This was a good episode, wasn’t it? Somehow the writer(s) of Drunken to Love You understand how to balance the exaggerated narrative moments with the incredibly poignant quiet scenes that tie the drama together into a unique package. Episode 4 hit another ratings high at 3.34, and the drama takes the OTP from comfortable bickering and chill time into working together and I gots your back time.

I can’t say that DTLY is groundbreaking, even for a TW-drama. It’s predictability is pretty much splashed across the front page – two losers in love find a chance to be winners in love together ought to be the tagline. But the drama takes the two main characters and truly fleshes them out (at the expense of everyone else, which is fine by me), making the viewer empathize, relate, and rally for Xiao Ru and Jie Xiu to find someone worthy to be with. I think both of them are moving together at about the exact same pace, which is thrilling to see.

Cup 4 Recap:

Xiao Ru wakes up to find herself having slept on her personal man-pillow last night. She smiles and leans over Jie Xiu, looking at her contract husband who is all prickly on the outside and a giant marshmallow on the inside. Jie Xiu stirs, causing Xiau Ru to quickly feign sleep again.

Jie Xiu wakes up and immediately pushes Xiao Ru’s head off his shoulder, while she pretends that she also just woke up. He complains that her head is filled with concrete, why else was it so heavy and his shoulder is all numb now. She apologizes, but wonders why he didn’t just go to sleep last night, and so kindly stayed to be her “human pillow” (which she says in the cutest way possible).

He dispels any possibility of kindness behind his actions, explaining via flashback that last night, as he was headed back to his room to sleep, suddenly he saw a cockroach. Jie Xiu is so freaked out that he elected to stay on the safe all night rather than brave the walk back to his room. Xiao Ru laughs and tells her Song di di (which means little brother Song) that his jie jie (older sister), which is her, will destroy all the bad bugs for him, m’kay? He tells her to remember what she just said – don’t cause any more trouble for him like yesterday.

The doorbell rings and Tony arrives, laughing at Jie Xiu’s board shorts on his way into the house. He recognizes Xiao Ru as his new sister-in-law (since he calls Jie Xiu big brother), remarking that she sure looks quite sober today. He then realizes his faux-pas and corrects himself by saying that Xiao Ru sure looks quite alert today. Xiao Ru doesn’t remember ever meeting Tony, so he introduces himself as the main assistant to Jie Xiu, who asks him to get to the point and explain why he’s here today. Tony brought work updates for Jie Xiu, and also to tell him that the workers are ahead of schedule for the model home for the “At Water’s Edge” development and should be done today.

Xiao Ru hears this and remembers back to Yi Xian telling her that he wanted to buy a unit at that housing development to live with her. Jie Xiu is not happy about the news, because rushing the construction work means shoddy and subpar construction, and their client is the most demanding in the industry. Jie Xiu heads out to visit the construction site, and Jie Xiu reminds his “wild”, er, “wife” to stay home and clean today. Suddenly Xiao Ru gets a text from Yi Xian, apologizing for his behavior yesterday and asking if she can come meet him. Tony tells Xiao Ru that Jie Xiu calling her third wife (the wild in wild boar is the same pronouciation as third) doesn’t sound so good, and he’ll remind Jie Xiu not to call her that nickname anymore.

Xiao Ru heads out to meet Yi Xian, and the paparrazi decides to follow her today instead of following Jie Xiu, hoping to get his story. Xiao Ru arrives at the church to find Peggy waiting for her inside, instead of Yi Xian. Peggy apologizes for using Yi Xian’s cellphone to send the message to Xiao Ru, knowing that otherwise Xiao Ru would not agree to meet with her. Xiao Ru asks what she wants from her, a woman who has completely lost in this battle. Peggy says that she is the one has completely lost, taking off her engagement ring and handing it to Xiao Ru. The paparazzi snaps this scene.

