List of Tiger Mum episodes

Liu Jinmai, a repeat offender, returns to prison. He is so brash that he even teases the new prison wardens. Just then, someone shouts “Tiger is here!” Expecting a burly prison officer, Jinmai finds instead a female prison warden named He Xuemei (Huang Biren). Jinmai tries to show off his bravado and is in for a shock when she details his record and subdues him in a few moves. She then sends him off to a detention cell. Xuemei is strict but she cares about the inmates and encourages those with potential to study hard. One of these is Zhang Guoqiang (Jeffrey Xu), who has just been accepted by a university. He views her as his idol and hopes to court her when he is released.

Without realizing Haolian (Aloysius Pang) and Abigail (Jayley Woo) are in cahoots to extort $5,000 from him, Chen Kai (Yao Wenlong) rushes out to meet the caller. Haolian needs the money to repay Abigail’s debts, so that she need not work as a prostitute. Chen Kai goes to the ATM with Abigail. Xuemei appears; assuming Chen Kai is a customer of Abigail’s. Realizing Xuemei is a police officer, Abigail runs off. Haolian’s ploy fails. Xuemei assesses Haolian’s attitude towards his father and tells him off. Haolian is in a foul mood for failing Abigail. His brother, Haowei (Ian Fang), is also upset; he has been bullied by his manager, Ivan (Rayson Tan). Back home, the two brothers quarrel. Xuemei’s sister, Shengmei, asks her to babysit her two kids while she travels to Hong Kong to expose an affair. Shengmei’s kids are unhappy, as Xuemei does not allow them to sleep late, choose their own food, and play computer games. Instead, she takes them outdoors for some fresh air.

Going berserk after two hours without their computer games, Shengmei's children bang their heads against the sofa, giving their maid, Rose, a frightful scare. Xuemei declares the children are addicted to computer games. Rose reveals that Shengmei and her husband stare at their computer screens more than they look at their children. Xuemei promises to let the children play computer games if they complete their homework properly. Huixin (Julie Tan) gets herself discharged from hospital, and mistakes Shengmei’s home for her own. Xuemei is shocked. Huixin runs off when she realises her mistake. Observing Chen Kai's frenzy, Xuemei deduces that Huixin is his missing daughter.

Chen Kai is busy at work when he remembers Xuemei's observations. Realising he has not had a good meal with his family for a long time, he decides to cast work aside and buy food from their favourite stall before reminding everyone to return home for dinner at 7pm. Haowei puts up with Ivan’s bullying and does not dare say a word. It is Rouya who goes to his aid yet again. Haolian tries hard to earn money at the snooker table but is beaten by his opponent. Huiyan (Bonnie Loo) likes her classmate, Nat, and tries to catch his attention. When she succeeds, she invites him to watch a movie with her.

Xuemei is not eager to go on a blind date with the man Mary has recommended. Shengmei returns home with many purchases from Hong Kong and gives her a makeover. Xuemei sets off for the date and is surprised when she meets Chen Kai again. He is also at the restaurant for a blind date. Xuemei’s date is the chief of an MNC (Chen Hanwei). His arrogance turns her off. Chen Kai’s date does not mind that he has four children, but wants the elder two to move out of the house.

Shengmei is flabbergasted that Xuemei wants to date a man with four children, but Xuemei trusts her instincts. Meanwhile, Robert tells Chen Kai off for picking a plain-looking woman who is dying to get married. Xuemei turns up at Chen Kai’s shop. Robert has no idea who she is, and tries to sell a sales item to her at the original price. Chen Kai objects, and discovers the customer is Xuemei. Robert is certain Xuemei is hiding an ulterior motive in dating Chen Kai. Chen Kai is discussing his first date with Xuemei when Tony calls, because Haolian cannot pay him $1000 for losing the snooker games.

Haowei is locked up in a public toilet with no clothes and mobile phone. He is worried, as the CEO hates tardiness. Desperate, he uses the cleaner’s mobile phone and is taken for a thief and pervert. Huiyan notices Haowei in his pathetic state. She snaps a photo of him and sends it to Chen Kai. Chen Kai is on a date with Xuemei when he receives the photo. He rushes to Haowei’s rescue. Xuemei is infuriated. She tells Haowei to confront Ivan, but the latter would rather bear with the situation and keep his job. He does not enjoy the job, but he does not want to leave Rouya. Xuemei encourages him to stand up to Ivan.

The "lonely girl" Huixin has been chatting with online turns out to be a strange man in his 30s. She tries to call Chen Kai for help, but the man takes away her mobile phone. Chen Kai assumes she has pressed his number by mistake, but Xuemei senses something amiss. Haowei is fired by Ivan. Only Rouya shows concern and asks him why he is leaving.

Haolian and his siblings are bent on chasing Xuemei away, to avoid acquiring a Tiger Mum. Haowei, the eldest, is an honest person. He has no idea how to deal with Xuemei. Haolian uses his account to post the video of the embrace online and announces that the Chens will never accept a Tiger Mum. Xuemei’s colleagues see the video, but dare not tell Xuemei. They are surprised when she stumbles upon it and is more concerned about how stiff she looks than anything else.

