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

• 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 had 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!]

Other Versions I've Watched

• Wei Qing Bo Yi (Starring Mo Ning, Gao Ming, and Zhang Chi)

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

• 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

• 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

• 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!]

After being drugged, she sleeps with a stranger and gets pregnant. Realizing that her father, stepmother, and half-sister are behind it, she leaves for abroad, and her sister pretends that she is the one to have slept with the man, who actually turns out to be a very rich CEO. Seven years later, she returns with five kids and plans of vengeance, while her genius children plot to help her reunite with their dad.

It’s always so funny watching older vertical dramas and seeing leading actresses play supporting roles. I was so surprised to see Wang Yun Yun playing the evil sister. But besides that, this was a really good drama that I enjoyed a lot. It was quick and to the point, and I liked that the male lead didn’t take forever to find out that the quintuplets were his. I also loved the running gag of him realizing how many kids he had one by one. He started off thinking he had one child, and each time he met the female lead, he would find another. It was hilarious. And of course, the chemistry between Chen Si and Li Ruo Qi was very good. I also loved how strong the female lead was. And I also have to mention how cute the child actors were. It was adorable how much they were trying to meet their dad, especially the little girl. All of them were the MVPs of this drama. I definitely recommend this one.

[Good Chemistry + Cute Kids = Liked It!]

When the man she likes returns years later after being kicked out by his family, she arranges a contract and takes him in as her own personal canary, not knowing that he is not as pitiful as she thinks. And he’s actually the young, powerful general everyone has been talking about.

While watching this, I was reminded of Ding Ji Hao Men Zong Cai Cheng Le Wo De Jin Si Que with Wang Ge Ge and Ke Chun again, and to be honest, I think this is a remake of it only set in the Republic era. There are only a few minor changes based on the era, but even the sisters’ storyline is extremely similar. But back to the review. I enjoyed this, and I really liked the chemistry between Wang Yi Ran and Hou Cheng Yue. They seemed very natural with each other, which makes sense, considering how many dramas they’ve starred in together. I also liked Hou Cheng Yue’s character here and how strong she was. She was an accomplished woman and did not play about her casino or her man. I also liked how everything was resolved, and the misunderstandings were amusing instead of annoying. Overall, this was a good watch, and I recommend it if you enjoy the Wang Yi Ran, Hou Cheng Yue pairing or dramas set in the Republic era.

[Good Chemistry + Awesome Female Lead = Liked It!]

After winning an award for her fashion designs, she gets transported to the eighties into the body of a useless girl, whose husband wants to divorce her. To her surprise, the husband is just her type, but he wants nothing to do with her and plans to divorce her when the waiting period is over. Pretending to have amnesia, they continue to live together, and as he gets to know the new version of his wife, he is less enthusiastic about their impending divorce. 

I have seen so many transported-back-to-the-sixties-through-nineties stories that they don't really do much to entertain me anymore, and that same thing applies here. I really only watched it because of Zhao Zhen Dong, but I did think this was a very cute, sweet story. I liked it well enough, and I think if it were my first time watching a story like this, I would have rated it higher. So, I definitely would recommend it for people who like stories like these, but for myself, it was pretty average. Nothing was bad, but nothing was really great either.

[Average Story + *Personal Disconnection = Just Okay!]

In her first life, she, a rich heiress, deeply loved her driver's son and gave her all to him, only to learn that he never loved her and had been plotting all along to steal her wealth as his own. Having a second chance again with rebirth, she plots her revenge against him and starts a new love with another.

I was about two minutes into this when I realized this was the ‘driver’s son’ story, and I nearly cut it off because after watching the other version with Shi Tong and Li Sheng Jie, I felt like I had had enough of this plotline. The only reason I continued was because of Zhong Zheng, and I was glad I did because this was surprisingly good. I had already liked the version with Zhang Jin Yi, but this might be my favorite one so far. I think this one really balanced out the revenge and romance well. One of my gripes with both the Shi Tong version and the Zhang Jin Yi version was that the romance took a back seat to the revenge. But here, the romance was in full force, and it was very cute. This took place in college, and so I wasn’t really expecting many physical scenes, but there were a lot of kisses here. It was also super cute how much they liked each other, and I really enjoyed the chemistry between Zhong Zheng and Li Ya Ya. I also appreciated that they clearly wanted to do something different with this version, and those little differences do count here.

[Great Chemistry + Zhong Zheng = Liked It!]

Other Versions I’ve Watched

• Chong Hui 18 Sui, Zhu Ma Niang Qing Mei ( Starring Shi Tong and Li Sheng Jie)
• Ti Kuan Ji Bu Dang Le, Xiao Cao Quan Jia Ji Feng Le ( Starring Zhang Jin Yi and Min Jie)

She goes to a club to find a man to have a child with so she can fulfill her grandmother’s wish and receive her inheritance. But she doesn’t know that the young man she picked up from the club isn’t a male host, but he’s actually the missing CEO everyone has been looking for, who lost his memory in a car accident.

The male lead was hot! He has one of the best bodies I’ve seen so far in all the vertical dramas I’ve watched, and I really couldn’t get past how good he looked in every scene. But not only did I think this drama was good because of the male lead’s hotness, but also because of how good the romance was. I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this, but the leads’ chemistry was great, and I really liked their dynamic together. He was really like a cute puppy with her, even after he got his memory back, and the female lead could not help but be seduced by him and his incredible abs. I definitely recommend this, and I hope to see the male lead again in something else in the future.

[Hot Kisses + Great Chemistry = Liked It!]

She pretends to have amnesia to prank her boyfriend, but to her surprise, her boyfriend takes advantage of her condition and shrugs off his title of boyfriend to his close friend because he wants to have a brief affair with her best friend. He tells his friend not to touch her, but little does he know that his friend has been waiting for the opportunity to make his girlfriend his.

