Chinese Drama 2023
My Dearest (Chinese Drama Review & Summary)
My Dearest
- Genre: Modern Romance
- Release Date: 19 July 2023
- Origin: China
- Cdrama: 24 Episodes
Cast
- He Landou as Xuang Yan
- Cao Yuchen as Lin Hengyu
- Liang Songqing as Tan Shi Shi
- Wu Hai as Shi Ran
- Jin Yangyang as Lu Nian
- Wang Haoge as Jiang Qi
Episode 1
The leads are really cute. They first worked together in Youth in 2018 so this is some sort of a reunion drama.
Xiang Yan works for Polaris Publishing as an illustrator. She is rather naive and hopelessly romantic.
She hired a room she decorated with all the kitsch paraphernalia to propose to her boyfriend. She was desperate to get married and have a family of her own.
Unfortunately, Jiang Qi, her boyfriend had no intention of getting married just yet. plus the fact that he was not really in love with her. They had not even been to bed yet after six months of dating.
Jiang Qi did turn up but Xiang Yan had a bit of cold feet and went to the bedroom to call her best friend Lu Nian for advice.
Lu Nian told her to do as she see fit.
When Xiang Yan returned to the room, Jiang Qi had someone with him. It was Lin Hengyu who proceeded to criticise the decorations as being inferior and too tacky. He then drank from a bottle of wine (which was non-alcoholic) and then pretended to be drunk and asked Jiang Qi to take him home.
Jiang Qi was only too happy to comply. When Xiang Yan asked if he was coming back, he told her that it was not likely as his friend lives quite far.
Xiang Yan knew that she was defeated. She was so sad she had no energy and sat down on the street where Lin Hengyu saw her from his car.
He could not believe that he actually knew Xiang Yan from high school. He had a crush on her but she does not even remember him now.
Anyway, Xuang Yan could not get hold of Jiang Qi during the next few days. She then went to his restaurant and found him hiding incongruously under a table in the kitchen. She asked him to speak with her outside.
She waited outside patiently but he could not even bring himself to break up with her face to face.
She packed the gifts he gave her and anything else that reminded her of him.
Meanwhile, Lin Hengyu was having constant trouble with his mother who was desperate to get him married. Aside from arranging blind dates, she had also rented her son’s apartment to girls.
Lin Hengyu was at the end of his tether as girl after girl would show up ready to move it. He had just sent another one packing when someone knocked.
When he opened the door ready to tell another girl to bugger off, he found Xuang Yan standing outside with her luggage.
This drama is so cute. It reminded me of a 2014 Kdrama called Marriage, Not Dating.
Episode 2
This is excruciating. There is only one short episode again today.
Anyway, when Xuang Yan found out that Lin Hengyu lived in the apartment for rent, she left immediately.
Lin Hengyu continued to think of her and even called Jiang Qi to ask for Xuang Yan’s contact number.
When Lin Hengyu called her, he can’t get through to her which worried him as it was already late at night.
So he went looking for her.
Xuang Yan checked into a motel for the night but she got so frightened as the room did not look safe at all. It was safer to be outside so she left but was rather upset as the motel won’t refund her money.
Lin Hengyu found her and took her to his apartment.
He told her that she could have the other room in the apartment if she wanted it. He won’t ask her to put in a deposit or anything.
Xuang Yan said that she wanted a proper lease contract.
The two got on so well. What they did not know was that Lin Hengyu’s mother had someone watching them so first thing the next morning the mother arrived. Though Xuang Yan hid at first, they got found out.
Lin Hengyu told his mother that he is dating Xuang Yan but it is early days yet in the relationship so he kept it a secret from his mother.
Xuang Yan cottoned on with Lin Hengyu’s predicament so she helped him out by saying that it was her idea to take things slowly and not to discuss marriage yet. It was too soon.
The mother was satisfied with the explanation.
Anyay, later on, Xuang Yan was perturbed that they had to create more lies to cover their lies.
Lin Hengyu said that why not make it not a lie?
Xuang Yan was still thinking about it at work when she was summoned by the boss to tell her that she will have a new assignment.
That night, Lin Hengyu told her that they had to attend a party where she could sample Western cuisine for her illustrations for her work.
The party was posh so Lin Hengyu took her shopping for a new dress.
At the party, Lin Hengyu seemed to be in a bit of a quandary when a woman called his name.
Episode 3
The woman was Tan Shi Shi, Lin Hengyu’s ex-girlfriend.
Tan Shi Shi started to haunt Lin Hengyu because she wanted them to get back together. She said that she was now ready to get married as her career is stable and therefore she wanted to pick up where she left off.
Lin Hengyu told her not to make him her target because he was so over her.
Tan Shi Shi, however, will not give up easily.
In the same gathering, Jiang Qi also turned up and was a little surprised to learn that Lin Hengyu is now dating Xuang Yan. He apologised to Xuang Yan for what happened to them and also gave them his blessing.
But then again Jiang Qi had moved on to Lu Nian, Xuang Yan’s best friend. Strangely, Jiang Qi did not know that Lu Nian was Xuang Yan’s best friend and Lu Nian did not know that Jiang Qi was Xuang Yan ex-boyfriend. Some friendship they have?!!!🤣
Xuang Yan heard from her mother that they have a guest. It was Lin Hengyu’s mother who wanted to get to know Xuang Yan’s parents.
It almost went wrong when Xuang Yan’s father blurted out that he thought her boyfriend was in the restaurant business.
