Ice Adonis

Foreword
The sweet Yan Hua becomes the stepsister of You Luo. Though Yan Hua wants to be amiable, You Luo will never accept her. Due to her long-term adoration towards Yun Cai, who just happens to be Yan Hua’s doting boyfriend, she plans to take everything over. In a tragic instant, You Luo takes everything Yan Hua has: her job, love and family. Will Yan Hua ever be able to stand and shine brightly once again, like the Ice Adonis flower – a novel that Yun Cai has given her?

Story/Introduction on characters
1. Xue Yan Hua –Lee Yoo Ri Her father dies young and she struggles in life with her mother and younger sister. She graduates from the biotany faculty later than the rest. She is interested in natural cosmetic products to join J products. She is stunned to know that the CEO is Yun Cai, her boyfriend. She feels inferior and rejects him but he is determined to be with her. You Luo frames her for being a commercial spy and she is jailed after wronged for killingYun Xi.

She gives birth to Yun Cai’s son, Tai Yang in jail and her son is taken away for adoption. Moreover, she has to take care of her comatose mother and intellectually impaired Xiu Ai. She records a programme on their misdeeds and wants to have it shown on television at all costs. She has her name cleared and she sets up her own company. She is later reunited with Tai Yang and Yun Cai. Yoo Ri’s acting is good but Yan Hua’s encounter is too unbelievable. It is definitely over the top.

2. Xue Xiu Ai – Min Ji Hyun She is Yan Hua’s younger sister who is intellectually impaired. She is very protective towards Yan Hua and tries hard to gather evidence for her to prove her innocence. Tai Yi admires her righteous nature and later develops love for her. She marries him and is too nervous on her wedding day so Tai Yi has to carry her.

3. Xia Yun Xi – Shim Eun Jin She is Yun Xi’s younger sister who is the manager of J cosmetics company. Unlike Yun Cai, she is fine with Ming Zi. She doesn’t like Yan Hua but still gives her chances to perform herself. Later, she accepts her. She is unhappy when Qiang Xu replaces her. She is in love with Tai Xi but faces opposition from her family. She is pregnant and insists of marrying him. However, You Luo accidentally knocks her down to cause her miscarriage. She later dies upon seeing You Luo but fails to tell the rest before dying.

4. Xia Yun Cai – Hyun Woo Sung She is Yun Cai’s movie star stepmother who pedals cosmetic products. His mother goes missing when he is 12 years old and his father remarries. Yun Cai hates the strong perfume smell from her. Meeting the positive Yan Hua melts his heart. He doesn’t dare to tell her his identity and she has thought of him to be a normal working professional. His heart bleeds upon seeing Yan Hua suffer so much from poverty so he intends to marry her.
He replaces his sick father to manage J cosmetics. He suffers from a double blow when his father and sister dies. It is a bigger shock for him to know that Yan Hua kills his sister. He refuses to believe her and she falls off the building with You Luo. Both women are hospitalized – surprisingly, Yan Hua’s baby survives and is later born. She keeps it from Yun Cai.

From CEO, he becomes the managing director as he loses out to Qiang Xu in the director meeting AGM. He has never treated him like an older brother although he is nice to him. He marries You Luo but he is never happy. He has to apologise repeatedly for her mistakes and is peeved to know her wrongdoings. He is shattered to know that Tai Yang’s death is connected to her.

You Luo brings Tai Yang to stay with her family when Tai Yang’s foster mother has to take care of her mother. He develops a link with the kid as he adores him to save him when he runs after a ball on the road. He regrets not believing Yan Hua and tries to help her in getting Tai Yang back. He also blames himself for not recognizing his own son. He is finally together with Tai Yang and Yan Hua again.

He looks like Hyun Bin but his emotional and crying scenes can’t match to his standard. He has to work a lot harder. He looks more mature with his hair gelled. I wonder why the producer does not keep this hairstyle in the later part of the serial. Because Yun Cai is defeated by Qiang Xu and he doesn’t have the mood to fix his hair?

