"Don't go chasing after happiness. Let happiness find you." Someone told Ru that awhile back & she believes it's true.
One can meet interesting people at the 7-11. Our FL is having a snack when a man points out a wallet next to her foot. It isn't her wallet. Still, they start talking. She's doctored up her ramen superbly, so she shows him how. We learn later that Yan was chasing happiness. This wasn't a chance encounter. Ep1 is fine, though it's no feelgood jaunt. By the end of ep2 it opens up to provocative & impressive depths.
These 2 start dating. Ru has a chance to go to Shanghai - for triple the pay. Yan applies for a position at a Shanghai firm - & he gets it. They start making plans, but right before they're set to go, his father lands in the hospital. Things are in complete upheaval. "Sacrifice doesn't always lead to fulfillment," her supervisor is telling Ru at work. The only reason Ru got the promotion is b/c her supervisor, married w/ kids, cannot make the move. The woman goes on about how she's not appreciated at home, they resent her working long hours for low pay, & they nitpick over everything. "I let so many opportunities pass me by b/c I married young," she complains. "I just want my life to be less mundane," Ru whines.
Yan's father will need fulltime help & the family can't afford that. Mom cannot take care of him herself. Yan won't be going to Shanghai - that was Plan-🅰. Plan-🅱 is stay in Taipei, take care of dad, & make it work. He wants Ru to stay. In fact, he wants Ru to quit her job & be dad's helper. It would ruin her career & professional reputation to back out now, though. She already accepted the position, & Yan's not even her fiance. The company will NOT u/s, her boss promises. Ru weighs her options. She weighs for days. She finally decides to "bet on Plan A." She's going to Shanghai.
Rainie Yang plays the FL, Zheng "Ru" Wei. I've only seen her in Drunken to Love You-7; she carries it. She can do that b/c she's adorable. RU is determined to make her ordinary life less ordinary. Kenny Yen portrays Tang You "Yan". I don't like Yan. He's self-centered & weak. He's certainly a wonderful son, but he's not a good bf or husband... Husband? Didn't Ru leave? How does the viewer get to see Yan as a spouse? The show alternately follows Plan-🅰 & Plan-🅱 to see how things work out.
Plan-🅱 is a mess. Yan's mother takes Ru for granted. She's horrid! Yan's sister flies home from 🇺🇲. For weeks, mom prepares She's getting herself excited. Their apartment is 3 bedrooms & Ru's been using the spare bedroom. But sister's going to need it, & Mom won't let Ru sleep in Yan's bedroom. So, Ru is going to go visit her uncle for the holiday week. Given how Ru has devoted her life to caring for dad, it's a gut-punch.
Mom will get her own gut-punch. Sister walks into the hospital room, looking West-Coast-Fabulous in thigh-high boots & a shaggy alpaca jacket. We get to watch mom's face drop as she realizes that sister is not even coming to their place! Her husband's waiting in the lobby b/c he 'hates the smell of the hospital'. He can't be bothered to come up & say "hello". They have a client in town & they'll be traveling around Taiwan w/ the client ~ even on the holiday, b/c the client's interested in local customs. Yan starts a big argument w/ sis (in English, so the parents don't u/s). She storms out. She wasn't even there 10 minutes!
Back to Plan-🅰. Ru is settled into her new place & new job when she gets wind that Yan was in a car w/ a woman. It looked "off". It looked intimate. Ru panics & submits her resignation. Her new boss, "Eason" (Johnny Lu) is sex-appeal in a 3-piece suit. His baritone is so rich he is close to a base. He probably does Barry White in Karaoke. He asks her why she quit? She's evasive. So he suggests they discuss it over dinner. He narrows it down to the issue at hand, but Ru isn't 💯% certain she's been dumped. "Your Heart probably knows the answer," he supplies. Ain't that the truth! If we're constantly running around busy & continually emotional w/out a care to logical analysis, we'll never figure it out. Stop. Reflect. Act accordingly.
I sometimes look at these situations as just a case of mistaken identity. Ru had identified Yan as a good life mate, a person who was committed to her & would be true, loving, & loyal for the length of their lives. If Yan can cheat on her so quickly, he can't be the things that she had projected onto him. She had loved a lie. What does one do when one realizes that s/he chose to believe a lie? What's going to give you more fulfillment later? An emotional scene or silence & dignity? Potential love interests can be analyzed as 1-99% propositions. It looks like Ru & Yan are a 70% match. They get along great, but fall short of being optimal. She has dreams & plans. He really doesn't. She's thinking big. He's thinking small. To be together forever ~for them~ means one or both of them will have to change - sacrifice. It's usually the woman. Invite the left brain in to analyze your love life. The right brain cannot do it alone! In Yan's case, he's probably the type that would be true - as long as everything goes well. We see who he is when he pushes Ru for sex when she's sick in bed from exhaustion (Plan-🅱 scenario). He sees her more as a possession, not a human being.
