Mr. Honesty | Recap and Review

A man who only speaks the truth meets a girl who loves to make white lies. 

Notable Actors/Actresses

Liang Jie: Xu Yi Ren

Xin Yun Lai: Fang Zhi You

Director: 

Zhu Dong Ning, Li Yan Qian 

Scriptwriter: 

Guo Shuang

Chinese Title
不說謊戀人

Genres: Contemporary, Romcom, CEO, Contemporary Romcom

Network: Tencent Video

Year: 2020
Episodes: 31
First Impression: 3/5

Jump to Review | Comments

Mini Recaps

[Ep1] Xu Yi Ren and Fang Zhi You's first meeting is at a restaurant where she witnesses him being water-splashed in his face by his date for his rude mouth. Xu Yi Ren meets him again in the elevator where he exposes her boyfriend cheating on her. Their third meeting is at her company and because of him she's fired. Not related to him is that she's about to lose her home too. But she lumps that under his bill too. 

He Yu Wen hires Xu Yi Ren to be the prickly boss's secretary. The boss is none other than Fang Zhi You. He Yu Wen wants her to lie. She has one month to improve Fang Zhi You's poor social skills because of his brute honesty. Fang Zhi You promises to try her for a month but if she does anything wrong, he has every right to fire her. First day at work he needs her to drive but she can't. He wants her to put on her seatbelt but it's stuck. He sighs. She closes her eyes waiting for him to reach over to pull her seatbelt for her. He stares at her blankly. He has zero intentions of helping her; he wants her to sit at the back. She grumpily goes to the back and sticks her tongue out at him. He catches that but she doesn't know. She continues pouting. I'm liking their scenes already. 

Other than lies, Fang Zhi You has something else he doesn't like. He doesn't like touching girls. He pokes her to wake her up, He doesn't want to drop her off home so he leaves her at a bus stop. However, he secretly waits for her to get on the bus before he leaves. 

Xu Yi Ren shows up for work and finds a sleeping Fang Zhi You. He's having a nightmare and suddenly wakes up. It scares her and she someone ends up on his lap staring right into his face. 

[Ep2] Fang Zhi You needs his secretary but Xu Yi Ren is busy arguing with her landlord. He drives to her place and solves her issue, securing her rent for her. She returns the favour and does her job as promised: keep him from running his mouth. Xu Yi Ren is smooth with her words and avoids lying to help her boss secure his contract. However, Fang Zhi You's strait-laced personality gets him in trouble again when he sees Xu Yi Ren being sexually harassed by a kid. The contract falls through but he has a backup plan and manages to save his company. 

After the business is a success, he thanks her with a present. It's a moon lamp. It's similar to the one her landlord had shattered. Although he gave her the moon lamp, he tells her to not be like the moon. Rather than wait for light to be shined on her she should be like the sun and shine brightly on her own path in life.  

[Ep3] Fang Zhi You takes Xu Yi Ren to see an old man in his stead. This man has Alzheimer's Disease. There's an unknown reason why he won't see this man. After a series of event, Xu Yi Ren loses her wallet and she's forced to share the same hotel room with Fang Zhi You. She's in the shower and suddenly feels unwell. She faints in the shower (fully clothed). Luckily, Fang Zhi You is there to save her. 

Second Couple: Gu Bo (an intern) and Xia Di (an author). 

[Ep4] Fang Zhi You tells Xu Yi Ren a story of his friend. Because of a lie, his mother died and his father has a mental illness. As a result his friend promised to never lie. It's Li Zhe's story. Although Fang Zhi You treasures him as his friend, Li Zhe is back with a vengeance against Fang Zhi You. 

Xu Yi Ren meets his sister, Fang Shi Yu. She asks Xu Yi Ren if she likes his brother. She doesn't, she's still scared of him. Fang Shi Yu assures her that if she marries her brother, he'll never lie to her. After Xu Yi Ren leaves, Fang Zhi You confronts his sister why he likes Xu Yi Ren so much compared to all his other secretaries. It's because she's the complete opposite to him and she understands her. 

[Ep5] Fang Zhi You can accept Xu Yi Ren's white lies now. She doesn't know that yet and is freaking out on how to apologize to him. She enters his office and finds him asleep. She stares at his sleeping face and wonders how a cute sleeping face can be so annoying when he opens his eyes and mouth. She accidentally wakes him up and surprises herself. She knocks down his building model but he's not angry at her. He even lets her help him fix it when he doesn't like working with people. He doesn't express it but he's impressed with her ability to fix his model in a short time period.

Xu Yi Ren catches Fang Zhi You asleep again. She bends over to examine his sleeping face. She's really close when Fang Zhi You suddenly opens his eyes. He calmly and assertively dares her to come closer. She's surprised and jumps back once again. She almost falls. With his quick reflexes, he saves her by holding onto her waist. She quickly pulls away. 

Li Zhe returns Xu Yi Ren her wallet and somehow they end up having dinner and almost watch a movie together. Fang Zhi You interrupts her date. He's upset He Yu Wen is using backhanded tactics to help him win the project. He calls Xu Yi Ren to appear in front of him immediately. She quickly runs over. She's told to help him choose a present for a girl. He describes her as "no breast, no thigh, and no butt." Xu Yi Ren soon realizes the girl he's buying a present for is her. He's so upset he needs to express his anger by spending money on her. It's now her turn to be so upset at his comment that she starts spending money – his money. 

Fang Zhi You and Xu Yi Ren are at work and come across his sister. He smiles seeing how her sister is pressuring Xu Yi Ren into helping her pass flyers and cosplaying. He too has to dress up in a panda suit. When he sees her in the costume, he can't take his eyes off her and compliments her. As they're handing out flyers, Xu Yi Ren notices how amicable her boss is under the panda costume. She's so surprised she can't help but glimpse at him to make sure he doesn't suddenly explode when people start hugging him. Fang Shi Yun brainwashes his brother that Xu Yi Ren loves him because she keeps staring at him. 

