Lost Romance (2020) – Episode 4 Recap & Review

Chapter 4

Episode 4 of Lost Romance returns to Xiao’En and Chuchu’s girlie lunch where Chuchu is still talking about her lacking abilities and notes she’ll take online classes to improve. Xiao’En factors this into the Chuchu heroine profile and guesses more details about her. Chuchu shares her sob story and thanks Xiao’En for her encouragement.

Xiao’En concludes that she really is the pure-of-heart ‘white lotus’ character and struggles to not root for her. But in the end decides she’d better cheer for herself, especially since she’d managed to wrangle the CEO 3D theme park experience ticket. But how can she get a better seat?

She thinks through the odds of an ordinary woman becoming a rich CEO’s wife and decides one is more likely to pass the Imperial exam, which averages about 100 people per year over the last 267 years. She imagines herself being interviewed by Aoran Imperial-style but then envisions Chuchu coming in to swipe the prize.

She’s lying on the office floor bemoaning that she can’t compare when Qingfeng enters and grabs her sticky note highlights. He questions her on the bullets, noting that she’s the third wheel and should instead get to work during working hours.

She suddenly realizes that it’s not that she’s a third wheel, but that she’s missing a fourth – ah-ha: Qingfeng. Now she needs to create a ‘chance encounter’ meeting with Chuchu – she searches ‘top 10 chance encounters.’ Then helps Qingfeng and Chuchu get stuck in the elevator together.

Qingfeng comforts a frightened Chuchu and she offers to make him a scented wax tablet. As they chat, Qingfeng realises it’s a prank courtesy of Xiao-En. He asks Chuchu if her team bullies her and she denies it. He promises to help if she’s troubled again, saying the company focuses on fairness.

At security, Aoran watches footage of Xiao’En carrying out the elevator incident. She fails to come up with a reasonable excuse and he fires her. As she packs her desk, Qingfeng tries to intervene, but Aoran won’t have it. Xiao’En ‘confesses’ to all the things Aoran thinks she’s done to Chuchu and exits angrily.

As Xiao’En laments her troubles, Qingfeng follows offering to explain on her behalf. She points out that the reasonable Aoran he knows is the normal CEO, not the in-love CEO. And that Aoran may not like hearing that she was matching up Chuchu with Qingfeng. She talks of similar romance plots and results.

Switching back to her own plight, she thinks of all the things they don’t have in the romance world, imagining opening a business. Qingfeng offers her a job fixing toilets and sends her to an address that includes room and board with a blithe ‘Don’t thank me too much.’ 

In the real world, someone is following Shanna. As her handbag is stolen, her associate Jason intervenes. She checks to find that something is missing from her bag – something that confirms who’s followed her. Cut to Mingli who opens an envelope to find only an ad for apartment buildings. Insert scary face emoji here.

Xiao’En arrives with her suitcase to her new place of work, still grumbling about Aoran. And who should open the door? You guessed it. A still angry CEO. She pushes her way into the house. Aoran calls Qingfeng to complain as Xiao’En pictures herself as the lead in an overbearing housekeeper and handsome CEO novel. 

Aoran tells Qingfeng to come and take her away but is told she can also change lightbulbs. Hearing this, Xiao’En imagines herself in ‘CEO’S Sweetheart Electrician’ – a novel her real-world company released the previous month. Qingfeng reminds Aoran that it’s safer to keep the enemy under his control. Now that lights a bulb.

After she easily fixes the loo, he tells her the meticulous house rules she’ll need to follow to remain. His most important rule is to never turn out the lights. She guesses he’s afraid of the dark but he corrects that he just doesn’t like it. She ponders that it’s his overbearing CEO weakness, following script.

Aoran shows her to her room and she’s filled with delight, immediately jumping and rolling around on the bed. He’s looking at her like she’s insane as she quotes CEO lines from a collection of novels. He’s already regretting agreeing to the arrangement.

Later, thanking Qingfeng she dubs him her Supreme Master with a place as special in her heart as popcorn chicken. He doesn’t know what that is but hopes she and Aoran can resolve their misunderstanding. Xiao’En offers to help Qingfeng pursue the white lotus in return.

