This episode was a mix of heartaches and happiness that my heart did not know how to react anymore. All I know is that whatever challenges that they throw at us, our ship will still be sailing! Let’s begin this eventful episode, shall we?

Shancai asked Lei about her feelings after seeing Dao Ming Si and Xiaozi last night.

The king of second male leads, everyone!

I cannot believe that they tortured us by starting this episode with such a heart-wrenching scene. Shen Yue is probably one of the best criers (lol I just made it up) out there. WOW.

I love how she matured right away! It only took her a heartbreak to realize an important lesson.

She actually went to Shancai’s house just to wish her and Dao Ming Si luck. We should all be thankful that she isn’t the annoying typical jealous second female lead who wouldn’t even tell Shancai what Dao Ming Si revealed to her. Thank you for making our OTP realize their feelings (even though you didn’t intend to), Xiaozi!

Dao Ming Si confronted his mom and told her that him and Xiaozi are just a dead end. He even said that he was not going to marry anyone else other than Shancai *hearts melting*. I don’t even remember 2001 Dao Ming Si uttering those words! Love it.

This is probably the 4th time in the drama that Ah Si talked about his mom controlling his life. Although this time, he was saying it in front of her. He said that he’s willing to be controlled in everything else except for love. He even told her that it’s best if he’s not Dao Ming Si and she would continue to control him that way. This boy deserves a slow clap and a standing ovation!

F3 went to Shancai’s house to accompany her now that she’s alone (her parents went to a fishing village to work). They were all expecting Ah Si to come but look who we got outside our door instead! She went there to accuse Shancai of splitting Xiaozi and Ah Si apart.

Of course, our F3 boys did not want to just stand there so they butted in but ended up being silenced by her.

Dao Ming Feng was accusing Shancai of being a gold-digger. She even told her that even if she marries into their household, she would never be comfortable with their lifestyle.

Our girl exploded at the right time and place! I was sooo proud of her here.

I need a GIF of this because I feel like it can be applied to almost every situation. They were just beyond amazed that Shancai was able to fight back when no one else could ever do that.

That’s our girl!

F3 went from being supportive and optimistic to paranoid and pessimistic in helping Shancai with his Ah Si’s mom. Although they already released their disclaimer that they were not scaring her but they are just laying everything down so they could find a solution together.

You give the best ideas ever, Hua Ze Lei! 😉 I just hated how Shancai was still dodging her feelings and telling everyone that it was not her intention to be with Dao Ming Si. Oh come on, who are you lying to?

Meizuo is just keeping it real, everyone.

I love that F3 is fully supportive of our ship!

Shancai goes home everyday with no enthusiastic parents welcoming her. Our girl is really going through such tough times, even eats instant noodles as the solution to her hunger. I remember tearing up in this scene back in the 2001 drama because I just felt bad for Shancai. The old Shancai had a tougher time and they toned everything down for this new Shancai which is why I did not get the same emotional outcome.

Welcome to Lemony Snickett’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events”. Oh wait, we are still in “Meteor Garden” (2018). The landlord went to Shancai to tell her that she had to vacate their house and she had no choice but to follow. Like in true Gen Z style, she posted about it on QQ and all of her friends were concerned and wanted her to stay at their house instead.

Dao Ming Si was beyond delighted to hear from his buddies that Shancai was willing to fight his mom for them. He looked like a kid receiving a free candy with his cuteness!

F3 was very concerned for Dao Ming Si’s rashness in dealing with his mom. They said that it would be okay if it were just him except that this time, he also has to protect Shancai. Aww… I just love how they’re genuinely concerned of Shancai. Our hero just shrugged it off by saying that there’s no need to worry about it.

Dao Ming Si to the rescue!!! I’m not lying when I say that I had to replay this scene right after watching it for the first time.

Ugh, I know right. If I were here, I would not leave you! HAHA. But really, I just fell in love with this scene!

ASDFGHJKL. I am so overwhelmed and happy for my OTP! LOVE THEM.

He brought Shancai to his house right away since she had no shelter. She told him that she could either go to Li Zhen’s or Qinghe’s house but he told her that they’re not her boyfriend. End of discussion. Not so fast because…

You guys have no idea how happy I was when I saw Yu Sao appear in this episode already! It means we are already skipping to the good parts of this drama. I think she is one underrated minor character and she deserves to be appreciated more.

They did not change anything about Yu Sao’s role here which was just really low-key shipping Ah Si and Shancai. It’s only low-key because she remains to be the most respectable figure in the Dao Ming mansion when Dao Ming Feng isn’t there although there will be times when even Dao Ming Feng would bow down to her.

The episode ended with Shancai willingly accepting her new role in the Dao Ming residence despite having a relatively long argument (it was a bit shorter in the 2001 drama) with Ah Si. It may look like nothing exciting is going to happen but trust me, we are off to a good start!

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In a nutshell,

• Just like the previous episode, everything has already happened in the 2001 version. I must also say that this version did an excellent job in recreating the story lines.
• As of writing, I have not watched the following episodes yet so I am just assuming that there won’t be any boring fishing village arc here. Unless they rearranged the sequence of the stories… Anyway, I brought it up just because I hated it back in the original drama. Nothing was really going on as Shancai was trying to find herself (but also found a new lover) and Dao Ming Si pretended not to care. I really hope we won’t be seeing it here.
• On the other hand, I loved everything in this episode. Shen Yue nailed it again with her crying scenes. I really think she was at par with Barbie Hsu’s acting during the same crying scene. Let us also not forget Lei for always giving his back for Shancai to lean on, literally and figuratively.
• After 21 episodes, I can finally say that I rooted for Shancai wholeheartedly when she started the war with Dao Ming Si’s mom. That’s our hero! Even F3 just stood in awe (the slow clap was the best scene for me here lol) of her courage to say such words to someone like Dao Ming Feng.
• Dao Ming Si not giving a damn about his mom just so he could be with Shancai was the true winner of this episode. As much as we are all for respecting our parents, they should not restrict our freewill especially when it deals with choosing someone that we love (oh wow, why did this suddenly turn into some kind of reflection post lol). I just kept replaying the scene when he grabbed Shancai to hug her like OMG YOU GUYS AAAAHHH. I also loved him for telling her that he did not want to let her go because he just wanted her to be in his arms *cries*.  Call it cliche or cheesy but come on, didn’t that just sweep you off your feet?! *sighs*.

What did you think about this episode?