SaraNg

I really really hate useless FLs

I really like the plot tbh. The whole premise of having to undergo 7 love tribulations with an almost stranger is interesting. The lives (2 so far) have been interesting as well.

The men in these series (as with almost every series) are intelligent, charming and borderline scheming which makes for good plot. I originally didn't like the 2nd FL princess as she was overbearing and entitled but i have changed my mind after this 2nd life. I have nothing against the actress for the FL and her acting. But the way they wrote her.... I was internally screaming with frustration. If not for DYX i might have just dropped the show.

*Spoiler*
One of the most useless FLs in the beginning. I really hate it when they write FLs that do nothing but cry. In the first few episodes she even praises herself as a genius. Stupid people who don't know they're stupid are the worst. I'm writing this review in rage after finishing the first 12 episodes.

She had AT LEAST 3 chances to stab the prince. She couldn't even do it right when she finally did. I nearly threw my phone. She threatens to kill herself then proceeds to push the ML away for trying to save her. Not to mention the fact that they're all in that situation because she decided to try and be self-sacrificial for nothing. She went in as a glorified hostage and didn't even exchange her parents' lives for it. Didn't even kill the person who indirectly forced them to take their own lives. Just sat on her little safe pedestal and did absolutely nothing. Girl, what value do you bring to anyone at this point? Just extra motivation for the ML to get himself killed for you. My goodness. His one wish was to marry you and you gave the evil person just that... Like... Imagine someone going "I killed everyone you love so you will only love me" and the girl going "Yes, you killed all my loved ones but i will give you your wish anyway" ???????????

*Rant end*

That said, the music is 100/10. Love all the OSTs!!! The CGI and the costume designers did an absolutely amazing job. One of the prettiest CGI sets I've ever seen. I want it as my desktop wallpaper. The costumes I can't help staring at the intricate details. It's not over the top and clunky like most xianxia costumes. It has a lot of fine details that make it look expensive. The design of their headpieces are amazing!!!

And the other actors and actresses did a good job. I really liked all of them. Even the evil prince dude at least had the determination to see things through until the end. The writers did a horrible job with the main FL... just another damsel in distress drama only worth a casual watch for DYX. Disappointed.

My friend says it gets better so i will continue to watch it for the plot. But i will probably skip all the FL parts from now on. She only pisses me off LOL

TLDR: what could have been a 9/10 or 10/10 drama with amazing set, music and cast was reduced to a mere 5/10 due to the writing.

Edit after watching it in full:
The later episodes are much better even though the writing for the FL is inconsistent. Her personality changes throughout each of her 'lives' while Chu Kong's doesn't even through the memory losses. The villain was also very one-dimensional and wasn't a complex character. Otherwise, I really like the FL as Cang Hai. She was a badass who knew what she wanted and went for it. I think apart from the 2nd life, the subsequent scenarios weren't too bad. It is still a casual watch for me. I will 10/10 go back for the beautiful CGI scenery and OST moments. The funny bits were also quite well written. The actors and actresses did a really good job! My fav would be the 3rd life - it was funny and Chu Kong's sect leader costume looks amazing on him even though i skipped most of the dumb misunderstanding moments.

There are quite a few rewatchable moments in this show but i still think it's a pity that the writing for a few of the parts are lacking i skipped quite a bit of the 2nd pair's arc. This could have been a 10/10 drama if the storyline details were more ironed out and less draggy in some areas.

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I need more

One of the best cdramas i've watched with amazing fight choreography. The choreographer and director really know how to film an exciting wuxia martial arts series. It actually reminded me of Ip Man a lot with the way the fight scenes were filmed. The sword fighting was beautiful I can't help replay them multiple times. Choreography reminded me of the live action version of Rurouni Kenshin. Fast sword work makes for a very satisfying fight. I hate it when they slow down the fight scenes(ahem immortal samsara).

A lot of wuxia and xianxia dramas the fight choreography mostly made up of flashy skills and sword glares and CGI but otherwise don't look particular skilled but chengyi did such a wonderful job with the overall choreo. The lines of his body extended beautifully in wide motions to give the illusion of skill and grace when fighting. I can't stop watching and rewatching those scenes. Especially when he uses a stick of bamboo and still dominated his opponents it was soooo satisfying to watch.

I actually clicked on this cdrama by accident and got hooked by chengyi's acting and now i'm a huge fan of his. The fact that he does the fight scenes himself is also admirable.

The one gripe i have about this series is that iT'S NOT ENOUGH i need a sequel and a happy ending and I feel like we really missed watching Li Xiangyi / Li Lianhua at full power. We got hints of it and a very very satisfying last boss fight at the end (again beautiful choreography it was like watching art) but it's not enough. I need more of his prowess, i want to see him recovered and go on with his nonsense. Throughout the series he was never at 100%. He was either poisoned or had one last burst of power before it faded. I want to know what his 100% looked like. And let Lao Di get his life's wish!!!

I also love that the romance wasn't the main trope and it wasn't overdone. It ended cleanly (more or less). Tho tbh i didn't need the romance at all. The cases, the fighting, the deadpan jokes and the bromance was more than enough to satisfy me endlessly.

Overall, i'm recommending this series to everyone i know. It's been a week since I finished it but It's just so good i had to get it off my chest.

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Relationship goals and green flags all around

I LOVE POWER COUPLES WHO DON'T HAVE RELATIONSHIP DRAMA THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS MASTERPIECE!!!

