Kisses, Kisses and More Kisses

I liked everything about this drama. The ML (Li Ge Yang aka Shen Shi Yi) and the FL (Ke Ying aka Sheng Xia), what a great couple! You will thoroughly enjoy watching these two together.

The story revolves around Sheng Xia who is a "kiss instructor" on dramas. She makes sure that when it comes to the kissing scenes that they are done right. It is the closest that she will get to her dream of becoming a star. As she is walking home a man stops her by just holding out a comic book to her. She takes it home and begins to leaf through it and is transferred into a "Mary Sue System" or virtual world of the comic book.

She does have an AI which is in the system called "Xiao Bai" that explains to her she entered the comic "She Runs, He Chases: The Fourth Prince's Beautiful, Young and Weak Wife" in which Sheng Xia was the female lead and Gu Yichen (First Prince) is her male lead. Being the female lead she is naturally immune to poison. She can cure all poisons in the world with a kiss. Xiao Bai tells her that her first kiss would have a binding effect. Her main task is to end up together with Gu Yichen, the male lead. After completing the task, she will then get a customized celebrity system which she will then enter the prime of her life. He then hands her a cell phone which has the "Mary Sue Store." This store she has to acquire her value coins which show up on her arm to be able to purchase items to do her task.

The system is based on dramatic and cliche plots, with love above all. To summon the system administrator, she has to snap her fingers and call Xiao Bai. To get out of the comic book she has to claim the male lead which in this case is the First Prince. But like the best laid plans there is always something that happens. As she was told by Xiao Bai her first kiss would have a binding effect, and she ends up kissing the villain, who is so fine, Shen Shi Yi. By her kissing him she changed the direction of the comic and inadvertently made the villain the male lead. Because these two were now bound together due to her kissing him and not the First Prince. Whenever Shen Shi Yi was poisoned, she would kiss him and take the poison out of him. In return, when Sheng Xia was in danger he would show up and save her.

Trust me, he had no problem kissing her all time. The first episode I swear he kissed her 4 times or more. But you could tell each time they were getting more intense with the kisses. You will be swooning for sure.

Xiao Bai does show up at various points to tell Sheng Xia that she has to keep the comic on track in order for her to return. She tries too but it is apparent that Shen Shi Yi is meant to be the male lead of the comic which does happen after the reboot. In order to do that, they both ended up dying but because it was a sacrifice of true love, they were allowed to do a reboot.

Prior to the reboot, Sheng Xia explained to Shen Shi Yi many things which made him understand that he was in a comic book world. But because of the reboot, Shen Shi Yi was now the male lead, and he was getting weaker from this reboot, she had to save him. As Xiao Bai told her in the beginning, she was to get together with the male lead and since Shen Shi Yi now was, she knew what she needed to do. She asks Shen Shi Yi to marry her, which he does. The next morning, she wakes up only to find Shen Shi Yi gone. She runs outside calling him and is sent back to the real world by the system. She completed her task.

Sheng Xia is totally devastated because she had found her one and true love and he was gone. She went back to the street where she encountered the man that had handed her the comic book and tried snapping her fingers to call Xiao Bai back, nothing. Crying endlessly on the street, you hear the footsteps of a man approaching and he says, "Respected user, the system has received the contents of your complaint. How can I be of service to you?" She turns around and yes, you know it is our man Shen Shi Yi. He says to her, "From now on you do not have to call Xiao Bai, anymore." They both are crying and yes, kissing like crazy! He told her he remembers what she said about him coming to her world and he said it took a lot of effort, but he was there for her.

In the very end, you see her waking up on a couch with a director and crew saying how good she was in her scene. Hence what Xiao Bai told her...she was now a female lead, celebrity in the prime of her life.

Again, good ending and it was just one of those rare gems that you just can sit back and binge watch in no time. Plus, the ML who I have seen in "Trick in Love" is definitely one man that is truly meant for historical dramas. With that flowing hair and looks you will thoroughly be caught up watching him. The FL, she is just cute as can be and she complimented the ML so well. I would like to see them in another drama together.

Truly one that you don't want to miss, get ready to swoon.

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A Sweetly Delicious and Heartwarming Drama

This drama held my attention from the very first episode; so many deliciously sweet moments that you just could not stop yourself from smiling while watching.

The ML (WinWin aka Yan Yue) was perfectly cast. This is the first drama that I have seen him in. I am now looking forward to seeing him in "The Shadow" his next drama. That smile and dimples, everyone will be crushing over him because he is just so handsome. The FL (He Hong Shan aka An Ran) complimented him so well. She was funny, bright, pretty and she did not overly act like she knew everything being that she was older.

The drama was about An Ran who became an entrepreneur for a start-up company she started called "Sweet Games." She was always looking for investors. And you know the saying, "robbing Peter to pay Paul and robbing Paul to pay Peter back?" Well, that was An Ran. She was always short of money, but she somehow would make it work. Enter Yan Yue who was a successful voice actor that had known her when they both went to the same university. He had a secret crush on her, but he never would step to her.

Fast forward and we have An Ran renting the apartment next door to him. Yan Yue knew who she was, but she didn't remember him. So, the day that she rents the apartment she heads to a reunion at the university (as does Yan Yue) and while there she tries to get investors. It does not work out and to make matters even worse, she trips, and everyone sees the tags still on her clothes. Yan Yue was making his way to help An Ran, but her best friend Bei Meng Yao interceded before he could get to her. She helps An Ran to go the restroom where she basically tells her she is fine and that she can go. But you know she wasn't. She gets drunk at none other than a convenience store. Yan Yue comes and helps her home. She shares a kiss with him when she falls and wakes up the next morning in his bed. Yan Yue leads her to believe that something happened because he comes out in his robe.

We also have the ex-boyfriend from her university days that left her but now he tries to come back to get her. You know his situation with the girl he left her for didn't work out, so he is coming back to An Ran. An Ran is smart enough to know and doesn't want to have anything to do with him. At this point, I was a little ticked off by her bestie because she was trying to get them back together and dissing Yan Yue saying he was too young, and she didn't feel that he was the right person for her. He basically told her that it was none of her business what their relationship was and left her sitting at the table by herself. (I was high fiving him for that!)

Both parents of An Ran and Yan Yue did have similar thoughts regarding their relationship. But I was happy to see that the parents were not that forceful in trying to break them up due to the age difference. They both spoke to their parents in a way that they understood that it was no longer up to them to interfere, and they won them over.

Her game does become a success but you she did have those that tried to take it from her by planting a spy in her office and they did a cyber-attack before it was release because people were only using the beta version. Then Yan Yue was taken out of doing voice acting due to doing an audio for a book that the company was not given permission to do. There was a lot of drama here and he basically made a statement that put not only the company but An Ran's company and their relationship out for everyone to bash on the internet. Yan Yue leaves and retires from voice acting. This crushes An Ran but she waited patiently for him to return, which he did. Everything did work out with her company's game, and he got back to doing voice acting again.

The most beautiful part I felt, and my heart was just filled with such love is when I saw him doing the voice over for a book for the children who were blind. It was wonderful to see this incorporated into the drama. To see the smiles and when the one boy asks him if he could touch his face...oh, it just melted your heart. That whole part of the drama is performed so well. Kudos to the writers for these exceptional moments.

The wedding was one which was exactly how you would envision, with their closest friends and colleagues. But the wedding vows of Yan Yue were too much.

Here are the vows of Yan Yue to An Ran:
An Ran, before I met you, my life couldn't be without music. When disputes occurred, I could only choose to escape, I was used to being shackled in my own world by a pair of headphones. I thought I was living happily, free, and fulfilled. Until one day I realized that after falling in love with someone, all those noisy sounds will disappear. And the most beautiful sounds will form melodies. The perfection you gave me is a shore I can't reach by myself. Meeting you and knowing you again, I found I still have the butterflies in my stomach when I first met you. You seem to be the goddess of my campus days. So sunny, so beautiful. Thank you. Thank you for constantly blocking those unpleasant things for me. Thank you for dragging the boy hidden in the headphone cave into the sunlight. In the future, I want to grow old with you, I want to embrace your body, your heart, your dreams, your past, present, and future. An Ran, would you let me stand by your side?

Here are An Ran's vows to Yan Yue:
Yes, I would. Of course, I do. I never thought that I could become someone's strength, I always thought that life is a battle one fights alone. Yan Yue, thank you for resolutely walking towards me. There is a kind of heroism in this world knowing that marriage is hard, yet still longing for it. Now I finally understand this heroism because of you. Because of your love and tolerance, I finally have this courage. Whether our future is dark or bright, I am willing to forge ahead with you. Mr. Yan, would you exchange our missed youth for a lifetime of championship?

Of course, he said I do.

I highly, highly recommend this drama because it is just the stuff that we are all looking for so get yourself a nice piece of sweet chocolate that leaves a lasting taste in your mouth just like this drama will. It is so good!

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This Drama is…Mmm! Mmm! Good

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when I first started watching this drama. But boy, was I happy that I started watching it. You will not be disappointed because this drama grips you from the very beginning because of the two main leads. Which I can only say, they are hot!

Leo Yang (Zhu Guan Wen - ML) and Chen Shujun (Lin Bao ER/Xin Tong - FL) have the most amazing chemistry. Sparks fly as soon as they look at each other or are on screen together. You never know what you will get or who is going to make the first move.

Leo Yang just oozes sexiness with his subtle gazes and that husky voice. Chen Shujun holds her own with him quite well. I loved seeing that she remains the "smart woman" throughout this drama. She was able to show her true self in every scene which was leading and teasing him making her a woman who was not only in control of her emotions but his as well. The way they banter between each other and their flirting at every opportunity keeps you totally immersed in the world that they have us fall into as we watch this mysterious love story unfold.

Miss Mystery revolves around Xue Tong who witnessed her family being brutally murdered. For 18 years she waited to take revenge against those who killed her family. She returns back to her hometown under the guise as Miss Lin Bao Er, the daughter of a weather Nanyang businessman.

This girl is no shrinking violet, she is clever, smart, cunning, good with a gun, skilled with strategizing and understanding her opponents. As she is being chased by men, she knocks on the door of the charming young master of the Zhu family - Zhu Guan Wen. As he opens the door (only in a towel mind you), Lin Bao Er burst in and pushes him up against the door, telling him to be quiet. The men come to Zhu Guan Wen’s room (he is now dressed) and are met with him pointing a gun at them telling them they are messing up his good time, as we see Lin Bao Er hidden under covers.

Once the men leave, the two being to have a fight with a gun. Getting the upper hand on Lin Bao Er he takes the gun from her and tells her she owes him a favor for saving her. Not to be outdone, she then gets the gun from him. Toying with him, she runs the gun down his open shirt which shows his naked chest. Putting the gun down from him, she runs her hand down his chest as he says to her, “Ms. Lin, are you satisfied with my charm.” Which her response was taking his tie, wrapping it around his neck and pulling him towards her, as he leans in to kiss her, she places her finger on his lips, “Too bad, I already have plans, or I would spend some more time with you.” Thus, begins this very sexy “cat and mouse” game.

The sexual tension between these two is off the charts. Their game gets more intriguing when she shows up at his engagement banquet which she did not have an invitation. But upon his arrival, she latches on to him to use him as her entry to get into the banquet. But he turns the tables on her, because this is his engagement banquet to which he announces the love of his life and his fiancée…Ms. Lin Bao Er. As she stands there in shock amazement along with the other guests, oh and the girl who thought was going to be his fiancée, he leans in and says, “Now, this time, are you satisfied?”

They both need each other so they entered into this contract:
- Zhu Guanwen and Lin Bao Er are engaged in name only, with no interference in each other’s personal lives.
- During the contract period, Lin Bao Er can engage in business in the capacity of Mrs. Zhu, with profits split fifty-fifty.
- Lin Bao Er will reside in the Zhu Manor during the contract period but with separate beds and not disturbance to each other (you see how long that last).

You can’t help yourself cheering for Zhu Guanwen who has fallen hopelessly in love with Lin Bao Er by episode 5.

He finally confesses to her after another close moment of being injured: “It’s in Zhu’s manor, or more precisely, in Xue’s manor. At that time, you were hiding in the closet, and bore scars on your shoulder. I didn’t know why you were there, but all I knew was I had to hide you, protect you, and keep you out of sight from others. I never thought I’d ever meet you again. At first, I was just curious about you. But slowly, I was captivated by your every move. I couldn’t help but want to know more about your past. I even imagined every day how I wished I could be with you and protect you all the time in the 18 years since we first met. So now, I’m really grateful to fate for bringing you back to me and letting me fall into your trap. I don’t care if you’re using me. I don’t care if you’re Xue Tong or Lin Bao Er. All I know is…I love you.” She finally accepts his ring…and the kiss…whew, what a kiss…. which leads to, well, you know…

Lin Bao Er wants to get revenge at those who murdered her family, the Zue family which are: Zhu Mao, Yang Jian, Qian Tong, and Dou Huaizhong. Every opponent she takes down with precise precision except for one and he turns out to be Zhu Guanwen’s father - Zhu Mao.

But there is a mystery behind Zhu Mao which both Zhu Guanwen and Lin Bao Er discover which tells her why her parents were murdered. Zhu Mao was originally a gang member active in the underworld of Guangzhou. He transformed himself, or so everyone thought but was secretly trafficking humans. He even secretly murdered Zhou Jishu, a rich businessman in Guangzhou and took his wife, Chen Peiqin. This was Zhu Guanwen’s mother. He was forced to accept him as his father.

Further revelations ensue, Zhu Mao tells Zhu Guanwen that his father and him were best friends in childhood. He tells him he passed away at a young age. He saw how pitiful his mother was, so he took them in. Lin Bao Er’s family was murdered because they knew too much about Zhu Mao.

The final showdown does come, with Lin Bao Er and Zhu Guanwen facing off with Zhu Mao who gets his demise at the hand of Lin Bao Er. Justice has been served.

Now with all of the drama behind them, they now have a beautiful wedding with plenty of fireworks, oh and not those just in the sky, but those many kisses too!

I have to say each episode to me kept getting better and better. I could not wait to watch the next episodes because their love seemed to be deepening along with their sexual desire for each other. You will see that it is not only Zhu Guanwen who is the aggressor in initiating these sexy encounters but Lin Bao Er as well because she tried to but could not help but fall in love with him. This couple will just make you smile because they are so good together.

Oh, and the sexiest scenes are two, and trust there are plenty because these two just sizzle – but a piece of candy and a lollipop will have a whole new meaning for you after you see how he kisses her, and she kisses him. It is Mmm..Mmm..good!

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A Typical Lifetime Movie

What a Lifetime Movie! That is what this drama reminded me of. We have all seen them. Where the wife must deal with the other woman that wants to take her husband then you have her getting crazier as the movie goes on. That is the same here. It just keeps getting crazier which you are waiting for the ultimate over the top moment, but it never happens…it started off with a bang, but it just fizzled out.

You were given such a delicious treat of all that Shi Yue could possibly do and to just have her whimper out like that didn’t do her character the justice she deserved especially for all the malicious things she did.

The viewers expectation of the ending should have been more fitting, but it wasn’t.

When Shen An first appears she reminded me of a “Stepford Wife.” She was always doing wifely things for her husband and daughter. Oh, and you will hear about dumplings so much. I never knew there were so many different fillings. Trust me they mention dumplings throughout this drama.

The loving family that Shen An has with her husband, Ren Yi Ming and daughter Xinyi was not ready for the ultimate upheaval by her sister, Shi Yue. I think we all remember “Lost in Space” and the robot that used to say, “Danger Will Robinson, Danger,” well that is what they should have said when Shi Yue came into their home.

Shi Yue arrived at the home of Shen An and Ren Yi (unannounced) she had the outward appearance of a nice-looking young woman, but never would anyone, or could anyone imagine what destruction she could ensue. Meeting the family, the next day for breakfast, she wore daisy duke shorts which caught the attention of Ren Yi and that look did not go unnoticed by Shen An. She did call Rei Fei, her sister-in-law, to tell her about it and she promptly told her to speak with her immediately, and not to dress like that in the future in front of her husband.

So began the temptation of Shi Yue on Ren Yi. Once she saw how her sister was living as opposed to how her life was, she wanted everything she had, and especially her husband. Shi Yue was relentless in her pursuit of her brother-in-law until he finally caved in. Losing everything from his wife, his daughter, his home and finally his job.

You must give Shi Yue credit because she was a woman who when she made her mind up, she wanted something, nothing, not even her sister would stop her. She was a master manipulator, a psychopath, psychotic and basically crazy. In analyzing her, she was always hung up on two things 1) having someone to love her 2) being abandoned. Being abandoned was a big part of her problem that seemed to grow each time she would leave a relationship. Her hunger to have a family or someone to love her put her on this path of self-destruction as well as taking those around her into the abyss that she created once she set her sights on the person that she wanted.

From the first moment, that Ren Yi was tempted, he tried to put a stop to it before it began. But Shi Yue knew what buttons to push, and she pushed them. Telling him that she was going to end her life, that made him run to her and so began their affair. The guilt for Ren Yi was too much and he tried to stop but he finally got caught when Shi Yue sent the picture of him lying in her bed to Shen An. It was over.

After this happens, Shen An had to get her life together because she booted him to the curb. You will see the significance of the "red shoes" that she throws away as a vital part of her transformation. She cuts her hair. I believe every woman when a man does them wrong goes for a makeup over. She gets a job at a dealership, becomes a famous talk show host after doing so many live streams and has Lin Yao. Who is Lin Yao? Well, if you can believe this, he had a brief stint with dating Shi Yue. I know I couldn’t even believe how small the world is. But Lin Yao understood Shen An and he had fallen in love with her the moment he met her at the dealership that she eventually worked at that he was a manager of. Their relationship had its ups and downs but through it all he remained unscathed by all that was happening in Shen An’s life. He was that strong pillar and support that she needed but she was not willing to open up her heart to him due to everything. But he was not one to just give up. He told her he would wait patiently for her to get everything in her life situated. But because of what her answer to him was when he asked her one more time about their future, and she said she could not tell him that she saw them having a future, he decided to leave.

