Title: 愛似百匯 Ài Shì Bǎi Huì
English Title: Love Buffet
Country: Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Year: 2011
Episode: 13
Cast:
- 辰亦儒 Chén Yì Rú (Calvin Chen)
- 炎亞綸 Yán Yà Lún (Aaron Yan)
- 喻虹淵 Yù Hóng Yuān
- 陳德修 Chén Dé Xiū (Shu Chen)
- 王樂妍 Wáng Lè Yán (Chloe Wang); 王心如 Wáng Xīn Rú (Cynthia Wang)
- 吳兆絃 Wú Zhào Xián (Frances Wu)
SYNOPSIS
Cousins Xing Yi Cheng and Xing Da Ye are sent by their grandfather to Taipei, Taiwan to study for a year. They are going to live as regular college students living independently, as opposed to their actual lifestyle as heirs to a major corporation.
Yi Cheng, fondly called Ah Yi by his close relatives, is very quiet and cold. An incident happened in the recent past that made him wary of people's intentions and reluctant to trust other people.
Da Ye is outgoing and friendly to everyone. People find him charming and easygoing, but he's just an expert in hiding his personal issues and presenting a happy-go-lucky image.
The cousins are staying in a house that was converted into two apartments; one on the first floor and another on the second floor. Ah Yi and Da Ye are occupying the apartment on the upper level.
The apartment on the lower level is occupied by the Hu family, who are quite enthusiastic about helping the cousins in adjusting to life in Taiwan. When Hu Xiao Feng's parents found out that Ah Yi and Da Ye are going to the same university as their youngest daughter, they volunteered that Xiao Feng will guide the two on their commute to Le Ye University.
The cousins' good looks and illustrious background have made them really popular at school. Da Ye is majoring in economics, while Ah Yi is majoring in social work.
Xiao Feng is also studying social work, and Ah Yi is in most of her classes. She is trying to keep the fact that she lives together with Ah Yi and Da Ye in one house, albeit in different apartments, a secret from everyone.
REVIEW
Love Buffet has a really awful plot. I didn't enjoy watching the drama because of Hu Xiao Feng going back and forth between cousins Xing Yi Cheng, or Ah Yi, and Xing Da Ye.
I accept love triangles in dramas, it is seemingly a required trope after all, but I didn't like how Xiao Feng seems to be in love with one guy at one moment, then with the other guy in the next moment, and then back to the first guy in the next moment, ad infinitum.
I think I still wouldn't be happy with Xiao Feng even if the guys are not related to each other in any way, because it's just wrong to keep stringing two guys along. I'm especially annoyed with Xiao Feng in this case though, because her actions are inadvertently causing a major strain on the relationship between Ah Yi and Da Ye; they are close first cousins and very good friends but they are growing apart because of a girl.
I understand that Xiao Feng may not know her real feelings, and that she may also be confused because her feelings may have changed over time. However, it is particularly important in her case to spend some time figuring her feelings out on her own, and then really consider how her decisions about her relationships will affect other people.
I don't really have any preference on a particular pairing in this drama but because of the convoluted plot, I ended up wanting that Ah Yi and Da Ye will both not end up with Xiao Feng.
Anyway, I'm intrigued with Teng Qui Ying because she seems quite complicated as a character. She looks like the perfect girl next door who is beautiful, intelligent, and has good manners. But later on, she is shown to be calculating. Strangely though, her flaws made me like her more because Qui Ying seemed more human.
Teng Qiu Ying: This is just the other true face I have.
Teng Qiu Ying: Just to achieve something that you want, you have to show the most perfect image of yourself in front of the person you like. What's wrong with that?
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愛似百匯 Love Buffet