Peggy says that she hates Xiao Ru – why does she still insist on grabbing Yi Xian, when she already has another man who loves her. Peggy has loved only Yi Xian for the past 3 years, to which Xiao Ru says that she has also only loved Yi Xian for the past 4 years, despite all the things which has recently happened which Xiao Ru cannot yet explain. Peggy confesses that Yi Xian told her that he will always love only Xiao Ru, and she’s decided to let go of him now. Xiao Ru asks what is going to happen to the unborn baby, but Peggy just leaves without answering.

Xiao Ru follows Peggy to an OB/GYN, and storms inside to drag Peggy out from having an abortion. The paparazzi dresses like a pregnant lady to follow Xiao Ru inside. Xiao Ru asks Peggy whether she’s told Yi Xian that she’s planning to get rid of the baby, and accuses her of being selfish and not telling Yi Xian. Peggy rages that Yi Xian doesn’t love her, and the child is destined to enter this world unhappy and unloved, so Peggy would rather the baby be a happy angel in Heaven. Peggy confesses that if she didn’t insert herself between Xiao Ru and Yi Xian from the very beginning, then everything would be fine.

Xiao Ru steps forward and slaps Peggy, confirming that Peggy is right. So this slap was what Peggy and Yi Xian owes her. But Xiao Ru smiles and says that after this slap, everything is in the past now. It’s Xiao Ru who shouldn’t step between Peggy and Yi Xian now. Xiao Ru says that the unborn baby is innocent.

Peggy asks if this means Xiao Ru is willing to give up Yi Xian. Xiao Ru says that this is all she can do now, and she hands the ring back to Peggy, who says that it’s enough, and the rest is up to Peggy. Peggy puts her ring back on, and Xiao Ru explains to Peggy all the likes and dislikes of Yi Xian. Peggy gives Xiao Ru a hug, thanking her for what she’s doing.

Xiao Ru is walking home when she’s accosted by the paparazzi, who doesn’t believe that she is really married to Song Jie Xiu. He heard Xiao Ru confessing that she loved another man for the last 4 years. He tells her to call Jie Xiu in front of him. She calls Jie Xiu and is sickeningly sweet to him, telling him that she’s going to visit him right now at the construction site.

Xiao Ru arrives and immediately starts to fawn over Jie Xiu, who wonders what the heck got into her. Xiao Ru manages to clue him in that the paparazzi is on her tail, and Jie Xiu decides to take their fake lovey-dovey show to a whole new level by grabbing Xiao Ru and kissing her.

Xiao Ru’s eyes are wide open at this sudden kiss, and Jie Xiu thinks to himself that he’s sorry to Xiao Ru. Xiao Ru finally closes her eyes, thinking to herself that while she knows that Jie Xiu is just acting, how come she can’t resist him? After the kiss, Jie Xiu hugs Xiao Ru but whispers to her that his work is currently close to imploding, and he doesn’t have time to playact whatever “Return of the Wild Boar Heroes” with her. Mwahahaha, god I love these meta-references, Jie Xiu as Yang Guo and Xiao Ru as Xiaolongnu? Maybe the other way around. He tells her to get rid of the reporter ASAP, and goes back to work.

Xiao Ru is trying to convince the reporter that while their kiss looks awkward, it’s how she usually kisses. The paparazzi says that he can always spot real love fireworks, and there was no fireworks in that kiss. Suddenly they hear yelling from inside the construction site, and Xiao Ru heads inside to see Jie Xiu and the foreman having it out. The foreman is sick and tired of Jie Xiu’s condescending and rude attitude, while Jie Xiu is all about the foreman doing a proper job with the construction and not cutting corners. The foreman quits, and takes his entire crew with him. Before heading out, the foreman kicks the ladder in disgust, causing the bucket of tools perched on top to come tumbling down.

Xiao Ru sees this and quickly pushes Jie Xiu out of the way, causing a falling tool strike her on the head. Jie Xiu quickly puts a hankerchief on Xiao Ru’s bleeding head wound and then picking her up and rushing her to the hospital. The paparazzi sees this and realizes that Jie Xiu’s concern for Xiao Ru is real and not fake. Jie Xiu tells her that something better not happen to her.

