After falling into C-drama slumps for a few months, I recently picked up an anticipated title and recommenced my journey with My Girlfriend is an Alien Season 2 (2022). I also wrote a review on the first season of My Girlfriend is an Alien (2019), which I quite loved as well. Looking back, I don’t think I have appreciated this series enough. Put Your Head on My Shoulder (2019) was one of the C-dramas that seem like a feel-good series, which bring supine comfort after a long day. As ordinary as the love story might appear to be, it reminds us that love doesn’t need to be that complicated. If you can easily root for slow burn romance and all the luminous butterflies, this series is most definitely just fine and dandy.
PUT YOUR HEAD ON MY SHOULDER / 致我们暖暖的小时光 (2019)
In the brink of university graduation, Si Tu Mo (Fair Xing) hadn’t managed to figure out her future career other than her self-aspiration in the world of advertising. She had fallen for her friend since high school, Fu Pei (Daddi Tang), who seemed rather too oblivious about her feelings. An unexpected circumstance occurred that Mo Mo got entangled with Gu Wei Yi (Lin Yi), the top student of the university who happened to be Fu Pei’s dormitory roommate, in which she ended up having to literally live under the same roof with each other for a cliché reason; a matchmaking effort by their respective parents. Mo Mo and Wei Yi deliberately got used to walking along the way back home side by side, not knowing that both also gradually walked into each other’s heart.
INITIAL IMPRESSION
As light-hearted as the storyline is, I am completely immersed at the college setup for the romance because the main leads are definitely not underaged but may still encounter the nostalgic euphoria at school with obviously less stressful nature compared to that at workplace. No character is overwhelmingly obnoxious, which makes the drama easy to digest without much stress.
Si Tu Mo (Fair Xing/Xing Fei) is already a senior student who majors in Accounting, but is passionate about advertising design. On the verge of graduation, Mo Mo has yet to discover her calling, just like most awkward adulthood transition is in general. Step by step, Mo Mo takes her life in her own pace and tries her best to manage her own expectations when it comes to life, future career and love. Her character isn’t outstandingly upright, but she has her own values to approach life as she is.
My first impression was that Fair Xing has such a petite body, yet a cute-but-mature face. One thing I love about Chinese youth dramas is the girl-next-door look on most characters, making them and their problems easier to relate with as a viewer. Fair Xing did well in interpreting Mo Mo’s youthful spirit and clumsiness, including her soulful fondness of Doraemon character. Her character in the drama doesn’t require much emotional portrayal, making her acting considerably passable.
Gu Wei Yi (Lin Yi) is notorious as a genius Physics student who has everything figured out before him thanks to his brilliant brain. As a scholarship recipient and part of the Science Project in the campus, he is undoubtedly booked from day to day. He is as sharp as a tack in terms of Science and Physics, but a total nerd when it comes to women and love. There is always logic behind every reasoning, but there is no way to elucidate his own feelings.
I believe that this drama was his first breakout role as an actor back in 2019. As your typical model-turned-actor in the showbiz, Lin Yi was apparently a little bit stiff. Nonetheless, such acting is what was demanded from a Gu Wei Yi’s tsundere character. Lin Yi is alluringly good-looking and is blessed with tall height to boot, so his appearance was a total eye candy throughout the episodes.
I mean, where else can you get a guy who maintains straight face but smiles after solving a set of papers for high-level graduation examination?
Fu Pei (Daddi Tang/Tang Xiao Tian) lives a rather carefree life as a student with passion in basketball. It’s not that Fu Pei doesn’t have a good heart, but apparently the way he does things makes it difficult to root for his character. For how long Fu Pei has been living under his rough father’s shadow, it might have been expected that he doesn’t have an eye to become a good gentleman. Nonetheless, life is a process of growing and the positive trait about him is his compliance for self-improvement.
I have never encountered Daddi Tang before, but considering how pissed off I was with Fu Pei in the beginning of the drama, I’d say that Daddi Tang embodied the character pretty well. All of Fu Pei’s burdensome worries were thoroughly-portrayed through his depressed gesture and lost eyes. His acting isn’t exactly my cup of tea, but he wasn’t a distraction either.
