This review may contain spoilers
Watch the first 15 episodes only
I am writing my first review out of frustration with this show. It is a shame because it had a promising start, which is partly why I at least wanted to write this. After all, I felt I invested a good amount of time watching this show, only to be short-changed at the end. You wanted to see how they will separate and find each other again, but after their major break-up in the middle, the show would spend 13 of the rest of its episodes with the FL just hating the ML and pushing him away, only to suddenly realize at the last episode that she is lonely enough and realize that is she okay now to get back with him. The show spent such a long time with their reconciliation, dragging it along with such a bad story arc of revenge, a third richer guy competing with the ML, and business stuff. By the time you get to the end and the leads reconnect, you are left with a lingering annoyance, asking yourself what just happened. By this time, you are so frustrated with them dragging the story along that you just could not feel happy when they finally got back together AT THE LAST EPISODE because it just felt so rushed and out of nowhere. Especially the decision process of the FL, she and her friend were just really annoying with their bitterness and desire to be successful. I mean there is no pay-off in terms of maturing or learning from their mistakes, the two women are just miserable, until the 2nd girl gets cancer, and the FL suddenly just misses the guy that she tried to push away really aggressively, even sabotaging his business, and just decides okay let's get back together. Again, by this time, you are just so mad at her that you don't want them to end up together anymore. As I painstakingly watched the show progress, I learned that the writer is known for such endings, so next time I will steer clear of said writer's work. they say the source was a bit darker, but the writer of the show managed to make it worse by dragging it along. Like I said, watch until the middle, then move on... because after this the series becomes with a story that could not get out of its angst.Was this review helpful to you?
I genuinely hated this drama!
I like the actors. But the story is so bad that makes the characters intolerable, and the drama unwatchable. I will not watch anything from this same writer anymore. I feel like I've wasted so many hours of my life putting up with this nonsense drama that I had to skipped through so many episodes. I am done at episode 22. I really don't care about the ending.Was this review helpful to you?
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Frustrating
This one already got off to a rough start for me, and as it went on it only got worse.I actually quite enjoyed the past timeline. The way the main romance started was a little too easy and full of coincidences for me, but I actually appreciated the conflict in their relationship being about money, and I thought both of them had valid perspectives. The FL did not want to become dependent on someone else, and the ML wanted to take care of someone he cared about. I thought both of them had very good points and it's actually a really realistic conflict for a new relationship when two people are from different financial backgrounds.
But it feels like we just never move on. The characters double down on, and we rehash the same issues over and over again. The leads just take turns doing noble idiocy. The love rivals are all irritating. The leads make up, but it's clear the issue is not actually addressed, especially once we get to after the time jump. The FL is still so tight-lipped and non-communicative, we just get episodes of her getting close to the ML but then rejecting his advances. And the ML is still so stubborn and pushy about rekindling their relationship despite her constant rejections. What the show advertises as his perseverance just looks to me like disrespecting boundaries.
I think the show just tries too hard to convince us the leads should be together, instead of writing actual character development to show so. Each episode is full of lines about how they are fated because they had the same survey response, or because they had the same childhood toy, or because they met again. But the way the characters actually act just tells me the opposite — that they should not be together.
I did not care for the second couple either. The teacher-student trope is already something that I find deeply uncomfortable, and it's weirder because the drama doesn't address their power dynamic at all. Her thing is playing hard-to-get and he gives us nothing.
The third couple, surprisingly, was my favorite. They had very little screentime but they were cute and that was all I needed.
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Eat Run & Stay Single
I don't know what this drama was trying to do, but I was just too bored to pay much attention to the story.The beginning storyline didn't make me excited to see what happened to them, but I stayed to give it a chance anyway... Which to me was not the best decision. Lasting 21 episodes of this was crazy enough.
Thought the ml and fl didn't have much chemistry.
Just two actors saying words from the script lol.
The fl was annoying. The ml was annoying.
The second leads storyline was also annoying.
