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This review may contain spoilers
✨Mischievous Besties, Multiverse Madness & Cheng Lei’s Weaponized Eye Smolder✨
This has been sitting on my PTW list for what feels like a geological era.
The visuals? Visualing. Relentlessly. Every frame looks like it went through a “make it extra” committee and got unanimous approval. I love how the drama pays tribute to the donghua adaptation while still carving out its own identity. It doesn’t feel derivative — it feels celebratory. CL and WCR absolutely understood the assignment.
The overall energy is very much “mischievous besties accidentally causing chaos while low-key saving the country,” and I am having tons of fun.
At its core, we’re dealing with a transmigration story — but not the basic, single-layer kind. This one plays with multiple levels of reality, and the plot unfolds in a way that feels deceptively light at first. It starts off playful and unserious, almost familiar… and then gradually reveals more complexity and emotional layering. Gotta love that.
The chemistry between the leads? As expected: chef’s kiss. CL and WCR bring so much texture to their roles. And yes, we get Cheng Lei’s signature eye-smolder-and-suffer-in-silence package deal. His portrayal of the “mad tyrant” is magnetic — intense, wounded, slightly unhinged, but deeply human. Add the fact that he fell first and harder? That’s the good stuff. That’s the premium subscription tier of romance angst.
That said, I do feel some frustration in the middle stretch. There were moments where the leads seemed to drift into supporting-character territory due to limited screen time, which slightly disrupted the emotional momentum for me.
I’m currently on episode 20 and genuinely enjoying the ride.
But I still can’t say this drama is giving me butterflies.
It’s nice. It’s charming. It’s the kind of show I’ll happily watch instead of working on my papers… but not the kind that hijacks my entire nervous system. I’m invested, just not unwell about it.
Maybe not every drama has to rearrange my brain chemistry. Some can just be… good company.
We’ll see if it eventually decides to emotionally attack me..
Now, about the ending. Given that this is technically a transmigration drama, censorship realities limit the possible conclusions. We’ve already had subtle hints suggesting “maybe we’re fictional characters who transmigrated into a story,” which introduces a double — maybe triple? — layered reality situation. Are we in a story inside a story inside a story? Is this narrative inception? Who knows. I’m cautiously predicting an ADWAD-style resolution, but I’m really hoping they commit to a satisfying and emotionally coherent finale.
I’ll be back with a full verdict once I finish.
Cheers.
✨UPDATE✨
Finished it — overall, a decent and fairly engaging watch.
The leads were adorable and emotionally mature. No dragged-out breakups. Just communication and loyalty, which was refreshing.
The tragic deaths hit as expected. The SFL was a highlight and deserves more roles.
I was invested, but no butterflies. The romance occasionally felt diluted by side plots I wasn’t interested in, which flattened the emotional impact for me.
The ending went full ADWAD — triple-layered reality confirmed. Inside the book world, the leads get a satisfying conclusion. In the modern world? A last-minute reunion.
Sir.
For this genre, we technically got more closure than LGIEF gave us, so I’ll acknowledge that. But I cannot pretend I didn’t want more. Show me the reunion properly. Show me the conversations. Show me the emotional unpacking. Especially from ML’s perspective. He returned a decade earlier than FL. A whole decade. I need answers. How did he track her down? What was he thinking all those years? What did it feel like to remember everything alone? The narrative potential was right there. Maybe censorship made extended modern resolution too sensitive territory — maybe not. Hard to say. But it does feel like we only got the appetizer of what could have been a very satisfying epilogue.
Overall, 8 - 8.25 for me. Strong performances and visuals, ambitious concept — just occasionally flat for my personal taste.
Still, a triple-reality transmigration romance with stable leads and a confirmed reunion is a small victory in this genre.
The visuals? Visualing. Relentlessly. Every frame looks like it went through a “make it extra” committee and got unanimous approval. I love how the drama pays tribute to the donghua adaptation while still carving out its own identity. It doesn’t feel derivative — it feels celebratory. CL and WCR absolutely understood the assignment.
The overall energy is very much “mischievous besties accidentally causing chaos while low-key saving the country,” and I am having tons of fun.
At its core, we’re dealing with a transmigration story — but not the basic, single-layer kind. This one plays with multiple levels of reality, and the plot unfolds in a way that feels deceptively light at first. It starts off playful and unserious, almost familiar… and then gradually reveals more complexity and emotional layering. Gotta love that.
The chemistry between the leads? As expected: chef’s kiss. CL and WCR bring so much texture to their roles. And yes, we get Cheng Lei’s signature eye-smolder-and-suffer-in-silence package deal. His portrayal of the “mad tyrant” is magnetic — intense, wounded, slightly unhinged, but deeply human. Add the fact that he fell first and harder? That’s the good stuff. That’s the premium subscription tier of romance angst.
That said, I do feel some frustration in the middle stretch. There were moments where the leads seemed to drift into supporting-character territory due to limited screen time, which slightly disrupted the emotional momentum for me.
I’m currently on episode 20 and genuinely enjoying the ride.
But I still can’t say this drama is giving me butterflies.
It’s nice. It’s charming. It’s the kind of show I’ll happily watch instead of working on my papers… but not the kind that hijacks my entire nervous system. I’m invested, just not unwell about it.
Maybe not every drama has to rearrange my brain chemistry. Some can just be… good company.
We’ll see if it eventually decides to emotionally attack me..
Now, about the ending. Given that this is technically a transmigration drama, censorship realities limit the possible conclusions. We’ve already had subtle hints suggesting “maybe we’re fictional characters who transmigrated into a story,” which introduces a double — maybe triple? — layered reality situation. Are we in a story inside a story inside a story? Is this narrative inception? Who knows. I’m cautiously predicting an ADWAD-style resolution, but I’m really hoping they commit to a satisfying and emotionally coherent finale.
I’ll be back with a full verdict once I finish.
Cheers.
✨UPDATE✨
Finished it — overall, a decent and fairly engaging watch.
The leads were adorable and emotionally mature. No dragged-out breakups. Just communication and loyalty, which was refreshing.
The tragic deaths hit as expected. The SFL was a highlight and deserves more roles.
I was invested, but no butterflies. The romance occasionally felt diluted by side plots I wasn’t interested in, which flattened the emotional impact for me.
The ending went full ADWAD — triple-layered reality confirmed. Inside the book world, the leads get a satisfying conclusion. In the modern world? A last-minute reunion.
Sir.
For this genre, we technically got more closure than LGIEF gave us, so I’ll acknowledge that. But I cannot pretend I didn’t want more. Show me the reunion properly. Show me the conversations. Show me the emotional unpacking. Especially from ML’s perspective. He returned a decade earlier than FL. A whole decade. I need answers. How did he track her down? What was he thinking all those years? What did it feel like to remember everything alone? The narrative potential was right there. Maybe censorship made extended modern resolution too sensitive territory — maybe not. Hard to say. But it does feel like we only got the appetizer of what could have been a very satisfying epilogue.
Overall, 8 - 8.25 for me. Strong performances and visuals, ambitious concept — just occasionally flat for my personal taste.
Still, a triple-reality transmigration romance with stable leads and a confirmed reunion is a small victory in this genre.
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