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Review: The First Half of My Life (我的前半生) (2017)
This was a pretty good drama! I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I thought it would be kind of boring but I thought it was pretty mature and interesting. The writing wasn't totally perfect as I did have some pet peeves, but overall I would recommend this drama.
Spoilers.
Story
When I first started this drama, I thought it was just going to be about Jin Dong and Yuan Chuan's characters and their romantic and business relationship, because the Youtube title cards had the two of them in episodes 1 and 2. So I was a bit surprised when I found out that this drama was actually about Ma Yili's character Luo Zijun.
The story followed Luo Zijun after she went through a divorce. In the aftermath, she had to learn to rely on her own, but she and the people around her also underwent changes in their own relationships. By the end of the drama, Luo Zijun was a successful single working mom, who seemed happy and content with her life.
Along the way, Luo Zijun fell in love with He Han, her best friend's on-again-off-again boyfriend. For reasons of loyalty, she never made a move on him, though that's not to say her best friend was totally forgiving of her. However, I am glad that the drama didn't end with Luo Zijun and He Han together. I felt that it wouldn't be right. Though Luo Zijun was in romantic love with He Han, she prioritized her love for her friend Tang Jing, who'd been by her side since they were schoolmates at university. Though Tang Jing couldn't totally forgive her, Luo Zijun still respected her and loved her. And I felt that having Luo Zijun get together with He Han would defeat the point of that love, and also the point of the story being that Luo Zijun doesn't need a husband to be a fulfilled person.
The writing for the drama was well paced. I learned that this drama was based on a novel, so it makes sense that the adaptation seemed very logical and rich.
However, I do have complaints about some of the details of the drama, particularly relating to office culture. I was appalled that He Han encouraged Luo Zijun to lie on her resume. I really don't think that would ever happen, especially not from someone as high up the food chain as He Han. In addition, He Han dropping his work to spend time with Luo Zijun and Ping'er was in fact extremely unprofessional and out of character. I know the point was to show how in love He Han was with Luo Zijun, but it was just inconsistent with He Han as he'd always stressed how important it was to not let personal life interfere with business. I felt that a less extreme way could have been used to get the same point across.
But otherwise, even with all of the dramatic soap-opera-esque parts of the drama, I was incredibly entertained all throughout.
Production
The production of the drama was pretty good. The acting of course was great. I think all of the cast members dubbed themselves. The costumes and the sets were pretty good too.
One weird thing I noticed was how the drama transliterated English names. And in some cases, actors would say the transliterated names instead of the actual English names, so that was awkward to listen to. I remember that there was a character called Adam, and at times He Han called him "A-dang," which was the way his name was transliterated in Chinese. He should have just called the guy Adam lol.
Characters
Luo Zijun
Our main character. At the beginning of the drama, she was a spoiled madame of the house. She had a rich husband, and she had a nanny to take care of the kids. She spent her days shopping and enjoying life. As annoying as she was, you couldn't totally blame her. She'd gone to university and had held a job for a few months afterwards. It was Chen Junsheng who told her that he would take care of her for life, so that she wouldn't need to work.
And her mother encouraged this. Her mother was shown to be quite materialistic, and she was ecstatic when Luo Zijun married a rich husband.
Since Zijun spent most of her time at home, she was a bit sheltered, and later she became quite paranoid too, that her husband, her pillar in her life, would abandon her. She was always very skeptical of all the young ladies at work. Her skepticism wasn't unwarranted, she was just directing it at the wrong people.
When Chen Junsheng told her that he wanted a divorce, Zijun's life fell apart. Though most people (like Tang Jing) were worried for her ability to support herself, I felt that at the moment, Zijun was more heartbroken over Chen Junsheng retracting his love. She'd believed in Chen Junsheng's unconditional love, and now it was conditional; well, now it didn't exist. Luo Zijun's life had become one that revolved around her husband. She loved being a good wife, she loved playing the role, as long as Chen Junsheng wanted her. And now he didn't.
In the aftermath, Tang Jing was one of Zijun's biggest supports. She was the only person close to Zijun who had the know how to help her get back on her feet. This was mostly related to how to find a job.
At first, He Han was very reluctant to help Zijun. He only helped her because Tang Jing kept pulling him in and he had no choice but to help her. But we saw that Zijun started to appreciate his efforts in helping her. Even if it was a small things, like teaching her how to interview properly, she barely had any experience in doing so, and it was still a huge help to her.
After Tang Jing went to Hong Kong, He Han became Zijun's main support, going so far as to be her first emergency contact when it came to things like taking care of Ping'er. Along the way, they fell in love. I think a running theme through this drama is the fact that people show their true selves when they're working, which was why so many people in this drama fell in love with people that they worked with. So to apply this theory, I think that He Han and Luo Zijun fell in love because he saw how serious she could be when she was serious about work, and vice versa.
In terms of Zijun's work life, that was a very intersting story line too. Her first job was at the drug store but she got fired after a scuffle with a "customer." Her first long-term job was at the shoe shop, which was a job that He Han had referred her (questionable). That was her first big break in that she learned a lot about working life.
While working at the shoe shop, she got to know Lao Jin, who very obviously had a crush on her. She had even decided to give him a shot since he was so nice to her, but it very soon became clear that he had insecurities about dating a woman who used to date a rich man, and so Zijun decided that they weren't compatible after all.
Zijun's second long term job was at the surveying company. This was the part when Zijun faked her resume to get a job (!!!!!). I can't believe a bigger deal was not made about this. The workplace at this office was pretty bad in that the big boss, Su Manshu, was a huge gossip and a huge kiss ass. And the man who vouched for Zijun's fake resume, Duan Xiaotian, came onto her as well and wanted her to be his mistress. Zijun wasn't interested and rejected him, but he would sabotage her work to threaten her. Eventually, Su Manshu fired Duan Xiaotian, as she wanted to be on He Han's good side (He Han, who again had referred her - questionable). I'm extremely surprised that Duan Xiaotian didn't reveal that Zijun had faked her resume when he got let go of.
This was another part of the story that I deeply disliked. I hate the idea that He Han was supporting Zijun's entire career. Why couldn't Zijun had found a job on her own? She's capable of it, why can't she work her way up like the rest of us? She is a university graduate after all. Maybe it was a plot device to get her into an office job as soon as possible.
There was a period of time in which Zijun became Ms. Wu's staff, and she learned a lot under her tutelage. But Zijun was fired after she presented information to a client to protect He Han's honour.
After that, Zijun had briefly taken a post at Chenxing, on the same team as Ling Ling, but she was bullied, and she later left to go back to working with Ms. Wu.
The final arc of the drama was about Tang Jing finding out about He Han and Luo Zijun's love. Of course, she felt deeply betrayed as these were the two people she trusted most in the world. Personally, I think Luo Zijun did try to do what she could to stay loyal to Tang Jing. She couldn't help falling in love with He Han because he's showed so much kindness to her. But as I mentioned, she loved Tang Jing very much too, and she wouldn't betray Tang Jing for He Han. So she kept quiet about her love.
Unfortunately, it was not enough for Tang Jing. Luo Zijun accepted that Tang Jing couldn't forgive her but she never gave up her love and respect for her best friend. As she explained to Chen Junsheng, she loved Tang Jing so she would do what she could to help her even if Tang Jing would never know or acknowledge it. I really appreciated that about Luo Zijun. She understood who the important people in her life were, and she would do all in her power to help them.
And in the end, she managed to get Ling Ling to own up to leaking the sensitive information, which cleared Tang Jing and He Han of her guilt. Tang Jing told Luo Zijun that she couldn't find it in herself to forgive her, but perhaps she one day would be able to.
Zijun moved to Shenzhen with Ping'er, and at the end of the drama, she seemed quite happy. Based on that ending scene, we could assume that Zijun was still in love with He Han, but she would not actively pursue him. Even if she bumped into him, she would maybe spend time with him, but it wasn't meant to be. And I really appreciated that ending.
So all in all, this was a really interesting character study on Luo Zijun, a woman who learned to rely on herself, but also learned to protect the people who were important to her. In the process of the drama, she protected not only her family, but also Tang Jing (by clearing her name), He Han (when she rashly cleared his name and got fired), and Chen Junsheng (when she got Ling Ling to confess which would protect him).
Tang Jing
Tang Jing was Luo Zijun's best friend. They had become close while in university, but while Zijun got married, Tang Jing worked nonstop. When the drama started, she was pretty high up the chain, and I believe she was hoping to get to partner status at B&T.
Tang Jing had a strange relationship with He Han. They weren't exactly dating but they weren't not dating. Everybody knew that they were together, but they never got married or even called each other their boyfriend/girlfriend.
I can't say for sure why they never made things official. The "official" reason was that they were too focused on work. However, there were probably some commitment issues on both sides. For Tang Jing specifically, I think she wasn't ready to become a wife. She liked being an independent woman with a career, and I think she worried that He Han would want wifely duties of her when they married.
Her faith in He Han was shaken a bit by Vivian, who had a massive crush on He Han, but He Han always rejected her. It wasn't until He Han rejected her in front of Tang Jing that Tang Jing could breathe a sigh of relief. But she still wasn't ready to commit.
It wasn't until she had to have her operation that she realized that she had to go for it and do the things she never had the courage to do, including marrying He Han. However, when they were engaged, He Han was already deeply in love with Luo Zijun. Tang Jing caught on, and she tried to test them out by inviting them to dinner together. She confroned He Han and broke up with him. If I were her I would be more angry with him than with Zijun, as he was the one who was supposed to be committed to her. So it was the double whammy of Tang Jing being engaged to He Han and Luo Zijun being her best friend that broke her.
She left for a while, and when she came back, she became upper management at Chenxing, the company where Chen Junsheng and He Han also worked. She was framed for a data leak by Ling Ling who was bitter that Tang Jing had fired her (for purposely gossiping in her face about the "affair" between He Han and Luo Zijun). But as we know, Luo Zijun helped clear her name.
