Original: 婚姻乏術
At Point Blank is a Hong Kong modern romance television drama produced by TVB.
KING works for D.I. Advertising Company as its Customer Services Manager. He has been married for 7 years and is living with his wife HIU NAM, NAM’s parents and her younger sister. KING’s mother-in-law YIN believes that males are never trustworthy and therefore has been keeping a careful eye on KING. She even asks KING’s personal secretary SUET to help spy on him. KING feels like he was being kept in captivity. NAM never gives a shit about her appearance. KING has dinner with his old schoolmates, during which NAM is mistaken for his former teacher, MISS HO. YIN is looking forward to having grandchildren. For this matter, she forces KING to take the Chinese medicine that is believed to boost male sexual ability. This, nonetheless, makes KING dreadfully sick. He is then taken to casualty for emergency treatment. YIN and her husband are emigrating and KING is thrilled to bits about this……
The money is in fact belonged to KING’s father-in-law SAM but poor KING is made the scapegoat. KING’s pocket money has now been cut down to only $50 per month. SIU MING, a member of D.I.’s creative team, does not come back to work. KING forces MING to show up as soon as possible by giving him a threat. He goes to survey a number of pedestrians but is unfortunately given a slap. CHUN, MING’s grandfather, wants to break up with his girlfriend JOYCE. He asks MING for help and MING is outraged. D.I. Advertising has a new member of staff. She is an attractive lady, whose name is SAMANTHA. MING reveals to his colleague ROBIN that SAMANTHA is particularly good at seducing married men. MING sees KING have lunch with SAMANTHA. He then reminds KING to beware of her. Unfortunately SUET has overheard their conversation and immediately reports it to YIN, who heads to KING’s office straight away to check it out……
MRS. LEE asks NAM to join her in looking for evidence of an affair. NAM, though a bit reluctant, promises to go. She is incredibly surprised when she discovers that the suspected adulterer is KING’s old schoolmate, JULIAN. NAM has carelessly broken JULIAN’s head. KING and NAM have a talk with JULIAN and JUDY respectively but both parties just claim to be in the right. NAM discovers KING holds a coupon for a fitness club. She soon remembers what JUDY said and fears KING has been carrying on an affair with other women. She decides to check it out. KWAN is dating a lawyer RON, which makes her female colleagues deadly jealous. MING goes to meet his girlfriend JENNIFER but finds that she is already married and that her husband is RON. KWAN gets aware of the fact just a minute too late and her heart is now broken. NAM has worked out a number of strategies for her investigation……
NAM goes to the beauty parlour having some beauty treatments but gets allergic and breaks out in a rash at the end. KING plans to increase his insurance limit and for this matter, he needs to have a medical check. He goes to JULIAN’s clinic to do this and there he finds that JULIAN is already reconciled with JUDY. However the very next day a piece of bad news comes – JULIAN is killed in a car crash. KING’s medical report states he has got breast cancer, which has almost knocked him out. YIN again compels KING to take the Chinese medicine to enhance his sexual ability. KING does not want to have children as he knows he is dying. He therefore refuses to have sex with NAM. NAM is not aware of the fact and has totally misunderstood KING. She supposes KING has a mistress. RAIN believes that KWAN has stolen her boyfriend. She hates KWAN a lot and asks her boss VINCENT to move KWAN……
YIN reckons KING is just so irresponsible. She keeps grumbling about KING in front of NAM. Poor NAM just cannot stop her. And KWAN is the one who mediates between them. MING meets a stunning beauty YAO inside a disco. He thinks YAO is a ghost and is sacred to death. He has to drink some alcohol in order to calm himself down. KING and MING have drunk themselves into a stupor. Meanwhile, YAO comes along, which gives MING a terrible fright. YAO finds KING who is lying motionless on the ground. She takes a peep at KING’s passport and can tell immediately that he is the man she is looking for. The next day, KING goes to see the wizard but is rejected at the end. He has an appointment with a client MR. LEUNG, who has turned up late. KING has awaited him for a long time and eventually loses his temper. He shouts at MR. LEUNG, drops his proposal and leaves instantly. YIN knows that NAM suspects KING of having an affair……
