K-Drama 
An Outstanding Main Romance with Unmatched Chemistry That Saves the Entire Show
The Story and the Dynamic Office VibeHIStory4: Close to You delivers a high-energy, entertaining, and deeply emotional romantic journey set within a lively corporate environment. The plot follows a group of close co-workers navigating unexpected romantic awakenings, shifting friendships, and secret crushes. While the drama utilizes a multi-couple format, the true driving force of the narrative is the classic friends-to-lovers storyline. It perfectly balances laugh-out-loud situational comedy with moments of intense, overwhelming passion, creating a fast-paced and highly addictive viewing experience.The Main Couple: Pure Chemistry and Fierce DevotionThe absolute highlight of this drama—and the reason it stands out as the best in the franchise—is the electric connection between Xiao Li Cheng and Teng Mu Ren. Their transition from chaotic best friends to passionate lovers is beautifully executed. Xiao Li Cheng perfectly embodies a protective, fiercely possessive, and hilariously intense character who completely loses his mind (and his heart) for Mu Ren. The raw tension, the meaningful glances, and the utter devotion between them create a safe haven of romance that is impossible to look away from. Their chemistry is loud, authentic, and utterly magnetic.The Secondary Plotline ContradictionIt is important to note that the series features a very polarizing secondary couple involving a taboo family dynamic. For many viewers, including myself, this storyline felt deeply uncomfortable and unappealing due to its dark and problematic execution. However, the sheer brilliance and emotional warmth of the main couple completely overshadow these flaws. The massive contrast between the two relationships allows the main pairing to shine even brighter as a beacon of genuine love, support, and mutual respect.VerdictThis series proves that an exceptional main pairing can completely elevate a drama, even if half of the plot is frustrating. If you are watching this purely for Xiao Li Cheng and Teng Mu Ren, you are in for an absolute masterpiece of romance, jealousy, and fierce protection. It is a highly memorable and sentimental entry in the BL genre that is entirely worth revisiting just to see the main ship sail.Was this review helpful to you?
Face Hurts Now
Looking for sexual content? LOOK NO FURTHER! Looking for cute fluffiness? STOP HERE! Looking for everything that makes the HIStory series HIStory? WELCOME HOME!For starters, WATCH MODC BEFORE COMING HERE! You can't truly appreciate this series until then(but you don't have too). Anyway, this isn't my favourite HIStory series but totally worth the watch! As a major BL fan it's no surprise I'm here and ecstatic about everything from beginning to ( definitely) the end. I gotta say I didn't think this was too cliché or tacky but obviously being a BL it's gonna give you some basic moments. Fortunately, not enough to over shadow the story. Visuals all around and I fan girl screamed so hard at so many parts my face hurts lol I wouldn't recommend to a BL newbie but make sure they have it on their plan to watch list.
Enjoy...
P.S. The only thing that could've made the ending better was ALL the MC's for HIStory...
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Disappointing...
I had a lot of problems with this drama and most of them were because of the story.First, the development between TengTeng and Licheng was very poorly done. The friendship at the beginning was great but everything went downhill from there. Licheng fell in love and immediately began to act without giving TengTeng any time to think things through. I had major problems with how Licheng made major decisions without consulting his other half-like buying a house. TengTeng will also have to live in that house for the rest of his life but he never got a chance to choose and only got consulted after it had been bought and he had to help carry a 30-years mortgage. This isn't how a relationship should be.
Xingsi and Yongjie were a better couple in my books. Yongjie's personality is very excessive and the relationship didn't start well but the development was better than TengCheng. The stepmother was a gem and the father was a well-thought-out character.
The worst thing about the show was the rotten girls. Fangirling should be kept to fictional characters or stars but it shouldn't be done so excessively with regards to the people around you. After all, there is a difference between life and fiction. The drama failed to draw that line and treated the TengCheng relationship as too much of a joke.
Overall, I liked that the actors were quite good looking especially Teng Muren but the story was disappointing.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Could be Much better - overall it wasn't bad.
4/10.Negative
1. I dont liked Teng Mu Ren Facial expression. I wanted him different from his Behave. (Relaxed and little more manly)
2. That Teng Mu Ren ran away from his feelings and met with Xu Shao Fen. (instead of talking to Xiao Li Cheng) I didn't like that.
3. Too few love scenes. I wanted to see a little more wild love scenes of the Two couples.
4. Too few kisses
5. When some love scenes got exciting, the scene was suddenly changed. that really bothered me a lot.
6. Too much talk from episode 9-10 to 20. that could have been reduced.
7. Where Teng and Xu slept together but still had their underpants on. I was disappointed.
8. It was a pity that Xu Shao Fen didn't stay sexy and manly. That suited him best than the childlike behavior.
Positive
1. It was funny often. I loved it.
2. The Characters and Couples.
3. The Music
Was this review helpful to you?
Liked Killing Stalking? Watch. Didn't? Don't Watch.