I think that logically, Tang Jing knew that Luo Zijun was trying her best to protect their friendship, but instinctively, Tang Jing was still hurt. She acknowledged to Zijun that maybe there was hope in the future that they could be friends again, but she could not afford to be friends with her then.
Tang Jing had also sent a voicemail to He Han at the end of the drama. At the end, she told him that he'd let go of a person who'd loved him more than he could ever imagine. It did sound pretty bitter coming from her. Her argument was that she loved him too much to be apart from him. If she loved him less, I think she would have been able to give him up for her career, so the only reason they were in their sort-of relationship was because she loved him too much. And now she had to let go of this love.
I do feel quite bad for Tang Jing. All her working life, I think she felt confident in her work because she liked working, but also because she was mostly confident about He Han's love for her. No matter how hard she worked, He Han would still be the man she came home to, and the man who came home to her (figuratively). And knowing that he fell deeply in love with her best friend was definitely a betrayal. But perhaps Tang Jing would have to go on another emotional journey as Zijun did, to learn to love herself, as she told He Han she would.
He Han
Questionable guy, to be honest. I can't say I found him super charismatic and likeable and charming, but I can see what the show was going for.
At the beginning of the drama, he and Zijun butted heads a lot because he thought she was just some spoiled midwife (true). He only very reluctantly helped her due to Tang Jing's request.
Later on, as Zijun became a bit more yielding and sincere, he was in turn nicer and more pleasant to her as well. At that point, you could say they had a comfortable friendship, though at this point, Zijun had already acknowledged that she'd started to fall in love with He Han.
As time passed, we saw He Han go above and beyond for Zijun, whether it was taking care of Ping'er or personally dropping in to help her with her work. This already started happening when Zijun was working at the shoe shop.
As mentioned, I think He Han did fall in love with Zijun because he saw her sincerity for the first time. While Tang Jing used work as a mask (she was professional in ever facet of life), while preparing Zijun for work, he saw her true face, when she was worried, when she was happy, etc. And I think he fell in love with that version of Zijun who knew who and what was important to her, and did her best to work towards those goals.
He Han dropped the ball by inviting a client (Phil) over and making him wait (and never showing up) because he was attending Ping'er birthday. This was entirely on He Han, and incredibly unprofessional. He could have either left the birthday party to go to the meeting, or he could have called Chen Junsheng to tell him that he couldn't make the meeting, instead of making Phil wait.
That big faux pas was the beginning of He Han's end. He was basically fired, though the company had given him some time first as they'd had to find and train his replacement. During that time, Tang Jing came back and was framed, and then He Han took the fall for Tang Jing's mistake, though it wasn't hers at all. I feel that he had done this as an apology to Tang Jing, though if I were Tang Jing, it would mean nothing to me.
He Han had officially confessed his love to Luo Zijun, but as we know, Zijun had rejected him as a sign of love and respect to Tang Jing. Even if He Han did love Zijun, he definitely went about it the wrong way, especially with how things were between Tang Jing and He Han.
I personally felt that He Han was maybe reluctant to marry Tang Jing because the two of them were too alike. Like Tang Jing, He Han was also very professional and guarded, unlike Luo Zijun who showed most of her feelings on her face.
When it came to marrying Tang Jing (before they got engaged), I think he'd suggested it because he felt like it was the right thing to do, like it was the natural next step. But as we saw in Hong Kong, Tang Jing rejected him.
When Tang Jing proposed to him back in Shanghai, I think he was kind of caught off guard. He'd waited for this for so long, and now that it was happening, he wasn't happy because he was in love with Luo Zijun. He definitely didn't handle this the right way, but I can also say that it wasn't an easy decision. How do you tell the woman you thought you were in love with that you're now in love with her best friend?
Though He Han entirely went about it the wrong way, he at least understood that he hurt Tang Jing and as I said, I think he took the fall for her as an apology, though it was also a way for him to get out. At the end of the drama, he became a fisher. Like Luo Zijun, he seemed to maintain feelings for the other, but I think that as time passed, he now realized that they were not meant to be, and that's okay, as long as they have their feelings in their heart.
Chen Junsheng
Oh man, what a performance by Lei Jiayin. Chen Junsheng was a manager at Chenxing, but he was also kind of timid and a follower. He was't the most strong willed but he could be.
At the beginning of the drama, he was firmly in an emotional affair with Ling Ling, to the point that everyone in the office knew. And who could blame him? His wife was pretty annoying and so insecure. Everyone in the office knew.
Eventually, Chen Junsheng decided to divorce Zijun, bringing her world down. He was of course quite apologetic about it, but Zijun had become a stronger person because of the heartbreak, and from then on, they sort of had a working relationship.
Of course, there was tension between Ling Ling and the rest of the people in his life. But he was also kind of a coward about it. One time, he'd admitted to He Han that he was working late at the office because it was too awkward to be around his parents and Ling Ling. HE had created this situation, and now he felt it was too uncomfortable to return home? Grow up dude.
Over time, his relationship with Ling Ling had become a little strained too, though you could chalk that up to normal marital quarrels. I think he liked spending money on Luo Zijun and Ping'er, as it quelled his guilt. But Ling Ling was concerned about that financial drain.
In an argument with Ling Ling, Ling Ling had noticed that he'd started getting annoyed with her in the way that he'd gotten annoyed with Luo Zijun, and she questioned whether it was his own inability to get along with his partner. And I do think it's a valid fault of his. Chen Junsheng is not a confrontational person and he's not the most emotionally intelligent. He is not good with people. But that made him an interesting character. He was wrong, but sometimes I still wanted to sympathize with him.
Chen Junsheng admitted to He Han that he sometimes thought about Luo Zijun, if they were still married, though it's pointless to think about it because Zijun would not have become the Zijun of today if he hadn't divorced her. He's only looking back fondly because he's having marital problems now.
Junsheng was understandably upset when he found out that Ling Ling had leaked the information, as it was a huge problem to all of Chenxing. And there was no way he wouldn't be implicated. In the end, he blamed He Han in order to protect Ling Ling. But when Luo Zijun confronted Junsheng (with Ling Ling hiding), we saw that he hated himself and what he'd done, and he said that he wished everything was back to how it'd been at the start. That outburst was what pushed Ling Ling to confess to her crime.
At the end of the drama, Chen Junsheng still returned home to Ling Ling, though it's hard to say what would become of them. If Junsheng was a changed person, maybe he might try to stay through it and support his wife. Or if he wanted to run from his problems again, he might divorce his second wife. It's interesting how staying with his wife (who'd done a bad thing) would be more of a redemption arc for him than leaving her would be, because it would show that he was now willing to work through the tough times.
Xue Zhenzhu
Zhenzhu was Zijun's mother. She was very materialistic and loud, and she was very proud of Zijun for marrying into a rich family. That all came crashing down when Zijun was divorced.
Zhenzhu was mostly the drama stirrer, as she would often fight on Zijun's behalf even if Zijun didn't want it. And admittedly, those scenes were really annoying to watch. So I can't say I liked Zhenzhu that much.
Her life philosophy was that women needed to find men to support them, and that was why she cared so much about women finding rich husbands. She would go so far as to get Ziqun to divorce her husband if He Han had a rich friend to introduce Ziqun to.
As for herself, she was drawn to Cui Baojian, because she heard about how well off he was. And she'd used dirty tactics to get him to care about her.
In the end, it was implied that she'd truly fallen in love with him. However, her son had found out that she had a history of golddigging and he wanted her out because he felt she was after the money. Whether or not that was true, Zhenzhu was also the only person who could provide companionship to Baojian. If that was the case, wasn't it reasonable if Baojian wanted to give money to her?
Because of Zhenzhu's philosophy on life, she was very encouraging of Luo Zijun getting together with He Han which was again extremely annoying.
What was surprising was the way that Zhenzhu went out. She'd fallen ill and died very soon after, which was extremely surprising. She'd had some money in the bank when she died, and Zijun insisted that Ziqun take all the money to support her business.
Cui Baojian
Cui Baojian was a man that Zhenzhu met while dancing at the park. She was definitely after his money, but I guess we were supposed to believe that she liked his personality too. He eventually fell in love with her too, asking her to move in, though his son got really upset. Baojian ended up in the hospital, but after Zhenzhu found him, they were inseparable as she nursed him back to health. Unfortunately Zhenzhu died soon afterwards, after he recovered.
Luo Ziqun
Ziqun was Zijun's younger sister. She was in a very dramatic relationship with Bai Guang. They often argued as he was kind of a deadbeat and they had a baby son (nicknamed Didi).
Zijun and Ziqun also used to have a bad relationship because Ziqun would fell looked down upon. Zijun was rich and when Bai Guang failed at business, she would always ask Zijun and Chen Junsheng for money. This was a cycle, and even after Zijun and Junsheng divorced, she would still ask Junsheng for money.
Later in the drama, Ziqun started hanging out with a hairstylist who would flatter her and tell her things to make her feel pretty. Zijun was very wary of this man and Zhenzhu was just upset that he wasn't rich. When Bai Guang found out about the relationship, he of course was extremely angry (as he is wont to do).
Later on, Ziqun ran away to find A-hui (the hairstylist) only to find out he was married to somebody from his town. She returned home angry. And then that was when she started to seriously think about doing business (a restaurant).
Her relationship with Bai Guang got better after she came back, until A-hui came back as well. He claimed that he had no romantic feelings for his wife, and he even divorced her to be with Ziqun. But Ziqun was very betrayed by him lying that he was married, and now that A-hui was always asking her for money (while Bai Guang was giving her his money from his job), she was very much over him.
By the end of the drama, she was pregnant with her second child, and reconciled with Bai Guang.
Bai Guang
Bai Guang was the very volatile husband of Ziqun. At the begining of the drama, he was a deadbeat. He spent a lot of his time drinking and his businesses always failed. He always fought with Ziqun and he was not a good dad.