NAM has bought KING a set of electronic piano. But because the delivery man is irresponsible, NAM has to take it home by herself. Her flat is on the sixth floor but unfortunately there is no lift so she has to climb the stairs. For this, NAM has even broken her arms and KING is deeply touched by her thoughtfulness. KING carelessly reveals to MING that he has an affair with YAO and MING advises him to keep it secret. KING’s parents-in-law are leaving and before they go, they give KING a stern lecture. KING sees his parents-in-law off at the airport, where he meets YAO again. YAO, bringing along KING’s little matchbox with her, goes to a pub to look for KING. She does not see him nevertheless. YAO has been told by a forecaster that she herself and KING is a match made in heaven, which she never doubts. MING has broken up with her girlfriend and KWAN learns of it somehow. MING is so depressed that he confides his stories to KWAN……
KING goes on a trip with NAM and KWAN promises him that she will keep a close eye on MING to make sure he is doing his job. KWAN has discovered that it is MING’s girlfriend who has been dumped. She therefore disapproves of him. MING is absent from work. KWAN believes that he must be skiving and immediately goes to find him out. MING hides himself at CHUN’s home. There he sees YAO, which gives him a fright. He knows YAO is looking for KING. To avoid trouble, MING soon finds an excuse to leave. MING tries to conceal the fact that BEN has colour-blindness but KWAN can see through him from the start. She spoils his plan and as a result, BEN needs to be moved to another department. KWAN feels somewhat regretful. MING tells KING that he has met YAO and later on forces him to treat him to dinner. KING is waiting for NAM at a furniture shop and YAO occurs suddenly. She comes up to KING but is accidentally hurt by NAM within seconds……
KWAN joins the event ‘A Table for Six’ and sees SUET there. SUET has been hassled by one of the male participants since the end of the dinner and KWAN helps her to throw the man out. The two of them have now become good friends. YAO visits KING’s office, which scares KING and MING to death. MING has a good idea about how to drive YAO away and suggests KING go to meet her first. He plans to go with KING but has not shown up at last because he has gone to a wrong place. KING sees YAO at a restaurant. He keeps saying he is gay but YAO doubts so. YAO has relieved KING of a heavy load when she tells him that they have never had sex. KING is so happy that he has drunk some wine, which knocks him out in a few minutes. YAO takes him back to the hotel and the two of them lie next to each other on the bed. KING mistakes YAO for NAM and this time around, they really have intercourse. KING does regret having betrayed NAM……
YAO forces MING to move, which makes MING furious. GAI owes a finance company $1,200,000. Its staff need KING to pay off the debt for his brother. MING points out that KING is a horrible gambler. KING also claims that he indulges in all sorts of gambling and that he has millions of flaws in his character. He even asks YAO to pay off his debts. YAO feels so disappointed in him. KING and GAI go to the finance company to discuss terms of settlement. To their surprise, they find that the debt has already been settled. NAM is planning on selling the flat to get some cash but KING rejects her idea saying that he will find a resolution sooner or later. KING knows for sure it is YAO who has paid off the debt. MING tells KING that YAO has nothing to do with the Triads, which has relieved all of KING’s anxiety. KING tells YAO that he is a married man and that he loves his wife only. YAO’s heart sinks and leaves at once……
KING has a chat with VINCENT and finds that VINCENT’s marriage to MRS. POON ends not because of another man but because of some other reasons. SUET’s new boyfriend BOB has borrowed $200,000 from her, which is for his uncle’s emigration. SUET is not aware that it is just a plot and thus promises. SUET flies into a fury when she discovers she has been cheated. She cries her eyes out because she has lost all her savings. GAI can do nothing but sit by her side and give her a few words of comfort. SUET is so grateful to him. KING has a nice talk with MRS. POON and has learnt a lesson from her. He decides to tell NAM the truth. WAN TAO has become the new director of D.I. Advertising. One day, he has a visit to the office. KING, MING and GAI come to know that YAO is the daughter of TAO. MING and GAI guess YAO is going to take revenge. KING is therefore very worried. It is TAO’s birthday but a feeling of depression wells up in him……
KING fears that YAO is going to harm KWAN and therefore asks MING to protect her. GAI is fond of SUET’s workmate SUKI and is planning on chasing her. SUET falls for GAI and gets so jealous of SUKI that she tries every possible way to spoil things. MING makes KWAN work over-time for an urgent project, taking it as an excuse to restrict her movements. KWAN is not happy with him. YAO pays NAM a visit suddenly. KING believes YAO bears ill intention and goes to question her. YAO, nevertheless, can give him perfectly reasonable explanations. KING thus thinks that he has misunderstood her. YAO in fact has a whole bag of tricks. After she has discovered that KING is already married, she turns to the forecaster nicknamed THE KING OF KOWLOON for advice. She still has hope that she can sooner or later stay along with KING and so seeks chances to approach him. KING, of course, knows nothing about that……
KWAN picks MING up on everything he does. To tease him, she has even deleted his JPEG files saved in the computer. MING is outraged by this. CHUN tells KWAN the love story of MING and his first lover SHUM MAN. She comes to realise how important those pictures (which have been deleted) are. MING has just offered his resignation. This makes KWAN feel even more regretful. To make it up for MING, KWAN goes to MING’s secondary school to look for the pictures of MAN. She can find nothing but a little carving produced by MING when he was younger. When MING returns to the office and notices that little carving, he recalls something in the past and slides into a depression. MING has decided to stay at D.I. Advertising and is reconciled with KWAN. YAO forces her staff to take an intensive training course. No matter how reluctant they are, they have to accept it……
YAO wants to expand her business internationally and therefore has become more ambitious than before. She has arranged an appointment with a Taiwanese businessman but is taunted by him at the end. KING is a bit disappointed by that. YAO gives NAM a crystal ornament, which is believed to help increase her chance of getting pregnant. NAM thanks her and takes her as a trustworthy friend. YAO finds excuses to approach KING and KWAN thinks it is just so unfair to NAM. She decides to spy on them. MING can do nothing else but join her. KWAN discovers that KING and YAO have gone to a hotel and immediately informs her sister NAM, which, however, ends up causing a great deal of trouble. KWAN fails to find any evidence of the affair between KING and YAO but has scared off YAO’s Taiwanese business partner. She guess it is just YAO’s plot. YAO claims she is not feeling well and appoints KING to meet MR. FONG……
MING is in charge of the advertisement for FONG’s mobile phone product but he has not come up with any idea at the moment. One day he goes to buy KWAN some soya bean milk and on his way, there comes a sudden downpour of rain, which gives him some inspiration. FONG is very happy with the first series of the advertisement which is produced by MING. YAO then urges MING to start working on the second series. GAI and SUET are invited to participate in a television game show while having their lunch. GAI is attracted to one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of prizes and thus asks SUET to pretend to be his wife so that they can take part in the game show. MING’s second series of the advertisement is not endorsed by YAO. MING is therefore a bit down. MING realises KWAN’s love for him and decides to ask her out for a date. He meets MAN and her son on the street and it makes him wonder if that little boy is his own son……
MING escorts MAN to her house and finds that she is living in poverty. SUET agrees to pretend to be GAI’s wife and takes it as the best chance ever to get near him. MING discovers that MAN owes the landlord six months’ rent and decides to put her and her son up at his place. KWAN goes to MING’s house to get him a VCD and is so surprised to see MAN there. She feels heartbroken as she supposes the two of them are already shaping up as lovers. YAO continues to enhance KING’s social status. There are a number of plans in her head actually. She first of all makes NAM think that she is barren by stratagem and later on gives KING a lot of work to do to keep him busy. YIN has returned from Canada. She notices KING often comes home late and discovers a condom inside his pocket. Immediately she senses something must have gone wrong. She asks KING directly whether he is carrying on an affair……