Xia Di orders Xu Yi Ren to observe what he likes for her story progression (Xia Di is using him as her main character). They're at a music store and she un-furtively approaches him. He walks up behind her and scares her once again. She jumps back and he's about to hold her waist to catch her. 

[Ep6] Xu Yi Ren asks what type of girls Fang Zhi You likes. He likes someone easy on the eye. It's his turn to ask a question and he wants her complete honesty, "Do you like me?" It's a logical presumption from his perspective. She refutes. He makes it sound like he's relieved. He tells her he might fire his secretary if she likes him because it's awkward if he doesn't like her back. She hears the first part but neglects the second part of his statement. 

Xu Yi Ren lies to Fang Zhi You that it's her best friend who was in a car accident. It's her ex-boyfriend (Gao Ming). She knows he doesn't like her ex-boyfriend that's why she lied. This has trouble written all over it. During her absence, Fang Zhi You loses an important contract because of an empty USB that she was in charge of. He's upset about the USB but he's angrier she lied to him and ditched work for her useless ex. He fires her on the spot. 

[Ep7] Xu Yi Ren trips and falls again because she was trying to make up for Fang Zhi You's lost contract. Fang Zhi You saves her instead of his architectural model. He even tends to her twisted ankle. He asks her why she lied about visiting her ex. She knows he doesn't like liars but to her she has memories of him being nice to her; he was the only one ever that nice to her. Thus, Fang Zhi You learns that her parents have died since she was ten. She mentions her uncle and auntie but I don't think he's caught on that they weren't nice to her. He forgives her and tells her the next time he better not catch her lie to him. Doesn't that also mean it's okay to lie as long as he doesn't catch it? She's ecstatic to learn that she still has a chance to be his secretary. He asks her if her ankle is okay. She quickly stands to prove it and falls into his arms. Again. That night she's holding the moon lamp he gave her and thinks back to his words about him firing his secretary if she likes him. She tells herself to snap out of it. 

The next day it's Fang Shi Yu's birthday. Fang Zhi You ends up sick so Xu Yi Ren offers to cook and help his sister celebrate. Fang Shi Yu comforts his brother that he doesn't have to celebrate it but he promised their mother that he would every year. Thus, he's grateful Xu Yi Ren is helping him out. He also wants to eat her food but she stops him. She's prepared something else for him: congee. He's sick and for once she has control of him or at least what he eats for now. Fang Zhi You walks Xu Yi Ren home. He has changed from the man who would drop her off at the bus stop to the man who would walk her home despite being sick. She sees her favourite snack and buys it. He wipes the crumb off on her face. He's not flinching at touching her anymore. 

[Ep8] Fang Zhi You thinks Xu Yi Ren is sick so he wraps her in a large scarf. She's not sick, she's just wary of the rumours surrounding them which is why she's putting a distance between them. Fang Zhi You catches her drift and asks her what is this "safety distance" she wants. When he takes one step forward, she takes one step back until there's no more space. They topple over on the couch and he calmly asks her if she has any feelings for him when there's essentially zero distance between them. She shakes her head. Thus, he assures her there's no need for a safety distance when neither of them have any feelings for each other. He calmly leaves her but when he's alone, he's anything but clam. He has no idea what his racing heart means. 

Xu Yi Ren is back at work and rehearing with Fang Zhi You so he doesn't ruin the contract signing. She actually convinces him to lie. Even if it's for practice, it was so hard for him to utter a single lie. She throws him a random question to test him. She asks him if she's pretty. Without hesitation, he replies that she is. She comments that he sure is learning quick. But he's being truthful. He nonchalantly admits that she's been getting prettier day by day. Fang Zhi You, that's a sign of love. After the business meeting is successful, Xu Yi Ren comforts him about lying. She offers to take all his bottled up emotions for him. 

Later that night she has an unfinished date with Li Zhe to complete. Fang Zhi You catches her on a date with him. He's upset. He walks off on them. Xu Yi Ren ditches Li Zhe and runs after her boss. She carries an umbrella for him letting herself drenched in rain. They stop by at a convenience store to take shelter and she asks him what's wrong. He's honest about being upset but he tells her the reason is because of Li Zhe. He forgot to mention he's jealous. He directly asks her if she likes Li Zhe. Taken back by the question, Xu Yi Ren denies liking him. She counters him if he would mind if she does. He admits he would but he says it's because he's worried that Li Zhe is using her because of him. Again, he forgot to mention he's jealous. Thinking he's cold, Xu Yi Ren wraps the large scarf around him. However, it's her who sneezes because of the cold so he wraps the other half of the scarf around her. That's one long scarf.  

[Ep9] It's finally Fang Zhi You's turn to catch Xu Yi Ren sleeping. He pokes her cheek. She was studying for her driving test and sleep talks about driving him to a far far away place. He smiles. But she's not done sleep-talking. She wants to ditch him there. Fang Zhi You plays along with her dream talk and asks her what the condition is for her to not ditch him there. She wants him to stop tormenting her with his harsh words ("no breast, no thigh no butt"). He tells her he'll consider it. He wakes her up with a stinky stench so that he can drive her home. She asks him if he's feeling better after the little meeting with Li Zhe. He wasn't feeling that great but he's much better now (it's all because of her sleep-talking). She translates that as he's still feeling a bit upset so she takes him to her favourite dinner place and orders all her favourtie skewers in scary amounts. He starts learning about her uncle's family. Her uncle was nice to her, it's just her cousin was annoying. Because of her cousin, she had to lie about not liking things she did like and when she was telling the truth she was accused of lying. Fang Zhi You, with that blank face of his, assures her that from now on in front of him she doesn't have to hide her feelings at all. When she's back home, she's still thinking of his words to her. She stares into the mirror and admits she likes him. Her first step in admitting her feelings.

