Rewatch and rewatch

Never expected this drama to be so good. Everybody has such good chemistry and the plot is so good. Bear in mind that this is a school/youth genre, so don't expect too much crazy plot twists or strong villains.

I love all the couples in the drama. The plot is really so sweet that I just can't help but rewatch the romance or bickering parts between the main couple. You've probably seen many reviews talking about how good the male lead is in terms of expressions and how he fit in the character.

Parts I really love from the drama:
- How the entire drama really focus on the character development in all the characters, lead characters and supporting characters alike.
- The dream high school experience. When watching this, I can't help but feel envious of their high school experience.
- Sweet interactions between the male lead and female lead. How Si Yue is protective of Ding Xian, how he looks at her and how they both constantly support each other.
- Though Si Yue is portrayed as the school genius and basically this popular guy who is good in everything he does (typical school romance plot right?), but the way the character is acted out is not unrealistic at all. He is not the typical cold blooded, cool guy who is unapproachable.

I rarely rate a drama so high when it comes to high school romance because to me, most high school dramas are nice to watch but not exactly relatable. This drama, however, brings you on an emotional ride and you can't help but dream of going back to high school and relive your high school in the same manner.

Also, I rarely pay attention to drama OSTs. This drama is packed with amazing OSTs, so much I would play them on loop throughout the day.

Kudos to the cast, director and screenwriter.

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A love story that just makes sense

I've watched quite a few romance dramas and have actually accepted the fact no matter how much they play it differently, it boils down to the same "framework" - getting together --> separating --> getting back together. I guess it's kind of the core messaging behind most romance dramas - a relationship is only real if both partners could survive through obstacles and end up stronger together.

Back to the drama, I don't see this as just a romance drama but it's also a drama that talks about how these two individuals change their perspectives in lives and work through their past baggages. There are many real issues which are addressed in this series:

1. Between ethics and work profession, which one do you pick?
2. The competition in a corporate environment and how different people survive in that environment.
3. The fact that even in today's modern world, women are still treated differently in a professional environment. Gender preference when it comes to hiring, is still very real.

In the comments, a lot of people really hated on Wu Fei and the lady boss of the firm. Well, it just shows how well these actresses have portrayed their characters. Without Wu Fei, I think the whole process of Qin Shi climbing up to Level 11 seems a little too easy. Without the lady boss, the message about working women won't have such a huge impact.

Acting wise, I was pensive because of the age gap between Yang Mi and Xu Kai, but I was quite a fan of Yang Mi's work for a while and quite like Xu Kai's acting as well so I decided to give it a go. Surprisingly, their chemistry is off the charts. The whole relationship played out very well throughout the drama.

From the romance point of view, there are a lot of comments about how they ended the whole drama so hastily. Qin Shi and Yang Hua had to break up and only to reconcile at the very last minute. I on the other hand, quite like the pacing. They had spent so much screen time as lovers in the middle of the series, and there are quite a few scenes loaded with cuteness and romance between the two, how much more romance do you want the scriptwriters to inject in the end of the drama?

The break up is essential for Qin Shi to finally realize her own feelings and decide on her own standpoint when it comes to love. If you have been following how Qin Shi and Yang Hua communicated with each other since the beginning of their relationship, surely you sense the amount of unwavering trust they have for each other. Deep down, Yang Hua knows that Qin Shi loves him and believes that she would realize that given time and space. So what if they have separated for 7 months? I think even if it's a whole entire year, Qin Shi would still go back to him. Plus knowing his character, he had probably been keeping tabs on Qin Shi the entire time.

The ending is quite a good closure in my opinion. Not just a happy ending to Yang Hua and Qin Shi's relationship but also to Qin Shi's career as a woman in the law industry.

I would still highly recommend for people who have not watched the drama to give this a try. Probably not the top 1 romance drama I would pick but still a good one.

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Amazing drama

This is my first time watching Steven Zhang and Liang Jie and I'm already loving it so far. They are such great actors that they could act both their own characters and each other's so well. Jiang Yi (male lead) and Yu Sheng Sheng (female lead) are quite the polar opposite when it comes to their personalities. So, for Steven Zhang and Liang Jie to switch between characters so well is honestly great to watch.

Also, the drama is so funny, there are so many scenes where I would tear up, laughing. Those sound effects and background music definitely amplify the humour of those scenes.

