Vertical Drama List (Short Descriptions + Reviews)

She is a strong general, but when she comes back from war, she learns that her entire family was slaughtered by the emperor's concubine, who lied and accused them of carrying a fatal disease out of jealousy. She asks the emperor for justice, but when he doesn't grant her that, and instead sends her to a brothel as punishment for her attempted attack on his concubine, she comes up with a plan to get vengeance by seducing the emperor.

I came into this just expecting romance, but instead, I got something much better. Bu Bu Sheng Xiang is a great revenge tale with a great twist at the end. Hou Cheng Yue did really good here, and she and Wang Jia Mao had chemistry together. Even when I hated the emperor for being so stupid for believing the evil second female lead, I could not deny his chemistry with our female lead. The story was very entertaining and kept me engaged from beginning to end. I definitely recommend this for fans of Hou Cheng Yue and those who like good revenge tales.

[Great Story + Awesome Female Lead = Loved It!] 

Her boyfriend publicly claims another woman as his girlfriend, and she breaks up with him, gets drunk, and accidentally sleeps with his uncle. She thinks she will leave that night behind her, but the uncle wants her to take responsibility for that night with marriage.

Chemistry and hot kisses are always fun to watch, and that's exactly what Wo Bei Jing Quan Tai Zi Ye Chan Shang Le delivers. I loved the chemistry between Feng Ming Chao and Chen Lu Xi. Their relationship was super cute here. I loved how insatiable the male lead was, and the moment he gets the opportunity to be with the female lead, he holds on and never lets go. Even being her brother's best friend wasn't enough to stop him, and the secret moments they would share behind his back were also very cute. I definitely recommend this one!

[Hot Kisses + Great Chemistry = Loved It!]

On the day of her wedding, her fiancé postpones it because he's with another woman. Fed up with his treatment and her biological family's poor treatment, she reunites with the man who raised her after she was abandoned as a child.

Just to give a little more detail, the female lead was abandoned by her adopted family as a child, and the male lead finds her and takes her in. He raised her for some time until she left because of several reasons, but mostly because she realized that she was in love with him, and she thought those feelings were not reciprocated and were inappropriate.

I enjoyed this a lot. I loved the chemistry between the leads, and Yang Han is just super hot. He just has this manly energy about him that I love to watch. He doesn't have a page on here yet, but I definitely recommend watching him in Ta Pian Yao with Yang Luo Qian. I also really liked Meng Lu's performance, and it was nice to see her get even with everyone in her family because they were awful to her. I definitely recommend this for the leads' chemistry and Yang Han.

[Hot Kisses + Good Chemistry = Liked It!]

Other Versions I've Watched Before

• Swing Me to Your Heart (Starring Wang Yi Lei and Yang Shu Yu)

She is a doctor who gets transported into the body of the prince's wife in the past. The original owner is hated by the prince, who wrongly believes she is not a good person after being framed by her sister, who is also the prince's concubine and the one he loves. The original owner loves the prince deeply to her very last breath, but when the doctor awakens as the new owner, she wants a divorce. The prince, who can now hear her thoughts, won't allow it and only becomes more intrigued by how different his wife is now.

Han Jia Hui stole the show here with her hilarious performance as a doctor trapped in the past, married to a man who hates her. It was hilarious watching her try to get out of her marriage in that time period and seeing the prince's reaction to her thoughts about him. He thought he was the only one who despised their relationship, but she hated him just as much as he hated her. Their romantic relationship took some time to develop, but the constant bickering between them in the first half was cute to watch too. I will say that I actually felt really bad for the original wife of the prince. She died and didn't really get justice. She was mistaken for an awful person to her very last breath. It never really gets spoken about again, and because of the twist at the end, I guess it was never her fate to be with the prince, but it was still sad. But overall, this was a lot of fun, and it was a good watch for some laughs and a cute romance.

[Good Female Lead Performance + Fun Story = Liked It!]

She realizes that she is a character inside a drama and decides to stop playing the role of a mistreated, abused second female lead that the male lead only uses until the one he really loves comes back. But when she changes and stops chasing after the male lead, this makes the entire script change as the male lead becomes intrigued by the female lead's new behavior and has his own awakening.

I will say that Uncontrollable has a unique plot that I thought was kind of cool up until the last forty minutes or so. It was fun watching the female lead be a complete badass. She showed the male lead no mercy and would practically beat him up every time she saw him. I also loved how she would break the fourth wall, which was hilarious. There were a lot of laugh-out-loud moments with this one, and despite Zhang Ji Jun's character being an asshole, he was also really funny too. This drama was so self-aware, and that was what made it fun to watch. I really enjoyed it up until the last thirty to forty minutes, where they introduce that plotline with the second female lead. I understood why it was written that way, but I felt it only got more convoluted and silly as time went on. It kind of ruined my enjoyment a bit. I still think this is a fun drama, and I really enjoyed the first half, but I definitely feel they could have wrapped this up in a less dramatic fashion. 