I'm going to describe this BL in 7 words. TRIGGERING, DARK, MORALLY WRONG, CUTE, FUNNY, EMOTIONAL, SPICY.MY TAKE ON THE TRIGGERING CONTENT
The problem with most of the comments, which I'm sure you've noticed, is most skip over all the scenes of the second couple. If you judge a storyline off of one scene and skip through all the rest, you miss out on essential key points that give more substance to the storyline. Also, skipping scenes is NOT how you watch any piece of media. No matter how triggering the scenes, you have no right to judge something if you can't even watch it all the way through. Again, I will say again, the second couple is the perfect example of the dark, twisted, and a bit psychotic ways people can think and the actions they cause. I might be a little biased though since I like books and films that would trigger most people and reveal the darker side of humanity. People say it's unrealistic...But is it really? Life is not about fluff and happy endings and not all people are good and also not all people react to bad people the way we think they should, even if it is due to a mental illness. Also a character is displaying signs of a mental illness, the storyline doesn't have to talk about it. Films, BL films especially, are not meant to educate, they are meant to entertain, and that's exactly what this story does, it entertains but only for people who enjoy storylines with these topics. I find them interesting, you know why? Because it's NOT real. It's a fantasy world. Sure it has some realistic elements to it but it's still fantasy, and as I stated before, this stuff does happen in real life, just hidden from the public eye. That's what makes this story so interesting. It pushes the boundaries on what we think is acceptable in media. The truth is there are really twisted people out there who do messed up things.
BL CLICHES
Now I want to talk about the cliches people are complaining about. The over the top expressions, and random moments are what makes this series funny. The "over acting" is 100% intentional and meant to add comedy to the storyline. People who expect realistic acting from BLs are really missing out on some really funny stuff. Over acting is just a part of the BL industry as a whole, for stories that are meant to be over the top. Also, the guy pretending to be gay to get a girl...Is it wrong? Yes. Is it expressed in the story? Also yes. Does the character realize the error in his ways? YES. Negative attributes are OKAY to portray because normally the character learns a lesson from it. Accept with the second couple where no one really learns a lesson but, the toxicity is also another major part of BL. I just find it so sad how everything has to conform to be a perfect world where no one does anything morally wrong, and if they do it affects the rating of the whole story. Just enjoy BL for what it is. Fiction. Fantasy. and sometimes, DARK and TOXIC. If you don't like that type of stuff stick to the fluff and happy endings or morally accurate endings. Or, you can just enjoy, if not triggered, because I do understand that for some it can be tough to see that content. But all in all key points, TRIGGERING CONTENT, DARK,TWISTED,MORALLY WRONG,FUNNY,CUTE,EMOTIONAL,SPICY.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Watched for the main couple
The main couple, mwah, i love then so much. I just really liked the progress of the relationship and even though it was a pretty much classic storyline, it was fun to watch and overall really cute.The side couple.. what should I say… it was just a complete no. Honestly, it‘s kinda disgusting because his brother literally r@ped him but they still ended up in a relationship!? Also, they‘re step brothers… What I did like though was the relationship with the father. I could relate a lot to it and I think it was important for others too.
So overall, you can definetely watch this for the main couple, I liked them in general. Yes, the storyline is pretty cliché, again, but I remember liking it for the cuteness. Sometimes, it was like cringe, but there was room for some laughter. So if you‘re bored, it‘s definitely a show you won‘t completely regret.
Was this review helpful to you?
An Awesome Show!
I really enjoyed this show and will watch it again in the future.I am a huge fan of BL Series, but not so much the high school or college ones where everything is a joke, the annoying characters who want to "ship" couples and run around taking photos for posting online, the evil or jealous girlfriend wannabe, etc. I like the ones like this one, a little more mature, still has funny, sweet, cute moments, but also has a more serious side too.
I also like the sensuality in the intimate scenes, which this series has in abundance. These are the moments when you feel a sense of real-life intimacy, love and intense emotion.
Was the show perfect? No! I haven't watched one yet that didn't have some little thing I could pick on. That's true with most series, bl or otherwise.
I'm reading the comments in these low ratings reviews and all I can think is the people watching this series really do not have an understanding of bl series. First of all, IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE REAL LIFE! I sincerely dislike reviews that put down these shows because they are "toxic" or portray things that "just aren't right." BL has always had problematic and toxic tropes, even if it's just guys ganging up on and beating the guy who they don't like!
SPOILER ALERT!
The not so charming scene is one where the younger boy gets his love interest drunk and takes advantage of him - however this was not r*pe! The low ratings and reviews that slam this show because of this scene are not understanding a few things. First, the younger guy made sure the older one knew who he was with - the guy was not so drunk as to not recognize him, he knew who it was and even carried on a short conversation with him. Second, someone so drunk that they do not know what is happening to them would never have responded the way he did. Truth be told he just wasn't willing to face the fact that he wanted him too. And again, not real life!
This show is very cute, sweet, hot, and will keep you interested.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It's all about ...
