The Story of Pearl Girl (2024)

Not all that...for me hard to get through all 40 episodes

Story:
-The story is too disjointed from scene to scene, you don't develop a deep care for any character really except maybe ML cuz his family is killed and he is beaten to a pulp as a kid.
-Lots of dead time and scenes that could have been a faster pace which made it drag on in the middle
-It starts out with the cruelty of being a pearl diver which I appreciated the honesty of that situation but didn't like the ML being cruel to FL as well in such an abusive and violent way that it doesn't produce any bitterness or resentment...not humanly honest.
-Didn't produce too many new characters so it was easy to guess who the villains were even the "hidden" one - there's only one that they showcased in the desert.

Acting:
- I like Zhao Lusi but it just wasn't her best role. She was able to be emotional and cry well in many scenes. And you see some maturity and growth and appreciate the designers changing her hair/clothes to show the progression.
-However, the name changing wasn't really explained per se...so someone can just change it as they please to remake themselves? And yet she's a merchant dealing with legalities which doesn't make sense.
-Small details gave it away...as a pearl diver her nails looked like she had gel nail polish on-too nice and neat
-ML was good in his role but it didn't make you really like him til much later. His sidekick was someone you like Kang Ju.
- Good chemistry between ML and FL and some of the couples in this cdrama esp Cui and Zheng
-Supporting cast did a good job: 1st set was fun to watch and good performance. but second set...how they meet and become fast friends is a little too quick for me to develop a trust and fast friendship like that

Scenes
Lots of beautiful scenes in the movie
Costuming was gorgeous

Overall: I wouldn't watch it again, there wasn't any character that was significant nor was it unique. REvenge plot
And the ending was meh in my opinion...FL lead says not to leave and then we are left to assume he left
Or maybe they left together to the desert for him to die? Who knows

Subtitling: Andthe subtitling on Netflix was many times inaccurate and/or did not capture the Chinese meaning behind what was said. So those watching with subtitles may be cheated of some of the story or what the character was trying to convey in a scene.

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A visually breathtaking, emotionally unforgettable mature masterpiece that defies expectations

✅ What Makes The Story of Pearl Girl Absolutely Breathtaking

🔥 A Story That Refuses to Take the Easy Route
• The lazy thing would have been to write a typical happy ending—but this drama chooses depth over comfort.
• Instead of predictable romance, it delivers a layered, intricate story of fate, love, and power.
• The emotional impact is staggering—this isn’t just a drama, it’s an experience that leaves you shocked and haunted.

🎭 Acting That is Beyond Phenomenal
• Zhao Lusi (as Duan Wu / Su Mu Zhe) delivers a performance so subtle and controlled that every glance, every tiny shift in her expression speaks volumes.
• She embodies strength, vulnerability, and quiet resilience in a way that is truly powerful.
• Her emotional depth is breathtaking, making her one of the most unforgettable female leads in historical dramas.
• Liu Yuning (as Yan Zijing) is stunning, not just visually but in acting.
• His performance is layered, deep, and incredibly nuanced, showing a character who is both powerful and vulnerable.
• Even in small gestures, slight changes in his expression, or the way he looks at her—you can feel everything.
• Tang Xiaotian (as Zhang Jinran) brings another level of complexity and charisma, adding an essential depth to the story.

💎 Even the Side Characters Could Have Had Their Own Show
• Unlike many dramas where side characters feel like filler, here, every single character feels fully fleshed out.
• Each of them has a story, a struggle, a presence—so much so that they could each carry their own drama.
• Their arcs add richness to the world, making it feel fully immersive and alive.

🎨 A Visual & Cinematic Masterpiece
• Every single frame is a work of art.
• The costuming is exquisite, with attention to detail that makes each outfit feel luxurious, elegant, and authentic.
• The coloring of the cinematography is breathtaking—soft, dreamlike tones that make it feel like a living painting.
• It has that timeless aesthetic that makes you want to pause just to take it all in.
• And everyone is so incredibly beautiful—this is one of the most visually mesmerizing casts ever assembled.

