As Beautiful as You

Why I Rated ABAY a 7/10

Okay, it's been a while since I wrote a review but here we go. I started watching this show with very high expectations. As an avid Chinese drama viewer and a fan of Xu Kai, I must say I came with pretty high expectations.

What was good?

1. Acting
The actors did an amazing job! I loved the cast, they were very true to their characters, and overall did an amazing job portraying the characters.

2. Music
The score for the show was really good as well, a sign of amazing shows. Th opening OST is on my playlist already and was mostly fitting for any situations they played it during the episodes.

Why the show was a led down?

1. My primary reason for why this show was a let down was the frustration that an amazing cast was stuck between some politics/ deliverables they had to meet beyond the screen AND it showed. I'm not sure what it was but it felt like even minor roles had to be portrayed across as major roles. This meant UNLESS you were someone who likes to be invested in every single one of their story and romance, you're not going to enjoy this. The plot was not exciting, especially during the first half of the show. This had nothing to do with their slow romance, but all those Filler scenes with mundane conversations, drinking alcohol, etc. There was numerous times when Ji Xing and Han ting will be on screen for literally 30s and they just wave to each other and there's a very obvious cut. This plot and this Novel could've been executed much much better! It's overall a 7/10 kind of show for me. I would not recommend it unless you're someone who enjoys having to watch three couples with equal interest.

-----------------------------------<>

2. Reason one led to shorter screen time for the main couple. The first twenty episodes, I swear the main leads(the couple) did not even have 5 minutes they were on-screen together as a pair. Like there was absolutely no conversation between them about getting to know each other except for the part they would talk about her startup(or more specifically when he was giving her advice on how to do business)

3. This brings me to number 3. I don't know if it gives you the ick or not, but in an era where it's all about female empowerment, I like to see that on screens. Having Han Ting being literally the same age/closer in age to Ji Xing and yet being eight galaxies away in terms of intellectual abilities was sort of a turn-off for me. They made him the knight in shining armour for the lousy business decisions that came along at times.

4. The Dialogues? Who even wrote these lines? Like the amount of very obvious propaganda between the Lines was just argh and those speeches he gave... not to mention the lines he was saying during the fights? But this wasn't a big deal. You can still watch past this.

5. One of the worst parts of the show(FOR ME PERSONALLY) was the makeup. I get the different beauty standards, but man the way they put on Edward Cullen make up on Xu Kai every time he wore a suit was not appealing at all. I've watched plenty of shows, chinese ones, and I see this often but with so many things being a let down in the drama, I would've expected for this to be a saving grace but it wasn't.


P.S. This Is just my very Own take at the show. I have watched other shows such as Meet yourself, here we meet again, Go go squid, put your head on my shoulder and so many like that and enjoyed them so so so much more than this one. I've watched a couple In a similar genre as well and none of them were this bad. This is just yet another let down, also please don;t come at me with the IMDB ratings. MDL is a more reliable site for asian shows than IMDB. there's like 70 people who've rated this on it, and It's safe to say they're all probably Xu Kai fans. MDL ratings reflect more on the quality of the show. Honestly it's not even a 8 for me, but sure.

Read More

The Han Ting Massacre: A Betrayal of the Book

For those who have read the book and are considering watching the drama, please, for the love of all that is holy, don’t. For those who haven’t, the drama might be palatable, but anyone who tries to both watch and read will likely suffer a heart attack from sheer anger.The actors are fine, but the script is a catastrophic failure. This drama is a textbook example of how not to adapt a novel. This review isn't about the explicit parts—I wasn't expecting any of that anyway. My issue lies in how the writers have butchered Han Ting's character, making the drama a bland shadow of the books storyline.

