Asian Addicts Anonymous

Hints and hints and hints abound in this episode. Ren Wei hints to Mr. Meng about his revenge (not that Mr. Meng seems to understand this). Zhi Xing hints that Mr. Meng’s first love just might be their deceased mother (which would make Mr. Meng their father). We also have hints that Ren Wei’s game he is playing might bite him in the rear as he unconsciously looks for Jing Jing after the big news breaks. There is also a hint that Mr. Meng won’t survive the last half of this series. If he does, I will actually be surprised as there are so many hints that he may be leaving. Oh, is anyone else wondering just who Ren Wei talks to when he is on his phone talking about the revenge plot progress? It’s sure not Ling Li, so who is this mystery person helping Ren?

Step 11: How do you love without money?

We open at Ai Xing’s apartment where she and Tian Ze are having dinner with Grandpa Du and Zhi Xing. Du wonders how Tian Ze got the sore at his mouth and complains about his grandson acting like a gangster. Du then tells Tian Ze that he will disown him if he ends up like his father who only helps bad guys and hurts good guys. Ai Xing, not liking Du’s scolding on top of the breakup, tries to intervene and encourages her brother to give Du more food. Du, however, refuses to be interrupted and keeps talking. He’s only nagging Tian Ze for his own good. He’s also trying to get Tian Ze to act normally instead of lifelessly as he is now. Du then notices that Jing Jing hasn’t been over at all and the break up is revealed. Du says that since Jing Jing was the daughter of a wealthy family then there is no way she would have been able to marry him as well so it is high time that Tian Ze woke up from that dream. Du then tries to push the lower maintenance Ai Xing on Tian Ze. Finally, Tian Ze leaves the table.

Ai Xing scolds Du for rubbing salt in the brokenhearted man’s wounds. Du replies that he’s kicking his grandson while he’s down in order for Tian Ze to pick himself up and become stronger and wiser. Du then asks Ai Xing to take care of Tian Ze for him during this hard time. Ai Xing points out that she’s fed him, offered him shelter, and even let him user her bed. Isn’t that caring for him? Du points out that is more like doing something with an animal, what he means is emotionally taking care of Tian Ze. He then encourages Ai Xing to do three things:

1. Be gentle
2. Act childishly (how is that supposed to help?)
3. Encourage him

These things really throw Ai Xing for a loop. How can she do them? Du demonstrates, but isn’t very good at it. Will Ai Xing be able to pull it off? When she was trying to seduce Ren Wei both times (the first time to get him to buy an apartment and the second to get him away from Jing Jing), she was horribly forced and fake. I can’t imagine her improving any.

Mr. Meng is sleeping in his office when Ren Wei comes in. This presence seems to make Mr. Meng wake up. Ren Wei then gives a Wall Street saying that money never sleeps. You make money while your awake and it can walk off when you’re asleep. So when it comes to business, you have to be like a crocodile and sleep with your eyes open. Mr. Meng then gets up and wonders about the meaning of life and money. Does one really need to work so hard to make money? Is there any difference to dying with $5 versus $500? To Ren, there is a difference and it does matter. He looks at Mr. Meng with a not very nice expression and says that to a man who once had it all, dying with only $5 is an embarrassment and shame.

Dying with only NT$5… is a kind of humiliation. Especially for those who have been on top. They did everything they could to reach the top, but… BAM! They suddenly fall from the skies.

That fall reference really seems to rattle Mr. Meng. He looks so listless and flustered, almost childlike in not knowing what to do. Ren Wei then says he’s brought the contract over and asks Meng to look it over as he wants to get it signed as soon as possible. Meng says that is what he wants as well.