📖 A Story That is Truly Incredible
• This is not just another historical romance—it’s an intricately woven story about survival, power, and destiny.
• The emotions feel raw and deeply personal, making every moment land with impact.
• It’s not predictable, not exaggerated—it just flows beautifully, with a narrative that feels both grand and intimate.

👥 A Story That Stays With You Forever
• It doesn’t just end—it leaves an imprint on your heart and mind.
• Even after finishing, the weight of the story, the characters, and their journey doesn’t fade.
• It’s the kind of story that leaves you in awe but also leaves an ache behind.

😭 Where The Story of Pearl Girl Wrecks You

💔 It Stays With You—Possibly Forever
• This is not a drama you “move on” from—it lingers in your mind, your heart, your soul.
• Even after finishing, the weight of the story, the characters, and their journey doesn’t fade.
• It’s the kind of story that leaves you in awe but also leaves an ache behind.

🐌 The Pacing is Patient, But Intentional
• Some moments are slow, but they are never wasted.
• This is a drama that takes its time with emotions, with storytelling, with atmosphere.

👑 A Drama That is Simply Extraordinary

💡 It’s one of the most beautifully crafted dramas I have ever seen.
• The story, the visuals, the performances—everything is carefully done with love and detail.
• It doesn’t just tell a love story—it tells a story of resilience, sacrifice, and power.

💪 It is deeply, profoundly feminist in a way that actually makes sense.
• Instead of inserting modern ideals into the past, it showcases the strength of women within their historical reality.
• It highlights how women navigated power structures, fought for their survival, and found ways to carve out their own destinies.
• This is far more powerful than any forced modern feminist narrative.

💡 It is visually one of the most breathtaking dramas ever created.
• If you appreciate artistic cinematography, historical beauty, and storytelling that feels like a painting, this is perfect.
• It doesn’t just tell a story—it makes you feel it, see it, and live it.

🚨 Final Verdict: A Must-Watch Historical Masterpiece

⭐ Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
✅ One star for the breathtaking cinematography and costuming.
✅ One star for the deeply feminist, historically accurate storytelling.
✅ One star for the emotionally charged performances.
✅ One star for the incredible depth of every single character.
✅ One star for the sheer beauty and artistry of the drama.

💎 A True Masterpiece That Stays With You.

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Another drama of Zhao Lu Si & Liu Yu Ning, of course here I come...

Story about a girl named Duan Wu (DW), that born as a slave in a brutal pearl farm. At the farm, every person must be able to swim to get the pearl in the ocean. If they can't the man will get harsh punishment and then sold to another place, while a woman will be as 'child factory'.

One day, DW meets merchant Yan Zi Jing (ZJ) and noble Zhang Jin Ran (JR) on the auction day. On that day too she's finally been able to escape from the farm, while sacrificing her mother. Before her death, DW's mother give DW a blood pearl and asked her to find her father relying on that blood pearl. One thing lead to another, in the end DW boarding ZJ's ship.

With success in her mind, DW try everything to gain ZJ trust. Slowly but sure, ZJ see DW potential and finally put her in his important plan. So, slowly but sure DW climbing the 'stairs' in ZJ's ship & of course their relationship also slowly deepen & grow into something more.

DW also find her connection to ZJ not as simple as she's first taught, DW connection to ZJ is go beyond to their parents. DW also learn the identity of ZJ not as simple as merchant, but it's more complicated than the eye meet. So, together DW & ZJ try to uncovering secrets about their family past.

When they think everything go smooth with their plan, something happen to break DW & ZJ apart. DW thinking ZJ betray her & even try to kill her. So, DW end up go to new place & renamed herself as Su Mu Zhe, and starts her own business. But of course slowly, DW misunderstanding for ZJ will wipe clean & they'll continue their relationship with each other.

At this new place, trouble seem unwilling to let DW go. DW whose been pioneer to inspiring women to take control of their destinies, meet trouble in the hands of old fold who's reluctant to lose to the woman. So, they're a few times make trouble for DW. But with help from friends and ZJ also JR, DW successfully avoid the trouble and thriving as a business woman. In the end, the last trouble is only the one connected with their family past. So, how will DW & ZJ successfully going through all the trouble...?

That's pretty much the story without giving anymore spoiler. Now what I like and don't.