When I saw the 'he gives his girlfriend to his brother and regrets it' description on a YouTube video, I knew I had to watch this because I really wanted to know what the second male lead was thinking to pass his girlfriend off to another man, and I’m glad I did because the first half of this drama is actually very entertaining. I also really liked the female lead, who was a smart, practical young woman who always put herself first. When her boyfriend lied to her, she didn’t drown in her own sorrows. Instead, she assessed the situation, and once she realized how trash he was, she simply moved on. I also loved her conversation with the second female lead. This drama was really good up until the second half, and then it got boring and pretty skippable. It felt like most of the problems were resolved in the first half, and the second half felt like a weird, prolonged addition that wasn’t really necessary. I didn’t hate it. I just thought it felt weird, especially how the leads’ relationship progressed from there. Overall, though, I still thought it was enjoyable, and I had a good time with it. Technically, I would usually list something like this as a mixed bag, but my enjoyment with the first half was enough for me to bump this up to good.

[Entertaining Story + Smart Female Lead = Good!]

Other Versions I've Watched

• Jia Xi Zhen Zuo Hou Ta Yong Shi Suo Ai (Starring Yang Luo Qian and Cheng Cheng)

She is transported into a drama and becomes the cannon fodder wife hated by her husband, who loves her stepsister instead because her stepsister stole her identity and pretended to be his long-lost childhood love. No longer the easily bullied woman she was before, her husband becomes intrigued by the new her, but all she wants is a divorce and to return to the real world.

Of course, we have another idiotic male lead here who easily believes the green tea second female lead. But I still enjoyed this because of Yu Jia Lin’s performance and how hilarious her character was. I laughed so many times because of her antics, and I even enjoyed her chemistry with the male lead. But all of that changed for me when the dungeon scene happened, which thoroughly pissed me off and put the male lead on my unforgivable list. By the end of it, I didn't even want her to end up with the male lead. I usually would list something like this as something I didn't like, but I really did like the female lead's character, so it's a mixed bag.

[Stupid Male Lead + Awesome Female Lead  = Mixed Bag!]

She confesses to her ‘brother’ that she loves him, but he tells her that he only sees her as a younger sister and wants his freedom. Drunk one night, she slept with his friend. She wants to put that night behind them, but all he wants to do is flirt his way into her heart.

This wasn’t bad, but it was a tad bit too long. The chemistry between the leads was passable, and the story wasn’t bad either. It was just kind of meh. I did like the male lead, though, and the way he constantly flirted with the female lead was very cute. But I do think that there wasn't much progress in their relationship for a while because of how long this was. If you enjoy slow burns, though, you'll probably enjoy it more than I did.

I do want to mention that while watching this I was reminded of the second half of The One His Brother Loves Dearly because of how similar they are. They literally play out the same way in the second half, and it makes me wonder if the script writer joined this story and the 'pass off my girlfriend to my friend' storyline together. Just a thought, though.

[Too Long + Charming Male Lead = Just Okay!]

She pretends to be the perfect 'virginal' girlfriend for a rich playboy, so he can use his resources to save her imprisoned father. But she's surprised when she meets his friend, who is the boy she actually lost her virginity to. Embittered by past love and the injustice done to her father, she decides to use them both to save her father.

This was way better than I had expected it to be, mostly because it’s less about romance and more about a girl, thrown into a harsh reality, who is willing to let go of her conscience to save her father. She had a very bitter outlook on love and men, and I couldn’t really blame her for that, especially when I think it made her strong in the best way possible. Her mindset was great to witness, and it was nice watching a truly strong, smart female lead save herself and her father. Li Ruo Qi did great in this role, and her performance was fantastic. Zhang Bei Xi was also very good.

[Strong Female Lead + Great Female Lead Performance = Loved It!]

Two years ago, she entered a contract marriage with a rich CEO to be a stand-in for his lover. Everyone thinks she’s deeply in love with him, including the CEO, but in fact, she treats their marriage as work, and as the last day of their contract nears, she prepares to leave him while the CEO prepares to extend their contract.

The male lead was so delusional here, and it was hilarious watching him think that the female lead was in love with him, while she was really just doing her job as a stand-in. I also loved how his friend would constantly point out his delusions. Usually, the male leads are surrounded by friends who echo their delusions, but it was refreshing to see a friend who was honest. I also enjoyed the leads’ chemistry and their relationship. It was sweet watching the male lead go through a journey of realizing that the female lead didn’t love him and that he would have to be the one to pursue her. Overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it.

[Cute Story + Cute Male Lead = Liked It!]

She was abandoned by her husband on their wedding night and became a widow when he passed away. To continue his lineage, her mother-in-law came up with a plan for her to have children with his younger brother, which was considered taboo. For years, their children’s parentage was a well-kept secret until her husband returned alive with a new wife and child.

This plot was kind of silly and hard to take seriously, mostly because the setup didn’t make sense. I also hated the meddling mother, and I felt like she didn’t get enough lashings for all the trouble she had caused with her lying. The kisses were hot, and so was the affair, but I didn’t really love their chemistry together. Most of the plot was just them misunderstanding each other and hiding their relationship when it was very obvious that there was no love lost between her and the husband, and the male lead clearly loved her and wanted no one else.

[Hot Kisses + Annoying Misunderstandings = Mixed Bag!]

It wasn’t until her death that she realized the man that she chose over her brother never loved her and was only using her. Reborn again, she makes the choice to never let her brother’s hand go and realizes that there could possibly be more than a sister-brother relationship.

I’ve already watched the Xia Jing Ran and Zhang Hong Ming version, but it hasn’t been posted on MDL yet. But I pretty much feel the same way about this version that I felt about the Xia Jing Ran version, which is that it’s just okay. It’s not terrible in the slightest, and the leads’ had chemistry together. Their relationship was also cute, but the story didn’t really do anything to move me either. Overall, it’s a passable watch.

[Good Chemistry + Average Story = Just Okay!]

Other Versions I've Watched

• Jiu Ye De Chong Ran Xiao Mei Gui (Starring Xia Jing Ran and Zhang Hong Ming)

In their first life, they married each other, but their marriage ended in bitter tragedy when he believed that she was behind the death of his white moonlight and killed her. Both reborn again, he thinks he will get revenge against her and have the same successful career he had in his past life, but little does he know that everything he had was because of her.

This had to be one of the most delusional, arrogant male leads I’ve ever come across. He was legitimately insane, and I wondered what his deep-rooted hatred was for the female lead. Even after learning the truth, he still treated her like she was the dirt beneath his shoe. It was nice watching him lose everything, though. I didn’t love it, but it’s an entertaining watch if you want to see an asshole male lead’s life crumble.