Back at the apartment, Ai Xing is setting out Du’s bed and Tian Ze and Du watch her. Grandpa tries to comfort Tian Ze by saying he was young once, too and it’s quite normal to be in a couple of relationships and break ups before marriage. He then tells his grandson to pull himself together and charge forward as there are plenty of fish in the sea. Du then motions towards Ai Xing and asks about that particular fish. Now that the two are officially single once more, why not openly sleep together. This gets Ai Xing’s and Tian Ze’s attention. They aren’t dating, how can they possibly sleep together? Du points out that they were wrapped in each others arms just the other day. This confuses Tian Ze (guess he doesn’t recall that part since he was so drunk) who looks at Ai Xing who is embarrassed and says she has no idea what Grandpa is talking about. LOL. Du then gets Zhi Xing to say that he wants to sleep on the couch instead of with Ai Xing. This annoys his sister, but Du then reminds her that she promised to take care of Tian Ze. So Ai Xing rather ambiguously (and in that horrible voice and manor that she has when she’s trying hard) asks Tian Ze to sleep with her. He can even be on top!!! OMG! Zeng Ai Xing! This throws Tian Ze for a loop and Ai Xing finally snaps back to herself and angrily says she meant he can sleep on the bed and she’d have the floor.

Tian Ze is a gentleman and takes the floor leaving Ai Xing the bed. Does anyone wonder why else they didn’t just do that the first time that Du visited instead of sharing Ai Xing’s bed? Ai Xing asks who Tian Ze got into a fight with. Tian Ze explains that it was Ren Wei teaching him a lesson which made Tian Ze feel even more like a loser. Ai Xing revealed that she snapped at Ren Wei that day, too. This surprises Tian Ze. Why would she do that? Ai Xing explains that she scolded him for being a villain, which in turn made Ren Wei angry so it wouldn’t be surprising if she lost her job anytime soon. Tian Ze calls her an idiot and Ai Xing quickly replies quite loudly that it’s all because of him. She then adds on softly “and Jing Jing.” I don’t think she’s adding Jing Jing on as an afterthought here. I think she softens her voice on Jing Jing’s name out of respect to Tian Ze who is still reeling from the breakup.

Later that night, Tian Ze gets up and sits outside for awhile. He is soon joined by his grandfather who tells the story of how a good friend brought a really nice girl home. She was sweet, good mannered, and pretty. Du told his friend that he didn’t stand a chance marrying that girl and sure enough, when she did get married, his friend was NOT the groom. Why is that? The girl was from a wealthy family and those families arrange marriages for their daughters to people with equal status and wealth who can help run the family business later on. Wow, what a pep talk. But it is very true to this day and age. They may not be “arranged” in the traditional sense, but even in the US you still have “like” marrying “like.” I love Grandpa Du’s next line:

When it comes to love… love at first sight might not be right for you. The person right for you, you might not love at first sight. Do you understand?

You have to picture him saying this while looking at Ai Xing’s bedroom window. Du then says that when Tian Ze reaches his age, he will be able to look back and laugh. He then tells his silly grandson to go get some sleep and returns to bed himself. Meanwhile Ren Wei stares at the money Jing Jing gave him and recalls the situation. He then calls and says that the plan is almost ready as all that’s needed now is to arrange a time to sign the contract. Ominous.

The next morning, Ai Xing continues her unreal acting until the freaked out Tian Ze grabs and squishes her face, bringing it close to his own. He tells her and his grandfather that he is fine and what’s more, he is determined to put the break up behind him and forget all about Jing Jing. Tian Ze then gets up to leave, but not before telling Ai Xing to brush her teeth. He then goes to the contract signing where Jing Jing cannot take her eyes off of him. This is something that Ren Wei cannot help but notice. When the contract is officially signed, Jing Jing and Tian Ze wait outside for her father and Ren Wei. Awkward silence which she breaks by saying she is surprised Tian Ze showed up. Tian Ze responds that as Ren Wei’s legal advisor, it is best for him to be there in case his boss has questions. He then tells her that she still has things left behind at Ai Xing’s, but don’t worry, she can come whenever to collect them as she is still Ai Xing’s best friend. Jing Jing really wants to reach out and touch him, but stops herself. Ren Wei and Mr. Meng then come out and Ren Wei sees all of this and boy does he look angry. Technically he has no claim to Jing Jing and even if it’s just about revenge, why would he be so angry?

