Reviews

Shedding tears

We finally see Mei’s father in a scene where he is not slapping her.😝 She should take a close look because that is Bei in 20 yrs and no prize. I chuckled when she told him to take care of the mom himself if she showed up. Mei is good at cutting to the chase so she leaves him a stack of cash and leaves. He should get his suit out of cleaners but it’s for sure he will piss the money away and she will still have to pay for it. Zhao is feeling the hormones from the shots and crying buckets of tears. It is sad that her recollection is stopping tears at 5 and 6. She recognized that early her parents lack of concern and equal love of mahjong. She even predicts that after this sea of tears she will probably not cry much in the future. Mei finds her and cries with her. It is not that she thinks it is a good idea, it is just they both are making similar choices that won’t end well. They both are driving their fates to bad endings with no good reason why except that is where they choose to go. GuYan is a petty little sh.t and demands they drop Lin’s book to third place. They announce he is SanSan and the buzz moves to GuYan. He is now the center of attention with two books. His talent deserves recognition but his tactics are much more meanspirited than HeHan’s slaps at the award ceremony. He wants to completely demoralize Lin the way he felt they did him that evening. Lin knows Zhao’s tactics so she saw the writing on the wall early on and was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He would be far less bitter had she done her real job on award night and looked after him like a good boss than disciplining him like a good mentor. She is feeling the pain of lacking in that skillset as the numbers drop. HeHan has done all he can to shift the book’s pacing and be less mediocre but GuYan’s revenge is hitting home hard with no letup. Fan is all smiles at their livestream while they announce collaboration with Zhao’s company and reveal GuYan as SanSan. Mei’s comments weren’t from the right view. The true backstabber was her good buddy Zhao. She is not really aware of all the side deals and snide interactions between her and Lin. GuYan doesn’t feel remorse and it all started with his resentment of being completely ignored and left alone on what should have been his first major triumph as first place author. Lin and HeHan were too busy talking about breaking his trophy and putting on their couple act. Zhao has no reason to be nothing but smiles at this point, but when the dust settles, her hellfire grin will show and GuYan will taste ash while he’s churning out two projects simultaneously. Lin gets it and accepts her bad luck but it’s a very bitter pill. HeHan and Mimi team up for a counter livestream promoting the new book. Lin even goes public with meeting the author in a dating app. Her poignant novel excerpt is beautifully bittersweet. 💔 She is getting to tell her mother goodbye and use her grief to engage readers. Only she and HeHan know why she sheds tears. Even Zhao might stop her gloating and give a minute of silence if she knew the real reason behind Lin’s tears. Fan is already preening like the great overseer and Zhao is reminding GuYan of his place in the pecking order. His tasting of ash has started. He knows she is not interested in the new author but resents that in spite of it all Lin and HeHan support each other. It is undeniable and right before his eyes. It seems Lin’s mom and company will pass at the same time. She is deciding if she should pull the plug or suffer a bit longer trying where her company is concerned. HeHan tries to encourage her to keep going but she accepts that no miracle will save her company or have her mom wake up. They embrace knowing that even though unsuccessful, they both did their absolute best to salvage a bad situation. The author was surprisingly grateful and aware of the actual degree of his talent. He is a decent person and I hope he continues writing. He was such a jerk in EoM that it was surprising to see him be nice and accommodating. Lin gives him Zhao’s contact information because she has already made a safety net for the mediocre author. She can now place another trophy in her room and relish it was at Lin’s expense. I am sure she now feels she has reached a milestone in her career toppling Lin’s company and pushing Lin to such lengths to try to save it. What I would like see happen is a dark horse enter the platform arena. I want to see Dai and Lin collaborate and knock Fan off his throne. Once he falls, the rest will follow. I also hope there will be a moment of time where Lin can tell her mother goodbye and her mother is aware. This episode truly exploited tears at all levels and it was magnificently done even with all the black characters. It just made them shine all the more. These deeply flawed and multifaceted characters draw you in to their stories even when they are rather an unlikable group. The actors are giving stellar performances and the music has brought out all the feels of rebellion and heartache and hope. For once I am glad I have to wait for next episode. My heart is very full of all their emotions and needs a rest. Well done cast and crew to make me so moved with characters I would rather slap than hug😘👏🏻

