Moonlight

A classic!!

As much as I love the fluff and flirting with no satisfying conclusion of the main leads new drama “ Love Game In Eastern Fantasy”…

It’s made me appreciate this drama a million times more… a proper beginning, middle and an end.

The story may seem slow in certain areas but with 4 more episodes than LGIEF… you get to see 75% of the cast from LGIEF and you get multiple kiss scenes, confessions and a proper ending with both leads in the scene 🎬

I’ll still be rewatching my Miao Miao and ZiQi clips from LGIEF but I’ll be forever binge watch Moonlight for its satisfying storytelling.

Please let the drama gods 🙏 pair these two for another Romcom in the future ♥️

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A beautiful love story set in the publishing industry.

Personal review:
I loved this show. I absolutely adored it. The message was simple, chase your dreams and fight for what you want, but very sweetly portrayed. One of my pet peeves with Chinese shows is that they don't know how to wrap up the show. The beginning and middle are good but the end just falls apart; not this show. The last few episodes are one of the best. I loved the ending. The relationship between the two main leads was so good and honest. It felt like I was being given a peak into their lives, rather than just them telling a story. There is no extra drama, so it might not be for everyone , but I loved its understated story telling. No character was wasted, and everyone felt like real three dimensional people with their own motivation, dreams and way of doing things. Just a wonderfully told, simple story.

If I think about it, the story shows different relationship between different people and in different time in their life's, and how they got there. Our main couple were just starting their journey into their lives, professionally and personally. The second couple were people who had already broken up once, because of circumstances, and got a second chance. There were relationships between editors and writers, bosses and employees etc. So, this show is very different from your usual run of the mill Chinese dramas. I could actually empathize these these people and there lives. It felt real.

Pros:

The main leads had amazing chemistry. The acting of everyone was top notch. Many people did find the females' leads voice a little annoying, and her way of talking did bother me in the beginning, but her character is so different from her voice; she is so headstrong, that it became an interesting dichotomy for me; analyzing how she used her voice to throw people off and then get them to do as she wants. She was manipulative, but so earnest and good, pushing forward despite all obstacles, that it was amazing to watch. She never gave up on her writers and used every tool in her arsenal to help them.

The male leads character was also one that could have been very off putting, but this actor knows how to make him seem endearing rather than annoying. It amazed me how two people that could have become so unappealing, both the leads, were wonderfully handled by the actors. They felt like real people, who are actually people you could root for and not caricatures of the traits we like in our drama hero or heroin.

It was wonderfully balanced, especially the main male leads scenes with the second male lead. Their friendship is goals. They sometimes felt like two gossipy ladies, constantly fighting each other, but still the first person the other went to for help. They made me laugh at their antics and I enjoyed every minute they were on screen.

The music was very subtle and beautiful, quite fitting of the story they were trying to tell.

Cons:
The biggest issue I had with the show was that the story of the second couple felt underdeveloped. The only time I was bored during the show, was actually when the second couple was on screen. Their story had so much potential. I understood what they were trying to show, but I had to make leaps of conclusion, which annoyed me (I am not giving more details to avoid spoilers). I could logically deduce what was going in the characters head, but their story needed a little bit of oomph, some details; something just felt missing. I still liked their input to the show, and the second female lead was also a badass, she just felt like two or three people, throughout the show, without me as a watcher being shown the transition between those three personas. Same with the second male lead. He changed his mind and opinions, and they were unable to make me follow his logic.

Other than that, the show is a unique piece of storytelling that might not be for everyone, but one that I loved. What I would suggest is that you definitely give this a try. It is show that deserves being watched.

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Books, Romance, and One Unforgettable Bromance

I started this drama mainly for Ding Yu Xi as Zhou Chuan, and honestly, his character and the friendship between the two male leads are the biggest reasons I stayed until the end. I had dropped *Love Game in Eastern Fantasy* before, so I came into this completely as a standalone and didn't have any emotional attachment to the pairing beforehand. In that sense, this actually worked quite well as a palate cleanser between heavier dramas. It is light, funny and easy to watch, and the leads have a really natural dynamic.

Zhou Chuan is such a fun character. He is charming, playful, childish, annoying, frustrating and ridiculously entertaining all at once. I can understand why some people found him immature, and honestly, in real life I probably would have wanted to strangle him at times. But within the drama, his childishness worked because he was also incredibly charismatic. I felt like Ding Yu Xi genuinely enjoyed playing him, and that energy made even his ridiculous moments fun to watch. What I especially appreciated was that he wasn't completely oblivious when other women tried to interfere. He would see through their intentions and shut them down so directly. No unnecessary ambiguity, no pretending not to understand, no dragging things out just to create jealousy. PLEASE, more male leads like this.

