Divorce Lawyers Episode 7

It’s an interesting episode as Luo Li’s mom comes into the scene and soaks up all the juicy details about her daughter’s love life. Shi Hai Dong earns himself a little stalker-angel from above but that doesn’t last long.

Luo Li is hostile at Shi Hai Dong’s motive for helping her pick up her mom but the dude is seriously just nice this time (or he’s unconsciously feeling sorry). He takes out her phone to which she automatically assumes of him stealing it but he doesn’t return it right away. He tells her to thank her, like a common person would. She throws her thanks at him without an ounce of sincerity. He’s not one to give in and so he demands a proper one.   

Luo Li doesn’t give in easily either and decides to overload the cuteness in her thanks because that way she can confidently feign sincerity.

Meanwhile the mom’s spying this entire time and gloats in bliss seeing her daughter acting cute in front of who she thinks is her boyfriend.

Shi Hai Dong gives the phone back to her but only to retract halfway and demands to know why her Caller ID for him is Shi Qian. Luo Li blatantly just explains the first part: his last name is Shi. Only after some more prodding, she innocently tells him it means “lightly elegant” (浅色优雅 – my knowledge in Chinese characters is actually rather limited, so please correct me if I’m wrong). But really it’s got nothing to do with elegance, and rather than “lightly”, she meant shallow. Thus, Shi Qian actually means Shi Shallow in place of Shi Hai Dong.

Being a little stunned, he remains skeptical of her praise. (Duh.) He switches the topic and addresses her “Xiao Luo” (= Little Luo, it sounds odd in English but it’s common in Chinese) – it’s a tad friendlier way in addressing someone. He then excuses for his behaviour today but explains that regardless of the bad character he had to play, being a professional lawyer comes first. Luo Li calls it dirty (I agree!). However, he reminds her that she did the same to him for his divorce case. Oh, right.

Its Luo Li’s turn to address him friendlier, “Lao Shi” (Lao = old; it’s to address someone older but not to call them old), but hers comes with a more taunting tone. He warns him not to celebrate too soon. Instead of fighting back, Shi Hai Dong compliments that keen attitude of hers from a lawyer’s standpoint. He hands back her phone and tells her sincerely that he’s looking forward to her improving in her career. Although that was no insult nor taunt, Shi Hai Dong’s the last one laughing as Luo Li just glares at him – I would too if he suddenly turned gracious while I was being petty; it’s the ultimate way to win someone.

Upon giving back her phone, he tells her that “ah Hui” sent her a message. His way of addressing Wu Wen Hui as ‘ah Hiu’ is on the level of a family member so saying that without personally knowing Wu Wen Hui gets her a little fired up – this on top of him intruding her privacy. However, his teasing doesn’t end there; he proceeds to recite the message that Wu Wen Hui sent her word for word. Oh, that rascal-look he has on.

Luo Li isn’t very calm anymore and throws her slipper at him but he’s already entered his condo. She hops to her slipper but before leaving she does a Hurricane Spin and Thundery Kick at his door. Lol. (And the above is my futile attempt at catching her in motion.)

Back in her condo, she calls up her dad to let her know that mom’s at her place. She forces the phone into her mom’s hands now. On the phone, Luo Li’s mom remains hostile until at the mention of her boyfriend which is when she gets all hyper and forgets all about her anger, but the dad hangs up soon as the Mom gets distracted by Luo Li’s questions of why she knows so much. However, the Dad hanging up provides her time to prod her daughter for more details, but Luo Li escapes with the excuse of showering.  

She happily leaves but her mom tells her she’s decided to invite “Xiao Shi” over for food.

And this is the expression a millisecond later. She stalks back to her mom to reason her out of it but gets interrupted by a phone call – it’s the dad asking for more details on Shi Hai Dong (I guess he’s on commercial break, lol). Does that mean the Mom’s plan of inviting him to food is going forward?

Zheng Tian Ya is at home – I mean Wu Yi’s home – and explains what happened ten years ago: Gu Wei was actually there to check the water bill at that time, meaning he wasn’t Xia Fang Cao’s boyfriend yet.

The next morning, Shi Hai Dong is out for a run and Luo Li’s mom catches him for a few words. Although after last night’s revelation with her daughter that Shi Hai Dong isn’t her daughter’s boyfriend, it doesn’t deter her from liking him as a potential son-in-law. She asks him to come over for breakfast and he politely declines. I don’t think she took the declination seriously as she continued conversing about how she saw him run diligently from her condo. Shi Hai Dong proceeds to look all the way up and is (sarcastically) amazed that she can see. Hey, I think that sounds much more reasonable than you looking for a ring up there. The Mom misses the sarcasm as she checks him out, up and down, and tells him: “Mm I can see. Such a healthy body.” Lol. She insists again for him to come over for breakfast but he’s able to dissuade her because he prefers Western over Chinese breakfast. Well if breakfast isn’t going to work, that’s fine with Mom because she invited him for dinner now.