[Awesome Female Lead + Convoluted Ending = Mixed Bag!]

After being humiliated by the guy she likes and a mean rich heiress, she gets drunk and sleeps with an older man, whom she thinks is a male host. But after getting pregnant, she learns that he's actually a rich CEO and the mean rich heiress is his daughter.

This was a fun story, and I really liked the chemistry between the leads. Zhang Xuan was hot as an older seasoned man, and if I were the female lead, I would have fallen for him too. I thought it was adorable how he immediately took a liking to the female lead and fiercely protected her. I will say that I did question how his daughter turned out to be so mean under his upbringing, and the female lead should have questioned that too. But it's a short drama, so things never really make that much sense. If you like older man/younger woman relationships, this is a nice watch.

[Good Chemistry + Fun Story = Good!]

They secretly love each other, but he comes from a rich family, and she's only the daughter of a poor maid who works inside his home. Problems arise when his mother arranges marriages for them both, and it tests their fragile secret relationship.

Their kisses together were hot, and I liked the chemistry between Yao Guan Yu and Zhang Shan. But my enjoyment really ended there because the plot was too angsty to really be enjoyable. It was hard to focus on hot kisses when we were being forced to watch the female lead walk on pins and needles because of the male lead's mom the entire time. I also hated how weak the male lead was against his mother. First Glimpse of Joy definitely takes a more realistic approach to this kind of story of parents being adamant that their child must marry into a family that is equally as rich and powerful as they are, which I get. But I would have much rather seen the male lead say to hell with the arranged marriage and stick up for his relationship with the female lead than watch two hours of the female lead put up with her mother's cowardice, the male lead's mother's scrutiny, and the second female lead's evilness. I only recommend for the chemistry, hot kisses, and if you like angst.

[Hot Kisses + Too Much Angst = Mixed Bag!]

After sleeping with a stranger, she gets pregnant and gives birth, but her stepmother and stepsister tell her that her child died before throwing her in an insane asylum. A few years later, her stepmother asks her to marry the man her stepsister refuses to marry because of the negative rumors about his appearance. She does so to get out of the insane asylum, but little does she know that the man she plans to marry on her sister's behalf is also the same man she slept with.

Disguised Heartbeat has a crazy plotline, and not in a good way either. I found it hard to enjoy this because I thought the plot was too silly and unbelievable. I also never got invested in the leads' relationship either and mostly found it boring.

[Silly Plotline + Lackluster Romance = Didn't Like It!]

In desperate need of money, she sleeps with a rich man one night, but to her surprise, she gets pregnant, which leads to a contract marriage that eventually turns into love.

I liked the chemistry between the leads, and there were a lot of cute moments between them. But what lowered my rating for this was how annoying the female lead was. While in the beginning, I could understand why she wanted to keep their relationship a secret, it eventually got annoying, and it didn't help that they dragged the secret marriage plotline to the very end. It wasn't awful, and I definitely thought their relationship was cute, and I liked the male lead. But it had its annoying moments.

[Cute Romance + Slightly Annoying Female Lead = Mixed Bag!]

Once a prostitute in the past, she sheds that identity and marries a respectable scholar, but after he gets arrested, to get him out, she offers herself to an important official, only to realize that man is the same man who brought her a year ago. After finding her again, he tells her that she must divorce her husband and be with him again, but she struggles to let go of her feelings for her husband.

I looked forward to this because of Wang Yun Yun and Liu Lan Bo, and while it has its good moments, it also has its annoying moments too. To me, it was very obvious that the female lead's husband was not the great man she thought him to be. Just as quickly as the male lead recognized that, I easily could recognize it too, so it was kind of frustrating that the female lead couldn't see that. I understood her actions, and I understood why she was mistaken about the male lead, but I still found some of her choices to be very annoying. If you can get past that, you'll probably enjoy this more than I did. Wang Yun Yun and Liu Lan Bo do have chemistry, and the plot does set up a hot affair and has some good moments, but the female lead's choices were definitely annoying at times.

[Good Chemistry + Slightly Annoying Female Lead = Mixed Bag!]

One night, she gets drunk and sleeps with a stranger, not knowing he's actually a werewolf. She birthed their son, and five years later, when they meet again, she can't recognize him because the night they shared together was a blur, but, for him, he recognizes her easily and has been searching for the human woman who stole his innocence.

This is definitely not a vertical drama to take seriously. It looks like a student film project, especially because of the low-quality graphics and costumes. But if you go into this with an open mind, with your expectations very low, I think you can enjoy this somewhat. The story is very silly, but it was somewhat fun. I rolled my eyes at the horrible graphics and cringed numerous times, but I did think it was very cute how much the male lead liked the female lead despite him completely misunderstanding her. I also thought the child actor did a good job and loved the close relationship between the female lead and her son.

