Chinese romantic drama – 2014
I am among the millions who love romance and am a sucker for escapism. Yes, I am a crime fiction author. The Toks Ade mystery series (more to follow) is gritty and perhaps gruesome. Still, I started reading romantic fiction as a teenager. I was obsessed with Mills and Boon and everything that has a girl meet a boy, fall in love, and live happily ever after. I did not want an ounce of reality in this. The first real frustrating romance that I ever watched over and over again was Gone with the Wind. I wouldn’t say I liked that ending.
Bing Watching
I watched all 33 episodes of The Boss and Me twice! That has never happened to me. I am a crime fiction author who writes gritty police procedurals but also likes to write contemporary crime and cosies. But when I watch TV, aside from watching my favourite crime shows, I mostly watch programmes that friends and family snicker at. Reality shows like Real Housewives and the Kardashians.
Helen Oyeyemi and K-drama
Then an author I admired, Helen Oyeyemi, spoke of Korean drama, popularly known as K-drama, in an interview, and I was intrigued. Oyeyemi is a literary author and experimental and fearless in her writing. What would make Helen so like K drama that she had created a lecture on it? So, I watched my first K drama and was hooked. I thought about whether I should review them, as there were hundreds of fans already doing this, but I needed to bring my perspective into this universe just as I do with my book reviews.
About the story
Boss and Me is not a K drama but a Chinese Drama created in 2014 and streaming on Netflix. I loved this series based on a novel by the romantic novelist Gu Yam.
I wanted to analyse what I liked about it. It was essentially the story of a boy who meets a girl.
A wealthy, hard-working young man, Feng Teng, CEO of his family’s business empire, realised he had led a lonely life when he met Xue Shanshan, a young graduate employee of his company and from a small town.
His company employed her because of her rare blood type so that she could donate blood for his sister. Feng Teng’s sister, in her gratitude, sent a lunch of pork liver each day to Shanshan. The young employee discovered a private balcony at work where she ate her solitary lunch and did silly dances and songs in the knowledge that she was alone. She did not realise she was providing a private audience for Feng Teng, who watched her keenly through his office floor-to-ceiling glass window.
He became a fascinated voyeur watching Shanshan’s frank and simple pleasure in her food and life. She loved her new job as a finance assistant and dreamed of growing in the company and receiving the yearly bonus. Like every female employee, Shanshan is infatuated with the creative director they nicknamed Handsome Qi. But handsome Qi happened to be Feng Teng’s best friend and realised, to his amusement, that his friend was interested in the simple Xue Shanshan.
Feng Teng was rich, handsome, calm, and reserved and could have his pick of any of the society ladies clamouring to be Mrs Feng Teng. Still, he quickly fell in love with Shanshan for just being herself. Shanshan, on the other hand, did not want his attention. He was out of her league, and she found him too distant and cold. But Feng Teng slowly wooed her, and she also fell in love with him.
Complications
But as in life, this unlikely lover’s ups and downs kept me hooked to the screen. To complicate matters, his childhood friend, the beautiful and well-educated, Lishu, was in love with Feng Teng and never declared it till she realised she might lose him to Shanshan.
She started a campaign to ensure poor Shanshan looked ill-educated and clumsy in her and Feng Teng’s world. Shanshan’s parents, humble tailors in their town, disapproved when they realised she was dating her super wealthy boss and feared their only daughter would get hurt.
I do have a few criticisms of the boss and me. Handsome Qi, Lishu and Feng Teng travelled to the UK for business and Handsome Qi got assaulted by two black males. That used a stereotypical negative image of another race and diminished my enjoyment. I found it a blot on this fantastic drama. It should tell creatives that stories are universal and you do not know who is watching. I am a creative black female, evolving in my work. Therefore, please, no stereotypes!
Also, near the end, Shanshan told Feng Teng that she was not interested in being a super executive nor running her own company but would be content with being just Mrs Feng. They should add that she would take on charitable causes to help develop young women like her. After all that she has achieved, it is boring to focus on Feng Teng. He would be bored as well.
Finally, I wanted to see Shanshan and Feng Teng at the altar getting married and also holding their baby! Please think about remaking this series and ensure it is complete.
All of the above did not diminish my enjoyment of Boss and Me and I look forward to watching it the 3rd time! 🙂