The best "Princess Diana Moment," yes, I did reference her because we all remember when she broke up with Charles and she wore that banging black dress with the choker. Well, Shen An gets begged by her husband to go with her to a company function which his boss, Chen asked him to bring her. Let me tell you, Lin Yao hooked her up. He got her dress, her hair everything was on point. But Cinderella cannot go to the ball without her coach, he tosses the keys to his black car, and she is off. The moment she steps out of the car, high heels and all. She was slaying!!! Everyone was blown away. Even Shi Yue who could not say anything. Ren Yi was knock over by how beautiful his wife was, but Shen An left early after Shi Yue caused a scene.

The most boring part of the whole drama was Ren Fei and her husband. She was so nauseating. Her whining about her husband cheating on her was so over the top. The rules she created for him I would have left her. But they do stay together and have a baby. Not worth writing about them.

Another good part of the drama is when Shi Yue got beat up by a woman who found out she was having an affair with her husband. This happened after Ren Yi left her and she had nothing. She was kicked out of every place she was in. She even followed Ren Yi to his new job, got hired and moved into the same place he was staying. Ren Yi finally took matters into his own hands and went to see his boss and told him about her which got her booted out of that job as well. Ren Yi went to Shen An and told her the only way he would find peace and to get Shi Yue out of his life was to leave. He was going overseas, and he told her and Xinyi he would come back in time. Shi Yue sees Ren Yi for the last time when he is getting in the taxi.

Shi Yue drunkenly bumped into an older man at the bar who she begins a relationship with. He set her up for 6 months in an apartment, but little did she know that he was married. This man's wife finds out about the affair and sends a van to snatch her up. The wife ties Shi Yue to a chair and beats her ass and has her body dump into a dirt pile. She ends up in the hospital with multiple fractures and even her left eye messed up, but she has no one the hospital can call because she dissed so many people. Eventually they do get a hold of Shen An who does pay for her hospital bill but does not want to see her again.

I could tell you all of the crazy things that Shi Yue does but that would spoil the drama because believe me, there are way too many to list. You really have to see and watch her to even believe it. She is so cringeworthy in some moments. The baby talk voice will drive you nuts. Ren Yi is also so pathetic. He does nothing to get himself away from her until Lin Yao tells him that in order to make his life better, she needs a new target and that will only happen if you leave, hence him making that decision to go overseas.

Another person of interest in the drama is Liang Yuan. She is the ex-girlfriend of Ren Yi who was brought in to work at the same company so Chen could see who the next director would be. So, at the company Ren Yi had his ex-girlfriend and his sister-in-law working there. Talk about a man who should really be stressed. I thought she was going to be a pain to Shen An but they ended up having a really good relationship after she left the company because Shi Yue framed her for embezzling funds from the company. Which Chen did find out was not true. But this was one woman that was not going to be knocked down. She stood strong and her and Shen An both became talk show host and formed such an amazing partnership.

The reason why I said that Shi Yue deserved more of a better ending is because after she leaves the hospital, she just goes by her sister’s house stands their cries and looks at the house and apologizes. I mean all the crazy that she did, and she went out with a whimper. Never talked to her sister or at least left a text message or letter to her. I mean she was a nut, but the sad thing is, she really just, in my opinion never had anyone show her what real family and love is. That is exactly what the wife who beat her up told her. We did get a brief moment of her talking to her father. I thought for sure that he would come to see her but that never happened. I can only summarize that all of her issues stemmed from her relationship with her father.

Then we have Shen An and Lin Yao. He was right in leaving her because it was his time to get his space. But Shen An finally said she wanted him to come back but we knew something would happen, as he is crossing the street and texting back, he gets hit by a motorcycle and ends up in a coma.

At the “once in a lifetime” event, I thought for sure we were going to have Lin Yao appear in the doorway but instead we get Ren Yi. He tells everyone he is there to help a friend. Next, we see Lin Yao on screen from his hospital bed with a bandage on his head giving his speech and professing his love for Shen An once again. Liang Yuan asks Shen An if she is going to stay to see who the winner is, and she says she is going to the airport to go to Lin Yao because he has already taken 99 steps and she is going to take her steps now. You just see Shen An running out and the next thing is a field...go figure. And no, we never do see them together in the end.

Lame, Lame, Lame…I would have given this a higher rating if they would have given more closure to Shi Yue as well as seeing what had pushed her to be the way she was. Seeing Shen An and Lin Yao together would have been a definite plus for me as well as many who watched the 24-episode drama. But we got none of that. Hence this is your typical lifetime movie.

All and all Shi Yue really made this drama worth watching because just when you thought she couldn't do anything else over the top, she does. You just can't turn away. If you read some of the comments, she really has made people mad and as an actress she did her part and did it well. So, if you want to watch a drama that will get your blood pressure to go up and want to scream, this is the drama for you!

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Good Start, but it Just Shattered

The Furthest Distance is a drama which tries to convey that in the world between life and death, neither is separated from each other but love is still a constant.

Qin Yun Sheng (ML – Leon Zhang) is an emergency doctor, who has a glass house that needs to be renovated and Su Ying was the initial interior designer. They meet again because of their participation in a house renovation reality tv show. Feelings gradually begin, especially for Su Ying and her once closed heart opens up to Qin Yun Sheng. But was he still missing his girlfriend, Mi Su that had passed away? How could Su Ying bridge the seemingly furthest distance between them.

Yes, an exciting love story which I felt was giving us a second chance of love. Such high hopes especially after Qin Yun Sheng's love confession to Su Ying in episode 10, my heart just melted.

The confession:
Qin Yun Sheng: “Su Ying. Maybe I’m not good with words. I don’t know how to confess to you. I’ve thought of many ways. But when I am looking at your eyes, my mind is blank. I couldn’t say any love words. I just know. I want to see you. I want to see you every day. In these days with you, I always say thank you. But what I want to say the most now is--I like you. I like you more day by day. It’s not love words. It’s from the heart. Even though the world has given me a lot of pain, I’m not afraid. If it’s you, I will muster the courage. I want to make our future days a bit more romantic. Will you join me?”

To see the romance between them after Qin Yun Sheng's confession was magical. They were so in love. You enjoyed watching the shy doctor come out of his shell and openly show his affection of Su Ying. He showed her so much love that he felt he wasn't able to express in words but deeds. He did everything to captivate her. Letting her know she was his beginning and end. He wanted nothing more. They felt it was time to tell their friends and colleagues who were elated to finally see this "perfectly match couple" post a picture of themselves in their Moments page with the caption – “Love is a happy thing.” One person who was not happy about this love--Yang Zheng Wen. After seeing this post, he began his all-out campaign to win Su Ying back.

Yang Zheng Wen was Su Ying’s ex-boyfriend who now was the GM of Tiandi Building Materials Corporation. Seeing the interaction of Yang Zheng Wen gave Qin Yun Sheng the courage to finally put his feelings in the forefront with Su Ying hence his confession. But happiness was short-lived because we had to add another piece to this love story so enters the identical twin sister of Mi Su—Mi Bai. Yes, Qin Yun Sheng’s ex-girlfriend who died had an identical twin sister. Not only that, but she also studied cardiology and out of all the hospitals she ended up in the same one as Qin Yun Sheng as a medical director.

Of course, we had to have the infiltrator, to help both the ex-boyfriend and twin sister so we have Tian Mei who quit her previous design firm and began working at Su Ying’s firm. Su Ying thought she was sincere in working for her and made her feel like family just like her other employees. But ambition got the better of her and Yang Zheng Wen “whispering in her ear” that he would give her, her own design firm didn't help but made her become Su Ying's enemy.

We began to see the cracks of the relationship with the endlessly onslaught of tricks played by the trio of Yang Zheng Wen, Mi Bai and Tian Mei. They went from trying to destroy the glass house, changing dates of events, posting malicious email about the firm, changing materials for client's jobs and finally learning that Mi Su's confession under the rainbow was actually Mi Bai.

Everything finally shattered when Su Ying's mother was put in the hospital due to an aneurysm and Qin Yun Sheng knew and didn't tell her. That led to her breaking up with him. Which then open the door for both Yang Zheng Wen and Mi Bai to step in and get the partner they had sought for so long. But what they didn't understand, even if they did break up, they were not going back to either of them.

Su Ying's mother did recover and told her that she misunderstood Qin Yun Sheng, but it was too late, he had made the decision to go abroad for three years. This caught Su Ying off guard, and she never relented to tell him that she wanted him to stay. He left...or did he?

Qin Yun Sheng felt in order to solidify their relationship he had to make Su Ying admit her feelings to not only to him but to herself that she wanted, needed and loved him. Everyone was in on the deception of Qin Yun Sheng not leaving. It all came out when Su Ying went to the glass house. Qin Yun Sheng went to the glass house as well because he could no longer deceive her at this point, he felt he was hurting her. Love was restored between the couple. The glass house was donated for rehabilitation patients.

Qin Yun Sheng went to other countries to volunteer but Su Ying never left his side and traveled with him.

Xu Ming Shi who was the right-hand of Su Ying at the design firm and Du Hui Xuan who was Su Ying's best friend finally got together as a couple.

