Let’s talk about it. Usually workplace issues don’t bother me that much, but this one truly truly was so stupid, and it was made worse with how much of the show was focused on them at work (I guess due to censorship but a good story doesnt need prons :)).

I really wanted to like this show, but it peaked when the ML was chasing FL. I still don’t know when the FL decided to forgive the ML. 

Let’s start from the beginning. Please be aware there will be so many spoilers, but none of them are even important so read at your own risk:


The FL has an internship at a gaming company while she works on her degree. 

For starters, if you can get into a gaming company and actually work on splash art or any important work, you do not need to be an intern. The early banter was so much about how the fl doesn't have a degree, but if you have the skills, no tech company will ever give a crap about your degree. Just have a strong enough portfolio, which she clearly is supposed to have.
But also wtf is FL's degree, who knows. Like for all that bull about not having her degree yet, is her degree even anything related to her work??

(Okay, had to switch to my computer because this was getting too long and the mobile interface is crap haha.)

That isn't even the frustrating part though. The most frustrating part to me was that they kept giving her crap about still being an intern and her works not being that great, but then they still ??? needed her at every turn ??? Like is she good or is she bad. I know it's a show but come on. At least have SOME consistency ??? 

Not to mention how the ML is literally not even done with school and leading a whole ass department like... ??? But sure, go off I guess. 

Next, FL decides she does, in fact, want to work in the 9th Department. Okay, great. Oh wait, she's still working on the 1st Department stuff at the same time ??? I'm sorry, what. And her coworkers expect her to be giving the same amount of effort to the 9th Department... but she's not officially a part of the 9th Department - she's literally just helping out when she has free time AFTER she's done with her work at the 1st Department :) Like where is this unrealistic expectation coming from? No wonder she's always the only one working overtime. 

Oh and suddenly they graduate. That's great and all, they just continue going back to work, but oh wait now we have a scene about the ML being roomies with Manager Jiang ? ? ? But Jiang is clearly way older than him and Jiang Junnan, so when were they roomies? We've also seen clips of the boys in their dorm room and I don't recall Manager Jiang being there, so when was this? Did the ML go for a masters degree or smth?
Like did the script writer add this in just for Manager Jiang's redemption? 

Also let's not overlook the whack ass drawings. I just want to know, like, did they not have the budget to hire an actual artist??? The sketches were so god damn rough and the scenes where they were "drawing" were so awful. And is the MC an illustrator or a concept artist, I cannot tell you. I presume they wanted to portray her as an illustrator who wants to work on conceptual art?
Although, even if we overlook how rough the sketches were, I'm like 99% sure the artwork in the show is all AI? The posters on the wall in the company and her bedroom. The artworks that FL supposedly had drawn. Literally all of it. It reminds me of those Tiktokers who "draw" a little bit and then suddenly we zoom out and it's a beautiful piece lmao. 


Ok and now we get into the real juicy bits that are just, excuse my French, what the mfing fk. 

The male lead. I think he's supposed to be a programmer of some sort. But he apparently has the skills to critique art too idk.

In the beginning, the company has some bug in the game. And the ML runs some code that tells him there's a literal snag in the database? L O L what code is telling him that P LEASE. Some fking magical code he's got. 

And now we're living across the hall from ML. Huh ? Is he not a manager lol. Wdym he couldn't afford a better place and is living in the same building his underling and (assumably) underpaid artist is living in. Make it make sense!

Interjection because I'm realizing that piece of sh*t minion Mike or whatever his name was tht was working for Manager Jiang never got punished. Like he caused so many problems and just got away with it.

Ok fast-forward a lot because ML doesn't rlly do much work - just walks around the office or sits in his office all big and mighty. Now we're together with the FL and all happy and whatnot. He confesses she's his "Hello, World". This was the cheesiest and god damn dumbest line I have ever seen in a romcom. It hurt so much more because they clearly wanted to portray him as super loving what he does but it was just. so soosososososo bad. I literally cringed so hard. And as if that wasn't enough, they had to fking write it in the mirror eugh. 

This is where I got reaaaallly frustrated. Let's talk about the damn investors and the stock crap, which was the main problem of the show I guess? but it literally lasted maybe 1.5 episodes although it was like a growing problem. So Stella wants to invest the company's money into this new RPG game. Great. RPG games make money if done well :)
But in WHAT WORLD. Could an otome game EVER compete with a RPG game, especially one where the RPG game is supposed to be sooo good.
Not to mention I'm not even sure what phase of production that otome game is in. They said it was in beta testing at some point and then another point they were like lets push back version 3.0 and I have no god damn clue. Like if it's in beta, that otome game isn't making money either hun.
The only part that I could let slide was that the stock owners don't know crap about how games are created - I mean they never do, do they. But them wanting actual profit within a year was absolutely ridiculous. Games take years to develop, and they're expecting profit immediately? Lmfao. Do these rich dumbasses not know stocks are a dangerous game? Just sit there with ur pretty money and stfu honestly. The game has barely even published a PV and you want money back lool. Plus, wdym you see that this bigger company is tryna headhunt Guxun and you still don't think he's worth your investment. Like if a big company is tryna buy in, clearly they think he's worth something?? Do these rich people really have no brains :)

Also this is mostly just the actor, but Stella's character was so weak. I really loved tht she was the boss, but her acting was literally "go girl, give me nothing". Her voice didn't command the room nor did it feel like she was in charge ever. Also, how do you not own majority shares in your own small private company - are you stupid :) And I don't think your dad can just own shares without you, the owner of the company, knowing ??? That's weird but whatever I'll let it slide. 


Idk there's so much wrong with the work crap in this show, this doesn't even begin to cover it all. I just needed to vent.
Let me know what you thought though. I really wish they didn't focus on their work bullsh*t so much considering all of it was just made up problems that really never needed to exist. 

Some extras:

– Yes, the writing or subtitle translation might be so bad that when they speak of "The Love Broker 3.0" in Ep 22 + 23, they perhaps don't even know "The Love Broker" is the new otome game of team 1 and there is a "last project" that FL kept making holiday specials for? Or maybe making the new otome game just took them a month or four and it's already been through several major improvements, but none of this is ever shown or mentioned?

– The game dev stuff is so poorly made #1:
When the highly patriotic Chinese development team of the ML strive to design the first-ever world class video game made in China, rejecting Western influences, etc, (insert some party flag waving.....) their first order of business is "look at some American and maybe Japanese games and copy what they do". I didn't even.

– The game dev stuff is so poorly made #2:
At one point, the FL sets out to become a better game graphics artist, so she gets some books to study. For some reason, the prop team has her pull out a *programming* book?!

– The game dev stuff is so poorly made #3:
The ML's team of like 15 people would have to be more like 100-500 people.