Xie Xing Yang: Meng San Xi
Wang Han Wei: Yan Si Fang
Su Meng Di: Ye Wu Zhi
Director:
Scriptwriter:
Chinese Title
我有一個朋友I Have This Friend
[Ep1] Our trio jump off a cliff. Nobody dies. My trusty Clifford. They were running away from their enemies.
Recap Grade: B/C
First Impression: 3.6/5
First Impression: 3.6/5
Mini Recaps
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| Cute, aren't they? |
[Ep2] After "hanging" out for four hours in that life and (no) death experience, our three main characters are now the 345 trio. They rename themselves because their own identities will hinder their respective plans for revenge.
- ML1 = Meng San (=3) Xi = Three Breaths; sounds like "Triple Happiness"
- ML2 = Yan Si (=4) Fang = Four Sides = Well-rounded...? ^^" The irony.
- FL = Ye Wu (=5) Zhi = Five Branches; sound like "Ignorant". Really matches her xD But she's more naive than stupid. She's very logical. She just cannot lie for the life of her, hahaha. Her name can also be "Only Knows (知 Zhi) How to Fight (武 Wu)".
[Friendship Goals] 4 could have escaped on his own, but 3 and 5 kidnapped his morals into helping them too.
[Potential Romance] During the escape, 3 and 5 are in charge of distraction. 3, being the benevolent hero, tells 5 to escape first. Meng San Xi assures Ye Wu Zhi, "I have a god protecting me." But he's down after five moves (because our wuxia hero lost all his meridian).
Ye Wu Zhi: So where's your god? The way the camera pans to her face. Girl, it's you! You're his goddess!
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| Look, 3&5 were already holding hands in Ep1 |
[Back to the story] Among their enemies, there's a double agent (Wei Dong Yang) who's helping our 345 escape, or more specifically, he's spying and helping Meng San Xi
[Ep3] Our 345 Trio are used to eating alone, but that doesn't mean eating alone isn't lonely.
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| Their first meal together ~ |
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| I'm all for the 3-5 ship, but who is this new girl (Gu Nian Jiu), and why is there romantic music! |
....and reunited. There's thought to the placement of the characters and the characters:
- Meng San Xi is 仁 Humane / Benevolence
- Yan Si Fang is 智 Wisdom
- Ye Wu Zhi is 信 Trust
[Ep5] 345 are bums.
They can't find a job, and so they become their own bosses except their (No Name) grocery store is cursed. They'll have to file for bankruptcy soon.
The commentary on men:
- ML2 Yan Si Fang: Men will always keep a stash hidden. xD
- FL Ye Wu Zhi: "I'm starting to understand men. Clearly they're just as useless but men stubbornly refuse to admit their faults, and only recall how amazing and impressive they used to be." Ha!
[Ep6] The boys stand up to the thugs, going all "xing xing xing"
行 (xíng) has one of the most meanings (bolding the ones the boys used): to walk / to go / to travel / a visit / temporary / makeshift / current / in circulation / to do / to perform / capable / competent / effective (especially in regards to that prideful male appendage) / all right / OK! / will do / behavior / conduct / Taiwan pr. [xing4] for the behavior-conduct sense (they also speak in a Taiwanese accent to the bullies).
The boys are beaten by the thugs. Ye Wu Zhi avenges them, but Gu Nian Jiu got there first. Girls, don't be so awesome. What are the men going to do! xD.
Since the boys can't be the bullies, they suggest they join the bullies, earn money, and then beat the bullies. Ye Wu Zhi refuses, "I no 行 (xíng)". She is the most 行. I love that she easily admitted that unlike the boys going all XING. However, she promises she will earn money honestly and then locks up the boys in case they sin.
A day goes by. Ye Wu Zhi finally returns. The boys flee to the washroom and the rest are fired from their buttholes. Literally bang bang bang, hahaha.
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| There's "poop" on the ground, lol |
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| Then they eat. The cycle of life. Minus the firing, lol. |
Our 345 Trio are miraculously saved from their debts: Ji Ming Zhao buys their No Name Grocery Store.
The boys ask their new boss for an advance payment. It's to redeem the swords Ye Wu Zhi pawned, awwwww. But then she goes gambling again. Girl is addicted. LOL.
Ye Wu Zhi has a crush on someone: her shixiong, Liu Yun Xiao. Noooooooo. No wonder she's bent on avenging him! And the groom she's running away from is another fellow disciple. He had said that he'd chase her over cliffs and oceans, and she had said she'll jump over cliffs and into oceans if she must. (Hence Ep1).
[Ep7] Ji Ming Zhao is a fuerdai who wants independence from her parents. Shocking. They exist. The bet with her mother for her freedom was to turn the worst business into the most successful one in the city, and that's our 345's No Name Grocery Store, which is now No Name Superstore (not just food).
The philosophical conversation with the old painter about painting and ageing. The old painter disagrees with this idiom:
畫龍點睛 huà lóng diǎn jīng = to paint a dragon and dot in the eyesFig. To add the vital finishing touch / the crucial point that brings the subject to life.
He prefers to first draw the eyes because that's the life/centre of the art. He was admired for this style. Now that he's older, he ponders similarly about ageing. Is it because our back bows forward and our head hangs low, and then we are old? No, he says. It is because we bow forward, and grovel (to greed) that we (our hearts) become wrinkle.
[Ep8] There's another fuerdai who wants independence: Liu Yun Gui. Is the world ending. He's running his own doctor's office. He's supposedly the fiancé she's supposed to marry.
Liu Yun Gui: Is it me you don't want to marry or you just don't want to marry?Ji Ming Zhao: Because I don't want to have only two choices. My favourite reply thus far 👏.
I also really like how intelligent LYG is. He mitigated a potential danger by diagnosing the poisoning as regular food poison. He's a great catch! But a girl likes what she likes.
Ji Ming Zhao hires Lao Ding (= Human Time Clock ding-ding-ding) to ensure her employees don't ding out during work hours. But our 345 Trio have a mission! They need to avenge/vindicate their loved ones, and to do so, they need intel about their enemies. They have to sneak out. Ji Ming Zhao, ignorant to their retributive justice, offers employee benefits as long as they comply to her rules (stay put in the store). Yan Si Fang refuses to believe her offers.
Ji Ming Zhao: Your reason (in not believing me)Yan Si Fang: To believe needs a reason. To not believe is the way of nature.Ji Ming Zhao: *Silence*
Rewind to Ji Ming Zhao's parents: is her mother trying to hook her up with Nan Xiao Tian (= Meng San Xi)??
[Ep9] Meng San Xi has no sense of belonging. His friend who was like family to him died. His sect doesn't even exist on the map.
Yan Si Fang hates the food from Qiu Yue Bai (restaurant owner, owner of nasty foods), and he makes sure she knows he hates it. Aren't these two cute?
[Ep10] The way Ji Ming Zhao lectures Yan Si Fang reminds him of his mother (who abandoned him, and whom he yearns for). Oh no. I'm shipping him with her too.
Ji Ming Zhao, Liu Yun Gui (doctor), and Dai Meng Hui (constable) are the fuerdai trio. They're a riot, lol. All of them escaped the chains of their families and are making a living on their own. They were also forced to play instruments as kids and they hated it. #Chinese Now they're trying to sound sophisticated by critiquing each other's Gong and Jue notes. But there aren't any. What will this riot trio do when they're in charge of the music for Liu Family?
ar, salt, vinegar.
Qiu Yue Bai: You're asking me (when you make fun of my restaurant's food)?
Yan Si Fang: Of course. Do you think I was asking them (sugar, salt, and vinegar)? So you (S+S+V), which one of you want to die first? I need to talk to my condiments like this too.
To Meng San Xi who has no sense of belonging, Ye Wu Zhi tells him he does.
Sorrowfully, Meng Sang Xi says he doesn't want it. Thinking about it hurts. Aw.
Ye Wu Zhi: It exists even if it hurts.Meng San Xi: It's strange talking to you. I can easily lie to you but you make me unable to lie to myself.
Qiu Yue Bai's food finally improves! She cutely slips money in Yan Si Fang's sleeves to ask for more recipes. Cute!
The fuerdai trio still suck at playing instruments. But they can acapella! When one path is blocked, there is a new one.
[Ep11] This is why guys like taking girls to watch horror movies:
Ye Wu Zhi is so scared of ghosts, she hangs her body over Meng San Xi because he says he's protected by the gods. Look at that smirk!
Our team are ghost hunters now. They're paid to hunt it down before it ruins Liu Family's business. Ye Wu Zhi and Meng Sang Xi are one team because she's hung up on him. And he's happy to be stuck. They even have a deep talk about being together forever (obviously she's too dense for it), but – oOOooooOOooo – they're interrupted by the ghost.
[Ep12] The rest of the team, Qiu Yue Bai, Yan Si Fang, and Ji Ming Zhao) are scared witless. Yan Si Fang's voice cracking kills me.
They promise to open their eyes together to face the ghost that's hovering over Yan Si Fang's head, but only he's naive enough to commit. Look who fainted. Just him. The girls shut their eyes like their life depended on it. The whole night passed by like that. Eyes closed, but not a wink of sleep. Even when the sun rises, they refuse to open them.
As long as they do not see the ghost, ghosts do no exist.
The moral of the episode: humans are worse than ghosts.
Oh, and it's just Qiu Yue Bai who's singing. She wanted the ghost hoax to last longer to earn some money.
[Ep13] Our no longer fear-stricken team is still poverty-stricken and now accepts Ying Bai Chi's (Bai Chi sounds like Idiot) request to promote his (baichi) book. He doesn't want to be a bestseller, he just wants recognition. But the way he writes is long-winded, repetitive, and slightly perverted. Let's just say earning money is hard in today's economy.
Ji Ming Zhao gets the Boss of the Year! (From me). She defends her employees (the ex-bullies) against bullies. But then she expends her other employees (our 345), looool. They accuse her of draining them with no breaks, no sleep, no place to bathe, and no AC for the night again.
Ji Ming Zhao tearfully asks (without tears), "Even though I plan to do that, did you guys think I’m that kind of person?"
Incredulous, Meng San Xi asks, "You're acting like it’s our fault??" xD
But psyche! She has money for a good rest tonight at a hotel. However, Lao Ding snatches the pouch and tells our gang to follow him.
[Ep14] Lao Ding isn't a beggar! He just sells art. LOL. He's a wealthy landowning laotou and he rents them a place to stay (forever? Like a family??). And now he becomes their nagging mom! Haha. During work hours, he will still respect Ji Ming Zhao politely as his employees, but once his foot is out the door, he's their landlord. He will holler at them if they said they're coming back for dinner and don't, or if they're late and he has to reheat.
Ji + 4 complain about non-paying customers leaching their AC. However, Meng San Xi sees it differently. He asks Ji Ming Zhao to not say "Welcome Back" to those customers. If they don't want them back, "Welcome Back" is casual malice, exposing their shame, reminding them they were freeloading. Ah. "Welcome Back" is so deep No one gets Meng San Xi though. They have OT to renovate the place so that freeloaders cannot freeload. But they forgot to inform their newly hired nagging mom (Lao Ding) that they're coming home late. Ha.
Ji Ming Zhao has an announcement. They're not saying "Welcome Back" anymore if they don't mean it. She smiles at Meng San Xi, asking them (him) if they understand. It's her telling him she understands now. They have another OT to renovate the store so that it's friendly to all customers to 4 + 5's dismay.
Meng San Xi thinks of a way to promote Ying Bai Chi's book: turn his prose into lyrics, his stories into songs.
Haiwa and Sanya Lyrics: (This song trended. It is really well written, touching the hearts of the ordinary)
十五歲的海娃穿著花褲衩
頂著小草帽提著小魚篋
你在橋邊晃了又晃
我在角落看了又看
我沒告訴你 怕你知道
Fifteen-year-old Haiwa is wearing floral pants,
A small straw hat, and carrying a small fish basket.
