The Quirky and the Charming (2025)

Definitely quirky and charming

Just wanted to start off by saying, my rating is based on the genre of the drama, which is a romcom. The drama is true to it's genre, a romantic comedy with the male lead who is the boss and a kind of hard headed female lead who becomes his employee and they have beef, a typical romcom enemies to lovers. Even if it's something I've seen manyyyyyy times I still enjoyed it in this drama.

The story starts off with Yi Ran, the female lead who has multiple jobs and prioritises money. One day, she catches her boyfriend cheating on her and breaks up with him. She makes the sudden decision to stay one night at a 5-star hotel, and lets go of herself. Once the night was over, she had an incident with one of the employees which causes her to write a bad review of the hotel, which leads to bad PR for them. Vincent (Xiao Mu Cheng) who is in charge of managing the hotel goes out and seeks Yi Ran to become a professional reviewer for the hotel, and their story begins.

There are characters you'll like, some you don't, some you'll come to like and some you kind of just don't care for. For me, I did personally enjoy watching both the lead characters and tbh I think it's mostly because they were hilarious, their relationship was enjoyable to watch and I do like how the Yi Ran just does not care and makes things clear, it was fun to watch the relationship dynamic between the main couple. I really enjoyed Yi Ran's attitude when it came to defending her man, it was funny. Some people might find her annoying but her character works in this sort of genre so I don't take it too seriously. I also enjoyed the coworkers, I do admit some of them were kind of irritating in the beginning but I really did come to like them, they were the comedic relief along with the main couple for me.

That being said, I did not care for Yi Ran's friend so I skipped her parts, she didn't add anything to the story and I truly disliked the second leads throughout the drama. You Jia and Yi Shu were both irritating, they don't take no for an answer and were very unreasonable and unprofessional, so I skipped them too. Personally felt the second leads got way too much screen time for my liking, I rolled my eyes every time they were on screen, I did not enjoy their "romance" and the attempt at doing comedy with them just wasn't for me. Another annoying character that appears in the second half of the drama is Mu Cheng's dad...all I could think of was, "what a miserable hag". Wished Mu Cheng was able to stand up to his dad from the beginning.

Story was really fun in the first half, I enjoyed it, it made me laugh a lot and the couple were quirky indeed, sometimes they made me go ??? with their actions, they just caught me off guard (not in a bad way) but I did find them cute together and how they would stick up for each other even before they became to realise their feelings. I enjoyed how easily and naturally they became friendly and soon a couple. I don't remember any serious arguments from the couple once they got together but they definitely did have several misunderstandings before which I think got resolved quick enough. Misunderstandings aren't my thing and I dislike them but I could handle it in this drama. It was all pretty light-hearted, which I enjoy from these dramas because sometimes I just need a break from the really serious dramas. The second half of the drama...for me there was too much going on, I mean for a cdrama it's pretty short but they were doing too much with Yi Ran's mother and Mu Cheng's dad, then the rival, maybe if they took a different route with some of these characters it would've been more enjoyable.

Overall, I enjoyed the scenes at the hotel and how they deal with customers, I enjoyed the main couple for the most part but the story became kind of meh towards the end I guess and it dragged a little in the last couple of episodes, all of a sudden there was too much drama and the original vibes of the drama were lost. Too many negative characters appeared at once but despite this, the couple and their coworkers were still fun to watch and were the best part of this drama, would've preferred more of them rather than the second couple. However, I still would recommend this if you're simply looking for an easy, lighthearted drama to binge and keep you entertained without racking your brains. It's been a while since I've watched a drama like this so I ended up liking it more than I thought I would.

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Heartwarming and lighthearted!

I really needed to watch a lighthearted romcom that it wouldn’t have unnecessary drama but it was mature enough to keep the story interesting.

The Quirky and the Charming fulfilled my expectations. I thought the story was solid, and the way the script developed the characters as well. Everyone was well fleshed out and no character felt one-dimensional, instead everyone pushed the story forward. I was also really pleased to see that those who did wrong to our main characters, are not magically forgiven but have to accept the consequences of their actions.

The second leads were fun in the way they created conflict for the leads, but never in a intrusive way. And the way their relationship was built felt organic.

As for the leads; I have never seen Lu Yang Yang before but she’s a really good leading lady. Her character, Yiran, was excellent but not perfect, and watching her grow as a person a delightful journey.

I have seen Xing Zhaolin in roles like this one before but, out of all of them, this is probably the best one. He still manages to hit all the romcom troupes but his character is more mature and tone down than other version, making him far more compelling and easy to cheer for. As a leading man, Mucheng, was a green flag from the beginning to end; but he too had to grow and it was thanks to Yiran he finds the courage to do so.

As a team, the leads are fun and endearing. Their relationship progression was really well written, not rushed but it’s not a slow burn either. It was perfectly timed, the right temperature, the right spice, the right love.

I guess that’s the best way to describe this drama. Although full of clichés and troupes, it was the right amount of everything. Never overboard, never boring.

