My Sunshine (何以笙箫默): Episode 27 Review and Recap

January 28, 2015 by hoju 14 Comments

Lots of rants and opinions from hoju in this recap. :p Lots of characters that annoy me to write about, but also the last of the 7 years of misunderstanding is cleared up!

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My Sunshine Episode 27 Review & Recap (written by hoju & illustrated by bongsd)

Yi Chen remembers the conversation he had with his American contact, Jason.  INSO is in trouble, allegedly having falsified financial statements, and Jason expects more trouble to come.  Now is the time to move against Ying Hui. However, Yi Chen does not want to do anything out in the open yet, for fear of alerting Ying Hui to what he is doing. Yi Chen tells Jason that he will be going to the U.S. within a short period of time.

Gold-digger Tong has come to INSO’s office to thank Ying Hui for helping her get the new job with a lunchbox of coca-cola glazed chicken wings she made all by herself. In her damsel-in-distress voice, she tells him everything is wonderful with her new job, with the exception of her hubby, who supposedly suspects there is something going on between her and Ying Hui. Ying Hui apologizes for not considering her husband’s feelings when getting her the job and tells her to treasure the marriage she has. He has a meeting, so Tong Xin Ying leaves. He tells Linda to toss out the chicken wings.

In a video conference with the big guns of INSO, we learn that INSO is in negotiations with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Ying Hui is confident but is reminded that share price is plummeting. His lawyer, Smith, also has a private discussion with him, telling Ying Hui that any news of divorce would provide further negative attention on him.

Mo Sheng is busy prepping for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Mo Sheng: I’m going to make breakfast for you tomorrow, okay?
Yi Chen: It looks like I don’t have to make it.
Mo Sheng: Yup!
Yi Chen: Why? (leans in closer and lowers voice) Is it because you can’t pay the “breakfast fee”?
(Mo Sheng glares at him and . Yi Chen grabs some Yakult from the fridge.)

(Aiya, Lawyer He, physical exhaustion every morning is indeed a steep price to pay for breakfast.  Alright, ladies, which one of you will so valiantly come in to help out Mo Sheng and take her place?)

Yi Chen: (looks down at what Mo Sheng is doing) There’s so much rice in there.  Are you sure you’re making rice porridge?
Mo Sheng: Aiyo. I know my cooking isn’t very good, but… now, the kitchen belongs to me. Get out, get out.
Yi Chen: I recently took on some cases that are a collaboration with people in the U.S. I’ll be going into the office very early, so I likely won’t have time to have breakfast.
Mo Sheng: But can’t you just pre-arrange meeting times for stuff like that?  Aiya, I don’t care. No matter what, you have to have breakfast before you go.
Yi Chen: From now on, I’ll take care of breakfast so you don’t have to get up early.
Mo Sheng: So good to me?
Yi Chen: (nods) “A day’s work is planned in the early morning.” Breakfast affects the entire day’s energy and can’t be mediocre. (Mo Sheng giggles.) The stuff you make… (Mo Sheng makes a weird, warning gesture to him.)  Ahem… I won’t disturb you.
(Yi Chen walks off, drinking his Yakult)

Mo Sheng: Hey, how come every time you say lovey-dovey stuff, you only get halfway through and then you stop?
Yi Chen: (yells back from outside) Being true to the facts is the spirit of the law!

Editor-in-chief Zhang is not happy! The big name people they have just interviewed, Ying Hui and also Miffy, are getting in lawsuits. Miffy just lost an inheritance lawsuit and even got in a fight with the paparazzi. Treasure’s staff, though, tell her that, during such a controversial and sensitive period, these interviews will attract even more attention and sales. Throughout the whole discussion, Mo Sheng is uncomfortable because she is concerned for Ying Hui.

In the airport, Ying Hui, who is returning to the U.S., is being dogged by the paparazzi. Also waiting for him there is Tong Xin Ying, but only Linda speaks to her.  Tong Xin Ying asks her to pass on the message that, no matter what, she trusts he will get through this and she will wait for him in Shanghai. Linda, however, rebukes her, saying that, as a married woman, it is rather inappropriate for such words to be coming from her, then says that Ying Hui’s patience has reached its limit with her two timing ways.  She has a family, and Ying Hui won’t want to see her anymore.

