My Sunshine (何以笙箫默): Episode 18 Review and Recap

January 22, 2015 by peanuts 34 Comments

We have reached the halfway mark of the drama so what do you think of it? This is not a bad drama yet it is also not a great one. In my honest opinion it can not measure up to Boss & Me which is reflected in its rating. I’ve to say the saving grace is WC. He elevates this drama to above average for me. This episode is mainly on the uni’s centennial celebration and  Yi Chen and Mo Sheng meeting Ying Hui. Thank you for all the comments. I do read each and every one of them but unfortunately I don’t have time to reply all of them. If I didn’t reply your comment, please write more until I respond, lol.

---

 My Sunshine Episode 18 Review & Recap (written by peanuts & illustrated by chewywon)

Mo Sheng goes into a men’s clothing shop and asks to look at a coat on the display window. Just like in the novel, she decides to buy it and pay with Yi Chen’s card. When she is signing for it, she remembers:

Yi Chen: You wrote wrongly.
Mo Sheng: How could that be?
Yi Chen: The mistake is in the order of the strokes. This stroke in the letter “He” should be written on the inside first, and the vertical hook is last. Write it again.
Mo Sheng: Why am I writing your name!?

In the end, Mo Sheng signs He Yi Chen. Can you sign someone’s name? I wonder if Gant paid the production company for product placement. Mo Sheng feels her relationship with Yi Chen is like dating even though they are married.

Yi Chen: What have you been hiding throughout the journey?
Mo Sheng: I bought you a coat. But, can I use it to exchange for you taking me to the university centennial celebration… And also, I used your card to pay for it.
Yi Chen: Let’s go.

Goody, such a heart warming scene. Mo Sheng has improved. She looks so much more happy and cheerful now. Eeeee, stalker Ying is around, so scary !!! He tells Linda that after the failure to acquire a business due to his hesitancy, he thought he’ll not regret anything else in the future but obviously this is not the case. Then he tells her to organize an interview with Treasure magazine where Mo Sheng works.

The sequence in the drama is different from the novel. The university’s centennial celebration is ahead of Mo Sheng’s trip to Hong Kong.

Yi Chen: What is the matter?
Mo Sheng: You are really not going to the university’s centennial celebration?
Yi Chen: There is a donation ceremony. It is sufficient for Lao Yuan to go.
Mo Sheng: Then I am going.
Yi Chen: Where are you going?
Mo Sheng: To the university. If you are really not going then I am going with senior Yuan (Lao Yuan). Although I can go to the university anytime, it is a special occasion today. I am going.
Yi Chen: Come back! Don’t disturb other people. 

Oh, they are at the centennial celebration just like in the novel. This is also one of my favorite part since it is so nostalgic to go back to uni where they first met. Can think back of the good old days while youth is passing you by.

Mo Sheng: It has not changed at all. I remember I met you on the first day of uni.
Yi Chen: Such a bad beginning.
Mo Sheng: What? Come…..I’ll buy 2, one for each, ok?
Yi Chen: Okay.

Arrrrgh, I like this part, wearing matching uni T-shirt, so sugary sweet. Mo Sheng didn’t bring her purse so she asks Yi Chen for money to buy the T-shirts. As she pulls out the bills and hands his wallet back to him, Yi Chen instructs, “Don’t bargain.”  When Mo Sheng is buying the shirts, she is just about to try to bargain, but remembering what Yi Chen told her, quickly swallows her words and only asks for two shirts. Mo Sheng is so happy that she keeps bubbling non-stop 🙂 WC looks so handsome in that plain T-shirt. From now onwards, I’ve to praise and gush about him every few paragraphs because Himmy complained that I’ve not been doing enough. I was just trying to spare you from getting goosebumps, lol.

Hoju: I noticed this last episode at the popcorn scene, and I’ve noticed it again.  That fluid motion of Yi Chen’s when he pulls out his wallet is so… manly and attractive.

Mo Sheng: Yi Chen, can’t you feel someone is looking at you ah?
Yi Chen: Don’t look around when walking.

