Love, Now Episodes 31-33

Big, big sorry to fellow LNAAs... I know I haven't posted anything for agggessss... But aside from uni, I also got distracted into watching The Big Bang Theory (marathoned till Season 4), School 2013 (which is awesome), The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (need the next episode!!) and... anyway, you probably don't need to hear this. I haven't exactly caught up to the series myself, so hopefully what I'm writing will still be from a non-spoilery perspective. (And hopefully comments will stay that way too!)

Ahhh... I have missed the sugar rush from our favourite OTP.

Snow is:   *whistling from the candy overdose*

Love, Now Episode 29-30

*School has started, so slow as the recaps already are, I'm afraid we're gonna get even slower *sobs* But the anticipation shall be greater! And I shall try to be more concise (what I tell myself every time lol).

We continue dealing with the fall-out from formed and broken relationships - which means general mopiness save some words of wisdom. Qi Ming spirals further into despair; Yi Ru finds support and tries to reach out to him. Fortunately, we have our increasingly reliable dose of OTP cuteness and dorkiness. People always talk about ladies who glow when in love. Methinks Shi De is the one glowing all the time now. Heehee.

Snow is:  cheering them on!

Love, Now Episode 28

I'm writing furiously these days since we're behind because I really want to get to the juicy and exciting parts that's been happening XD *tells self* you can do eeet! SO.

Maybe the drama producers decided we had an overload of cheese sugar in the previous episode, so we're in for the somber in this one. Since our OTP is officially together, that means someone else has to lick his wounds. He should probably join in with the other one, who gets no third chance. And oh! They sneakily put in the L-word, which we haven't heard despite all the drama.

Snow is:*tying on her headband*

Love, Now Episode 27

NEED I WORDS??

Snow is:rewarded *yes!!*

Love, Now Episode 26

Snow:  Hi everyone! I'm so excited to be helping out with the recaps - I've always wanted to do this but never had the balls to run a whole blog. I don't think I can be as funny, and I'll try not to be too long-winded, but I hope you guys enjoy reading this too.

[hellochloe: Bah, as if! I wouldn't be surprised if you end up stealing my thunder. Dear readers, please give a warm welcome to Snow, whom you may recognize as one of the frequent commenter here and a die-hard member of LNAA. I am so lucky to have her here, I enjoyed this post mucho and I hope you do too.]

This episode was a sort of turning point for all relationships in the show. People get rejected, people smile, people cry, people can't stop smiling, people fall sick, people worry. Kinda like those necessary set-up episodes for the fall-outs and resolutions coming. Decisions, decisions.

Snow is:preparing for the awesome.

Love, Now: Episode 25

Step back guys, make way for the new and improved Qi Ming. Actually, I'm not so sure about the "improved" part, but one thing's clear: the man had a personality makeover and is totally subdued and void of witty repartees now. Omigosh, who are you and what've you done to Qi Ming??? What happened to the sassy and boisterous character we've come to know and love? 

Love, it's a scary thing.

Chlo-Meter:

EPISODE 25 RECAP

A woman with the Kindest Face, Ever arrives at Feng Hua. True enough, she's representing the orphanage and but is tight on money. Will they accept her case? Well, she has come to the right place, because not only are they doing the video, they're doing it pro bono. It's an honor, Qi Ming says as Yi Ru and the staff looks on approvingly.

Ahahahah, having not watched twdramas in a while, I've forgotten the mandatory hero/heroine "let's visit the orphanage scene." I say this because I vaguely remember Shi De preparing to go visit in the previous episode, but my lazy behind can't be bothered to go get the footage for confirmation. So yeah, definitely an OTP meet up looming ahead. 

Meanwhile, Yi Qing is rejecting all her suitors' offers of going out, which makes Zi Yuan worried. Is she really serious about Mr. Perfect? She pooh-poohs his concerns, why so serious? She merely wants to make a new friend to broaden her horizons. Meh, whatever. There's no stopping her and she's a big girl anyway, so let's just sit back and watch her crash and burn from the sidelines. 

It is as I had predicted, but the orphanage scene still manages to surprise me: Shi De in jeans! My, how rare. Yi Ru witnesses this too, for she took over the case from Qi Ming seen he has a heavy workload (New and Improved, remember?). 

Kind Face Woman tells her that Shi De is one of their sponsors, that little kid he's carrying right now (lucky brat) has been under his care for five years, and he has been coming here regularly ever since his dad passed away.