What I like:
+ Zhao Lu Si & Liu Yu Ning at my screen. Haha... Whatever people said about them, for me their quite a match for each other.
+ Zhang Jin Ran is a really gentlemen till the end
+ Cui Shi Jiu (SJ). This woman is so interesting one way or another.
+ Zheng Zhi Heng (ZH). I love how he genuinely love SJ.

Overall this quite good drama, but surely forgettable & have some holes. Below I'll write the holes that I notice, but that's also mean SPOILER ALERT!!! Read it at ur own risk.












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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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I feel the plot sometimes like jumping from scene to scene. It's like something supposed to be there but they cut it in the final edit.
- The attack that ZJ & JR experience. What the heck what's that... It's like one moment they ready to attack the next moment it's them who's under attack. Of course later is feel more clear after we find out about who's the betrayal. But still it's a little bit weird, feel something missing.
- The crazy and important cause that make ZJ's family assassinated. Or it's just me that really not take the grab of it...
- The amazing JR. Haha... JR a few time ambush his enemy by hand behind the scene. Haha... I don't know other word to put it, that's how I feel it. Like when he arrest ZH. Oh come on.... That's clearly lazy writing there. I hope they show us more like investigation or stalking or anything that indicate Zhang family is on the radar.
- The way DW been capture & the blood pearl suddenly be remembered again after been forgotten for half of drama.
I already a little bit forget some of it, gonna fill it later when I remember then... Haha...

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The Emotional Rollercoaster you don’t want to get off! Zhao Lusi Delivers EVERYTIME

So far… I felt the emotion of each character that if it ends as a tragic love story, I would completely understand why. From the very first episode, Duanwu is no punk! I love how Duanwu as a character even though she is naive in some aspects ai ly because she’s grown up in the Pearl farm but she’s also exceptionally smart for someone who has had to Literally fight for everything she’s ever had. The fire in her eyes is that of a survivor! She’s realistic. So far we’re seeing the development of an intimate storyline between ML and FL and it’s one of understanding, they’re from the same world, they make sense together. In the same light we’re seeing the expressions of interest to the FL by the SML and she’s shut him down at every turn. Like I said, she’s no punk so she’s not going to feed into his sugarcoated sweet talk! I love this aspect of the drama especially because there’s no dilly dallying of leading the SML on just to have an unnecessary additional plot line! She knows that in the world they live in, they could never work! I especially loved when she challenged SML when he spoke of the mermaid and the scholar story! She’s an ambitious dreamer in the sense that she knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to Grab it. She’s realistic (see her interactions with SML and his advances) and she doesn’t believe in fairytales which is what I’m sensing from the SML! I loved when his attendant asked him if he would be willing to go against his family for her, and judging by his character, a person who at every turn seems to do what is right, he probably wouldn’t.

Her journey with ML leaves us as viewer anticipating and trying to guess if they will make it! You may be thinking, why should she fall for someone who essentially abused her physically from the day he met her, but again this story is not that of roses and fairytales! KJ explains that he wanted her to become resilient because that’s essentially how he grew up. Then we get to see a little bit of insight into his survival story and we realise the beating she received at his hands was cherries compared to the tragedy he faced to become who he is. Again ML and FL make perfect sense together… there’s no other way to describe it!

Every single character so far in this drama has understood the assignment and has delivered! There has been no miss-cast and the drama engages you from the first scene in the first episode, I mean get your tissues ready. You’re thrown into a world that’s completely different from other CDramas! I think the story really sheds light into what life was like for the majority of people back then, because it wasn’t all fairies and a fight for the throne and power! There were people who were killed senselessly, kidnapped and thrown into slavery, tortured, raped etc! We get thrown into a world in cdrama that we as viewers are not particularly familiar with because most stories are usually toned down or they are Palace dramas so we know what to expect. With TSOPG we don’t know what to expect so it allows us to relate to FL even more because she’s taking us on that journey.

The soundtrack 10/10
The visuals 10/10
Casting 10/10

This show has been amazing so far and I really hope the momentum continues to build until the very end. I’m giving it an early 10 stars because of how captivated I have been from the first episode. I mean I was crying from episode one, I’ve laughed with them as well and I’ve cried again. The casting is EXCEPTIONAL! Ms ZLS NEVER DISAPPOINTS.