At the hospital, the doctor is minstering to Xiao Ru and she’s cringing in anticipating of the pain. Jie Xiu tells the doctor to splash on the iodine and use the thickest needle to sew her wound shut, since she must be unafraid of pain and so clearly wanting to play the hero at a place as dangerous as a construction site.

The doctor reads the scans and tells Xiao Ru that there is no sign of brain damage. But the doctor mistakenly assumed that Jie Xiu is prone to domestic violence with Xiao Ru, and asks if she needs assistance. The last time she broke her leg, and this time she had a head injury, it must all be related to her husband.

Jie Xiu is listening to this and getting increasingly annoyed, especially when Xiao Ru plays along and says that she has to endure so much from her ill-tempered husband. The doctor is about to call the police when Xiao Ru stops him, explaining that her husband is wonderful, saving her in time of need and rescuing her when others are hurting her, and willing to be her human pillow when she can’t sleep.

The doctor shows Xiao Ru and Jie Xiu a rib bone, explaining that a wife is made from a husband’s most important rib bone. And a couple is only complete when they are together. The doctor tells Xiao Ru to stay for two hours to make sure that she has no after effects, then she can check out of the hospital. Xiao Ru suddenly realizes that Jie Xiu’s workers have all quit and he’s still in a bind. Jie Xiu runs off, and Xiao Ru looks at the rib bone with a sudden craving for a rib-eye steak.

Tony and co. call all the available construction crews, and they are roundly and immediately turned rejected by everyone of them. Even Jie Xiu’s personal calls immediately gets the other side to hang up on him. Ouch. Their boss comes back from vacation early, super excited about this project, leaving Tony and Jie Xiu even more worried about their current predicament.

At the hospital, a nurse tells Xiao Ru that a triad-like boss guy has been coming around the hospital looking for her since she hurt her leg a few days ago. Xiao Ru says that she doesn’t know any triad boss. Xiao Ru calls Jie Xiu to find out if he is in trouble with any triad members, when suddenly the man shows up asking to find Xiao Ru.

Which is when a pizza delivery guy arrives bearing a rib-eye steak pizza for Lin Xiao Ru. The traid guy turns out to be the same foreman who just quit on Jie Xiu. Xiao Ru takes off running, and the foreman chases her out of the hospital. Xiao Ru ends up tumbling down an incline on a wheelchair, which effectively ends her farcical getaway. Xiao Ru thinks that she’s about to swim with the fishes, when the foreman helps her up and calls her his savior.

Turns out that on the drunken day when Xiao Ru and Jie Xiu got married, they went back outside that evening, where Xiao Ru ran into oncoming traffic to save a dog, which finally explains for us how the heck Xiao Ru hurt her leg on that drunken bender. The dog is the beloved pet of the foreman and his darling wife, and since that night he’s been looking for Xiao Ru to thank her.

Xiao Ru asks the foreman to express his gratitude by returning to the construction site and finish the model home. The foreman refuses, but says that if Xiao Ru can get Jie Xiu to apologize and show some consideration for how hard the construction workers toil on his projects, then he will reconsider. The president of Jie Xiu’s housing development is touring another construction site, when he overhears Jie Xiu pleading with the workers on that site to help him finish the model home. He’s turned out again, and this time Xiao Ru is outside waiting for Jie Xiu and overhears this exchange.

The president goes outside to confront Jie Xiu, asking why he was not informed about this situation. The president is unhappy to hear about Jie Xiu’s poor reputation in the industry. Jie Xiu is warned that the model house must be ready in 2 days. When the president makes a move to switch designers, Jie Xiu asks for another chance and stakes his future in the industry on producing the model home in time. The president warns him that he’ll get this chance to prove himself, but if Jie Xiu fails, the president will destroy his future. Xiao Ru walks up to Jie Xiu, and wipes the dust off his coat. The president calls Jie Xiu’s boss, warning him that the housing development may be in jeopardy.