You wandered and wandered by the bridge.
I looked and looked in my corner
I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would know
[A girl has a crush on Haiwa, hid in the corner, and didn’t tell him]
十四歲的三ㄚ 穿著碎花裙
臉紅腰細腿白 還光著腳丫
你在白天走來走去
我在晚上翻來覆去
我沒告訴你怕你知道
Fourteen-year-old Sanya is wearing a floral skirt
Face is red, waist is thin, legs are white, and feet are bare
You walked back and forth during the day
I tossed and turned at night
I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would know
[A boy has a crush on Sanya, and didn’t tell her]
水渠邊你唱歌 我看著月亮
月亮像白面餅一張
我開心得想吃了它
我沒告訴你因為你知道
You sing by the canal and I admired at the moon
The moon was like a piece of round flat cake.
I'm so happy that I want to eat it
I didn't tell you because you knew.
[She’s so happy, she didn’t tell him because it was obvious]
田裡你戴著草帽 我頂著太陽
太陽像蔥油餅一張
我開心得想吃了它
我沒告訴你因為你知道
In the field, you are wearing a straw hat and I am holding up the sun (not wearing a hat)
The sun is like a piece of scallion pancake
I'm so happy that I want to eat it
I didn't tell you because you knew
[He’s so happy, he didn’t tell her because it was obvious too]
那年家鄉鬧蝗災 眼看糧食都沒啦
可我的窗前 每天都多出饃半張
你沒告訴我 但我知道
That year there was a locust plague in my hometown, and there was no food left.
But every day, on my window sill, there is always half a bun.
You didn’t tell me, but I knew
[His love for her spoken with action]
那年離鄉去打工 別了妹子和家鄉
而我的包包裡 怎麼多了新鞋一雙
你沒告訴我 但我知道
That year I left my hometown to work, saying goodbye to my sister and my hometown.
And why is there a new pair of shoes in my bag?
You didn’t tell me, but I knew
[Her love for him spoken with action]
海娃我好想你
月亮不再像白面餅
我在村頭晃了又晃
又找老李寫信給你
我告訴了你怕你不知道
Haiya, I really miss you
The moon doesn’t look like a piece of round flat cake.
I wandered around the village again and again
I asked Lao Li to write to you again
I told you, I'm afraid you don't know
[Her love that she can’t show, she writes]
三ㄚ我好想你
太陽不再像蔥油餅
我在城裡走來走去
找老先生寄信給你
我告訴了你怕你不知道
Sanya, I miss you so much
The sun is no longer like scallion pancakes
I wandered around the city
Ask the old gentleman to send you a letter
I told you, I'm afraid you don't know
[His love that he can’t show, she writes]
我等了你五年啊還願意再等下去
父親把我嫁給張大壯大了兩頭羊
我找老李寫信給你
希望你從我這裡知道
I've been waiting for you for five years and I'm still willing to wait some more
My father married me to Zhang Da Zhuang and we got two sheep as dowry.
I asked Lao Li to write to you.
I hope that you could hear this from me.
[The worst news, but she wants to be the one who breaks it to him so that he knows her feelings]
我打拼了五年啊 最後還一事無成
沒有錢返鄉當面去祝福你啊
只能找老先生回信
希望你從我這裡知道
I've been working hard for five years, but in the end I accomplished nothing.
I don’t have the money to return home to bless you in person.
I can only ask the old gentleman to reply
I hope that you could hear this from me.
[His lowest moment, but he wants to be the one who breaks it to her so that she knows his feelings]
我抱著娃兒放羊不留神一隻跑了
那是一半的聘金這一天我好難過
我沒告訴你,也不想讓你知道
I was herding sheep with my baby in my arms and the sheep accidentally ran away.
That's half the dowry. I was so sad that day.
I didn't tell you, and I didn't want you to know
[Her sadness, she didn’t want him to worry about it or to know of it]
記不清打工幾年我全部積蓄丟了
受盡了白眼這一天我好難過
我沒告訴你也不想讓你知道
我沒告訴你,也不想讓你知道
I can’t remember how many years I’ve been working. I lost all my savings.
After all those insufferable eye rolls, I was so sad that day.
I didn't tell you and I didn't want you to know
I didn't tell you and I didn't want you to know
[His sadness, he didn’t want her to worry about it or to know of it]
第二天就在丟羊的地方,羊就在那兒吃草
這一天我好開心啊
它乖乖地跟我回家
oh海娃,生活就是不容易的但不要真的絕望啊
我沒告訴你卻還想讓你知道
The next day, at the place I lost the sheep, there it was grazing.
I'm so happy today
It obediently followed me home
Oh Haiwa, life is not easy, but don’t despair.
I didn't tell you but I still want you to know
[There is warmth in this word and I want you to know]
第二天我去了一家麵館 小二請我吃了碗麵
這一天我好開心啊,碗底還有顆荷包蛋
oh三ㄚ命運總是冷冰冰的但也要相信溫暖啊
我沒告訴你卻還想讓你知道 我沒告訴你卻還想讓你知道
The next day I went to a noodle shop and the waiter treated me to a bowl of noodles.
I'm so happy today. At the bottom of the bowl there's even a poached egg.
Oh, fate is always cold, but you have to believe in warmth.
I didn't tell you, but I still want you to know.
I didn't tell you, but I still want you to know.
[There is warmth in this word and I want you to know]
This song triggers me mostly with how it captures the love in 報喜不報憂 (to report only the good news, not the bad news / to hold back unpleasant news). It evokes all the times I tell my loved ones (esp on the phone) that “I’m fine” when I’m not. I’m not pretending to be tough. I just don’t want my loved ones to be hurt with me, stressed with me, and sad with me. I prefer finding the solution on my own first. In this song when Haiwai and Sanya both kept their pains to themselves, my tears just trickled. Then I was so relieved the song ended happily in the most relatable way.
