This is a modern love story set in HongKong at the height of the Panic of 2008.
The title gives a clue to the ending of the movie. Who is likely to break someone’s heart?
Cheng Zi Xin (Gao Yuan Yuan), a financial analyst in an investment bank, was still reeling from heartbreak when she encountered the cause of it and his pregnant wife on a bus to work, argued with him about personal belongings he had left at her place and he pleaded with her to get off the bus to appease his jealous wife while muttering, “my little fool, please” on top of that, so when she alighted the bus, she walked as if in a trance and would have been hit by a passing car had a slightly inebriated Fang QiHong (Daniel Wu) not chanced upon her and pulled her and her things from harm’s way. She thanked QiHong and hurriedly walked away, crying and shaking her head, even as he asked her if she was okay. Now it was clear to Zi Xin that she was not her ex’ only “little fool”.
The bus spectacle was witnessed by Cheung Shen Ran (Louis Koo) from his car. But Zi Xin was nowhere to be found when he parked his car and came looking for her. Shen Ran is the CEO and founder of his own investment management company that is in danger of folding up in the event of a crash, but he remains cool in front of his panicking top executive, and allows himself to be distracted by Zi Xin, while he tells his people to remain at work, seemingly optimistic that the worst is over. Shen Ran and Zi Xin’s glass-walled offices face each other. He uses this to his advantage by staging tricks and artworks designed to woo Zi Xin.
Zi Xin and QiHong met again in a supermarket while the latter was stuffing his cart with bottles of liquor. Zi Xin ended up giving him all of her ex’s personal belongings that included a live ornate horned frog and the memorabilia of her failed relationship. The next time they met, QiHong gave her $3,826, the earnings from the things she gave him. Other things were donated to the Salvation Army. QiHong advised her to spend all of the money that night so she can start all over again the next morning. After having her seven-year hairstyle restyled and her wardrobe overhauled with colorful business clothes, and during a dinner of mussels in a restaurant, Zi Xin and QiHong shared their backgrounds with each other. Zi Xin told him how she came from Suzhou with her boyfriend but then he found another girl. He hushed her up and urged her to forget him and they drank to that. QiHong told her how high he had come as a States-educated architect and led her outside the restaurant to point out to her the buildings he had designed, including one for which he got an award, how he lost inspiration and could not design anymore, took to drinking and found that he could draw for a time again but not when he was sober. So he drank even more. Zi Xin hushed his storytelling and told him to forget what happened, “it will pass”, and they drank to that. After dinner, before they parted, Zi Xin bought a set of drawing pens with their remaining $12 and gave that to QiHong with the admonition to go home, stop drinking and draw something and “don’t give up, you’ll make it”. They agreed to meet each other again at a park a week later.
Before the week was over, Zi Xin accepted a date with Shen Ran, the timing of which coincided with the date with QiHong. Shen Ran did not show up on his date with Zi Xin, who failed to meet QiHong. Zi Xin found out that Shen Ran had succumbed to the seduction of Angelina, the girl who works at the office directly below Zi Xin’s, who mistakenly thought it was she with whom Shen Ran was exchanging handmade paper signs through their glass office windows. Despite Shen Ran’s apologies, Zi Xin refused to do anything more with him aside from writing “ASSHOLE” on a note for him to see and venting her anger on her food at dinner while repeating “ASSHOLE” in between mouthfuls. A sober-for-a-week QiHong returned to the rendezvous the night after his date with Zi Xin, bringing with him again new drawings he had worked on since their last meeting and hoping that Zi Xin just mixed up the dates. After hours of waiting, he reluctantly left with Froggie, with whom he had formed an attachment. Zi Xin remembered her date with QiHong only at the moment when she was about to take a gulp of leftover liquor from their first date, which was after she got home from dinner. She ran to their rendezvous despite the late hour and found no QiHong there.
Overnight, Zi Xin had lost another chance at love, just as the world around her was crumbling from the weight of the financial crisis of 2008. All over the world, employees were being laid off due to retrenchment and businesses were folding up, including Shen Ran’s.
After three years, Shen Ran was back in Zi Xin’s life as her boss, the CEO of the Asia Pacific Region. When Zi Xin found out, she threatened to resign but was pressured to stay. Shen Ran wooed her again, this time using aside from charm, his financial capability to buy a Maserati and a plush penthouse condo unit. Though at first, Zi Xin feigned disinterest, it was Shen Ran’s luck to catch her at her most vulnerable when she lost her keys to her apartment. He was able to use his rock-climbing champion’s skills to get into her open bathroom window and find her keys for her. By the time she entered her apartment, he had set up a love trap by filling her little apartment with heart figures and heart-formed candles. Shen Ran playfully led her to find not only her apartment keys, the keys to the Maserati and the condo unit, and his surprise engagement ring as well. Shen Ran managed to bring Zi Xin to bed despite her protestations but before they could proceed any further, Zi Xin coaxed him to buy condoms first. By the time he we went back to Zi Xin’s room with the condoms, Zi Xin already had a drastic change of heart. She could not accept that Shen Ran kept a stash of condoms in his car and the reasons he did so – for one-night-stands - and his noncommittal reply when asked if he would do it again even if they marry. (To be continued)