Mi Bai finally gave up on Qin Yun Sheng and went abroad to work.

Tian Mei did eventually get her design firm and gave kudos to Su Ying for keeping her truthfully to the craft of design.

In all hindsight, I felt we should have been seeing more of how Qin Yun Sheng and Su Ying did come the farthest distance to get to the love that we all seek, not led down a rabbit hole of cliches especially using an ex-boyfriend and an identical twin. Such a great opportunity that I believe was missed. They shattered a beautiful love story of a second chance of love.

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Good Love Story

What a lovely and refreshing drama!

I watched this drama not only based on the beautiful pictures but also the storyline. Even though it is 24 episodes at around 11 minutes each it is well done and worth the watch.

A Mu/Shen Yu Xi infiltrates the Red Stone Villa for revenge on Chu Jing Chen's father who killed her parents. How she does that is by disguising herself as a man and becoming Chu Jing Chen's personal bodyguard. We all know that she will get discovered sooner rather than later. But when she is poisoned while taking a bath, he discovers her "star tattoo" on her shoulder and realizes this is the girl that saved him when he was kidnapped as a child.

His oldest brother who is in a wheelchair resents everything about Chu Jing Chen but hides his true feelings. But when Chu Jing Chen tells his father and brother that he will not marry the girl that his father has chosen for him to expand the villa because of his feelings for A Mu, we think we will see happiness. But alas, just when he tells A Mu that he wants to be with her, she finds the note that he says that he will not fall in love with her. A Mu tells him to go ahead with the wedding. Chu Jing Chen is so angry that he agrees to marry his father's choice even though he has told everyone, even the bride that he doesn't love her.

The wedding commences and we find that the bride is A Mu. We never know what happened to the original bride. A Mu attempts to kill Chu Jing Chen's father at the wedding but is stopped by Chu Jing Chen himself. After telling her to run away, A Nian is fighting off the guards from the villa. Chu Jing Chen arrives and finds an injured A Mu. He takes her to his mother's hidden place that only he and A Nian know about. Explanations are made and he reveals he knows who she is. They then finish the wedding ceremony.

Chu Jing Chen goes back to see his father. His father is agreeable with his marriage, now with her true name of Shen Yu Xi. He goes back to tell her that all is well. But that at his brother's suggestion he will go to the sect of the girl he was supposed to marry and apologize in person. He tells Shen Yu Xi that he won't be long and left A Nian with her for protection. But they didn't get far after all of his guards are poisoned drinking tea at the rest stop. But luckily A Liang, his other personal bodyguard, stopped Chu Jing Chen before he drank his. He then thinks about Shen Yu Xi and races back to her only to find her and A Nian gone.

He eventually finds her and A Nian. They both had been drugged with a powerful aphrodisiac in which A Nian took her hairpin to cut himself so that he would not lose control and attack her.

They find out it is the brother that was the real killer of Shen Yu Xi's parents and not Chu Jing Chen's father. His father after finding out that his oldest son had killed Shen Yu Xi's parents had cut his wrist and his tendons to walk hence him begin in a wheelchair. The father and brother do die.

The sad part was that A Nian fell in love with Shen Yu Xi. He never revealed his love to her, but I believe that both Chu Jing Chen and Shen Yu Xi knew how he felt that is why he left in the end. Then we had A Liang who was with the wheelchair bound brother who was so disappointed and upset that he no longer wanted to stay at the villa either, so he left as well.

But there was happiness for Chu Jing Chen and Shen Yu Xi because she discovered that she was pregnant, and they were going to have a child.

In the end, I found this to be just one of those nicely done dramas that has plenty of kisses and beautiful moments that can send your heart racing. The ML is really nice on the eyes, oh and always kissing her. The FL is a good compliment to him as well.

Very enjoyable and is definitely rewatchable.

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Yes, I'll Be Your Blood Wife

This drama caught my attention not only by the poster but because it was dealing with a demon which turns out to be a vampire. Who doesn't like to see a sexy man who is a vampire. And there was no failing on that part by Guan Ye aka Xuan Ming and his female lead Tu Zhi Ying aka He Yi Huan who was his perfect match.

With an interactive VR game as the backdrop, He Yi Huan enters the game as an interactive game player to do a movie evaluation. The purpose of the game is that you have to survive numerous levels to leave the game.

The system prompts that players must eliminate devils, destroy the five devil hearts, to save the Celestial Master Grandfather, calm the disaster and then pass the game. (Aging, sickness and death, love parting attachment, hatred meeting, unfulfilled desires). But all players before He Yi Huan have died due to system errors. Xuan Ming, who should have protected the players, turned evil and killed them with his own hands. Players died in the game became vegetables in reality. So, He Yi Huan could only correct this error by going into the game herself.

Upon entering the game, it is a world where humans and devils coexist, devils wreak havoc in the human realm. To solve this problem only a female disciples of the Immortal Sect can save humanity from impending disaster.

He Yi Huan, Immortal Sect, Shrine Maiden was to form a blood marriage with the devil due to her grandfather (Celestial Master). Her grandfather warned her that if he did not return on the night of the full moon, she was to immediately change into the bridal attire and enter the forbidden chamber to awaken the one sleeping in the coffin. She didn't know who was in the coffin. She only knew the ancient saying, "Night Clan's marriage uses blood as sacrifice. The mutual protection lasts for this whole life."

Enter Xuan Ming, Young Master of the Bloodsucking Night Clan. Yeah, he is fine. He immediately snatches her up and says, "So you are my blood wife?" Then he bites her. Whew. That is the opening of the VR game in which He Yi Huan is watching.

After sucking her blood, she thought she was doomed but Xuan Ming told her since the Celestial Master showed him kindness by awakening him, from now on she was his. Members of the Night Clan were born to protect their blood wives. whatever it takes and he was going to handle all of her matters. He Yi Huan was excited because the system gave her a loyal husband.

We do learn that he doesn't have to bite her all the time because the Night Clan has a sleeping acupoint in the lips. Biting it can suppress the desire for blood. So, if he would lose control, she can do that. Which you will find out she does do several times. The kisses for that are intense.

She was aided by her only helper, which was her older brother, He Ziyan. He was a Daoist marital fanatic. He learned about Xuan Ming's origin; he sees him as the benefactor who can save his whole family.

He Yi Huan, Xuan Ming and He Ziyan all go on the various task according to the game all the while as He Yi Huan gradually fell in love with Xuan Ming.

The biggest misunderstanding was when Xuan Ming finds out that He Yi Huan is not from his world but reality. He is upset that she lied to him. He felt she never wanted to be with him, and he will be alone. Using this opportunity, the Celestial Master (who was taken over) turns him to the dark side. He Yi Huan after readdressing her feelings finds Xuan Ming and explains to him that she didn't know how she felt but wants to only be with him now and forever because she truly loves him.

Xuan Ming also has his nemesis which is his brother, Feng Que. He wants Xuan Ming's power for his own so he can be more powerful than him. He has put a heart binding seal on his heart.

In order to go back to her world, Xuan Ming tells her that she has to kill him. But He Yi Huan tells him that there has to be another way because she won't do it. She is so upset that Xuan Ming changes the subject and tells her in her world, the proposal ceremony involves kneeling on one knee.

He gets on one knee and says, "He Yi Huan, my blood wife, and I, Xuan Ming, have wandered for a hundred years. Today, I'm willing to bind our lives with the blood from my heart. With the moon as our witness, this heart is our pledge (a wooden craved ring). If this blood covenant is made, from now on, we'll support and rely on each other until our hair turns gray. Will you marry me? "

He Yi Huan responds, " Yes, I will. Now it's my turn. Mr. Xuan Ming do you genuinely wish to take Miss He Yi Huan as your wife, to be together through life and death, through joy and sorrow, to love, tolerate, and protect her, and never deceive her?

Of course, he says yes. They share one of the many passionate kisses and he not only puts up a barrier but has flowers begin to rain down and they spend a loving night together.

But Xuan Ming did lie to her because he went to handle matters with the Celestial Master. She does get out of the barrier with the help of her brother. Xuan Ming is fighting the corrupt Celestial Master. Knowing that his brother, Feng Que has been sealed inside of the master, he finally gets his brother released from him.

After his brother is out, he asks for his brothers help to take down the Celestial Master, but he will only agree if he gives him his heart. He tells him by the blood oath he will because the heart binding seal he has destroyed his meridians in order to not be controlled by the master and he now only has less than 16 hours to live.

They do handle the corrupt Celestial Master and Feng Que does take Xuan Ming's heart only to find out that he now has his personality and kindness towards others.

Xuan Ming was dying and the only way to save him was to take him back to the coffin and see if he could be saved. But after kissing her he does die. He Yi Huan completes the interactive movie evaluation and, in the story, what she heard and experienced are all warnings and lessons. They hoped that she cherished the emotions and relationships and treasured them when she encountered fate.

But just when you thought it was over...it's not...

As she goes into a cafe the news comes on about a new concept interactive movie called "Vampire Falls in Love with Little Priestess" which now has become explosively popular after its release.

