Synopsis of Ruco Chan’s “Outbound Love”

Earlier this week, the cast of TVB’s Outbound Love <單戀雙城> went to Malaysia to promote the upcoming romantic drama, which will be premiering in both Hong Kong and Malaysia on January 20, 2014. The cast greeted their fans in a variety of different languages, and played games with the fans in attendance. Lead star Ruco Chan (陳展鵬) performed the drama’s sub-theme single, “Just Half a Step” <差半步> live and Elaine Yiu (姚子羚) also showcased her vocals.

Aside from Ruco and Elaine, cast members Lin Xiawei (林夏薇), Tony Hung (洪永城), and Matt Yeung (楊明) also attended the Malaysian promotions. Lead actress Aimee Chan (陳茵媺), who is currently caring for her month-old son Aiden Chan, was absent.

Produced by Fong Chun Chiu (方駿釗), who debuted his first TVB production as a producer with last year’s Missing You <幸福摩天輪>, described Outbound Love to be “refreshing and romantic”. He said, “Many small television productions in the past have emphasized family commentary, but I wanted Outbound Love to focus on the relationships between the two pairs, Ruco and Aimee and Xiawei and Tony. The drama will be more focused on their romances, and the side stories that come with it.”

Gong Seung Yeon's agency sets r...
Gong Seung Yeon's agency sets record straight on Son Hon Jun's romance

The producer recalled a rather touching and unforgettable filming experience between Ruco and Aimee, “We were shooting in a small town near Kuala Lumpur, and the scene was about Ruco and Aimee watching the sunset together in a tree house. It was perfect. In my eyes, this [drama] is their representative work.”

Outbound Love spent nearly an entire month shooting at various locations in Malaysia, including Kuala Lumpur and Penang. The drama also filmed at some of Malaysia’s hottest tourist spots, such as the Petronas Towers, Sekinchan, the Batu Caves, the Chew Jetty.

Synopsis

The story begins with the unlucky tour guide Law Shik Shik (Aimee Chan), who feels responsible for her mother’s death. Fortunately, Shik Shik finds her strength again from her loving architect boyfriend Ching Chin Bok (Matt Yeung) and her two best friends, Chin Jun (Tony Hung) and Wong Kei Ying (Samantha Ko).

Shik Shik travels to Malaysia for work and meets the excruciatingly laid-back and procrastinating local guide Luk Kung Chi (Ruco Chan). Unable to bear Kung Chi’s carelessness and lack of professionalism, Shik Shik has a strong distaste for him. However, Kung Chi’s wishy-washy personality is stemmed from a hurtful past he wishes to forget.

Chin Bok’s younger sister Ching Chin Jan (Lin Xiawei), dreams of opening her own desert house. Though dedicated, Chin Jan lacks the talent and has a hard time searching for suitable classes with patient teachers. Shik Shik asks good friend Chin Jun, a master pastry chef, to teach Jan, but the perfectionist Jun quickly regrets his decision to help.

The 22-episode Outbound Love is expected to premiere on Monday, January 20 at 8:30 PM on TVB Jade and HD Jade.

Sources: Ming Pao; kuangaitvb.com

This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.

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Responses

  1. By the look of it and the synopsis, it will be another boring drama

    1. Thank goodness for boring dramas. The hype over supposedly unboring dramas like Triumph in the Skies, Brother’s Keeper, and Hippocratic Crush 2 spelled disappointment.

      1. nah, only TITS2 was boring. Brother’s Keeper was one of the best TVB films out in a while. On Call 2 was okay, not as bad as TITS2.

      2. AK24, i enjoyed BK from start to finish too, the best from TVB in 2013 IMO.

    1. LOL…that was my initial reaction as well when I saw the poster for the first time. The plot sort of sounds like SBH too, except the Malaysian version. I like Ruco, but so far, not interested in this series one bit. I doubt my opinion will change once the series actually starts airing, but we’ll see….

    2. Definitely! Ruco, Aimee Chan and Matt Yeung were in Slow Boat Home. This time, Ruco’s look seems to resemble Raymond Wong’s character from SBH…seems boring but will give it a chance.

    3. Poster looks like Slow Boat Home. Plot sounds like Fantasy Hotel starring Michael To (as laid back tour guide) and Melissa Ng (as unlucky tour guide).

    4. Same reaction as well. But Ruco said that it is one of his best work as he incorporated same elements from his real life to this reel life. We shall see.. no doubts in his acting but the plot..hmm..

  2. Yea…sound boring…but will see it because of Ruco and Lin Xiawei! give it a try…if it is really boring…then i stop…(I have not completed all TVB drama for a long time, for 2013, only completed 衝上雲宵II, 老表,你好嘢!, 法網狙擊, 法外風雲; most other, I skipped/fast forward through it or did not watch it at all!)

  3. I suppose this is Aimee’s bona fide leading series. I always thought this was broadcast already! Whilst I look forward to Ruco and scenery of my country, the synopsis doesn’t sound exciting. Maybe it will be a good surprise. Hopefully.

