Bittersweet Love

Frustrating watch with a lot of Bitterness and only a drop of Sweetness

Subjective Gut Rating: 6.75

Wow.. this is a frustrating watch. It’s called “Bittersweet Love” but it’s full of bitterness with only a drop of sweetness. I don't even know why I did not drop this drama. It’s like I was hate-watching it. The episodes are around 30-35 minutes, so they are not too long that I can’t tolerate.

When you read the synopsis, the drama sounds quite interesting, but also feels like the plot of a vertical drama. Nonetheless, Xiao Fan is forced to marry into the rich and powerful Bei family and ends up being the secret lover of his brother-in-law. Sounds fun right? Wait till you get to know these characters.

First of all, our lead main character, Lu Xiao Fan. He’s the biggest damsel-in-distress, pushover and doormat. You see where this is going, right? He’s so frustrating to watch that I just want to slap him and wake him up. Grow a backbone already! I can’t spend 8 episodes seeing him moping around with the same sorry and weepy face. Yes, he is unloved by his family, and was forced into a very difficult situation. But still, the writing could have been better to show some progression and growth in his character. But no, he’s frustrating all the way until the end when he magically becomes the smartest guy out there.

The other male lead, Bei Lu Qing, is the rich and cool guy on the block. He’s rich, powerful and intelligent. He is always scheming and many steps ahead of everyone. He’s hot too, but he’s just as frustrating. The narrator doesn’t go into Lu Qing’s inner thoughts and there are no inner dialogs. Therefore, all we see is him trying to do little things behind-the-scenes for Xiao Fan, and never verbalizing it. It’s not like he’s so shy that he can’t speak up. He just chose not to. The drama could have spent a little more time on his struggles on dating a guy and the control his family had on him. That would have given us some plot. But it’s just a casual afterthought. This paints a bad light on him, as he just seems uncaring and emotionless.

The lead’s main relationship is based on miscommunication, or no communication, and lust. Why Lu Qing fell for a weepy boy like Xiao Fan is beyond me. Is it because he’s cute? Is it because he just wants to have an urge to protect a sad puppy? On the other hand, does Xiao Fan even like Lu Qing? Is it just a reaction to someone who threw him a bone and showered him with just a little attention? Are they just obsessed with each other but there’s no love in their relationship? I don’t mind having all these questions in the first half of the drama, but eventually, by ep 12, I should know, right? Did I miss it? When they are lusting over each other, the sexual tension was good. Their kisses aren’t bad either, but could go a little further.

Additionally, there are so many irritating, annoying and hateful characters in this drama. My friend commented “Bittersweet Love” is like a Chinese lakorn. She’s so right. This drama is full of evil family members. Xiao Fan’s family treats him like dirt and only uses him for their own benefit. Sure, most poor families in China are like that. It’s how real life forces you to make those decisions, but that doesn’t make the drama enjoyable.

I enjoy a dark and angsty drama with a toxic romance. I thought this would deliver as it has an interesting premise. But the writing is lacking. I never read the novel but I felt that the novel must have dived into many of my questions and criticisms and give a better description.

I see many highly rated reviews for “Bittersweet Love” and unfortunately, mine is not one of them. Maybe it’s just a ‘me’ problem that this drama just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe I am not analyzing this drama correctly and am being superficial. Whatever it is, this can either be a frustrating watch or a very enjoyable dark and angsty one for you.



Drama Completed: 8/16/2026 Review #713

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A Bold, Dark, and Addictive Chinese BL About Forbidden Brother-in-Law Lovers

I know this drama isn’t for everyone, but I enjoyed it from start to finish. It’s so different, unique, and daring, and I was never bored for a second.

From the very first episode, this drama makes it clear that it is not afraid to push boundaries. It blends a dark, morally complicated story with simmering romance, creating an atmosphere that is both captivating and addictive.

XiaoFan is probably one of the most pitiful and pushover characters I have ever seen in a BL. His life is so hard that I just kept feeling sorry for him and hoping someone would finally treat him with some kindness.

The chemistry between XiaoFan and Lu Qing, his brother in law, is undeniable. Every look, every conversation, and every moment of restraint is filled with tension. Even when they are not doing anything, you can feel something building between them.

The story is much darker than I expected. XiaoFan leaves his rural hometown and is brought into a wealthy Beijing family through an arranged marriage meant to hide a family scandal because their daughter is pregnant and protect their reputation rather than create a real relationship. His wife is honestly so awful. Even though it is a marriage without love, she constantly belittles him and shows him no respect.

