YOU EVER SEEN MORE INSURMOUNTABLY OMNIPOTENT AESTHETICALLY PLEASING LEADS? NO? DIDN’T THINK SO.

The title. Yang Yang and Dilraba Dilmurat? Bro, how did I die and end up in this paradise?

1) I’ve missed Yang Yang so much since The King’s Avatar; I’ve been waiting for him to star in another high-quality drama. And here he is! What a king. The way that he can capture the attention of the audience that well is an insurmountable skill. I could watch Yang Yang watch paint dry—and enjoy it. That’s talent. Ever since Love O2O, Yang Yang’s got me hook, line and sinker.

2) I haven’t seen Dilraba since Love Designer, and I hated that drama. I’ve never seen anything else she’s been in, but now I kind of want to. What a queen. I’ve seen people (who can’t do better) criticize her acting skills... but I thought she was decent! Good even! It was all pretty believable to me.

3) Can we talk about the chemistry? Say no more. Mad.

4) My expectations were high coming into this... and it lived up to it. And more. Real. Aw, the feeling of having high expectations coming into a show and having that show blast it out of the park—a real trend for me this summer: Young Royals, Falling Into Your Smile and now You Are My Glory.

5) I’m so looking forward to more Yang Yang shit. The King’s Avatar 2, here we come!

6) Finally, a *real* romance drama for the many who are totally sick of dramas catered to practically babies (exaggerated, but still, you know what I mean). No silly bullshit. A mature, adult relationship. I love it. It’s just... I love it.

7) I don’t give a shit about space exploration... and well, space in general. And uh, this drama made me care... even a tiny bit. Maybe. I love that China is making shows on careers that maybe aren’t so... popular in China? Is popular the right word? Dramas like surrounding esports, ice hockey, and now aerospace. I call that... INNOVATION. Because I’ve never seen a show with an aerospace field as a career. I just... I love the variety. I love the... sharing these careers and skills with the world. Like I’ve never heard of CTF before Go Go Squid! And it’s fucking dope. Also, when I heard about Skate Into Love having ice hockey? And My Unicorn Girl? While both dramas belong on my DEATH ROW, the fact that ice hockey dramas exist? Insta watch. And now aerospace engineer? Like... ??? I have to watch! It’s interesting and unique. I cannot wait to see what else is in store for the future.

8) A lot of people were saying how slow burn this was... and I thought it was pretty normal. The burn, that is. Two-thirds is kinda... normal for a c-drama. Maybe even... faster than many to be fair. I thought the pacing was really good. Sometimes life just lifes. And I think this drama portrayed that well. Life can be a real pain, huh?

Conclusion: Watch this. PERIODT.

This drama has officially dethroned my previous favourite Chinese drama (that's not even that good to be fair, but since it was one of my firsts, I was biased). *This* is now the best c-drama I've ever seen. I binge-watched this all in under thirty hours... and had time to sleep for around seven hours too. Yeah, I couldn't stop. And yeah, that's why I know I loved this.

Because. I. Couldn't. Stop.

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Real rant about how damaging this drama is (TL;DR @ bottom). Bit serious, but this needs to be said.

First off, this drama is pretty mediocre. Although I was surprised that I never heard about it the months following its airing because of how similar it is to other dramas I've watched. Even though it's mediocre, it was somewhat entertaining. The best part about this whole drama actually happens really early on. It's when the FL and ML are on the bus, and the FL tries to take a picture of them both and teaches him the "heart" symbol with the thumb and the index finger, and he asks (paraphrasing) if it means counting money. (The scene is more hilarious than I described it; trust me.) It gets a bit repetitive, and the antagonists are quite cartoonish. Meh. The ML literally did all the heavy lifting of the kisses. He carried them on his back—or at least he tried. As a drama, I give this 3.5 stars... as a show... maybe 1.

