SHINE ON YOU

Starring Bobby Au-Yeung - the principal (Kar Ji Cai) Kenix Kwok - Miss Wong (Ruo Shi) teacher Michael Tao - Tsang Zheng Liang (teacher) Chun Pui - Uncle Biao (principal’s uncle) Shirley Yeung - Ying en (relief teacher)
Synopsis: This interesting drama revolves around a private school known as WDPS. The scene began with Miss Wong (Kenix Kwok), who just started her teaching profession at WDPS. The former old principal of WDPS had a heart attack, so he had to retire early. Ji Cai (Bobby Au-Yeung), was a high-ranking accountant and he arrived home after his successful business trip. Most unfortunately, Zheng Liang (Michael Tao) on the way broke Ji cai’s antique vase. Since then, both of them bore a grudge against each other.
Ji Cai had just settled a major business contract, and he was expecting to be promoted to Financial Manager. But, to his surprise and indignation, his boss requested him to be the principal of WDPS, so as to cut down its deficit budget and increase the miserable intake of 200-odd students.
Zheng Liang was a happy-go-lucky teacher in WDPS, who always arrived late for school, and would leave the workplace on the dot after school hours. On the other hand, Miss Wong was a very dedicated and caring teacher, and she disliked Zheng Liang’s working attitude.
On the second day of school, Vice-principal Man thought that she would be promoted to the principal. So, she entered the Principal’s office, taking the room as hers. At this moment, Ji Cai entered the room and was quite amazed to see her sitting in his seat. After some clarification, Vice-principal Man realised that she had made a mistake and she was totally embarrassed.
When all the teachers gathered in the office to welcome the arrival of the new principal, it was then that Ji Cai saw Zheng liang, and he was very sarcastic towards him. Zheng Liang felt the sarcasm, and he thought that the principal would take his revenge.
Ji Cai had a meeting with the teachers, and he wanted a proposal for improving the school. Only Miss Wong readily agreed, while the other slack teachers were rather reluctant, especially Zheng Liang. Zheng Liang was bad-mouthing the principal in the toilet, and Ji Cai heard everything. In order to reduce the school’s expenditure, Ji Cai decided to sack one of the teachers, and Zheng liang was naturally his target. But later, another teacher was sacked for having sexual relations with a student, and Zheng Liang was saved from this retrenchment ordeal.
Uncle Biao (Chun Pui) was Ji Cai’s uncle, and he came to Ji Cai’s house to stay. Ji Cai, who preferred to live a private life, was quite displeased and shocked with his uncle’s decision to live with him. So, he took the initiative to find a hostel room for him.
Meanwhile, many events occurred at school, and Vice-principal Man was very unhappy that she had to lead an inexperience person (Ji Cai) in the school management. She was also displeased when the principal took in a student with a bad record, and she accused him of trying to increase the income of the school without taking into serious consideration the possible negative influence the student had on other students.
When the student, Ah Yeung San, encountered Miss Wong, he was very rude to her, and it turned out that Miss Wong was his stepmother. He had always thought that Miss Wong was the one responsible for breaking up his family, and he never accepted her as a stepmother. Miss Wong was upset and troubled, as she had promised her deceased husband that she would take good care of his son. Later, Ah Yeung San’s grandmother confronted Miss Wong for giving him a demerit for fighting in school, and Miss Wong was devastated when she thought of her past.
Uncle Biao went to Ji Cai’s house to fix some household items and to cook a sumptuous dinner for Ji cai. Despite Ji cai’s several reminders not to touch his expensive computer and hi-fi, Uncle Biao started to dismantle the parts. Uncle Biao later went to buy some soy sauce, and he met Zheng Liang’s uncle and auntie. They decided to have the dinner together. When Ji Cai reached home, he was surprised to find an empty kitchen with no dinner fixed. Then, he received a call from Uncle Biao and realised that they would be having dinner with the family he detested. Zheng Liang reached home, and was equally surprised to see the principal. During the dinner, both of them exchanged words of sarcasm, and it ended up with a mahjong game between the Tsangs and the Kars.
Ji Cai sent Uncle Biao home, and he thought of the heart-warming dinner – something he had not experienced for years. Later, he saw some notes stuck on his expensive computer, and he was rather agitated as he thought it was a note of apology. But it turned out that Uncle Biao had fixed both the computer and the hi-fi, and Ji cai was deeply impressed. He wanted to give a call to Uncle Biao to express his gratitude, and he saw the news of a fire breaking out in the hostel that his uncle lived in. In a moment of anxiety, he rushed out of the house, and he met Uncle Biao in the lift. Ji Cai was so relieved, and he decided that his uncle should live with him.
Zheng Liang met the girl of his dreams Ying en (Shirley Yeung), and with the help of Uncle Biao, he got to watch an opera show with her. Before he could actually get Ying en’s number, Uncle Biao called him, and Ying en later ran off to catch her bus. Zheng Liang was disappointed, but the next day, he met her in the school. It turned out that she had taken up a job as a relief teacher, and Zheng Liang was delirious. They began dating, and later due to several obligations, they separated and Ying en went overseas to further her studies.
