I started this drama on a whim and ended up loving it. It's one of the better romance drama that I've watched in recent years.

The plot is very simple. It is about a teenager crush that evolves into a beautiful relationship once reciprocated. While it is simple, I think the show did a good job overall in portraying the different stages of the relationship. There is no unnecessary angst and the tone remains light and fluffy throughout.

The only thing that makes me rate the story lower is the lack of scenes showcasing ML thoughts. The drama could have used an extra episode to flesh out ML character more. His background story is way too short and he changed from brotherly affection to full on loving the FL so quickly that I find it a bit abrupt. It would be better if there are more scenes showcasing his hesitation and motivation. The novel did a much better job fleshing out his character imo.

The casts are definitely the highlight for me. Everyone fits their role so well and the acting feels quite natural. I love all the 3 leads, though I am most impressed with Chen Zheyuan. His eyes deliver so much emotion! The chemistry between the 3 leads are amazing. I definitely will be checking out their future projects.
I also really like the OST because they fit and added so much to the scenes.

Overall I really like this drama. It is well produced and I could tell a lot of thought and effort went into it. It was good from beginning to the end. Although I feel like they could use 1 or 2 more episodes, but overall I'm very satisfied with the series.

I would recommend this drama for anyone that likes romance, slice of life, and something simple in general. This drama has been my happy pill after a long tiring day at work for the past 2 weeks, so I would definitely missed it.

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It's decent

The trunk is a mix of psychological, mystery, and melodrama. It deals with various complex themes such as mental health, loneliness, complex human relationship, and the meaning of love and marriage.

Pros
- Acting and cinematography are amazing
- Premise and initial character settings are interesting
- Chemistry is good
- I like the closure on FL & ML, they're both healing and they might find each other again if fate allows. It's a fitting resolution

Cons
- Mystery plot is not giving, it feels unnecessary and ruin the overall plot imo. The way it concluded was also unsatisfying
- Story feels underdeveloped
- Supporting casts feels underutilised and even the ex-wife got bland towards the end. I would prefer if she became the main "villain" until the end
- Pacing can be off at times

Honestly, it's a pretty decent show and I enjoyed watching it... but it does feel underwhelming. It doesn't leave much of an impression and I think I'll forget about it easily.

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Surprisingly enjoyable

The premise is nothing new, but the pacing is pretty good and keeps you engaged. The tone remains light from beginning until the end. I really enjoyed the first 23 episodes and have mixed feelings regarding ep 24-32. It's not a deal breaker though since this is what happen to literally 98% of drama these days. Episode 24-32 feels a bit choppy and childish but because of the revelation on last 2 episodes, it still makes sense on narrative side.

Pros:
Characters & Cast -- I like all the leads and most side characters. Side characters have their own story and they actually serve a purpose to a certain degree.

Acting is pretty good and the actor's sync rate with their character is great, so I'm more immersed. Ding Yuxi is so charming as Mu Sheng / Mu Ziqi. I also like Zhu Xudan portrayal as Mu Yao, she really gives off that big sister energy.
DYX x YSX chemistry is amazing and the group dynamics of the bamboo masters are fun. I just really like all the leads when they're together 😊

Visual & Production -- styling, costume, and CGI are really good and everything fits together nicely, it's a better production than what I expected.

Attention to details and minimal loose ends
There are a lot of details in this drama through usage of motifs and dialogues, which I appreciate. I also like that the writer explains the thing that bugs me like why Miaomiao is the chosen one to enter the novel, why the main novel storyline feels more childish, why MiaoMiao got the protection period, etc.

Cons:
Development for episode 24-32 is kind of weak. It still makes sense and acceptable, but doesn't mean that I love it 🤔

Ending -- Unfortunately I read that CN govt ban time travel and altering reality implication... which is the underlying theme for drama in this genre. So I already have a lower expectation for the ending

Personally I like the ending because it explains the whole narrative and makes the story feels complete & cohesive.
I do agree that the execution can be better, so despite liking the ending, I still put it as a con because not everyone will be satisfied with the ending.

Overall rating 8.5

One of the better drama in this isekai / game fantasy genre. It was a fun watch and I enjoyed it a lot, so the rating is slightly higher 😊

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I have a difficult time trying to come up with any negative point for this drama as it’s like a textbook example of how a biography drama should be in my opinion. It was engaging, makes you feel emotionally invested, and the execution leaves you feeling hopeful despite the heavy theme.

I would say the only thing that I notice is there are some scenes showcasing the agenda of CCP because most individuals in the story are part of CCP. Just want to point this out in case anyone feel uncomfortable watching those scenes. Do keep in mind that the main character is an actual dedicated party member, and this is part of her belief, so I don’t mind that the show just highlight it as is. Personally, it’s not a big issue to me as it doesn’t change my political views nor affect my enjoyment on the drama itself.

Now I’m going to highlight some positive points from this drama:

Pacing and story
Pacing is great and it’s very engaging. You’ll experience all sort of emotions, and it’s very bingeable.