He soon realizes that he has no real place in the family and that everything is only for appearances. His life becomes even more complicated when he grows close to his brother in law Lu Qing. What starts as confusion and emotional dependence slowly develops into a forbidden attraction between them. I am always into the brother in law trope, and this one works especially well because they are not related by blood and the marriage was fake.

As their relationship deepens under unequal power dynamics and pressure from the family, XiaoFan is pulled into something that changes his life in ways he never expected. I really like how their relationship develops because there is so much tension and restraint before they finally give in to what they are feeling.

I also love that this is set in the early 1990s. The attention to detail is incredible, from the heritage buildings and houses to the cars, old TVs, couches, and clothing. The absence of modern technology makes it feel like a refreshing escape and adds so much atmosphere and authenticity to the story.

The acting is one of the biggest strengths of the drama. Guan Yue portrays XiaoFan with the right balance of innocence, vulnerability, and quiet determination, while Yan Rui Hao gives Lu Qing a calm and reserved exterior that slowly reveals deeper emotions. Together they create an intense chemistry that carries every scene.

This series has a unique plot, but it also delivers some seriously great love scenes. There are so many kisses, from the rescue scene to the couch and the kitchen sink. They are not just incredibly hot, but also filled with emotional tension, which gives each moment real weight instead of making them feel gratuitous. Their kisses, paired with that hauntingly erotic background music, feel like a release after such a long buildup. Every lingering glance, desperate touch, moan, and heavy breath adds to the intensity. You can feel all the longing they have been holding back finally erupting into something raw and consuming.

That scene where XiaoFan brought fruit to Lu Qing was pure tension from beginning to end. He dropped the basket so deliberately, and while gathering the scattered fruit with one hand, the other slowly brushed against Lu Qing's thigh. Then Lu Qing caught his wrist and whispered, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
That was such a good moment. XiaoFan stepped closer, closed the distance between them, and gently licked Lu Qing's ear lobe.
The chemistry was impossible to ignore. Watching them spend the night together and wake up still wrapped in each other's embrace made the whole scene feel even more intimate.

The music also deserves praise. It perfectly complements the dark atmosphere, enhancing both the emotional moments and romantic tension without overwhelming the story. Combined with the strong cinematography, it creates a mood that fits the series perfectly. What I like the most is the background narration during the first few episodes because it gives more context and helps you understand the story better.

Overall, it’s a 10/10 for me.

Unique and daring story ✔️
Forbidden romance ✔️
Age gap ✔️
Brother in law trope ✔️
Insane chemistry ✔️
1990s setting ✔️
Beautiful cinematography ✔️
Amazing music ✔️
Great acting ✔️
HOT NC scenes ✔️
One extremely pitiful XiaoFan who deserves nothing but happiness ✔️
First ever Chinese BL wedding ✔️ 👬💍

And the wedding was honestly so beautiful. 🥹❤️

The story is dark, the romance is complicated, and the chemistry between XiaoFan and Lu Qing is definitely the biggest reason I loved this so much. The tension, the longing, the stolen looks… they can make a single LOOK feel like an entire confession.

If you like forbidden romance, complicated family drama, slow burn tension, and couples with insane chemistry, WATCH THIS. I’m so glad I gave this drama a chance. It completely pulled me in, stayed with me, and reminded me why I love stories that dare to be different.

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An unusual dark chinese series...

When I first watched I could not distinguish between the actors of this series and "Deep In". If you would swap the actors the story could have been told exactly the same, because the couples look sooooo similar. While every episode is only 30 to 35 minutes long, it does not feel rushed and it avoids the boring idle time of many series.

We have a story of two disfunctional families. And then we also have a couple which borrowed an imho typical japanese theme of "miscommunication". While we have a cold and a docil character both have hidden traits. And both do not communicate at all. Because this is a very dark story, watching it may make you uncomfortable which is of course intended. We have character growth through the series. Rich families daddy is a honorable man doing his utter most to protect his family and their names because the higher on the social ladder you are the more it matters. Poor family mom wants of course climb the social ladder, but realizes all her wrongs. At least she does not fall into the pit of greed as her husband and other son.

It's also a story of two families circumstances bond together. One to save their names and one to climb said social ladder. As it is with every fairy tale, greed will be your doom. Our docile guy has a plan to ruin his lover which he loves and hates at the same time. His lover on the other hand acted mostly cold except when his desire overwhelmed him, but in the end he can't escape him, because his love for him is so much stronger than every hurt he did receive.