Read More

The ties that bind

Mei and Bei seem to really be making a go of it. The heart wants what the heart wants. But while this feels inevitable, it’s not ringing true for me in spite of her insistence of going through with it. It just doesn’t feel like even a chance of a true happy ending. He’s wanting her to be his plus one at a wedding to introduce her to his friends and has agreed to meet her mother. She came at him in righteous indignation and while I loathe her tyrant routine over Mei, I could only applaud her contempt of Bei. He deserved every bit of it. She has every right to be disappointed in Mei’s choice, but to threaten suicide if they marry is over the top. This new form of blackmail is far more than repugnant, it’s the only guilt level she can subject Mei to that could keep her suppressed. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around her determination to follow through with Bei. Prior marriage aside this man manipulated her as deliberately and as obscenely as her mother does. Why is this her choice for freedom? She is as masochistic as Zhao in her choice for a spouse. Neither ring true for even a remote chance of true happiness. I did like that he threatened to sue the mom if she continued to abuse Mei, but her threat of suicide is hard to work around. Part of me wishes she would have told her to go ahead so she can’t continue to ruin her life, but the end result is the guilt would take over where the abuse left off. Her mom knows this and thinks she has won. Gu Yan is nursing his wounds and unhappy in HeHan’s trappings tho the game vibe is actually kinda cool. Zhao introduces him to Ling and they have chilling smiles while they remind him his home and his friend’s expansion are dependent on his performance. He has one day to think through the contract they want him to sign. He is reminded of Lin’s warning that once his performance dropped Zhao would go elsewhere. Holding on and supporting through the drops was not her style. Lin was always the best choice as mentor because she understood the realities of inspiration and output. Where she failed in equal measure was being the boss. She is just very bad at it. GuYan sees two hellhounds before him waiting to take him to hell. He has already signed away his soul and now he’s tasting the ash of the prizes he was offered in exchange. This is where Ling deserves the wife his betrothal price bought. They really are bookends — one hellfire and one brimstone. Lin has also sold her soul for a very cheap price to try to save her company. She has a very obliging author with a very crappy book and it unfortunately is the best of the lot after GuYan. He Han strongly advises against this and sees it as tossing her effort and money away on a lost cause. She asks him if he would consider starting something new with her and he just can’t. This time it is not about working with her, he just really is currently emptied out in the creative dept and has no inspiration at all for trying a new series. Lin collapses when getting her new author coffee and HeHan finds her crashed at her desk. What he does is tutor the author as much as he can and leaves a manuscript ready for her to edit and update. He truly loves her and this was just a sweet under current of support for her even while realizing they are both putting lipstick on a pig and seeing if any will consider it anyways. He did an excellent job making your head hurt with his while he fought off a migraine trying to get through this mediocre attempt at a book. It is sad when the willingness is there but the talent is not. I enjoyed the sweet exchange between him and his favorite convenient store manager. I will hate it when he sells his store but glad he reunites with his son. That ledger of alcohol free days is a beautiful gesture. They really didn’t need a mournful Cai in the background lamenting his tenderness towards Lin. It might be an epiphany for her, but nothing has changed. She just finally sees the reality that has always been with her rose colored idol worshipping glasses off. She should be embarrassed she was so far from reality rather than think she has anything real to mourn. There were no what ifs or might have beens. She was never part of the equation at all. The only good part is she finally realizes it. Maybe we will finally see the grown up Cai that isn’t an annoying HeHan worshipper at the expense of real life. If she was set up this way for viewer sympathy, she’s not getting it from me. She will finally stop annoying me with her childish fan act and be the bright driven editor she was always supposed to be. Mei recognizes the signs because she always does. Lin sees it as an idol crush and doesn’t take it seriously. This again is why she’s a better mentor than boss. She never really sees what’s right in front of her. GuYan has learned dark ways from Zhao well…he bypasses gray to go to black saying he will sign the contract if new author makes no traction. Zhao goes with giving hope so the higher they think they are the harder they fall. I want to see all of them fall with Fan going first. I still find him more vile than Zhao’s tactics because he makes sure to profit from all of them. HeHan is selling classes online ironically with Mimi’s help. She looks and acts like a grownup now and I’m hoping Cai will soon follow suit. Zhao is secretly doing IVF and will get Ling’s sympathy long enough to get pregnant. He just won’t realize until too late what her agenda really was. This episode was lots of yin yang pull and they keep swirling. I just wish they were more equal strength. GuYan will come to regret his scorched earth approach but he refuses to suffer alone and wants to take Lin with him. Misery after all likes company.

