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Sold off by his own family, poor, bullied country boy finds an unlikely benefactor in a rich family
Damn!! The amount of manipulation, harm and abuse that the protagonist takes in is unprecedented...its infuriating!!! Now that I finally completed it, with a pretty good build-up all through till episode 10, the ending curve within the last 2 episodes feels like too much, too fast..... even though apparently it seems like 'justice', it feels very forced. I would have raised the score to8, but decided to keep it 7.5 because of the rushed endingBe warned that it has a lot of bullying, extreme emotional manipulation, and some scenes borders on SA
BL-needle Score: 6. Low BL-ness
A slow paced story set in the 90s, borders on dark, with toxic elements and is increasingly becoming a strong tale....go past the first few episodes and you will start to be invested, or rather, let me say, you'll hate it enough to want to see how it all ends.....
Xiao Fan, a country bumpkin with no education, zero self esteem, mostly bullied and uncared for, gets literally sold off by his family to a rich family who were looking for a 'groom' to shield their bratty daughter from social shame of being pregnant out of wedlock....the daughter who seems perpetually angry, rude and borderline narcissist, insults and bullies her fake husband every opportunity she gets as he lands in their palatial city home to act as her husband....her brother, the quiet and intelligent Bei Lu, however develops a soft corner for the poor chap...buys him clothes, tutors him and tries introducing him to the ways of the world...as the story progresses, we see this tender bond developing between these unlikely pair, the extremely lopsided power equation notwithstanding....
While Xiao Fan struggles with the education and becomes a butt of jokes with Bei Lu's friends, he seems to be good at cooking...the chief housemaid Aunt Lin takes a liking to him and teaches him to help around the kitchen and cooking...soon he starts serving soups to Bei Lu, as his way of thanking that one person who he hangs on to for some shred of kindness and hope....
With Bei's help Fan manages to get into college for vocational course, but gets bullied there too....his family continues to pester him for more favours from the Bei family every now and then and the spineless, self-loathing Xiao Fan keeps failing to say no and turns to Bei Lu every time...so much so that your blood start to boil at the shamelessness of the mother and family and the never-ending cowering of Fan...Bei Lu however seems to have genuinely fallen for the pitiful boy.
Will the perpetually apologetic, servile and self-loathing Xiao Fan ever be able to find the courage to stand up for himself...where will this unusual pair head to? Watch to find out
Verdict: Watch, but be prepared for the triggers
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This review may contain spoilers
XiaoFan should have kill all of them. Why everybody is evil - expect his mom. I love their relationship, I did expect a stronger XiaoFan at the end. He was stronger in his action but I think he's still shy and you can see how it's still hard for him to stand for himself.
I hate all the character pls... XiaoFan's wife, his brother, his father. Everyone is so awful. Please take Xiaofan suffering and give it to everyone else.
Big ick about the intoxacted sex.. I get that they are supposed to love each other before, but please no.. Stop with that.
Btw I hate how they spoiled everything in the preview?? Like they were supposed to break up and the preview show how they will get married???
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A beautiful mix of romance and emotional drama. The story had its bittersweet moments, but the chemistry between the leads really stood out. I enjoyed their relationship and the emotional journey they went through... ... ... .... .... .... .... .. .. ... ... .... .... .... .... .. .. ... ..
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Soup Boy
Our Fanfan and our Gege!! If there is another title for this series, it's going to be "Soup" or "Porridge," hahaha. Did you know how much stress I felt while watching this? A lot!! But in a good way. We all love angst and, of course, our helpless little Fanfan. If you love that "taken for granted" main lead trope, then this one is for you.In the middle, though, I felt like it was very repetitive. No one was getting out of the cycle. We know that they both love each other, but then what? Are we not going to do anything about it?? I almost tapped out while watching, buuuuuuut who would have known that the final episodes would serve up that twist? Our little Fanfan became the dust in everyone's eyes, and I'm so proud. Even if it was just a misunderstanding, they still deserved it for treating our Fanfan like that, especially considering the process of how it all happened. It definitely will make you stick with this series.
And of course, we didn't get a bitter ending, but instead a sweet one. Kudos on that!! Everyone say "SOUP"!
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It could have been so much more
I enjoyed this more than I expected, especially the chemistry between the leads and the emotional moments they shared. The story had enough twists to keep me interested, but I couldn't help feeling that it suffered from too many cuts. Several scenes felt abrupt, transitions were choppy, and at times it seemed like important moments had been removed, making the story harder to fully connect with. I still had a good time watching it, but with a smoother edit and a little more room to breathe, I think it could have been so much better.Was this review helpful to you?
They're cute but the plot is a little boring
I enjoyed this show for the most part. I liked Lu Qing and Xiao Fan as characters and liked them a lot together. They were both pretty interesting and I liked seeing all the changes of their relationship throughout the years. Lu Qing's sister and Xiao Fan's family annoyed me so much the entire show, especially the brother. I liked the Bei family's dad a lot, he always seemed really calm and understanding about a lot of things. I do think the show got pretty boring towards the end with all the stuff about the stock market. I just didn't care for any of that and was very bored during it all. The best scenes in the show for me were when Lu Qing and Xiao Fan were together.Was this review helpful to you?
Watch at your own risk
I only have a few words to say. No character is simple in this series, everyone has their own personality issues. I have issues with ML over a lot of things. He has done things which are disgusting but I never understood MC's personality. He is someone who love being a victim. Always dependent on ML for everything. There is no growth in his character throughout the series but the things he did at the end, you would think twice to do to your enemy. I went in thinking I'll pity MC because of his circumstances. But the only advice I can give is one can love a snake but never love a person like MC. I have never seen an abominable main character like him.Was this review helpful to you?
