Addictive drama with flaws
Although it was very addictive all the way through and carried itself well, there were many frustrating moments with phone interruptions, lack of communication and misunderstandings which were not too bad but these were used as weak plot points repeatedly and made the show longer than necessary. The acting was very well done and there are some lovely romance scenes as well which were very enjoyable. I love the female lead and her other works, she is really great.C-dramas set in an office may be a genre I will continue to watch.
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Just ok
Initially, I wasn't a fan of Shuyi's character, and the storyline felt a bit drawn out in the beginning.On the positive side, I was excited to see Dylan Wang and BaiLu together, but for some reason, their chemistry was lacking in certain scenes. I'm not sure if it's because of the challenging filming conditions with many people watching, affecting the acting, or something else.
Despite this, I must admit that Dylan Wang's charm shines through in this series, even though the overall acting quality is not overly impressive.
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This review may contain spoilers
Drama Doesn't Suit Both Main Leads
Please beware of spoilers....I'm a fan of both Bai Lu and Dylan Wang but there's just something missing in this drama. Both characters seems lacking. The writing and plot are just so-so. There isnt any real emotions coming from either actors because the storyline and writing is limited. The problem I think with Dylan and Bai Lu is that when we see them in other historical/costume dramas, including ones that either have the fantasy genre, wuxia or martial arts, these actors have action scenes and CGI to fall back on. Things like special effects and CGI, mystical powers, brillant costumes, cable wiring and martial art scenes all give the actors that extra flair. But take that all out and put Dylan or Bai Lu in a modern day drama, well, there's not much but their own acting to fall back on. And of course, shoddy writing is a killer too.
Major spoilers:
First, when the FL's bf cheats on her, you don't get feel any emotion from her character. And she even allows herself to get shoved aside by the "mistress" and then she goes out and pouts like a little girl. Even when another colleague steals her interview, again, no real reaction from the FL. We're supposed to take her seriously as a reporter but at the same time, we see her crushing hard on the ML. For someone who was betrayed, the FL has no problem quickly trying to target a rich person. I expect highschoolers to act the way she does but she's supposed to be a professional, grown, mature woman. We have to repeatedly watch her stare at the ML and in slo-mo too. Her staring-while-awkwardly-smiling scenes are so much that it's giving off cringey, stalkery vibes. Also, too much dead space when she just stands there uncomfortably smiling and making no eye contact. Her inner dialogues are often immature and overdramatic. We don't need to hear everything she's thinking if it's just going to be about dumb assumptions. All annoying. It's doesn't make the FL look any better and doesn't complement nor highlight Bai Lu's acting skills at all. Also, her hair and makeup is all the same. Very bland.
As for Dylan Wang, he plays this no-nonsense CEO but he has his doubts. Instead of playing to that emotion, he just seems like he's boringly competitive and jealous. Like how do you make jealousy boring? Apparently the lack of compelling writing and direction can. I'm not sure who the stylist is but some of his suits and jackets don't look properly fitted to him. He sometimes looks like a kid in big clothes. Don't even get me started on his glasses. It's like instead of making him look "dashing" and model-like, his clothes look baggy and often makes him look "aged". He has a good physique so it's disappointing to see him in ill-fitting clothing. The only time he looked really good was when he wore riding clothes. Also, what's with all the camera angles always panning from under Dylan's chin when he make some kind of grand entrance? Not exactly flattering. There's always that low panning of the camera angle on Dylan and then a higher camera on Bai Lu. And is his character supposed to have some kind of "super hearing"? As for his acting, he's the typical Dylan Wang and his character is pretty basic.
I really don't understand the purpose of Dylan's niece. She's just another woman being made to play a dumbed down and immature character. Why do cdramas make women like this? Enough already. And even the FL's best friend just seems like she likes rich dudes too.
Anyways, I'm hoping that the storyline improves. It's a bit draggy. I'll update this later if necessary. (Ep 10.)
Updated:
I just realized I dropped this drama after Ep14.
Every time the two leads were in the car, the car trips are a waste of time. The FL is always avoiding eye contact but then she smiles and giggles when texting and their texts are even boring. So much texting because afterall, they can't have grown up, decent conversations. And then in one scene, the FL runs away and hides from her cheating ex. Why? Because it was the same restaurant they went to? Like who cares? She was sitting with a way better dude. And let's talk about her running away from the ML half the time especially after the FL kissed him... which was... meh.
Apparently the FL lead has no idea about relationships because she keeps calling her bestie for advice who gives the worst advice. She even gave advice when there was a guy in the room who actually knows the ML. Like every woman knows that's just ain't something women do. The bestie can't even get her own sh*t together either.
Then we have to watch the young niece pursuing one of her uncle's friends and she had the audacity to ask him if he was gay when they barely know each other. She's basically stalking him. Actually, everyone is stalking each other! Lol!
And lastly when we finally see the two leads holding hands, it bothered the hell outta me that her jacket belt was undone. Sounds ridiculous, but I telly ya', it was distracting.
