Only for Love

WORST PAIR

THE MAJOR DRAWBACK IS THE CHEMISTRY PHYSICS OR GEOGRAPHY BETWEEN THE COUPLE.

DYLAN WANG IS AN AWESOME ACTOR BUT HE CANNOT BE AN ARROGANT CEO - IT JUST DOESN'T SUIT. IF NOT FOR HIM I THINK THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN AN AWESOME ROMANCE BETWEEN THE CEO AND THE AMBITIOUS GIRL.

THE STORY IS OKAY BUT TOOO SLOW THAT I WANT TO QUIT WATCHING CHINESE DRAMAS AS A WHOLE BUT IF IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR ANOTHER ACTOR I THINK THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN AN SUPER HIT DRAMA.

THE SECOND COUPLE AND THIRD COUPLE WERE AND ARE AWESOME. THE ROLES COULD HAVE BEEN CHANGED WERE YU YOU COULD HAVE BEEN THE MAIL LEAD AND GUAN JI IN YU YOU'S ROLE AND DYLAN IN GUAN JI ROLE OR JUST DROP DYLAN AND BRING SOME OTHER TALENTED ACTOR. DIRECTOR AND CAST PRODUCERS DID AN UTTERLY FLOP SELECTION .

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Unimpressive despite expectations!

This was a much awaited show, since I am a fan of both Bai Lu and Dylan Wang, with Miles Wei in this show as well, the anticipation was even higher. I generally wait for a show to complete airing before I binge watch it, but I started watching when about 26 episodes were aired. Episode after episode, my confusion kept growing as to what was the deal with the leads, with the ML clearly interested in the FL but always giving her a tough time, then helping her covertly. As for the FL, she is shown as a rising star in financial journalism, with many noteworthy articles under her belt, but as soon as the ML comes into the picture, she sees him as the only ladder she needs to climb professionally, the character sketch of the FL couldn’t have been more skewed. She flirts with a business contact openly, is unsure whether she actually has feelings for him, but sees nothing wrong in using him for her professional gain. I was expecting a great onscreen chemistry between the leads, but it was lacklustre and mediocre at best. What was really appalling were the unnecessary scenes of horse riding that felt so out of place and context! For the second leads, they looked good together, had chemistry too, but I didn’t get why their relationship had to be an on-and-off kind of situation, with no rhyme or reason for unnecessary conflict or coldness. The third couple, with Miles Wei was my favourite, and one of the reasons I continued watching. That said, even this cute pair couldn’t compel me to watch beyond episode 24. I really like Bai Lu and Dylan Wang, and sincerely hope they get better stories and characters in future. Bai Lu has shown such great on-screen chemistry with Ren Jialun, Xu Kai and Luo Yunxi, I expected more from her here, but she can only do what she is directed to, with the character that’s written for her. As for Dylan Wang, I loved him in Love between Fairy and Devil, but I just couldn’t feel the same for him in this show.

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What can I say, suddenly I saw the trailer of episode 14, I was surprised to see it. After that I came to know that only for love realized.
Bai Lu is my favourite actress and one of the best actresses. This woman never fails to ace whatever role she plays. So excited for this ❤️ lets see what happens to next epsiode .
how she always takes on new challenging roles to grow as an actress. Every drama has been successful as well. 🥰❤Every time when Bai Lu films a new drama, she enriches herself as well. She learns new things, violin, horse riding, guitar, singing, dialect, etc. In some interviews/videos, we know that the practicing/preparation time is almost the same as the filming time. She practices so hard to meet the standard. She actually can choose the project not so demanding, but she intends to choose the project that is meaningful to her. Really admire her and support her!
Only Chinese actress who can act and Looks damn natural exactly knows how much to do without being over the top and cringy.Queen Of Versatility Bai Lu

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Sorry it's a fail ....

I am a big Wang Hedi fan & excited to see him working with Bai Lu .... Cast looked good....

However the story is soooo boring.... Lazy, Lazy, Lazy writing....

The is boring, repetitive garbage of a drama.... The production team screwed over this cast....

Where to now? ....

Wang Hedi needs to go back to his root. This style of lead is not for him, it's for no one.... Wa g Hedi is full of energy and Fighting Historic dramas is where he is at home eg. Unchained Love, Love between Fairy & Devil, Evernight 2.... Get back to this theme....
Female leads, look you don't need a big female lead name, plenty good actresses out there eg. Zhang Rounan, Zhang Miao Yi so a Zhao Lusi or Yang Zi not required.... Just need right female lead with a script you are at home with.... That's how Wang Hedi recovers....