5. Cui Qiang Xu – Jung Can He grows up overseas alone as Ming Zi concentrates on pedaling cosmetics as a career. His mother remarries but isn’t with him. He stays in a private apartment and graduates from a prestigious school but often feels empty. He joins J cosmetics to try to fulfill Ming Zi’s dream of owning the company. He gets to meet Yan Hua who is very hardworking in the same department. Both become friends and she reminds him of his lonely childhood.
Upon knowing that Yan Hua is framed of being a commercial spy, he looks through the surveillance camera and discovers the evidence. He makes a copy but doesn’t have the courage to expose it, thinking that Yun Cai is deeply in love with You Luo. In the end, You Luo destroys it and Yan Hua is also sent to jail after being accused of killing Yun Xi. He feels guilty and secretly gives her support under the name of Zorba. Yet after knowing what Ming Zi has done, he doesn’t dare to reveal his identity in front of her.

After Yan Hua’s release from jail, he helps her to find a job. She returns to J cosmetics and he falls for her. He doesn’t mind being made use by her after proposing to her. He begs Hui Lan to forgive Ming Zi and he is willing to move back to Paris. He sells his shares to pay off Ming Zi’s debts. However, he dies after saving Tai Yang from a fire. It is now then Yun Cai finally acknowledges him as his older brother.

His acting is okay but he has a gangster face. Maybe he will look better with glasses. And what horrendous wardrobe he has!! Can you imagine him wearing red trousers or red suit jackets! A daring colour but simply too loud. The clothes unit has done a terrible job.

6. Cui You Luo – Yoon Ah Jung You Luo is sickly when young and her mother passes away when she is young. She can’t accept Ren Shuo’s remarriage and she detests her new family. She is Yun Cai’s secretary and falls in love with her since young. She tries hard to prevent Yan Hua from working in J cosmetics in vain.

Yan Hua works under her after winning an award using a fake name. She keeps framing Yan Hua every now and then to sabotage her at work. (countless times till I can’t recall but most of them backfire). She keeps on calling her a killer and a commercial spy. She even claims that Yan Hua copies her ideas when it is the other way round. When Hui Lan and Yun Cai discover that she is actually the commercial spy, she finally shuts up.

In the end, she becomes Yan Hua’s subordinate instead. She gets pregnant after making Yun Cai drunk so that she can tie him to her. However, she has a miscarriage after running after Yun Cai when Ming Zi sets Yan Hua and Yun Cai up to meet in a hotel.

She is barren after that and seeks revenge on Tai Yang to send him overseas. She then lies with Chang Dou’s help that he is dead. However, she grows to like the boy when he returns as his foster parents can’t afford the cost. She is touched when he calls her mother.
Besides being a killer, she is also a kidnapper. She takes Tai Yang away from Yan Hua so the police run after her. After she is arrested, she doesn’t admit to her crimes so the judge sentences her to life imprisonment since no other lawyer wants to defend for her due to her poor attitude. Yan Hua learns that You Luo becomes like this after causing her mother’s death so she forgives her.

Xu Yin Mei in ‘All About Eve’ is no match for You Luo. She lies her way through and can get away after committing so many crimes. I want to laugh – if You Luo is considered weak, I don’t know what is weak. She is strong to hit Yun Cai’s car with a fire extinguisher upon knowing that he is in love with Yan Hua. She can also push Ying Shu down the stairs once and also throw her off the cliff twice.

Yoon Ah Jung has mastered the art of looking possessive and overbearing, complete with facial features and glaring eyes that can kill. The hatred is unspeakable. Thumbs up for her acting!

7. Jin Tai Yi – Kang Suk Jung He is Yun Cai’s friend and is also a gangster. He saves Yun Xi when she is about to kill herself. After knowing Yun Xi, he leaves the gang and wants to start a new life. Yun Xi’s death and the loss of his unborn child leave him shattered. He hates Yan Hua but braces himself to start a new company. He is later known as a young CEO of a telecoms company at his age. He becomes good friends with Qiang Xu and reluctantly hires Yan Hua to work in his company.