The next day (after telling off Li Zhe), Xu Yi Ren visits the sick Fang Zhi You. She puts her hand to his forehead and confirms he has a fever. She was going to leave to prepare medicine for him but he holds her back. He likes the feeling of her cold hand on his forehead. When her hand is tired, he tells her to switch her hand. How does his expression stay so stiff when saying such swoony words?

He falls asleep and has a nightmare. When he wakes up, he's relieved to find her still there. He tells her she reminds him of his mother. Pft. She makes a request for him, "If you don't know how to compliment someone, you don't have to." xD

[Ep10] Xu Yi Ren just finished preparing Fang Zhi You's congee when she receives an apologetic message from Li Zhe about approaching her with a motive. Fang Zhi You (who just finished showering) is curious what her message is and actually reaches out to her phone. She hides it behind her back and he's still going after it. He freezes when she hugs her phone in her chest. He can't reach there. 

It's getting late and he tells her to stay the night. They also have work to do. She's getting sleepy so he decides to play a game with her to wake themselves up. The loser has to choose between truth or dare as a punishment. Xu Yi Ren keeps losing and there's no room left on her face for him to draw on. He lets her win once and chooses truth as his punishment. She asks him if he hates her because she's always lying. He tells her, "I hate lies, but I don't hate you." 

Xu Yi Ren and Fang Zhi You are stuck somewhere in his car. They're forced to sleep the night  in his car. As they're staring at the starry night together, she's reminded of the boy who saved her when she was twelve. She was lost and the boy piggybacked her to the police station. She had forgotten to ask him for his name and hasn't seen him since. Fang Zhi You comments that only means they're not fated. The boy must be Li Zhe then. The next morning she wakes up first. She wants to un-furrow his eyebrows but he wakes up too soon. She quickly retracts and hits her elbow but she still pretends to be asleep. Fang Zhi You reaches his hand out beckoning for her elbow to see if it's okay but she puts her chin there instead, heh.

Why is there a picture of a women's back in Fang Zhi You's room?

[Ep11] Xu Yi Ren massages Fang Zhi You's head and shoulders after a hard day at work (all because of Li Zhe). She meets up with Li Zhe to probe about their fallout. When she's back from the dinner, Fang Zhi You demands where she went. She told him the truth. Still, he's angry. She wants him to step out of the contract and cut ties with Li Zhe.  

[Ep12] Xu Yi Ren is kicked out of her home. Fang Shi Yu learns of this and is excited because that way she can live at her home. Fang Zhi You overhears this and seriously considers the idea. As long as she is willing to ask him for help, he'd let her move in. But she doesn't ask and he doesn't probe anymore (when he obviously wants to). Luckily, his sister is his cupid. She uses her cuteness and puppy eyes to convince her to stay at their place. Fang Zhi You is sipping his tea. He approves of his sister. Fang Shi Yu takes Xu Yi Ren to his room and tells her she can remove whatever she doesn't like because this will soon be her room too, ha  She finds an (ugly) stuff animal on his bed. He sleeps with it every night. That night, Xu Yi Ren finds it difficult to sleep knowing Fang Zhi You is right next door to her. Fang Zhi You thinks she's having nightmares (she lied to him) so he shares his stuff animal telling her this had helped him with his nightmares too. He's unexpectedly sweet. The stuff animal was given to him by his mother to scare away nightmares. This explains why he told Xu Yi Ren she reminded him of his mother when he woke up from a nightmare in Episode 10. The next morning, he's pleasantly surprised to find breakfast all prepared. He doesn't show it though. Poor guy won't get used to it once she moves out. 

Fang Zhi You gives her a ride to work. It's perfectly normal of him but she wants to avoid rumours so she decides to take a walk before heading to work. He doesn't understand and joins her in for the walk. During their walk, she snaps a picture of him and he wants it deleted. While he's reaching for her phone, he accidentally kisses her forehead. He's shy about it and walks away. 

Li Zhe tells Xu Yi Ren about his past with Fang Zhi You. Li Zhe had given all the evidence to Fang Zhi You's father (a lawyer) to prove his father's innocence but he backstabbed Li Zhe's father. His father ended up jailed and his mother collapsed over. 

[Ep13] Xu Yi Ren prepares breakfast but Fang Zhi You is no where in sight. She goes looking for him and finds in on his balcony. He's relieved she's talking to him again after the little argument they had last time. She also tells him she believes he had no part in Li Zhe's family's downfall. It's a new week of episodes and I really thought the show will stop making her fall. But... Xu Yi Ren falls as she's leaving. Fang Zhi You catches her just in time. 

Fang Zhi You has love signals all over him. He gets jealous when Xu Yi Ren is close to another male employee. After her hand is super-glued to a business model, she's unable to put on her seatbelt. She can't do her seatbelt with one hand? Alright. Fang Zhi You stares at her and she automatically understands he wants her to sit at the back again. Info: in China, passengers in the back don't have to put on seatbelts, unless rules have changed. She doesn't know he's a changed man. He stops her from leaving and reaches over to help her with the seatbelt. 

At home Fang Zhi You helps her remove the super glue. Fang Shi Yu is worried Xu Yi Ren's hand will have a permanent scar. Fang Zhi You, who doesn't know how to comfort a girl, is lectured by his sister that he should have told her he'll be responsible for her life if there is a scar. Famg Zhi You is silent. Is he seriously considering the idea? Ha.

Fang Zhi You is particularly jealous when Li Zhe makes a move on her in front of him (e.g. sending flowers to her workplace, having coffee with Li Zhe). He drags her out of the cafe and demands to know why she's having a date with him, why he's giving her flowers, why he knows about her hand. There's too many questions she doesn't know which to answer first. He wants answers to all of them. She counters him that he has no business in her private life. He hesitates but tells her it is his business. 

