As Beautiful as You

Frequently Made Use of The Skip Button

Usually with dramas if I start using the skip button it is within the next five or so episodes I drop it. With this? I started skipping scenes almost immediately and stuck with it for 24 episodes. Do I regret it? Partially. I fuelled my curiosity, anyway.

The romance was boring. The "drama" was boring. Things felt slow. When the romance started around half way through I felt bored. There was nothing to make me root for them. He loves her - yes, it's established and Xu Kai does an excellent job with his acting... but that's it. There's no deep yeaning he is confident he'll get her. Even when she has a boyfriend and he has no chance, he doesn't really seem to mind??? He just stops pursuing her for a while. There's no emotional consequence. The romance is mediocre at best.

NOW the side drama? SO MUCH BETTER!!! But I still found myself using the skip button. I think the best one was the singer best friend's romance. Li Li's ended up stressing me out and I ended up skipping a lot.

FAMILY
Han Ting's great-aunt and uncle (cousin?) are great. I loved the uncle. The rest of his family, though? Only there to make him stressed and restrict him.

ROMANTIC COMPETITION
Oh my- I hated the woman with unrequited love towards Han Ting so much. She was SO full of herself. She had so many things wrong with her INCLUDING almost letting a sexual abuser stay in her company!!!! If it wasn't for Han Ting, I bet she'd've fired the FL instead!!! What makes it worse is that kind of thing happens in real life! The victim is made out to be the bad guy! I HATED IT!!! I also hate the fact that for something so serious, it's forgotten quite quickly.

CONCLUSION
If you want something to play in the background, this is meh. 5/10 stars. I'm so generous because I actually ended up past the half-way point.

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Fill with small and big spoilers. So read at your own risk!

Xu Kai and Seven Tan of course here I came…. So far this is one the best mature business romance dramas this year. Mature ML & FL make the drama not so dramatic and problematic. But still it has unnecessary understanding & prolonged episodes… Haha…

Ok. Let’s talk about drama….

Story about Ji Xing (JX) & Han Ting (HT), university friends that separated & meet up later on. HT had feelings for JX since university days, but they were just acquaintances. On the day of their separation, HT had to go to Germany for study. He tried to reach out to JX to tell her about his situation, but because of the unfortunate turn of events, JX’s phone had been stolen so she never gets the info & always thinks HT just goes without saying goodbye.

Now, many years later, HT met JX again & all the feelings started to come back or should I say, never actually gone… HT & JX come across in their company, with HT as the investor in the company she works on. But like MDL told us, JX who was frustrated with unfair treatment in the company she works on decided to quit her job & start her own company together with her junior, Su Zhi Zhou. After circling around to look for investors for her company, JX finally accepted HT's offer to invest in her company.

Now, as usual, typical ML as investor & FL as the one he invests money in… HT teaches or ‘mentoring’ JX closely… And as MDL told us, with HT backing, JX’s entrepreneurial journey begins to gain momentum. And as HT & JX collaborate closely, their professional relationship starts to deepen, and of course in the end romance sparks fly.
But unfortunately even though HT has deep feelings for JX, he still can’t forget his identity as businessman & investor. One thing led to another, eventually that’s what caused misunderstandings between JX & HT. That in the end at one time made JX run away from HT & they broke up. Just to be reunited in the end… Haha…. Ok. That’s pretty much the story about JX & HT.

Now, the other side story…

JX has 3 best friends, Li Li, Tu Xiao Meng (XM) & Wei Qiu Zi (QZ). But in the drama it’s more about 2 of them, Lili & XM. Cause you can say QZ love story not crossed with HT & JX story.

1st Wei Qiu Zi (QZ). When JX separated from HT, she had a boyfriend, Shao Yi Chen (YC). When JX was about to start her company YC really saw the differences that cannot be crossed between JX & himself, so YC just broke up with JX. QZ, who turned out had long feelings for YC, began chasing & finally they ended up being together.

2nd Tu Xiao Meng (XM). XM is an online influencer & JX’s roommate. Lu Lin Jia (LJ) originally didn’t like XM, due to her bickering with LJ idol. But when they get closer, LJ finds out XM has her own charm & starts to fall for her. XM that thinks LJ as one of her friends never really thinks more about LJ as a man. But time goes by and so the friendship becomes closer & the feelings start to spark too… With the help of LJ’s mom, they finally end up together.

3rd Li Li. Lili is one of the top sales marketers. But because of one problem, she quit her job & later she decided to join JX’s company as their sales director. Su Zhi Zhou (ZZ) long admired Lili, but Lili is in a relationship with Xiao Yi Xiao (YX) & Lili thinks ZZ is still quite immature. So their relationship bloomed late.

