After a whirlwind two weeks since the premiere of Drunken to Love You, I think I’ve finally settled down. As the drama continues to get better and better, I conversely continue to mellow out in my appreciation for this joyfully crafted story, learning to savor the beats and go with the flow. I think I can survive this live-watch now, because I won’t be anxious week-to-week anymore, instead finding myself warmed by the understanding that this story will continue to delight me.

I lay my trust in Rainie Yang and Joseph Chang, who create their own palpable and unique chemistry, making it wholly believable that their love story could burrow itself into my heart and build a house. DTLY broke 3 yesterday in rating (3.10 to be exact), which confirms that this is indeed another blockbuster TW-drama in the making.

Cup 3 Recap:

Jie Xiu disrobes to take a shower, turning around to find a sleeping Xiao Ru in his bathtub. The two of them scream in horror, and in the ensuing melee to escape the situation, Xiao Ru ends up kissing a naked Jie Xiu over the toilet. They break apart and simultaneously start screaming at the inadvertant skinship. Jie Xiu and Xiao Ru retreat to their respective bathrooms to scrub their mouth thoroughly with a toothbrush. Jie Xiu tells Xiao Ru that she should feel luckly that she got a free Chippendales show, while he got the losing end of the bargain. Xiao Ru scoffs back at him, what she saw was so horrifying she’ll need to go to the temple to calm her soul. Worse yet, she’ll need to see an ophthamologist to get her eyes checked.

Jie Xiu retorts that he ought to be the one freaked out, since Xiao Ru was lying in his bathroom like a dead person. He thought that perhaps she had committed suicide. Xiao Ru laughs – if she were to kill herself, it would never be at this house. She would go somewhere scenic, to which Jie Xiu asks whether she needs to also pick the right hour of day to off herself. Xiao Ru tells Jie Xiu not to be cute about it, she’s the one who got kissed, and now no amount of scrubbing will get her mouth clean. Jie Xiu brings out some acid for her to swoosh with.

Jie Xiu sits down to breakfast when he answers Xiao Ru’s cellphone call from Meng Jun, who wants to know why Xiao Ru isn’t in the US right now? When Meng Jung finds out from Jie Xiu that Xiao Ru spent the night in his bathtub, she tells Jie Xiu that Xiao Ru’s weird quirk is to clean the bathroom whenever she’s emotionally distraught, until she’s so exhausted she passes out in the bathroom. Meng Jun asks Jie Xiu to please look out for Xiao Ru in her current state. Xiao Ru comes down and grabs the phone back, and Jie Xiu thinks to himself that the wild boar appears to be quite energetic, not on the brink of an emotional collapse.

Xiao Ru tells Meng Jun that she read a column about how to heal a broken heart, and the author suggested revisiting places where love blossomed, and erasing all vestiges of that relationship. A past love is like a dead appendenge, and needs to be cut off rather than allow it to fester. Jie Xiu keeps purposely listening to Xiao Ru’s conversation, interjecting with his own two cents. Xiao Ru promises Meng Jun that she will forget all about Yi Xian.

Jie Xiu gets a text that he has a design proposal meeting today, for the same company which Jie Xiu designed the housing development called “At Water’s Edge”. Jie Xiu rushes off, but not before taking another look at the wild boar picture he drew for Xiao Ru. He thinks back to all the times Avril has hurt him with their secret relationship.

Jie Xiu heads to his meeting, with his assistant Tony grumbling that Jie Xiu is getting more and more demanding. Jie Xiu’s design presentation to the owner of the housing development is met with approval. The owner thinks this design may even surpass Jie Xiu’s design for the “At Water’s Edge” development.

Jie Xiu is told to have a model home ready in three days, at which point the owner will have a cocktail party to announce the development. Jie Xiu is a little hesitant, and when asked for the reason behind his lack of enthusiam, he confesses that added name recognition is something Jie Xiu finds as an impediment to his creativity. The owner hands everything off to Jie Xiu with complete trust, asking only to be surprised by the model house in 3 days.

Xiao Ru arrives at a coffee shop, where she is recognized by the owner, who asks where her boyfriend is? He tells Xiao Ru that her usual spot is available, and brings out her usual two drinks, including a custom cafe au lait for Yi Xian. Xiao Ru looks at a picture of her and Yi Xian on the coffee shop’s bulletin board.