Fang Zhi You: I am jealous! Cute.

After that confession, he's shy and walks away. I love him for not being able to lie. When he's back in his office, he's in denial of what he just said. She's also keeping him at a distance. Why? She likes him, doesn't she? Fang Zhi You is having a taste of rejection as she lies to him she has plans tonight.

[Ep14] Fang Zhi You takes an aimless stroll and finds himself at Xu Yi Ren's favourite skewer place. She's also there and thus her lie is exposed. She denies not wanting to see him, she's just afraid of seeing him. She thinks he's lying about his jealously. ??? Fang Zhi You, lie? He's grumpy and asks her why Li Zhe gave her a bouquet. She admits to him that she lied to the driving instructor that she was sick to skip class not knowing that Li Zhe knows the driving instructor. Fang Zhi You arrives to a conclusion: his jealously originated from her lie. If she hadn't lie, she wouldn't feel jealous. He demands her to take responsibility of him. She, on the other hand, insists he's not jealous. He's just angry. 

Xu Yi Ren and another employee create a building model and successfully helps Fang Zhi You sign a new contract. There's a celebratory dinner but she ditches him to attend a dinner with Li Zhe. She has her reasons. It's because Li Zhe mentioned he wanted to make up with Fang Zhi You. He doesn't. He just wants to meet her and he knows that excuse will convince her. Fang Zhi You chances upon their dinner because the celebratory dinner is at the same restaurant. When she accidentally bumps into Fang Zhi You in the lobby, she tells him she's about to end dinner with Li Zhe and can join the party but he moodily tells her that her appearance will make no difference. He's mad. 

When they're both home, Fang Zhi You still has a mad face on. Although her dating Li Zhe is not his business, he expresses that he's worried about her. Li Zhe had told him he'll steal what's precious to him. Xu Yi Ren finally connects the dots and realizes that she perhaps is precious to him. Or I think she realizes. Most normal, common people with a an ounce of intelligence will be able to deduce it. I don't know about Xu Yi Ren. 

[Ep15] Fang Zhi You wants to punish Xu Yi Ren for seeing Li Zhe. He asks her if she likes him. She refuses. But he still wants to punish her. He leans in making her back arch. He's close to her face when he tells her he wants to eat strawberries. He gulps as he closes the distance between them. It was a dream – Xu Yi Ren's dream. Tell me I'm not the only one who thought this was real at first. Fang Zhi You did none of that. He went for a run in the morning. When Xu Yi Ren comes down for breakfast, Fang Zhi You brought strawberries for the girls. She mutters that it's perverted. Clueless, Fang Zhi You insists that it's sweet. She calls him a pervert again. Poor Fang Shi Yu who wanted to eat the strawberries but dropped it back on the plate because Xu Yi Ren called them perverted. Haha, strawberries don't deserve to be insulted like that.  

Xu Yi Ren doesn't understand why Fang Zhi You is giving her attitude about Li Zhe. She wants him to make a clear line and straighten out his feelings towards her. Otherwise she'll misunderstand he likes her. He doesn't talk so she walks away. 

Fang Zhi You turns around, throws away his book with a cool move, grabs her arm, and swings her around. He gives her a kiss making her back arch. Ah, her dream came true.

Fang Zhi You: Even though I don't know how to say it, but I know how to do it.

She runs off after the kiss leaving him breathless. He too is panicking but also excited about his kiss and newfound feelings. At night, he thinks back to the kiss and smiles. However, Gu Bo ruins his happy moment. He calls up Fang Zhi You and relays an incorrect message that he hears the girls talking about how they're from different worlds, different classes. Fang Shi You who overhears his brother's phone call with Gu Bo expresses her disappointment in her brother. You can't just kiss a girl without confessing first, she says. 

Li Zhe has figured out Xu Yi Ren is the girl he saved and piggybacked. He rushes over to her office to tell her that but Fang Zhi You pulls her back to him. Li Zhe tells him it's none of his business but Fang Zhi You counters that. Everything of hers is his business because she's his girlfriend. When Fang Zhi You pulls her into his chest, Xu Yi Ren doesn't resist him. 

[Ep16*] Xu Yi Ren thinks Fang Zhi You is acting on impulse again. She doesn't think him liking her can be real. He apologizes for calling her his girlfriend when he hasn't gotten her approval yet. He then kisses her which is followed by another apology. He's apologizing for his act-first-ask-later attitude. What use is apologizing for it when he's going to do it anyways? Hugging her, he finally gives her a confession, "Xu Yi Ren, I like you." Xu Yi Ren is overwhelmed with emotions and wants to run away again. He imprisons her between his arms and the wall and asks her if she's willing to be his girlfriend. She ducks under his arms and walks away. She can't believe this is reality. He logically tells her his entire morning from having breakfast to driving without traffic to an obedient Fang Shi Yu. There's nothing that would upset him this morning but he was upset. It's all because of seeing her with Li Zhe. Therefore, he likes her. There's just no other plausible explanation. He stops her tracks and asks her again, "Will you be my girlfriend?" Xu Yi Ren is still hesitant and reminds him there's a rule to not have company relationships. Fang Zhi You authoritatively says he'll remove it. Every defence she makes, he counters it. Every step back she takes is met by a step forward from him. She talks in circles and criticizes him in her soft voice for kissing before confessing. She runs off again. He catches her and holds both her hands to keep her from running away. He apologizes once more. He's new to love, you see. He asks for her forgiveness. Before she answers he kisses her hand. Before she reacts, he kisses her lips. New to love? Bull. She asks him if he's really willing to accept her and her lies. She can't guarantee she won't lie to him. He admits to hating lies but unknowingly she has become his only exception. Xu Yi Ren cannot deny his confession anymore. She shyly smiles asking him if there's anything she needs to tell him since he told her so much. There's only one thing he wants to hear: her acceptance to his confession. She accepts. He gives her a tight embrace, so tight she has to remind him of it. She has one request of him though. She wants to keep their relationship a secret. This would mean he may have to lie. Fang Zhi You considers her request. She's about to leave for work but he pulls her in for a back hug. He just can't seem to let her go. I loooooooooooove this entire scene. 