[Satisfying Revenge + Average Story = Just Okay!]

One moment, she’s eighteen, getting her heart broken when she sees her best friend with her crush, and the next, she’s twenty-three, in the hospital, suffering from amnesia after a car accident. She learns that she’s married, but the only memory she has of her husband is him being embraced by another woman, which makes her skeptical of him. As she slowly recovers her memory, she learns the truth about the state of her marriage and what happened to her in the past five years.

I came into this expecting something typical, but what I got was a really good story. My short description may make the plot seem fairly simple, but it wasn’t, and it was very well done. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but what made this really good was slowly unraveling what had happened in the past five years that the female lead had forgotten. I also really enjoyed the leads’ relationship and Zhang Shi Yuan’s performance, who did a good job differentiating between her eighteen-year-old self and her twenty-three-year-old self. I definitely recommend this, which delivered a good story and an equally good romance.

[Good Story + Great Female Lead Performance = Loved It!]

After a night of passion with his wife, she proposes divorce, and though they merely have a business marriage, he is reluctant to part ways.

Watched it for Zhao Zhen Dong and Wang Ge Ge, and they both were great in here. Honestly, their performances alone are the selling point of this drama, because I didn’t enjoy the story that much. As much as I like Zhao Zhen Dong, the character he played here is my least favorite kind of male lead. I hate male leads that entertain green teas (evil second female leads) for any reason. I don’t care about promises made or any other weak excuses. It really annoys me when they do that, especially when they can clearly see that the second female lead is crossing boundaries that can be disrespectful to their partner. By the end of it, if this had ended without a happily ever after, I wouldn’t have minded it. Speaking of endings, I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed, and the couple never got the time to actually communicate what had gone wrong in their marriage. Instead, they rely on a typical trope to resolve their issues, which I didn’t really care for. Zhao Zhen Dong and Wang Ge Ge are the saving grace of this drama, and I recommend it if you like them or second chance romances.

[Great Leading Performances + Annoying Storyline = Mixed Bag!]

In high school, she had a crush on her senior, but she thought he was in a relationship with her best friend, so she kept her love a secret. Years later, they meet again in college while he is an instructor for her class.

I thought their relationship was cute, although I did think this could have been shorter. Also, the kidnapping in the end seemed super unnecessary, especially considering how lighthearted the drama had been from the start. But besides that, it was a cute college romance where the female lead was super innocent and her crush was a big-time flirt, which made their interactions cute together.

[Cute Romance + Average Story = Good!]

After their family goes bankrupt, the two sisters are sold off to two rich brothers, and their arranged marriages cause confusion as the girls take every chance to run, and the brothers take every chance to bring them back.

This was a very short, yet fun story. It’s only thirty minutes long, so it goes by in a breeze, but the time was well utilized, and the story didn’t feel rushed. It almost felt like we were seeing a short chapter in their lives. Both couples were cute, though it mostly focuses on Du Ya Fei's and Chen Lu Xi’s characters. Definitely recommend if you need something to pass the time by.

[Cute Romance + Sisterhood = Liked It!]

After three years, she meets the younger man she abandoned for her fiancé, who is now a rich CEO. Meanwhile, she has lost her heiress status and is used by her fiancé as a tool for him to climb the social ladder and close business deals. He wants revenge, while she wants to keep the real reason why she left him a secret.

Riddled with some annoying misunderstandings, but the chemistry was hot! Loved the male lead in this, and I loved their kisses. He was also my favorite kind of male lead character; angry at first, but ultimately can’t hold onto it because he’s super clingy. I also really liked the male lead’s performance, and I’m not familiar with his work, but I’m looking forward to seeing him in other things.

[Great Chemistry + Hot Kisses = Liked It!]

She plans to propose to her young race car driver boyfriend, but she overhears him bragging to his friends that he’s only been using her as practice while he waits for the woman he really loves to return from abroad. She decides to move on and enter into an arranged marriage with someone else.

I almost wish I weren’t familiar with Zhang Lei before I watched this because I think I would have enjoyed it better if I weren’t. At first, I was excited to see Han Yu Tong and Zhang Lei paired up together, but then I was very disappointed to see that Zhang Lei was playing one of those ‘second lead endgame’ roles, where he barely makes an appearance other than to be the perfect guy. Instead, this drama was mostly about the female lead preparing to move on from her boyfriend. As usual, Han Yu Tong was good here, and I think if you solely watch this because you like stories about women gaining strength and leaving their scumbag boyfriends, then you’ll enjoy it. But because I came here with different expectations, I didn’t enjoy it as much. It’s not bad. I just wanted romance and not simply a story about moving on.

[Lackluster Romance + Too Much Focus on Scumbag Boyfriend = Didn’t Like It!]

Living in a blended family now after her mom remarried, she tries to adjust while dealing with her older stepbrother’s friend, who always teases her. She’s wary of him and tries to keep her distance, but that doesn’t stop his pursuit of her as he tries to make her fall for him.

This was cute. Honestly, I think the best part was the relationship between the female lead and her stepbrother as they worked on becoming a family while dealing with the uncomfortable feelings of their parents’ marriage. It was kind of refreshing not to have so much drama between stepsiblings, and instead, see a pretty wholesome relationship. The leads’ relationship is definitely a slow burn and takes a lot of time, but the development of their relationship was still cute, and Zhong Zheng, as always, does well in roles like these.

[Siblinghood + Zhong Zheng = Good!]

She transmigrates into a story as an evil actress who has imprisoned a man for years and treated him like a dog. Not wanting the character’s disastrous fate at the hands of the male lead, she sets him free in hopes of avoiding being killed by him in the future. But years later, when they meet again, an accident changes their relationship from one of abuse to something closer than they ever imagined.

I’ve seen a lot of transmigration plots, and a lot of them are mostly the same, but He Is Truly takes a unique approach with the transmigration trope and makes it fresh and fun. I really had a good time with this one, and I enjoyed the relationship between the leads and how it changed and developed throughout the drama. And I once again love Liu Yu Hang’s height difference with his leading actress. I definitely recommend this one.