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The love story of a doormat and a rich kid
I have suffered watching this... even at 2x speed...I don't understand how people can like a character like Lu Xiao Fan. I know the story takes place in the 90s, so the ways and mantalities were different, but Lu Xiao Fan is just pathetic. As someone already pointed out in the reviews, he acts like a married woman from the 1920s, cooking, cleaning, without even opening his month to complain, and watching a doormat for 12 episodes straight is not something that I enjoyed. Even the "twist" at the end didn't make me change my opinion about him, I just discovered that he has a brain and knows how to use it.
And don't get me started on the Lu family. Those people are worse than leeches and none of them is salvageable. They are all trying to live off the Bei family's money by using their doormat son. The dad and the son are crooks. The sister is a thief and doesn't take accountability. The mother could've been saved if she didn't try to set up her daughter with Lu Qing. And I know full well that they married their son off precisely to take advantage of this family's money but it was way too much. Lu Xin and, at the end, Lu Qing did really well when they put this family in its place.
Actually, Lu Xin was my favourite character from this sh*tshow. She's not a perfect character (far from it) and it was a bit weird to know that she had a crush on her own brother (even as half-siblings, they still share a mother...), but she didn't let herself be used by either families and that's good for her.
So, honestly, don't waste your time watching this series. There are a lot of better series out there for you to watch.
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poor guy who is fighting everyone!
I feel like this is might be crazy but i really love this series. The story indeed is really same with the title, Bittersweet... Cause gurl, this is aint sweet at all. Every walks, every talks is really meaningful, about family, about love, or about lust, its really all over the place. Especially Xiaofan, he live in his little life yet people still take advantage on him, so innoncent yet he cant do anything cause its his family...This series is so messed up but i really love it. It make me crazy, vomit, feeling dizzy, anger... or the worst is i wanna smack people cause so stressfull the story is. But every inch, every second, i really want more, especially want to watch Xiao Fan, the little boy and the innoncent can fight and protect for himself🐰
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Toxic Trash
No fault of the actors, I can see they tried to do their jobs but this, for me, was utter horse manure. No redeeming qualities and it's quite rare that I will drop a show. If you are fond of watching abuse, this is for you. I don't quite understand the need to create something that tries to sell itself as romance when what they are showing is mental, emotional and physical abuse. In order for this to properly be labelled it would fall more into the bdsm realm but at lease there it has the structure of mutual consent. Let's hope it doesn't stay a trend to try to make it look sexy.Rewatch Value is below zero but it would not let me select that.
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A Frustrating Journey of Unjustified Toxicity and Misguided Drama
Bittersweet Love sets up a premise that promises high-stakes secrets, forbidden tension, and intense family drama: a young man, Lu Xiao Fan, is forced into a marriage of convenience with a powerful family, only to end up in a secret, convoluted affair with his new brother-in-law, Bei Lu Qing. Unfortunately, what could have been a compelling dark romance quickly devolves into an exhausting exercise in emotional abuse and baffling character choices.The primary flaw of the series lies in its central dynamic. Rather than a complex, push-and-pull relationship, the dynamic between the leads feels strictly like that of a master and a helpless servant. Lu Xiao Fan is written as a painfully passive "damsel in distress" who consistently allows everyone, from his ruthless love interest to his own selfish, parasitic family, to walk all over him. His complete lack of backbone, paired with an endless routine of somberly making soup and wallowing in misery, makes him a frustrating protagonist to root for. To make matters worse, his sudden, unearned transformation into a mastermind at the very end feels completely out of left field rather than a believable character arc.
On the other side of the dynamic, Bei Lu Qing fares no better. While he is positioned as the typical wealthy, calculating male lead operating behind the scenes to secure their future, the execution falls drastically short. Because the show fails to provide any internal monologue, depth, or context for his actions, he simply comes across as a cold, abusive manipulator. The narrative expects the audience to blindly assume his cruelty stems from a place of protective love, but without showing why or when he actually fell for Xiao Fan, their bond feels entirely unconvincing.
With a supporting cast full of deeply unpleasant characters and a complete absence of meaningful communication, the viewing experience becomes remarkably bleak. While dark, psychological themes can be captivating when grounded in solid character motivations and balanced by genuine intimacy or emotional payoff, Bittersweet Love offers little warmth to offset its bitterness.
Final Verdict:
Unless you enjoy watching relentless psychological mistreatment with zero emotional catharsis, this one is easy to skip. The short episode lengths are its only saving grace, but even then, the journey is far more exhausting than it is entertaining.
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The Little Soup Princess
Was this a C-BL for the ages? Not really, no.To be perfectly honest with you, I started watching this simply because I had a bit of free time. And I stayed watching it because, by God, was it fascinating/comical to witness how over-the-top pathetic/tragic Lu Xiao Fan and his life were!
The poor penniless pauper sold off by his family to live with a bunch of snooty elites as a Little Soup Princess in the attic, studying when directed to, and cleaning, keeping house, and making copious amounts of soup and clinging with sad puppy-dog-like eyes to the one person who showed him any kindness while dealing with his old family trying to use him/his new position to their advantage, his new family looking down their noses at him, and being bullied and constantly accused of being a suck-up by his peers.
It was astonishingly laughable because just when you thought he couldn't sink lower, he would! His fragile spine would bend yet again, and he'd just stand there and wordlessly take it. The pathetic multitudes he contained? Simply astounding, I tell you!
Meanwhile, his "romance" with Bei Lu Qing was always fluctuating between possession and distance because neither he nor Bei Lu Qing would pry open their mouths enough to talk about what was going on between them.
But they somehow had chemistry between them, and when this pathetic man's spine straightened? It was glorious!
I may sound like I'm putting this drama down, but I seriously enjoyed myself SO much! Clear soup and all!
I recommend it!
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