Back to Ru & Eason. "You insist on hearing him say it," Mr. Sexy Voice sounds more like a berceuse. "But why? Why should you be the one thrown away?" Why indeed. His solution: 📌❇🔸 "Don't focus on the things you've lost. Count the things that you could have." He promises to give her the next step once she learns the first one. The entire scene is riveting.
Ru starts alleviating her sense of loss w/ possessions. Shoes. Bags. Clothes. They're a temporary high, but ultimately, they leave us more empty, not more fulfilled. The Goodwill stores are full, & our hearts are empty. She says she has the things & the look that she wanted. She equates that to having the life that she wanted. The only thing she's missing is a person to eat dinner w/, she reasons. An inebriated Ru shows back up at Easton's place demanding to know the second step. She wakes up the next morning on his couch & tries to slink out, but he has breakfast set out for her. 📌❇🔸 "Break up w/ him. That's the next step." He'll later say, in the post-break-up-break-down, that they sound more like 2 people who "don't hate e/o & are afraid of being alone." He wonders if people need love or just a way to ward off the loneliness? He suggests they experiment together. "Do you hate me?" She shakes her head. "PERFECT."
📌❇🔸"Don't allow anyone in this world to really u/s you," is his next tip. "Won't that make you feel lonely?" She wants to know. "It's human nature to feel lonely," he replies. "One day, you'll have an epiphany. Even if there was a person who u/ss you completely, you would still feel lonely. Therefore, being afraid of loneliness is the most stupid thing." I know this is true. Get sick. Struggle mentally & emotionally from it. Watch all your relationships evaporate. On one level, I u/s it. I never expected anyone to be there for me, primarily b/c I never expected to be in need. My experience has turned my sights upward, spiritually, & backwards to what I learned in Sunday school. "From a really young age, I trained myself to enjoy loneliness & to enjoy the feeling of not being understood."
The primary theme is the complications of womanhood. There's a huge disconnect between the lies we've chosen to believe about how women should live their lives & reality. Like rain falls from the sky, everything falls on the woman. This is true even when she works full-time. At the end of ep1 they have a scene showing Plan-🅱, in which she becomes a wife & a mother. She's treated like a servant, nothing is good enough, & she's practically criticized for the way she breathes. At the same time, she's being pulled in a dozen directions.
Women are sneered at if they choose to be housewives, though everything a housewife does is work that must be done. It's not just full-time, it's overtime work. For career women, they're criticized for how they don't keep it together or give enough. Most careers are not fulfilling. The workplace can be dismal. Spending a third of your life in a cubicle is a level of hell. How much of what we do, do we do b/c it's expected? Are we really happy w/ our choices? Most of us seniors would do things completely differently if given the opportunity. There's no one-fits-all answer. Even if you're the CEO, it will go on w/out you. You build love & fulfillment through your family. Whether a woman works or not, that's living. Being a housewife & raising kids can be a beautiful life, but Ru isn't ready for that yet. Holding e/oback is not the way. That only generates resentment.
Plan-🅰 is fraught w/ lonliness & loss as well, though she ends up w/ plenty of money. The show continues toggling until the end. Actually, both plans work out in their own ways. Taiwan has the second highest divorce rate in Asia, & the birthrate is very low. I suspect they're trying to encourage people to stick w/ their families. The main message seems to be that life isn't easy, & it's up to us to find a way to make it work. I'm Plan-🅰 all the way. Yan & his mama can have themselves.
QUOTES🗣
Your Heart probably knows the answer.
You can't save a love that's already expired.
You have to smell w/ your nose & observe w/ your eyes, but never listen w/ your ears.
You can't exchange sacrifices for happiness. You have to find yourself first. Then, your happiness will approach you.
IMHO〰🖍
📣7.4 📝7.6 🎭7.6 💓6 🦋6 🎨6 🎵/🔊7 🔚8 🤗4.5 ▪ 🌞4 ⚡3 😅2 😭3 😱1 😯3 🤢1 🤔7.5 💤0
Shazams: a song Rainie Yang
Age 13+ Rated 15+
Re-📺? Doubtful.
