Leads that liven up the story

A theme that could have been mundane but saved by weaving it seamlessly with the interaction and sparks between reunited village neighbours played by real life friends Song Yun and Xiao Bai.

The objective of the story is meaningful and meant to highlight the plights of rural areas and villages and the need for the young generation to step up and make a change to drive the progress and economics for villagers and their livelihood. Again this type of story may not be everyone's cup of tea. However the direction and execution of the story makes it more palatable and interesting.

Personally i have waited for the leads' pairing. And they did not disappoint. In chinese I could say seeing them sparring or interacting is very 舒服.. very comforting to the eyes. It helps that Xiao Bai's character Xiao Dong is a little immature with quirks and full of personality. While Song Yun's Si Qi is mature, confident and decisive and loves to mess with Xiao Dong.

Given the length, do binge over a weekend. You wont be disappointed.

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Highschool love breaking through the norms!

Characterization that breakthroughs the stereotypes we tend to get with youth and school dramas. Refreshing!

Here's a FL who isn't dumb/airhead or super intelligent. There's no unsightly hairstyle or dump-down clothes. In fact you get a pretty female with nice long hair that suits her and clothes that suit her age and is pretty to look at. Then that goddess image has a backstory too. For FL has come back from the city to her hometown and like a typical teenage she covets in wanting to be loved, admired and centre of attention instead of being a wallflower or side character. Then comes the character development.

ML isnt your typical one either- neither high cold or super sunny. He's your regular guy with good looks but has a secret identity nobody knew. Additionally he has a backstory regarding his family. When it comes to FL, they meet again after FL left for the city when young. ML still holds on to their childhood memories that meant a lot to him. There was a misunderstanding too that gets unraveled 1/3 into the drama.

The child actors are cute! I wait every episode to see flashbacks of the child versions.

The drama has a nice mix of 3 things.
1. Theme of finding oneself and being real - I really like how ML encourages FL to be herself, and not the act she has to put up to be perfect
2. Friendships and family - I love FL's friendship with her deskmate. I love FL's dad too
3. Romance - not only is it done well with limited cliche; im surprise how romantic it comes across- from language of mint, to the garden and the blue tears in the sea

Lastly, it's also peppered with reminded that its highschool and FL is a teenager- enters the visualisation of drama queen in almost all teenage girls- complete with black and white version talking in her head.

It's been a really easy breezy watch and you might be surprise with how much you like it.

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CUTE

Cute guys. Cute FL. Cute cats. Cute story.

Controversies aside, the dramas works because its a complete package. As shallow as it is, its a casting of a lot of good looking people and make esports arena a place of idols looking peeps. Theres a lot of witty dialogue that makes you laugh aloud. Theres team spirit and camaderie among the esports team. Theres nice animation for the game fights. Theres good progress in the romance department between the ML and FL. Theres a lot of cute edits from the editor, point in case they gave a HP bar above FL when she was unwell/suffering from mestrual cramps. I thought that was really cute. And theres the cute cats that totally steal my heart.

Worthy mentions: FL's bestfriend is such a nice character, i love her sass and confidence. Little Fatty is a really cute character, i love him in d novel, i love him the same in the drama.

Kudos to the production team that did great post-production work here. Ive seen C dramas with good cast and story marred by poor editing which makes it hard to watch and follow. Not the case here, episode to episode flows very well, very easy to binge.

If theres things to criticize it might be the FL's acting range. Clueless, nonchalance or adorable those were fine but more emotional scenes need a lot of work still. But they make it up with good chemistry cause Xu Kai prpbably is her best onscreen partner thus far. While i was watching my husband kept pointing out how over their makeup was and how everyone is too white ^^ lol. Still this was a fun watch.

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A trip filled with mixed emotions

A graduation trip for boys and girls who started off as strangers, but went on to 2 diff stops living under the same roof.
They hit off initially by first impressions, and by pairing off to various dates. Some days girls have the say, other days guys make the decision. Some members entered late into the picture. All these are quite similar to other such shows; especially the part where one member leaves a message for another member of the opposite sex.