How can I finish a drama if every character is not likeable?
Not even worth fast forwarding the scenes like I've been doing. So it's best to drop it now.
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One more Girl Boss saga- tired and dispiriting tropey story
Another of those girl boss stories. the fl is older than the male . evidently holds the reins in the relationship, the ML being younger, more expressive and with a reasonable back story for the "great betrayal" the FL accuses him of.However the FL is intentionally mean, turning the knife in his wound and unreasonable. I am yet to see a more sour looking FL that hasnt managed to show a single redeeming feature.
I think this story was written at the peak of the woke years, the year of the girl boss at Twitter, the years of taking quick offense and the unforgiving cancel culture. The FL is absolutely the fitting portrayal of the girl boss; unfortunately that concept has lost pre-eminence and the world is agreeing that toxic femininity is as damaging as toxic masculinity.
Art and literature has to reflect the times and that is why the intentional unkindness of the FL, her savage hate and the inability to be compassionate doesnt work well.
A word about Sabrina Zhuang- she acts better than her earlier days but somehow comes across as charmless and cruel. She doesnt convey her feminine side well. A perpetual sour grimace, bland expression and a thoroughly grating nasal voice- she needs to work at being more pleasant.
Arthur shows flashes of brilliance, a good actor with the potential to be great. The best is his flawless command over the English language, unaccented and ringing true, faultless.
But what a terrible choice of projects and FLs. L&P remains his best work and this drama will never reach those heights.
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˗ˏˋ ❆ Beneath the Pale Days: A Reflective Reading of Eat Run Love ❆ ˎˊ˗
When colors fade and music quiets, a person is left alone with time. The simplest emotions grow heavy, sharp, and stripped of embellishment. Within this space emerges the Chinese drama Eat Run Love — not to offer comfort, but to remind us that love is not always a refuge, but often a silent struggle against erosion.
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A Bleak Drama That Doesn’t Ask for Permission
This series does not beg for your sympathy nor seduce with romantic sheen. It portrays life as it is: burdensome, sometimes dull, often painfully unjustified — and therein lies its strength.
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Highlights for Admirers of Refined Melancholy and Stark Realism
1. Authentic Sadness That Seeks No Applause
The sorrow in Eat Run Love is not decorative. It is a woven thread through the characters, their conversations, and their silences.
2. Characters That Quietly Decay
There are no heroes here, no dramatic victories — only people trying to endure, slowly, dimly, with barely a flicker of hope… yet enough to keep them moving.
3. Devoid of Cliché… Pure Despite the Pain
No sudden love, no melodramatic twists, no emotional bait. Affection arises through fragile encounters, kitchen-table silences, and weary eyes.
4. A Slow Rhythm... Yet a Sanctuary for Thought
This series does not hasten its steps to please the impatient. It offers room to breathe, to reflect, to catch a subtle ache that reveals itself only after a full minute of stillness.
5. Realism Without Betraying Emotion
There are no easy fixes, no sugar-coated endings — yet it remains loyal to its core sentiment: love may fade, but it doesn’t vanish. Betrayal may linger, but it teaches.
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Major Disappointment
I had a lot of high hopes for this drama but I was sorely disappointed. I honestly couldn't watch through the whole thing without skipping because it was genuinely so boring.CONS:
The biggest issue was the beginning, the 2 leads have so much in common that it seems like a cheap way to convince the audience they belong together.
As usual the woman is highly ambitious but poor with tons of baggage and the man is rich and handsome and willing to risk opportunities for her at first sight .
Their romance and chemistry was not convincing and you could tell me they were siblings and I'd believe you.
The acting was quite lackluster and the actress especially wasn't able to pull of the nuanced role she was given and it made the FL's character seem a bit bland.
Didn't like how they made the ML such a huge pushover and his personality seems very contradictory considering he's supposed to be "smart".