Yi Ru looks on with wonder in her eyes, seeing Shi De in a whole new light. But she walks on without calling on him, perhaps not wanting to interrupt his time with the kids. Whut. No swinging the kids around togethar like one big happy family? 

Luckily, Shi De and his eagle eye sees Yi Ru on the sidewalk on his way back from the orphanage. Awesome. He reverses the car, oh it's really you, why don't you hop in? I'll give you a ride. And no pressure of course. Only if you want to. Yi Ru: "Okay then, sorry to bother you."

Heh, he's so surprised that she accepted his offer so readily. He can hardly contain his glee, flashing his killer smile. While driving, he kept sneaking glances at her, which has not gone unnoticed. Yi Ru: "The road is in front, why do you keep looking sideways?" Ha. That comments earns her an impish smile. 

Mr. Perfect and partner goes out for a bowling date again, but this time without the stalker. Hm, he seems to be out of it, scoring gutterballs while Shi Yun bowls a strike. Could it be that he's affected by what grandma said yesterday? She tells him not to feel pressured, you know how old people are. 

BTW, who's still amazed balls over Qi Ming's transformation? He won't even go to Yi Ru's place for dinner, because he NEEDS TO WORK OVERTIME. Buh? Yeah, you heard that right. Yi Ru even cajoled him with the faux Togepi, but it's not working.

But when she leaves, he clutches the faux Togepi and says, "You deserved this. Now that you're really serious, no one believes you." Aww. Melancholy becomes him. 

First pumpkin, now bitter gourd. A white one, mind you, it's something I didn't know existed till I went to Taiwan (it's usually light green). It's a lot of labor involved, because you need to slice it thin as the veggie is notoriously bitter (yeah, Chinese are sadistic that way. They tell you eat nasty stuff while saying it's good for you.) I wished I could reach into the screen and hand him a food processor. Would save him the trouble, just sayin'.

He excels as usual, and even Aunt is improving, because the dish is not the color of charcoal. After the lesson, Aunt has a sudden coughing fit. Psst Psst, remember what I told you, Shi De? Why do you think I'm dressed like a vixen for? 

Sigh, he has to leave without meeting Yi Ru. But he's nothing if not a dutiful nephew. Out he goes. 

... and bumps into Yi Ru. "You're home?" he beams. Then he berates himself for asking such a stupid question. Err, it's okay, Shi De. They're called rhetorical questions. 

So while Aunt does her big confession, Yi Ru is staying out here. Shi De happily accompanies her, and presents her with a tupperware of his fruits of labor. "Try it, " he says. Nuh-uh, she don't wanna. It's bitter. (LNAAs: "We'll eat the world's bitterest bitter gourd for you, Shi De.") 

He coaxes her, it's not bitter, I swearz it! Be rest assured, he has sliced it thinly. She takes a bite. And reels from the bitterness. 

Oh, look what've you done, Yi Ru! Can't you bloody fake it, now you've our Shi De sad (Also, is Papa Yang trying to sabotage him? Grrr.)

At least she still has a conscience, because she asks him, "Are you free tommorow?" He answers yes in a heartbeat, which garners a chuckle from Yi Ru. "Aren't you gonna ask me when, where and what before answering?" He tells her that he's the GM, so he can just ask Angus to clear his schedule accordingly. Hee, he can be so cheeky when he wants to be.

Love, Now: Episode 24

Back! Hi, my homies, how ya doin? Sorry for being MIA these past few days. Now that my exams are over, my PS addiction (PHOTOSHOP, not the Ji Sung movie title) has hit me full force. It's so hard to stop playing with pretty people T_T

Solli! But I haven't forgotten: Monday night is here, which means The George Hu Show is on. Ohhhhh, time to watch my cutie pie. Let's get started, shall we?

Chlo-Meter:addiction, the highway to hell.

NOW PLAYING 
Da Mouth - 国王皇后 (King and queen)  

EPISODE 24 RECAP

Um, so where were we last week? Oh yeah. The aquarium-breaking scene. Right - Yi Ru remains disbelieving. She surmises that he is only doing this because Shi De appeared, and he doesn't want to lose. Remember what you said when we broke up? That there's too many women in this world that needs your care, so it was impossible for you to love one woman wholeheartedly. That's why he didn't stop her when she said she wanted to break it off.  

Uhuh, the man has a hero complex. I didn't really feel bad for him, until she patted him and talked to him as she would to a child. 