Quick as a flash, Lin Hengyu said that he used the identity of his friend at first on Xuang Yan because it was more exciting than being a dentist.
Lin Hengyu drove his mother home. His mother wanted him to stay to say hello to his grandma but then his father turned up.
Lin Hengyu hated his father since he saw him cavorting with his mistress in a shopping mall rather than attending his birthday celebration. Little Lin Hengyu saw his father at that time and detested him ever since.
Anyway, Grandma went to see Lin Hengyu at his apartment. She found Xuang Yan instead. She got on with Xuang Yan but then the old woman collapsed.
It so happened that Lin Hengyu had turned up with Tan Shi Shi. Lin Hengyu found that the water bottle of his grandma smelled of alcohol and blamed Xuang Yan of providing the alcohol to his alcoholic grandma.
They all ended in the hospital.
Thank goodness that Xuang Yan’s relationship with Lin Hengyu is only a pretend one because he had so much baggage he needed to sort out, starting with his ex-girlfriend who was like a limpet.
Episode 4
Lin Hengyu was rather horrid to Xuang Yan. He blamed her for giving alcohol to his grandma. He told her to leave the hospital because he can’t bear to see her that time.
Xuang Yan was upset and instead of going back to their apartment, she returned to her parents’ house.
Grandma was ok. The doctor said that Grandma was actually catching on sleep rather than being medically unwell.
The doctor was Shi Shi’s father who encouraged her to get her man back. So to gather some points with Lin Hengyu’s family, Shi Shi stayed at the hospital to look after Grandma.
Lin Hengyu went back to the apartment and started thinking of Xuang Yan, how she had been kind and did everything he asked her to do.
He found himself locked in the sauna, with stress and past medical conditions he fainted in the bathroom. He was locked in the bathroom for most of the night and day. It was only when Lin Hengyu tried to find him as her father wanted to see if he could bond with Lin Hengyu over dinner that she went looking for him.
She ultimately found him in the sauna. She had to force open the door. He was so grateful to her and would not let her leave him. She managed to struggle to carry him in the bedroom where he hugged her as she was checking him up.
He was still hugging her when Shi Shi turned up. Shi Shi noticed the hug but she took control and found the right medication for Lin Hengyu in the right drawer noticed by Xuang Yan.
Lin Hengyu though said to take him to the hospital. He was confined to the same hospital room as Grandma. The family was grateful today. Grandma was especially friendly towards her.
Later on, Ling Hengyu told her that his mother wanted Lin Hengyu to come to dinner with her.
Xuang Yan was perturbed because it was getting out of hand. She voiced this to Xuang Yan that she was concerned that the family will start arranging a wedding banquet. So she told him they had to find a suitable time to break up.
Ling Hengyu went to his best friend Jiang Qi for advice.
Jiang Qi found this a little out of the ordinary afterall he was Xuang Yan’s ex. Ling Hengyu confessed that he does not want to break up with Xuang Yan because he actually likes her.
While Lin Hengyu was with his best friend, Xuang Yan was also with her bestie. Lu Nian said that if Xuang Yan does not really want to go to dinner with the Lin Family she just had to say that she was too busy at work.
Lin Hengyu thought that was a reasonable excuse but then she spotted Lin Hengyu’s father with another woman at the mall. Hengyu’s mother was also at the mall and saw her husband.
Episode 5
Lin Hengyu confessed to Xuang Yan that her mother wanted him to get back together with Shi Shi.
Xuang Yan agreed to the idea. She said that they will be good together.
Lin Hengyu said he does not want to reconcile with Shi Shi and then added that if he does then Xuang Yan had to move out of the apartment. Where can she find an apartment which is located in a prime location with very low rent?
This convinced Xuang Yan to continue on with their charade.
Lin Hengyu became an attentive boyfriend to Xuang Yan.
Episode
Xuang Yan confessed to Lin Hengyu that she had accidentally divulged to Shi Ran that she and Lin Hengyu were only a fake couple.
Lin Hengyu was worried about it but Xuang Yan invited Shi Ran to dinner with her and Lin Hengyu. Shi Ran brought Shi Shi with him. It was a rather chaotic dinner.
After dinner, Shi Shi whispered to Xuang Yan that it must be hard to pretend to be in a relationship the whole day.
Xuang Yan grabbed Lin Hengyu and pretend to kiss him.
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Episode 11
Li Nian found out from a drunk Jiang Qi that Xuang Yan was his girlfriend but she was really more like his little sister.
Li Nian was troubled with this information.
Meanwhile, Xuang Yan told Lin Hengyu that she was so over pretending that she was his girlfriend so she would be moving out.
Lin Hengyu told her that he likes her. Xuang Yan said that she was too young and naive and needed to grow up first. Then…
Lin Hengyu did not mind as it sounded like there is a chance for him.
The next morning, Shi Shi was in the restaurant with Lin Hengyu. Xuang Yan overheard Shi Shi asking Lin Hengyu to father her baby and she will pay him.
Episode 12
Xuang Yan find out that Shi Shi’s boyfriend was Jiang Qi but she did not mind. Then she also found out that Shi Shi had been faking coming from a rich family.
Meanwhile, Lin Hengyu was so desperate for Xuang Yan not to move out he took in the random child again to temporarily live with them.
Lin Hengyu asked Xuang Yan when to have the treatment on her mouth. The mother said that she was not ready yet.
It turned out that Shi Ran was the French food writer Xuang Yan’s company wanted to recruit.
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