The real problem I had with this are the comments on YouTube. I tried to avoid the comments, but after reading some, it turned out really concerning for me. I usually stand from the "entertainment is entertaining" standpoint, so I never focus on how damaging entertainment can be for people that believe it also applies to real life. As entertainment, this was okay. But for reality, I'll talk about what's wrong. The subtitles on YouTube call the FL's illness "PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)" when it's actually "DID (dissociative identity disorder)". It's also referred to as "stress disorder". The problem is not only a false classification of an illness, but it's the fact that the people watching it don't know that the FL isn't actually suffering from PTSD. From reading the comments, I can clearly tell a lot of the people watching are young. More likely it's prepubescents, pre-teens, or just teens that have no concept of what illness is being demonstrated. Mostly all the comments on every single episode consist of people calling her "PTSD ability" so amazing, and they love her in "PTSD mode". W H A T ? And then you see them wishing they also had that "power". This is incredibly concerning that they think this actual illness is something playful. PTSD can be devastating. Imagine if those people who may one day meet someone suffering from PTSD and believe it's a cool "mode" they can switch into. It's very ignorant and insensitive. They may react to them by saying what I see in the YouTube comments—and it's not appropriate AT ALL. I'm not sure how DID is subtitled for other sources, but it's a really bad mistake to classify it as PTSD on YouTube. I'm also not sure if in Mandarin they are actually saying "PTSD" and not"DID" since I'm not fluent in Mandarin, only Cantonese.

TL;DR: DID is not PTSD. YouTube needs to fix their subtitles. People that have no info on PTSD, by watching this drama, will now mistake it as a fun illness (a "mode" you can switch into). (Especially and most likely young people—evidence in YouTube comments.) They may tell a person with actual PTSD the same things that are said in the comments of the episodes, which are incredibly inappropriate, insensitive and ignorant towards someone suffering with PTSD.

(Sources: you can literally click on any My Girl episode on YouTube and find MANY comments complimenting her "PTSD self".)

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WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST WATCH, AND HOW DO I GIVE IT BACK?

What the fuck did I just watch? The sheets! The attitude! The stalker! The fucker! The leather jacket! The pillow! The fucker!

Why is everyone so obsessed over that asshole? He's like massive cunt level 100.

Why did this chick even like him? Bro, I wanna slap her back to reality. Dude is a complete piece of shit.

Such a melodrama and a waste of my time. The ending was so anticlimactic. Sheesh.

You want a good movie? Skip this. Don't waste your time. Watch One Smile Is Very Alluring (2016) instead. I mean, that's probably the best "teen" romance movie I've seen on MDL. Solid 7.5/10 stars. But also, I'm very biased. Whatever, just skip this. Trust me.

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WHEN NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THIS, WHAT DO YOU RATE IT? BUT ALSO WHEN NOTHING IS RIGHT?

I don't see any major issues with this drama. It's simple, sweet, and maybe slightly corny. All those annoying cliches? Basically, thrown out the windows. You see these four (five) characters grow together through high school to university. Nothing too complex; it's been done so many times before.

I was so glad this drama did not try the "A Love So Beautiful" approach. I can't stand love triangles, especially one in a friend group.

The two downsides? The romance was very weak. Sure, not every romance has to be passionate or even interesting, but at least make the story around the romance interesting. It wasn't. The second thing is the story, clearly. It was boring. But at least I didn't feel frustration over the characters. I just felt... nothing. When I got to episode 20, I was so ready to stop. I pushed quite hard to actually finish this. It just wasn't interesting. Not even the romance can save it—it's part of the bore.

It's funny they moved in together because they even kissed. I think they skipped a step there.

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SO DONE

Jesus fucking Christ. I want death. The manager? Fuck her. The best friend? Fuck her. The doctor? Fuck him. Every character in this is either bratty, stupid, annoying, or fucking horrible. Except Tai. Tai is literally the best character. THE BEST... Until they just HAD to ruin him in the final episode by pairing him up with the best friend. Fuck.

They literally get together in the last 85% and then break up like THE NEXT EPISODE. AND THEN A FUCKING TIME SKIP. I’m so fucking done. He literally left the industry... and she just bounced? Can we solve this miscommunication? That breakup was literally unnecessary.

The doctor... wow, he is super punchable. His face. His attitude. I just hate him. It's like he just asks for pity.

The best friend... wow, she's a real piece of work. She sells our main chick's house. She tries to blackmail the main chick and the main dude for her own benefit. Wow. And then she tries to make THEM look like the bad guys.

The manager... wow, she needs to stay in her lane. That's it.

The main chick... it really felt like she was leading on the doctor. I mean, it was clear she knew exactly what she was doing with him because no one is THAT clueless.

I didn't really want to watch this. I only did it because of Timmy Xu. I wanted to see him after Addicted. His character was irritating.

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MR OMNIPOTENT AESTHETIC KING SINGLE-HANDEDLY SAVED THIS DRAMA FROM DISASTER. THANKS FOR EXISTING.

Simon Gong single-handedly carried AND saved this drama from utter breakdown disaster from me. I mean, I'll still do that, but he saved it from a sub-6 star rating; let's just say that much. Gong's heartbreak scenes... fuck, my heart can't take it. His character was such a good person and deserved so much that it was the absolute worst having to see him sad. Also, him with his child broke my ovaries. And I fucking hate children, but when I saw him with his son... my uterus is fucking shaking. The only reason I'd rewatch this is to see him with his kid. Actually the most adorable thing I've seen all year.

Now... THAT BITCH. She needed to grovel. 200%. Gong's character forgave her so fucking fast. She literally concealed the birth and existence of his child for six fucking years. And then when she sees him again, she STILL doesn't tell him the truth—only wasting more precious time between a father and his son. And to make it worse for me, his character didn't even yell at her; I would be fucking furious. I WAS! And it didn't even involve me. I don't know how in any part of that bitch's brain thought not telling him would be okay. I know I'm being mean to her, but I can't get over how she did that to him. The ML was the sweetest guy ever without being a doormat, and she really just pulled that shit on him. I believe he deserves so much better.

Also, couldn't she have gone with him to Germany?? Did I miss the part where she couldn't?

SML is a douchebag. But... he was fucking hot. Not more than ML though. That's why they had to add the scene with ML in his PJs with SML in a dress-shirt—needed to bring down ML a little bit (because Simon Gong is way too attractive). He redeemed himself eventually; his poor waist though!

Some people are way too attractive to be kept alive. I am not one of those people obviously. Simon Gong is though. He's an aesthetic and a half.

I repeat again: Simon Gong single-handedly carried AND saved this drama.

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DON'T MISS GAMING GOLEM LORDS CONQUER THE WORLD STARRING A GIRL GAMER (INNOVATION!)

Woah. After Love Scenery, I had a huge c-drama hangover. I didn't feel like watching *any* full-length dramas—like at all. Then I remembered there was this one drama I was waiting for... or one of the dramas I've been waiting for... and here I am.

The YES:
1. No stupid-ass unnecessary breakup. YES PLEASE!

2. No chase. No lead really chases the other. You slowly see them fall in love with each other. There's no pestering either. It happens slowly but very clearly. It's the tiny moments you see as the viewer who knows they both like each other, while the characters are coming to the realization they like one another. It's very refreshing.
2a. The confession. Every drama usually wants to go with the super dramatic approach (fireworks, etc) when confessing. Not here. It was like a breath of fresh air seeing them just simply sitting there and have the conversation like adults. While dramatic confessions are great (don't get me wrong), this was—once again I say—very refreshing.

3. No cluelessness. It was subtle, but I loved the fact that the ML read the sign from the FL when she said that she didn't want him to go meet with his "blind date" partner for the *last time*. She said this when she thought he couldn't hear her. He did hear her, and I just love the fact that he read that signal. Usually, in c-dramas, I see people acting so delusional when signals are clear—and I hate that.

4. The lips moved. I repeat—the lips moved. That's it. It wasn't super out there, but they moved. And I'm loving these new dramas with lips moving. So less frustrating. Innovation!

5. E-sports/gaming drama! I love how many e-sports/gaming dramas there are. From veterans like Love O2O to zoomers like Love Scenery/Go Go Squid!/The King's Avatar, I've not met an e-sports/gaming drama I did not like! (Well, uh, *cough*, except for Gank Your Heart. I hated that. With a passion. Pei Xi punching me though is still on the table.)

6. The fact that I can say "you should watch this" and not have a solid "but" after. I'll explain. A lot of dramas I've also rated 8.5 stars, I can say "you should watch this, but [blank]." For this one, I can't think of an unarguable "but", except for the 1st and only point in "NO" section below... but even that, I'm playing devil's advocate. Like Go Go Squid!, I would say "you should watch this, but the first few episodes are so hard to get through you just need to push through." Another 8.5 rating that has a "but" is Intense Love. I love that show.... and "you should watch this, but the FL is very overly dramatic and childish at times." The only "but" I could find is quite weak and not a lot of people would mind it, so that's why I'll consider this "no buts". .... Actually, after about a week or two, I've decided that this definitely deserves a 9, c-drama wise. The fact that I keep thinking about this drama... and the *amazing* soundtrack... just proves how much I love this.

