Remember the JOMO (or the Joy of Missing Out)!

1. Writer’s block

After his awkward date with Shiyi and her friends, Zhousheng Chen (ZSC) sits in front of his laptop with the screen showing a blank email. His friend Mei Xing (MX) teases him.

MX: You’ve been staring at the screen for the whole night, but you haven’t typed a word. (standing up to approach him) What’s so important (ZSC snaps his laptop shut) that you are so cautious about it?
ZSC: Just a girl I recently met.
MX: You have a lady friend that I don’t know?
ZSC: I’ve just met her, and I’ve only seen her three times by chance.
MX: Is she the kind that would marry you? (making a heart sign with his fingers)
ZSC: (annoyed) I notice that when it comes to my marriage you are more anxious than anybody else. She came to Xian on a trip. She’ll leave the day after tomorrow. I want to write her an email to say goodbye but I’m not quite sure how to word it.

Comments:
a. MX is right that ZSC is feeling cautious about emailing Shiyi. He isn’t good with words (just like that husband whom Xiaoyu interviewed).

ZSC says that he wants to write a goodbye email BUT I think he doesn’t want to say goodbye just yet. Furthermore, I think he wants to meet her again before she leaves Xian. But because of his reserved personality, he doesn’t know how to ask her out. He doesn’t want to sound too formal, too casual, or too desperate.

b. Zhousheng Chen describes Shiyi as a girl that he “recently met.” That’s not exactly true. He’s been exchanging emails with her for the past six months. But he doesn’t want to let MX to know about it. ShiYi wasn’t shy to tell her friend Xiaoyu about their long-distance communication.

c. Zhousheng Chen is downplaying their interaction: saying that they met “three times by chance.” The third time wasn’t accidental because they planned it.

d. Zhousheng Cheng found MX’s teasing (especially the heart sign) cheesy. I notice that whenever his male friends embarrass him, he becomes snappy with them. Best defense is offense.

MX: (sighing) Who would write emails nowadays? My suggestion. Give her a call or ask her out for dinner. That’s what normal people would do.
ZSC: (opens his laptop)
MX: One last question. What’s her name?
ZSC: Shi Yi.
MX: (breathing deeply) Shi Yi.

My comments:

a. ZSC doesn’t take his best friend’s advice…at least, not right now.

b. I prefer his choice of action. His response is more romantic because it’s personalized. Anybody can invite Shiyi to dinner but only he would remember about his promise at the Temple to lend Shiyi his guidebook. He even wrote notes in the book to tell her about the city. After that, he went to her hotel to hand it to her. To me, he went out of his way to try to get to meet her again before her departure.

b. Mei Xing’s tone of voice when he said Shi Yi’s name suggests that there’s a backstory here. Maybe he was the bad second male lead in the previous lifetime.

2. Mei Xing and Shiyi’s near-miss encounter at the city wall

The next day Shiyi visits the Ancient City Wall.

She sees a vision of herself, dressed in a red bridal dress, jumping off the high ramparts. She’s roused from her daydreaming by Xiaoyu who asks her if she’s thinking of the ZSC.

She explains that the Junior Prince had one soul mate who was the Crown Princess. It was said that after he died, she jumped off the building and died for love.

While she recounting the story to Xiaoyu, Mei Xing spots her from a distance. He’s also touring the place. It goes without saying that he’s taken by her beauty. Unlike Zhousheng Chen, who walked past her at the airport security, he falls in love with her at first sight.

He tries to take a snapshot of her as she and Xiaoyu begin to walk away. He chases after them but too late! They elude him.

Hmmm…I didn’t watch the prequel of “Forever and Ever” but I’m sure Mei Xing’s chance encounter of Shiyi at the Wall is fated, too. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one who caused her to jump off because he cornered her or something. But in this lifetime, just like in the past, he still can’t have her love.

3. Getting his phone number

Shiyi and Xiaoyu return to their hotel and Zhousheng Chen misses them at the lobby by a few seconds. Since he doesn’t know her room number nor her phone number, he can’t deliver the guidebook to her directly. He’s about to turn away when the receptionist offers to give the package to her if he leaves it behind with ShiYi’s name.

Meanwhile, Shiyi calls the front desk to get help printing some materials for her job.

She goes to the reception desk and misses Zhousheng Chen by a few seconds again. When the receptionist sees her name, she hands over package. Shiyi learns that ZSC just left so she runs outside, hoping to catch up with him.

But he’s nowhere to be seen. Unknown to her, he’s crouching down to buy live crabs from a street vendor.