Wang Shan (Zheng Ying Chen) has long become Si Tu Mo’s dormitory roommate before she decided to move out to Gu Wei Yi’s house. She is the typical bookworm and smart cookie in the class; pretty straightforward when it comes to her own feelings. In spite of her tactlessness at times, Wang Shan cares for other people in her own way.
Considering how there wasn’t any heavy emotional acting required to act as Wang Shan, I didn’t have a say to judge Zheng Ying Chen’s acting. I mean, she was okay as a side character but not exactly interesting enough to draw the viewers’ attention since her character was never meant to receive much spotlight in the drama.
STUFFS I LIKED
Gu Wei Yi’s act of service
Regardless of his being the typical nerdy genius, Gu Wei Yi articulates his affection through acts of service, whether or not the counterpart manages to envisage his gestures. Right from the beginning, the writer already drew a line between what Fu Pei did versus Gu Wei Yi’s outstanding manner. Despite the unfamiliarity, Gu Wei Yi showcased basic manner through his gestures towards other people within his surroundings. He didn’t come off as arrogant even when his facial expression seemed unfriendly.
EP1. [SPOILER ALERT] On the errand to take Mo Mo safely to her job interview, Gu Wei Yi took it seriously when Mo Mo was found injured after getting her belongings robbed on the street. He gently took care of her wounds and brought her to the hospital. [END OF SPOILERS] It fluttered my heart on how completely observant he was with regard to her physical safety even to her medicine.
Off the topic, but Gu Wei Yi’s scientific view on daily things brought so much fun to his already amusingly dorky personality. When Gu Wei Yi and Mo Mo were out at a fast food restaurant, he came across little boys who challenged him the spinning top battle. Given his competitive nature, Gu Wei Yi never forgot to sprinkle his calculated move with Science and managed to become at the top of the game in the end.
EP6. I also found it so adorable that Gu Wei Yi, who was starting to be head over heels with Mo Mo that time, attempted to find excuses to spend time with her. There was him waiting in front of the female dormitory entrance like a lost puppy, then saw Mo Mo going for another job interview and decided to tail her for no reason, waited for her in front of the company building in idleness, then proceeded to accompany her back to the dorm. Him wanting to stay with her without much demand just sparked butterflies in my stomach.
I mean, his face alone already contributed to the greatest act of service ever made in the drama to us viewers.
EP16. I was terribly smitten by Gu Wei Yi’s consistency to give his best service to Mo Mo under any circumstances, even after getting together as a couple. [SPOILER ALERT] When Mo Mo was doing her job assisting an advertising shoot, Gu Wei Yi asked if he could help her in any way, to which Mo Mo warmly responded for him to come over. He patiently waited in front of the building and smiled brightly when she appeared, didn’t voice out any objection when Mo Mo randomly borrowed his winter coat under such breezy weather and smiled again when she reappeared and returned his coat. Such little gestures didn’t only make him a good boyfriend but also a very decent human being. [END OF SPOILERS]
On another note, Gu Wei Yi is straight-up a scientist with lots of oddity. I’m unsure of how nerd scientists look like in real life, but the portrayal of Gu Wei Yi as one screamed so typical, which was also adorable to watch in a youth drama. He is just too odd to be true, but there is only one kind of him in Mo Mo’s eyes. “Actually, you shouldn’t get a scientist as your boyfriend. They always read for a whole day; you can’t understand what they’re talking about. Moreover, they always do weird things; always suddenly get up from sleeping to do the calculation. And always bring machines home.” Said by the auntie at her dormitory, but it only made Mo Mo giggle when she thought of Gu Wei Yi.
STUFFS THAT IRKED ME
Fu Pei’s red flags
First of all, I don’t need any intro to explain why I consider him as a major red flag in the beginning of the drama. There were just so many moments that couldn’t be overlooked if Fu Pei were to be considered as a potential boyfriend. If his character ever existed in real life, I could only hope that such behaviors were nothing but momentary adolescence.
EP1. I think it was maddening that Fu Pei acted like a caring good friend for Mo Mo when, in fact, he continuously harassed her physically and drained her mentally in almost blatant manner. In the first 5 minutes of the drama, we were shown such a dumbfounding conversation where, after the bike crash, Gu Wei Yi automatically looked at Si Tu Mo to check if she was okay after falling down, but Fu Pei almost forgot about her existence and checked on himself first. Also, seeing the way he just pulled Mo Mo’s bag and practically dragged her body without common sense just proved him as a douchebag.
