WM

It's a rebirth drama, but maybe "Glory Back" would work for you?

Got it now, hah.

Well, my favourite female lead (mostly from the novel, because it was only partially transferred into a Vertical Drama) is definitely someone you (and not only you) would call "unrealistically capable" (and look - no Martial Arts, either).

The number of times I had to read about Mary Sue syndrome, while nobody bats an eye about almighty, perfect Marty Sue MLs presented in so many dramas, is quite disgusting.

But if you enjoy watching supposedly strong and capable female leads getting rescued over and over and over again, who am I to stop you?

Buon Appetito

I don't know how the martial arts (or lack of it) argument started, but let me repeat myself.
I am fresh off watching "Kill My Sins" and Korean "Glory" - both female leads had horrific childhoods (Kill My Sins heroine had the worst ever), both have significant PTSD, both don't know Martial Arts (okay, maybe the one from Kill My Sins knows a little), yet I loved both shows.
You know why? Because both of them were presented as smart, capable, resourceful female leads who know how to play their cards and don't need to be constantly rescued because of their terrible decision-making.

Some of you are really using weird explanations to avoid accepting that the female lead here isn't smart/is dumb.

It was good, but apparently it was one of the scenes that got heavily castrated by the censors; I assume it was even better in a pre-censored version.

Agreed, he is really good. I loved his microexpressions and gestures, especially when Yinglou caused him issues :).

Well, putting internal differences on hold to first thwart outside threats is a theme often used in C-dramas when talking about "Art of War" and other strategems-like ideas.

Compared to a typical high school nonsense, it was actually surprisingly watchable.
For example, I liked it more than "Brave Citizen".

No offence taken.

I watch mostly vertical dramas, so I can overlook many shortcomings if a storyline is decent, spearheaded by a smart, capable female lead.

Here, the trailer looked horrible, but I like Wu Jin Yan, smart female leads (in drama action, not in tag only); also, the synopsis was intriguing.

You can decide on your own if it's enough good will/interest to start drama or not.

Does the ML "rush into situations without even thinking for his safety"?

I feel like you are trolling me now.

Not every FL has to be smart; it's not the end of the world. Maybe it should be replaced with "resilient" or something like that.
Having a tag promoting it sucks, though.

So her "smartness" is like an empty tag then, lol.

"she's super smart"

"she just rushes into situations without even thinking for her safety"

Pick one, please :)

I agree, but I just wish they would create a red flag FL who is actually smart and can outmanoeuvre people, just like the majority of red flag MLs are.
Instead of being a mental mess.

Maybe one day...

Well, it is when I like my female leads to be smart, not getting outplayed and in constant need to be rescued.

Even if she becomes smarter later, 20 episodes of dumb actions and 10 episodes with better decision-making don't sound too appealing.

I recommend you watch "Kill My Sins" if you want to see an FL with an even more tragic backstory who still couldn't sleep, but, at the same time, became a calculating, efficient person in her actions.

It's very interesting, as at the same time it has a 5.0 rating on Douban.

My impression? This drama is like Donald Trump - people officially hate it (including Douban comments), but then vote on it behind the curtain by watching it :)

It's also similarly messy to Trump's hair and himself :)

Why? Why? Why?

ROMANCE!!!

At the expense of making the female lead (leads, as it's a popular trope, unfortunately) look incompetent and unable to save herself.

In rare dramas, where female leads aren't bothered by pestering Princes/CEOs, they somehow can figure things out on their own and save themselves. WHOA!

I recently finished watching "Kill My Sins" - the female lead there had even weaker cards to play due to her low status compared to the one here; yet she was able to succeed against some powerful nemesis without getting rescued every 5 minutes?
Why?
Because it was rare, non-romance, female-centric drama; so no creepy Prince/cold CEO to swoop her in her arms every time she has a weak ankle syndrome or some other creep tries to kill her.

For a possible future watcher, like me, it's disappointing to read :(

Now, you made me interested in this one, as I dropped it after episode 7 and the preview for the 8th :)

Yes, he was amazing, especially all the times when blocking her exit, putting hands on her, etc...
What an amazing guy.
The ML was, of course, not much better by treating the female lead like his possession. lol.