No it’s not like that you are getting it wrong. Actually Ji Xing is a novice in a business world. Her family…
You're referring to 1. HT tells JX she's technical and know nothing about how bad people like Zeng Di operates in business, "Why are there always pretty girls at business dinners?" 2. HT says teaching her feels like teaching a pupil, and she should pay him. 3. HT gave a very expensive artwork to JX. When she asks, "Does it represent a starry sky or an ocean?", he says, "it depends, look at the complex lines, they look like your confused ideas, don't they?"
#1 is brutal truth #2 and #3, HT does mean it, but it's also sarcasm. HT was merciless in teasing JX in the novel. HT never waste time nor say anything he does not mean. He's not helping her unless he sees big potential in her.
#3 is true. It depends on how you look at complex things. It can be confusing if you don't know how to look at right. There's a reason he gave her that painting to help her remember.
There was a scene the English translation is so direct, "Get in the car." It sounds like a command but it's not like that in Chinese.
HT did a lot of gentlemen things too 1. He took her with him to introduce her to important connections she will need for her work. 2. He poured her tea first. 3. He introduced her, "she was so capable, she didn't want to work for me." 4. He saw her hands were messy eating Peking duck, he gave her a napkin. 5. He had everyone scan her code instead of her having to scan theirs. 6. He educated her, "Why do you think there are always pretty girls at business dinners?" 7. He told her the truth, "Only a man of strength can have real connections", "A worthless man, however many dinners he goes to will be noticed by no one." In other words, just because she has all their codes, won't do her any good unless she is worth it to them. JX asks, "Then why did you bring me here?", HT, "Today, you wasted your time in the hospital and even got numb legs just to get to know Director Li. Don't run around anymore. Even breaking your legs won't help it if you're on the wrong path. Everyone has limited time and energy. It should be spent on something more important and critical. Any experienced salesperson can go visit Director Li for you. When you do it yourself, you look sincere, but what is your value of being a leader?" JX, "I get it" and then she lists the reasons why. HT, "Not too silly." (that's the translation).
Just like real life, relationships without any conflicts are unrealistic, and wouldn’t make for an interesting movie. It’s the challenges and misunderstandings that add depth and authenticity to both real-life relationships and on-screen romances. It’s often the differences in personality and values that create the most interesting dynamics in relationships. This drama is about two people who love each other and share a common goal but have a conflict of values and different approaches to doing things.
Li Ni is idealistic and seeks a peaceful, carefree life away from politics once power is restored to the rightful heir. Cui Lin is pragmatic and seeks peace through strength and trusts no one. Li Ni grew up without a mother, but Bao taught him survival skills, kindness, strength, and wisdom. Li Ni is almost perfect; Bao said he is one in a million years. Cui Lin’s mother died when she was a young girl. She grew up having to be more cunning than men to command an army. She had to tough it out alone. At war, she is mentally tougher than men, but in her personal life, she is emotionally attached to those closest to her. We find that she is really not as strong inside as she appears on the outside. Not having a mother and with the young master as her only relative besides her father, she is easily depressed when she thinks the young master has died or when her father, the great General Cui, has a mental breakdown. I feel that if Cui Lin, being a girl, had her mother who was also an incredibly strong fighter, a woman to guide her in life, she might have learned to deal with her emotions better. Instead, she seems to bottle up her emotions, which triggers her defense mechanisms. Unlike Li Ni, who grew up carefree in Leyouyan (wonderland) and had Bao as a wise and gentle mentor, Cui Lin grew up among male warriors. She has a loving father, but he is a hardcore general. Bao is like a gentle bear, always knew how to handle people; he was astute and could pick up on cues about what others were thinking or feeling. He would make a great counselor. I believe he had a great impact on Li Ni. Another thought on Cui Lin is that she is a survivor. Her mother taught her to always survive so she can live on to save more people from tyranny. That's why she never gives up to live another day.
Li Ni is such an exceptional person; he helped her out of her depression and also got help for her father because he knew how much it was affecting Cui Lin and their relationship. For Cui Lin, it was not even so much that Li Ni did not save the young master, but Li Ni not believing her hurt her so much because she cared deeply about him. It hurt that the person she loves did not trust her. Despite being ill-treated by his father and brothers, Li Ni still treats them well, demonstrating his empathy and strong emotional resilience. There were times when Li Ni wrongly accused Cui Lin, but considering the circumstances, his actions are understandable.
