Imagine my excitement when the fluffy first episodes of Proud of Love first came out. I’m usually not into gender switching but I was totally reading the novel translation from hui3r before there was even any drama news and it was pretty comedic – a very light read. I’ve been on drama block for so long, from busyness and other ‘official’ matters it’s been good to have a break 😛 even if it is temporary. A ton of things happen even if the plot line so far does have a lot of loopholes. Yerp. Guess who proposes? And so early into the drama…?

Episode 1 Recap:

The episode begins with Shen Xi (Vivian Sung) still in bed, sleeping (that is soo me). All of sudden, a hand holding a bunch of birthday confetti reaches out and pops it (i don’t know the technical term for that object). In any case, Shen Xi suddenly wakes up from her deep sleep (Daaaaaddddddd!!!! I just wanna sleep!)

Shen Xi’s dad wishes her a happy birthday…with a smear of frosting by his lip might I add. Shen Xi is outraged when she finds out that he’s *cough cough* wearing her shirt, and he says “It’s your fault you washed my clothes! I had nothing to wear.” Wow. He also motions to the “cake” behind him, only to say sheepishly…that he ate it all up. Great job dad.

Shen Xi can’t care about all that now though! She quickly grabs a small package from her drawer and stumbles out of bed. She runs out of the house, (managing to fix up her hair in like 0 seconds and have her clothes on in 0 seconds) ok…maybe that was because she woke up that. Before she leaves the house she quickly says ‘Bye’ to her mom’s portrait that sits on top of a cabinet/dresser. Ok that might be the reason for her dad’s insanity but there was no point in having him in the drama at all.

Back at school, we see a mysterious guy sitting in a luxurious car. Before he gets out, he asks for his Rubiks cube and manages to solve it in about 0.16 seconds. His butler puts it in the trunk of the car after putting it in a plastic bag that is marked with his time…along with three other huge boxes that are presumably filled with Rubiks cube. Does he need a new Rubiks cube everyday? Why does his butler seem to carry so much meaningless stuff around with him?

It turns out this man…is He Zhi Zhou (Tong Meng Shi), an arrogant rich boy from America who is transferring to this university in China. But He Zhi Zhou does have reason to be arrogant. He is like one of the smartest people at the university, but at the same time….dude just chill okay?

Before they enter the college, his butler guy gives him some introductions to some of the people he’ll meet. He somehow has a phone that can search up anyone, complete with a full body pretty picture of the character and a synopsis of their personalities. Okkkk….creepy stalkers….

First up is Hou Zhen Quan, also known as Monkey (played by Hou Yan Xi). (And I will be referring to him as Monkey as that is his name in the book which I am following at the moment…) He is loved by all the girls at the school.

Next up is Brawny (as he is referred to in the English translation, played by Yan Jing Jie). He is super strong and likes to be known by the nickname of Bao Bao (Treasure) for some reason. As you will find later, he loves to pick people up…it must be a fetish or something because he seems to do that to everyone.

Finally, our second male lead, Lin Yu Tang (Guan Hong). According to the butler, he is the one that shares the most interests with He Zhi Zhou and the one who is most suitable to be his friend. He Zhi Zhou scoffs at that (I do too! The butler is already doing an annoying job of all of these introductions…on top of that he tries to introduce a soulmate?! Outrageous!)

The butler points across the street to the nearby Arts College. He Zhi Zhou scoffs/smirks at that.

He Zhi Zhou begins to vent about the crappy banner the university put out to welcome to him to the university. Well…what did you expect? Are you someone super famous like Obama?

The butler remembers something all of a sudden and brings out Shen Xi’s picture. He introduces her as “Lin Yu Tang’s girlfriend”. She is also majoring in dance. And she is going to the university across from He Zhi Zhou’s. In the middle of all his butler’s introductions, He Zhi Zhou suddenly smells…his favorite food, taiyaki. It is a Japanese food that is shaped in a fish, and usually has a filling such as red bean paste. Other fillings can range from chocolate to cream…

Speaking of Shen Xi, we see her at a Japanese food stall/shop trying to buy some taiyaki. She says “Boss I want to buy a taiyaki.” just when He Zhi Zhou happens to say that ‘at the same time’. Shen Xi and He Zhi Zhou get into a fight because….it’s the last one. OKk first of all, don’t be confused by how dark it looks in the taiyaki stall…guess what it’s still morning! So unless he’s selling leftovers from yesterday or just doesn’t have time to cook more (in the morning), something seems to be a little fishy here.