After work, Fang Zhi You is waiting for Xu Yi Ren to go home with her. She has to wait until everyone's gone. She accidentally bumps into another employee. Fang Zhi You isn't going to let that ruin his chance of spending time with her so he uses a document to block the employee's face and secretly gives a kiss on her cheek. Wooow. He helps her cover up by lying that he needs her for work. She grabs onto his wrist to pull him away from the scene. They're still in the office but alone this time. He leans over her signaling he wants a kiss. She pushes him off and tells him to calm down. He tells her he is calm and continues to lean over her. She pushes him again and tells him he needs to calm down more then, haha. She teases him for lying. He admits he lied but it was for her. He really doesn't like this secret relationship but she begs him to help her out. He can barely look at her pouting at him but even without looking he's already given in to her. 

It's so cute how Fang Zhi You opened his mouth waiting to be fed strawberries. He doesn't like sweet fruits but he thinks he'll like it more when the person he loves feeds it to him. Fang Shi Yu walks in on them but she pretends to see nothing. She pretends to be thin air for them. That night, Fang Shi Yu visits Xu Yi Ren in her room before bed. She gives Xu Yi Ren her favourite Mr. Rabbit. She has to leave to live with her father soon. She also gives her brother to her, telling her to take care of her brother. 

Xu Yi Ren is a girl in love but that doesn't stop her from self-improvement. She's taking lessons to learn more about architecture. Fang Zhi You calls her an idiot. He's the perfect person to learn from and yet she's wasting time learning it in class from someone else. She counters that someone who's an expert at it isn't always an expert who can teach it. She arrives to class but guess who's the stand-in professor. It's Fang Zhi You. After class is over, Xu Yi Ren and Fang Zhi You are both so popular, they're stopped by students asking them for their numbers. Fang Zhi You holds onto Xu Yi Ren, telling the girls they'll need her permission first. Xu Yi Ren squirms under his embrace and quickly lies that she is his secretary only. It's not a very convincing lie because the next minute, he's kissing her forehead. 

[Ep17] Xu Yi Ren's auntie, uncle and cousin (Yu Qing) have arrived. Xu Yi Ren had planned to take them to a hotel because she hasn't found a rent for them. Li Zhe takes advantage of this situation and takes them to his condo. When she tells him he only helped them pay for one month of the rent instead of six, the auntie is upset. Omg. Control myself. Uncle wants to go grocery shopping but auntie hints that she wants to go out to eat making Xu Yi Ren offer to pay. Uncle says he'll take the tab so auntie becomes all cheap. Without asking, she steals food from Xu Yi Ren's bowl right in front of her. Auntie takes all her meat saying girls like her always want to go on diet anyways. Xu Yi Ren hasn't said a word. Then auntie gives all the meat to Yu Qing. How can this auntie be so shameless? How does this actress find all these nasty, revolting and rotten roles? Over dinner, Yu Qing keeps asking Xu Yi Ren about Li Zhe. She wants everything that's hers. She makes an intentional comment that she likes Xu Yi Ren's phone case, Immediately, auntie takes a look at it and takes the case right off to give it to her daughter who instantly puts it on her phone. JFLDJSF. 

He Yu Wen has learned that Fang Zhi You and Xu Yi Ren are dating. She doesn't like it and start listing their incompatibilities. Xu Yi Ren simply does not match him. She's also a liar. How can Fang Zhi You accept that? Fang Zhi You counters her. He knows it when Xu Yi Ren is lying, he can see her guilt. He also knows it when she tells the truth because there are stars in her eyes. He too wants to be the stars in her eyes. 

Li Zhe is at dinner with Xu Yi Ren's family. The whole time he's there, Xu Yi Ren is imagining Fang Zhi You sitting next to her getting revenge for her on her family instead. That night, Li Zhe also realizes the girl he's searching for isn't actually Xu Yi Ren but Yu Qing – that is as long as Yu Qing is telling the truth. Li Zhe hates the idea that his fated clip girl isn't Xu Yi Ren. 

[Ep18] Yu Qing lies about the hair clip to Li Zhe. She also finds out Xu Yi Ren has a boyfriend; she doesn't know who he is though. The mother-daughter aren't happy at all that Xu Yi Ren is hiding him from them. What does it matter to her and auntie that Xu Yi Ren has a boyfriend???

Fang Zhi You allows her into his private balcony (the one that Fang Shi Yu warned her that no one but her brother can enter). Xu Yi Ren apologizes to Fang Zhi You about lying. When she received a phone call from her cousin, she lied about being at the office. She doesn't want to tell Yu Qing about him. She doesn't want her to steal her boyfriend. Fang Zhi You doesn't mind her lies anymore because he knows she's lying for him. As an apology, she made him dessert: red wine and pear. The second after he drank it, the effects of the alcohol (the cup of wine) instantaneously appear. He falls over and then wakes up immediately. He starts singing and shares a secret with her: he likes his secretary even though she has no butt, no breast, and her thighs are thin. She hits him. He starts whimpering in pain. He then finishes his sentence that it doesn't matter what she has and doesn't have, he likes all of her. She thinks he's weird. He then pulls a cute act on her. She finished her sentence with the word "Gui" when she asked him what was wrong with him. Fang Zhi You followed up with "Because I'm a cute 'gui'" which translates to cute "ghost". She gets up to leave but he stops her and gives her a back hug. However, he looks at her back very confusingly. He wonders out loud why she doesn't have any breasts (on her back). Ha. 