Bai Lu is fine, Kunning Palace drama doing well ....

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Hit or Miss, You Decide

I think I’m in the minority when I say this but I really didn’t care much for this drama (don’t hate me!) And this review is in NO WAY meant to throw shade on any of the cast or others involved in the making - I’m not denying their talents. After reading a review by a viewer who’s fluent in Chinese & familiar with the culture, I think it chalks up to an unfortunate case of there being so much lost in translation for those of us who rely on the subtitles to provide the correct context for the scenes. (And I know translating is hard work so I’m by no means shaming those involved with that!) That reviewer mentioned how the ML was actually really humorous (which definitely didn’t translate through for me) & there being this whole thing around when he would & wouldn’t wear his glasses (which wasn’t at all explained). Anyways - I’m just trying to say that me not enjoying this drama doesn’t mean it’s bad, I think it’s simply that I wasn’t given enough context of the little things to help me understand the story better.

That being said, I will still give some of my thoughts for anyone who’s interested in reading them. 😉

I was excited for this drama as I like both of the Lead actors ( Bai Lu & Dylan Wang). I really tried to stick it out, but I finally gave up at ep.18. Then I completely skipped eps.19-30 & jumped back in at the last few. I really hate doing that but I was just so annoyed with the storyline. I think it had so much unmet potential by adding all the unnecessary drama of the additional love interests, the multiple POV’s, & the workplace drama for both Leads. It all added up to more drama than I like to watch. I also really didn’t like that the FL started pursuing the ML out of a selfish desire for revenge on her ex. That doesn’t say very nice things about her, that she would use him like that. Yes, I know she was acting out of high emotions after catching her boyfriend cheating on her. Yes, I understand that this happens in the real world too. BUT I would’ve preferred she stopped being ruled by her emotions & selfishness much sooner rather than prolonging her game with the ML’s emotions. And I get that he was aware she had a hidden motive behind her sudden interest in him, but it still sucked that while he was developing feelings for her, he also knew he couldn’t 100% trust her because of her schemes/lies. And because of that, he would fluctuate between hot & cold with her. Then, when she knew her feelings for him had turned real & that she genuinely liked him, she chose not to confess ‘cause she knew he’d be mad (& rightfully so!). So she just kept lying, which doesn’t at all scream “I love you” to me. I understand not wanting to lose him, but girl - fess up so y’all can either build something REAL or you can let each other go to find something healthier. Nothing built upon lies can stand the test of time…

Also, side note - he deserved a heartfelt apology. Like, a true & sincere apology from her but, to the best of my knowledge, she never said she was sorry for how she approached him with bad intentions. I think she only ever apologized for work-related things, but never for how she intended to use him for revenge. Just because he forgave her without her having to say the words doesn’t mean she didn’t need to say them or that he didn’t deserve to hear them.

So with all of that there was a lot of push & pull drama which I’m not a fan of. I thought both Leads acted really childishly for adults who were presented as mature & excellent in their respective careers. Their professional & personal personas didn’t mesh for me. Their actions didn’t match their ages (but, again, maybe it’s ‘cause too much stuff got lost in translation.)

Now, having said all that, I DID enjoy it once they finally got together. They stopped being so annoying & became a solid couple with really great, melt-your-screen chemistry. 🫠 (WHYYY couldn’t we have more of that & less of the icky drama?!?) I liked how they cared for each other, the scenes where they protected/defended the other, & the ways they unashamedly loved one another. If they just could’ve been like that for more of the show, I would’ve rated this so much higher!! I even go back & rewatch the eps. after they’re a couple because of how cute they are together.

So I really don’t know whether to recommend this drama to you or not. I’ll simply leave it up to you & advise you go in knowing there’s missing context if you rely on subtitles like me. 🙃

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-⬇️ S P O I L E R S 🚫 B E L O W ⬇️-


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The things I always want to know 😏😉…
- First(real)Kiss : ep.14 💋
- Together : ep.? 👩🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻
- BreakUp : ep.? 💔
- BackTogether : ep33? ❤️‍🩹

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the stylist....

I wonder why the main female character's clothing style is really unattractive? I know her character was created as someone simple, but that doesn't align with the image built in the drama. Because simple doesn't mean it doesn't look attractive.

the color of the clothes is very flat for Bailu's character.

