Title: At Home With Love (Lau Ju Yau Ching Yan)
Casts: Lawrence Ng, Yoyo Mung, Chung King Fai, Raymond Cho, etc.
Length: 20 episodes (Cantonese) // 15 tapes (Vietnamese)
Release Date: October 2006 (Canto) // December 2006 (Viet)
Genre: Modern Drama/Romance

Synopsis:

A mansion is easily acquired
A lover is difficult to pursue

Chung Chi Leung (Lawrence Ng Kai Wah) and Tsui Ji Ling (Yoyo Mung Ka Wai) become lovers because of Leung’s father, Chung Bong (Chung King Fai). After Bong retires, he hands his real estate company to Leung. Originally, Ling is Bong’s good friend and he introduces her to be Leung’s broker. After awhile, she becomes Leung’s girlfriend.

The relationship between Bong and Leung has never been good. In the mainland, Bong has a girlfriend. This causes the two to enter a “cold war.” Luckily, Ling is there to mediate between them. Just that later, Ling changes and values money above all else. She even leaves the real estate company for money, leaving Leung to face the work alone…

Synopsis Translations credits to: MetalAZNWarrior from TVBMusing

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Adjustments to the synopsis given by TVB:

At the beginning of the series, Bong (Chung King Fai) has already retired. Lawrence and Yoyo don’t become lovers because of Chung King Fai, they fell in love with each other naturally. Bong and Leung’s relationship were pretty good, but its because of Leung’s overly concern for his father, and his father thinking his son doesn’t trust him that leads them to enter the “cold war”. Bong met the lady in Hong Kong but went with her to mainland, and she soon became his girlfriend.
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I quite enjoyed this series ^^ even though my first impression of it was so-so. The poster looked bland as well, and the cast doesn’t look that appealing to me very much. It was a neat little modern day story with romance based around the real estate industry. I don’t think its that cliche, and did have some different ideas and parts I didn’t expect =) As always, watching character development and relationship build is what I really like, and it does happen in this series~

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Entries– episode synopsis, thoughts (contains spoilers):

Thoughts before watching

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13
Episode 14
Episode 15
Episode 16
Episode 17
Episode 18
Episode 19
Episode 20- Final

Extras:

Music Video Screencaptures
Little Ling
Characters/Casts

Warning: Ending Spoiler!! [All my posts contain spoilers, but this is the ending, so an extra warning message ^__^]

I really enjoyed the last episode and the story overall because it had a good ending ^^

The Business, the CEO, the bet

The CEO of the other company went to find Lawrence and his father and tries to convince them that it was best for [Trustworthy Property] to be sold. He tells them that he has nothing against the company but wants them to see society is changing, and same with the industry. Maybe this time, is the time for the company to come to an end. It does appear that he’s not really a bad guy. Lawrence rejects his offer once again but the words have left Lawrence’s father thinking. Lawrence’s father was saying that perhaps the CEO guy was right, because being a real estate agent has been so different now to when he first started the career. Lawrence kept insisting that they can make it through, so Lawrence’s father makes a bet with Lawrence, saying that if [Trustworthy Property] can’t sell more than 10 in the one week, they will shutdown the company.
Lawrence and Yoyo

When Lawrence goes home, he finds Yoyo at his place who has prepared him dinner. it was quite unexpecting since they did break up.. The two were getting along very well (it looked like they were going out again) and Yoyo tells him that in a week’s time, she’ll have to go to Shanghai (work sent her there) and tells him that she knows for this coming week it will be tough and she wants to be there for him ^^ She tells him that she wants to be his girlfriend again, just for the week and he happily agrees. She’ll be preparing dinner for him every night.. ^^how cute lol.. looks like everything is fine between them again, but the voice-over-narrator(being Lawrence’s father) says that on the outside, everyone thinks the two have gone back together, but he knows both of them are still unhappy inside ..not sure why they would be unhappy though..was it because of the current situation about the business? Either way, I was just happy to see the two being together again, even though its for a short while.

