Main actors: Ma Yuli, Jia Yiping, Zhang Bo
Viewing address: Where is happiness?
http://www.pyking.com/list/2581.htm
Plot Introduction:
This is a story about "true love and sincere feelings." This is a story that explores what is "real." "Real" is not only the outward reality and natural state of existence, but also the sincere emotions from within. The protagonists achieve love and career by realizing and uncovering "true feelings" and "true love," completing their youth with a tribute to life. On her first day of work, Qi Ruogu dressed in her usual style, but her mother, who loved to teach people as a teacher, insisted that Ruogu wear the carefully prepared suit and high heels for her first day at work, so as to leave a good impression on the leaders. Meanwhile, Ruogu's friend Gan Lu, the daughter of an entrepreneur, was still calling Ruogu from her big Benz, complaining about her father's arrangements which made her feel uncomfortable all over.
Ruogu was late, while the other new employees had already fetched water, swept the floor, and received praise from the leaders. This made her feel pressured from the start. At the mobilization meeting, she gave up the comfortable working environment of photographing models and celebrities, and instead chose to photograph social news. She hoped to be more creative and decided to capture people's "true" state, planning to hold a photo exhibition in the future. Thus, she took it upon herself to photograph people "fighting," people drunk, and even scenes at hospices. She believed these were the most real states, and at a nursing home, she became friends with an elderly woman. Her professional camera attracted the attention of thieves.
While taking street shots, Ruogu was robbed by a thug, but the happy young man Chen Jianping came to her aid without incident. Gan Lu ran away from home to escape the limelight of being the daughter of a billionaire and temporarily stayed at Ruogu's house. The "best friends" were delighted to reunite. Gan Lu hoped Ruogu would keep her secret identity confidential and wanted to carve out her own territory.
Meanwhile, the righteous Chen Jianping was mistakenly identified as a thief and missed an important opportunity to present at a cultural bureau meeting, earning criticism from his superiors. The usually low-key and honest Jianping did not reveal the true reason for his tardiness, giving his rival He Wei a chance to exploit the situation. Ruogu developed a crush on Jianping at first sight, but failed to find her benefactor. On the other hand, Jiajun, who grew up with Ruogu and was considered the future son-in-law of the Qi family, won the heart of Qi's mother with his culinary skills and eloquence. Jiajun faced the challenge of recompeting for his position as an independent producer and sought help from his university classmate, known as the "penman" of the cultural bureau, Chen Jianping, leading to great success. Unexpectedly, Ruogu and Jianping met at a thank-you dinner.
Gan Lu, who called herself a love expert, gave Ruogu plenty of bad advice, causing Ruogu's advances towards Jianping to repeatedly fail. Jianping's rejection and coldness made the strong-willed Ruogu even more determined not to give up, greatly affecting Jiajun. As the son of a diplomat, Jiajun felt superior and could not tolerate a country boy like Chen Jianping competing for his lover, creating obstacles at every turn. Gan Lu volunteered to shield Ruogu, but in reality, she had fallen in love with the handsome Jiajun.
In order to become the ideal wife and mother in Jianping's mind, Ruogu worked hard to change herself. She learned to knit scarves, cook, write letters to Jianping's elderly mother in the countryside, buy medicine for her, and silently dedicate her selfless love. Unfortunately, Jiajun stood in the way, forcing Jianping to suppress his budding feelings. Ruogu's sincere efforts, especially her kindness towards lonely elderly people, moved Jianping. To repay her, he accompanied her in shooting sunrise over the sea, sparking romantic feelings between them.
Jiajun scolded Jianping for his lack of humanity, and with Qi Mother's firm opposition, the already-love-struck Jianping had no choice but to let go. Heartbroken, Ruogu left and fell ill after being caught in the rain. Hearing Ruogu call out Jianping's name in her coma, Jiajun reluctantly stepped back. Qi Mother, however, insisted her daughter should study in France with Jiajun to get away from Jianping. At a crucial moment, Ruogu escaped with Gan Lu's help. Gan Lu also had to leave the Qi household and moved into Jiajun's house uninvited, living separately but starting a "new cohabitation life."