Side comment: When I saw that street vendor and those “pets” he was selling in those little cages, I immediately thought of coronavirus. Goodness! This man must be violating a number of health codes.

Back in her room, Shiyi looks through the guidebook then fires off an email, “I got the book. Could you give me your lab number? I want to give you a call.” Unlike ZSC, she doesn’t waste a minute thinking about what to say to him.

In his corner of the world, he stares at the screen then types his phone number.

She calls him straight away.

SY: Hello? May I speak to…
ZSC: (interrupting) You got the book?
SY: Yes. Thanks.
ZSC: The book is quite nice. It’s not like those travel books published just for money, and there aren’t ads inside.
SY: I’ll read it carefully. I saw there were many people at the bus station that day. It took you a while to finally get on.
ZSC: It was my first time riding a bus. I didn’t expect it’d be that crowded.
SY: I was going to give you a ride. But it turned out you guys left early, and we had to trouble He Shan to call us a cab. (she pauses)
ZSC: (smiling) No trouble at all.
SY: You didn’t do it, so of course you’d say so. Please thank him for me.
ZSC: (not saying anything)

Comments:

a. His excitement is notable. She’d barely got a word in when he interrupted her to ask about the book.

b. He doesn’t like commercialization. He’s very mindful of Chinese culture and tradition.

c. The fact that it was his first time riding a public bus should have alerted SY of his privilege upbringing. Did he always take the car then?

d. Shiyi doesn’t really want to talk about the book. After thanking him, she quickly changes the topic to the private taxi he hired for them.

e. She’s baiting him. After she mentions that He Shan called the cab for them, she pauses as if she’s waiting for his comment. When he answers “No trouble at all,” she takes it as a confirmation that it was him who ordered the cab. It wasn’t really any trouble for him because he’s thoughtful that way.

f. She deliberately misinterprets. She teases him that for HIM, it was no problem because he did nothing. But she knows the truth because she actually saw him talking on the phone. It shouldn’t take her long to figure out that he borrowed He Shan’s phone and made the call himself.

When she asks him to thank his assistant for her, he doesn’t reply anymore because it’s understood that she’s thanking him.

Overall, I like their phone conversation because they’re developing a language of their own. Since they’re sharing new experiences, they’re getting to know how the other person thinks and they can add a layer of meaning or subtext to their conversation that’s understandable only to them.

At this point, their conversation could have ended since she already expressed her gratitude. But he seems unwilling to end their talk so he continues the small talk.

ZSC: So, are you having a good time in Xian?
SY: Yes. I went to the Ancient City Wall today? Have you been there?
ZSC: (sighing) The Ancient City Wall? I haven’t had time to visit that place.
SY: Then I recommend that you go there. You can get a very nice view of the city standing up there. Most importantly you can feel the history of that place.
ZSC: Sure. I’ll visit that place when I have time.

Her friend Xiaoyu becomes impatient and coaches her on what to say next.

Xiaoyu: Say something flattering. What are you talking about?
ZSC: Is your friend beside you?
SY: It’s Hong Xiaoyu.

When he realizes that their conversation isn’t private, he becomes shy again. He wants to hang up but ShiYi improvises.

ZSC: Then I’ll go back to work.
SY: Ok.
Xiaoyu: (whispering) Ask him out. Tell him you are leaving!
ZSC: Goodbye!
SY: I’ve been curious about what the institute looks like. Could you show me around?
ZSC: The institute is kinda boring actually….But I happen to have some time today. I think I can give you a tour.
SY: Okay! Then I’ll go look for you. Right now!
ZSC: Here’s my address.

Noteworthy:

a. Shiyi is the “pursuer” in this relationship. She’s more assertive and bold in going after him.

b. However, this doesn’t mean that he isn’t interested in her. Take for instance this  rendezvous at his lab. She suggested it but he’s receptive to the idea. In fact, he’s going out of his way to meet her at his lab when he’s already working from home.

4. Her secret joy

While she waits for him at the gate of his institute, her manager calls her up to check on her return home. Her manager asks her if she secretly married a low-key rich guy because she dropped everything to go to Xian.

Her manager’s comment tells us that Shiyi wasn’t really free to go on this trip with Xiaoyu but she was willing to leave it all on the off-chance that he would appear.

Shiyi defends her decision by reminding her manager that she took only one holiday this year. Besides, she says she isn’t interested in rich guys. Her manager asks her what kind of guy she likes then.

