Reviews

You will love this series as much you love Steven Zhang. No regret!

I hardly watch this kind of genre. Usually, I will watch light drama to chill around the weekend. Honestly, I start watching this series because of Steven Zhang. I admired him through his previous drama (The day of becoming you). He is a talented and versatile actor. He nailed it in any role!

My first impression: I will watch this because of Steven and drop the drama anytime if the storyline is so-so.

But Nah, my first impression of this series is "out of scope" (Sorry, I can't find a good word to describe this). THIS DRAMA HAS ADDED TO MY BEST DRAMA PLAYLIST! I will rewatch this drama again and again.

From the first episode, you will love the storyline, the characters, and the settings of the drama. I love how each character is developing from episode to episode. I love how beautifully everyone portrays their role. Each character is perfect for actors and actresses especially, both ML and FL.

ML is so lovable. I love his ambition and determination. At first, you will hate the FL, but along the process, you will love her. She is a smart and reliable person. They are destined for each other. All the supporting character has their own story, and you will love it.

The storyline and script have perfectly done by the production. Each scene relates to the other. There is narration behind the story, which helps in highlighting the characters' emotions and inner thoughts. But some is lacking in the story, which they never mention how many years fly from scene to scene. As an international viewer, I am not familiar with the history. But it doesn't ruin the series at all.

The previous episodes have many heartbreaking scenes. I can't take any heartbreak. This series will reach the end, and I was hoping the ending be great. I will take some time moving on from this series.

Please give a try to this drama! You will love it.

Edit: I wish it has an extra episode. I really can't over this series yet. Please, help me! I fall for all actors and actresses in this series. And I fall twice with Steven Zhang. This time even harder. Cheng Yizhi is the best character. Wu Lizi too. They already secured a place in my heart. It will take some time to recover from this.

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GREAT DRAMA with quality plot, romance, friendship themes and OST!!!

Hilarious and amazing main/side characters! The plot starts light-hearted, seemingly just about the students' school lives, but a deeper and more mysterious plot emerges, whilst keeping the comedic aspect the whole way through still. Although the students are young, because each of them is connected to families of power, different trouble arises and not everyone is as innocent as they seem. The friendship theme of the drama is really heartwarming to watch, as you see how the female protagonist influences the male students at school and becomes friends, and how she forms friendships with her elder brothers' friends too. I also love how the female protagonist can stand up for herself, and how straightforward both protagonists are about their romance as well and not beating around the bush.

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Easy watch when you want to feel good

Main leads both are fantastic. Allen Ren is trying different roles and his acting is very nature. He is not dashing but a cute type. Bai Lu is one of my favorite, she got good acting. She does not over do or under do and this role fits her the best. I liked the drama where there were no unnecessary misunderstanding or villainous monstrous enemies. I liked how main leads understood each other. It was not a sizzling chemistry but not too bad also. Every thing about this drama is what it should be. I haven't watched one and only becoz of the sad ending but you don't need to watch one and only to watch this. This story was able to carry itself. Also i liked that the FL had a good dressing style unlike other dramas. All and all when you are feeling down go watch it, its easy to watch and predictable.

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The ML is despicable

The show starts of okay, with a decent story in a refreshing setting.
Most of the characters and story continue like that, with a not amazing but nice progression.

And then there is the Male Lead ( the character, not the actor. The actor is perfectly alright).
He starts of on the wrong foot, sith various actions towards most other characters that are generaly dislikable and bad. But it thought that he might just have a rough patch at the start of the drama, especialy as it's hinted/shown that he is under external pressure and stress. But every episode that i watched he didn't get better, instead he grew worse.
He treated the FL like shit, which was bad but acceptable at the start when they were strangers. But then they started to grow closer and get to know each other, and he kept treating her worse and worse. Same with other characters.
And the stress excuse kept getting thinner as well, as the show depicts him getting time to relax in the countryside and kalm down. Yet his behaviour didn't aprove even the tiniest bit, quite the opositte.

I decided to drop the show when i watchdd the show and it suddenly occured to me that the best, most enjoyable scene that could come next would just be the ML getting hit by a car and dying, or something similar.