Things escalated when he found out that Ziqun was seeing A-hui, and he made a big deal about it. But the turning point was when Ziqun left to go find A-hui, and left him with Didi. He went to go find Zhenzhu, though there was really not much she could do for him.
Chen Junsheng and He Han joined together to help him get back on his feet. Now that he was stuck with Didi, I think Bai Guang started to see that he had no way of supporting the lil babu. So He Han and Junsheng got him a job at Jiangzi, where he finally started making a steady income.
When Ziqun came back, he was a lot more serious about staying committed to their relationship and contributing financially to the household.
A-hui did briefly come back to fight for Ziqun which pushed Bai Guang away. But in that time, Bai Guang and Ziqun separately worked on their own to provide for the family.
Bai Guang suggested divorce which caused Ziqun to get angry as she was pregnant with their second kid, but finding out about the second kid made Bai Guang lose any interest he had before in divorce. So once again, they reconciled.
Chen Ping'er
Ping'er was Junsheng and Zijun's son. After they got divorced, Zijun was granted custody of Ping'er though she only had a low-paying job, as Junsheng was shown to not be an attentive father (he hadn't gone home even when he didn't have to work overtime).
The first days when Zijun and Ping'er moved to the smaller flat were a huge struggle. Ping'er hated living there and he wanted to go back to their old nice apartment. It took a lot of effort from Tang Jing and later He Han to get him to calm down and to get used to the new home.
As mentioned, He Han kind of became Zijun's first contact when it came to taking care of Ping'er, which was a sign of her starting to overrely on Junsheng. After she realized that, that's when Zijun seemed to start mending her relationship with Junsheng as well.
Before, Zijun was very insecure in her custody of Ping'er. Junsheng and his parents were all at the old flat, which was comfortable to Ping'er. In addition, he'd become good friends with Jiaqing as well. Zijun was always worried that Ping'er would never want to go home to her. It was He Han who encouraged her to let go and to be confident in her having custody.
Ling Ling did treat Ping'er well, which was nice, though later on, Junsheng suspected that Ling Ling showed preferential treatment to Jiaqing, such as when only Jiaqing was allowed to go on the special exchange trip to the US.
Nonetheless, I think Ping'er ended up being well-adjusted. He was of course well-loved by both sides of the family, but more importantly, there was no animosity and insecurity between his mom and dad.
Ping'er joined Zijun to go to Shenzhen for her one year work trip.
Ling Ling
Ling Ling was the woman that Junsheng fell in love with at Chenxing. As He Han mentioned, one might be able to see how Junsheng fell in love with Ling Ling by studying her work. She was meticulous in her work, and perhaps that was part of what made her seem so sincere and likeable to Junsheng. They were already in an emotional affair at the beginning of the drama, and the entire office knew that they were an item.
Ling Ling was very kind and soft spoken, and it was easy to see why Junsheng would fall in love with someone like her. After they got married and moved in, Ling Ling was still very nice and sincere. She was very polite to Junsheng's parents, and she was kind to Ping'er, instructing Jiaqing to be nice to Ping'er as well. So even if there was animosity between Zijun and Ling Ling, she at least knew to keep the kids out of it.
As mentioned, Ling Ling and Junsheng did start to butt heads when it came to financial matters, as Ling Ling wanted him to pay less in spousal support to Zijun since they were taking care of Ping'er often at their house as well.
Ling Ling and Zijun were back into contact when Zijun came to work at Chenxing in Ling Ling's department. Though she was courteous, Xiao Dong was not, not forgetting how nasty Zijun used to be.
Ling Ling had also been threatened by Tang Jing to not make things difficult for Zijun. Ling Ling had retaliated by talking about He Han and Zijun's affair to anger Tang Jing. When Tang Jing had joined Chenxing, Zijun had already left, but Tang Jing immediately fired Ling Ling for doing what she'd done.
Ling Ling then retaliated (again) by asking Xiao Dong to leak her information, which then Ling Ling leaked to get back at Tang Jing. However, it became a huge deal, a bigger deal than Ling Ling had ever anticipated, as Tang Jing had a very close relationship with the client whose information had gotten leaked.
Ling Ling had told Junsheng about her mistake, but she pressured Junsheng not to tell in order to protect them both, and Junsheng acquiesced. However, Zijun couldn't see Tang Jing take the blame. After not getting Xiao Dong to budge, Zijun approached Ling Ling directly, taking her to Chenxing offices, where Zijun spoke to Junsheng directly about what was going on.
Ling Ling saw how upset she'd made Junsheng, how she'd put him in a terrible position, and so she'd given herself and Xiao Dong up.
I didn't expect Ling Ling to become a super nasty and unlikeable person, as it would be out of character for her. Instead, I think we saw her become a villain through slowly unpeeling the layers, and seeing her exposed to different stressors in life. What she did was still nasty and unlikeable, but the way she approached it still seemed to fit her character. That being said, she still was undoubtedly the villain, as she was unapologetic about what she'd done, wanting to hide it, and only relented when she saw how upset and stressed Junsheng had become.
As I mentioned, I felt like Junsheng not leaving her would be character development for him. Ling Ling had criticized him being unable to handle any stress in his marital life before, and this would be his chance to prove that he could work through a tough time in a marriage.
Leng Jiaqing
Jiaqing was Ling Ling's son with her ex-husband. Understandably, it took him a lot of time to warm up to Junsheng. At first, he was wary about having to share with Ping'er, until he found out that Ping'er was living with his mom.
However, over time, Ling Ling helped the boys get to know each other, through toys and playing, as kids do. They did become quite close, though they did have that one fight, when Ping'er said that their moms were working and Jiaqing insisted that it couldn't happen because Ping'er mom sold shoes.
Ling Ling got Jiaqing to apologize, but by the end of the drama, it seemed that the two boys were on good terms anyway. It also seemed like Junsheng took care of Jiaqing pretty well, often checking his homework and such.
Chen Junsheng's Parents
Chen Junsheng's parents were upset with Junsheng when they first found out he was getting a divorce. When they realized that Junsheng wouldn't budget, they told Zijun that they'd take good care of Ping'er, implying that they would have custody of him, which offended Zijun.
When the divorce arrangement first began, there was heavy tension between Zijun and Junsheng's parents. Zijun was very afraid that Ping'er would find it more fun to live with his grandparents who spoiled him, compared to their dinky little apartment. And Junsheng's parents were upset that Zijun was so strict with taking her son home, to the point of it becoming a scene.
As mentioned, He Han advised Zijun to relax, that she shouldn't worry about not getting her son back because she has custody rights. And so she agreed to allow Ping'er to be taken care of by his grandparents when she was busy at work.
Junsheng's parents also came to like Ling Ling a lot too as they saw that she was sincere towards Junsheng and she took care of the kids well.
Zhuo Jianqing
Lao Zhuo was the owner of the Japanese restaurant. He was a pretty steady guy. He was good friends with the regulars, and he sometimes offered them advice.
Luo Luo was the daughter of his friend who had asked him to take care of her after his death. So he set her up in an apartment and had her work for him. Luo Luo was always gossiping and Lao Zhuo was always chastising her. She fell in love with him, but he rejected her again and again as she was his friends daughter and he saw her as a kid.
Luo Luo left suddenly, and everybody said that Lao Zhuo seemed a bit lethargic at that, though I think that's questionable. After she came back, she was very responsible, which Lao Zhuo found amusing.
At the end of the drama, Lao Zhuo left Jiangzi to Luo Luo. I don't completely remember what he said, but I think he said something like he was going to seek an old friend for forgiveness? I sure hope to god that doesn't mean he's going to ask his friend for forgiveness for going after his daughter.
Luo Luo
Luo Luo, as mentioned, was the daughter of Lao Zhuo's friend, and was in love with him. She was a very gossipy girl, and often got chastised for it.
She told Lao Zhuo that her father had struggled to take care of her, and that after he died, she would either try to get money from her mom (who always had a new husband), or she would find boyfriends, though hardly any of them could offer her a good lifestyle. For example, she was driven out of the home of a boyfriend by the boyfriend's young daughter.
So I think she fell in love with Lao Zhuo because he was the first successful man to take care of her without question. However, she was upset that he would not accept her love.
She suddenly left, and when she came back, she was much less of a troublemaker, and was very serious. She said that she realized that being a good worker was the best way for her to be able to stay by Lao Zhuo's side.
I really hoped that Luo Luo and Lao Zhuo wouldn't become an item. I think it's reasonable for Lao Zhuo to never be able to see Luo Luo as anybody other than his friend's daughter, a kid. And I think Luo Luo has to accept that she can't force someone to like her back, and that Lao Zhuo taking care of her doesn't necessarily mean that he's in love with her. It's left open ended, but I want to believe that their relationship is just platonic.
Yaqin
Yaqin was Ping'er nanny, when Junsheng and Zijun were still together. She was aware of how annoying Zijun was, though she had no choice but to serve her as she was a paid nanny.
That being said, Yaqin did still care a bit for Zijun. She worried when Zijun's family took advantage of their money. And when Junsheng divorced Zijun, Yaqin was understandably worried for her health.
After the divorce, Yaqin said that she had to go home to take care of her sister. I'm not sure if it was just an excuse to leave employment as she didn't know if Zijun would be able to pay her. After the divorce, she'd even been asked by Junsheng to continue being the nanny/housekeeper for his house. She'd bumped into Zijun while coming out of Junsheng's apartment and was really nervous about it, saying that she'd refused the job because it didn't feel right, but Zijun bore her no ill will, understanding that she was just trying to survive.
Li Er
Li Er was Zijun's divorce lawyer. I was kind of hoping that we'd see him more because he seemed like an interesting easygoing guy, but alas, we didn't see him after the custody trial.
Lao Jin
Lao Jin worked at the same mall that Zijun worked at. He worked in the office. He had a crush on her, and had taken the opportunity to give her a lift. He was kind of pushy about it, which was a little uncomfortable to Zijun, but she'd kind of relented because he was so pushy about it.
