Chinese Drama

Nine Kilometers of Love (Chinese Drama Review & Summary)

• Genre: Flight, Romance, Airline Romance, Business, Career
• Release Date: 29 August 2019
• Origin: China
• Cdrama: 24 Episodes

Cast

• Riley Wang as Lin Shu
• Li Ting Ting as Cheng Cheng
• Xia Zhi Guang as Zhou Yu Hang
• Zhang Yi Cong as Jiang Yiming
• Liu Luo Xi as Chen Jing Yan
• Wu Yu Tong as
• Jerry Jia as Chu Fei

Quick Precis:

The drama follows six young pilots in training.

Episode 1

Lead Girl Update: 5***** Annoying!

I have to admit I was not loving the first episode.  It was on the boring side with the lead girl being so annoying.

Lin Shu was just onboard a plane coming back from a year training abroad to become a pilot.  Next to him was the most annoying heiress who clutched his breast when the plane suffered some turbulence.

Lin Shu was a tad annoyed with the girl but he was extremely interested in how the pilots tackled the sudden strong gust of winds when it came to landing the craft.  Lin Shu referred to his notes and can almost tell the step by step procedure.

After a safe touch down, Lin Shu hurried out but he the annoying girl bumped into him and did not say sorry.

When he finally got home, his father was not there waiting for him.

He decided to chill in his bedroom, he was just about to jump into the shower when his bathroom door opened and in out the annoying girl wrapped in a towel.

After they both finished screaming, he told her that there was no need to call the police because she was in his bedroom in his house.

It turned out that the young annoying heiress had become his father’s ward.  She had just lost her mother, who left a will where Lin Shu’s father had become the guardian and supervisor of her trust fund forever.

Lin Shu had been asked by his father to move to the airline crew dorm.

Episode 2

Lead Girl Update: 5***** Annoying!

Cheng Cheng is still the most annoying girl.  She got Lin Shu’s room and she was treating it like a dump.  She had strewn her knickers, bras, socks and other clothes over Lin Shu’s precious aircraft models.

When she was told off about it, she was aggressive and unrepentant.

Lin Shu gave her some job adverts which she did not appreciate as they were for waitressing and working in shops.

She told him that she was going to work where he works.

The next time he saw her she was working as an admin in the airline and she was his assistant manager and he has to comply with her requirements.

Poor Lin Shu, if this was not enough for him, he has the most horrendous father who does not value him or his achievement.  No matter how good he gets, he cannot measure up with Chu Fei, who became the youngest pilot or something.  He was so good that he had gathered a lot of accolades at such a young age.  He became the benchmark for new pilots.

Episode 3

Female lead update: 5***** Annoying!

Yep she is still absolutely annoying though her back story is slowly being revealed.

Cheng Cheng was so depressed that she cannot get her money in one lump sum and also because of the death of her mother who she had longed for to have a reunion with.

Cheng Cheng was drinking and after so many beers, she started sending text to her deceased mother using an old Nokia phone bought for her by her mother a long time ago.

As it was late, Lin Shu’s father badgered his long-suffering to look for the absent Cheng Cheng.

Though Lin Shu was reluctant at first, his father managed to make Lin Shu feel sorry for Cheng Cheng.

Apparently Cheng Cheng was very young when her parents got divorced.

At the age of thirteen, her mother sent her to live alone and study in America.

Cheng Cheng went without complaint as she does not want to stress her mother who was immersed in her work to provide for them.

Anyway, Lin Shu went to the bar where Cheng Cheng was half asleep in drunkenness.

He carried her on his back.  The usually taciturn Cheng Cheng started to open up about her life in American as an Asian girl among her white classmates.

Apparently she was regularly bullied for her money.  She often suffered from a beating which she would tell her teachers were due to her clumsiness.

Cheng Cheng did not have any friend.

Lin Shu was so sorry for her he was determined to be kinder to Cheng Cheng.

He tucked her to bed and when he tried to go, Cheng Cheng stopped him and asked him to give her her mobile.

He gave her her iPhone but Cheng Cheng said that she wanted her old Nokia.  She was holding it all the time at the bar.

Lin Shu looked in her bag but couldn’t find it.

He went back to the bar but the table had been cleared.

He asked a waiting staff and was told that they threw the phone in the bin because it was old style.  No one uses old Nokia anymore.

Poor Lin Shu had to rummage in the bin.  Thankfully he found the phone was it was soaking wet.

Lin Shu spent the night cleaning and dismantling the phone.

Cheng Cheng woke up in the morning and couldn’t find the Nokia.

He went to Lin Shu’s room without knocking and the first thing she saw was her Nokia still in pieces.

She went mental and told Lin Shu that she never wanted to see his face again.

The poor newly awakened Lin Shu tried to explain but she was deaf to reason.

Next time they met Cheng Cheng was blanking him but told her that he sent her a long text detailing what happened to the phone.

