Lighter & Princess

Toxic love story

I just finished watching it and I was going to drop it But I forced myself to watch it to the end to see if they would have a happy ever after while I am glad that they lived happily ever after there was not much growth development in their characters and he was extremely toxic throughout the whole relationship and extremely secretive. And she followed him around like a lost puppy. She should have stayed with that painter, who really cared about her and treated her well. But a lot of time, women go for toxic men. I guess Maturity is realizing that this was a toxic relationship. After he got out of jail and she met him again, she should have moved on with her life. But she got wrapped up again with him. He always gave the absolute minimum to her and even pushed her away and said so many hurtful things that were unforgivable, but she still followed him around like a lost puppy. He's an example of just giving the minimum as a partner. She was too young to know that there was so much more to being in love, but oh well, also, the story line was extremely boring if I'm being honest and I had to fast forward through a lot of parts.I gave it a five out of ten and I definitely would not be watched or recommend.

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Slice of life + hot chemistry between bickering main leads

The drama tells the love story between a genius computer programmer male lead and a hard-working programmer female lead who face many challenges together throughout their university and adult lives. Last year, I dropped this at episode 6 but now decided to give this drama a second chance.

The drama is split into two parts. Part one is their university life and how they fell in love. Part two is their adult lives and how they deal with the aftermath of what had happened during their university years. Many people in the comments say that their adult life story is better and I agree. The second part of the drama was more exciting to watch but at the same time I might have not appreciated it enough if I hadn’t seen their university life first.

The best thing about this drama is hands down the fire chemistry between the leads. They are the reason that I decided to give the drama a second chance and also what kept me going. I loved that the main leads were often rivals/bickering with each other but at the same time always supported each other even for the little things. One of the highlights for me was the villains. They made my blood boil but in a good way. They were exciting characters to watch and so horrible that I was constantly rooting for the main leads to destroy them.

The worst thing about this drama is the extremely lengthy computer dialogue at university and later at the job. I actually know many of the things they were saying but that doesn’t mean they were interesting. I found myself ff/skipping tons of things. Also some of the side characters had too much screen time and were boring to watch. In general, I would have enjoyed the drama more if it was shorter.

CHARACTERS:
I had issues with the male lead at the beginning. He appeared to be an arrogant jerk but with each episode you realise that he is quite misunderstood. He always has a different perspective from the mindset of everyone else. He is a genius and I felt his personality was realistically flawed. Genius people in real life can be insensitive and not able to fully sympathise with people because their brains are more focused on the logical than the emotional. Even though at times I definitely didn’t like his behaviour towards the female lead and he showed quite a few red flags, he was an interesting character to watch. He is cold towards people and pushes them away but later you realise that he has gone through a lot of emotional trauma that has made him closed off to others.

The female lead is a friendly, outspoken, hard-working and brave girl. As the title suggests, she is a princess in a sense that she has had good upbringing and never felt any lack of her life in a material sense. She goes through a lot of emotional turmoil because of the male lead that makes her stronger. She is one of the most devoted female leads I’ve seen in a drama.

POSITIVE:
- Hot chemistry between the leads. The tension between them was always on point. They didn’t even need to speak, their eye contact was enough to light the room on fire.
- Hot kiss scenes between the leads.
- Villains made my blood boil but in a good way. They were interesting to watch and elevated the story.
- No stupid love triangles.
- Opposite attracts. I love that even though the main leads often had the opposite perspective of life, they were learning from each other and their personalities seemed to click as the story progressed.
- When characters had arguments, the drama did well in helping you understand both perspectives.
- Meaningful storyline. The plot and dialogue always had a deeper purpose and didn’t feel cliche.
- Campus setting vibe was done right as I started to reminisce about my own university years.
- Second part of the drama (adult life) was done very well with many parallels with the first, and in general it helped me to appreciate the university part more.

NEGATIVE:
- All the computer/programmer dialogue was extremely lengthy (during university and later at the job) which made the drama very boring to watch at times.
- Some side characters were boring in the first half of the drama (university life).
- University life (first half) felt quite lacklustre compared to their adult life (second half).
- Lots of ff/skipping. In general I feel the drama was too long. The core of the story is the relationship between the leads which I loved, however the rest was easy to skip.
- Not enough cute romance. The main leads were always together but not together as a couple. Sometimes I wish we would have seen more cute scenes between them but at the same time I can see that the way the plot was set up didn't allow that.