The song also reminded me of Remembrance of Things Past, the difficulties of working away from your hometown.
[Ep15] On the 15th episode, our No Name Store ranks 15th from a popularity vote.
The intel with Liang 12345 is confusing. I got this much:
- 3 wants to avenge Bei Xiao Hai whose real name is Liang 5 who was sabotaged potentially by the other Liangs (1, 2, and 4). It all started after Liang 5 fell in love with Li 4 Lady. Meng San Xi is curious about Li 4 Lady's beauty. The informant will tell for $5. Cleverly, Meng San Xi asks for the price of Ye Wu Zhi's. It costs $6. Lol. That tells us Ye Wu Zhi is prettier, and Meng San Xi beat his buddy. Boys.
- 4 narrows down the murderers of his family: it's either Liang 2, Liang 4, or both.
Lao Ding has a stash hidden. He knows exactly how many steps and how many turns to get there. He just forgot which mountain. Next time I'm hiking I'm bringing my gold detector
[Ep16] Liang Family is at the banquet.
- Liang 1. Did not show up. He's the guy who wanted to invest in Ji Ming Zhao's store.
- Liang 2. (Was Yan Si Fang revealing his identity to L2 to test him if he's the mastermind?)
- Liang 3. The bratty girl who bullied Ji Ming Zhao.
- Liang 4. The one who drank the most aggressive diuretic of his life thanks to Yan Si Fang.
- Liang 5. Dead. He's Bei Xiao Hai, Meng San Xi's friend.
- Liang 6. He's there, but did we ever see his face?
- Gu Nian Jiu. Did not show up. She's part of Liang family too, but she's not a Liang.
Of our trio, only Yan Si Fang stayed at the banquet (to test Liang 2). Ye Wu Zhi went to bully a poor servant, interrogating him until he admits he works 3-7 Organization. Meng San Xi went to find Duan Shou (literally means severed hand) to investigate who sabotaged Liang 5. Duan Shou will testify for Meng San Xi to clear Liang 5's name if he reunites him with his family.
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| MSX pointing to the brain of his brainless girl |
Ji Ming Zhao wins one game, but the Liangs continue to raise the bet, and now she's drunk. But trust in our 345 Trio. Our employees protect their employer of the year! Trust in Yan Si Fang who can accurately pitch-pot, no sweat. Trust in our Ye Wu Zhi, our alcoholic, to take on gallons and gallons. Trust in our Meng San Xi to snatch all the money in the air (with the help of steroids).
Ji Ming Xin (sister) cares about Ji Ming Zhao! She had avenged her sister against the Liangs back then. And now she lends Ji Ming Zhao money, but our lil sister doesn't want Ji Family's money. Ming Xin assures her it's her own because some idiot deposited a stash at one of her stores. Kindness coming back in the most unexpected way! The money (a percent of it) that Yan Si Fang lost is now with Ji Ming Zhao, and it gave the sisters a chance to mend their relationship a little. Worth! (Not my money anyway.)
Ji Ming Zhao has an idea to improve their reputation: capture wanted criminals like Nan Xiao Tian. Right there, lol. From the informant, they learn all the criminals will be gathering at X place, and off they go. Meng San Xi finds the informant odd though. How does he know so much, and why does it seem like he's leading him to find the truth.
From wanting to catch wanted criminals, they are now the wanted. Actually, they are all wanted (sans Ji), but Ye Wu Zhi's poster actually looks like her. She's miffed. How could it look so much like her? Haha. The joke here is that drama wanted posters never look like the criminal xD. Their real names:
- Meng San Xi = Nan Xiao Tian (but NXT is his stage name too, right?)
- Yan Si Fang = Tuoba Ling Hu
- Ye Wu Zhi = Mo Ru Shi (I Am Truth)
- Ji Ming Zhao = #1 Wu Bo Jin (Wu Platinum)
- Meng San Xi = #2 Wu Huang Jin (Wu Gold)
- Yan Si Fang = #3 Wu Bai Ji (Wu ~Silver)
- Ye Wu Zhi = #4 Wu Qing Tong (Wu Bronze)
The complete fuerdai trio is here too.
- Ji Ming Zhao. For wanted criminals. But now she is wanted.
- Liu Yun Gui. Whoring himself. Not. He's contracted to cure a Boss Cao who is paralyzed. He can't not threat, afraid they'll kill him. He can't treat too fast, afraid they'd kill him instantly, and so he's prolonging the treatment (every three month checkup).
- Dai Meng Hui. An undercover cop.
[Ep18] Ji Ming Zhao isn't turning in Ye Wu Zhi. In fact, she celebrates that among the three treasures, she's got one. From here on Ye Wu Zhi is her Da Bao (= Big Treasure/Baby). She doesn't know she's got Er Bao (#2 Baby) and San Bao (#3 Baby).
Liu Yun Gui keeps Ji Ming Zhao grounded. I may like this couple more than Yan Si Fang!
- Ji Ming Zhao = #1 Wu Bo Jin (Wu Platinum)
- Meng San Xi = #2 Wu Huang Jin (Wu Gold)
- Yan Si Fang = #3 Wu Bai Ji (Wu ~Silver)
- Ye Wu Zhi = #4 Wu Qing Tong (Wu Bronze)
- Wei Dong Yang = #5 Wu Suo Wei. We ran out of elements in that category, and so he's Wu Matters Not. He's actually so touched that he matters to this group. Heh.
Meng San Xi asks if she looked at him last because he is her most important.
Cue eye rolls.
Cue goosebumps.
Back to non-rolling and -bumping business!
Meng San Xi has a plan: organize a chaos. The chaotic moment will divide the thugs, and separate the murderer from the group. Everything is set up properly. We just need to initialize the disorder with the smashing of a bowl, and man that was the toughest part of the plan.