Now comes the differences.

This started off on a laid-back, chilled and spontaneous vibe much like the youthful members. Before long, its filled with a lot of dramatic incidences. I attribute it to their age. All of them are in their early 20s; most having just recently graduated. With youth, comes a lot of impulsive actions and less than ideal decisions. One member made an erroneous judgement and live to regret the harm done on his budding relationship with another female. And you do feel for them. Often times, you watch and get roped into their feelings of hurt, despair, and even guilt.

Some came with a lot of expectations and even some bursting with confidence. And along the way they got lost and even lose sense of self. I really did not expect this but found it to be very realistic. Most of them in real life are surrounded by people who likes them, and who are pretty and charming and had pursuers. Throw into this reality show, with a limited number of guys and girls and suddenly you found that the person you feel positive above does not feel the same. Here most of them are very candid with little filter. Their body language and even their lack of attention tells them they are simply not interested.

My biggest pet peeve is a certain male member who comes off as very fake and who often talk in a emotionally manipulative way. He isnt that interested in the girl but he knows she likes him, he strings her own while telling her how distraught he is and at the same time he doesnt want her to have any development with another male (deemed competitor). He is textbook type a parents wants to warn their daughter to be wary of.

The rewarding bits to me are the friendships and kinship formed in this show. And the rest of the members were a great mix of different personalities with individual charm. Most may not get their happy chapter on this show but will surely do in their real lives beyond this show. It's an interesting show that warrant a second season with new members.

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A regurgitated concept that failed to materialise

The drama from the way its written, the screenplay and the direction kept me feeling its a regurgitated mess from the writer's mind. Literally like she was in a pensive mood, staring out the window on a rainy day, thinking of life and death.

The fantasy bits were to suit the whim of creating a helpless deity that meddles with people's fate and a doom whose mundane life of endless days and night to bring doom. The way it is written creating an unusually emotionally strong FL and an interesting meeting with Doom that then spirals out to nothing. FL's brother and aunt was never fleshed out to give the family arc that the FL is supposedly protective of. They were just there for the writer's machinations.

The other triangle was even more pointless. Other than sharing the same office space as FL, it felt like 2 different sets of drama and story in one setting. Worse off, it wasnt interesting and I dont care about them.

As with many other people's thoughts, I thought the casts were wasted. ML in a few bts clips was asked to remain expressionless..iys like taking the soul out of a soulful actor. FL should probably take a break from Fantasy genre. I love her to bits and hope she rebounds with a better movie/drama next time.

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Action-packed but fail to resonate

Action with disaster of different settings, satisfactory cgi and stunts. But storyline, characther building, camaderie and emotional payoffs lacking.

I havnt reviewed a movie in a long while. Watched this on a weekend with my kids. They were entertained in the rescue scenes. The ooohs and ahhs over helicopters, blast, sinking rig, aeroplane disaster etc etc.

There is also a need for suspension of belief. Personally I dont thk in real life situation rescue missions are carried out when it is deemed too risky, jeopardising rescue mission and endangering the entire team. So in 2 of the missions i did not agree with their call and that they would be given the greenlight to go ahead realistically.

The intro of one of the rescue member (played by Wang yan lin) and his fiance/wife and also male lead (eddie peng)'s son was part of the character building and part and parcel of setting up emotional scenes in second half and the climax. However the flow as well as the lack of depth in writing fails to give the audience enough time to form emotional attachment to them. The storyline is busy from the get go, original pilot leaves, new female pilot enters with her assistant co pilot, then assistant co pilot wants to leave too... blah blah. They com and go and failed to be important to me. The cutting and editing between mission scenes to dailylife scenes were also jarring. At times it felt like two different movies with similar actors trying to mesh together. The poor execution felt like you are forced to buy in with a promise of emotional payout that never comes. Even the ending mission also felt anti climatic. I do appreciate the peptalk and highlight on courage. But that's about it.