EP4. This is one of the episodes where I found Fu Pei’s behavior extremely disturbing to the point of causing discomfort. [SPOILER ALERT] Fu Pei was inquisitive enough to find out the thing between Gu Wei Yi and Mo Mo that he tailed the two and discovered the apartment they live together in. Determined to clear the misunderstanding right at the scene, Fu Pei made himself an uninvited guest and blabbered so many ridiculous nonsenses and congratulated the two for cohabiting together without an ounce of attempt to listen to their explanation. [END OF SPOILERS] I hated his scumbag move when he kept repeating about having disturbed them to cosplay as a pitiful victim in that situation.
EP6. Obviously another reason why I thought that Fu Pei was a good riddance for Mo Mo was when Fu Pei showed his true colors unsobered. [SPOILER ALERT] On her way to Gu Wei Yi’s house, Wang Shan offered to tag along because she wanted to take a peek inside. Mo Mo said yes, not knowing that it was Fu Pei’s hidden ploy to just make up with her. Without being invited, Fu Pei guested himself once again and made a fuss until he got drunk and tried to kiss Wang Shan under the illusion that it was Mo Mo in front of him. [END OF SPOILERS] It definitely left a bad taste in my mouth considering that, first of all, Fu Pei indeed barged into someone else’s house without invitation and did everything he wanted without permission and an ounce of consideration of how other people might perceive his action. I also felt that Wang Shan did cross the line by helping Fu Pei did his way. On another note, even if it was indeed Mo Mo before his eyes, it still didn’t sit right with me that he tried to land a kiss without her consent.
Regardless of his red flags in relationship, Fu Pei doesn’t have ill intentions in his heart for other people when he is in the right state of mind. [SPOILER ALERT] After officially walking separate ways with Mo Mo and making their feelings clear for each other, Fu Pei is unexpectedly back to his normal state and has become a fine person again. Even when he first found out that Mo Mo has been living with Gu Wei Yi, Fu Pei didn’t lose his temper and resort to violence (it’s not like he had the right to do so, either). After Fu Pei moved on without regrets, he even came forward and willingly became Gu Wei Yi’s love counselor given his long-time relationship with Mo Mo. I have to admit that Fu Pei’s character slowly grew on me despite his past obnoxiousness. [END OF SPOILERS]
Seemingly-disjointed physical comfort between the main leads
My only problem with light-hearted youth dramas like this is the fact that not all actors manage to pull off the physical chemistry with the counterparts. Sometimes they are too stiff, the other times they don’t seem that whole-heartedly comfortable with having physical touch. I mean, other kinds of physical touch were fine except for the kisses. I didn’t necessarily look ahead to 18+ rated kiss scenes in a youth drama, but dead fish kisses are certainly not it. Their kisses together didn’t feel passionate nor longing at all, in my honest opinion. It always seemed like the female leads were forced to do the kissing instead of yearning to deliver their bursting emotions through kissing. Given the conflicting reactions, it’s inevitable that Gu Wei Yi as the male lead here couldn’t manage to prompt a better intimate kiss with her on screen.
LOVE LINES ALERT
Si Tu Mo & Gu Wei Yi
Men like Gu Wei Yi exist everywhere.. in Kdramaland. I mean, guys with endless acts of service but don’t brag so much about doing it are simply rare breeds in real life. Gu Wei Yi towards Si Tu Mo is a guardian knight without armor that shelters her from rain and sun. Their relationship gradually developed in natural pace, but I believe that the spark wouldn’t have burgeoned that way if Gu Wei Yi hadn’t been showering Mo Mo with acts of service subconsciously.