Han Ting has a large wall art of Kobe Bryant with his arms stretched out in his room during college years. Kobe Bryan must be famous for his exceptionally long arms. I guess Han Ting didn't live on campus since that is not a dorm room and his grandfather was there. Xu Kai was a huge fan of Kobe Bryant growing up. He used to hang up pictures of Kobe Bryant in his own room (I vaguely remember reading that somewhere long time ago). Xu Kai has extra-large hands and extra-long fingers, must be big advantage for basketball. You can really see it in the scene after picking up JX from the rain, when he is sitting in the backseat with his hands and fingers crossed, it's noticeable to me. In a bts, when JX needed to shake hands with HT in their first college encounter, TSY didn't know how to shake XK's hands because they were so large, and her hands are much smaller. Initially, she just shakes his fingers but that looks so timid, then XK showed her she can lean her hand in, and he will grasp hers.
Despite the drama doing so well one of the hater reviewed this drama as boring and rated 1.0 and said sevens acting…
Seven Tan's acting is natural, nuanced, and passionate. Also, her singing voice has a professional quality, with notes that are sweet and melodious like a perfectly tuned instrument.
No it’s not like that you are getting it wrong. Actually Ji Xing is a novice in a business world. Her family…
Han Ting is a man who has everything under his control, but when it came to JX, he never controlled her. JX is not a character anyone can control! She would never have agreed to be his girlfriend if he is controlling. There are too many examples of how she cannot be controlled by anyone. Even from the beginning of the story, HT protected her from bullies like Zeng Di when ZD took JX along to the Xingyue club to use her to get collaboration with that hospital that they so critically needed for next phase of Bay. ZD was not even interested in her engineering expertise, she was actually pimping her out. In that scene, HT let JX win her hand in poker even though he had the winning hand, HT traded seats with that jerk who thinks he can just put his hands around JX because he thinks he's so important, HT asked ZD to let JX go. I can list the zillion times he protected her with finesse. As much as HT wanted to start a relationship with JX, he never approached her even though he found her again because he felt she was never interested in him. HT was laser focused on his business goals. It was only through fate time and time again, that he got closer to her, not because he's after her. Same with JX, she was never interested in HT, but fate brought them together.
HT knows JX well from having worked with her in college project. He knows her strengths and weaknesses. He will offer her advice time and time again to help her stay focus and overcome challenges. I see a mentor rooted in a desire to mentor and guide her. HT is not one to waste time and is rational and straightforward, he often just straight out tells her like it is, the brutal truth, but also with sharp wit and intelligent sarcasm, which I find humorous and not enough of it in the drama. It is what made the novel so fun to read. Despite his ruthless exterior, Han Ting shows a softer side when it comes to Ji Xing, demonstrating kindness and a protective instinct towards her, to support and safeguard her, because he knows what she needs to survive in the business world. Also, if he wants to marry her, she needs to pass Grandpa's standards. He has two years, she has two years (but she doesn't know it), to prove to Grandpa, she has what it takes. HT always let JX solve her own problems even though it could cost him his life mission, like when they ran into a problem with the 3D printer. He always had faith in her. If he didn't tell her about Hanhai, he had his business reasons, not because he didn't trust her. He thought he could control his business, but things happened sooner than he wanted due to enemy attacks. He never meant for it to happen that way for JX, even though no matter what, the truth would not have gone over well with her eventually, but he had hoped for more time to work it out. Later, he learns the hard way what she needs from him to have a lasting relationship.
In the final episodes, Ji Xing’s character arc reaches a compelling conclusion. Throughout the series, she has been influenced by Han Ting’s calm demeanor, strategic thinking, and effective management style. By the end, Ji Xing has not only learned from Han Ting but has also internalized these qualities, transforming into a leader who mirrors his strengths while retaining her own human qualities. Her ability to remain composed under pressure, make measured decisions, and manage complex situations demonstrates her growth and the profound impact Han Ting has had on her. This transformation underscores her journey from a novice to a confident, capable individual who has truly learned from the best.
We also see how kind HT was to his young uncle. HT is a person who shows tough love. He said he would break his leg if he did anything bad. He would not fund his bar unless he could prove himself and come up with a competitive plan. As busy as he is, he still takes time to help his uncle like show up with him at the blind date because his aunt asked him to or show up at his bar when it opened up.
Yeah, I've never watched the actress who plays the FL so I was taken aback by how flat and monotone her line delivery…
In classic comedy duo, one actor is being over-the-top funny, the other stay calm and react naturally to make the scene funnier. So, I think the actress is performing the role and the lines according to the writing and the director, but somehow, it's still not funny.
I saw X postings today about this, so I came here to look for it. Xu Kai will play an evil person, "born evil", a drug dealer, son of a police officer. It's only 12 episodes, slated for 2025.
Wang Xingyue has a deep, commanding, and resonant voice, with natural, expressive, and poignant line delivery. He possesses both screen and stage presence, which might be attributed to his inherent aura and the influence of a director who admires Shakespeare. His serious and mature facial expressions make him look a decade older, but when he smiles, his sweet, almost shy, innocent smile reveals he’s just 22. He has a bright future ahead given the right roles.
