One of the great things about the drama Romance in the Rain is that its story and characters are consistent. Consistent enough for you to analyze without having to wonder whether something is the result of bad writing.
Well, remember that part where Yiping (Vicky Zhao) jumps off a bridge and Shuhuan (Leo Ku) just refuses to shave for some reason? Let’s talk about that.
When we get through about two thirds of the drama, where tension is all-time high, Shuhuan finds Yiping’s secret diary, which contains less than nice things about him to say the least. It turns out, the girl never bothered to erase the part about her manipulating him and taking advantage of him to take revenge on her sister, even though she has stopped feeling that way for a long time and there never was any manipulation. Ever heard of a lock for your desk drawer, Yiping?
Because of this, Shuhuan loses it, breaks up with Yiping, signs himself up for a job at the front while there’s a war going on, and lastly, gets engaged to Ruping (Ruby Lin). Yikes.
This is probably the segment of the drama where Shuhuan gets the most crap from the audience. Because, why? He’s sulks, he refuses to keep reading Yiping’s diary even though his friends assure him repeatedly that there are nice things in later pages, he’s indecisive, and he gives Ruping false hope.
A complete opposite of the Shuhuan we love from the beginning.
And Yiping? She cries, screams more lies at Shuhuan, pours fuel into the fire, and calms down too late, seriously testing the viewers’ thinning patience with her stubbornness.
Nevertheless, I will attempt to point out why this part of the drama is very necessary, not only for Shuhuan, but for the story as a whole.
FIRSTLY, FOR SHUHUAN
Shuhuan is a nice guy. He’s not just nice, he’s NICE. White-knight-in-shining-armor-on-a-noble-steed nice. The drama, up to this point, has painted him as the embodiment of chivalry.
But that’s just the problem.
He can’t stop being nice, he can’t stop living by his heavy principles. And he can’t allow himself to believe that the woman he fell for is anything other than nice, even though her traits that are opposing to his have always been clear.
Shuhuan loves to convince himself that Yiping is this fragile soul who needs to be healed and protected by him. Which is true, to an extent. But Yiping’s pierce side is untamable even for him. Oh, Shuhuan doesn’t like that, he brushes the doubts aside, tolerates whatever he disagrees with about her, but never tries to see things from Yiping’s point of view.
And when our guy gets hold of that diary, boom, his doubts spill, his fears overflow, and his emotions take hold of his normally functional head. He feels betrayed – by Yiping, and by his own judgement.
Not to mention that by this point, a lot of things have happened to heighten the tension between them.
This is the part where Shuhuan’s deep flaws underneath the chivalry are uncovered one by one. He beats himself up, questions his own sense of morality, struggles to trust Yiping again, to uphold his principles, and to have faith in any decision he ever makes from this point on.
Not exactly a comfortable situation, is it?
SECONDLY, FOR YIPING
Our girl, on the other hand, has always tried to convince herself that she doesn’t need anyone, doesn’t depend on anyone, and is capable of keeping her heart closed to everyone.
Well, not so much anymore the second she realizes that Shuhuan is not going to show up and wait all day at her door to apologize this time.
To someone as hard-headed as Yiping, it takes no less than this incident to make her acknowledge that ‘crap, he matters’.
Her stubbornness still dictates her actions but she is now a mess inside. Eventually, at Shuhuan and Ruping’s engagement party, all of Yiping’s suffering crashes down on her at once – it’s not just about Shuhuan anymore, but about how she’s been lonely and lingering on the negative side of… pretty much everything for too long.
Losing Shuhuan is not merely losing a guy she’s attracted to, it is losing a voice of reason, someone who’s able to make her a better person, someone who is proof that not all men are crappy as she had made herself believe.
Hence, we get that bridge jumping stunt. Overly-dramatic, granted, but not without reason.
LASTLY, FOR RUPING
Oh, our sweet and kind Ruping. This arc of the drama is where she takes the biggest leap and makes the biggest gamble in her life. Ruping decides here to screw Yiping’s feelings and jumps at the first opportunity she gets to grab Shuhuan despite her own doubts. Not so nice and innocent anymore.
But of course the guy runs out of his own engagement party to chase after Yiping. Here is when Ruping’s obsession with him ends; and let’s face it, we’ve all been begging for it to end.
Ruping learns a hard lesson, but hey, at least she learns it.
Next, she realizes how much of her life has been wasted on trivial matters, Shuhuan’s pretty face especially and leaves to become a nurse at the front. A lot better than secondary female leads nowadays already, isn’t she?
And those are the reasons why this drama is so necessary even though it makes us want to smash our screen with all the crying and misunderstandings and the stubbornness. Frustrating, but the characters wouldn’t develop otherwise.