Previously…
Once they were officially together in Love Story in the 1970s: Couple Moments Episodes 11 to 18, came the life hurdles from the job and other people’s burdens. Finally, their dreams came through with a wholesome ending and sweet karma!
Couple Moments Episodes 19 to 29
Episode 19
There were so many unromantic side stories in this episode. The only romantic part was that Fei Ni and Muyang remained in their honeymoon phase. For example, when Fei Ni visited Muyang at his newspaper office, she brought lunch for them to eat together. Now he could even detect her smell when she tried to sneak behind him.
Episode 20
Another tedious episode, with Fei Ni’s, Mu Yang’s, and other characters’ work stress. Mu Yang’s comic strip was published; unfortunately, it was not under his name. He ghostdrew for a famous cartoonist. I knew when he accepted that job project several episodes ago, it would be a trouble in the future. Fei Ni felt it was unfair; he didn’t receive the credit. She had that issue before, when Ling Yi stole her paper.
Speaking of Ling Yi, remembered several episodes ago Muyang gave her his university spot. At that time, the plot twisted our minds with Ling Yi being Muyang’s “girlfriend”. But it turned out they were just childhood friends. We were told in the last episode that Muyang gave up his spot because Ling Yi tried to commit suicide at that time. So, Muyang was just being compassionate.
Anyway, at this time, Muyang was also stressed by the fact that someone else had used his creativity. Fei Ni wanted to cheer her husband up, so she made a paper carousel lantern from Muyang’s drawing, which he threw in the office bin. But he ended up entertaining her instead with a story using the lantern. After they finished playing with the lantern, they enjoyed the rest of the night on the rooftop. Fei Ni felt Muyang’s emotional burden and invited him to lay his head on her shoulder. She said that her shoulders were not as broad as Muyang’s, but they were reliable. So cute!
Episode 21
Things were not always peaceful and happy. One day, Muyang fell on his head and bled, so Fei Ni rushed him to the hospital. In panic, she forgot to close and lock the front door. Feng Lin, who happened to stop by at the neighbor’s, noticed the open door and took a chance to sneak in. She found a copy of the classic masterpiece, The Pride and the Prejudice, by Jane Austen. Recognizing the foreign book as being banned, Feng Lin reported to Ms. Xu.
When Fei Ni came home, she was called by Ms. Xu, and Fei Ni was in BIG trouble of being fired! Muyang, who heard the bad news, rushed to find Ms. Xu and claimed that he had that copy but Fei Ni didn’t know about it. Unfortunately, Fei Ni already made a declaration that she had the book. Moreover, Muyang’s sister, Mujing, happened to visit the couple with her husband Qu Hua. Seeing the house was in a mess, they went to ask around and also ended up at Ms. Xu’s place! The couple claimed that they left the book without Muyang and Fei Ni’s knowledge! Luckily, the troubled couple got reinforcement from another newlywed couple, Ling Yi and Ye Feng! Yes, they got married. Ye Feng accused Feng Lin of acting out of a personal grudge because her house was given to the couple. Ling Yi added that universities were tolerant of such literature, which was considered a classic novel. Well, Fei Ni was not fired, but to save face, Ms. Xu still confiscated their house!
They were back to square one, by moving into Fei Ni’s parents’ home. The house was already crowded with the parents, and the newlywed Fei Ting and Lin Mei. Muyang didn’t have a heart for the old couple to give up their room to the young couple, so he went to sleep at Qu Hua’s place. His sister had moved to Jiangcheng and lived in a company’s dorm, and her husband had followed her to Jiangcheng.
A bigger disaster came, but this might be a blessing in disguise. There was a big earthquake in Jiangcheng. Muyang didn’t want to separate from Fei Ni sleeping in the shelter, so he built a small makeshift tent. Their rest, snuggling with each other, was a sweetness amongst the calamity. Muyang even made a little banner read “Fei Ni’s home”.
Episode 22
The government called for a rescue mission to the epicenter of the earthquake, which was outside Jiangcheng. Muyang rushed there without a chance to say goodbye to Fei Ni; luckily, she managed to stop his bus. After waiting for some time, Fei Ni couldn’t stand it anymore and begged Ms. Xu to send her there. It was a gruesome view with the highest levels of damage, including destroyed buildings, broken roads, and destroyed infrastructure. Fei Ni arrived there and after seeing so many injured people, she finally found Muyang. Although tough, Muyang broke down seeing the disaster. Fei Ni didn’t want to leave and ended up volunteering there side-by-side with her husband.