Ying Hui wonders to Linda whether Mo Sheng knows about his current situation and remembers before, every time negative news came out about INSO, Mo Sheng would be the first to ask him in concern. However, when Linda asks if he wants to call Mo Sheng, he refuses, saying he does not want her to see this sorry side of him.

Tong Xin Ying returns home to a cooking husband who is eager-to-please. So much for the suspicious, jealous hubby she told Ying Hui about. She makes up an excuse to go to her parents’ home to stay for a few days and thinks, “Is this really the life I want? To live in this tiny home with my ordinary husband?… What should I do? At my age, I cannot afford to make the wrong choice again.”

At her parents’ home, her mom is whining to a friend how Xin Ying has not married up. (The apple certainly hasn’t fallen far from the tree, eh?) The friend leaves, and Mama Tong immediately starts complaining how her friend’s daughter is not nearly as physically attractive as her own, yet that girl managed to marry someone wealthy. Tong Xin Ying points out she was the one who had disliked Ying Hui back then, but Mama Tong just says, how was she to know that he would end up a big boss? She urges her that she shouldn’t let this opportunity  go because he is probably still in love with her. Tong Xin Ying protests that she is already married, but Mama Tong tells her, “So what? You can get a divorce!” Tong Xin Ying remembers what Linda had told her and thinks, “Ying Hui suddenly won’t talk to me because I won’t get a divorce? So if I get a divorce…”

(Moms like this only exist in TV dramas, right? What mother would actually tell her daughter to get a divorce and be a gold digger? Needless to say, I cannot stand Mama Tong.)

Oh geez, as if Mama Tong wasn’t bad enough, now it’s Miffy, who marches into Yuan Xiang He Law Firm like she owns the place, demanding to see Lawyer He without an appointment. Lao Yuan goes over to try to appease her but Miffy is miffed (yeah yeah, bad joke by an annoyed Hoju) that she has had to wait 30_whole_minutes (*gasp*). Lao Yuan keeps a smile on his face, trying to explain that Yi Chen’s schedule is packed but Miffy just commands him to bring her to see Yi Chen.

Mo Sheng, who is out for afternoon tea with Xiao Xiao, calls Yi Chen and tells him she has asked Xiao Xiao to be her maid-of-honor.  Yi Chen’s lawyer mind quickly realizes the price is that he will not be getting his lawyer’s fee from the famous model next year, which is confirmed by Mo Sheng and Xiao Xiao.

Right then, Miffy storms into Yi Chen’s office, shouting that no one has ever made her wait that long before (while Lao Yuan grimaces behind her and mouths, “Yi Chen, this one is hell to deal with,” before walking off). Yi Chen calmly tells her he has already refused to take her case before. She scorns, “So morally lofty? Then why did you marry a billionaire’s ex-wife? Weren’t you just eyeing the money she would get from the divorce settlement?” Mo Sheng, who is actually still on the phone, hears all this and shortly after hanging up with Yi Chen, darts out of the coffee shop.

Yi Chen turns down Miffy’s huge price, 30% of the inheritance that she will win in the appeal, so she scorns, it is because he is useless and does not have the ability to win the case. “To win a case, besides the attorney, the client also plays a key part. If the client is Miss Wang, you, I indeed would not be certain if I can win… The most important point is, if I was the judge in your case, I would likely have made the same verdict!… What I mean is, even though riches themselves do not have any specific attributes that defines who shall own them, it is evident that everyone wants people who actually have morals to possess them!” Having lost against Lawyer He, Miffy leaves, screaming and stamping her feet.

(Bahaha! In your face, Miffy! Another over-exaggerated character for drama purposes. Again, I ask, do people like this exist in real life?)

I love Xiang Heng and Lao Yuan’s reaction to the situation. “It seems our great Lawyer He’s ability to tick people off has only gotten better.” Lao Yuan snickers, but then quickly addresses the staff, “None of you go and learn from this bad behaviour of Lawyer He. When you are dealing with clients, you should be like me, your Lawyer Yuan, so warm,” and proceeds to demonstrate.  (Hahaha! Lao Yuan, I needed your “warmness” after seeing Miffy on my screen.)

