Strong Female Lead! Women not talking about men!
I enjoyed this series because it strikes all the right notes for me -- no one is extra-super special, characters are generally realistic, situations are plausible, settings are appropriate, and, best of all, everyone acts like a real person - which is a joy after seeing so many canned plots.It passes the Bechdel test with flying colors - also a delight - women talking to other women about things other than men -- their goals, dreams, supportive friendships - it was really top notch there. As an older woman, I often have trouble suspending disbelief when the female characters are two dimensional and/or disappointing stereotypes of what men THINK women talk about or do when they don't have any men around to flirt with.
FL was brilliant in her role, and played it with great skill. What was particularly noteworthy was how her persona held up and remained consistent within realistic boundaries. That's not an easy thing to do. Got a big kick out of ML, who I kept thinking of as "Pineapple Head" (from Meteor Garden) - he got to play a well-rounded, good hearted young man and did it well. Supporting female lead was, sadly, not a well-fleshed out character -- too much "ditz" for the job she presumably had, but I thought friend of ML had some good character development and a great young lion moment with his parents.
I had to revisit the portrayal of FL's mother in my mind a time or two - in many ways at first, I thought it was badly done, however, in the latter episodes, a chance remark makes the wild mood swings and other personality oddities much more understandable. I still think it was a speck over the top, but the chance remarks tamed it. Nice to see Mom do some growing up, too. Great green jacket on Mom!
There's also an element which I have now seen in several Chinese serial stories - comeuppance within realistic boundaries. I like this -- it doesn't happen as often as we'd like to think in real life, but when it does, it happens with doorbells, not trumpets, which is how that element worked out in this show.
I recommend it and encourage you to wait through the few places where it drags in order to see a glimpse of life played lovingly and believably.
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DEF ONE OF MY FAV CDRAMAS
So...I havent watched much cdramas as I usually watched kdramas but this is like the 6th chinese one I have watched so far and I really liked it! It's very realistic and relatable and I especially loved the main lead's characters as they're very mature and likeable that I learned a lot. The female lead had me getting a girl-crush on her cuz she's sooo admirable!! I guess that was the most refreshing thing I liked about this drama and I loved the moments she finally started having butterflies from the male lead and actually found a real love..I didn't mind the second male lead much because I dont blame him for admiring her a lot and honestly he wasnt that bad like ive seen worse SML in some kdramas...this one was pretty cool/chill. ANYWAYS i already miss the main characters and im desperately searching for any similar cdramas (that have mature leads not annoying childish ones)Was this review helpful to you?
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pleasantly good
As someone that watched and didn't liked "Find Yourself" (another age gap romance drama), I decided to give this show a try as it appeared on my Netflix feed. This show turned out to be much better than I expected and it adds in different flavors compared to other shows with the same genre.I really enjoyed FL and ML's interaction - their relationship is not a love at first sight/ you're handsome/pretty kind of thing. FL is a capable and independent working adult while ML is a young man fresh in the working industry, right off the bat I liked this contrast. ML's personality is very playful and goofy while FL is someone that focus on work and both of them has their own goals. The big age gap relationship was handled very nicely in a work setting, where both of them sees each other as trust worthy colleagues and went through all the office politics together which eventually developed into something more, their foundation is solid.
I've always disliked when such shows FL have to treat ML like a small kid/ heavily emphasize on the age gap - but this show managed to done it without all these! Overall, it's a good watch and there's good takeaway from this drama.
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A woman who balances various walks of her life
The rational life pleasantly surprised me.With a plot based on a woman who faces constant pressure from her mother to marry and settle,constant problems in her office from her colleagues to bring her down,guides her friends and juniors in in their life issues,strives to promote the business of the company she works in,and unexpectedly finds true love amongst all the busy days in her daily routine.Shen Ruo xin,is a 30+ career driven woman who works in a car manufacturing company and also deals with various departments associated with cars,like insurance,on road pricing, models,and many more.
Qi xiao joins her as her assistant after their unexpected and awkward meeting.
Gradually they fall in love with each other.Qi Xiao is always there for Shen Ruo xin,even in her difficult situations,low points and helps her swim through all the struggles she encounters in her personal and professional life.
Their chemistry was good.
Calvin as Xu Ming Jie was good in his role.
The costumes,cast were good.
A decent drama which narrates the life of a 30+ contemporary woman.Go for it .
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Slow burning idealist romance
I've watched many kdramas and this is the first cdrama that I've finished. The others I tried were full of overacting and cringey characters that I couldn't watch. I feel like cdrama fans must be much more critical than kdrama fans. The rating for this show is currently 7.9 while some sub-par kdramas are rated at 8.7 or higher.This slow-burn of a romance drama balanced with corporate politics has a modern feel to it. Our heroine played by Qin Lan, is a near-perfect person. Intelligent, rational, thoughtful, and poised no matter what comes her way. Although it can be hard to buy in to such a perfect character, her very natural acting brings it to life and she's very enjoyable to watch as Shen Ruo Xin. Dylan Wang as Qi Xiao is also an idealist archetype, but with a earnest and straightforward nature, and he pulls it off too. Their romance is mature, sweet, and calm.
The balance between the main leads and the supporting characters is well done. They grow their interconnections in smooth ways, and you get to know them quite well. I really enjoyed the innocent sweet relationship between Su Yang and Si Jia. And I absolutely loved the energetic, confident, and fearless Zi Yan as Ruo Xin's best friend. The two had such great chemistry as BFFs.