The Battle continues

Things still aren’t going very well…for the 4 days that has passed, they only got 4. In one instance from the crowd of people and all the pushing and shoving, Lawrence and his father couldn’t get through and Lawrence’s heart problem started reoccurring again X.x They sent him to hospital and the doctor said he’ll need to do another operation again =( ; but the doctor has confidence that the operation would be successful. Another one down..and they only have 3 days left, in which the last 3 days, Lawrence would not be able to help out..

The Hospital Scene

At the hopspital, Yoyo was with Lawrence; she was frowning the whole time. Lawrence asked whether she was worried, and she said she was, and in return he was smiling back and comforting her saying it’ll be fine. She tells him continue to rest more etc asking him whether he rememebers what’s the 7th rule he said he’ll obey when they were going out. ‘Listen to everything you say’ Yoyo was saying how she is still her girlfriend so he must listen to her XD Lawrence asks Yoyo to marry him one of those moments I’ve been waiting for..awww… lol The convo was something like this (not 100% correct)

L: “Ling, marry me”
Y: “‘ok, but I’m not having kids’
L: ‘But I’m afraid my father would want that’
Y: “mm..at least 5 years”
L:”Come on, 3 years”
Y: “ok, let’s comprise, 4 years”
They are so cute…XD of course was hoping they were being serious, somethimes it makes me wonder what they are thinking =x Why can’t they just make up?Their happy convo ends when Yoyo leaves and as she is walking away, she looks sad again..I wonder whether she’s still worried about Lawrence…or?
The Decision

The workers at [Trustworthy Proeprty] is starting to lose hope, they only have 3 days left, and two out of the four they got were by Lawrence and he’s in hospital now. Yoyo comes back to help and the encouragement and spirit continues. While out working to sell the building, Raymond comes along with his bunch and starts insulting and making fun of them, saying mean stuff about the little they are getting etc, and snatching their customers..Ben and Carlo were getting angry, but Yoyo tried to calm them down, saying they must ignore him, but they couldn’t stand it and the 2 guys ended up causing a fight and making a scene. The head of the business who owns that block of land was speaking to Lawrence’s father and Raymond, taking about the fight they had in public. He refused to let [Trustworthy Property] sell their land anymore because they started the fight. Eventually, with Lawrence’s father begging him to give them a chance to let them dothe final day (one day left), they allowed them. Things were going so bad..and out of the meeting, Raymond continued to say mean things, and mentioned Lawrence dying etc. At this moment, one of the high ranked guy of the new land heard (he was a good friend of Lawrence’s father) and was angry at his words (he treats Lawrence’s son as his own) so he didn’t allow Raymond to sell at this region again. whoopy ^^ That old guy is cool lol Btw, this is not the first episode he appeared ^^; After seeing that its only cause pain for everyone, the agents getting in a fight because of the company, seeing his 3 old buddies trying to help by handing out advertisements, seeing his son in hospital, and not seeing any miracles that can occur, Lawrence’s father decides to give up, not even letting the other agents battle til then end T_T It was a sad scene where he was yelling at the agents and telling them to go away, saying that [Trustworthy Property] will be closing and that everything they did is useless etc Seeing Natalie and the other lady cry was sad..and sorta touching to see how much the agents tried to convince Lawrence’s father to change his mind..you could tell they had been with the company through all this time they didn’t want to let it die. The way the four of them were outside the company made it feel like they were kicked out of their own homes..so sad..seemed like there were homeless..
The Final Day

Yoyo and Lawrence’s father were at the hospital watching Lawrence go in to do his operation and offering words of comfort about the business. On the other hand,th4 agents went back to the scene with the new building, wondering if they should continue to work for the last day.. Nancy and the rich guy came along, everyone was crowding over to try to sell to them, but they told them to go away, and that they are only looking for [Trustworthy Property]!!! ^__^ They were willing to invest and help them buy lots ^^ The rich guy is sure nice lol ^^ For once he looks genuinely nice Then a lot of other customers came saying the same thing about only wanting to find [Trustworthy Property]!!! =D The miracle did occur, they were able to make 28 in the last day ^^

Narrator (Lawrence’s father)’s telling of the ending

This part was a bit weird, and a bit rushed..