[Silly Plotline + Fun Story = Mixed Bag!]

She has to take her sister's place and marry the emperor, not knowing that her sister has been reborn and wants to pass on her disastrous fate to her. She is nearly buried alive with the newly deceased emperor, but she saves herself by marrying the eunuch, who has risen to power.

Qian Sui Qi Meng Yun Wei Yang was a pleasant surprise and so much fun. I loved the twist with this sisters-swap story because usually, both girls are reborn, but this time, it was only the evil second female lead. It made it very entertaining. The female lead was also a time-traveler from the future, so it was hilarious seeing that dynamic added to the plot. She was much more modern, and her opinion on pregnancy and children was hilarious. I also liked how sexy this drama was too. The fingers scene made my mouth drop. I also really enjoyed Wang Hao Xiang's performance. He was so good as a hot eunuch, who was jealous of everyone who tried to be close to his wife, even women. I definitely recommend this if you like the sisters-swap storyline or time-traveling to the past storylines.

[Fun Story + Great Chemistry = Loved It!]

After overhearing their son wish that his father's 'friend' were his new mother, she decides to grant his wish and divorces her husband, only keeping her daughter. Her ex-husband thinks she'll eventually come crawling back after money runs dry, but he doesn't know how capable she truly is, and that someone else already has their eye on her.

After watching Qian Sui Qi Meng Yun Wei Yang, I went on a Wang Hao Xiang binge-watch, and this was my next watch. I liked Jiao Hong Yue Liang. It was nice watching the female lead take control of her life and leave her ungrateful husband and son behind. Her husband was awful and enabled their son to be awful to her too. He told her that she shouldn't take a child's words seriously, and while under different circumstances I would agree, I definitely think their son was a danger to their daughter, considering some of the terrible things he had done, so I was actually glad that she got her daughter out of that environment. I think the one gripe I had about this, though, was that I wished it focused on the romance a little bit more. It was cute how much the male lead liked her, and the things he would do to try to seduce her, but it could have spent a little bit more time developing that relationship.

[Good Story + Cute Male Lead = Good!]

After being transported into a novel as a character who meets a horrible ending after being a stand-in for a rich man, she decides to change her fate by strictly making their relationship transactional. While he believes that she dearly loves him and is sad about the day when his real true love will return, she's dreaming of money.

Need to Add Money was hilarious. I watched it for Wang Hao Xiang and was so glad that I did because numerous times I found myself laughing because of how delusional he was, and how money-hungry the female lead was. He really believed that she worked so hard to please him because she loved him, even though she made everything transactional between them. I also loved the female lead's mindset. No matter what other side characters tried to put her through, she was just herself and made them all eventually succumb to her personality. The relationship between the leads was cute too, and I liked their ending. I definitely recommend this for those who like transmigration stories.

[Hilarious Female Lead + Hilarious Male Lead = Loved It!]

After hearing that her high school rival and secret crush is selling himself to sugar mamas after his family goes bankrupt, she buys him as her own boy toy, not realizing that although his father's family has gone bankrupt, he has not.

I love Ke Chun, and while he was really good, Wang Ge Ge stole the show here. She was hilarious! Her character was a mess, but such a fun mess to watch. It was hilarious watching her beat up whoever spoke poorly about the male lead because they thought he was poor now. She was beating people up so much that even the male lead's family was afraid of her, which, by the way, I also loved the male lead's family on his mother's side. They were always cooking up some schemes, but with good intentions, though. Ke Chun and Wang Ge Ge also had a lot of chemistry together, and I loved their romance here. It was cute how much they liked each other, even with all the misunderstandings taking place. I definitely recommend this!

[Awesome Female Lead + Great Chemistry = Loved It!]

After it is discovered that she is not her parents' biological daughter, and they find their real daughter, they kick her out. No longer a rich heiress, even her fiancé and childhood sweetheart, breaks off their engagement and is now engaged to the real daughter. One night, she gets drunk and sleeps with her male best friend, who asks her to take responsibility, and so they marry, but little does she know that he has always loved her.

Chun Ri Pan Jing Zhi is a story about a girl who loses everything but doesn't completely hit rock bottom because her best friend, who has always loved her, convinces her to marry him. There is also a reality television plotline that happens too that makes this a little different from the typical moving on from a scumbag story. Chun Ri Pan Jing Zhi wasn't bad, but I've never been too much of a fan of friends-to-lovers stories, and everything was just okay. The chemistry was okay, the story was okay, and the romance was too. Nothing really stood out to me, but if you like friends-to-lovers stories, you'll probably enjoy it more than I did.

[Average Romance + Average Chemistry = Just Okay!]