The fact that they showed us present day in the first episode made it less fun because everyone had an idea of what would happen, It also took away from my joy of shipping the FL's friend and prof together because I knew they would not end up together immediately atleast.
The relationship, though mildly cute, was not convincingly strong enough to result in so much drama...The main leads did not share any significant chemistry. The main cause for this according to me was bad direction and not choosing a suitable FL actress. She doesn't have much experience and it clearly shows because she was unable to convey the depth of the Fl's feelings, Arthur Chen's acting was good but nothing amazing and he definitely has more potential imo with a better script and cast.
I ALSO FORGOT TO MENTION THIS BUT WHY DOES EVERY FREAKING MODERN DRAMA WITH A STRONG FL, HAVE A ML SAVES FL DURING PERIODS SCENE?????? like the writers want to show that he saves her when she is vulnerable and vulnerability comes only during periods and i'm surprised these women are always so unprepared considering it happens EVERY. SINGLE. MONTH. smh
This drama was so bad that I forgot it was still airing after 2 days of not watching any new episodes.
Overall the Beginning was bad and the ending was also bad. The 6 is for the supporting actress who i think did a pretty good job in the beginning and her styling throughout the show was immaculate. Arthur chen's acting was nothing to write about but certainly wasn't bad enough to complain about either. If i ignore the obvious cliches and other factors this wasn't the worst thing I've watched atleast the first half wasn't.
If you like Arthur chen and don't really care about plot and chemistry then watching this is for you. (Im literally not even writing pros because the music was the only good thing everything else was just decent)
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And Youku wants me to pay more?!!!!
OK.....I finally broke down and subscribed to Youku streaming service (already subscribe to Viki and iQIYI) specifically because I am a HUGE Chen Fei Yu fan and was super excited to watch Eat, Run, Love, his first modern drama in a while...After struggling through 24 episodes ( soooo disappointed in this drama...😩)...Today, logging in to view the newest episode, I see the final episodes have a label marked "EXPRESS" and found out I need to buy the last 4 episodes???!!!!! I am already regretting signing up for Youku because of this lackluster drama...and have worked my way through the 24 episodes to date (ONLY because I am not a quitter) and they have the nerve to tell me I have to pay more to see this series out?...
No Frickin' Way Youku....I'll wait for it to drop on Youtube...lolz...
I can't remember when I have watched such a tedious drama! And let me first say having watched Chen Fei Yu in L&P and two wonderful movies: Yesterday Once More and My Best Summer he is truly a favorite actor of mine and has a real talent, that said, I don't know that a.n.y.o.n.e. could have done a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. with this one dimensional character!
I felt the leads had little chemistry, the dialogues were stilted and incredibly repetitious, the plot itself a "same old-same old" drama with a storyline that was on repeat at almost every episode (during the first few episodes I kept hoping the story would get a bit more complex but gave up on that by the time I got midway through). I was honestly WAAAY more vested in the secondary couples ( Song Ming Mei & Qin Chang and Xu Chen Xi & Wang Yi) than the lead couple. The lead couple: Gan Yang was pretty much depthless and Ding Zhi Tong mostly sour at least up to Episode 24, and honestly, if I have to hear her say one more time how she loves him but can't love him or hear him yell her name one more time I'll scream...
Hopefully Youku will release the last four episodes for members soon, without the added cost, so I can put this dud drama to bed...
P.S. Still a big Fei Yu fan and will continue to keep my fingers crossed he'll either find a new agent who can pick better dramas that suit him more or has another better modern drama already in the works....
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The most interesting part of the show was the shoes…
This was sort of a jumbled mess. It was definitely poor writing with poorly written characters. Sometimes the time portrayed in the show made things confusing. Sometimes they kept track of it and other times we had no idea how much time passed which bothered me. I prefer consistency. I actually wanted to see more of the shoes and shoe designs because it would have made for a better story.The Good
I liked that everyone used their own voices and seemed more mature. They could have went the childish route and that would have really made this story stale. I also liked the idea of the shoes and running. They at least tried to keep that part of the story somewhat coherent even though there were many other unnecessary plot devices surrounding the shoe business. Soundtrack was good.