[Good Story + Great Chemistry = Liked It!]

At an event with her ambitious boyfriend, she runs into a famous lawyer and catches him in a vulnerable state. Their first meeting leaves them with no desire to see each other again, but random coincidences create a connection between them that tests her relationship and their views on love.

I watched it for Wang Yi Lei, and I’m glad I did because this was cute. I liked the leads' relationship and thought it was very sweet how the male lead fell in love with her. He initially has a very pessimistic view on love and people in general because of his upbringing, but meeting the female lead changed that. The leads also had good chemistry together.

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

After her boyfriend’s mistress tells her that her boyfriend is cheating on her, she decides to step out of his shadow as co-captain and accept her long-awaited promotion to pilot another plane. There, she meets an old college classmate, who is now an air traffic controller and has secretly been in love with her for a long time.

God, I wanted to punch the second male lead in the throat. He was awful and truly irresponsible. But worse than that, he was extremely abusive. I did not care for the second female lead at all, and there were many times when I wanted to jump through the screen and slap her myself, but I still did not care for how brutal he was toward her. But honestly, they both deserved each other because they were both delusional psychos, and I really could not understand why the second female lead was so obsessed with him. On the other hand, our leads were a sharp contrast to them with a very sweet romance. Their relationship was nothing to write home about, but they were still cute together. I will say that I was more invested in just seeing the female lead move on from the second male lead than the actual romance. But overall, this was good, though.

I want to point out that the fat suit the male lead wore was absolutely ridiculous.

[Han Jia Hui + Nice Male Lead = Good!]

On the operating table, near her death, she hears her husband coldly tell the doctor to only call him when she’s dead. She dies in regret, but given a second chance with rebirth, she decides to change her fate by divorcing him and pursuing her own goals.

The second male lead syndrome was strong with this one, and I was terrified that the female lead would end up with the male lead, especially because I felt this male lead was beyond redemption because of his stupidity and arrogance. I also detested his grandmother, so I was beyond happy with how this ended. The story wasn’t anything special, but it was entertaining enough, and I was satisfied with the ending, so I would recommend it to those who like rebirth stories.

[Satisfying Ending + Awesome Second Male Lead = Just Okay!]

To get out of an arranged marriage, she sleeps with a man and gets pregnant. Several years later, she returns with her son, looking for his twin brother who had been stolen at birth. While their parents can't recognize each other, the twins can and want to reunite them together.

It was nice to see Du Ya Fei again in something I was actually interested in watching. I surprisingly enjoyed this a lot, even though it requires you to suspend a lot of disbelief. There were multiple instances where they should have been able to recognize that their kids were twins, but if you can get past that, it was fun and enjoyable. I enjoyed the chemistry between the leads, and I thought it was cute how attached the male lead was to the female lead. He swore that she was chasing after him when, in fact, he was clinging to her. He was also super childish, and I thought it was hilarious how upset he got when the female lead’s son was praising his 'father,' who he thought was someone else. The twins were also adorable and the highlight of this drama, especially the son, who had always been with the female lead because he was always causing a ruckus.

[Fun Story + Cute Romance = Liked It!]

In order to escape her family’s clutches, she pretends to be a fool and seduces the most powerful man in the city to use him as a tool for revenge.

I loved this! The romance was so cute, and the chemistry between the leads was great; it's no wonder Zuo Yi and Wang Nan have done multiple dramas together. This story is actually very similar to Save Myself, but this is another adaptation of a drama I watched a few weeks ago with Li Quan Cheng that hasn’t been listed on MDL yet. While I enjoyed that one, I loved this version, mostly because I loved how the romance was done here. It was so cute how much the male lead loved the female lead, and I also liked that they didn’t do the common trope of having the female lead leave abroad before she realized her feelings. I definitely recommend it!

[Great Chemistry + Great Romance = Loved It!]

Other Versions I've Watched

• Play Nice (Starring Mai Tong and Li Quan Cheng)
• Chuan Guo Jing Ji Yong Bao Ni (Starring Li Meng Ran and Cheng Zi)

After botching up red strings of fate, her master sends her down the mountain, but on the way, she nearly gets into a car accident with a rich CEO and accidentally ties a red string of fate between them, leading them to have sex. She has no plans on dating a mortal, so she wants to leave it behind them, but the red string of fate ties them in more ways than one.

This is a combination of the ‘she comes from the mountain’ trope and the ‘evil friend steals her identity/the CEO picks the wrong girl’ trope. I’ve seen them both done separately before, but it was fun seeing the two tropes combined. This was a cute story. The chemistry between the leads was good, and it was so cute how the male lead became wrapped around the female lead’s finger without her even trying. Also, it's always nice watching Zhao Zhen Dong.

[Cute Romance + Fun Story = Liked It!]

A tyrannical empress is reborn as the seventh princess, a young girl deeply in love with her husband, who does not love her and treats her like dirt. No longer the original ‘love-brained’ owner, she shocks everyone with her tyrannical behavior as she rises to the top with the help of her loyal shadow guard and four male servants.

If you want to watch a badass woman bully men for three hours, then this is the one to watch! This was great! I absolutely loved it! I loved how strong and domineering the princess was. I loved how she immediately took over her new life and began to dominate those around her with her cunning strength. Wang Xiao Yi was great in this role, and I loved her performance. The romance was also cute, and I loved how much she liked teasing the male lead. Overall, a fun plot with a role reversal romance and reverse harem.

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

An accidental mishap at a doctor’s appointment leads to a fake marriage between doctor and patient.

This was absolutely hilarious and refreshing. I loved this pair together and really liked their characterization. The male lead was so arrogant, but in a hilarious way, and I loved all of the little quirks the female lead had. Cao Tian Kai and Peng Yao were really good here together, and this might be my second favorite Cao Tian Kai pairing. They just have really good chemistry together. I also loved the mom, who was the best wingman here and was determined to make this fake marriage real. I definitely recommend this if you like a bit of silliness in your romance.

[Hilarious Story + Great Chemistry = Liked It!]

After her older sister runs away, she marries in her place. What starts off as an awkward arranged marriage slowly blossoms into love.