Ye Wu Zhi almost kills her enemy, had it not been for Meng San Xi stopping her blade with his bare hands. The criminal is handed over to Dai Meng Hui who rounds up the rest of the malefactors. Ji Ming Zhao gets the credit like she wanted.
During the fight, Meng San Xi recognizes Wei Dong Yang's martial arts. It's the move that killed Bei Xiao Hai (Liang 5). He's from 3-7 Organization. Friendship is called off. Later at night, Wei Dong Yang receives an order to kill Nan Xiao Tian / Meng San Xi. Boo. Their friendship </3.
Currently, Meng San Xi is blissful being Ye Wu Zhi's pillow, that is until Ji Ming Zhao orders him down from the wagon. Ye Wu Zhi didn't want to let go of Men San Xi! Aw.
[Ep19] Tuoba Ling Hu's grandfather is an Emperor of a perished country! This means our Yan Si Fang is royal?! But they're poor. It's because selling their treasures will reveal their identity. However, Liang Family offers to buy them. In other words, we're money laundering.
And another shocking news! Meng San Xi's poisoner is the girl who offered him food when he was starving. She hired Tuoba Ling Hu! She didn't want to kill him. She just wanted to weaken him.
The progress with 345's revenge:
- Yan Si Fang sneaks out every night to make a secret powerful weapon. He's ready to avenge!
- Ye Wu Zhi is closer to the truth that Wei Dong Yang is part of 3-7 Organization (her enemy)
- Meng San Xi learns that Duan Shou's wife is
kept hostage atworking for Liang Family
No Name Store ranks 4th. Gu Nian Jiu has caught up impressively at 5th place. Not going to lie, her tactic is clever. She's selling limited brand accessories.
- Triangles are for singles
- Circles are for committeds.
- This way the singles know each other, and the taken ones don't have to worry about their SOs cheating.
[Ep20] Meng San Xi infiltrates Liang Mansion to find Duan Shou's wife (thanks to Dai Meng Hui's triple spy mission). It was Gu Nian Jiu who smuggled the gang in.
Meanwhile the thug (guy on far right) can't recognize that Ye Wu Zhi is Mo Ru Shi with one less eye. Eyepatch works wonders.
Yan Si Fang is acting weird!
He compliments Qiu Yue Bai's food. He wants to eat this forever, and asks if she's single. She's on cloud nine too. But it's just because he has no money and wants to pay with the Triangle. LOL. Him and Ye Wu Zhi messing with hearts.
Then he confesses to Ji Ming Zhao!
Yan Si Fang: –ke you. Awwwwww! He said "歡你", which also makes no sense in Chinese, but makes so much sense for them! To say "(I) like you" it should be 喜歡你, but he only said the last half because she had taught him to 留半句. Figuratively, 留半句 means to not be so harsh with his words, and the literal meaning is to spare half your sentence.
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| Ye Wu Zhi is drinking from that?! Omg. |
All day today, Meng San Xi has been staring at Yan Si Fan. Something is swimming in his eyes. Lust? No, it is love! For a friend. He knows Yan Si Fang plans to exact his revenge tonight. Yan Si Fang didn't tell anyone because he didn't want to be pacified like Ye Wu Zhi. He wants his enemy dead, and it could be a death mission for him as well. To stop him, Meng San Xi ingests Yan Si Fang's pill that will restore 80% of his powers for four hours but as he recovers, he'll continuously poop. If 80% of his power isn't lethal enough, that poop is. Then be diarrhetic for three days. The potty jokes don't stop!
While the boys are gone, everyone is kidnapped.
Meng San Xi, who's incapacitated by his bowels, asks Yan Si Fang to double check if the guys are gone too. Yan Si Fang only flicks his head around to confirm (but for the girls he had walked up to check). Hahaha. His double standards. If he had checked, he would have known Lao Ding is still in his room. Poor Lao Ding. He's not even worthy of being kidnapped. The kidnapper is the thug because Dai Meng Hui's cover blew which is because Ye Wu Zhi's cover blew. Dang. I seriously thought her eye patch was foul proof, hahaha.
Meng San Xi confronts Wei Dong Yang (3-7 Organization). He says he will reveal the truth in 10 days. Adieu!
A new day finally arrives.
The girls and Lao Ding slept through everything. They know nothing except that Yan Si Fang left them a goodbye letter. He leans by his door, smiling, blissfully receiving everyone's angry spit.
- To Ji Ming Zhao: "Little Lady, these days, I find you more and more suitable to my eyes." It's a confession, but she finds it insulting because this means before she wasn't suitable at first. He amends himself: she was always easy on his eyes. Three confessions this episode, and she dodged them all!
- Lao Ding's is about nagging. Now he nags about nagging, and nags that he raised him, and nags that it took him 一把屎一把尿 ah! LOL. It's a crude way of saying "I endured hardship to raise you" because literally, it's saying "I took care of your every pee and poop". Moms usually say that. Fitting for Lao Ding.
- Ye Wu Zhi's is related to her gambling.
- (Does Meng San Xi have two letters?)
[Ep21] Meng San Xi's sect. Did they die or are they gods? He believes in the latter (to make himself feel better that he wasn't abandoned). I can't ignore it anymore. Xie Xing Yang sucks at acting emotional...
Look at everyone staring at everyone
Ji Ming Zhao hollers at 345 for chitchatting in a meeting. I love how perfectly timed their speeches were. Our 345 have grand plans tonight for their revenge.
Qiu Bai Yue and Ying Bai Chi appeal to 4 and 5 respectively. (Does Ying Bai Chi have a crush on Ye Wu Zhi too? Or he just likes her because she's his only bookfan? xD)
At night, 345 Trio tricks Masked Martial Artist into helping them.
- Ye Wu Zhi can ask the hypnotized Liu Martial Artist about 3-7 Organization (because he's part of it).
- Yan Si Fang can ask the hypnotized Marked Martial Artist about Liang Family (because he's hired by the Liangs)
- Meng San Xi can temporarily free Duan Shou while both top martial artists are hypnotized. He takes him out to see his wife amidst the crowd that's watching Ji Ming Zhao's show.