Later that morning Shi Hai Dong and Luo Li bump into each other in the elevator as they’re both headed to work. Luo Li takes this golden chance to clarify that her mom is nice to everyone and her dinner invitation is just a joke – you know, those nice empty words. Me thinks Shi Hai Dong is slightly disappointed that he’s not Mama’s favourite puppy.

Elsewhere with Wu Yi, a suspicious woman approaches her and her baby. (At first I thought she was here to kidnap the baby boy – I think I’m the paranoid type.) The woman gets a phone call and tells the person on the other end to just listen to her and sign the documents. When the woman hangs up she complains that men these days are scums. This gets Wu Yi curious. The woman then pretends to leak out information about her good friend who seduced a married man; the man would only divorce if the woman had his child. However, the man is still married while the woman’s child is growing older and older. Now, because the child can’t be under his father’s name, there are issues with kindergarten registrations, etc. This situation is exactly Wu Yi’s. Wow, what a coincidence! Wu Yi tries to inconspicuously ask what the woman should do in that case. The suspicious woman tells her that she’s a lawyer and the best way is to sign a contract clearly stating when the man promises to divorce his wife and if he fails to divorce his wife, what the penalties are. Wu Yi is hooked onto this bait. 

At home, Luo Li’s mom is expecting Shi Hai Dong for dinner but Luo Li doesn’t notify her that she already shoo-ed that possibility away. However, they do end up having a guest that night: it’s Wu Wen Hui. He’s here to give Luo Li the contract that Wu Yi signed earlier that day. Ugh. All these underhanded moves. This contract is the evidence that Zheng Tian Ya has been cheating and has an illegitimate child.

Mom is also impressed with Wu Wen Hui’s credentials after learning from one read of his business card. She leaves the two alone as she retreats to the bedroom but she does leave a gap open in the door.

Luo Li thanks him and Wu Wen Hui tells her that she’s an exceptional lawyer but lacks in handling relationships with people. He tells her that she shouldn't blindly trust people’s words even if it’s her client’s. She comments that he’s never trusted anyone and questions whether he ever trusted her. He discreetly avoids answering her by speaking law again (that’s basically a no). He tells her that law isn’t based on trust but suspicion. If everyone was born virtuous then having law and justice would be pointless.

After he leaves she receives a text from Wu Wen Hui that he left a set of car keys so that she can drive to court tomorrow. Wow. Apparently, it’s for her to leave a good impression on her client (only that way will she expand her client list and career). Luo Li dashes downstairs to return the keys but returns back with the keys; she missed him.

When she’s back, for some reason, her mom manages to pick up on a fishy scent that Wu Wen Hui is married. You guys didn’t know that drama Moms have superpowers? Luo Li’s gets frustrated that her mom thinks that she would seduce a married man (well she did leave him immediately after knowing he’s married) and blows up at her. The Mom does feel apologetic but whimpers in softly: “It’s just you never tell me anything.” Luo Li lets her anger subside and tells her: “I’m your daughter, you should know me best.” She then smoothens out their argument by helping her mom call dad. But no one picks up. Mom gets a little worried that he’s not answering when he’s at home at this hour. However, in the next few seconds, he calls back again and Mom yells out her worries and Luo Li smiles at the loving couple (or at least the loving Mom). He tells her that he ate at “Xiao Qin’s” place. (Remember the whole addressing issue? ‘Xiao’ is rather intimate when your husband uses it for a random woman.) Mom’s high pitched voice lowered a few octaves as she cautions him to just call her name and screw the Xiao. Lol. Luo Li takes the phone and reprimands her dad lightly in front of her mom to save them from further arguments.

After a few bite of dinner, Dad calls back again to ask Mom for Shi Hai Dong’s name so he can search him up on the internet. He finds out that he’s an exceptional lawyer but the most important part is that he’s divorced. Oh, the disappointment on Mom’s face. He continues reading a quote Shi Hai Dong said: “Women are like stocks; buy them when they’re pretty; sell/discard them when they’re annoying/useless.”

Comments: 

Well, Mom’s boat just sank.

Throughout the episode, I don’t know how many time Mom’s been urging her daughter to marry. I didn’t even bother writing it down, heh. I mean Mom, your daughter’s got a successful career going on, why rush her to marry? But then again, that’s a Chinese parent thing; I feel your pain Luo Li (sadly I don’t have a successful career to back me up).

I think I got accustomed to crime/law/mystery dramas in other countries that focus more on finding interesting twists in the cases rather than using underhanded methods in retrieving evidence. Not too impressed there but Wu Wen Hui using moves like that cushions the fall Shi Hai Dong had in my heart, so I guess that’s a plus?

I do like it that Luo Li’s getting owned by Shi Hai Dong. I quite like watching her hostile than weak and back to hostile again. LOL. Wu Xiu Bo playing Shi Hai Dong is quite an impressive actor for making me forget his age while I enjoy him teasing Luo Li.