Mo Sheng charges up to Yi Chen’s office and is disappointed Miffy’s gone. She fumes to Yi Chen how completely out of the line she was that she would say something so degrading, but he just tells her that it’s fine because she was even angrier than Mo Sheng when she left. Mo Sheng continues to grumble still about Miffy’s degrading words. Yi Chen laughs at her, “Mo Sheng, have I ever told you, you really don’t know how to yell at people? You just keep saying the same thing over and over again. If you had been here, you might have even affected my performance.” Mo Sheng tells him she wants to go to the U.S.

Mo Sheng: INSO is facing such a big problem right now.  Ying Hui is definitely going to be in the United States, so I want to go there and complete the whole divorce process in person. Then, we can hold our wedding. (Yi Chen looks intently at her.) On the way here, I thought about a lot of things. In this whole situation, I’ve behaved very cowardly. When something happens, besides panicking, all I know is to feel helpless, unable to think of anything. You said you would deal with it, and so I just very worry-free tossed everything over to you.
Yi Chen: (smiles) Wow. Our Mo Sheng seems to have suddenly grown up.
Mo Sheng: I’m not joking.
Yi Chen: Okay, I know. Is your mind set?
(Mo Sheng nods)
Yi Chen: (gets on internal line) Mei Ting, set up an appointment for me to get a visa to the United States.
Mei Ting: (on the phone) When? Right now?
Yi Chen: Yes, immediately.  (hangs up and turns back to Mo Sheng) You’re going to the U.S. for a legal case.  How can you not bring your lawyer?

So they’re off on the plane!

Yi Chen: (eyes closed) Can’t sleep?
Mo Sheng: *sigh* I was thinking, would my editor-in-chief go crazy with anger? We just got back from Mauritius a few days ago, and now I’m going to the United States.  Maybe by the time I get back, I’ll be… fired.
Yi Chen: (eyes still closed) That’s perfect, then. That way, you won’t be out running around everywhere all the time.
Mo Sheng: You seem to have some strong opinions about my job.
Yi Chen: (opens eyes briefly and shrugs) I don’t dare. (closes eyes)
Mo Sheng: Smart move.  (checks watch) How long until we get to Los Angeles?
Yi Chen: Another five hours, still. (reaches over and pulls Mo Sheng close) Sleep.
Mo Sheng: Seven years ago, when I sat alone on the plane for the first time, flying to the U.S., beside me was a chubby uncle-like older man. At the time, I thought, if I could change it so that Yi Chen was beside me, wouldn’t that be wonderful? So now, can my wish be considered to have come true?
Yi Chen: (nods) Mm. I may not get chubby, but in a few years, I will probably become an uncle-like man.
Mo Sheng: An uncle will still be fine.

So now, can my wish be considered to have come true?

An uncle will still be fine

(I’m super-satisfied with this scene, not because it is very sweet, which it is, but like Mo Sheng says, it provides a bit of closure. To me, it was almost a do-over for Mo Sheng, to go to the United States without regrets this time.  LOL at Yi Chen’s almost narcissistic “I may not get chubby” comment.  But Yi Chen, are you not uncomfortable during this 12 hour plane ride in your tie?)

They arrive in the L.A. airport, Yi Chen still in his perfectly pressed suit without a single wrinkle, to be greeted by the humorous and chatty Jason, who, in contrast, looks like he’s ready to head out onto a beach. This American lawyer, who is one of the partners in California’s largest law firm, is evidently enjoying his tunes in the drivers seat, when Mo Sheng comments amusedly to Yi Chen, “I thought all lawyers were like you and only wear suits and dress shoes. Look at you.  You don’t have his style.”  Yi Chen asks, “You like this type of style?” She replies, “Pretty attractive!” Apparently, the two had met when they were both internship students and their was a collaboration going on between the firms they were working at. Besides having fluent Mandarin, Jason can also crack jokes in a couple more dialects. I caught Canto!

At Jason’s law firm and after he hits on his long-legged secretary (and doesn’t forget to point out her legs and figure to Yi Chen), they discuss Mo Sheng’s divorce case. Jason points out, the case is actually not too complicated, and since Yi Chen has come all the way here, he must be quite confident. Yi Chen nods, but tells him, what they are missing is a witness. Mo Sheng cannot be a witness for herself or it becomes a case of he says/she says. Yi Chen points out a name on the fake divorce document: Tom Wolf. He had notarized (or is it witnessed??) a divorce decree that he knew was fake, so he must have taken a bribe. Mo Sheng wants to contact Ying Hui first, but Yi Chen tells her, until they have a witness’ statement in their hands, don’t let Ying Hui know they have arrived in the U.S, so he will let down his guard.