TL;DR: in all my time watching western and asian shows, this is only the second time ever where i actively wished the ML ( character, not actor) would just die. I rarely get that level of obsolute disgust, dislike and spite from villains, and they're supposed to be the bad guy. The ML should never be this disgustingly despicable.

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In a friends with benefits relationship both should be friends

Don't understand most of the reviews....
Maybe sex, attraction, etc should be labeled...

The story is about Na Bi, who desires and feels sexual attraction for Jae Eon. She has lots of feelings for him. He only wants to have sex with her, at her apartment, without any other shared moments, while having other relationships with others.
Friends with benefits has to do with friendship and that is not the case. He doesn't care about her as well as the other girls...
Jealousy exists when someone thinks that owns the other. It is a feeling of possession. And that is why Park Jeon wants to be with her after she rejects him ..
She will agree, will be used by him but knowing that he will not changed and will hurt her.
So, it ends with a relationship where he will cheat on her and she will gladly endure! But the sex is good but even when they are together, as Kyu Hyun was saying, she will not be happy because their objectives and feelings are not the same..

And then a love triangle (what a refreshing plot!!!!!) With a childhood friend.
The other couples were way more interesting. They save this drama.

Don't like it. Not the sex part or the relationship when based in truth. He doesn't care about her and she is willing to bear with that. And the most interesting part is her friends, who knew that Park Jeon was awful and hurted and played with lots or girls, are trying to help them to be together...

Well...

Do you like a cheating man that looks good?
Do you like a woman who is treated as a good f...?
Do you enjoy a relationship that is Doom to end badly?
Then watch this drama!

If someone could edit only the story of the other couples this would be more interesting!

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Revenge wearing an expensive suit & tie

First I need to tell, it's an advertisement drama, Clear shampoo produced it and made it clear through the episodes, as everything will have their product placement. Second the subtitles available are not perfect, some quotes are almost unintelligible and some parts of the subtitles are missing too.

*Beware, spoilers from the first episode:

Xu Ran is a driven man whom has a successful career and is about to get married, sudden his fiancé dies in his arm's, later he finds out that she actually is still alive and a powerful and mysterious society called Alliance is behind his downfall.Eight years later, he is now working in an advertisement company, behind his actions is a plan to find the truth behind the old incident and fight his enemy The Alliance. As Ye Rou faces personal problems the characters life gets entangled, then Xu Ran meets carefree reporter Tang QiQi and Feng Lu fei an entrepreneur and daughter of a billionaire CEO.

The plot is about revenge, the revenge here is serve in small doses, as Xu Ran deal with Alliance and Alliance fights back by hurting his success the story keeps being about daily life of an advertisement company. The romance follows the same modus operandi, almost all couples are mixed up with business matters. Second leading couple Ye Rou and Cop Wei Xiao has great chemistry, main couple QiQi,Lu Fei and Xu Ran only has a closure in the last episodes. The action here comes in small doses too, with some car racing here, some cop routine there and money moves on the laptop. The production is good, less office scenes and more fierce fight scenes would've been better tho. The OST didn't catch my attention.

I have no complains about the acting, Hu Ge has deliver as He always does. Tiffany Tang was a bit shadowed here as her character is a bit bland, seeing this drama feels like a warm up for Blossoms Shanghai(2021) drama, as they will play once again(again: Xuan Yuan Sword) a couple in it. Stephy Qi was great here too, she knows how to play a really strong woman.

The ending was not bad, but weak as we don't see nothing major happening with the villains, and even the couples conclusions are lacking, even tho one of the last scenes was kinda adorable.

...

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Light and Fluffy with an annoying FL

I enjoyed this drama because it was light and fluffy. Nothing too heavy or too serious which is perfect for a weekend in quarantine.

But I wanted to strangle the FL so many times. She was the most annoying character in the drama and it’s entirety. She always thought she knew better and never trusted her husband when told to just let him handle things and not to worry and always end up causing troubles. The ML had his annoying moments too. He always kept things from her and wasn’t always honest in the name of protecting her ?

I enjoyed the fluff and the story. Would I rewatch it? For the sake of my sanity, patience and to save myself from losing my eyeballs from falling out from being rolled from beginning to end…..HELL NO!