Cheng Cheng was dismissive of his ‘story’.  She asked who would throw a phone.

Lin Shu went to the training with his co-pilot trainees.  They saw a live update of Chu Fei’s maiden voyage to Slovenia under the most inclement weather.

One again, Chu Fei proved that he deserved his legend status.  He managed to land the plane with minimal fuss despite the strong wind.

The trainees were all admiring but one of them said that he was willing to bet that Lin Shu will top Chu Fei’s accomplishment when he was a trainee.

Episode 4

Lead Girl Update: 4**** Annoying

Every time Cheng Cheng sees Lin Shu, she would accuse him of spending her mother’s money.  It got to the point where she broke his prized Airfix plane which he meant to sell so he could help his co-pilot trainee Shao Peng.

Instead of understanding him, his useless father told him off and sided with Cheng Cheng.

Lin Shu finally had enough of Cheng Cheng, his father and their house where he obviously not wanted.  He left and camped in the trainee dorm.

In the end, Cheng Cheng found out that far from taking money from her trust fund, Lin Shu was actually subsisting in the most  minimal of diet so he could save money to help his friend Shao Peng who was being pressured by his poor family to eke out out money in the sum of 100K as his brother had got into trouble.

Unfortunately Shao Peng was only earning  2000 a month as a trainee pilot so he has no way of being able to send the money to his family.

His worries were affecting not only his performance but the whole team.

In the end, the real person who gave Shao Peng the money was arrogant but misunderstood, Jiang Yi Ming.

Having found out the Lin Shu was not a money-grabbing guy, Cheng Cheng begged her boss to allocated a dorm to Lin Shu.

Episode 5

Leading Female Update: 3*** Annoyance factor

The trainees have met their instructors.  One is the Big Slayer who had never praised any of his charge except for Chu Fei.  The other trainer was Chen Jing Yan, who Zhou Yu Hang had immediately developed a crush on.

Chen Jing Yan apparently is second to Chun Fei as a captain.

Cheng Cheng and Lin Shu had called a truce.  He would help her develop a rapport with the other trainees under her care and she would look after Lin Shu and be helpful to him.

But this new truce cost Lin Shu a lot of money.  She used his credit card to buy gifts for all the trainees she was looking after so that they would say that she looked after them well and she would win a prize as the best manager.

But their new-found closeness did not go unnoticed.

Jiang Yi Ming slighted her saying that she does not do anything for nothing.  This turned into a fight between Lin Shu and Yi Ming.

Chen Jing Yan just caught LIn Shu about to throw another punch at Yi Ming.

Lin Shu got suspended on the spot.

He was sulking when Cheng Cheng found him.  She called him a coward for just hiding.  She encouraged him to write a letter of apology to Chen Jing Yan which might make his suspension lifted.

It was good advice because Chen Jing Yan told him to come back to training.

Episode 6

Lead Girl Update: 2**Annoyance factor

Cheng Cheng poisoned the trainees including Lin Shu when she gave them food poisoning from lunch boxes she made and cooked herself.  These boxes were her treats for them before a flight simulation test with the Big Slayer.

Most of the trainees spent the night at the clinic treated for diarrhea and vomiting.

Lin Shu just managed to pass but three of his friends failed and they were blaming Cheng Cheng.

Lin Shu’s father finally told off Cheng Cheng for her immaturity, which Lin Shu thought was a bit harsh.

Anyway, the three friends had a retest and passed.  The Big Slayer wanted to speak with Lin Shu for tutoring his friends.  Big Slayer told Lin Shu off for being too big for his boots when he barely passed the test himself.

Lin Shu told Big Slayer that he was willing to test again and with harder factors.

The Big Slayer was impressed with Lin Shu’s composure, attitude and ability and praised him.  His three friends were impressed.

They had a three-day break and they decided to go to the beach.

Episode 7

Female Lead Update:  Getting better.  Not too annoying.

The cadets are cadets no more.  They are now pilots/observers.

Every one of the new batch had been given a flight date except for Lin Shu of all people.

His father told him that he might have offended someone in the dispatch.

Lin Shu got upset and said that how can he offend anyone when he did very well during the training.

His father said that he knew him and he could be so arrogant.

Anyway, Cheng Cheng went to see Chu Fei, the squad commander.  She mentioned that Lin Shi had hot had a flight date when everyone had their schedule.

Chu Fei told off Cheng Cheng. He told her that the relationship between pilots and the dispatch is a very tenuous thing.  They must never offend them.

Cheng Cheng apologised for her presumption.  She was leaving when Chu Fei said he will see what he can do.

Not long later, Lin Shu got his observer flight.

He was asleep when he was woken by a call from a stressed Meng Ran who begged for his help.  Her father owned 50K to the moneylender who threatened to kill her father if money was not paid that night.

