Love heals. Or does it?
RECAP
Ruan Liuzheng (Wang Churan) is a doctor. As the story begins, she arrives in an African country for her new job. A friendly driver picks her up but on the way, he gives her some information that… erm… whoever arranged for her pickup should have looked into a bit more seriously — due to an insufficient system, there might be shootings on the way and it’s completely normal if they get caught in the middle of one. What??
They do run into a shooting. The driver gets shot and Liuzheng tries to save him. But a bunch of outlaws have her at gunpoint and take her away. I don’t know what their intention is, but I’m pretty sure it’s not worth it.
The news reaches Ning Zhiqian (Peng Guanying), a doctor who also works at the hospital Liuzheng was heading for. He used to be her mentor and — brace yourself — husband!
He rushes to the crime-lord’s place immediately – without the police, not even one for a guide — to negotiate Liuzheng’s release. Turns out, the outlaw gang only wanted a doctor to tend to their injured men.
Zhiqian takes Liuzheng to the place she’s supposed to stay while working here. Awkward convos and stolen looks in the car. She deleted his phone number after they got divorced too so it is extra awkward that she has to ask for his contact info again.
This is a developing town so a lot of inconveniences happen to Liuzheng, like water getting shut off while she is showering. So one time, with her hair still covered in shampoo bubbles, she has to call Zhiqian to see what he can do.
Don’t worry, though, Zhiqian has experience with this, OK? He takes Liuzheng to a spot where he himself usually goes when his water gets cut off: a muddy lake with a 90% chance of crocodiles lurking around. Uh-huh…
Did I mention that the water was muddy?
Liuzheng continues to wash her hair there. At one point, while bending her head down, she looks like she is drowning from an angle, and this makes Zhiqian panic and jump into the water with his shoes on like a madman. The water is only at hip-level though, so there’s no chance of her drowning, but he only remembers that when his shoes are already stuck in the mud.
She laughs, he laughs, they go back to the dorm and share a room. Why, though?
Along with the present day’s occurrences, we also get glimpses of their history. Zhiqian used to be an instructor at a medical school where Liuzheng studied at.
It’s worth noting that she did not address him as “professor” or “sir”, but “shi-xiong”, which roughly means a senior classmate. So maybe he was a senior student who did lectures for credits, which kind of explains his casual way of talking to the students.
Liuzheng was a hardworking student but a little wimpy, in a cute way. To be a surgeon, though, you’ve got to have guts, you can’t just take a look at a body and run; which is what Liuzheng did. And I guess since med school tuition isn’t refundable, she can’t back out now? Poor girl thought it was going to be just like dissecting frogs and cats.
So Zhiqian did what he could to help Liuzheng along with a few more students do better. Well, thank you for the effort to make this a little less problematic by involving the girl’s fellow students too.
He took the group to go bungee jumping, eat scary-looking food – like fish — and watch horror movies to build their courage. They chose this old black and white Dracula movie and Zhiqian just kind of sneaked up on them from the back and jump-scared them. Which is good for the cause but, like, he also made them throw their popcorn buckets in shock and spill everything. On the couch!
COMMENTS
Once again, I don’t believe we should expect much from the medical aspect of this drama. Rather, base your decision on whether you like these two lead actors and their chemistry.
Episode one promises a unique storyline. Having a divorced couple finding their way back together is a rarely seen thing in modern C-dramas. The acting is natural enough. The lead actress seems to do well with both phases in her life: bubbly-girl with a crush and experienced-woman.
Note that my opinion is based on episode one only. For now, the lead coupe look fine. But who knows, the guy might turn out to be another jerk teacher and the girl, an enemy of common sense. I don’t hope so, but that scenario is common in romance dramas.
In addition, it is nice for once to see the male lead in a modern drama not wearing obvious makeup and the female lead, not stick-thin. These two actually look like they can take on front-line jobs in a dangerous zone.