Yan Joi Been Yuen

Date Aired: 12.09.1990
No. of Episodes: 30

Leon Lai Ming --- Lam Yik Lung
Sean Lau Ching Wan --- Lau Chi Kwong
Jacqueline Law Wai Kuen --- Lau Ching Yee
Frankie Lam Man Lung --- Lau Chi Kei
Kitty Lai Mei Han --- Seung Man Wah
Monica Chan Fat Yung --- Yip Chi Ling
Dai Zi Wai --- Ding Wai
Lai Yiu Cheung --- Cockroach

Additional cast includes Lee Lui Lui as Leon's mom, Liu Kai Chi as Sean's dad, Chor Ka Po as Frankie's girlfriend, Fong Kong as Leon's dad, Lam Seung Mo as a lawyer, and Chan Kit Yee as a friend of Jacq and Kitty.

For a time being, Yik Lung stayed and played with his cousins, Chi Kwong, Chi Kei, and Ching Yee (their dad was played by Liu Kai Chi). One night, Ding Sai Fung raided their house and demanded to know where his wife was. He tried to rape his wife's sister and scared the hell out of everyone. Police came and Ding Sai Fung was being chased after. In the process, he jumped into a sea to escape which made everyone think that he died. When Yik Lung found out that the man he identified as his father supposedly died (he had never met his father before), he immediately thought it was his aunt's doings. He ran away from his relatives and was never seen again.

Years passed. Suet Ping visited the Lau family but she soon died from her illness. Ah Yee (Jacqueline) was now a mischievous and vivacious college freshman. Ah Kwong (Sean) worked as a prison guard and he liked to constantly nag his sister about everything. He had no clue that Ah Yee's shy and clumsy roommate, Ah Wah (Kitty) had a crush on him. He treated Ah Wah like his own sister and helped her get a job at the place he worked.

Ah Yee and her friends were out clubbing one night when Ah Yee was harassed by a rude man. She was rescued by a street gang who hung out at that club but a huge fight broke out and policemen came and arrested that gang who saved Ah Yee. He was sentenced to serve some time in jail, where Ah Kwong happened to be working. Ah Kwong soon came to realize that the guy was his long-lost cousin, Lam Yik Lung (Leon). He tried to patch things up with Yik Lung but he wasn't successful.

Yik Lung still held resentment towards Ah Kwong's family for what happened to his dad, so he started making troubles in jail with his fellow thug Cockroach (Lai Yiu Cheung) just to give Ah Kwong some hard time. During this time, Ah Kwong got acquainted to a celebrity DJ named Yip Chi Ling (Monica). They had some misunderstandings but Chi Ling noticed what a nice guy Ah Kwong was so they decided to become friends.

Ah Yee also found out that Yik Lung was the person who saved her, but she concealed her identity and decided that she could 'reform' him back into the sweet boy he once was. When Yik Lung got released, Ah Yee approached Yik Lung with an alias, "Jenna." He soon became very attached to her but thanks to Ah Kwong and some bad timing, he found out who "Jenna" really was. He was very infuriated. It was not until Ah Yee's mom stepped in to resolve their past conflicts that Yik Lung realized that his father was an evil man who deserved to die. So Yik Lung rested on good terms with Ah Yee and her family.

Pretty soon, Ah Kei (Frankie) came back to Hong Kong because he was kicked out from Harvard for working illegally. He wasn't very friendly to Yik Lung for being a mere street gang, but Yik Lung treated him fairly nice. Ah Kei hoped that his rich girlfriend (Chor Ka Po) would get her dad to invest in him, but his plan didn't work. He then thought of using Ah Wah who also came from a rich background to get what he wants. Although Ah Wah had a bad relationship with her dad, he liked Ah Kei's ambitious personality very much so Ah Kei was hired to work for him.

Thing seemed stable for some time, with Yik Lung settling down into Ah Yee's happy family hood. Their affection grew stronger everyday. Ah Kwong also fell in love with Yip Chi Ling. Then a man named Ding Wai (Dai Zi Wai) appeared - he was engaged in a lot of illegal business and he worked for Ah Wah's dad. Ah Kei saw Ding Wai as his opportunity and they decided to collaborate to bring their boss down. Ah Kei also found out that Ding Wai was the godson of Ding Sai Fung, Yik Lung's birth father. Ding Wai had come from Thailand in order to find Yik Lung upon Ding Sai Fung's order.