I often find things like this in Chinese dramas and it makes me keep cursing the drama stylist, because I see the male characters' clothes are fine.

Even though the clothing brand is expensive, if the colors and combination are not good, this will make it unattractive on screen. Don't forget Bailu's hair style, why not try to make it look more professional like the other characters?

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Some of my frustrations are listed below...

It took me 2 whole months before I decided to watch this. I admit, I read reviews and summary reviews on series that I plan to watch. But do not get me wrong, I am never swayed by bad reviews of low rate, I will still watch the series as long as I like the main couple and the ending is a happy one. I cannot just watch sad endings even if the main couples are my favorites.

Now, the 7.0 overall rate is still high but I will give this score because I like the main leads, especially FL BUT I do not like them as a couple. I mean, I do not get excited when they are on screen and I do not long for them to be on screen together.

I felt that there were so many plot holes and I do not think there was much development on the FL character, the ML character development (if you can call it) was weird because it was so abrupt. Almost half or even more than half of the series, they do not know who they were talking about! I mean, is that even possible? When my friends or colleagues talk about their crush, we always want to know their names and I mean, sometimes they will not give their names but eventually, especially, if they are always together, we can create the conclusion that he/she was the one she/he was talking about! All characters are all professionals here, and we are led to presume that they are all smart! But no, they are not. and that is one of the most frustrating things about this series.

Another frustration, is the FL is perceived to be "good with words and expressing the feelings of the person she is interviewing to the public" but, OMG, why was it so hard to tell the ML about the "part" of the reason why she approached him? And why was it so hard to apologize especially when she knew that she needed to say it and that is what the ML was waiting for (and of course her explanation)? Speaking of explanation, why did she not properly explain her side? I mean, we all just assume, that since the ML is worried about her, then everything is ok!

Do not get me started with the FLs best friend and ML best friend as a couple. My frustration with them is their mouths and their beautiful brains are for display only. They do not use it to talk about the things they want to say to each other or to analyze the situation they saw or heard. They use their mouth to throw hurtful things at each other and their brain draws conclusions based on the small amount of time they see or hear.

Now the MLs niece and MLs other bestfriend. I do not have a frustration about them only how their characters are written and also the lines. I can say that they are almost the most normal couple in the drama.

Another frustration, there is no climax at all. I mean, the story was a steady line then go down then neutral again then down again.

So, you can watch this but do not expect to be excited throughout the drama or to feel any tension like what I felt in episodes 10 and 11 in the Destined series.

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Nearly Perfect Series about a Very Un-Perfect Couple

This will take a while. There’s a lot to unpack here.

I admit that this is a very polarizing series. And it’s really a shame, as this series has so much going for it: A fantastic cast, great OST & Background music, clever photography and a strong novel to base the screenplay on. But I guess it’s understandable, given how unusual this series is and that it requires the viewer to appreciate it from a different perspective. I find this kind of ironic, as the one constant here on MDL is how members are quick to criticize rom-com’s for being ‘tropey’ or meme-like or, the ultimate insult: a cliché. So along comes this series, closely adapted from the novel, which is anything but a cliché. Sometimes you can’t win though, and sure enough a lot of the negative comments here revolve around how ‘weird’ the leads are and all the familiar plot elements the viewers are expecting…. don’t happen. This series is the typical “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.

I’ll take a step back here, now that I’ve mentioned the novel. If you get a chance, and you want to understand this series better, read it – it’s readily available on-line. The series borrows HEAVILY from the book and entire scenes are completely lifted from it. The book omits all the corporate stuff and much of the Three Musketeers angle. It focuses on our leads and especially her. FWIW, I feel that Bai Lu did an excellent job of putting a human face to ShuYi: in the book, she is not that likeable of a character. And the same can be said for Dylan, who actually makes him an even worse character because we can see how bad a person he sometimes is. So, essentially she made her better, and he made him worse: both because they both humanized the book’s characters.

Anyways, back to the series. Instead of the idealized and beat-to-death “Cinderella Rescued by the Rich Guy” story, with at least one nearly-perfect “green-flag” character, we get Zheng ShuYi and ShiYan, both of whom are very realistically flawed people.