Shiyi pauses for a moment. Before she can think of a response, Zhousheng Chen comes out from behind a post and walks towards her.

Smiling, Shiyi tells her manager, “The person I like must be a professor, and he must be a chemistry professor.” Her manager is confused but Shiyi hangs up.

Then, the professor in question stops before her, and says, “You’re here.” She nods yes.

I like this moment because it’s her secret and private joke. Nobody but her understands what she’s talking about. Her manager thinks she’s joking but she cannot be more serious. This is the guy that she likes and has been waiting for in this reincarnated life.

Thus, when Zhousheng Chen tells her, “You’re here,” – meaning, she arrived at the gate of his institute – there’s a another context. It signifies that SHE found HIM.

She’s smiling because she’s finally reached her destination.

On their way in, she tells him that he looks a little different that day. She can’t describe how, though. I think she’s alluding to his aura. He looks like a distinguished professor.

He gives her a tour, and he impresses her with his straightforward explanations. His assistant appears

Assistant: They told me that Professor Zhousheng brought a lady here. I immediately thought of you.
SY: You’ve never brought a friend here?
ZSC: No never.

Shiyi smiles at that bit of info. The Assistant invites her to dinner and urges ZSC to be a good host and treat her to a meal.

I think the Assistant’s comment stirred him to action.

ZSC: Would you like to have dinner with us?
SY: I’m free tonight but I want to look around a little more. May I?
ZSC: Then let’s go to dinner after touring the lab.

I’m glad that she said that she wanted a tour first because that was the main reason she dropped by anyway.

5. Memorize her phone number: 1314 11 520 99

Lol. I’ll teach you how to memorize her number in a bit…

At the dinner, everything goes well until ZSC leaves the table to pay the check. His Assistant offers to pay because the dinner was his idea, but ZSC refuses.

I don’t think ZSC intends to show off. Judging by the way he made sure that Shiyi ate well and enjoyed herself, I think he wants to be a good host. It wasn’t enough that he was a good host when he toured Shiyi at the lab, he also wants to be a good host at dinner because it’s her last night at Xian. He wants to send her off well.

But while he’s gone to pay the bill, one of the guests asks Shiyi if she’s his girlfriend. She answers no. Then, another guest mentions that he already has a fiancée. Needless to say, Shiyi stiffens at this piece of gossip. ZSC overhears the chatter but doesn’t say anything, and Shiyi excuses herself.

SY: I still have things to do. I have to go now.
ZSC: Let me take you back.
SY: No. It’s okay. I can easily get a ride.
ZSC: It’s already late. It’s not safe for you to go back alone.

Short of arguing with him, she has no choice but to leave with him. They ride home in silence. She rolls down her window and looks outside again – just like she did in Episode 1.

No doubt she’s despondent because she found the love of her life, Zhousheng Chen, but he’s marrying another person.

At her hotel, she forces a smile and bids him a curt goodbye. She heads for the door without waiting for his response. So he starts talking to her back. “I heard the conversation between you and my students at the restaurant. They misunderstood the situation. It’s not true. I am thinking about getting married, but I haven’t found the one I want to marry yet.”

To me, he sounds like he’s blabbering. He doesn’t want her to leave without clearing the air between them.

She smiles again. She looks happier. She nods and utters, “Uh” – which I guess means, “Okay” in Klingon. She follows it up with, “Okay, I’ll head inside.”

He doesn’t say a word, but he still looks dejected. Given that he has poor social skills, he’s probably wondering whether she believes him or not.

He doesn’t expect her to turn around and walk back to him.

SY: Do you believe in fortune-telling?
ZSC: Fortune-telling? Technically, I do not believe in it but if the results are good enough, I’d subconsciously tell myself that it’d come true.
SY: May I read your palm?
ZSC: You know how to read palms?
SY: I’ve learned a little. Kinda useless though, it may not be correct.

Comments:

a. I like Shiyi because she’s got game. While Zhousheng Chen appears hesitant or at a loss for words, Shiyi isn’t a shy thing. She knows how to take charge and handle the situation.

b. The fortune-telling trick is a great way to flirt with him without sounding…well, brazen.

c. She accomplishes two things here. First, she gets to hold his hand. Second, she lets him know that she’s interested in him.

ZSC: (offering his palm to her) What do you see?
SY: (smiling) I can see your past.
ZSC: My past?
SY: Mmm. Do you believe in reincarnation? We knew each other in a previous life.
ZSC: (speechless)

She’s indirectly telling him that if he’s looking for that woman to marry, then he’s found her; she’s that woman.