The script is solid from beginning till the end and the dialogues are well written. I like how it just told the story as is because you can see their struggle and how they cope with it. All the struggle and little side story doesn’t feel exaggerated, and all the issues highlighted are real social issue that I think are still relevant to this day.

I also like that we don’t really have a proper villain in the drama, sure some of the characters are infuriating, but you really can’t blame them too much because it’s the norm for them. The government officials are interesting to watch as in their core, they want to do good and support ZGM, but they do have restrictions within their role that they need to abide.

I also like how the show portrays that it’s only due to collective effort that Zhang Guimei was able to achieve those desired results. I’m sure that there are some dramatic changes in the drama, but the story overall feels very realistic.

Lastly I want to highlight that the tone of the show leans more on the light side, so it doesn’t feel heavy to watch and even makes you feel encouraged at the end.

Acting and casts
I would like to highlight the 2 main actors, Song Jia and Lan Xiya. They did such an amazing job at capturing the essence of the characters.
Honestly, I’m so impressed with all the casts, everyone felt like a real person living in those circumstances. It feels like we just took a sneak peek into part of their life.

Overall Rating – 9.0
I think it’s one of the best cdrama that I’ve ever watched. It played with my emotions so well and leave a lasting impression on me. I was also able to learn and reflect on myself after watching it.

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Enjoyable and refreshing healthy relationships

Pros
Healthy Romantic Relationship -- They have no communication issue at all. Anything that can cause misunderstanding basically got curbed since they discuss it straight away, it's refreshing.
ML is more powerful and help FL a lot, but their relationship still feels equal somehow because FL is also capable and support ML in her own way.

Characters -- Both ML and FL is very likeable.
FL is capable, smart, and calm. A bit too perfect imo, so it might be positive or negative depending on preference... but I do like her character.
Other characters are also pretty interesting. Some are a bit too one dimensional, but there are some layered characters as well.

Story is overall pretty interesting -- It opens discussion on women's role in the family, how to overcome conflict within family member. It gives more spotlight to individual woman in FL's family and you can see their growth.


Cons
There are too many characters, so it's a bit hard to keep up.

Story:
- All the conflict got resolved too easily, so you don't see them struggle as much, which is not realistic. Even the final conflict with the main villain also got easy resolution.

- Business aspect in this drama is not realistic at all. They took a while to set up the business, but once they did, it's going so smoothly... so you need to suspend your disbelief 😂

Acting -- The acting is pretty standard overall... But ML portrayal is a bit too stoic for my liking. I do understand his character is supposed to be like that due to his background and political position, so it's still passable. He's good on action scenes though!

Overall Rating 8.5
Pretty enjoyable watch. It's good if you want to watch a female-centered drama that's light but still got a bit of tension.

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One of my favorite romcom

It's not a perfect drama, but I really love it. It's a drama where I can feel the passion & affection from the casts, directors, writer, and staffs... so it feels even more precious.

1. Story - Overall decent, but it had weak moments due to being a 16 episode series.
The first 8 episodes are the best imo. I don't really like the development in ep 9-14, but I love the last 2 episodes. Ep 16 especially is one of the best ending that I've seen... this review is heavily biased due to the ending.

I only dislike Geum x Hyunjoo storyline and the unnecessarily long killer plot.

However, I love that we got ML pov, it makes me feel like reading a novel and feels very appropriate to the source. It also gives more weight to the previous scenes.
I'm also glad all version of Seonjae got saved. I always feel bittersweet when I remember the original Seonjae, so I'm glad that he also got his happy ending.

2. Casts are really good. I really love the 4 leads especially. I quite like BWS and KHY before but I love them now. I'm so impressed that they gives off different feeling in each age. They have one of the best chemistry too imo.

Because they were played by KHY and BWS, I really fell in love with Sol and Seonjae... and I can't help but root for their happiness. They did such an amazing job that I really can't imagine anyone else playing these roles.

3. Dialogue - The lines are so pretty, it's a shame that some of the meaning got lost in translation. This is one of the story where I feel like it's worth to buy the script book.

4. Directing - I think it's a blessing that the director got replaced. This director knows how to tell a story. Though this also resulted in some jarring scenes here and there as they use some of the older footage. Given the budget and time constraint, I feel like the director did his best. I love all the parallel scenes!

5. No PPL makes it more immersive.
Can you imagine the white candy got switch to Kopiko?? I'd die laughing.

6. OST - best drama OSTs for me. All the OST lyrics basically narrating the stories, I love it.

7. Ending - best ending for me. I love ep 16 so much! It's the perfect ending for a romcom drama. With the amount of bad ending that I've watched in recent years, I'm so thankful to the writer.

This drama took 3 years to produce and went through rough time due to director change, reshoot, barely any promo and everyone think it will flop... but I'm glad that the result has been amazing. Thank you for making me so happy for the past 8 weeks. It's been a while since I've been so invested into a kdrama from beginning until the end, so I feel a bit empty now that it's completed.

Solseon, please live happily from now on.

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