What surprised me most, though, was how much I ended up relating to Zhou Chuan. He isn't emotionally perfect, and that is exactly what made him feel realistic to me. He is someone who is confident and capable in his own world but doesn't necessarily know how to deal with his emotions or communicate when things become complicated. Watching him struggle during the period when he and Chu Li were fighting actually hit me much harder than I expected. His confusion, frustration and inability to properly process what he was feeling felt painfully human. I actually cried during some of those scenes, which is a big deal for me because very few dramas have managed to make me cry. I didn't expect to understand him on that level, but somehow I did.

I also really liked Chu Li. She isn't a damsel in distress waiting for the male lead to solve everything for her. She is hardworking, independent and genuinely passionate about her job. I especially appreciated how fiercely she defended her authors and their work. She knew their value, demanded that other people respect them and wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed was right. As someone who appreciates creative work, I really liked this aspect of the drama. Passion doesn't mean people should be exploited or expected to work for free. Creatives deserve respect and fair compensation too.

The publishing industry was another major highlight for me. Seeing the relationship between writers, editors, manuscripts, ghostwriting, publishing houses and the business side of books was genuinely interesting, especially as someone who loves books. The drama does a surprisingly good job of showing how much work goes into getting a book published and how complicated the relationship between an author and editor can become. I also liked that both leads were professionals in their own fields and respected each other's abilities.

However, this is also where my biggest problem with the drama comes in. For a 36-episode drama, I expected the relationship between the leads to develop much more deeply outside of their work. For so much of the drama, almost every conversation between Chu Li and Zhou Chuan revolves around books, manuscripts, authors, editing or work problems. I understand that publishing is the central theme, but eventually I wanted to know more about THEM. What do they talk about when they aren't working? What makes them understand each other beyond their professional relationship? What are their deeper emotional needs, fears and hopes as a couple?

The pairing itself worked very well, but I sometimes felt like the drama was telling me that they were in love more than actually allowing me to experience their relationship on a deeper level. There were cute romantic moments, and they had chemistry, but I wanted more intimacy and emotional dimension between them. Zhou Chuan is such a layered character when he is dealing with his father, his writing, his friendship and his own struggles, yet whenever he was with Chu Li, the story often became "work, books, manuscript, work." That made their romance feel somewhat superficial at times, which was disappointing because I genuinely liked both characters.

The first half was definitely stronger for me. The first 20 episodes were engaging, funny and full of momentum. Afterwards, the drama started feeling increasingly long and repetitive. The work conflicts began to feel similar, the publishing storyline took up more and more space, and the romance gradually lost some of its spark. I kept thinking that this could have been significantly better if it had been shorter. There is enough good material here for a really enjoyable drama, but 36 episodes felt excessive for the story it was trying to tell.

The comedy, however, was a huge success for me. I laughed much more than I expected, and there are still scenes that make me smile when I remember them. The drama manages to balance its workplace and publishing storyline with plenty of light-hearted moments, and Zhou Chuan carries so much of that humour. He is exactly the kind of character who can make me laugh and then suddenly make me swoon five minutes later.

And then there is the bromance.

Honestly, I may have loved Zhou Chuan and Jiang Yu Cheng's friendship even more than some of the romantic relationships in the drama. They started as kind of love rivals with childhood friendship and their friendship felt incredibly natural. They bicker, argue, annoy each other and then immediately have each other's backs when it matters. I especially loved the completely random phone calls where one of them would suddenly call the other, ask for advice, say something completely out of context and then just end the conversation. It felt like the kind of friendship where you don't need a formal reason to reach out.

Jiang also deserves a special mention because I ended up really loving his character. At first I wasn't sure about him or even the actor, but he slowly won me over. He was a good friend, a good partner and a talented author, and I appreciated how he never allowed his own feelings to interfere with Zhou Chuan's happiness. Instead, he honestly encouraged him, helped him understand his feelings for Chu Li and genuinely wanted him to be happy. Their friendship had humour, warmth, loyalty and genuine affection. The chemistry between the two actors was fantastic, and I honestly found myself anticipating their scenes because I knew they were going to be entertaining. I genuinely don't know if I've seen another drama with quite this particular kind of bromance.

