Shin

very convincing and unique plot

story is basically based on two priniciple
1) you and only you (no one else) can change your fate. nothing or no one in the world can take the role in your instead for the fate that is been decided for you.
2) once you are ready to let go of everything and hold no desire than only you can become actually free.

other than psychological angle i find this drama also had that deeper than thou love story ..the dynamic chemistry between the leads (so called side characters acc to fate book) which gradually ended into both of them giving up on their lives to protect the other... OMG !!! what to say i am little old school and i always long for such romance in my life ...

the only negative thing i felt was cheapness in fortune writer'character that he suddenly erase the fate and rewrite it again ... but anyway in the end that all made good sense

is it worth watching ..totally
is it worth rewatching .. of course ..may be after sometime when you suddenly want to know how fate works in your life ...

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I was expecting something RAW

The theme is good but not used properly .. the FL's sister faced bullying and due to the psychological shock she is in coma .. the FL wants revenge but cause these culprits come from influential families she can't get direct access to them so she thinks of the classic and most original plan in any asian drama ..that is 'seduce the guy'.. yes !!! You read it right and this ML is conveniently the most influential man in the capital so why not .. ? She goes to him in the most cringe 'save me from the pervert' roleplay and the next thing we see they were making love. It's not like I don't like bubblegum romance but I was expecting something raw from this story ..perhaps more psychological focus on bullying sequence and a slow burn romance, but The way they made the ML succumb to her was such a turn off..no build up .. no development of feeling ..nothing ..infact it was too flat from the FL's side ..in the entire she was literally just making him dance to her tunes.

Talking about acting and appearance both leads are mediocre .. FL looked a bit too seasoned for the ML .. I like her figure though she got good curves .. mind you that's very rare in asian drama but the ML looked too young around her ..and the reason why even with all those intense kisses their pairing was not giving enough sparks IYKYK, maybe an actor with a more manly appearance would've been a better pick.

Either way the drama didn't hit in the right way.

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My perseverance vs fate

It took me quite a while to decide what exactly should I write in my review on this series ....
See !! In the first half of the series, everything felt unnecessarily complicated simply because the real problems were never properly addressed. Creativity seemed like it will commit suicide any minute ... I mean,... if you know you’re dealing with a split personality or a two-souls-in-one-body situation, how about getting some actual treatment before charging into a war? Like Who in the world would lack this common sense ...... ANS : this FL .
The plot leaned too heavily on needless tragedy and repetition. The leads kept getting saved on a kind of “barter system”: take his core, save her; separate the souls, save her; merge them again, save her; return the core, save him… and so on. It wasn’t until episode 18 that the story finally gained some serious traction.

The female lead, unfortunately, stayed quite useless throughout—either lying wounded in bed or dragging everyone else into chaos. She lacked both spiritual strength and basic presence of mind; even her mortal tasks ended in failure (like taking the tiger tally with herself when she clearly wasn’t in the right state of mind thus resulting in the kingdom's doom). The male lead, meanwhile, got completely entangled in her mess. His personal goals and desires were sidelined, and after all that suffering, he achieved nothing. In the end, he just died trying.

That said, Xu Zhenzhen and Zhang Jingyun made a stunning lead pair. Her charm and his intensity balanced beautifully~~~ especially those fiery, passionate kisses of Jingyun’s that could make anyone skip a heartbeat.

It was good drama but maybe I was expecting a better execution of events instead of just using the same characters in the similar events in cycle.

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Smothered by his affection

Wow, what a drama! Truly a hidden piece . It had that usual pre-independence vibe with marshals, governors, and other powerful characters. But what made this one special was how it explored the FL and ML’s love story, their issues and intimacy.
The plot was quite refreshing, and the leads’ performances took everything to another level.

So, FL and ML are in love, but since she’s from a humble background, his family doesn’t approve. Then comes the “green tea” fiancée chosen by his family, who’ll do anything to marry him. ML hides this arrangement, but FL finds out, breaking her trust and leading to serious cracks in their relationship.

Characters:
ML: Sweet at first, but caught between family politics and love, he turns toxic — even secretly giving fertility drugs to FL. He becomes controlling.

