I’ve been stuffing myself full of food for the last few days but it’s been lean on my drama intake. Totally backlogged but will undoubtedly catch up in due course. Office Girls episode 19 continues the dichotomy of being completely boring in any scene not involving Xing Ren and Zi Qi, and then nailing it when the two of them are together whether getting along or bickering. I’m glad that the Kai Er situation is starting to get on Xing Ren’s nerves, and I appreciate Zi Qi coming clean immediately when confronted. I dislike how easily Kai Er is manipulating everyone, even though Le Le sees right through her. I appreciate that drama is addressing many of the insecurities and uncertainties inherent in a new relationship when Xing Ren and Zi Qi work hard to try to figure out the right way to communicate. I guess the only good thing to come out of this Kai Er mess is that it’ll bring the OTP closer together in the long run.

Day 19 baby recap: Don’t lie to me in the future!

Zi Qi confirms from Kai Er that the earring was hers, but the lying witch says that Xing Ren didn’t let it bother her. Kai Er asks Zi Qi to accompany her on the date she asked him to set up. Zi Qi refuses but then says he’ll do it if he can bring Xing Ren along. Kai Er asks that Xing Ren not be told Zi Qi is setting her up, because that would be embarrassing for Kai Er. Le Le is worried that Xing Ren’s easygoing attitude towards Zi Qi will cause him to cheat on her. Zi Qi calls Xing Ren and lies that he has a relative in town he needs to see. Even Xing Ren isn’t buying his excuse.

Turn out Zi Qi is having dinner with his mom, who immediately starts to criticize Xing Ren. But Zi Qi stands up for his girlfriend, describing her as innocent and pure, a frugal girl who is a role model for the current crop of materialistic and frivolous girls. Zi Qi slowly realizes his mom is jealous of Xing Ren stealing her son away. Zi Qi is uncomfortable with Kai Er’s request to keep her situation a secret from Xing Ren so he asks her to come along tonight for karaoke with Bao Luo. Xing Ren declines. Le Le the skeptic thinks it’s weird two guys are off karaoking and extols Xing Ren to go along and meet more of Zi Qi’s friends and keep an eye on him. Le Le tells Xing Ren to stop accepting what men say and start observing what they do.

Xing Ren sits at home distracted waiting for Zi Qi. The most uncomfortable threesome blind date ends and Kai Er rejects Bao Luo’s offer to take her home. She finds Zi Qi at the bus stop and confesses that she was testing him to see if he was fine with setting her up. She hugs him while revealing that she still likes him, but then promises that she will let it all go tomorrow. Zi Qi comes home and finds a note from Xing Ren on his door asking him to come upstairs because she has something for him. Zi Qi wakes a sleeping Xing Ren up and she hands him a bag of almond flavored nutritional supplements.

Zi Qi’s mom meets up with Kai Er at the department store and spies Zi Qi and Xing Ren having lunch. She asks Kai Er about Xing Ren, and Kai Er says Xing Ren works hard but isn’t an honorable person because she once broke a box of red wine and tried to cover it up. Xing Ren asks Zi Qi point blank if anyone else was at the karaoke event last night, but before Zi Qi can respond, Kai Er walks up and takes Xing Ren away. Kai Er gives Xing Ren some sample skin care products and a new bottle of perfume that Kai Er also uses regularly. Xing Ren smells the perfume and realizes that Zi Qi had the same smell on him last night.

Xing Ren confronts Zi Qi about the him smelling the same as Kai Er’s perfume and he tries to ask her to trust him. She leaves when Stallone arrives, leaving him shocked at seeing the normally calm Xing Ren so spitting mad. Even Stallone reminds Zi Qi that Xing Ren is a good girl that he needs to treasure otherwise he’ll just regret it afterwards. Zi Qi chases after Xing Ren and reveals Kai Er asked him to keep it a secret that he was setting her up with Bao Luo. Xing Ren is still disappointed that he would lie to her. Zi Qi can only apologize and admit that he was wrong this time. To punish him for lying, Xing Ren ends their meal sharing for a week.

Zi Qi’s mom summons him to show him pictures of girls she wants to set him up with. Zi Qi criticizes the selections as all fake AND reminds his mom that he already has a girlfriend. When his mom keeps insisting, Zi Qi lays down the law with her, explaining emphatically that Xing Ren is the woman he wants. You go, Zi Qi! Later that night, Zi Qi pulls Xing Ren out and tells Xing Ren that he doesn’t plan to meet Kai Er privately anymore other than for work purposes. Xing Ren asks Zi Qi to promise that he won’t lie to her anymore as well? He hesitates so she tells him to come clean on anymore lies now.

Zi Qi struggles to say what he needs to say and can only say in a roundabout way that his family’s convenience store is not what Xing Ren thought it might be. It’s bigger than normal and sells more than usual. Xing Ren thinks his family runs a 99 cent store. Zi Qi can only ask Xing Ren to promise that no matter what happens in the future, she will never leave his side. She makes that promise. Xing Ren’s stomach growls and Zi Qi takes her to eat at the road side stall outside the Taipei 101 Building. Zi Qi’s mom pulls up and sees them together and decides to join them. But she’s too picky to actually eat the food and quickly leaves. Zi Qi tries to explain on her behalf that perhaps the rich lady is nicer than she looks.

Zi Qi’s mom goes to meet with Zi Qi’s dad about her move to call a board meeting to get her son promoted to his rightful place. His mom loves Zi Qi’s original plan written when he was still in business school for the future of the department store to go even more high end but his dad refuses to go down that selfish path. Zi Qi’s mom also announces that she won’t accept Zi Qi having a relationship with a low level employee at the company.

Xing Ren caught a cold which leaves Zi Qi worried. He wraps his scarf around her and you can see her totally melt. Zi Qi holds her hand and takes her home. Stallone uses a pity sob story about celebrating his birthday alone and gets Le Le to agree to have dinner with him. Kai Er is pleased that Zi Qi’s mom has scheduled a dinner for the three of them that night. Le Le confronts Kai Er and asks that Kai Er stop being so careless in the future and stop losing her earring and spritzing perfume to cause Zi Qi and Xing Ren’s misunderstanding.

Zi Qi makes a bowl of warm noodle soup for the sick Xing Ren and then pulls her forehead next to his to take her temperature. He confirms that she really has a fever and wants to take her to see a doctor. She’s too cheap to go so he wraps her up in more blankets and then heads out to buy medicine for her since the ones she has are expired. He tries to get closer and get infected as well, assuming that if she passed it to him she’ll feel better sooner. When Zi Qi walks out of his building, he gets accosted by his mom and dragged off to dinner with her.

Stallone and Le Le are having dinner when they spy Kai Er walking into the restaurant, followed by Zi Qi and his mom. Stallone calls Zi Qi a stallion with such mature tastes and Le Le is furious that Zi Qi is fooling Xing Ren again. Zi Qi’s mom deposits him next to Kai Er and announces that she wants to acquire a rival department store and turn it into a super high end department store and she wants to hire Zi Qi and Kai Er to work for her. Le Le and Stallone snap this picture of Zi Qi dining with Kai Er and his mom.