Gu Wei Yi is attentive and a great listener without doubt. He tries to cater to the needs of other and silently takes care of everyone, and a lot more extra care for Mo Mo. Words weren’t spoken at all, but his every little gesture shouted much louder. [SPOILER ALERT] There wasn’t a logic behind his sudden attraction towards Mo Mo; it could have been physical attraction or simply because his mind was enchanted at the first sight. Nonetheless, Gu Wei Yi as a whole is a walking green flag except for the fact that his character itself is just too good to be true. From following Mo Mo’s strong liking in eating watermelon to her overloaded obsession to Doraemon, Gu Wei Yi keeps catering to her effortlessly as if they’re also part of his adamant taste. Nothing sparks greater joy like having someone who also shares the same taste as you do. [END OF SPOILERS]
EP13. On Mo Mo’s side, however, it took a bit longer for her to acknowledge her own feelings for Gu Wei Yi and admit that he has been on her mind for so long. [SPOILER ALERT] When Gu Wei Yi was still so occupied with his lab projects, Mo Mo couldn’t help but feeling jealous of Xie Yu Xi (Zhou Zi Xin), his pretty-looking senior on the same team. At the same time, it baffled her that Gu Wei didn’t remember kissing her when he was drunk at Mo Mo’s birthday celebration. She projected her insecurities onto Gu Wei Yi and subconsciously made him her enemy for the time being by looking away and trying to ignore his efforts. Be it changing the doorbell to Doraemon’s theme song to gifting her most favorite Doraemon mug which was supposed to be out of print, Gu Wei Yi was unstoppable. His presence was just everywhere that Mo Mo finally braved herself to asked him whether he had feelings for her or not. [END OF SPOILERS]
After getting together, I love their communication dynamics as couples. There are quarrels and miscommunications that may occur when overbearing anger or dejection is present, but every problem comes with a definite solution. They communicate what triggers each other and manage to resolve even the minor clashes that ever emanate. Cold wars don’t really last long between them.
In the end, this is the gist of Gu Wei Yi’s love story with Si Tu Mo; about the endless attractions he has felt for her ever since they met for the first time. ”I have an IQ of 187, but after meeting Si Tu Mo, it seemed that I only have 87 left. I started to do stupid things; I started to do crap; I lost all the calmness that I had; I watch her giggle all the time. My IQ is in the continuously declining trend. For example, although I know it’s dangerous, I still get into the car when she drives. I’m willing to.”
Si Tu Mo & Fu Pei
The friend-zone type of relationship between Mo Mo and Fu Pei is nothing extraordinary these days. Two best friends since day one who supposedly have feelings for each other but decided to keep it secluded in fear of losing that person for good, My heart ached for Mo Mo’s seemingly-unrequited feelings because Fu Pei failed to enlighten her about it and kept tearing her heart apart by his stubborn obliviousness.
EP2. [SPOILER ALERT] If we were to trace back the history behind Mo Mo and Fu Pei’s relationship, there was Xu Jie Er (Yi Sha) that threatened Mo Mo not to get close to Fu Pei, her ex-boyfriend. To Mo Mo’s surprise, Fu Pei came forward instead of her and told Jie Er that they would never date in the future. [END OF SPOILERS] It was probably a way of defense for him, but those words already tore her apart. Even if Fu Pei didn’t mean it, Mo Mo already took it to her heart and there was no turning back. “Every product made of glass will have a caution sticker on the packaging. Regardless, not everyone will take caution on it. They will think that it won’t be broken so easily and take it for granted. It was all fine until they open the packing and find out the broken pieces. What to do? We have to throw it away.”
EP9. Mo Mo’s genuine heart was resonated through her painful words as she was holding back her tears. [SPOILER ALERT] “I didn’t mean to stop loving you so suddenly. When you told Xu Jie Er that we weren’t a couple, I told myself that you were protecting me. When you let go of my hand on the bridge at that school, I told myself that you were afraid. Anyone can be afraid. Every time you promised me but didn’t turn up, I told myself that you were crazy about your games and forgot about it. When you smiled and asked me to get you a girlfriend, I just could no longer convince myself. When I saw you running out of Gu Wei Yi’s house, I was upset with myself. That day, when i saw you and Wang Shan, I suddenly found out that I wasn’t sad anymore. Or should I say, I no longer felt sad because of you. I felt upset because I found out that I eventually stopped loving you. I didn’t mean to stop so suddenly. It was because you always ran out and left me alone.“ [END OF SPOILERS] The most regrettable part was that the feelings were present, only the courage was below zero. Fu Pei had been taking Mo Mo’s presence and affection for granted that, when her love finally wore off, he had no way of gaining back and fell into a pit of remorse instead.