Steven Zhang and Liang Jie are so adorable to watch, the drama has become really addictive.

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Well deserved ratings

This review is going to be a long one.

"Hidden Love" is one of those dramas that really deserve all the attention, popularity and love. Ever since the beginning of the drama, I knew it would be good just by looking at our two main actors - Lusi and Zhe Yuan. Everybody probably already know they are good at acting and it seems repetitive of me to always rave about their skills but they are so on point in this drama, I am blown away everytime I watch them.

Before this drama, I watched "Our Secret" (multiple times) and was really impressed with Zhe Yuan from there. It's quite rare to see actors who can portray such good expressions through their eyes. It's as though you could feel whatever he was feeling at that moment by just looking at his eyes. There are so many scenes I really, really love from Zhe Yuan in this drama.

1. When Jia Xu was sitting outside of Sang Zhi's house, starring into the sky. I immediately felt how burdened he was, lonely and just sad. He wasn't crying, his face was calm, but his eyes - you can feel how tired he was, trying to shoulder everything that is happening around him.

2. When Jia Xu opened the red packet Sang Zhi slipped in his pocket. This is another moment where he was feeling extremely tired and lonely, unwilling to go back to his hometown to face the gazillion problems waiting for him. When he opened the red packet and read this simple message from Sang Zhi, through his eyes, you can really feel how touched he was. The warmth that one simple message brought to him.

As for Lusi, it's no secret that she is a very happy-go-lucky kind of girl. Perhaps, even in real life, she seems like a person who would bring joy to the people around her. With dramas like this, I can imagine it'll be very difficult to portray this cute, innocent girl, without coming out as annoying. I've seen so many dramas where the female lead would always act cute and innocent but resulted in being cringy, annoying and (honestly) stupid. Lusi really has that capability to make you really like her without making you feel like she's forcing to be cute. Her character in this drama is someone who I really like, too. Protective, strong, well-loved and understanding. There are too many scenes from the drama I love with Sang Zhi in them but I guess my favourites are these:

1. When she confronted Sang Yan for hitting Jia Xu. She was unafraid to stand up for herself and for the people she love. The moment when she was trying so hard not to cry while telling Sang Yan that she wanted to cut contact with him was so impactful.

2. When she was in high school and cried the moment she saw her brother at the airport after thinking that Jia Xu had a girlfriend. Honestly, if you look at the scene, it's really not something we would cry about because she was just a kid who misunderstood her crush having another girlfriend. You can't even call that a "break up". But when she cried, it was so sad, you couldn't help but cry along with her.

On the topic of Sang Yan, I think I'll miss the siblings relationship more than Jia Xu - Sang Zhi relationship. The way Sang Zhi and Sang Yan interacted with each other are honestly so, so, so real and relatable. This is one of the best sibling-relationship I've ever watched in the drama land. They would fight like cats and dogs, most of the time they are incapable of speaking politely to each other, they complain to their parents about each other all the time, but when one of them is in trouble, the other person will always be there to support.

If I am to nitpick on one thing that I think probably is a bit off in my opinion, is when Sang Zhi and Jia Xu got together. It's really just a preference thing. After seeing how well Jia Xu treated Sang Zhi as a brother during the beginning of the drama, it's difficult to accept how he could switch from brother mode to I-love-you-only mode so quickly. I understand, Sang Zhi has obviously grown up and was treating him differently. It probably makes more sense to me if Jia Xu didn't treat Sang Zhi that well at the beginning. Instead of Sang Zhi's "second brother", if he was more like Sang Yan's friend, it'll probably be easier to accept how Jia Xu could change his feelings like that. I love the beginning parts more than the later episodes, to be honest. Probably also cause it reminds me of when I was a child and had a crush on my brother's friend, the whole concept seemed very relatable to me.

The OSTs. Oh gosh, the OSTs! They are so good. I feel like everytime when I was immersed in the drama and cried was 60% cause of the cast's acting, but 40% cause of the music accompaniment. My ultimate favourite song from the drama is Forever Star. When this song plays in the drama, I get the goosebumps, especially during the scene when Jia Xu opened Sang Zhi's red packet in the airport.

100% recommend this drama. It's really not the typical high school drama that is probably 70% cringe and 30% real story. This one has so many depth and layers to it that it really hits differently.

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Thank god it's over

To start with, I did not read the webtoon. The plot is quite different from your typical Korean drama, but like most Korean dramas, it’s very slow. The whole process of push and pull is quite draggy. Gosh, just waiting for Na-bi to finish her sentence and hoping their staring game is over takes up at least 40% of the main leads’ interactions.

Honestly, I find the both characters very awkward together. Yes, it may be because of the script and their personalities, but it just seems to me that they do not have chemistry. Half the time Na Bi is awkward around Jae Eon and I know she is quite capable of being comfortable (like she is with Do Hyuk). Half the time Jae Eon flirts with Na Bi and they don’t really have a lot of actual, sincere conversations with each other. They look good together but they don’t suit each other. In a lot of romance dramas, you’ll find yourself shipping the couples on screen but I can’t seem to do that with this couple.

Also, personally, I do not appreciate how the whole drama focuses so much on the supporting characters. Most of the time, we’re watching 3 other couples. I understand the importance of the supporting cast and how they can elevate the whole story, but too much focus makes it feel like a series of short stories instead of a drama with actual main leads. I prefer seeing the progression of the main characters and how they have shifted from the beginning of the drama.

Overall, this is a pretty different concept. I feel it’s a drama you either love or hate. The music is pretty good, though. Otherwise, it’s a “meh” for me.

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So boring, there's no way to salvage this drama

What a huge disappointment. You would think having a strong cast would somewhat give you an assurance that the drama will be good. This drama is by far Dilraba's worst. And I don't mean to pinpoint her. It's just that I've been following all her dramas, I thought this would be good but the plot is so disappointing, no great acting can salvage this.

The drama is so draggy, I can't even sit through one episode without falling asleep or skipping scenes. To be honest, the plot doesn't make a lot of sense to me either. There is no excitement, very forceful scheming and poorly executed villains.

Anle who meant to be taking revenge, spent most of her time just sitting around waiting for the emperor to apologize. Then you have Han Ye who would follow around Anle like a sad puppy, simply too nice to the point I sometimes forgot his character is meant to be smart. You also see An Ning who is supposed to be this princess-general, spending most of her time drunk and upset instead of battling at the field. The only somewhat acceptable character in this drama is Luo Ming Xi, contributing to 60% of my 7.0 rating for Acting/Cast.

Again, I really can't express enough how disappointed I am with this drama. This was really one of the most highly anticipated drama of the year for me - good summary plot, good cast, good visuals. I honestly do not understand how the screenwriter could mess up this bad.

People please, don't bother wasting your time watching this drama. It's not worth the time.

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Meaningful and inspiring

This drama is one of my highest rated dramas in 2021. 9.5 only because I think the music can be better. Other than that, from the storyline to the acting, it's a perfect piece.

Favourite points of the drama:
1) Definitely the chemistry between Yang Yang and Dilraba. Their relationship is a representation of pure and sweet love. Simple, no drama and just pure love.

2) The story focuses on dreams and how each person has their own difficulties regardless of their career choice. Yu Tu (male lead) and Jing Jing (female lead) obviously live very different lifestyles, but they both have the similar drive to achieving their dreams. Their profession is different but their mindset is similar and I love how they both are so respectful and supportive of each other's careers.

3) Some insight into the aerospace industry. This is really the first drama I've watched that talks a certain of level of depth into aerospace. I personally am not a person who is big on science but I am a little curious now that I've watched this drama.

I could go on and on about this drama but I'll stop here. This is the one drama I feel everybody should watch especially people who are feeling a little lost and demotivated.

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Kind of meh to me

Hmm... I don't know where to begin. I don't hate this drama but at the same time, this drama doesn't really stick to me. I love the CG effects, I love the setups and also the outfits but that's kind of it. The story is not bad, I think the scriptwriter did a good job on storytelling the whole twin background, but it's not impressive at all.

Again, this is one of those dramas with never ending resurrections, rising from the dead, plot twists with final redemptions. Probably after watching a few too many dramas of those sort, I am starting to be numb to all these "plot twists". They probably should have stuck with one thing or another - either kill the character off or don't kill the character.