In the book, Ji Xing is a formidable and dreamy character, often unreasonable but in a relatable way. Her interactions with Shao Yichen or Han Ting are complex and layered, reflecting real-life arguments and emotions. Han Ting, on the other hand, is sharp and uncompromising, always putting his ambitions and goals above personal feelings. This stark pragmatism defines his character. For instance, when Ji Xing asks if he would ever prioritize her over his work, Han Ting bluntly replies, "In my life, love is not everything. I won't be able to give you the kind of love that sacrifices everything for you. "The drama, however, portrays Han Ting as a softened, lovesick version of his book counterpart. They sanded down his edges, making him more palatable but significantly less interesting.In fact theres a point she asks what he would do if she refused to let him invest and he replies he would destroy her company saying that he will leave no room for any competitors however how small. Thats the Han ting i epected the one i got let me not say more

The book's Han Ting is never heartbroken in a conventional sense when he learns that Ji Xing is engaged. Instead, he views it as a matter of bad timing. The drama, on the other hand, infuses him with a shy, almost bashful demeanor around Ji Xing, which is completely out of character. The real Han Ting would have gone after what he wanted with unwavering determination.
In the book, after their one-night stand, Ji Xing starts avoiding Han Ting, leading to a mini-fight where Han Ting bluntly tells her that she likes him and knows he likes her, which is why she's behaving like a spoiled child. This sharp exchange highlights their dynamic. In the drama, such scenes are diluted. Even when Han Ting reports to his grandfather in the novel, he is unyielding. When his grandfather mentions that shareholders are against him, Han Ting coldly replies that he will just clear out all the shareholders. Such ruthlessness is completely lost in the drama.

Han Ting's characterization isn't the only casualty. Shao Yichen's portrayal is also disappointing. In the book, Ji Xing and Shao Yichen share a strong and loving relationship, marked by numerous arguments yet a palpable love. Their bond reflects the intricacies of daily life and love. Even though it's clear that Yichen won't be Ji Xing's final partner, there's a persistent hope that they might resolve their issues. A poignant moment in the book is when Ji Xing dares Yichen to leave during an argument. He does, but soon returns, confessing, "Ji Xing, you don't know how much I love you." Their love, though fraught with problems, is deeply emotional. Ji Xing's heartbreak when he leaves is profound, and she holds out hope that he'll return as he always did. She even dresses up specifically for him on her birthday, only to be disappointed to discover he has moved on. Her breakdown at this revelation, and Han Ting's comforting presence, is a touching scene ( to which they ommited and added that after that she had a one nights stand with Han TIng).However, the drama adaptation significantly diminishes the chemistry between Ji Xing and Yichen, seemingly to highlight the main love storyline between Ji Xing and Han Ting, which develops later. This was a mistake, in my opinion. Modern dramas have successfully depicted main leads' evolving love stories without undermining previous relationships. The scriptwriter unnecessarily tarnished Shao Yichen's character (including the needless subplot of him marrying Ji Xing's friend, who was merely a college classmate in the book). This seems to have been done due to the usual trope that whoever doesn't end up with the female lead must be portrayed as wrong or flawed.

The writers undermined not only the characters but also many nerve-racking moments in the book that would have made for a captivating show. They simplified such a fantastic story instead of portraying its complexity and depth. Han Ting's character was watered down to make him more palatable, causing drama watchers to miss some of his best moments from the books. Similarly, the dynamic between Yichen and Ji Xing was diminished, losing the poignant "I know it's hopeless, but I still wish" sentiment.

While Ji Xing's character seems elevated, the true tragedy lies in the wasted potential of Tan Songyan's acting range. Imagine the breathtaking performance she could have delivered, portraying Ji Xing in her full, complex glory—childish yet mature, reasonable to the point of almost unreasonable, emotional yet composed. The beauty of Ji Xing's internal struggles, dealing with a man like Han Ting despite her simplicity, her struggle, and joys in being with him, were missed. Her triumphs and the delicate balance of her contradictions could have created a character so compelling that audiences would be left craving more. This rich tapestry of Ji Xing's character was an exquisite opportunity lost, leaving us with a portrayal that barely scratches the surface of what could have been an unforgettable performance.