After passing away, she learned that the notorious bad boy from her college had been deeply in love with her. Reborn again, this time she chases after him.

This was a very cute story about the good girl chasing the bad boy. It was cute watching her boldly chase after him, and how he initially tries to play it cool like he isn't all that interested in her, even though it was super obvious that he liked her. I also really liked their chemistry together and thought Peng Yao and Ma Hao Dong both did good in their roles.

[Good Chemistry + Cute Story = Good!]

She transmigrates into a story as a naïve girl, tricked by her sister into seducing the emperor. Deeply offended, the emperor wants her sent to the dungeons to be tortured, but not wanting to simply be a cannon fodder side character, she attempts to kill the emperor, which leads them to swap souls.

This is a transmigration story with a soul swap twist, and it was a lot of fun. For a drama that was very heavy on comedy, it was also super sexy, and I loved how forward the female lead was. She proposed sex way more than the male lead ever did, which I thought was hilarious. I also liked how much the emperor grew to care for the female lead and that he was willing to stay in her body just so she wouldn't have to suffer. I also really just liked their entire dynamic because they were complete opposites, but in spite of that, they worked really well together. Both leads were really good in this and had a lot of chemistry together. I definitely recommend this!

[Fun Story + Hot Chemistry = Liked It!]

Before her death, she learns that her husband, whom she is afraid of because of his obsessive, possessive nature, actually loves her, and the man she loves does not. Reborn again, this time she chases after her husband and assures him of her love.

I've seen another version of this story before, but it isn't listed on MDL yet, and I can't remember the names of the lead actors. I did like that version more than this one, but this one was still enjoyable. I liked Li Ya Ya's performance, and Chen Yu An was good too. The story is fairly simple, and it's mostly just about the female lead trying to get the male lead to believe in her love for him, which he doesn't at first, since initially, she spent most of her time trying to escape him. But it is cute how much the male lead still begrudgingly gives in to her, even when he doesn't believe she loves him. Their romance was also cute too, and overall, the drama is passable.

[Average Story + Cute Romance = Just Okay!]

When she learns that her husband is cheating on her, she decides to divorce him and change her career path, leading her to meet a powerful man, who becomes her boss.

I love Han Yu Tong and Chen Si, so I was looking forward to their collaboration together, but I think my expectations were a little too high. Define Your Style isn’t bad, and I think if you come into it with low expectations, you’ll enjoy it more than I did. But for me, I expected great chemistry and good romance, but instead, all I got was a lackluster romance. Han Yu Tong and Chen Si, of course, acted very well, but their strong acting couldn’t make up for the lackluster interactions between their characters that led to mediocre chemistry. To me, everything was just bland, and while the ‘female lead moves on from scumbag husband’ is definitely not a new story, I wish the writers would have done something to make this story more interesting. Overall, I think I was mostly just disappointed because I felt like this was a waste of a good pairing.

[Lackluster Romance + Disappointing Ending = Didn’t Like It!]

You can pay for her to be a pretend girlfriend on a mobile app, and through a customer, she meets a notorious bad boy. She’s afraid of him because of all the negative rumors surrounding him, but when he buys out of her service and wants her to be more than a temporary ‘pretend’ girlfriend, she realizes that he won’t be denied.

Mu Li Se was a pleasant surprise, mostly because it was refreshing to watch something that had a unique plot for a vertical drama. Guo Yu Xin and Liu Yu Hang both did well in their individual performances, and they had a lot of chemistry together. A bigger bonus was the hot, passionate kisses they shared. If I had one gripe about it, though, it was that it was quite long, and sometimes my interest would wane throughout. I think if it were a little bit shorter, I would have enjoyed it more, but overall, it was a fun, enjoyable watch, and the leads had good chemistry. I definitely recommend this.

[Good Chemistry + Passionate Kisses = Liked It!]

She pretends to be a waitress to get the latest scoop about a powerful man for money, but she gets caught by him and gets ensnared in a dangerous game of give and take. While she holds onto her cards to achieve her own ulterior motives, he lays it all on the table and starts to fall for her.

The leads have a push-and-pull dynamic here, playing a cat-and-mouse game, where the male lead uses her but slowly starts to fall for her thief-like behavior. Usually, I love stories like these, especially since this had a unique plotline for a vertical drama, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to. There was something about their relationship that I just didn’t connect with, and on top of that, I didn’t really like Yang Shu Yu’s performance. When Yang Shu Yu plays innocent characters, I don’t mind her performances because she naturally looks lost and blank-faced, which works for characters like those. But whenever she plays other roles where she has to emote different facial expressions, she really struggles with that, and it’s hard to ignore, and I felt the same way here. I did enjoy Wang Yi Lei’s performance, though. He was super charming and hot, and he really fit his character. I just couldn’t find the leads’ relationship interesting, which led me to be bored by it. But it’s not awful or poorly written. I didn’t enjoy it, but if you like the push-and-pull dynamic, you’ll enjoy it more than I did.

