Love is blooming this week between Shengnan and Fussy Lu but life and annoying secretaries keep trying to get in the way. Come find out if the power of new love is more powerful then responsibility in this week’s positive recap!
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Real life has come crashing down on our sweet and silly OTP. Fussy Lu is being called back to his home base, and he can’t just pack up Shengnan and take her with him. Cue the sad faces and the distinction between king prawns and tiger prawns amid the tears.
Karie the Maknae: So I knew this part was inevitable, but it cracked me up that when Shengnan realized that Fussy Lu was saying something other than “I like you”, she immediately started critiquing the food in front of her. Can’t fool a professional chef!
Kmuse: This killed me, like emotionally gutted me (but in a good way). I was so happy to see them falling in love and giving up the whole who owes who thing as an excuse to be together. To see him force himself to give it up was just traumatizing. But well-done trauma.
Drama Geek: Why did all the dramas start at the same time? I swear all my drama OTPs fell fast and then had to separate for some reason. Lots of tears this week! I feel like the only happiness Fussy Lu has ever had was while he wined and dined with Shengnan so I was really hoping he’d find his way back to her quickly.
MiataMama: This breakup happened way too soon – I needed more cute OTP moments!! At least Shengnan still has a little turtle version Fussy Lu to keep her company during the heartbreak?!
Enter the Seconds
You know what this drama needs? Seconds leads! The past comes to visit Shengnan in the form of her childhood friend, the happy-go-lucky Hotel Manager Cheng, who immediately finds a way to connect with her. And Fussy Lu is reminded that he has a loyal secretary named Li Man. She’s very VERY loyal, because reasons.
Karie the Maknae: Hotel Manager Cheng looks like he’s going to be the fun, caring oppa type, which I LOVE. I’m really curious to know how he connected with Li Man.
Kmuse: Nope, I don’t need a hot second lead. Well, since he is already here, I will enjoy the eye candy. But you can’t make me care about him at all in a romantic way. Its Lu Jin and Sheng Nan to the bitter end for this fangirl.
Drama Geek: I’m side-eyeing that secretary really hard, but the cute hotel manger gets my approval. He’s sweet and will be a nice addition to the show. Not that he has a chance, our couple is turtle serious over here.
MiataMama: Do we really need second leads?! LOL Lu Jin’s secretary needs to read the room already – you’re his work partner, the end. Meanwhile, I predict cute childhood friend is going to cause some SLS for me later on. . .
Planes, Trains, and a Freakishly Long Taxi Ride
Shengnan takes a quick tumble down the stairs in her building and comes out of it with more than a scratch — she’s twisted her ankle. Fussy Lu is in another part of the country, but as soon as he hears about it, he drops everything to go see her. His ensuing taxi ride is both hilarious (for us) and educational (for him).
Karie the Maknae: OK, watching Fussy Lu deal with all the different passengers who join on his ride also cracked me up — the avid music fan (that would SO be me), the snoring sleeper with no sense of personal space, and the helpful ahjumma (I don’t know what the Chinese equivalent is) who gives Fussy Lu the insights he needs to foster a successful relationship.
Kmuse: That poor man, it is bad enough to have to be stuck in the car for ten hours. But to have that happen and the taxi driver continues to take fares along the way? Pure torture. Hilarious torture. Hmmm. I am seeing a theme with our writer wanting to torture people this week.
Drama Geek: That is the saddest corn on the cobb I’ve ever seen! I felt bad for him, and wonder how he is successful at business transactions if he lets people push him around like the taxi driver.
MiataMama: I was totally cheering on the Chinese ahjumma and her words of wisdom. I appreciate when my dramas sneak in moments that are both poignant and relatable.
A Kiss for Good Luck
Shengnan’s friends have been speculating that her run of bad luck came from stealing a kiss from Fussy Lu—fate doesn’t care if it was accidental! When Fussy Lu finally finds her, he steals a kiss right back. But will it change their fortunes again?
Karie the Maknae: I need to know — are kisses somehow tied to fortunes in Chinese culture? Because the same thing happened in Unicorn Girl and I want to know! (MM: I thought the same thing when they brought up the good luck/bad luck talk about kisses!) In the meantime, this kiss was something else. *fans self*
Kmuse: I love that second kiss. It was just so much emotional tension that just exploded all over the place. Well, mostly on Shengnan’s face. I just wish that it had solved more then it did.
Drama Geek: Use your mouth for WORDS Fuzzy Lu, not kisses… oh, who are we kidding, we wanted the kiss! LOL. But I do wish he’d explain himself, especially what his secretary is around (more on that in the next section).
MiataMama: Yeay for kisses! Boo for lack of resolution. . . Ah well, you win some, you lose some?!
That Cake is Not a Cake
Our OTP has finally come to an understanding! But so many things get in the way, including Li Man’s cooking (who knew she was a Cordon Bleu chef too?). At least our Fussy Lu won’t waste away after rejecting her cooking—he’s got Shengnan’s tortoise cake to polish off ALL BY HIMSELF. Now if he could just tell Shengnan that she’s the chef for him.
Karie the Maknae: I love that Shengnan and Lu Jin are still communicating through food, and that Li Man just does not get it. He was so gonna eat that cake all by himself, the naughty boy.
Kmuse: I think he does get it to a point. He did refuse Li Man’s witches brew soup. He isn’t a total emotional language of food idiot.
Drama Geek: I love the idea that you can be a formally trained chef, cook it to perfection, and yet you still miss the point. Shengnan’s food makes you NEED more because she cooks for the person eating it, and she knows what tastes good, not what she’s told is good.
MiataMama: Shengnan loves to cook and cooks with love. And Lu Jin understands and appreciates both those aspects when it comes to Shengnan’s food. So just let the man have his cake and eat it too!
Final Thoughts
Karie the Maknae: This couple has the potential to be so much fun throughout this series — messages via gorgeously-shot food are the BEST. I can’t wait to see how they work that out with the second leads.
Kmuse: I am loving the show still despite the arrival of a super annoying secretary wannabe girlfriend. I will be happy to see her be thwarted in the future because she is just torturous. Ah! I see what you did there writer.
Drama Geek: I love this couple, but I do hope Fussy Lu starts saying what he means when he’s around his secretary. I have no idea what hold she has on him, and I would like to see that other part of his life a little better. Right now I don’t see any reason for him to not frequent her neck of the woods any time he has a break in his schedule. But that is just too easy.
MiataMama: This story will play out and I’m confident our adorable OTP will be together in the end. So I’m just going to sit back and go along with the ride. My only wish? More gorgeous food/cooking close-ups next week!
Until the next mouthwatering dish,
The Fangirls
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi