DREAM CHASER
A Romantic Love Story
Story Synopsis
The Department of Fine Arts at Taiwan University of Arts sends three juniors, Wu Benyun, Chen Mengru, and Tang Huaimin, to Taoyuan International Airport to welcome four exchange students: Michael from Italy, Liu Tianlin from mainland China, Wen Aihua from mainland China, and Xu Manfei from the United States. The exchange students soon become close friends with their Taiwanese classmates.
Chen Mengru (Vivian Chen) is quiet and gentle, with delicate, beautiful features and a well-proportioned figure. She is widely recognized in her department as a beauty with grace and elegance, and she never lacks admirers. Wu Benyun, handsome and athletic, is carefree, charming, and witty, with a natural appeal to women. He has been in love with Mengru for a long time and has confessed his feelings to her several times, but she has never given him a definite answer. Because several girls are constantly surrounding Benyun, Mengru harbors doubts about him, suspecting that he is merely a pretty boy who enjoys flirting with women.
Liu Tianlin, who comes from Beijing, was born into a family with a long tradition in the fine arts. His artistic skills are outstanding, and he is highly regarded by his teachers. He is also proficient in traditional Chinese music, particularly the suona, a traditional Chinese double-reed wind instrument, and the huqin, a bowed string instrument. At a campus talent show, he steals the spotlight and becomes a prominent figure in the class, attracting the attention of Wen Aihua and Xu Manfei. Michael, who is introverted, honest, and simplehearted, is not as outgoing, talkative, or sociable as the other exchange students. Nevertheless, his sincerity and down-to-earth nature earn him the genuine acceptance and warmth of his friends. One day, Mengru sees Michael sitting alone outside a convenience store on campus, eating a piece of toast with bottled mineral water. She approaches him out of concern and learns that his family is not well-off and that he must cover part of his living expenses in Taiwan himself. During the weekends, Mengru therefore accompanies Michael to Beitou Park, where they set up a portrait-painting stall and earn money by drawing portraits for tourists.
Liu Tianlin privately looks down on his Taiwanese classmates. He believes that they lack not only artistic skills but also the ability to organize their studies and daily lives. In his eyes, they spend their days having fun without any serious ambitions for the future. His arrogance frequently surfaces in his interactions with his classmates. Wen Aihua initially has a favorable impression of Tianlin, but after witnessing him treat Tang Huaimin and Wu Benyun with contempt on several occasions, she begins to reconsider her opinion of him. Meanwhile, Xu Manfei showers Tianlin with affection and clings to him tenderly, further complicating Aihua's feelings about him.
Tang Huaimin, a sincere, good-natured, and humorous Taiwanese student, falls in love at first sight with the sunny and cheerful Wen Aihua. He frequently shows concern for her and takes care of her needs. Tianlin is also attracted to Aihua, but he initially does not regard Huaimin as a serious rival and often mocks him. When he realizes that Aihua has grown increasingly distant from him and is instead spending much of her time with Huaimin, Tianlin finally recognizes the seriousness of the situation. He decides to pursue Aihua in earnest and actively declares his feelings for her. However, Xu Manfei keeps a close watch on him and repeatedly sabotages his plans. Moreover, Tianlin himself is emotionally fickle and cannot free himself from Manfei's affectionate embrace. Mengru, who is as close to Aihua as a sister, also encourages Huaimin in his pursuit of Aihua. As a result, Aihua gradually gives up on Tianlin emotionally, while her relationship with Huaimin develops into a stable romance.
As Mengru and Michael spend more and more time together, their friendship gradually develops into love. On Michael's birthday, Mengru, Aihua, and Huaimin prepare a cake and champagne to celebrate with him. Encouraged by Huaimin, Michael seizes the opportunity to confess his love to Mengru. The two become an international couple. Mengru tells Michael that she will accept his marriage proposal only after he has obtained his family's approval. Later, when Wu Benyun discovers that Michael and Chen Mengru are actually together, he maintains his composure and dignity. He believes that once the time comes for Michael to leave Taiwan and return to Europe, he will still have a chance to win Mengru back.