If you are looking for a lighthearted romcom, this might be it.

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I just finished the last episode and I have a few things to say

This is a romantic comedy drama meant to be light and fun, and it did start off that way. The story was interesting, the acting was ok, and everything seemed to be going well. But after a few episodes, it felt like the writers lost track of some plot points, which caused the show to slowly lose its appeal.

Random events started happening at strange moments. For example: in most dramas, before the main couple gets together, there are usually scenes that help build up their relationship or help the characters understand their feelings—such as jealousy scenes that lead to confessions or dramatic tension. These scenes create buildup and make sense in the progression of the story.

But in this drama, those moments came after the couple was already dating, which made them feel completely meaningless—just random filler. There was a jealousy scene between the main couple after they were already in a relationship. What was the point of that? There's no tension if we already know they're together and love each other. It just felt like a waste of time, and made them act like they were back at square one, unsure about their feelings.

Now about the female lead—honestly, I didn’t dislike her, but there were so many unnecessary scenes where she involved herself in things in an exaggerated and unrealistic way, reacting extremely to situations that weren't even that serious, which ended up creating more unnecessary drama. It also made me question things like: “Is she the only employee in this drama?” She was always the one dealing with everything. Like—shouldn’t there be a specific employee for that situation?

(The same goes for the male lead. Even though he holds a high position and is the hotel owner, he was literally present at every event, which made it seem like the hotel only had two kinds of employees: the maids and the ML.)

Another important point: who was the actual villain of the story? There were two characters who the writers seemed unsure whether to make good or bad. The first was the one who bad-mouthed the FL and got fired. Then she managed to come back in the most ridiculous way. If she was meant to stay in the story, why was she fired in the first place?

In theory, she should have been thankful to the FL, who unintentionally caused her to get fired but then helped her get rehired. Instead, she held a grudge and tried to take her down just because she believed the FL only succeeded by pointing out a problem anyone could’ve noticed. She even tried to manipulate the FL. And then, suddenly, they became friends again? Like… what?

Then we had the second female lead, who was from a “rival” hotel and wanted to marry the ML. At first, she seemed like she’d be a problem, potentially trying to sabotage the FL. But no—she ended up doing nothing at all. Her character was basically irrelevant except for the one scene where her parents pushed for her to marry the ML. Even that didn’t make sense, since throughout the show, she barely showed any real interest in him—just some casual lines like “Is he missing me now?” or “He’s playing hard to get,” which felt more like a joke than a serious rival.

And the ending… I honestly didn’t like it. I wouldn’t say it was bad or good—just weird. There was a random time skip where the FL goes off to study at a university for a year. Okay, no problem with that. But she comes back completely changed, like she had years of professional experience. Can you really get that from a one-year university course?

Also, she came back after a whole year without seeing her boyfriend. While the ML was really excited and emotional about the reunion, she acted like she didn’t even know him—just to surprise him later. Was that really necessary?

Final thoughts:
The story started off strong but lost direction midway. It didn’t completely stray from the main plot, but things got messy with too many random and pointless scenes. The ending didn’t help, and honestly, it wouldn’t have made much difference if I skipped it. Some characters added nothing to the story. The middle part was full of filler moments, and in the end, there was barely any real development in the main couple’s relationship.

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Funny Sitcom-style RomCom... Until it's Not

The majority of this show was rather good and the various situations within the hotel "just" real enough that adding comedic elements to them doesn't make them over the top and hammy. But then the last several episodes refocus the plot in order to be able to wrap it up with a proper ending and this is where it falls apart.

Suddenly you have a more serious plotline happening with very little to no comedy, the best-friend's very minor storyline feels shoe-horned in and out of place, and the 2nd leads storyline realizes the writer STILL hasn't set them up as a CP yet...

Essentially what happens is it feels like the writer asked themselves "how do I write myself OUT of a corner" for a bunch of plotlines and picked the first one that came to mind regardless of if it makes sense or not.

End watching the show when the leads get together and you won't miss anything but your eyes rolling.

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Landed toward the top of my least favorite list

6/10 is my rating


Review

Overall, I would just say don’t waste your time. I mean, maybe if you have absolutely nothing to watch and you’ve watched everything else remotely good and you have low expectations. Then by all means give it a whirl. But I found everything that other reviewers had to say bad about it was true. It was slow. The leads lacked chemistry. Both romances were very luke warm, and there wasn’t much content beyond just they worked in a hotel. Just not my cup of tea. I wouldn’t recommend it. I would not watch it again and if it was on because somebody else was watching it, I would probably go somewhere else to watch something else. Just aboit anything else. Some of the ones that I found bad look better in comparison. I would put this pretty close to the bottom of my list in terms of wrinkled order of what I liked. I set a six only because the first half of it was watchable and even a little enjoyable, but I felt like it was completely ruined by the last half and the icing on the horrible cake was the separation trope. We should have.