Lawrence did eventually come out of hospital after the successful operation. The company has made a break through, and Trustworthy property is now well established with lots of customers. Everyone is happy again, Ben treated his wife a lot better now that she is pregnant they look a bit old to have kids in my opinion but anyways lol Lawrence’s father eventually died a month later because of some brain cancer (?) Weird thing was that he was narrating about his own death o.0?. Dr. Hong didn’t cry when he left, but regularly came down to his house to keep it tidy and maintain it. Everything was kept the way it was You can see the photos, a lot of them were the family of the four of them ^^ Lawrence, his father, Dr,Hong and her son. He also said that when Yoyo and Lawrence were with him just before he left (in hospital) the two didn’t say anything, they stood and cried, but he really wanted to talk to them, but couldn’t so sad they had to make him die….=( The only regret he had before he died was not being able to see Lawrence and Yoyo get back together. Yoyo did evenutally go and work elsewhere and the two didn’t keep in touch…but he belives that their relationship will not end just there ^^
Last moments

Lawrence bumps into Raymond and it appears that Raymond has changed a lot since they last met And I mean a lot! lol you can tell just from his voice, there’s not longer the fake sarcasm or tone that makes him seem like he’s really happy in every situtation Its his real self, one that doesn’t exaggerate. After having shifted away to another division, Raymond hasn’t been back for awhile. He tells Lawrence that Lawrence’s father actually went to see him before he left and after the talk they had, Raymond really learn something and it was the true happiness and satisfaction for helping people find the house that suited them best. ^^ The two are really good friends now..and Lawrence’s father must be proud to see his two followers are continuing carrying forward what he couldn’t finish..

One day when Lawrence was taking the dog for a walk, it suddenly ran off, and Lawrence started chasing it. It ended up running to Yoyo ^^ The two finally meet after not sure how many years of separation. She tells him that she’s here for a short trip and will be going soon. Hopefully the next time she gets to stay here longer, she’ll go and visit [Trustworthy Property]. She also told him to look after the dog more carefully lol As she was about to leave, lawrence calls after her and asks whether they can have a drink. She accepts, and the two walk off happily together with their doggy^^

Personally I think the two will end up together again ^^ You just know after watching that scene…The two have an interesting relationship..All goes well for everything and everyone..only sad thing is Lawrence’s father, how he had to die..but it wasn’t sudden and we were given hints through the last episodes where his head started hurting so I don’t think it was random..Looking at the photos of the four of them (Dr.Hong, son etc) made it all very comforting ~ I feel happy for Raymond’s character too, because he finally found wheere his true happiness was.. ^^ Yoyo’s father has also changed, and is now working hard as a cook to hopefully be a better father and better husband, they are one happy family now ^^

Another great episode ^^

It was sad to see Lawrence and Yoyo break up..but they didn’t break up arguing, it was rather like sitting down and Lawrence quietly talking to her, saying he can’t be with someone who has betrayed [Trustworthy Property] because it means everything to him and his father. Perhaps it was the best for both of them to separete.. It looked like Yoyo was trying to explain, but she didn’t end up saying much. She listened to what Lawrence had to say. Its a peaceful sorta breaking up which makes me feel its such a shame, they both had tears in their eyes.. because they both still love each other..

When Yoyo leaves she sees Lawrence’s father and he asks her what was wrong, “did you have an argument with him? Was it because you went to work for the other company? “etc She didn’t say much but just shook her head, but she eventually told him that they broke up, saying that Lawrence didn’t do anything wrong; that he is right.. everything that she has done has been wrong…she’s been wrong forcing her brother to study overseas..she’s been wrong at the start to work at as an real estate agent.. aww..feel sorry for her =x

When she goes home, she tells her brother that he can do whatever he likes and then goes back in her room and starts crying..