Ok. That’s pretty much the story. Now let’s talk about what I like and don’t.

What I like:
+ The mature JX & HT. Although there’s some misunderstanding about HT’s intention for JX’s company, in the end JX understands about HT’s real intention for her company.
+ The communication between JX & HT. Once again, although there’s some misunderstanding between JX & HT, I really like how in the end JX communicates what she dislikes about HT’s behavior & intention. And how HT starts to fix what he lacks…
+ The growth of JX. We can watch how JX blooms to amazing women on our screen.
+ The growth of ZZ. At the beginning of the drama, ZZ was indeed not so ‘mature’, but when he took care of the business & when JX left he started his own maturity & till the end proved that he can be relied on.
+ Lili is a complex yet interesting woman. I really adore her when she can cut loose YX & later just treat him as a fellow businessman. She knows what she wants & she grabs it fully with her heart. & she proves herself as a worthy companion & true friend for JX.
+ Xiao Yi Xiao (YX). XY adores Lili & wants to be with her. But he is also a mature man that knows what he wants & not. & I really like him when he dares to tell Lili the truth about what he wants for their relationship.
+ Lu Lin Jia (LJ) is a childish man. But when he set his heart to the right place he bloomed & became a man that knew his responsibility. I love his relationship with his mom. His mom is also one adorable mom…
+ Shao Yi Chen (YC). Oh I adore him when he can let go of his ego, feeling & decided to break up with JX. He knows JX is not fit for his future & aside from how long his relationship & his own feelings with JX he dares to break up, that’s really adorable…
+ Wei Qiu Zi. She’s one good friend. Although she’s long crush on YC, she never really acts on it. Until YC & JX broke up. Although I’m sure many condemn her behavior. But for me, when you have a long crush (serious crush not just puppy love or admiration) with your best friend boyfriend & can wait calmly and not act anything harmful to your friend or their relationship. That’s something you have to admire.
+ Tang Song (TS) [Han Ting's assistant]. Oh this one very capable assistant. Not many in dramas have I seen an assistant as capable as TS. Usually, it’s either become friendly with ML or they just simply never told us the story. The assistant is sometimes just like an unimportant character in the background.

What I don’t like:
- JX is a childish woman sometimes. She ‘eats’ fully what Zeng Di (ZD) said & not trust HT in the end. But yeah I understand the manipulation that ZD did.
- ZD. UGH…. I hate that woman. She is one stupid woman that doesn't want to let her ambition & feelings for HT. She can’t even see one nice guy in front of her, although he already gives her his real intention.

Overall this is really one good business romance drama with many interesting characters to be told…

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“How to become an excellent business leader” courses

PLOT: Professional reunion in medical engineering of 2 former high school friends. He became CEO (& heir) of a huge group and investor, she is now a brilliant engineer and ends up creating a start-up. The ML guides her, helps her to become an entrepreneur. They face difficulties together, multiple rivalries, and their own mistakes too.

PROS:
+ A superb CL, with great chemistry. BUT they don't have enough screentime together :). The choice to focus on “how to become an excellent business leader” is certainly instructive, but quite boring.
+ The supporting cast is excellent, and some actors are really promising (particulary Zhou Da Wei & Tang Zhen Chao).
+ The story is well constructed, psychologically coherent. The parents are normal, reasonable (which is not always the case in dramas :). I really like the mother-son duo with the uncle and the great aunt.
+ Production is efficient, with no downtime. The images are beautiful and the framing is well done.
+ The OSTs are appropriate, without being memorable.

WHAT I LIKED LESS:
### There are too many characters and secondary stories which dilutes the narration => at times, the story loses its interest :(
### The FL3's character, streamer, is childish (including her outfits) and quite annoying.
### Seven's outfits correspond neither to her age nor to the minimum professional requirements (always in an ultra-short mini skirt or in shorts). This production's choice is very questionable!
### The scenes supposedly filmed in Germany are not very credible (pigeons, Bavarian waitress outfits and incomprehensible dialogues in German with a weird accent).

＼(〇_ｏ)／ Even more, in all C Drams, when scenes are supposed to be set in foreign countries, they just assume that everyone speaks fluent chinese (teacher, advisors, a lot of students, every business person ever,...) without needing a specialised translator.

=> Nice series for fans of Seven & Xu Kai (and I am one of them) but full of flaws and not addictive.