A special shoutout for the set designers who did find all the stuff from the 90ties which needed to work, be it CRT TVs, discmans, dvd players, cars and tons of old PCs. There is so much detail in every scene, I have never seen that in a series without a huge budget. I can't of course not know how much budget they had, but I doubt it can compete with Hollywood at all. This is also a reason why my rating is higher compared to the story rating. Also the costumes matched the times and in the short scenes where you see a lot of people going to work for example, they did style all of the people accordingly.

The actors/actresses did an outstanding job imho. Not only the MC but everyone involved did a really good job. I can't complain at all. This was superb. I'm happy that the MC already has filmed another series which will be hopefully released this year and they did deserve that.

While dark, this is not an ordinary series. It's a story about family, greed and miscommunication. And because it's a fairy tale we get the punishment for the guilty parties and an happy end we always expect. This series is of course not fluffy at all, it's partly painful to watch but it's for sure not the common stuff you see everyday. The final scene of course is part of the fairy tale, because that would not have happened IRL (at that time). Also they did mix up Portugal with Spain, either in the script or the translation which was a bit weird. At least as european you can distinguish between spanish and portugese languages. But besides this minor lapse, I like it and recommand it. You should give it a chance.

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Oh! Thank F∧ck it's Over

Oooh Lord, I have SUFFERED. I have been tried, and I have properly gone through it with this damn show. It was 6 weeks of hell and flabberghast. And I have no one to blame but myself. Because, why didn't I drop this shit?? I don't think I've ever watched a show where, by the end, I hated everyone - both main characters included.

Complaining aside, if I were to seriously sit with the question "why didn't I drop this shit?" I'd say that it's because the characters are intriguing, especially LXF. His situation with his birth family, his in-laws, and his imbalanced r/ship (fueled by classism and a lack of communication) with his brother-in-law make a compelling plot.

I wanted to follow his story and root for him to come out on top. To finally say enough is enough and get his lick back at all the atrocious people in his life. However, by the finale, I hated him too. I genuinely disliked every character we came across. I didn't even care for the twist we got at the end. It felt kinda 'meh' and wasn't nearly as cathartic as I'd have liked.

Now, as for things that this drama has taught me;
1. The damsel in distress trope does not work for me. I knew it didn't work for women, and now I definitely know it 100% doesn't work if the damsel in question is a dude.

2. If anyone dared propose to me with anything resembling the words 'will you cook for me forever', I will immediately smack them upside the head with a cast iron pan.

3. My 2026 brain is not made for such a plot and such characters. LXF constantly reminded me of a faceless 'wife' character from 'the good ol days' where women existed for others. She, the wife, doesn't quite have agency. She lives for her birth family, then her husband and his in-laws - and is deferent to them all. Speaks only when she's spoken to. Has opinions but never shares them because the husband said no. She lives to serve her husband in their home.

And is forever a blushing virgin, no matter how many times they've done it. Sexual desire comes from her husband - she never initiates. But she's down whenever he wants it - she'll blush and say a coy 'no' (that's supposed to be sexy), through it all, though. My God, this show made me angry.

4. No one but me suffers when I insist on watching a show where I'm rolling my eyes at every character on screen.
Note to self: Drop the show and stick to reading the damn comments next time if you're that curious about the characters.

IMO, this show is not fit for a 2026 audience (me). Maybe it'd have worked in the 90s and the early 2000s (maybe), but not now. While the story has good points- love in between classes, how upbringing affects one's self-worth, and the burden of familial obligation- it all goes down the drain because the characters feel so bland. Like cardboard. I saw no growth, just suffering. And the lickback I'd powered through 11 episodes for was not only rushed through and poorly explained in the finale, but the person seeking revenge went straight back to subservience as soon as the husband showed up🤦🏾‍♀️.

I'm generally a fan of 'the heart wants what it wants' kind of love stories, but this was just stupid.

Final Thoughts:
Girl, I'm tired. I never want to hear about this drama ever again. I'm actively wiping it off my mind as I type this line.

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A dark Cinderella story

I stopped at episode 3 as it crossed the line from dark drama into exploitation.

The rape and prolonged humiliation weren’t simply uncomfortable, they felt gratuitous. What puzzles me is how Chinese censors continue to allow this kind of content in same-sex stories when Addicted was effectively shut down years ago for portraying a consensual gay relationship. The inconsistency is hard to ignore.

