Plot Love Review

Plot Love (亲爱的柠檬精先生) is one of those low-budget dramas that keeps getting churned out because there is a market for it. You know you won’t be getting a masterpiece but you might still click and watch when you have nothing better to do. It will be forgettable upon completion but you may still watch one episode after another once you begin. Essentially, this drama is nothing great but it could still be addictive in a paradoxical way. Why is that so? My Plot Love review below will provide some insights into this drama.

My rating: 6.5/10
Episodes: 24
Type: Romance
Aired: April 2021
Images Credit: iQIYI

The Cast Of Plot Love

• Chen Shu Jun as Su Bei
• Ross Chen Pin Yan as Lu Nan
• Jiang Xin Qi as Gu Yan
• Cai Xiang Yu as Ye Ting
• Liu Rui Ze as Yun Fan
• Li Jia Tong as Lu Fei Er
• Chen Tian Yu as Chris
• Sun Xiao Lun as Su Man Ni
• Zoe Zhou Chen Jia as Yu Jia

Main Characters

Su Bei

Su Bei is a fashion designer turned modeling agent. She is good at what she does and is a tough lady who is not easily cowed. Su Bei is sophisticated and independent. She has a 6-year-old son and separated from her husband, Lu Nan. She was brought up by her late mother’s best friend, Aunt Lan.

Lu Nan

Lu Nan is the CEO of Eminence Group which is in the fashion and clothing business. He is a cold and unsmiling man but with lots of admirers due to his good looks and capability. He is an astute businessman who can see through enemies’ schemes. Lu Nan has a grandmother and an adoptive sister.

Supporting Characters

Gu Yan

Gu Yan is the illegitimate son of Gu Group’s Chairman. He is an executive at Gu Group and working under his half-brother, Gu Cheng Ze, who looks down on him. Gu Yan is a patient man who appears kind and thoughtful.

Ye Ting

Ye Ting is Su Bei’s best friend and assistant. She is tomboyish and fierce. Ye Ting will run errands and do investigative work for Su Bei.

Yun Fan

Yun Fan is Lu Nan’s best friend and personal assistant. He is amiable and not exactly a macho man. Yun Fan is constantly bickering with Ye Ting.

Lu Fei Er

Fei Er is Lu Nan’s adoptive sister. She appears as gentle and harmless but is actually a scheming and jealous woman who wants Lu Nan to be exclusively hers.

Chris

Chris is Su Bei’s son. He is an adorable 6-year-old boy who is smart and talkative.

Su Man Ni

Man Ni is Su Bei’s half-sister and a top model for Eminence Group. She is a spiteful woman who hates Su Bei and wants Lu Nan for herself. Man Ni and Fei Er are friends.

Yu Jia

Yu Jia is a tailor and Aunt Lan’s apprentice. Su Bei regards her as a younger sister.

Synopsis

Su Bei has just returned from Italy after a 7-year absence. She is a reclusive top modeling agent who goes by the name of Annie. The purpose of her return is to investigate what happened to her beloved guardian, Aunt Lan, who fell into a coma all of a sudden. Aunt Lan’s fabric and tailoring business was forced to liquidate after a fire at the factory.

Su Bei suspects that her estranged husband, Lu Nan, might have something to do with Aunt Lan’s condition. So, she wants to get close to Lu Nan again to look for clues. But Lu Nan has lost his memory of her after a car accident 7 years ago. He finds her annoying. At the same time, Su Bei’s envious half-sister, Man Ni, is interested in Lu Nan. As Su Bei schemes her way back into Lu Nan’s life, she faces sabotage from Man Ni as well as Lu Nan’s adoptive sister.

Both Su Bei and Lu Nan also start to fall in love with each other again. Unfortunately, troubles lay ahead when Su Bei finds evidence that Lu Nan could be the one who has harmed Aunt Lan.

Plot Love Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Plot Love has a happy ending. Lu Nan and Su Bei are seen holidaying at the beach together with their son. It is also mentioned that she is pregnant with their second child. The last scene is of them kissing. Lu Nan has also recovered from his blindness after deciding to go for surgery to remove the clot in his brain. He has been putting it off earlier due to his worry for his company as well as the fear that he will lose his wife and son if he dies.

Ye Ting and Yun Fan also end up together. Yun Fan consoled her when she was being accused of being a mole in Episode 19. Their relationship stepped up from then on.

When Did Lu Nan And Su Bei Get Back Together?

Lu Nan and Su Bei actually slept together as early as Episode 6. But this was when she was drunk and simply made light of it the morning after. Her heart softened when she found out why Lu Nan didn’t contact her when she tried to look for him 7 years ago when she was in Italy. Lu Nan was in a coma after a car accident then and the person who picked up her call was Fei Er.