As she rings off, thinking that she wants to cheer on Qingfeng in his pursuit, she suddenly recalls her suitcase was left in Aoran’s room. She reluctantly heads upstairs to retrieve it, but as she doesn’t see him, explores a little, thinking it’s like Disneyland. As she grabs her case, she hears the shower start. Oh, dear. She can’t resist taking a peek – cue the cheetah description.

Uh-oh – he catches her! He scolds her and says he wants to see her phone but she claims she’s not the kind of person to take photos. He reminds her she is the type of person to spy on someone’s shower. Tough to combat that one.

Back on defense, she claims she’s shameless because she doesn’t have parents. Then tries to turn it around on him, blaming him for being so perfect she couldn’t resist. She claims if he were less attractive, she wouldn’t take a single look. Feeling a little confused he tells her not to do it again and exits.

As she unpacks, Xiao’En wonders whether she’s really been forgiven. In his room, Aoran ponders the conversation, checking out the mirror. He concludes that it’s not his fault, but that of his parents.

Xiao’En re-lives the shower scene and is quite pleased to have landed in the overbearing CEO’s house. She decides she must win and make him fall in love with her.

Grocery shopping the next morning, Xiao’En wonders how to capture his stomach as well as his heart. She thinks back to his kitchen rules and fridge devoid of all but bottled water, concluding he likely doesn’t eat breakfast. She decides to go new age and cook what she likes instead.

Creating a spread for herself, she sets the table as Aoran shows up. As she’s blabbering about how she’ll clean up afterwards, he sits to eat the perfectly laid out breakfast. Traumatized to lose her repast, she’s equally upset that he’s not shown her food enough respect after she’d put so much love into making it.

At the office, Qingfeng comments that Aoran is in a good mood. Aoran attributes it to having his enemy under surveillance. Qingfeng wonders aloud if Xiao’En is still alive and if torturing her was what has put the smile on Aoran’s face. Then Chuchu shows up, tripping and falling straight into Aoran’s arms. They need to consider using less floor wax.

Qiutian wonders how an employee who can’t walk properly can get hired there, saying they should have a physical exam. All the female employees chime in. Chuchu offers Aoran a box of homemade cookies to replace the others that Xiao’En had eaten. He accepts, upsetting all the ladies.

In the office, Susan and Qiutian hear that Xiao’En has been fired. They believe Chuchu is the reason and worry they’ll be next if they cross her.

At home, Xiao’En grieves for her lost breakfast as she cleans. Making ramen for lunch, she claims whoever treats her to a good meal will be her father. The phone rings and she shouts, ‘Dad!’ Is that something like calling Uncle?


The Episode Review

Another fun episode of Lost Romance as Xiao’En gets fired then rehired as Aoran’s housekeeper, giving her even more access to her overbearing CEO.

Once your heart has recovered from the shower scene did you wonder how the plot turned out like this? Exactly the point – only in a romance novel could the pieces fall together as such. If you’re unsure, please review Mills and Boon, Harlequin Romance or any number of K-dramas for reference.

Beyond the perfect silliness, all the sarcastic things you or your acerbic friend ever thought about other women (on your worst day) are encapsulated in this drama. You don’t need to speak Chinese to catch on and luckily the translations are sharp, giving a real snap to the dialogue.

The push-pull is engaging and Xiao’En nails it on the head, noting it’s not so much that she likes Aoran but more that he’s her goal. It will certainly be a challenge to break the link with the perfect Chuchu as well as find a place in his heart herself. But how does one win a novel? And if she manages to capture his attention, will this be what her heart wants? And if it is, how long can it last? Maybe in a novel – ever after.

Even though Aoran is certainly overbearing, I feel for the guy as he’s tossed about yet still believing he’s in perfect control. We haven’t seen much depth in him yet, but now that we’re all inside his home, there’s a chance to get a glimpse of his character, beyond the physical and work-oriented.

Unlike his counterpoint Tianxing, in this chapter Aoran is still an image on paper. When we do get to know him, will he be all Xiao’En imagines?

If you’re curious about the scented wax tablet, it’s like a less messy potpourri sachet that’s hung in closets, placed in drawers and if you’re Chuchu, worn about the neck. Possibly to protect from vampires or whatever might attack hapless white lotuses, should she fall into a different novel. The scent lasts about a year, so really, not a bad idea. In this chapter, hers is coming up roses. 

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  • Episode Rating
    (4.5)
4.5

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