Released in : 2002
Cast (will change the names to hanyu pinyin as i go along) :
Gallen Lo – Ding Shanben Ivan
Jessica Hester Hsuen – Tianlan aka Rachel
Raymond Lam – Oscar Ding
Myolie Wu – Ting Yinyin
Deric Wan – Zhong Shoukang
Gigi Wong Sook Yee – Mrs Ting
Chan Pui – Ting Rongbang
Anne Heung – Sabrina Kwai Lau
FuMichelle Yip – Xiaoyu
Sek Sau – Hung Pak Tou
Tavia Yeung – Kiko
Chan Kwok Pong – Kai Kai
Lok Ying Kwan – Ting Wing Tong (2nd Uncle)
Lau Dan – father of Kiko
Cheng Chi Seng – fiance of Rachel
Ai Wai – Jack Chiu
Episode 1 – 3
The story starts off in Australia. Shanben and Tianlan meet at the airport. Tianlan is on her way to visit her boyfriend, Chi Seng. Coincidentally, Shanben is also on his way to meet Chi Seng, but for business.
Unknown to Tianlan, Chi Seng is actually a homosexual and he has decided to dump Tianlan for his boyfriend, Kim. Chi Seng’s aunt tries very hard to dissuade Chi Seng from dumping Tianlan but fails. Heartbroken and shocked by the news, Tianlan takes a walk at a goldmine and wanders into this abandoned mine.Chi Seng doesn’t dare to follow her ‘cos she said she wanted some space so he asks Shanben to go after Tianlan instead.
Shanben follows Tianlan into the abandoned mine and a partial collapse of the mine causes them both to be trapped. Sparks develop and after they are rescued, we can see that both leads are keen on finding out more about the other.
The next day however, Shanben rushes back to Hong Kong w/o informing Tianlan and she is disappointed about his abrupt departure.Shanben was actually called back to Hongkong by his father’s assistant. Shanben’s father, Ding Rongbang used to be a smuggler. One of his old partners in crime, Chai, recently commited a spate of robberies. With the police hot on his heels, he had no choice but to find a way to leave HK. As he couldn’t raise enough cash to flee the country, he approached Ding Rongbang for help.
After a tough negotiation, Ding Rongbang decides to give in to his request ‘cos Chai once saved his life many years ago.A few days later, while Ding Rongbang was at the hospital for a medical checkup, Chai calls his mobile phone repeatedly. The phone is eventually answered by Shanben who decides to pass the HKD 5mil to Chai on his father’s behalf. Unfortunately, there is an undercover police, Zhong Shoukang among Chai’s men. After Shanben passes the money to Chai, the latter insists that Shanben accepts the loot in exchange for the money. Shanben refuses to take the money but Chai just dumps the bag of loot into the back of Shanben’s car (lesson to learn – don’t drive to any negotiations with the top of your convertible down).
The minute Chai throws the bag of money into Shanben’s car, Shoukang and a team of police close in to arrest them. Shanben is charged with buying stolen goods. The public prosecutor turns out to be Tianlan. She goes all out to nail him. Shanben’s lawyer manages to produce many character witnesses to testify that Shanben is a filial son and that it is his nature to return any kindness that was done for his family.
Ding Rongbang is also called to the witness stand and he confesses that many years ago, he used to be a smuggler. During a police raid, Chai once took a bullet for him and because of that, he wanted to repay his indebtedness to Chai. He testifies that his son is an innocent party.The jury rules that Shanben is innocent and he is acquitted.
His father’s testimony causes a huge furore and the press hounds the family relentlessly. At a charity auction soon after, Ding Feng Hang (the jewellery arm of the Ding family biz) is forced to withdraw from the auction because of dissent by a fellow jewellery, Xiong.We also learn that the top jewellery designer from Ding Feng Hang, Sabrina, used to work for Xiong, and was his mistress. Sabrina shows signs of liking Shanben.. but yet she’s also uncomfortable when she sees Xiong and his wife. Some people misunderstand that Shanben & Sabrina have a thing going but Shanben has made up his mind to woo Tianlan.
On her way to work one day, Tianlan sees a policewoman, Xiaoyu chasing a thief and she stops her car to give chase as well. We find out later that the policewoman is really Tianlan’s younger sister.
Personal Comments for Epi 1-3
Oh… that was a handful to type. I’m not a very good storyteller so i’m just listing down the main points as i remember them. It may not be in the same order as what was shown on TV ‘cos I wanted to make it flow as much as possible… and i’m still struggling with how much info to give, and how much petty detail can be done away with.
Do check out the TVB website for further information okie? 🙂
Gave up on this serial ‘cos my mom taped tons of stuff for me and i dun have time for them all. Sigh!