[*Personal Disconnection + Lackluster Female Lead Performance = Boring!]

She is getting married, but her younger adopted brother doesn’t accept this marriage and will do anything to end her engagement because he secretly loves her and no longer wants to hold his feelings in his heart for her.

I came for the forbidden romance, and that’s exactly what I got. Fang Si Ye was a lot of fun. We have a very possessive young male lead, who will not be denied, and in fear of his sister actually getting married, goes all out to get her to end her engagement. There were some spicy kisses and hot sneaky scenes. I had a good time with it, despite the male lead at times being uncomfortably crazy, but he was better than the second male lead, who annoyed me with his passive behavior. I didn’t really care that he genuinely liked the female lead because he allowed everyone to bully her and would just encourage her to accept it. He was awful. The story may not be great, but if you like jie-jie romances, this is definitely an entertaining one.

[Hot Kisses + Hot Forbidden Romance = Liked It!]

After breaking up with her cheating boyfriend, she runs into the man she had dreamed about before. Immediately, she likes him because he’s a handsome surgeon, which fits her boxes of the perfect dream man. Because of circumstances, they marry, but she doesn’t know that he actually isn’t a surgeon at all and is the notorious, ruthless uncle of her ex-boyfriend. He’s hiding his real identity so he can be her dream man.

You do have to suspend a little disbelief here, and the male lead definitely is not the sanest person, but their relationship was actually fun to watch. They had a lot of chemistry and hot kisses. Also, Feng Ming Chao is always fun to watch. It also was funny watching as he tried to keep his real identity a secret even as the female lead started to suspect that her ‘sweet’ husband wasn’t just simply a surgeon. Yang Luo Qian was also very good here too. Again, some suspension of disbelief is definitely required here, but if you don’t take the story too seriously, you’ll enjoy it.

[Hot Kisses + Good Chemistry = Liked It!]

In high school, she had a crush on the most popular boy, and years later, she met him again in college. He’s now known as a playboy who only dates girls for one month. Knowing that this is her only chance, she takes it and dates him, knowing that they’ll only last for one month, but what she doesn’t realize is that the one-month rule may not apply to her.

This is another version of Yu Cha Re Lian with Zhang Jin Yi and Lu Huan Yu. I’m actually surprised that I watched this because I didn’t really enjoy Yu Cha Re Lian because it was too fluffy for my taste, but surprisingly, with You Are My Sun, I actually enjoyed it and wasn’t bored by it. I thought their relationship was cute here, and I liked how obvious it was that the male lead loved her. He wasn't just the cool popular guy like how Lu Huan Yu played it. He really was like a puppy with her from the moment they saw each other again at the club. I also liked how Wang Xiao Yi played the female lead here. She wasn’t just a good girl, and there were layers to her character.

[Cute Romance + Good Chemistry = Good!]

Other Versions I’ve Watched Before

• Yu Cha Re Lian (Starring Zhang Jin Yi and Lu Huan Yu)

He resents her because he believes she is the reason his older brother died, but his mother wants her to stay with them because she carries his eldest brother’s child. Over time, his misconceptions and preconceived notions about her change as he falls for his brother's widow.

This was a very short, sweet romance. It was adorable how the male lead fell in love with her despite initially hating her because he felt she was responsible for his brother’s death. Wang Yu Wei just naturally has this very boyish, soft expression on his face, and it really worked here with his character. The way he would look at the female lead was very sweet. I also loved the male lead’s mom here. She was super supportive of them, especially of her daughter-in-law, and never had any crazy expectations of her. She was definitely the MVP of this drama and my favorite character here.

[Cute Romance + Good Chemistry = Liked It!]

Three years ago, she got drunk and slept with a stranger and became his secret lover for three years despite being engaged to another man. She felt indebted to her fiancé, who constantly reminded her that she owed him for saving her life, while he only used their engagement to please his grandfather and continued being with the woman he actually loved. After three years, she planned on ending her entanglement with her secret lover, but he won’t let her go, and to her surprise, he’s her fiancé’s uncle.

You definitely have to suspend some disbelief with this one. Having an affair with someone for three years but never seeing their face was a bit unbelievable. It was also pretty annoying that the female lead allowed her fiancé to treat her like crap solely because he saved her. It’s not the first time a female lead has allowed someone to treat them horribly because they believed someone saved them; in fact, it’s a common trope in vertical dramas, so I’m used to it. But the second male lead was so awful here that it was kind of unbearable to watch his treatment. But luckily, she does not remain passive throughout the entire drama, and towards the second half, she does start sticking up for herself. While the leads’ chemistry wasn’t bad, and under different circumstances, I would have found their affair hot, it was hard to focus on their relationship when I found the female lead’s actions to be frustrating. Also, I didn’t really like how everything was resolved in the end. It was completely rushed.

[Annoying Female Lead + Extremely Annoying Second Male Lead = Didn’t Like It!]

Five years ago, he was temporarily blind and couldn’t see the woman he had fallen in love with, but now he is on the hunt for her.

This was a cute short drama, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The reason the female lead continues to hide her past from the male lead is a bit flimsy though, but it was cute how much the male lead was attached to her, even when he wasn’t sure if she was the same woman who had taken care of him five years ago when he was in the hospital. It was like a magnet was attached to her, and he could not stay away from her. I also liked both Han Jia Hui and Li Zhuo Yao’s performances.

[Good Romance + Good Chemistry = Liked It!]

For years, her brothers treated her horribly and preferred their adopted sister over her. Given a second chance after rebirth, she decides to no longer try to prove herself to her brothers and instead, she decides to change her fate by severing ties. While seeking independence from her brothers, she receives help from her school’s doctor.

This is similar to After Severing Ties, My Uncle Spoils Me, and they both share a common vertical drama plotline, where the female lead is treated horribly by her family, and she decides to sever ties. I have enjoyed that plotline before, but here, I found it to simply be average. It definitely was satisfying to see her move on from her horrible brothers, though, but there wasn’t much else to it than that, even with the added gaming element. I also thought the romance was pretty blah, and the leads didn’t have much chemistry together. It wasn’t awful, and I did enjoy the revenge aspect, but the romance was boring.

[Satisfying Revenge + Lack of Chemistry = Mixed Bag!]

For three years, he has paid her to be his contract wife, but when it gets close to the end of their marriage agreement, he mistakenly thinks she has lung cancer. Feeling bad, he decides to stay with her for her remaining months before death and falls for her along the way.

This was very cute, and I think what I appreciated about it the most was that it wasn’t a story where the male lead was an asshole to the female lead or where he treated her as a stand-in for an ex-girlfriend. He might have previously thought she was a gold-digger, but he didn’t treat her as poorly as I have seen other male leads do before. I also really liked the chemistry between Zhong Zheng and Xia Jing Ran.

[Good Chemistry + Sweet Story = Good!]

With enemies out to get her, while on the run, she sees her blind cousin, who looks extremely similar to her. That night, the assassin who was supposed to kill her killed her cousin instead. Out of honor, she asks her cousin what her final wish is, and her cousin asks her to take care of her daughter and take revenge on her husband and his family, who treated her horribly. From there forth, she acts as her cousin, pretending to be blind, and meets her consort, whom she has not seen in years.

Now, that’s how you make a revenge story! I loved this! I loved how strong, smart, and cunning the female lead was. I loved how she got even with everyone who hurt her cousin. I also loved her maid, who kicked ass every time. And I also really enjoyed the relationship between the leads and their entire dynamic. The role reversal dynamic that played out towards the end was super cute. It was also cute how loyal the male lead was to her despite everything that happened. I definitely recommend this if you like satisfying revenge stories.

[Fun Revenge + Awesome Female Lead + Great Female Lead Performance = Loved It!]

To escape the novel she transmigrates into, she must continue to be the villainous supporting second female lead who abuses the male lead, which inadvertently helps him and the virtuous female lead fall in love. The problem is that the male lead can hear her thoughts, and now he is more curious about her and constantly thwarts her plans.

This was cute. The male lead went from plotting to give the female lead a horrible death to wanting to understand why she wouldn’t be with him. It was also fun seeing him hear her thoughts. The story was simple but fun, and if you like transmigration stories set in the past, you’ll enjoy this. I also liked the male lead. He was charming and had a nice smile.

[Cute Story + Good Male Lead Performance = Good!]

After she gets kicked out, he takes care of her and becomes her uncle, but after a night of them both being drugged, it changes everything.

I nearly turned this off when I realized it was another version of Jiao Yang with Cao Tian Kai and Lin Zi Rong, which I really didn’t enjoy at all. I thought the story was silly and kind of creepy because of the age gap, so I was expecting more of the same here. But to my surprise, this was different. I think the dynamic between the leads here and how they are portrayed by the actors made this one less creepy. Lin Zi Rong’s portrayal of the female lead made her come off like a child, while Tian Miao Miao actually portrayed the character like a college student, so their age gap didn’t feel as huge or as creepy as it did in Jiao Yang. On top of that, they cut out a lot of the silly plotlines here, including the pregnancy plotline. The chemistry between the leads was good, and there was less silly, childish writing, which made me actually enjoy this. Also, the female lead didn’t make as many silly decisions. Overall, if you’re interested in this story, I definitely recommend this over Jiao Yang.

[Good Chemistry + Better Writing = Good!]

Other Versions I’ve Watched Before

• Jiao Yang (Starring Cao Tian Kai and Lin Zi Rong)

After the boy she likes accepts another girl’s proposal, she gets drunk and sleeps with her best friend’s younger brother. She wants to put that night behind her, but he wants her to take responsibility.

This was good, and I appreciated the lack of drama and kidnappings. I also think this is one of the few occasions where a second male lead was not written as an overly villainous, cartoonish character, but as a fully realized one, which I think led to some good, interesting conflict in the end. I actually appreciated that a lot, and I liked the fact that the female lead was very resolute in her decision. The chemistry between the leads was good, and their relationship was cute. I also liked how they resolved their issues in the end. 

[Good Chemistry + Good Story = Liked It!]

After her family mysteriously died in a fire, she miraculously escaped, and another family took credit for her rescue, making her feel indebted to them, even though they had been the ones behind the fire and had embezzled money from her family. While they splurged on her family's money, they sent her off to live in the countryside for several years. But in need of her for an arranged marriage, they summon her back, not knowing that she plans on getting justice for her family and that she's not the ignorant countryside girl they believe her to be. She plans to only use this arranged marriage as a way to get revenge, but to her surprise, her rumored-to-be-cold-and-aloof husband dotes on her all the time.

I liked Wang Kai Mu in this and thought he was very sweet. It was cute how easily they fell into their marriage with respect and kindness for one another, and I loved how much he protected her against his family. I will say that their kisses were kind of awkward, though, and it was awkward to watch. But this was still overall a very sweet story, and it was satisfying to see the female prove everyone wrong, even if it had that unbelievable trope of the female lead magically being the best at everything.

[Sweet Story + Wang Kai Mu = Good!]

In need of money for her father’s surgery, she accepts her sister’s offer to take her place and marry the man she was arranged to marry. For over a year, they live happily together, but in the back of her mind, she wonders if her husband actually loves ‘her’ or if he loves her sister. That question is answered when her sister returns and wants her life back.

This reminded me of a telenovela I watched where the evil sister wanted to have fun and take a break from her married life, so she had her long-lost sister take her place, except that was way better and made more sense than this did. I was actually really frustrated by the female lead here because I felt like she was constantly making poor decisions based on insecurities that she really shouldn’t have had in the first place. She was constantly worried that her husband didn’t love her and actually loved her sister, but that didn’t make sense to me because the marriage between him and his sister was arranged in the first place. He had never even gotten the chance to love her sister for her to be so worried about it. On top of that, she constantly let her older sister bully her, even after it became very clear that the male lead knew there were two of them. It just became a bit frustrating to watch. I thought that the male lead did a really good job, though, and honestly, I felt bad for him. This wasn’t awful, and the leads did have chemistry. It was just that at times, especially toward the second half, it became a frustrating watch.

[Annoying Female Lead + Good Chemistry = Mixed Bag!]

She is transported into a story as the evil stepmother of a rich man’s teenage son. Not wanting to have the character’s same disastrous fate, she decides to help her teenage stepson and enjoy all of the benefits of being a rich man’s wife, even if it’s only a short contract relationship.

I feel like whenever there is a role where the female lead needs to beat people up with good comedic timing, Wang Ge Ge is called. It’s really her bread and butter, and she’s so good at it, and that is no different here. This is a light-hearted comedy with a cute romance. There’s nothing special about it, but it is overall a good, fun watch. I will say that this is more of a comedy than it is a romance, hence the small number of kisses, and it being used as a running joke of the leads’ always being interrupted whenever they’re about to kiss. So, the romance is kind of bland, but the story is still fun.

[Fun Story + Mediocre Romance = Just Okay!]

On the day of her wedding, her fiancé postpones it because he's with another woman. Fed up with his treatment and her biological family's poor treatment, she reunites with the man who raised her after she was abandoned as a child.

Wang Yi Lei in that pink towel nearly made this a 6.5 alone. He is extra hot in this, and he’s always so good in domineering roles, and it’s no different here. Yang Shu Yu was also good here, and I think she’s so much better in roles like these. I also liked their chemistry together. I do prefer the version with Meng Lu and Yang Han more because the story was better fleshed out there, and more time was given to the development of the leads. But this version was also very good. My only real gripe was that it felt a bit rushed, especially in the beginning. But I think it's only really noticeable if you've seen the other version before. Overall, this was really good, and I really liked the ending.

[Hot Kisses + Good Chemistry = Liked It!]

Other Versions I've Watched Before

• Miss Qiao's Top White Moonlight (Starring Meng Lu and Yang Han)

After getting drunk one night, she sleeps with her arch-enemy, who has recently lost his place in rich society after going broke. She plans to leave that night in the past, but after getting caught by her grandmother, she is forced to marry. She thinks he's marrying her for her money, but in actuality, he might not be as broke as she and everyone else think.

