Don't Judge a Drama by Its Rating
Deep Affection Eyes is such a hidden gem! I honestly didn’t expect to love it this much, but it completely surprised me in the best way.The acting is emotional and genuine — you can really feel the pain, love, and growth of the characters. The dialogues are beautiful, not over the top, just perfectly written to touch your heart.
The cinematography and locations are visually calming and fit the storyline so well. Every scene feels warm and meaningful. And the OST? Pure magic! It captures every emotion so beautifully — I've been listening to it nonstop.
This drama deserves way more love than it’s getting. Sometimes, numbers don’t show the real worth of a story.
Highly recommended for anyone who loves slow, emotional, and healing romances. 💙
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Loving Deep Affectionate Eyes.
I don't post about things at all, but I had to jump on the bandwagon and reiterate everything others have said about how truly great this series is. A complete dark horse for me. I hadn't even heard of it or intended to watch it (I usually hate modern cdramas), but was bored and needed to find something on Viki to pass the time. Lo and behold, I have been completely obsessed every since!Like others have said: it is just so charming and well-written. The chemistry and naturalness of the lead couple is so, so good. They look great together, but play off each other so well. Bi Wen Jun is perfect as the brooding ML. And Zhang Yu Xi is wonderful as the sassy FL who manages to find a way into his heart. From their perfect banter to their more serious moments. All of it is just a treat to watch, and far superior to other modern dramas that get so much hype due to their idol casts.
Then there is the delightful cast of supporting characters. Their unfolding side stories are both touching and humorous, and add so much richness to the whole story. Particular shout-outs to the FL's bff and her precocious son (I love the way he is wiser than all the adults around him!), of course, as well as the bar-owner childhood friend and the ML's grandma, who is a hoot. There are really no characters you wish were not in it.
The small-town setting is also a character in itself. It's not like the usual ones that are so picture-perfect and cosy. There is some realistic grittiness to the setting, which totally amplifies the cool vibe of the romance.
I really hope this series gets more and more viewers and highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in watching a great modern drama. You won't regret it.
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If you only care for chemistry between the main couple
The main ml and fl have a lot of chem together and I really do love their romantic scenes together(pretty passionate and hot). They even had a flash marriage in ep 12 in the heat of the moment and passion. Good production and visuals really also added to the reason why I could ignore glaring communication issues and the bonkers of a "plot" in favour of finishing the drama to see the main couple have a happy ending. The start was just good enough for me to persevere alongside the option of fast-forwarding and watching at 2x speed. Plus I love Bi Wen Jun's acting idk why his visuals and vibe just suits my tastes. Need to turn off brain and be in a specific slightly more horny mood to watch, but it's pretty light show to bingeWas this review helpful to you?
A not so heavy feel good drama
Its pretty good and the chemistry between leads are good. 2nd lead are great as well. The plot is pretty simple and it really fits the characters pretty well. Acting could be better though, feel like the fl carried the ml here. Only negative thing i can say are the plot holes that didnt really make sense midway.Was this review helpful to you?
Surprisingly good Drama. Beautiful Male lead
I didn't think the female lead could act but I got her wrong. She did very well in this. Her character was vain and overly willfull but she had a nice side too. The Male lead is an other Stunning Chinese Male Beauty. There are so many of them. Hopefully we will see more of him in the future. The story was sad and sensitively handled. He was brilliantly suited to his role. His horrific background was ugly and his mother was a vampire. The Female lead was very good at drawing him out and opening the door to a fuller, happier life for him. I loved the Granny. Her character was perfect and the friends little boy also did a great job. There were some excellent comedy situations too. I was surprised and have already watched it twice. I was put off by the Female Lead who also had a role in 'Love at Night' with another Gorgeous Male lead . On reflection it was her role and character that was off. Great acting all round. Well done.Was this review helpful to you?
the title doesn’t do it justice
In the wise words of pep guardiola “we cannot replace him”. This was the most perfectly casted cast to ever been cast. The director took a somewhat ordinary story and setup and gave us an extraordinary, cinematic, emotional and hilarious 26 episode run. Amazing job from the cast and film crew, I’m so glad I gave this a chance, I have no critiques whatsoever.Was this review helpful to you?
Stumbled on it and happy I did
I thought that the storyline was intricate and interesting. First C drama in a while that had both a great ML and FL and didn't seem over the top. The friendships and family dynamics were great. Their affection for each other did not in the least bit seem forced or unbelievable. I looked forward to each episode and that doesn't happen very often. It just seemed like genuine love and care from main roles and even supporting roles.Was this review helpful to you?
How a toxic parent destroys their child
PLOT: The FL quits a great job in the city and returns to her (small) hometown. She finds her family, who are eager to marry her off, and escapes by moving into the old house. The ML, a depressed / introverted musician with a lot of trauma, is her neighbor (taciturn, mysterious). She wants to help him and tries everything to get closer to him.+++ Super CL, very natural, with Bi Wen Jun & Zhang Yu Xi ✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧ These two actors superbly bring their complex, vulnerable, painful, and moving characters to life.