SY: Just kidding. Hope you don’t mind.
ZSC: I believe you. It’s fate that brings people together.

Remember what he just said. He said that strictly speaking, he doesn’t believe in fortune-telling. However, he’d allow himself to believe in it, IF THE RESULTS WERE GOOD. lol. In other words, he likes the idea that they’ve met before, in a past life, so he’s going to believe her words. If she says they met in a previous life, then it must be true. They’re fated to meet each other.

SY: (thinking to herself) I can’t believe this is something he would say.
ZSC: So you’ll leave tomorrow?
SY: I have a lot of work waiting for me. I have to go back.
ZSC: Could you please give me your phone number? Then when I don’t have internet access, I can at least call you.
SY: (stunned)
ZSC: Uhh… It’s okay if you mind it.
SY: I don’t mind! But you don’t have a cell phone and I didn’t bring pen and paper. (turns to go inside the hotel) Wait a second.
ZSC: It’s okay. Just tell me and I’ll remember it.
SY: 1314 11 520 99

Lol. I don’t know Chinese but I had a pager (which was widely used in the 1980s, lol). I know that a sequence of numbers could be used to send “I love you” or some private message.

Shiyi’s phone number is actually a series of coded text.

According to wiki Chinese internet slang

1314 means “Forever” or “one life, one world”
11 is Shiyi’s name in Chinese.
520 sounds like “wo ai ni” which means “I love you”
99 means “the wish for a couple to be together for a long time.”

And that’s how easy it is to memorize her number.

When you think about this, when she said her number and he repeated it, they were actually saying “I love you forever and ever” to each other. Ugh!

ZSC: Got it.
SY: Then, I’m leaving. Careful on your way back.

6. The poetry

Upon her return to Shanghai, her manager interrogates her on her special man. But apart from his job as a scientist, she knows next to nothing about him. She doesn’t think he’s from Xian because he said he was leaving that week. She guesses that he’s going home. She tells her manager that she can’t be too inquisitive about him. Her manager is worried to know that he isn’t from Shanghai either. All her jobs are based in Beijing, Shanghai and Guanzhou, and if he’s based anywhere other than these three cities, she’ll have to be traveling between jobs a lot.

SY: Don’t you think you’re worrying too much?
Manager: People that don’t plan ahead will face troubles. You can’t go further until you’ve solved the practical problems. Otherwise, you’re just wasting time. You need to ask him about his home and family in a subtle way.

Comments:

a. As I told @Good Twin, there’s a trope that’s unique to Cdramas because the romance inevitably spans multiple cities. In Kdramas, the romance takes place in one location. Generally, the setting is Seoul. (In Lee Minho’s “The King: Eternal Monarch,” Busan was the capital for the parallel universe.) But in Cdramas, the male and female leads can be in different cities. So one trope that we’ll regularly encounter in Cdramas is the driving trope. It’s proof of the man’s love if he can travel in a car, for hours, across hundreds of miles, to reach the woman.

b. There’s a foreshadowing. The conflict in this drama stems from his home and family.

After her conversation she calls him up and is told that he already left Xian. Since she only has his office number, she’ll have to contact him again by email or wait till he calls her up on the phone.

That night, she sits by the window in her bedroom.

I’m not sure if she’s memorizing a script or writing a journal on her laptop when she narrates, “In the library, there was an unfinished poem of hers. She even took it as one of her secrets. After she grew up, she started to understand the real meaning of the poem. ‘The woman’s beauty is offered, while the man’s soul is taken. For the affinity between one another, the heart is overturned.’ She’s given her beauty and soul, and I’m head over heels in love with him.”

You know that I’m not a literature major, right? I don’t let this fact stop me from analyzing poems, though. “The woman’s beauty is offered, while the man’s soul is taken. For the affinity between one another, the heart is overturned.”

I think this poem idealizes love. She offers her beauty, which we know is ephemeral and fleeting, and takes his soul, which we know is enduring and eternal. But because there’s this union and harmony between them, nothing is really lost between them. Everything is gained and shared, and the heart is overjoyed.

That’s my interpretation of the poem.

7. Lastly, inviting her out for dinner 

As Shiyi surmised, Zhousheng Chen left Xian to return to his family in Zhenjiang. His friend Mei Xing went him.

Back home, he’s given a warm welcome by his younger sister, Zhou WenXing (WX), younger brother Zhou Wenchuan (WC) and his fiancée, and the youngest in the family Zhou Shengren (Ren). His mother nags him to find a wife. He tells everyone, “The girl I love hasn’t showed up yet. It can’t be forced.”