She thinks back to Yi Xian and her date near this coffee shop, where Yi Xian suggested they buy a unit at the new “At Water’s Edge” housing development, where they can live by the beach they so love, and be able to go to their favorite coffee shop anytime they want. Thw waiter brings out the drinks, and Xiao Ru looks across the table and imagines Yi Xian sitting there. Her eyes fill with tears, and she flashes back to Yi Xian breaking up with her at the hotel fountain. She finally wipes the tears away, grabs the picture of her and Yi Xian, and heads to the beach.

Jie Xiu is at the construction site, and severely criticizing the construction selection of materials. The wood he selected was swapped out for another cheaper variety, and Jie Xiu refuses to compromise on his design which was intended to withstand the damp sea air. He tells the crew to rip out all the wood and replace it, all within 3 days time. The foreman says that Jie Xiu’s attitude is the reason why no one in the industry will work with him. Jie Xiu says that the wrong material selected was the fault of the foreman, and if he doesn’t fix it, there will be no next time working together.

Meng Jun directly calls Jie Xiu, asking him to check on Xiao Ru, who has turned off her cellphone. Meng Jun is worried Xiao Ru will do something serious to herself. Jie Xiu tells Meng Jun that it’s none of his business. Meng Jun tells him Xiao Ru’s favorite place is the beach, and she spends every birthday at the Dolphin Coffee Shop.

Jie Xiu runs to the coffee shop, and finds out from the owner that Xiao Ru was by earlier, and the owner noticed that Xiao Ru was acting very odd. He tells Jie Xiu that Xiao Ru mentioned going to the beach. Jie Xiu drives to the beach, and finds Xiao Ru walking by herself. Rather than call her, he follows her quietly in his car. Xiao Ru goes to play a game on the boardwalk that she played before with Yi Xian. Xiao Ru concentrates and hits all the ballons. The stall owner remembers that when Xiao Ru first came by with her boyfriend, she could only hit one balloon. He gives her a strawberry pillow as her prize, but she declines it and picks a box of bear bandaids, saying that it’s all she needs.

Xiao Ru sits on the beachside jetty, with Jie Xiu sitting in the car looking at her. He picks up his pen and starts to sketch a picture of a wild boar in a super woman costume. Xiao Ru throws away her cellphone accessory which is a picture of herself and Jie Xiu. Suddenly she jumps from the jetty (to retrieve the accessory), and Jie Xiu rushes out of his car and jumps down into the beach after her. He cannot see her anywhere, and he remembers her comment that if she wanted to kill herself, she would go somewhere scenic. Jie Xiu dives into the ocean, assuming Xiao Ru tried to drown herself. Jie Xiu gets a cramp, and needs to be rescued by the lifeguard.

After Jie Xiu is dragged back to the beach, he keeps telling the lifeguard that his wife tried to committ suicide, while the lifeguard thinks that it was Jie Xiu who tried to kill himself. Jie Xiu describes his wife’s outfit to the lifeguards, and another onlooker tells Xiao Ru that it appears the wife Jie Xiu is describing is her. Xiao Ru goes up the Jie Xiu, all the while nonchalantly munching on a sausage. Jie Xiu sees her all fine and stalks off. They head to a shop to buy him some dry clothes, and Xiao Ru teases Jie Xiu for assuming she tried to kill herself, and jumping into the ocean to save her. Jie Xiu comes out wearing a t-shirt and boardshorts, with his loafers on, and she teases him for looking dashing.

Jie Xiu is pissed and tells Xiao Ru that he wasn’t worried about her, and didn’t jump into the ocean to save her. He jumped into the ocean to save the enviroment, so that it was not polluted by a dead Lin Xiao Ru. He asks Xiao Ru whether her sausage was delicious, and why she didn’t buy him one. Xiao Ru says that she was gambling for a sausage and didn’t know he was diving into the ocean.

Jie Xiu is further incensed that when he was diving into the ocean to save her ass, she was gambling for a sausage on the beach. Xiao Ru confesses that she heard him call her name, but she assumed it was her imagination. Jie Xiu wonders whether he needs to send a press release before he goes to save someone’s life next time. Coupled with Xiao Ru freaking him out in the bathroom this morning, Jie Xiu’s day has been totally upended by Xiao Ru.