You can watch if you are an Eddie Peng fan or if you're in for an action flick on a rainy weekend. Just dont expect too much.

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Good premise & cast with many BUTS (disappointed)

The setup of overweight FL and her long time friend, ironically ML was real chubby when young n FL stood by him. Throw in Madhatter from Alice in wonderland and a potion that instead of growing tall/shrink is a magical slimming potion. All this is going really well until the 'BUT' starts:

The leads have a good chemi but the story isnt exploring it in the right way. I want to enjoy their friendship and their blurry feelings for each other. Instead theres so much wasted footage on unimportant things.

SML is also a character that wasnt likeable. His personality is the opposite of his appearance. I get annoyed when he constantly fat shame bigger sized women. I did not enjoy them and also felt Xiao Xi wasted too much time on him.

Given that the leads wasted so much time. I thought the make-up would be good. I didnt mind the comedy bits here. Except the way it was wrapped up was very disappointing. I am left wanting, wanting a rewarding couple moment of Xiao Xi and Han Bin.

The appearance of the movie promises a sweet romance between 2 friends but it never delivers on that promise. And its a shame cause the actors were great but the plot and direction went awry.

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Moving Biography. Captured essence & humanity of Love & Friendships

Rather than death, the story reminds us the beauty and priceless value of life. Xiong Dun is a remarkable person. Not because shes fearless but rather she wouldnt let her fear control who she is. Shes a person full of life, straightforward in speech, humourous, people person and endless love to give to the people around her.

The production handles this otherwise heavy theme of cancer, and looming death well by not filming and focusing on melodramatic angles. In 1 episode you get a cheating boyfriend and FL confronting him before episode 1 even ends..it doesnt dwell and the pace is good. Rather alot of focus is how resolute this woman, when shot, bites the bullet. Her inner strength and using good humour to cheer the people around her draws even more love from everyone that is lucky enough to have met her.

Its a story that is hard to rate. How do you rate a person's life? Well Xiong Dun would say: by how he or she lives. And given how much she loves life, I can leave this question unanswered Im thoroughly moved by the love shes surrounded with. Its like full circle. Her sincerity to people and her generous warm nature has affected everyone beside her. Not just her wonderful parents, her love interest doctor, her 2 bestfriends, her new bestfriend and fellow cancer patient, her boss and coworkers. All these people makes this drama a very good watch. Makes watching the journey of a cancer patient worth the tears and pain. Restores your faith in humanity and trust in selfless friendships.

I am glad to have met Xiong Dun brought to life in this story. May her story lives on and touch many more people.

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Light & Bright Youth. Story of Companionship & Friendship

Meeting this drama and their characthers is a mix of youthful spring and calming autumn. Theres that wonderful reminscing of youth, of school, classmates and friendship. Theres that understanding between two people who value and support each other. Theres the spring of childhood friends turned first love.

Although mostly light, Nan xi's backstory was a little sad and lonely at the start. Because of his genius and crowd phobia, he live in seclusion, barracade himself from people both physically and emotionally. Enter Xia Rui, who is his bell while he is the wood. Polar opposites but they share a special friendship that dates to childhood. Having reconcile, Nan xi vows never to be separated from Xia Rui again. In some aspects he comes off clingy and possessive. But if you think of how his life was before her and how much he understands himself and his needs, you can understand a little where hes coming from. Xia Rui represents the light in the dark, the floater in the sea, the colour in a colourless world and the laughter to drown out the noise. She, as he puts it, is and always will be his destination. They make each other reach to be a better part of themselves. The story sees them breaking barriers and improving themselves. Witnessing their growth is like a rewarding task of watching a tree firmly take root, grow, bear fruits and reach its full potential.

We are also treated to 2 of Xia Rui's best friends who also enter Nan xi's world. They make up our second couple who are as cute as they look. The drama is littered with a lot of lovely characters, too many to list individually. In this aspect it's really a feel good drama with lots of positive energy.

The strength lies in their friendship. People who care and makes sure to stay together. Often this is not easily done in real life. Its wonderful to see their friendships persevere from highschool to college. Gratifying to see that they are each other's support systems. I appreciate the message the drama relays and the positive ambience and feel it radiates. The cast were spot on. Fiction Guo has really put his mark as Nan xi and Wan Peng is right at home potraying the warm and radiant XiaRui. If you would want some positive energy and a drama high on friendship and youth, this may be a rewarding watch.

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Lonely enduring crush. Precious and painful. A bud that took a decade to bloom

Not your average story. Not your average female lead. Luo zi is a special character, you can say very intelligent and very silly. Both admirable and sad.

Luo zi is a loner, who is indifferent to people around her and do not form attachment to people except her mom and cousin. Shes also proud and does not want pity. Holding on stubbornly to her crush, her like and eventually a love that she couldnt control. In her words, like being led on by the nose. In highschool she silently likes Sheng Huai Nan, watching his back figure, 7 steps behind. But he never sees her or notices her. Working hard to stand beside him, never materialise as fate wasnt by her side.

Years past meeting him again, the feelings hadnt gone away. The diary writing restarts, documenting her every moment, experience and feeling when she sees him. This time having interacted with her, Sheng Huai Nan found this girl peculiar and interesting and engaging. One whose brain and wit are both equally sharp. But he didnt understand why theres a wield anger and sometimes blatant ignorance towards him. Shes someone he couldnt see through, yet wanted to get close to understand. But when they got closer, his ex reappears to frame and smear her. The one who interupted their fate before has come once again to intervene.

Plotwise I would stop commenting and leave it for you to watch. I scored this high because of all the feelings it invoke, because Luozi is so relatable, because i believe love especially unrequited is both beautiful and painful. And its truly captured in this drama. Their dialogues are often intelligent, thought provoking and memorable. It is not your average sweet college love. Theres the frustration and real anger. Theres the confusion and uncertainty. Theres the pride and the fear. I also enjoy how multi dimensional both ML and FL are. Narcissism and sarcasm.

I watched this lastyear and recently rewatch after reading the novel. I urge you to watch. Both actors were unknown to me but they bring the characthers to life. Dont expect perfection, flawed characters and almost melancholy touch. Word of warning: It may illicit a lot of feelings and personal memories.

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Sweet Crush. Fun First Romance

Theres a lot of this genre (college romance) out there but this is among the better ones in terms of acting, production and overall storyline.

Qin Shen, the cold talented and super tall male lead and Yuan Qian, the cute, friendly petite female lead are classmates in the sculpture major. Somehow after a mini accident, she learns she misunderstood him and both begins to see the better side in each other. It didnt take long for the ice to thaw with Qin Shen.. given that he used to say girls and dating are meaningless and waste of time. But when he looks at YQ he cant help smiling and the warmth will enter his eyes.

Best part. Qin Shen took notice of YQ very early on and her quirks and attitude amuses him. More than half of the drama are the two dancing around each other. Theres a saying, one stroke shy (strokes to write a chinese characther) and thats how you can describe their relationship. They seek each other out, hang out, talk, hints and flirts but never really comfesses. The acting and directing makes this enjoyable even amusing.

SML does not really get annoying, mostly a puppy still hinging on their childhood memories. While SFL is no fun to watch, i just wish she stops chasing given that ML cannot be more obvious of his coldness, nonchalance and blatantly ignoring her most times. Really, QS reserves his gentlemanly nature, sweet , caring and even considerate gestures only for FL. When needed he helps her out, supports her and respects her decision. Hes also the type that doesnt shy away from doing couple-things and enjoys being dote on by FL. With the exception of his penchance to tease her and sometimes twist and negates his own kind intentions, i find its a mix of his own enjoyment (you will find hes actually a lil black-bellied and to save face).