Though Zijun wasn't attracted to him (he was quite a bit older), she gave him a shot, seeing as how he was so kind to her and Ping'er. But we started to see how he was very insecure in his relationship and it affected how he treated Zijun.
He was very adamant on getting Zijun the new job in the office, to the point that he was making a ruckus and it was very embarrassing for Zijun. Then, He Han had appeared out of nowhere and helped her get the job without a fuss. That obviously made Lao Jin feel very inferior. Even when Zijun agreed to go out to dinner with Lao Jin's friends, he felt that she was being too flashy and it would make him look shabby in comparison. When he came back from his dinner party, he showed regret and said his friends had admonished him for yelling at a lady for dressing up.
Lao Jin (and his friends) were kind of annoying in how they tried to nag Zijun to come back to him even after they'd have disagreements. In the end, Zijun quit her job at the mall to get away from Lao Jin, as she needed to cut the relationship clean.
Su Manshu
Su Manshu was the head of a data collecting company that I believe was a subsidiary of Chenxing (or a major customer, I'm not really sure). Anyway, from the get-go, she was a headache. She gossiped about how since He Han had offered her the job, she must have been his mistress, etc. It was terrible.
And Su Manshu never treated Zijun like an employee, but rather something like a vase only to be protected, so that He Han would be happy. She went so far as to fire Duan Xiaotian over Zijun as their work relationship was going sour and Su Manshu didn't want to lose her in with He Han.
I forget the chronology, but at one point, Zijun wanted to quit because of how uncomfortable the work environment was. And after Duan Xiaotian got fired, his wife had come into the office making a big scene, just as Zijun had at the beginning of the drama. Zijun said that it was exactly like looking at a past version of herself, and she was clearly very uncomfortable and distraught about how dramatic and unreasonable she had been.
After He Han fell from grace, Su Manshu started to treat Zijun more poorly, wanting to find excuses to let her go. The only person keeping her from doing so was Ms. Wu (who had become Zijun's mentor).
After Zijun went behind everybody's back to talk to a client about Phil, Su Manshu fired her. Howevr, Zijun later came back to work for Ms. Wu so I have no idea whether she was technically rehired into Su Manshu's company.
Duan Xiaotian
Duan Xiaotian was a manager at Su Manshu's company. When Zijun had interviewed with Su Manshu's company, she'd lied on her resume about having worked at a company, and it just so happened that Duan Xiaotian had worked at that company that Zijun said she'd worked for. Duan Xiaotian had helped her hide her secret, and treated her like an old colleague.
When Zijun started working, Duan Xiaotian seemed decently nice. However, He Han told Zijun to be wary of him. When she'd taken the trip to check on surveyors in another city, Duan Xiaotian had taken the credit.
Later on, Duan Xiaotian confessed to Zijun that he loved her. Zijun was not interested in him at all but he wouldn't let go. The thing was, he just wanted the thrill of it with none of the commitment, so Zijun tried to get him off her back by saying that he didn't make enough money to support her.
Then Duan Xiaotian's sabotage of her began. The most notable occurrence was when Zijun was meant to slip a note to Duan Xiaotian during a focus group, and had purposely not given her an opportunity to do so. From then on, he basically threatened her, saying that if she'd give in to his requests, then he'd help her in the workplace.
When things got bad, Su Manshu fired Duan Xiaotian, because she wanted to keep being in He Han's good books. Duan Xiaotian told his wife a version of the story that made Zijun out to be the evil woman, and then she went to Su Manshu's company to complain, where He Han had the misfortunate of seeing her and having to talk her down.
Again, I am so surprised that Duan Xiaotian didn't reveal that Zijun had lied on her resume on his way out. Perhaps then it would implicate him further in him attempting to have an affair.
Ms. Wu
Ms. Wu was a manager at Su Manshu's company. When Zijun resigned, He Han said that she instead could have taken the opportunity to request to work in a certain position.
Zijun eventually ended up working with Ms. Wu who was known to be intense but a great mentor, and Zijun greatly thrived under her tutelage.
After Zijun got fired, she remained in touch with Ms. Wu. And when Zijun couldn't find a job, she eventually went back to work with Ms. Wu, even uprooting her life and going to Shenzhen to work with her.
Zijun and Ms. Wu retained a good relationship through to the very end of the drama.
Luo Ping
Luo Ping was another manager at B&T who was trying to pursue Tang Jing. He was so desperate to get her to look at him that he recruited Vivian, who apparently had an affair with He Han, to either draw He Han away from Tang Jing or to get Tang Jing angry with him.
It never worked. He Han eventually recruited away all of Luo Ping's top staff with him to Chenxing, and he was basically run into the ground by the two of He Han and Tang Jing (if I remember correctly).
Vivian
Vivian was a woman who apparently had an affair with He Han, which was shown by a selfie she had taken in He Han's bed. That was a slight against Tang Jing, who was known to be He Han's sort-of girlfriend.
Vivian and Tang Jing had a series of petty fights. The most memorable one was when Vivian told Tang Jing that He Han had spent the night with her, when in fact, Tang Jing had bumped into He Han at Jiangzi when she was supposed to be there on a date with Li Rui.
We eventually found out the truth, which was that Vivian had a one-sided crush on He Han, and he had always rejected her.
When Tang Jing was transferred to Hong Kong, Vivian thought that she would be the next top dog in town, except Tang Jing had decided to take Vivian with her, which would ruin the timing of her getting the promotion that she wanted.
When He Han visited Hong Kong, Vivian had invited herself into her suite, so when Tang Jing visited, she would be under the impression that she was the one intruding. However, He Han had taken the opportunity to straighten things out, that he was in love with Tang Jing.
For some reason, that was enough to get Vivian off their back, and soon afterwards, she was seen with a new boyfriend. I can't believe that was all it took, considering how long He Han had been trying to reject her.
Xiao Dong
Xiao Dong was a coworker of Ling Ling's at Chenxing. She really only came into the story at the end of the drama. When Zijun came to work at Chenxing, Xiao Dong hadn't forgotten what a tough time she'd given Ling Ling, so she'd bullied Zijun a bit and kept pushing her to drink more alcohol.
Later on, when Ling Ling was fired, Xiao Dong distanced herself from Ling Ling, wanted to angle for a promotion, but Tang Jing shot her down and called her two-faced. Obviously Xiao Dong, being as petty as she was, was quite angry.
When Ling Ling had gotten a similar harsh treatment from Tang Jing, she called Xiao Dong and they worked together to leak the confidential information about BOP, the client that Tang Jing was close with.
Xiao Dong had asked an intern, Caicai, to photocopy the documents, and Caicai had told Zijun. When Zijun confronted Xiao Dong, she denied it, and then in turn became super nice to Caicai in hopes that Caicai would feel indebted to her. Meanwhile, Ling Ling had told Junsheng who then approached Xiao Dong.
Xiao Dong used the "I'm a working single mother, I need this job" argument. If she really needed this job, she wouldn't have sabotaged it >.>
In the end, when she thought she was clear, Ling Ling had come clean and implicated them both.
Themes
Life after a failed marriage
This was the main theme of the drama, focusing on how Zijun became an independent self-fulfilled woman after her divorce. She'd never worked, so she didn't thin she could do it, but little by little, she built herself up into being the confident woman that she was.
Love vs. career
This was one of the main conflicts for Tang Jing. Working women always have to battle the idea that they're giving up their family for a career, whereas it's acceptable for men to have both a family and a career, because it's supposed to be the women who take care of the family.
Though there's nothing wrong for women to like being a homemaker, in the context of this drama, the issue was that Zijun's life was too revolved around another person for her to find fulfillment on her own.
For Tang Jing, after her surgery, there was a period of time when she was considering settling into married life. However, after a while, she admitted to He Han that she hated cooking, that she hated being a teacher/coach, and that she liked working. There's nothing wrong with that either.
I forgot who He Han was talking to when he said this, but he said that if He Han and Tang Jing were to get married, Tang Jing would definitely lose more as a result, and he felt that he couldn't do that to her. There would always be an expectation for her to be a wife, whereas he didn't have to change his lifestyle and could still be recognized as a husband.
So this issue of love vs. careers is definitely more aimed towards women.
Marriage
I felt that the people in this drama were under the belief that all relationships have to lead to marriage. I don't think this is true, but this is the framework the drama was working with.
That was why Tang Jing and He Han were seen as having an "incomplete" relationship, because they hadn't made the last step of getting married. In this drama, marriage was the acknowledgment of love, and Tang Jing realized that He Han didn't love her enough.
Loving a friend's significant other
Loving a friend's boyfriend is definitely against friend code, and Zijun recognized that from the very beginning (based on her narrations). She would never say a single thing because she loved Tang Jing too much to betray her like that.
I did think that when Zijun realized she was in dangerous territory, she tried only to rely on He Han when it was absolutely necessary, like when Ping'er needed help. But again, she respected Tang Jing too much to betray her. He Han did not understand this. He didn't understand the significance of the relationship between the two ladies, and he was so rash and so dumb to act out on his feelings like that without thinking how he'd hurt two people at once.
And because Luo Zijun cares so much for Tang Jing, I don't think she'd ever let herself love He Han like a boyfriend. She'd only keep that love in her heart forever.
Unconditional love
I loved that conversation Zijun had with Junsheng when Zijun stayed in Shanghai to help Tang Jing. At the time, Tang Jing was still upset with Zijun, so Junsheng told Zijun that Tang Jing would never acknowledge her help.
Zijun asked Junsheng that if she was ever in trouble and needed help, would Junsheng help her even if she wouldn't acknowledge the help? Junsheng said yes, which exemplified so many of the relationships on the show.
Zijun helped Tang Jing because in her heart, she cared deeply for Tang Jing and didn't want her to be hurt. As mentioned, Zijun helped several of her loved ones without expecting anything in return. And Junsheng cared for Zijun, maybe not as a wife, but still as the mother of his son, and he was still protective of her.
I think this was such a good way of exemplifying unconditional and true love, even if it's platonic.
