Undercover Affair

Who Doesn't Love a Organized Crime Romance?

I saw a clip of this on YouTube Shorts so I thought I would give it a go. I'm still fairly new to C-Dramas, but I think they're starting to win me over.

Synopsis (No spoilers if you read the official plot)
Yingli's aunt dies to suicide, but she's pretty sure that her aunt was murdered. After spending some time in jail which is not super clearly explained, she gets out and decides she wants to investigate her aunt's death all on her own. Her research brings her to the Kuntai Group, who has a few storefronts but seems to only deal in white-powder narcotics. She is thrown into the fray due to her overconfidence and poor planning but repeatedly rescued by one of the leaders, Sen. They continue to cross paths and to protect her from the other immoral gang members, he takes her as his woman. I can't believe that the summary of the show includes the twist that he is actually an undercover agent working to shut down organized crime, because if did not know ahead of time that would have been a HUGE twist. Yingli contributes little to the investigation and often becomes a liability, but Sen is smart and resourceful enough to manage the fallout.

Actors: I don't know Chinese actors enough yet to give a good review on their performance compared to other C-Dramas.

===GOOD===
* Decent and well-choreographed fighting scenes with guns and one explosion.
* Great romantic pacing.
* No NC scenes, but decent kissing and seamless cutaways for sexy times.
* Sen is a stand out. Very well acted, justified emotions, and strong character work.
* A few beautifully shot scenery moments.

===MEH===
* Why are the police always kind of idiots?
* Really I wanted Yingli to be more badass through the whole thing or at least surprise us at some point. I felt like her character was really underwritten.
* Some of the fight scenes had kind of silly sound effects that take you out. Like what kick to the stomach makes a squishy noise?
* The ex-boyfriend's subplot did not make any sense and also, how did he know she was in the hospital and where she was when she got sick, because it reads stalking.
* The time Kun "tested" the drugs by stabbing a knife haphazardly in the middle of a white-powder bag and sticking a finger of it in his mouth, then swishing it around like flour-flavored mouthwash.... I'm no drug overlord but I don't think that's how you do that.
* I didn't care for the "3 HOURS LATER"-style time jump. It felt unnecessary.

===BAD===
* Only men can do good fight scenes and women are there to look pretty
* The idea that successful women have to put out to get ahead in the world
* Underdeveloped prison back story and for a woman who spent 5 years in prison, she seems pretty naive and timid, but we needed a damsel in distress so I guess she served her purpose
* What was that red dress situation when she got kidnapped for the 10000th time?
* He told her to stay and lay low in the apartment until he contacts her and then every time we see her after that she's out shopping or walking around the city. Did she even go into the apartment?

==Other Stuff==
* Engaging from the very beginning.
* Watched in one go over 2 days without a boredom break.
* Did not pass the Bechdel-Wallace test.
* Did not make me cry although there is one or two fairly intense emotional scenes.
* Not very humerous
* ENDING: Happy Ending, after a Time Jump. Questions answered although not super satisfying.
* TW for suicide, blood (face, shoulder and abdomen), physical violence, home invasion, gun violence, stabbing, demeaning remarks towards women and superficial molestation

All in all, we got what we came for: a little sweet romance, damsel in distress, a handsome knight in shining armor cosplaying as a badboy, big explosions and organized crime action. Pretty predictable story since they spoiled the only really good twist in the film summary, but otherwise the pacing was great, the chemistry was great (even if Sen carried most of it). Yingli is adorable, but her personality is a bit bland and other than being very very cute and emotionally supportive, she wasn't particularly helpful to the investigation.

WATCH IF YOU LIKE: action-romance, light on the melodrama
SKIP IF YOU: want strong female agency or tightly written police/procedural/investigation work.

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Good for a "budget-production"

I kind of review these lower-budget productions on their own "scale", because it just doesn't feel fair to compare them against huge-scale productions.
So, on that premise, I would say this is quite good.
I liked the music, the story was interesting (not super original though), the main cast was good. The script could have been a bit better, and the effects were so-so.

As for the cast, the ML sometimes gave off a bit similar vibe to Song Joong Ki in Vincenzo.
FL was decent as well.
I liked the sensual undertones/attractions shown, without it being overly relied on. Compared to "Embrace in the dark night" that plays heavily on one thing, this is a lot more subtle.

When it comes to what gives it away as a lower-budget production, I would say it is the effects, and the sometimes inconcistencies in the script, especially for time and wardrobe. It was just several scenes where it kind of didn't make sense that they suddenly had different clothes on, or it seemed like they skipped several hours while moving from one scene and location to another, without there being a logical reason for it.

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Leo Yang: carrying the show while dodging plot holes and clingy side characters

This drama is surprisingly decent, and I have to lay the credit on Leo Yang’s shoulders. His performance as an undercover agent who was also a mafia boss was impeccable, a compelling duality of good and evil where he balanced fighting for justice with the sharp mind needed for shady business. 

