BOOKSMART, RISE UP!

Elsa explodes when she finds Ya-Hui fills their house up with old friends from college – Lynn, Benedict and Benson. Ya-Hui anxiously explains how it all started when Lynn fainted…

In a juvenile frugal challenge with Benedict, Lynn fell victim of an online bookseller scam when she tried to spend less. Losing all her savings, Lynn had to cram in with Benedict in his truck home borrowed from Benson. She was surprised to find Benson, who recently got cut off by his parents for his impractical actor dream, is in the truck as well. Suffering from her busy work schedule and sleepless nights in the overcrowded truck, Lynn broke down. Ya-Hui couldn’t stand their poor living condition, and immediately invited them back home. The truth is, Ya-Hui hates to be alone when Elsa is always on business trips. Moreover, sensing Elsa’s desire to form a family when her 30 is closing in, Ya-Hui feels like escaping.

After figuring out the context, Elsa has no choice but to accept the status quo with a hope that THIS CROWD might somehow help Ya-Hui find the topic for her overdue doctoral dissertation.

When the roommates’ life begins, everyone’s idiosyncrasies show. Benson brings home different girls, which invokes Lynn and Benedict to debate the essence of “love” and the origin of gender stereotypes. To stop them from bickering frequently, Ya-Hui comes up with a rule that “anyone who mansplains should slap themselves.” Benson is the first to fail and has to attend an audition with his swelling red cheeks – he refuses to talk to his roommates for a whole week.

Though an anti-capitalist, Benedict likes to spoil his daughter when she visits. It always leads to the roommates’ heated discussion about how one’s primary family affect their personality. They conclude that their toxic upbringings have led to the flaws in their characters. They return home, hoping to enlighten their parents. Instead, they are showered with disparaging comments and left speechless. Elsa realizes she’s not the only one suffering from family issues. They vow to never have children, but when Benedict’s daughter joins them, they once again melt and start imagining how cute their future kids will be.

The roommates find out that Ya-Hui focuses on cooking, gardening, and tea art, but never her dissertation. They argue the purpose of work and what people should do to be happy. They decide to swap jobs with one another for a day. Ya-Hui, Benedict, and Benson find out their combined force is not even enough to carry Lynn’s daily workload. They feel ashamed. While quietly reflecting on their respective life choices, Elsa suddenly asks them to organize a liberal art summer camp as the rent. The four barely manage to carry out the mission without killing each other.

Through living together, these five people struggle to strike their work-life balance. Benedict finds a way to co-exist with the society and gets paid by writing inspirational articles online. Benson takes on teaching jobs while continuing to horn his acting skill. Ya-Hui finally decides on her dissertation topic and ties the knot with Elsa; Elsa also learns to respect the difference of each other. And Lynn admits that she wants to bicker with Benedict forever. And their roommates’ life goes on…