First Choice

Live action Mills & Boon story done right!

I used to read Mills & Boon books and this story is quite familiar. A second chance romance of a separated couple and the male lead doesn't know that he has a child with his ex partner. I came across this series while browsing Mango TV short plays on YouTube. The synopsis peaked my interest so I bookmarked it and yesterday, binged on the series. I VERY MUCH LOVE THIS MINI DRAMA!

What I liked:
1. Bai Luoan characterisation - She is one of my favourite female leads! She is independent, intelligent and firm with her stance and principles. I like that she insisted to Huo Ling and Chen Wen Shi that she did not need their help to solve her problems. She is also kind as seen in her actions towards Chen Wen Shi, Mrs Huo, Huo Wei - it's great that Min Yan recognised her kindness.
2. The romance - When Bai Luoan and Huo Ling are in sync, you see true partnership in sickness and in health. Mature relationship. Damn, the kisses are hot! I also enjoy the tender moments between Bai Luoan and Huo Ling for example when they discussed having children and the proposals. I also liked how they handled the "morning after" - I like Bai Luoan's view on it!
3. The editing - It's interesting that this series starts with a conflict scene. I thought the male lead was the villain - a handsome one - and he was so despicable in the earlier episodes.
4. Acting - I was impressed by Wang Xing Wei's acting because he was great in portraying different sides of Huo Ling: sulky ex-partner, tender lover, no-nonsense businessman and a family man. Wang Zi Jia was amazing in her portrayal of Bai Luoan.
5. The ending - It's rare to get a final episode that is filled with happy moments. The last two minutes were very sweet and meaningful!
6. The writing - The plot is not new but the execution was done well. My favourite quote "I thought you were in the dark. Only then we can understand better. Light a lamp for others as you move forward." I sense the overall theme of this mini series is forgiveness. I like how the antagonists are handled.

What I disliked:
1. Huo Ling's lack of apology - I wish there was a scene of Huo Ling grovelling to Bai Luoan for the horrendous breakup and despicable actions 5 years later towards her.
2. Harm to Zhao Zhao - Pity that she was in stressful situations.

Favourite scene
When Bai Luoan and Huo Ling finally reconciled and kissed. I can see/sense desire and love in them.

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Worth It ~~

I am currently watching this series and I am totally hooked. Although the plot is quite similar to other short length dramas but the difference lies in the part that the male lead was once blind and received a surgery and then decided to marry the female lead who was by his side when he needed (his fiancee) the most but she ran away or something like that when she learnt about his blindness.

So overall many would say it's cliche and ofc nowadays all the plots are used but nevertheless try it out for the actors . They are really pretty ^^
I recommend it to watch ~~

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Blatant plagiarism. and be warned, light spoilers in my review

See now the concept, the concept is interesting and i would love to see more dramas being family centered. Why i saw its blatant plagiarism is because script/dialogue, flow, structure, and character designs were a copy paste of wetv's "the love you give me". They just change a heart condition to asthma, add in a few action and kidnaping scenes and change the character designs of some of the other characters. For something that isnt categorized as remake i was really surprised when i watched this and saw the lack of creativity in the writing. Shows are similar all the time but never have i watched two shows and had them have word for word dialogue in certain scenes.

The story: 3.5. it can only be described as an attempt.
Things jumped around, certain scenes made no sense on how we arrived there. They tried to sandwich kidnapping attempted murder, betrayal, wholesome family, gosh i feel like I'm describing a thai drama. except thai dramas might actually do it better. I dont know when or how they suddenly got back together, this man attempted to SA her on multiple occasions and was incredibly mean to her. the flip just switched and it showed fl blushing all of a sudden after pretending to be with someone else to get away from him

Acting:4.0- its a short drama so lower your expectations.
.zero chemistry, i genuinely felt nothing lol. ive watched short dramas that sizzled. the chemistry was so hot my computer was overeating. this drama...the only description i can give is that i was hungry and tried t eat but the food was bland. Not gonna lie to you...i really hated the fl's acting in moments of crisis. Her expressions made me cringe so bad but at least she tried. ML was just a log, if the goal was cold mean CEO i guess he ate, although scenes with the kid were cute though i must say.

music: 1.5- i think its just random classical, i dont even remember what it was or if it was even there

Would i rewatch? absolute hell to no. I had to go reconnect my chakras by going to watch the love you give me. it truly made me feel so much better that i wondered why i decided to watch this one. if you want his but done 10x better acting wise, story wise, chemistry wise, budget wise, ost wise (im literally obsessed with the intro), comedy wise, go check out the love you give me. the leads are a recasted pair with one previous drama so yk their chemistry was fire

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I didn’t know if I’d like this after seeing so many virtual dramas with same plots and disappointments. However, it turned out quite nice. Both leads did a really nice job. His range of expressions really reached depth in its portrays of every scene. My favorite part was when he found out a major discovery that sealed his desire for reconciliation. That was too cute. Female lead for once was someone who had a voice, a talent, and a life beyond her past. She carried her role well, maintaining her dignity while pursuing her dreams. As for the rest of the cast, everyone did well to add layers to bring out the story. To the end, it tied up well that left me very satisfied. Also, camera work was splendid. Yes, very nice watch.

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