Author: ningzheaven

Mu Lan 巾帼大将军 (2013)

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Watched in July 2015
Story timeline Sui Dynasty 580-600AD

Randomly chanced upon this show, but am glad I did. It was a pleasant find!

There aren’t that many familiar faces in this show. I must say, there was only one eye candy in this show, Yuan Hong – who played 13th Prince in Bu Bu Jing Xin. He was a loveable and suave character then, he is a even more loveable and cute character in this show. He plays a “nerd” Zhao Yu who can be quite daft at times. But that makes his character funny and enjoyable to watch! I like Mu Lan and Zhao Yu. Unfortunately the 3rd Prince was not shuai enough, else it would be a really difficult choice in this love triangle.

Plot wise – I am not sure if Mulan was a real person in history, it seems like no one knows which period she existed in. This Mulan story it’s set in the period between Zhou and Sui Dynasty. We all know Mulan, maybe because of childhood influence by Disney, but she is famous as a female general who went to join the army in place of her father. The plot line is thus not new, but this show managed to add comedy and enough freshness to a known plot line. This show can be characterised as one of those 女扮男装, where a female strives to survive in a world led by men.

I thought the pace of the show was well done and had enough interesting dialogue and exchanges for one to keep watching without skipping too much.

All in all, good show and recommended! I think it is a pity that not many seem to know about this show!♥♥♥

Actors/actresses to watch for: Yuan Hong

Random thought:I thought it was interesting how Emperor Wen Yang Jian had few concubines and loved his wife.

天皇の料理番 Tenno no Ryoriban (2015)

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I had to comment on this even when it was ongoing.

It is a drama about Tokuzo Akiyama’s ordeals and journey in achieving his dream and becoming the chef of the Emperor of Japan. Set in the early 1900s.

I was attracted to the show purely because of Takeru Sato. But the show and plot had been great so far in capturing love and dreams. Very inspiring.

Edit: Finished the show last week. It had been a great 12 weeks. This show made end-of-Mondays worth looking forward to each week.

There are many things worth watching for. First, all actors and actresses were captivating and loveable. There were a few points where you would cringe (like the last episode), but otherwise, you will root and love every single character in this show. Takeru Sato was especially worth mentioning – his acting was varied, and impressive in portraying the growth of a young rash boy, who was easily bored, deemed useful and could not stay interested in any task for more than 3 months, to an respectable old chef devoted to serving the Emperor, the craft of cooking and who loves his wife dearly. Takeru Sato’s character and acting, through in this show, grew definitely by leaps and bounds from his previous idol-type or rookie-type roles. Kuroki who acted as Toshiko (Tokuzo’s wife) isn’t a beauty at first sight, but she was appealing in her own way by the end of the show.

I loved the love story between Tokuzo and his wife Toshiko. I particularly liked how he did not express his love for his wife in a direct way but we all know very well that he loved her very much through all’s that he had done for her. Definitely a couple you will root for (and cry for).

Inspiring plot. Akiyama Tokuzo’s contribution to french cuisine in Japan makes one want to look for that one thing that we hope to devote our entire life to, to excel, to hone our skills, to contribute. Isn’t that what we live for, our value in life.

I wished that producers had given the wonderful dishes prepared by Tokuro a little bit more screen time and some explanation. There was a lot of emphasis on Tokuzo’s cooking skills (there were many scenes of Takeru chopping, dicing, slicing and peeling), but little explanation of the dishes that were served. I suppose if they did that, it would not just be 12 episodes but 20 episodes long.

For the amount of tears shed, I definitely rate this show highly! ♥♥♥♥♥ (My highest rating thus far!)