There, there, Qi Ming. Think of it as poetic justice, those ladies whose hearts you broke. Karma, they say it's a bitch. 

We cut to Yi Ru in a supermarket. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. I haven't been this excited to see a vegetable in my life. They grab the same pumpkin. Out of so many others! Implication: they're fated. 

She learns that he's here to buy ingredients for Papa Yang's cooking lesson - he heard that she likes pumpkin soup, so he's there to learn. Looks like this is gonna be an ongoing thing. Bye bye office meet-ups, hello kitchen. 

We should have a talk, Yi Ru says. But to him, it has always been clear - he really likes her, but has been going about it the wrong way. He knows she wouldn't believe him no matter what he says. So he's going to prove it with his actions. 

With a smolder, he tells his heart has always been with her. Six years has since passed, but it will still be with her. Till forever.

And more smolder. How can she be on the receiving end of that gaze, 15 freakin' cm from his face and not combust into flames, I wonder. After a long while, she asks him for some time to think about it. 

Perhaps it was because of that, she wasn't paying attention and nearly got into YET ANOTHER accident (prone to falling, eh?). Saved by Shi De once more, and he got a free kiss as his reward. Okay, it was technically an "accident", and he got thrown into a pile of boxes as a result, but he doesn't seem to mind, so why should I? Furthermore, shoujo mangas tell me that it's always for a reason!

Both try to be professional about it, but uber fail, man. Shi De's awkward attempt at playing it cool is killing me. Riiight. Don't let me catch you flashback-ing to this moment later. All in all, a good day to go grocery shopping. 

But not so good for Qi Ming, as his has been shitty. Still thinking of her rejection earlier, he trips and falls while walking down the pedestrian bridge. Ouch, that actually looks painful. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Perfect meets up with Shi Yun. The shot lingers on the name of the cafe. Wow, they're really placing all the PP in his scenes, huh. 

Anyway, he opens up to the her - the reason why he's against marriage is because he got burned once. He's a divorcee, got married when he was 25. I hope this scene isn't too hard on Shaun Chen, who just went through one himself. 

Basically, his relationship fell apart apart - and if he were to pinpoint the exact moment,  it was when he got married. That nightmare, it took him 5 years to get out of it. Shi Yun tells him is not his fault, for he only wanted to properly love a person, but rushed too quickly into it. His ex-wife must have had a hard time herself. 

Qi Ming's at the doctor's, and whadduya know, he bumps into Lovely Doctor. He tells her his woes and she ends being the relationship advisor again: Yi Ru rejected him because she's convinced he won't change. A tiger wouldn't change his stripes, once a player, always a player. 

Oh, I see. He gets it now. See ya, he says as he limped out of the building. Doctor thinks to herself, what will Shi De do now that Qi Ming's serious? 

Answer: He sends Yi Ru a boat load of snacks with different messages written over the package like "Please be my friend." and "No matter how busy you are, please take a rest." Aww. The embarrassed Yi Ru hides the stash in her room. Yi Qing thinks him weird, why is he outside learning how to cook instead of spending more time with you? Yi Ru tells her that he's serious like that. 

Soup is ready! I guess she's nervous (chef is Shi De), because she burnt her tongue in the process. Ack! Shi De scrambles for a cup of water. Thus prompting a big collective "AWWW" from all LNAAs.

(You see that? I can't even capture his face properly, so panicky was he.)

Love, Now: Episode 23

Scenes tally up:
OTP cuddling in bed = 0
Qi Ming and Shi De = 1

Chlo-Meter:otp what otp  ♥__♥

EPISODE 23 RECAP

"Woohoo~ My innocence is coming back!" Qi Ming's all jolly after receiving a call from the illusive red shoe gal. Yi Ru wonders who it is, and the camera cuts to... 

Albee declining a colleague's offer to join her for dinner. Hm, I wonder whether she's a red herring.

Shi De asks Aunt whether he can tag along to one of her cooking classes. Papa Yang is dubious at first, but... 

Shi De: "I really want to learn how to cook. I want to make it for Yi Ru."

No hidden motives, he says, for he remembers what Papa Yang once told him: To be more flexible. Although he isn't sure how well he's doing now, but he really wants to learn. Feel the **sincerity** in every pore, Dad!

And... DAD APPROVES. He welcomes all who's sincere in learning.