Upon knowing that You Luo kills Yun Xi, he sets a trap with Yan Hua to trick her into selling her shares and land to him so that she can get other models to replace Yan Hua. He has to control his urge to kill her and he weeps when visiting Yun Xi’s tablet. Xiu Ai consoles him and often cooks delicious food for him.

When seizing Yun Xi’s belongings from Chang Dou to affirm that You Luo’s crime, he brings them to the police station to keep records. He starts to admire Xiu Ai. After dreaming that Yun Xi is now at peace, he accepts Xiu Ai and marries her.

The clothes unit is so unbiased – Suk Jung is so dashing in his new clothes after being the CEO Tai Yi. Unlike the overly bright suits that Qiang Xu wears or the boring grey/dark blue suits that Yun Cai wears, his wardrobe fits perfectly with different cloloured handkerchief in his shirt pocket. Sigh – have they forgotten that who should be richer?!

8. Han Qing Shu – Kim Young Ran She is Yan Hua’s mother who finds difficulty bringing up two daughters. She and Ren Shuo come from the same hometown. Thus, she remarries but has to leave her daughters to stay in the small and miserable rented room as Ming Li disallows them to move in. After Xiu Ai is nearly raped and Yan Hua badly beaten, Ren Shuo then gets them to stay with him. She has thought that their poor life is over but after seeing what happens to Yan Hua, she wants to have justice down.

She is repeatedly harmed by You Luo and needs a long time to get well from her coma. She decides to guard her daughters to expose the truth to the public. It is a miracle that this woman survives so many times – she must be a cat in her previous life.

9. Zhang Ming Zi – Yu Hye Ri She is Qiang Xu’s ambitious mother who wants everything for him. She bribes Xia’s chauffeur to burn Hui Lan dead in the car to lie that both of them have eloped to the US so that she can marry Ming Guo. She even leaves Ming Guo to die so that Qiang Xu can be his successor after she buys a bulk of his shares secretly. Hui Lan tracks her down and deceives her to sell her shares – just the same way You Luo loses hers. After knowing Hui Lan’s identity, she sells everything including the house to spite back.

She is stunned to know that Qiang Xu is seriously injured and is later dead. She repents and leaves all the money to Yun Cai and Hui Lan before she leaves for France. Some comment that this actress looks like veteran actress Li Li Hua – I feel so too.

9. Zhao Ming Li – Jung Hye Sun She is You Luo’s grandmother who detests Qing Shu and her daughters. She spoils You Luo rotten to give in to her all the time. When she can’t get her to stop, she covers all her acts. She pins all her hopes on Ren Shuo so she bribes assemblymen to get Ren Shou to be a politician after his forced resignation of the chief judge. To her pleasure, he wins the election. She now thinks that political power is better than money. She is disappointed when You Luo and Ren Shuo are arrested. She then realises that she is wrong all along.

10. Cui Ren Shuo – Choi Sang Hoon He is You Luo’s father and is a senior judge. He pampers You Luo and is guilty stricken over her crime. However, he decides to cover it up and combines with You Luo to frame Yan Hua. He even gets promoted to chief judge. Yan Hua has to keep repeating sending complain letters about him bribing Chang Dou in order to force him to resign. Ming Li then turns to the political field.

He is greedy for power and tells Yan Hua that he will make amends to them after getting elected. Yan Hua and Qing Shu do not trust him anymore. Yan Hua even sends a death flower basket to his campaign election venue to embarrass him. She later sends the videos of corruption to the tv station and he gets arrested finally. When the tape is shown to him, he has to admit his crime and is sentenced to 7 years’ jail.

11. Piao Chang Dou – Jung Kyung Ho He is a greedy policeman. He extorts You Luo when he witnesses what she has done in Yun Xi’s accident case to keep Yun Xi’s ear rings. He also sees how she sends the car to the garage to remove the blood stains. You Luo gets nervous whenever he calls her. He is very scared of Tai Yi as he is a formidable ex-gangster and always hunts him down like a dog. He is later arrested to admit to his crime to sentence to 8 years’ jail.