Actors/actresses to watch out for: Takeru Sato

蛋糕配红酒 第一章第四幕 Red Wine and Christmas Cake 1.4：Komageta’s to blame， 都是KomaGeta惹的祸

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地点：时装秀-后台
简介：在时装秀上，一名模特受伤了 。颖夕修补了裂开的裙子，用她的走路方式给设计师留下了深刻印象。

颖夕从樟宜机场来到了时装秀的会场。

已爱离开前对颖夕再次叮嘱，时装秀的座位在VIP座箱。颖夕事情忙完了之后，一定要找曼芝才能入座。

颖夕赶到了时装秀的休息室。只见同事Chermaine一个人在房里哭得稀里哗啦，失魂的样子。

颖夕开口问，“到底发生了什么事？”

Chermaine尽量冷静地解释，“你来得正好！其中的一名模特突然…突然跌倒、撕破…撕破了服装的裙角、好像…好像也受了伤，还诬赖是我们乱摆东西。设计师Aoyama先生很生气，其中的发型师翻译说，如果时装秀受影响的话，要告我们。我们…我们该怎么办？“

Chermaine继续说，“他们说地面上有剪刀，害她们的模特排步的时候跌倒。我说都是别人的错、东西可是他们摆的。”

“别慌，你叫我来帮忙的吧。不用担心，现在也不是追根问底的时候。” 颖夕冷静地说。

颖夕接着问，“不会有事的…时装在哪里？“

Chermaine指向一件华丽的、改装成和服样式的时装。可惜裙角被撕破了。

颖夕接着问，“Aoyama先生呢，他人在哪？” 可是Chermaine不知道Aoyama先生在哪里。

颖夕看着时装，觉得应该还有补救的余地。她没想太多，拿起了桌上的针线, 开始缝改裙角。

“你想做什么？”Chermaine试图阻止颖夕。

“坐在这里也是于事无补啊。不如试着弥补了再说。“颖夕也没时间想太多，不想办法就来不及了。

船到桥头自然直。

颖夕灵机一动，想这裙角也许能分开做成个V形，便开始缝了。

房外传来了脚步声。

Chermaine惊喊出，“糟了！Aoyama先生来了。他脾气很暴躁。怎么办?”

“别吵，我不就是正在想办法。”

隔壁的休息室有人喊，“这里！”脚步声便停下，转向隔壁的休息室。

虽然没被发现，但也捏了一把冷汗。

隔壁的房间传来吵架声。模特之间发生了争执。

颖夕修改了裙，便随着吵闹声，走到模特休息室的门口。

【模特休息室】

其中一位模特，只化了妆、还没有梳好头就对着经纪人闹。她身边的男发型师也无法控制她。

“这是什么意思吗！我不管、你答应我的，这场秀我是重要的角色。服装可不是我弄破的、而是这里的负责人自己笨拙。我想改，也不会穿一件破烂的衣服。”

另一位模特，则一副无所谓的表情地说，“你不想穿就算了，不用上台了。”

“不要说了！”模特的经纪人努力在缓和情况，但那两位模特并没有想要气消的意识。

经纪人积极地劝说那位正在发牢骚的模特，“Emily，请你不要生气了。你是我们的金牌模特，这场秀少了你是不行的。我会和Aoyama sensei商量服装的事情。先把你的发型梳好吧。”

Emily没有理会经纪人所说的，也无法回应，便接着拿起一双12寸高的koma-geta（日本传统木屐）发飙，“而且，还要我穿这双鞋。怎么走台啊！你有没有和设计师商量好？没有人来示范吗？”

Emily周围有很多人，但谁都没说什么。仿佛这是很常见的事情，又仿佛没有人敢插手。

也许过了一会儿，事情就会冷静下来。

但闹到这个地步，颖夕真的看不下去了，不得已插了嘴。

“Emily小姐，是吗？”

这些模特都很高，颖夕站在门边，觉得在门口说话会比较舒服。

颖夕鞠了个躬，“对不起打扰了。我叫颖夕，是来自艺术部的。关于服装，我们已经……”