The next day, she quits her job. She decided that she doesn’t want to work as a real estate agent anymore. When Rayjmond tried to convince her to stay, trying to act all friendly again, she yells back at him..haha…go Yoyo! Was it her first time? XD it was funny, the other works were all looking at them..he deserves it xD I was sorta surprised Yoyo quit her job..and I guess that makes her a much more likable person..if she still stayed then =x Yoyo quitting is not necessarily a bad thing I suppose. Just feels its a shame since she could be working with Lawrence again.. Looks like things have reverted back to episode 1, where Yoyo is working as a sale staff again at the cosmetic store with Halina. Except this Yoyo has changed, I think she has become to be a more understanding person.. LAwrence has also started working again at [Trustworthy Property] after resting after he came out of hospital. Looking at the company, with everyone there reminds me of when they first started out in episode 1 too. Except, like Yoyo, Lawrence’s character has changed to be a nicer person. His relationship with his father has been better than ever, he fully supports his father and Dr. Hong and has learned to balance his life, rather than only focusing on work and money. He really has changed ^^

There was one scene where Yoyo and Lawrence met after they broke up, and it was at the lifts, both caring about the other, Yoyo asking about him about the company, while he was saying he heard that she has gone back to selling cosmetics..at this point, I wished he asked her to come back and work for them, but he didn’t.

A new opportunity has risen for the Real Estates..a large company has a large block of land, with about 300 appartments to sell. This offers an opportunity for [Trustworthy Property] to try get customers and make break through, but it will not be easy as the other 2 large companies are also interested in the land. They will also be competiting, one is the one Raymond works for, and another which hasn’t been mentioned before. Each of those companies have about 100 agents 0__0 while they have..like 6 +__+ The CEO of Raymond’s company is saying they must get at least 76% of it; he even sent over another 200 agents from other cities to come help. Its gonna be a tough challenge…but despite this, they believe its not impossible as long as they have the will ~ hope to use strategy..

It was like..woah…so much people!! XD The first day went by. The other two companies got 19, and 20 something, while they couldn’t get any. They have 6 days left..

We’ll have to see if they can make it through…tomorrow’s last episode!! So excited..
*Another funny part: When the real estate agents from the 3 different companies were attending an meeting about the large company’s building, while Raymond was in the toilet, Ben and Carlo poureddetergent water all over him, causing him to be soaking wet in the meeting lol He so deserved that! XD

Next series coming up after [At Home with Love]:

[Glittering Days 東方之珠]

My first impression was +___+; The time period .. I don’t like the time period XD I also saw their performance in the TVB 39th Lighting Ceremony…I didn’t like their hair..and way they dressed.Since it is an anniversary series, I’m hoping it would be really good^^; I’m probably gonna watch it, but I probably won’t have time to blog about it though =\

Land of Wealth is also ending, next showing : To Grow with Love

I was really looking forward to see this series lol All the fuss about Myolie getting chubby and all, is for this! ^^ I’m probably gonna< have to delay watching this, since I'll be busy for the next few weeks.. still makes me wonder how she can lose so much weight in such a small period of time…

Other series currently showing:

Welcome to the House

I don’t think I’ll gonna watch this…because the cast isn’t all that appealing, and the fact that it has 100 episodes + (well, probably only 50 cause it only goes for 1/2hr but anyways lol) I’ll probably hop in and out of this series..see if it brings me any laughs. I think its
comedy (maybe perhaps trying to be like Virtues of Harmony?) ahah…VOH is a funny one to watch~

I’d love to watch more TVB Series ^^ but I guess it has to wait until my exams are over.

2 more episodes to go…

Lawrence’s father told Yoyo not to tell Lawrence that she has left, until he gets better…I feel so sorry for Lawrence, knowing Yoyo is lying to him..and that he will soon find out… as expected, he did find out on the day he was able to leave the hospital when he took Yoyo’s coat and all her business cards fell out of her pocket…

He confronted her once they got back home, and Yoyo kept denying that she was betraying them, but she is doing it for the money to repay debt and fund her brother to study overseas in a years time. Lawrence said he’ll try figure something  about the money problem, and that her brother isn’t going overseas until a years’ time. But no matter how many times Lawrence told her to quit her job and come back, she refused, saying he was being unreasonable…aiya… and that he’s just angry now..If I was him, I wouldn’t be able to accept that fact either…Yoyo said it was best to give them both time to think about it..