Read More

Spring outing

The contest was very entertaining. Chen made sure he hit center mass every target. He was showing off his skills. When his perfect match showed up he deliberately started missing targets. But his follow-up with a double arrow shot proved he was more than capable to keep up and was letting her win. He ticked her off enough she threw down her arrows and stomped off declaring them unsuitable.😝🤣 JinZhao volunteers for her turn and things get very interesting. They match arrow for arrow and he teases her with sweet nothings in her ear.😂🥰 She even calls him out for trying to fluster her. While they wait for the unexpected third round he explains why he did not fight his mentor’s choice but chose an alternate way to discourage it. When she asked about the horse he was very sneaky and planned far ahead. He noticed JinZhao favored osmanthus scent and had his horse trained to the scent so it would go right to her and be ready to ride. As far as marriage goes, JinZhao doesn’t see what’s in it for her yet and admitted she didn’t see any benefits for him either. He said he wanted one who was not entrenched in politics or a particular side in the court nor did he want tied to their families indefinitely. He wanted somebody neutral to be by his side. He mentioned that it was to his benefit that she was independently wealthy and that he liked her. Then he looks her in the eye and said he believed she liked him too. She was more than ready to leave for round three😂🤣 This was different because doves were inside gourds and a direct hit was much more difficult. For this I saw two doves released and am really not sure how she won. She was declared winner and Wang Zan wanted a round. Ye Xian and guards show up and arrest a noble and wife in the audience. He looked very good on horseback and the cape was an impressive sight. The hostess called him out and he responded in kind. She challenged him to a sword fight and he said they either arrested or killed people and went on his way. 😂🤣 I like these two. She is exactly what he needs and vice versa. They will challenge each other in a good way and enjoy it. I hope we get some screen time with them or maybe the equivalent of a double date. The event ended soon after because as impressive as YeXian looked he was kind of a killjoy. Fu already figured out that Chen didn’t want the match but his wife had already given him an out so Fu couldn’t push it. He accepted he was out maneuvered but didn’t care for it. He also noted Ye Xian was the arresting officer and wasn’t happy at that promotion either . And I think Chen might have been in the know about the officer and wife that were arrested. When they returned Lian was Queen gossiper and regaled the older ladies with the events of the day snidely saying Chen let her win. She was just commenting on how scary YeXian was when his sister arrived. She watched with amusement as JinZhao held her own when the matriarch tried to slam the Ji family. She now understands why her brother likes her and she would like to approve, but their family is in too hard of straits to have anything but a top tier match. I think she would be pleased with the one now interested in her brother. At the Chen home XuanQing is trying to get support from his brother to apply for an appointment working with Beiman delegates rather than staying in school. The fringe benefit of this is his marriage can be delayed for another year. He still treasures the gift JinZhao gave him for his exams but he doesn’t stand a chance against big brother where she is concerned. The next day Wang Zan shows up and wants a match. JinZhao shrewdly says next spring outing. He is not to be discouraged and becomes entirely too handsy and her maid/bodyguard took care of him. He now is seeking revenge and has mentioned to his family he is still interested in spite of her poor manners. Chen’s guard mentions that a proposal was in sight and Chen was far from pleased. Lan has rather meekly approached JinZhao to do business and is refused. JinZhao explains that she can’t do business with one unwilling to take risks and Lan needed to make money and did not have enough to lose any. What I am hoping is that the restaurant she wants to change to a women’s only business and clientele, that she would give Lan a job so she can support herself. It would be good to see them ally like in the first few episodes than stay estranged and at odds. She doesn’t deserve to be forgiven, but she does merit a means to earn a living because her family is a waste of nobility status. Chen’s mismatch requested a meeting with Ye Xian and he said he was too busy. When she asked the servant for his exact words, she got a good laugh. These two complement nicely and she sees him the way he first saw JinZhao—a much needed breath of fresh air from the boredom of every day noble life. Unfortunately the episode ends right when things get interesting for both couples. Hoping Chen takes care of Wang. JinZhao needs a bit of backup with him.