“你在说什么？我问的是，你刚才是穿着木屐走路的吧。”Emily不耐烦地打断。

颖夕心想，这位模特似乎对服装并不在意，也许换个角度先得到他们的信任比较好。

颖夕面不改色地回答，“这双鞋呢，是日本江户时代花魁（Oiran）所穿的鞋，也叫花魁下駄　おいらんげた　oiran-geta。走法呢，我可以给你示范一下。”

Emily打量了颖夕一下，半信半疑。

“不必……” 经纪人本想推辞。

但Emily却说，“好啊，你示范给我看。”

要穿那双鞋其实并不容易。它也特别的高 – 有12寸高吧。

休息室里的人好像在等着，只有发型师向前帮颖夕穿鞋。颖夕站稳后，发型师才放手。

“谢了。“

颖夕本身个子不高，与这一群模特说话，要离一段距离颈项才不会痛。但穿上那双鞋后，突然能够与这些模特面对面，平齐地‘站’着。

果然模特视野中的‘风景’，与颖夕平时所见的不一样。

颖夕先把右脚往后斜着摆，用鞋的内侧顺着裙角的轮廓向前画个半圈，形成倒过来的C字。到了前方后，放平鞋子，摆好姿势，再换左脚。

虽然走得很慢，颖夕以优雅的方式走向前方。休息室里的人都目瞪口呆。

没想到在日本学过的表演也能派上用场。

“誰かが私の衣装を変えたんですか？！”（有人搞砸了我的衣服吗？！）门口突然出现了一个日本人。

就在这时，颖夕刚好走了一步，但门口的那个声音让她不经意地想要转头看。颖夕的分神导致她失去了平衡。

幸好身后的发型师扶了颖夕一把。

颖夕来不及说谢谢，那位日本人走向颖夕，强力地拉了她的膀臂。“君、先何をした？”（你，刚才做了什么？）

颖夕心想，这个人一定是青山老师 （Aoyama Sensei)。

发型师走到前面试图翻译，但颖夕却先回答：“申し訳ございませんでした。衣装の件ですが、私…” (“非常抱歉。关于衣服的事情，我……”)

“何を言ってる？私が聞いているのは、先，あなたが下駄を着て、歩いていたでしょう。”（“你在说什么？我问的是，你刚才穿着木屐走路对吧？”）

“そ－う－です。”(“是的……”)颖夕无法抗拒青山老师的霸气，只能如实回答。

颖夕虽然还是无法理解青山老师突如其来的转变，但觉得这件事情必须要解释清楚。颖夕挺直了腰杆，抬起头，目光直视青山老师。“青山先生、先の衣装なんですが、”（青山老师，关于服装的事情……”）

青山老师突然又好像有了新的领悟，突然喊道，”じゃ、決めた！”（“那就这样决定了！”）

“什么？决定了什么？”颖夕不明白，觉得自己好像落后了一拍。

青山老师面对颖夕说，”あなた、私の吉原モデルになる。そうに決めました。”（“你，就是我要找的模特。”）

うそ。这不是开玩笑吧。颖夕简直不敢相信自己听到的。

这也太突然了。

周围的人也无法相信自己听到的。

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For other chapters to this story, click here!

蛋糕配红酒 第一章第三幕 Red Wine and Christmas Cake 1.3：奶奶家

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明德的车到了奶奶的豪宅门前，老王下车准备为明德开车门。

明德下车后，先吩咐了老王订一束玫瑰花送到服装秀的后台，散会时明德准备去后台接Emily。吩咐完毕，便随着老王进入大厅。

大厅里，明德的奶奶正在浇花。

“奶奶！”明德叫了一声。明德在新加坡念书时，都是由奶奶照顾，所以对奶奶的尊敬与感情很深。

“哦，怎么太阳从西边升起啦，我的可爱的明德回来啦。”明德的奶奶放下了手中的杯子，但挺直身子的时候，咳了两下。

“我很想你，不就一下飞机就来看你。行李箱还在车上呢。奶奶，你身体不舒服吗？”

奶奶摇了摇头，”奶奶没事，没大碍。只是小小的伤风感冒而已，不需要大惊小怪。”