The main characters do not really have good chemistry in my opinion. They seem okay as individuals but when grouped together, there is no chemistry. You know, in some dramas, the main characters vibe so well with the people around them that you enjoy their scenes with their family or good friends in the drama? This drama is definitely lacking in that area. Even the romance chemistry between the main characters seem a bit off. Perhaps the actors are not really experienced? I don't know. I just can't emotionally connect with these characters.

Overall, I did finish the drama. It was kind of a good "background" drama too. Something you put on TV and just let it play in the background.

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Cutest family chemistry

Honestly, the only reason why I watched this drama was because of the kid. Lennon Sun is one of the most talented child actor I've seen. He is so unbelievably cute that I couldn't help but spam the rewind button just to repeat his scenes.

In terms of the story, I kind of like the focus on Xiao Bao and his journey towards recovery. Qiao Yan (the father) is also one of a kind. His interaction with Xiao Bao is amazing to watch and I've got to say their chemistry is so real that it's difficult to believe they are not related in real life. However, the plot progresses too hastily. There are areas which I think do not deserve that much screen time and there are times when I wish they would elaborate more on the details.

--- Spoiler below ---

For example, the ending, I feel was very choppy. Qiao Yan just started discovering the truth from the car accident. I would expect at least an episode that focuses on the investigation and clues that lead to the real truth. Instead, they skipped to Yi Yue's kidnap and Qiao Yan waking up to finding out everything from Yi Yue after rescue. There are so many obvious loopholes that it's so difficult to ignore.

From the beginning, they built up the story to revolve around the car accident which was the cause of everything - from Qiao Yan's constant dream of a girl's back to Xiao Bao's condition. Instead of a satisfying ending, they decided to skip through everything. Gotta say that the story is quite lacking.

However, all in all, I do enjoy the scenes with Xiao Bao and don't mind rewatching the drama again.

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Just another drama with endless tears

This is another drama that starts off great but progress so slowly that it loses the plot. Don't get me wrong, the concept is great but the amount of back and forth is a bit too much. You know those typical dramas where the couple would end up together and be separated only to get back together again? Yeah, this is one of those. There always be something that keeps the couple apart and their relationship is always short-lived.

To be honest, after watching so many dramas, I'm actually bored of female characters who are loyal and the type who would sacrifice anything for the greater good. This has been the theme for many xianxia dramas that it has become slightly mainstream to me. I was actually expecting a slightly more unique character for Bai Lu but her character in this drama turned out to be a little underwhelming for me.

However, there is one thing that was quite touching to me in this drama. I like how they went all the way back to when Tantai Jin was still just a mortal and the cruelty he had gone through throughout his life. Although it was his fate to be the devil but he wasn't born evil. Circumstances that made him live only to survive had shaped him into a person that hated the world. This part of the plot felt very strong for me.

All in all, it is a drama worth watching. All the actors were great and have amazing chemistry. If only the story wasn't that draggy I would have rated the drama an 8.

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Not the ending I hope for, but worth watching

Am I the only one who find this whole part about 4 very good potential guys chasing after one girl a bit too cliche? It's like Boys Over Flowers / F4, but in ancient drama. Don't get me wrong, I love how the characters played out but I guess I'm not a huge fan of the romance plot. Every guy seems to be pining for one girl, it does seem like the entire world only has one potential girl worth chasing after.

If I strip away all the romance, each character is multi-dimensional and I love how the actors / actresses play out their characters.

1. The character whom you should hate but couldn't because he makes you feel more sad than angry - Xiang Liu
2. You also have this character who is playboy (with reason), powerless but extremely capable and the most loyal to one - Chang Xuan
3. A character who has everything but also has nothing - Tushan Jing
4. This girl who has gone through the worst things possible in life from being abandoned, abused, surviving alone and heartbroken - Xiao Yao

Who am I rooting for with Xiao Yao? To be honest, I really would love Chang Xuan together with Xiao Yao. The chemistry between the two characters is honestly off the charts. Chang Xuan is so firm on protecting Xiao Yao, that nothing could get in the way. Without hesitation, he would sacrifice anything to keep Xiao Yao from harm.

Of course, the one person who could match Chang Xuan is Xiang Liu. I feel bad for him. The whole time, he seems to always be alone. Other than Xiao Yao, I don't think I see him having a genuine good time with anyone else.