YIN suspects SAM has a mistress and the couple are not on speaking terms. YIN keeps grumbling about KING before NAM, which annoys NAM a lot. KWAN and SUET go out for lunch and happen to see MING together with MAN. SUET has said something which makes MING so embarrassed. CHUN picks CHUNG up from school and the two of them go to meet MING straight away. CHUN reminds MING that he has to gain a clear idea of his relationship with MAN. CHUNG, after having got bullied at school, plays truant and heads straight to MING’s office to see him. KWAN takes a peep at CHUNG’s painting, from which she knows CHUNG has been looking forward to having his own father. MING decides to propose to MAN when he gets aware that CHUNG has been teased by his classmates because of the fact that he has no father. YAO lures KING and NAM to a shopping mall respectively. There she snogs LUNG who is disguised as KING……
YAO has arranged a meeting with NAM and KING but she meets NAM before KING comes. She tells NAM that it is all planned carefully by her. NAM is outraged and gives her a slap. Meanwhile KING arrives and has witnessed this. SUET has a quarrel with GAI and thus refuses to take part in the game show. KWAN offers her resignation. YIN rushes into KING’s office telling him that NAM has suddenly disappeared. Everybody is astonished. TAO asks YAO what actually has been going on between her and KING. But every single word YAO says is to defend KING. VINCENT sees NAM at Cheung Chau and calls KING up at once. Unfortunately VINCENT’s message for KING is overheard by YAO. The next day, KING heads for Cheung Chau but there he finds NAM and VINCENT who are sleeping together. KING is so depressed and confides in YAO. YAO decides to make use of YIN to speed up KING’s divorce. YAO promises to give 5 million dollars to NAM if she agrees to leave KING……
YAO discovers TAO has bribed KING and is so angry that she has a quarrel with her father. TAO fires both YAO and KING at the end. YAO decides to set up a company of her own and invites KING to join her. KING agrees. MING is busy preparing for his wedding but has accidentally overheard the conversation between YAO and LUNG. He and KWAN ask LUNG to reveal what YAO has been doing behind the scenes. LUNG refuses to do so and locks the two of them inside an ice storeroom. MING comes to confess that he loves KWAN. KWAN and MING have finally been rescued and MING promises KWAN that he will soon break up with MAN. KING and YAO invite MING to join their new company but MING declines the offer. MING reminds KING that he needs to stay level-headed but KING has no idea of what MING refers to. MING has not seen KWAN for a long time and KWAN can somewhat figure out what is happening. VINCENT asks KWAN back to D.I. Advertising to work……
With the help of VINCENT’s ex-wife DORIS, NAM and VINCENT have made it up now. NAM and VINCENT are about to leave and meanwhile KING passes by. KING is unhappy and means to drink himself into a stupor. YAO consoles him and discloses her love for him. KING happens to overhear the conversation between YAO and TAO over the phone and comes to realise that everything is planned by YAO. He is outraged and goes to interrogate YAO. YAO admits that it is her purpose to separate KING from NAM. SAM has come back to Hong Kong but YIN is still angry with him. KING calls NAM up to have a talk with her. YIN wants KING to stay away from NAM. She asks NAM to go out with her in order to avoid KING. YAO wants to find KING’s whereabouts from NAM but NAM has accidentally hurt YAO. YAO is then sent to the hospital. TAO points out that it is NAM who has caused YAO’s paralysis……
SUET and GAI have found out YAO’s secret and because of this, they are kidnapped and imprisoned by LUNG. KING and YAO are stopped by police just a few minutes before they board the plane. When they arrive at the police station, they see NAM who is confessing her crime. KING begs YAO to change her statement in order to save NAM. GAI and SUET are discussing how to escape. SUET can no longer conceal her passion and finally discloses that she is deeply in love with GAI. LUNG who falls for YAO madly is touched by them and finally lets them go. GAI and SUET jump into a car and leave the place at once. Unfortunately they have an accident and fall unconscious. KING and YAO sneak away to the airport. TAO goes to stop them just in time. He tells KING that YAO is not really lame. To make it up to NAM, he also visits her in person to make a formal apology. MAN has disappeared for quite a long time……