Mo Mo’s mom delivered a piece of wise advice to sum of their complicated relationship at once. “He wasn’t a bad boy. but still a fickle lover. If you really get together with him, I bet you will always keep everything in your heart and get things settled in tears. Don’t stoop to reach a compromise, that’s not the right way.“
Fu Pei & Wang Shan
In the beginning, I loathed this couple because of what they did to our main leads. Wang Shan’s feelings for Fu Pei might be sincere, but the way she handled the cold war between Fu Pei and Mo Mo as Mo Mo’s friend was pretty unfortunate. [SPOILER ALERT] Nonetheless, Wang Shan was courageous enough to confess to Mo Mo about his feelings for Fu Pei, and I admired her that way. Even when Fu Pei remained wishy-washy with his feelings, she didn’t back down and stayed faithful despite her own pain. [END OF SPOILERS]
EP15. [SPOILER ALERT] It was refreshing to finally witness Wang Shan give Fu Pei a good slap to come into his senses. “What do you like? What do you want to to be? When you know the answers,I hope you carry on it happily instead of being trapped by my future. Since we got together, you seldom touch our basketball or go ot with your buddies. You only accompany me to study. Although you said you like it and you’re happy, I knw you’re forcing yourself because you’re worried that I would feel unsafe and overthink. But I don’t want you to do that. One day, you will be tired in our relationship.” [END OF SPOILERS] In fact, it’s unbearably exhausting to single-handedly row the boat while the counterpart didn’t acknowledge any interest to do so. It’s fortunate that Fu Pei was eventually willing to give a shot and transform himself.
Wang Shan is self-centered about her own feelings and somehow lacks tact, which can easily irks other people. Nonetheless, people like her are notoriously tougher as they don’t take things to heart and maintain thick skin to whatever obstacles that arise. [SPOILER ALERT] When Fu Pei’s arrogant dad came by said nasty things about her being a gold digger, Wang Shan kept a straight face and told him about Fu Pei’s future entrepreneurial planning that his dad knew nothing about. She didn’t flinch a bit despite the seemingly-cocky threat. And it made Fu Pei smile with so much joy.[END OF SPOILERS]
Eventually, couples that grow together stay together. Fu Pei and Wang Shan become the right person for each other after a significant process of growth, which makes them a lovable couple.
SPECIAL SHOUTOUT: Lab Research Team
As irritating as the side characters might become at times, this research team was rather interesting to follow. There is Professor Jiang (Jie Bing) who often tries to help Gu Wei Yi in terms of his love life by using scientific approaches, Zhou Lei (Zhang Hao Lun) who tries even harder to beat Gu Wei Yi’s intelligence but always fails his own expectations, and also Xie Yu Yin who takes delight in Gu Wei Yi but doesn’t do anything about her feelings. None of them was a bad guy in the drama, even Xie Yu Yin whom Mo Mo was sometimes jealous of.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s always great to fall in love when we’re young. There are no restrictions and barrier when it comes to our feelings; everything is at our own risk. Heartbreaks are inevitable as times goes by, but they are meant to bring strength to overcome life. As long as the sky has sun, there will be no such thing as endless rain and storm.
I like that each character stands a her/heroine for their own respective story. Despite her tangling bewilderment, Si Tu Mo believes that she is supposed to work on something her heart is content with. ”It’s more important that we can do a job we love.” Thus, it gave her sufficient tenacity to quit her Accounting internship and change her career path into Advertising Design. I believe that having the capacity to change her career without an ounce of worry about financial issues was a privilege not many is blessed with, but not every of them manage to reach their full potential given the privilege. Mo Mo was applaudable for swimming against the tide.
When it comes to relationship and love, reciprocation is the main key. Instead of signifying patience, I reckon waiting as a time-consuming and mentally-draining burden to do because it takes up so much space in our heart and mind until it eventually wear off by itself. ”Some people are just like a kite; keep flying out once the string is held in someone’s hands. They never think that the person holding the string might get tired. They don’t let it go only because they feel hard to do so.” Without reciprocation, feelings go away in a blink of eyes and turn into burden and boredom.
Despite some underwhelming moments towards the ending (and kinda unnecessary English drama in the final episode that I felt cringeworthy and meh), Put Your Head on My Shoulder (2019) is a drama I feel gratified by for every sweet and humorous scene, as well as for every hearty character inside.
GRADE
8.4/10
The Scorching Heaven 