As Beautiful as You

The most beautiful moments in life only come after hardships

I can't believe a drama I have waited so long for has actually aired. Luckily this one isn't disappointing at all! In fact I am enjoying it at lot. Let me explain:

I love both of the main leads and have watched them in several of their own projects before. I have yet to finish a modern drama with Xu Kai in it, but this one is a good one to add to his filmography. For Tan Song Yun this is also another drama she should be proud of. It's not excellent or anything, it is just a solid and well done job for everyone involved.

This drama succeeds in telling a story of a young woman trying to achieve her dreams. To me, I like how that is the main focus rather than the romance. Xu Kai isn't in it as much as I like because of this, but in the end I am fine with it because the story that is being told doesn't fit for him to be in every single scene.

Tan Song Yun is a beautiful woman who has RANGE. She has played a similar story in Master of My Own, but she is a splendid actress to show a different side with her character here as Ji Xing. Ji Xing is also a great example of a strong female lead. She doesn't have the plot change unrealistically for her to succeed, and is shown to have strength through her perseverance instead. I have watched a bit of other dramas with female leads in positions that she has, but everything is handed to them perfectly. They are almost too bratty in a way, and it makes them unlikeable because everything they worked for is handed to them. Ji Xing really has to work for it, and even if some of the scenarios she gets past easily, it is just a series of misfortunes for this woman. What is done so right is that the ML, Han Ting, is not her knight in shining armor.

What could be a diluted romance between the two instead has a very interesting dynamic. Han Ting is neither someone who is overbearing and overprotective when he shouldn't be, and he instead is Ji Xing's senior that gives her advice. It is tough love, and he isn't handing things to her just because he has a crush on her. Despite his interest in her, he helps her in the long run by teaching her lessons of the field they both work in. Han Ting is a privileged man and he knows it, but he is humble enough to invest in a small company, and has emphasized it isn't just because of his crush. The way that the business is run in this drama is the most realistic I've seen in a C-drama, as compared to other dramas that just run too smoothly. Like they don't have financial issues, they don't worry about hiring, things just don't go wrong. Again, it's not the most realistic ever, but the drama knows how to make Ji Xing's business a new company rather than a flip of a switch well run company.

Xu Kai leads well here. I really like the parts where he is able to lean into his puppy love attitude, and want to see more. Unfortunately his character here isn't the most charismatic for him. His best role by far is Wonderland of Love, but if I sit back and stop comparing to that he does a well job. This drama stays pretty safe and isn't offensive, but it is better than the average office romance story.

When the direction is done well with the lighting and cinematography it really does well. It doesn't happen a lot, so in the end this drama isn't spectacular. The romance definitely is a slow-burn.

I recommend to fans of either and think it's a good office romance that feels fresh. A mentor-student relationship between two individuals that were once peers. Han Ting knows that Ji Xing is a smart woman and has a lot of potential, so he isn't easy on her. Its focus is the female lead who has to work hard for what she has and gets the bad parts of life handed to her 9 times out of ten. The supporting stories are also interesting, with the best friend of the FL being the best one there. It is nice to have a story besides the main one be interesting in a modern drama. He Rui Xian is perfect for the best friend role and she is just as strong as a woman as Ji Xing, but is instead more direct and forward and leans into her femininity more.

The themes of womanhood are done well also. Representing how just being a woman makes them to be seen as objects is disturbing, but it is unfortunately very real. I think it's important to see both Li Li and Ji Xing know their worth and leave their jobs, and I think Li Li is a great asset to Ji Xing's team.

The negatives are the ex boyfriend whose round rimmed glasses really didn't suit him, and the 'friend' who likes him. I don't like how she is portrayed as a friend when she has liked Ji Xing's 4-year partner in life? That is not good for the womanhood, but besides her Ji Xing surrounds herself by the right people. The antagonists are good without being too evil also, as this time it is another woman trying to bring Ji Xing down, her former boss.

So this is a good drama with good styling and clean camera work that doesn't have flashy editing. Recommend but not too highly.

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VERY GOOD FOR A MODERN DRAMA, ROMANCE

I recommend watching if you like cute, modern, working hard fl and kinda slow burn but the romance you get later will not disappoint.

