Be Passionately in Love

Feels artificial

Dropping it on ep17, I just can't watch it any more

If you want unbiased review from a non-novel reader, here it is. I had no idea about the actress's no kissing rule, I haven't read the novel and started watching it solely because of Wang Anyu. And so far he's the only good thing in this drama.

The romance. I don't understand how exactly fl fell in love with ml. She seemed so nonchalant and then, suddenly, in love. I do love Liu Haou Cun's acting BUT only in scenes when she's on her own. I don't see fl's feelings towards ml at all. I only see the yearning and love from Wang Anyu's acting

But that wouldn't be a problem if they had some physical intimacy to SHOW that they're in love not tell. And that's when they failed. Because we have no feelings from fl's side, no physical intimacy to show that they're in love and no plot/certaim circumstances for them to get closer and fall in love

That "no plot" is another separate issue because it all started with ml's mother but then it got resolved VERY quickly and we didn't get any tension from that, then the separation ended quickly and again no tension/anticipation. And finally she forgave him for a basically non-existent problem very fast. And here's the question: what should keep the viewers engaged? Usually it's one of these 3 things: chemistry/good acting, physical touch, plot

For example, another Wang Anyu drama "Forever love" which I think is very similar to this one. That one had very little physical intimacy scenes but there was a great acting from fl and Wang Anyu, and the plot actually made you engaged.

Another example - Hidden Love, this one has all 3 things, or another Wang Anyu drama "Falling into you", too, has all 3 aspects

And when you have none of them, I don't know what you need to do to keep viewers happy, really

Maybe I'm dropping it too soon, maybe they'll do better at their actual dating era. But I think it should be engaging from the start, you, as a viewer, should feel excitement when you think about them finally getting together. But I personally don't, and it's sad

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Watch it if you're open to the idea of romance without the portrayal of kisses

It's my first review, so bear with me. Given that this might not be the first review/comment you have read in regards to the series, some introductionary thoughts: The controversy around this one is rather interesting because somehow there seems to be little middle ground as to whether someone dislikes or likes this drama. As someone that has a rather pragmatic view in regards to the romance genre of Chinese entertainment industry, I usually don't start a series expecting heavy emotional turmoil or longshots of kisses. I'm glad if it's a part of the series but I'm quite happy with the subtle indications and for the rest to be left to imagination and context interpretation.

That being said, the likability of this drama therefore comes down to one's own preference of how romance dramas are done. Since many seem to have read the novel beforehand, it was somewhat to be expected that many were dissapointed when a lot of the phyiscal intimacy wasn't as much of a part of the script as it could have been. AsI hadn't read the novel, I had the fortunate privilege of starting the series of only having known the trailer and having seen various shorts on social media networks.

If you somehow don't mind watching a romance drama with no kisses and are open to the idea of it being a fairly light-hearted romance drama with a lot of sarcasm and just the right amount of drama - then this one might be a series for you. Due to it's light hearted nature, certain characters might therefore seem somewhat estranged from what we expect personalities to be in real life. But then again, the vast majority of romance dramas would never meet my threshold in that regard.

I enjoyed this series quite a lot since it brought me plenty of laughs but also touched on many aspects that I, as an individual having grown up in similar environments, could well relate too. It made me emotional for various scenes but then the situation would be then quickly resolved by something uplifting and sudenly the joy of that would somehow wash aways all those sorrows.

All in all, I can highly recommend this one if you manage your epectations a bit better.
Can't hurt to give it a try, it might just hit the right spots for you.

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Don’t judge until you watch

Chemistry is more than just kiss scenes. Anyu is one my favorite MLs. His acting is always on point. I’m watching this FL for the first time, and she has done a good job too. Yes, I agree there are no kiss scenes. but, that doesn’t mean that there is no chemistry. I can feel the tension, love and emotions just by watching it. It definitely is that cute bubbly kind of romcom. Maybe people have gotten used to watching those steamy kisses and romance in every drama. But, I have been watching Cdramas even before those existed. so maybe that’s why I don’t feel like this series is lacking

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Loved this drama until I didn't 😬
Wang Anyu was the most perfect ml casted in this. I don't believe that anybody else would have done as much justice to the character had it not been him. First time discovering him and WOW, I'm blown away by his acting. Sadly, it was stifled by the fl actor. I feel so bad for him- he really carried the show on his shoulders, his emotions were felt through the screen before he even delivered his lines. I've never seen anything like it.

Now, onto the not so good parts. The show is called "Be passionately in love" but that passion was very much one-sided. Throughout the show, you could see Chen Luzhou's character develop and become open and vulnerable with his feelings, which in turn matched his words and actions. The fl however, stayed the same. No growth. No understanding or consideration for him, even though she expected those things from him. Her "feelings" for him, didn't match with her actions. Also, she's frustratingly selfish throughout their relationship. For instance, Chen Luzhou experienced a traumatic event and the first thing that comes out the fl's mouth is, "do you miss me?" Girl, be so freaking for real?!? 😤

The guy compromised so much of himself throughout the course of their relationship and she literally stayed the same, if not worse. I don't understand why anyone would put any effort to be with someone like the fl's character.

Anyway, it was great until it wasn't. The second leads were enjoyable to watch too. All the other characters like the fathers and the math geek guy were funny.

Loved Wang Anyu's performance in the show. Can't wait to see him in more things.

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a different FL actress

**My Thoughts on *Be Passionately In Love***

First of all, the drama was just okay for me overall. My main concern is with the casting choice for the female lead (FL). Given the title *Be Passionately In Love*, I expected a more emotionally and physically expressive performance—especially when it comes to romantic scenes.

I completely respect the actress’s personal boundaries and principles, particularly regarding kissing scenes. However, I feel that if those limitations are in place, she may not have been the best fit for a drama that clearly aims to deliver intense romantic chemistry. The show has potential, and perhaps with a different FL, it could’ve delivered the passion the title promises.

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just a heads up, this is my personal take!

started watching: june 2

this drama is so painfully realistic, i was literally bawling the moment they said goodbye, like why didn’t they just try to make it work? why didn’t they fight harder? why didn’t they say, “let’s at least try”? and yet… i know EXACTLY WHY. i hate that i understand. i hate that their reasons make sense, cause sometimes love alone isn’t enough. sometimes letting go is the only way to protect what you had. there were these moments when one of them would glance at the other when they weren’t looking, just to memorize them one last time or when they tried to smile even when everything inside them was crumbling.

today is june 7 
and i just finished watching it last night (june 6) but i couldn’t bring myself to review it right away. i still feel so empty. it’s like i left a piece of myself in that drama.

as much as i loved WIFTY (my top 1), Be Passionately in Love hit me on an entirely different level. yes, WIFTY was perfect, comforting, beautifully written but Be Passionately in Love was imperfect in the most human way. and maybe that’s exactly why i loved it even more. it wasn’t trying to be flawless. it was messy, it was complicated, it was emotional. it showed love in its rawest, most vulnerable form.

a lot of people online were saying the female lead ruined the drama by not allowing kissing scenes but honestly? that didn’t bother me at all. not one bit. because the chemistry was still so alive. the tension. the yearning. the way they looked at each other like the world had stopped moving. the flirting. the way their eyes said everything their lips never had to. THAT did it for me. especially Wang Anyu’s eyes, the way he stares, like he’s holding back lifetimes of pain and love all at once… tore me up fr.

what i appreciated most was how the story didn’t drag their pain forever, it resolved their traumas. it was so intentionally paced, healing happened at the right moments, not too early, not too late. everything fell into place like it was meant to.

i didn’t even realize i was crying at first. deep down, i recognized that kind of ache. that fear of letting love in, only to possibly lose it again... hits a little too close.

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Missing passion and boring drama

Waiting for damn express to be over and then I’ll finish this at very high speed, some thoughts for now

This goes on my disappointing list of 2025. That drama didn’t hook me at all, finding it boring and I am not attached, invested in anything…. Such a lame story. Even for just 24 eps, this is too long.