He Zhi Zhou brings out evidence that he said “Boss, I want taiyaki” first. Or rather, his butler does, at the command. It turns out that HZZ did say it first…by 0.5 seconds. Ok it might seem really silly that they’re fighting over taiyaki, but later Shen Xi’s motives will sorta make sense.

He Zhi Zhou begins to lecture Shen Xi about a bunch of weird things about science for no reason. (Can you just shaddup!) Anyways, while He Zhi Zhou is rambling about stuff, Shen Xi decides to pay for the taiyaki and claim it. He Zhi Zhou gets so mad.

Right when Shen Xi makes her move to leave, he pulls on her sleeve causing something to be exposed…well the only other thing he does is make Shen Xi mad, causing her to slap his face. When he exits the scene after she leaves, he tells his butler that he has to change his clothes (where will he get the time if he is currently also late for school? Why would he even leave school in the first place for taiyaki if it seems a little far away…especially from Shen Xi’s route to get to school.

After Shen Xi finally gets out of the fish shop she checks her watch (in broad daylight) and jumps. “Oh no! I’m late!” She formulates a huge plan to run there as quickly as possible….failing at step 3. She stumbles and falls drastically.

Failing at walking, she flops while getting up. All of a sudden she hears a familiar voice…

It’s her knight in shining armor…Lin Yu Tang (Guan Hong) arriving on a motorcycle. This guy appears with a halo around his head and light shining from every pore. It’s enough to make you know that he’s…one of her guy’s right? He helps her get up and talks about what birthday gift she wants with her. Shen Xi says “It’s a secret.” Lin Yu Tang lovingly puts a helmet on her head and she climbs up behind him. The ride seems to take a long time (somehow….HZZ isn’t late…?)

The moment they get to school, after Shen Xi gets off, Lin Yu Tang is harassed by sooo many girls. Poor Shen Xi just watches from the side. She better hurry in soon! >_<

The moment Shen Xi gets out of her trance and rushes into the building, she is met by three girls who…look a  little cold. Shen Xi “slides” towards them, on her knees, yelling “I am so sorry!!”

The girls remark on how late she is, but they let is slide after she goes to change into the uniform for the dance. It seems like this dance is for a special occasion). At this point, I should probably also point out for a second that all the girls are majoring in art while all the guys are majoring in sciences. Thus, they go to different universities.

Later, she makes a speech after the performance. She gets a microphone from the hosts, and holds it, a littler nervous at first. Later, as she begins to get more into it, she says that someone from ‘this university’ (referring to Lin Yu Tang and He Zhi Zhou’s science university) is someone she really really likes. Lin Yu Tang looks a little pale.

When Shen Xi asks for Lin Yu Tang to go up, he is a little shocked. Brawny carries out his fetish and carries him up there, along with Monkey.

Shen Xi looks so excited when she’s confessing her love to him. He just looks at her like (….) *cue the crow sound whenever things get cold awkward*

After her proposal with a taiyaki (to replace the rather expensive ring), he looks down at her and asks her get up. Shen Xi eagerly asks him if he agrees! He doesn’t say anything, so she immediately hugs him and says “I knew it! I knew you would be there for me!”

A lot of people are moved by this scene. Not He Zhi Zhou though. His eyes are literally glued to the taiyaki screaming with his eyes “This is what MY taiyaki was used for?!” Meanwhile, on stage, after the hug though, Lin Yu Tang says that he must sadly reject her 🙁

After an awkward period when Lin Yu Tang doesn’t speak to Shen Xi, the producers quickly close the curtain to save their reputation and continue on with the show. Behind the scenes, everyone begins to guess and speculate on why Lin Yu Tang rejects Shen Xi. All of them are wrong though. Lin Yu Tang doesn’t say anything in his defense though. Shen Xi bursts into tears as to why Lin Yu Tang rejects her.

Meanwhile the hosts introduce a very special guest, with an eloquent poem of course. The female host’s voice is sooo driving me crazy!! When they say it is a prestigious student from America, everyone begins to yell “Step down! Step down!”