Episode 23
After the disaster was over and rescue teams were sent back home, Muyang and Fei Ni were back in Jiangcheng. They still didn’t have a home. Fei Ni wanted to stay with Muyang, and he didn’t sleep at Qu Hua’s place. Where did they sleep this time? In the bookstore’s warehouse!
Again, they made a bed out of tables. They reminisced about the strange beds they had shared since marriage: the bench at the factory office during their wedding night, the bunk bed, the double bed with a railing, the cot at the quake shelter, and now the makeshift table bed. Fei Ni said, every one of them felt special because they were together, awww!
Muyang was inspired by their experience at the epicenter, and he approached his boss, Uncle Fu, to make a comic strip based on the experience. Uncle Fu introduced him to a bigwig in the publishing industry for help. However, that guy wanted to change the female lead’s occupation from a textile worker to a nurse. Muyang disagreed because he modeled the Female Lead after his wife. The cooperation didn’t go through, but people around Muyang gave him encouragement. Eventually, Uncle Fu arranged for the comic to be serialized in the local newspaper. The series was an immediate success, and readers were touched by the story.
Episode 24
Muyang had an emotional reunion with his parents, Fang Qingyuan and Mu Shanhe. Fang Qingyuan, who was a famous painter, had been deemed a “bourgeois”, so he was one to be sent to the concentration camp. Mu Shanhe, a university professor, not wanting to separate from her husband, followed him. His sister didn’t want to come to pick them up because she actually felt guilty about having cut ties with them for her career. He showed his parents his drawings of Fei Ni, being proud to be her husband.
Since Muyang had gone to Yunnan to pick up his parents, he hadn’t been seen with Fei Ni at the factory. Feng Lin insulted Fei Ni by saying that now that his intellectual parents were back, Muyang would surely look down on her. Just at the time, Muyang walked in and told Feng Lin that he was the one who actually married up to a respectable working-class family like Fei Ni’s.
Well, I assumed the parents had been indoctrinated enough, since the government returned their old home. Muyang asked Fei Ni if she would be willing to move in with them, and, of course, she happily agreed. Although at first they were awkward, the reunion and the in-laws meeting were so heartwarming! The parents were so grateful their son had such loving in-laws.
Episode 25
Muyang and Fei Ni now had a big room at their parents’ home. It was Muyang’s room when he was young. Fei Ni saw the word “Fei” carved onto the bedpost. Muyang explained that it was her surname. He carved her name when he was 16, because he had liked her since then. Fei Ni then carved his surname next to hers. Muyang stole a kiss and wanted to have a sweet time with his wife, unfortunately, Dad came in.
They got a big bedroom, alright, but not yet privacy, hahaha!
Mr. Chen, the new director seemed nice. When he saw Fei Ni ask for a recommendation to the college again, he struck up a convo with her. He knew Fei Ni had applied for the letter for five years. Fei Ni admitted she loved reading and wanted to be a writer. Mr. Chen said that he recommended her to Ningzhou University.
Episode 26
Muyang moved to a publishing company as an editor. However, he and his boss always had arguments. He eventually quit because of a clash of different ideals. Muyang’s gave them her heirloom jade bracelet to help her son and Fei Ni. Now, only Fei Ni worked, but she would go to college soon. His parents’ jobs were not settled yet. But Fei Ni didn’t want to sell the bracelet, since it was passed down in his family, she wanted to pass it on to their children. Finally, Muyang got a job as a waiter at the restaurant. He loved working there. Meeting many people sparked his creativity to draw. He even drew the menu.
When Muyang brought Fei Ni the ice cream from his job… I don’t know which one was sweeter: the melted ice cream, Fei Ni, or the scene. Fei Ni was so kind, tasted the melted ice cream, and told her husband that it was sweeter when it melted.
Episode 27
Muyang heard that the publishing company wanted to produce a novel series about educated youth, so he told Fei Ni about it. He knew that Fei Ni had always wanted to be a writer, so he urged his wife to try.