This started off a bit slow, but I overall enjoyed it by the end, especially how everything was resolved, which I thought they did a really good job with. The conflict was resolved in a reasonable way without kidnappings and stabbings. I even thought the second female lead was a normal evil antagonist, instead of a cartoonish character. I liked both of the lead actors' performances and thought they both did well in their roles.

[Good Story + Good Leading Performances = Good!]

She pretends to have amnesia to prank her boyfriend, but to her surprise, her boyfriend takes advantage of her condition and shrugs off his title of boyfriend to his close friend because he wants to have a brief affair with her best friend. He tells his friend not to touch her, but little does he know that his friend has been waiting for the opportunity to make his girlfriend his.

I’ve already seen the first version of this with Bao Li Ning and Li Jia Le, and yet the story wasn't any less enjoyable; in fact, it was even more entertaining because, unlike the first version, it didn't feel like two different stories were mashed together. The story did not change midway, which definitely made this a better watch. I also liked the chemistry between Yang Luo Qian and Cheng Cheng, and their kisses were hot. In both versions, the male leads are ravenous and cannot keep their hands off the female leads, which is always fun to watch. The only gripe I had with this was that the last thirty minutes were overly dramatic, and I felt like we could have done without that plotline given to the second male lead, who, by the way, did a good job. Overall, this was a fun, entertaining watch, and I definitely recommend it.

[Entertaining Story + Hot Kisses = Liked It!]

Other Versions I've Watched

• The One His Brother Loves Dearly (Starring Bao Li Ning and Li Jia Le)

To get revenge on her ex-boyfriend and his mistress, she tries to seduce the mistress’s uncle. But when her seduction plans fail, she pretends to have amnesia and that she and he are characters inside a romance comic book. Now, she lives with him as his ‘younger sister’, getting her revenge all the while growing closer to her ‘older brother’.

To add more detail to the short description, when the female lead lies about having amnesia, she also pretends that she remembers herself and the male lead as two characters from a spicy forbidden love comic about a younger sister and older brother.

This was a hoot, and I loved it. It was hilarious watching the female lead lie and scheme as she tried to pretend to be a very devoted younger sister to a man who was super cold and aloof. They were such an odd pair, but they worked together so well. I especially liked how the male lead started off indifferent about the whole sibling relationship, only for him to eventually study and memorize the book, so much so that he knew the book better than the female lead. Wang Yi Ran and Zhao Mu Yan were both great here, and I definitely recommend this hilarious romance.

[Hilarious Story + Cute Romance = Loved It!]

His grandfather arranges for him to marry an older woman, who is the older sister of one of his good friends. He is vehemently against this and believes he’ll never touch her until their wedding night, where she tames him into a loving puppy, who might want their business marriage to be more.

This is good, but it’s pretty long. I had a good time with their romance and thought it was cute how much the male lead pouted whenever he was upset with something the female lead did, and then would automatically revert back to puppy mode whenever she placated him. But once we get to the third act with the mother storyline, I had to skip through most of it because it was boring and felt like an unnecessary add on. The rest is all good, especially the rivalry between the male lead and the female lead’s younger brother. It’s just over four hours long, and a good hour and thirty minutes could have been chopped off.

[Cute Male Lead + Too Long = Mixed Bag!]

After saving his life with her blood, she claims him as her own and helps him get revenge on those behind his family's death.

I surprisingly really enjoyed this, and it wasn’t just because Yao Guan Yu was in it, which is always a plus for me. But it was because I actually enjoyed the story and the romance. I liked that the female lead was the forward one, who constantly made her feelings known and was out to seduce the male lead. I also really liked the chemistry between Yao Guan Yu and Li Key Yi. Their chemistry was really good here, and I liked their dynamic. I also liked that the female lead was smart and wasn’t a hindrance. She did need to be rescued a few times, but she helped out the male lead a lot.

[Great Chemistry + Entertaining Story = Loved It!]

Black sheep of the family because of her illegitimate status, she is treated more like a servant than a family member. But only her brother treats her kindly until one fateful night changes the dynamic of their relationship from siblinghood into something more forbidden. While they both struggle with this change, her sister’s intended fiancé proclaims that he will marry her, causing a fiery love triangle. Will she choose the brother who is forbidden or the man who loves her but holds secrets?

Usually, love triangles annoy me, but this was really good, and it wasn’t just because of Wang Kai Mu and Huang Hao Wen, who both did well in their roles, but because of how good the story was. Qing Qing Zi Jin had an interesting setup that made for a good love triangle. I think a lot of people will even have second male lead syndrome with this, and I must admit that at one point, I even struggled with who I thought she should end up with. But I do think it has a satisfying ending, and who she ends up with makes sense. I also want to point out how much I liked Huang Hao Wen’s performance here and his character. He truly was the highlight here because of how morally grey his character was. I recommend this if you’re into the Republic era dramas or love triangles.

[Good Story + Great Male Lead Performances = Liked It!]

Every night, a possessive man haunts her dreams, and even though she tells him that she’s already taken, he is determined to have her. Afraid of this dream man’s obsessive, possessive nature, she quickly wants to marry her fiancé to put an end to these dreams and their connection. But to her surprise, this dream man turns out to be her fiancé’s uncle, who has no intentions of letting her marry his nephew.

This is a very steamy vertical drama with hot kisses and hot chemistry. Saying the male lead is possessive is an understatement; he’s downright crazy about the female lead, so if you don’t like your male leads too dark, then you’ll probably want to avoid this one. But personally, I had a good time with this. It was hot, steamy, and fun. I liked the chemistry between the leads and their performances. There were also a lot of intense moments that were really good.

[Good Chemistry + Hot Kisses = Liked It!]

After her boyfriend’s white moonlight wakes up from her coma, she is immediately dumped. On the night of her birthday, she is sad about this until she receives a rose from a man with whom she later spends a special night with. It turns out that man is her ex-boyfriend’s nephew.

I really liked the relationship between the leads and thought their chemistry was cute. I think some people are going to be annoyed with the female lead because she cries at the drop of a dime, and she isn’t that strong, but that was the entire point of her character, so she didn’t annoy me as much. I think the only problem I had with this was how everything was resolved. It was just rushed and felt like it needed another twenty minutes to properly wrap everything up. I think if you can get past that, you’ll enjoy it a lot.