OVERALL:
This drama is perfect for people who want to watch a slice of life drama with bickering main leads and many emotional/meaningful life moments.

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"I'll go to the end of the world just to see you smile"

The drama is beautiful and so is the relationship between the leads. This is one of the best chemistry that I've seen in Cdrama/ Kdrama. The leads chemistry just click together from the beginning. They bicker alot but you can feel the chemistry. When they are together, the chemistry just overflows. Some scenes even felt so natural that I got confused whether they are acting or is it real. The story is also good. Although they had to get separated for some time, they never forgot about each other. They were like a married couple. I'm a sucker for romance genres and this is hands down one the best chemistry between the leads so far.
The characters also did justice to their roles. I even cried at the end cause this drama is so special to me. I hope we get to see the leads acting on another drama again. don't hesitate to watch this drama. It contains romance and some revenge plot too. So leave your worries behind and enjoy this drama.
Also I have not been able to get into modern Cdramas lately, but this drama made me addicted. It's different from other dramas too. So please watch it.

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It's very momerable, but at the same time there are many significant negative points.

In my review I'll mostly focus on the negatives, since I'm late to the party & the drama's abundant positive reviewers covered everything else. Though let me just say the main couple's chemistry & their acting performances are unprecedented in a cdrama, I don't think I have ever seen another cdrama that had such lively leads, with so much raw emotion etc..
(It's not a criticism really, but I chuckled a little when I saw Lao Gao driving a Maybach, this is the real authentic Cwebnovel experience right here!)

Okay so the negatives in no particular order:
⌲ The drama is very long & there are some repetitive plots, it feels like I rewatched an extraordinarily good drama 4 times in a row, this shouldn't have been 36 episodes. (though I'm sure many people that watched it as the eps were released barely noticed this)
⌲ Zhu Yun should have explained many things to her mom, but that never happened. (+horrible mom with little plot relevance & screen time)
⌲ Lao Gao's character development makes no sense to me. (and the transition to crazed cartoon villain is especially jarring)
⌲ Why would Li Xun trust Gao with L&P? (Their friendship? is very poorly explained in the drama)
⌲ Why, just why would Li Xun a so called genius use brawn over brain to deal with Fang Zhi Jing?
⌲ I found Fang Zhi Jing's plot against LX's sister over the top silly.
⌲ Zhu Yun kept a so called childhood friend on the hook for years. (you are a bad girl ZY, though at least this is bearable for a triangle)
⌲ The misunderstanding about a certain marriage happening has never gotten resolved, despite there being a lot of tension about this for a while.
⌲ The English in the drama is just embarrassing . ("Lucky & Power", "Thank!")
⌲ Ren Di is such an underutilized character. (Her band was really cool for those 3 minutes)
⌲ Ren Di's briefly shown romance is rather horrible.
⌲ Zhu Yun pretending not to care for so long, even in her internal monologues makes no sense.
⌲ The storytelling and even the main romantic plot is quite jittery at times, there are also frequent twists of logic, though the latter could be attributed to the questionable subbing quality, I just don't know.
⌲ This drama features the ugliest breakup I've ever witnessed. Noble reasons or not, no self respecting woman would ever forgive this much. (and yes LX is rather toxic in the early episodes too)
⌲ There is an enormous shift in the drama's tonality where we go from a very serious twenteen startup attempt to a ridiculously silly situation at the Flying Network? whatever company.
⌲ Xu Li Na (Her plot is all over the place & then she suddenly cares about Gao in the final episodes following their super silly divorce)
⌲ The programming related segments are ridiculous at times.
⌲ I can accept LX being a wunderkind knowitall, but based on what I've seen of ZY's progress as a newbie, she is the (un)real genius here..

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Lonely King and hero Princess

Having consumed this drama very quickly, I can safely say it has gripped my attention and pleasantly surprised me in more ways than one. There may be slight spoilers in my review, so bear that in mind if you choose to continue reading.

First of all, what seems to be a common type of story actually reveals profound characterizations that have been brought to life by gifted actors. The drama starts in the present and introduces the key characters who share a complicated and painful past. Then the flashback occurs and we see what led to the current circumstances.