奶奶打量了明德一下，说：”来给我瞧瞧，好几年不见，你俊俏了许多。”

明德走向奶奶身边时，眼前却注意到了奶奶身后的一幅微蓝色的彩画。

明德的奶奶是开画廊的，所以摆着的艺术品都很独特。摆设和家具，每一件都是有品牌的，价格也挺昂贵的。

但明德眼前的那幅画却与众不同。

明德的眼睛凝视着那幅画，仿佛描绘了两个人跳舞背影的抽象画，心中涌起一股无法言喻的感动。

明德脑海里突然浮现了他和颖夕在跳舞的情景。

怎么突然想起她了。

奶奶看着明德看着画却又出神，问道：”怎么了，突然那么陶醉。喜欢这幅画吗？你对它有什么看法？”

“这幅画挺有趣的，很微妙。”

奶奶走向画前，”这幅画叫做『一场梦』，是我的学徒画的。可惜她已经很少再创作了。”

奶奶顺便介绍了其他的艺术品。原来奶奶家的艺术品都是她画廊的学徒的杰作。

奶奶看到明德也很感兴趣，便说：”既然我现在身体不太舒服，不如你明天中午代替我参加一个活动。地点在新加坡国家美术馆，将展出我画廊收藏的画家的作品。你去看看，去见识见识，顺便挑几幅你喜欢的，也许能够摆放在新加坡公司的大厅。老王，把明天的邀请卡交给明德！”

老王将邀请卡交给了明德。

原来这是艺术文化部举办的展览会。

但是明德原本计划明天要带着Emily游览新加坡，只好拒绝了奶奶的好意。

“刚刚还说身体没事，现在又说不舒服。”明德笑着说道，”奶奶，对不起，我明天已经和佳人有约了。”

“是吗，奶奶明白。哎，你和那位名模在一起也已经两年了，为什么不公开呢。年纪不小了，应该要成家立业了，知道吗？”

明德点了点头，”您老人家就不用担心了。”

“臭小子，竟然敢说我老。我可是受托要好好看着你的，也会跟你家的董事长汇报你在新加坡的成绩。你可不要得罪我啊。说到成绩，你这次回来是为了什么？”

“这次我是为了今天的服装秀和新加坡与日本公司的合作计划而回来的。再耽误一会儿，我就得去开幕仪式了。”

“很好。那么，先喝杯茶再走吧。”

两人随后走到小厅喝茶。

For the next chapter, click here.

For other chapters to this story, click here!

蛋糕配红酒 第一章第二幕 Red Wine and Christmas Cake 1.2：Home Sweet Home, 四位好友的重逢

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樟宜机场的VIP Lounge出口，正值中午时分。

一位戴着墨镜，身穿黑色阿玛尼西装的英俊男子从贵宾休息室走了出来。他就是李明德，NH集团的副总裁，六年来首次回国。身后跟着一名日本华侨名模，Emily。

“新加坡真好，不用担心任何狗仔队。”Emily毫不犹豫地牵起明德的手，撒娇地说道。

明德轻抚着Emily的手。

“是啊，只是有点闷热。”明德对潮湿的气候并不太喜欢，于是放开了Emily的手。

“明德少爷！” 一位大约五十岁左右的中年人走到明德面前，脸上带着特别安慰的表情。

老王彬彬有礼地向明德行礼。

“欢迎回来。”

“老王，你怎么来接机了。奶奶还好吗？”明德热情地拥抱了老王。

“社长很好。她很高兴你回来。不多说了，天气应该很热。我们上车吧。”

老王提起行李箱，三人走向樟宜机场的出口，那里停着一辆豪华的白色马赛地。

这时，颖夕和已爱赶到了入口处。已爱似乎撞到了Emily，但没有回头看。

“新加坡人怎么这么没礼貌！”Emily不客气地说着，擦了擦肩膀。明德扶着Emily，让她先上车。

明德看着Emily上车后，转身对老王说。

“老王，先送Emily去Orchard Road公司赞助的时装秀，然后让司机送我去奶奶家。反正还有一些时间。晚上再去酒店办理Check-in。”