Their roommates are a hoot to watch. ML has 2 funny bros who are also classmates. Their scenes and dialogues are so funny. FL has 3 wonderful friendships with her roommates too. And both sets of roommates already clue in on the push-pull relationship of the leads.. they are just too obvious haha.

Acting wise is good. If done wrongly could have been cringey or stiff. But both Ireine Song and Aaron Deng have a good camaraderie so there a natural synergy. You can watch them interact all day and be entertained.

Ps one of my fav moment is when QS retrieved the water bottle he threw to the trashbin after hearing from his bro that YQ was the one who bought it. He didnt care evyone's looking or the trashbin. It spoke volumes how he feels about her.

Verdict Fun fun and easy watch. No real angst. Flirty interactions and sweet first romance that blossom between two people who thought they would remain single until they meet the right person.

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The kind that nibbles at your heart until theres nothing left

Reality is sometimes far from ideal. It can be sad. Disappointing. Frustrating. Daunting. Painful. I found all these in Si Yu, Zi Zi and Xiao Ling's life as depicted here.

We saw the rosy moments. The happy and content times, often fleeting or even underappreciated. But often they had to face so much struggles that life throws at them. In this aspect, the writer does not shy off from showing us the ugly.

The issue in SY and YM's relationship or the cracks in ZZ's marriage. They were very real. Sometimes its not cookie cutter clear who is in the wrong. The relationship stalled at this point from the contribution of both parties. In SY and YM's aspects, they werent on the same page at that time in their lives. I found this to be all the more painful because they love each other but not enough to stay together and be happy.

Often i get upset when watching so i caution those with a feeble heart. But yet 41episodes watch and cried, I'm still here eagerly waiting everyday for new episodes to watch my very flawed male and female leads. As much as it pains me to see them falter, and grope in the dark as they refind themselves. I want to cheer for them. For ZZ to gain independence and confidence. For SY to understand what truly matters and stand back on her feet. I want to witness when they would find back their true selves, and their way to happiness.

The acting here is amazing. The leads are so flawed and imperfect, sometimes weak and sometimes they frustrate the hell out of me, but i cant hate them, i pity them and still want to root for them. Zhu Yi Long (this guy's eye acting and micro expressions are so on point), Liu Si Si and Han Zing Zhi all had their shining moments. Lastly i love the girls' friendship, they are there and supportive but never stiffling or condescending even though they all are so different and have different ambition and dreams.

* I have amended by rating and review upon finishing. This is the first time there's a huge discrepancy during "currently watching" to "completed". The conclusion continues its sarcastically cold reality- except the plot outcome for some of the characters to deliver the ultimatum ended up unrealistic in my opinion. We are suppose to receive the climax and send off our characters but the writing didn't deliver. After diligently shouldering the frustration and watch the humbling problems the girls faced for so long, you asked for a little reward and felt cheated. Watch something else unless you don't mind cruel reality and unfulfilled epilogue.

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Complementing couple; Faithful Love; Outstanding Production

Don't sleep on this drama! Perfectly all I wanted in 1 drama. I want to rave how good this is in the hopes more people will give this drama a watch.

Unlike the trailer or the opening theme or the ending theme.. this drama is NOT frivolous or cheesy or over-the-top comedy. It has drama but not melodramatic, the romance between the leads naturally developed and tug at your heart strings..sometimes cute and sweet but always very believable. Theres silly antics and some good humour too.

The direction is spot on. Because all the scenes come out beautifully. What makes this drama special is because you dont expect it to move you BUT it does. All the emotional scenes are well crafted and well acted out. I become FL and ML's champion, I root for them, I care for them. I'm with them every step of the way and truly invested.

The cinematography is gorgeous. Their wedding scenes was grand and beautiful. Many backdrops at the manor was picturesque.