As viewers, we see the plot unfolding and even know the plot in advance, and we even get to watch scenes of what others are plotting, but JX does not get to know what we viewers already know. To understand her character, one has to immerse themselves in her character, her upbringing, her dreams and aspirations, her personality, her values, etc. Watching a drama is not about what we would do, but based on her character, what she would do.
I was just checking and adding my review of this drama. I noticed that most of them have rated it above 9.0 however…
XK dramas are usually underrated and never overrated.
The default is sort on Most Helpful so if you want a review to be on top, people need to click helpful. I never noticed this before. I always sort on Most Recent, so I don't have to browse through them again.
In this drama, I’m noticing a new actress, Vanda Lee Margraf (Chinese name: Li Wan Da), who is 21 and debuting in 2024. Although she had a supporting role in ‘Ip Man 4’ in 2019 at 16 and did a short film in 2021, she hasn’t done anything else since then. This year marks her debut in four dramas, with three main roles and one supporting role in the highly anticipated ‘The Legend of the Condor Heroes’ starring Xiao Zhan. She is of mixed race, with a Chinese mother and a German father, and studied at Beijing Dance Academy. I find her interesting. Her style in the drama is different than everyone else. I wonder if it's because she was abroad.
XK and TSY both won breakthrough artist of the year awards in 2020 (same award ceremony) and breakthrough artist of the year again in 2023 (separate award ceremonies). Hope we can see them win awards again in 2025 (perhaps same award ceremony).
XK was filming ABAY in Mar 2023. He got it for his roles in Royal Feast and She and Her Perfect Husband. SHPH Tencent heat index hit 28000 the day after it aired. TSY got her award for Fight To You with Tencent heat index 28,652. ABAY heat index was 27,910. Let's see if ABAY is a strong enough drama that will get them another breakthrough award.
You can't tell how popular a drama really is based on ratings. I think SHPH was like the #3 drama in 2022 based on viewership. Xu Kai’s acting career is like a smorgasbord, offering a delightful array of unique and interesting characters. This is why I enjoy watching his dramas. It’s fascinating how the same actor can embody so many different personalities with such nuance that you find yourself rewatching to catch all the details.
2 
1 
1. HT tells JX she's technical and know nothing about how bad people like Zeng Di operates in business, "Why are there always pretty girls at business dinners?"
2. HT says teaching her feels like teaching a pupil, and she should pay him. 3. HT gave a very expensive artwork to JX. When she asks, "Does it represent a starry sky or an ocean?", he says, "it depends, look at the complex lines, they look like your confused ideas, don't they?"
#1 is brutal truth
#2 and #3, HT does mean it, but it's also sarcasm. HT was merciless in teasing JX in the novel.
HT never waste time nor say anything he does not mean. He's not helping her unless he sees big potential in her.
#3 is true. It depends on how you look at complex things. It can be confusing if you don't know how to look at right. There's a reason he gave her that painting to help her remember.
There was a scene the English translation is so direct, "Get in the car." It sounds like a command but it's not like that in Chinese.
HT did a lot of gentlemen things too
1. He took her with him to introduce her to important connections she will need for her work.
2. He poured her tea first.
3. He introduced her, "she was so capable, she didn't want to work for me."
4. He saw her hands were messy eating Peking duck, he gave her a napkin.
5. He had everyone scan her code instead of her having to scan theirs.
6. He educated her, "Why do you think there are always pretty girls at business dinners?"
7. He told her the truth, "Only a man of strength can have real connections", "A worthless man, however many dinners he goes to will be noticed by no one." In other words, just because she has all their codes, won't do her any good unless she is worth it to them. JX asks, "Then why did you bring me here?", HT, "Today, you wasted your time in the hospital and even got numb legs just to get to know Director Li. Don't run around anymore. Even breaking your legs won't help it if you're on the wrong path. Everyone has limited time and energy. It should be spent on something more important and critical. Any experienced salesperson can go visit Director Li for you. When you do it yourself, you look sincere, but what is your value of being a leader?"
JX, "I get it" and then she lists the reasons why. HT, "Not too silly." (that's the translation).