Oh so sweet, Yi Chen taking picture of Mo Sheng, a nice addition to the novel. Mo Sheng complains that his photography skills are terrible.  Yi Chen defends himself by saying his pictures are the same as she takes, no difference.  “I’m not that fat!” Mo Sheng protests.  Yi Chen looks at her and states, “The photo tells the truth.” Then Xiang Heng calls and asks Yi Chen to go over to the Law Faculty. Mo Sheng doesn’t want to follow Yi Chen over because there’ll be too many people there and she also wants to take some photos.

Since she didn’t bring her purse, Yi Chen leaves his phone with her so they can contact each other. The password to unlock his phone is her BIRTHDAY !!! Oh Yi Chen, can you be anymore devoted?

Hoju: SQUEEEEEE. I love this. 🙂

Yi Chen goes to meet up with Xiang Heng and his ex-classmates. They laugh at his T-shirt, so no taste 😛 Then they tease him, asking whether he meets clients like this. Lao Yuan says the clients like his expressionless face, making him look especially professional. But wait till the clients see him in this attire. Yi Chen quickly puts on his coat. Haha, Lao Yuan is such a joker, wanna capture Yi Chen in his underwear lol.

Xiang Heng asks where is Mo Sheng and Yi Chen says she is wandering around. Then a guy (Su Min in the novel changed gender?) asks Lao Yuan if Yi Chen has a girlfriend. That cheeky guy replies no.  He wants to introduce his cousin sister to Yi Chen. However Xu Ying tells him not to waste time as Yi Chen has such bad taste so he surely will not like his good quality cousin. He insists his cousin is very cute and lovely, not like Xu Ying, lol.

Similar to the novel, while taking pictures, Mo Sheng overhears that Ying Hui is giving a speech in the auditorium. Then there are some flashbacks. Have they been shown before? I am skipping them unless you leave me a comment to translate. I don’t think you are interested in Ying Hui’s articulate speech on technology about giving more choices to the users.  Have to give point to the drama for creativity in changing SOSO in the novel to INSO. I think may breach copyright as SOSO is actually baidu’s search engine? A girl drools and comments, “You have to marry him before he becomes successful.” This is indeed true. If you didn’t read the novel, it is said Ying Hui is modelled after Robin Li, the founder of Baidu. He is quite good looking and met his wife while he was studying in US and before he made it big in China. The 2 girls continue to gossip about Ying Hui’s ex-girlfriend and poor family background, just like the novel. In the question and answer session, a girl was asked by her friend to ask Ying Hui, “They say you donated RMB30 million jointly with your wife. So, I’ll be a little presumptuous and ask, is your love story just like your career success, as dream-like as an epic poem?” Ying Hui appears in a daze after hearing this, but just when people think he is not going to answer, he replies that he was just thinking of his wife and then says, “If you’re going to say my career is like a dream, you can actually say my love story is even more like a dream.  But it is not a legend or an epic poem, it is merely a love poem that belongs only to the two of us.” 

By the way, bongsd asked you if you can recognise Ah Mei (Shan Shan’s colleague) from Boss & Me in the crowd?

Someone from the uni, thanks all the alumni for their generous donation to the uni. Then another guy praises Yi Chen for charming the girls when he was giving a speech just now. Hey, why didn’t show me that part? Lao Yuan adds salt by saying whoever Yi Chen marries now, he’ll also hurt a lot of girls’ hearts. Suddenly, a girl student comes and asks Yi Chen for his phone no. He replies his phone is with his wife, haha…Lao Yuan offers to give his number but the girl is not interested 😛 Xiang Heng comments that Yi Chen is really a professional at not answering the questions, heehee…..Then all of them go and have dinner together.

After assisting the injured woman, Mo Sheng stares in daze, thinking of the past. Then Yi Chen calls her.

Mo Sheng: Yi Chen, I miss you very much.
Mo Sheng thinks: Yi Chen, did you know that? In the streets in US, full of people, even someone looking a bit like you also could not be seen. Finally, I can tell you now, I miss you very much……
Yi Chen: Where are you?
Mo Sheng: In the auditorium
Yi Chen: Go directly to Bin Jiang Hotel across the university’s north gate. I’ll wait for you in front of the hotel.
Mo Sheng: Okay.

WC’s expression is so spot on when he hears Mo Sheng’s suddenly tells him, she misses him.