(Sage aptly gave the title of dumbest of the dumb villains to Ying Hui, and I can’t agree more. If this was a TVB drama, Smith and Tom Wolf would have been dead already, not still puttin’ around potentially causing headaches for him. Of course, Tan Kai said in the press conference that there’s no true villain in this drama.  So if he’s not a villain, Ying Hui is just left with being… dumb.)

Rejoice, fangirls!  He’s eating again! Mo Sheng and Yi Chen are back at the restaurant that Mo Sheng once worked in as a waitress (because the owner decided to pick the whole thing up from its foundation and move it from New York to L.A. 😉 ). When Mo Sheng asks what they’re going to do when they find Tom Wolf, Yi Chen jokes, “Beat him up.” Mo Sheng is incredulous at this response and only clues in when he laughs. She then eagerly says, she’s never seen him in an actual fight before. “But honestly, being a lawyer is pretty fun! It’s like being a detective to solve mysteries.  Mmm… how about next time, if you have any fun cases, you bring me along, k? I can take pictures for you to gather evidence.” Yi Chen looks up with an “OMG, no way” look and holds his hands up. “Thank you, but I respectfully decline… What I mean is, what a waste of talent.” Mo Sheng tells Yi Chen she once worked in this restaurant but always got in trouble for her poor English so that in the end, she was sent back to wash dishes.  We flashback to the scene when young Mo Sheng struggled with her English in the restaurant, while Mo Sheng explains to Yi Chen, she finally understood his stress, going to school and working part-time jobs, scared that any mistake might mean she wouldn’t have enough money for food. “I only realize now how naive I was back then.”

*flashback*

The rest of the restaurant scene. There is a scene where young Mo Sheng cannot pay the full rent to her landlady.  In a bookstore, young Mo Sheng eagerly flips through a photography book, then after looking at the price, puts it back down and walks out of the store, while, in a voiceover, Mo Sheng explains to Yi Chen, she remembers one time he had needed a book and he couldn’t afford to buy it, so she secretly paid for it.  He had gotten very upset about that, but from that time onward, she finally understood how he had felt.  Young Mo Sheng learns to buy secondhand books and afterwards, could even sell them again.

The young Mo Sheng also would take the bus all the way to the supermarket in the suburbs because it was much cheaper there compared to the ones in the city centre.  (Does that grocery store look awfully like… the supermarket where our couple just invited a certain security guard to their wedding not long ago?) In the voiceover, present day Mo Sheng tells Yi Chen, “I would go alone to the supermarket.  In the bustling crowd of people, it was just me. I felt so lonely and missed you so much.”  (I like this… there is direct parallels to Yi Chen saying how he, too, used to hate the supermarket. Sounds like something Gu Man would write in.)

*back to present day*

Yi Chen: Why didn’t you go back to China?
Mo Sheng: Huh?
Yi Chen: During that time, why didn’t you go back?
(Mo Sheng remembers their last conversation before she left, when he wished he had never met her.)
Mo Sheng: Probably because I didn’t want to face reality. (Yi Chen looks surprised by this answer.) Daddy passed away and you… were so furious with me.
Yi Chen: (Incredulous briefly, then sighs) Have you ever seen a case of a couple breaking up after only one fight?
Mo Sheng: But I thought you are that sort of person. Someone who will not go back on what he says.
Yi Chen: Mo Sheng, there are times when I act rashly, too.
Mo Sheng: Okay. Let’s eat.
Yi Chen: August of last year, I had made an appointment with the U.S. consulate to get a visa.
Mo Sheng: Was it so you could come find me?…

(Although none of this is in the novel, I can see most of this conversation happening the way it is played out here between the novel Yi Chen and Mo Sheng as well. I really enjoyed Wallace’s expressions in the last part of this conversation.  The subtle changes, from surprise, to resignation, to irony.  And Hoju is happy! I’ve always wished that in the novel, Yi Chen finds out how hurtful his words were and, with the bad timing of everything, contributed to Mo Sheng’s departure. Glad they decided to give me some closure.)

 

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