Everyone talks about it, that topic will never end, but I’ll still give my two cent. A drama without kissing scenes can be okay, even if it’s not my preference (I love a good romance with great skinship and chemistry), if it’s done well and depending of the story. Like exemple, I think it was okay in The demon hunter’s romance. (Even if we got a little peck kiss in that one). It had not passionate kiss, but I pretty much enjoyed the romance either way. At the same time, that drama wasn’t main focus on romance, so we had other things going on

And if the actors can still portray chemistry well and still some kind of intimacy (can be hugs, the eyes speaking, tension, holding hands, cheek or forhead kiss, etc…). We got some of that in here, but for a drama mainly on romance, it was lacking to me, The worst in this drama is not the no kissing scenes policy, it’s that this script was definitely written with intimacy and kissing scenes…. I don’t know who made those choices, but fake weird angle kisses was such an horrible idea. I am not in this to watch a « kids romance ». And then talking about the « passionate kiss, good kisser or whatever » damn weird since we know none of that happened. Just like the hickey…. Such missed opportunity, when you know that atmosphere, scene would have been perfect for a passionate kiss, but we get ML trying, obviously see they aren’t kissing, even looks like his lips are on her nose, her doing absolutely nothing. Ruining the moment. Mistake and miscast were made unfortunately. Maybe that was the less expensive solution, I don’t know, but instead of those fake kiss, couldn’t they modify the script a little and completely getting rid of kissing scenes and having more something else ? But at the same time, would it really had been better, if she’s clearly not comfortable in being close or anything at all 🤷‍♀️ another possibility someone actually said in the comments, a double for kissing scene 😅 anyway, would another actress really had made this drama better for me, not sure since I don’t even like the plot in general

He’s handsome, but the second guy is completely unnecessary in the story

The leads look good together at least I guess

If we take out the romantic side, I don’t think she’s a bad actress. She just need to find a drama that have 0 romance and mostly 0 contact with male costar if she’s not confortable and can’t act the part. Waiting to see in her next drama starting next week to see how she does

Want An Yu is great. He mostly carried this. It was not my first drama of him (this one is like the fourth ?), even if it was mid, most recent one, I think he gave a great performance in « Such a good love » this year, I knew he would be good here too.

I’ve seen a few comments about it, but I agree the the music wasn’t bad

Directing, editing and all could have been better at time


To be continued…..

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Be Moderately In Love

I absolutely love Wang Anyu—he’s a fantastic actor who really knows how to build chemistry. Unfortunately, he was let down by the female lead. If the drama weren’t titled Be Passionately in Love, I might have understood the more "pure" vibe. But according to the source material, the couple is supposed to be passionate.

To be fair, the FL isn’t a bad actress, but I don’t think romance is the right genre for her. I respect her no-kiss policy, but it’s frustrating when it affects the overall viewing experience in a romance drama. Honestly, at times I even wondered if she was underage, given how much the romantic scenes were toned down or cut.

That said, the story and plot are quite good. But if you're expecting heart-fluttering kisses and real romantic tension—this isn’t the drama for you, and she’s not the right FL for that kind of role.

I’d like to add that there’s a complete lack of passion throughout the show. The characters constantly tell us they’re ‘passionate and clingy,’ but it never actually comes through in their actions or chemistry. Effective storytelling relies on showing, not telling — and unfortunately, that just wasn’t achieved here. Wang Anyu probably broke his back carrying the entire show.

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How to be "Passionlessly" out of love!

This show was on my radar before it aired. Both leads look compatible visually and close in age with an interesting romance drama titled "passionate in love" and implies two young lovers in a full-blown passionate affair. Oh boy, what can go wrong?

Character wise, I cannot even hide my disappointment in the lack of storyline, it felt like ML was chasing after FL the whole time. FL has a borderline narcissistic personality which she describes as overconfidence. She is inconsiderate about everyone else until someone is upfront with her. ML acts like FL is his whole life which you can interpret as "romantic" but its not. Many times, FL is playing around cause she enjoys the chase and excitement. This is exacerbated by the fact that actress herself cannot perform intimate scenes and brought on a whole controversy that is more heated than the non-existent plot in this show. The FL just appears to keep dodging at the thought of a potential kiss. The FL in the novel is bold, confident and - let's be real - not at all shy when it comes to kissing since she initiates most of them. FL in drama is complete opposite, to say she is a miscast for whatever reasons is an understatement. The whole production team trying to sell a product that doesn't resonate with what the audience expects, play with teasers and build up the anticipation only to ruin it, you bet there will be a backlash. It feels like one paid for premium but ended getting scammed with an inferior product, cannot shake off that feeling like being ripped off cause they cheap out with fake camera angles and borrowed kisses. They are being downright disrespectful to the viewers and they're not even trying to hide that fact.