7. Can we talk about the soundtrack though?? Why did most of the songs slap so hard?? Unexpected, but very much welcomed surprise.

8. Team chemistry. All of it. All the members, even the substitute MID, the ex-MID and the glorified nanny.
8a. I feel the need to add in the totally amazing fucking scene as a point of YES. The scene... oh man, when they started singing during the last match... I fucking love the chemistry. I love it. Periodt.

9. I'm adding this on after my second re-watch... Hierophant can literally like slap me in the face, and I'd still beg. Like why do I fan-girl like a twelve year old every time he comes on screen? HUH?? HE'S TOO GOOD-LOOKING TO BE KEPT ALIVE. If there was any "antagonist" ever (if you can consider him one), he's literally my favourite ever. Like he's fucking everything. Hoping to see Wang Yi Jun starring in a drama eventually. I would eat that shit up right away.

The NO:
- I guess to be pretty nit-picky:
1. After they got together. The romance part felt sweet, yeah, but... Okay, so I know romance dramas tend to want to appeal to younger girls like pre-teens or you know, that demographic, but I wish it was more mature. I would probably say "eh" if these characters were like say in high school or early university, but these characters were fully graduated adults in a workplace.
1a. After my second re-watch, I want to say the "after" part actually feels very good. Like I actually love it, so really, you can discard the "NO" section—it doesn't exist.

Conclusion:
1. Chinese dramas are always so great at building up romances, so it's usually the execution of the romance that falls short. I guess this followed the trend in that way. (Edit: I WAS BRAINDEAD OBVIOUSLY WHEN I WROTE THE EXECUTION FELL SHORT. IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY FUCKING GOOD, AND I'M SORRY I EVER THOUGHT OTHERWISE.)
1a. But I'd still totally recommend this to anyone who wants an e-sports/gaming romance. 100%.

[09/04/2023]
On my third re-watch (whoops) I have more things to say:
1. This drama really touched on the public/fans aspect in a way that explained media today. The fact that you're in the public eye doing a craft you're good at suddenly means fans are allowed to form parasocial relationships with you? Demand apologies? Demand you not have a personal life beside gaming? No. That's extremely toxic, and you think these things about anyone in the public eye—you're not a fan. This drama tackled parasocial relationships well, in that yes, the artists appreciates your support and it's helped them achieve what they have, but you don't have the right to critique their personal life (relationships). The drama also demonstrates the power of social media. You could be completely in the right (ie. someone making up a fake story about you) but since you're the public figure, you're automatically assumed to be the worst. Tong Yao faced this frequently, and it's truly not fair. Once again, this ties back to the parasocial aspect.

You are not in the celebrities life. Leave them alone. You don't know them.

2. While I did learn about the huge controversy behind this drama, how Hierophant was made to be a real life LPL player, Faker, and how he was made to be the villain in the drama... I mean, I loved Hierophant. I don't think he was portrayed poorly in any way in the drama. I don't watch LPL, so I can't comment on the accuracy, but I do watch esports (Valorant specifically) and I do agree that it must suck to see your career dramatized, but at the end of the day... it's a c-drama. Huge respect to Faker.

3. Yes, I enjoy esports. Yes, I have certain Valorant pros I love to watch. But do I think I have a right to bash them online if they do badly? Do I think I have a right to bash their choice in relationship partner? No. I support them because I enjoy watching them play. Boundaries are clearly an issue for people these days due to social media, but it's important for fans to sit their ass down and be humbled. Shoutout to PRX! They lost in the finals, but I didn't hear any fans bashing them. I still love them and still do the fans. PRX something even apologized. They don't owe us anything but to play their best. #WGAMING.

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EPISODE 21

I was gonna give this a 7, even though how hockey is portrayed is completely unrealistic, and well, really, a lot of things were super unrealistic. But because there was never any super annoying drama, I was gonna give it a pass. And then came episode 21. Episode 21 is the most degenerate episode. We don't talk about episode 21. That episode ruined my 7 rating, turning it into just a boring 6.5.