On the night before winter break begins, Xu Manfei proudly announces in the women's dormitory that she will be flying with Liu Tianlin to California to meet her parents and family. Aihua graciously offers them her best wishes. Later, Aihua and Mengru share their innermost feelings. Aihua explains that between Huaimin and Tianlin, she has chosen the sincere and down-to-earth Huaimin. Mengru confides that although the handsome, flirtatious Benyun has pursued her relentlessly, she has never had a favorable impression of him and would rather accept the honest and simplehearted Michael. The two women agree to travel with their boyfriends. Mengru will first visit Aihua in Alishan, after which they will all return together to Sun Moon Lake.
The two couples travel together to the Dabang community in Alishan, where Aihua receives a warm welcome from Huaimin's parents and his younger sister, Meilan. She visits the Tang family's tea and coffee plantations. Huaimin then takes the three others to Danna Valley to enjoy the water, but a sudden downpour forces them to take shelter in a hunter's hut. To dry their clothes, the two couples change out of their wet garments and are briefly undressed in one another's presence, but they maintain appropriate boundaries. Aihua gradually falls in love with the simple, rustic mountain life, although she is not yet psychologically prepared to tell her parents in Shanghai about her romance in Taiwan.
Chen Mengru brings Michael, Tang Huaimin, and Wen Aihua to Sun Moon Lake in Nantou to meet her family. Mrs. Chen does not want her daughter Mengru to marry a foreigner and move to Italy in the future, so she urges her to find a local partner instead. Michael interacts with the Chen family with sincerity and humility, gradually winning the affection of Mengru's father, Zhenxing, and her younger brother, Zhiming. The four young people then set up a portrait-painting stall beside Shuishe Pier at Sun Moon Lake, drawing portraits for tourists and experiencing the life of street artists firsthand.
When the new semester begins, Michael and Chen Mengru's relationship continues to grow stronger, leaving Wu Benyun little opportunity to intervene. Tang Huaimin and Wen Aihua also officially become a couple. Liu Tianlin tries to win Aihua back but fails repeatedly, while Xu Manfei continues to cling stubbornly to him.
At the end of the semester, the exchange students are about to leave Taipei. The Chen family hosts a farewell banquet for Michael at their home near Sun Moon Lake. Michael promises that after completing his studies and obtaining his parents' approval, he will return to Taiwan to formally ask for Mengru's hand in marriage. Mengru and her family accompany him to the airport to see him off. Aihua promises that once she graduates from college, she will return to Taiwan and spend her life with Huaimin.
Six months later, all four students graduate from college. Michael becomes a designer at a company that manufactures luxury handbags. He works hard to save money, hoping to gradually realize his dream of purchasing a storefront and establishing his own brand of handbags before returning to Taiwan to marry Mengru. Meanwhile, Mengru travels to various places to paint from life and diligently prepares to participate in the National Art Exhibition of Taiwan.
Wen Aihua wants to fly to Taiwan to be with Huaimin, but her mother discovers their relationship through Aihua's laptop. Unwilling to let her daughter marry and move to Taiwan, she plans to arrange a match between Aihua and Jiang Yang, the son of a longtime family friend. Aihua's father also hopes that Jiang Yang will eventually take over the family's clothing business. Neither parent wants Aihua to leave Shanghai, so they confine her at home and place her under Jiang Yang's supervision. After repeated attempts to reason with her parents prove futile, Aihua decides to pursue true love and look for an opportunity to escape to Taiwan. Her younger sister, Meihua, sympathizes with her predicament and secretly helps her.
In desperation, Tang Huaimin turns to Chen Mengru for help. The two travel to Tamsui to find Wu Benyun, and together they devise a plan to help Aihua escape. Mengru travels to Shanghai to meet Aihua and work out the details of their plan. Using a business meeting with a client as a cover, Mengru disguises herself as Aihua and successfully deceives the people Jiang Yang has assigned to watch her. While the watchers are fooled, Aihua makes her escape and rushes to the airport, flying to Taiwan to reunite with Huaimin.
Huaimin hides Aihua at the Chen family home near Sun Moon Lake. Aihua's parents and Jiang Yang follow the clues to Alishan and attempt to pressure the Tang family into revealing her whereabouts, but their threats prove unsuccessful. Wen Zhiqian, Aihua's father, eventually agrees to Huaimin's conditions because he wants to see his daughter again.