FL: Beautiful, elegant, and strong. She loves ML, but his toxicity pushes her away. Her transformation from a submissive “sheep” to a dominant “wolf” was mind-blowing. The way she punished him for those fertility drugs? Chills. He was loyal, so he passed her test, but honestly, I even felt bad for him here, and that’s rare.

Cast :
Luorong absolutely nailed his role. Every time he cried, it broke my heart — especially in episode 15 when the FL died and later when she punished him for giving her the fertility drugs. His character should’ve been hateable, but Luorong’s performance made you feel sympathy instead. He’s seriously such an underrated actor.

Zhong Lili was amazing too. She portrayed Xingrou with so much grace and elegance at first, then showed raw pain and helplessness when the ML forced himself on her. Watching her transform into a strong, independent woman who wouldn’t bend no matter how much love he showed was just brilliant. She captured all the complexities of her character perfectly.


Overall a good one time watch worthy drama.(Dive only if you can take little psychological content)

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Only if the writer was more committed to her work .. ?‍?.

This drama left me in a very confusing state of mind… I honestly don’t know how to process it. First off... the whole “traveling to a virtual game world” thing? .... Great... except after episode one, that part is completely ignored. One and only mission—get 1000 gold taels—and then… crickets. No side quests, no upgrades, no accessorizing, nada. Basically, why even bother with the game premise if it’s just a classic wuxia story in disguise?

And the ending—writer suddenly remembered, “Oh crap, FL was supposed to be in a game!”—and yanks her back to the real world in the most abrupt way possible. Pathetic writing, honestly.
I can handle brutal cliffhangers, but this one? Left me mildly traumatized.


And our ML’s backstory? Never really showed up....His Family, home—just kind of… absent...whereas FL’s family drama? A bit repetitive, same characters creating similar mess again and again ..like a classic case of “rinse and repeat”. Not a disaster, but definitely a missed chance to make things feel fuller. Maybe writer thought 26 episodes are just too less to address FL family mess let alone giving a glance of ML background.



Cast:
Joseph Zheng: Absolutely lovely and effortlessly handsome as always. His character, even with all the secrets, felt light and straightforward—less messy, less layered (exactly the type that's suits him perfectly)... And He really nailed it.

Tian Xiwei: My absolute doll 😍 Can’t help but love her. As usual, she’s playful, sweet, and totally adorable. Her character is such a perfect mix of charm, intelligence, kindness, caring, and all-around goodness. Just sunny sunny ..

Their chemistry is okay-ish nothing fireworks worthy.

Side cast : the entire cast did a great job ... You can totally tell their acting talent is superb seperately from the weak writing ...I mean even though the characters felt a bit annoying at times but the level of performance these artists gave, will make one praise them endlessly.

Styling and aesthetics are normal wuxia friendly..

Music is good I loved the ending track and background song in Male voice~~~ i think I have heard it before but can't remember where exactly (tell me if you can figure out)

Over all it was watchable..yet I still can't help but think only if the writing were a little better ...only if the plot didn't have this family mess overload ...only if they had given out more about ML background ...only if they'd put some efforts in writing a decent ending .... This drama could have been so much better... I feels sad to see the efforts of this talented cast could not pay off enough.

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Not two but one buy one free

Sizzling Romance between the prince and his alleged assassin, The swapped crown princess. As soon as they marry he tricks her using his fake death followed by approaching her as his own blue eyed slutty twin brother (don't mind me his own personal guard called him that). As she opens up to him as the twin brother ally he falls for her goal oriented but gentle personality. Soon both started protecting each and secretly keeping each other's back finally after some necessary and mostly unnecessary hurdles the villain(s) is defeated. Lastly after a brief health related 'get the gu worm out of his guts' challenge they get their happily ever after.


What specifically caught my attention
1) ML's robes ... For a short drama format ML's wardrobe was impressive. Especially the robe that he wore in last episode, the one with bronze dragon fingerings on both shoulders ..NiCE 👍

2) pace of the story : i hate 'beat around the bush' plots this one was pretty much to the point the way I prefer

3) FL character is quite pleasing and very realistic, not your dimsal in distress but the one willing to sacrifice her own life for her beloved, who doesn't sit around to watch people die.. someone who you can trust your back with.

4) camera placements and fight scenes editing, simply top-notch. Guess the editing team here is living up to its commitment.




Do I recommend?
Very strongly ... For hardly-3- hour runtime this drama offers a lot.

Will i rewatch
Eh!! no!

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Bubblegum romance and creepy younger brother vibes

Despite my okay ranking, There’s something seriously off about this drama that I just couldn’t digest, no matter how hard I tried. So, the ML’s younger brother plants a hidden camera in his house—where he’s living with the FL, sharing both sweet romantic and very intimate moments. Later, when the ML discovers it, he doesn't even punish him. Nope, not even a slap on the wrist. Why? Because elder brother love. GROSS. What kind of message is this writer trying to send? Some things—like rape, privacy invasion, and trafficking—should never be forgiven, even for family. The little perv eventually turns himself in, but the ML's chill attitude towards this whole violation? Disgusting.

Now, the FL—she's a countryside girl, not totally clueless but definitely a little cheesy. At 20, her Shifu sends her to explore city life. She meets the ML, a hotshot CEO, and through some absurd plot gymnastics, she becomes his company’s spokesperson and personal physicist/nutritionist. Soon their romance brews silently over office coffee steam and the pungent trace of her Chinese herbs.


Then comes Episode 20—aka the episode that murdered my patience and tolerance for dumb decision-making. Apparently, our dear FL (aka Queen of Unsolicited Sacrifices) decides to leave the ML Why? Oh, because she feels guilty for “taking him away from his baby brother."
Ummm...excuse me?! What in the emotionally constipated logic is that??? What exactly do you think he’s going to do otherwise? Raise a family with his baby brother? Form a bromance cult ?
Newflash: —whether it’s you or someone else, your man is going to get married one day. He can't start his family with his baby brother.. right ?


This is the exact brand of “selfless heroine syndrome”FLs and twisted messaging, that dramas should stop pushing. —glorifying these women who “sacrifice” love in the name of relationships no one asked them to fix. It’s not noble, it’s just plain dumb.



And then, instead of leaving with quiet dignity, she performs the most cringe morning-after act in C-drama history. After spending this very steamy night with ML, she wakes up early and sticks hundreds of neon sticky notes all over his house—directions for him for everything from 'how to eat' to 'how to poop', turning his penthouse into a kindergarten bulletin board. Romantic? Well ...

After doing this picasso-paste-on art she goes to her office colleague dropping obvious hints of her departure and finally does her big dramatic exit… at sloth speed like she’s waiting—begging—to be stopped.
Honey, that’s not an exit—it’s a parade float screaming "someone! notice me ".
Gosh !! if you're gonna leave, just leave. Don’t turn it into a community theatre audition.
Honestly, I couldn't decide whether to laugh or launch a pillow at the screen.



Ahh !! Moving on - the cast ,
Luo nails his CEO role once again, but FL? Meh. She reminds me of the FL from 'save it for the honey moon' Same sleepy-eyed, low-energy presence, screen charisma- NIL...simply not my taste .. as far as her role is concerned I was waiting for smart decisions and more martial moments..but unfortunately nothing of the sort followed.

the only takeaway :

The parallel female lead stole my heart .. she is successful, rich , rational, kind , loveable, hot, sassy and everything that makes a woman attractive and inspiring. I watched the entire show for her alone (and of course for Luo)

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Okay-ish !

Not much to put as a review ..this is one of those stories that either you like cause it tickled your good mood or you dropped cause you were just feeling moody and irritated that day .

A pre-independence themed revenge plot with its own fluff. The best part playful dynamics between the ML’s sister-in-law, who thinks he’s her husband, the ML, who pretends to be her husband in front of the FL he secretly likes, and the FL, who’s here to kill him thinking he murdered her father, keep the drama quirky.

The antihero was clearly the writer’s favourite—starting neutral, then turning into a ruthless villain, suddenly finding patriotism thanks to the ML,'s speech , and finally dying like he is some sort of victim. Three U-turns later, he remains unsummarizable.

