Entertaining office drama
Overview: Xia Qian (our female lead) runs a small company that negotiates purchases / contracts on behalf of others. She has avoided Evergreen Hotel ever since her fiance dumped her there two years ago, but finds herself unable to turn down a contract to book a wedding there. In the process of negotiating the contract, she encounters the outwardly gruff but inwardly kind-hearted general manager, Sheng Zhe Ning. The two are initially at odds, but over time, begin to fall for each other. What will happen? Add a corporate plot to take over the Evergreen Hotel, Xia Qian's efforts to grow her business, and two secondary couples, and we have enough content to fuel a drama.Early impressions:
The beginning of the drama is pretty rich with eye-rolling cliches, so much so that I almost dropped the drama (e.g., when in real life has a klutzy slip ever resulted in a kiss??) The re-introduction of the ex was also cringe-inducing. But, once you get through the first few episodes and our characters are established, the show really picks up and now I actively enjoy it. I love that the female lead is actually smart and independent (even after in a relationship), and her chemistry with the male lead is great. The secondary characters are appropriately developed and even the most villainous characters have shades of gray rather than being black and white (e.g., the corporate spy manages to make his character sympathetic, and even my least favorite character, Ning Meng, is more pitiable and self-destructive than over-the-top evil). Not sure if the drama will keep this momentum to the end but for now, I am enjoying it quite a bit.
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5 just for the ML.
Things I loved1 The ML. He's one of my favorite actors and his voice is the best ever.
Things I liked
1 The 2FL. She needs some more acting lessons, but she is pretty and a bright light in this drama.
Things I disliked
1 The chemistry between the leads wasn't there. He had more chemistry with his costar in Master of my Own and I find her awful and a true mismatch for him. Yet the chemistry was there and i gave it a 9 despite the actress.
Things I hated
1 The whole age gap for the second couple. A few years it's fine, but he looked his age and he was 50 plus when she looked even younger than her real age. I didn't hate them, but I can't put their relationship in the like list either. Too much a real age gap.
2 The FL. She's an awful actress. Nothing more to say. She doesn't know how to do comedy and she's not talented enough to make serious scenes believable.
3 The third relationship. Stupid, toxic and unnecessary after the first few episodes.
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