(By the way, Yan Si Fang has another pill for Meng San Xi, but this one can only restore 30% of his powers, which he pulls out of his ear. Nasty. Meng San Xi wipes it on his shirt for like one second. That's enough?!)
[Ep22] [Insert really long flashbacks/dream segment] My favourite part is when they snap back to reality. And when they said "I'm living well now."
Wei Dong Yang almost catches Yan Si Fang with Duan Shou (WDY is part of 3-7 who wants Duan Shou dead). I honestly have no idea if WDY recognized DS or he's just a crazy fangirl. After Duan Shou sees his wife, he tells Yan Si Fang everything.
- Liang 1+4 (and maybe Liang 2) sabotaged Liang 5.
- Liang 1 had wanted to earn a fortune, which would bankrupt Dai Family.
- They didn't expect that Dai Family would Liu and Dai top martial artists for the armed-escort.
- After the fight, Liu and Dai had left, but Dai ran back to attack. That's how Duan Shou lived up to his name and duanshou-ed (severed arm). Dai also told them to run. Hm. As for why Duan Shou is at Liu Family's, he can't reveal this. Hmm?!
As for Yan Si Fang and Ye Wu Zhi's progress:
- 4. Masked Martial Artist knows nothing about Tuoba family. Before he wakes up, Yan Si Fang poisons him. He can get his antidote if he investigate the connection between Liang and Tuoba
- 5. Liu Martial Artist tells her the direction to 3-7's Headquarters. The directions to Lao Ding's inheritance?!
Masked Martial Artist is determined to kill them tonight, though. If he doesn't kill them, Ji Ming Zhao might, lol. She's ballistic that they're absent when they're up for the closing finale. She summons Gu Nian Jiu for an impromptu qin performance.
345 have landed! They're on stage, fighting the Masked Martial Artist. Gu Nian Jiu calmly, and cleverly picks up the tempo of her song to match the fight. When Yan Si Fang's in danger, Qiu Bai Yue drops her shield. But who threw the pebble that saved Meng San Xi?! He thinks it's his gods....! He had asked them to take care of his friends.
- Yan Si Fang → Ji Ming Zhao
- Qiu Bai Yue → Yan Si Fang
- Ye Wu Zhi → Meng San Xi
- Dai Meng Hui (straight ahead, lol)
- Gu Nian Jiu → Meng San Xi
- Ji Ming Zhao → Yan Si Fang
- Ying Bai Chi → Ye Wu Zhi
- Liu Yun Gui → Meng San Xi ?! Why LOL
- Meng San Xi → Ye Wu Zhi
I want to think that Gu Nian Jiu and Ji Ming Zhao are staring at each other, but lol
[Ep23] Ji-345 quartet are first place! They're my team, but I hate their sportsmanship. They're more annoying winners than sore losers are losers.
Dai Meng Hui may have evidence to clear Liang 5's charges. There's a reason he had to be a constable despite his every lacking brain cell. To study for four years (because he failed three times), he's roiled in debt, and suffered without his family's support. What is pushing him to go to such lengths all by himself?
Our poor 345 Trio. They really were abandoned.
- 3's shixiong is alive. He's no "god" (euphemism for dead). He's the mayor.
- 4's parents are alive. They even have two children. Yan Si Fang asked them if they're a family of four, visiting the city, and they nod. Our 4 is not included in that family of 4! T_T They can't even recognize him. And I'm brokenhearted that he cried like that. (I love and am sad that he foreshadowed the way he would cry in his magic mushroom dream. Making eye contact would tear his heart.
- 5's sect members are alive. They ignore her. They won't reunite with her because 3-7 Organization are targeting her since she's dead set on revenge. Her members may have survived 5 assaults, but their will has shattered. They couldn't face Ye Wu Zhi who remains pure and righteous. They pretended to die and escaped, but some were still caught and were tormented until they betrayed Ye Wu Zhi's whereabouts.
[Ep24] Yan Si Fang's parents lecture their son, their other son, to stop slurping so loud and shaking his leg. I noticed YSF doing this all the time, but wow, I didn't think it'd come back like this!
Wei Dong Yang and Meng San Xi meet (10-day promise). We all know that Wei Dong Yang is Li Jun Zi's fan, but how many of you predicted. Li Jun Zi is Lady Li 4 who Liang 5 fell in love with. Meng San Xi knew and it's why he can't watch her. It reminds him of Bei Xiao Hai. After that incident, she was abandoned by her family and became a dancer. And what a weird twist of fate is that Wei Dong Yang (part of 3-7 Organization who killed Liang 5) would become Li 4's fan.
Wei Dong Yang and Meng San Xi commence their duel. Wei Dong Yang is ordered to kill him because he's approaching the truth, but at the critical moment, Wei Dong Yang closes his eyes, ready to die by Meng San Xi's sword. The sword is flicked away by a needle. It's Yan Si Fang. And Ye Wu Zhi. They know where to find him thanks to gossipy ladies chewing magical melon seeds. Now he's slashed by Ye Wu Zhi. Meng San Xi hollers at her not to kill him. Aw.
The truth is revealed. Wei Dong Yang realizes he's the sacrifice. He also realizes his organization – contrary to his belief that they don't kill anyone innocent – killed someone innocent (Bai Xiao Hai / Liang 5). He is also the only 3-7 member who hasn't attended a single mission. His hands are untainted. If Meng San Xi kills him, then he will become a murderer who killed someone innocent. In this way, their organization will have a reason to kill him. In the second scenario, if Wei Dong Yang kills Meng San Xi, he will die too because he killed someone innocent as well. Wei Dong Yang may hate his organization, but he will not betray. That's his last act to thank them for raising him all these years. Is that why Liu Martial Art Master let him go? He pities this sacrificial lamb?
Ye Wu Zhi offers the boys a solution: surrender to the law. Go to jail. Be expelled for 7 years. Ye Wu Zhi is familiar with this protocol because her comrades were charged.