Direction, styling, and cast were impressive for a short-format drama. Music was decent and suited the tone.

The ending might feel problematic to some, but in freedom-struggle themed dramas, sacrifice often replaces the expected happy ending.

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ENDLESS LOOP OF MALE LEAD DENIALS AND VILLAIN REAPPEARANCES

Alright, so this drama started strong—like a solid 8/10 type strong. The first 10-12 episodes? Pure gold. The character dynamics were tight, the plot had momentum, and the leads’ budding chemistry? Chef’s kiss. You could actually feel the tension, the excitement, the romance simmering just beneath the surface.

But then… plot twist—someone clearly snatched the script away from the original writer and handed it to a confused intern on caffeine withdrawal. The last 30 episodes? Felt like a completely different drama.

Let’s talk about Mr. Morality aka the Male Lead. In the beginning, his unwavering principles and moral compass had me swooning. But soon, that same "righteousness" turned into full-blown annoying inflexibility. I wanted to reach through the screen and shake him. He went from "Wow, what a man!" to "Sir, can you not?"

Thank the drama gods for the Female Lead. She stayed rock-solid from start to finish. Captain of the army, martial arts master, drop-dead gorgeous, smart, kind, and could probably break your bones while reciting military strategy. And guess what? She didn’t simper around the ML like a lost puppy. She knew her worth, stayed cool under pressure, and handled her personal and professional life like a boss. People who criticized her conduct? Probably grew up under a rock in a deeply patriarchal setting. They just can't handle watching a woman with political aspirations or being pro at court politics .. but they definitely enjoy the plots where Male leads manipulate and abuse the FL .. force them into choices ... And it's quite disappointing most of such viewers are female ..anyways For me, she was a total inspiration.

Now let’s show some love to the supporting characters: FL’s badass dad, her physician BFF, the ML’s army bros, and his surprisingly layered father—actual scene-stealers.

Costumes and sets? Meh. Not terrible, but for a wuxia drama, I was hoping for more oomph.
Fighting choreography? Loved it.
Music? Let’s just say... I didn’t add anything to my playlist.

Now, brace yourself: by episode 12, the plot enters repetition hell. One villain makes six comebacks. SIX. I mean, is he immortal or just has frequent flyer miles to escape prison?

Also, ML’s character becomes a confusing blend of “sweet talker or spineless romantic?” I honestly couldn’t tell what was genuine and what was just... there for the drama.

Do I recommend it?
Yes—but with conditions. Definitely check out the first 10 episodes. They’re worth the time. After that, continue at your own risk... or if you just enjoy watching chaos unfold.

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crown princes, swap-sedan flower brides and memory loss episodes

This drama? Whew.....Wasn't Mediocre in any sense.... yet!! from the plot and characters to the casting Nothing screamed “wow,” actually .. and the there were so many boring patches so I skipped generously and brought it down from 35 hours to a more survivable 25-ish. The show is packed with pointless and frustrating segments and characters that add about as much value as a decorative pillow on a park bench.

The plot started out okay ,then turns interesting around episode 5-6 remains good till about 32 but last 7-8 episodes were not up to my taste ..so much melodrama sacrifices where they were least required .. i mean .. Full-on disaster. the memory loss issue is used too many times 👎👎the ML is never in his right mind whenever his action is required and the heavy liabilities like "we wont kill our clansmen even if these clansmen screw the living shit out of us " unreasonable attitude totally killed the joy for me.

Spoiler Alert: The ending is absolute garbage... though satisfactory for the fact these boys didnt deserve those fine ladies in the first place. they failed them on multiple occasions so low key i was manifesting this... like hell yeah i wanna see this flop superheroes entangled with their priorities for the rest of their lives.
screenwriting was weak as writer tried to cover his/ her lazy work with lame excuses like “filial piety” or “heaven realm duties.” I mean… TO HELL WITH THAT. Nobody’s buying these ancient justifications anymore, sweetie.😑😑

Characters:

FL: She’s a rebel—cool. Strong, independent, makes money, uses her brain. Amazing. Until… she spares ML’s father and I was like “THANK YOU, NEXT.” 🥱she on behalf on an entire clan forgiven him for that bloody massacre... like who even does that.. and not to forget this man was even bullying her own father.