Taking out of her purse is a copy of the game, "Xuan Ming Interactive Movie" and looking at it, she thinks about the promise she made to him to live a good life with his love. She says she has now fulfilled that promise and begins to wonder how he is doing on the other side. Caught up in her thoughts, her cell phone rings. It is about the movie. They are evaluating for a second season. But there is a bit of a problem. She tells them that she is not interested. But just as she is getting ready to hang up, they tell her the computer caught a virus, and the male lead, Xuan Ming, went out of control and started calling her name...He Yi Huan!

Yes, he is alive and is looking for his blood wife. Will he now come into reality to get her? Let's wait and see.

All and all an enjoyable drama to watch. The ML and FL are just such a cute couple. Definitely would have loved to see more time with those two because of the great chemistry. They both look like they were enjoying those kisses. The parts with the Celestial Master didn't add anything. I felt those could have been watered down. I wish Feng Que; the brother of Xuan Ming would have had more screen time and been the initial bad guy. Again, this is one that is quick only 12-minutes and with 25 episodes, it is a good watch with a decent storyline.

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Lovers and Secrets

Wow!!! This short drama was a pleasant surprise!

The ML (Leo Yang aka A Sen) is a police officer assigned to infiltrate the Kuntai Group. While at a bar he meets FL (Han Le Yao aka Ling Yi) a hostess who is being harassed by one of Tai's boys. Sen intercedes and from that initial meeting the two are never parted.

Ling Yi suffers from abandonment issues by her boyfriend, being imprisoned for accidently causing a death and lastly to face the loss of her only relative – her aunt. Sen finds himself drawn to Ling Yi. Her kind heartedness and genuine nature which he hasn’t felt in so long makes him want to protect her and keep her safe with him. He tries to distance himself from her due to the life he is portraying and doesn’t want her involved. But Ling Yi keeps showing up even with Sen protesting because she needed to find out more about the cause of her aunt’s death, which was not just the only reason, Ling Yi had begun to fall for Sen.

Feelings were beginning to emerge, and lines started to blur with Sen. He could no longer keep Ling Yi in the dark due to these feeling, so he confessed to her that he was an undercover police officer who was in the Kuntai Group to get information on their criminal activities. Ling Yi, while grateful for the confession and confiding in her would not deter her to leave Sen because she told him that she reciprocated his feelings as well and sealed it with the hottest kiss. Yes, these two were so steamy, and his seductiveness, his look, his voice, and the way he continuously came onto her and she to him only intensified and enraptured their feelings for each other as lovers.

What I really like about Ling Yi is that she wasn't the weak female that you would think she was. She held her own with Sen and actually saved him several times. She thought outside the box and wasn’t pathetic like you see how some of the female leads can be. Taking the initiative with him and let him no in no uncertain terms that she wanted him not just as her protector but as her lover. Yep, she definitely showed him several times.

Kuntai's Group leader Kun dies at the hand of a deal that goes wrong leaving his wife Elena in charge. Tai, Kun’s brother knew that Sen was not to be trusted but Sen was always a step ahead and turn the tables on Tai to make him look like the guilty party ever time. In the last exchange, everything went sideways, and Tai went missing. Ling Yi confronted Elena about her aunt telling her she knew that she had killed her aunt. The video she had would incriminate her. Elena tried to appease Ling Yi, but this was all a ruse so that she could stab her. Sen knew when Elena did not show up at the exchange that something was wrong and arrived to see her stabbed Ling Yi. Sen was so enraged that he shot Elena in the arm.

Rushing her to the hospital, Sen faced the reality of losing Ling Yi and this led him to believe even more that he wanted her to be with him for the rest of her life. Of course, she survives. Sen sets up the hospital room with the help of the nurses to propose to Ling Yi who accepts. The police were still on alert because Tai was still missing. As Sen leaves Ling Yi he sees Tai and follows him to an abandon garage. Ling Yi hears an altercation in the hospital room next door and hears that Tai has set up Sen. She takes off to Sen location and begs Tai to let Sen go. But little did they know that Tai had set bombs around the parameter that he exploded. Sen is gone.

Ling Yi barely believes he is gone...3 years go by until he returns. They are reunited.

I feel that we could have another one due to the fact do we know that Tai died. Elena was only shot in the arm and went to jail. Could both of them team up for revenge on both Sen and Ling Yi. That would be an exciting to see another season.

This is really a good watch and who wouldn’t want to be this man's undercover lover. I know I would want too.

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It is Time to Wake Up from this Beautiful Dream

What a drama! Such a pleasant and refreshing surprise.

The story revolves around Zhang Yi Meng (Wang Ya Jia) who was Princess Yuan Zhi that lived in the state of Xi. The General came to take the princess whom he was in love with away from her upcoming marriage. Princess Yuan Zhi and the general escape the army pursuing them by both jumping off the bridge to the river below. Waking up, Princess Yuan Zhi finds herself in modern times.

Zhang Yi Meng, who lives in the present day, is convinced that she is a princess who has traveled from the ancient state of Xi. Her parents feed into their daughter’s actions of being a princess by allowing her to decorate her room the same as she had back there. Seeing that she is in this unknown world, Princess Yuan Zhi tried, but failed to make several attempts to go back to her time. Finally, her father takes her to see psychiatrist Dr. Han.

As she is by the lake, she faints, waking up back in the state of Xi. Everything seems familiar but oddly strange and why is that, because this is actually a treatment process planned for her by her father and her psychiatrist Song Jing Cheng.

Eventually Zhang Yi Meng figures out that there are cameras everywhere. She continues to play along but she is not the person who has the problem. It is her father. How about that?

Yes, her parents were actors. While filming one day, his wife, Zhang Yi Meng’s mother dies when she hit her head. Her father could not deal with the loss. He began taking medication which just exasperated how he was feeling. But with the help of his loving daughter who worked with everyone on set, Song Jing Cheng and Doctor Han they were able to help her father get the treatment that he needed.

You also will find the connection between Zhang Yi Meng and Song Jing Cheng. They both knew each other about 10 years ago as Zhang Yi Meng saved Song Jing Cheng from a fire. Both of them had been looking for each other for a long time. They were fated to meet each other.

I can only say that I enjoyed watching this drama and highly recommend it. You will find yourself amazed that this quick 11 minutes and 18-episode drama could have so much to offer. Which is quite a lot. It was nice to see how Zhang Yi Meng along with so many others help her father with handling the loss of his wife. We all have suffered losses from family to friends and we all assimilate differently and that is what happened here.

As the father, walks through the set and ends up at the bridge where his wife died, he 'sees' her once again. They smile at each other. He finally knows that the illusion and dream that he has created must be over and it is time to wake up.

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A Fairytale of Love

Once upon a time, you have a young princess who met her prince. She liked the prince the moment that she saw him. That is how I felt watching this drama. A beautiful woven fairytale of love.

In our lifetime we are fortunate to receive the most unexpected gift, you didn't really think it would be that extraordinary but with "Hidden Love" it is. This drama resonates with so many of us that we are transported back to our youth and relive our moments of our own first love.

As soon we Shang Zhi we know that she is a girl that is full of sweetness, naivete, and childlike qualities and there is such a depth of kindness and love that you cannot help but want to protect and embrace her. That is how Duan Jia Xu felt about Shang Zhi. Being her protector but it was really Shang Zhi who was the protector. She helped Duan Jia Xu understand that even though life had thrown him the worst struggles and disappointments, he was more than worthy of being loved.

It was so exciting to see their love blossom over so many years until you felt like family watching your own daughter in this relationship and cheering her on. We felt all of her heartaches, tears, joys and misunderstandings. You feel yourself wanting to help her fix everything and keep the beautiful world that she envisions not only for herself but Duan Jia Xu as well.

Many may go in with a jaded attitude and not feel what I or others feel about this drama and that is ok. But if you just allow yourself to think about the most important love that you had in your life--you will understand. It's just magical.

You find yourself, laughing, smiling, crying and just overjoyed with this fairytale of love. But you know there has never been a fairytale without an obstacle, and you would think it would have been Shang Zhi's parents, but it was actually Duan Jia Xu himself.

Her parents always like Duan Jia Xu but felt the problems that he had in the past with his family would be an issue with moving forward in their relationship. Duan Jia Xu was not to be deterred. After speaking with Shang Zi at the airport he understood and stated to her clearly his feelings and love for her.

Here is the following monologue from episode 24:

Shang Zhi: "Why did you drink? What's wrong? I'll get you something hot to drink."

Duan Jia Xu: "Why did you wake up?"

Shang Zhi: "Are you in a bad mood?"

Duan Jia Xu: "I think I treat you badly."

Shang Zhi: "When did you treat me badly? Is it because of what I said to you at the airport today? I told you because I just wanted you to know. Since you didn't know before, that's why I wanted to tell you. But I didn't want you to feel...You treat me very well. Whether it's the past or now, you still treat me well. It's true."

Duan Jia Xu: "Shang Zhi, I love you. I'm sorry, Zhi. I've said this too late. Over the years, I know I've made you sad. It was your unwavering dedication that made me realize that I'm not good enough. My imperceptive or indecisiveness. None of it was good. But for these shortcomings, I'll try my best to make it up to you for every day we spend together. Zhi, I won't forget the choice you made. I love you, Shang Zhi."