After that drunk night, Fang Zhi You wakes up the next morning to find Xu Yi Ren sleeping next to him on his bed. She stirs in her sleep and he quickly lies on the floor, hands across his chest to hide from her. When she wakes up she wonders if it was her that kicked him off the bed. He wakes up promptly after her and pretends to be aching everywhere. He lies (!) he dreamed of someone kicking him the whole night. Pretending to be casual, he walks off. 

Next month is Fang Zhi You's mother's Memorial Day. He hugs Xu Yi Ren when he's reminded of it. He asks her to go with him that day. He also wonders when she'll take him to meet her family. She hesitates. He lets it go and tells her that later will be fine too. He's so cute when he asked for the goodbye hug and when he said bye to her. Such a cute big child.  

Second couple: Gu Bo failed at his confession to Xia Di. Gu Bo asks Fang Shi Yu for advices on his love problems, heh. 

[Ep19] Fang Zhi You takes Xu Yi Ren to visits his mother's grave. They bump into his father and that's how Xu Yi Ren met both his parents. It was an unpleasant meeting between the father and son. To make him happy again she makes him dress up in a green dragon constume. What a random scene just to make Fang Zhi You look cute. He tells her that if she just wants to make him smile again, he just needs to hug her. 

Yu Qing lies to Li Zhe she's his fated girl. She also pressures Xu Yi Ren into helping her lie. When Fang Zhi You asks Xu Yi Ren whether she's confirmed if Li Zhe is the boy, she tells him to just forget it ever happened. They also bump into Xu Yi Ren's uncle and that's when Fang Zhi You learns she never told her family about him. He sulks and walks off angrily. This is their first fight. 

I don't really like the plot devices this episode. First of all there's no reason Xu Yi Ren needs to lie to Fang Zhi You that Yu Qing is making her lie. Then Fang Zhi You being sad about her not telling her family about him doesn't make a lot of sense. He knows Xu Yi Ren doesn't like her family anyways. Why does it even matter to him whether or not she tells them then?

 

[Ep20] It's accidentally exposed in the company group chat that Xu Yi Ren and Fang Zhi You are dating. Fang Zhi You takes this chance to immediately acknowledge that she is his girlfriend. After the meeting, he takes her hand in front of everyone and leads her to the balcony. He's smitten with her but she's worried about how to clarify they're not dating. Fang Zhi You was in heaven one moment and hell the next. He's angry with her again. Gosh, such a stupid move by Xu Yi Ren. 

Luckily, Fang Shi Yu and Xia Di give them the right advice. Fang Zhi You stops being angry at Xu Yi Ren and hugs her so that she won't move out. Xu Yi Ren confesses she didn't tell her family about him because she still can't believe this happiness is reality. Later on, Fang Zhi You takes her to a hot spring hotel. It’s their official makeup trip. He tells her he wants to continue bringing her to the world's best places. The episode ends off with them relaxing in the hot spring together.

[Ep21] After a night of hot springs and fireworks, the two make love. Both were nervous but that all disappeared in the morning. He blocks the sun from shining on her face. He catches her smiling and exposes her for pretending to be asleep. He reveals she’s been smiling the whole night from dreaming which also means he’s been up watching her the whole night.

A few days later after that night at the hot springs, Fang Zhi You tells Xu Yi Ren he’ll take responsibility of her. It makes Xu Yi Ren shy. He’s learning all this romantic stuff from Korean dramas that Fang Shi Yu has advised him to watch.

He Yu Ren isn’t that gracious. I knew it was too good to be true. She’s teaming up with  Li Zhe to ruin Fang Zhi You’s contract. I have no idea how that’s going to help either of them win love. Other bad stuff this episode: Fang Zhi You finally convinces Xu Yi Ren to take him home for family dinner but for the whole night Auntie is abusing them with nasty words and nasty attitude. My question once again: why even bother? Xu Yi Ren has never stood up for herself in front of her "family" but she does for Fang Zhi You who stayed silent because of her (because it's her "family").

[Ep22] Fang Zhi You finally understands how Xu Yi Ren has been living in her family. He asks her how she's survived up until now. It doesn't matter anymore, she has him. Li Zhe meets them downstairs and asks for Xu Yi Ren's time. He wants to talk to her alone. Li Zhe tells her the fated girl he saved was actually his saviour because that day he would have committed suicide if it hadn’t been for her. However, Xu Yi Ren doesn't admit that his fated girl is her. Why is Li Zhe so hung up on his fated girl? If the girl he likes isn't his fated girl, why does it matter? Sigh. Fang Zhi You assures Xu Yi Ren that even if she met Li Zhe first, she is meant to be his girlfriend.

At work, Xu Yi Ren is blamed for ruining a contract. This is the trap He Yu Wen and Li Zhe set. Fang Zhi You trusts Xu Yi Ren unconditionally. 

[Ep23] Xu Yi Ren finds proof that she's innocent. She has recorded Li Zhe admitting he sabotaged her. Fang Zhi You hugs her telling her she can rely on him to find proof but she doesn't want to. She refuses to be the moon that waits for the sun to shine on her. Even if she's just a small firefly, she still wants to depend on herself. Fang Zhi You denies that she's just a firefly, she's his rainbow. A rainbow is an illusion of light, no...? I would think a firefly > rainbow if we're talking about producing light. Anyways. 