Since meeting Xiao Ru, the order of Jie Xiu’s life has been completely disrupted. Jie Xiu remarks that Ethan Ruan was “fated to love you”, whereas Song Jie Xiu is “fated to eternal bad luck” since meeting Xiao Ru. Xiao Ru says that life can’t always been orderly, which is how they ended up married. Xiao Ru sincerely thanks Jie Xiu for jumping into the ocean to try and save her.

They head to the beach, where they run into a bunch of kids playing ball on the beach. Jie Xiu and Xiao Ru join in the fun, enjoying a rare moment of acting like a kid. After the kids leave, Xiao Ru thanks Jie Xiu for assisting her in trying to forget Yi Xian. The only time today she was able to forget Yi Xian was when she was playing ball with the kids. She wishes a person’s brain is like a computer, and bad memories can simply be deleted. Jie Xiu chides her for doing such extreme measures, she should allow time to delete her memories of him.

Xiao Ru doesn’t want her last four years to be deleted, leaving a blank slate in her memory. Xiao Ru lays down on the beach, wanting to enjoy the outdoors. Jie Xiu, with his OCD love of cleanliness and order, tells her not to get herself dirty. She laughs at him, pushing him down to get him to dirty up a little and enjoy the beach. She notices that Jie Xiu has a scratch on his arm. She gets out a bandaid and puts it on his wound. Jie Xiu stares at her, losing himself momentarily at her smiling face.

Suddenly Men Jun calls Xiao Ru, informing her that Yi Xian and Peggy have checked into the hotel. Jie Xiu drives Xiao Ru back the hotel, having found out that Yi Xian and Peggy intend to stay at the hotel for the next 6 months! Xiao Ru is upset she has to stare at them living where she works for the next half a year. There are so many hotels, why did they check into her hotel? It must be on purpose to torment her, and she wants to know why. Jie Xiu reminds Xiao Ru that the best way to forget someone is to treat that person like a random person you pass on the street. Right now, Ren Yi Xian’s one simple sneeze would cause Xiao Ru to blow away. Jie Xiu calls her a lower life form for being so easily affected.

Xiao Ru throws it back at him – Jie Xiu is choosing to live with a lower life form like herself for his love, which equally requires him to compromise and suffer for Avril’s sake. What does that make Jie Xiu? Jie Xiu insults Xiao Ru right back, agreeing to live with a strange man for NT 1M. She equally has no self-respect and dignity left. Xiao Ru tells Jie Xiu to pull her, she wants to get out right now. Forget about living together, she doesn’t want to spend another second in his presence.

After Jie Xiu pulls over, Xiao Ru apologizes to him. She concedes that she has no dignity around Yi Xian, and it’s always been this way. When they dated, no matter how late it was when his flight arrived, she’ll meet him at the airport. If he was hungry, she’ll cook for him no matter how tired she was. She put him first in everything, because he was her first love. Turns out Xiao Ru and Yi Xian met when she was new waitress at the hotel, and she messed up his order. But Yi Xian instead noticed her, when she was just a caterpillar that no one ever looked at before. Since she met him, she felt like she was the happiest woman in the world. Jie Xiu says that she is still a caterpillar, but Yi Xian didn’t wait until she became a butterfly and has flown away with another woman. Xiao Ru tells him to mind his own business, but stays in the car and Jie Xiu continues to drive her to the hotel.

At the hotel, Jie Xiu gives her two choices, either go inside and be an idiot that heaps more pain on herself, or go home with him and be a happy idiot. Xiao Ru steps out of the car, her decision made as she heads into the hotel. Jie Xiu calls her name from the car, but she pauses for the barest moment before continuing on. Jie Xiu calls her the most idiotic woman he’s met.

At the hotel restaurant, Yi Xian is feeding Peggy, who in turn tries to feed him shrimp from her plate. Xiao Ru says that even Meng Jun knows that Yi Xian doesn’t eat shrimp because he’s allergic, yet Peggy appears not to know and keeps trying to feed him shrimp. Peggy’s annoyed with Yi Xian refusing to eat the shrimp she’s peeled for him, and gets up to use the bathroom. Xiao Ru has Meng Jun try to stall Peggy, and she locks Peggy inside the bathroom.

Xiao Ru goes to talk with Yi Xian outside. He apologizes again, and she asks him if he knows which creatures says I’m sorry the most in the world. She tells him that she doesn’t want an apology, she wants answers. Does he really have another woman, and if so, how come Xiao Ru has never heard Yi Xian mention her or say he loves her? Yi Xian says that he loves Peggy, who is his true love.