SFL: A sweet girl turned strategic queen. I liked her. She wanted freedom and stayed classy.. even if she played from the sidelines she didn't leave a displeasing taste in my mouth.

ML: Ugh. A second-tier disappointment. He can save the world, but not his own love life from daddy dearest. His endless forgiveness? Exhausting. 😷 dude ! Daddy discarded you the moment you perished ..he was even against your ressurection.

SML: Half the time, he’s getting wrecked. His insecurity from daddy issues and succession vendetta are addressed… but meh, didn’t really help.🤕plus whenever his mother comes around he becomes even more unbearable cause his mother always guides him into becoming a bigger loser than he already was ..for ex: when this mom-son due begging the FL to spare the void king to which he relied with a "F.Y. i dont need your mercy" .. ahh ! statisfaction level MAX.. like really!!!!!! you were begging to save the man who used you and thrown you away along with your son to suffer for centuries on the hands his another consort. Classic case of ZERO DIGNITY.

Birdy (FL’s demon BFF): My absolute favorite. Period. 😘😘

Puppy boy: Surprisingly better than the SML.🥰😍

Useless Crew:

ML’s mom: No backbone, no impact, and somehow... endless screen time. 😖she only came around after ep 35 .. prior to that all her parts were pretty much skippable.

ML’s younger bro: More useful as wallpaper.😣



Casting:
Landy Li (FL), He Xuan (SFL), and Wang Lina (Birdy) and of course Chen Xingxu carried the show .. the leads chemistry is good .. ChenXinG Xu slayed all four persona he played .. if it weren't for the weak character writing itself ..this might have been one of my fav shows.

Styling:
Typical wuxia/xianxia fare. Nothing mind-blowing like TTEOTM or LBFAD, but passable. Bonus points for the accessories.

Music:
One word—Sa Dingding. Her voice in “EST”? Absolutely stole the show. The only thing I genuinely loved about the entire series.

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Son's fiance to father's concubine #5

So, I started watching this drama, and for the first few episodes, it had potential—contract marriage, slow-burn romance, soft ML chasing FL. I was intrigued. But then, out of nowhere, the script took a nosedive off a cliff, and instead of soaring, it belly-flopped straight into chaos.

The Good:

1. The Cast: FL was okay—not drop-dead gorgeous, but acted decently. ML (Cavan) actually looked like a marshal and acted fine too. But seriously, dude, fire your script selector. You deserve better.


2. That’s it. That’s the list.



The Bad:

1. Up to episode 5-6, things were fine, but then the writer’s creativity had an asthma attack and tragically passed away. RIP.


2. Concubine #5: Look, I felt bad for her in the beginning. But then she turned into some sort of discount villain mastermind. In under 24 hours, she took over the entire family, and within a month, she had drugged the daughter-in-law, poisoned the son, killed another concubine, and paralyzed the grand marshal. And yet… no one reported her? Not even the army? A woman who showed up last month is now commanding troops while the actual general is missing? The army just went, “Oh well, she seems trustworthy.” Really? The military worldwide is collectively rolling in their graves.

3. Background music sucks ..may be one of worst I ever come across

Now the biggest question?? If you should watch it or not ...
I am leaving it to your own judgement as for me i regret wasting my time on this I even dropped it before third last episode ( predictable much)

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Enjoyable mini series

I love watching random long format drama videos where they compile all the episode in one long video .. this drama was one of them .. at that time I didn't know it's exact name as youtube channels sometimes act so shameless as to not even mention the name of credits in caption ..anyways so the story is about a girl who is living with her foster family .. in the beginning the real daughter of this family gets a proposal to be married into a rich family .. to their son who is in comatose stage.. of course she denied but the betrothal gifts and bride price was too much to say NO ... So the greedy family comes you with the classic foster family idea of sending their non biological daughter on her place .. as this non biological daughter i.e. FL enter the ML's residence as bride she figures out the ML is the one who saved her life years back ... So to return what she owe him ...she decides to cure him .. soon discovers a lot more than expected ..