明德低声说着，好像不想被人听到。“记得要分开安排房间，知道吗？”

“知道了，我会按照你的吩咐安排的。”

明德点点头，拍了拍老王的肩膀。“很好。”

另一边，到达门口。

嘉微在到达门口伸长脖子，想看看行李提取区是否有曼芝的身影。颖夕和已爱快步走到嘉微身旁。

“看到曼芝了吗？”颖夕和已爱问嘉微。

“曼芝还没出来。你们怎么这么晚？”嘉微的声音带着一点责备，但又带着一点兴奋。

颖夕有些不好意思地说：“是我拖了时间。”

“怎么了，颖夕，你手上拿的是什么？”嘉微问道。

“哦，这是我两个宝贝儿子做手工需要的一些材料。正因为这个所以我来得有点晚。”颖夕拿起一个袋子，里面装着她刚买的树脂。

“我真笨，买了之后都忘了放进背包。”颖夕匆忙地把袋子放回了背包里。

“Munch！”已爱看到了曼芝。

曼芝走向机场大厅，看到她的三个最好的朋友正在向她挥手。她内心涌起一股高兴的情绪。

曼芝，终于从日本搬回新加坡了。

颖夕、已爱、嘉微、曼芝，四个三十多岁的女人，二十年的好朋友汇聚在一起，毫不在乎周围的人潮，尖叫着拥抱在一起。

“我们欢迎你回来！”已爱伸出手。

曼芝握住已爱的手，“我真高兴回来！”

嘉微和颖夕也伸出手，仿佛在互相打气，四人同时举起手，“yeah！”

四人紧紧拥抱在一起。

曼芝突然有些恍惚，四处张望，好像在寻找什么。

颖夕也觉得奇怪，便问道：“你在找谁？”

“我的老板也坐了同样的航班，但我没看到他。他坐的是头等舱，应该已经离开机场了吧。”

“你常常提起的帅小老板？”嘉微也四处看了看。

“对啊，不过没见到他也没关系。”

曼芝突然脸上露出一副有了什么鬼主意的表情。

原来曼芝特意让颖夕接机的理由之一是要邀请她参加公司今晚的宴会，地点在Orchard Royal Hotel。

“颖夕，我要你参加我公司今晚的宴会，在Orchard Royal Hotel。”

“知道了。已爱在车上已经告诉我了。你不需要这么费劲，不就是要我参加吗。”

“你是个大忙人呀，很少有机会跟任何人接触。我要在大家面前听到你答应我。有已爱在这，你不能拿你的两个小宝贝做借口！”曼芝边拉着已爱的胳膊说。

“今晚已爱当保姆！我要盯住你出席。”原来曼芝已经跟已爱串通好了。

颖夕也拿曼芝没办法。颖夕也心想，自从有了孩子，她的确很少和人来往。

“我陪你参加晚宴。今晚我不能见两个宝贝，不过我会找机会的。”

这四位朋友走向机场的停车场。

“对不起，今晚我必须帮忙准备我的好友的婚礼，不能帮你。”嘉微抱着歉意地跟已爱说。

“正义的婚礼？”曼芝问。

“嗯。”嘉微点点头。

啊，是嘉微曾经暗恋的男生。虽然已经是好久以前的事，但是还是没人敢拿出来提。有些事情不说比较适合。

曼芝突然说，“我好想吃roti prata！Let’s go！”

颖夕的电话突然响起。

“喂？”

》是颖夕吗？

“嗯，找我有事吗？”

》我是Sherry！我在服装秀这里，可是出了一点事了。我听其他人说你会日文，可以不可以来帮我呀？Designer是个日本人，不懂英语，沟通不来。

“不要慌。没问题，我这就赶过去。能帮上忙的我一定会帮。”

