Speed and Love

Every day is a Winding road filled with Sizzling Love until it burns

Honestly this started off really good, hot and sizzling our leads eyes yelled yearning, spunk and all round entertaining and fun to watch... Though I have seen He Yu in several dramas before this, I am going to say that this role fit him so much better than the others and truly made him shine in a completely new muscular light. As most of the times we get to see him he is wearing a tank top and dripping some kind of liquid to enhance the curves of his upper arm and back muscles.

Yes there is the whole I loved you as a non biological sister now I long for you as a lover that is slightly disturbing at times but every single gaze from start to finish pretty much saiys we are not siblings and girl you are not a kid anymore... And yes there is a slight attempt to dress her all innocent but they do also show that she really is not that innocent or naive, but rather a 20 year old that knows what she wants (in a way we rarely see in cs).

The twists, the winding roads of the first 3/4 of the drama are pretty fun to watch but then came the inevitable turn that just took all this heat and chilled it down in to some kind of annoyng mess.

Making it go from an 8,5 or even 9 to a 6 landing it a generous 8.

Read More

I finally found the time to watch Speed and Love, and the biggest draw for me was definitely the racing. Growing up on Initial D, I was immediately hooked by the mountain racing scenes—the terrain, atmosphere, and even certain tactics felt incredibly familiar. Moments like shutting off the headlights to throw off an opponent genuinely felt like a nostalgic callback. This review might feel a bit scattered since I was jotting down thoughts as I watched, but that also reflects my viewing experience.

I’m usually very invested in storytelling, but after seeing so many clips and spoilers beforehand, I already had a sense of where the plot was heading. The story follows a fairly straightforward “fake siblings”-to-romance setup: a taciturn male lead with a troubled past, and a female lead who acts as his emotional anchor and source of light. Because of that predictability, I wasn’t especially invested in the narrative itself. Still, I adore Esther and wanted to give the main couple a fair chance—and to be honest, they do have solid chemistry.

This drama feels clearly geared toward a younger audience. It’s cute, fluffy, and filled with romantic moments that evoke the feeling of first love. While it’s not usually my preferred genre, I ended up treating it as a “crochet and watch” series—something light to fill the time while waiting for other releases I’m more excited about.

The beginning of the series kept reminding me of The Forbidden Flower, and after doing a bit of digging, it made sense to learn they share the same director. I didn’t have the best impression of The Forbidden Flower—it felt more like a fangirl passion project than a fully grounded story—and that same vibe showed up here as well, particularly in how certain emotional beats were framed.

One element that did keep me curious was the mysterious meet-up storyline. I kept wondering if there was an undercover cop angle or some kind of shady deal involved. While that thread eventually went exactly where I expected, the execution wasn’t always easy to follow. The pacing and time jumps—especially involving Snakey and how she inserted herself into his life—felt a bit choppy. Her transitions between school life, social events, and uncovering his dangerous side lacked smooth narrative flow, making parts of the story feel rushed or underdeveloped.

That said, while the first half—particularly the Thailand portion—felt like a blur, the second half really pulled me in. Watching him lose his mobility and slowly fight his way back, both physically and emotionally, was where the drama truly shined for me. This arc gave the story more depth and made me reflect on what Speed and Love was ultimately trying to say. Was it just an innocent first love story, or was it about sacrifice in the name of love? I’d like to believe it was the latter—and that’s where the series found its strongest footing.

Lastly, it’s been a while since an OST immediately caught my attention, but Zhang Bichen’s “I’m Determined To” was an instant favorite and added emotional weight to several scenes.

While Speed and Love isn’t entirely my type of drama, I think viewers who enjoy first-love stories, youthful romance, and reunions born out of sacrifice will find a lot to like here. Between the beautiful visuals, engaging racing scenes, and a very good-looking main couple, it delivers what it sets out to do. For me, this was a solid 7/10.