On the drive home, Xiao Ru asks Jie Xiu if he knows any other workers, or has found another situation. He asks if she’s worried about him, and she lies that she’s worried because if he lost his job, he can’t afford their household expenses. She offers to go with him on his meetings today, and watches as Jie Xiu is turned away by successive construction crews. Jie Xiu calls Tony and discovers that he’s also gotten the closed door reception all day. Xiao Ru offers to drive the car if Jie Xiu is feeling tired, and he decides to go home for the night.

Back at home, Jie Xiu is outside on the patio thinking over his current predicament, and Xiao Ru walks outside to talk with him about whether he’s found a solution. Jie Xiu confesses he has no solution, so he’s thinking about which profession he can enter next. Xiao Ru notices that even though it just rained, the clouds are still in the sky. Jie Xiu doesn’t mind not seeing stars, he’d much prefer looking at the city night lights. When he was small, he was alone most of the time, so seeing a house brightly lit reminds him that he’s not so alone in this world.

Xiao Ru wonders what happened to his parents, to which Jie Xiu explains that the divorced when he was young. He asks why she’s looking at him like that? Even if he didn’t have a whole family, he’s now designed many a home for a family. Xiao Ru realizes that while she was envious of other people’s dinner tables, Jie Xiu is envious of other family’s bright lights. She calls Jie Xiu on his bluff to consider changing professions – it’s clear that he loves his profession. In this city, so many people found happiness with his designs. She tells him not to give up, he can find a solution. Xiao Ru asks him to consider re-hiring the foreman who quit, telling him she has a solution.

Xiao Ru gets Jie Xiu to apologize to the foreman and his construction crew, and to pitch in and help with the construction of the model home. Jie Xiu is unused to being submissive and considerate, but this time with Xiao Ru’s encouragement and assistance, he’s able to bend his will to get the job done. The foreman makes sure Jie Xiu works his hardest and understands how backbreaking this labor is.

During lunch, the foreman’s wife brings some chicken soup, and everyone takes off to partake of it. Xiao Ru finds Jie Xiu sketching yet another wild boar girl picture, this time it’s a hard at work wild boar girl. She grabs it and sketches a flower in the corner. Jie Xiu grabs it back, and two of them fight over the picture.

The foreman is drinking the chicken soup, complaining that the soup needs an entire ginger to get the flavor correct. His wife reminds him that he’s so exacting when it comes to his chicken soup, which is what Jie Xiu is asking for in terms of construction and getting it right. The foreman is about to explain that he agrees with Jie Xiu, when Jie Xiu notices that the kitcken island construction is missing two beams and can collapse at anytime. Jie Xiu starts fighting with the foreman again, who gets upset and tells Jie Xiu to get the hell out.

Jie Xiu goes home and types up his resignation letter on his computer and signs it. After finishing the letter, he goes to Xiao Ru’s room and knocks on her door, calling her name. He opens the door to find her room dark and empty, wondering where she is so late. Xiao Ru is at the construction site, working on the model home herself late into the night.

Jie Xiu wakes up the next morning, and knocks on Xiao Ru’s room to apologize for his attitude yesterday. He goes into Xiao Ru’s room to find it still unslept in, which annoys him that she would not let him know that she was staying out all night. Jie Xiu heads to the construction site, and finds Xiao Ru sleeping against the wall. He kneels down, asking why this wild boar girl would do this? He reaches out to touch her hair, and pulls back once Xiao Ru stirs and awakens.

She asks him why he’s back since he wanted to give up? Xiao Ru goes back to working on the wall, and Jie Xiu grabs the tool from her hand, asking her to leave so that he can clean up and hand it to the next designer. She tells him that they still have the entire day to work, since the deadline is tonight. She reminds him that any sportsman will never give up until he gets to the finish line. Jie Xiu says that Xiao Ru’s refusal to see things realistically is why her boyfriend up and dumped her. Oh, Jie Xiu, you didn’t just say that. Boo on you.