Wei Dong Yang: Can we be friends when I come out?Meng San Xi: 無所謂 (It doesn't matter). He'a saying yes in such a wittingly poignant way! "Wu Suo Wei" was WDY's temporary name that Meng San Xi gave him. Wei Dong Yang might not be able to be friends with him, but Wu Suo Wei still can!
Ye Wu Zhi is disheartened that her comrades' punishment totals to 14 years, and they were sabotaged by Wei Dong Yang. Meng San Xi is like "How about I let him slash me again?" Ye Wu Zhi looks up at him, eyes round, hope is swimming there. LOL. But she asks for money. Oh. It's to buy new clothes for her shixiong. Aww. She also buys 5 bags of chestnuts from his stall. This is her telling him she respects his decision to not acknowledge her existence T_T.
Ji Ming Xin (the sister) spent four hours to find Ji Ming Zhao an investor! Aw. And he's Xie Cheng Huan. Ye Wu Zhi's fiancé! He's her stakeholder now. Ou. Complicated.
- Meng San Xi asks them if gods exist as he prays to the god, literally. Others just pray before a meal. He's got a statue. Yan Si Fang says there are gods for Meng San Xi's sake. Then Meng San Xi asks if there are doppelgängers (because he rather believes in gods or doppelgängers than accept the pain that he was abandoned). Yan Si Fang can't entertain Meng San Xi anymore but Ye Wu Zhi says she experienced the same thing. And that's how she makes her first (blatant) lie to cheer up Meng San Xi. The boys are so proud of her!!! Awwwwww.
- Ye Wu Zhi asks the boys that if because of her they're in danger, lie that they don't know her. Yan Si Fang refuses. Not only that, he'll tell everyone he knows her. Meng San Xi agrees and denies that she's a curse. Plus, he has gods protecting him and they will protect her too. If he dies, he will become a ghost or a god to guard her. If she ever eats alone, he'll be hovering at her side. LOL. Is this a curse? Whether being human, ghost, or god, he will announce to the three worlds (underworld, earth, heaven) that he knows her. Moreover, where can he meet another girl like her who loves drinking and gambling, and prefers OT over vacays. He even asks her on a date!
SLUUUUUUUUURP
- That's Yan Si Fang, majorly pissing off Meng San Xi on one his potential last Triangle days. Yan Si Fang contends that he doesn't like him anymore because he has no upbringing. Awww. We love you Yan Si Fang!
SLUUUUUUUUURP.
(= Love you!)
- That'sYe Wu Zhi. She's such a champ, comforting the boys! Now all three of them slurp and shake legs together. They even throw their shoes away.
Hearts are shared without any of them needing to speak of their pain. *SNIFFLES*
Twists!
- Ji Ming Xin and Dai Meng Hui are a pact! Both of them want to avenge their older brothers.
- Ying Bai Chi and Qiu Yue Bai have been engaged for a year and are heading home to ask for another postponement. Oh hey, they are kinda cute.
- Liu Yun Gui visits Duan Shou. He's looking evil! But I like(d) you! Duan Shou promises not to reveal his part in the story.
- There's an anti-3-7-Organization Organization. Gu Nian Jiu is there. Her umbrella had a dagger in it! Lao Ding is in it too.
Back to our trio. Ji Ming Zhao joins them. SLUUUUUUUUURP. She approves of everything except the shaking. Yan Si Fang looks touched. He likes being disciplined.
The end.
Wait. There's an extra ep.
[Ep25] Day off! Wait. It's not a day off because those are days to recover from work. Today is a day to waste yourself, a day to escape from your problems.
What are everyone's problems?
Ying Bai Chi is in a rut. He has no days off! Even though he only works for three days a month, none of the off-days are actually his days-off. Someone slap him. Furthermore, even if he wants one, he has no one to ask. Because he's his own boss. I hope every time he goes, it's constipation. He groans that Meng San Xi doesn't understand him. He must think he's 矯情 (pretentious). Meng San Xi gets "pretentiousness" though. "But your type of 矯情 and my type of 矯情 are separated by tax brackets" LOL.
Ye Wu Zhi, on her off-day, goes to work. To hang out with Lao Ding. To play dice with him. He gives in and asks what their bets are. No bets. She quit gambling! Until her next pay day that is. She didn't quit. She just has no money. Hahahaha. (Romance! Lao Ding teased her for being here because Meng San Xi still has work left, awwwwwwww.)
Gu Nian Jiu and Liu Yun Gui take art lessons. The teacher pointedly asks them, "How do we define no foundation – Liu Yun Gui look around – or no talent – Gu Nian Jiu looks around – or 目中無人 (= eyes that can see no one = so arrogant that no one matters)!" LOL. Gu Nian Jiu asks if he's giving them attitude because they didn't pay. That's not it. He didn't accept their tuition because they don't qualify to pay. The amount of burn. Liu Yun Gui wittingly counters the teacher, "There are no bad students. There are only bad teachers." HAHA. They continue to draw without a care for the teacher's blood pressure.
Meng San Xi wanted to avoid remembering his friend, Bei Xiao Hai, but in this town it seems everyone he bumps into jolts his pain. When he ate salty tofu with Qiu Yue Bai, she talked about the taste of the sea (Hai) and the vision of the desert (also Bei Xiao Hai). Even the ex-bullies admiring the girls walking by won't let Meng San Xi forget about his friend for just a day.
Lao Ding buys Ye Wu Zhi chestnuts, the one by the casino. Then she tells Lao Ding that he's not her friend because he's like her shifu, her elder. Her family. Lao Ding cries while eating the half of her chestnut. She wants to forget too, but the chestnut is from the shixiong who abandoned her T_T. Lao Ding was also emotional while eating the chestnut. What's his story?
