Pleasantly Surprised (), also known as Love Myself or You, is a 2014 Taiwanese romantic-comedy television series produced by Sanlih E-Television. It stars Puff Guo and Jasper Liu as the main leads, with Jolin Chien and Lene Lai as the main supporting leads. The original title has a double meaning which literally translates to "Like Someone" or "Like To Be Alone", depending on how it is read. Original title during development of the drama was "Love Met Cupid 愛情遇見邱比特", the title was then changed to "Love Myself or You 喜歡·一個人" during start of production. The English title was once again renamed "Pleasantly Surprised" right before the drama began airing. Filming took place from April 23 to October 13, 2014 and was filmed as the drama aired. 直擊／「芙皇」郭雪芙熊抱賴琳恩 十指緊扣玩嘴對嘴親親. Retrieved 10-13-2014 First original broadcast began May 23, 2014 on SETTV channel airing every Friday at 10:00-11:30 pm. Final episode was aired on October 17, 2014, with 22 episodes total.
Synopsis Du Kai Qi is an aspiring young chef, her only interests are cooking and reading manga comics. She doesn't have many friends and doesn't want anymore. After enjoying her most delicious full course meal prepared by a chef named Louis, she snaps a picture of his signature from the plate and request to meet him. However, a family emergency forces her to leave before meeting Louis. She looks to Louis's signature as strength and inspiration for her upcoming sous chef promotion test. On the day of her test the new restaurant intern Ah Jie, who has to decide the winner, chooses Kai Qi's rival dish over hers. Losing out on her promotion, Kai Qi makes instant enemies with Ah Jie. What she doesn't know is Ah Jie is her boss's son, her new next door neighbor, the chef Louis that she admires so much and her long lost childhood friend Fu Zi Jie who she had a close bond with. Viki page, full episodes with English subs. Retrieved 9-16-2014
Plot summary The once cheerful and happy Du Kai Qi has grown up to be a cold, fierce and isolated person due to her harsh upbringing. Her father is a money asking, alcoholic and abusive person. Even though both of her parents have been separated for many years, her father still harasses and abuses her mother for money. With so many difficulties in her life, it has made her liked to be left alone. Kai Qi works as an assistant chef at "Figaro Cuisine", a fancy French restaurant owned by her mother's former employer. At Figaro's, it brings her pleasant memories of her childhood when both she and her mother had their most delicious meal there. Knowing how happy that meal made her mother feel, it drives her to become an accomplished chef hoping to provide a better life for her and her mother. Already struggling financially, she is forced to take in her young nephew when his father abandons him to get remarried.
Fu Zi Jie has just returned home for the first time after many years living abroad in France. A highly skilled French chef, he has never risen pass an intern position because of a promise he made to his brother. During dinner with his parents, his mother begs him to take a position as an intern for one month at one of his father's restaurants, hoping it will change his mind to stay in Taiwan and take over his father's business. Seeing his mother's persistence, he agrees, but asks that his real identity be concealed from the restaurant staff and that he moves out on his own. He arrives at "Figaro Cuisine" and instantly remembers the happy times he had as a child with his nanny and her daughter who became his best friend. He tells the restaurant staff to call him Ah Jie. On his first day at the restaurant, he is asked by the executive chef to judge the sous chef promotion test between Kai Qi and her rival Cheng Le Xuan. Not happy with the outcome of the sous chef promotion test, Kai Qi instantly makes enemies with Ah Jie, but also finds out her dish has been sabotaged by the executive chef because she rejected his advances to be his girlfriend earlier.
Ah Jie finds out by accident that Kai Qi besides being a fierce new co-worker is also his childhood friend and his nanny's daughter. He becomes intrigue to find out why she has become a total opposite of how he had remembered her to be. Stalking her after work he finds out from a drunk shouting Kai Qi how much that work promotion meant to her as the salary increase would have made her able to provide for her mother. While taking her home he discovers that they are also next door neighbors and mistakes her nephew to be her son when her nephew accidentally calls her mom. Curious of Kai Qi's current life he becomes extra kind and nice to her at work to get closer to her, even though she keeps pushing him away. Le Xuan notices Ah Jie over helping Kai Qi, so she forces them to participate in a cooking competition and win a title or else both will be fired, hesitant to compete but with their jobs on the line he breaks one of his promises to his brother for Kai Qi's sake. He uses this opportunity to let Kai Qi mentor him in cooking, even though he is more skilled than her, as an excuse to become closer to her.
Through their lessons and time together Ah Jie starts to uncover the difficult life Kai Qi has had to go through for the past years. Using his reliance and her discovering his real identity, he gets the once isolated Kai Qi to start opening up and warm up to others. However, Ah Jie starts to show his jealous side when Kai Qi resolves her misunderstanding with her estranged college buddy Cheng Hao Wei. He soon realizes that his feelings for Kai Qi has turned from friendship to love. With his one month in Taiwan almost up and sensing Hao Wei actively pursuing Kai Qi, he is torn between telling her how he feels or just leaving Taiwan quietly. Living abroad all these years has also made Ah Jie adjust to life being alone, but for the first time in his life he has formed a bond with someone outside of his family and don't want to lose that feeling. Knowing he can't stay in Taiwan and can't take Kai Qi with him, also not wanting her to end up with Hao Wei, he decides to confess his feelings for her hoping to leave with a lasting memory.