On one hand, we have the young, intelligent, beautiful and award-winning journalist, a ‘career-girl’ who is totally focused on her professional life, to the point of only having one friend outside of work. At 25, she resists efforts by her parents to socialize with other men, as she feels she’s not ready for a committed relationship. Recently dumped by her boyfriend (I doubt there was that much going on there, given her dedication to her craft) she’s not ready for dealing with ANY man in the near future. And she has a deep character flaw: her inability to tell the truth in settings either mundane or important, no matter who she’s talking to: her parents, co-workers, boyfriend, etc. Despite being self-confident in her professional life, she is extremely insecure, so she keeps much of her personal life secret from everyone she knows. I’ve known women like ShuYi, they ARE real and no one bases rom-coms on them. And yes, they are VERY difficult to have a relationship with.

On the other hand, we have the equally intelligent young CEO, who broke away from his father’s company to make his own mark on the world. He is as insecure as she is; but with him, it comes in the manner of being self-centered and very introverted. This behavior, especially manifested in his lack of communicative skills, has hindered him in both his personal and professional growth. His reputation suffers because of it, as common wisdom says he deserted his father’s firm when it was going thru hard times, when in fact, he made sure his brother-in-law was competent enough to run that company before he left. He too is self-confident in his professional life; too much so, as this comes back to bite him as his lack of communication skills can’t back up his actions, which alienates the public, his investors, and the elders on his board who are gradually losing confidence in him. He too is coming off a relationship (with an actress) that fizzled out because he was unable to keep up with her needs on a personal level – his personality simply can’t handle such things. And he has a dark side: We will see how intensely jealous he is and he also has a cruel streak. He even acknowledges this near the end of the series to the main female antagonist when he warns her in Ep 32 that he is “not a very good person”. Shi Yan is anything but the typical ‘green-flag’ young, rich CEO boyfriend. He is a force to be reckoned with and must be treated with extreme caution.

So, we have a romantic comedy bringing together two very different, flawed, realistic people. Who have neither time nor interest for romance in their lives. Both of whom are consumed with furthering their careers and have little to no life outside of work. This has brought them success in that aspect of their lives and emptiness otherwise.

And because they are realistic people, they make mistakes in dealing with each other; LOTS of mistakes, the worst of which are committed by her. In fact, their relationship begins for the wrong reason: her desire for revenge on her ex-boyfriend by dating and marrying the man she thought was the uncle of his new girlfriend (all this based on a confused premise on her part). While the TV series soft-plays this aspect leading up to the breakup, it is more dominant in the novel. The fact that she is continually dishonest as to why she was attracted to him creates doubt in his mind and mounting guilt for her. This eventually dooms their relationship, much as she feared.

Another common criticism of this series is that it’s a ‘slow-burn’ but I argue that it needs to be – it’s about 2 people who accidentally fell in love despite their differences and inability to be open with each other as True Love requires. (In fact, “Accidental Love” was supposed to be the series title [as the book was named] and not the more generic “Only for Love”). Although he falls for her first, he correctly mistrusts her because of her inability to be honest, and she is so full of doubts about everything that she can’t open herself to him, even though she knows she should.

So we see two people who probably shouldn’t have anything to do with each other, becoming attracted to each other and trying to form a relationship with a lot of bumps along the way, thanks to their insecurity, mistrust, and inability to effectively communicate with each other. They make mistakes, stupid decisions, and listen to bad advice. Their love affair sometimes resembles ‘blind-man’s-bluff’ as they feel out each other and their mutual feelings. And this is why this series is so special and different. Because this is how life is and how people in the real world behave and try to find a mate to love and live with. It’s devoid of all the fantasy-people that populate most rom-coms who gloss thru life and go from meeting to marriage in 16 episodes. Our leads need time to tell their story.

Whether or not they should have been together is up to the viewer – there’s no right answer here. More to the point is the question of if they deserve a “happy ending” to their story. And I’ll be honest, I do love a ‘happy ever after’ ending in my rom-coms. But those stories and characters are not like this one. We’re constantly told that communication is the key to the leads in any love story, and that is certainly NOT the case here. Frankly, I don’t think they deserve a Happy Ending. They’ve done nothing to deserve it and both are too immature or just-plain screwed up to make a functional relationship that would last. Given how much richer the series is vs. the book, I would have written the series differently and made their breakup in Episode 27 long-term. They would have parted ways and lived their own lives, although he would still carry a torch for her and keep tabs on her career, despite knowing he shouldn’t. I would time skip and move 15 years into the future, on the eve of her 40th birthday. We see them now, somewhat older and presumably wiser too. While in the intervening years she would go on to marry and eventually divorce Jackson Yi, she would be left with nothing to show for their marriage. While her career would continue to flourish and she advances up the ladder at Financial Weekly, her personal life would wind up as empty as it was after she broke up with ShiYan 15 years prior. He would concentrate on growing Yuanchang, until his Brother-in-Law retires and he then merges Yuanchang back into his Dad’s company and becomes the CEO of Mingu Bank. His personal life would be non-existent, much to the distress of his family.