The true star of the drama is how beautiful the writer wrote Xi Ruo and Hong Bin's love. Almost tongue in cheek because Xi Ruo is the 'sweet liar'. Yet she comes clean and confess to ML before the wedding. Unlike other contract or fake marriages, both leads are a picture of happiness during the wedding because there is already affection and attraction. Even as XR still harbors secrets, HB isnt oblivious or stupid but gives time and space to XR.

I love when HB said to XR " To believe you or not, is up to me. But to trust me or not, is up to you". And from the moment he took her hand in marriage he has always chose to trust her. He exemplifies how a husband should be: trust, respect, cherish, protect and love his wife. Throw in his puppy face..thats a bonus.

So all the antagonists, all the hard moments, as watchers they dont become frustrating because XR and HB never falter. Time and time again we even get surprised by the neat plot.

Hong Bin and Xi Ruo is such a complementing couple and they truly give off lovers, husband wife vibes. Kudos to the leads and their acting as well as Director Cheng that helmed this amazing production.

I hope other dramas can learn from this drama. Lovers who only have eyes for each other, hearts never waver and whose relationship is built on communication and trust. And emphasized background is not important and the meaning of family. Perfect Perfect Perfect all around. The stamp of humour just makes it more fun. Its now time to rewatch again.

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Good dose of Romance, Slight Mystery

Original chinese title is Fall In Love Shi Meng! reflects the drama better.. breakdown of the contents would be:
5% plot setup.
30% cohabitation hijinks.
20% developing affection & attachment.
20% sweet start of romance.
20% 2nd ML interactions with ML, FL
5% Mystery & wrap up

Fate or destiny is considered part of the theme but in the end is also dependent on the person's action. Shi Meng and Fang Yuan can be considered "Interested at First Sight" but truly "Develop Affection and Love" as they cohabitate as the idiom says "Familiarity Breeds Fondness".

Shi Meng only focuses on work, has a rift with his brother and generally has an unapproachable air and gets annoyed easily. Fang Yuan can be considered duped into staying with Shi Meng as a 'caretaker'. They stayed together with Shi Meng installing a set of rules but Fang Yuan hilariously pushes his limits in silly ways. Fang Yuan is quite a lovely character, not stupid, positive disposition although sometimes her illness dampens her mood.

Theres some role reversal where FL takes the initiative and so things, small action to grand gesture to make the ML happy. Then theres the ML thats seemingly cool and reluctant would end up doing gentle things for FL like teaching her to skate or helping her wash her hair. So trust me, theres quite alot of lovely moments.

Ep 1 was not really interesting until the last 3mins. Ep2 to 4 I was distracted and turned to other dramas. Ep 5 onwards finally hooked me. Ep 6 onwards was binge worthy.

The plot isnt super original and the start wasnt without issues. But overall its a very good watch. The ML and FL makes a beautiful couple and their acting is quite natural.

Ps Theres really alot of tall goodlooking actors popping out in C dramaland everywhere. This year alone have com across quite a number of average to good dramas starring new actors. Truly spoilt with choice. You may have overlooked this drama due to lesser known actors and little promotion but its a show thats mostly light and sweet with a touch of mystery and good dose of romantic moments between leads

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CP fluff; Paper thin plot

The actors carried the drama. The 2 Yuxis..Ding Yu Xi and Zhang Yu Xi made it possible to stay and finish the drama.

FL fell in love at first sight and you actually feel second hand embarassment for her due to her rather direct confession and pursue of ML. ML somehow falls in love later.. and this is the part where i find the writing rather lazy.. i would have like it to be a more emotional approach rather than a physical one.

The plot is a little anti climatic for most episodes but not exactly slice of life either. We did get some character development for FL and her career. Bonus that the leads only have the hots for each other.

Theres that annoying younger sister that was annoying for many episodes until she stop being one n become kinda cute. There were some sweet scenes and fan service sort of CP moments. Ding Yu Xi has really attractive eyes and good with eye acting. He puts that to very good use here.

But unlike the drama name, it failed in reaching an intense kind of love for me. It was enjoyable, nothing less, nothing more.

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