What else can you say after that? Oh, I do.... they lived happily ever after! The End!

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Never Stop Beating Your Drum for Justice

"A brave girl sought justice for her friend. With the help of righteous men, she forged a revenge plan."

This drama was well-written, and it resonated so poignantly as to what happens within our society today.

Faithful sets the stage of telling a story about a young woman by the name of Lin Ru Lan who enters the Yanyu Tower to learn the art/skills of embroidery and how her life takes a turn for the worse at the hands of Wu Lian who is the master there.

During the unfolding of this drama, we are told through flashbacks of each of the nine individuals who touched Lin Ru Lan's life prior to her committing suicide to prove her innocence at the hands of Wu Lian who sexually assaulted her. Seven years later, Meng Wan, who was a good friend of Lin Ru Lan's plotted and planned the most intricate revenge plan to clear the name of her friend by assembling those nine people to aid in her quest to seek justice on behalf of her.

We see what happens when you do try to get justice.

Disregarding Meng Wan's objections, Lin Ru Lan decided to risk her own reputation to sue Wu Lian. She went and beat the drum calling the court in session to hear her story. She tells the court how Wu Lian violated her. He basically makes it seem like she was in love with him, and he rejected her, and this was her way at getting back at him. She does have Liu San Niang, who is a courtesan as a witness. But you know she was disregarded because of her profession. All and all she lost the case.

But Lin Ru Lan was not to be deterred. Meng Wan had a cousin, Zhao Yucheng who she found would litigate the case for her. We see excitement from both of these women that they are finally getting somewhere. Not so fast, Wu Lian had found out there was a handkerchief that Ding Ru, who he also had assaulted and committed suicide had been found by her mother. Ding Ru's mother went to Lin Ru Lan and gave it to her for evidence. Thinking this would finally seal the deal with getting Wu Lian, she gives the evidence to Zhao Yucheng. Little did she know that Zhao Yucheng was bribed by Wu Lian to fake the evidence in return to giving him a high position and to let him meet Mrs. Ning who was influential within society. (Note: Wu Lian never helped him. He used Zhao Yucheng for his purpose.)

The downside of this, was Meng Wan was going to support her friend only to find out that her mother (who you will not like) knew of her pregnancy (which was by Wu Lian), gave her an abortion cocktail the same day as the trial to get rid of the baby. Being in so much pain, and bleeding profusely, she did make it finally to the court only to find out it was over. Meng Wan made her way to Lin Ru Lan only to meet Gao Cheng Cheng who she had convinced to testify, which she didn't do because Meng Wan did not show up. Gao Cheng Cheng did not allow Meng Wan to defend herself as to why she could not make the trial due to what her mother did. She stood silently as she was berated over and over again by her. Lin Ru Lan had enough and defended her friend once more even though she lost her case, and it would never be heard again.

To show support of Lin Ru Lan, Meng Wan tells her they will leave the city the next day and just travel together. As Meng Wan is getting ready to leave, her mother once again intercedes and stops this from happening. She has a coughing spell and tells Meng Wan that she needs her medicine. Meng Wan goes to get it while her mother goes to the city gates to meet Lin Ru Lan. She asks her where they will go and how will they survive on ruined reputations. She gets on her knees and begs Lin Ru Lan to let Meng Wan go. She wants her to get married and have a stable life. Lin Ru Lan decides to say that she never showed up and leaves. Meng Wan stays at the city gates all day and late into the evening.

Everyone is coming at Lin Ru Lan--her brother, her mother, her father, everyone until she tells them that she will marry Wu Lian. Her mother not trusting her locks her in her room. Meng Wan comes to see Lin Ru Lan. She asks her why they have locked her up. What happened? Did they find out she was leaving? Lin Ru Lan tells her no, that she never had decided to leave as she embroiders her wedding dress. Meng Wan is just flabbergasted as Lin Ru Lan says how can they survive on doing embroidery alone. She said marrying Wu Lian was her best choice. Meng Wan does not believe her but she tells Meng Wan that she can marry and live a peaceful life with him.

At last Lin Ru Lan's brother tries to help her and even Meng Wan breaks her fingers never to do embroidery again to pay the debt to Wu Lian to let Lin Ru Lan go. But in the end, it was for nothing. Lin Ru Lan had her own plan to let people hear her and give her justice. Before her wedding Meng Wan and Lin Ru Lan spent time together. She asks Meng Wan to give a letter to Shen Mu at 7 p.m. the day of her wedding.

As I said, Lin Ru Lan was exhausted by everything and had to figure her own way out. She decided the day of her wedding to take Wu Lian up to the top of Yanyu Tower because she always thought this would be a perfect view once they were married. Meanwhile, Meng Wan delivers the letter to Shen Mu that tells him that she is in danger at Yanyu Tower and to come quickly.

Going up to the top of Yanyu Tower, Lin Ru Lan has already set the stage for what was to happen. She had already relented to the decision she had made and settle it within herself that this was the only way to be heard. Wu Lian grabs her by the throat, and she ask him if he has the guts to kill her. He asks her does she think he doesn't. She then removes her hairpin from her hair and grabs his hand and puts the hairpin deep into her throat. Pulls it out and her blood goes everywhere on him. She places the hairpin in his hand as her body falls from the tower. Shen Mu and the other guard watch as her body falls to the ground. They look up and see Wu Lian staring down at her. This was the end and the drive that pushed Meng Wan to seek justice for Lin Ru Lan.

The assembly of these nine individuals took Meng Wan seven years but there were two deaths along the way before the retrial--Liu San Niang and Li Chun Feng. Here is what happened at the retrial:
- Wu Lian said Lin Ru Lan retracted her petition and admitted to false accusations.
- Lin Ru Lan's brother is the one who admits a letter to reopen the case to vindicate his sister.
- Meng Wan and Tian Xiao Ling testify.
- Liu Xin goes to the jail to get Wu An to testify against Wu Lian.
- Zhao Yucheng who represented Lin Ru Lan is called to admit that Wu Lian got him to fabricate the handkerchief with a different one and to lose the case. The maid to Zhao Yucheng testified to the change as well.
- Huang Jiao Jiao says that she saw Zhao Yucheng leaving Wu Lian's study the day before the trial.
- Wu An comes to testify but turns the tables on Meng Wan and tells them that she was holding the maidservant that he liked and threaten her.

But what will get you the most is the testimony of Tian Xiao Ling and what Wu Lian did to her. It is truly unbelievable:
"Seven years ago, the night I met him. I wanted to leave quickly. But he seemed to have had a drink and was in a good mood, so he started talking about embroidery with me. When I said a falling plum blossom seemed desolated, and a plum blossom on the tree showed more dignity, it provoked his anger. In his fury, he pinned me to the embroidery table. But that wasn't enough for him. At that time, I was out of my senses, filled with despair, like the living dead. He took a needle and embroidered this plum blossom on my shoulder stitch by stitch, trying to leave this plum blossom on me for a lifetime."

Can you imagine the pain she felt?

But when you see Episode 19 "The boy gave up his studies for embroidery" we are told the story of Wu Lian. We see how he is left to his own devices without the love of either his mother or father but by Lady Wu the concubine of his father. She is the only one that shows interest in him. He goes out of his way to be around her, even to learn to embroider.

Lady Wu tells him to hide this from his father that he is doing embroidery because this was not a profession that men did. He didn't care. He found out that Lady Wu like plum blossoms and he perfected them. Even being bullied by his friends he didn't care.

But his father did find out about him doing embroidery. He tells Lady Wu that she can no longer stay there, and he was sending her away. Wu Lian raced home because he wanted to see her before she left but he was to let, he found her--dead. She had hung herself. Was this what lead Wu Lian to go down the path he did? The plum blossoms that he felt so drawn to? Were they based on Lady Wu and what happened to her?

We really do not get a definitive reason why Wu Lian assaulted all of these women at Yanyu Tower or why he was the way he was. This was something that was lacking for me. I felt the writers should have given us more when they told his backstory.

There was finally vindication after all, and justice did prevail in prosecuting Wu Lian. Mr. Lou by order of the emperor handled the case as he saw fit and was told to bring closure. And with that, Wu Lian's sentence was: According to the law, he was sentenced to the punishment of flogging and exiled to the northwest for three thousand miles, never to be pardoned in his lifetime. Fitting do you think?

The final encounter of Meng Wan and Wu Lian was when he had already been flogged and was in jail. Meng Wan sees Wu Lian as he is lying face down and doing embroidery. He still doing plum blossoms with fingers that really can no longer hold a needle. Meng Wan asks him if he ever regretted in the slightest what he had done, he never said a word.

As he was lying there, he heard Lady Wu call him (he was hallucinating) and tells him not to do plum blossoms anymore and to put the needle down. He starts calling Lady Wu. Wu Lian swallowed the needle. Meng Wan hears the jailers yelling that Wu Lian had swallowed the needle but she just kept walking out of the prison. All the while smiling. So ended the life of Wu Lian.

In Episode 25 which is called "A Mere Dream" we are given the opportunity to see what life would have been like if none of this had happened. Want to see?

