My Sunshine [何以笙箫默] Episode 3

They finally talk! It’s little but there’s something at least. I’m going to skip the surnames just cause I had two episodes to get to know the characters. I should be familiar enough with them that I can drop them, right?

Mo Sheng goes to the supermarket after returning home to find her lightbulbs dead. I guess she’s not used to living alone because she’s lost amongst the sea of lightbulbs and their different watts. An employee tries to be helpful but she makes our heroine feel even more helpless and lonely when the female suggests her to call her family to ask what type of lightbulb she needs. 

While she’s still at the isle deciding which lightbulb to buy, a security guard spots her and ponders where he’s seen her before. He catches up to her and returns her a wallet that he claims belongs to her. Mo Sheng denies it but the security guard insists she open the wallet. Mo Sheng denies again but the security guard is quite persistent on her opening the wallet.

I have issues with this scene because it’s just not right that a SECURITY guard would hand over a wallet that the person clearly denies once, after twice, after thrice, ownership of it. But anyways, she opens the wallet and her expression freezes a little. It takes her a while to recover but she returns the wallet to the security guard once again denying it hers.  Now the security guard even acknowledges that the wallet is not hers but still insists she take it. He’s proud that he’s playing cupid because whoever’s the owner of the wallet must have a crush on her. Wow, really?

Mo Sheng returns home and we finally get to see what was in the wallet: a picture of her younger self. She thinks the picture was taken from some sort of official document noting a stamp in the corner. (Where did Yi Chen get this photo from??). She turns the picture over and discovers “My Sunshine” written on the back. Immediately, she knew this handwriting belonged to Yi Chen.

The next morning she sits at the exact same spot at the exact same café where Yi Chen ditched her earlier to stake him out. However, she waits until he’s entered the office to follow him. But she’s not the only who’s spying today because another lawyer from the same firm (surname: Yuan) noticed her (I would have thought he was pervertedly spying her) spying Yi Chen.

Confirming that the office belongs to Yi Chen, she intends to give the wallet to him herself but he’s at a meeting. She hesitates but decides to give the wallet to an employee and departs without leaving her name or message for Yi Chen. Why so cold? The wallet gets intercepted by Yuan lawyer who automatically assumes that Mo Sheng is a girl that Yi Chen played with some nights ago and left his wallet with her.

Lawyer Yuan returns the wallet to Yi Chen with some teasing: with his dignified look, who knew he was a player at night. He opens the wallet and it’s his turn to freeze a little. The picture in his wallet is no longer there. Lawyer Yuan assumes Yi Chen must have done something bad to her for her to not give it in person when she had the chance to earlier at the café. Yi Chen gets enough clues to connect the dots to who returned his wallet. As Yi Chen stares at his missing picture, we get a fuller look into the memory that we were alluded to when Mo Sheng was staring at the picture. In the flashback, Mo Sheng admits to taking pictures of him without his permission and somehow she gets him to spit out his name and his major.

Recalling Xiao Xiao’s words about Mo Sheng’s possible departure again, he does what man should do: go see the girl he loves. He visits her at work and greets her as “Miss Zhao”. She’s taken aback slightly from the formal reception and stutters her greeting: “M-Mr. He.” He gets straight to the point of why he’s here: “Three days ago, someone said they’d come to my office again but she’s never kept that promise and so I’m here.”  I’d say it’s a very weak reason to pay a visit if you’re pretending to not like her. But hey, if that’s what it takes for you guys to talk, I’m fine with it. When he gets questioned as to why he knew it was her, he gave a curt reply: “Using deduction abilities normal people would have”. She explains that she already gave him the wallet so there was no reason for her to return again. He gets a little impatient and asks her directly: “Other than returning the wallet, was their nothing else (you came for)?” Mo Sheng voice goes rasp as she confirms that there was nothing else.

Clearly he’s not satisfied with the answers. He walks up to her and demands the picture in his wallet to be returned. But Mo Sheng fakes innocence as to the picture’s whereabouts. However, he questions how Mo Sheng knew the wallet was his when there’s nothing in his wallet that can identify the owner other than that picture. I was going to hold my tongue about this but it’s already the third time this question irked me: why don’t you have anything in your wallet?

Mo Sheng keeps her gaze down as he towers her. He gives up this stern front and asks politely (but still curt) for the picture to be returned. Mo Sheng replies quickly that it’s a picture of her so it belongs to her. But who wants to argue with a lawyer about those rights? Mo Sheng meekly gives in and admits that the picture’s not with her. They arrange to meet the next day because our busy lawyer doesn’t want to be entangled with her any longer than necessary. However, it’s Mo Sheng’s turn to ask a question: Why does he want her picture? His reply is anything but sweet: it’s to remind him to not repeat his foolish past. 