I love how good morals were shown through out the show I love how the fl is not a weak person but a smart woman with her principles, they way they fell in love was adorable I loved how cute they were truly a very good drama I couldn't help but scream at some of thier scenes like they are adorable, but I have one complain
Ep 1-30 was good wasn't draggy
30-37 definitely draggy Idk but they broke up and then this happened that happened for me personally it was already too much to the story
37-41 amazing again

The last episode made me cry I can not, when he passed away of old age he gave her his forgive me card 😭😭😭 like I will think about this scene for a week now like I can't they are so cute ajuavwbjajyafa

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Loved the movie at the beginning but TSY breakup with that Gao han was pretty stupid not even lying I laughed at breakup scene cos it seemed to me dat if he supposedly loved her he would have stayed with her during start-up of the company
-Let's not even talk about how he somehow ended up with her" supposed friend" and everyone were just chill about it like too chill 😅 I was particularly annoyed at her friend cos it seemed to me she became friends with TSY because of Gao Han
Then we have her the abrupt surgery for no particular reason,like WTF?
-But acting was okay but TSY friend dat got together with her ex acting was a lil bit cringe
-Loved the music by the way"everything you wanted me to be"🎶🎶🎶
Pretty nice than best choice ever I guess couldn't even get pass an episode on that 😭
Loved the extra episode, bittersweet 🥲

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Great but there isn't exactly a story, but best music in any Chinese drama ever.

The show works when only considering the romantic plot between the two male leads. Apart from that there isn't anything as in the plot line so I mostly found myself skipping everything except the romantic portions between the two leads. The Second leads had a love triangle but the rest of the characters were just place holders. However the OST(music not sure if original) especially the main song for the main leads (not title song) is probably the best in any Chinese drama ever. Will have teh song on repeat but not this drama ever.

Ps: Extra Episode is a Traumatic a very unnecessary considering the original plot cause I can't stop my friends and myself from crying. (If you watch alone you will cry too)

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One of the best modern c dramas of 2024

I have finished watching ABAY and I loved this drama. Both lead actors in this drama had chemistry and it is one of the strongest acting performances by XuKai in a modern drama to date. I mean what is there not to like about HanTing and XuKai fits this role perfectly. The storyline for me was realistic than some of the other modern c dramas. The entire drama kept me watching every episode and I loved how the story kept building from the beginning. I haven’t read the novel so I can’t comment about how close it is to the book. This drama is one to watch on your 2024 list. XuKai was born to play HanTing or any type of CEO role IMO. Really enjoyed this drama.

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Copy/ paste office drama and misery

First review ever!!!
This is not the most terrible drama on earth ever but it felt like a copy paste of so many other office dramas that I just stopped feeling the need to go on with it, because at some point it just felt like I could predict the whole story.

Even though dear and beloved Xu Kai was part of the cast, there was not one character that stood out for me.
Love triangle, obsession , sabotage , first love, enemy to lovers were all present but they didn't make much difference in the acting and storyilne.

I would say for the 27 episodes that I watched that the plot felt repetitive with the same pattern of problem and resolution coming and going almost at the same rythm.

I wanted to love the drama and root for at least one character or anything else, but ,that is a NO for me.
Don't bother , unless you are here for Xu Kai.

P.S :Also english is not my first language, so sorry for the poor grammar.

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Not good.

the story follows the entrepreneurial journey of fl ji xing. also follows her friends and colleagues.
romance is the central theme of the show.
A lot of filler content. the pacing is slow.

my huge problem is the ml. lot of red flags. as an investor in fl's company, his intentions are muddled. he himself isn't clear if he invested because it's fl's company, or he wants to buy and destroy competition. doesn't follow simple ethics. lies to the love of his life to leverage her work for his benefit in sibling power play. doesn't disclose conflict of interest while doing business. talks down to fl. is very cold and arrogant, very "I know better". there isn't much of a character arch there. with so much screentime given to their relationship, which is a sham in name of romance, I had to drop the show. the writers continue to frame as ml's self serving actions as 'he was just looking out for her'. when the fl confronts him about his exploitation and betrayal, and turns away, the ml says "in my life, love isnt everything."

disappointing.

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Mind-numbingly predictable CEO romance with hideous aggressive OST and no chemistry.

First let me say that the best part of this drama BY FAR, was He Rui Xian's incredible performance as the 2FL. She's so amazing and deserves high caliber 1FL roles.

The rest of this was, to put it bluntly, total crap.

While it would take a dissertation to fully enumerate the ways in which this was crap, I will do my best to keep it brief.

*No ML/FL chemistry. I dont know where the problem lies. Maybe Kai keeps getting handed FLs that dont mesh well with him. Maybe he has a really hard time letting go in front of the camera. Maybe hes RL gay. But whatever it is, this is another flat Kai Soso performance, lacking sexual chemistry, passion, and depth.