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PLOT: Retrouvailles professionnelles dans l’ingénierie médicale de 2 anciens camarades de lycée. Il est devenu CEO d'un énorme groupe et investisseur, elle est ingénieur (génial) et finit par créer une start-up. Le ML la guide, l'aide à devenir une entrepreneuse digne de ce nom. Ils font face ensemble aux difficultés, à de multiples rivalités, à leurs propres erreurs aussi.

PROS:
+ Un great CL, avec une belle alchimie. MAIS ils n'ont pas assez de screentime together :) . Le focus sur "comment devenir une excellente dirigeante d'entreprise" est, certes instructif, mais assez lassant.
+ Les acteurs de soutien sont excellents, et certains sont très prometteurs (Zhou Da Wei & Tang Zhen Chao en particulier).
+ La story est bien construite, cohérente psychologiquement. Les parents sont normaux, raisonnables (ce qui n'est pas le cas dans toutes les séries :). J'aime beaucoup le duo mère-fils de l'oncle et de la grande tante.
+ La réalisation est efficace, sans temps mort. Les images sont belles et les cadrages bien travaillés.
+ Les OST sont adaptées, sans être mémorables.
+ Specail Episode très sympa.

WHAT I LIKED LESS:
### Trop trop de personnages et d'histoires secondaires ce qui délaye la narration => par moments, l'histoire perd de son intérêt :(
### Le personnage de la FL3, streameuse, est puéril (y compris ses tenues) et assez agaçant.
### Les outfits de Seven ne correspondent ni à son âge, ni aux exigences professionnelles minimales (tjs en mini jupe ultra courte ou en short). Ce choix du producteur est très discutable !
### Les parties supposées tournées en Allemagne, ne sont pas très crédibles (des pigeons, des tenues de serveuses bavaroises et des dialogues en allemand incompréhensibles).

=> Série sympa pour les fans de Seven & Xu Kai (dont je fais partie) mais bourrée de défauts et non addictive.

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The storyline is thoughtfully crafted, and the actors give strong performances

The details are carefully crafted and logical, capturing the characters' subtlety or innocence through even the smallest actions, which makes the overall structure quite coherent and well-aligned. Additionally, the character development is very reasonable and emotional, with the characters' maturity gradually and clearly shown through their later interactions.

The story is deeply moving, revolving around a pure love. The emotions while watching are largely positive, with very few moments that evoke negative feelings for the audience. The actors deliver strong performances, effectively portraying the characters' personalities. It’s a film worth watching again.

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Honesty, Perseverance and Reward

I have one complaint about this drama and that it is all of the screen time dedicated to the side couples. If more time had been spent with the ML and FL I would have given it more time. Not because of their relationship but because of their evolution of becoming stronger individually and in business.

While Seven’s character went from a tech position to entrepreneur in a relatively short time, her development as a business owner and then CEO was grossly underdone. They highlighted the difficulties others inflicted on her, but gave no insight on how she decided to make the decisions she did.

After a while, the ML and FL scenes became so short that it almost seemed like they were one of the side couples and not the leads.

Basically it is a story about knowing your worth, not giving up when things seem out of control, and learning that love doesn’t always come attached to a bouquet of flowers, with glittery clouds and happily ever after. It’s hard, requires swallowing your ‘right’ to demand your way is right, and learning to adapt and love your partner despite their imperfections while talking out issues rather than insisting you get your way.

Seven and Xu Kai had fire for chemistry. They were so natural and actually portray every aspect of their characters perfectly.

The villains were portrayed well and really showed what happens when you compromise good behavior and business practices in order to get what you want because someone else has what you want. There were instances finger pointing, blame transference and excuses in every misdeed the committed. But in the end, they were punished for their crimes.

Spoiler here - the bonus us episode will require tissues; have them close by. It was the sweetest, most beautiful way to end this drama.

This was my second watching, and I enjoyed much more this time around.

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I started it mainly because I really like both the lead actress and actor. I’ve followed a lot of their previous works, and they usually bring strong chemistry and solid performances. That was definitely one of the main reasons I was excited for this one.

Now that it’s finished, I’d say it’s a very easy watch, but also a very safe one. The story flows fine and there’s nothing particularly bad or off-putting, but it also doesn’t take many risks or leave a strong emotional impact. It stays in that familiar modern romance zone where everything is pleasant, but a bit predictable.

The romance is fine and the interactions between the leads are enjoyable, but it never really builds into something that feels memorable or deeply engaging. What carries it most is still the leads themselves. Their presence makes it watchable and comfortable throughout, and they do their best with the material they’re given. But even with that, the drama doesn’t really elevate beyond “pleasant and okay.”

