Kang Jian proposes to Bai Yan, but not out of love. His heart harbors revenge. Twenty-four years ago, Bai Yan's mother had an affair with a married man with a child. The lovers dreamed of a life together, but when the man's wife discovered the betrayal, her world collapsed. In a desperate attempt to stop them, she threw herself from the rooftop. She survived but was left wheelchair-bound for life. That married man was Kang Jian’s father. To this day, the affair continues, while Kang Jian's mother silently bears the emotional wounds of betrayal and abandonment. Watching her suffer while the other woman lives on freely, his heart fills with bitterness. To make the mistress feel the same pain, humiliation, and long years of waiting that his mother endured, Kang Jian sets a plan in motion. He approaches Bai Yan, her daughter, pretending to fall in love. His goal is clear: to avenge his mother’s sorrow and insult by breaking the daughter of the woman who caused it. But what he didn’t expect… was to fall in love with the very girl he never intended to love. (Source: ASTER at kisskh) ~~ Adapted from the web novel "Paper Rose" (纸玫瑰) by Lin Di Er (林笛儿). Edit Translation
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Reviews
No one’s right, everyone’s hurting a painful game that’s oddly fun to watch.
Characters Dynamic: Who Is Wrong and Who Is Right?✦ 1) ML (Male Lead)
He approached the FL not out of love, but to satisfy his mother's long-standing pain, waiting , humiliation, broken relationships, and emotional exhaustion.
The pain his mother endured because of the affair between FL’s mother and his father he wanted FL to feel that same suffering.
To him, FL was a symbol a shadow of the mistress who shattered his home.
He offered FL to his mother like a substitute, a vessel for her to release years of suppressed pain.
So how exactly is ML wrong?
And yet, despite everything ML wasn’t toxic.
He kept a distance, and yet stayed close.
He didn’t want to love FL…
But he fell for her anyway.
He is not like his father.
✦ 2) FL (Female Lead)
A girl with no proper home, raised in emotional wreckage, simply longing for peace and a warm, loving life.
She got caught in ML’s trap but it didn’t take long for her to sense something was off.
Slowly, the truth started unraveling.
But she didn’t collapse.
She knew how to cry, yes ! but also how to stand firm.
She was observing —
“Will I speak the truth first, or will he?”
She gave herself, her marriage, and her husband a chance.
Time to make things right.
Her dialogues were written beautifully intelligent, layered, and emotionally grounded.
She was hurt but never demanded answers.
Because she knew:
➤ Answers are asked from loved ones , not from strangers.
FL was a pitiful character—
Not because of her own mistakes, but because she was bearing the pain, mess, and insults caused by everyone else's choices. And yet, you don’t truly feel pity for her
Not because she isn’t deserving of sympathy, but because she’s strong. She doesn’t need anyone’s pity. She carries her pain with quiet strength.
What made her special was this—
She was never like her mother, or ML’s mother.
She wasn’t shameless. She had self-respect.
FL’s mother stayed in a relationship with a man who never gave her a name or dignity yet she didn’t let go.
ML’s mother clung to a man who didn’t love or honor her or marriage , even after his betrayal.
But FL?
She stood tall. She didn’t beg, didn’t lose herself, didn’t break her pride.
✦ 3) ML’s Mother
A married woman, a mother who built her world with love and care.
When she discovered that another woman was tearing her life apart, her world shattered.
If she wanted revenge can we truly blame her?
✦ 4) ML’s Father
He realized he could no longer carry the weight of his marriage.
He wanted to end it.
Is that wrong?
And if something held him back from divorcing, and he chose an extramarital affair instead was he truly wrong?
✦ 5) ML’s “Green Tea” Girl
She loved ML. But he never chose her.
So she targeted FL’s friend’s fiancé only to hurt FL in return.
Was it petty? Absolutely.
But was it unexpected? Not really.
✦ 6) FL’s Mother
She had an affair. She wanted to be with the man she loved.
But when that didn’t happen, she simply continued the relationship.
Wrong or right? It depends on which pain you understand.
❖ 𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍...
Everyone is at fault and also not.
Except FL, who remained the most grounded, everyone’s life was a chaotic mess , suppressed pain, madness and emptiness.
No one is truly happy.
Normally, I stay away from depressing and emotionally heavy stories.
But strangely, I enjoyed this one.
There was something incredibly gripping about watching everyone’s pain unfold.
It gave a strange sense of peace and fun .
The pain, the confrontations they hit hard. Right in the chest.
The ending? Exactly as it should’ve been.
This is not a drama I’d recommend to someone emotionally fragile.
But if you love stories that make you feel, and leave you thinking this is for you.
This is pain, told like game.
This is fun, in the most agonizing way.
Because that’s how people are…
In their own hurt, they forget the line between justice and cruelty.
They pass on pain to others, just to soothe their own.
✨Recommended : What makes this drama beautiful is its writing, characterization, and ending. The same story, if not presented in this way, would feel boring, depressing, and frustrating.