I also enjoyed Zhou Chuan's relationship with his father. Their relationship had its problems, but you could always feel the love underneath them. Their scenes gave Zhou Chuan another dimension outside of his relationship with Chu Li, and the actor playing his father did a wonderful job. That storyline had some of the emotional depth I sometimes wished the main romance had more of.

The second couple was much less successful for me. I liked the characters individually, but their relationship became irritating after a while and took up far too much screen time for a storyline I wasn't invested in. It also felt quite typical and cliché compared with some of the more interesting relationships in the drama. I honestly would have preferred if they had ended up with different people.

I also had mixed feelings about the chief editor's storyline. I thought she was excellent at her job and understood why she fought to maintain her career, but I never connected with her as much when it came to her relationship with her child. Something about that part of her story felt emotionally weak to me, and I also wasn't particularly interested in her interactions with the female author. Her family storyline wasn't necessarily bad, but it felt somewhat unnecessary compared with the parts of the drama I actually wanted to see more of.

Despite all of these criticisms, I did enjoy this drama. The leads fit together well, the comedy was genuinely funny, the publishing setting was interesting, and the friendships were a huge highlight. Most importantly, Zhou Chuan himself completely carried the drama for me. I started this drama for Ding Yu Xi, and I stayed because of him, his character and that ridiculously good friendship with Jiang Yu Cheng.

My biggest disappointment is that I wanted the romance to go deeper. I liked Chu Li and Zhou Chuan together, but I wanted more of their relationship outside of their careers and the publishing world. Give me more conversations about them, more emotional intimacy, more of the little things that make two people fall in love and stay in love. The drama had all the ingredients for that, but sometimes it felt like it was more interested in telling me about books than showing me who these two people were together.

Still, as a light-hearted drama to watch between heavier stories, it worked surprisingly well for me. It made me laugh, gave me characters I genuinely enjoyed and, unexpectedly, gave me one of my favourite male friendships. It may be too long and a little too focused on work in the second half, but Zhou Chuan and Jiang Yu Cheng alone made the journey worthwhile for me.

One thing I definitely want to mention is the OST. I really loved it. It fit the drama's overall atmosphere so well and added to the charm of the lighter and more emotional scenes. There were songs that genuinely stayed with me after the episodes, and the OST became part of what made the drama so pleasant to watch.

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not exactly my cup of tea, but enjoyable all the same

I came to this drama after finishing Love Game in Eastern Fantasy, excited to see Esther Yu and Ding Yu Xi together again, however, I found that Esther’s characters just ain’t for me.
I guess LGIEF was an exception for me since the plot had everything I liked, but on this one, I found myself getting put off my Esther’s overly cute acting yet again. Both main characters come off as quite childish in this drama.
It ain’t that the acting was bad, but just not my cup of tea. Zhou Chuan’s antics were just so… childish is the only word I can use, really. He was a grown ass man who bullied the girl he liked, for lack of tact on how to treat her properly and, as I woman myself, I honestly can’t see how she chose him instead of the second male lead, who was more affectionate and direct in his intentions and a lot more attractive for that. Still, the chemistry between Esther Yu and Ding Yu Xi is undeniable, as annoying as their characters were to me, the both of them still look insanely good together (the kissing scenes were are little lacking tho, the secondary couple delivered a much better job at that).
On the other hand, the story of the drama was great, about dreams and supporting/going after one’s goals and hopes, and I loved that, which makes me think this is an enjoyable drama.
Also, as childish as the main couple were, the secondary one is a lot more mature with adult drama in their lives, looking more like adults in love than a couple of cute teenagers like the mains couple did to me.
If you’re bored or like Esther’s acting, do check the one out, since it’s a nice enough drama, however, I wouldn’t consider it a must watch, it’s just nice enough.

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My favorite C-Drama! <3

This was a show with the most bestest of all best endings: just a sweet happily ever after with our main characters being successful (girl)bosses. I loved everything about this show: the fun, the vibes, the music, the cinematography, the characters and their relationships. It was just such a fun show. Chu Li is such a great female lead: strong-willed, funny and sweet, you just have to root for her. I really loved the actor playing our male lead; he almost felt like an animated character at times, he made so many scenes sososo funny and I loved the bromance with his bestie. The second lead's second chance romance was so good too! I was very invested in their relationship!! Generally, all the side characters were interesting enough for me to care, I didn't skip a single second because I was overall so invested in the show. Shed some tears in the last episodes because it was either really sad or really sweet and happy. Overall, my favorite CDrama together with "A Romance of the Little Forest" (I knew I could trust Esther Yu! love her so much after these two dramas) - literally zero complaints: the perfect sentimental, fun romcom<333.