》真不好意思，星期六还得麻烦你。

曼芝带着一副质问的表情。“你有事啦？”

“对不起，你们去吃吧。我还钱。”

“我先带你去吧，然后跟曼芝和嘉微会合。”已爱说。

“谢了。”

“慢着。我们公司的服装秀呢？晚宴呢？你还是会去的，对吗？”曼芝想起了今天的行程。

颖夕嘴角微微上扬，“你放心，我要去的地方恰好是Orchard Royal Hotel，就是服装秀的场地。我们在那里见面吧。”

说着，四位女人分乘两辆车离开了机场。

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For other chapters to this story, click here!

蛋糕配红酒 第一章第一幕 Red Wine and Christmas Cake 1.1：林颖夕

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那件事已经是四，五年前的事了吧。

星期六早上六点钟，新加坡国家美术馆。

这是City Hall 周围还能听见小鸟叫声的时分。还离新加坡国家美术馆营业时间三个小时，但是正厅里和艺廊却已经有好多人在忙着。有好几名艺术家在布置他们的作品，也有管理人员匆匆忙忙地走来走去。

明天是新加坡与日本欢庆友谊50周年艺术周和艺术展的开幕仪式。今年的艺术周展出的是新加坡与日本友谊的作品。

明天也可以算是林颖夕换了工作的第六天。

“让开让开！对不起，借过！” 颖夕右手提着一幅长型的画像框，左手又拿着两盒箱子。很冲忙地跑进了艺术馆的正厅，边喊着。

“颖夕！这里！这里！真不好意思！太谢谢你了！” Sarah，颖夕的新同事向颖夕招招手。

“你人忙，晚上又有节目。我都说我可以应付的。” Sarah继续说。

“没关系，反正我也想来看明天的安排。这两天節目又多，你们也都很忙了。我是应该出份力。”

颖夕提的是一些Sarah大意留在office重要的东西。颖夕把箱子搬到了柜台、面向她的是Sarah带着一副不好意思的样子。

颖夕虽然不习惯早出门，不过为了最近转到的新部门正准备一个很重要的活动，便特意来到了艺术馆。

三十多岁的颖夕，没爱情，一名政府部门的公务员。为了新的工作，努力奋斗，一心不想出任何差错。平平淡淡地过日子。

“今天8点以前，作品就要呈现好，on schedule 吧？哦，我想应该有一个 walkthrough比较好吧？” 颖夕拿起平面图和行程表，翻了翻行程表。

“好的，不如我叫美术馆的负责人先带我们走一圈。” Sarah有一点不习惯被监督，可是却没办法拒绝。

两人上了梯级。

新加坡国家美术馆是一个历史悠久并附有新加坡历史性的建筑。它前世是雄伟的法庭。刚重新装璜、但还没有正式营业。

“颖夕！怎么会是你！”颖夕的面前出现了一位二十五岁左右的俊男。柯政是出展的其中一名年轻有为的艺术家。Sarah想不出为什么颖夕会认识柯政。

“好久不见！你也有出展吗？怎么样，一切还顺利吗？”

“一切还好。应该赶得来。真没想到会在这里看到你。”柯政回应。

颖夕好像看到了什么，眉头皱了一下，便转头对Sarah问她是否可以叫美术馆的负责人来。

“没想到会在这里遇到你。你不是在卫生部工作的吗？怎么会来到这里？“柯政继续问道。

”我上一个星期才正式调来了文化部，刚好他们在主办艺术周。这是我的同事，Sarah。他们缺人手，我只是来帮忙。不谈我了。你今年的作品是什么？“

柯政的嘴角笑了，说：”我来介绍我的作品！“

柯政带着颖夕看他的作品，也顺便介绍其他的展览品。颖夕一边走着，一边却皱起眉头。

负责人和Sarah 到了之后。颖夕便把自己的意见和要求解释了一番。

“来艺术会馆的，都会希望有一个独特的体验，仿佛到了另一个世界的体验。首先，我要各空间再狭窄一些，空间与空间之间的鲜明度要提升。各房间的故事要明显可是也要给到访的有一个惊喜。我们要吸引的不止是会赏识艺术的人。我们要小孩子，年幼老少都能深受体验，能enjoy的展览。前面的画调低，后面的调高些。”