Overall
I didn't expect to love this drama as much as I did. The writing was not what I expected. The character writing was deep, and the story writing was well-paced.
Spoilers.
Story
When I first started this drama, I thought it was just going to be about Jin Dong and Yuan Chuan's characters and their romantic and business relationship, because the Youtube title cards had the two of them in episodes 1 and 2. So I was a bit surprised when I found out that this drama was actually about Ma Yili's character Luo Zijun.
The story followed Luo Zijun after she went through a divorce. In the aftermath, she had to learn to rely on her own, but she and the people around her also underwent changes in their own relationships. By the end of the drama, Luo Zijun was a successful single working mom, who seemed happy and content with her life.
Along the way, Luo Zijun fell in love with He Han, her best friend's on-again-off-again boyfriend. For reasons of loyalty, she never made a move on him, though that's not to say her best friend was totally forgiving of her. However, I am glad that the drama didn't end with Luo Zijun and He Han together. I felt that it wouldn't be right. Though Luo Zijun was in romantic love with He Han, she prioritized her love for her friend Tang Jing, who'd been by her side since they were schoolmates at university. Though Tang Jing couldn't totally forgive her, Luo Zijun still respected her and loved her. And I felt that having Luo Zijun get together with He Han would defeat the point of that love, and also the point of the story being that Luo Zijun doesn't need a husband to be a fulfilled person.
The writing for the drama was well paced. I learned that this drama was based on a novel, so it makes sense that the adaptation seemed very logical and rich.
However, I do have complaints about some of the details of the drama, particularly relating to office culture. I was appalled that He Han encouraged Luo Zijun to lie on her resume. I really don't think that would ever happen, especially not from someone as high up the food chain as He Han. In addition, He Han dropping his work to spend time with Luo Zijun and Ping'er was in fact extremely unprofessional and out of character. I know the point was to show how in love He Han was with Luo Zijun, but it was just inconsistent with He Han as he'd always stressed how important it was to not let personal life interfere with business. I felt that a less extreme way could have been used to get the same point across.
But otherwise, even with all of the dramatic soap-opera-esque parts of the drama, I was incredibly entertained all throughout.
Production
The production of the drama was pretty good. The acting of course was great. I think all of the cast members dubbed themselves. The costumes and the sets were pretty good too.
One weird thing I noticed was how the drama transliterated English names. And in some cases, actors would say the transliterated names instead of the actual English names, so that was awkward to listen to. I remember that there was a character called Adam, and at times He Han called him "A-dang," which was the way his name was transliterated in Chinese. He should have just called the guy Adam lol.
Characters
Luo Zijun
Our main character. At the beginning of the drama, she was a spoiled madame of the house. She had a rich husband, and she had a nanny to take care of the kids. She spent her days shopping and enjoying life. As annoying as she was, you couldn't totally blame her. She'd gone to university and had held a job for a few months afterwards. It was Chen Junsheng who told her that he would take care of her for life, so that she wouldn't need to work.
And her mother encouraged this. Her mother was shown to be quite materialistic, and she was ecstatic when Luo Zijun married a rich husband.
Since Zijun spent most of her time at home, she was a bit sheltered, and later she became quite paranoid too, that her husband, her pillar in her life, would abandon her. She was always very skeptical of all the young ladies at work. Her skepticism wasn't unwarranted, she was just directing it at the wrong people.
When Chen Junsheng told her that he wanted a divorce, Zijun's life fell apart. Though most people (like Tang Jing) were worried for her ability to support herself, I felt that at the moment, Zijun was more heartbroken over Chen Junsheng retracting his love. She'd believed in Chen Junsheng's unconditional love, and now it was conditional; well, now it didn't exist. Luo Zijun's life had become one that revolved around her husband. She loved being a good wife, she loved playing the role, as long as Chen Junsheng wanted her. And now he didn't.
In the aftermath, Tang Jing was one of Zijun's biggest supports. She was the only person close to Zijun who had the know how to help her get back on her feet. This was mostly related to how to find a job.
At first, He Han was very reluctant to help Zijun. He only helped her because Tang Jing kept pulling him in and he had no choice but to help her. But we saw that Zijun started to appreciate his efforts in helping her. Even if it was a small things, like teaching her how to interview properly, she barely had any experience in doing so, and it was still a huge help to her.
After Tang Jing went to Hong Kong, He Han became Zijun's main support, going so far as to be her first emergency contact when it came to things like taking care of Ping'er. Along the way, they fell in love. I think a running theme through this drama is the fact that people show their true selves when they're working, which was why so many people in this drama fell in love with people that they worked with. So to apply this theory, I think that He Han and Luo Zijun fell in love because he saw how serious she could be when she was serious about work, and vice versa.
In terms of Zijun's work life, that was a very intersting story line too. Her first job was at the drug store but she got fired after a scuffle with a "customer." Her first long-term job was at the shoe shop, which was a job that He Han had referred her (questionable). That was her first big break in that she learned a lot about working life.
While working at the shoe shop, she got to know Lao Jin, who very obviously had a crush on her. She had even decided to give him a shot since he was so nice to her, but it very soon became clear that he had insecurities about dating a woman who used to date a rich man, and so Zijun decided that they weren't compatible after all.
Zijun's second long term job was at the surveying company. This was the part when Zijun faked her resume to get a job (!!!!!). I can't believe a bigger deal was not made about this. The workplace at this office was pretty bad in that the big boss, Su Manshu, was a huge gossip and a huge kiss ass. And the man who vouched for Zijun's fake resume, Duan Xiaotian, came onto her as well and wanted her to be his mistress. Zijun wasn't interested and rejected him, but he would sabotage her work to threaten her. Eventually, Su Manshu fired Duan Xiaotian, as she wanted to be on He Han's good side (He Han, who again had referred her - questionable). I'm extremely surprised that Duan Xiaotian didn't reveal that Zijun had faked her resume when he got let go of.
This was another part of the story that I deeply disliked. I hate the idea that He Han was supporting Zijun's entire career. Why couldn't Zijun had found a job on her own? She's capable of it, why can't she work her way up like the rest of us? She is a university graduate after all. Maybe it was a plot device to get her into an office job as soon as possible.
There was a period of time in which Zijun became Ms. Wu's staff, and she learned a lot under her tutelage. But Zijun was fired after she presented information to a client to protect He Han's honour.
After that, Zijun had briefly taken a post at Chenxing, on the same team as Ling Ling, but she was bullied, and she later left to go back to working with Ms. Wu.
The final arc of the drama was about Tang Jing finding out about He Han and Luo Zijun's love. Of course, she felt deeply betrayed as these were the two people she trusted most in the world. Personally, I think Luo Zijun did try to do what she could to stay loyal to Tang Jing. She couldn't help falling in love with He Han because he's showed so much kindness to her. But as I mentioned, she loved Tang Jing very much too, and she wouldn't betray Tang Jing for He Han. So she kept quiet about her love.
Unfortunately, it was not enough for Tang Jing. Luo Zijun accepted that Tang Jing couldn't forgive her but she never gave up her love and respect for her best friend. As she explained to Chen Junsheng, she loved Tang Jing so she would do what she could to help her even if Tang Jing would never know or acknowledge it. I really appreciated that about Luo Zijun. She understood who the important people in her life were, and she would do all in her power to help them.
And in the end, she managed to get Ling Ling to own up to leaking the sensitive information, which cleared Tang Jing and He Han of her guilt. Tang Jing told Luo Zijun that she couldn't find it in herself to forgive her, but perhaps she one day would be able to.
Zijun moved to Shenzhen with Ping'er, and at the end of the drama, she seemed quite happy. Based on that ending scene, we could assume that Zijun was still in love with He Han, but she would not actively pursue him. Even if she bumped into him, she would maybe spend time with him, but it wasn't meant to be. And I really appreciated that ending.
So all in all, this was a really interesting character study on Luo Zijun, a woman who learned to rely on herself, but also learned to protect the people who were important to her. In the process of the drama, she protected not only her family, but also Tang Jing (by clearing her name), He Han (when she rashly cleared his name and got fired), and Chen Junsheng (when she got Ling Ling to confess which would protect him).
Tang Jing
Tang Jing was Luo Zijun's best friend. They had become close while in university, but while Zijun got married, Tang Jing worked nonstop. When the drama started, she was pretty high up the chain, and I believe she was hoping to get to partner status at B&T.
Tang Jing had a strange relationship with He Han. They weren't exactly dating but they weren't not dating. Everybody knew that they were together, but they never got married or even called each other their boyfriend/girlfriend.
I can't say for sure why they never made things official. The "official" reason was that they were too focused on work. However, there were probably some commitment issues on both sides. For Tang Jing specifically, I think she wasn't ready to become a wife. She liked being an independent woman with a career, and I think she worried that He Han would want wifely duties of her when they married.
Her faith in He Han was shaken a bit by Vivian, who had a massive crush on He Han, but He Han always rejected her. It wasn't until He Han rejected her in front of Tang Jing that Tang Jing could breathe a sigh of relief. But she still wasn't ready to commit.
It wasn't until she had to have her operation that she realized that she had to go for it and do the things she never had the courage to do, including marrying He Han. However, when they were engaged, He Han was already deeply in love with Luo Zijun. Tang Jing caught on, and she tried to test them out by inviting them to dinner together. She confroned He Han and broke up with him. If I were her I would be more angry with him than with Zijun, as he was the one who was supposed to be committed to her. So it was the double whammy of Tang Jing being engaged to He Han and Luo Zijun being her best friend that broke her.
She left for a while, and when she came back, she became upper management at Chenxing, the company where Chen Junsheng and He Han also worked. She was framed for a data leak by Ling Ling who was bitter that Tang Jing had fired her (for purposely gossiping in her face about the "affair" between He Han and Luo Zijun). But as we know, Luo Zijun helped clear her name.
I think that logically, Tang Jing knew that Luo Zijun was trying her best to protect their friendship, but instinctively, Tang Jing was still hurt. She acknowledged to Zijun that maybe there was hope in the future that they could be friends again, but she could not afford to be friends with her then.