[Cute Romance + Nice Male Lead = Liked It!]

After learning that her stepchildren and husband framed her and her family as traitors against the emperor, on her dying breath, she promises that she would do it all differently. Given a second chance with rebirth, she decides to get revenge on her stepchildren, husband, and his mistress, who is actually the stepchildren’s biological mother, who has been living in their home as a maid. While getting her vengeance, she meets the third prince and his two children, who call her mom.

The ages of everyone here are a bit confusing, but if you can get past that, you’ll probably enjoy this as much as I did. I like fun revenge stories, and this was definitely one that entertained me, so I would recommend it for that alone. But I will say that if you’re expecting some grand romance, then you’ll be a bit disappointed. The romance is only a small part of the story, so the writers didn’t spend that much time developing the relationship between the leads compared to the revenge. So while I thought the relationship between the leads was cute, it also wasn’t anything to write home about either.

[Satisfying Revenge + Good Female Lead Performance = Liked It!]

After learning that her boyfriend has been deceiving her by having his twin brother date her on his behalf while he returns to his white moonlight, she sets out to take revenge on them both.

The kisses were HOT! It nearly made my screen melt, and the chemistry between the leads was great. I had fun with this plot, and I liked the female lead, who immediately went into calculating mode once she realized the trick the brothers played on her. The second half of this does take a turn away from what the initial set up was, but I still overall enjoyed this.

[Hot Kisses + Great Chemistry = Liked It!]

It wasn’t until her death that she realized the man that she chose over her brother never loved her and was only using her. Reborn again, she makes the choice to never let her brother’s hand go and realizes that there could possibly be more than a sister-brother relationship.

The story is nothing special, and honestly, the villain shenanigans were a little annoying, but I did enjoy the chemistry between the leads, and their relationship was cute. It’s definitely a passable watch.

[Good Chemistry + Average Story = Just Okay!]

Other Versions I've Watched

• Jing Cheng Jiu Ye De Xiao Mei Gui (Starring  Yan Mo Jiu and Xu Si Qi)

In order to get revenge, get her shares back, and avoid being killed by her family, she pretends to be a fool and seduces the most powerful man in the city.

This was the first version I’ve watched of this story, which now has several versions and counting. I've seen three of them so far, and while I liked the other two a bit more, I still did really like this version. Li Quan Cheng and Mai Tong both did a good job in their roles, and I liked their chemistry together too. This version really didn't lack anything. It's just that I liked how the romance was portrayed a bit better in the other two versions I've seen.

I also want to add here that the female lead's uncle might have been one of the most awful, irresponsible characters I’ve ever come across. I was in disbelief that he was literally allowing his adopted son to outright abuse his biological daughter. It was insane. I did not care for that evil girl, and I definitely thought she reaped whatever she sowed, but the father was truly terrible.

[Good Chemistry + Good Leading Performances = Good!]

Other Versions I've Watched

• Guai Guai Ru Ju, Shao Fang Si Jiao Chong (Starring Zuo Yi and Wang Nan)
• Chuan Guo Jing Ji Yong Bao Ni (Starring Li Meng Ran and Cheng Zi)

In order to escape her family’s clutches, she pretends to be a fool and seduces the most powerful man in the city to use him as a tool for revenge.

Despite seeing this story twice already with the Wang Nan version and Li Quan Cheng version, I still really enjoyed this one. Sometimes, after seeing the same story multiple times, even with different actors, it tends to get boring, but I haven’t gotten tired of this story yet, and I really liked the chemistry between Li Meng Ran and Cheng Zi. I also really liked Li Meng Ran’s portrayal of the male lead. It was adorable how goofy he was at times. Out of the three versions I watched, this was my second favorite version, the first being with Zuo Yi and Wang Nan.

[Cute Romance + Good Chemistry = Liked It!]

Other Versions I've Watched

• Guai Guai Ru Ju, He Shao Fang Si Jiao Chong (Starring Zuo Yi and Wang Nan)
• Play Nice (Starring Mai Tong and Li Quan Cheng)

Her father is getting remarried, but to her surprise, her stepbrother is the fugitive she helped the police arrest. She enters a dangerous game with her stepbrother, and if she wins, he must leave the family, but if he wins, she must become his.

Oooh! This was so good! I love forbidden romance, and when you add on the hate-to-love relationship they had, it made it even better. Ma Xiao Yu was great in this, but that’s really no surprise, because roles like these are his bread and butter. He was so hot as a dark leader in a gang. The female lead also gave a fantastic portrayal, and I really liked their chemistry together. I also thought the story was really good, and we didn’t have any cartoonish characters here, which made the story cleaner and better written. I definitely recommend this if you’re a fan of Ma Xiao Yu or like forbidden romances.

[Hot Chemistry + Great Kisses = Loved It!]

After her father tries to force her to give up her heart for donation to her stepsister, she runs away from home and goes to live with her grandmother. There, she meets a local tattoo artist, who is like a guardian to her and her protector. As they grow closer, her feelings change, but will age difference and other obstacles stop them from being more than older brother and younger sister?

I totally loved the hair color on Zhao Zhen Dong in this! It looked so attractive on him. This was a very sweet story about a tattoo artist who becomes smitten with a young woman but denies himself because of past trauma and a desire to protect her from himself. Sometimes, age gap relationships in vertical dramas can be uncomfortable, but it wasn’t here, and the development of their relationship was handled well. I liked the chemistry between Zhao Zhen Dong and Zhai Yi Ying, and I enjoyed their characters’ romance. I definitely recommend this if you want to watch a sweet romance where both leads yearn for each other.

[Sweet Romance + Good Chemistry = Liked It!]

After her fiancé cheats on her with his secretary, she decides to get even and sleeps with a young mechanic. They shake up the town with their entanglement, and what was supposed to be a short affair turns into something that can’t easily be untangled.