The Wen family finally meets Aihua at the Chen residence near Sun Moon Lake. Aihua calmly explains her decision to her parents. Unwilling to lose his daughter, her father reluctantly agrees to let her stay in Taiwan. Mengru and her younger brother then take Huaimin, Aihua, and Meihua on a sightseeing boat tour of Sun Moon Lake. Meihua develops a wonderful impression of the lake and its surroundings.
A year later, Michael purchases a storefront and begins renovating it. He finally obtains his parents' approval and sends Mengru an email telling her that he will soon set off for Taiwan. Just as their long-awaited reunion seems within reach, however, Mengru suffers an accident while painting from life in Taitung. She falls from a sea cliff and disappears, losing all contact with her family and Michael.
The Chen family is distraught. They contact Tang Huaimin and travel to Taitung to search for Mengru, even placing missing-person advertisements in the newspapers. Michael immediately puts his work aside, flies to Taiwan, and heads straight to the Chen family home at Sun Moon Lake.
Chen Mengru is rescued by Lin Fengmian, a young photographer. From the identification documents in Mengru's wallet, Fengmian learns her name, her family address, and what she originally looked like. Mengru has suffered a brain injury that causes amnesia and changes to her facial features. Fengmian remembers his former college girlfriend, Qiu Haiyun, who disappeared after going to Europe to study. He feels that Mengru bears some resemblance to Haiyun. While Mengru is receiving treatment, he asks the doctors to reconstruct her face to resemble Haiyun in an old photograph. He also changes her name to Qiu Haiyun.
After Haiyun is discharged from the hospital, Fengmian arranges for her to return to the Qiu family home in Beitou. Her supposed parents believe that Fengmian has brought their daughter back. Haiyun accepts their account as the truth and settles into the Qiu household, believing that she is indeed Qiu Haiyun. Nevertheless, the people in the Qiu family, the objects in her bedroom, and the photographs of Haiyun in the family albums all seem strangely unfamiliar to her. She cannot help harboring doubts about her identity.
Michael tells the Chen family that he intends to contact several classmates and search every major city and small town until they find Mengru. Deeply moved by Michael's determination, Zhenxing allows him to take the family's Wolf motorcycle and set off on a nationwide search with Tang Huaimin and Wen Aihua.
Whenever the three arrive in a town or city, Michael sets up a portrait-painting stall in a busy public area, while Huaimin plays guitar and sings to attract curious passersby. Michael uses a studio portrait of Mengru to create two paintings of her: one depicting her upper body in profile and the other showing her full figure from the front. He displays one painting on each side of the stall and places a missing-person notice written in Chinese alongside them.
Tourists who see the portraits and read the notice seeking Michael's missing fiancée, Chen Mengru, express their sympathy and encouragement. Their moving story eventually attracts media coverage. Unfortunately, Fengmian sees the report, which immediately puts him on guard.
Fengmian introduces Qiu Haiyun to the modeling agency where he works, Fair Lady, and carefully cultivates her career in the hope of making her a star in the fashion modeling industry. Fengmian is General Manager Shao Yuting's favorite employee. Zhao Jiamei, the agency's creative director, has long harbored romantic feelings for him. However, Fengmian has eyes and a heart only for Haiyun. Unwilling to lose him, Jiamei reluctantly cooperates with the company's plans. With her fresh, delicate appearance and artistic temperament, Haiyun quickly becomes a rising star in the fashion world.
One day, Fengmian takes a group of models to Fisherman's Wharf in Tamsui for an outdoor photo shoot. Coincidentally, Michael, Huaimin, and Aihua are also there with their portrait-painting stall. Huaimin's guitar performance catches Haiyun's attention because fragments of memories of painting portraits at a street stall still linger in her mind.
During a break in the filming and photography, Haiyun approaches Michael's stall and sits down to have him paint her portrait. Her eyes fall on the Wolf motorcycle behind Michael, and fragments of memories suddenly surface in her mind. She instinctively feels that she must have some connection to the motorcycle.