Many times it feels like ML is trying to salvage the remaining pieces, but FL has a low EQ and has a problem with reciprocating love. Most of the time the actress herself spaces out without an ounce of this "passion" for acting. When the scene requires intimacy, ML is giving passionate gazes and shooting cupid arrows at her, FL just tenses up and becomes a frozen cube. As a viewer, that discomfort transfers over to me once I realized she is truly intimated by intimacies so all those romantic scenes looks forced and unnatural. It truly was hard to watch! The only thing that had it going was the good OST. I still managed to finish the show barely getting through it with FF button.

Editing wise, there were so many choppy parts where they were doing one scene and it skipped over to something else so they ruined the whole flow of the story. The leads' relationship felt tumultuous and downright unhealthy and it felt like they were both in this sort of complicated loop that they can't climb out of. Sure they manage to get a happy ending but it fell short and didn't seem to address the issues that kept popping out throughout the entirety of the show. You can say they sort of breezed through it. Towards the end they continue to drag on unnecessary filler scenes and the focus started shifting towards the supporting couple. It almost felt like the actress and/or director sabotaged her character but she isn't entirely at fault since her agency should have not accepted a script if she's downright uncomfortable doing these roles. The director is still mostly at fault for casting an actress who cannot deliver along with the poor directing/editing so there's a whole set of problems that spiraled into what it is. Quite disappointed since it was high on my anticipated list of shows to watch but floundered as it progressed on. This has got to be one of the worst romance dramas I've seen, I'm just not vibing with the flaws in this.

Is it worth the watch?

Yes, if you didn't read the novel and have little to no expectations. Visually it's top notch and the leads look great together, the acting is not atrocious, only subpar and flat at times but still somewhat bearable.

No, if you loved the novel and have standard expectations as you bet you're going to be very frustrated as there doesn't seem to be much of a plot and feels messy at times.

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"Passionately in love" except lacking the passion

I absolutely love wang anyu even though my only drama I've watched of his before this was the last immortal. I love him so much that I decided to finish watching this entire drama for him, and trust me, he really makes this drama and he seems like the only thing that makes this drama. First of all, he had exceptional chemistry with Zhao lusi whether it was bts, interviews, or in the last immortal and I can not believe that they lowkey ruined this story with ZERO CHEMISTRYY. I swear to god he really really really tried and you could sometimes feel it and then it disappears because of the fl. Don't get me wrong, I love liu haocun, I think she was so cute and great in 'just for meeting you' with song weilong, but I think this is a sign that romance dramas are not for her. lets put aside her no kissing clause in her contracts, there are SO many ways for passion, tension, tender romance to be portrayed through intimate moments WITHOUT kissing. get outta here with those cuts and weird editing of them 'kissing'. I'd rather no kiss be portrayed at all in fact. I didn't know how bad it was that there was no kissing until I watched this. but yk what. idk if kissing could have saved it either. liu haocun is a great actress and I fully believe this, but when it comes to acting out the character of a young girl in love, she just can't do it. YOUR BEAUTIFUL EYES CANT SAVE YOU THIS TIME!! she is truly so cold with the ml, ik we love seeing the guy fall first and harder but it doesn't work if we don't believe the girl likes the guy at all. the acting was just lacking in terms of chemistry and intimacy - you don't really feel those butterflies you're supposed to. I get that she's supposed to always suppress her emotions because of her past with her mom, but even after that whole thing got resolved it's not like she changed much towards the ml. line delivery was also a little stiff on her end, it didn't seem natural. the story was also really lacking to be honest, they break up for like 2 months and then get back together. they made it sound like they reunited after a year or two in the synopsis. she wanted to get to know him for his mom. are u kidding me. on a side note, I loved the second couple. yingying was so lively and cute and the actress for that now has a new fan. final note, Zhu yangqi lowkey looks like wu lei at times. don't watch this if you're used to naturally flowing chemistry, it'll be kind of a hard watch

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