I don't like to write even if I have to share something about the series I prefer comment section more ....but I needed to write this drama ......first of all tha stepbrother plot is kinda cliche ..recently I have started to watch bl series ..and I have feel kinda that all have the stepbrother plot and mainly all the history series contain the stepbrother plot......ok I will handle that but the r*** part and recording it is so .....🤬...mainly I thought to dropped this series but I continued bcoz of muren and Li cheng ....there story was so mesmerizing and the time when they were learning about the change among was also described well.... I love that and from my point of view they are tha main couple...and I totally understand the feeling of xiao ye father...and I kinda have a bad feeling when mom didn't knew anything when he hear the idea from his. son....overall this drama have 2 main couples but I feel that the teng -cheng couple was more interesting and interesting.......and the cameo of Bo Xiang and zhigang was perfect bcoz I like them both...🥺...Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Hear me out
It was definitely not fantastic but i will say it was NOTTTT horrible at all! I felt the need to make a review because I saw so many bad ones really making people not want to watch it when I believe this show deserves a chance so heres my short review of ‘Close to you’.The story between the brothers is weird and low-key high-key toxic I don't wanna get into it cs ill go on for dayyysss. I did like the 2nd couple though. A lotta cliché and cringe scenes but also a lot of cute and funny ones. The characters are unique in their own way and they all have great chemistry with each other so that was nice to see. The acting was good and the music wasn't bad. There were so many sexual assaults, i think that was my main issue with the show. Overall its a good watch if you’re bored, so don't go into watching it thinking it'll be a masterpiece. Nonetheless, i really enjoyed watching it. A lot of time and effort was put into making the show and you can really tell. I give it an 8/10. Watch and see if you like it please don't form an opinion based on the bad reviews or even the good ones over hyping it :)
take care x
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
"It's okay guys, he did it for love !"
Some dramas know how to mix a big dose of darkness and grit with a healthy dose of levity and humour. This drama does not.On one side, we have the "best friends fall for each other while trying to pass as a couple trope" which can only be humoristic and on the other side, we have the "step-brothers not related by blood" trope, which could be played either with humour or completely seriously. Guess which they go with...
What that gets us is a group of 3 supposedly best friends who work together composed of the goofy couple and one half of the serious one. Talk about a tonal issue! The goofy couple are goofy all the time and the serious big bro feels completely out of place each time they are together. That's one part of the problem.
The other one is the introduction of the the little stepbro. For some reason, he is introduced to us as a menacing figure, stalking his big bro and he even assaults one of his big bro's friends for no other reason than because he didn't like him. His unlikable behviour notwhistanding, that's just setting him up to be hated.
And after that we have the famous drunk scene with the stepbro. That's when it stopped being even a little interesting to me. That's where I stopped watching. However cute we are supposed to find the little stepbro, these questionable years of preparing this "plan" (those who have kept watching will understand) make him a psychopath.
At no point is it even a little romantic to plan to do that to someone whatever your motives are. We all know big bro will forgive him - they are one the two main couples, how could he not ! But the writers are asking us not to take too seriously a story that they present to us with a serious tone. The set-up is unbelievable. The actors are not at fault here and they make the best of what they're given. The writing is questionnable.
I don't care that they are step-brothers. That's a common BL trope and I find it harmless enough. I care that they are premeditating abuser and victim. Yes, that's also a common BL trope, but this one is not harmless. That's just lazy writing and the incendary reviews are well deserved.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This drama is probably meant to push your moral buttons
I don't know where to start... so far this drama has been knocking hard on the glass and viscously shaking my moral compass. First off a friend pretends to be gay and into BL to get the girl he lovebullied as a kid.. which is pretty dysfunctional but he keeps smiling through it all like a crazy... then there's his friend who goes along with it.. who is equally confusing as to why... and then there is the third friend who has yet to come out to his father and probably never will, and he is trying to deal with his step-brother whom has got some unmedicated issues for us to deal with, and he is totally in love with him. So third friend willxhave to deal with his step brother's Limerence syndrome (or his filial imprinting idk which to choose), his Othello disorder and his over all bipolarity or borderline personality.... to put those ilnesses in easy terms; the step brother basically a love sick jelaous stalker...Now, this is not my cup of tea. But because I always finish something I begin. I will watch this story through. The acting is great the boys are selling jt for sure! But you know. My moral compass is fighting with the plot scenarios... A LOT.
Was this review helpful to you?
You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Anyone who enjoys watching something so harmful and disgusting shouldn’t be allowed to consume LGBTQ+ media. Too many horrible tropes, like fujoshis, rape, incest, and the romanticization of it all. I’m sure there are more that I haven’t mentioned.Gay relationships aren’t your little toy scenarios to play with. Of course we want representation in the media for other types of love, OF COURSE WE DO! But negative and just creepy and overused portrayals like this are not what we need. People need to stop romanticizing toxic behaviour— there’s a difference between dramatic and heavy topics shown within media and just plain romanticization of toxicity. There’s also a way for films and shows to clearly highlight very toxic things within relationships and friendships without putting them on a pedestal and labeling them as cute or desirable and OKAY.
I expected more from the History series. I guess the departing of the screen writer or whomever that woman that left to write We Best Love instead really damaged everyone else’s heads. This isn’t cute. It’s shameful.
Was this review helpful to you?