The Bad
So many things. The plot was dragged out, the relationship was dragged out, the side character’s stories were dragged out, the breakup was dragged out, and the shoe business failures were dragged out. Most of these things could have been wrapped up much quicker than they were and there were so many unnecessary filler scenes and subplots. 1) The main couple’s relationship was somewhat unconvincing. They seemed like they could have both just moved on. 2) The teacher/student relationship was unnecessary. They seemed odd and out of place. Also not convinced. 3) The 3rd couple was the only somewhat convincing couple since they gradually built their relationship but they just weren’t interesting or better yet, the woman wasn’t interesting. Her character wasn’t very likeable so it was hard to care. 4) You cannot tell me that Mr. Wang actually liked Ding Zhitong…I’ll throw this out there but most of these people were stale in their acting which is probably why everything seemed unconvincing.
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For future drama watching experience, Steer clear of this screenwriter!!!
First of all, i only started watching this series because of Arthur Chen. I liked his acting in L&P so i have high expectations in this drama. Then comes the start of the series. I was so excited because the story started out great. The main characters got together after only a few episodes then when they broke up that’s when it started going down the drain. I got no complaints on the acting of the lead actors, but my gosh! I hated the story line. I held on until episode 26 hoping against hope that they will get together soon. But lo and behold, just when i thought the female lead is again warming up to the male lead, she did a 180 degrees. That’s when i decided to just drop this. Not to mention, youku is asking us VIP subscribers to pay extra to watch something with this kind of storyline. Not gonna happen.Was this review helpful to you?
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No Money No Talk
Welcome to my review (or I'd rather call it a rant). It's been quite a time since I wrote review for 'Undercover High School', so I really miss the review section where I can blab freely whenever I want to and minimize the risks of being attacked by delulu fans.FYI, 'Eat Run Love' is one of my most anticipated shows, even when the melon just started swirling around (I'm giving this a shot for Chen Feiyu because 'Lighter and Princess' didn't work on me). Imagine me being obsessed over the novel to the point of reread it back and forth. But lord, was I mistaken again? Right now, I'm going to start my rant so please bear with me.
The plot is centered around two people who have different personalities and even different backgrounds, which are none other than Ding Zhitong and Gan Yang. They encounter each other for the first time at the university. While Ding Zhitong is obsessed of making money to make ends meet, pay her relatives' debts, and help her mother, Gan Yang is the opposite. He comes from a well-off family and has a carefree attitude of life, as if nothing bothered him at all. It is literally love at first sight, if you ask me. He immediately falls for her and chases her in every endeavour, though she can't guarantee their relationship will be long-lasting.
She herself nearly jeopardizes the relationship when her family's debt is piling up. She keeps Gan Yang in the dark about this mater since she thinks that he will only squeeze every single penny for her sake. Eventually, when her cousin demands the money, Ding Zhitong finally opens up to Gan Yang about her reason of being so money-minded. It should've ended there. However, Gan Yang also has his own problems to solve, from his mother's 200-million debt to his fraudster father who keeps making trouble for him. He hides this from Ding Zhitong as well. She mistakes the whole thing (let alone mentioning Xu Chenxi) when Gan Yang asks for breakup. They do break up for 6 years until the Training Box project puts them back on track again. Will they reignite their love once more or will the fate play a cruel trick for the couple?
Nah, second chance romance... Not something I'd be amused about. I've seen a myriad of dramas covering second chance romance flopping one after another, either because of the actors' lackluster performance or the poorly written script which can't be saved at all costs. This show falls for the latter category and half more comes from the former (I'll talk about this in another section). As you can see, the novel itself isn't that problematic, but the screenwriter decided to screw everything up into a wacky script that not even the Oscar-winning actor can save. First off, she stretches the past of the leads for 17 episodes and that is enough already. As for the breakup, it's one of the novel's keypoints so it's okay-ish for me. Second, when they meet again, the FL becomes insecure of herself, whether to pursue her career and destroy ML's dreams or to support him unconditionally. Meanwhile, ML has turned into a simp who does nothing but to wait for the FL even though she clearly states 'I don't want to see you anymore'. This can be categorised as stalking, don't you think?