Read More

A satisfying good old romance

Firstly, I watched because I like Xu Kai in certain drama and first time watching Sven.
The drama has a lot of good things going. Satisfying female camaraderie and I do like the 2nd FL development with both her romances. Quite realistic portrayal of life actually…. The 2nd FL’s romantic entanglements.
There are some hot scenes and the CP is surprisingly good together. I must admit until this drama , I still think Xu Kai has best chemistry with Cheng Xiao’s Falling into You. He is equally adept with this FL… who is more cute and adorable than beautiful in the traditional way. Anyway, what I love the most is how they choose to end this drama with a special 40.5 episode that shows snippets of their entire life together until the FL near end of life after living a very enriching life together.

Go watch … you won’t be disappointed if you like a good old romance.

Read More

Utterly Disappointed

I'm a big xu Kai fan and loved him in "she and her perfect husband" and "falling into your smile" so I decided to give this drama a try. The story seemed decent enough (very common, nothing new) and starting few episodes were well executed however as it progresses both xu Kai and tan song Yun acts bad and feel so disconnected from the character they are playing.

I'm dropping at 32 episode and there are sad scenes where the actor needs strong facial expressions to show overflowing emotions and xu Kai is doing literally opposite, same facial expressions throughout the whole drama, he doesn't even have tears in his eyes (even when he is alone and deeply sad). On the other hand tan song Yun is overreacting so much that her expressions seems fake (especially when she laughs).

The story is a mess too, started good but too many characters and little to no character development makes it hard to watch.

Sorry xu Kai 😭 even though I'm your big fan, i still can't finish it 😭.

Read More

The story is not as beautiful as the leads but ok

This is one of those dramas that offers great leads, amazing chemistry, golden light for as far as the eye can see making you feel all warm and gooey inside... All with the added bonus of a fluffy can and a fish tank that reminded me of dramas past...

It is also one of those dramas that you just you know got though censorship without a hinge, yet managed to keep it kind of subtle compared to others (focus word kind of) somewhere right in the middle of a scale from Road to Patriotic bordom (or Home) to Addicted heroin.

The friendships and side characters to their jobs without becoming to annoying, some twists or moments of affection are hinted just a little bit to much by bad directing. But other than that the sides even have some really good moments.

However I could not have cared less about the business slightly preachy (hens the I am sure it passed censorship well). It just prolonged the episode count and had me lower the score as some of those parts where so boring i almost fell a sleep. Luckily interactions between the leads where never far off.

So a decent watch that made me want to press that next episode button from start to finish, but also had me wanting to skip some scenes.

P.s. I am reallt bias about the two leads, but then again how can you not be with those smiles, abs and delivery of lines.

Read More

Another Bad Adaptation

If you've read the novel that this drama is based off of, you should know that there are slight differences. While the scriptwriter has remained mostly faithful to the novel, the slight changes resulted in big changes in the nuance of the drama. Originally, the novel was about a strong female engineer/budding entrepreneur who succeeds with the guidance of a CEO. Alas, the CEO (who later becomes her boyfriend) messes up which causes them to break up. It sounds exactly like the script right?

While it may seem generally the same, there are major differences. The ML in the novel always viewed FL as someone could potentially be his equal with the right guidance. However, his big ego and hiding things from her eventually becomes the breaking point. Here, while they try to portray the same dynamic, the drama FL comes off as a naive girl. How can someone that is the supposed brain of a whole AI medical robot be foolish? While the drama FL can be inexperienced in the entrepreneur part of a start up, they completely rob her of her intelligence and contribute a lot of her success to ML. Another review said it perfectly when they wrote that the scriptwriters messed up when they portrayed FL as a poor decision maker and that they minimized the tension between the leads by making ML fall in love with FL in college.