The male protagonist Li Xun (LX) is an IT prodigy focused solely on his work and devoid of social skills. Or he can't be bothered to play the games of society, in this case university life. LX is a pioneer and thus attracts equal amounts of admiration and envy from peers. He gradually builds a circle of IT enthusiasts around him, but has uneasy relationships with most of them. Why? Because he is like an absolute ruler or king and the general approach is his way or the highway.

As the story unfolds, we understand why LX is emotionally closed off and that a series of traumatic and unfortunate events have deeply scarred him. He had to survive and then give himself a new start in life, based solely on his efforts and with no support from others. All these experiences are symbolized by the lighter often seen in his hands.

The one person LX seems to indulge is the female lead Zhu Yun (ZY), or 'princess' as he sometimes calls her. At first glance, ZY is a nice, intelligent and hard-working girl from a wealthy but loving family. Unfortunately, her rather domineering mother has charted ZY's life course, leaving her little free will and unaware of what she actually enjoys doing.

That is one reason why ZY is inevitably drawn to LX. Although they are fundamentally different and often bicker, she admires and respects his IT genius and slightly envies his devil-may-care attitude. ZY chooses to be inspired by LX and in the process discovers her passion for programming.

The romance/ coming of age background story in university is light with some substance. LX and ZY make a cute couple. My concern with LX's behaviour is that he is impulsive and tends to take things to the extreme, regardless of consequences. After LX starts his company, another series of tragic events renders him determined to push ZY away and deeply hurt her.

Fastforward a few years, the two meet again. LX has revenge in mind against those who betrayed him and ZY wants to help him. His development was derailed by time in prison, while she became a very successful professional. She goes above and beyond to support him, since his quest for justice is important to her as well.

Here for a while LX portrays someone very difficult for me to like or respect. I have compassion for his traumatic past, but that does not entitle him to use ZY as emotional punching bag. LX intentionally hurts her again and again, particularly when feelings of insecurity come up within him.

There seemed to be a dark side to his character cropping up when he deals with women who are emotionally vulnerable to him. There was a scene with Xu Li Na as well, which left me with the impression that LX enjoys the power trip of having the emotional upperhand. Unfortunately, these issues with both women were glossed over with a brief apology.

Meanwhile, I was very fond of ZY's character. Her success abroad hides many emotional wounds and her long time struggle with mental health. She has lingering feelings for LX, but it is her sense of responsibility to help right what went wrong which makes her stay, despite his very hurtful attitude. In the end, they know each other better than anyone, with good, bad and everything in between.

Gao - the former friend turned foe - is also a complex character. His poor choices, torment and obssessions were very convincingly interpreted.

All in all, a solid and engaging drama that was definitely worth my time.

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C-drama version of a Wattpad novel | Turn off your brain

★★★★★★★ 7/10 stars, C-drama version of a Wattpad novel written in 2015.

You need to turn off your brain to watch this, and just enjoy the pretty people on screen.

I don't recommend watching unless you've been through other dog blood, toxic, Wattpad-esque mafia/bad boy x good girl stories and know what a healthy relationship should look like, lmao. If you have, then proceed, because this show was genuinely entertaining and unexpected.

The chemistry...was surprisingly good?

I expected this to be cliched, boring, and just have good-looking leads but no substance, but I was mistaken. Though the ending left me wanting for a lot more (at least an epilogue ???) it's still an OK drama, with amazing chemistry is great—def in the top 5 the best I've seen ever in a Chinese drama.

The ML is....complicated, manipulative, and i dont like how the story is written to frame everything the FL does around him, and that she must always be accommodating to him....this is a whole separate story, but its so poorly written and romanticizes selfish MLs, who rlly why r u working this hard for a man who never even returns half the effort or love, and is he a gemini?? (I'm mostly joking here but add another L to that, LOL). You shouldn't ever actually date someone like this irl.

I'd like to think of this as a C-Drama 365 Days, LMAOO, But without the mafia, not nearly as graphic, or extreme, or sexual. It just gives that Wattpad vibe, but with visuals and chemistry (and a dog blood, contrived, silly story to match). The ML sucks tho, in just that he's a selfish, genius, everyone must bow to him kind of thing.