Also, the dude does so many genuine things to help the chick and protect her, yet never expected anything in return. Never even mentioned all that he did. He also didn’t blow up in anger when she called him a liar when he could’ve called her out for being a hypocrite—as she is also a liar. He lied (by omission) about a health condition; she lied about her own gender. There's a difference and a similarity in those. But she's the one that gets the angriest? The dude is warranted anger as well. And they both knew each others' secret before they revealed it so... both liars.

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It's a good day when you forget this is a C-drama ...

It's a GOOD ASS DAY when you forget that this is a C-Drama, so you breathe a sigh of relief. What do I mean by that? I'm talking about the friendship between Li Xun and Ren Di. From the first episode, you could tell they had a connection. I was terrified that they might've had a thing, but once I remembered this was a C-Drama, I knew I could relax. This strong connection was friendship. Low key most underrated friendship in this whole drama.

What this drama does well is tell the story of growth. University is a false reality. I know since I'm in it. A lot of things happen here that don't carry on, whether that is success or relationships. Their university journey starts with finding their first love and that going to total shit. We see our FL evolve from a timid good girl to launching into a grenade to protect her man. We see our ML evolve from a self-involved brat know-it-all to a man who knows he is no longer only responsible for himself, but the people in his life.

I love Chinese dramas. Why in particular I say it about this drama? Because they know what we want. They give us that romance build up. They give us that happy ending. They give us that wedding. They give us that baby. Sure, 2/4 of the things are implied (never showed a "real" wedding or the baby) but it happened.

Why only an 8.0/10? ML was such an asshole! Like too much! There's asshole, and then there's Li Xun. He was really a bully, but like I mentioned earlier... University man... But she likes that shit, clearly. I mean, sometimes I too imagine... wait, sorry, this is Goodreads. Anyway...

Final note: HER MOM IS THE FUCKING DEVIL. OH, AND I LOVE THE DAMN SOUNDTRACK.

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DADDI CAN BE MY DADDY. SORRY, BUT YOU'LL GET IT ONCE YOU WATCH THIS. PLEASANT SURPRISE, THIS GEM.

Let me be honest and say coming into this drama I was expecting a 7.0 star rating. Like average, not very good, but not extremely bad drama. I was only here because well... hot doctor! I was thinking this was going to be trashy, but this actually had substance! I'm way too gone to function when it comes to hot doctors. I can't resist. I have a huge thing for hot doctors, and Daddi did not help. He dropped me off a cliff.

Things:
- Shang Guan Yi backed the fuck off. He never actually did anything, which I really liked. I was wondering if I would respect him or want to mutilate him by the end of this... well, let's just say mutilate him, I did not.
- Qin Chu, yes, started off annoying. But then she did back the fuck off. Thank you.
- The kisses weren't horrible. They also weren't very... hm, how do I put this? Aggressive? Gently agressive? They were much more romantic than passionate, let's say. Daddi clearly did most of the heavy lifting, but Fair at least wasn't a statue (*cough cough Love O2O; ZS was a certified statue; Yang Yang broke his back carrying their scenes).
- There's not an actual break-up! There was an "oof" moment, but you get over it quickly.
- Misunderstandings before they get together, but hey, what drama doesn't? I'm just glad that Wen Shao Qing didn't text her being "Chubby" without her knowing. I was afraid the story would go that way.
- Things are cleared up relatively quickly. One episode usually.
- I think this is the first time I gave a real shit about the secondary relationship! Wen Rang was honestly... ugh with a slice of mmmm and a piece of awww. Dude was so... interesting somehow. His whole vibe and demeanour thing? I dig it. Zhou Cheng Cheng was pretty typical of a best friend character. Nothing really bad to say about her. I'm glad she decided to basically say "fuck you" to Wen Rang. It was his turn to chase her, so I was glad she stood her ground.
- Holy shit, that height difference! In some close-up scenes, it was clear that they probably boosted Fair up because when the camera backs away, you see Daddi is like a whole head and a half taller than her! Ouch, to both their necks. The height difference is kinda cute though, no cap.
- This is intoxicatingly cute. Disgustingly cute. Sometimes a bit unrealistic, but eh, fuck it. Very pleasant surprise for me.