Shen Xi cries when the situation shifts dramatically to Brawny and one of her other dorm mates. She pouts “OMG I am the star of the show! This is a Lin Yu Tang and me moment right now!” Everyone shifts focus. Dou Dou does an inspiring pose. As you will find, Dou Dou is the most dramatic one of all of them, and may be addicted to weird things like stuffed animals. She is probably the queen of “silly cuteness”.

He Zhi Zhou takes the stage, fed up with everyone’s cries of “Step Down!” He says “Be quiet!” That doesn’t work.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Dou Dou goes crazy when she sees that the stuffed animal in her hand has been pushed aside by one of the other girls who said that she was being a nuisance. After a moment in which she reconciles with her stuffed animal and sadly says “Farewell. RIP”, she turns to the others and goes crazy.

For some reason she just decides to go for Lin Yu Tang though, and pushes him so hard he flies out of position. Shen Xi yells “Lin Yu Tang!!!” and he goes flying out (totally unbelievably)…like okay who waves their hands like a chicken when they’ve been pushed so hard. And how does he keep accelerating at a constant rate? Anyways, let’s not be rational for a second and just watch.

The curtain parts magically for Lin Yu Tang as He Zhi Zhou just happens to turn around at the right moment, and Lin Yu Tang and He Zhi Zhou hug…

followed by an alleged kiss…although you can tell they don’t really kiss in the actual acting…right?

Next thing you know, it’s another school day, and everyone is at a restaurant, eating, taiyaki. They’re being treated by He Zhi Zhou.

He Zhi Zhou wants to leave immediately, but his butler forces him to stay and makes him learn everyone’s names before he can leave.

Xia Wei Ye (Liu Qian Yu) is the first one. She extends her hand to him to shake. He completely ignores it. Meanwhile…internally, she has just been shot by Cupid’s arrow.

Chen Han is next. She is so excited and she’s so cute! He Zhi Zhou reaches out his hand to shake her hand but she completely blanks and shakes her head. Internally, she is being struck by lightening and keeps scolding herself. “Why didn’t you hold that hot guy’s hand? Why didn’t you hold that hot guy’s hand?!” is what she keeps repeating internally.

It’s Shen Xi and Lin Yu Tang’s turn. They go up together. Shen Xi introduces herself, and He Zhi Zhou reaches out his hand for her to shake, only to find that Lin Yu Tang puts out his arm first. He Zhi Zhou is a little surprised but he goes with the flow.

Lin Yu Tang looks into his eyes and says “We’ve already met. I’m Lin Yu Tang.”

Next up, are his other two dorm mates, Brawny and Monkey. They both try to act swaggy but end up being…weird and geeky but in a “powerful” way.

Last is Dou Dou (Jiang Lin Ling), Shen Xi’s last dorm mate. When she meets He Zhi Zhou, she thinks that he won’t be someone who is into girls, given his fierce appearance. Wow way to go.

After they go back to eating, Monkey suggests that they go to a karaoke place to get to know each other, celebrate He Zhi Zhou’s coming, while also celebrating Shen Xi’s birthday. (Ok how do you know when Shen Xi’s birthday is if you guys haven’t met before and are going to different universities?)

Lin Yu tang and He Zhi Zhou immediately say “NO!” at the same time. Then they turn to glare at each other. Well the popular vote wins, so they still go in the end.

While peeing (ok peeing), Brawny and Monkey discuss the relationship between Lin Yu Tang and He Zhi Zhou, speculations, ah speculations. Rumors will become your worst enemy, He Zhi Zhou!

At the karaoke place, Chen Han goes all out. She’s majoring in music, so it’s a little normal to see her singing into the mike. Afterwards, a certain someone turns off the music to get her stop singing. After a glare from Chen Han, she goes to join her dorm mates in a weird dance.

He Zhi Zhou happen to be locked head to head on who will eat the last taiyaki. Lin Yu Tang sees that He Zhi Zhou has been staring at it for a long time so he pushes it over. He Zhi Zhou puts it back in front of Lin Yu Tang. And the cycle continues. Dou Dou broadcasts their “internal conflicts” with a lot of exaggeration, making the whole thing a lot more entertaining.

In the middle of her narration, she suddenly is overcome with an urge to cuddle these two hot guys who are handling the situation beyond her expectations. Shen Xi wakes her up from her dream…rather abruptly.