Read More

Speed, Love, and Yearning

Initially, I didn't have high expectations going into Speed and Love, since I wasn't really into cars and racing, but my philosophy for watching this show anyway was because of Esther. Although the production was met with a plethora of issues, including crew and script changes, I felt this drama was still really fun, and I had a blast watching it.

I was thrown off guard in the beginning when Jin Zhao was shown to be underground boxing. I had thought that maybe the cars and racing were pretty minimal since he had other things going on, but rest assured, we see a lot of cars AND racing.

Whoever the casting director that casted He Yu and Esther together deserves a raise because the chemistry was insanely good - everything else was more trivial to me. I love the way Esther brought Jiang Mu to life with the acting, outfits, and hairstyles. The voice and mannerisms are very on brand to Jiang Mu's character too! Esther always plays such fun characters.

I wanted to note He Yu????? I've never watched a drama where a guy wanted to kiss a girl so bad you could very obviously see it in his face - like if you pay attention to whenever he's just about to kiss Jiang Mu, oh my god???? He's actually crazy good!

I really appreciate the first few episodes. The first episode was a bit choppier, but it still got the point across. We are thrown into the realization that Jin Zhao has changed and has been fending for himself. He's involved with shady-seeming people, and Jiang Mu, being spoiled and sheltered, is very unaccustomed to the lifestyle that Jin Zhao has. It got the point across quite well, in my opinion. I imagine they probably cut some scenes related to Jiang Mu since she has a more normal and wealthy lifestyle that didn't require her to struggle as much in comparison to Jin Zhao, who has a rather tumultuous and dangerous lifestyle. So, it seems to me that it could have been a choice of choosing to show more drama vs. a perhaps slightly unrelatable lifestyle, where money isn't an issue.

I also really appreciate Jiang Mu being a bit more on the proactive side to chasing Jin Zhao. I find a lot of dramas like doing the opposite, where the male lead pursues the female lead, which gets little complaints - i.e., The First Frost. So, actually, I don't mind the switch, and considering they always repeat "Zhao Zhao Mu Mu" and constantly think of each other, even when they were separated, they're both mega-yearner 3000s to me.

Now cons:
I honestly really wanted to rate this show a lot higher, but it does have a few pitfalls, namely a few abrupt cuts - don't get me started on the straight-up cut of the wedding, and the storyline issue from the breakup. All issues are attributed to the scriptwriter's fault or the production.

The mom vs Jin Zhao and break-up portion felt a little bit "yikes" - actually, I don't view Jin Zhao negatively. You can see in the show that Jiang Mu's mother almost made the same choice he did, except she was more communicative, and Chris was right there with her when he found out about her condition. If I'm understanding Jin Zhao's character correctly, he seems to have specific confidence issues when it comes to her. He definitely took it very far by ghosting her when he really should have just communicated; however, I do feel that at some point, people were being too harsh to his character, specifically about Jin Zhao's circumstances. The chronological timeline of what happened:

> Jin Zhao is in critical condition from the car accident
> Jiang Mu finds out from Officer Lu that he's in critical condition, and they don't know the outcome
> Jiang Mu finds out from Chris about her mother's successful surgery and is rehabilitating, but is basically missing her daughter
> Jiang Mu, at the time, not knowing whether Jin Zhao is out of critical condition or not, tells Chris she'll go back to Canada with him
> Jing Mu texts Jin Zhao about this - although seemingly feeling very conflicted - but again, he's still in critical condition
> This is when you can't tell whether they cut scenes or what because then Jiang Mu says "my mother is not doing very well and I'll have to stay with her for a while to accompany her" and then you cut to Jin Zhao in a coma? Did someone tell her he was okay? What is going on?
> Jin Zhao, miraculously, comes out of his coma and sees her messages
> To support Jiang Mu's decision to go to her mom, he evades the nurses and sends Jiang Mu away with a goodbye so she doesn't feel guilty.
> So, Jiang Mu goes to Canada and goes to school there while staying with her mother for years

The mom vs. Jin Zhao scene was honestly very frustrating to me because it was a little bit of a questionable moment. It was surprising even! Considering that Jiang Mu's mother came out of surgery successfully, with no significant threat to her life, vs. Jin Zhao, who is in critical condition, where Jiang Mu hadn't even confirmed his wellbeing or even seen him before agreeing to go back to Canada with Chris, the whole situation had started giving me a bit of cognitive dissonance.