Wu Lian's life changed because his family was loving towards him. He had his mother and Lady Wu together as well as his father with him at dinners. He became a pastry chef. He headed to the capital to open up a shop. He meets Wu An along the way whom he helps.

Then we were given to see what if they didn’t have witnesses.

We are shown the different side of Meng Wan's mother. How her mother was a lot stronger and fended off her husband, not as she did before when he was in a drunken state. Their relationship was much better.

Meng Wan goes off with Xu who she married and was his only wife.
Liu Xin was married and had two children by the girl he first like at the booth selling buns.
Liu San Niang this time saves her master and pays his ransom so he could leave the troupe.
Shen Mu was a fugitive. He robbed from the rich and gave to the poor.
Feng Da was an owner of his own embroidery shop and he was an embroider.
Tian Xiao Ling and Li Chun Feng married.

As for Rulan she gets married, and she sees Meng Wan as she is in her wedding chariot and they both feel they somehow seemed familiar to each other.

Lin Ru Lan is in the market as are all of the nine individuals who played such an important role in her previous life. As the ending comes, everything is just like a dream. Hope it wouldn't come true even if we could never meet again.

I loved all of the lantern sayings:
Meng Wan – To accompany her to see the splendid views in the world.
Lin Ru Lan – An adult girl is fearless.
Liu San Niang – Wait in the boudoir for seven years, but nothing is forgotten.
Lin Xiu – Give a treasure hairpin to the hero. Ignite a candlelight.
Feng Da – The wilderness also has emotions.
Tian Xiao Ling – Troubled by worldly affairs, seeking tranquility in the mountains.
Huang Jiao Jiao – Pray to Silkworm Mother at the door. Worship the God of Wealth inside.
Shen Mu – The young man goes with the wind and returns in time.

When I watched this drama, I was filled with such anger. Why? Because it is still the same today in some ways. We beat our drum and call the injustice that we see to ourselves as women every day, but it can fall on deaf ears. We saw in this drama, the physical and mental abuse, the bullying, the assault of these women over and over again, family and friends turning a blind eye, stereotyping of how women should act and behave, reputations put on the forefront, citizens who tried these women every day. Can you imagine how exhausting it is? And yes, you do give up. You want to keep beating that drum, but how long can you beat it to be heard. I hope, we as women never lose the drive and desire to beat our own drum when we see injustice not only for ourselves but for others that may be so scared to do so. We are in this fight together. It took nine of them. How many will it take for you?

If one only thinks for one person, it's not kindness. A single lantern creates limited light, but so what? As long as this lantern remains luminous, it can light more lanterns, leading to a million lights. As bright as the rising sun, it can illuminate the long night.

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Some Magic Where You Didn't Expect It

While I went into this drama thinking we would see a lot of magic, it wasn't from the women.

Su Fei was married for 13 years to Yan Wei and they had a 10-year-old daughter, Youran. Perfect picture of the perfect family or so it appeared. Su Fei was beginning to see cracks in her marriage when she found a sports bra in her husband's backpack to which he covered quite quickly with saying it was a "promotional item." She of course was not even believing that but took it with a grain of salt. As time went by it only got worse with his many "missteps and lies" until she confronted him and ask him was there anything he wanted to tell her. Anything that he felt that she should know. Each time he denied there was anything. All the while he was seeing his girl on the side Ding Man Man.

Everything came to a head, during their wedding anniversary, Su Fei told Yan Wei to invite all of his colleagues. He was excited and praising his wife, even giving a little speech but when he reached to kiss her, she pulled away. Little did Yan Wei know that Su Fei had her own surprise. She took the remote of the TV and gave her speech and hit play and it showed Yan Wei and Ding Man Man kissing. She then told everyone she was divorcing him, and she was no longer his wife. Yan Wei was furious and pulled the TV off the wall. Humiliation big time!

Su Fei got her divorce and Youran lived with her but saw Yan Wei on the days the courts granted for him to see her. Su Fei was on her on path now. She had her cry and all the emotions one has after such an event. But she really had no time to wallow in her feelings because she now had to be a mother. She no longer had a husband who did the cooking in the morning/evenings and saw their daughter off to school. This was now her responsibility which she had to learn to be a mother, father and also the person who oversaw those within her company. But no one has a nanny that they can make sure you can stay at the office all day/night and look after your child like she did. Who has money like that in the real blue-collar world?

Enter An Ning, single mother of the cutest boy ever, An Kang. An Ning was a woman who had been let down by Pang Nin who was the father of An Kang. Little did she know that he was married when she got with him. You know how promises are made, well that was Pang Nin. The day she was going to him with her marriage papers she was six months pregnant, and she saw him with the woman that was his wife. She decided to leave and moved back to her hometown where she ran into a childhood friend at the train station who she eventually married due to being pregnant with An Kang. Well, that marriage was dissolved and An Ning was on the move to get away from the ex-husband that would not go away and always wanted money. She met Su Fei when she was leaving her building and almost hit An Kang. She offered to help her, but she declined because she recognized Yan Wei.

An Ning was a woman that had so many secrets, trusted no one and kept her defenses up all the time. She finally began to show signs of chinks in her armor after meeting Su Fei's brother, Su Lou (kindergarten teacher to An Kang). An Ning rejected his declaration of love and her telling him why was the harshest let down I have ever heard. So, mean, she used no filter when she told him why he should just give up on her. She really grated on my nerves as to how she was so up and down and trying to be this bad ass, wonder woman to save everyone but she couldn't tell them anything about herself. Annoyed!

Youran, the daughter of Su Fei and Yan Wei was spoiled and used to getting her way. She was too grown for her age. She had several clashes with her mother, Su Fei because she felt as though if she forgave her father, they could get back together again as a family. But the realization came when she heard her father being abusive to his new bride Ding Man Man. She eventually met with her father and ask him to be an honest person moving forward. But this little girl all of 10 years old would have not said the things that she said to Su Fei if she were my child. She just basically told her mother off, and she was so soothing to her that you wanted to tell Su Fei to snap out of it and discipline her. Unbelievable.

Finally, Ding Man Man who was so arrogant due to how her father raised her giving her everything. She at first just wanted to have fun with Yan Wei but that soon turned to love until she was just out of control. She finally got Yan Wei after his divorce, had her father agree to the marriage and sold her gallery to pay off his debt. I wish I would have sold my gallery for a man that had this debt before he married me. Then the icing on the cake, when Ding Man Man invited Su Fei to her wedding with her ex-husband, as if she really cared! But all was not roses for Ding Man Man after she married Yan Wei. She found out that he had created a company which listed her and her father as owning which got her father fired from his company. She confronted him and he beat her up big time. Yan Wei was just crazy. She finally left him and turned him into the police for all that he did.

So, after watching these "magical women" I thought to myself, where is the magic? How were they magical? The situations that they covered is nothing new. There was nothing magical to getting out of these situations that they encountered. We as women deal with being mistreated or abused by men either physically or mentally. Now, the two men that healed the hearts of Su Fei and An Ning were Yang Kai and Su Lou both understood what each of these women had gone through. I feel the magic came from these men not the women. They showed their magic by listening, making them laugh, cry, helping with personal issues, standing by their sides when they felt they had no one and showing that they were not like the men that they had dealt with in the past.

If you are looking for magic in this drama, it was by these two men and the journey they had in showing these two women that you can open up your hearts to love again, that was the magic to me.

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Starts With a Sizzle and Just Fizzled

This drama starts out sizzling hot. We have the ML (Li Zhuo Yang aka Chu Ze Jia/Chu Ze An) walking into the house as we see the FL (Meng Xi aka Yan Zhen) coming barefoot down the stairs. As Chu Ze Jia walks further Yan Zhen comes up behind him using her hand as a gun, she presses it into his back and says, "Stay still." Chu Ze Jia puts his hands up as Yan Zhen tells him to remove his glasses. Still holding his glasses and arms up, Yan Zhen puts a blindfold over his eyes. Chu Ze Jia tells her that her perfume gives her away and turns around. He starts to remove his blindfold only to have Yan Zhen say, "You want a surprise, don't you? " He smiles as Yan Zhen turns him around again and takes off the blindfold to show him the room decorated for their anniversary.

Chu Ze Jia gives her a diamond necklace which he places around her neck. He then asks her where is his present to which she begins to take off her negligee and seductively let's it fall to the floor. Thus begins the most sexy and sensual make out session every. The chemistry between these two was off the charts. They could just look at each other and you could feel the electricity coming from both of them.

They were leading such a happy life until Yan Zhen's husband dies in a boat explosion after their anniversary. She then takes over the Anshi group as the general manager of her husband's company. But we knew something would happen when she was about to declare her husband legally dead. He comes back or does he.

Thus begins the question is he or isn't he her husband due to the fact we find out he had a twin brother, Chu Ze An.

We are lead on a good "cat and mouse" chase. There were moments when you suspected the SML (Wang Yi Lei aka Gu Cheng) of not being her friend but someone to be leery of. Then you had the SFL (Qiu Jia Qi aka Chu Ze Zin) who was the sister to Chu Ze Jia/Chu Ze An which was an utter waste because she served no purpose. Her voice and nonsense whining just took the drama down.