Ji Cai wanted to work on the business contract, but he found out that his subordinate, Wilson, had cunningly taken over his job, and he was very aggravated by Wilson’s comments. Uncle Biao later worked at WDPS as a school care-taker, and he met up with his old classmate, Vice-principal Man. Both of them bickered at times, and the vice principal had a bad impression of Uncle Biao. As time went by, the vice-principal found herself falling in love with Uncle Biao. However, Uncle Biao was rather shocked, and he wanted to distance himself away from her.
As Ah Yeung San’s grandmother had a stroke, Miss Wong took in Ah Yeung San, and as time went by, their relations improved and they got along well. Ji Cai had already implemented several policies, such that he managed to lower the deficit budget. In the meantime, he fell in love with Miss Wong and started to woo her, and she never rejected his advances. Later, she thought that Ah Yeung San was not very approving of her relationship, and her past reminded her that she should spend more time with her step-son, so she rejected him in the end.
Though the school had lost in the Chinese literary quiz competition, Ji Cai later decided to hone other aspects such as sports. He went on a search for an excellent athlete, after seeing the pathetic “cream of the crop” in the school. His secretary, Ah Shum, fell in love with him, but later he rejected her as he had no feelings for her. Ji Cai found an athlete who could run fast, and he offered him a scholarship, despite objections raised by Miss Wong and the vice principal.
This athlete later won the first gold medal in twenty years for the school, and Ji Cai’s boss was very delighted, as he had a chance to mock his long-time business rival, who also set up a school.
Zheng Liang, over some time, had changed and he became a more dedicated teacher. He then fell in love with Miss Wong, and both of them had a romantic time together. Initially, Ji Cai wanted to vie with Zheng Liang for Miss Wong’s affections, but later he backed out of the love triangle and sacrificed himself. Miss Wong and Zheng Liang became romantically-involved, but later Miss Wong found out that Zheng Liang was the one indirectly responsible for causing her husband’s death, and she ended the relationship in a huff.
The school was doing quite well, but suddenly, Ji Cai’s boss decided to demolish the school and develop the land for commercial use. Through all the students’ and teachers' united efforts, Ji Cai’s boss was touched, and he requested to have a student scoring 5 As in the upcoming examinations.
Every student worked very hard, including the teachers who gave extra tuition. In the end, 5 students scored a total of 5 As, and Ji Cai’s boss decided to demolish the school. Uncle Biao later turned up, declaring that he had scored 5As, and since he was a part of the school, it should not be demolished. Ji Cai’s boss relented and agreed not to demolish the school, and everyone was elated.
Ji Cai found out that he could not forget his love for Miss Wong, and he started to woo Miss Wong. She was rather perplexed, as she still had feelings for Zheng Liang, but she also felt a sense of gratitude towards Ji Cai for donating his bone marrow to Ah Yeung San. Both Zheng Liang and Ji Cai started to pile pressure on her unconsciously, to the point that she fainted. In the end, she decided to go overseas to further her studies, so as to sort out her thoughts. In the plane, she heard a song that reminded her of the warmth she felt in Zheng Liang’s arms during the journey to the hospital, and she suddenly felt an impulse to see Zheng liang.
Then, she met Ji Cai and her face revealed a sense of disappointment. Ji Cai knew that he was not the one for her, and he stepped aside to reveal Zheng Liang. Miss Wong smiled, and both of them hugged happily, with Ji Cai giving his blessings to them.
Character analysis: Bobby Au-Yeung – Ji Cai, the principal of WDPS His acting is fantastic, and I think he makes you feel involved with the serial drama. Honestly speaking, I always like his shows, his funny character and marvellous acting. In this serial, I love the scenes where he exchanged words of sarcasms with Zheng Liang in the toilet. It is always so funny and hilarious to watch Zheng Liang’s alarmed face when he was caught badmouthing Ji Cai, and the “merciless” expression given by Ji Cai during these encounters. This is one of the reasons why I love watching this show. Moreover, I am deeply touched by Ji Cai’s sacrificial spirit, when he voluntarily backed out of the love triangle, bearing the emotional backlash all by himself. In the end, he still gave his blessings to the couple, and this shows how magnanimous and sacrificial he was.
Kenix Kwok – Miss Wong She acted pretty well, especially the parts when she felt vexed about the love triangle. Previously, I watched one of her shows “Take My Word for It”, and I realised that some of her actions were quite similar to the one in this show. But overall, she managed to act out the role of a dedicated and caring teacher and mother, and I thought it was pretty good.
Michael Tao – Zheng Liang Well, his acting was also quite good, especially the parts when he was caught badmouthing the principal. Quite hilarious, I must say. But, there were some parts of the romance, when I found his expressions a bit unnatural. His happy-go-lucky attitude hit a warm spot with most people, but what I dislike about his character is that he can easily love and forget about one person. Take Ying en for example. How can one person so easily forget about his love? And that is not love, but a case of infatuation.
Chun Pui, Uncle Biao The Mr Nice Guy next door, who knows how to fix everything and anything under the sun. He was very receptive to other people, and his concern for his nephew (despite the treatment from Ji Cai) was commendable. That is one of reasons why I like this character.
Shirley Yeung, Ying en A sweet lady, except that she can be a bit too stubborn in terms of her teaching. She takes everything seriously, and her obsession with furthering her studies can be a little exasperating at times. But her kind heart is one of the pluses. What I am amazed is that I never thought a demure lady would actually have boxing as her leisure activity!
PS I do not own this review.