Xiao Ru says that she doesn’t believe him – if Peggy was his true love, then how come she doesn’t know he doesn’t eat seafood. Xiao Ru presses further, when did he met her? She ran into his co-worker Henry, who told her that he’s never seen Yi Xian with another woman. Yi Xian tells Xiao Ru that she’s not in any position to keep asking him questions, since she’s already married. Xiao Ru is about to explain her relationship with Jie Xiu when Peggy comes running out with a manager in tow.

Peggy complains about being harassed by Xiao Ru and Meng Jun, and threatens to report them. The manager tries to smooth over the problem, saying that if Yi Xian doesn’t feel like he was harassed, then it’s not something that is worth reprimanding his employees over. Except Yi Xian says that he felt like he was in fact harassed by Xiao Ru, who interrupted his meal with his girlfriend. The manager agrees to reprimand his two employees. Xiao Ru says to Yi Xian that she won’t give up, she will find out the truth.

Peggy and Yi Xian head back to their room, and Peggy happily grabs him for a backhug. She’s so happy that she can finally be with him, and what he said back there gives her hope that she’s finally got a place in his heart. Yi Xian pushes himself away from her, explaining that it’s exactly the opposite, what he said to Xiao Ru back there was because he loves Xiao Ru TOO MUCH, not because Xiao Ru doesn’t matter to him. He knows Xiao Ru will give everything for the man she loves, and now Yi Xian doesn’t deserve her love anymore.

He wants her to hate him, so that she can go pursue her own happiness. Peggy presses Yi Xian on whether he can remain impassive towards Xiao Ru, who has stated that she won’t give up until she gets to the truth. Yi Xian grabs Peggy’s hand wearing the engagement ring, asking her why that ring isn’t enough of a commitment from him. Yi Xian wearily tells Peggy not to covet what does not belong to her, she’ll be happier in the long run. Peggy thinks back to Yi Xian and Xiao Ru’s few confrontations that she has seen, touching her belly as she walks away.

Xiao Ru wanders on home, looking at the lovebirds on the street, thinking back to Yi Xian’s hurtful words to her today. Xiao Ru is in the living room watching a TV show about the symptoms of a woman who has just been dumped, which includes pigging out on junk food. Jie Xiu walks into the living to see the mess Xiao Ru has created, and his OCD personality gets frustrated with her. She promises to clean up, but he notices that she ate his favorite, and last, pudding in the fridge. Xiao Ru brushes off her chip crumbs on the floor, dropping pizza slices on the expensive carpet as she gets up. Jie Xiu orders her to leave the living room immediately, and he tries to throw her food away.

They fight over the pizza box, and Xiao Ru lands on top of Jie Xiu. Avril walks in and demands to know what is happening. They explain they were fighting over food, and Xiao Ru asks Avril how she dares to come over and wouldn’t the papparazi catch her? Avril says that there is a secret entrance to Jie Xiu’s house, which she’s always used and avoided detection that way. Xiao Ru breathes a sign of relief, and Xiao Ru runs back to her pizza.

The papparazi is outside Jie Xiu’s house, bemoaning the fact that he’s gotten zero juicy pictures. His editor tells him to give up, that the story is dead in the water. The editor gives him one month to bring in a breaking story and picture, otherwise he’s fired. Avril inputs her phone number into Xiao Ru’s phone, explaining that she can call her anytime.

Avril brought over sushi for dinner, and Xiao Ru grumbles to Jie Xiu that his fancy designed kitchen makes it impossible for her to even find a plate. Avril takes over and gets ready for dinner. Xiao Ru witnesses Avril and Jie Xiu’s syrupy couple banter, and suggests they eat the sushi before it gets cold. Jie Xiu mocks her for not knowing that sushi is eaten cold.

Avril and Jie Xiu go upstairs, and Avril confesses that it’s awkward having someone else in the house with them. Avril wonders how Jie Xiu got the outfit he’s wearing, since its not his usual style. Jie Xiu confesses that it’s also because of Xiao Ru that he’s wearing this outfit. The start to make out, but Xiao Ru knocks on the door and keeps knocking, refusing to leave them along. She apologizes for interrupting their “getting down to business”, but she heard the garbage truck music and wants to know if he has any trash to take out, and where to find the garbage truck (in Taiwan, starting about a decade ago, to curb littering, no one is allowed to leave trash outside their house for the garbage trucks, you can only bring it out when you hear the sound of the truck coming – it’s like a variation of the ice-cream truck, and hilarious to watch someone scrambling to get their trash outside and chase the trucks, heh).