Li Ni is idealistic and seeks a peaceful, carefree life away from politics once power is restored to the rightful heir. Cui Lin is pragmatic and seeks peace through strength and trusts no one. Li Ni grew up without a mother, but Bao taught him survival skills, kindness, strength, and wisdom. Li Ni is almost perfect; Bao said he is one in a million years. Cui Lin’s mother died when she was a young girl. She grew up having to be more cunning than men to command an army. She had to tough it out alone. At war, she is mentally tougher than men, but in her personal life, she is emotionally attached to those closest to her. We find that she is really not as strong inside as she appears on the outside. Not having a mother and with the young master as her only relative besides her father, she is easily depressed when she thinks the young master has died or when her father, the great General Cui, has a mental breakdown. I feel that if Cui Lin, being a girl, had her mother who was also an incredibly strong fighter, a woman to guide her in life, she might have learned to deal with her emotions better. Instead, she seems to bottle up her emotions, which triggers her defense mechanisms. Unlike Li Ni, who grew up carefree in Leyouyan (wonderland) and had Bao as a wise and gentle mentor, Cui Lin grew up among male warriors. She has a loving father, but he is a hardcore general. Bao is like a gentle bear, always knew how to handle people; he was astute and could pick up on cues about what others were thinking or feeling. He would make a great counselor. I believe he had a great impact on Li Ni. Another thought on Cui Lin is that she is a survivor. Her mother taught her to always survive so she can live on to save more people from tyranny. That's why she never gives up to live another day.
Li Ni is such an exceptional person; he helped her out of her depression and also got help for her father because he knew how much it was affecting Cui Lin and their relationship. For Cui Lin, it was not even so much that Li Ni did not save the young master, but Li Ni not believing her hurt her so much because she cared deeply about him. It hurt that the person she loves did not trust her. Despite being ill-treated by his father and brothers, Li Ni still treats them well, demonstrating his empathy and strong emotional resilience. There were times when Li Ni wrongly accused Cui Lin, but considering the circumstances, his actions are understandable.
HT knows JX well from having worked with her in college project. He knows her strengths and weaknesses. He will offer her advice time and time again to help her stay focus and overcome challenges. I see a mentor rooted in a desire to mentor and guide her. HT is not one to waste time and is rational and straightforward, he often just straight out tells her like it is, the brutal truth, but also with sharp wit and intelligent sarcasm, which I find humorous and not enough of it in the drama. It is what made the novel so fun to read. Despite his ruthless exterior, Han Ting shows a softer side when it comes to Ji Xing, demonstrating kindness and a protective instinct towards her, to support and safeguard her, because he knows what she needs to survive in the business world. Also, if he wants to marry her, she needs to pass Grandpa's standards. He has two years, she has two years (but she doesn't know it), to prove to Grandpa, she has what it takes. HT always let JX solve her own problems even though it could cost him his life mission, like when they ran into a problem with the 3D printer. He always had faith in her. If he didn't tell her about Hanhai, he had his business reasons, not because he didn't trust her. He thought he could control his business, but things happened sooner than he wanted due to enemy attacks. He never meant for it to happen that way for JX, even though no matter what, the truth would not have gone over well with her eventually, but he had hoped for more time to work it out. Later, he learns the hard way what she needs from him to have a lasting relationship.
In the final episodes, Ji Xing’s character arc reaches a compelling conclusion. Throughout the series, she has been influenced by Han Ting’s calm demeanor, strategic thinking, and effective management style. By the end, Ji Xing has not only learned from Han Ting but has also internalized these qualities, transforming into a leader who mirrors his strengths while retaining her own human qualities. Her ability to remain composed under pressure, make measured decisions, and manage complex situations demonstrates her growth and the profound impact Han Ting has had on her. This transformation underscores her journey from a novice to a confident, capable individual who has truly learned from the best.
We also see how kind HT was to his young uncle. HT is a person who shows tough love. He said he would break his leg if he did anything bad. He would not fund his bar unless he could prove himself and come up with a competitive plan. As busy as he is, he still takes time to help his uncle like show up with him at the blind date because his aunt asked him to or show up at his bar when it opened up.
The default is sort on Most Helpful so if you want a review to be on top, people need to click helpful. I never noticed this before. I always sort on Most Recent, so I don't have to browse through them again.
MAHB (Dec 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6KkXkeTf4c
CMG (Jan 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBVrMDp_VKs
Weibo (Mar 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37RivHJ9WGQ
XK was filming ABAY in Mar 2023. He got it for his roles in Royal Feast and She and Her Perfect Husband. SHPH Tencent heat index hit 28000 the day after it aired. TSY got her award for Fight To You with Tencent heat index 28,652. ABAY heat index was 27,910. Let's see if ABAY is a strong enough drama that will get them another breakthrough award.
https://x.com/saltymeloni/status/1592708936553336832/photo/1
You can't tell how popular a drama really is based on ratings. I think SHPH was like the #3 drama in 2022 based on viewership. Xu Kai’s acting career is like a smorgasbord, offering a delightful array of unique and interesting characters. This is why I enjoy watching his dramas. It’s fascinating how the same actor can embody so many different personalities with such nuance that you find yourself rewatching to catch all the details.