BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“Being strong doesn’t mean you can’t be weak or rely on others.” – Quote from See Your Love
While this is honestly a rather standard BL formatted series, for some reason it worked! Maybe it was because of the innate nature of the characters themselves. Or the rather great chemistry between the actors. Perhaps it was the elevation of the trite storyline to a more relatable premise. Or maybe it was a combination of all of these. No matter, it simply was effective.
Jiang Shiao Peng (Jin Yun) is deaf but has managed to obtain a degree as a personal caretaker. He is an awkwardly tall yet a boyishly handsome young man who appears, on the surface anyway, to be happy and well adjusted. Unfortunately, because of his significant hearing loss, he is having a difficult time obtaining employment. Even though he is quite capable, the usual prejudges against disabled individuals become the cornerstone of rejection. It is hard to change people’s perception or ignorance. Jiang Shiao Peng has learned to be quite capable and efficient as he has had to overcompensate for his disability by pretending to be ‘normal’ in a lot of ways. Since he is quite proficient in reading lips, it does appear sometimes that he is actively engaged in a conversation. However, he can only respond by texting or through the use of sign language.
By chance and sheer luck, he gets employed by a rather overindulgent young man, quite handsome, and very, very rich. Yang Zi Xiang (Raiden Lin) is a spoiled, pampered and lazy individual with seemingly little ambition. Yet, that is only superficial. He lacks motivation because he is misunderstood by his family and his interests lie in other areas besides business.
Because his family has some enemies, Zi Xiang was hurt and is need of personal assistance. However, because he is so demanding and arrogant, no one can work with him. Yet, when Shiao Peng is hired, he does seem to understand him and before long, is able to tame his arrogance and keep it in check. So much so that Zi Xiang begins to understand and see value in what others are doing and how he can help others. Slowly, the bond between the two begins to strength and their relationship turns into something much deeper. Zi Xiang begins to understand responsibility and wants to learn sign language to better communicate with Shiao Peng. He becomes quite proficient at it. He also sees how hard Shiao Peng works and appreciates what he has had to overcome to get where he is. He is beginning to put, if you will, things into perspective.
The story is predicated on the strength of the relationship between these two. While parts of the story do become silly, it still manages to evolve around strengthening their connection. Ironically, both have ‘girlfriends’. While usually the plot would then make them antagonists, which is also partially true here, it does so in dynamic ways. Zi Xiang’s girlfriend, Jessica (Ai Yu Fan) is an arranged girlfriend. Neither really love each other and after Zi Xiang falls in love with Shiao Peng, he tries to extricate himself from her. Their story and how it all unfolds is quite interesting and the hint as to who her new partner might be is a rather interesting side note. Meanwhile, Shiao Peng’s girlfriend, Song Shu He (Lee Yu), is a more thoughtful and deeper liaison. Under different circumstances, they might have become a more serious couple. While Shiao Peng moved on from their breakup, Shu He did not. Jealousy reared its ugly head and while she might have considered trying to break up the relationship between Zi Xiang and Shiao Peng, could not really bring herself to actively do anything to thwart it. She knew that Shiao Peng was happy.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? Now to the fun part. There are a couple of characters that are dangerous close to being caricatures but manage somehow to stay out of that territory. They provide just enough diversion to make their budding relationship just so adorably entertaining. In addition to them being an astonishingly handsome couple as well. One is Zi Xiang’s bodyguard and assistant, Johnathan (Lin Chia Yo) who is a martial arts expert and is hired to thwart attempts on Zi Xiang’s life. In one of his rescues, he manages to capture a rather bumbling would-be assassin named Wang Xin Jia (Lin Yung Chieh). Rather than turn him over to the police, he decides to keep him close and use him for intel. And of course, the two of them not only form a physical bond, but they also begin to form a strange emotional attachment to one another, even though both seemingly pretend ‘nothing’ is really there. These two really stole my heart with their perfect timing. What should have been complete corniness was actually funny, amusing, and entertaining. Both seemed relaxed with one another, and each played their part loftily, yet with the intent that it really was going to lead somewhere. I liked that. I felt like that they would have a solid conclusion together and they did. It was not merely based on empty words in a dialogue amounting to simple play-acting. Because these two could jocularly banter with one another so effectively, enough sexual tension was developed that we could actually see and feel a relationship developing. They were simply fun to watch! They stole the series.
Taking nothing from the acting of either protagonist, however, as both were believable. Frankly, it is hard to portray someone with a severe hearing loss because you really must make every effort to pretend to hear nothing, not even the slightest noise. Not even giving it away with your eyes. Jin Yun was quite convincing. His timing was perfect and his expressions and frankly his facial stoicism were always spot on when they needed to be. Having worked with deaf people and knowing a little sign language, his mastery of that language (and it is a language) was excellent. So was Raiden Lin’s. It looked very natural.
This story went beyond them simply mastering sign language, however. While the storytelling was a bit cringy in the beginning, once they settled into their roles, and the personalities of the characters began to emerge, there was a genuine spark between the two of them and you could sense and feel their chemistry. Their kisses felt more genuine and honest than more Taiwanese as of late and both seemed comfortable in their own skin doing those scenes. That really was a refreshing change.
Perhaps if this series had been a bit grittier and not made so fluffy especially in the beginning, this would have been a real showstopper. I was not sure if it was trying to be a comedy or a drama at times. Some of the villainous scenes were laughably bad or utterly nonsensical and did nothing to enhance the plot or story. It got deeper into the personalities of all the major protagonists than most of these kinds of fluffy series do which made the series not just engaging but showed us who these people were underneath. We got to understand what motivates them. That for a change was also refreshing. The family scenes and the support that Shiao Peng got were not just moving, they were pointing to lessons learned in the process. His parents tried so hard to treat him as if he was normal that sometimes they forgot that he was not. He always had to pretend that he could hear and never display the emotions that go with the fact that he does not but is afraid to outwardly display any signs of frustration or other emotions connected to his disability. Zi Xiang allowed him that and said he would always understand when he could not hear and not fully comprehend what was happening. He did not have to pretend. That was such a significant linchpin to a relationship with someone who is deaf and a failure of the parents to see it early on.
Perhaps this is what made this series so special because it touched a chord with a population we often do not relate to. This series helped us understand, perhaps just a little, what it is like to be deaf and what some of their needs are, especially in developing interpersonal relationships. Kudos for presenting a disabled condition in a very positive light and showing us that deaf individuals too can and should be as part of our overall community also.
I liked this series for its pragmatic message and its portrayal of an individual with a disability being more like us than unlike us.
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