Tang Jing had also sent a voicemail to He Han at the end of the drama. At the end, she told him that he'd let go of a person who'd loved him more than he could ever imagine. It did sound pretty bitter coming from her. Her argument was that she loved him too much to be apart from him. If she loved him less, I think she would have been able to give him up for her career, so the only reason they were in their sort-of relationship was because she loved him too much. And now she had to let go of this love.
I do feel quite bad for Tang Jing. All her working life, I think she felt confident in her work because she liked working, but also because she was mostly confident about He Han's love for her. No matter how hard she worked, He Han would still be the man she came home to, and the man who came home to her (figuratively). And knowing that he fell deeply in love with her best friend was definitely a betrayal. But perhaps Tang Jing would have to go on another emotional journey as Zijun did, to learn to love herself, as she told He Han she would.
He Han
Questionable guy, to be honest. I can't say I found him super charismatic and likeable and charming, but I can see what the show was going for.
At the beginning of the drama, he and Zijun butted heads a lot because he thought she was just some spoiled midwife (true). He only very reluctantly helped her due to Tang Jing's request.
Later on, as Zijun became a bit more yielding and sincere, he was in turn nicer and more pleasant to her as well. At that point, you could say they had a comfortable friendship, though at this point, Zijun had already acknowledged that she'd started to fall in love with He Han.
As time passed, we saw He Han go above and beyond for Zijun, whether it was taking care of Ping'er or personally dropping in to help her with her work. This already started happening when Zijun was working at the shoe shop.
As mentioned, I think He Han did fall in love with Zijun because he saw her sincerity for the first time. While Tang Jing used work as a mask (she was professional in ever facet of life), while preparing Zijun for work, he saw her true face, when she was worried, when she was happy, etc. And I think he fell in love with that version of Zijun who knew who and what was important to her, and did her best to work towards those goals.
He Han dropped the ball by inviting a client (Phil) over and making him wait (and never showing up) because he was attending Ping'er birthday. This was entirely on He Han, and incredibly unprofessional. He could have either left the birthday party to go to the meeting, or he could have called Chen Junsheng to tell him that he couldn't make the meeting, instead of making Phil wait.
That big faux pas was the beginning of He Han's end. He was basically fired, though the company had given him some time first as they'd had to find and train his replacement. During that time, Tang Jing came back and was framed, and then He Han took the fall for Tang Jing's mistake, though it wasn't hers at all. I feel that he had done this as an apology to Tang Jing, though if I were Tang Jing, it would mean nothing to me.
He Han had officially confessed his love to Luo Zijun, but as we know, Zijun had rejected him as a sign of love and respect to Tang Jing. Even if He Han did love Zijun, he definitely went about it the wrong way, especially with how things were between Tang Jing and He Han.
I personally felt that He Han was maybe reluctant to marry Tang Jing because the two of them were too alike. Like Tang Jing, He Han was also very professional and guarded, unlike Luo Zijun who showed most of her feelings on her face.
When it came to marrying Tang Jing (before they got engaged), I think he'd suggested it because he felt like it was the right thing to do, like it was the natural next step. But as we saw in Hong Kong, Tang Jing rejected him.
When Tang Jing proposed to him back in Shanghai, I think he was kind of caught off guard. He'd waited for this for so long, and now that it was happening, he wasn't happy because he was in love with Luo Zijun. He definitely didn't handle this the right way, but I can also say that it wasn't an easy decision. How do you tell the woman you thought you were in love with that you're now in love with her best friend?
Though He Han entirely went about it the wrong way, he at least understood that he hurt Tang Jing and as I said, I think he took the fall for her as an apology, though it was also a way for him to get out. At the end of the drama, he became a fisher. Like Luo Zijun, he seemed to maintain feelings for the other, but I think that as time passed, he now realized that they were not meant to be, and that's okay, as long as they have their feelings in their heart.
Chen Junsheng
Oh man, what a performance by Lei Jiayin. Chen Junsheng was a manager at Chenxing, but he was also kind of timid and a follower. He was't the most strong willed but he could be.
At the beginning of the drama, he was firmly in an emotional affair with Ling Ling, to the point that everyone in the office knew. And who could blame him? His wife was pretty annoying and so insecure. Everyone in the office knew.
Eventually, Chen Junsheng decided to divorce Zijun, bringing her world down. He was of course quite apologetic about it, but Zijun had become a stronger person because of the heartbreak, and from then on, they sort of had a working relationship.
Of course, there was tension between Ling Ling and the rest of the people in his life. But he was also kind of a coward about it. One time, he'd admitted to He Han that he was working late at the office because it was too awkward to be around his parents and Ling Ling. HE had created this situation, and now he felt it was too uncomfortable to return home? Grow up dude.
Over time, his relationship with Ling Ling had become a little strained too, though you could chalk that up to normal marital quarrels. I think he liked spending money on Luo Zijun and Ping'er, as it quelled his guilt. But Ling Ling was concerned about that financial drain.
In an argument with Ling Ling, Ling Ling had noticed that he'd started getting annoyed with her in the way that he'd gotten annoyed with Luo Zijun, and she questioned whether it was his own inability to get along with his partner. And I do think it's a valid fault of his. Chen Junsheng is not a confrontational person and he's not the most emotionally intelligent. He is not good with people. But that made him an interesting character. He was wrong, but sometimes I still wanted to sympathize with him.
Chen Junsheng admitted to He Han that he sometimes thought about Luo Zijun, if they were still married, though it's pointless to think about it because Zijun would not have become the Zijun of today if he hadn't divorced her. He's only looking back fondly because he's having marital problems now.
Junsheng was understandably upset when he found out that Ling Ling had leaked the information, as it was a huge problem to all of Chenxing. And there was no way he wouldn't be implicated. In the end, he blamed He Han in order to protect Ling Ling. But when Luo Zijun confronted Junsheng (with Ling Ling hiding), we saw that he hated himself and what he'd done, and he said that he wished everything was back to how it'd been at the start. That outburst was what pushed Ling Ling to confess to her crime.
At the end of the drama, Chen Junsheng still returned home to Ling Ling, though it's hard to say what would become of them. If Junsheng was a changed person, maybe he might try to stay through it and support his wife. Or if he wanted to run from his problems again, he might divorce his second wife. It's interesting how staying with his wife (who'd done a bad thing) would be more of a redemption arc for him than leaving her would be, because it would show that he was now willing to work through the tough times.
Xue Zhenzhu
Zhenzhu was Zijun's mother. She was very materialistic and loud, and she was very proud of Zijun for marrying into a rich family. That all came crashing down when Zijun was divorced.
Zhenzhu was mostly the drama stirrer, as she would often fight on Zijun's behalf even if Zijun didn't want it. And admittedly, those scenes were really annoying to watch. So I can't say I liked Zhenzhu that much.
Her life philosophy was that women needed to find men to support them, and that was why she cared so much about women finding rich husbands. She would go so far as to get Ziqun to divorce her husband if He Han had a rich friend to introduce Ziqun to.
As for herself, she was drawn to Cui Baojian, because she heard about how well off he was. And she'd used dirty tactics to get him to care about her.
In the end, it was implied that she'd truly fallen in love with him. However, her son had found out that she had a history of golddigging and he wanted her out because he felt she was after the money. Whether or not that was true, Zhenzhu was also the only person who could provide companionship to Baojian. If that was the case, wasn't it reasonable if Baojian wanted to give money to her?
Because of Zhenzhu's philosophy on life, she was very encouraging of Luo Zijun getting together with He Han which was again extremely annoying.
What was surprising was the way that Zhenzhu went out. She'd fallen ill and died very soon after, which was extremely surprising. She'd had some money in the bank when she died, and Zijun insisted that Ziqun take all the money to support her business.
Cui Baojian
Cui Baojian was a man that Zhenzhu met while dancing at the park. She was definitely after his money, but I guess we were supposed to believe that she liked his personality too. He eventually fell in love with her too, asking her to move in, though his son got really upset. Baojian ended up in the hospital, but after Zhenzhu found him, they were inseparable as she nursed him back to health. Unfortunately Zhenzhu died soon afterwards, after he recovered.
Luo Ziqun
Ziqun was Zijun's younger sister. She was in a very dramatic relationship with Bai Guang. They often argued as he was kind of a deadbeat and they had a baby son (nicknamed Didi).
Zijun and Ziqun also used to have a bad relationship because Ziqun would fell looked down upon. Zijun was rich and when Bai Guang failed at business, she would always ask Zijun and Chen Junsheng for money. This was a cycle, and even after Zijun and Junsheng divorced, she would still ask Junsheng for money.
Later in the drama, Ziqun started hanging out with a hairstylist who would flatter her and tell her things to make her feel pretty. Zijun was very wary of this man and Zhenzhu was just upset that he wasn't rich. When Bai Guang found out about the relationship, he of course was extremely angry (as he is wont to do).
Later on, Ziqun ran away to find A-hui (the hairstylist) only to find out he was married to somebody from his town. She returned home angry. And then that was when she started to seriously think about doing business (a restaurant).
Her relationship with Bai Guang got better after she came back, until A-hui came back as well. He claimed that he had no romantic feelings for his wife, and he even divorced her to be with Ziqun. But Ziqun was very betrayed by him lying that he was married, and now that A-hui was always asking her for money (while Bai Guang was giving her his money from his job), she was very much over him.
By the end of the drama, she was pregnant with her second child, and reconciled with Bai Guang.
Bai Guang
Bai Guang was the very volatile husband of Ziqun. At the begining of the drama, he was a deadbeat. He spent a lot of his time drinking and his businesses always failed. He always fought with Ziqun and he was not a good dad.
Things escalated when he found out that Ziqun was seeing A-hui, and he made a big deal about it. But the turning point was when Ziqun left to go find A-hui, and left him with Didi. He went to go find Zhenzhu, though there was really not much she could do for him.