My biggest peeve about the drama though was the big conflict. The novel's author foreshadowed that there would eventually be a problem because ML being slightly (if not too) overpowering/controlling while FL is fiercely independent. Similar to the drama, it was over the fact that ML was basically going to rob FL of the company she built. In the novel however, FL does give ML his just desserts and ML is eventually forced to apologize/grovel a bit. Here, there is basically none of that. ML realizes he messed up and does the whole woe is me act, but there is very little apologizing going on. Eventually the issue went from ML stole her company so that it would benefit his (a one sided betrayal) to the issue being it's an us issue because our personalities don't match. Drama FL leaving the company was fine, but then takes ML back the moment they reunite. They show her accepting ML's decision being the best for the greater good. This in particular rubs me the wrong way because it minimizes FL's acheivements and emotions. It implies that she is still emotionally charged and that her decision to walk away was a poor one - ie. zero change from the beginning of the drama. This doesn't sit right because if I were in her shoes and my company that I struggled to build from day one were stolen from me by the person I trusted the most, I would be upset too. I wouldn't be thinking about the 'greater good' but more about how the person who is supposed to love me the most just betrayed me. The fact that FL accepted this injustice is incongruent with how she reacted when she was sexually harrassed at the beginning.

A small note on the acting. I don't think I like Xu Kai as an actor very much. He tends to play 'cold' ML roles but it just feels like I'm staring at cardboard or stone. He keeps a blank stare most of the time but there's nothing charismatic about him. I just kind of expect something more than just a flat face. Seven did an okay job. There were some moments that were better than others and felt more natural. However, she tends to have this one wide-eyed expression that she applies to multiple different scenarios (ie. when she's dumbfounded, shocked, betrayed, etc.). One of her characteristic is her big eyes which gets her a lot of younger, more naive/pure roles, but here it's an obstacle. Like Xu Kai, she doesn't have a dynamic range of expressions when acting. Every time she pulled out this expression, I was reminded of Shin Se Kyung and the strained face she tends to use when she's run out of facial expressions. I can tell both are trying to broaden their range, but this was a flop.

TLDR: The novel was better. The drama reeks of fake feminism (a term coined by someone on NovelUpdates). While the drama seemingly talks about a strong female lead, her actions do not match up to the expectations. Furthermore, her acheivements are lowkey attributed to the ML and there was very little she actually did. Basically, a Cinderella/Knight in Shining Armor story. Definitely wouldn't watch again.

Read More

If you like Seven Tan then this drama is watchable, but nothing special and predictable.

As Beautiful as You is a business rom-com about Ji Xing and her college mate, Han Ting, who lost touch for 10 years. Han Ting had a crush on Ji Xing and confessed his love for her while he invested in her startup company.

Synopsis: Ji Xing has worked diligently for a top IT firm for three years but needs help to stand out in a fiercely competitive corporate world. Frustrated, she decides to quit and launch her own company. She soon attracts the support of a powerful mentor and investor, CEO Han Ting. With his backing, her entrepreneurial journey begins to gain momentum. As they collaborate closely, their professional relationship deepens, and unexpected romantic sparks fly.

My Reviews:
1. Nothing special about this drama; it is predictable but watchable.
Seven Tan acted well, and Xu Kai did his best acting in this drama, where he showed a little emotion when they broke up.
2. As I mentioned, Xu Kai is a handsome actor who is pleasing to the eye. Still, I cannot complete any of his historical costume dramas, only the modern ones, where his acting skills are more bearable.
3. The ending is predictable, and their brief breakup is understandable but also expected.
4. The supporting cast added too many unnecessary fillers (2nd CP, 3rd CP, 4th CP, etc.). The drama would have been better if it had been cut to 30 episodes instead of 40 because of fillers.

I am giving this drama a 6.5 rating because the script was nothing special and predictable but watchable because of Seven Tan.

Read More

A review from someone that hasn’t read the novel

To be honest I have a lot of feelings about this one. It’s been a minute since I wrote a review but I thought it’ll be good to document my thoughts on this drama.

I genuinely found this drama enjoyable.
I loved the business jumbo, as a matter of fact I learned a couple of things from the business narrative.
I liked the work relationship between the leads. I could see myself in the FL place work wise, so seeing her growth was satisfying.
I loved the chemistry between the leads. Even when she was in a relationship, he stayed, he waited and didn’t make her uncomfortable. One thing I genuinely loved was his honesty throughout. He didn’t pamper her and make the truth palatable. He’s like it’s a tough world out there and you need to grow some balls. So it was really satisfying when gradually we could see her conforming to his image and becoming like him.