Xiao Ru goes back to working on the wall, and the two of them are tussling when the foreman arrives and tells them to please go away and let the professionals work on it. He explains that yesterday the kitchen island collapsed his wife who got hurt, and he now realizes how wrong he was and that Jie Xiu was right. He asks Jie Xiu to forgive him, and tells him that he brought two constructions crew to get all the work done. The foreman tells Jie Xiu that he may be right, but the way he talks is very insulting. He reminds Jie Xiu to listen to his beautiful wife more in the future.

The construction gets back on track with twice the workers, and a deadline of that very evening. That night, Jie Xiu and Xiao Ru bring the president over to inspect the just-completed model home. Jie Xiu steps forward to explain the design to the president, who asks him to be quiet and looks deep in thought.

Thoughts of Mine:

Damn, this drama like two a two-headed hydra beast of awesome. On one hand, you have completely inane, predictable, cheesy, and too-obvious plot drivers – like the tenacious paparazzi, the construction woes, the one-dimensional second leads, the evil bitch-villain. On the other hand, you have Xiao Ru and Jie Xiu’s budding relationship, which is the antithesis of everything above – it’s nuanced, it’s tremulous, it’s natural, it’s magnificent to watch.

Let’s get the nasty out of the way first, shall we? Peggy and her self-sacrificial epiphany. Raise your hand if you think it was genuine, heartfelt, and a redemption of sorts for the bitch queen. Now raise your other hand if you think it was all an act, purely to prey on Xiao Ru’s decency for an unborn child, and to get Xiao Ru to stop pressuring Yi Xian for answers. I think it’s 50/50 which motivation prompted Peggy to do what she did, but I’ll tip the scale and say that it’s the latter. I refuse to believe that a woman who entraped Yi Xian, whom she knew loved and was with another woman, into an encounter that resulted in a baby would so easily let him go after one(!) measly profession of undying love from Yi Xian to Xiao Ru.

I seriously felt nothing but more wonder at Rainie Yang’s wonderful acting in the church scene and subsequently when she confronted Peggy about trying the abort the baby. I’m so ready to move on from the what-could-have-been between Xiao Ru and Yi Xian. Yes, the first three episodes I felt bad for the couple, because they did genuinely love and want to be with each other.

But Yi Xian has made his bed, and Xiao Ru I know has found a better guy. I don’t care either way if Peggy was conning Xiao Ru with her abortion threat (or even if Peggy is lying about being pregnant in the first place), I’m glad to see more confirmation that Xiao Ru is a truly amazing human being, and that this event will stop her from fixating on WHY Yi Xian left her. Jie Xiu is right – it doesn’t matter why, all that matters is the end result.

The construction snafu felt so contrived, but at least made sense within the context of the characters. Who’s surprised that Jie Xiu’s abrasive and exacting personality pretty much has pissed off the entire construction world of Taiwan. What I loved was watching Xiao Ru help Jie Xiu, in little and big ways, and never pretending otherwise.

There is no secret behind-the-scenes helping, Xiao Ru is front and center in encouraging and supporting Jie Xiu, and he sees and feels it. The Jie Xiu and Xiao Ru OTP feel like they belong together, and it’s brilliant to actually show how both of them are aware of it, as opposed to the usual main character cluelessness until suddenly some big meta-moment makes them realize their feelings.

I don’t know about you, but it’s not the for-show kiss that made me squee (because I know real, much hotter kisses are coming), but it was the tiny almost throwaway moments. When he sneaks a look at her, when she turns and smiles at him – the real interactions you see when two people are starting to be aware of each other. The “wild boar girl” nickname and all the pictures Jie Xiu keeps drawing of Xiao Ru are absolutely a great symbol of her character and her affect on his. She is his unwitting muse, and he is her unexpected white knight.