Spoilers

I had seen a lot of the poor reviews before watching this so I cannot claim I was not warned. I thought they just did not like simple, strqight forward cookie cutter romance. Which every once in awhile I do not mind, And the first half of this I thought “oh they were wrong.” But then the next half hit and not only were they not wrong, but they might’ve been a bit too generous. My main complaint with it is there wasn’t any chemistry between the leads. He seemed very cold the whole way through and there wasn’t a lot between them that would’ve really made them like each other. He was bossy with her. I know he was her boss, but usually the boss becomes less bossy after they start a romantic relationship. The separation trope was really annoying in this one because they didn’t even feel that bonded anyway and then she’s like I’m going off to improve myself and she just leaves her grandma who has dementia or Alzheimer’s and she doesn’t even know if she’ll be OK when she gets back. That was unlike her character uo to that point. Also they did this whole thing on her and her mother only for her not to forgive her mother anyway. Honestly, after the one I just watched with one of the most horrible mothers practically of all time yes it was bad that she left her, but she left her with somebody that she knew she would be OK with And so I thought if they were gonna put this whole storyline in, maybe she would reunite but no. I get it was supposed to be healing for her to let it go but come on. If you are going that route you don’t need all that time. I wish I had that time back because I just didn’t enjoy it. I watched it all the way to the end although in the very last episode, I fast-forwarded through all the flashbacks and stuff because seeing it once was actually too much. Then there was the second couple and that was another case where there was zero chemistry between them it made no sense they got together. They were just like well they rejected us so let’s just hang out. Her ignoring him then being in that ugly dress with that weird hair poece in fromt if the ugly tree was not romantic. I mean I think they tried for some weird feminist thing where she did the fall catch almost kiss and all that with him then she proposed first. But it did not work for me. Inwas still stuck in the fact she ghosted hm, shows up and ignores him then does this completely awkward proposal.

Synopsis

This is a 2025 Chinese romantic comedy with 20, 40 minute episodes. Alternate titles are My Super Five Star Girlfriend and Wo De Cha Ping Nv You

Yi Ran (Lu Yang Yang) does a lot of odd jobs to support herself. When she isn't acting as an extra or minor support role, she is running errands or doing any manner of other temporary jobs. A passion for her is to review businesses to let others know her honest impression. When a friend gifts her a stay at a five star hotel, she has less than a stellar stay due to a rude employee. Xiao Mu Cheng (Xing Zhao Lin) is a chaebol heir to the hotel but no one knows that. To his staff his is simply the hotel's director and face of their luxury hotel that ensures their business stays profitable. He tracks Yi Ran down and convinces her to work for him as an in house reviewer. His plan is to give her the most luxurious experience so she will change her opinion and write a positive review. They are two very opposite people Xiao Mu is very proper and exudes charm and grace while Yi Ran is boisterous and one-of-a-kind. As the two work adjacent, they develop feelings for each other. Will the stiff hotelier and down to earth blogger find love with each other?

#thequirkyandthecharming #LuYangYang #XingZhaoLin

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A very funny romantic comedy starring Xing Zhao Lin

PLOT: The resourceful and mischievous FL, who works odd jobs, leaves a poor rating for a 5☆ luxury hotel. She is eventually recruited by the ML, the Director, as a tester, then, given the improvements made, as an intern. She will highlight the hotel's issues and propose solutions that are not in line with the existing rules and rigor.

+++ An energetic, funny CL, with intense interactions. The actors (all very convincing) must have had a lot of fun filming this series :)
+++ Dynamic direction, with very successful effects (visual and audio). The tone is clearly Comedy (OST, gags, etc.)
+++ Well-written story, with "British humor" dialogue. No deep theme, but very funny and well-done.

### A few incongruous details: the fathers' gray hair :( house abandoned for 10 years, dust-free but with green plants, etc.

=> A very good watch, light and funny, with an All-Green-Flag ML, to rewatch when you need comfort (* ^ ω ^)
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Comédie romantique & très drôle avec Xing Zhao Lin

PLOT: La FL, débrouillarde & malicieuse, qui fait des petits boulots, laisse une mauvaise note à 1 palace 5 ☆. Elle est finalement recrutée par le ML, Directeur, comme testeuse, puis devant les améliorat° apportées, comme employée. Elle va mettre en évidence les pbs de l'hôtel et y apporter des solutions non conformes à la rigueur existante.

+++ Un CL énergique, drôle, aux interactions intenses. Les acteurs (tous très convaincants) ont dû bcp s'amuser à tourner cette série :)
+++ Réalis° dynamique, avec des effets (visuels & audio) très réussis. Le ton est clairement Comédie (OST, gags, etc.)
+++ Story bien écrite, avec dialogues "humour british". Pas de thème profond, mais très amusant.

### Qq détails incongrus : cheveux gris des pères :( maison abandonnée depuis 10 ans sans poussière mais avec plantes vertes, etc.

=> Un très bon moment, léger et drôle, avec un ML All-Green-Flag, à revoir qd on a besoin de réconfort (* ^ ω ^)

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