So, the couple started falling for each other again and got back together in Episode 9. Lu Nan wanted to properly confess to her in Episode 12 but got angry when she suspected him of being the culprit in Aunt Lan’s case. When Su Bei found out that she was wrong, she wooed him back and they reconciled in Episode 15. Lu Nan also couldn’t let go of her. From then on, the couple has complete trust in each other and there is no breakup. They only pretended that they are divorcing in Episode 19 in order to flush out the mole within the company.

Finally, Lu Nan proposed to Su Bei in Episode 22.

Is There A Love Triangle?

Yes, as both Man Ni and Fei Er want Lu Nan for themselves too. Man Ni has been trying to get Lu Nan since 7 years ago. Fei Er is also obsessed with him and unwilling to let anybody else have him. However, Lu Nan has no interest in either one of them and has made himself clear.

Gu Yan is also interested in Su Bei. He wants to snatch her away from Lu Nan whom he hates. He confessed to her in Episode 20 but got rejected.

When Did Lu Nan Find Out About Chris?

Lu Nan found out that Chris is his son in Episode 16 when Gu Zheng Ze kidnapped the boy. Gu Zheng Ze did so to get back at Lu Nan after he was charged for embezzlement and told to leave the country by his father.

What Happened To Man Ni?

Man Ni was arrested after she paid off someone to tamper with Su Bei’s car brakes in Episode 8. She naively took up Fei Er’s suggestion to make Su Bei disappear in her quest to get Lu Nan.

Why Is Fei Er Obsessed With Lu Nan?

Fei Er was adopted by Lu Nan’s parents. She loves Lu Nan and didn’t want anybody to break up their relationship. She felt neglected when Lu Nan fell in love and married Su Bei. Hence, she saw Su Bei as someone who needed to be got rid of.

Fei Er was arrested in Episode 22 when she tried to burn herself and Su Bei to death at the warehouse. This was after her various efforts to drive a wedge between Su Bei and Lu Nan didn’t succeed.

What Happened 7 Years Ago?

Su Bei was accused of plagiarism during a fashion design competition 7 years ago. Fei Er paid off another entrant, Zhao Rui, to submit the same design as Su Bei’s. Zhao Rui needed the money for her father’s medical treatment. Su Bei was working for Eminence while Zhao Rui was under Gu Group at that time. As a result, both Su Bei and Zhao Rui were disqualified.

Gu Yan pressured Zhao Rui to pay the company compensation if she can’t prove her innocence. He also told her that people will always sympathize with the weak. Zhao Rui subsequently committed suicide. Su Bei got blamed for her death and Eminence was dragged into the mess. Lu Nan ordered Su Bei to leave the country to avoid scrutiny so that he could save the company. Su Bei felt wronged and betrayed by Lu Nan for not trusting her.

So, Su Bei left for Italy as asked. When she found out that she was pregnant, Lu Nan was already in a coma following an accident. Fei Er told Su Bei that Lu Nan didn’t want to have anything to do with her anymore when she called. As a result, the couple became estranged for the next 7 years.

Who Is The Ultimate Villain?

The ultimate villain is Gu Yan. He was patiently waiting for his chance to take down his elder half-brother who has been bullying him by pretending to be meek and submissive. He reported to police when Gu Cheng Ze kidnapped Lu Nan’s son. After his brother’s arrest, he took over the helm of Gu Group. His ultimate enemy was Lu Nan.

Gu Yan met Lu Nan when they were kids. Lu Nan promised Gu Yan that he will ask his parents to adopt him from the orphanage. But when they went to the orphanage, Gu Yan’s name wasn’t on the adoption list. Gu Yan was being quarantined due to sickness at that time. Instead, Lu Nan’s parents adopted Fei Er. Gu Yan felt betrayed by Lu Nan. His hatred intensified when he was taken in by his biological father into the Gu family because they looked down on him and treated him as an outcast due to his illegitimate status. Therefore, Gu Yan blamed Lu Nan for his bitter childhood.

After helming Gu Group, Gu Yan started to buy up Eminence shares. But his plan backfired as Lu Nan has also been quietly buying up shares of Gu Group. Hence, the ultimate controlling shareholder of Eminence will still be Lu Nan. Gu Yan was subsequently fired from Gu Group and lost everything in Episode 23. He then kidnapped Chris to force Lu Nan to meet him. In the end, Gu Yan was arrested for the kidnapping.

Why Did Aunt Lan Fall Into A Coma?

Aunt Lan has the secret technique in making a special type of brocade that is much sought after by fashion houses including Eminence and Gu Group. This technique is detailed in a notebook. As her small business was facing a cash crunch, she made a deal with Lu Nan to lend him the notes in return for a loan. Aunt Lan left a message for Lu Nan on the location to pick up the notes. But Fei Er saw the message popping up on his phone and deleted it. Fei Er then collected the notebook and kept it. She was to use the notebook later to make Su Bei suspect Lu Nan to be the guilty party.