Just like in the novel, someone took the table Lao Yuan’s reserved.  That guy introduces his cousin to everyone. When he hears, Xiang Heng asks Yi Chen why his wife is still not here, he is confused. Lao Yuan says sneakily: “A wife is a wife, not a girlfriend. You asked me if he has a girlfriend, not wife.”

Oh, this is another nice addition to the novel. It captures the carefree feeling of youth so aptly. It also showcase the beautiful tree lined campus and falling leaves. By showing the young and matured Yi Chen and Mo Sheng together, it heightens the dreamy atmosphere. So envious of Tang Yan for getting to sit on WC’s bicycle, so much more romantic than his posh cars. Yi Chen complains that it is a short distant between the uni and the hotel, so how long more does she still want him to cycle?

Ying Hui asks those people in the uni to recommend a trustworthy lawyer firm to him.  No prize for guessing that they recommend Yi Chen’s law firm since they all graduated from the same uni. Hence, Ying Hui asks the dean to make the introduction. While Yi Chen and Mo Sheng are walking to the hotel, he lectures her for wandering about and not giving him a call. At the same venue, that guy laments Yi Chen for choosing Mo Sheng who was not from the Faculty of Law and moreover so ordinary. Lao Yuan sums it up perfectly, “A love relationship is like drinking water. The person who drinks it knows best whether the water is hot or cold.” They meet and greet each other politely.

Suddenly someone calls Mo Sheng, Mrs Ying and asks about Ying Hui. In front of so many people especially Yi Chen’s friends, how to you expect her to react? Of course deny everything and say he has got the wrong person. Yi Chen is so supportive to hold her hand. I need to defend Yi Chen here. At times, he may appear cool and uncaring, in fact he is very supportive and devoted. Just that time is needed to thaw this iceberg which has been frozen for 7 years. At this specific moment Ying Hui appears and helps Mo Sheng out by saying his wife is overseas. Well, Ying Hui is not so bad after all but in order to drag the drama, Gu Man is destroying his book character. The meeting is pretty tense and the 3 leads have the right expressions.

Lao Yuan and gang recognise Ying Hui as someone famous. Their table is ready so they go into the function room.

Yi Chen: Think about what to write for your self-reflection report when we get home. Wandering alone and did not call me on time.

Mo Sheng: Yi Chen, I want to tell you what happened in US.
Yi Chen: Is it him? We’ll talk when we get home.

As usual, they are having dinner and drinking Rio Wine. I think I see Rio Wine in every episode, even more than in Boss & Me. It makes me suspect if the boss of the production company also owns Rio Wine. It is like there is only Rio Wine in China but nothing else 😦  One of the guy at the table recalls and jokes about Mo Sheng’s answer to lock up the accused when she was called on in the criminal law class to answer a question. Mo Sheng asks who is that guy since she doesn’t know him. Yi Chen says Mo Sheng is famous as Professor Zhu told the story about Mo Sheng to students in later class years. Then of all places, the 2 male leads meet in a toilet.  Their conversation follows the novel closely except Ying Hui didn’t say, “My ex-wife used to search for that name in the search engine I developed.” Then Yi Chen tells the people at the table about his encounter with Ying Hui in the toilet and he is interested to deal with the law firm. During dinner, Lao Yuan urges Mo Sheng to drink to celebrate the possible success of landing Ying Hui as a client. Just like in the novel, Mo Sheng got drunk so Yi Chen carries her home and gives her a kiss on the forehead.

Yi Chen may be an alcoholic after Mo Sheng left for US. But, later he told Yi Mei he won’t drink anymore so as not to disappoint the people who care about him. Hence, why we’ve Yi Chen drinking  so often in the drama? Urgh, I am getting sick of seeing product placements especially Rio Wine. I guess the drama is substituting cigarette with alcohol since Yi Chen smokes very frequently in the novel which irks me. Which is more harmful? I know most fans like to see WC drinking than smoking, including me. Thus, this is a nice change from the novel.

Did he also kiss you this way?
Was he also once this close to you?
Why did you come back?

The next morning, Yi Chen shows concern for Mo Sheng whether she is suffering any hangover. Then he drives her to work. At the workplace, Mo Sheng finds out that the publishing company is going to interview Ying Hui.