    1. Whilst I have nothing against Aimee, I was wondering why not Samantha takes her role? Aimee somehow… will she have chemistry with Ruco?

      1. I don’t like Aimee’s acting neither…yes…she is a very sweet Mrs. Chan…now it is good she should be home for awhile…won’t see her at drama after this one (for a while)

  4. That’s pretty bold of the producer to say that it is Ruco’s “representative work”. Especially considering what a bomb the producer’s previous work, Missing You, was, he has a lot of redemption to do before making statements like that.

    1. Missing you was a bomb? I actually liked it with different guest actors/actresses and the cases was interesting. It have average 28 points viewers. I don’t think this new Ruco drama will even get 26 points. So missing you will have more viewers.

      1. I also liked Missing You and the different cases. It was a meaningful series.. The two cases that I can really remember was the ones with 岳華 and 羅蘭. these two cases really made me watch the series even more.

        But I think this new drama may be successful as well.

      2. Missng You averaged at 26 points, not 28.
        This series is placed in the worse period of the year, cross Chinese n.y. and the low ratings are expected.

      3. missing you was 26 points only and linda chung weak acting was overshadowed by the supporting casts elaine yiu, helen ma and many more! no need to talk about jason who wasted his lead role!

      4. dec to lunar new year time was never a good schedule! can see that tvb giving kristal and ruco all the festives schedule christmas + new year + lunar new year and slotted tavia yeung series after the festives ended in feb, that’s the difference between atv turn tvb children and real biological children!

    2. Missing You wasn’t too bad. Jason’s acting screwed it up.

      1. I agree that Missing You actually wasn’t bad (though primarily because of all the guest stars and the touching stories). Linda was actually tolerable in that series (after all, she played a role that she was very good at). Jason was truly the one who screwed up the series for me — I definitely would have enjoyed the series more if he wasn’t the male lead (needless to say, his acting was beyond horrible).

  5. Lately I don’t want to watch any TVB drama.

    Return of Silver Tongue- do not like Samantha Ko (?), don’t see the appeal in her at all.

    Coffee Cat Mama- Eliza Sam? Leading? No thanks

    And now this, Outbound Love- Leading Aimee Chan? Cannot stand watching her.

    Longest I’ve gone without watching a TVB series.

    1. Are you referring to Kyrstal Tin for Return of Silver Tongue?

    2. Krystal Tin is brilliant in Return of the Silver Tongue.

      Actually, at first I had the same mindset as you, but I ended up watching it because my cousins were and I had nothing else to do and I was HOOKED!

      I haven’t laughed in a long time from a TVB series.

      Give it a try, then blast it however you like.

      1. only kristal, jonathan cheung and akina hong are the saving grace of silver tongue. kristal’s dad was good too. roger disappoints and was kicked to the background by the great acting of the supporting casts and the series went downhill after eps 14!

      2. I thought Roger was brilliant as usual except his character is not very outstanding. I like how he portrays the character. I am sick of the inept Chan Mung Kat who probably is the title character.

      3. @Funn don’t think so. the discussion for silver tongue most talk and praise jonathan and akina and some for kristal and her father. most people watch only for these casts that means roger isn’t doing that well considering he’s the lead and a 2 times tv king veteran

      4. jonathan stole the show entirely in silver tongue and he’s much better off than roger which very surprising for someone who has only act in 3 series – 3 kingdom, silver tongue, coffee

      5. @selfiwu: No offense, but you definitely need to do your homework. Jonathan has acted in more than just 3 series — he’s been in the industry for 12 years and was with TVB since 2007…throughout that time (starting in 2007), he has been in numerous series, it’s just that majority of his roles were insignificant (i.e. ‘kelefe’ -type roles). It wasn’t really until 2012 or so that he started getting ‘meatier’ roles that allowed us to finally see his talent / acting potential.

        As for Return of the Silver Tongue — I actually feel most of the cast has been doing fine with their performances given what they have…the problem with that series is really the script…the script is horribly written and much of the plot is utterly ridiculous and silly. The series fell apart because of the horrible script, not because of the actors themselves.

    3. eliza sam – caught my aunt watching the latest episode of coffee and accidentally i saw a scene where eliza lost a flower of something and tried to act cute and tried to cry like a little kid and tried making some so called cute noises but to me that was freaking horrible because she’s 30 trying to pass like what? 15? 17? please no!

    1. Mee too, watch for Ruco. Have confidence in his acting. Let’s see how he portrayed a playful character.

      1. ruco is always awesome and this role sounds fresh for him. ruco and the fresh storyline are the saving grace of this series.

  6. This tvb really upto their favoritism when Moses agree to sign his contract straight away Aimee on leading role…making me laugh loud.

  7. Ahaha…I’m now no longer addicted to tvb dramas because they are so boring I forgot to watch them for months already. I used to have to watch at least one episode every night but now I don’t care anymore!! Yay

  8. Aimee’s all right. I’m actually not so sure about Ruco. He’s just not comfortable to watch for some reason. I’d much rather watch Bosco or Kenneth Ma or even Ron Ng.