When Yu Jia found out that Aunt Lan will be giving away the notes to Lu Nan, she was dissatisfied. She felt that she should inherit that technique from her master after serving her loyally for more than 10 years. She diverted the payment from Lu Nan and worked with Gu Yan behind the scenes to swindle her. Yu Jia then quarreled with Aunt Lan over the missing notebook which caused the latter to collapse from a stroke and become comatose. This is revealed in Episode 21.

Yu Jia surrendered to the police in the end. She regretted her action after hearing from Su Bei that Aunt Lan has already willed the business to her (Yu Jia) earlier. Su Bei also convinced Yu Jia that Gu Yan was only making use of her for his own selfish reasons.

Plot Love Review – Mediocre But Fast-Paced

I think what saves Plot Love from being unwatchable is the fast pacing. This is a drama that has little fillers as things move rather quickly with lots of happenings. Most of the episodes are around 30 minutes each which further increases the watchability. Hence, it is easy to just continue clicking onto the next episode after you have finished watching the one before.

The drama also starts off strongly to me which is crucial to keep viewers’ interest. It has some level of suspense when it begins as we are not told what exactly the female protagonist is after and what happened in the past. It is the kind of drama whereby things are revealed gradually as the story progresses. The low budget is obvious just like for Mysterious Love but it does have a saving grace to make it watchable at the very least.

A Very Fast Moving Plot

In essence, Plot Love is a romance drama. But there are a number of issues thrown into the sub-plots. That is why it has to be fast moving since it only has 24 episodes to cover them all. There is the investigative element as the female lead suspects a crime has been committed against her guardian. Then, there are those jealous women who try to drive a wedge in the main couple. The male lead also has his own enemies to contend with. Add a son into the picture and you will have another side story to be told.

With 3 evil characters, there is little time to spare for fillers. In exchange for the fast pace, character growth will have to be sacrificed. Simplicity takes precedence for the plot to move forward. So, it would be good for viewers who don’t like long-winded details like those found in You Complete Me. But it will be bad if you prefer more realistic plots that have greater depths.

Jealous Third Parties

A jealous third party is a norm in romance dramas. It is not often you will find gems such as Forever And Ever and You Are My Glory whereby third wheelers are not part of the feature. But Love Plot really takes the cake for having not one jealous woman but two. On top of that, there is also a man chasing after the female lead.

Therefore, this is a drama that is kind of exaggerated in terms of plot. The third parties’ obsession borders on the psychotic. The saving grace is neither the male or the female lead is interested in their pursuers. Nevertheless, if you hate watching jealous love rivals going around sabotaging a couple’s relationship, then Plot Love should definitely be crossed out from your watch list.

Poor Acting

Let’s face it. The actors and actresses in this drama are certainly not going to get any nominations for their acting. They are not established names and watching their mediocre acting can be painful at times. I think Chen Shu Jun did slightly better than Ross Chen who can’t seem to show any emotions naturally. The way he squeezes his eyes or scrunches his face to express his emotions just look weird to me. Chen Shu Jun is more bland in her expressions but at least, I don’t get a weird feeling watching her.

If there is to be a star in the drama, I think it should be the kid. Well, he is adorable but it is a pity that the parent-child chemistry is lacking compared to what you would find in Begin Again.

As for the main couple, they do have some level of romantic chemistry. It is not exactly sizzling given the mediocre acting but good enough to pull the romance through. There are a number of kisses but not to the level of My Little Happiness or You Are My Glory.

My Verdict – When You Have Nothing Better To Do…

Despite the poor acting and obvious low budget production, Plot Love is still addictive in a strange way once you give it a go. I put it down to the strong start and fast pacing. Hence, you are more likely to watch all the way to the end to find out what happened. It is not a drama that you will miss or sad to see it end. It is just that you will want to quickly get to the finish line and move on. The progressive reveal also helps to keep the interest going.

Apart from the above, just be aware that the drama is devoid of logic at times. For instance, you will find the young kid is always running around on his own in a big city which is nonsensical. Basically, you can’t think too much and be critical of details when you watch Plot Love. You just have to delight in the couple’s interactions to find enjoyment in the drama.

For this Plot Love review, I will hand it a score of 6.5/10. It has too many weaknesses although its fast-paced nature makes a difference in terms of overall watchability. It is okay if you really have nothing better to do for the day. At the very least, it is not draggy. But if you are fussy in terms of drama quality and acting skills, it will not meet those standards. It is actually a pity because the plot has the potential for a better drama given the strong female character. As it is, it feels cheaply made with all the tropes and unnecessary drama for the ultimate villain towards the end.