12. Julia/Zhu Hui Lan – Hong Yeo Jin She is the siblings’ mother. She loses her memory due to the car fire and is deported overseas after being disfigured. She becomes an influential figure in the cosmetics industry and befriends Qiang Xu before returning to Korea. She is skeptical over Yan Hua’s past but feels indignant for her after seeing how you Luo wrongs her.

After regaining her memory and knowing Qiang Xu’s identity, her attitude towards him changes. She comes to stay with the Xias, wanting to get close to Yun Cai.It is a torture for her as she can’t acknowledge her children. She is sad over Yun Xi’s demise and hates Ren Shou for shielding You Luo. She vows to seek redress and set things right. She then helps Yun Cai to manage J cosmetics after they are reunited.

13. Xia Ming Guo - Jo Kyeong-Hwan He is the siblings’ father. He ditches his wife to be with Ming Zi. However, life is not as rosy as it is. He admires Yan Hua’s ability to change Yun Cai and doesn’t oppose to them together. However, he is very weak in health and dies soon.

14. Jin Ying Shun - Ha Jae Sook She is Yan Hua’s cellmate who once bullies her but later feels sorry over her plight after knowing that she is pregnant. After both of them are released from jail, they work in Tai Yi’s company and also stay together. She helps her to get evidence. She keeps the evidence for the sisters, fearing that You Luo will harm them.

15. Reporter Wu Cheng You – Jung Sang Woo He reports on Yan Hua’s news and discovers many questionable points. He feels bad for being unable to help her. Thus, he helps her to get more evidence to film the corruption cases into a programme. Part of it is the survilence tape that Yun Cai keeps at home to record You Luo’s conversation with Chang Dou. Ren Shou’s party uses their political influence to want to axe the programme and demote him. Luckily, due to social pressure, the showing of the programme takes place.

Most favourite character
Tai Yi, he is steadfast in love. He believes to do the most for his love and will not hesitate. As compared, the two leading men are too wishy-washy.

Most hated character
You Luo, she is beyond redemption. She ruins her future herself but blames it on Yan Hua all the time.

Conclusion
Fights between stepsisters in dramas are never ending. This drama wins my list of the most loopholes award. It runs in the similar fashion as ‘Pink Lipstick’. Yan Hua’s life has too many ups and downs. More tragedies faced by any Qiong Yao drama heroines. Do you feel that a person’s life can be as terrible as this?

You Luo commits so many crimes but yet she is let off the hook so many times. I really can’t believe this – how can all of them still trust her and allow her to remain in the company after so much harm has been done? All the evidence points to her and she can still lie with her eyes open.

The most laughable scene will be Yun Cai showing her the disc on her talking to Chang Dou. She can still deny that the person is her and the scenes are doctored with her voice! Oh – how can I take this?! She keeps wanting her father and mother to shield her. Poor Yun Cai has to bear with her due to them.

It is true that she can’t grow up – Yan Hua uses this to sneer at You Luo when deceiving her to sign the contract with the overseas stars to replace her. At this age, she still needs her father’s help to look through the contract and not making her own mind? You Luo can’t take this remark and impulsively sells her asserts due to this.

The producer keeps recycling ideas. Ming Zi, Hui Lan and Yun Xi are involved in car accidents. You Luo and Ming Zi are cheated of their shares. Ying Shu is pushed down the cliff twice and once off the stairs by You Luo. Yan Hua’s new ideas for presentations are often copied by You Luo. Luckily, she isn’t as stupid later to give her the wrong copies so that she can present the real copies.

If you can accept all the flaws and nonsense, you may watch the drama. Or you might become like me, counting the number of unacceptable happenings and shaking my head. Seriously, it is better in 16 episodes.

Sukting’s ratings :
On acting : **1/2 (Scale of 5)
On story : * (Scale of 5)