However, the same can’t be said for Han Le Yao, and it may not be entirely her fault. I thought her character was poorly developed; she attempted too much with insufficient understanding. Ling Yi only latched on to A Sen hoping to gain information on how her aunt died. Instead, she only became a burden. I’m quite annoyed by Ling Yi’s repeated rescues. I place the blame squarely on her, regardless of her well-meaning interference, which consistently creates difficulties for A Sen. How is an officer supposed to do their job when she puts herself in danger? Instead of helping, Ling Yi has become a liability for A Sen.

The plot, though interesting, has its fair share of loopholes. But if you overlook them, this could be an entertaining watch.

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Like the Style but Not the Plot Developlment

7.75

Story:
-gangsters
-the synopsis spoils more than half the drama
-we were promised a badass fl and we didn’t get one
-the romance had cute scene but we don’t understand why the met
-it is filmed like a full length drama. It felt less like 24 ep of 10 minutes, and more like 6 ep of 40 minutes.
-I don’t like how the ml was involved with someone else… but it’s also understandable so…
-very good fight and fun scenes
-ending was weird, but ultimately happy

Acting/Cast:
-Leo Yang (ml) acted pretty well. He made miniscule movements with his face, which I thought was cool.
-Han Le Yao (fl). Decent cryer. tbh, Idk whether she acted well or not. She didn't get too many scenes and her face didn't change that much...
-main leads had good chemistry (though we did get to see too much of them)
-Kun 哥 (random male character --hard to explain) Qi Hang has gorgeous eyes.
-2fl was entertaining to watch
-Tai 哥 was also interesting...

-there were so many great sets. Some of the scenery is cooler than full length dramas.

Music:
-I hate YouKu. I was watching this free on YouTube, but the sound kept going out
-however, when the songs did come on, I did like them

Rewatch Value:
-probably not. Nice drama to watch just for visuals

Overall:
I liked this . Come for the vibe and not story

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Nice and short love it ?

It's so good and short, finished all in a day. The cast did well especially our ML and FL. Saw many pple complaining about the end It's not so bad. Like what more could you want.
She loves him so much she didn't care how long it took but at the end he came back to her.
And he was always there sending her flowers and bringing up her packages and following her ( not in a creepy way tho😂)
I am also shocked on how short the episodes are and I love it.
I have already watched all the recommendations below.
Please if there any more series like this let me know.

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Too good

Rare type get me hooked on since 1 ep both are really good looking, chemistry is soo good from start till end too bad it was short drama It should've been longer :(
i don't like crime but tried watching it , it's slow burn , great chemistry I like both main leads really cute couple, plot was nice , in start it looks like too adult but there's nothing much they're just acting nothing happens in first ep, I'm slow burn type I dislike couple making out in 1st eps
enough romantic interaction and scenes, I like how they are together it gives real couple feeling which you don't get in other drama, I really like the couple so much .
there's crime, FML is get assaulted few times but ml pop ups right away since she in place with alot of men like that , a little bit action
this drama doesn't give too much screen time to side characters you see main leads more

what I don't like
it's hard to see ml with side character female elena intimate scene they're just close nothing else happens but still it's annoying to watch the man with another women
FML was dumb enough to meet criminal alone on rooftop? without even calling police, there's always some scenes like this in drama
i really didn't wanted him to die ,I thought he died
it's a happy ending no worries

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Não esperava nada e entregou tudo...

Eu não li sinopse, não vi nada, simplesmente dei o play no YT e fui assistir o primeiro episódio e meu Deus, virei a noite assistindo porque é muito eletrizante, com bastante ação e movimentação diferente, foge dos clichês desses mini doramas que só fazem a FM ser drogada, casada com CEO, etc.
A protagonista é tímida e aparentemente frágil no início, mas logo ela se une ao Sen e se mostra uma mulher realmente determinada em suas ações.
Não tenho palavras para descrever o ator Leo Yang, eu não o conhecia, mas ele com o olhar consegue seduzir até uma pedra. O instinto protetor, apesar de ser um policial disfarçado, que não poderia colocar a missão em risco foi muito bom. A química entre os dois protagonistas é excelente, apesar do beijo ser apenas lá no episódio 15/16 como todo mini drama chinês, você consegue perceber completamente o envolvimento dele com ela desde o início. A maneira que eles se encontram várias vezes, a curiosidade, segredos e o convívio faz com que você torça por eles a todo instante.
O final, pensando pelo ponto de vista da protagonista, eu ficaria bem p da vida por ficar 3 anos no escuro, mas como ele deu indícios de que estava vivo com o anel, encomendas e flores, talvez eu o perdoaria tão rápido quanto a prota rsrsrs
E assim que vem a manchete da operação depois de 4 anos em andamento, o martelo é batido e você só precisa esperar para o grande reencontro.
Sem dúvidas foi um dos melhores mini dramas que assistir nos últimos meses.

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