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Look for the deeper message

- A beautiful allegory on the effects of capitalism. It was so exhilarating that it literally kept me up at night! Some portions seem quite predictable, but i feel that it was on purpose. It is fiction, but a metaphor for real life experiences. Anticipating what may happen next is its beauty because that means it is relatable in some aspects. Given that it ended on a cliffhanger, I am really looking forward to another season.

- The production is absolutely insane. The details, the colors, the music choices, etc. are all spectacular. I applaud the team behind all of the sets!

- The actors did a really great job immersing themselves in their characters. I was really opinionated on all the characters, which is a sign of great acting!

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I kept wondering if it would ever end!

This one is a difficult drama for me to review. When I read the synopsis, I thought it sounded really interesting, and somewhat original. I have enjoyed Fei Xing in other works (especially My Little Happiness) but this one really let me down. It started out well, but then one thing after another irritated me no end so it was hard for me to find the positives. I usually focus on the positive aspects in a review, but was unable to in this one.
1) Costuming for all of the cast was good, except for Fei Xing who wore some of the worst outfits I've ever seen in a drama. Big pants, big blouses, poorly tailored, I think every outfit she wore was unattractive. They went to a semi-formal event, everyone was dressed up, and she was wearing jeans.
2) Martyr syndrome of the female lead. She accepted responsibility or took the blame for absolutely everything that happened to anyone in the show. When she took the blame for what the evil character had done 10 years ago, that was just too much. The majority of the conversations had her starting with "I'm sorry"
3) Second couple - he was a stalker and she was trying to be tough all the time. At the end they got a bit cute, but by that time I didn't like them.
4) Overacting of some of the cast, especially the other guy that liked the female lead and the woman that played the aunt.
5) Wow! So many bad guys! By the time we went through 32 episodes and found out in the LAST episode what the main bad guy had done, it was rushed. Then there was more apologizing by the girl and the second male lead.
6) Serious lack of chemistry between the leads. They acted, for the most part, more like brother and sister. There was one kiss, but even their handholding, etc. lacked any warmth. I do have to say there was a sizzling kiss between the second lead couple toward the end.
7) Too long and drawn out. It was episode after episode of sameness.
8) And, oh my gosh, can we talk about the ending?!?!?! I stuck through this long, drawn out drama and that's the ending you give me?!?! It was one of those endings that makes me mad.
I will admit that I am particular about my dramas, so I would say, if you liked the synopsis and think it sounds interesting, give it a try. But don't say I didn't warn you.

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Award-winning performances all around....

This was excellently written and directed, superb cast performed by the main and support characters.

A lone female and her wolf clan run free in the Gobi Desert...earlier the female has been captured by a human and exposed to human ways and lived briefly with the Tartars, until her "Papa" is killed by a greedy warrior who wants to become king of the desert Tartars, and she returns to her wolf pack.

A chance meeting with Ninth Lord and his caravan while stealing from them, our lone beautiful lady, Jin Yu, and the wolf that follows her, are let go. The Lord gives her a dress and salt, and bids Jin Yu goodbye. The lady changes into the dress and the next day she runs into a group of men, whom she later observes as being trained in martial arts, being attacked by desert pirates...after calling on her wolf pack, the pirates decide to abandon their attack on the foreigners.

The foreigners thank Jin Yu for her help and ask her for guidance through the desert; since her dead "Papa" has planned on taking her back to his home, the city of Jain-an, before being killed she guides them safely through the desert and remains in the city. Amongst the foreigners is the dashing General Wei Wu Ji.

What follows is a rapid advancement, after being drugged at first, of Jin Yu into being the House Manager at a dance theater/house; her wit, intelligence and {sometimes} unseen support from Ninth Lord's Shi Shipping business, lands her into profit and some prestige, yet also unneeded attention from the Palace hierarchy.

The second male lead, General Wei Wu Ji of the Nan Dynasty, saved by the wolf pack and our heroine, tries to find the wolf lady; however, while Wei Wu Ji is looking through the city for Yin Ju, , Ninth Lord has already found the wolf girl and is supporting her as much as possible (even staying with him part-time). Still Wei Wu Ji attempts to woo her, only to find her already in love with Ninth Lord.

A one-sided romance develops between our heroine Jin Yu and Ninth Lord, but as Ninth Lord continues to ignore her advances, Jin Yu is heartbroken, trying to be a 'tree' as Ninth Lord is, and also support him instead.