Haiyun then notices the two portraits of Chen Mengru and the missing-person notice Michael has written. As she asks Michael questions out of curiosity, she feels an increasingly powerful sense of familiarity with him. At the same time, Michael begins to suspect the truth from Haiyun's voice and her eyes.
Just then, Fengmian comes looking for Haiyun. When he sees Mengru's two portraits and the missing-person notice, his instinct tells him that he must prevent Haiyun from meeting Michael again. He therefore coaxes and deceives her into leaving the scene with him.
That evening, the three friends return to the workshop of their old college classmate, Wu Benyun, where they are staying. They discuss their encounter with Haiyun. Huaimin and Aihua remind Michael that even if Mengru's appearance has changed, it is unlikely that her voice would have changed as well. Their observation greatly boosts Michael's confidence. He immediately searches online for Qiu Haiyun and discovers the modeling agency where she works.
Michael rides his motorcycle to the agency and waits outside. When he sees Haiyun leaving with Fengmian, he approaches her, hoping to reveal his identity and reunite with her. Fengmian deliberately blocks his way in an aggressive manner. Michael watches helplessly as Haiyun gets into Fengmian's sedan and drives away. He immediately mounts his Wolf motorcycle and follows them through the streets and alleys.
Inside the sedan, Haiyun spots Michael and the motorcycle following them in the rearview mirror. Having noticed several suspicious details in Fengmian's earlier behavior, she questions him repeatedly. Although Fengmian cleverly invents a convincing explanation to answer her questions, he still cannot dispel her doubts.
While Fengmian is temporarily called away by the general manager, Zhao Jiamei becomes curious and browses through a notebook on his desk. To her astonishment, she discovers Chen Mengru's identification card. She immediately senses that the young woman resembles Qiu Haiyun to an extraordinary degree, perhaps seventy or eighty percent. Several pages of notes in the notebook clearly reveal Haiyun's true identity.
Thrilled by this shocking discovery, Jiamei realizes that once Haiyun learns of Fengmian's deception, she may leave him. She takes out her phone and photographs the identification card and the relevant pages of the notebook.
That afternoon, during teatime, Jiamei arranges to meet Haiyun at a café. She shows Haiyun the photographs of the identification card and the notebook pages on her phone. Convinced by Jiamei's explanation, Haiyun comes to believe that everything has been deliberately arranged by Fengmian and that she is actually Chen Mengru. However, her memories have not yet returned.
At Wu Benyun's workshop, the four friends discuss the situation and reach the conclusion that Fengmian must be hiding something. He has repeatedly and deliberately prevented Michael and Haiyun from meeting, which strongly suggests that he has a guilty conscience.
Undeterred, Michael continues his search and waits outside Haiyun's modeling agency for her to finish work. He then follows Fengmian's sedan on his motorcycle. Just before they reach a railroad crossing, Michael catches up with the car. A train passes through the crossing, and while Fengmian is distracted, Michael knocks on the car window and holds up the keepsake Mengru once gave him as a symbol of their love: a heart-shaped necklace.
One by one, the memories buried in Haiyun's mind begin to awaken. Suddenly, she opens the car door and climbs onto Michael's Wolf motorcycle. When Fengmian realizes what has happened, he immediately turns the car around and gives chase. Holding Michael tightly, Haiyun rides away with him as the motorcycle weaves through the streets and alleys. They soon shake off Fengmian's sedan and disappear into the night.
The four friends return to the Chen family home at Sun Moon Lake, where they join the family for a barbecue outside the house. Mengru notices that her younger brother, Chen Zhijia, is chatting online with Wen Meihua in Shanghai on his phone. Hearing the siblings' conversation, Wen Aihua laughs and remarks that both sisters have been tricked into coming to Taiwan, one after the other.
The End
CHARACTER PROFILES
Female Lead: Chen Mengru (Graduated from the University of the Arts; Skilled in Painting)
Physical Appearance
Twenty-two years old, with delicate, beautiful features, long, glossy black hair, a model's figure, and a sweet voice. She wears light-colored dresses and long skirts and is recognized in her department as a beauty of grace and elegance.
Personality and Mindset
Naturally beautiful, gentle, and elegant, she is introverted, quiet, and artistically inclined. She is an independent-minded young woman. When it comes to relationships with male friends, Mengru values inner character rather than physical appearance.