BUT,,, good chemistry. if you turn off ur brain and just watch for that then...a good enough show to binge watch in like 3 days!

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This is one of the cutest romantic dramas with a great storyline from Episodes 1 to 36. One of my favorite actors is in this drama and I wished he had more dramas out there. Chen Fei Yu (Li Xun) He was excellent in the role that was given to him. CFY made this character his own, he was very believable. Zhang Jing Yi (Zhu Yun) who played opposite Chen Fei You, did very well after episode 19. I felt at first she didn't have chemistry but that chemistry with CFY came out of nowhere. I love the CFY wardrobe and man does he look good in jeans and a black turtleneck long-sleeve shirt. I loved how the writers wrote in a band and how friends stayed friends all the way up to the end. Well just a few of them. A lot of corruption in this drama. I loved how the writers worked out the crisis and called them plans. Anyway, don't skip episodes.

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The best drama ever

I think that drama "Lighter and princess" is one of the best drama I have ever seen!!!!The story is very romantic but also has elements like agony,jealusy,betrayal and friendship.It has also a continuous plot that you would never get bored.The combination of the past and the present ties all the pieces of history together.The music is so emotional that you feel the right feeling in the right scene .The songs have such a beautiful melody and the lyrics are meaningfull.Iam pretty sure that the next period those songs will be a success.Concerning the acting the male lead actor and the female lead actress are amazing .Overall I strongly recommend this drama!

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Don't read this review if you hate spoilers and are easily excited!

The hero is successful in his studies and soon in the business world. As a result, he arouses the envy of friends who soon turn against him.
At some point, the revenge chapter begins, settling accounts with enemies.The revenge later changes from settling accounts to forgiveness.
Pity prevails with whining and crying, the ML finally allows mercy to prevail.

Obviously we should learn to forgive and to forgive instead of punishing.

But one should then also keep the extent of torment and brutal meanness to the extent that forgiveness is still possible and does not seem absurd.

His girlfriend, "Princess", the FL, abandons him, later they get back together. Her share of forgiveness for the criminal is particularly large. Shame, one thinks, she should actually be by the side of her long-tortured friend.

Many critics gripe about the toxic ML, saying he's cold as ice. Put yourself through what he has to suffer serially.

The FL is criticized as well, even for not getting her parents' culturally customary consent for the relationship. These parents beat their daughter, hold her captive and do all sorts of other monstrous things - consent from these parents? Only so much, they should go to hell.

Although, especially at the beginning, the story is quite interesting, I'm reluctant to recommend the series, because as soon as it starts, it goes full throttle through mess and misery.
Save yourself the many incomprehensible character jumps, don't get angry, make love instead or go to the pub. Maybe she is sitting there! Or him!

Post Scriptum: I hope I didn't spoil too much, according to the rules of etiquette in the forum.

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I'm gutted, I wanted to like it more

Look, I love Feiyu and have waited for him to do a project like LAP, however, the plot of the ex-convict bad boy and the angelic good girl is one that Hollywood did many years ago and with much better results. It's a basic plot that needed something more explosive to keep it humming along.
Also and IMO, Jingyi was the wrong actress to pair with Feiyu because even when she's happy or playful, she always has a restrained manner about her as if her public image is more important to her than the character she's playing. Essentially, she acts the same in every drama of hers. How does she keep getting projects?

I see there's a lot of fangirling and comments like "oh my god, their chemistry" but honestly, only Feiyu brought the heat, Jingyi was all-around terrible as a romantic lead. The story is nothing special and the execution was even more lackluster. I hate when a series starts in the present and then takes almost 15 episodes to tell the back story through flashbacks. It's one of the laziest forms of storytelling because basically, the scriptwriter isn't confident that the story was good enough to build organically.

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Lighter and princess

“ If time could stop when we first meet ” . Greatest Green flag drama with best story line and setting high standards of love for both men and women.
Definitely watch. Li xun and zhu yun setting highstandrands of love . It doesnt feel like fictional drama the it almost felt real every seen in the drama felt real its just not a drama its a real life story. 36 episodes are just not enough my wishful thinking it that i hope that this drama can continue until i die but the fact is thats not possible but still cant stop loving this drama and this drama will definitely have special place in my entire life and no one replace it like #1 drama of my lifetime

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