Master of My Own 请叫我总监 [2022]

[IpohBanana]

@OsmanthusTea yes, I believe your guess is a good one (though I wonder what brought that on, a personal vendetta or money?)! Someone on YT has expressed the same opinion and I believe this person is privy to the plot. I wonder if there has even been an ounce of genuine affection for NM, poor girl has to learn to be a better judge of character. Having said that, she bounces back quickly on her feet and is intelligent enough to learn from her 'mistakes', so I am not too concerned about her. It's just another of life's moments. As her father said, you can't stay down or misfortune can't hound you forever!

 

I enjoyed watching E28-29 and had a few good laughs.

Spoiler

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, is that what your father is trying to do to me, LJM asked NM. I was so tickled at how he was being made an honorary servant. His portrayal of fatigue, dismay and disbelief alone were hilarious to watch (imagine the look of half-terror on his face when he thought the father was approaching him again for some more errands to run). Her parents are such darlings (my parents would certainly not be so agreeable had I brought someone home without advance notice, and a man at that too!) AND I agree with LJM when he said "I now understand why you have the personality you do!"  I also giggled when NM told her parents "I like you" when she evaded their question about who LJM is to her. She's so quick on her feet to turn the situation around, and answering in such a non-offensive manner.- what a delightful daughter to have.

 

on a side note, I wonder what salty mooncakes taste like??? Anyone tried those ones they were making before? Btw, does she live in a province like Suzhou or Hangzhou? With all the bridges and such, and it's proximity to Shanghai, I thought that was it...

 

@SilverMoonTea I agree with you - their relationship is such an endearing one. And the way she tries to cheer him up and stand by him gives me such feel-good moments. I am glad he grabbed the opportunity to follow her home, I secretly think it made his day that she offered.

Edited May 17, 2022 by IpohBanana

[SilverMoonTea]

On 5/15/2022 at 4:21 PM, 40somethingahjumma said:

I am of the view that Lu Jiming has long been in love with Ning Meng and all his attempts at keeping her as his secretary was his domineering way of trying to turn her into his wife.

I really love this sentence 😆

 

I remember back in early days, some employee think that if NM was more gorgeous in her appearance, she will for sure become Mrs Lu 😂

 

I think his harsh words all is just a facade to protect her. He think she's too innocent and naive to join investment world. I love how he admitted in the end that he purposely excluded her from any drinking meeting. And she in turn faithfully picking him up everytime he drunk. What we see in the early dramas are not the full picture and I love how it revealed layer by layer as the show progressed. 

 

@IpohBananaBoth of them always including each other in the interaction with their parents. She was a peacekeeper on his family, and I was really surprised when she bring him back home with the pretext of cheering up a good friend 😅 I thought she will bring him back home, once he's an official BF. Maybe the next time he come again, he already become the husband 🤣 It's just cute how he's always so ready to carry all her bags and packages. 

 

I know he was in grief and probably didn't even have time to ask her why SWR is not in the picture for such an important event with her family. And I'm glad she finally come clean about her status to him. It's for sure change his mood for better, I think. 

 

As of SWR I'd like to think he do have some feelings for her. Probably some because of nostalgic memory, I think that CD gift contribute to his progress to fall deeper to her. Probably was not in his original plan. He seems totally devastated and uncontrollable seeing that hugs. Partially because his trauma, but I think he do really like her too. 

[OsmanthusTea]

@NiteWalker @IpohBanana

Both SWR and NM came clean about their past history to each other. NM initially reluctant to starts a relationship with SWR because of LJM but SWR said he doesn't mind  hence NM agreed.  IMO, both NM and SWR was in no fault in starting the relationship because dating is about knowing each other better. But SWR's bad anger management, insecurity and possessiveness are the main issues. Today the trigger is LJM, tomorrow will be another LJM and another LJM.

 

But NM is no pushover and the slap is the last straw. So everything is good.

[movingwheel]

ok so i am late to join..... yesterday was a hectic day and I completed watching at 11 at night...