Actually Meng Ran’s mother was just like her husband, she was a money-grabbing witch.  She asked Meng Ran to get Lin Shu to give them 60K so she has money to play with.

Lin Shu arrived at Meng Ran’s house followed by Cheng Cheng who had been tasked by Lin Shu’s father to bring the money to Lin Shu and Meng Ran.

Lin Shu told Meng Ran to stay with her mother while he and Cheng Cheng bring the money to the lender.

Meng Ran was forced to tell Lin Shu that they had to take 10K from the 60K.

The mother then gleefully counted the 10K, while poor Meng Ran was embarrassed to death.

Episode 8

It was past 4 am when the problem with Meng Ran’s father was dealt with.  It was too late for Lin Shu who had his first observer flight with none other than the legend himself, Chun Fei.

Lin Shu was late and the problematic thing for him was that he turned up underdressed.

Chun Fei immediately dismissed him and order another pilot to go with him.

Lin Shu was gutted but understood why he was dismissed.

Cheng Cheng excitedly told Lin Shu’s father that Lin Shu was going to have his first flight that morning.

The father was very pleased and told Cheng Cheng to tell Lin Shu to come home later for dinner.

Cheng Cheng asked the father why he does not show Lin Shu how proud of him he was.

The father said because Lin Shu as a pilot should always remain humble with his feet firmly on the ground.

Cheng Cheng saw the father excitedly went to the market to buy ingredients.  She saw Lin Shu nearby and knew immediately that he did not get to fly.

Lin Shu was scared to show his face to his father but Cheng Cheng told Lin Shu the best way to get the stress out was to drink alcohol.

Lin Shu overdid it with the alcohol and Cheng Cheng ended up checking him in a hotel.  She had to undress him as he threw up all over himself.

The next morning Lin Shu was not sure what happened to him and Cheng Cheng but he assumed that they did something.  (he was not sure because he was still a virgin)

Anyway, he started researching love books to learn about the relationship with the opposite sex.

Meanwhile, Meng Ran went wining and dining with a fellow stewardess.  They got invited by the other girl’s husband friend to join them.  They were pilots.

One of the guests made snide remarks about stewardess’ job compared to pilots. According to him, stewardess is just a plane waitress.  The man was getting overly familiar with Meng Ran.

Yi Ming happened to be one of the guests and he intervened.

Episode 9

Yi Ming dragged Meng Ran away from the dinner party.

He was driving her home when he sort of implied that she would be better with him.

He was appalled when she told him where she lived.

He said the place is known for being notorious.

Anyway when she got to where she lives, Yi Ming once again offered for her to consider him and she would gain a lot.

Yu Hang and Jing Yan have a cute romance.  He was very persistent despite being told by Jing Han that she was older than him.

He said so what?  You are still a woman and I am a man!  Awww

Finally, Lin Shu had flown.

In the hotel that he was staying were also Meng Ran and Yi Ming.

Lin Shu excitedly called Cheng Cheng on the phone to tell her that he, at last, had his first flight.

Cheng Cheng was not so interested because she just found a new job and liking it.

Meng Ran called Lin Shu to meet up at the bar.

They were drinking when Meng Ran suddenly stood up and gave Lin Shu a peck on the cheek.

Meng Ran then said that she likes him ever since they were children.  She did not have the courage to tell him before because she was embarrassed of her parents for treating him as their personal ATM.

Lin Shu was rather troubled.  He told Meng Ran that he had always seen her as his little sister and he cannot reciprocate her feelings.

Meng Ran knew immediately that he has feelings for Cheng Cheng.

Lin Chu left her in the bar.  Their little scene was seen by Yi Ming who approached Meng Ran to tell her that he would be better for her.  He then gave her his wallet.

Meng Ran stopped crying because she was so annoyed with Yi Ming.

Lin Shu was back in his bedroom and it looks like he was wasting a lot of water by keeping the showerhead running when he was comfortably propped in his bed, trying again to call Cheng Cheng who does not give a hoot.

Episode 10

It is a scary thought but the young pilots are so immature.

Lin Shu got into trouble again being Chu Fei caught him fighting with YI Ming again.

Yi MIng was such a gossip.  He heard from Jing Yan that she was a divorcee and she was having breakfast with LIn Shu when her ex-husband who was with his new wife introduced himself to them.

Yu Hang then got upset with Lin Shu because he did not tell him about JIng Yang being a divorcee.

Anyway,  all the pilots who were present were told by Chu Fei that they will not be pilot for the day but will be working under a maintenance supervisor.

Lin Shu made up with Yu Hang who he advised to really think it over if he could really like Jing Yan despite her past.

Jing Yan and Yu Hang met up.  Jing Yan said that Yu Hang had better find someone else who doesn’t have a past.

Meanwhile, Lin Shu is finding it hard to have a conversation with Cheng Cheng who was always on the go.