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Worth the Buzz

I sometimes have the premonition that when something is hyped, it’s most likely not worth it. Honestly the over posting about the drama beforehand got annoying that I considered unfollowing some platforms. Fast forward, I tuned in right away when it aired, and I’m blown away at how much I am enjoying it. My gosh first episode had me so invested I was so impressed with the cinematic quality. It’s like the real life scene of the animated Ariel under the sea . Bravo well done.

So much attention is given to main leads (deservedly so) but really though, everyone of the cast and their contributions deserve applause. I watch the older veterans and am so impressed at how they do so well with their lines and acting their parts. What to do without them right? So grateful for their work.

Production team did really well planning out each scene that the story flow is great as we can easily follow the story of the enslaved pearl harvester heroine. Lusi really put in the work to her character as she is shining. In fairness, as I’ve said, everyone is playing their role really well.

Join in the fun as the story unravels. It’s a fun ride and of course we got long ways to go but so far, it’s a very promising story that hopefully will end as it started, on a very high bar.

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It is a story that will give mental energy to those who are struggling in life.

duan wu is like the pearl carefully picked by zhao lusi ࿐࿔

through her character as duanwu, she left behind the most beautiful version of herself!

duan wu, like a pearl polished by the waves and sand, had her resilience and beauty brought to life by lusi's empathetic acting

whether it was her stubborn, unyielding tears while fighting against injustice, her sharpness in a breathtaking dance, or when she firmly told zhang langjun, "we are both fundamentally different," we could all see how much lusi cherished and deeply understood this character.

it is duan wu’s resilience and vivacity that makes this role unforgettable!

throughout the process, lusi embodied duan wu’s line: "women should not be bound by the fate spoken of by others." she grew with duan wu, accompanying her from resisting fate to reconciling with herself, completing her own transformation.

just like how sand turns into a pearl, lusi showcased the strength of women and the right to make their own choices. lusi became even more radiant because of duan wu, and with her sincere heart, she continues to sail forward in her acting journey 𓂃 𓈒𓏸

may both duan wu and lusi always shine like the sun, lighting the path ahead ☀️

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IT STARTED STRONG BUT PROGRESS SLOW: EP20-ONWARD

Lu Si & Yu Ning by now knew each other pretty well so there's no hesitation and have strong familiarity in their acting. Their close friendship and the interaction is pretty comfortable so their chemistry is strong and abundance, their hugs are tighter and locking eyes without hesitant. Liu Yu Ning has gained experiences and involve in many great dramas recently, he is no longer a newbie because LuSi helped him to gain his notoriety in Long Ballad. Ep23-onwards, the big number of head-peace & trinkets start to overwhelm. What we can see are big hair and burst of colors bling ornaments/jewelries, LuSi natural beauty is replaced with cheesy show-girls beauty standard. Unfortunately, the story went down hill from there, no longer pulling interest and insignificant characters develop. Cui Shi Jui started with bravado, type A kind of girl, why are we watching her? Her choice of life is apparently miscalculated and cost her unhappiness or unfulfilled. Not feeling sorry for her though...

This time around, we can enjoy maturity of YuNing's acting as Yan Zi Jing, his misty eyes are real, passionate glances and caresses on LuSi's shoulder shown affection. Nothing is fake - all sincere. Although he's over her head tall, he manage NOT to look giant over anybody. He can be cynical or sweet as well, his facial muscle seems to know how to work it, great expression. He smiles quite a lot in this drama (than Long Ballad). His life goal is to take revenge to those people who killed his family, a high-risk businessman on the side. After injury and live at 'Clear Mind' shop, he's like a domesticated house-husband.

Tang Xiao Tian (Zhang Jin Ran) came in joining 2nd ML whose in love with Duan Mu (LuSi) at the first sight although she's only a pearl diver aka a slave under duress. As a gentleman scholar who is Prince Ying's study buddy, he has job to go around the country to investigate crimes, bribery, thefts, all wrongs in the country so he can give recommendation and/or uphold justice for the Kingdom. He's a handsome guy & rightfully a scholar. While Yan ZiJing endeavor in revenge, Jin Ran works hard to find the bad guys, he's a bit partial to Su Mu Zhe so any 'justice' he does always benefit to the duo Su Mu Zhe & Yan Zi Jing.