As she walks home alone, she reminisces about Yi Chen again. This time it’s at a night market and young Yi Chen is rushing Mo Sheng to return to campus before they close. Mo Sheng cheers up and says they should walk even slower. Yi Chen can’t help but smile and asks whether she knows how to be shy.

We go on a time machine ride back to when it was Mo Sheng’s first day of school and she’s sent off by her father (a very loving pair they are). She falls in love at first sight with Yi Chen as he sits under a tree reading a book. She takes a few pictures of him and is caught. However, she feigns innocence (again) that she was taking picture of the scenery. Obviously young Yi Chen catches on and leaves the scene saying he’ll leave to not ruin the scenery for her. That’s the exact opposite of what Mo Sheng wants. She chases him for his name and major because she needs a way to return the picture to him. Cheeky girl. He gives the information to her reluctantly.

Mo Sheng also meets her roommates and Xiao Xiao’s one of them. Turns out they’re in the same major. Xiao Xiao’s quite poor as we learn she doesn’t even have the money to return home during vacations. Instead, Mo Sheng gives her all the pictures she took of her and their friends to Xiao Xiao so that she can send these home to her grandmother. She gives them all, except one: Yi Chen’s photo.

Here we get our first instance of Mo Sheng following Yi Chen everywhere. Didn’t know Mo Sheng’s younger self was this cute. When confronted as to why she’s following him, she gives him the picture. Yi Chen is quite impressed with her photography skills but he doesn’t voice it. He keeps the picture but Mo Sheng suddenly realizes that she doesn’t want him to keep, keep the picture. She chases him down and claims the picture as hers (and that she’s only lending it to him to see). Young Yi Chen’s reply is a question: “Do you really want to argue to a lawyer (student) about right of possession?” Ou. Déjà vu.

And oh so coincidentally, Mo Sheng and Yi Chen are sitting at the same table for lunch. She basically talks to herself most of time and decides to skip formalities and call him Yi Chen instead of He Yi Chen. She then explains her own name to which Yi Chen surprisingly already knew. Apparently she already wrote her name down behind the picture she gave him but she claims that she forgot.

He ditches her midway through lunch (after rebutting her a few times) and Xiao Xiao comes over to comfort her. However, our Mo Sheng is clearly happy because Yi Chen knows her name.

This girl is so desperate but she’s so cute with it, it works. I’m envious. She even goes as far to copy down his schedule. However, she gets caught by Yi Chen. But “caught” isn't exactly the right word because she’s quite happy to disclose that she’s stalking him. He asks why she’s doing such pointless things to which she replies frankly: “Are you the one stupid or is it me? But since you’re so smart, it has to be me. I mean I’m so obviously trying to win your heart here but you don’t notice it. Yi Chen falters at that (finally) and says he won’t date until he graduates. Still as optimistic as ever, Mo Sheng says that if she starts lining up now, will she get first dibs after he graduates? I can tell Yi Chen’s holding back a smile and he tries to escape by lying that he has class. Our smart little guy forgot Mo Sheng just copied down his entire schedule.

They bump into each other in the library and Mo Sheng swears that this time she didn’t follow him. This time… She’s here to borrow books about the law for her elective course. Yi Chen helps her find an easier book. Aw, he’s changing already. 

She then waits for him in the rain to give him a pack of drinks as to thank him for the book. He refuses it and tells her not to waste time on him. Okay, so he’s cold again. That’s fine.

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I like young Mo Sheng very much (at the moment I like her more than the current Mo Sheng; she’s too gloomy right now). On the other hand, young Yi Chen is way too stiff. Not cool man. Wallace Chung does a much better job. I’m not sure how much I’ll like this childhood/teenage section because it seems like they’re going to use quite a bit of airtime to cover up until Mo Sheng’s departure to the States. I hope its more cute than sad.

There’s a few parallels in this episode that I liked. We get a scene where Mo Sheng looks at the wallet and reminisces about the past but we only get a taste of it. On the other hand, when Yi Cheng looks at the empty wallet, we get more details about their first encounter. It’s sort of a mismatch but it reflects their relationship at the moment: they keep missing each other. They both also miss their chance to tell each other the truth with the questions they ask each other. You know, the whole star crossed lover thing. 

One last point: how could Mo Sheng not know that Yi Chen still likes her? I mean the picture is a dead giveaway and then that poor excuse of his to come find you to get back that picture. Well, a drama's a drama.