The tone is quite dark because the series talks a lot about trauma, suicide, depression, etc.
+++ Beautiful direction: pacing, sets, lighting, OSTs
+++ Excellent cast with talented actors who bring endearing characters to life: particularly Ya En and Kai Ran (CL2), but more, the ML's grandmother who lights up this series ✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧
### The ML's mother's motivations are ridiculous, insane, and unreasonable. This part is poorly written; whether it's her hatred for the FL's mother or for her son, it doesn't make sens !!
### No communication, no trust: "To protect each other," FL & ML keep quiet, hide, and dissemble. It's okay to watch this happens at the beginning of their relationship, but it's human. At that point, everyone wants to show only the best of themselves. But when they live together, get married, and fall in love, this behavior becomes toxic (and boring for the viewer).
=> A very beautiful series (if you overlook a few inconsistencies) with exceptional actors 🥰🥰🥰
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PLOT: La FL démissionne d'1 super boulot en ville, et rentre dans sa (petite) ville natale. Elle retrouve sa famille qui a hâte de la marier, et la fuit en s'installant ds la vieille maison. Le ML, musicien dépressif avec traumas +++, est son voisin (taciturne, mystérieux). Elle veut l'aider et tente par tous les moyens de se rapprocher de lui.
+++ Super CL, très naturel, avec Bi Wen Jun & Zhang Yu Xi ✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧ Ces 2 acteurs font superbement vivre leurs personnages complexes, vulnérables, douloureux, émouvants.
Ton assez sombre car la série parle bcp de traumas, de suicide, de dépression, etc.
+++ Belle réalis° : rythme, décors, lumières, OSTs
+++ Excellent cast avec des acteurs talentueux qui donnent vie à des personnages attachants : particulièrement Ya En et Kai Ran (CL2), mais surtt la ML's grand-mère qui illumine cette série ✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧
### Les motivations de la ML's mother sont ridicules, insensées, déraisonnables. Cette partie est mal écrite, qu'il s'agisse de sa haine pr la FL's mother, pour son fils, ça ne tient pas la route !
### No communication, no trust : "pour protéger l'autre", FL & ML se taisent, cachent , dissimulent. Que cela se produise au début de leur relation, OK, c'est humain. A ce moment-là, chacun ne veut montrer que le meilleur de soi. Mais qd ils vivent ensemble, se marient, s'aiment, ce comportement devient toxique (et ennuyeux pr le spectateur).
=> Très belle série (si on passe sur qq incohérences) avec des acteurs exceptionnels 🥰🥰🥰
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This review may contain spoilers
LOVED IT SM
I love Zhang Yuxi since My little princess and Bi Wenjun since Sweet Teeth and seeing them together was such a surprise at first! But the chemistry is soooo good! The drama is nothing crazy, just simple. It's natural and sweet! I'm used to seeing Bi Wenjun as the quiet, sweet and kind character so seeing him be quiet, nonchalant and with the idgaf attitude was quite interesting! WE LOVE A VERSATILE MAN! Zhang Yuxi looks so beautiful throughout! I also like that she knew what she wanted. She didn't want the chaotic corporate life in the big cities but the quiet and peaceful life in the village! I think that is inspiring since in this time and day, everyone cares about making it big in the cities! This one just shows a more realistic approach to life! Overall a good watch! Would recommend! It is a little difficult to watch the first ep but I promise it gets better! 9.5/10!Was this review helpful to you?
Not for me
Background plot - 5%Romance - 75%
Misc comedy - 20%
Background plot - Not sure there was one
Romantic chemistry - Tepid at best
Misc comedy - Fine
Production value - Pretty good
I stopped at episode 6. I asked in the comments if the chemistry improves and folks said it stayed the same throughout, and thus I dropped the drama. I like these actors just fine, but-- personally-- didn't feel any heat or chemistry between them.
Also, I'm not sure there was a story. . . at least, there was no real story by the end of episode 6. It was repetitive scenes for 6 episodes with no progression; I stopped both episodes 5 and 6 to make sure I wasn't accidentally watching an episode I'd already finished.
I think perhaps I'm the problem...? People in the comments seemed to really enjoy this one and see / feel lots of chemistry between the leads. I did try, though, and gave it a 6 because it isn't terrible, it just didn't keep my interest.
Anyway, this one ended up not being for me.
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This review may contain spoilers
moody production but an overall cozy & cute romance
This show was it’s own thing but for some reason it was what I was expecting from Love's Ambition. My issue with Love’s Ambition was the “flow”. Again, these are two *different* shows but the core “essence” was pretty similar. You have a romance unfolding with the backdrop of self love, self acceptance, and learning to open up/be honest.What this show does right is the seamlessness of the plot. Even with the “mystery” element and mental health concerns, the show was pretty light-toned overall. I also reallllly loved Fang Ya En & Cheng Kai Ran. I think the actress Zhang Xiao Wan played Fang Ya En phenomenally but also Cheng Kai Ran’s personality really grows so nicely throughout the plot. From a bitter friend to a consistent friend and reliable hero.