*Flat ML performance. Kai is good in some situations and dramas, but this isnt one of those dramas. Its impossible to distinguish the difference between his "straight man" character, or just his limited acting ability.

*FL is not sexy and has a bad haircut and boring clothes. Shes cute. And she is a good actress. But shes not sexy. She should be playing roles other than romance FLs

*Kiss scenes are tame

*Moderately high cringe-factor

*Slow slowwwww pacing. This should have 10 episodes shaved off

*Tired, cliche storyline. The actual business story is good. But every other aspect of it is insultingly cliche.

*Mediocre dialogue all the way from beginning to end.

*Background music is stupid and out of touch

*OST is so aggressive it should be arrested and tried for assault.

*Characters are simplistic and too perfect, like a teens dream of what life is like and what people are like, and a teen's dream fantasy.

*They take an indoor cat, in a cat carrier, to the park for its birthday. They lay out a blanket, and put a TINY HAT ON THE CAT. The kind with an elastic chin strap. Then they let the cat out of the carrier. And the cat stays on the blanket. It stays on the blanket, and just... sits there. Mkay. This is the kind of show we are dealing with here. If any one scene could sum up how I feel about the show, its that one.

I would recc this to mushy romantic sentimental people whose favorite color is fuscia/magenta/hot pink, and who still have at least one stuffed animal on their bed.

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As beautiful as Ji Xing to Han Ting as business partner and romantic lover

Honestly, I watch this ongoing series because it is a modern drama and I have previously watched TSY's works.
When I read the synopsis, the premise seemed similar to RWTW, focusing on business and romance, with the male lead also being an investor. Since I loved RWTW so much last year, I decided to give this a try.
And bam! It exceeded my expectations. The plot is so good and solid!

Synopsis in short:
Ji Xing previously worked at a top IT firm and decided to quit to launch her own company, Xingchen Technology. Han Ting is an investor and CEO of Dongyang Medical. With Han Ting's support as a mentor and backing, her entrepreneurial journey begins. As they collaborate closely, their professional relationship starts to deepen, and unexpected romantic sparks fly.

Execution:
The character introduction is clear from the beginning. HT has been interested in JX since their college days, but it wasn't reciprocated because HT moved to Germany and JX had a 4-year relationship with her boyfriend. Their daily interaction was purely business-related. Soon, her boyfriend asked for a breakup, and HT's pursuit journey began.

The chemistry between XK and TSY is sweet and natural, both as business partners and romantic lovers. The stories of the supporting characters are also good without overshadowing the main characters' screen time.

For some people, despite the ML having had a long-time crush on the FL and the FL having been in a 4-year relationship with her ex, their relationship is not considered true love. But time is not a measure of their love for each other. They find it easier to interact and communicate because they work in the AI Tech - Medical field. So far, their romance doesn't feel forced at all.

All in all, I like the plot and everything about the show. Even though the progression of their relationship is fast-paced, the business aspect of the story remains strong, not just presenting us with lovey-dovey scenes. The last quarter of the story, which includes the breakup and reconciliation part, was executed well. I love how they started again as Hanting and Jixing without bringing their job into it. And the extra episode was also cute and complete with two boys and their old days.

Conclusion:
It was a good story with solid execution from beginning to end, wrapping up with a heartwarming extra episode. Of course, there are small imperfections, but they didn't really disturb the overall story. They are a beautiful college friendship, business partnership, and romantic couple. Thank you Jixing and Hanting for 40 episodes plus 1 extra; my summer vacation was great!

NOTE:
I make a full OST of As Beautiful As You, kindly check this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lyr2UTFzVMg

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A complete circle of life

We met , fought for our dreams , misunderstood , parted ways , forgot to laugh , realized our mistakes then met again this time to stay with eo forever until we grow old & took last breath

Ppl says its typical story
Yes its typical but atypical
Its same but different
What make it diff ? Acting ,chemistry ,Aesthetics ,execution ...these things are enough to be label a good show

A beautiful roller coster with ups and downs
Both are flawed because no body is perfect but both learn their lessons .
First 8 episodes are basically business related but necessary to watch to understand ckts especially hanting because he is complex
Story picks up at ep 8 and then every episode was intresting than another. It was actually treat to watch . may be few glitches like jixing 1st breakup
But entire story cover up very well till end .misunderstanding didnt drag for a long instead Xukai marvellous acting wil hooked you .
.i actually got obsessed with this show highly recomended

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