So now,
> Although Jin Zhao is out of critical condition, he is basically crippled
> Jin Zhao, just like Jiang Mu's mother, has to go through rehabilitation - but unlike Jiang Mu's mother, he does not have Jiang Mu there for him
> Jin Zhao's character is a man who has always had to rely on himself. So what I imagine is that his mental condition has rapidly deteriorated because of him being crippled. So: thoughts of being useless, a burden/baggage, can't defend anyone physically, won't be able to do much in general, etc.
> In the midst of his depression from the trauma of the accident and physical ailments, he pushes away the one insecurity he seemed to have: Jiang Mu
> Anyone who has benefitted from Jin Zhao and has close connections to him would obviously cover for him because it's his wish/decision. I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised that they would all side with Jin Zhao, considering what he's done for everyone. This isn't to say Jiang Mu is bad or they don't like her, but Jin Zhao has been there for and supported everyone through thick and thin

AGAIN, it is wrong for Jin Zhao to ghost her. I really WISH he said something; however, I find that these circumstances don't make him necessarily as bad as everyone wishes he was. It also stressed me out that after Jiang Mu found him, she immediately started lying and provoking him any chance she got to get a reaction out of him. I honestly think I'm getting old, because this felt immature to me, so it was a bit hard to watch. Although I'm not saying Jin Zhao didn't deserve it, and considering his decision to "let her be happier" without communication is also immature, I consider that canceled out. The sharing of the medical information part without Jin Zhao's knowledge was kind of funny because the entire time, at the back of my head, I was like, "where are the privacy laws?!" - I let out a breath of fresh air when he finally told her he'd send her his medical information to decide whether she'd be with him or not. I know Jiang Mu seemed a bit peeved when Jin Zhao said he'd leave her alone if she found his physical ailments too burdensome, but it is a legitimate concern for Jin Zhao that personally affects him, so I do think it's a good thing he finally communicated that so that Jiang Mu understands what she's really getting herself into. And say what you want about Jiang Mu - as immature as she may be at times, she's always been the most communicative person, and I'm honestly happy she is this way!

Overall, besides the mom vs. Jin Zhao and break-up parts, everything else was honestly still good to me. I wish we could have seen more like Jiang Mu's parents coming to the wedding or even Jiang Mu's father finding out about their relationship, but considering how much they cut from the drama, I wouldn't doubt there was more, but they just decided to cut out for whatever reason. I also realized that while I do like the later Nanjing scenes, Jin Zhao and Jiang Mu's tension, fashion, and hair were unmatched when in Thailand. Something in the Thailand air! Altogether, the casting was fantastic, the vibes are unmatched, and the music is very on point for the show. I already wish He Yu and Esther would have a second collaboration already! For anyone who is on the fence or planning to watch, at the end of the day, the cast, tags, and synopsis are there to read - you know what you're getting into, there's really no surprises. This drama absolutely deserved the heat it got when it was airing!

Read More

unnecessary

You know what make Hidden Love so good, there not unnecessary stuff… if this show was like hidden love and just about loving each other and growing stronger together I think this show has potential… but with all this unnecessary detective spy stuff is what lost me… I like the characters and racing… I love the cute lovey dovey scenes… why not just keep it that way… I don’t get it why break them up… honestly if you wanna break them up fine it happens in every drama… come up with a better reason… why a dumb cliche ohhh I want to keep you safe… how about something more meaning like what happen in Sniper Butterfly… that’s honestly a underrated show… if you saw that show you would know what I’m talking about… so how about just keep it as racing and just racing as the plot and not racing to get into some detective spy trying to solve a crime… I’m not here for that.