This episode made me wonder whether what Yoyo was doing was right…or not. I’ve been leaning against her being wrong, in that she has betrayed Lawrence and went to work for the other one because of money. *sigh* But the word ‘betray’ doesn’t seem to exactly describe the situation though, because she still wants [Trustworthy Property] to do good. But then again, same goes with the other agents who quit [Trustworthy Property] and I still reckon its called betrayal. I do feel sorry for her at times though, because she tried to help Ben and Carlo when they asked her to give some of the other blocks of land to them, but Raymond found out, and it seemed like Yoyo was the one who deliberately stuffed them up.

One part I found very unreasonable was when Yoyo’s brother told her that he didn’t want to go and study overseas and she fully forced him to…things like that annoys me. Happens all the time, they say they are doing it for the best of the other’s future, despite whether they want to or not..if it wasn’t for the money for her brother, she wouldn’t have to have gone over to the competitors…seems like she’s being so selfish..

I think Lawrence’s character is a very likeable. He seems to be getting along with Dr. Hong and her son very well now, and even let her son come over to his place to play with his dog and play video games together, having their little convos about their parents..asking the boy if he minded his mother going out with such an old man. He said he doesn’t mind because he really cares them etc. He hasn’t seen his mother this happy before, and as long as they love each other, he’s happy for them. I think Lawrence has come to realise, the boy being so young has understood something he didn’t =)

Lawrence eventually heard from the others Yoyo was deliberately stuffing up [Trustworthy Property]. Nancy was saying she won’t believe Yoyo would do such a thing, but the rich guy kept telling him to dump her.

 At the end of the episode,  Lawrence told Yoyo he wanted to break up with her…  T_T

This episode was neat..

Yoyo finds out that her mother has let Raymond repay all her father’s debt ..geez…how annoying are her parents? ? She doesn’t seem to care at all  ??!!  Yoyo ends up going to Raymond’s place telling him she’ll pay him back because she doesn’t want his money It was so obvious he was doing it to get Yoyo to work for him >< At first, Yoyo was staying firm on her position saying she’ll never betray [Trustworthy Property] and leave, but the more Raymond talked about money, her low income, how she doesn’t have enough money for her brother to study overseas etc ..you can see Yoyo is slowly convinced and considers it…. >< arh…
Lawrence and his father’s relationship mended back together ^^ better than ever (I don’t think they will have any more arguments for the remaining of the series) At first, Lawrence’s father kept saying what he did was right, and that he didn’t do anything wrong while Lawrence was very upset and angry. During this time, Lawrence’s father kept thinking about the past etc , his son won’t talk to him..While Lawrence’s father was at the lawyer firm, Lawrence rang him from the hospital and asked him whether he remembered his 8th birthday. At that time, he was at home with his mum waiting for him to come home but he didn’t come home til very late and told him he can make a birthday wish, he will make it come true. Lawrences’ father said he remembered, but up until now Lawrence still has not told him what he wanted. Lawrence replies, he decided on the wish now…and that was to not sell Trustworthy Property….awwww…I really feel the father-son relationship..at this point, you just know Lawrence’s father would change his mind. I think if Lawrence’s father didn’t do it, he can probbaly never face his son again.. After hearing those words, Raymond and the lawyer came, taking him to the room to sign the sale of the business contract, and he declines, saying he’ll never sell [Trustworthy Property] ^^ yay!
Lawrence’s father tells him to leave the business to him until he gets better =) Along with Natalie and Yoyo, the three went to find the other 3 agents that left, and managed to convince them to come back ^^

Slowly, Lawrence doesn’t seem to hate the women anymore(Dr. Hong) or her son anymore. Her son was actually being nice to him. I think the main part which made Lawrence like the boy (even though he didn’t say) was when the boy tells him that there’s a fairy at some mountain and that if they go up there, the fairy will grant any wish. Later on in another scene, Lawrence’s father tells Yoyo and Natalie that when Lawrence was still young, he believed in something similiar… ^^
Lawrence undertakes the operation and it was successful..

Everything seems to have light again..except Yoyo…you can see she’s guilty through the series…at the end of the episode, Yoyo tells Lawrence’s father that she doesn’t want to work for them anymore… >

*Lawrence’s heart problem has gone really bad, he will be taking an operation soon.