Whew! That's a hurdle jumped, but it looks like there's another one - Yi Qing's back. First thing she does is take a jab at him: "No wonder I felt cold the moment I stepped in. Ice sculpture man is here." Papa Yang chides her for being rude and tells her to apologize.

Solli! she says nonchalantly. But this time Shi De doesn't glare at her, but shows her his killer smile instead. Yi Qing: "That's right, you should smile like that more often!" In her room, she calls Yi Ru and tells her to hurry home. She can't wait to see how this will go down.

News travels fast, because grandma now knows Shi De is at Papa Yang's. "He must have been touched by his sincerity," grandma concluded, all giddy.

Mom is happy for Shi De too. He has shut off a part of himself since his dad's passing, and it hurts her to see him like that. "It's so nice to see him smile and be warm again."

Meanwhile, their dish is ready. Yi Qing mistakenly assumes that the plate of charcoal was prepared by Ice Man, but Aunt corrects her, that's hers. That means... that plate of perfection is Shi De's. FISTPUMP!

Just in time, Yi Ru's home. She takes a bite as Shi De waits for her verdict. Not bad, she reluctantly says. "But I think dad's cooking is better." Oh, come on! Give credit where it's due, Yi Ru. Alas, their family bonding time comes to an end, because Qi Ming is here, announcing to all present that he has found the red shoe girl.

"Albee?" says the surprised Shi De. Qi Ming says in glee, you're out! Pah! I say. It's not like Shi De did anything wrong. Albee tells them what happened that night. She saw the both of them wasted at the bar entrance. Out of goodwill, she brought them to a hotel.

While trying to get the drunk Shi De onto the bed, her stocking got scratched, so she changed them. As for the shoe... well, she rushed outta there when Shi De in his drunken stupor tells her not to tell anyone. Shhhh. 

This is what happens when your employees are terrified of you, LOL. 

The next day, Albee received TWO pairs of the red heels she lost at the hotel, one box from Shi De and one from Qi Ming. She now has a whole new impression of the GM now, heh. They're both are so thoughtful, she says aloud. 

Feeling triumphant, Qi Ming prepares a table full of snacks, champagne, the works. Now that this matter is solved, they can be together now, he says. His employees ask, how can you be sure she'll accept you?

He replies that after knowing Yi Ru for so long, he's confident she won't be able to. "So don't be surprise if she gives me a passionate kiss later," he tells them. Oh. My. God. Is he really that delusional? 

To no surprise, Yi Ru laughs it off, not accepting his mini-sized faux Togepi plushie, including his gesture of breaking the aquarium. It made me feel bad for him, kinda. But really, what did he expect? 

Love, Now: Episode 22

aka. "It's you!" "No, YOU!"

Once again romance takes the back burner as the Sherlock brotherhood sets out to investigate the mystery of their drunken night at the hotel. Long hair, nice voice, calls him "General Manager." It's SO related to Shi De ('cause who the heck calls Qi Ming by that title), and ten bucks say it's Shi De's employee, Albee. She had dropped them off at the hotel, leaving behind a shoe and err, pantyhose. Of course, nothing explicit ever happened.

Right, right??? I swear, if this sets back my OTP in any way...

Chlo-Meter: anxious, dammit.

EPISODE 22 RECAP

Today's episode starts off on a melodramatic note. Gotta say, it's a nice insight to Shi Yun. I'm starting to warm up to her, shrill voice and all. 

Yan Kai has no clue why Shi Yun has been avoiding him (wow, really?), has he done anything wrong? Shi Yun tells him she felt stupid she hadn't realize their differing opinion on marriage earlier. He begins to apologize, but she tells him that it's not his fault. But he does anyway, because he had assumed that they were on the same page.

Shi Yun: "How can I not believe in marriage? I help people with their love troubles, with the hope that their relationship will flourish. So they could walk down the aisle and set up a family."

Besides she's 32 now (might as well be 90, the way she goes on about it), I just want a peaceful married life with someone compatible, she says. She's ready to end this, but he asks her to give him more time, please don't give up on him yet, he really wants to be by her side. 

They part after Shi Yun agrees to give them another shot. Shi De who has been standing behind the statue (by chance, he did not purposely set out to stalk), now shows himself to Yan Kai. They exchange name cards, but Shi De's not here to make friends. "If you want to be friends with my sister, don't make me your enemy." Woo, Mr. Ruthless is back! We've not been seeing this side of him for a while now. All I could think was, uh-oh Stalker Boy's in deep shit. 

