Love, Now: Episode 21

aka. Will The Owner of The Red Shoe Please Stand Up?

If dramas were to be believed, hotels in Taiwan must be a virtuous place where people check-in only to spend the night sleeping. Really! Nothing happened! Orgies, what orgies?

Chlo-Meter: suuuure.

NOW PLAYING
Claire Kuo - "我們都能幸福著" (We can be happy too)

EPISODE 21 RECAP
(Yes, a replay of the hotel scene! Show is so good to us.)

Back to reality... grandma and mom spent the night worrying about the kids' whereabouts.

Looks like they came back in one piece. What happened??? Shi De suddenly has a kink in his neck, and I think something got to his eye too. Oh right, mom says, didn't you went out with Cai Rong yesterday night? Don't tell me, the two of you...

Aunt is DEVASTATED ("Lan Shi De, how can you do this to Yang Yi Ru!"). Shi De has a conflicted face on, it's rather comical. It's not like that, he says. We parted halfway... or at least, I think so...

"You think so?!" they boomed. He excuses himself before they could pry further. With great relunctance, big sis tells them that this morning, she saw him coming out of a hotel... with a man. Aunt couldn't even say the word, You mean he's ggggggg-

A theory immediately dispelled by grandma. Mom agrees, it must be a misunderstanding. Must be! And that's that.

At the opposite end of the trust scale, Qi Ming is having trouble convincing Yi Ru that nothing happened yesterday, having forgotten that he drunk dialed her for help yesterday.

Yi Ru's all, you called me but you weren't there, must have followed a chick home, eh? Qi Ming panics, thinking Shi De told on him. He's innocent! he says, Shi De's the one who brought a chick back, and she wore red high heels.

Keep talking, you're only digging your grave deeper, man. 

(Also: Not surprisingly, he has let out all his school of fish to the wild, thus symbolizing that he is now a one-woman man. Funny how the staff's immediate conclusion is that it got stolen. The economy is that bad, they conclude.)

Oh look, Cai Rong is here. To explain things, I hope. M'kay, after a good night's sleep (funny what sleep deprivation does to your mindset), I've concluded it's probably not a hooker, but a random girl at the bar. Also, why aren't the guys suspecting Cai Rong? Is she that forgettable? Ha.

I was in a serious Sherlock-ing mode, but totally got sidetracked when Lovely Doctor brings out a great big giant... OMFG YAY! He won yesterday! He is happy, I am happier: 

Shi De lighting up like a Christmas tree as he receives the giant guinea pig plushie from Cai Rong. (In my not-so-humble opinion, it is way cuter than Qi Ming's gift. Eat dust, ye fake Togepi with the creepy stare!)

Shi De nearly spits out his coffee when he sees Cai Rong's shoes. Did she happen to wear this red heels yesterday? The puzzled Cai Rong answers no. She left them since they both refused to leave. Okay, now I am alarmed. WHO the heck was it yesterday?

Yi Ru walks in on them both. She hands the CD to his assistant and starts to leave, but luckily, Angus calls her (i.e "Manager Yang") out loud, which alerts Shi De to her presence.

Yi Ru sees doctor's red shoes. "So, you were the one that went out with them yesterday?" For once Lovely Doctor does not look amused, thank God for that. Shi De explains, sincerity in his every pore (no, I swear I'm not bias), everything that went down yesterday. The whole friggin' truth, down to the red shoe and pantyhose bit.

He's so solemn as he explains everything, but after listening, Yi Ru now feigns indifference. You don't have to explain, it's got nothing to do with me. O RLY? 

And she leaves. 

But he chases her (using the stairs).

What goes down here is basically a redux of yesterday, with her telling him to think it through. She doesn't need his infatuation, for if the feelings fade away, what are they left with? She wants a love like her parents', an everlasting one based on mutual understanding. 

Shi De: "Then give me a chance to understand you, and this time you can understand me too. I won't mention the past anymore. Let's start afresh, from zero. Let's start as friends."

Yi Ru shoots him down, rather than understanding her, he should spend time understanding his "red shoe woman" instead, she says as she turns to leave. Leaving him, a grown-ass man, hugging a giant plush toy alone. Aww, that image just tugs my heart so.

My beta ship in this show, looks like it's still struggling to sail as Yi Qing has her eyes locked on Yan Kai. He's so caring! The one he loves must be so lucky, she gushes. Meanwhile, the other caring guy can only glare in response.

Meanwhile, grandma's still at her plan of finding out the couple's Ba Zi. Along with Mom, they follow Aunt to Papa Yang's house for cooking lessons. 

Papa Yang is in no mood to oblige, he ignores them completely as they babble on about "your Yi Ru" and "our Shi De." He politely, but firmly, tells them to leave if they're not sincere in his cooking lessons. 

Grandma leaves with a stormy face. Uh-oh. Shit, we cannot afford to lose a OTP shipper at this crucial point in time! If grandma hates the Yang family because of this, I'm so 5000% done.

But on the contrary, Grandma gives her seal of approval. Woah grandma, you gave me a scare back there. Looks like she's just ashamed that she as a senior in life, got told off by a younger person. Since he's such an upright man, Yi Ru must have been raised well, she says.

Speaking of an upright man, here's one in the making, or at least aspiring to be. Qi Ming pulls out all the stops to woo Yi Ru. A candlelight dinner, AT HER OWN HOME (so there will be no escaping him). I speak on behalf of Shi De: Hey, that's foul play!

Qi Ming: "I'll present you with a rose every day, up till the 999th one which coincides with your 30th birthday. We can fulfil your wish and get married then."

Excuse me, but a few days ago you just said sleeping with her would be like sleeping with a man. (=_=)"

Yi Ru accepts the rose... and proceeds to whack him with it, ha. Stop joking, she says. But he's serious. Yi Ru, you're my one and only now. All the fishes? Gone. He shows her his handphone. In his contact list, there's no other girls except for Su Mei (Feng Hua's ajumma), Yi Qing and her. 

He holds her hand, and tells her, from now on, you're my only one. Yi Ru: "Then, what about the red shoe and pantyhose gal?" Darn it, that big mouth Shi De. Yi Ru scoffs, they must have had a hell of a great time, eh. 

Qi Ming tries to shift the blame to Shi De, but Yi Ru is not buying it. I believe The Boy Who Cried Wolf encountered the same problem.

Next Episode: Finally, a glimmer of hope! Yi Ru finds Shi De's dorky earnestness cute! (As do we.)