*Everyone, including Raymond now knows of Lawrence’s heart problem, and because of this, Raymond takes advantage of the situation by telling Lawrence’s father and trying to persuade him to sell off [Trustworthy Property] to them, as the heart problem is caused by Lawrence over-working himself as he runs his business. It appears that Lawrence and his father are okay with each other now, and Lawrence apologises to his father. A lot of focus on the episode was on the two, but throughout, you can tell it sorta fluctuated, with the father being annoyed cos his son still isn’t resting etc even though he told him to, and was still taking his clients out. I found the father quite annoying, the way he goes digging through his stuff and appearing ‘everywhere’, and telling him what to do. I know he just cares about his son, yeh..I wish he didn’t appear so much..
*For the whole episode, I kept telling myself please don’t sell off the business ><'' ..Lawrence put everything into it, don't go selling the business off to Raymond without even telling him!! And then..what do you know? At the end of the episode, he does (he doesn’t want to lose his son)…and tells Lawrence “I’ve just sold the business away”

!!!!! I can’t imagine what the next episode would be like (and the rest of the series ><'') I think its gonna be quite sad.. Lawrence's father didn't want to sell of the business either, but he thinks its for the best for his son, while everything Lawrence did was for the business, and his father sold it away just like that. Not even telling him beforehand. Everything has gone bad for them!! What can they possibly do ? ?  >< In the next episode preview, Raymond asks Yoyo to go work for him !! >< omg..maybe she will actually agree and then go against Lawrence..for the money.... her father is in huge financial debt  (even taking all the money she svaed for her bro to go overseas won't be enough)..

*While Carlo and Natalie are going to see a customer, they see Nancy with the rich guy and assume Nancy is cheating on Lawrence. They meet up with the other two agents who left [Trustworthy Property] seems like they are friends again? to discuss whether they should tell Lawrence, thinking he doesn’t know yet. Lawrence doesn’t know how to tell everyone, but eventually he promises Yoyo that he’ll call them all out to dinner and announce that they are going out. At the restuarant, all of them are there (including his father) planning to tell Lawrence about Nancy, while Yoyo and Lawrence were outside about to go in. Lawrence wasn’t ready yet, telling Yoyo to go in first etc, which caused Yoyo to get annoyed that Lawrence is so afraid to tell everyone about their relationship. At this moment, a boy comes by the desk and clicks on the announcement thing, and all the people in the rooms heard their convo xD That was so funny ehehe She was telling him off how he wasn’t treating her like his girlfriend and it wasn’t like there was anything to hide about their relationshi and he was trying to explain . She was saying how he didn’t even dare to say “I love you” etc and then he did, and all them heard it through the speaker in the room and they were all laughing and giggling lol They get to hear all those mushy stuff Then one of the workers came by smiling and said, ‘sorry, please excuse me. I know how much you love your girlfriend, I just need to switch off the mic.’ Both of them were so embarrassed, when they walked in, they didn’t even have to say anything ~ they were jsut keeping quiet, while the rest of them were making fun of them. Happy joy ^^ They can finally be together in front of everyone XD
*In order to sell of some land, Carlo lied to customer about how another client was about to invest in a certain land for x amount, and convinced the customer to buy land. He later found out and sued him. Carlo, not wanting to ruin [Trustworthy Property] resigns..now there’s only Yoyo and Natalie left.
*Lawrence’s condition has gone more worse. The doctor suggests he take an operation, but he refuses. Yoyo found out about his condition when he dropped his medicince, but Lawrence tells her the doctor said its not that serious.

*The forgetful old man went to propose to Dr. Hong, when she tells him he can’t because she already has a byfriend. Lawrence’s father steps out to reveal she is actually dating him. This causes them to argue, with the forgetful man saying how he knew the whole time and didn’t tell him etc. Soon, the news got to Lawrence and once again, he and his father have another big argument. Looks like things are going down hill…
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Only 5 more epsiodes til the end..what’s left?

*From reading the synopsis for the series, Yoyo will leave Lawrence and end up competitng with him. I can’t imagine what that would be like, or how that could happen =S It just doesn’t seem she would be that kind of person, esp they are just started going out and she knows of his health condition..I hope this series will have a happy ending.