So many c-drama are set in the corporate world that is itself a trope. Sometimes it works but a lot of the time the plots are filled with jargons and then a bit of magic drama dust to create a company collapse or save the company in the nick of time. This show is heavily business focused and there was no ends of "intrigue" and dirty tricks.

The basic story is straightforward. Two old school mates met up again after many years apart and found love. The twist here is that the ML was in love with the FL since their school days and he tasked himself to protect her. The reason is because she is allergic to tears and it could kill her if she is not treated quickly. He tried to toughen her up so that she won't cry but it was seen as bullying. He was going to confess to her before he went aboard to study but circumstances made them part in bad terms and he missed that chance and lost touch for years. This misunderstanding lasted well into their new working relationship as he became her boss in her new job.

There were no doubt that the pairing of Bai Lu and Leo Luo was a masterstroke. They looked great together and have bucket load of chemistry. They did not shy away from the touchy feely stuff either so there were lots of skinship. The 2OTP was cute and they tried hard to tell their story but there were a number of plot holes. In the end, it was underdone as their romance felt contrived. The 3OTP (noona romance) came out of nowhere and it was a stretch. 2 other pairing of fellow workers overflowed the CP quota.

The romantic story of the OTP would have been good enough to sustain a shorter run but they had a lot of business subplots to get through and it is here that the tone and plots did not sit well with me.

Most of the early episodes have the OTP investigating various companies as part of due processes before the company goes public or are bought out by another company. However, instead of doing the sums and highlighting dodgy transactions so that the authorities can follow up, they (including junior analysts) behave like private investigators and some kind of corporate crusaders riding out to right wrongs. That would be ok if the message is clear but again and again, the punishments do not fit the crimes. We are talking about someone who embezzled a lot of money as well as a manager who drugged and raped a young worker. That is a criminal offence, is it not? This type of moral greyness ran right through the whole show. The FL was drugged and dumped in a hotel room (unharmed, thankfully) and even though it was obvious who did it, there was no retribution. Other people who did wrong were just spoken to or cut a lot of slack. With that, what appeared to be a righteous stance soon turned into a mess of confused messages. It speaks volume about the business environment in China if it is even partially true.

I also have issues with the SML storyline. There was little chance of a second lead syndrome from the start but he was given a lot of screen time in the last few episodes. Once that subplot started, there was little doubt how it would end. It did little to progress the main plot but managed to turn the SML into a despicable character.

There were funny moments and lots of swoon worthy moments. I did liked how they set up the OTP as competitors after the time skip and their interactions were cute but it ended almost as soon as it started. If they did the time skip and just have them working in their own small company or even in competition, I'd ship them even more. The ML's proposal short movie was clever and the doggie is so cute throughout. :D

Production value is high but there are gaps. OST was fine. If I ever want to rewatch this, I would start at ep.20 and then watch the next few episodes where the OTP was white hot then skip to the last episode just for the feel good fan service.