I discovered cavan in this drama itself and there were a few shirtless scene ..and oh god I can't forget his ABS since then

The plot is smooth romantic and filled with slice of life .. FL is very cute and her acting is also impressive ...

Overall it was a good drama

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u recklessly made me fall in love with u, how can u be so heartless to leave me in such cruel way.

Now when I was almost sure I will not feel anything about this 'author transmission into novel' plot anymore, here I am caught up again with my over flowing sentiments. Normally I don't cry in such drama but BLAME IT ON THE ML's AMAZINGLY ACTED SAD SCENES oh boy !! I cried ..I cried a lot ... Everytime he shed a tear with that helplessly adorable face ( specially the last episode) i can't stop mine. Would have I felt the same if it were for any other actor ... ABSOLUTELY NOT ..
Moving on to the plot which was slow in my opinion..I mean it lacked a lot of substance ... Cause a lot of time was wasted in unnecessary mini plots .. FL and ML are both talented and good looking actors but my vote is obviously for the ML

Ending of the story felt little dragged or derailed ... But i guess the story writers wanted to end it into something different from regular ending where author in real world compromises with the lookalike of ML ..
Overall I find this drama very interesting.. I might as well watch it again some day ...

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Short drama that lived higher than my expectations

First of all I am a huge fan of revenge plots ... When a woman is getting revenge on man it becomes thriller or grey ..and in contrast when a man delivering his shot to deliver his revenge on a woman ..it becomes a passionate love story ...this drama serves you the latter ...
Story starts with the ML coming to FL's town to take his revenge against her for what she did to his family and got his father killed 5 years ago. Despite his efforts he can't get over his feelings for her ..and all these years he seemed to stuck into the same loop " did she even loved me for real even for a moment? ". As the story unfolds we see the reason behind FL's actions (not giving any spoilers) .. the entire plot is based on freedom struggle era in china. Everything from cars,trains , telephone to costumes gave the retro (pre retro vibe).

The FL is quite beautiful and I loved her acting as well ... In the same way ML was equally talented and good looking ..both making a perfect duo ... Their chemistry had a good spark to it .. (though at times I felt the FL is reluctant to give a proper smooch scene) other than that everything seems fine.

For first few episodes you will see a passionate kissing scene in every episode.. later cools off to a no kiss climax, what a waste for a story that had so much heat in the pilot episode

But even with it's flaws this drama was still very enjoyable.

Recommended ❤️

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I don't wanna watch Xu kai doing such horrible drama ever again

The story is crap ..not gonna lie this was one of the weakest plots that I have ever seen. Why I say so ?? Cause you will watch 3/4th of the drama still won't feel attached to the story ... The feeling of excitement to watch the next episode was totally missing ..just imagine the amount of disappointment.

Xu kai is a fantastic actor He delivered best on his part but in the end he can only play his own role .. I feel bad for him as don't know for what reason but his chemistry with his co-actors has been compromised in last couple of shows ...in best choice ever it was the same .. I hope he gets some beautiful and talented co-actress who will bring out his charisma again ...

Esther yu was terrible like she is in most of her dramas.she was the same in 'Love between devil and fairy' two years back .. her acting skills haven't improved at all,she is hopeless. In fact the rest of the cast performed way better than her. I don't know how chinese casting works but she has no chance to sign even a junior artist role for the third class acting skills she owns.she is the only grade less actress who gives kissing scenes in a child voice, making it even morally incorrect.

The plot was stuffed with a lot of details but somehow the mess created was so much that it lost its core ... The plot was bulky in itself plus There were a total of 4-5 couples having their own love story which were dragged to the last altogether.. an Absolute CHAOS .

a few more things 'louder than dialogue' background music ..basic and ugly costume .. multidirectional approach with no straight execution of parts were responsible for not delivering the drama in its whole potential

If i have to summarise, it was just the hard work of the entire cast ( minus Esther yu) that kept the drama breathing otherwise there was no hope whatsoever.

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