”这些都需要吗？跟原本的图不一样。我们也只有两个半小时，也许不够时间呀。“可是Sarah不太同意，插了嘴说。

“我觉得颖夕的提议都很好。”柯政点了点头。

颖夕很有自信地转向Sarah。

“没关系，基本的先做。我们不是有设计了印章卡和感想卡吗？觉得这里有个印章角落可以让小孩们盖印章，年轻人写感想也不错。这个呢，就让美术馆setup吧。“

颖夕很有规划地提点，艺术馆的负责人忙着在小小的笔记簿上记下了颖夕的建议。

走着走着，她们走到了最顶层有露出小拱顶的空间。

”明天，部长是在正厅演讲吧。我觉得那个角落太狭窄了，我要他能与各出展的艺术家合照。就在这里吧。我要你们帮我安排。就这样。“

颖夕说完之后，就开始帮艺术馆的人把一切都调了。

～过了两个小时～

颖夕坐在正厅，手上拿了一封草稿，在修改。

Sarah拿了一杯水给颖夕。

“颖夕，忙了一个早上，喝一杯水吧。你在帮忙修改部长明天要演讲的草稿？”

“嗯，差不多要好了。现在不修好，今晚也许不会有时间的。”颖夕想到她家里的两个小鬼。

“好了。你看我修改的部分这么样。”颖夕把搞交给了Sarah。Sarah接过了稿子，傲慢地心想，她新来的什么都不会的，不要把她太当真。

颖夕收到了一着信息。

》你还在艺术馆吗？要迟到了！别离开艺术馆，我这就来接你。

原来是已爱在催。

啊，差一点就忘了机场接芝曼的事了！

》10 more min.

颖夕回应。这里的工作也做的七七八八了。

Sarah读了之后发现颖夕改了不少。再仔细读，颖夕加了许多关于艺术家创作感人肺腑的致词， 改的不错。

颖夕收拾了包包，提醒了“记得明天来宾会不少，警卫和车的安排也要照着我说的办。还有展览厅的柱子要绑好，不然会倒的。”

Sarah愣了愣。“嗯，知道了。”

》我到门口了。快出来！

“今天是星期六，工作办好了就早一点回去吧。明天见！”

颖夕便出了美术馆，上车离开。

这时的颖夕还不知道六年前改变了她人生的人，会再次出现在她的面前。再次扰乱她的人生。

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For other chapters to this story, click here!

Zeni no Sensou 銭の戦争 (2015)

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Unfortunately, the only reason why I watched this show was purely because of SMAP’s 草彅剛. And the turnaway would have been Oshima Yuko.

This show started with a good message: do not borrow but it also brings across another message that money lending and borrowing is a necessary business. In any case, I hope this show helps to bring across that one should always think about the possible consequences and the burden that you may put on your family if you borrow. For that I recommend this show. Due to problems accessing the show, it took me a while to continue the show having stopped mid-way. I might not be giving due justice to the show…

Rating: ❤︎❤︎

Actors/actresses to watch for: Kusanagi Tsuyoshi

I’m Home アイムホーム (2015)

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Just finished watching SMAP 木村拓哉’s latest drama, I’m Home. Given that I am partly biased, I will recommend this show.

Story’s about an ambitious but good-hearted man, Ieji Hisashi’s journey to recover his memory after an accident. He learns about his past self, recovering from a heartless man to who he should have been, uncovering his true inner self of one who was in fact self-less and loves his wife very much.

This show was generally quite intriguing, mysterious and gripping enough to want to watch on and learn about what actually happened. Makes one think if we are fighting too hard to earn money where at the end of the day, what are most important are your family and your own conscience. The ending was somewhat unsurprising though, maybe slightly on the anti-climatic side.

