minimini

Thank you the person who recommended me to read the novel. It’s absolutely beautiful and now i am crying over how i won’t be able to see the live adaption. They really did dirty to this drama by not following the novel.

We will know it tomorrow. But i hope it’s soon.

Just saw the weibo update video and i know this will be my favourite drama of all time. I couldn’t stop smiling while watching. Hope we get release date soon.

It’s there in my watch list. I will definitely read it after this one.

it's not the age but more about the chemistry and portrayal. there are many actors who plays younger roles and it works.

yes, please:)

i agree. the novel feels very different from the dramas that i usually watch. most of the dramas are about women empowerment where she sees just herself, while here, she has her own ambitions and abilities, but still chooses to devote herself to someone she deeply respects and loves (in most dramas it's the ml who devotes himself). this itself makes in unique and distinct, and that's what i like about the novel. she is not only ambitious but loyal to the sovereign, unlike the drama, i couldn't felt that she liked or was loyal to him. it came more of as she was using him for her own ambitions. i couldn't see the affection between them as i see in the novel. as you rightly said in my earlier comment "they should put inspired by the novel".

I usually prefer reading novels that already have a casting, as it gives me a visual reference for the characters and makes the reading experience better. In this case, though, even after watching the drama, I really can’t picture the leads while reading. I can picture the ML to some extent, but the FL is much harder to imagine. It could be because the roles I have seen her in are more independent and come across as strong leads, whereas the FL in the novel, while still being bold, independent, and capable, is also shy and gets flustered around the ML. As someone said earlier, in the novel, they are shameless and unconstrained in their affection, which is definitely not seen in the drama. And I really can’t picture these leads portraying the leads of the novel. Even while watching the drama, I felt the casting didn’t quite work because I couldn’t feel the chemistry. And interestingly, while reading the novel, I feel the same way.

I started reading the novel today after a recommendation a few days ago, and I'm already halfway done. It’s so sad that the adaptation is completely different and doesn't do the source material justice. If they had stuck to the novel, the drama would have been sensational and much much better 😭😭

I am halfway through it and it is more interesting than the drama. I’m just sad that we couldn’t see this in the drama.
The drama feels totally different than the novel, the setting and characters remains the same, and everything else is changed.

This looks even more interesting than the drama. I am new to novel reading and I have read few modern and Republican novels, so I can give this a read as my first historical novel.

What core theme?

Thanks, i will definitely.

No, it’s quite clear no one can come between them.
Ep 26
No, but there’s a time skip of 5 yrs which happens around ep 18-20. Then FL finds ML and they start their friendship again with a bit of romantic tension.
Yes

The drama started with a really strong premise: a fallen princess and the current emperor. The first half was enjoyable, but the second half lost its spark very quickly.
My biggest disappointment was the writing. The investigation had little suspense, the villain was easy to guess, and the FL was portrayed as intelligent yet acted recklessly so often that it became frustrating. I also felt almost no chemistry between the leads. As someone who loved the FL in The Double, I was especially disappointed by her performance here; she felt unusually stiff. The ML wasn’t at his strongest either, but he still carried much of the drama through his screen presence.
Ironically, I enjoyed the second couple more despite their limited screen time. The ending felt flat and repetitive, and by the final episodes I was watching mainly to see how it would end rather than because I was invested.
Overall, this felt like a drama with an excellent premise that never lived up to its potential.

Overall, I liked the school setting. There wasn’t anything extraordinary about it, but it was good to watch. The adult arc, however, I didn’t quite like. I mostly wanted to rush through it, and the second couple was the main reason I kept watching.

First couple - FL & ML:
The ML’s acting was good, but I think he was a misfit for the series. Considering he was supposed to be a high schooler and then only around 22–23 in the adult arc, he looked quite old for the role. I also couldn’t see much chemistry between him and the FL as romantic partners. Their connection worked well as friends, even best friends, but I never saw them as lovers. The FL’s acting was good, and so was the acting of the overall cast.

Second couple - FL’s brother & FL’s classmate:
I never expected this pairing, but I became quite interested in them once they started interacting. Their screen time was very less, but they were the main reason I wanted to finish the drama. Their marriage felt quite sudden and rushed, but I still liked their chemistry and bonding.

Third couple:
They were basically bickering throughout the drama. I couldn’t really see any romantic potential between them, so by the end I honestly didn’t care whether they got together or not. It was also extremely predictable.

Shen:
I actually felt bad for him. His whole storyline felt like he was there just to be one of the FL’s unrequited love interests. Can’t you just give him something of his own and let him have someone too? 😭 By the end, there was still this little bit of sadness around his character.

PS:
I know she has a very high IQ, but I couldn’t help comparing her with the usual drama ML who is intelligent, attractive, good at everything, and even has an attitude and is perceived as an aloof, cold guy. Yet girls fawn over him, boys want to befriend him, and he still has a good social circle.
Here, the FL is intelligent, beautiful, social, and actually wants to make friends and talk to people, but instead she gets bullied, has no friends, and people deliberately make her feel bad. I know it’s probably meant to show how different she is from everyone else, but I still found that contrast quite frustrating.

Just finished watching. Here’s my thought:

the aphrodisiac scene was so weird. i just wanted to skip it.

Sadly, i can’t see it. For me they look more like friends or best friends but not lovers.
I have seen one past work of ML and in that also i couldn’t see any chemistry.

My thoughts so far - I like the group dynamics and their chemistry. FL-brother duo bickering with each other is so much fun to watch, tho we won't get much of it now, as they are adults. I want to see Lin ZeQiu and Jin BaiHui falling for each other and being all lovey-dovey. I don't get why TingTing and Duan QiYan always bicker. Lastly, I like the leads as friends, but I don't see any romantic chemistry between them. I like her chemistry more with Shen FuXuan. Also, only 8 eps are left, and their romance storyline feels somewhat short to me.