 

The Big Bad Boss - the preview keeps referring to will be SWR. Novel says that. 

I so agree to @OsmanthusTea that dating is about getting to know each other. She was very clear that she will take some time but he forced and when she was in relationship , it still hurt her heart for LJM. Normally we don't go to our previous boss except for showing solidarity for a scenario like LJM , but NM is doing beyond. in the eyes of onlookers , its very very clear that she indeed has some unresolved feelings and there is nothing wrong with it. but SWR lacks basic understanding that you cannot force feelings. he expected NM to completely give up but that just does not happen like that. you manhandle her and then expect to be forgiven is a characteristics of a narcissist. plus she is a successful woman- what did he expect?

Lu JiMing is also not flawless. He keeps on complaining , depends waaayyyy too much on NM but there are lots of people like that in real life but then again he values her and go any extend for her. Takes her to hospital , follows her like puppy , ready to invest in a company just for her even though he really does not believe in potential. That shows how much he loves her/...

 

@abs-oluteM me and @SilverMoonTea have decided to watch it together after this one ends. I will probably also watch Detective D series as well. lets see.

 

On a different note, I am so glad that this drama is doing well in Tv Index. 

[OsmanthusTea]

@movingwheel

In fairness, SWR-NM tandem will be considered a power couple IF SWR had enough trust in NM. They look cute together, both are rich and successful and they can talked shop 24/7. He is sweet most of the time too. NM also pledged NOT to get entangle with LJM anymore (before the slap). But he just CAN'T.....

[movingwheel]

@OsmanthusTea come on , LJM -NM can also be a power couple...no big deal... they will eventually...!!!!

[40somethingahjumma]

It's a relief that Ning Meng finally dropped the schizophrenic Su Weiran like a hot potato. I don't think she should have any second thoughts about that once violence entered the picture. The guy's normally low energy until he loses it. His paranoia about and obsession with Lu Jiming does beg the question of whether he, Su Weiran, was ever genuine about Ning Meng. He might have been and only because she reminds him of what he once was or what might have been. His judgment is far too clouded for him to be acting altruistically at this point as he gives off a rather self-centred vibe. Regardless of what happened to him and his former girlfriend, it's no excuse. And also one has a sneaking suspicion that she might have left him because she was becoming fearful of him. 

 

Lu Jiming finally hit rock bottom one disaster after another. It's tragic what happened to his father but I imagine the poor man was so ashamed of dragging his son into the fray that he just couldn't face the outcomes. Sadly he clung on to his pride to the bitter end and it's regrettable he never got the chance to change. His son, however, is much more fortunate. At least, Jiming knows that his father did love him and was proud of him -- some good acting from Lin Gengxin -- from the newspaper cuttings. 

 

The humiliation of Jiming was almost entirely about making him worthy of Ning Meng especially considering how the story began. There's an element of A Star is Born in this although thankfully it won't end the same way. I don't think too many would have rooted for them to be together after those early tantrum-throwing days. If there's anything unrealistic about this show it is Ning Meng's meteoric rise in the industry and the multiple promotions in such a short time. She's been incredibly lucky all round. Of course the levelling up here is about putting her on par with Lu Jiming and proving his early judgments wrong. I don't entirely object to this because it works to some extent as a character building exercise for him. He will be a better man for it. He's changed so much that he didn't even have the heart to ask her to join him in his new venture when he heard about her promotion. Time spent with future in-laws was fun and I had no idea that moon cakes were ever savoury. I've never had the privilege. 

 

Despite the fact that the leads aren't dating yet, they spend a lot of time together as friends and colleagues. For me their romance began a long time ago but it was a case of them coming to a place unencumbered by the baggage of the past -- whether it's past crushes or the way she left Joint Capital.

 

I guess I don't really care too much about You Qi although apparently her fate here is better than what it was in the novel. I never really liked her and I had problems with the way she treated He Yuelan although it's not an excuse for him to be two-timing. At least the experience has made her a wiser and more independent human being.