Back the office Meng is quickly working on paperwork to get things in order before the due date. His hand starts shaking and he drops the pen he’s holding. When he bends to pick it up, he starts having chest pains. Not good. Not good at all. He even collapses to his knees on the floor (this man is obviously headed for a stroke or heart attack if this keeps up). Jing Jing comes with a cup of water and rushes over to his side. She encourages her father to go home, but he refuses as that paperwork needs doing now. Jing Jing asks to stay with him, but Meng sends her home to her mother who is all alone and been calling off and on all day. Jing Jing reluctantly gives him water and leaves. Since she decided to leave him the car, she heads to the bus stop where the angry Ren Wei screeches to a halt in front of her and hauls her unwilling into his car. He takes her all the way to his apartment where he tosses her onto his bed and starts undressing. Jing Jing is shocked. Ren Wei tells her that she must have known this was coming as soon as he agreed to pay off the debt. When Jing Jing keeps leaning away from his kiss, Ren Wei actually gets up and just kicks her out. This man has some serious issues and mood swings. Jing Jing doesn’t need to be told twice and scurries out like a frightened mouse.

The next morning news breaks that Fu Hua has fallen into a financial crisis and that a check has been bounced. It was the money that Ren Wei was supposed to have given to cover the debt to the bank. Ai Xing sees this and is shocked. Jing Jing and her father are in a meeting about the steps to recovering the business when they are told about the news and the gaggle of reporters outside. At this time Jing Jing gets a call from Ai Xing who tells the her friend to take Mr. Meng and escape out the back. Meanwhile, Ai Xing wears some of Jing Jing’s clothes and leaves the front of the building. She succeeds in distracting the reporters, but Ling Li sees her and is livid (probably because she’s supposed to be working).

The Mengs (minus Mrs. Meng) hide out at Ai Xing’s apartment. They thank Ai Xing for helping them and Ai Xing replies that its no problem as she is an expert on eluding debt collectors. A slight blow to the Meng pride, but Jing Jing says that is right, they do have a huge debt. Mr. Meng then looks around and compliments Ai Xing on the warmth of the house. When he talks about how her mother must be, Ai Xing chokes up a bit, but does smile and agree. Zhi Xing then comes home and Ai Xing introduces him to Meng. Zhi Xing immediately smiles and grabs the older man’s hand, calling him “baba” (dad). [Now, mind you, this is after Meng had been talking about a good friend who lived in Mei Ze where the Zengs are originally from and Ai Xing guessed that the person was a woman – his first love.] Ai Xing apologizes for her brother explaining that since they never had a father, he’s confused. She then scolds her twin for calling someone else’s dad father. Meng is not their dad, but Jing Jing’s (I still say we will find out that the woman he can’t forget is Mrs. Zeng and he’ll end up being the twins’ father).

Ai Xing gets an angry call from Ling Li telling her to get back to work now. Ai Xing goes to leave and asks the newly arrived Du to watch over the Mengs, but when Du talks about how he saw the TV report, the Mengs decide to leave, too. After they go, Du mutters about how their business is failing. I really love a lot of Du’s lines in this drama. He is one cool grandpa! I must point out that with the quote below where he talks about having good intentions, there is also another quote about good intentions: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Basically saying that the intent doesn’t always matter when looking at the outcome.

No matter how big the business is, it collapses easily. Doing business has the same principle as conducting oneself, the most important thing is to have good intentions.

Zhi Xing tears through boxes saying “baba” over and over again. He finally finds what he’s looking for. It’s a picture of his mother with a man. He caresses the picture and keeps repeating mother and father over and over again. The picture isn’t clear, so I can’t tell if it is Mr. Meng for sure or not. But how is it that Ai Xing is the one with the picture, but it is Zhi Xing who seems to recognize the man as their father?

When Ai Xing gets to work, Ling Li is talking about how Ren Wei who is there as well [whose phone has been turned off and he had been unreachable all day] has officially taken over the Mei Ze Dream project and is using their office for the sale of its units instead of establishing a new one. Thus, they must all work hard to overcome the problem with the Fu Hua Construction’s bad press to make the project a success. Ai Xing interrupts and wonders why Ren Wei has stopped helping Fu Hua like he promised. This earns her a scolding from Ling Li. Ai Xing then changes tact and says that she wishes to help sell. Ling Li is against this, but Ren Wei actually supports Ai Xing by saying you can see her passion for the project (is he trying to set her up for failure?). Ling Li, defeated then lays down the law. Ai Xing cannot get any clients from the sales office and if she fails to sell a single unit and her regular job is affected, then Ling Li will show no mercy. Ai Xing then requests a private audience with Ren Wei, but she is refused. Guess he really doesn’t have the time of day for a toy who had rejected him… My favorite part with this scene as how not just Yia Nan, but all of Ai Xing’s coworkers back her up to convince Ling Li and Ren Wei to let Ai Xing sell.

