Chen Mi (2026)

We need to talk about this ML

I had written a review that I *thought* encompassed all my thoughts on this drama. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I needed to scrap it and start over. This drama is lo-budget in so many ways, and the natural compulsion is to be kind of dismissive, and I had written "what an excellent cheap thrill". WHICH IT IS. But it's more than that. So I think it deserves a more serious review. So let me get serious.

First off, stylist needs to be fired. Let's just get that out of the way. And that is probably the main weak link in the show. It should have been styled by whoever did Fake It Till You Make It. But it wasn't. So to appreciate this drama, you have to kind of look past the stylist's choices more often than is comfortable, and it makes this watch awkward. So, immediately, points off. At least nobody had their hair wrecked. The hair is good. Idk bout yall, but for me this is kind of a real factor in show enjoyment. It shouldn't be, I mean that's silly. But it is. Bad hair can just destroy a show's spark. Fortunately hair here is good, or at least plenty good enough. At least the bad styling choices err on the side of caution, and nobody is wearing a dress shirt covered in mini stuffed teddy bears, or a leather polo shirt, or a belt that looks like a literal alien designed it.

Also music person needs to be fired. It's annoying and out of step, imo. But that's neither here nor there, because you just turn it down when it gets intrusive for a few mins, and it's fine. The crappiness of it didn't destroy the show or anything, it's just that it's not good. It didn't ADD to anything. It's mainly ignorable, and that's the best I can say about it.

With different styling and music this could have been very EITDN-level hot, but coulda woulda shoulda... that part is a fail imo. And is the reason for the points-off on the score.

With that having been said.

What I really want to talk about, that to me is the highlight of this drama, is the ML character himself. First off, this actor - Zhang Fei Ran - just poofed into existence out of thin air like some ML genie. Go look at his page. There's nothing on it. He just started his acting career. This performance he gave here, was GOOD. Really good. The character he plays doesn't have a lot of range, or at least not yet by ep 17. So we don't know what all Fei Ran is capable of yet, or what all his strengths are as an actor. But I am very encouraged by what I see so far.

Here, he plays a total red-flag character. But it's not your typical red-flag. This character is kind of borderline psycho, not even kidding. Kind of stalker-like around the edges. Possessive and obsessive. Huge power imbalance between he and FL. He's kind of coercive. But ALL this is played so so low key. The ML and the way the director frames him, makes him seem innocent and sweet and safe and harmless. And in a way he is.

So this is classic Luo Zheng CEO vibes, where the dark humor and dark intentions of the ML are wrapped up up in ribbons and sweet bows like "haha haha this behavior is fine because I'm wearing a pink sweatshirt and holding a puppy." And I know this is the exact behavior that alarms feminists, but personally I love the strange and twisted, and I love this brand of red-flag. It reminds me of Dia di los Muertos art, it's cute and innocent mixed with sinister and unsettling.

So take Luo Zheng, and give him less pretty-boy looks and more boy-next-door looks. And make him a closet scorpio --> cool, aloof and self-possessed but secretly an unbridled s*x maniac who's into monogamy due to total obsession with one woman.

The way Fei Ran plays this character is wicked hot. He manages to exude down to earth humility and shyness, and complete confidence and self-assurance at the same time. It is swoonworthy. He doesn't overact. If anything your gripe after watching might be that he is a little bit "wood plank". I like it when actors stay calm, grounded and subtle in their performances, because it makes it easier to watch tiny shifts to their expressions happen, it makes you watch people's faces closely. So I loved it. I liked how his acting was understated but still really confident. Giving kind of Arthur Chen/Elvis Chan vibes... because he doesn't come off as serious necessarily (like Deng Wei, Deng Kai or Leo Wu), he just comes off as quiet and calm with a self-assurance that's really sexayyy, with a tendency to err on the side of underacting instead of overacting. And yet still lets himself be emotionally vulnerable to the camera ---> goofy smiles and puppy dog pouting are not off the table for him.

So as long as you can appreciate a true red-flag ML, I'd say this is a do-not-miss in the realm of short-lengths, just for that alone.

The story is SIMPLE, and feels elegant and purist in a way, precisely because it is so pared down. It is unapologetic about the fact that it's tropey. It doesn't try to pretend it's super creative or that it has some unique twist. It is only trying to be the best version of itself. And that was refreshing to me. The facepalm moments are kept to an absolute minimum. The director and producer work within their budget to give you a smooth, fresh-feeling story. The pacing is nice. The FL is a seasoned FL who knows how to lead a show, and she's really beautiful and very believable, and she did great here. She could probably carry a hi-budget production and bring good performances out of A-lister co-stars. I love her brand of pretty. She's strikingly pretty, and her smile is so vulnerable and sweet, so is her crying. I mean her crying could use a little work, but she at least makes it so that when she cries, you empathize with her.

The supporting cast are all pretty/handsome in their own right, and solid actors in their own right. Maybe not top-shelf, sure. But really easy on your eyes and on your mind. Well-cast, thoughtfully cast.

THE SPICE IS HERE, folks. It is here. It is so so good.... and there's even good kilig in this one, which is hard to come by, especially in spicy short-lengths ---> something about spice and kilig usually don't mix. Usually kilig moments happen better in angsty romances, slo-burn romances, frustrated love or forbidden, repressed kinds of romance. But surprisingly there is some here. And ML has some really hot lines, kind of like in a similar way to how EITDN and Koi To Dangan had ML delivering some HOT lines of dialogue. We get some of this too. This show just spoils you rotten with romance. But you HAVE to like it dark to appreciate it. If you lean green-flag, the chances of this ML's brand of loving a woman making you uncomfortable are really high, consider this your second warning. You've now been double-warned. If you can't handle creepy CEO Luo Zheng, you won't be able to handle this guy either. He is a shameless manipulator, and his fixation on her is.... probably unhealthy.

This drama is deceptively cheap, deceptively simple. But really LOOK at it. Don't write it off right away. Its actually effin good, for it's genre. It's seriously a case of the stylist murdering the potential of the show. Do you know how much more boring and stupid EITDN or Fake It Till You Make It or Love And Bid Farewell would have been if they'd had sh*tty stylists? Also the director needs more practice and experience... he's not the worst but not the greatest. But overall, this is seriously a really decent cheap-thrills watch. I would recc this to any red-flag spice lover.

I really wonder what Fei Ran will do with his career, and he's got me interested.

Like... I hope you get what I'm telling you.... that there now exists in our universe, a Luo Zheng CEO only minus plastic surgery, and plus twisted, and plus SPICE. That's sort of lowkey holy sh*t u guys this is awesome.

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A story that couldn’t fully come together

The drama is already short, and on top of that there are so many cut or rushed scenes that it becomes hard to follow the emotional progression properly. Moments that should have been meaningful just pass by too quickly, without giving you time to actually feel them. I could see the intention behind the story, especially in the softer, more intimate scenes, and there were glimpses of something deeper, but it never had the space to develop. Instead of building emotions, it often felt like jumping from one point to another, almost like parts of the story were missing. That made it difficult to fully connect with the characters or their relationship, even though the premise itself is strong. In the end, it’s not a bad drama, but it feels incomplete. The idea is there, the emotions are there, but the storytelling doesn’t hold them together.

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