While Shen Xi is waking Dou Dou up from her dream, she suddenly finds that the taiyaki that was on the table was suddenly eaten! Oh no! She immediately yells at the culprit, He Zhi Zhou, and drags him out of the karaoke room, ready to give him the time of his life. (haha He Zhi Zhou’s face mid-chew)

Oh no! Shen Xi is going all out on ‘killing’ He Zhi Zhou. He looks like he’s choking. Someone give him CPR!

He Zhi Zhou picks up the ring that falls out of his mouth (magically). Both Shen Xi and He Zhi Zhou’s dormmates are watching from outside (I probably would too). Just imagine the rumors that might come out…..

After Shen Xi gets the ring back they all sit around the two tables….awkwardness surrounds them. Suddenly Monkey speaks up and says “Let’s change to another place to play.” (It’s always him….) Everyone agrees simultaneously.

They arrive at the scene of a haunted place. Shen Xi is oh so scared and immediately clings to Lin Yu Tang. Monkey and Brawny face this head on and rush into the scene.

Episode 2 Recap:

Before going into the haunted area, they divide into groups:

He Zhi Zhou (all alone)

Lin Yu Tang and Shen Xi

Brawny and Xia Wei Ye

Monkey, Dou Dou, Chen Han

Shen Xi and Lin Yu Tang talk. Shen Xi keeps asking why Lin Yu Tang won’t marry her in a very cute adorable tone. She seems a little over her head about it though. Lin Yu Tang finally says that he won’t marry until he’s 22 years old. Shen Xi smiles. It turns out to be such a small thing! She begins to ramble on about how she never expected her proposal to work today before she tried it. She doesn’t notice when Lin Yu Tang leans down to tie his shoe.

She talks about how she was also super upset today that his first kiss was taken! And it wasn’t her! Well then….

She turns around abruptly and asks Lin Yu Tang to kiss her (without even looking for him or seeing if he’s actually there). Well her lips are sure ready. She says “You make the move since you’re more experienced.” When she finally realizes that there’s no one there, she opens her eyes and begins to panic.

I think there are many versions of this part and the part above because after taking my screenshots, I went back to take more, and I couldn’t find the same version of what I saw. The other version of what happened above was that Shen Xi and Lin Yu Tang were suddenly chased by weird creepy humans who began to march in their direction. They were trying to run away, and they got separated.

Meanwhile, Brawny tries to corner down Xia Wei Ye and force her to admit that she calls him “Bao Bao” aka Treasure on WeChat. She slaps him and walks huffily away. As for Monkey, he leads his crew on a “FBI’ mission but completely ruins the soft effect when he begins to scream at a “ghost”. His screams alert Shen Xi as she tries to go in his direction to find other people.

In the version that I saw, later, Shen Xi continues to wander around the place aimlessly, yelling “Tang Tang” because she’s really desperate. Somehow, she happens to wander into the same room with He Zhi Zhou. The room has a mirror near the far right corner, and He Zhi Zhou suddenly appears from behind it. Shen Xi suddenly screams. He Zhi Zhou walks calmly into the room. They both look into the mirror. A mysterious white force circulates around. Being the people they are,they run away because it looks like a ghost. Despite it all, the white force still gets them, as Shen Xi falls off of the stairs and grabs He Zhi Zhou with her (sound like another drama you know *wink wink* except with time travel? Bu Bu Jing Xin). They kiss. (There goes her first kiss, so don’t she go blaming Lin Yu Tang no more!) They fall to the floor, their heads next to each other.

—ENDS—

Tranzgeek: Needless to say, the first two episodes were a little… boring. Later though things do heat up a lot. I know…because I was only planning to watch to episode 4….but ended up watching to episode 10 for its humor. Haha Shen Xi and He Zhi Zhou switching is really going to cause misunderstandings.

I’ve heard that the drama is completely different from the book besides the character names and the gender switching, and that it is more of a Taiwanese idol drama (so I’ll probably be dropping it after the acclaimed melodramatics that normally appears). It’s a little better recapping this drama since every episode is around 20 minutes.

I agree with Peanuts on the first two episodes; they are little stupid because literally everything has loopholes, but later, things get very humorous so I’m willing to overlook that (if there was anything that had holes in it in the first place) so I probably won’t be making weird questions in the middle of the recap like this one…haha

Tong Meng Shi might not look very hot and dashing now, but his face is perfect for all those cute Shen Xi faces. Lol you’ll see. Vivian Sung was also pretty good in acting as He Zhi Zhou later. In any case, things do get better after these episodes. Promise! lol