WX comes to his defense, but their mother insists that she’d like to see him marry in May. To this, Zhousheng Chen firmly answers that he’ll make his own decision about his marriage. WC reminds their mother that he’s the one getting married in April. She should attend to his wedding first. His fiancée Jiaren looks grim.

WC then brings his older brother to a meeting with their elders. They’re waiting to hear from Zhousheng Chen about the new direction their family corporation under his leadership. ZSC announces that a shift in corporate mission.

ZSC: In recent years, we’ve been investing in overseas projects, like buying properties and utility companies. This has already shaken the foundation of our family business. For generation, our family has always had our foundations rooted in national industries no matter in times of prosperity or decline.

Furthermore, he’s planning an investment meeting in the following month to attract investors to develop the domestic manufacturing sector. He’s hosting the investment meeting to announce that their corporation is going to redirect their investment funds to domestic manufacturing. To this end, he would like to have the full support of the elders.

In other words, his corporate vision is “China First.” Lol. Sounds familiar?

His proposal doesn’t go over well with the elders. They tell him he should get rested first and he shouldn’t make a hasty decision. Then, one by one they exit. He cuts a lonely figure in the great hall.

Alone that night, he recalls Shiyi’s parting words in Xian. She told him that they knew each other in their previous life. He reflects on it.

Then BITES his lip. That’s a mannerism that this actor deliberately used to define his character. Whenever Zhoucheng Shen is pondering over something or is embarrassed, he bites his lower lip.

Note: This is NOT like that hair-flipping tic that Kim SeonHo does in “Hometown Cha Cha Cha.”

Then he decides to go to Shanghai.

Driver: Where are we going?
ZSC: Uncle Lin, how long does it take to drive from here to Shanghai?
Driver: Driving during the night would take longer. Four hours. We’d get to Shanghai at about 11:00 tonight.
ZSC: Let’s go to Shanghai.
Driver: Right now?
ZSC: Yes.
Driver: For work?
ZSC: To meet a friend.
Driver: You have a friend in Shanghai?
ZSC: Let’s go.

On the way there, he calls ShiYi a few times but she’s dubbing. When she comes out of her studio, her assistant hands her the phone. She calls up the unfamiliar number.

SY: Hello, who’s this?
ZSC: It’s me. Zhousheng Chen.
SY: Oh, it’s you.

ZSC: Are you done with work?
SY: I just finished. That’s why I missed your call.
ZSC: It’s okay. (then hesitantly) If you have time, would you like to have supper with me?

There! He finally listened to Mei Xing’s advice. This is what normal people do.

SY: (without hesitation) Sure! Where?
ZSC: Tell me your address. I’ll go pick you up.
SY: It’s okay. You can send me the address of the restaurant. I’ll meet you there.
ZSC: Let me pick you up.

He gets brownie points for this. He’s insisting on picking her up because he knows it’s late for a girl like her to be going around on her own in the city.

SY: Okay. I’ll send you my address in a bit.
ZSC: Okay. I’ll let you know when I’m there.
SY: Bye.

And of course, she runs out to meet him. She stumbles and he’s there to catch her from falling.

She notices that he’s dressed in a suit and tells him that he looks different. I think she keeps on noticing that he “looks different” because in the back of her mind, she’s expecting to see him in traditional garb. Lol.

ZSC: Because of the suit?
SY: Mmm.
ZSC: This is what I usually wear when I’m not at the institute. Does it bug you?
SY: Not at all. It fits you.

I’m sure though in the future, he’ll be wearing more relaxed outfit to match her. But he’ll wear suits on important days because she said she liked him in suits.

She wonders about the chauffeured car they’re riding in. (It’s a Mercedes-Maybach.) and dismisses it as a perk of his new job.

SY: Did you meet someone important before this?
ZSC: A few elders.
SY: (thinking to herself) Why does he always give short responses that lead to nowhere?

Lol. “A few elders” is an understatement. He could hardly tell her that he had a frustrating meeting with the elders of his company who rejected his proposal and set him running to her.

She calls him “weirdo” in her mind. But luckily for him, she doesn’t mind that because she’s besotted with him.

And she smiles like the cat that got the cream.

The episode ends here. I think it’s funny how it took him this long to follow Mei Xing’s advice to just pick up the phone and ask her out for dinner.

That’s it. I’m not going to edit this (sorry, grammar nazis!) because I’ve other dramas to review now.