Love, Now: Episode 4

I know what y'all are thinking: Chloeee, how can you not have THE *nudge nudge wink wink* SCENE, the kiss(es) of dreams, the 10 over 10 kiss as the main picture to grace this post? Blasphemy! 

Oho! Before you task me to sit in a corner, hear this humble viewer out. We all saw that kiss coming, BUT I betcha no one saw the tsukommi potential in our hero. This breakthrough scene, henceforth called "How To Get Your Pesky Matchmaker of A Grandmother Die Of Heart Attack 101" is when Shi De gets back from the Phillipines; Mom and Grandma is still picking out blind date candidates for him. This gesture is of course denied by Shi De, for he is now a married man. Says Shi De of the straight face: 

"I'll introduce [my wife] to you when I find her." *flashes ring* 

And with that, he heads up to his room, leaving the womenfolk dumbfounded (just a second though) and then abuzz with speculation. I DIE. Never mind the sudden marriage, it's as if losing A HUMAN BEING is an everyday occurrence to this man.

NOW PLAYING
Love, Now OST - "吾在場證明" (Alibi) by Yen-j


EPISODE 4 RECAP
Okay now, here's what everyone is waiting for... drumroll please:

TA-DAH! Happy now? See it in it all its official still glory, since none of my weaksauce screencapping will ever suffice. THIS, director-sans, PDnims and dao yans, is how you start a show. Who else had to pause before The Kiss because you were too busy giggling? Never in my life have I been more glad to be proved wrong - man has got nothing against exchanging bodily fluids (TMI? Sorry). So uh, that was just some misguided attempt at being a gentleman on his part (or maybe he's just super sneaky by employing reverse psychology. In which case, genius! I knew you were perfect muahahaha). 

It's also good to see hear that they've rectify that godawful BG music from the last episode - Yen-j FTW! It's a tad too loud though and I can't hear them say:

Shi De: "Yi Ru, I-" 

Yi Ru: "To be married to you... I am in bliss."

To Shi De, that was the OK he needed to free himself from whatever that's shackling him before. And presumably they made sweet love (give the couple some privacy, will ya?) 

But all good things must come to an end, because shit is hitting the fan in 3... 2... 1...

Samantha (Yi Ru's friend who works at the resort) is here to sneak in the message she couldn't before. Gah, I wish I could reach my hand into the screen and tear the note into pieces. I'm not ready for my OTP to part yet! Can we go to Bora Bora for round 2 of the honeymoon? *cries*

Before she could make the getaway, the happy couple sees her lurking outside their room; Shi De leaves the two girls so they could catch up. "Why the long face?" Yi Ru asks her. It's true that she's dying, but she is happy now and plans to spend the rest of her days that way. In a small voice, Samantha tells her the truth. 

Blissfully unaware to what's going down, Shi De plans to register their marriage once they get back to Taiwan. But how to say? "Let's become husband and wife for real." Is it too mushy? (Me: No! Go for itttt) But when he goes back to get wifey, he finds this instead:

Good lord. Who hits their friends anyone like that? If that doesn't make Shi De think twice about Yi Ru, nothing will. He finds out from her that Yi Ru has gone back to Taiwan. 

(Also, is anyone else bristling at the injustice? When Yi Ru gets back to do some avenging, Qi Ming gets off with just a few dubious pain patches on his arm. Not that I condone violence, but no fair! Not only does his face came out unscathed, he gets an egg too! Poor Samantha.)

Back in Taiwan, we are once again treated to Shi De in a suit, with a side of cold city man:

I MISSED YOU! Sure, his considerate lover persona is every woman's dream come true, but his glare and sexy threatening voice does funny things to me, heheh. I cannot decide whether I like him more as a ruthless businessman or the thoughtful, kind and gentle pursuer. Sigh, drama problems. I think it's the combination of the two that makes his character so intoxicating.

CRAZY, STUPID
The following events can only be described as... weirddd:

Man sees cardboard cutout, seemingly entranced. He reaches out for it, lingering at her throat. The cardboard cutout lady is Shi De's older sister; relationship expert and author of the appropriately titled "Love Now." 

He queues up for her autograph session. It's his turn now, but instead of handing a book over to sign, he gives her a piece of paper with his name written on it - the man is ZHENG YU XIANG (Harry Zhang Huai Qiu - of the Da Mouth fame!). He says, "You don't know me. But from this moment onwards, you will remember my name." For the show's sake, I really hope he's not a psychotic despot. He then tries to get behind the table that's separating them, but thank god for the world's fastest security (seriously, they appeared out of nowhere).   

After the event, man proceeds to follow her car. With a bicycle.

Man gets stabbed (I wish).

Man gets off with a warning. 

Man smirks, "Now you know my name."

So... yeah, what am I supposed to think of this? Am I supposed to think this cute? If he's sooo in lurrrve, why do I feel like he's out to murder someone?

LOVE
At home, he drops the bomb on the ladies, a bomb which I've waxed lyrical about (see top of post). Of course, now that he's home the first thing he does is hold THE photograph. As a seasoned drama viewer, I was immediately on tenterhooks. Wait for it...

A FLASHBACK! (I love how the scene starts with him posing for said photograph. And ooh, nice bangs.) We see that the Shi De of yore does not differ much from his current self. Low EQ (still the same) and exam-orientated (now a workaholic); qualities which makes him a nerd, but a very good looking one. 

Exam time - he may have the smarts, but unlike ISWAK's Zhi Shu, he's susceptible to human emotions. I like that he's nervous. The flustered Shi De only brought a grand total of TWO pens to the hall, and both are out of ink. What to do?! He looks around, and is about to ravage his bag when help arrives in the form of a very pretty young lady:

Heart palpitating - it was love at first sight. The cynic in me begs to differ: could it be the suspension bridge effect? I mean, the man was already nervous!

After the exam, Shi De calls after her ("Student!") but he's stuck amidst the sea of people and she's already gone by the time he manages to get out of the hall. 

The flashback ends with him holding the same pen in his hands right now:

Shi De: "You left as suddenly as you appeared."