Xuemei prepares dinner and assures Chen Kai she will make all four children return home for the meal. She suspects Haolian is behind the video upload and worries his keen intelligence will get him into trouble if he veers onto the wrong path. Haolian manages to get Abigail a cheque of $50,000 from Robert. When she asks Haolian why he is so good to her, he grabs the opportunity to express his love for her.

Haowei ponders over Xuemei’s advice and decides to confront Ivan at the office. He insists Ivan should let him serve the required seven-day notice. He is well aware Ivan will pick on him. However, he is anxious to find out about Rouya. Haowei learns something has happened to Rouya and he seems to be associated with it. He tails Ivan to the hospital and discovers Rouya has a fractured leg.

Nat leaves with Angel, and Huiyan gets upset. Xuemei tells her that someday, she will be glad she lost him to Angel. Huiyan’s attitude changes when she learns Xuemei is at the school in Chen Kai’s place. She relates how she had caused Angel to trip and lose her front tooth. The principal is in awe of Angel’s father, who is a lawyer, and turns a blind eye to how Angel has been bullying Huiyan. Mo Xiaoling (Belinda Lee) arrives from Australia with her daughter, Margaret.

Haowei seeks help from Xuemei, who takes him to a hawker centre to watch how others prepare traditional coffee. He later realises she is trying to tell him that he has to gain his boss' recognition, so that even if the manager abuses his authority and fires him, the boss will step in. Haowei visits Rouya, who is working on a proposal for a project the CEO is very concerned about. He refuses to help her but changes his mind when he remembers Xuemei's advice. He promises to do his best to help Rouya.

Xuemei and Chen Kai take Huiyan to see the school principal again. They are hoping the principal will reverse the decision to force Huiyan to transfer schools. Angel’s father, Jimmy, turns up as well and asks for a harsher punishment to be meted out. As Jimmy is a barrister, the principal takes his side and refuses to believe Angel had bullied Huiyan. Jimmy himself insists Angel would never do as accused. Xuemei gets Judy to produce evidence against Angel, and Jimmy is shocked by the revelation. Tongue-tied, Angel is regretful and apologises to Huiyan. Peter insists Abigail should entertain clients, even though she is ill. Haolian stands up for her, and Peter warns that he should not meddle in Abigail’s debts or the gang’s activities.

Haolian goes to the supermarket to eat free samples, as he has no money. When Abigail calls him, he rushes off to confront Peter. However, Peter and his men have weapons, and he has no choice but to flee. Haowei and Huixin witness Haolian being attacked. Xuemei tells them to wait for the police to turn up. However, to Haolian's surprise, Haowei rushes to his rescue. When Peter notices Xuemei, he runs off. He has been in prison before and is well aware how capable she is of making sure he is put back there.

Xiaoling collapses. Her health issues stem from a lack of physical exercise. She laments that she had given up her own pursuits to take care of her family, but ended up with an unfaithful husband. Xuemei learns from Margaret that Xiaoling is at fault too, as she had refused to admit her mistakes and often threatened her husband, David, with divorce. Believing David will beg her to return home soon, Xiaoling is stunned when she receives signed divorce papers from David. She pretends to accept them in high spirits.

Abigail tries to run off when she sees Xuemei in her grandmother’s house. Xuemei stops her and asserts that she wants to help. Realising Abigail is at her wits' end, Xuemei relates how her own parents died in an accident while they were on holiday in Australia. If not for an old lady who saved her, Xuemei would have been dead long ago. Abigail learns of Haolian's encounter with Robert. Haolian is not afraid Chen Kai will find out; he is prepared to sever ties with his father. Abigail reminds him that compared to her junkie father, Chen Kai is a good parent. She urges Haolian to return the money to Robert and stop meddling in her affairs.

Haowei senses something amiss when Ivan starts treats him very well. As expected, Ivan soon reveals his true colours. He tells Haowei to betray Rouya by leaking details of the new business proposal. He even insinuates that Rouya is just making use of Haowei's feelings for her, as she already has a boyfriend. Haowei is compelled to reveal the contents of Rouya’s proposal to Ivan. However, he refrains from disclosing the amended portions. When Rouya learns what Ivan has been up to, she vows to expose him the next day.

It is clear Guoqiang blames Chen Kai for not taking good care of Xuemei. On her part, Xuemei assumes his bruised eye is Chen Kai's fault, until Guoqiang explains that he was beaten up by his father's loansharks. She drags him to the police station to file a report. Xuemei gets even more worried about Huixin when Guoqiang reveals she is in contact with Leo. Margaret calls, too. She tells Xuemei that Huixin returned to pack her bag and get her passport. Xuemei urges Margaret to stop her from leaving.

Chen Kai has informed David of Xiaoling’s suicide attempt. David rushes to Singapore planning a reconciliation, but Xiaoling pretends not to care and chases him away. When he leaves for the airport despondently, Xuemei tells her off for not treasuring what she has. Xiaoling rushes to the airport to make amends, and Margaret is grateful. Xuemei tells Haolian to help take care of Abigail’s family. He manages to win over her brother, Darren. Abigail returns home and is surprised Darren is doing his homework diligently. When she learns of Haolian's role in this change, she warns Darren not to reveal that she returned home and left after changing her clothes.