Read More

Best Chinese drama of 2025 (after Love's Ambition and The Coroner's Diary)

OMG I literally finished this drama within three days (29 Dec 25 – 31 Dec 25), and I am completely in love. This drama got me hooked from the very first episode. It feels fresh and different, with a well-written script that clearly shows how much effort the team put into it—seriously, well done.

As someone who prefers romantic dramas, this one checked all the boxes for me, especially with such amazing leads. Esther Yu and He Yu were honestly the perfect fit for their roles, ngl. Their chemistry feels natural, and I love how each interaction between them becomes more intense without unnecessary dragging. Every scene feels meaningful and keeps you wanting more.

What really stood out to me is how the drama beautifully shows the growth of both leads, from their youth to becoming mature adults. Their emotional development feels realistic and earned, which made their journey even more touching to watch. Overall, this drama isn’t just romantic—it’s heartfelt, engaging, and unforgettable. Definitely one of my favorites
Ending my 2025 with this drama honestly made my heart so happy.

Read More

More like speed and disappointment

I really enjoyed the first part of this drama. The action developed nicely, and the racing elements and scenes were reasonably entertaining. I even appreciated the slow-burn romance – it was executed well overall.


Now, I know some viewers had mixed feelings about Esther Yu’s performance, but I believe she did a commendable job with her character. Jiang Mu is supposed to be a sheltered, rich 18-year-old girl, characterized by being spoiled, entitled, and overly dramatic to the point of annoyance. While I didn’t like her as a person or character, I think Esther Yu portrayed her effectively.


My issues with the drama started when we moved into the second part of the plot. Although we see a difference in the characters’ personalities that indicates growth in their maturity, it still felt like the plot was stagnant. The same storylines, attitudes, and lines were recycled; I didn’t feel there was any real growth, even though that seemed to be the aim.


If I’m being honest, I think the series might have benefitted from wrapping up around episodes 16 or 17. After that, the plot felt a bit aimless to me. I also found Jiang Mu’s behaviour toward Jin Zhao after their reunion puzzling. The lying and manipulation, along with that petty jealousy, felt unnecessary. While I totally understand that his actions went against her, I would have preferred to see Jiang Mu adopt a more straightforward approach – maybe give him the cold shoulder or make him genuinely apologise, rather than manipulate him into seeking her out.


Lastly, the relationship (bromance?) between Jin Zhao and Lin Sui. I felt more chemistry and connection in their flashbacks and present moments than I did between the actual main leads – unfortunately this, despite my fondness for BL, was off-putting. It felt more like queerbaiting than anything else.


In the end, while I enjoyed the first part of the series, the second part fell short. I found myself practically skipping to the last episode because it felt like a waste of my time.

Read More

The Adrenaline Rush of Precarious Street Racing and Love for a Toddler-Like Teenager

Welcome back to my review. As usual, I’m sorry for delaying “Speed and Love” review because I’m just too idle to write down my thoughts (FYI, my holiday will end in three days, so I’m making sure that I complete this review before getting back to school and being busy again). Without further ado, let’s just dive into the review.

“Speed and Love”, formerly named “Star Trails”, is a rom-com drama adapted from Shi Jiuyan’s novel with the same name (in Chinese), staged in the perilous world of street racing in Manshi, Thailand (supposed to be a remote area in China named Tong Gang). The series revolves around a pair of nonblood-related siblings, Jin Zhao and Jiang Mu. After a crushing divorce, their dad moved out from the house and took Jin Zhao with him to Thailand, where they struggled to make ends meet to the point that Jin Zhao needed to quit from high school and took up odd jobs instead, including establishing a self-independent garage and joining high-stake racings in the midnight to earn some cash for the family. FYI, Jin Qiang married another Chinese woman, Zhao Meijuan, at that time and bore a new daughter, Jin Xin (no doubt there will a lot of mouths to be fed).