 

This is really one of good ones this year. Very impressed with the progression of the story so far. Looking forward to closing episodes. 

 

 

@OsmanthusTea I think you're too kind to Su Weiran. There's a darkness about him that I wouldn't wish on my enemies. He is mentally very unstable. Even Ning Meng's break-up words are too kind. It's not just a matter of trust. The guy needs help. 

[OsmanthusTea]

@40somethingahjumma

My opinion on SWR-NM only restricted to romance department…..😂 He does gives out darkness vibes. He is shady as hell. While HYL is a total 2 headed snake with a leery vibes. 
 

Btw, SWR actor played a mentally unstable BF with similar darkness in Dream Garden.

 

[themarchioness]

Since everyone's mentioning savory mooncakes, thought I'd share this here -- yes, it is a Suzhou thing! It's been on my list of "things to learn how to make" for a while. When I next have some spare time... ;)  

 

 

ETA: I assume that's the kind of mooncake y'all are referring to (there are so many kinds!). Whatever ep that has mooncakes in it won't be available until later today, here, so I've not yet watched it.

Edited May 17, 2022 by themarchioness

[OsmanthusTea]

Tiling The Great Wall.....

[NiteWalker]

20 hours ago, OsmanthusTea said:

@NiteWalker @IpohBanana

Both SWR and NM came clean about their past history to each other. NM initially reluctant to starts a relationship with SWR because of LJM but SWR said he doesn't mind  hence NM agreed.  IMO, both NM and SWR was in no fault in starting the relationship because dating is about knowing each other better. But SWR's bad anger management, insecurity and possessiveness are the main issues. Today the trigger is LJM, tomorrow will be another LJM and another LJM.

 

But NM is no pushover and the slap is the last straw. So everything is good.

 

thanks for the highlight dear lols....i know...however i saw there a flicker of guilt when the fight happen....

 

lets me rephrase then lols maybe because she had failed on it....and she fail at it because she couldnt let go of LJM.....

 

of course NM is no pushover....she show she stand her feet with LJM is a clap i gave her....even though LJM is all overbearing and everything however she still prove it to him that she can make it...there a steel of backbone in our girl

[IpohBanana]

@themarchioness yes, that's the mooncake we were referring to! Ok, so after you've watched it, you'll know. I think the bridges and waterways in her old hometown implied that it was either Suzhou or Hangzhou. Thanks for confirming it! I am just curious what salty mooncakes taste like... is it hard to make? The pastry is flaky though, not the usual soft doughy ones that accompany the sweet fillings.

[abs-oluteM]

Caught up to eps 27...the few before that was a bit of a zzz for me cause a lot of focus on NM's best friend's cheating boyfriend, and of course more of Wei Ran, which bores me. I was surprised that the bestie was not married to the guy. So she practically lived off him even though they were not officially married. Anyhow I am wondering if WR had anything to do with what is happening to LJM now.  

 

Funnily I felt  heartbroken for LJM when he had to dissolve his company -  even more so than when NM "rejected" him. Them reminiscing the past was a nice touch. LJM did a lot of things to protect NM in the 3 years she was his secretary.  I like this hug - she didn't push him away especially considering that she flinches each time WR touches her. 

 

And lemon made an appearance!

Spoiler

 

[SilverMoonTea]

 

[OsmanthusTea]

Attraction, confession, engagement, and bun in the oven. While LJM is

 

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

Am down to the last 3 episodes. Eps 28 and 29 was the turning point for a lot of things. But I was most happy that NM broke it off cleanly with WR. WR was a walking red flag from the get go,  something LJM had mentioned a long time ago. His insecurities, jealousy and sudden bursts of temper were pretty scary, and I am glad that NM got solid advice from her boss about letting go when something isn't suitable.