If I could, this deserves 8.25 stars.

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IF I FUCKING HEAR THAT RINGTONE ONE MORE FUCKING TIME—

I'm only writing this review for two things: the fucking ringtone and Mr. Pussy-Ass-Bitch.

If I hear that fucking ringtone one more fucking time, I may just go murder someone. It's rage-inducing. Not everyone has the same fucking ringtone. Especially one so funky. I don't know where it came from, and I don't want to know. I just want to never hear it again.

Mr. Pussy-Ass-Bitch deserves a slap. Yes, I'm talking about Zuo Yu Lin. Never be with a guy that can't stand up for you. Especially if he tells you he loves you. A soft boi who only knows how to bow to his unreasonable, overbearing and exhausting mother is not a man you want. Get you an ALPHA CHAD. Better than a soft boi who only knows how to go, "yes, mom". EXHAUSTING.

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"JI WON MUST BE VERY PRECIOUS TO YOU." "YES. SHE'S VERY IMPORTANT." "NO, SHE'S SOMEONE PRECIOUS."

"Ji Won must be very precious to you, Hyun Soo."
"Yes. She's very important."
"No, she's someone precious. For something important, after time passes you realize it wasn't such an important thing. After a precious thing leaves you, it really hurts."

Wow, this drama is a real hard hitter.

I was 100% sure at the end of episode 15 that this was going to be a perfect 10, even if he died. Unfortunately, amnesia was not under my consideration. And that ruined it. The ending of any series is the most important in wrapping up a story, and if you do it wrong, the amazing story pales in comparison. Just like Game of Thrones. I hate amnesia arcs. And I might've actually been okay with it, but adding that in in the final episode when it's supposed to wrap up didn't feel like enough time to truly believe that Hyun Soo DID in fact realize the him before (and the him he wants to know again) loved Ji Won. But the body remembers even when the mind doesn't. I love that. I get why they did the amnesia thing (I think). It gives Hyun Soo a chance to be his real self—with his real name, real personality, and real emotions. It was like starting over again without the expectation to (fake) smile. But, in my opinion, even though he had to fake a lot of things, when he found out that Ji Won knew he was Hyun Soo, it seemed like he faked smiled less (I don't know if this is actually a fact or if I was just imagining it). Or if he fake smiled at all (maybe they were genuine) because I recall not seeing him smile as much as he did before when his identity was still a secret, and this enough shows me that he DID start acting like his true self again and that the "starting over" in the last episode was unnecessary. And that's how the ending "ruined" the perfect 10. Actually, you know what? After a week of consideration, I don't care about the fucking ending. This was straight up one of the best dramas/shows I've ever seen—and even though I didn't LOVE the ending... everything before it was SO. FUCKING. GOOD.

Now we can talk about Queen Ji Won. When I saw the tag "Smart Female Lead", I snickered. I would be the judge of that. I have bad experiences reading books with that tag and pointing out all the reasons why the main chick was not. Let me say... Ji Won turned out to be one of the best female leads I've ever had the experience of experiencing. She was hella fucking smart. I could list off ALL the incredible things she did, but that would take too long. One of them was keeping it a secret that she knew who her husband really was. Even though the evidence of him murdering that village head pointed directly at him, she chose to believe he didn't do that. She protected his deep secret without him knowing, keeping him safe from the shadows.

I wish we got more scenes of the husband and wife tagteam. Even though we didn't get much, it was still badass. Especially when they showed up at the doctor's home (at the start at least, we all know how "well" that visit goes). I love these two together; I don't know what else I can say except that. They're just incredible together. So much chemistry, in all departments: romantic chemistry, ass-kicking chemistry, and everything in between.

Music-wise, none of the songs really caught my eye (ears), but they did in fact fit with every scene. I may just listen to the OST playlist later.

Re-watch-wise... I'm not sure if I'd ever re-watch the whole series front-to-back again anytime soon. So many things made me so tense; I'm not sure I want to experience that anxiety (and pain!) again. But you know what I WOULD re-watch? That scene when Ji Won shows up to save Hyun Soo. That was a "holy shit, YES" moment. And honestly, any sweet scene with them together is worth a re-watch. And any scene with Hyun Soo and Eun Ha. Damn. But you know, some great shows just aren't "whole rewatch" material. And that's okay.

