whoissilmoy

This drama is literally made for Chinese viewers. Cdramas do exaggerate for entertainment, but they’re still rooted in culture. The whole culture is built on thousands of years of Confucian values and historical context, so it makes it hard to catch the nuances without that kind of background knowledge.

The actor who played YZM's father left an impression on me. Yao Renfu isn’t a likable character—he’s cold, calculating, and an absent father who consistently puts his own interests first. But Qian Yi’s performance makes him feel real and genuinely intimidating, especially in his tense scenes with Yao Zhiming and the scheming moments involving Zhang Peisheng. His screen time was too limited to get recognition.

This drama shows how Xu Kai, even with limited screen time, can still make a big impact on a story that isn’t centered on him.

Best Choice Ever” is a perfect example of how MDL ratings don’t always reflect a drama’s true quality — the following awards are related to Best Choice Ever

Drama/Series-Level Awards (Wins & Nominations):
1. 2023 Tencent Video Starlight Awards — Most Anticipated TV Series (Win)
2. 2023 Tencent Video TV And Movie Award (Golden Penguin Awards) — Most Anticipated TV Series (Win) [Note: This overlaps with Starlight in some reports but is listed separately on IMDb]
[Note: 1 & 2 above - some Chinese sources merge them under "Tencent pre-broadcast hype awards."]
3. 2024 Weibo Awards Ceremony (Weibo TV & Internet Video Summit) — Outstanding Works of the Year (Win)
4. 2024 Chinese American Film Festival (C.A.F.F. / 20th Chinese American TV Festival / Golden Angel Awards) — Chinese Culture International Communication TV Series / Chinese Cultural Communication Award (Win). [Note: the category is usually phrased as "Excellent International Communication TV Series" or "Chinese Cultural Communication Excellence Award."]
5. 2024 Tencent Video TV And Movie Award (Golden Penguin Awards) — VIP's Favorite Drama of the Year (Win)
6. 2024 Tencent Video TV And Movie Award (Golden Penguin Awards) — Hit Television Series of the Year (Win)
7. 2025 Television Series of China Quality Ceremony (Dragon TV Drama Quality Ceremony) — Outstanding TV Series (Win) [Inferred from cast wins at the event. The event did give multiple awards to the cast (Xu Kai, He Saifei, Wu Yanshu), and it's reasonable to infer series recognition.]
8. 2025 Tencent Video Golden Goose Honor — VIP Member's Favourite TV Series (Win)
9. 2025 Tencent Video Golden Goose Honor — Annual Hit TV Series (Win)
10. 2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Annual Influential TV Series (Win)
11. 2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Popular TV Series of the Year (Win)
12. 2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Annual Hit TV Series (CCTV Category) (Win)
[Note: Kuyun gave several overlapping popularity/influence titles to the drama, listed them separately here.]
13. 2025 3rd China Media Group (CMG) Annual Chinese TV Drama Ceremony — Outstanding Drama of the Year (Nomination)
14. 2025 3rd China Media Group (CMG) Annual Chinese TV Drama Ceremony — Overseas Communication Drama of the Year / Annual Hit Drama Overseas (Nomination)
China Radio and Television Audiovisual Masterpiece Night — Audiovisual China Global Broadcast (Win) [Year not always specified, but it is commonly tied to 2024–2025 cultural export recognitions. Some call it "Global Communication Excellence"]

Individual Actor/Character Awards & Nominations (All for Best Choice Ever):
Yang Zi (Mai Chenghuan, female lead)
1. 2024 Chinese American Film Festival (C.A.F.F. / Golden Angel Awards) — Best Young Actor / Outstanding Actress (Win)
2. 2024 15th Macau International Television Festival (Golden Lotus Awards) — Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Series / Best Actress (Nomination)
3. 2025 3rd China Media Group (CMG) Annual Chinese TV Drama Ceremony — Best Actress in a Television Series / Actress of the Year (Nomination)
4. 2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Influential Women of the Year (for Mai Chenghuan) (Win)
5. 2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Popular Female Character of the Year (for Mai Chenghuan) (Win)

Xu Kai (Yao Zhiming, male lead)
1. 2024 Chinese American Film Festival (C.A.F.F. / Golden Angel Awards) — Best Young Actor / Outstanding Actor (Win)
2. 2025 Television Series of China Quality Ceremony — Jury Award: Quality Creative Actor of the Year / Quality and Creativity Drama Star of the Year (Win)
3. 2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Popular Male Character of the Year (for Yao Zhiming) (Win)

He Saifei (Liu Wanyu, the mother)
1. 2024 15th Macau International Television Festival (Golden Lotus Awards) — Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series / Best Supporting Actress (Nomination)
2. 2024 Domestic TV Series Ceremony, China — Jury Award: Outstanding Actor of the Year (Win) [Phrased broadly but tied to her role. It's usually "Outstanding Supporting Actress" or "Jury Special Award", not generic "Outstanding Actor".]
3. 2025 Television Series of China Quality Ceremony — Jury Award: Craftsmanship Actor of the Year (Win)

Yao Anlian (Mai Laitian, the father)
2024 15th Macau International Television Festival (Golden Lotus Awards) — Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Television Series / Best Supporting Actor (Nomination)

Wu Yanshu (Chen Shuzhen, the step-grandmother)
2025 Television Series of China Quality Ceremony — Jury Award: Quality Actor of the Year (Win)

Other (e.g., Production/Characters)
2025 Kuyun Annual Influence Ceremony — Annual Influential Producer (for Yang Liu, the producer) (Win)

It must have been this drama got Gulnezar the outstanding performer of the year award at 2025 Weibo night. She was among four recipients of this award.

This drama got Jing Tian the outstanding performers of the year award at the 2025 Weibo night. There were four recipients of this award.

this drama got Chen Xiao an award at the 2025 Weibo Night for among the five Best Breakthrough Artists of the Year

Douban 7.2

How do you know so well what Chinese people think and feel about this?

I was thinking from a narrative point of view, in cdramas, things don't happen for no reason.

Maybe he was born 4 years old.

She's lively and happy around her Master.

Rumor today that her next drama is costume, "Qia Feng Yu Lian Tian” with Ding Yuxi.

She already took a 6month break from filming since last August

The ML literally cannot fight. He always backs away.

Women make up the majority of the drama-viewing audience in China — around 70% of total viewership in recent year. That's why you see female centric dramas and women empowerment dramas.

WXY was 23 yrs old at time of filming and in this role, he plays a mature character who is around 28 or 29 yrs old.

There must be a reason for a prince to die. It usually has to do with power.

it's really her first big main role and she gave a amazing performance

it is

Maybe that's why Zhu Zhanji is portrayed as kind heart in the drama, and his father Zhu Di was a benevolent emperor caring for the people.

"He (Zhu Gaochi) prioritized providing his eldest son (Zhu Zhanji) with a comprehensive education based on Confucian principles." - wikipedia

This drama really follows history quite closely esp. the characters traits and personality and their interests and hobbies.