At this point, the series feels less like a romance and more like an omegaverse fantasy wrapped in a prestige drama. Attraction may exist between the leads, but attraction does not justify abuse. There is nothing romantic about coercion, humiliation, or sexual violence.

Whether the relationship is heterosexual or homosexual makes no difference. A relationship built on domination and abuse should never be romanticized.

Unfortunately, BL dramas have a recurring habit of equating passion with violence, reinforcing the stereotype that gay relationships are inherently toxic, masochistic, or defined by power imbalances. Those dynamics may exist for some people, but they are far from the reality for most.

Unlike Double Helix, where two damaged people slowly destroyed each other through their choices, Bittersweet begins with a master-and-slave dynamic that demands sympathy for the victim while simultaneously packaging the abuse as the catalyst for romance. That’s a premise I struggle to accept.

The one thing the director unquestionably gets right is making us empathize with the protagonist. Every indignity he suffers makes me want to see him reclaim his agency. But if the series is trying to present this as meaningful social commentary about China, it misses the mark. The supporting characters are so relentlessly cruel that they feel more like caricatures than people.

I’m sure the story is building toward the protagonist finally standing up to his controlling brother, his manipulative wife, and ultimately his abuser. I only hope that when it gets there, it earns that redemption instead of asking viewers to mistake trauma for love.

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set in the early 90s

I surprisingly enjoyed it. Didn't think I would. Xiao Fan isn't as week willed as he looked. Stop shorting out Fujoshi nerves by fleecing pics of them at the altar in white suites. Don't lead us on like that. Ain't no bl marriages taking place at that time in China, France or anywhere otherwise. That is bl bs, way too much fan service.
I like when the trades flat lined and all the numbers turned red at the same time on screen. That was really cool visuals. Xiao Fan never broke character, I'm impressed. They had good chemistry, I like that they were together ❤ on screen like 89% of the time.

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The Smart Jellyfish

Never underestimate a silent man. He is not stupid. He is not clueless. He is doing what most do out loud- Thinking. This series brought out two emotions constantly. Frustration and awe.

Frustration:
Lack of communication by both.
Lu Xin's twisted audacity.
LXF's lack of pride.
LXF's soup. Replaced by congee. Both making a final appearance in ep 12. Consistent to the end.
LXF's brother, sister and father. The mother gets a pass. Barely.
BLQ's mother. Appeared once and was the most vulgar just by looking at her.
LZY's duplicitous behavior on occasion.
LT's complete lack of morals. He needs a special mention. Proved to be the most stupid of them all.

Awe:
LXF proving there was brain activity between his two ears.
LXF's ability to show compassion to nearly everyone and understand their pain.
LXF finding the spine to walk away from everything.
BLQ's desire to marry him never wavered even on the brink of bankruptcy.
Old Bei's fairness for LXF. Yes, he still tried to protect the Bei's name, but through it all, he respected him.
LZY's love/hate relationship with LXF. He couldn’t understand his simplicity but was a better friend to him than most by trying to wisen him up.
LZY's undying loyalty to BLQ.
The guy probing his loyalty throughout to LXF after LXF helped him and his father after being beaten by BLQ's crew.
LXF's mother accepting her son being used like a woman. This one nearly took me out. I cackled.
LXF finally getting his man.
BLQ proving his love for LXF over the years. If only LXF had the wattage at the time to see. The phone fiasco. Wow!!
LXF's mother giving her disgusting family a final no. Seeing the worth of her son and her failings as a mother.


Paraphrasing:
"I just want to be remembered. Even if it’s hate."
Sigh. Don't we all.

The story in itself was a little above average when the last three episodes are taken into consideration. It progressed as a bundle of loose threads that seemed to keep loosing and retying with every greedy or narcissistic act of Lu Tao and Lu Xin and lack of communication from both mls. There were many a time I felt the urge to use violence against both.

I especially liked ep 12. Connecting the dots neartly without it feeling rushed. Seeing their happy domesticated life. BLQ proving still at the end, he'd do anything to make LXF happy.

Whatever it lacked was made up for by being very entertaining.