Meanwhile, Jiang Mu stayed in China with her mom, Jiang Yinghan, at Nanjing. However, Jiang Yinghan soon found a new Canadian-Chinese boyfriend, Chris, and they decide to marry together and live in Canada from then on. Nevertheless, Jiang Mu didn’t agree on her mom’s remarriage and demanded to stay behind in China for she didn’t have a good impression on Chris. After having petty arguments back and forth, Jiang Yinghan finally agreed to let Jiang Mu stay at her father’s place and told her about the past of Jin Zhao as well. This piece of truth only fueled Jiang Mu’s personal desire to search for Jin Zhao and her hope to rekindle the old memories together.

After settling down in Thailand, Jiang Mu enrolls a language foundation course and a Thai high school too (though this is a heavy point stressed in the novel, it’s completely brushed aside in the drama since it’s going all out in the aspects of emotional tension and sexual interactions). Not only that, she also learns about Jin Zhao’s new life and finds that he’s beginning to look like a stranger in her eyes. To understand his world better, she also learns how to race since Jin Zhao always participates in illegal street racings. Soon, she falls in love with Jin Zhao and slowly peels away his thick fortress, ultimately gaining his heart. But an accident will occur in no time and the two are separated for a very long time, breaking each other’s heart while still yearning. Will they finally give in to their fates or fight against it to stage another fluffy love story?

To put it frankly, I do agree with most of the viewers that the plot is very cliché except the racing part. Firstly, the myriad numbers of tropes crammed into this drama is pretty outstanding, considering it only has 29 episodes. Nonblood-related siblings, spoiled girl x bad boy, accidental hugs, friends coming to disturb your peaceful moments of kissing, noble idiocy, ML decides what’s good for FL without asking for her consent. Those tropes have been utilized by other rom-com dramas and some even do better than this one. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for the electrifying chemistry of the main leads, most people would’ve dropped it long ago, and so do I.

However, I want to praise about how well the racing arc is done, especially Jin Qiang’s methods of how to adapt to tricky situations by relying on your neural instinct. The machinery of car is also explained in basic language so that viewers of non-physics background can grasp the foundation easily (one of them happens to be me, since I’m very awful in physics, but don’t get me wrong, I have deep fascination for mechanics and machinery stuffs).

Now, please welcome our high-and-mighty spoiled little queen Jiang Mu. Well, she does act like a spoiled 10-year-old little chick, as if she were a vexatious mosquito hovering around Jin Zhao’s orbit. No offence, but I’m also a picky eater and tend to pick out the vegetables that I dislike. However, there’s a little discrepancy between me and her. At least, I keep my tongue well shut while nitpicking the vegetables, unlike Jiang Mu, who keeps pouting and scowling interminably till I get irritated of her. Also, why does the designer love to dress Jiang Mu in conspicuous sexy clothing that apparently doesn’t fit her image as an ordinary high schooler at all? Even she only wears her uniform as a formality to conceal the black shirt and mini skirt beneath. And how does she know about cars just by having a single glance (the part where Xiao Yang and Tie Gongji are having a difficulty at)? And how does she manage to learn drifting after having seen Lin Sui performs it one time? And from when does she develop a feeling for Jin Zhao? I know it’s a taboo stuff for others when it comes to siblings falling for each other, but I think that’s fine for me. The thing that keeps troubling me is perhaps she had fallen for him since her childhood years and that feeling grows incessantly over years in the shape of the spoiled queen (don’t get me wrong, she initiates most of the intimate acts). Esther Yu’s acting and baby-ish voice don’t help much with Jiang Mu’s interpretation either. She’s trying hard to act like a toddler just because the script demands so, and she turns 180 degree into a mature woman in six years, but not that mature though. Check out the reason below after I finish blabbing about the ML.

For the ML, I actually and truly love him very much that I also want him to be my boyfriend. Welp, who doesn’t want to? He can race, cook, dry your hair, repair the water heater, exceptionally outstanding in physics, draw, fetch you back from school as if his time had been reserved just for you, and many other things I can’t think of anymore. But, the noble idiocy really irks some people and I really don’t know why because noble idiocy is a rudimentary key point during their separation arc or it would’ve been less fulfilling (for me). Also, Jin Zhao’s character is also shaped from the harsh reality of the world and how he can overcome the trials and vicissitudes of life. I think He Yu has shone brighter than ever and it’s his outbreak role after several mediocre performances. He totally rocks Jin Zhao’s portrayal and embodies his essential point quite well.