Overall, the whole push and pull theme is just boring and unoriginal. There's only so much awkward smiling I can take from the FL.
I read some comments and everyone is complaining about the pace. I don't care how long it takes for the leads to get together, so long as the build up to get there is interesting. I understand that others are also saying that it does or doesn't mirror the book but a show should be able to stand on its own and make you want to read the book afterwards. That's just my opinion.
I'm passing on this for now and if I do pick it up again, I'll be fast-forwarding to only the leads' scenes together. Lowered my rating from a 6 to a 4.
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well...
i was rly looking forward to this bc of all the leaks and bts but i was so disappointed... the last 6 eps were cute but not enough for me to forgive this mess. i only continued bc i like wang hedi and bai lu. honestly i would sue the production team and the director if i was them bc wtf is it with all the weird angles and the questionable scriptthe good: the ost is so good and catchy and whd and bl's chemistry is good + their visuals!!! and the second couple was so cute
this drama would've been a whole lot better if it was like 24~26 eps instead of 36 and if the third couple didn't exist like i'm sorry but i rly did not gaf about them 😭
also i hate how you could literally see the 10 pounds of foundation on them and zsy's outfits were so disappointing and she (and her bff) was so annoying... shiyan and shiyue were the only likeable characters honestly
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Good drama gone bad
The drama starts off good but then it is nothing be me skipping every scene because its ridiculous after 28 episodes a 45 min episode ended in 15 min after skipping stupid shit. The writer should never make another drama after this. The female lead is good but makes the same mistake over and over. The best friend of the female lead is the worst character of the show, a classic toxic friend who always gives the worst advise ever honestly she 80% reason i am starting to hate this show. The male lead is a greenflag and a very well portrayed character and the only reason to keep watching the show apart from that everythis is just frustrating. This is not a drama i will recommend others or watch a second time.Was this review helpful to you?
I have a hard time giving up movies/series, but this one was too hard for me to continue.
I've seen more than enough (20 episodes) and I don't have the patience to watch more, even though I like both actors. A terribly weak script, with far too many clichés and absolutely annoying stuff.The phone rings EVERY TIME they want to express something.
He stops giving her flowers, just because her wish for the future is related to her job. How absurd can be that...?!?
I really couldn't resist watching how nonsensical scenes appear repeatedly in the series.
I really liked the chemistry between them and, of course, the love that blossomed. However, it really annoyed me that, although they had held hands and even kissed, in the next scene they had completely forgotten that there was anything between them, and they became strangers again.
I heroically endured 20 episodes, so I'll give the series a 6, because it's a very weak one.
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Fill in type of drama
I had toxic relationship with this drama. Entire tme, there was voice in my head telling me to drop it, but like with my toxic ex I wanted to stick around. I should had listen to voices in my head.This drama was adapted from the novel, but just because it worked in writing world, it doesn't mean it's gonna work in TV world. Not every book deserves movie/drama. I didn't read a book, but I don't doubt it was good. But this topic as drama isn't good. At least writing of the script.
Drama had 36 episodes, but based on what was in those episodes, it should last 12 episodes max. Most of the time didn't have dialog, no communication beetween leads. To be honest, most od the time I was asking myself what was foundation of their love. Everything happend on whatsapp or wechat, it's like some of those communication apps is sponsor of the drama. So, no dialog or something that make viewers see or feel how the love happend. Also, wierd edditing happening here. First 2 kiss scene had sudden interruption and if we look BTS of the same scene, they clearly made those kiss much longer. I don't know why director wanted to edited it that way that the kiss scene that needed to make viewers more drown in drama lasted 2 seconds and viewers left hanging. Also, most of the episodes, leads were only in the same frame for about 2 minutes. Like I said, everything happend via phone. Too much bussines or phone massages to little together in the frame.
Long story short: writing, directing, editing was bad.
Now, when it comes to acting, that was the only thing that was good in this. Obviously, the actores didn't have that much to work with but what they had, the were good at it. Leads are big name in the industry so I didn't except anything less then good acting. Dylan was good, nothing special but he didn't had anything to work with. I watched his other work, and sometimes he is amazing in his role, sometimes he lack expression. He is good here, but obviously he will have to work on his acting a lot. But I think that he can be amazing actor not just pretty face. Bai Lu, I feel so sorry for my girl in this drama. Her acting is always on point especially micro expressions. I wish they put less filter on her couse she can act with her face but with heavy filter we can't always see her expression. But one day, she will be big name in Chinese dramaland and not only by those idol dramas that demand pretty face but in those heavy movies and dramas that actually demand acting. Miles, he has standard in his acting and he never goes under that standard no matter how bad the script is and here is the same. Definitly big name in future dramaland. The rest of the crew was also good.
At the end, I fill this drama was cash grab for someone. They used these big name actores for nothing. Also, you can't unsee all those sponsors and they product.