    1. Everyone has its own prefer actor, I will always choose to watch Ruco rather than Ron who doesn’t know how to act IMO

  9. Storyline sounds boring to me…..another slow boat home alright…..The first few episodes will be the determining factor whether viewers will continue to follow or disengage from the series.

  10. Not going to watch it because Aimee Chan in it. I still like Ruco. TVB needs to stop casting Aimee Chan. Aimee Chan, Linda Chung, Kate Tsui, Fala Chan, Priscilla Wong CAN’T ACT! There are other actresses out there (Joey Meng, Esther Kwan, Charmaine Sheh, Myolie Wu, Tavia Yeung, Athena Chu, and etc.) There is something about Amiee Chan that is not likeable. Feel sorry for Bernice Liu.

    1. Did I just read that Kate Tsui can’t act? Are you being serious?

      Kate Tsui is a versatile actress, who can play most of her roles given, more versatile than Linda Chung. As for Linda Chung, she needs to be given more challenged roles, roles that are outside of her “good girl” image. Priscilla is still pretty green, so I won’t comment about her. Fala Chen is also quite versatile, can play most of her roles.

      1. Yes Kate, Linda and Fala can act but just not TV Queen quality yet. Saying they can’t act at all is an insult.

      2. I agree with you completely that Linda, Kate and Fala aren’t at the TV Queen quality yet either (:

      3. Linda has taken on non good-girl roles – in Gem of Life, Journey called Life, House of H&V. I thought she did well as the spoilt brat in GOL. She also took on a “uglified” role in Watchdog Tale. So I would say she has been given challenging roles, although she has not given any breakthrough performance.

    2. Tvb is casting Myolie, Tavia, Charmaine, Joey this year. If some of the other actresses u don’t like then just skip their dramas.

  11. Hello Jayne and everyone ,is this drama a promotion for Visit Malaysia year 2014 ,my friends was told me that some Malaysia actor and actress was in too was feature in and ruling party UMNO ,MCA was sponsor in this drama too as propaganda against the opposition like DAP and namewee ,is that true ?

    1. I doubt it. Collaboration yes, coincidentally Visit Malaysia year yes, ruling party as propoganda… well let’s see if in this story Ruco screams insults against DAP or sings praises for ruling party, then we will know.

    1. Yea, with Aimee as the main actress..I don’t feel like watching the series anymore…

      1. Ditto, her voice and acting somehow irk me, she still has difficulty explaining her role and the storyline in promotional events, definitely not deserving to be leading a series yet… watched the 1st few episodes of SBH but then fast forward the rest of it and then eventually drop the last few episodes, Rucco is okay though! 🙂

      2. agree aimee is dragging the series down! why is ruco keep being paired with these weak actresses first linda and then aimee? so unfair! ruco deserves better i think tvb is just using ruco to push up aimee and linda look at how much promo linda get last year for brother keeper when ruco was the shining star of the series!

      3. They need more actresses like Ankie Beilke, who can play bad girl roles well.

  12. I wonder do we have such handsome Malaysian tour guide? In Malaysia? I am trying to think… let me think…And the poster, most dress like they’re on some beach. Even in KL, no beach I see tourists dressing like they’re on a beach.

    1. To be more accurate in central KL they dress like they’re in Bali. When in Bali, I dress like I am in a wedding banquet aka dress too well!!

      1. ““We were shooting in a small town near Kuala Lumpur, and the scene was about Ruco and Aimee watching the sunset together in a tree house. It was perfect. In my eyes, this [drama] is their representative work.””

        Where?? Sekinchan is beautiful, especially when surrounded by green paddy field. Tree house? Small town near KL? Is there a small town near KL? Where?!??!

      2. There really is a tree house on Redang Beach in Sekinchan 🙂

  13. I fell asleep watching SBH and I couldn’t even finish watching it. It was so painful….it’s like pulling your own fingernails out!! Ouch.

    Another one w/Amiee….is TVB going to try to force us to like her until we someday, somehow change our minds?

  14. TVB starts to produce cheap romance drama like this…gosh! sounds like K-drama romcom 😀

  15. Looking forward to this Romantic drama! nice scenery and I believe Ruco’s acting will be awesome. As Aimee said earlier, one of the theme of this story is ‘look further into a person and not just mere judge by his look, even if you think he is not Mr.Right. “

  16. the storyline is fresh with focus only on romance and not on family unlike most tvb series! and ruco is awesome and his role sounds awesome and fresh but why aimee?? she’ll just drag ruco and the series down! if linda acting look so bad when she spar in acting side by side with ruco aimee is even worse!

    1. thx, the sub theme songs more awesome than the main theme 🙂 Ruco’s a really awesome singer! This man has serious acting chops and can sing as well as he can act, gotta love him <3

  17. The latest trailer looks promising, looking forward to this drama.

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