We've also got unnecessary third wheelers here. Feng Sheng in the beginning is enough already, thank god he lets go of Ding Zhitong willingly when she can't love him. Nevertheless, the second one is more jerk-ish. That old guy Wilson just irks me and the way he always stalks her is no different than ML. Fortunately, Xu Chenxi redeems herself and gets together with Wang Yi - I almost thought she's another toxic bitchy girl too.
Now, to the acting... I only come here to give Chen Feiyu another chance and surprisingly he does decently despite the crooked script. I feel so sorry for him, but this show won't be any breakout or boost his popularity at all. His character is also written in such a messy way that he turns into a lovestruck puppy who does foolish things for the sake of love, even when FL tramples on his dignity, he still loves her so dearly. At first, it might be your mistake for lying to her and now you want to make up. But, as you can see, she's mad with you and if you had just told her the truth, she wouldn't have been that resentful. In real life, this kind of ML will never exist throughout the century, except for those who have fallen head over heels for you.
Move forward to the FL. This is my third show of Sabrina Zhuang after 'Binary Love' and 'You Are Desire', two of which I dropped in the past. From my perspective, I don't think her acting skills has improved and worse, she plays this pouty-faced, stone-hearted, self-centered, arrogant little chick (her character is already unbearable enough hhhh). She doesn't even give the ML a chance to explain the reason of their breakup, let alone giving him a second chance to prove himself. What kind of FL is this, girl? *sarcastic eye roll mode* I won't be commenting on her acting because she only acts on whatever provided in the script.
So, the problem lies on the screenwriter again. Girl, please don't write this kind of shit anymore. No women will trample on men's dignity like this, even if they're exes - exes still respect their former partners tho. The way you write them is too outrageous, making the show into a dreadful love horror. If you had just stuck to the OG source, things wouldn't have gone that worse because the FL respects the ML and even gives him the chance to explain himself, unlike the one she screws up.
SFL is no different than FL. When you're in a happy-go-lucky period with that jerk Deng Boting, have you ever contacted your past lover? The answer is NO! After he dumps you and wants a divorce, you're in a dilemma and you want to get back to him again. Worse, he waits for you all this time and still pining on you, just like ML does. Man, are you simping too?
Only the third couple's story is well-developed. I really like Xu Chenxi and Wang Yi's cute interaction loll. Unfortunately, it's the only pro that I've got to mention here.
As for the economic aspects, it's also nonexistent that I don't feel the need of it anymore. The novel stresses this part heavily, but you chuck them out in a cruel manner (I mean the screenwriter again hhhhhhh). It's as if doing business was such a easy-peasy thing. On the other note, you've also deployed tons of cliches
Cinematography, costume, and directing is quite alright - haven't got on my nerves yet and that means everything is acceptable. OSTs are crappy as well - none of those 7 songs hook me up.
Now that we've reached the final part of the review, I sincerely advice you not to touch this show unless you're a die-hard fan of Feiyu or Sabrina Zhuang. This show ain't worth your time at all and it's the first time I rant again since 'Go Back Lover', so you can imagine how my blood is boiling right now. Also, the ending sucks too - why should they get a happily-ever-after ending like other modern dramas? I'll end my review here, goodbye, good luck, and watch it at your own risk if you're that mule-headed.
Side note:
Why do I name my review with 'No Money No Talk'? This phrase is what my parents often say to me. If you don't have money, don't ever think to appease your lover, let alone taking care of yourself. So, money is still regarded as the cause of everything and is able to destroy every single thing that we love dearly, where the same case applies to the leads too. Get it?
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