Nepeta 22

As far as I know, this is what she's meant to be like. If you stay and watch more, you will slowly see her character change, but in a very natural and subtle way. Not like some dramas that make big points about people changing behaviour.

I had always been saying he should have been chosen to play Wen Ke Xing in Word of Honor, and seeing him here in his role just reminds me of his ability.

That's the whole point of what you wrote. The writers know you will fall into this type of classic feeling and deliberately put in characters that will do the complete opposite. You are not meant to feel their sudden feelings, but you also know it will be the most likely pairing too. The fact that you believe there is nothing special in the princess to warrant his affection already tells me you have been sold the idea that YSS's character deserves better, all because of how his background. What better than pair him with a classic two dimensional character that will no doubt grow? You also forget, she's also throwing all her airs and graces for this womanising criminal.

Well I'm in the UK, I can see it with IQYI.

He's a Ren Jialun lookalike as far as I see it.

The mystery element is more or less towards the end but much of the drama is more slice of life with small elements of mystery/crimes littered throughout. In terms of social commentary, I find it very much light and more giving you realism of the times when people lived through it. I didn't feel any heavy hand of righteousness which is why the drama is a success.

The time lines were late 90s, early 00s (2006) and then around 2016/7.

Good all round drama. The hospital scenes and technical side looks more realistic. I thought the Doctor Bai story line fell short and had lack of details. Not sure why as it felt like something bigger would happen. ZXF's story with his mother was not as dramatic as I thought it would be. Generally, everything was gentle and lightly touched. I also thought there would be more screen time given to that.

Agree with your points. Not a CDL fan to be honest, but made a comment because a poster was hoping CX would make a better lead. As mentioned by another poster, there is still speculation on who are main leads and CX may well have a leading role anyway. But it will be interesting to see what GJM has for CDL. I'm hoping it's not going to be still, calm and cold.

Ok, it's good to see some CDL fans. I'm possibly equating her popularity based on the amounts/lack of photos posted. I'm looking forward to seeing her appearance on A Lonely Hero's Journey which I suspect will be her next appearance, although I know she's on other dramas possibly going to come out soon as support. I have seen some of her guest appearances and would like to see her in a more physical or fighting role. The good thing with original scripts are it limits some fandoms trying to control the stars chosen for their roles.

What you show there might be what I suspect. The photo leaks are deliberate controlled images. Which leads me to think that GJM wants to show-case CDL. Could be wrong as CDL also has a "marmite" type image and she's not proven herself yet. When MJTY was promoting it was all Esther Yu and ZLH. But when the drama came out, I can see it's all Lester Lin and Cheng Lei. Looking at the cast list, plenty of faces that are potential future stars.

Going to be honest, many of Deng Wei fans are quite vocal and disrespectful. They were like this when he was a small-time star. They are fantasising about his bad-boy image. He probably knows this and keeps his head down. But all this littering of cigarette butts and gaunt heroin chic look is just the ticket that sends the young girls crazy. The idol drama makers know this, and it keeps his profile high.

That's because the name of the game is the "drama" is before the drama. This is classic fan-service. Controlled images let out for the fans. No doubt, when the actual drama comes out, all the lesser actors will be making a name for themselves whilst the ones at the front end of the drama hold the fort when it's airing.

The drama is probably a showcase for CDL. Knowing Edward Guo, he wants to be the one that shows to the entertainment business he can make this staid looking lady into a big star. After all this actress has been pushed really hard all over the place. She is also an IQIYI signed and possibly on a 2 picture deal. Just finished trawling through 1000s of photos here, and she might just figure in less than 10!

Just like Tian Jia Rui, he was never followed nor papped prior to MJTY on the Rosy Clouds page, yet after MJTY aired, all the attention has turned to this nobody that even new fans on this page had not heard about. I'm assuming Edward Guo thinks he can do this for her. CX might be the young fan's obvious choice, but I suspect she might be those props to bring in the crowds. We're already seeing this with all the guest star appearances.

OK, thanks for the update.

He didn't know. I guess, that's a deliberate part of the drama to make us think about the many unknowns resulting in a possible different outcome or the many different life choices we can end up making.

I still don't get this. Is the moral of the story for GJM is to stay off social media? The more he has opened up his set and engaged with the fans/public, the worse it gets?

Interesting comment. I didn't notice the AI generated style subs. Yes, I have seen a fair bit of dodgy subbing on other dramas, especially The Heart, but thought IQIYI's seemed decent.

I recommend it as it's really the first drama I have seen from China that doesn't end in the way expected. Without giving away spoilers, the end allows for a more realistic portrayal of the real-life spy world.

According to Baike Baidu, filming started in November 2021 and ended around mid April 2022. Filming started mainly in Shenzhen, but other locations include Dongguan, Huizhou, Ningbo, Hengdian & Macau.

Anyone agree with me or am I on my own with this. Actress Chen Hao Yu is the twin of Xiao Zhan.