Rating: ❤︎❤︎

Actors/actresses to watch for: Kimura Takuya

Prince of Lan Ling 兰陵王 (2013)

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Story timeline ~564-577AD (Northern Qi-Northern Zhou)

One of my most skipped dramas. The scenes with bad guys were unbearable, so I literally skipped through all of it. I think even though I did that, I caught enough story to remain entertained – probably only caught one-third of the show but that would suffice for now. Having said what I said, I still liked the show, no regrets watching it, and have lots to comment on this show.

First on plot. Some spoilers ahead.

This drama is about Lan Ling Wang – or Gao Chang gong, who was a general and prince of Northern Qi known for being one of four best looking man in Chinese history and a witty general. It starts right before his famous battle of having led only 500 men and defeated the enemy’s troop of 100,000. The plot is built on the premise that he will be killed soon but his fate was changed after he met a heavenly girl Yang Xue Wu.

There were some references to history and got me interested to know more about Lan Ling Wang. He apparently had been a great leader, and warrior, loved his people and soldiers. Only took one wife… (not sure how true) When he knew that he getting a lot of attention and support (he had a war dance named after him!), he took bribes on purpose to make himself look bad. But because of jealously, he was poisoned to death. (This story takes place when Gao Zhan was emperor I think, Gao Zhan is Lan Ling Wang’s uncle.)

In this drama, Lan Ling Wang did not die fortunately. But Yang Xue Wu did in the end! After I learnt that it was not a happy ending, it took me a while before I decided to complete the show. But why did she have to die? Even after completing the show, I still am not too sure why they could not have a happy ending at the end. So this show has a terrible ending. Btw, costumes were weird but bearable.

Next, on casting and characters. I chanced upon this drama and started watching but stopped at episode 2 or 3 because of the scene where Yang Xue Wu first met Lan Ling Wang and mistook him as a girl. 太勉强了！I thought. Feng Shao Feng did not look like a pretty boy who could be mistaken as a girl. Of course, he looked good – like any good-looking Chinese general should be. But perhaps not the legendary ancient pretty-man Lan Ling Wang, who was said to be so pretty that he had to wear a mask when fighting a war to look fearsome. While watching the show, Feng Shao Feng as Lan Ling Wang started to appeal to me. In fact, over time he was the only one who I thought worth watching. He was suave and quite cute at times. Especially in the scenes with Yang Xue Wu.

Now, Yang Xue Wu or Ariel Lin was very natural, as well as entertaining but it felt like her character was from another era, it felt like I was watching a Taiwan idol drama rather than a Chinese period drama. I would have preferred a different Yang Xue Wu. Daniel Chan was surprisingly good but for some reason he had a discoloured forehead throughout the whole show. Wu Ye is quite cute too.

I have to add that the songs were good!

All in all, I do not mind rewatching this show, but it would only be for Lan Ling Wang (Feng Shao Feng).

Rating: ❤︎❤︎

Actors/actresses to watch for: Feng Shao Feng

Bitter Blood (2014)

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Ever since 刑事侦缉档案， I have not liked many detective shows. Find them too similar in plot progression. Watched Bitter Blood purely because of Takeru Sato as I have taken to like his shows recently. Even though his expressions can be quite monotonous at times, he is rather cute when he smiles.

Bitter Blood added an element of father-son-having-to-work-together-even-after-being-separated-for-a-long-time to the new-kids-on-the-block theme. So, part of the plot is about how the father-son buddy pair solves crimes and repair their relationship. Both father and son were funny and worth watching. Unfortunately, the cases are somewhat forgettable and the rookie plot line is somewhat outdated.

All in all, Watabe, Satoh Takeru, Kutsuna Shiori, are pleasant to watch. Recommended if you have nothing else to watch and need some lighthearted show, this is for you.

Rating: ❤︎❤︎

Actors/actresses to watch for: Satoh Takeru