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It's not that I disagree with the positive reviews...

...but honestly I don't have the attention span for this kind of slow-progressing storyline.

The slowburn romance was lovely. Ding Yu Xi absolutely blows it out of the water as the tsundere ML who is clingy and head over heels in love but unable to show it. I love a good grumpy/sunshine setup.

But the majority of the drama revolved around the FL's career in editing and her workplace troubles, which almost immediately got tiring and I started skipping scenes by like 8 episodes in. (Ironic, actually, since I personally have worked in the fiction editing business for years now. You'd think it would be uniquely interesting to me.)

Also, Esther's voice >.< I cannot get over the baby talk, it's just impossible to ignore.

TROPES:
- boss/employee relationship (author & editor)
- grumpy ML / sunshine FL
- ML falls first and is clingy, possessive, jealous, physically affectionate
- cheerful, hardworking but poor FL
- love triangle & eventual secondary couple
- workplace drama set in the publishing industry
- good skinship, great kisses, but be prepared to wait for it

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fun until it got too dragging

I initially really enjoyed this drama.

It was fun until it got too dragging.

I liked the female main lead- at first, but her life just revolves around her work. I understant the grind. The love one has for their work and passion. But in this case, it superceeds almost everything in her life. At first it was cute and admirable, but as I kept watching, it became too cringey and dragging. It felt like it was romanticizing how you’re supposed to just take every hit if if means you get the goal. It portrayed how its okay for a company to just use you as a tool, as long as you produce something again, they’ll take you back. It’s aggravating to watch. And the female main lead just allows it all to happen.

I also have an issue with how nothing about this series goes a bit deeper in terms of personal relationship between the leads… For almost all the 36 episodes all she ever talks about with everyone is work. All about the book, manuscripts, ghost writing, etc. I swear, it’s all about books and work. I know that’s the theme, but there should be something deeper in there. It felt superficial. There is nothing in this story that gave the characters some dimension. The male lead has so much character in him, but when he interacts with the female lead it turns bland, because it’s all about work. Nothing fully about them…

Episode 35 is one of my favorite episodes as it was a full circle for the father and son. Out of all the episodes, this one showed heart the most. The essence (challenges and happiness) of parent and child relationship was fully embodied here.

Out of everything they dealth with in this series, the issue with the celebrity is the part I loathed the most. Too much unnecessary drama for a series that’s supposed to focus on the publishing world.

I came here after watching a drama from the same leads, I had high expectations because I gave that drama such high ratings, but this, the story and execution, sadly really disappointed me.

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honestly just not it.

The plot/story is cute and interesting and has potential but whoever wrote this has issues. let’s start with the characters, fl is cute and all. ml is childish and toxic and a red flag. 2ml is nice but I don’t understand why they have to push him with 2fl, which is his ex, back together when they just didn’t work out and still have a lot of problems they really need to talk over instead of just showing some interest in each other here and there. there’s a side character with curly hair, and in this drama it’s pretty passive aggressive and also almost directly saying that she’s ugly bc in one of the episodes the fl had to go on a blind date, which she didn’t want to go to, so she styled her hair like that girl’s hair (which is also her friend/coworker) and she said that she styled herself like this so that they guy wouldn’t like her. I mean, how much more obvious can you make this. this story was not written well nor is it written by someone with good morals. it’s still a semi cute drama is you really need to waste some time I guess. oh and also tbh I’m not feeling a whole lot of chemistry between the leads. sure there are moments where they get close in distance, yk but they just don’t really hit much emotions or anything. again I think part of it has to do with the writing and not just acting

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A hidden gem meant to be explored

So for those confused the story is about a young girl, Chu Li who has become an editor, a book editor and has managed to get the famous author Zhou Chuan who is supposedly very hard to deal with. The story doesn’t explore much on the editor and her work, rather it focuses on two couples - Chu Li X Zhou Chuan the main couple and the second couple Mr. Jiang also an author and Gu BaiZhi am editor.
The story is sweet and charming with lots of cute and lovely moments, and for people like me who watched this after Love game in eastern fantasy, this drama gives me everything the other lacked. That is a lot of cute moments and kisses.
I won’t touch down on Love game here.
This drama has one of the most peaceful couples in the entire history of Romantic dramas with no misunderstanding, hate or whatever. They are so in sync and the ML is so kind and considerate, it was refreshing to see such a mature relationship, especially after watching the dramas in which the ML sold his common sense for peanuts.
Though the romance was great I wish it would’ve showed us more of the editor’s work. After Zhou Chuan’s first novel is published we don’t see anything about the editor, nor we get to see anything about her office. After the first book the job just disappears and our complete focus is diverted to the relationship.
The drama did try to touch on many things like divorce, second chance, self worth but again it didn’t go too deep on any of these topics. Which will forever be my one complaint from this drama but other than that I would say it a nice watch and a great pic for suckers of cute romance (like me 🤭)