Another thing that gave me satisfaction was the fact that he stayed true to himself, didn’t lose himself over love. To be honest the break up was needed for there to be growth and there was good character development between the leads.

The side characters were also enjoyable.

Just that I felt the whole thing could have been shorter. A couple of things were just fillers and could have been avoided.
That’s why the rewatch value is low. Although I enjoyed the watch, don’t think I’ll want to go through that length again

Read More

As Beautiful As Xing Xing

I didn’t like the first 1-4 episodes, but after that, the show starts, and once the show starts, the show starts.
I just finished it, and I already miss them all. Insane chemistry. Actually insane. The way they look at each other, smile at each other, and the body language is so natural that I was tempted to Google if they were dating while they filmed this (I didn't). Their chemistry literally holds up the roof over their heads, and at many points, the show’s head. Their sneaked glances at each other, the compromises they made… so realistic, really. It was like when two people really like each other, and there are differences, but they really just want it to work. I really appreciate the imperfection and the effort.
A small thing, I love how he drives her to work even if he doesn’t need to, because quality time, you know?

I hated the way he talked at the start, gosh. I thought it would never end. But it did! Hallelujah! Thank God for change. I thought I would drop it over that, but with this show, patience really pays off. I loved the side of her he brought out; it was mischievous, slightly stubborn and playful, and I liked that it was quite different from how she was in her first relationship, because different people bring out different parts of you.

Anyway, Xing Xing is just so so so breathtakingly beautiful, his fixation is totally valid lol. She’s FOINNNEE damn. She'd smile, and I’d see him thinking damn, she’s so fine, and I’d be like damn right she is!!!!!! It’s just insane how beautiful she is.

Enjoyable and easy watch about relationships mixed with work issues. Exactly the sort of show I love to watch. At the end of the show, it feels like you’ve gone through a lot with these guys. A whole life with them. I really liked how, after they'd spent some more time together, you could see how much they'd changed. She, more than he, because of the subject matter. She'd go around sounding like a mini him about business deals. He always looked amused and proud. His amusement seemed mischievous, so it was really particularly funny. He also became so much warmer; it was so nice! It's just something you see in real couples, too, and I liked the attention the writer and directors paid to such details.

The writing is good. There's sufficient character development that explains why and how things move forward the way they do, and the actors delivered this spectacularly, the main characters especially (as their part is so big here). Han Ting and Xing Xing are legitimately real people in this performance. Xu Kai really did great with emoting his eyes here. The character doesn't always say what he's thinking, but also isn't always trying to hide what he's thinking and sometimes is, and he really does it so well here. I've never seen Song Yun miss. She's fantastic as usual. There are a few amazing shots of them observing each other that I really appreciated. They just last a few seconds each, and I feel that these shots just hold the moments so well. The shots showed confusion, uncertainty, happy disbelief, awe, appreciation, pensiveness, trepidation, quiet joy, quiet support, worry, hope, mischief, contentment, peace with their choices ... I really felt that those shots allowed us to put ourselves in their shoes for a moment and watch how two separate lives slowly became quite intertwined. Of course, those shots wouldn't feel so great without great acting on the characters' parts. Their eyes said all these things. The angle of the shots just elevated that.

The side stories were nice enough. Sometimes, bestfriend #2's situation dragged a bit too long, but it was charming enough that it was mostly fine.

The end really is satisfying and worth the wait. Anyway, I’ll miss my beautiful babe, because I don’t know if Han Ting knows, but we were in this relationship together 😂

It's definitely a show to watch for enjoyment and brain-sort-of-off activities (if not, ML will frustrate you to bits at first). It was fun and had its funny moments here and there. Nothing too serious, but nothing annoyingly unserious.

Read More