I always thought Tushan Jing is quite acceptable. Until when Xiao Yao was "assassinated". Dude went into coma the whole time because of his unwillingness to live without Xiao Yao. Dude, that guy just went to sleep while Chang Xuan went around taking revenge for Xiao Yao and Xiang Liu sacrificing his life to save Xiao Yao's. When CX and XL were out doing whatever they could to keep Xiao Yao alive, this guy given up. How this guy is the perfect match, baffles me.

All in all, the plot turned out to be pretty good - the politics, the fight scenes, the story behind every character, the different clans and kingdoms - I love them all. Just the romance - not my cup of tea.

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This is one of those dramas that started off great and it goes downhill from there. If I split it in parts, there are some parts which I absolutely love but the parts that are done poorly are too glaring to ignore.

So the drama started off with a built up story about Xiao Duo's journey to revenge his twin brother. You become invested in the whole revenge plot only to be distracted by the evil (and crazily obsessed) emperor. There are so many moving parts that everything ends up losing its meaning because it was only good at the build up.

Let's talk about the story. I wish they stick with the revenge plot until the end because they have done such a good job building the foundations about it at the beginning. You have this mystery villain that is difficult to catch, empress in the palace who is power crazy and greedy ministers. That is like a perfect formula to a good, big, dramatic revenge story. Instead, they have wasted the potential of these characters with poorly developed story plot. The three villains are not really that bright after all. They seem to always be losing which makes you wonder how they survived that long. Xiao Duo's determination to revenge seems minuscule towards the end because he was so focused on Bu Yin Lou.

They did a good job building the emperor's character from this cowardly weakling who wants nothing to do with the court to a crazy, evil and obsessed emperor, still a coward though. If they had focused on that from the beginning instead of pushing us to be invested in Xiao Duo's revenge, it would have been a solid story.

The flow of the whole drama is so horrible, it's difficult to like the drama. This is how I feel throughout the drama:
1. The grand starting with introduction to Xiao Duo as this powerful eunuch in the palace and Bu Yin Lou as this smart lady who does a good job surviving in whatever difficult situation she is in. The emperor (useless 'huang ye' at that time) seemed to indicate some serious drama is coming. I was excited to see how the revenge plot develops and how Xiao Duo plots all his chess pieces in the palace.

2. I became fond of Xiao Duo's relationship with his subordinates and his cold attitude. The way both him and Yin Lou got closer together is very natural, too. The emperor's obsession with Yin Lou was starting to become annoying because the reason he "fell in love" with Yin Lou was quite forced and it's starting to take the spotlight away from the revenge. Love at first sight, sure but the obsession is farfetched in my opinion.

3. Then you have the romance scenes which is very choppily edited in my opinion. I understand the censorship but it is very badly edited. The revenge comes to an end with great disappointment. The three villains are really easy to defeat and because of the emperor's plot, this revenge has already lost its meaning.

4. Don't get me started on the ending. I have no idea why the scriptwriter would write an ending like that, but at that point, I'm just glad that the drama is finally ending. The drama became draggy with all those failed attempts at escaping, it's like an end to this never ending loop with that final episode. I was starting to become frustrated with this constant attempt to save Yin Lou out of the palace when to be honest, the emperor is not really that difficult to kill. With Xiao Duo's connections and network, it's not difficult to kidnap Yin Lou out of the palace and hide her in a place where the emperor can't reach. The ending without a proper closure is like a cherry on top.

Overall, I really think the story needs a lot of tightening. I like how all the main characters are portrayed, though. They seem to have some good chemistry, too. What a waste, the story is underwhelming.

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Nice palace drama

It's only at the end of the drama when I realize that this is a small adaptation of the real history. As a sucker for historical dramas, I quite like how the plot focuses more on the political side of things instead of just pure palace romance. However, there are some parts where I find are quite unnecessary, which is why I did not rate the drama too high.

Parts I love:

1) You'll see quite a balance in terms of important roles between female and male. For once, we have a historical drama where female don't just show off their wits in palace schemes but play substantial roles in politics.

2) Patience is virtue. Most people can't stand slow plot progressions, so I wouldn't recommend this drama if you're one of them. This drama is not just a battle of the brains but also a battle of patience. You'll see a lot of scenarios where the "good people" will lose and had to do things that they don't want to do in order to obtain the final victory.

There's always pros and cons. Here are the things that I cannot oversee or don't think makes sense to me.