I loved the chemistry between Shi Tong and Zhong Zheng, and I thought they both did great in their roles. This story actually kind of reminds me of Ding Ji Hao Men Zong Cai Cheng Le Wo De Jin Si Que with Wang Ge Ge and Ke Chun, just less humorous. But I actually liked the complicated, messy yet sexy relationship between the leads. Their chemistry was great, their kisses were hot, and the story was good. I really couldn’t have asked for more.

[Great Chemistry + Hot Kisses = Liked It!]

To get revenge on her stepmother and half-sister, who were the reason her mother died, and why she could no longer dance, she sets out to seduce her half-sister’s fiancé.

Chen Si and Meng Na were perfectly cast for this, and I thought they both did great in their roles. They had great chemistry together, and their kisses were hot! I also liked how fresh the plot was. This isn’t the first time I’ve watched a female lead get vengeance by seducing the man their sister likes, but I loved the dynamic between the leads, which I felt made the plot fresh. There was this push-and-pull game between them, and while the female lead thought she was the one controlling the entire situation, you could see how smart the male lead was. I also liked how cunning and shameless the female lead was. She never apologized for who she was or attributed to what her stepmother and sister had done to her. She was just herself, cunning and shameless, and the male lead liked it. I did have one small gripe about this, though, and I felt that the ending was kind of rushed. I do think they could have spent a little more time having the female lead digest the reveal that happened toward the end, especially her feelings toward the male lead. But overall, it was still a really good, entertaining watch. I definitely recommend it!

[Great Chemistry + Chen Si + Meng Na = Liked It!]

To her father, stepmother, and half-sister, she’s only a country bumpkin, and they bring her back to the city to end her childhood engagement to another, not knowing that she has other ideas in mind and plans on getting revenge for her mother. But her plans go awry when she meets a rogue man on a train and steals his gun. She believes that will be the last she’ll ever see of him, but to her surprise, he’s her fiancé’s brother.

Three words! Zhao Zhen Dong! I loved him the first time I saw his performance in Utterly Submit, and I loved his performance here. He just does such a good job playing devilish, flirty roles like these. I loved his character here too, even if he was an asshole. I also loved the chemistry between the leads and their dynamic. Though the male lead was far from perfect, I could understand why the female lead reluctantly fell for him. I also really liked Jin Zi’s performance and her character, who remained steadfast in her goals and her morals. I do want to point out, though, that this doesn’t have a traditional complete ending and ends on a cliffhanger, leaving way for a possible second part in the future. It didn’t bother me because how it ended was satisfying enough, but it could bother other people if you’re looking for a more complete ending. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this. It was a lot of fun, and I loved the relationship between the leads. I definitely recommend this if you like domineering male leads who are extremely possessive.

[Great Chemistry + Zhao Zhen Dong + Hot Kisses = Loved It!]

In her first life, she misunderstood her husband and didn’t realize how much he loved her until her death. But given a second chance again with rebirth, this time she wants to return her love, while also getting back at her family who were behind her death.

Another one of those 'I was forced to be with the male lead in my first life, but this time around, I chose to love him,' but it’s good. I didn’t mind the supernatural element, and I also liked how it applied to the aesthetic, especially the female lead’s wardrobe. I also really liked the chemistry between the leads and their relationship. They were very devoted to each other, and it was sweet how much they protected each other. If I had any gripes, it would be that it got a little melodramatic in the end, but I guess that comes with the supernatural territory. But besides that, this was a very good, enjoyable watch.

[Good Chemistry + Wang Yi Lei = Liked It!]

After her fiancé leaves her while she’s sick to take care of another woman, she becomes fed up and ends their engagement. Once she becomes single, her brother’s friend takes the opportunity to pursue her.

Usually, I wouldn’t bother watching something like this, mostly because it isn’t my cup of tea, but because I saw Cao Tian Kai and Zhang Shan paired up together again, I immediately watched it, and I’m glad I did. It was a very sweet story, and Cao Tian Kai’s character is adorable here. It was so sweet how much he liked and chased after the female lead, and it was so sweet how much the female lead liked being chased after. This ran almost close to three hours long, and we see the leads’ relationship develop from dating to marriage and even to their life together after marriage. This drama is mostly about their relationship and how they handle the trials and tribulations thrown at them. I thought I would find myself bored, especially in the second half, but I was actually invested in their journey. I think if anyone else were starring in it, I definitely would have dropped it, but I love the Cao Tian Kai and Zhang Shan pair so much, and it was no different here. Their relationship even moved me on an emotional level at one point. I definitely recommend this if you like sweet, fluffy stories. I also want to point out that I loved how supportive and kind both of their parents were. It was those little things that made the drama even sweeter and more satisfying.

[Great Chemistry + Sweet Story = Liked It]