Zhao LuSi (Duan Mu/Su Mu Zhe) Her dance is seductively mesmerizing, her dive is what divers do, her terrified look on the abuse, tears that break heart. Her tiny figure seems the cutest besides tall LYN & TXT, she doesn't have muscle so when she did manual labor scenes she appears tiny fragile. I want details, if Duan Mu go through so much painful experience and ocean-diving - her appearance doesn't show that. She still has flawless skin, healthy hair, cherry smiles. Dry crack darker skin, dry rough shorter hair should be from frequent diving in to salty sea water. Because of the hardness of reality, she changed personality to pursue harsh business endeavor. One thing she needs to do better is she needs to take vocalization lesson, she's great when doing cutesy scenes otherwise she sound like misplaced. After ep 25 she's patronizing and becoming a 'mentor motherly-figure', a sober personality like she's 40-50yo woman (supposedly she's on her 20th).

I am pretty sure besides these 3 actors (& Kang Ju guy) the rest aren't worth mentioning. The story on the middle are pretty dragging, about business competition or jealousy (I want to slap Bai Niao, Zheng Si & Qin Mu guy the acting are so S***ty bad) This drama can actually be shorten in to 28-30 episodes instead of 40, I bet the producer(s) is milking this production to make more money for this drama than some quality deliverance.
1. Too much fillers, unnecessary scenes/plots
2. The Extras and supporting actors are terrible in acting, seems like they've recruited randomly without audition.
3. Main actors change characters/personality -change direction of mind-set.
I think because of these three main causes, this drama lost audience and getting lower score as it progress.

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I came to love this drama more and more

Because I really love Zhao Lusi dramas I was very excited for this one, until I read the synopsis. I didn't think I would like it. I thought it would be more about her as a rising jeweler and the fight for female rights in her time. I thought it would be a politically heavy drama and I wasn't in the mood for one.

But it was so much more than that.

The story of Pearl Girl starts of with Duanwu. She's a young women enslaved by the Cui family in their pearl diving farm. She's been there since she was eight and has suffered lots of abuse and other forms of cruelty. But this hasn't worn her down a bit. Duanwu remains strong and knows how to stand up for herself. She plans to get away from it all, she just needs the means to escape. Her first opportunity presents itself through a pearl auction where she meets two dashing men. Zhang Jinran (an investigator from the capitol) and Yan Zhijing (a trader from the west). Duanwu manages to escape the farm but the attempt is bloody and ends up burning the whole place down turning her into an enemy of the Cui family. She ends up working for Yan Zhijing and travels with his trading company to be able to earn her true freedom.

I really liked the story of this drama. It was nothing like I had expected it to be and gave me everything I needed. I wasn't familiar with Liu Yuning as an actor but his performance blew me away. I usually like dramas to be a bit more romance heavy but didn't mind at all that this drama focused more on Duanwu's story without having her be head-over-heels for her love interest. Love didn't hold her back. She remained a strong female character throughout the story. It's so different from anything Zhao Lusi's played before. It made me love her acting even more.

Positives:
- The costumes were amazing! I absolutely loved Yan Zhijing's style throughout the show. He made me think of a pirate most of the time.
- The story felt really realistic. It was raw and brutal but never over-the-top.
- They kept the story revolving around Duanwu as a person and her rise from enslavement. We got to see her grow from start to finish.
- The chemistry between Duanwu and Zhijing was on point! Like I said.. I wasn't familiar with Liu Yuning as an actor but he blew me away with his acting. On top of that I have to add his chemistry with Zhao Lusi. I melted at their romantic moments and wished for more each time they parted ways.
- The way they showed the differences between unpaid slavery and paid slavery. Duanwu was an unpaid slave at the Cui family where she had to withstand mental and physical abuse each day (and even the threat of SA) whereas she became a paid slave working for Zhijing. She had to work hard and was still expendable but I really loved the way they showed the differences and had Duanwu go through them.
- Villainy characters became likeable and there was a chance at redemption for them. In particular Zheng Wu.