That evening, at a Shi Family dinner, his niece, who still works at FW and maintains contact with ShuYi (and suspects her Uncle’s continued feelings for her former mentor) mentions that ShuYi’s birthday is the following day. She tells him they are having a big party at the office and wouldn’t it be nice if he sent flowers and a card wishing her the best? “Hmmph” he replies and we see the wheels turning in his head as his niece looks on. And that’s where Part 2 of the series would take off. Would they be able to reconcile after all these years? Can she overcome her insecurity and be able to open her heart to him and love him fearlessly? Can he forgive and forget and try to reset everything while becoming a more patient and less-jealous boyfriend? That’s where the story should go, I think. Can they really learn from their mistakes, or are they doomed to repeat them again?

Well, given the reaction so far to this series, that would probably be down-voted too. As I said at the beginning of this review, “sometimes you just can’t win”.

And FWIW, I’m not saying this series is perfect. The editing leaves a lot to be desired and a lot of material was left on the cutting-room floor. Obvious scenes are missing, and they had to create a 15 minute special epilog to cover the wedding. Instead, they should have recovered the lost footage, and just gone for a 37-episode series with their wedding at the end. It’s the only negative thing I have to say about this show.

Thanks for reading.

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Just Look at the Leads Visual

The plot was just bad. They do a great job at writing the leads background job etc. but suck at writing character development. I still cant believe that Shu Yi get away with all the things she did to Shi Yan with that lousy apology. They drag the plot for like 4 episode and without any important thing happening beside the sides character relationship which i dont really care. Shu Yi BFF shan shan was just awful at giving advice, and although Shu Yi is really good at her job she just not ready for relationship i guess and instead show us a development of it they only show of how bad she is at it over and over again. when her mom keep matchmaking her she not even explaining things throughfully and it pissed me off lol. Shi yan at first also not being rational with all his doing by not giving shu yi any explanation of not accepting the draft she made. Its a shame bcs i know the actors in this is good at acting but the script is not. kinda waste my time watching all 36 episode because of it. The Leads visual was what made me finish this drama.

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A FL immature & disrespectful in her love life, redeemed by her good looks & work skills

If you like dramas where the Main FL character is aware of her beauty and flirts with the ML for half of the drama, initially for revenge purposes (she has been dumped by her previous boyfriend for what she believes to be his niece), gets caught in her acting and actually falls for him, while he is aware she’s acting, but likes her nonetheless because she’s a beauty and skilled at her job…

then for 1/4 of the episodes, they will be apart because he discovers her lie, that it was for revenge, and understands she was not attracted to him per se, before she could confess her initial lie and true feelings…

When they are finally back together, close to the end of the drama, she resumes her princess pouty behaviour, to which he gives in… this drama is for you.

But even then, She keeps teasing him, and shyly (pretend) runs away when he seems to want more with her… then, she totally reverse her attitude when she ends up living at his place because of a hand injury (ep33/36), … She is no longer acting shy and she is surprised that despite her clear invitations, he doesn’t seem to be interested in sleeping with her… until at the end of ep. 34, she gets what she wants, because he sees her crystal clear exchanges with her best friend on the very topic of whether he may have a problem, explaining why they haven’t yet splept together …
I wish the story had been explained to me this way, I wouldn’t have wasted my time on this drama.

There are good moments, funny moments…
But all in all, it displays a very immature and disrespectful female character, who is forgiven her bad behaviour because of her good looks and professional skills…
Only the last ep. Slightly makes up for the above…

Not satisfying watch for me, even if I had low expectations…
the first 1/3 was enjoyable, afterwards, it became irksome, as there was absolutely no character development arc… I’m not into mischievous female characters, displaying a far from recommandable set of personal values in their private life. Not a good example to follow.
Even the 2nd lead couple broke up and was apart for the majority of the drama… because of fear of a serious relationship and commitment …

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