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Disappointing Plot, Frustrating Storyline
What a wasted potential. The acting from actors were great but the frustration I had in the middle of the plot was so serious that I just had to go here to give it a rating to vent it out. I can't believe they wasted so many earlier good episodes only for me to witness the crap of the 20+ episodes.No proper communication, FL doesn't know how to apologize and she's dragging the issue for way too long, it's deeply frustrating. To think the characters are all working professionals here. FL is mature & great at work, it's not even her first relationship. She came from a 5+ years relationship yet that doesn't show in the story. The BFF is also stupid & overconfident, can't understand why FL listen to her when she doesn't even know how to keep a long-term relationship. So many unnecessary misunderstandings & miscommunications and the introduction of ML's childhood friend to the later story is also unnecessary.
I came here hoping I would learn how to effectively flirt, only to find out later it's showing communication red flags. Only the acting of the actors are carrying the whole show.
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Cast is Not convincing at all
We are supposed to watch a drama where the FL lead who is a young professional falls In love with a serious and accomplished CEO. The chosen ML is not convincing at all. The male lead looks and acts like a young boy who does not know what to do or how to express himself with words. How are we supposed to believe that this scared boy is a successful entrepreneur?17 episodes in and I do not see any chemistry between the FL and ML. Some moments I even cringe because I see an experienced woman who knows what she wants approaching the scared and inexperienced boy.
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Cute dumpster fire that I couldn't summarize even if you asked me to
One-dimensional characters, unresolved love triangles, miscommunication break-ups, foolish FL, typical CEO ML, cliche plot done badly, know-it-all BFF who knows nothing, dragging, dragging, dragging plot...If you like this, I don't know what to tell you. If you don't, you probably shouldn't watch this drama unless you're trying to support some of the actors (who honestly did fine, the script was just... unbearable).
I did like Qin Shiyue though, and I liked how Shen Yujie portrayed her. Will keep looking out for this rising actress because she's adorable : )
These dramas make me wish that good actors and actresses could genuinely get good, thought-provoking plots sometimes. You know?
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Your average C-drama
Plot: 6/10The plot of this drama is actually very shallow, it barely even scratch the surface. Ever since the first episode I could see that the drama didn't really take themselves seriously. They have fun with this silly plot and go along with it. I was entertained with it in the beginning, before the doomed break-up happened. But even before then, when Yi Yang started to come into the picture, this balance of pure comedy and silliness that the drama has, suddenly come into a halt. It felt like someone else demanded that this Yi Yang character needs to be there, and the script has to be rewritten. Because even though the plot was so silly it's borderline crazy, but it was really fun. I have fun refreshing my Viu page to see whether it has been updated with the next episode. Since Yi Yang came, it felt like the fun, the silly, the laughter the drama showed in the beginning just gone.
Then the break-up that went on for far too long, wasting a lot of plot and the screentime of our main couple so much. It felt like it had to be dragged in order to fit Yi Yang in there, even though he didn't even matter. He had little significance to the story, and yet he's there. It made me felt uncomfortable watching him in the drama, it felt like he's just so out of place. Why put him there if he didn't even needed?
Other than Yi Yang, I also felt that this drama suffered from having too many couples at the same time. The most useless would be Bi Ruoshan and Guanji. I don't even understand why they need to be there. Sometimes, they took too much screentime supposedly for our leads, and it caused the story to go stagnant for a while as well. I can still forgive Qin Shiyue and Yu You, as they don't take that much screentime. But still, with this many couple, the time spent for the two main leads also had to be cut down.
This showed started episode 35-36, where everything felt so rushed and so fast. There are times when the editing felt so weird. AND WHERE IS MY WEDDING.
Acting: 6/10
I didn't see any bad performances, but this means there's no one who stand out either. Bai Lu was okay, but most of the time she act like a child, so it didn't matter. The others are okay as supporting character. I might have the biggest problem with Wang Hedi. It's not that he's bad, but it felt like he's not progressing either in his acting. And when I first started the drama I mentioned it to my friend that he looked like a child trying hard to be a CEO. And when he speaks, it shattered my reality of the cold and dominant CEO. He doesn't sound like one. I felt conflicted saying this, but I'd rather him get dubbed.
Production value: 5/10
I don't even know what to say. There are times when I thought the camera angle totally unnecessary, and there are times when I thought it's just too much. The lighting felt off at times, and I kinda feel some discomfort watching some parts because the light is too strong.
Overall, the drama is 6/10. I enjoy the first 14 episodes of the drama, then the last 6 episodes. I like my drama fluffy and fun.
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I thought I lost my ability to feel chemistry!!!
Let me get this straight. I gave myself a break after not finding any good drama for a while. A few months ago I read the novel and I dropped it halfway because the STORY was boring. But I knew I had to watch the drama for my favourite C-actress Bailu(not anymore). I read a few reviews here and there about great chemistry and went for it.THAT'S A BIIIIG MISTAKE I MADE THERE
After a few(18 episodes) I was seriously questioning myself if I lost my interest in dramas or smtng. But that was not the case, it is genuinely so poorly done. The script itself is trash. They made great-looking leads to do questionable things. They have so much potential to bring something great but they all gathered and decided to do this and find it okay??? I genuinely hope actors choose better script, and stories like this stop being made into drama.
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