Ji Ming Zhao is at the theatres, the theatre that was too expensive for Meng San Xi but he wouldn't want to watch it anyway. It's Li 4 Lady's show. Ji Ming Zhao hears the men gossiping about her dead brother, Ji 1. They say that Ji 1 was murdered by Liang 5 because Li 4 liked Ji 1. Ji Ming Zhao nudges the man to report this to the officials. If they can gossip about this like it's the truth, why can't they speak to the guards about it too? The man curls up in fear. Furthermore, if what they're saying has no proof, then that means the Liang 5's sentencing was wrong. And if it was wrong, which of the other Liangs is most likely the murderer? I just remembered that in Ep16, when she went through the Liang12345 with Yan Si Fang, she said that Liang 5 was sabotaged by the other Liangs.... She always knew it was the other Liangs....
Dai Meng Hui reads books on his off-day. The book-owner recommends an entertaining and thrilling read about a didi who watched his gege die in front of him. Dai Meng Hui's gege....The didi blamed the heavens for being unfair. Dai Meng Hui disagrees. A fun book should have the didi be angry at himself for his incompetence and then grow strong. Thrilling books are thrilling not because it resolves unfairness, but it's a haven to forgive our own weaknesses (because in books, we can be as invincible).
Qiu Yue Bai eats at the tofu pudding store that always gives her a stomachache. She remembers how her mother would always yell at her for eating here. But not anymore. When you grow up, there's no one to check on you. Her parents died, right? She's giving herself pain to override the emotional pain that hurts more.
Gu Nian Jiu and Liu Yun Gui are still drawing. The teacher is starting to admire their paintings. He can feel despair. They think it's another jab. It isn't. He doesn't mean he feels despair about their painting, but he can feel despair from their painting. Since they have no foundation, their despair is raw. Immediately, they stop drawing. Art was their escape, but art revealed the repair they wanted to escape from.
Yan Si Fang chose to chill with the old men because they're avoiding their wives. In here, he won't hear "dad", "mom", "son", or "daughter" (the family that abandoned him). However two grandfathers argue over a stolen chess piece. They make bets to be the other's fathers/grandfathers if they did cheat. Yan Si Fang hollers at them. Does a piece really matter that much to bring in fathers and grandfathers? It's just a piece. If it's lost then it's lost. The game can still go on. "Why look so high and mighty, pretending like you care?" Aw. He's yelling at them, and yelling at himself. He doesn't want to care but he cares. (Romance! Meng San Xi asked Yan Si Fang if he's like the grandfathers escaping their tiger wives = Ji Ming Zhao. Yan Si Fang retaliates and asks Meng San Xi about his date with Ye Wu Zhi since it's an "off-day". ^^)
Meng San Xi: There must be such a day in a person's life. This day you wake up. An idea pops into your mind: I am so tired, so sad and so stressed.Yan Si Fang: [There will always be] problems that haven’t been solved yet, and problems that will need to be solved. Sad Yesterdays, Confused Tomorrows, and the Flowing Time that is always right at your side. Everyone is asking you, “How are you going to spend your day today?”Ye Wu Zhi : I don’t know. I haven’t thought it through yet. I don't want to think about it. [She’s answering YSF’s questions in her signature way] Today I just want to escape. I want to mess around for a day. I set a rule for myself to mess around for just one day. On this day, I allow myself to live heartlessly.Ji Ming Zhao: Today, I will allow myself to be an irresponsible person. I deliberately avoid the places that stresses me, pretending that they are gone or never existed.Qiu Yue Bai: But under this heartless sunshine, those "stresses" turn into shadows, following you in every step. It's extremely irritable.Liu Yun Gui: You know that all your hard work today was in vain. You also know that even if you change the activity tomorrow, it’s all in vain.Gu Nian Jiu: After all, stress won’t become tolerant just because the day is Today. It won’t let you go just because you ignore it. It has always been sandwiched between Yesterday and Tomorrow, in every Todays.Dai Meng Hui: And so you have no choice but to give up escaping. You bite into the pressure, turning the Tomorrows into Todays. Day after day, after breaking down countless teeth and countless Tomorrows then maybe the day you worked so hard for will become a real Today (a day to escape from stress).Meng San Xi: In summary There's no shame in escaping, but it's useless
No one has found a solution. But maybe Ying Bai Chi has.
Ying Bai Chi: I disagree with postponing our discussion about days off for Tomorrow. How about we reduce our three working days to one working day, then we will have two more non-working days to discuss this matter. And so tomorrow is a non-working day too. If we use all the non-working days to discuss this, maybe we can figure it out. I hope his stools never pass.
Pst. His store name is 應家商行 (Ying Family’s Corp) but can be read as 贏家商行 (Winner’s Corp). He really is the Winner! No stress for him throughout the drama!!! The others all have secrets and revenge. He is free of it all.
The end.
Remarks
[First Impression (Ep1-9)] Comedically...profound...! This is a wuxia sitcom tapping into the nuances of ordinary life.
Superb drama to unwind after a long day. I can see myself rewatching, and finding jokes I missed. Unfortunately, the wit is tied to the language. Even if the subs aren't Mango-ed, it's hard for any translator to capture the layered meanings with just subtitles.
My favourite character is the FL, Ye Wu Zhi. She's brave and veracious. She's also addicted to gambling and drinking. The MLs are far seconds just because I love her so much.
Romance, there is. I'm rooting for Meng San Xi and Ye Wu Zhi. As for the second dude, he's got two girls, and I think there's chemistry with both.
[Cast&Crew] The most well known among this crew is not the cast, but the director&scriptwriter, Bi Xing Ye, for Stand by Me, also a sitcom. Wu Yu Ze (from SbM) makes a special appearance as ML's dead friend.
Ep1 had cameos from 0713 (a popular band rediscovered by a variety show). They crack some jokes but I don't really know them.
A little shoutout to Huang Si Rui. I've always loved her characters. So when does she land bigger roles. Yo.
[Behind the Scenes]
[Ending] Happy and opens possibility for a S2.
[A Highlight] The romantic me is tempted to choose Ep11 when Ye Wu Zhi hangs herself over Meng San Xi.
[Review & Rating]
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