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I say this drama is a good one to watch should you need to watch something while waiting on another drama. I don't think this drama would be a drama I would say you must watch or if there's anything that makes it shine but it does avoid a lot of drama clichés, like no last minute breakups, no evil parents/in-laws, little to no misunderstandings, and I felt like it was executed well that we had a good & happy last 2 episodes that I was very satisfied with how it ended.

So what does this drama feature?
1. Jealousy is considered a tag for this drama and let me tell ya, I never seen the amount of jealously this bad (in a funny way though). The ML is literally a jealous character for about most of the drama. He does tone it down a bit after Ep 24 but honestly, his jealously is what makes this drama funny and I love it.
2. A fairly weak love triangle: Actually there's 2 love triangles, one for our main couple and the other for our secondary couple. I say weak love triangle because the one who doesn't end up with the couple moves on easily. No conflicts, no plot to ruin the couple. I say this is a love triangle I can watch.
3. A villain does persist in this drama. He does caused mischief and is pretty annoying, especially the beginning and middle of the drama, but thankfully the actions aren't as bad as other villains I seen in other dramas, and he doesn't appear on screen as much later in the drama.
4. It centers around a publishing company and writers trying to get back in making their writing known. Now, I'll admit, there are some great scenes around this but there are also other scenes that I just found boring that made me just fast forward certain scenes.
5. The Bro-Ship: The ML & SML as best friends stole the spotlight for me. I just love every scene of them together.

The plot itself is okay. Sometimes it moved at a good pace, sometimes it was too slow that I got bored in a lot of scenes. Music played in this drama was just okay but very repetitive for one of the songs, but I did think the actors and actresses did justice on their character roles in this drama. Overall, a slightly above average drama.

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The best Cdrama ever

I finished all the episodes. I really like Ryan Ding Yuxi’s character in here and looking forward to watching more of his drama series.

I watched Ryan first in the Romance of Tiger and Rose, I also loved it.

Thinking of watching Intense Love after this.

Hope Ryan will continue to choose great drama to act on.

As for Esther Yu, I do not like much of her acting but her character is great in this drama.

I like also the story of the 2nd Female Lead and 2nd Male Lead.

Great Cdrama to watch this year, never a dragging moment in any episodes.

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Inspiring, and definitely a slow burn

My favorite part about this was undoubtedly following Chu Li from the second she joined the publishing house as an intern and her development onwards. No matter what your career is, it was really inspiring seeing how she handled entering a new environment, dealing with the ugliness of (very relatable) office politics, and overall just being very dedicated and passionate about her work and persevering to get there.

For the most part I also really enjoyed the romance, but it's definitely a slow burn for both the couples. The main leads took a long time before they even realized they had feelings for each other (which I had no trouble with). The second ship was a case of exes-to-lovers and they also took a long time to deal with the reason they broke up in the first place. Both of these, I didn't have a problem with the pacing because it felt as realistic as the progression of the FL's work was: like life, but just a little more exciting.

With that being said, there were some parts with the romance that was either frustrating or simply confusing. First, it was like they kept telling us that there was a love triangle but then hinted that there wasn't and then went back and doubled down on it; either way, I kept trying to understand what the characters were feeling and kept feeling this disconnect.

Second, I wasn't a huge fan of the way the male lead acted sometimes — meaning that sometimes the reason the drama was a slow burn was because the male lead was being pretty dim and immature; there's some things I would definitely change with how some arguments were "resolved" but overall the character development is there (albeit slow).

Nevertheless, I was glad that the romance never got overdramatic and that once the main leads got together, there were no more annoying break-ups or misunderstandings.

One thing I also liked about this drama was that there are few purely evil and obsessive characters — there are annoying people in the office, but anyone who has ever worked knows that you'll really run into those kinds of people and seeing Chu Li (who I really liked as FL) deal with them was almost cathartic.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this drama for any cdrama rom-com lovers out there.

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