Li Zhe has confirmed that Xu Yi Ren is his fated girl so he fires Yu Qing on the spot. This thing of a girl barges into Fang Zhi You's home to yell at Xu Yi Ren for telling the truth. Fang Zhi You protects his girlfriend making it impossible for this thing to bully Xu Yi Ren. Thus, this thing threatens Xu Yi Ren that worse is yet to come. Yu Qing meant she would tattle on her mom. Clap, clap, clap. The thing brings her mom to Xu Yi Ren's office and backs away because she has to keep her nice image. Puke. Auntie agrees that her daughter should stay hidden while she goes and ruins her own image to bring down Xu Yi Ren. She barges in and starts making rumours of Xu Yi Ren that she's the one who loves stealing from tiny small objects to boyfriends. I thought Fang Zhi You would be her saviour but it's actually Fang Shi Yu. Our cute little Fang Shi Yu glares Auntie down and gives her a lawyer's card (her dad's) and threatens her she will sue her if she continued to slander Xu Yi Ren. Auntie cowards out and leaves the office. Fang Shi Yu pats Xu Yi Ren's head, comforting her. Xu Yi Ren asks her for a favour: to not tell Fang Zhi You. However, when Xu Yi Ren's composure is completely off, Fang Zhi You knows something is wrong and questions Fang Shi Yu about it. She tries to keep her promise but when Fang Zhi You threatens her that he'll sign her up for every extracurricular class possible, Fang Shi Yu confesses everything to Fang Zhi You. 

[Ep24] Xu Yi Ren meets up with He Yu Wen to convince her to return (after accusing her of ruining a contract). Xu Yi Ren also meets up with Fang Zhi You's dad. Dad wanted to confirm if she loves his son. Dad is probably sick. Xu Yi Ren finds out and tells Fang Zhi You. With that, Fang Zhi You is finally (slightly) willing to see his dad. 

[Ep25] Fang Zhi You confirms that his Dad has Alzheimer's disease from his doctor. Despite that, he still wants his father to apologize to Li Zhe's father. Xu Yi Ren discovers a bunch of love letters Fang Zhi You has written to Li Zhe all these years. Xu Yi Ren brings them to show Li Zhe of Fang Zhi You's love for him. 

Fang Zhi You also convinces He Yu Wen to return to work. His words work on her more that Xu Yi Ren's ever could. 

[Ep26] Xu Yi Ren meets up with her "family". Yu Qing needs a job so the family is begging Xu Yi Ren to let her in Fang Zhi You's company. Ugh. Yu Qing make herself sound apologetic and regretful for all that she's done. Uncle also cries and begs Xu Yi Ren to help because his wife and daughter have been crying at home. Xu Yi Ren gives in. 

He Yu Wen receives the Yu Qing's resume and questions Xu Yi Ren if she's really willing to let her cousin who always steals from her into their company. He Yu Wen is concerned for Xu Yi Ren. Is it safe to like He Yu Wen now? I kind of like her. There's no need for her concern though. The moment Yu Qing steps into the office, everyone is giving her hostility, including He Yu Wen. Xu Yi Ren thanks He Yu Wen. She brews her a specialty coffee and gives her some sugar on the side. When Xu Yi Ren leaves, an emotionless He Yu Wen throws away the sugar. Nope, not safe to like her.

At a meeting Gu Bo and Xu Yi Ren are chummy. Fang Zhi You is sitting at the CEO position and doesn't like what he sees but he can't stop them. He dismisses the meeting and waits for her outside. He wants to know what she was talking to Gu Bo about and asks her how come he's never seen her jealous. She has been jealous, she just didn't let it show. Fang Zhi You wants to know though. He wants to know it whenever she's upset. 

Li Zhe finds out that Fang Zhi You's dad lied about being sick. He tells Xu Yi Ren this. She wants to confirm it for herself before she tells Fang Zhi You. Meanwhile Fang Zhi You is starting to spend some quality time with dad. They have an argument after Dad refuses to give an open apology because that would ruin is reputation as a lawyer. Fang Zhi You sleeps over at their home but that whole night Fang Zhi You doesn't catch a single sleep. Fang Shi Yu knows he's uncomfortable so she purposely slept with him but even that didn't help. When Fang Zhi You returns home to see Xu Yi Ren sleeping on the couch waiting for him, he's all healed. He gives her a hug after she cleans the dishes. He wants to stay hugging like that but she reminds him her hands are dirty. He takes her to the sink, arms still around her, and washes her hand for her. I like how he tested the temperature of the water first. 

[Ep27] It’s an episode of lies and marriages. Xu Yi Ren doesn’t tell the truth about Dad’s Alzheimer’s Disease to Fang Zhi You. She pities Dad because he just wants his son to talk to him. Meanwhile Fang Zhi You thinks he’s able to resolve the conflict between his father and Li Zhe. He assures Xu Yi Ren he wants to marry her once he settles the issue.

Gu Bo still hasn’t told Xia Di he’s a rich kid. Instead he makes a deal with her that if all her books sellout then he’ll marry her. She thinks he doesn’t want to marry her because there’s no way that could happen.

[Ep28] The lies are revealed and all the blame is pinned to Xu Yi Ren. Xia Di is mad at Xu Yi Ren for not telling her about Gu Bo. To add oil to to the fire, He Yu Wen tells Fang Zhi You his father is faking his disease and that Xu Yi Ren knew all along. Xu Yi Ren hugs him begging him to forgive her but he’s too emotional right now to accept her apology. 

Fang Shi Yu calls Xu Yi Ren telling her that Dad is sick. Dad is actually sick. He lied to Xu Yi Ren about faking it to test her if she loves Fang Zhi You. Well. Now Dad has just single-handedly ruined their relationship. This time Dad is asking her to not tell Fang Zhi You he’s really sick. Dad, do you want them to never get back together again?

Work isn’t going well either. He Yu Wen makes Xu Yi Ren step down from her position and replaces her with Yu Qing. Yu Qing automatically takes this chance to turn evil. When is this thing going to leave my screen?