1) Unpopular opinion: the female lead plays the most pointless role in the drama. To be honest, it feels as though the screenwriter is trying to force this character in just for the sake of the romance element. She is not the greatest in martial arts, she is not the smartest of the lot, she plays no use to the emperor being by his side but has a delusion that she does and I don't see how she constantly "spoils" Qiu Zi Liang's evil plans - it feels like she spoils the emperor's plans even more. In fact, most or even all the wounds on the emperor attribute to her. She'll usually only turn up at times when the plans are already almost successful and play a simple role, then it becomes her credit.

2) The third person. Honestly, I knew who the third person is from the start. They had dropped way too many clues. Why I think this third person is pointless is because I thought they could have teamed up with the emperor. Why go through all that trouble "working independently" only to achieve the same goal as the emperor? Teamwork makes the dream work, no?

I have to be honest - this is not the best drama but I did enjoy it to some extent.

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Wish that it's longer

This drama has given me mixed feelings. I love the drama, no doubt. The characters, the visuals, the sceneries and the storyline. They are all great. However, I'm caught in this dilemma where there are things I wish I could see from the drama but at the same time, I understand why they are not shown.

*Spoiler alert*

Here are some things I wish to see:

1) They went on and on about how complicated Zhou Sheng Chen's family is but other than the brief talk or tiny revelations of the family story, there is no further elaboration. A little more family drama will be good actually.

2) Zhou Wen Chuan is the villain of this drama. However, throughout the entire drama, I've been seeing the result of his evildoing but not so much the act itself. It feels as though they skipped though the evil parts and went straight to the end result.

3) Considering how long it took Zhou Sheng Chen and Shi Yi to finally have that peaceful relationship, 3/4 of an episode is really not enough. Would really want to see a little bit of what happens after marriage.

Based on my interpretations, here are the reasons why I think they did not elaborate further on the points above.

1) This is a continuation from One and Only. It's kind of reasonable to put more focus on the main couple's relationship seeing how the prequel had already given them a tragic story. I see everything that had happened in Forever and Ever as an answer or response to the prequel.

2) I guess the main theme of the drama is really slow romance, not exactly family drama. So again, they probably want to put the focus back on the couple's chemistry and how that is strengthen through the ups and downs.

3) Throughout the drama, I see one thing that seemed to be the end goal and the couple had the hardest time fulfilling it - making that wedding happen. Having the wedding in the end as a happy ending to the drama seem to be quite appropriate.

Again, these are just purely my interpretation. I love the details put into this drama and the hidden meanings behind every action and everything that had happened. This is definitely a great continuation from One and Only.

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Worth watching

I see a lot of reviews of people saying that the drama is quite unrealistic with scenes that don't quite make sense, which I do agree. However, what is a drama (historical drama at that) if it's completely realistic? I'm going to skip the parts where they don't make sense and jump to the parts where I do think are pretty well executed.

1) Peng Xiao Ran did an excellent job in portraying the female character. She manage to showcase the personalities of the character and bring it to life. You can practically how the character feels at the moment through her expressions - when she is angry, when she is thinking, when she is panicking and when she is determined. One thing's for sure is she definitely carried the drama.

2) Parts whereby the female lead had to manoeuvre through obstacles. I think the scriptwriter did a pretty good job at creating these storylines and completing them creatively. However, after a year of good dramas with really intelligent plots, this drama probably needs a bit more hard work to catch up to that standard.

3) The four male suitors (a bit of an overkill) display very different personalities and have different significance to the female lead's life. I like how the four of them display very different roles and have different perspectives to how they portray affection and love. Also, the female lead wasn't leading any of them on, there weren't much love triangle, square, or however the shape turns out with four suitors and she was firm from the start as to what she wants, which I think is appropriate for the drama because I don't peg this as a romance drama.

--- Spoilers Alert ---

One thing I really, really, really wish will turn out differently is that the female lead ends up with Ning Yun Zhao instead. Don't you think they are a better couple - character wise, thinking and the vibe they give out?

Not that I dislike Zhu Zan but he doesn't really have the male lead vibe as compared to Ning Yun Zhao. This is really my personal preference.

In overall, I do think it's a pretty decent drama but I have seen better dramas, the plot for this one is not exactly extraordinary.

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