Chen Junsheng and He Han joined together to help him get back on his feet. Now that he was stuck with Didi, I think Bai Guang started to see that he had no way of supporting the lil babu. So He Han and Junsheng got him a job at Jiangzi, where he finally started making a steady income.
When Ziqun came back, he was a lot more serious about staying committed to their relationship and contributing financially to the household.
A-hui did briefly come back to fight for Ziqun which pushed Bai Guang away. But in that time, Bai Guang and Ziqun separately worked on their own to provide for the family.
Bai Guang suggested divorce which caused Ziqun to get angry as she was pregnant with their second kid, but finding out about the second kid made Bai Guang lose any interest he had before in divorce. So once again, they reconciled.
Chen Ping'er
Ping'er was Junsheng and Zijun's son. After they got divorced, Zijun was granted custody of Ping'er though she only had a low-paying job, as Junsheng was shown to not be an attentive father (he hadn't gone home even when he didn't have to work overtime).
The first days when Zijun and Ping'er moved to the smaller flat were a huge struggle. Ping'er hated living there and he wanted to go back to their old nice apartment. It took a lot of effort from Tang Jing and later He Han to get him to calm down and to get used to the new home.
As mentioned, He Han kind of became Zijun's first contact when it came to taking care of Ping'er, which was a sign of her starting to overrely on Junsheng. After she realized that, that's when Zijun seemed to start mending her relationship with Junsheng as well.
Before, Zijun was very insecure in her custody of Ping'er. Junsheng and his parents were all at the old flat, which was comfortable to Ping'er. In addition, he'd become good friends with Jiaqing as well. Zijun was always worried that Ping'er would never want to go home to her. It was He Han who encouraged her to let go and to be confident in her having custody.
Ling Ling did treat Ping'er well, which was nice, though later on, Junsheng suspected that Ling Ling showed preferential treatment to Jiaqing, such as when only Jiaqing was allowed to go on the special exchange trip to the US.
Nonetheless, I think Ping'er ended up being well-adjusted. He was of course well-loved by both sides of the family, but more importantly, there was no animosity and insecurity between his mom and dad.
Ping'er joined Zijun to go to Shenzhen for her one year work trip.
Ling Ling
Ling Ling was the woman that Junsheng fell in love with at Chenxing. As He Han mentioned, one might be able to see how Junsheng fell in love with Ling Ling by studying her work. She was meticulous in her work, and perhaps that was part of what made her seem so sincere and likeable to Junsheng. They were already in an emotional affair at the beginning of the drama, and the entire office knew that they were an item.
Ling Ling was very kind and soft spoken, and it was easy to see why Junsheng would fall in love with someone like her. After they got married and moved in, Ling Ling was still very nice and sincere. She was very polite to Junsheng's parents, and she was kind to Ping'er, instructing Jiaqing to be nice to Ping'er as well. So even if there was animosity between Zijun and Ling Ling, she at least knew to keep the kids out of it.
As mentioned, Ling Ling and Junsheng did start to butt heads when it came to financial matters, as Ling Ling wanted him to pay less in spousal support to Zijun since they were taking care of Ping'er often at their house as well.
Ling Ling and Zijun were back into contact when Zijun came to work at Chenxing in Ling Ling's department. Though she was courteous, Xiao Dong was not, not forgetting how nasty Zijun used to be.
Ling Ling had also been threatened by Tang Jing to not make things difficult for Zijun. Ling Ling had retaliated by talking about He Han and Zijun's affair to anger Tang Jing. When Tang Jing had joined Chenxing, Zijun had already left, but Tang Jing immediately fired Ling Ling for doing what she'd done.
Ling Ling then retaliated (again) by asking Xiao Dong to leak her information, which then Ling Ling leaked to get back at Tang Jing. However, it became a huge deal, a bigger deal than Ling Ling had ever anticipated, as Tang Jing had a very close relationship with the client whose information had gotten leaked.
Ling Ling had told Junsheng about her mistake, but she pressured Junsheng not to tell in order to protect them both, and Junsheng acquiesced. However, Zijun couldn't see Tang Jing take the blame. After not getting Xiao Dong to budge, Zijun approached Ling Ling directly, taking her to Chenxing offices, where Zijun spoke to Junsheng directly about what was going on.
Ling Ling saw how upset she'd made Junsheng, how she'd put him in a terrible position, and so she'd given herself and Xiao Dong up.
I didn't expect Ling Ling to become a super nasty and unlikeable person, as it would be out of character for her. Instead, I think we saw her become a villain through slowly unpeeling the layers, and seeing her exposed to different stressors in life. What she did was still nasty and unlikeable, but the way she approached it still seemed to fit her character. That being said, she still was undoubtedly the villain, as she was unapologetic about what she'd done, wanting to hide it, and only relented when she saw how upset and stressed Junsheng had become.
As I mentioned, I felt like Junsheng not leaving her would be character development for him. Ling Ling had criticized him being unable to handle any stress in his marital life before, and this would be his chance to prove that he could work through a tough time in a marriage.
Leng Jiaqing
Jiaqing was Ling Ling's son with her ex-husband. Understandably, it took him a lot of time to warm up to Junsheng. At first, he was wary about having to share with Ping'er, until he found out that Ping'er was living with his mom.
However, over time, Ling Ling helped the boys get to know each other, through toys and playing, as kids do. They did become quite close, though they did have that one fight, when Ping'er said that their moms were working and Jiaqing insisted that it couldn't happen because Ping'er mom sold shoes.
Ling Ling got Jiaqing to apologize, but by the end of the drama, it seemed that the two boys were on good terms anyway. It also seemed like Junsheng took care of Jiaqing pretty well, often checking his homework and such.
Chen Junsheng's Parents
Chen Junsheng's parents were upset with Junsheng when they first found out he was getting a divorce. When they realized that Junsheng wouldn't budget, they told Zijun that they'd take good care of Ping'er, implying that they would have custody of him, which offended Zijun.
When the divorce arrangement first began, there was heavy tension between Zijun and Junsheng's parents. Zijun was very afraid that Ping'er would find it more fun to live with his grandparents who spoiled him, compared to their dinky little apartment. And Junsheng's parents were upset that Zijun was so strict with taking her son home, to the point of it becoming a scene.
As mentioned, He Han advised Zijun to relax, that she shouldn't worry about not getting her son back because she has custody rights. And so she agreed to allow Ping'er to be taken care of by his grandparents when she was busy at work.
Junsheng's parents also came to like Ling Ling a lot too as they saw that she was sincere towards Junsheng and she took care of the kids well.
Zhuo Jianqing
Lao Zhuo was the owner of the Japanese restaurant. He was a pretty steady guy. He was good friends with the regulars, and he sometimes offered them advice.
Luo Luo was the daughter of his friend who had asked him to take care of her after his death. So he set her up in an apartment and had her work for him. Luo Luo was always gossiping and Lao Zhuo was always chastising her. She fell in love with him, but he rejected her again and again as she was his friends daughter and he saw her as a kid.
Luo Luo left suddenly, and everybody said that Lao Zhuo seemed a bit lethargic at that, though I think that's questionable. After she came back, she was very responsible, which Lao Zhuo found amusing.
At the end of the drama, Lao Zhuo left Jiangzi to Luo Luo. I don't completely remember what he said, but I think he said something like he was going to seek an old friend for forgiveness? I sure hope to god that doesn't mean he's going to ask his friend for forgiveness for going after his daughter.
Luo Luo
Luo Luo, as mentioned, was the daughter of Lao Zhuo's friend, and was in love with him. She was a very gossipy girl, and often got chastised for it.
She told Lao Zhuo that her father had struggled to take care of her, and that after he died, she would either try to get money from her mom (who always had a new husband), or she would find boyfriends, though hardly any of them could offer her a good lifestyle. For example, she was driven out of the home of a boyfriend by the boyfriend's young daughter.
So I think she fell in love with Lao Zhuo because he was the first successful man to take care of her without question. However, she was upset that he would not accept her love.
She suddenly left, and when she came back, she was much less of a troublemaker, and was very serious. She said that she realized that being a good worker was the best way for her to be able to stay by Lao Zhuo's side.
I really hoped that Luo Luo and Lao Zhuo wouldn't become an item. I think it's reasonable for Lao Zhuo to never be able to see Luo Luo as anybody other than his friend's daughter, a kid. And I think Luo Luo has to accept that she can't force someone to like her back, and that Lao Zhuo taking care of her doesn't necessarily mean that he's in love with her. It's left open ended, but I want to believe that their relationship is just platonic.
Yaqin
Yaqin was Ping'er nanny, when Junsheng and Zijun were still together. She was aware of how annoying Zijun was, though she had no choice but to serve her as she was a paid nanny.
That being said, Yaqin did still care a bit for Zijun. She worried when Zijun's family took advantage of their money. And when Junsheng divorced Zijun, Yaqin was understandably worried for her health.
After the divorce, Yaqin said that she had to go home to take care of her sister. I'm not sure if it was just an excuse to leave employment as she didn't know if Zijun would be able to pay her. After the divorce, she'd even been asked by Junsheng to continue being the nanny/housekeeper for his house. She'd bumped into Zijun while coming out of Junsheng's apartment and was really nervous about it, saying that she'd refused the job because it didn't feel right, but Zijun bore her no ill will, understanding that she was just trying to survive.
Li Er
Li Er was Zijun's divorce lawyer. I was kind of hoping that we'd see him more because he seemed like an interesting easygoing guy, but alas, we didn't see him after the custody trial.
Lao Jin
Lao Jin worked at the same mall that Zijun worked at. He worked in the office. He had a crush on her, and had taken the opportunity to give her a lift. He was kind of pushy about it, which was a little uncomfortable to Zijun, but she'd kind of relented because he was so pushy about it.
Though Zijun wasn't attracted to him (he was quite a bit older), she gave him a shot, seeing as how he was so kind to her and Ping'er. But we started to see how he was very insecure in his relationship and it affected how he treated Zijun.