[Ep29] Li Zhe is in a fight with someone (this person is the Crown Prince from Dreaming Back to Qing Dynasty). That guy hires a gang to fight him. Fang Zhi You saves his buddy. I really like seeing male friendship bloom in dramas. While protecting Li Zhe, Fang Zhi You suffers a concussion. 

It’s a minor concussion. When he wakes up there’s two of his favourite people beside him: Xu Yi Ren and Li Zhe. He’s silently staring at them making Xu Yi Ren nervous. Li Zhe knows just by looking at him that he’s fine. 

[Ep30] It’s a friendship episode. Dad promises to make a formal apology to Li Zhe’s father. Li Zhe’s father timely recognizes his son for the first time. Li Zhe and Fang Zhi You make up. 

Yu Qing slanders Xu Yi Ren online for stealing her boyfriend. Whatever. Xia Di sees the news and almost purposely crashes into Yu Qing and the Auntie. She’s standing up for her friend but Xu Yi Ren is capable of doing it herself. She cut ties with this crappy family once and for all. Uncle is sad and heartbroken and yells at Auntie threatening her for a divorce. 

Fang Zhi You’s hands are injured and cannot continue drawing his rough drafts. He assures Xu Yi Ren he has the perfect person to help him: Li Zhe. They’re the perfect pair and they created the perfect masterpiece. Before Xu Yi Ren had left them alone to work, she had warned Li Zhe from giving Fang Zhi You alcohol, even if it’s just wine. Li Zhe doesn’t listen and urges Fang Zhi You to drink. Thus Fang Zhi You starts dancing and singing “I am a flower”. He even sits onto Li Zhe’s lap and almost kisses him.

[Ep31] He Yu Wen betrays Fang Zhi You. She steals his architectural design for her dad to take credit for. It’s not the first time her father had done this. He stole his work five years ago to win an award. Wooooooooow. Now He Yu Wen’s dad wants him to publicly admit that he’s the one who plagiarized........... This drama’s older generation is terribly annoying. So shameless. Not one person is normal. He Yu Wen is convinced by her male friend to stand up for justice and so she does. She attends the press conference and clears Fang Zhi You’s name including the work her father stole five years ago. 

Shazam. It’s the wedding ceremony. Fang Zhi You is true to his words, after settling the issue he really marries her. Where’s the sweet proposal though? Li Zhe walks her down the aisle. Uncle is in the audience; he’s alone without the two annoying things. Fang Zhi You makes his wedding speech: "Marriages are the biggest lie". Pft. According to Fang Zhi You, marriage is not all happiness as advertised. There will be times of distress. However, he’s willing to believe in marriage, the greatest lie of them all, because his bride is Xu Yi Ren. 

And so they’re happily married. The end. Or that might be a lie according to Fang Zhi You because there are no happily ever after marriages. 

Remarks

[First Impression (Ep1-7)] I like the actors; I like the sweet chemistry; I like the manga artwork that shows up in the end of each episode. It's a simple love story between two opposites: a girl who will lie for her loved ones and a man who refuses to utter a single lie. Nothing to write home about but I still enjoy this. Only one thing to complain about so far: just how many times has she almost tripped or fallen? Five? Six? And I'm on episode seven. Speaking of episode seven, I like this episode the most. They're both showing obvious signs of liking each other; she's trying to suppress it and he's oblivious to his feelings. 

[Actors/Actresses] It's 14th Prince from Dreaming Back to Qing Dynasty! I liked him (despite him not being the good guy in that drama). Xin Yun Lai is carrying the drama and because of his acting, I'm willing to believe in this man who never lies. I'm also excited to see Liang Jie paired up with someone new. I'm not quite liking her voice though, it's way too high pitched here. Wang Sheng Di is the child actress for Fang Shi Yu who was also recently in The Bad Kids as Pu Pu. She's not a whole lot different here compared to the previous drama but the settings and direction of both dramas have such a stark contrast it's a little hard for me to watch her and not think about that drama. I'm quite happy seeing her in pink with a caring brother who's healthy for the most part. 

[Episode 16 Update] I absolutely loved the confession. He wasn't going to let her run away again until she responded to his confession. It was a beautiful ten minutes. 

[Behind the Scenes] 

[Ending] The ending was rushed and a little sloppy. All of a sudden, we arrive at a marriage scene. What happened to Dad's Alzheimer’s? Did Xu Yi Ren tell the truth? Yu Qing disappears but I wanted a decent retribution. What happened to Xu Yi Ren improving herself (driving and architectural lesson)? It felt like all her storyline was dropped. She was supposed to learn to shine on her own. What happened to all of that? Lastly, where's my sweet proposal!

[Review] This is a light and sweet secretary-CEO romance. There’s also a Cinderella element with a nasty cousin and auntie. Going against the odds, our female lead finds her Prince Charming and this prince is a steal, he’ll never lie to her. He’s also a one plus two: he’s got an amazing younger sister (the treasure of this drama) and a best friend who’s loyal to both the male and female lead. 

This drama started off sweet and had an even sweeter buildup. I adored the entire confession (act-first-talk-later) [Spoiler] and then that’s when the drama plateaued. Then at the ending, it was a hard stop. I lost track of the episode count and I didn’t realize the drama still hasn’t talked about Xu Yi Ren’s self improvement and bam a wedding is happening [/Sp]. I was waiting for her to be the sun and not the moon that idly waits for light to be shone on her but she just ends up marrying the rich and handsome. It seems like the drama had to cut out a lot of her storyline because there certainly was a lot of room for growth in her character. Despite a meagre ending and a meagre female lead, I still like this drama for the romance and the chemistry. I really like Xin Yun Lai. Liang Jie, on the other hand, isn’t improving... The only praise I can give her is she did a good job receiving. It was all Xin Yun Lai laying down the foundation, turning his character alive, and sparking the chemistry.

[Verdict] Cute rom-com. The male lead is worth it. 

Rating: 3/5 ♥