Oooh, this was good! I needed something to bring me back into the groove of watching vertical dramas again, and this was the remedy for it. I had a great time with this one, and this gave me exactly what I was looking for and more. The chemistry, their kisses, and individual performances were all great. Both Wang Xiao Yi and Yang Peng Cheng were charming in their roles and made me love their characters. I especially liked Wang Xiao Yi’s character, who had to deal with society’s judgment on a very serious topic, but she was fierce and strong and would not allow anyone to humiliate or demean her, not even her own fiancé. It was tough seeing Zhang Xuan as the asshole fiancé because I really like him, but even his handsome face wasn’t enough to make me like his character. I saw that many people were forgiving of his character in the end, but I couldn’t get past how he treated her in the beginning, especially the reason why, which was just awful in my opinion.

I definitely recommend this for the fun, hot, steamy relationship between the leads, Wang Xiao Yi’s fierceness, and Yang Peng Cheng’s charming smile. The male lead’s puppy-like attitude toward the female lead was a plus too.

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

She hates her mute husband so much that she poisons him. But after having a tragic fate, she is reborn and realizes that she’s a hateful antagonist inside a story. Deciding to change her own fate, this time she decides to love her husband.

This was extremely cute. I loved how hard the female lead worked to gain her husband’s favor and how much she tried to help him with his speech. Also, Wang Hao Xiang was very good here. He didn’t have many lines, but he was very expressive, and his character was super cute. I definitely recommend it for a sweet romance that surprisingly doesn’t have too much drama or unnecessary misunderstandings.

[Cute Romance + Wang Hao Xiang = Liked It!]

She is kidnapped, but her fiancé doesn’t believe her and instead marries another woman. After being drugged, she runs into one of the richest men in the city and sleeps with him. She thinks that night will be the end of their entanglement, but he wants more.

I have to start off by saying the second male lead was super delusional, and I even wondered how their relationship had gotten to that point of delusion. It was strange to me that the final straw for the female lead was him not believing she had been kidnapped, instead of him marrying another woman because she was sick. But beyond me stretching my disbelief a bit, I did enjoy this. I liked the couple’s chemistry, and I enjoyed their dynamic. I do think some people will find the female lead’s character annoying, though, because she was insecure, and her line of thinking created obstacles between her and the male lead, but she didn’t really annoy me that much. She just didn’t really trust men anymore after what happened with her fiancé, and I couldn’t really blame her for that. The kisses were hot, and the chemistry was good.

[Hot Kisses + Good Chemistry = Liked It!]

In high school, they liked each other, but their romance ended before it could even begin when his mom died and his father quickly remarried her mother. They become stepsiblings, and she, his enemy. She wants their new family to move forward in peace, but he dislikes her and disapproves of their parents’ marriage. As they navigate their new sibling relationship in college, they also try to seal away their feelings from high school that may be buried beneath the surface but haven’t faded.

I’ve come across two other versions with Cheng Cheng and Meng Na, but I didn’t really care for them too much, especially the Meng Na version, because it had this weird seductive tone, and neither sibling seemed entirely sane. But here, I think the light-hearted yet angsty tone of this drama was just right for the topic, and the leads actually seemed sane here. The female lead is less manipulative and seductive and is more so just trying to find a happy medium with the male lead, rather than trying to continue their romance from high school. Zhang Jin Yi and Lu Shan Dong were both really good, and I really enjoyed their chemistry here. Also, their kisses were spicy and just right for the ages of their characters. I liked everything and how it was resolved in the end. I also liked that the male lead wasn’t as stand-offish or as mean as he was portrayed in the other versions. He had just the right amount of moodiness that wasn’t off-putting. If you like college romances and bad boys, you’ll enjoy this.

[Sweet Romance + Good Chemistry = Liked It!]

She is transported into a novel in the Republic Era, but immediately the plot deviates from its original course when her sister takes her intended husband, and they must swap marriages. Now, she is set to marry the notoriously cruel marshal, and she must figure out how to escape the marriage and use her medical abilities to survive in a different era.

This was pretty good. It starts off with the 'sisters swap husbands storyline,' but everything else after that is completely different, so if you’re thinking, ‘not another sister swaps husbands’ story, considering that there are like hundreds of them, then rest assured, this is more of a transmigration story with a twist. I also liked how smart the female lead was. She was not easily bullied, and even when the plot started to deviate from the original, she quickly adapted to her new situation and handled her antagonists.

[Fun Story + Smart Female Lead = Good!]

She learns that for the last three years, she has been her boyfriend’s stand-in, and now that his white moonlight is back, he abandons her and rekindles their love. Hurt, she takes revenge on him by using an old friend, who is deeply in love with her and willing to be used by her, so long as he can be with her.

I wish I could find this with better subtitles because some of the plot got lost in context, but besides that, it was a good watch, and I actually liked the female lead, though I feel like most people won’t. But I understood her. She was hellbent on revenge against her lover, so much so that she was willing to use her friend. It takes her some time, but eventually she does realize her own feelings and acknowledges the male lead’s love. I also liked the way the second lead antagonists were handled here since the writers didn’t go the typical route with them. I do think both of them got what they deserved, though, especially the second female lead, who really wasn’t the ‘green tea’ type, but instead was a psycho.

[Good Chemistry + Good Story = Liked It!]

After being murdered by her brothers and father, who favored their other sister over her, when given a second chance again with rebirth, she decides to go live with her mother at the palace, where she remarried. There, she meets the prince, her new stepbrother, who is wary of her, but over time starts to see her as more than a stepsister.

This was a simple but fun story. I hated her brothers and father. You would have thought she treated them terribly, but all she did was push them to do better so they could become successful in life, and they hated her for that. So, it was fun to see them lose out on all the success they had in their previous lifetime, while she helped her new family thrive. I also enjoyed her new sibling relationship with her youngest stepbrother. It was very sweet how close they became, and I liked seeing how protective he had become of her. As for her romance with the male lead, it was very sweet watching him be skeptical of her but fall in love with her all the same.. I recommend this if you enjoy rebirth stories and want to watch karma happen to those deserving.

[Fun Story + Cute Sibling Relationship = Good!]

She came onto the train that night with one goal: to steal a special serum and deliver it to her superiors. But that night, she runs into a sick, fragile man and accidentally saves him. She thinks that night will be the last time she’ll ever see him again, but after returning home to break off her engagement, she runs into him, and he declares that he wants her.

