It Started With a Kiss (TV series)

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It Started with a Kiss (惡作劇之吻 in traditional Chinese and 恶作剧之吻 in simplified Chinese) is a popular Taiwanese drama which aired in 2005. It was based on the Japanese manga Itazura na Kiss (Mischievous Kiss) and stars Taiwanese idols Joe Cheng and Ariel Lin as the leading characters. The show was one of the highest rated Taiwanese dramas of 2005.

1 Synopsis - Introduction
2 Synopsis - Further Events
3 Main Cast
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] Synopsis - Introduction

The "kiss"

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Taken from DramaWiki

Yuan Xiangqin (Ariel Lin) is a naive but optimistic high school girl. Ever since she met Jiang Zhi Shu (Joe Cheng) at the freshman orientation, she's fallen in love with the genius with an IQ of 200. After two years of having a crush on him, she finally musters the courage to confess to him at school with a letter. Zhi Shu is not impressed, and his cold-hearted rejection immediately turns her into the biggest joke of the school.

Misfortune comes in a pair: that evening, the new house she has just moved into with her father collapses in a minor earthquake. She and her father are instantly left homeless. Fortunately, her father's old high school friend extends a helping hand and invites both of them to live at his house. Little did Xiang Qin know that the kind Uncle Li is actually the father of Jiang Zhi Shu! Because of the unexpected turn of events, the two of them begin living their lives under the same roof.

[edit] Synopsis - Further Events

Xiang Qin discovers Zhi Shu's childhood secret (from his mother), and mischievously manage to get him to tutor her in her studies. With his help, she manages to get accepted into a university. On the night before Zhi Shu's university entrance exam to Tai Da University, Xiang Qin gets drunk and inadvertently tells him that she wants to go to the same university as him.

When Zhi Shu came down with a flu on the day of his university entrance exam, Xiang Qin decides to accompany him but faints. Zhi Shu sends her to the hospital, thus missing his entrance exam. Xiang Qin blames herself when she found out. However, later it was discovered that Zhi Shu had missed the exam intentionally - mainly because of the conversation the night before and also, he did not want to attend Tai Da. They eventually go to the same university.

Xiang Qin's admirer(Jiro Wang) from high school is very determined to marry her and become a successful chef. In order to do so, he becomes the apprentice of Xiang Qin's dad (who is a chef) and gets a job as a cook in the university's cafeteria in order to hone his skills while simultaneously being near her. There, Zhi Shu becomes classmates and friends with a pretty and smart girl called Pei Zi Yu(Tiffany Xu). Xiang Qin begins to feel jealous and tries to get in between Zhi Shu and Zi Yu all the time. Later, Zhi Shu's mom comes up with a plan to make Zhi Shu jealous and encourages Xiang Qin to fake a relationship with a junior student. At the same time, Hao Qian (an upperclass man) who is Zi Yu's admirer asks Xiang Qin to pretend to be in relationship with him to make Zi Yu jealous. Zhi Shu misunderstands and becomes extremely cold towards Xiang Qin. But Zhi Shu figures out Hao Qian's plan and ends up being closer to her instead.

Zhi Shu becomes tired of living under the protection of his parents. He decides to move out to live on his own and living on his own expenses by working as a waiter. Xiang Qin manages to make a nuisance of herself by going often to his workplace, and by coincidence (or not) Pei Zi Yu works there too. Xiang Qin decides to follow Zhi Shu from his workplace and find out where he lives. To her horror, she finds him walking with Zi Yu after work and going into the same house. Crushed, she cries bitterly and isn't herself. Finally, through her friends' help and Zi Yu's sister, she manages to find out the truth on that matter, but she continues to bring more problem to Zhi Shu.

Zhi Shu's father contracts a heart attack when Zhi Shu tells him he wants to be a doctor. It had always been his father's plan and dream that Zhi Shu will one day inherit and take over his business, although Zhi Shu had no interest. Due to his father's hospitalization, Zhi Shu temporarily takes over the company. Xiang Qin also help out by working in the company. She manages to make a client regard very highly of Zhi Shu, and he ends up getting introduced to the client's pretty, elegant and intelligent granddaughter, Hui Lan. As Zhi Shu is afraid of losing partnership with this client which could result in the company's financial crisis, he decides to date and gets engaged to Hui Lan. Xiang Qin is crushed and decides to date Ah Jin, her admirer.

Ah Jin had asked Xiang Qin to marry him. She hesitated and asked for more time to think it over. She shares this with her friends, who in turn purposely talked about the proposal in front of Zhi Shu. Zhi Shu becomes agitated and for once in his life, he did not know what to do. Hui Lan, sensing his agitation and that his heart did not belong to her, prompted Zhi Shu to rethink their engagement. He left her to find Xiang Qin, hoping that he was not too late. He eventually finds her and finally proposes to her.

In the end, Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin get married at the place of their first date in a rather unusual wedding.

A sequel, which will focus on their lives after marriage, is set to begin filming in 2007.

[edit] Main Cast

Ariel Lin as Yuan Xiang Qin 袁湘琴
Joe Cheng as Jiang Zhi Shu 江直樹
Jiro Wang as Jin Yuan Feng (Ah Jin)金元豐
Tiffany Xu as Pei Zi Yu 裴子瑜
Jason as Wang Hao Qian 王皓謙
Chang Yung Cheng as Jiang Ah Li
Cyndi Chao as Ah Li's wife
Tang Tsung Sheng as Yuan Ah Cai
Yang Pei Ting as Lin Chun Mei
Liu Jung Chia as Liu Ya Nun
Lee Shiau Shiang as Ji Hae Kin

[edit] Trivia

The series was based on the Japanese shoujo manga Itazura na kiss (Mischievous kiss) by Kaoru Tada.
There are 23 volumes of the manga.
There is no ending of the manga; the series was still running in Margaret when the author passed away at the age of 38 from a brain aneurysm.
Itazura na kiss (1996) is the Japanese adaptation.
The filming of It Started with a Kiss lasted one entire year. Some scenes were filmed in different seasons, which resulted in many goofs.
The sequel is set to air in September 2007 due to the show's high ratings in Taiwan.
When the series aired in the Philippines in 2006, the characters were given western names, Jiang Zhi Shu was renamed Michael while Yuan Xiang Qin was renamed Jeannie. It also became one of the highest rating daytime Asianovela in the country during its run.