Negatives:
- After the events in the desert the main characters, being Yan Zhijing and Duanwu, became more like back ground characters. They didn't have that much screentime anymore. The story of Pearl girl became less about the pearl girl and more about the power struggle of families in Yangzhou who were responsible for the fall of the Yan family.
- I don't understand why the script didn't allow Yan Zhijing to find himself a cure for his poisoning. I get why he kept refusing but surely there was a way for him to get cured in the end. If that witch-doctor had ideas of a remedy surely all those court physicians could come up with one. Now it just feels unresolved and I'm left unsatisfied. I can deal with open endings but this one is on a whole new level.
- The ending was so abrupt I had to go to Google and find out if it was the real deal or if my Netflix was broken. I tried to search for an answer for over 30 minutes but Google gave me nothing.
- For a chemistry that intense, it didn't have much romance. I wish the drama had more moments with the two main leads and have them connect. In the later part of the drama we don't see much Yan Zhijing (it's even worse than Duanwu) and we have to miss out on them. I wish they could have given us more time with them before the end.

Overal I really loved this drama. I recommend it to everyone who wants to watch a drama with lots of heavier moments when it comes to tension. It's an emotional rollercoaster so keep tissues close.

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Pearl Girl Shines: A Captivating Drama with Stunning Cinematography

The Story of Pearl Girl was such an engaging watch, with interesting characters and stunning cinematography that leaves a lasting impact, making you feel like watching the entire show was truly worth it. At first, I did not support the main couple, Zijing and Duanwu, but slowly, through both of their character developments, I began to see it. They are generally very supportive of one another, which is refreshing to see.

The original troupe has some real gems, and I genuinely feel like their ending was undeserved and a tad unnecessary. The villains played their roles so well—infuriating at times, as they should be, and occasionally pulling off major twists in the storyline!

This drama is thoroughly entertaining while also shedding light on issues such as slavery in a realistic and confronting way. Lusi's water scenes are absolutely majestic! It just shows how much effort and care went into this drama to create such high quality.

I think this is one of the best dramas released in 2024, especially after a notably lackluster year. I would rate it 8.5/10!

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You will cry

Zhao LuSi is amazing, and the character she played won my heart. I've said it before and I'll say it again give us more FL that are strong and clever. Duan Wu was the embodiment of those qualities, moreover she was skilled.
What I learn as I watch chinese dramas is that they are most always beautiful sceneries, clouthing and hairstyles along with the most ugly betrayals and human greed
But the thing that this story left me with mostly is simply a broken heart. After all the battles it takes us through at the end was it really all worth it? (I asked myself)
It's better than it was, yes, but also did I cry? yes

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Show isn't super bad overall, mainly came to watch this because of the second collab of Zhao Lusi and Liu Yuning. Their acting and chemistry in the show was really sweet and good. When watching their first collab, I really wanted to see a drama mainly focusing on them two as the lead and this show went pretty well.

The acting was superb on both sides. I'm glad to see Zhao Lusi taking on different roles. She is a really good actress as she's been taking very different roles for the past 2-3 years. This character is probably one of my favorites that she has played so far. She's very wise and strange. She does things differently and you can never expect her next move. I loved watching her character development throughout the show, and I love how she also knows a thing or two about martial arts so she can defend herself. I watched a few Liu Yuning dramas, and Idk what to really say. He's been playing kind of the same roles in most of the dramas I've seen him in, but his acting is still pretty good.

there are some plots in the story that make me really frustrated, and this entire series is honestly just trying to find out who the real mastermind behind everything is, so it's like a journey. There are some other characters that make the show even more enjoyable.

My only issue with this show is everything that happens on ep 18. I've never read the book, so idk who to blame it on. In most dramas I've watched something always happens to one of the main leads. (SPOILER) I thought it was really dumb for Duan Wu to just think that Yan Zijing wanted to kill her, I also understand that it might have been difficult for her at that time, but why would Yan Zijing want to kill her for no reason, and right after the two were in a really good relationship. Sometimes the author just needs to think about all perspectives.

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