I binge-watched this C-drama over the weekend.
Image from the wiki page
To take a break from the non-stop action in the xianxia stories I am following, I clicked around and discovered the works of Gu Man. Come & Eat, Shan Shan is a quick 2-3 hour read as a highly enjoyable modern romance, and I was thrilled to discover there is a C-drama of it.
The C-drama Boss & Me expands on the novel, and they adapted most of the memorable parts. It's modern Cinderella with a typical cold over-powered male lead and an adorable female lead. Released in 2014, and very popular, there are a few favourable reviews online. I love the main characters and the levity of the plot, they kept the comic elements so there are many scenes to chuckle over.
The story and drama plays a lot with the word 'eat ' and some food terms, so let's talk about it.
Male lead character, Feng Teng, is said by another character as being 'on top of the food chain'.
The female lead character is Xue Shan Shan. She loves to eat. When someone asked Feng Teng in the drama why he likes Shan Shan, he replied that she loves to eat. Actually, in the novel, he said she is 'easy to eat', which is interesting. In Chinese, to eat someone is to get the better of them, to take advantage, to get the desired result, to cheat, you get the idea? She is a simple person unlike the devious and over-ambitious types that he sees at work and socially.
Shan Shan came to Feng Teng's notice because she had the same rare blood type as his own sister, and donated some to the sister during an emergency. To give thanks, the sister sent Shan Shan packed lunches to fortify her. Every day, the lunch box will include stir-fried pork liver. Shan Shan enjoyed the pork liver the first time, but was pretty sick of it after a few weeks. Her colleagues gossiped that she is receiving special treatment and is favoured by the boss, Shan Shan sighs and says if only it is true, then she should be getting foie gras instead!
In the novel, to eat is also an euphimism for having sex. It's not in the drama, but in the novel we read about them 'eating' too. What's the book title again?