Male Lead: Michael Garibaldi (Graduated from the University of the Arts; Skilled in Painting)
Physical Appearance
Twenty-two years old, with blond hair, well-defined features, fair skin, and a tall, upright build. He wears a shirt and jeans.
Personality and Mindset
An exchange student from Venice, Italy, Michael comes from a family of modest means. He is honest, simplehearted, introverted, taciturn, and not good at expressing himself, but he treats others sincerely and values emotional bonds deeply. He excels at cartoon drawing and has strong ambition and a keen sense of responsibility.
Second Female Lead: Qiu Haiyun (Graduated from the University of the Arts; Skilled in Painting)
Physical Appearance
Twenty-three years old, with delicate features, flowing long hair, an elegant demeanor, a model's figure, and an outstanding appearance. After Chen Mengru falls off a cliff, suffers amnesia, and becomes disfigured, Lin Fengmian deliberately transforms her appearance into that of Qiu Haiyun.
Personality and Mindset
Although she has been transformed into Qiu Haiyun and groomed to become a fashion model, fragments of Chen Mengru's memories remain, and she still feels a deep connection to her former lover, Michael. When her memories are awakened, she decides to give up the glamour of the modeling world and return to Michael's side.
Supporting Male Character 1: Lin Fengmian (Professional Photographer)
Physical Appearance
Twenty-six years old, with handsome, refined features, polished speech, and a ponytail. He has a tall, dashing figure and considerable appeal to women. He dresses casually and presents a stylish, carefree image.
Personality and Mindset
Romantic and artistically inclined, he nevertheless acts out of selfish motives and has a strong desire for control. To secure his own happiness, he is willing to take advantage of someone else's vulnerability and resort to unscrupulous methods. He is a man who appears kind on the outside but is malicious at heart.
Principal Character: Wu Benyun (University of the Arts Student)
Physical Appearance
Twenty-two years old, with handsome, refined features and a somewhat effeminate charm. He is exceptionally good-looking, dresses with great taste, and has a romantic, carefree style that makes him popular with women. He is widely regarded as the department's resident pretty boy.
Personality and Mindset
He is attracted to Chen Mengru's exceptional grace and has confessed his feelings to her several times. However, his popularity with women makes Mengru deeply wary of him. As a result, she would rather choose the taciturn, honest, and simplehearted Michael than give Benyun a chance.
Supporting Male Character 2: Tang Huaimin (University of the Arts Student)
Physical Appearance
Twenty-two years old, with a prominent aquiline nose and deeply set features. He wears a crew cut and a horseshoe mustache, has a burly build, and dresses in a shirt and overalls. His appearance is rugged, and he speaks in a loud voice.
Personality and Mindset
Cheerful and straightforward, he is a big, somewhat clumsy fellow in his class. Beneath his rough exterior, however, he is perceptive and good at judging people's character. He becomes close friends with the sincere and simplehearted Michael and wins the affection of Wen Aihua.
Supporting Female Character 1: Wen Aihua (University of the Arts Exchange Student)
Physical Appearance
Twenty-two years old, with sweet features, a ponytail, and an athletic figure. She has a somewhat boyish appearance and often wears androgynous clothing, such as a floral shirt and dress pants.
Personality and Mindset
Gentle, elegant, and strong-willed, she plays the pipa skillfully. She admires Tianlin's talent, but Tang Huaimin's sincerity and kindness eventually win her heart. She is willing to leave her family and move to Taiwan to remain with Huaimin.
Principal Character: Liu Tianlin (University of the Arts Exchange Student)
Physical Appearance
Twenty-two years old, with handsome, refined features and a slender build. He wears a pair of vintage-style glasses, parts his hair down the middle, and dresses in a traditional long gown with suit trousers, giving him the refined, scholarly appearance of an intellectual from the early Republican era in China.
Personality and Mindset
Born into a family with a distinguished tradition in the fine arts, he possesses considerable artistic expertise. He is also proficient in traditional Chinese music, excels at playing the suona, and plays the huqin skillfully. Gifted and romantic in his words and behavior, he is nevertheless proud and arrogant, looks down on his peers, and frequently displays an air of superiority.