With Qiao Mai Mai as a solid side character and Jiang Lu Zhi as an interesting/understandable “antagonist”, this show does a great job of really playing into the regular-ness of humans. There are of course the dramatic and higher stake moments that would be very unlikely in real life (re: Li Jin Yu temporary rich CEO alter ego) – but having nagging & loving aunties, bickering grandmas, annoying ex-husbands, feeling lost after a life set back all of these are absolutely relatable and well written in this show.
Grandma Dou was so good to have on screen. She was cheeky and fierce in all the ways a grandma is. And then even Grandma Ye was a “classic” obnoxious but loving grandmother.
Ye Meng and Li Jin Yu’s romance was pretty great. Li Jin Yu’s lack of communication was pretty frustrating, but entirely understandable when considering his traumatic upbringing. In this way their relationship reminded me of The First Frost‘s Sang Yan and Wen Yi Fan (gender swapped though). Their love is pure on both sides but one must confront their past wounds to really heal, move on, and be an active partner to the one they love. The black puzzle was soooo well used in this show. When it first appears, it tells us so much about Li Jin Yu’s personality and intelligence. Then how he looks for Ye Meng for the missing puzzle piece and finally how he keeps that center piece missing. 10/10 no notes. I also enjoy how we get to really *see their relationship.* It’s literally from them falling in love, to them learning how to communicate, to them navigating marriage all with a lot of cute moments to make up for any of the frustrating ones. Honorable mention – their Chinese/Western combo ceremony was soooo cute.
The only issues I had with the plot were:
- Gou Kai: He is obsessed with being with Ye Meng but conveniently has a trip and falls off the face of the earth until the second to last episode where he fianlly learns that Ye Meng was married to Li Jin Yu the entire time. This could have been better with him ideally accepting defeat before his trip or even just him texting Ye Meng once while gone.
- Li Ling Bai: Her story wasn’t horrible but it felt a bit undercooked or maybe a little rushed at the end. I can understand being bitter towards your life after being raped and basically “sold” to her rapist. But now I’m frustrated that her adoptive dad has no consequences and I also wish her logic was a bit more founded. Why torture your son instead of putting him up for adoption? Why not just ship him off to a boarding school at like 8 years old or just not torture him? What happened to the rapist? We don’t get these answers as she is actively avoiding the truth until she’s behind bars and quickly info dumps on us.
- The three musketeers: again, Gou Kai is only really in the show as a “love rival” so we don’t get much dimension from his character. Tai Ming Xiao is a lot more laid back and seems to hold no grudges with the past so it really is only him that makes Ye Meng and Li Jin Yu’s “three musketeer” dynamic make sense. We are told Li Jin Yu and Gou Kai literally grew up together, but it didn’t feel like that at all. Not sure if its to show how closed Li Jin Yu always was, but if so, it was not executed properly. As for Ye Meng’s “three musketeer”, she seems very bitter to Gou Kai even when she goes back so again, this set up is flawed as we are only told to believe there was a closeness. The do “patch” this up with the way Gou Kai softens after his return but its a shame that of his ~50 minutes of screen time on the show, he’s only given maybe ~5 minutes of decentness.
All in all, the issue I listed were not central to my enjoyment of the show and they were not so glaring or bad that they held the story back from being effective so I only dinged 0.5 off the story score.
### Original Thoughts & Ideas
- Does your own hurts EVER give you the right to hurt others? Li Ling Bai had a pretty traumatic experience but she was directly responsible for a suicide and the tormenting of her own son. Would she ever feel redemption/satisfaction from revenge? It doesn’t seem like it, and yet she insisted on hurting everyone around her except for her second son.
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Hands down to one of the best drama of 2025
Deep Affection Eye is one of those rare gems that quietly lingers in your heart long after you finish it. What makes it stand out is not just the romance, but the maturity and sincerity in the storytelling.The female lead is exactly the kind of character I love—warm, gentle, and resilient, someone who feels real and easy to admire. She’s not exaggerated or overly dramatic, but instead carries herself with grace and quiet strength. The male lead, calm and reserved, balances her perfectly. He’s not the typical cold stereotype, but a man whose care is shown through patience, consistency, and actions rather than empty words.
Their love story unfolds naturally, like watching two souls slowly find home in each other. It’s tender, heartwarming, and feels grounded in real emotions rather than forced tropes. No unnecessary chaos, no dragged misunderstandings—just a steady, beautiful journey of two people building trust and affection.
If you’re someone who enjoys slow-burn romance, meaningful conversations, and mature dynamics without the usual cliché drama, Deep Affection Eye is a must-watch. It’s not just a drama—it’s a comfort.
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