This is a fun story, though it does require you to suspend a little disbelief, especially as we learn more about the organization the female lead is a part of. But if you can get past that, the leads have chemistry, and their relationship was cute. The male lead was a total puppy with the female lead, and it was adorable. Meng Na was really good as an assassin, and I loved that she wouldn’t allow her family to bully her. While I liked a lot about this, I was disappointed with how the situation with her parents was resolved. While I could understand why she gave grace to her mother, I don’t think her father deserved it all, and there was really no excuse for how he treated her. Overall, it was a fun watch.

[Good Chemistry + Badass Female Lead = Good!]

When her twin sister is rejected after confessing to her boss, she attempts suicide and falls into a coma. To save her sister’s job, her mom forces her to take her sister’s place. She takes on the secretary position of her sister’s cold boss, thinking she’ll be able to pay her tuition, but she winds up getting caught up in a family war and developing feelings along the way.

This started off good, and I liked the development of their relationship in the beginning. Sometimes, it’s nice when the leads don’t immediately fall in love, especially with a cold male lead like this one. But the moment we reached a certain plot point halfway through, the story became convoluted, and the writing required me to suspend too much disbelief. Honestly, everything in the second half is quite ridiculous, actually. I don’t want to spoil it, but it was very frustrating how no one was smart enough to pick up on the scheme that was happening until the very last minute. I will say that it was entertaining, though, but definitely annoying at times. Don’t have too much to say about the romance because it takes a complete halt because of the plot point that happens in the middle, and everything else that happens between them is pretty much sped up in an unbelievable way. I really did enjoy the first half, though.

[Convoluted Story + Too Much Suspension of Disbelief + Good First Half = Mixed Bag!]

She loves him, but he hates her because his white moonlight attempted suicide when learning of their engagement, an engagement he only agreed to because he was forced by his grandparents. Three years later, when she learns she is pregnant, she thinks they can leave the resentment in the past and move forward to a better marriage, but when his white moonlight returns, he asks for a divorce.

Even Chen Si could not save this disaster of a story, which only purpose seemed to be to make the viewers angry. The male lead is an unredeemable jackass. I wouldn’t care if he sacrificed himself for her every lifetime; it wouldn’t change that he was awful and didn’t deserve her. Not even Chen Si playing the role could change that. I also found the female lead to be annoying and stupid. You’re not strong because you’re allowing someone to treat you like crap in the name of love. You’re just an idiot, and she was constantly making excuses when, really, the moment he left on their wedding day was the moment she should have let that relationship go. The ending was also stupid and didn’t make too much sense. Don’t want to spoil it, but what should have been there wasn’t there. I don’t recommend it unless you like Chen Si or like these rage-baiting dramas.

[Awful Male Lead + Dumb Plot = Didn’t Like It!]

When she learns her boyfriend has been using her as a stand-in, she gets drunk one night and sleeps with a handsome man. She thinks it will only be a one-night stand and they’ll never cross paths again, but later, he takes a new position at her hospital. Dancing around each other as doctor and nurse, the status of their relationship is tested as they go down their own path of romance while also running into past lovers.

I enjoyed this story way more than I thought I would. I thought this was going to be a typical ‘my boyfriend cheated on me, and I later fell in love with a rich CEO’ story, but there was way more to it. This drama felt very mature in how it handled the leads’ relationship. I also loved the characterization of the female lead here and Lu Lu Lu’s performance. The female lead was very smart and had a lot of pride. She didn’t let any man disrespect her, and she didn’t cry over it much either. I really appreciated that. I loved the leads’ chemistry, and I thought their relationship was very cute. I also loved that the second leads didn’t overstay their welcome either, like they do so often in other vertical dramas. If I had one gripe about this, it would be that I thought about twenty to thirty minutes of this could have been cut down. But besides that, I loved everything else about it. Also, I have to mention that I loved Ben Wang’s performance here. He was great and an awesome kisser!

[Great Chemistry + Good Story = Loved It!]

Escaping from a possessive man who kept her imprisoned in his home, she disappears for two years and returns under a new name as his brother-in-law’s fiancée with plans of revenge. But that possessive man refuses to let her take revenge without being used as her tool.

Anything with Yao Guan Yu in it, I’ll watch it, so I immediately turned this on when I saw it appear on my YouTube feed, and I’m glad I did. This was good. The story isn’t anything new, but I did really like the natural chemistry between Yao Guan Yu and Chen Si Che. I thought they were very cute together. The first ten minutes might throw you off because the male lead borders on crazy, considering that he has the female lead imprisoned, but if you make it past that, he’s not that bad. This story is quick and to the point and enjoyable. I think if you like Yao Guan Yu, you’ll like this.

[Good Chemistry + Hot Kisses = Liked It!]

When she learns 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’m actually surprised that this is another version of Define Your Style with Chen Si and Han Yu Tong; mostly because I thought Define Your Style was very boring, but I actually really enjoyed this one. For some reason, the story was more entertaining here, and surprisingly, I think that was due to the great chemistry between the female lead and the second male lead (technically, both male leads have leading roles, but I usually refer to the characters as 'first or second lead' based on who the female lead ends up with). I was in disbelief with how much chemistry they had, and dare I say that there was more chemistry between them than between her and the male lead. That, of course, is not me excusing the second male lead’s actions because he was a gigantic asshole. But Gao Ming was super hot and charming as a rich, selfish CEO who felt he could have everything he wanted, and I loved that the female lead proved him wrong with how resilient and stubborn she was.

Now, I’ve spoken a lot about the female lead and the second male lead’s relationship, but I did think her relationship with the male lead was cute, too. But to me, what makes the story so good here, and what sets it apart from the Chen Si and Han Yu Tong version, is that it focuses on the unraveling of the marriage between the female lead and second male lead, and that was something that Define Your Style didn’t do. The story of their marriage is just way more interesting overall than her relationship with her new boss. I definitely recommend it if you want to watch something entertaining or if you liked Define Your Style and wouldn’t mind seeing a new version.

[Great Chemistry + Entertaining Story = Liked It!]

Other Versions I've Watched

• Define Your Style (Starring Han Yu Tong and Chen Si)