Xiao Ru leaves, and Jie Xiu and Avril start to resume their making out. Avril notices the bear bandaid that is on Jie Xiu’s arm, and she says that it’s such an ugly bandaid. Jie Xiu thinks back to Xiao Ru putting the bandaid on him at the beach, and he suddenly loses his mojo for making out with Avril. He tells Avril that Xiao Ru doesn’t know where to bring out the trash, and maybe she’ll get lost. He wants to go find her and will be back really quickly. Avril grumbles about how someone can get lost when taking out the trash. Avril gets a call about an interview, and she heads to Jie Xiu’s desk to write down an address. She sees the wild boar picture that Jie Xiu drew for Xiao Ru, and Avril perceptively wonders whether Jie Xiu is being too caring towards Xiao Ru.

Avril finds Xiao Ru at the fridge, about to drink a beverage from a bottle. Avril gently takes it from her, telling her that Jie Xiu minds if Xiao Ru drinks it directly from the bottle, she should drink it from a glass. Avril says that she is a very jealous type of girlfriend, and she wants to make sure Jie Xiu lives comfortably during this cohabitation period. Avril notes that Jie Xiu is a very particular person, and he finds very few people’s habit acceptable to him. Xiao Ru concurs, saying that only Avril can endure his personality. Avril quickly confirms that Xiao Ru dislikes Jie Xiu. Avril stakes her claim, telling Xiao Ru that she likes to be different, she wants what only belongs to her. Jie Xiu overhears this conversation, and when Avril leaves, he offers to drive her.

Jie Xiu comes home later to find Xiao Ru sprawled in the living room watching TV. Jie Xiu suggests to Xiao Ru that he likes to watch a good movie to change his mood when he’s unhappy. He shows her his stash of videos, which turns out to be architectural documentary videos. Jie Xiu excitedly explains the designs to her, but Xiao Ru instead hears dry buddhist recitations coming out of his mouth.

She falls asleep on his shoulder, waking up the next morning to find herself and Jie Xiu having slept on the couch all night. She quickly gets up and stretches, but then she smiles and leans down over the still sleeping Jie Xiu.

Thoughts of Mine:

What a good episode, continuing to deftly balance the humor with the sorrow. While Avril is a cipher to me, leaving very little impression so far, Yi Xian really affects me. I both hate him (for what he’s done to Xiao Ru), and I pity him (for what he has lost and so keenly is aware of the loss). Did Peggy get him drunk and jump his bones, and now wants him to take responsibility for a drunken one-night stand that resulted in a baby? Maybe. But ultimately it’s Yi Xian’s decision to be so cruel to Xiao Ru that she will let him go from her heart. His goal may be understandable, but I hate watching him hurt her time and time again, especially in front of bitch-face Peggy.

It was hard taking that journey into the past with Xiao Ru and Yi Xian, seeing how much they were in love, how compatible they were with each other. But Jie Xiu is right, only time will heal her wounds, not trying to exorcise her demons on purpose, which never works. How sweet was it that Jie Xiu always grumbles about Xiao Ru, but ultimately ends up looking out for her and quietly helping her. It’s clear that she affects him, and he secretly has a tiny bit of grudging interest in her.

I love how this drama lays everything out in the open. To the world, Xiao Ru and Jie Xiu are married, even if a few people know it’s just a contract marriage. But they live together, spend time together, all the things that could lead to a real relationship. And it was all at the request of Avril. If Jie Xiu and Xiao Ru fell in love, they don’t have to feel guilty or try to hide it. Similarly, it doesn’t matter WHY Yi Xian dumped Xiao Ru, despite her insistence at getting to the bottom of things, all that matters is that he chose someone else over her, regardless of how much he professes to love her.

Even though Xiao Ru and Jie Xiu have very different personality quirks, they are actually stuck in similar situations, approaching love in a resigned position of submission. Both are at the beck and call of their significant other, subservient to the needs and whims of the other person. But when Jie Xiu and Xiao Ru are together, the sparks fly, and both become the opinionated person they need to be. Jie Xiu and Xiao Ru deserve to shower their unlimited ability to love on someone more deserving than Avril and Yi Xian, respectively. I’m thrilled to see the first sparks of interest start to emerge between them.