While this is going on, Jing Jing and Meng rush to Ren Wei’s office to confront him. However, Ren Wei isn’t there (since he’s at the real estate office), but Tian Ze is. Jing Jing immediately turns to leave as there is no way that Tian Ze can possibly help them. Tian Ze stops her and says that he can at least relay the message to Ren Wei. Jing Jing then explains about the situation and wonders how Ren Wei can go back on his word after the contract has been signed. Oddly enough, Tian Ze does not show any signs of shock. He carefully explains that the debt repayment was not in the terms of the contract, just the 60-40 split (in Ren Wei’s favor) for the Mei Ze project. He ads in some talk that was uncalled for (directed at Jing Jing) about how Ren’s promise to repay such a large debt sounded as unreliable as a woman’s promise to be with a man for life. Tian Ze then asks for the proof that Ren Wei actually promised such a thing. See, the great thing about verbal agreements are that they rarely hold up anywhere unless they have been recorded or witnessed. Tian Ze also gives the Mengs some words of advice. Since the news has already come out about the financial situation, the only thing the Mengs can do is pray that the units sell and sell well. Ouch.

Okay. The thing I am most confused about in this scene is whether or not Tian Ze knew about it beforehand. I mean, he handled the business end of the deal with Mei Ze, but did he know about Ren’s repayment and his stopping of it? Though truthfully, Tian Ze didn’t trust Ren Wei’s intentions, so he might not be surprised over it at all. But his reaction is definitely not quite what I was expecting. Although, legally speaking, if you look at the black and white side of the law, did Ren Wei do anything illegal? So Tian Ze’s hands are tied in that respect. But still. Anywho, I think I am leaning more towards Tian Ze behaving in a childishly bitter “I told you so” manner here. He told both Ai Xing and Jing Jing that Ren Wei was not a good person and Tian Ze has constantly been fighting with getting Ren Wei to behave in a better manner in handling business. So I’m guessing he’s getting a bit of satisfaction with Jing Jing learning that choosing money isn’t always right.

Meanwhile, Ling Li wonders just what Ren Wei is doing. Ren Wei replies he isn’t doing anything illegal and does correct Ling Li by pointing out he did NOT become the largest shareholder of Fu Hua, but rather the largest shareholder of the Mei Ze construction project. Ling Li is not dumb. She is quite sharp. Ren Wei points out that is a bad trait when it comes to men. Ling Li wonders if he would like her better if she played dumb, but anyways, the girl is putting the pieces of the puzzle together. When Ren Wei returned from the US, he had dropped his surname. Looks like Ren Wei is just his first name. Snap! So Ling Li demands to know just what Ren Wei is doing. I do wonder if Ren Wei will play his cards wrong with Ling Li at some point and have that bite him in the end as she is the one who knows him best, and if he really ends up confiding in her, she can screw him over in the end.

At the Meng home, Mrs. Meng is furious. How could the situation turn out like this. She then goes into saying how she never liked or trusted Ren Wei and how stupid Mr. Meng is for not fully comprehending the contract. How she sings a different tune now. Oy. Having enough of watching her father be attacked, Jing Jing jumps up and says that Ren Wei probably stopped the payment when she refused to sleep with him when he forced her into his apartment. I had to love the reactions here. Mr. Meng is livid that Ren Wei would do such a thing to his precious daughter and Mrs. Meng is shocked that Jing Jing didn’t give in. *shakes head* I know that Mrs. Meng loves her husband and daughter. She really does, but that woman’s actions make it hard to believe. No mother in her right mind would encourage her daughter to sleep with a man like that. Mr. Meng points this out and yells at Mrs. Meng for trying to sell their daughter. This explodes and Mr. Meng says that he knows his wife just married him for his money (keeping him away from the woman he truly loved). This earns him a tirade from his wife who says that if it was just money that kept her there, she would have divorced him long ago. Jing Jing steps in and holds her mother as Mr. Meng almost backhands her.