 

My favourite bit was when LJM followed her back to her hometown to see her parents. Her parents are wonderful and it definitely had a positive effect on LJM, giving him some encouragement to start over again.  I feel bad that JM lost everything but given his abilities and experience, it won't be farfetched to see him rise again in this industry - especially now that he has the most important person by his side.

It is amazing that I have been able to stay hooked on to this show - considering that the leads have yet to get together even after  90% of the episodes have aired.  So I am expecting to be rewarded with the happiest ending possible! 

[SilverMoonTea]

No wedding 😭😭😭 

 

1 hour ago, OsmanthusTea said:

Attraction, confession, engagement, and bun in the oven. While LJM is

 

Well at least he want to speed up become Mr Ning son in law .... 

 

@movingwheelLet's cry together.... why it's ended so soon 🥺 So he took his own sweet moment and take 1 year before confessing. But well at least they see each other at office (sit facing each other) and also a neighbour at home. So I can say close surveillance applied to make sure no one will get close to her 😅😆

[abs-oluteM]

Wahhhh I think this is the slowest slow burn romance I have seen in awhile. But yet it was lovely. My only complain is that we spent a tad bit too much time with WR , and the reveal of him being the big bad wolf.

 

Yes, LJM took his own sweet time @SilverMoonTea but then I get why he did. Regardless, the day NM quit Eagle Cap , and came back to help him start L&M, she was already his.

 

Sweet ending! And I laughed my head off when everyone was just waiting to see him make his move.

[movingwheel]

@themarchioness you need to tell us why does tan songyun keep slapping Lin gengxin in this video???? They have put subtitles but I don't understand head or tail of it.

 

 

@abs-oluteM @SilverMoonTea i am showing serious withdrawal symptoms....it will take me a while to come out.

[themarchioness]

5 minutes ago, movingwheel said:

@themarchioness you need to tell us why does tan songyun keep slapping Lin gengxin in this video???? They have put subtitles but I don't understand head or tail of it.

 

Was there more than one slap? I only noticed the one at the dinner table, but I also skimmed the video quickly because I'm at work.  :P  If there are others, let me know the time stamp and I'll look into it.

 

For the one at the dinner table, he's just teasing and being mischevious (per the written captions).  He leans over to check out her bowl and asks why she has a stone in it.  She slaps him and someone else tells him it's a ball (either a meatball or fish ball/shrimp ball/etc., you get the point, they don't specify what kind of flavor).

 

 

[movingwheel]

@themarchioness lol.... I will tomorrow morning.... I just reached home.... Need to have dinner and then sleep ..

 

I have never seen any male actor teasing tan songyun except Luo yunxi... And her responding to the teasing after liu haoran case ...it's a first time for me. They take care of her , but they never tease her. LGX is full on teasing. They did a livestream few days back...LGX told the MC to leave the live chat room because he wants to chat with songyun ....lol...he kept keeping phone upside down sometimes then in the middle of love stream he went to washroom....kept complaining during whole livestream that how he does not have enough money to recharge hos mobile data...he was hilarious...TSY was laughing... She just divulged one info that LGX went to Wang Kai drama with her - flight to you set and treated everyone with amazing food. I am not getting enough of them.

[themarchioness]

14 hours ago, IpohBanana said:

@themarchioness yes, that's the mooncake we were referring to! Ok, so after you've watched it, you'll know. I think the bridges and waterways in her old hometown implied that it was either Suzhou or Hangzhou. Thanks for confirming it! I am just curious what salty mooncakes taste like... is it hard to make? The pastry is flaky though, not the usual soft doughy ones that accompany the sweet fillings.

 

I love how the episode highlighted various treats from that region. Like Dingsheng cake, rice cake with osmanthus flower, and sweet rice wine.  And of course the mooncakes!  I've never had it so I can't really say how it tastes, but given how it's made with the meatball inside, I'm assuming it tastes similar to a baozi, except with a flaky pastry outer layer that's baked versus a steamed breaded outer layer. I think it'd be delicious!  