Some might call this drama flat or boring. I think it could have used a few more dramatic plot challenges, and the ones it did have could have brought more variation to the tone. However, I feel the script was very well written, almost as if it was capturing real life interactions, without cutting any lines out. If you are in the mood for following interesting and well-written dialogue, you will enjoy this and it won't seem boring.
This drama is filled with idealist representations of people. The maturity in the relationships and the smooth way in which the characters interact with each other and form relationships that go beyond isolating the main leads from the supporting characters is well done. The production values are beautiful. And the calm, mature feel of the show makes it really enjoyable. I'm so glad I watched this and now I'm off to find more cdramas like it!
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This review may contain spoilers
So high review but it wasn't 10/10
Story was great and there relationship from start to end was Great tooThey wasted lot of time on her BOSS. 20 episodes, trying to make her cindrella and then got denied..
Real flirting started from 21
Relationship started at 27 episode out of 35
Other then her childhood divorced sweetheart there was no villian
she did not let him even kiss her,
She did not introduced him to her friends herself he went there and she has to....
She was smart enough to understand YUTAO was a scambeg but she keep in touch with him and let him manipulate there relationship.
FL Asked him to kept that from her mother but he went on to tell her
He look down on FL and insulted her
But she just accepted all that because he is her childhood sweetheart ? Ugly look sweetheart.
She don't ask her mother who told her about how is her boyfriend ?
At least a SLAP he deserves from FL.
In e 34
I did not get it why she even accepted yutao call and even going to meet that lowlife, if she have that much free time then she should spend that with her boyfriend then a lowlife...
GU YU TAO DESERVES A HARD SLAP
Boring for 20 Episodes
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It a joy and a pleasure to watch it
I have been a Dylan Wang's fan since Meteor Garden, after Evernight 2 and waiting for his new incoming dramas.This drama treat some important issues in China nowadays, women independence, the thing that there is nothing wrong with relationships between a 30s female and a young man, also family and old tradition matters.
The lead actress is exquisite on her acting. She has been a fantastic discovery. She along Didi, he plays a lovely, kind and loyal guy.
One more time, Dylan shows his awesome skill on acting, I'm proud.
The rest of the cast did great too. Totally is the drama to re watch it and enjoy it over and over again.
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This review may contain spoilers
A beautiful and realistic portrayal of (romantic) relationships in life
Such an amazing drama, with such a beautiful portrayal of romantic relationships through different stages. It also realistically portrayed the hardships people go through in current society. I liked how they showed the character finding and choosing their own happiness, just as we strife to do every day.The casting was perfect. Each actor performed their role very well and the main couple just melted my heart with their sweetness.
Though this drama didn't have any big highs or lows that kept me at the edge of your seat, it flowed naturally like a real story would. I wouldn't recommend this drama to people who want to take their mind of things, as this drama does go into some serious societal issues. However for people for people who enjoy who enjoy slice of dramas this is a great pick.
Overall it was a very nice watch. I'm going to miss seeing these characters on my screen. 8/10.
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This review may contain spoilers
"The Rational Life" is a well-written and well-acted drama that covers office politics, sabotage, and sexual discrimination with a budding romance winding its way throughout.The first two-thirds of the of the series was well-paced and held my attention completely. The last third featured excellent character development, but was slow at moments.
Notably, the working partnership between Shen Ruo Xin and Qi Xiao was dynamic & exciting. The dialogue was cracking, the chemistry was off the charts, and you had the feeling that you were really seeing two people fall for each other while dealing with realistic workplace issues.
Unfortunately, the romance overwhelmed later episodes as the couple faced pointless obstacles and they (yawn) talked their way out of them. The couple didn't really "do" anything together once Xiao left Zenpro. This was a shame because their interactions while working on the common project of establishing the electric car business were what made the show so compelling.
Dylan Wang is not the best actor, but he has a ton of charisma and was extremely convincing as mature 20-something Qi Xiao falling in love with his 30-something boss.
Chen Peng Wan Li who played Su Yang moped his way through the entire series but had a shining moment in the scene with his parents. It's a shame his back story wasn't better developed because he showed he had the chops to carry some of the show.
Watching the friendship develop between Zhou Yi Lan (Ruo Xin's mother) and Du Li Ting (Xiao's mother) was delightful. Both actresses gave beautiful, heartwarming performances as the sometimes infuriating but mostly lovable matriarchs.
The slower pacing of the last third as well as some missed opportunities and overdone story lines - Xu & Gu love interests why? - lead me to rate this series 8.5/10.
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Healthy relationships
A good balance between workplace drama, slice-of-life, family and romance.The relationships portrayed, both family, friends and coworkers, are realistic and develops well, supporting the storyarchs and pace of the drama.
Acting was strong from pretty much everyone. Dylan Wang mastered the portrayal of a young person with sincere feelings well, and I must say the actress playing FL’s mum impressed me.
The “opposite age difference” is shown in a very realistic way, and I particularly liked how they addressed the concerns and obstacles through the views of different people around them.
The supporting characters’ stories did develop on their own archs, without being too dominating. They could have dropped some of it and made the drama shorter, as they were not really essential to the story, but those scenes didn’t feel like a total waste of time either.
All in all, this is a good drama to watch if you like more mature, healthy relationships.
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She looks perfect from the outside but she's actually lonely
Normal thing when people think a lady age 30+ has perfect career and she MUST marry to complete her traditional Asian value. So much burden she carries by herself until he came...The ML character looks young and inexperienced but he's actually a righteous and responsible person, with great sense of humour, lights up her world.
FL and ML have so much much natural chemistry and the plots and scripts are make sense. 100% office life with all its challenges + family and romantic issues.
It's heartwarming but no cheesy taste. Very recommended
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