For this paragraph, this is going to be a hell of a ride, so please bear with me. The show does convey dangerous moral impacts about how to selflessly sacrifice your dignity for someone you’re not supposed to love and how unrequited love soon blooms into a bold yet dangerous possessiveness. This is shown when Jiang Mu confronts Wan Qing in an unfriendly manner and keeps thinking that she has an affair with Jin Zhao, when he actually never reciprocates her feelings. If Jiang Mu had initiated a more proper and clearer communication instead, things wouldn’t have gone awry and the girls would’ve made such good friends from the get go (I tried really hard to suppress my urge to yell at Jiang Mu, seriously). Not only that, the show also romanticizes taboo stuffs such as how you ogle for that person to be your emotional anchor when things go wrong or unlike your expectation. If the person-in-demand doesn’t give you the respond that you desire, you’re going to start throwing tantrums here and there, in order to attract his attention back to you (which is not worth your time at all). I even have to restrain myself not to take any lessons from this show so as not be deluded into an astray path, given that this show is directed for young teenage girls like me, who will be self-deluded in your little fantasy bubble and have a great rage when your reality turns out to say no to you.

Now, to the OSTs. Yes, I love most of the OST in “Speed and Love” especially the upbeat hip hop track sung by Yan An (not Pentagon’s member). I also like the sultry song by Alyce Zhou (R.E.D) and the wistful memory in Zhang Bichen’s track. The other tracks are as pleasant as well. Backgrounds and settings are thumbs-up for me, while the costume can be toned down a little bit for our dear Jiang Mu.

Will I rewatch? That will be a 50/50 answer. If you’re looking for hot sexual tension and dozens of intimate scenes, then you’ll have a great fun here. However, if you’re into a coherent storyline, I’m sorry to say that this show doesn’t fulfill this requirement. It’s time to end my review now (since I have to go to sleep now), good luck and happy watching!!!

Read More

Fork in the road

I totally ate this series up. The main leads had such crazy chemistry that it was just intense. I had to keep checking myself on why I am swooning over sibling love, but I just simply think they are two kids who grew up together and end up falling in love. I read fantasy romance so the plot isn't something I would consider weird or gross. I mean, once you get past that, it is a really cute and sweet drama. I enjoyed it so much. My 11 year old who watched with me sometimes kept asking why the girl aka Jiang Mu aka Esther Yu sounds like a kid, LOL. Well, this series was definitely trademark Esther Yu series. I don't hate her. She was in her element. As for Jian Zhao, He Yu really owned it. I just really had fun with this and such a good one to end the year.

Read More

Very different and awesome

After a very longtime I like modern cdrama very much especially I really like to talk about ml heyu his acting is good and he is hot and handsome at same time frist time in my life after reading novel of a drama I felt no one can be perfect as heyu in Jin Zhao role and for Esther many people complian about her acting and voice but for me she is awesome more than okay I like her acting and her role and many little details I like about this drama is location I mean it's different I really like ml place it's different from typical cdrama good apartment well organized things maybe after seeing same things I like different one this time and also I like racing and fighting story of male lead because in other drama only male lead and female scene together is good but in this drama their solo story or scene made me hooked I'm excited for future episodes.

Read More

stepcest question mark

i tried so hard to care about this stepcest ragebait & make sense of the general plot idea but i guess #DeadDoveDoNotEat always prevails. i found the cast to be fine and i love the work qiming fei puts into his support roles ,, he's mastered the craft and his ability brought a lot of light into the episodes that i watched.

⟢ maybe i just pull out scripts that do injustice to esther yu as an actress, but i'm severely underwhelmed by her typecast tendencies. the music is cringy & the production isn't anything above average, but i really liked the filming locations and insight into the streets of thailand. . .all thai actors did great!

truly whatever ._.

Read More