Overall, As Beautiful As You is an easy, light romance with likable leads, but it plays it too safe to stand out or stay memorable after it ends.

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Great story but can’t see the chemistry

Great story and some of the supporting cast have better acting skills (chemistry) than the main characters.
Xu Kai acts his little cotton socks off as usual but I just can’t always see the chemistry between him and Tan Songyun though there are plenty of sweet, intimate moments that are on point (the shaving scene for example).
The struggle to build a strong fledgling business is really obvious and the team the FL has around her are brilliant, especially the actors He Rui Xian and Tang Zhen Chao and you feel their struggles with both their private and corporate lives.
Cute little story but doesn’t pack a punch (for me) the way some of Xu Kai’s other work does. Perhaps it’s because it doesn’t run through all the emotions we often get in a c-drama or perhaps it’s because I just didn’t feel Tan Songyun was as good as he was.
Would I watch this again? No

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Good but has an explicit scene

The actors are so good for this! I love watching Xu Kai and Tan Songyun. But the story wasn't that great, because there was a flash-explicit scene. The OST is super good, and I've been listening to it over and over... it seems less modern somehow, more nostalgic. The whole show has a nostalgic vibe, now that I think about it.

The aesthetic isn't really vibrant (it's a far stretch from Xu Kai's other modern drama, Falling Into Your Smile). It's more based on muted tones, mostly corporate. I didn't really enjoy that, but it seemed to fit with the story somehow.

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A pure blend of love and respect is As Beautiful As You ??

Firstly thanking the director and the writer to pick such wonderful script and giving us this gift.. I felt so much connected to the story💞 Mr.HanTing & Ms. ji Xing were fantabulous choice and each character had its own shade.. both were sharp strikers to the fans ❤️ and support actors did a marvellous work connecting the plots.. the story did show few loves stories from main plot and one of them was little worrying but again it had to be accepted as we see such people in our daily life too.. the most beautiful part of this story was the Ending part and I did not expect that it would turn in such a positive climax because we love Xukai 💓💓💓💓💓 the most and could not bare the end but when we saw it, had tears 😭 and said to ourself HanTing is immortal, staying with us all time..
I have watched this series more than 22times since it's broadcast.. will watch again and again too..
Kudos to entire team 💝💝💕💕

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Lack luster and tedious

LIKES:

Storyline: The concept of the 3D medical printing for which the drama was based on and the idea of a strong, intelligent woman in the business world at the head of a successful company. I liked how they brought the concept of the playing cards and ML’s interactions with FL, full circle to tie it all up.

Wardrobe: The suits worn by the male characters were all well tailored and sharp. And I loved the female antagonist CEO that wore the most beautiful green suit jacket.

Location: some familiar settings, but where they shot the office scenes for ML’s company and the trip to Germany, were good.

Colour pallet: good colour schemes throughout the drama.

Filming: inside the cars was decently filmed, and the drivers didn’t use the steering wheel like they were swerving left to right lol.

The cat: so sweet, patient and adorable. (Although sometimes I think they used a stuffed animal too).


DISLIKES:

Storyline: it started out interesting and then got confused. There was no AI applications shown, just 3D printing. There were too many speeches and long boring parts. As much as I like Xu Kai, not even he could make this drama interesting and the love scenes had no buildup or chemistry, so they fell flat. Others give more of a detailed breakdown of the little good and mostly bad plot. It was cookie-cutter office drama, with the usual tropes and cliches. Too much filler scenes and the side romances didn’t help add any interest.

Wardrobe: almost all of the females, especially the FL and 2nd FL were always dressed with skirts or shorts that were way too short to be considered appropriate business wear or even business casual. And the trendy online influencer girl and her love interest the bar owner, had mostly distasteful clothes too.

Timing/Pacing: some scenes were too long and often redundant; the board room or the group meetings. Then the last few episodes seemed overly rushed. As others have said, too many episodes and it could have done better cutting it down to 24 episodes instead of 40.

Filming: shaky camera syndrome happened again and some times the green screen was very noticeable.

OST: over played and sometimes too loud to hear what was being said in the scene.

Cast: Initially I thought they actors/actresses were well chosen for their characters, but I felt none of the couples had any chemistry, to the point of being cringy. The parents of the FL & Grandfather, Aunt of ML, added nothing to the story.

OVERALL:
I gave the drama a chance, because in other dramas I found Xu Kai to be a good actor, but not even he could save this one. I understand why others dropped it. It’s a bit tedious of a watch, but if you are new to C-dramas then this is an okay one to start watching and ending was well summed up although rushed. I don’t recommend it to others who have already watched a few office dramas. 3.5/10

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