Jin Yu finally works up the nerve to directly tell Ninth Lord her feelings, but Ninth Lord still rebukes her and her love advances...this causes Jin Yu to abruptly leave Jain-an, leaving letters for her able house assistant, Ms. Hong, and Wei Wu Ji.

General Wei Wu Ji finds Jin Yu at a travel station along her route back to the desert, and abducts her to his military camp. After returning home with Wei Wu Ji, Jin Yu moves back to the dancing house, but later goes to live with Wei Wu Ji...Her emotions are set on a roller-coaster ride as she finds out the trouble that Ninth Lord went to trying to find her but he still rejects her Significant Other advances...and also troubling is the fact that Wei Wu Ji lied to Ninth Lord about knowing her whereabouts earlier...

Political intrigue enters the scene upon the two returning as 1) Wei Wu Ji becomes a pawn in the Court power struggles, especially with his adopted family, the Wan faction, and 2) the concubine, Qin Xiang, that Jin Yu trained so that she would be accepted into the Palace harem, rapidly gains power in the harem but turns on Jin Yu, causing her misadventure in the later episodes.

Although Jin Yu promised not to reveal the real reason for Madame Xiang's presence in the harem (vengeance, although others figured it out by themselves), she becomes the target of the Madame, partly for her being free and able to travel outside the palace and live her own life, a life that Madame Xiang begins to covet!

What started out as to men fighting over Jin Yu becomes a loose partnership between Ninth Lord and
General Wei Wu Ji , both supporting Jin Yu as she is attacked and placed into captivity by forces of the Wan faction, and both Yin Ju and Wei Wu Ji being poisoned. Both Yin Ju and Wei Wu Ji feel trapped by the political warfare in Jain-an City, and seek to stay apart from political intrigue; however, the Wang faction first tricks Wei Wu Ji in killing the head of the Li power faction, General Li ji, who happens to be the only supporter of Madame Xiang in the palace (besides the Emporer) while the Wan family plans a more morbid future for the General.

Thus, a plan is hatched to free them from Jain-an and service to the powerful Emporer; unfortunately, one of them does not know about it.

Al the actors and actresses, both main and support, performed their roles brilliantly...

Main Roles:

Shi Shi Lui, as Ying Ju, portrayed a cornucopia of emotions as she portrayed the female lead...going from chlld-like innocence in one scene to intelligently fending off attackers in the next. Especially dramatic was the two episodes of her childbirth and the following one: even though I know these are scripted series, I momentarily forgot this during the birthing scene and the two episodes after that....fantastic acting from a great actress!
I also especially loved Jin Yu's dance in the palace as the Tartar girls are performing and one is about to steal her man!

Hugh Hu, as Ninth Lord, portrayed a Stoic benefactor to the female lead, time and time sacrificing his money, and later his health, in supporting both Yin Ju and General Li Ji; many comments on the CN Drama (YouTube) site wish that a spinoff movie would be made in the future to have Ninth Lord finally find his love!

Eddie Peng, as General Wei Wu Ji, perfectly portrayed a platonic supporter of Yin Ju until he saw her response after Ninth Lord's last rejection of Yin Ju's love, then he easily portrayed Yin Ju's lover and supporter as well afterward.

Supporting Roles:

Han Dong, as General Li JI, was superb as a cohort of General Wei Wu Ji, and also as someone who tried to talk sense into Madame Xiang and save her from herself and the Palace harem she foolishly sought entry into...performing as well as he did in his roies in 'Love Lost In Time' and 'Scarlet Hearts'.

Fala Chen, as Madame Xiang, went from a level-headed sister to her episode brothers Qin Yong (Qin Yuan Chao) and
Zhang Xiang (Qin Yuan Qi) to a vindicitve but suffering madame in the harem of the Emperor...I personally saw her ending way before the final episode.
I think that she would be more than able to play a lead villianess in a major movie or series if given a chance!

Deng Li Min (Uncle Shi) and Han Zhen Hua (Uncle Chen), among the many other support actors/actresses that I do not have the time to mention here, put on superb roles as supporters of their respective houses in the series.

Superb writing, superb directing, superb acting....the ingredients to a great series!

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