Back home, Shi De tells Shi Yun he approves of him (aw, so he was just looking out for her) He just met with her man, and it looks like he's serious. To that, Shi Yun replies: Your man seemed like a good person too, you must be serious about him eh?

She mimics Qi Ming back at the hotel, "Baby, call me." He INSISTS that nothing happened. Oh, Shi De, it's not that I don't believe you... but how can you be so sure if you don't remember? :D :D

He tells her not to tell Mom until he figures out what really happened. Shi Yun: "Mom, I have something to say...." Panic eyes from Shi De as he yells, "Lan Shi Yun!"

But she continues, "... do you have red high heels I could borrow?" Ha, no one said she couldn't pull a fake out. Shi De narrows his eyes on her, oh no you didn't.

Meanwhile, at the Yang household, Dad is disappointed to hear what went down with Qi Ming. Yi Ru tells dad and lil' sis, Qi Ming is only wooing her because he does not want to lose to Shi De. Although he threw away his aquarium, mark her words, soon enough he'll come back with a bigger one. 

The next day, Qi Ming pays a visit to Hao Sheng. Now in his office, he closes the door. "How soundproof is this?" Shi De: "Not bad."

Qi Ming SHOUTS, traitor! How dare he tell Yi Ru he had something to do with the red heels and pantyhose. Shi De said he wasn't underhanded, just direct, besides, he was the one who pointed fingers at him first. Qi Ming: "It was a reasonable suspicion and a bold assumption." Shi De counters, why can't he do the same? Fair enough, Qi Ming concurs. Hee, their petty squabbling has me cackling in glee. Moar, moar!

Qi Ming's not finished: How can you pull such a cowardly move, sending your whole family to Papa Yang's cooking class to earn points. What's next, your neighbors? Of course, Shi De knows nothing about this. But there's no convincing him of that. But it's not like Shi De particularly wants to, anyway. 

So they made a bet. Whoever's the culprit will have to step down and not pursue Yi Ru anymore. 

Their first stop to uncover the truth: back at the scene of crime, the hotel. Shi De's very polite and reserved, which yunno, is not helpful in matters of persuasion where a bit of law-bending is needed. Oh, it's against your policy to reveal your guests identity? Okthanxbie! But even Qi Ming's Don Juan ways couldn't persuade the tight-lipped receptionist.

But then Qi Ming spots the usher, and after some prodding, he finally remembers something. Because Qi Ming stepped on his foot, heh. 

Oh, right. That lady was quite cute, had long hair, a nice voice and called "him" General Manager. Who does "him" refer to? Well, he does not know. Hmm, looks like this remains a mystery.

Yi Ru is at Hao Sheng to hand in the CD; looks like their working relationship is about to come to an end, sigh. Yi Ru hears that Qi Ming has gone to find Shi De just now; thinking he has done something again, she apologizes on his behalf. 

But no, Shi De says, you've got it wrong. He went to the hotel with him just now. Err, wait, that came out wrong. What he meant was, he was there with him to inquire about the identity of the patron that booked their room that night. I will prove to you I'm innocent, he says.

That earnestness of his causes her to giggle, she was only joking, why is he being so cute? But immediately she realizes she had said too much, and quickly waves it off. But Shi De heard it loud and clear. "Me, cute?" Yes, you cute, Shi De.

Back at Feng Hua, Qi Ming hands Kang Shu and ajumma a long list, it's the contact numbers of all his female acquaintances (buh? I thought you deleted them already). They're to call them and ask, "Did you open a room with Qi Ming that night?" Lulz. 

Will I be punished if I said I am now actively rooting for Stalker Boy? Though I  remain conflicted: Yay, looks like she likes him! Wait, what will happen when she falls for him. He has to fall first! Argh.

Such is the dilemma, because it looks like Shi Yun is seeing Stalker Boy in a new light after their night at the hotel. She had sent for a courier service, and it's none other than Stalker Boy's company. 

Oddly enough, he shows no signs of being a crazed stalker this time. (Maybe he just doesn't when he's working? I dunno.) It took Shi Yun several tries before he agreed to set foot into her home.

She asks him, why do you like my books? Lordy, she's interested enough to know him better now. Well, he says, I agree on many of your views in love. He babbles on, and accidentally mentions his ex-girlfriend.

She's sorry to hear this, but he's smiles and says, it's okay, I got you now.

O_O I am a distressed shipper.