As of 2023, it looks like the subtitles have only marginally improved, but the audio is a disaster. If you're watching on the Mango TV Youtube channel, the three part compilation videos are the best quality the channel has to offer. I have to wonder if someone forgot to pay for their music because the sound sporadically cuts out for the entire length of a song in what appears to be a desperate bid to appease the Youtube copyright claim police. If I had to guess, I'd say the hidden episodes were unsalvageable. The compilation "fixed" that problem by just omitting the offending music tracks, so what we're left with is bouts of sudden silence interspersed with audio dissonance. The series loses out on a lot of ambience as a result.

If you're lucky enough to be able to experience the series in its originally intended form, it's significantly more bearable, but overall I still found myself feeling that a lot of the comedy was just a bit too forced. And yet, for a while, I was along for the ride as the story focused on the romcom shenanigans of the main couple... until the plot shifted into a secondary romance and I started picking up some uncomfortable implications.

The way Bao'er is treated like a child who can't take care of herself is presented as sweet, but it comes across as extremely patronizing to people who are blind. Sure, Wen Fang is an awkward himbo, but every choice he makes is horrendously wrong. His stalker-like behavior would unsettle anyone in real life and likely just make them feel afraid. Paying a busy street to suddenly be completely silent when just a second ago they were bustling around her feels more like a horrible prank than a romantic gesture. She can still see the blurred shape of humans nearby quietly watching her every move just outside of reach! I won't even get into how Bao'er's blindness is of the "plot convenience" variety because that's a whole other can of worms.

I'm also not a huge fan of the way that Bao'er starts touching and sniffing Wen Fang without permission. The show wants it to come across as romantic and frames her actions as okay just because she's blind, but real people understand that consent needs to be given! The show does briefly address her rashness and Wen Fang's stalker tendencies when she confronts him about creeping around, but it's still undeniably clear that the series treats Bao'er like a prop. She started out as such a cool and capable character, and then she was quickly stripped of her autonomy for the sake of a forced "romance." The writing tries to cover for itself by having her claim to be aware of his silent actions the entire time, even going so far as to consider it romantic, but this wasn't handled with proper respect at all.

Unfortunately, not even the "Chinese Spy x Family" plot can save this one for me in its current state. I love the concept, but the execution is underwhelming. Among other things, Xiao Nian is written as someone way too fond of wine because they needed to give her a flaw to contrast the expected "ladylike" image she tries to uphold as her cover, but there's a difference between liking wine and being an alcoholic. She is clearly the latter and those shots of her haphazardly pouring wine all over herself isn't as sexy as they think it is.

Maybe more accurate subtitles (and less headaches with the audio) would alter my impression of the series. As it is, I'm left wishing for so much more. If my gripes and nitpicks don't deter you and the plot sounds like your cup of tea, you may come away with a vastly different opinion!