Ding Wai was having a really crappy day once when he spotted Ah Wah at Ah Kei's house, looking for something. He ended up raping her and when Ah Kei found out, he decided to use this towards his advantage. Ding Wai was brought to a trial but due to Ah Kei's phony testimonies, he got off the hook. This incident made Ah Kwong feel extremely guilty because Ah Wah had gone over to his brother's house to look for his tie when she got raped. He drifted away from Yip Chi Ling to tend to Ah Wah's recovery.

Ding Wai and Ah Kei had made some sort of a deal regarding their money but when Ah Kei backed out on it, Ding Wai came over to his house to confront him. While arguing, Ah Kei accidentally killed Ding Wai. Ah Kei's mom happened to be dropping by when this occurred. They tried to bury Ding Wai's corpse together but they were caught by Ding Sai Fung right then and there. Ding Sai Fung tried to kill them but Ah Kei's mom exclaimed that Ah Kei was his son, Yik Lung, in order to save themselves. Ding Sai Fung believed that and started treating his 'son' very kindly. Knowing that Ding Sai Fung is filthy rich, Ah Kei continued to pretend that he was Yik Lung. To destroy all the evidence that he was Lau Chi Kei and not Lam Yik Lung, Ah Kei demanded his mom to hand him over his birth certificate. While they were fighting over it, Ah Kei unintentionally made his mom, who had a weak heart, die. Ah Kei framed Yik Lung for this murder so Yik Lung was jailed. By this event, Ah Kwong and Ah Yee finally realized that their brother had turned into a money-crazed, evil person. Yik Lung was more than angry at Ah Kei for also pretending to be someone he wasn't. Ah Kwong and Ah Yee tried to prove to Ding Sai Fung that Ah Kei was their brother and not his son, but Ding Sai Fung didn't believe it. Ah Kwong and Ah Yee had the copy of Ah Kei's birth certificate as a proof but Ah Kei fetched it when they were on a street. When Cockroach (Yik Lung's buddy) tried to guard it, he was stabbed with a knife. At the hospital, Cockroach urged Yik Lung to go to China after Ding Sai Fung to prove that he was the real son. Ding Sai Fung had escaped to China because he falsely admitted to the murder of his godson, Ding Wai, in order to protect Ah Kei. While in China, Ding Sai Fung killed a cop and was sentenced to die. He left all of his money to Ah Kei. Having achieved his goal of getting money, Ah Kei was ready to leave China. When Yik Lung and Ah Yee came, it was a bit too late for them to speak to Ding Sai Fung as he was already executed. Yik Lung also received the news from Hong Kong that Cockroach had died, which squeezed out the last drop of patience he had for Ah Kei. With Ah Yee, he stole Ding Sai Fung's will of inheritance from Ah Kei and on their way out, he stuck the will into some traveler's briefcase.

Back in Hong Kong, Ah Kei tried everything to claim his will back. He kidnapped Ah Wah and locked her into a trailer w/ no food and water for several days and threatened his siblings and Yik Lung to return the will. Ah Kwong and Yip Chi Ling ended up finding Ah Wah on their own. The will was eventually returned to Ah Kei by the traveler - by this time, Yik Lung concluded that he was going to end his life from further getting screwed by Ah Kei, so he decided to kill him. Ah Yee sensed what Yik Lung was up to and begged him not to do anything silly, but Yik Lung left her saying that they were not meant to be together although he'd always love her. Ah Yee published an ad on a newspaper announcing their 'wedding' hoping to draw Yik Lung back, but Yik Lung didn't get to see this until his D-Day.. of murdering Ah Kei.

Yik Lung snuck into Ah Kei's house and went on a shooting rampage, much to Ah Kei's fright. Ah Kei tried to talk his way out but Yik Lung didn't stop - he ever so casually burned the will that was worth some million dollars. Being desperate, Ah Kei showed Yik Lung the newspaper about Ah Yee's wedding and said that if Yik Lung were to commit murder and go to jail, it'd make his sister very unhappy. While Yik Lung was taken aback and probing the newspaper, Ah Kei drew his gun out and shot Yik Lung... but Yik Lung was a second quicker as he shot Ah Kei back, who instantly died.