Principal Character: Xu Manfei (University of the Arts Exchange Student)
Physical Appearance
Twenty-two years old, with sweet features, long hair falling over her shoulders, and a graceful figure. She wears a pink shirt and jeans.
Personality and Mindset
Originally from California, she is lively and attention-seeking but actually shrewd and formidable. She adopts an assertive, proactive American style. She is infatuated with Liu Tianlin, clings to him every day, and keeps a close watch on his movements. She harbors hostility toward both Wen Aihua and Chen Mengru.
Principal Character: Zhao Jiamei (Creative Director at the Fair Lady Modeling Agency)
Physical Appearance
Thirty-five years old, with alluring features, sharply defined contours, a strikingly glamorous appearance, and a voluptuous figure. She wears high-end dresses and keeps up with the latest fashions. Although she is in her mid-thirties, her mature, sensual charm remains captivating.
Personality and Mindset
Shrewd, capable, and quick-thinking, she excels at leadership and management and is a typical career-driven woman. However, she struggles when it comes to love. She is devoted to Lin Fengmian and treats him with tenderness and affection. Even when he loses his temper with her, she swallows her grievances and endures his behavior without complaint or regret.
Principal Character: Gu Meiyun (University of the Arts Student)
Physical Appearance
Twenty-two years old, with ordinary features, freckles, and a mushroom-shaped haircut. She wears nearsighted glasses, has an average build, and has a somewhat boyish appearance. She often dresses in an androgynous style, wearing a floral shirt and trousers.
Personality and Mindset
She has strong likes and dislikes and is shrewd and assertive. She has little respect for handsome playboys. She is very close to Chen Mengru and looks out for her protectively, actively preventing Wu Benyun from getting close to Mengru.
Principal Character: Chen Zhenxing (Chen Mengru's Biological Father)
Physical Appearance
Forty-six years old, with regular features, sharply defined contours, keen, hawklike eyes, and an aquiline nose. He is tall and thin and dresses in a distinctly Taiwanese local style, wearing a floral shirt and suit trousers.
Personality and Mindset
Easygoing on the surface, he is actually perceptive, shrewd, and skilled at judging people's character. He takes a democratic and open-minded approach to raising his children. After calmly observing Michael, he is moved by the young man's sincerity and simplehearted nature and agrees to Mengru's relationship with him.
Principal Character: Li Wanhua (Chen Mengru's Biological Mother)
Physical Appearance
Forty-four years old, with attractive features and a full figure. It is evident that she was once a beauty in her youth. She rarely wears makeup or dresses up and favors the simple clothing of a country woman.
Personality and Mindset
Gentle, hardworking, and resilient, she devotes herself to managing the household. She is a typical rural housewife who generally defers to her husband's opinions and cares deeply for her children.
Principal Character: Jiang Yang
Physical Appearance
Thirty-five years old, with regular features and a slick, polished appearance. He wears expensive suits and is a meticulous, calculating man who serves as the general manager of a fashion company.
Personality and Mindset
He falls in love with Wen Aihua at first sight. Taking advantage of his family's longstanding friendship with the Wen family, he treats Aihua as though she belongs to him. He constantly monitors her activities and social relationships. His possessiveness disgusts Aihua and makes her increasingly resent him.
Principal Character: Chen Zhijia (Chen Mengru's Younger Brother)
Physical Appearance
Nineteen years old, with regular features, a tanned complexion, a muscular build, and a sunny appearance. He wears a shirt and jeans.
Personality and Mindset
Easygoing, cheerful, and approachable, he combines his father's shrewdness with his mother's gentleness.
Principal Character: Qiu Shuiquan (Qiu Haiyun's Father)
Physical Appearance
Forty-six years old, with slender eyebrows, a long nose, refined features, and an average build. He wears a civil servant's uniform.
Personality and Mindset
Kind, warmhearted, and gentle, he is easy to get along with and deeply devoted to his daughter.
Principal Character: Zhou Yumei (Qiu Haiyun's Mother)
Physical Appearance
Forty-four years old, with ordinary features, a round face with freckles, a slightly plump figure, and a short stature.
Personality and Mindset
Gentle and warmhearted, she dotes on her daughter, although she can sometimes be rather nagging.