Other couples had troubles with their relationships, but Fei Ni and Muyang’s romance still went strong despite the hardships of life. They kept dreaming of what they wanted to do or what they wanted to buy when they got money. Not luxurious stuff, but practical stuff for them and their parents.
When the parents got the piano back from the government, Fei Ni and Muyang played the piano together, and they ended up dancing through the night! The dancing scene was so cinematic!
Episode 28
Because of their sweet nights, one day Fei Ni woke up with a hickey on her neck. She was too embarrassed to go to work like that, so Muyang suggested that she put a big band-aid on it. While at work, Feng Lin saw it. It happened that there was a female coworker who was abused by her husband, also had a big bandaid on her neck. Feng Lin reported to Mr. Chen, who sent her to investigate. Muyang and Fei Ni were used to Feng Lin’s malice, so they acted out PDA in front of her. Feng Lin ended up spilling tea on the tablecloth. Muyang demanded ¥40 for compensation, stating that the tablecloth was his mom’s memento of her students.
Muyang and Fei Ni finally got their little house back. They were so happy. Even though they liked staying with Muyang’s parents, their small house was a home with lots of memories. The parents gave the piano to them. I couldn’t believe it fitted in that one-room house!
Episode 29
With their house back, so were their private dates, day or night. At night, they reminisced about their life journey. Muyang asked Fei Ni, when she had lost her chance to go to college after taking care of an injured hero, why she kept taking care of him? Fei Ni replied that she realized he was as important as her college dream. They faked their marriage to get housing, but what mattered most was them.
One day, Mr. Chen told Fei Ni that the government had postponed the university entrance for the factory workers. Fei Ni was so heartbroken because she lost a chance to go to college again. On the rooftop, she cried her heart out to Muyang, who had become a strong pillar for her.
Luckily, things got better. In 1997, the national policy had changed. Now people can go to university through the college entrance examination, or gaokao. Fei Ni and Muyang applied right away, and they studied hard for the examination. They were finally admitted to Jiangcheng University. They went to college together, Muyang in the Arts Major, and Fei Ni in the Literature Major. Their whole family celebrated their hard work together!
THE END
Muyang and Fei Ni entered the gaokao together
Sweet Karma
Wanna know what happened to the villains? In a nutshell:
- Ms. Xu: A new vice director, Mr. Chen, was appointed. Feng Lin slandered Ms. Xu, stating that Ms. Xu used nepotism to get her daughter-in-law a job. Ms. Xu was demoted to a factory worker.
- Ling Yi and Ye Feng: Mr. Chen disbanded the basketball team. Ye Feng, the former captain, got a menial job as a kitchen helper. He didn’t try to excel; instead, played basketball the whole day. Ling Yi was dissatisfied and divorced Ye Feng. She flirted with a university senior, who turned out to be married. Having found out about the affair, the university expelled Ling Yi.
- Feng Lin: When Mr. Chen found out that Feng Lin was a slanderer, he demoted her to work at the factory. She did a lot of bad stuff for the sake of her boyfriend. After the demotion, the boyfriend didn’t want to date a factory worker and broke up with her. Feng Lin was so distraught that she made big mistakes at work and was fired.
Conclusion and Mini Review
- What a wonderful slice-of-life drama. I learned a lot about living simply but happily.
- Muyang and Fei Ni’s romance was amazing. They were both green-flag characters. Although Muyang, he was too good to be true for a Male Lead. The romance between Mujing and Qu Hua was delightful, too.
- Chen Chang did a good job directing the actors. Arthur Chen and Sun Qian had the most natural chemistry I’ve seen. Other actors acted very well in their good or bad characters. Special shout-out to the new actress Wu You You, playing the despicable Feng Lin, and the veteran actress Liu Min Tao, playing the annoying Ms. Xu.
- The cinematography is top-notch. Not only the brilliant rapeseed and the soothing greenery on the rooftop. Overall, the production team did a good job recreating the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966 to 1976) setting towards the end of the era.
- Critics: Romanticization of the era, as the Chinese Cultural Revolution period was very harsh. Too much screentime for supporting characters in the last 1/3 of the drama. Fei Ni and Muyang’s kissing scenes are terrible.
Keywords: Love Story in the 1970s, 纯真年代的爱情, Arthur Chen, Chen Feiyu, Sun Qian.