 

The flaky layer is made by wrapping an outer dough that's mixed/made with water around an inner dough that's mixed/made with oil.  You then have to fold the dough and roll it out in a specific way to produce the inner layers.  (I've done a lot of YouTube video studying, haha!)  There are other desserts that have a similar flaky outer layer, like suncake, and even though when people think of mooncakes they mostly think of the kinds that look like these, mooncakes come in a lot of different varieties - for example, mung bean mooncakes can come with a flaky outer layer and can also be made with pork floss wrapped in mung bean paste before being wrapped in a pastry layer - and so, based on all those things, I can imagine what this Suzhou style mooncake would taste like. 

 

Like I mentioned above, it's something I've been interested in learning how to make and after this episode, I'm even more committed to that.  

[OsmanthusTea]

In Indonesia in Borneo to be exact, we do have something super similar to savory mooncake in MOMO but we don't called it mooncake. It's called pia or 饼. It's flaky on the outside with minced pork as filling, similar to baozi filling, the pastry contained lots of pork lard. The flaky layer is similar to croissant. Majority of Chinese in Borneo are Hakka and Teochew though.

[40somethingahjumma]

Overall this was a good drama with a great deal of consistency across the board. The ending seemed appropriate and even amusing as Lu Jiming was stewing in frustration as one couple after another made their announcements while he was prevented from making his own confession. Just when you think that couldn't be any other way to say, "let's get married", well... he comes up with "I want to be Old Ning's son-in-law". LOL. Look, it was just a matter of time and everyone knew that these two were meant to be anyhow. 

 

The last episode was brimming with plenty of feel good moments and trotted them out at a leisurely pace. I liked the first anniversary party and it was an appropriate time for everyone to move on to a different stage in their lives now that L & M was running like a well-oiled machine. It was also a good excuse to bring all the key players together like a curtain call. There's a fairytale like feel where everyone gets their just desserts. I suppose an argument can be made that Su Weiran got off lightly but since I don't know what punishment he was given, it's hard to say. My problem with him is that until Ning Meng told him that he had to start taking responsibility for his own actions, he was still fantasizing about being with her and blaming external forces for keeping them apart. He somehow was still thinking that if she had been around sooner, things would have been different. She was right to put a kibosh on that straightaway. It disturbs me still that Su Weiran didn't get help for his mood swings etc. 

 

One of the more fascinating aspects of the show was how the two male leads were set up. Both experienced set-backs, rejection and adversity. Yet they handled them differently. When Su Weiran won the investor of the year award he asked Lu Jiming if he'd ever experienced hard times or lost anything, I thought that was pretty ironic coming from him and seeing that Lu Jiming had recently lost everything including a loved one because of what Su Weiran did. The guy didn't seem to have any self-awareness. His whole law of the jungle philosophy was formed because he lost his former girlfriend to a second gen rich guy. The telling thing is that he didn't blame her which he should have but blamed the rich guy Jason completely. Apportioning blame correctly is important because he thought that wealth was the sole reason why he lost his girlfriend rather than her lack of commitment to him. This deluded him into thinking that accumulating wealth was the key to happiness. 

 

Lu Jiming's growth trajectory is one of my favourites for a male lead in these sorts of CEO stories. His story will end up being the most memorable part of the show for me.

 

 

@themarchionessI think I've had something similar in the yum cha restaurants here. It's baked rather than steamed and they call it char siu sou instead of char siu bao. It has a flaky pastry to it too.

Edited May 19, 2022 by 40somethingahjumma

[OsmanthusTea]

This is a well written, simple, realistic  and straightforward drama without some "mandatory" stupid tropes of romcom. Everything tied up neatly in a bow at the end. I just realised that both the writer, director and producer are women.

 

One of the most satisfying outcome for me is how HYL is wearing a green hat..... and his ex GF is so kind in not telling him the truth about his child...

 

 

Add.

 

 

LGX's kissing skill has not improves yet....

Edited May 19, 2022 by OsmanthusTea