In this situation, two wrongs don’t make a right. Mr. Meng is at fault for not understanding that is wife did truly love him. But the two are really at fault for marrying each other when they both knew that Mr. Meng’s affections lied elsewhere. In that sense, it’s kind of like they deserve the misery. It’s my personal opinion. But then again, I have a prejudice AGAINST matrimony and relationships in general. Jing Jing says she will go find Ren Wei and try to talk to him, but Mr. Meng loses it and yells at her to never see that man alone again otherwise he would be a complete failure as a father. Meanwhile, Ren Wei is driving by the bus stop where he always saw Jing Jing (she’s not there tonight, however), and he wonders to himself if he is genuinely worrying about her and caring about her.

Mr. Meng then takes Jing Jing to the bar that Ren Wei frequents. Looks like the bar owner is actually an old friend of his. I wonder if Jing Jing thinks that she just might be the old friend Meng was talking about earlier with Ai Xing. The bar owner encourages Meng and talks about her surprise in learning that “Sake sachie” was his daughter. Jing Jing also stops her father from wallowing in the miseries of the past couple of days. Afterward, Meng talks about how his wife really does love her daughter and even though she’s trying to force a marriage on Jing Jing, it’s for her own good. Sigh. I really don’t get that at all. Meng then apologizes for inadvertently distancing himself from his daughter when he stayed away from home since he hated going home to his wife. He then asks Jing Jing to take care of her mother if anything should happen to him (to me, this is a 2nd clue along with the earlier health-issue scenes that he might not make the end of the series). Jing Jing quickly promises him and says he doesn’t have to apologize as she understands him now. Meng then says he wishes to spend as much time with his daughter now as possible. See? Doesn’t that sound almost ominous?

The next morning, Ai Xing dresses for battle and goes to leave without eating breakfast. Where is she going? Ai Xing is using her day off to do her best to sell real estate to make the Mei Ze project a success and help Jing Jing. She then starts laying into Tian Ze whom she compares to his father as he helped Ren Wei take advantage of the Mengs. Tian Ze tells her the law doesn’t work how she thinks, but he refuses to explain it to her. Ai Xing calls him a jerk who’s turning out like his father an takes her twin brother and leaves. Du wonders what’s going on, but Tian Ze says nothing to explain and gets up to work.

Ai Xing, Yia Nan, and Zhi Xing all work on trying to get people interested in the Mei Ze dream project. Ai Xing thanks Yia Nan for being such a good friend. Zhi Xing intervenes saying Yia Nan likes Ai Xing, but Ai Xing likes Tian Ze ge ge. Ai Xing immediately denies this as there is no way she’d like a jerk like him. As the light turns red, Ai Xing actually goes into the street to hand out pamphlets to the drivers. Wouldn’t you know that one of them is Ren Wei? He tells her she’s working hard and that’s a given. Ai Xing angrily glares at him and he tells her she should get going. Ai Xing refuses as she wants to stare at him until his conscious gets pricked. Actually, Ren Wei was referring to Ai Xing getting off the road as the light would be changing. He speeds off and AI Xing nearly gets hit by a taxi. This earns her a scolding from Yia Nan.

Back at the apartment, Tian Ze thinks about his breakup with Jing Jing and is unable to work. Du watches on, worried. All his grandson does is sigh or shake his head. Du’s advice didn’t work, Ai Xing’s unattractive appeal didn’t work. What else is there left to try? Prayer! Grandpa Du takes a branch and bell and sprinkles the zoning Tian Ze with water(?) asking Bodhisattva to come and help Tian Ze regain his lost spirit from the breakup. Grandpa also tack on a get together with Ai Xing part and this really makes Tian Ze get off his butt and get angry at his grandfather like normal. This makes Du happy. Tian Ze begs him to stop talking about Ai Xing, so grandpa switches to singing instead. LMAO. Grandpa Du rocks!

And that’s where this episode ends. The previews for 12 look really fierce. We have Ai Xing telling Tian Ze he’s not welcome and Lawyer Du shows up. Looks like he’s Fu Hua’s lawyer and going after his son and Ren Wei for not handling things as legally as possible. Tian Ze doing something not 100% legal? Nah. Not him. We also see a scene with Ren Wei on the roof with Meng. Well, that didn’t take long for that secret to be discovered.