Jianping gave Ruogu a simple yet romantic wedding, a fairytale-like warm little house, and an old-fashioned pen left by his father as a token of affection. They returned to the countryside for their honeymoon and unexpectedly encountered Jianping's mother, bent over from years of picking vegetables. Ruogu was deeply moved. Their return caused a sensation in the small village, where Jianping's mother held a lively wedding banquet for three days and nights, with tea-picking operas performed enthusiastically. Especially through this experience, Ruogu recognized a great and strong mother, whose patience, resilience, and kindness left a deep impression on her. She understood her husband's desire to bring his mother together sooner.
In the fairy-tale little house, a simple yet happy life began. Ruogu learned to buy groceries and cook meals, making porridge for her husband suffering from gastritis, catching rats at night, queuing up for the toilet in the morning, holding hands with Jianping going to the bank to deposit money. Although daily life was tedious and hard, they felt they were getting closer to their dreams. Despite the hardships, they maintained their dignity as humans. Jianping, known as the "penman" of the cultural bureau, neither flattered nor ingratiated himself, while Ruogu's photographic works gradually gained recognition, ultimately refusing to take glamour shots for a female star packaged by Mr. Sun.
During their honeymoon, Jianping's mother came to the city due to poor health, breaking the tranquility of their lives. A curtain separated the mother from them, but it couldn't separate all the feelings between mother and son, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Gan Lu and Jiajun were a pair of rivals, arguing and fighting daily, yet their lives were full of flavor. Gan Lu found many jobs but faced repeated setbacks, eventually landing a job at an insurance company. After being deceived by fraudulent insurance claims, her orders grew larger and her performance skyrocketed.
Qi Mother secretly investigated and found her daughter living in the same room as her mother-in-law, feeling very dissatisfied. However, seeing the fait accompli, she reluctantly accepted Jianping. Qi Father, on the other hand, highly praised Jianping, believing he not only wrote well and played chess well but was also full of knowledge, and they got along splendidly. Qi Mother secretly funded her daughter to buy a new house, but this strongly offended Jianping's pride, causing some unhappiness between him and Ruogu. Gan Lu, running businesses outside, befriended a certain general manager with her intelligence, whom she regarded as a "joyful fruit." When Gan Lu was absent, Jiajun suddenly felt lost and secretly envied Gan Lu, discovering his feelings for her were different from those for Ruogu, startling himself.
Still in the adjustment period, Ruogu and Jianping's lives began to collide, exacerbated by the arrival of Jianping's mother, leading to constant conflicts. Jianping's mother was sometimes superstitious, and her kindness even caused trouble. Especially, her living habits were difficult for Ruogu to accept, and her excessive love for Ruogu made Ruogu uncomfortable, leading to numerous misunderstandings. Once, Jianping's mother ate spoiled pig liver Ruogu bought for her, causing poisoning, resulting in higher medical expenses because of her "frugality," and she still didn't understand. In Ruogu's view, Jianping's pride and his mother's pride were manifestations of inferiority. The two families-in-law lacked common language and thus developed estrangement. Meanwhile, Gan Lu became an increasingly successful insurance agent, and Jiajun began to express genuine feelings for her. Jiajun's abnormal behavior, combined with her sudden discovery that Jiajun had met her father, led to doubts, deciding to follow her father's suggestion and test Jiajun by bringing in Wei Gang.
Every day, Jianping's mother spoke to her deceased husband's spirit, begging for a grandson to continue the Chen family lineage. For the sake of a grandson, Jianping's mother's various actions made Ruogu somewhat helpless. Although Jianping worked diligently, he always failed to gain the status he deserved, making Ruogu think Jianping should reflect on himself. However, Jianping remained diligent and believed he could win his future with his abilities. The arrival of Jianping's childhood cousin Yingzi from afar placed this already shaky family in crisis. Jianping's attitude towards Yingzi made Ruogu feel Jianping was extremely unfair, especially when his mother treated Yingzi better than her, making her even sadder.
Jianping's mother was diagnosed with a late-stage viral disease, prompting Jianping to abandon everything and stay by his mother's side day and night, deciding to donate a kidney to save her. This caused disputes between Jianping and Ruogu. However, Jianping's deep love for his mother moved Ruogu, who ultimately agreed to Jianping saving his mother. Before her impending death, Jianping's mother's greatest wish was to see a grandson. She secretly discussed with Ruogu, suggesting Yingzi continue the Chen family lineage, angering Ruogu. In the conflict, Ruogu inadvertently revealed Jianping's secret kidney donation plan to his mother, shocking her. His mother firmly refused, believing her son's body should not be damaged since the Chen family had no offspring yet. On the way to the hospital, Jianping's mother, distracted, was involved in a car accident. Yingzi, after intense internal struggle, told Jianping about his mother's suicide attempt, leading Jianping to believe his mother deliberately crashed into the car, unable to forgive Ruogu.