Ah Yee was all dressed in white as she waited and waited for Yik Lung to show up. When he finally did, she was so happy but Yik Lung pretty soon collapsed, as he was shot by Ah Kei prior to his arrival. When he woke up, he found himself in a jail, with Ah Yee by his side promising him that she'd never leave him.

Yik Lung was sentenced 6 years in jail because although he committed murder, it was for a self-defense. Ah Wah told Ah Kwong that the rape and the kidnapping incidents made her stronger and said that she was finally ready to stand alone. She advised Ah Kwong to rebuild his relationship with Yip Chi Ling. Ah Wah left to Australia and Ah Kwong and Yip Chi Ling got married and had a son. Ah Kwong named their son w/ a meaning 'kind deeds,' hoping that their son wouldn't turn out like his brother.

6 years later, Yik Lung walks out of the jail and is greeted by a little boy, who is Ah Kwong's son. He then sees Ah Yee, Ah Kwong, and Yip Chi Ling (with a super long hair!) walking towards him. Together, they walk away... the ending of their challenging lives, the sign of their new beginning.

Another thing that is often brought up when talking about this series is how 'weak' Kitty's character was. There is no dispute about this; Kitty in fact was just a weak screaming girl. But her transition from a frail to a strong character in the end serves the title of this series the best. It was somewhat inspirational to see her overcoming all of her obstacles and becoming independent, unlike similar characters that may appear in some other series who spend their lives self-pitying about what happened to them and eventually come to a point of killing themselves (although Kitty, too, attempted suicide at some point).

Most characters were likeable and dislikeable in their own little ways, except for the complete villains like Dai Zi Wai (he's never sympathetic as a villain! Grr!). Even Frankie showed some aspects in which I could empathize with. Although I liked most of them, I'd never like anyone as much as Sean.

To me, Sean was the most complete character. He wasn't exactly the smartest one but what I admired about him was the love for his family and his virtues, and the heart to choose the one he truly loved (Monica) apart from his sympathy for Kitty. He was a realist simply trying to make his ends meet by working as a prison guard, a low-paying job which his brother Frankie even made fun of. He earned his nickname of a dictator due to his habit of overprotecting his siblings. I thought he was a reflection of a common 'older brother' figure in real life, which appealed very congenial to me because I don't have an older brother. Also, it made me very happy when he decided to not let go of Monica after their romance was in turmoil because of Kitty, mostly Sean feeling guilty for Kitty's ordeal. Sean was perfect for his role because he has this 'determined' (even 'scary') yet 'dur-dur' look in his eyes at the same time, which was exactly what Ah Kwong was like - generally strong in life but weak and almost stupid in front of his loved ones.

I liked two theme songs sung by Leon, and this other one called "It Might Be You" by I-forgot-who. It's an old song.

Favorite Quotes

Frankie: I don't wanna be working at a low-paying government job like you.

Sean: Ey ey, don't forget who's been paying for your tuition!

Impressive Stills

• Leon takes Jacq to an institution to help her English. Jacq pretends not to speak any English but when she is asked to say something by her cocky instructor, she busts out with almost perfect English! Leon wasn't at the scene of course.

• Sean goes after Monica thinking that she left him permanently. He gets to the airport a second too late and notices that her flight has already taken off. Feeling empty, he turns around and then... there is Monica.

• At Kitty's trial, Dai Zi Wai's sly lawyer kept on asking Kitty mean questions and finally made her confess that she liked Sean. Sean, at that moment, had this reeeeaaaalllly painful look on his face painted with guilt.

• In the end, Jacq recklessly waits for Leon to show up at their wedding. After many hours, everyone gives up and just then, the church door flings open and Leon is standing there in his white tuxedo (completely clean of blood, despite the fact that he was shot by Frankie prior to his arrival).

• As Frankie dies after Leon shoots him, he reminisces about his happy childhood memories with his siblings and Leon, until he finally lets go of his life... his last conscience maybe?

-->The Challenge of Life Gallery

established on 5-18-2001
written by Clair

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