two kids. Who’s he again? He’s casual and playful with his kids.
What I find very interesting to watch is the dads’ concept of “being a man.” lol.
Howdy! How is everyone? 🙂
Daddy Wu Zun is the Dad of Neinei and Max 🙂 He’s a singer too apparently, I only noticed him in Martial Universe. 🙂 He is very casual and never told off his kids.
Have you finished it already?
The concept of ‘being a man’ hehehe Did you see in the first episode when Enheng kissed Puff-oh? Enheng’s Dad said you never kiss a girl unless you’ve asked permission. hehehe
Oh mangosteen is very nice. 🙂
I didn’t have time for any dramas or even P&P 1995 this weekend because I was too busy with Grandma’s 97th birthday, lunching with friends, sister’s birthday and catching up with my 3 year old niece. LOL!
I hope everything is OK with you, @packmule3. Just wanted to let you know that USAFarmgirl is back over at Soompi forums. Apparently, her accounts were hacked and she was off the grid for a while but things are better now. You can see her posts at the Add & Subtract Game forum. It was good to see her back on the boards again and also reassuring to know that she wasn’t harmed physically or anything like that.
@Table122000 I am very worried about @packmule3. It is very unlike her not to pop in to say she’s busy or on holidays or won’t be posting in a bit. I am just hoping that it’s just that she’s busy in real life and nothing untoward has happened ☹️
@nrlee
Yes, I’m worried about @packmule3 as well since it’s been 2 weeks (and counting) since she made a new post or a new comment. Now you say she usually comments if she will be taking a hiatus. Very distressing. Like you, I hope that she is just busy with real life and nothing bad has happened to her. I think these comments are moderated and must be approved before they are posted, right? If so, we can take heart that @pm3 is pressing the OK button, right? Not sure about how the comments work here.
@agdr3 @table122000 @nrlee
I see that I’m not the only one concerned by the long silence.
Although I’ve not been been here long, I already garnered the fact that @packmule3 will always leave a note to let her readers know when she has something on. The total silence is worrying.
I hope the rest of us are well and that all’s well too with @packmule3. When there’s nothing much else to do, we wait and pray.Take care all!
GB
Hi all.
Agree. Please, let’s include @packmule and her family in our prayers because like everyone said, it’s not like her to not tell us whether she will be on a work trip or holiday. I have emailed her too since last week but still no response.
Thank you and God bless.
Righty ho! Started with the 🙏. For @packmule and family and all our intentions.
Amen! 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks GB.
🙏🏻
Hi All, here’s a suggestion from an online friend of mine.
Do any of you know if @packmule has a Twitter/FB or other social media account? If so, someone could post to the account and people who know her in real life and follow her, might respond.
In email, unless it’s sent to a group, she’ll be the only one able to respond.
🙏 and Blessings!
GB
I vaguely remember her ranting one time that she couldn’t use Twitter and had problems with Instagram (?) so I don’t think she’s active there. I tried searching and no joy. ☹️There’s a gmail account here in the Contact Us section but @agdr03 seems to have already tried that route with no success. I guess the only way we will know is if she reaches out to us like USAFarmGirl with a new account in the other forum (Add Subtract). I hope it’s something innocuous like what happened to USAFarmGirl and she got hacked and is just trying to figure out some way to retrieve her data/account here. I remember her saying she had to vet comments so my comments usually don’t show up straight away after I comment but I noticed that since she’s disappeared, my comments seem to be appearing as soon as I post them?
Hi. Her Twitter account is @crankypackmule3 . Her last tweet was on June 8.
I’m not sure about the posting of comments here in the blog but I thought if it does appear then she’s read/quarantined it already? I’m not techie so I don’t know.
I’m guessing that the comments auto post is on, so that’s why we see our comments immediately. But maybe there’s a way to only trap comments that have certain undesirable words in them. Those are the ones that need to be vetted/moderated before ‘release’.
@packmule ! We all miss you so much!
It’s been awhile now. 😞
We’re still waiting for you!
@agdr03 A few of us on DB have also mentioned @packmule’s absence and are wishing and hoping all’s well and she can come back online.
@packmule, we’re praying for you!
GB
@agdr03, @Growing Beautifully
Yes, still hoping that @pm3 is OK and will return soon with an update.
Thanks for letting us know that you mentioned on Dramabeans, @GB. I asked today at Soompi forums if anyone knows about her. I will post here if I get any response.
We are all missing you, @packmule3!
I’m home. 🙂
Thanks, @growingbeautifully.
I thought I’d never get home, too. One minute I was sipping pina colada (or was it limoncello?) in the backyard, then the next minute I had to arrange to fly out. When duty calls, I ship out. At least, it was only a few weeks. Last year, I was gone for three months.
The nice thing is I was able to visit really out-of-this world temples on my days off. Hahaha. Don’t be surprised if you discover that I was converted and switched religions or something.
I missed you too. The funny thing was I was actually closer to you all.
What are you watching? I finished watching “Hotel del Luna” on the flight. I was even able to write some things down but wait till tonight to post. Jetlag. I’m hyper right now.
Thank Heavens you’re back safe and it was nothing worse!!! Yes, I prayed and so “Thank You God!” That’s scary… having to up and disappear without a word for weeks and months. Heh! I’ve got lotsa temples here, maybe you passed by me in the streets and we never knew!
I’m watching Hotel Del Luna (and fan-walled about the clothes and accessories… first time ever, I swear!). Love IU in it … a bit hesitant about Yeo Jin Gu… I feel he has to get more into the skin of it somehow.
Started and may continue watching Doctor Detective. It’s tough to watch because my soft heart fails at all the harsh RL things that powerless people go through and the unfairness of victim blaming etc vs the conglomerate that protects itself. Rooting so hard for the team to succeed in all the cases.
Tried a HK drama but it’s not quite there yet in terms of writing, plot development and definitely not in character development.
Skip watched the cdrama, The Brightest Star in the Sky and continue to like the FL character for her integrity, clear-mindedness and perseverance. I liked the portrayal of the music industry and what goes on behind the scenes (I find it more interesting than the Real Estate business in My True Friend). However the romance was late and a little lame and the kidnap drama at the end came out of left field just to prolong the end, I think. So I won’t recommend it except for some of the OSTs that I actually listen to.
My word packmule3 you had us all thinking the worse! Don’t ever do that again please. We were all lighting candles and praying. 🙂. At least give us some warning. 😬
I started Hotel Del Luna and dropped it after Ep2 in favor of Doctor John (with JiSung). Also on the Designated Survivor 60Days ship…been on it since day1. Only 2 dramas.
So glad that you have returned @packmule3! And that you are OK. You scared me. We all missed you. I’m watching Taiwan drama Before We Get Married. So addictive! I’m still trying to find a K Drama to watch.