But the surprise comes in the very last episode. Yan Zhen, after everything has been settled decides to leave Chu Ze Jia. I was so shocked by this move. Her reason was: For the past four years, she was waiting for her loved one to come home. She was exhausted physically and mentally. She needed time for adjustments. She just said she was sorry. He tries calling her and gets the message: The number you have dialed cannot be reached. She further tells him not to try and find her. If they are destined to be together, they will meet. Even without her, she wanted him to believe that there would be someone in the world that would love him unconditionally.

I honestly was shaking my head in disbelieve. What was that. I was thoroughly put out by what she had just stated. They had solved the issues of what happened within the company and when they finally can be happy, she leaves him.

There is hope, if you can call it that, we do not know how much time transpired but we have Chu Ze Jia go back to where they first met still hoping that he will find her. As he looks away, you hear a camera click. Chu Ze Jia turns around and we assume it is Yan Zhen because he is smiling.

I had high hopes for this drama because of the casting of Li Zhuo Yang. I have seen him in all of his short dramas such as: The Princess New Clothes and Mutual Redemption Love. These are both good watches by the way. Each drama so far, he is in, the man is fire.

Unfortunately, for me with all the good intrigue and coming back together, it fizzled at the end because we were left empty handed with just a smile for comfort.

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Following the Red Thread to You

When I first saw the title of this drama, I was all ready for the most beautiful love story, and I was not disappointed. We all wait for that exceptional love and to be swept up into an emotional storm of unbridled love; such is the case with this drama.

The backdrop is set in the 1600s during the Qing invasion where you have the young, bright and beautiful Yu Gil Chae (Auh Jin Lin) who has a propensity to attract every man in town, but her eyes are only set on one man--Nam Yeon Jun. She does everything to always garner his attention as well as make the other women in town not like her. They think her actions are inappropriate to say the least. But Nam Yeon Jun while knowing her feelings always makes her feel that he has a slight interest, but he finally put those feelings to rest at last when he marries Kyung Eun Ae.

Lee Jang Hyun (Namkoong Min) arrives in Neunggun-ri, and sees the attractive Yu Gil Chae for the first time as she is on a swing in the woods along with other suitors who are watching her as well. Lee Jang Hyun is instantly captivated as he watches her swing back and forth, smiling and laughing as she goes higher and higher. They both recollect this moment later: One day, I asked you my darling, "Do you recall the day you first saw me?" You answered, "Of course, I do. I heard a very rare sound that day." I asked you what sound you heard. "Do you hear it? This sound, the sound of flowers." Just at that moment the swing broke and he caught her in his arms. As he looked at her up close for the first time, he said thinkingly, "Have you ever heard the sound of spring flowers bloom? I heard that rare sound today." So, began the amazing love story of Yu Gil Chae and Lee Jang Hyun.

Each time this couple met it was always a lively banter of words between which was a growing love, more so for Lee Jang Hyun, but Yu Gil Chae for so long had her sights on Nam Yeon Jun she never allowed herself to even think another man could enter her heart. Lee Jang Hyun played many mind games and their "tug of war" where both their feelings were concerned fascinated him. He did not want her to lose interest in him, so this is how he kept and captured her to him.

But just as things began to heat up for them, war starts and so they are separated before they could even make sense of their feelings.

Many things happen once the war started. Lee Jang Hyun finds himself working for the Khan as well as the Crown Prince. He does save Yu Gil Chae, gets ill and then the worse of it all is that she believes he died. Those who would die, they would put their possession in a box. Yu Gil Chae went looking to see if there was something of that manner for Lee Jang Hyun. Well, she did find a box which contained her red ribbon most importantly--his fan that he was never without. Even though she had these items, a tiny part of her still held on that he was alive. She held onto his coat and even screamed and cried for him to come back but he didn't. Hence, she had to fend for her and the others due to Kyng Eun Ae's husband, Nam Yoon Jun being imprisoned, and they lost everything.

Picking herself up she found a way to make money and get everyone back from the brink of disaster. Enter Gu Won Moo who led her to believe that he was the one that saved her and the others when they were on the island, but we all know it was Lee Jang Hyun. She decides to marry him.

Meanwhile Lee Jang Hyun is finally able to come back to Yu Gil Chae because the Crown Prince has been allowed by the Khan to see his father. Well, Lee Jang Hyun ask Ryang Eum to tell her that he is coming. But because of the beliefs that Ryang Eum has, once he does see Yu Gil Chae not only does he tell her that he is dead, but also that he had another woman during that time. I believe that he had a love for him that exceeded friendship. He used the guise of saying he felt that she was bad for him and was going to hurt him, so he drove her away. I think he didn't want him to have anyone in his life but him. So, misunderstanding ensued.

Coming into town, Lee Jang Hyun is happy because he has all the flowered printed slippers that he promised her. As he is walking down the street, he hears a man calling out about the bride's chest and out comes Yu Gil Chae. To say he wasn't blown away and her too, because she sees him at the same time is an understatement.

They finally meet and he tries to explain things to her but again, she basically doesn't listen to him and believes he is playing games with her, and she is not hearing anything that he is saying. He does find out that Ryang Eum was the cause of him not telling her that he was alive and leading her to continue to believe he was dead. Ryang Eum said that she was already getting married so why should he have told her anything different in his mind. I believe at this point; their relationship was severed.

The final parting of Yu Gil Chae and Lee Jang Hyun was in this letter that she wrote him as he sailed down the river without her. She said, "It is true that I wavered for a moment, but I do not trust you nor love you enough to leave everything behind me. If any small affection for me remains in you, please forget everything about me."

After reading the letter he picks up her flowered printed slippers and remembers what he had told her when he left: "I will come back with the prettiest flower slippers in the world." He then just drops them in the water as they float away...so ends their story for now.

Ryang Eum who Lee Jang Hyun left is on the riverbank watching him leave without him, turning to leave, he looks up only to see Yu Gil Chae and cannot contain in his look his disgust and anger for her.

Yu Gil Chae feels tears running down her cheeks as she watches Lee Jang Hyun leave and thinks: "When I asked you if you ever hated me, you said this--the day you left me forever. I stared at you for a long time because I hated you so much. But no matter how long I stared at you, I did not feel hatred for you. So, I just hated myself. And you asked me, how cruel you are. Did you even fathom how I felt? I can tell you now. I could not even fathom, it is just that my heart shattered into a thousand pieces, and I wished that you would not feel like me. I prayed desperately so."

Two years later we find Lee Jang Hyun in Shenyang and he is once again chasing down escapees from the war.

This is where the drama ends for now. Such a beautifully crafted piece of work. Everyone in the cast gives superb performances. The lavish and breathtaking scenery is just amazing. I am thoroughly in awe of this drama. You will as well.

I did take a bit of my own spin when she had her dream, but this was the most poignant moment to me in this drama,

One day Yu Gil Chae was sewing an embroidery, as she got to the sun, she needed more red thread as she went to reach for the spool of red thread, it fell out of her hand and began to roll. As she watched it roll down the hill she began to run after it. The red spool of thread led her down a path of trees which were in full summertime bloom, through a field of lush yellow flowers, skipping on stones along a babbling brook, a grove of autumn trees with an array of vibrant colors in red and gold, a snow covered path with her feet crunching on newly fallen snow all the while feeling the breath of winter's wind on her face, and a dense forest of trees, where the red spool led her to the sandy beach and the sound of the ocean.

As she watched the blazing colors of the evening sunset against his silhouette, she saw laying at his feet the red spool of thread. Thinking she said, "Was all that I saw as I ran to you, the highs and lows of what was to be expected in our journey?" But as he stepped from the glow of the setting sun, she watched as he slowly reached down to pick up the spool. She asked him..."Who are you, Young Master?" He said, "I have been waiting for you. At this place...for a long time." As she watched his head lean down for a kiss, she thought, "I have waited for you a long time too...my dearest."

Such as the ending I would have liked to have but alas we have to wait for the red thread to continue its journey in October for the second part.

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A Beautiful Love Story

This amazing, well-executed drama has come to an end. What a journey we all had the privilege to enjoy.

Looking back over this drama it was one that grasp you from the very first episode and held you fast to every episode until the nicely wrapped up ending.

I can only say, myself as a woman, and maybe for other women out there, we all would love to have a Lu Chen in our lives. This man knew from the first moment he saw her that she was going to be his and his alone because it was love at first sight. To have that determination and decisiveness of mindset is rare indeed. He may have been silent but everything he did was well thought out of. In his own way, he had guided her, as well as her with him to be the couple that through anything could withstand time.

No matter what pressures they held both within their families, their own lives and their apparent separation, they held fast and firm to their beliefs. In their own way their love of each other healed their families and just made all that were around them see how much love can endure and it was never lost between them, but recaptured and reborn to a more exquisite love story.

This drama held us all in the palm of its hand giving us smiles, swooning, laughter, tears but most of all...love. A masterpiece of craftsmanship by a couple that made us enjoy what falling and being in love is all about.

As the saying goes, all paths lead home...we all have our own road home because that is where love is.

Until next time...love....

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