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What a coaster ride from start to finish

This series sure has it ups and down, the characters where complex and calculating. Lots of surprising twist, the character Lu Xiao Fan was quite a surprise in character development, what was presented in the beginning was not was we see at the end. Bei Lu Qing, a character that is straight forward of what you see on screen but also underneath the exterior lays a caring person that will do everything to protect the one he loves eventhough it’s seems to hurt the one he try to protect. The shameful Lu family always calculating and greedy, using their youngest son as a step ladder to improve their lives, with family like that Xiao Fan is better off familyless. A great series from start to finish, I’m hoping for a special to see what happens to the characters especially our main leads

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Not Exactly liked it

First of all, it’s already a miracle that I didn’t drop this series. After rage-baiting me for 9 episodes (yes, 9, because I had some expectations during the first three), the damage control they tried to do in the last two episodes was diabolical 😭. The soup and porridge will haunt me forever.

There was a lot of explanation in the last episode, and I tried to grasp as much as I could. Apparently, Xiao Fan wanted Lyu Qing to remember him, even if it was through hate. Meanwhile, Lyu Qing was trying to make that money so he could leave the house and stay with Xiao Fan in peace.

Despite all this, it doesn’t change the fact that their relationship was way too toxic. Maybe they really did change over the last five years, who knows 🤣. At least they’re gone!!! Bye-bye.

But even though the story was showing"t, I can’t ignore the fact that the chemistry was there!! Their acting was great, and of course, I never doubted the quality of the series. Actually, that’s exactly what made me complete it. So, for the sake of the quality, even though the story was terrible, it’s a 7.5/10 for me.

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watching a kicked puppy

Overall: I did not enjoying watching the human version of a punching bag. 12 episodes at 35 minutes each. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/videos/1271432v-bittersweet-love-episode-1 ; GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/8038/bittersweet-love-2026-e01 (not available in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Oceania, India, Japan and Korea) ; Heavenly (for S. Korea) ; Tru Visions NOW (Thailand?) and YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbWbIURQcS5I&si=QOYGVjpm8ZqRUHbK

Content Warnings: beaten up, bullying, drugged, threatened murder, dub/non con turned consensual, manipulation, homophobia, threatened suicide

What I Liked
- different time setting (1990-1992)
- actors did a good job with the script they were given

Room For Improvement
- the jerk ML and the extremely innocent ML that everyone treated like crap was not enjoyable to watch, even the revenge was not as enjoyable as it could have been
- weird narrator
- exposition dump/rushed finale

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Sold off by his own family, poor, bullied country boy finds an unlikely benefactor in a rich family

Damn!! The amount of manipulation, harm and abuse that the protagonist takes in is unprecedented...its infuriating!!! Now that I finally completed it, with a pretty good build-up all through till episode 10, the ending curve within the last 2 episodes feels like too much, too fast..... even though apparently it seems like 'justice', it feels very forced. I would have raised the score to8, but decided to keep it 7.5 because of the rushed ending

Be warned that it has a lot of bullying, extreme emotional manipulation, and some scenes borders on SA

BL-needle Score: 6. Low BL-ness

A slow paced story set in the 90s, borders on dark, with toxic elements and is increasingly becoming a strong tale....go past the first few episodes and you will start to be invested, or rather, let me say, you'll hate it enough to want to see how it all ends.....

Xiao Fan, a country bumpkin with no education, zero self esteem, mostly bullied and uncared for, gets literally sold off by his family to a rich family who were looking for a 'groom' to shield their bratty daughter from social shame of being pregnant out of wedlock....the daughter who seems perpetually angry, rude and borderline narcissist, insults and bullies her fake husband every opportunity she gets as he lands in their palatial city home to act as her husband....her brother, the quiet and intelligent Bei Lu, however develops a soft corner for the poor chap...buys him clothes, tutors him and tries introducing him to the ways of the world...as the story progresses, we see this tender bond developing between these unlikely pair, the extremely lopsided power equation notwithstanding....

While Xiao Fan struggles with the education and becomes a butt of jokes with Bei Lu's friends, he seems to be good at cooking...the chief housemaid Aunt Lin takes a liking to him and teaches him to help around the kitchen and cooking...soon he starts serving soups to Bei Lu, as his way of thanking that one person who he hangs on to for some shred of kindness and hope....

With Bei's help Fan manages to get into college for vocational course, but gets bullied there too....his family continues to pester him for more favours from the Bei family every now and then and the spineless, self-loathing Xiao Fan keeps failing to say no and turns to Bei Lu every time...so much so that your blood start to boil at the shamelessness of the mother and family and the never-ending cowering of Fan...Bei Lu however seems to have genuinely fallen for the pitiful boy.

Will the perpetually apologetic, servile and self-loathing Xiao Fan ever be able to find the courage to stand up for himself...where will this unusual pair head to? Watch to find out

Verdict: Watch, but be prepared for the triggers

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