After confessing his feelings and Kai Qi returning the same feelings for him, Ah Jie breaks all of his promises to his brother by staying in Taiwan. His brother who holds a grudge against him is unhappy with this news and threatens Ah Jie with Kai Qi's job. Ah Jie threatens his brother back, that he will retaliate by taking over all of their father's businesses and competing in all the cooking competitions he can. His brother then resorts to offering to buy off Kai Qi hoping she will break up with Ah Jie. Kai Qi slowly starts to understand the volatile relationship between Ah Jie and his brother, she helps and supports Ah Jie in making his brother realizes how much Ah Jie has sacrificed to make him happy. His brother finally drops his grudge against Ah Jie and promises that he won't come between Ah Jie and Kai Qi anymore.
However, Ah Jie and Kai Qi's happiness is short lived when her father is part of a gang that kidnaps Ah Jie's brother for ransom. Kai Qi knowing her father is one of the cohorts protects him from the police by withholding information about the kidnappers identities when she thinks this will cause her to lose her new-found happiness with Ah Jie. Soon Ah Jie's brother is found badly injured in a comatose state, the authorities show Ah Jie's family that Kai Qi's father is one of the kidnappers. Ah Jie becomes furious with Kai Qi and blames her for not telling the authorities earlier as it might have saved his brother from serious injuries. Due to her father's actions Kai Qi is too ashamed to face others and starts to revert to her isolated self, but once Ah Jie's anger cools down he tries hard to overlook what her father has done to save their relationship.
Kai Qi unable to deal with the guilt her father has burden her with, quits her job at the restaurant and moves to the countryside to live with her mother in order to avoid Ah Jie. Hao Wei uses this opportunity to be a friend in need while still hoping that he might still have a chance with Kai Qi. He invests in a restaurant according to Kai Qi's dreams and ask her to be the head chef. Hao Wei also uses this chance to see if there is still any hope for Kai Qi and Ah Jie before confessing his feelings to her, by suggest the two complete in a cooking competition. If Kai Qi wins ShiFu Restaurant Corp will have to provide free advertisement for Hao Wei's restaurant for a month, but if Ah Jie wins Kai Qi must reconcile with him.
Ah Jie's brother wakes up from his coma on the day the winner of the cooking competition is to be decided. Kai Qi wins and Ah Jie knowing that she can now accept being together with him again leans in for a kiss, however Kai Qi's reaction surprises everyone. Hao Wei sees it as a sign to confess his feelings for Kai Qi, but she rejects him midway into his confession. Knowing what her answer will be beforehand, Hao Wei tells her he will be leaving the country to pursue his real interest. Ah Jie unhappy with Kai Qi running out on him that day, has the entire restaurant staff help him teach her a lesson by pretending to ignore his love for her. Knowing she has done Ah Jie wrong, Kai Qi puts her pride aside and publicly confesses her love for Ah Jie.
One year later Kai Qi is now a successful chef recognized by food writers and on the cover of magazines praising her restaurant. She is also no longer alone as she and Ah Jie are finally in a stable loving relationship cohabiting together. Ah Jie tells Kai Qi that even if they weren't who they were he would still encounter her and fall in love with her.
Cast Main cast Puff Guo 郭雪芙 as Du Kai Qi 杜凱琪 - Age 28 Aspiring French chef who has worked at "Figaro Cuisine" for 6 years. When her chance for a promotion to the Sous Chef position is dashed because of the Executive Chef and the new intern Ah Jie, she becomes enemies with Ah Jie. But through his extra kindness to her she starts to open up to him. Growing up in a difficult family has made her cold and isolate from others. Her guilty pleasures are reading manga comics because it help takes her mind away from reality. A mysteries chef named Louis enters her life when she tastes his food. When she finds out that Ah Jie is her childhood friend and Louis he becomes the only person she can depend on. Their friendship soon turns to love when each other misunderstands that the other might like someone but not knowing that someone is each other. Her and Ah Jie's happiness is short lived when her father is part of a gang that kidnaps Ah Jie's brother. Unable to face Ah Jie or his family she breaks up with him and later quits her job at the restaurant. Her university senior and friend Hao Wei, opens a restaurant according to her dreams in hopes she will accept him one day but in the end when all hers and Ah Jie's problems are settle it is still Ah Jie that she loves and chooses. In the end she is no longer alone and is in a loving stable relationship cohabiting with Ah Jie. Jasper Liu 劉以豪 as Louis Fu Zi Jie (Ah Jie) 傅子杰 - Age 28