Jianping's mother passed away, and the grief-stricken Jianping lost his sanity, attributing everything to Ruogu's "leakage." Their conflict escalated, leading to a breakup. At this time, Ruogu discovered she was pregnant, but she refused to use this as leverage against Jianping, and they eventually divorced. Jiajun, unaware of the situation, was tested repeatedly by Gan Lu, making him look awkward. When Gan Lu finally decided to give Jiajun a "graduation" certificate and reveal her background, Jiajun felt deceived and left angrily...
Mr. Sun, learning about Ruogu's divorce, pursued her wholeheartedly, accepting both her and the child in her belly. However, Ruogu never truly left Jianping, politely declining Mr. Sun's advances. Mr. Sun had enough patience to wait for Ruogu, believing girls like Ruogu were rare. At this point, Ruogu and Jianping were still emotionally connected, realizing how precious they were to each other. On the 100th day after Jianping's mother's passing, Jianping solemnly returned to his hometown to pay respects. Encountering Ruogu, who came to "report the good news," they reignited their old flames and decided to remarry.
Once again arriving at the office entrance, Ruogu did not wait for Jianping. Originally, Jianping, upon learning of his blood cancer diagnosis and impending death, chose to leave Ruogu to make her hate him and forget him, allowing her to have a new life. Under extreme provocation from Gan Lu, Jianping was forced to reveal the truth and asked Gan Lu to keep the secret for Ruogu's future happiness. Impressed by Jianping's noble sentiments, Gan Lu decided to help Jianping. In a rush, she impersonated Jianping's lover to make Ruogu lose hope completely and helped Jianping find another job at his father's company after resigning.
The sudden changes shattered Ruogu's heart, but she never believed in Jianping's betrayal. Meanwhile, Jiajun saw Jianping and Gan Lu together, consumed by jealousy, assuming Gan Lu was testing him again. After being enlightened by Ruogu, Jiajun also thought the situation was too suspicious. He confronted Jianping, using hurtful words to force Jianping to tell the truth, only to discover Jianping was already broken. Understanding everything, Jiajun was moved by the power of "true love" and confessed his feelings to Gan Lu. Despite everyone's objections, Ruogu insisted on keeping the child to comfort the late Chen Mother. She attended prenatal classes, indulged in food, doing everything to numb herself. Jianping met with Mr. Sun to entrust his wife, deeply moved by Jianping's broad love, Mr. Sun solemnly promised. During Ruogu's most difficult times, Mr. Sun provided full support but could never win Ruogu's love.
Finally, Ruogu learned the truth. When she found Jianping, hoping she could have a happy future, he disappeared again. Pregnant, Ruogu searched everywhere, discovering Jianping sold their house and resigned to ensure financial security for his wife and child. Deeply moved, her faith and the emotional connection between lovers brought her back to their wedding inn, where she found Jianping, ravaged by illness... Persuaded by everyone, Jianping entered the hospital for treatment. The baby's movements made Jianping feel like a father, deepening his attachment to life. At this time, Ruogu learned that the baby's umbilical cord blood might give Jianping a new lease on life.
Jianping became increasingly weak, struggling to last until the pre-arranged delivery date in the Spring Festival. Despite the risks, Ruogu decided to deliver early at seven months to save Jianping. To help Jianping endure until the child's birth, Ruogu and her friends created a fairy tale of celebrating the New Year early to support Jianping. To create a festive atmosphere, Jiajun and Gan Lu set off firecrackers, made snow, hung lanterns, and rowed dragon boats, moving everyone to tears... Jianping waited expectantly for the day Ruogu delivered the baby. When Jianping's large hands held the baby's small hands, silence spoke volumes. Ruogu tearfully pressed the shutter, capturing her most touching photo. The baby's umbilical cord blood saved Jianping, symbolizing a continuation of life and hope.
Ruogu's photography exhibition opened, documenting all the touching moments of "Love in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter." Amidst the loud cries of the newborn infant, Ruogu lingered under the photo of large hands holding small hands, placing her hand on it involuntarily. The family's hands were tightly clasped together...