He was very adamant on getting Zijun the new job in the office, to the point that he was making a ruckus and it was very embarrassing for Zijun. Then, He Han had appeared out of nowhere and helped her get the job without a fuss. That obviously made Lao Jin feel very inferior. Even when Zijun agreed to go out to dinner with Lao Jin's friends, he felt that she was being too flashy and it would make him look shabby in comparison. When he came back from his dinner party, he showed regret and said his friends had admonished him for yelling at a lady for dressing up.
Lao Jin (and his friends) were kind of annoying in how they tried to nag Zijun to come back to him even after they'd have disagreements. In the end, Zijun quit her job at the mall to get away from Lao Jin, as she needed to cut the relationship clean.
Su Manshu
Su Manshu was the head of a data collecting company that I believe was a subsidiary of Chenxing (or a major customer, I'm not really sure). Anyway, from the get-go, she was a headache. She gossiped about how since He Han had offered her the job, she must have been his mistress, etc. It was terrible.
And Su Manshu never treated Zijun like an employee, but rather something like a vase only to be protected, so that He Han would be happy. She went so far as to fire Duan Xiaotian over Zijun as their work relationship was going sour and Su Manshu didn't want to lose her in with He Han.
I forget the chronology, but at one point, Zijun wanted to quit because of how uncomfortable the work environment was. And after Duan Xiaotian got fired, his wife had come into the office making a big scene, just as Zijun had at the beginning of the drama. Zijun said that it was exactly like looking at a past version of herself, and she was clearly very uncomfortable and distraught about how dramatic and unreasonable she had been.
After He Han fell from grace, Su Manshu started to treat Zijun more poorly, wanting to find excuses to let her go. The only person keeping her from doing so was Ms. Wu (who had become Zijun's mentor).
After Zijun went behind everybody's back to talk to a client about Phil, Su Manshu fired her. Howevr, Zijun later came back to work for Ms. Wu so I have no idea whether she was technically rehired into Su Manshu's company.
Duan Xiaotian
Duan Xiaotian was a manager at Su Manshu's company. When Zijun had interviewed with Su Manshu's company, she'd lied on her resume about having worked at a company, and it just so happened that Duan Xiaotian had worked at that company that Zijun said she'd worked for. Duan Xiaotian had helped her hide her secret, and treated her like an old colleague.
When Zijun started working, Duan Xiaotian seemed decently nice. However, He Han told Zijun to be wary of him. When she'd taken the trip to check on surveyors in another city, Duan Xiaotian had taken the credit.
Later on, Duan Xiaotian confessed to Zijun that he loved her. Zijun was not interested in him at all but he wouldn't let go. The thing was, he just wanted the thrill of it with none of the commitment, so Zijun tried to get him off her back by saying that he didn't make enough money to support her.
Then Duan Xiaotian's sabotage of her began. The most notable occurrence was when Zijun was meant to slip a note to Duan Xiaotian during a focus group, and had purposely not given her an opportunity to do so. From then on, he basically threatened her, saying that if she'd give in to his requests, then he'd help her in the workplace.
When things got bad, Su Manshu fired Duan Xiaotian, because she wanted to keep being in He Han's good books. Duan Xiaotian told his wife a version of the story that made Zijun out to be the evil woman, and then she went to Su Manshu's company to complain, where He Han had the misfortunate of seeing her and having to talk her down.
Again, I am so surprised that Duan Xiaotian didn't reveal that Zijun had lied on her resume on his way out. Perhaps then it would implicate him further in him attempting to have an affair.
Ms. Wu
Ms. Wu was a manager at Su Manshu's company. When Zijun resigned, He Han said that she instead could have taken the opportunity to request to work in a certain position.
Zijun eventually ended up working with Ms. Wu who was known to be intense but a great mentor, and Zijun greatly thrived under her tutelage.
After Zijun got fired, she remained in touch with Ms. Wu. And when Zijun couldn't find a job, she eventually went back to work with Ms. Wu, even uprooting her life and going to Shenzhen to work with her.
Zijun and Ms. Wu retained a good relationship through to the very end of the drama.
Luo Ping
Luo Ping was another manager at B&T who was trying to pursue Tang Jing. He was so desperate to get her to look at him that he recruited Vivian, who apparently had an affair with He Han, to either draw He Han away from Tang Jing or to get Tang Jing angry with him.
It never worked. He Han eventually recruited away all of Luo Ping's top staff with him to Chenxing, and he was basically run into the ground by the two of He Han and Tang Jing (if I remember correctly).
Vivian
Vivian was a woman who apparently had an affair with He Han, which was shown by a selfie she had taken in He Han's bed. That was a slight against Tang Jing, who was known to be He Han's sort-of girlfriend.
Vivian and Tang Jing had a series of petty fights. The most memorable one was when Vivian told Tang Jing that He Han had spent the night with her, when in fact, Tang Jing had bumped into He Han at Jiangzi when she was supposed to be there on a date with Li Rui.
We eventually found out the truth, which was that Vivian had a one-sided crush on He Han, and he had always rejected her.
When Tang Jing was transferred to Hong Kong, Vivian thought that she would be the next top dog in town, except Tang Jing had decided to take Vivian with her, which would ruin the timing of her getting the promotion that she wanted.
When He Han visited Hong Kong, Vivian had invited herself into her suite, so when Tang Jing visited, she would be under the impression that she was the one intruding. However, He Han had taken the opportunity to straighten things out, that he was in love with Tang Jing.
For some reason, that was enough to get Vivian off their back, and soon afterwards, she was seen with a new boyfriend. I can't believe that was all it took, considering how long He Han had been trying to reject her.
Xiao Dong
Xiao Dong was a coworker of Ling Ling's at Chenxing. She really only came into the story at the end of the drama. When Zijun came to work at Chenxing, Xiao Dong hadn't forgotten what a tough time she'd given Ling Ling, so she'd bullied Zijun a bit and kept pushing her to drink more alcohol.
Later on, when Ling Ling was fired, Xiao Dong distanced herself from Ling Ling, wanted to angle for a promotion, but Tang Jing shot her down and called her two-faced. Obviously Xiao Dong, being as petty as she was, was quite angry.
When Ling Ling had gotten a similar harsh treatment from Tang Jing, she called Xiao Dong and they worked together to leak the confidential information about BOP, the client that Tang Jing was close with.
Xiao Dong had asked an intern, Caicai, to photocopy the documents, and Caicai had told Zijun. When Zijun confronted Xiao Dong, she denied it, and then in turn became super nice to Caicai in hopes that Caicai would feel indebted to her. Meanwhile, Ling Ling had told Junsheng who then approached Xiao Dong.
Xiao Dong used the "I'm a working single mother, I need this job" argument. If she really needed this job, she wouldn't have sabotaged it >.>
In the end, when she thought she was clear, Ling Ling had come clean and implicated them both.
Themes
Life after a failed marriage
This was the main theme of the drama, focusing on how Zijun became an independent self-fulfilled woman after her divorce. She'd never worked, so she didn't thin she could do it, but little by little, she built herself up into being the confident woman that she was.
Love vs. career
This was one of the main conflicts for Tang Jing. Working women always have to battle the idea that they're giving up their family for a career, whereas it's acceptable for men to have both a family and a career, because it's supposed to be the women who take care of the family.
Though there's nothing wrong for women to like being a homemaker, in the context of this drama, the issue was that Zijun's life was too revolved around another person for her to find fulfillment on her own.
For Tang Jing, after her surgery, there was a period of time when she was considering settling into married life. However, after a while, she admitted to He Han that she hated cooking, that she hated being a teacher/coach, and that she liked working. There's nothing wrong with that either.
I forgot who He Han was talking to when he said this, but he said that if He Han and Tang Jing were to get married, Tang Jing would definitely lose more as a result, and he felt that he couldn't do that to her. There would always be an expectation for her to be a wife, whereas he didn't have to change his lifestyle and could still be recognized as a husband.
So this issue of love vs. careers is definitely more aimed towards women.
Marriage
I felt that the people in this drama were under the belief that all relationships have to lead to marriage. I don't think this is true, but this is the framework the drama was working with.
That was why Tang Jing and He Han were seen as having an "incomplete" relationship, because they hadn't made the last step of getting married. In this drama, marriage was the acknowledgment of love, and Tang Jing realized that He Han didn't love her enough.
Loving a friend's significant other
Loving a friend's boyfriend is definitely against friend code, and Zijun recognized that from the very beginning (based on her narrations). She would never say a single thing because she loved Tang Jing too much to betray her like that.
I did think that when Zijun realized she was in dangerous territory, she tried only to rely on He Han when it was absolutely necessary, like when Ping'er needed help. But again, she respected Tang Jing too much to betray her. He Han did not understand this. He didn't understand the significance of the relationship between the two ladies, and he was so rash and so dumb to act out on his feelings like that without thinking how he'd hurt two people at once.
And because Luo Zijun cares so much for Tang Jing, I don't think she'd ever let herself love He Han like a boyfriend. She'd only keep that love in her heart forever.
Unconditional love
I loved that conversation Zijun had with Junsheng when Zijun stayed in Shanghai to help Tang Jing. At the time, Tang Jing was still upset with Zijun, so Junsheng told Zijun that Tang Jing would never acknowledge her help.
Zijun asked Junsheng that if she was ever in trouble and needed help, would Junsheng help her even if she wouldn't acknowledge the help? Junsheng said yes, which exemplified so many of the relationships on the show.
Zijun helped Tang Jing because in her heart, she cared deeply for Tang Jing and didn't want her to be hurt. As mentioned, Zijun helped several of her loved ones without expecting anything in return. And Junsheng cared for Zijun, maybe not as a wife, but still as the mother of his son, and he was still protective of her.
I think this was such a good way of exemplifying unconditional and true love, even if it's platonic.
Overall
I didn't expect to love this drama as much as I did. The writing was not what I expected. The character writing was deep, and the story writing was well-paced.