This show pulled a "they're not really bad, but let's make the audience think they are". Same as they did with Ko Moon Young in "It's Okay to Not Be Okay". They tried to make it seem like Hyun Soo was a psycho. I mean, he may be a sociopath, but he's no psychopath!

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SOUNDTRACK SLAPS HARDER THAN I'D LET HAN WOO TAK SLAP ME (AND I'D LET HIM SLAP VERY HARD)

The soundtrack kinda slaps though. "When A Long Night Comes", "It's You" and "Lucid Dream" have been replayed in my Spotify playlist so many times since I first watched this drama. These 3 songs are so fucking good.

"You're the right time at the right moment. You're the sunlight, keeps my heart going." Man, I LOVE this chorus.

The first episode really knows how to hook you in. I honestly had no idea what I was going into with this, but after the first episode, I couldn't stop.

If I was the type to get second lead syndrome (SLS), this would be the first time. But also, technically, it wouldn't be called SLS, since I don't want the SML to be with the FL; I just really love him myself. And as a person. He was the first SML (I think) that I've seen that liked the main chick but knew that she belonged with the main dude, so he never tried to interfere negatively with their relationship. And I LOVE that. He was supportive and a best friend to both of them whenever they needed it. He was perfect. I hoped that he would end up with a chick for his own at the end—that would've made me happy. He can also slap me very hard. Han Woo Tak can.

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r/NICEGUYS

Fucking Kido Gao's acting was insane. He went from guy on r/niceguys to an actual nice guy so many times. I could never tell whose side he was on. THE ANXIETY when he had the documents for Lin Tai Mo. I loved his character in "The King's Avatar" and always wanted to watch more of his work. When I saw him appear in this show, I got super excited, although I didn't love his character (as a person) much. I guess you could call him... a SIMP.

Leo Luo grew on me like a leech. I actually fell in love with Yuan Shuai because, honest to god, he's just so lovable. And he looks so fucking hot in those suits. I know a lot of people didn't find him attractive (cdrama subreddit), but I thought he was a snack and a half.

This is only not a 9.5 because of Xu Li. Holy hell, the second-hand embarrassment was strong. The secondary couple scenes physically hurt me to watch through.

Bai Lu was perfect for this role. I watched "Lucky's First Love" after "Love Is Sweet", and it looked really clear to me that her playing a mature and elegant character definitely fit her more. I didn't like her character in LFL. I think she nailed this one.

I think the leads had good chemistry. And I say this knowing that I can never tell if leads have chemistry or not, as I always seem to be in the minority. I always think these people have chemistry, only to have the majority of people shit on me. Take this with a grain of salt.

The music jams. "The Things I Do For Love" is so chill. "Miracle" is so sweet and peaceful. "Sometimes" sounds sad, but you sway with it, and it worked so well with their confession in the snow scene. Let's just say... the music JAMS.

Although there's a breakup—I hate those—I didn't totally rip the show in half because of it. Dude totally could've told her his plan but...

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CRIME FANS UNITE. HORRIFIC CRIMES IN AN ASIAN DRAMA? SIGN ME UP. TO WATCH. NOT TO DIE. PLEASE.

This was made six years ago, yet I've never watched any c-dramas like this. This is my first taste of a Mandarin c-drama with crime, horror, thrills, action and romance. Back when I was younger, I loved Hong Kong crime dramas. They were literally my childhood. I thought China usually stayed away from gritty things, but this drama completely proved me wrong. I never watch Asian crime dramas, but I always watch western crime shows. This was like both worlds coming together.

Yeah, it's been sitting on my "to watch" list for a while, I know. Do I regret letting it sit for so long? Yeah. I seem to let thrillers sit for way too long... *cough cough* like I did with Flower of Evil. I really should watch more of these. So far I'm two-for-two though!

This seriously is a hidden gem. Nice amount of everything. It'll make you smile. It'll make you cry. It'll make you laugh. It'll make you die. Well, I didn't mean for the rhyme, but you know what I mean. So many emotions. Even if you're not into this drama—I'll give this a recommendation. You'd be a fool to not at least try.

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