Read More

Same problem as recent episodes: The show…

Same problem as recent episodes: The show is fine while it follows the two main leads' romance. Yes, they are encountering lots of resistance and friction - especially from the insane, evil Auntie Meiling who is setting new world record for hypocrisy and selfishness even as she heads toward her deathbed (not fast enough, unfortunately). But the writing on the main couple storyline at least feels decent and makes sense and the two leads are so endearing and easy to root for. The storyline for the secondary leads, however, is just a train wreck of bad, lazy writing and an SML who is not at all worth rooting for. And the toxicity of that storyline has finally infected even the formerly saint-like Xiaoqiu, who is clearly so hurt by what has happened to her that for the first time in this entire drama she gives out terrible advice to a friend. The secondary storyline is really dragging down the overall quality of each episode.

Read More

Debts paid

Big bro Yao teamed up with JinZhao to get the 20k taels the Gu family cheated her mother of. Lian is being spiteful because the debt came from her dowry price leaving 2k taels and a very unimpressed future mother in law. JinZha further annoys her by making her pay for her own silk, so by the time they get to the restaurant, Lian is in full b mode. She is caught snooping and Mr Gao corners JinZhao into drinking. He is a louse. What was rather disturbing for Lian was to see her future father in law cuddling up with a servant. JinZhao accommodates the jerk and gets out of there graciously. Chen follows her thinking he has to explain himself for the women in background. She assures him she is not concerned nor is she drunk—-as she stumbles a bit returning to her table. Liam is invited to the spring outing and making a show of not including the Gu girls. The Chen family invited them so all three girls end up going. They have fixed it so the Gu girls are the plainest in dress. JinZhao takes it in stride and runs into XuanQing. She learns her friend is his fiancée. There is a horse conveniently there so she rides off to not be a threesome. The horse decides to have a bit of a tantrum and rears several times. Not only does she hang on she whips the horse and threatens more punishment if tries again.😂🤣 She finds herself ogled by the shocked nobles and sees Chen with another girl. She is far from happy and ready to go home, but the girl that is being matched with Chen finally gets her to agree since prizes changed to much needed donations. Chen has a,ready tried to present himself in a bad light with her.😂 will he show off his skills for JinZhao or suppress them for his match? We will find out next episode. At Least JinZhao looks much more like herself in the rich shades of the riding clothes. They are getting ready to show off their skills. Lan is being picked on by her cousin and I am hoping she gets rescued. She can’t help it she’s pretty when she pouts😂 Snobby Lian should make herself accommodating if she hopes to get a boost to her dowry gifts. She is outdoing herself being mean and petty. Looking forward to the contest with mixed genders and hope the girls kick their butts. 😂🤣

Read More

closure

bruh can't even imagine what "Pleng's" coworkers are thinking when he resigned. That's some office tea that new co-workers are going to be hearing about for decades XD. Surprised mom and grandma are not in jail. I mean they both confessed to crime, no? As much as I feel bad for them both, you brought this on yourselves mate. is it gen z to date without a lable? lol Dao acutally lost it. bruh I don't think I could forgive the dad, I mean he killed people lol a very innocent person specifically. wait are we actually forgiving mom and grandma??? it's too soon for that. centuries too soon. canonically married, yes. grandma's wedding speech was ass, what?? would not have invited them to my wedding personally. wow a beautiful end.

Read More