Pros:
The plot itself was engaging and riveting to the point where I slept 4hrs over the weekend just to binge the whole series and I'm just so thankful they didn't add needless cliché dramatic misunderstandings between the main couple. It was so refreshing to see their mutual trust in each other grow throughout the show. I'm usually not a big romance fan and i hate immature characters. These two are mature, intellectual and so morally good you cannot CANNOT not love them. Even though it's a revenge plot, the revenge is 100% justified and carried out in a... morally upright... way LOL which is not something most can say about the topic on revenge but it was very sane and very satisfying to see the evildoers get rekt.

What I loved the most was the mutual respect the ML and FL showed each other. The information ML gathered he didn't withhold from the FL (unlike some dramas). He never thought for a second that she's incapable of handling that information and trusted her intellect to give her free reign on how to deal with the situation and rather than control her he followed along and weaved his plans around hers. THIS IS HOW RESPECT SHOULD LOOK LIKE! Unlike a lot of shows where the ML keeps things from the FL to "not make her worry" this relationship was a huge green flag from the beginning. Trust your partner! Women are not that weak-minded.

The actress is insane and i actually teared up during a few scenes where I felt her helplessness at her betrayal and the suffering she went through. Wish there could be more than 40 episodes just so I can get more romance scenes hahhahaha which in itself is ludicrous to me because I prefer plot over romance but this time i couldn't help but revisit all their cute moments together. The tension, the attraction, the mutual understanding and trust between them was the crux of the whole show and the main leads played it so well. This show was a tease; I was bingeing for MORE MAIN LEAD INTERACTIONS than i was for the plot hahahahahahaha

The relationships of the main leads with their close friends were also really cute :')
Especially Xiao Heng with the Emperor and his two bodyguards!

The music was also superior. The guqin!!!! during the exam!!!! I need them in full instrumental!!!!!

The scenes and setting were also very artistically framed and shot. The colours were so aesthetic and just pleasant to watch overall. I almost wish I could go on set to photograph the scenes because they were so well done and pretty.

The villains deserve a mention too because they're complex and have their own hardships that made them turn out the way they did. The main 'villain' husband dude was a very morally grey individual which I liked because of how you as a viewer will never know what he's really thinking and what he actually wants. I was kept glued to my seat without sleep because I don't know when he would help or harm the main female lead. He was a good person turned bad by decision and circumstance. I just wish his mother and sister would shut up though lol they were the most annoying characters for me i wish they got worse punishment than they did just for being so annoying. If i were him i would have killed those two instead of the wife.. those ungrateful parasites.

Cons:
I WISH THERE WERE MORE ROMANTIC SCENES I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M SAYING THIS.
Virtually all the main villains had tragic backstories that 'turned them evil' which i feel might have been overdone. Some people are just bad people.

The close ups of the actor's solo shots were a bit jarring at first because I'm not used to this kind of scene directing.

One thing that urked me a bit were the age gaps and the children they got to play the roles. A bit unrealistic to have a 10 year old child on the throne? They used literal kids i mean at least use a teen? In the novel the duke and the emperor was at least mid 20s. I wouldn't trust a 10yo with my house much less a country.

There were some visual effects that weren't needed and made the scene look a bit unrealistic for a supposedly realistic wuxia drama (ahem guqin special effects i'm looking at you) but i guess that scene couldn't have been 6mins of us looking at her playing the song and it was worth it because we got the song in full and the female lead's acting brought me to tears. You can see the agony in her eyes and it hurts you deep. Wait this was supposed to be cons–

tbh there aren't many things i will consider cons. overall it was a really good drama. Sure some characters didn't need to die and I wish a lot of the good supporting actors made it out alive at the other end. But it wasn't wholly unbelievable deaths.

Definitely at the top of my list of dramas i recommend. I'll be rewatching it again probably. The loss of sleep was well worth it.

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I am currently mo yu-ing at work writing this review.

My colleague told me this would be a hilarious watch. After the demon arc I scolded her for introducing me to this kind of heartache. You must understand, as someone who also aspires to be FL level of xianyu, I am very emotionally delicate. I also like to laze about and be happy and eat good food. The first part of this show promised that but later on I was seriously cheated. The life of a highflier is really difficult. You have a rich husband but the rich husband's problems also become your problems and because you're nothing but a salted fish, you have no choice but to be dragged around by the whims of others. I thought I could live vicariously through this FL but I was mistaken. A rich husband seems to give more problems than working a slack 9-5 job.

The romance was steamy and the amount of times I saw them kissing is even more than the times I see my parents kissing. I'm not complaining. I was eating popcorn while they were going at it and was very satisfied by this bit of entertainment. Their romance was built well and I relate to her initial unbothered attitude. Progression was not too fast or too slow and I liked how they had no misunderstandings between them. The truth spell is really very useful. Both characters were believable and sincere with each other even when she lost her memory.

For something that started so unseriously, it suddenly got too serious in the 2nd half. I stopped laughing after around episode 20. And i was crying buckets of tears during THAT episode. I hate crying it's so tiring and uncomfortable. I didn't sign up for this. It's like when you see advertising for free ice cream but when after you get the ice cream they tell you to exercise on the spot if not you have to pay the full price. You already ate the ice cream so you have to commit for the sake of your wallet. But once it's over, they give you free ice cream again and at this point you're too afraid to accept it. Once bitten twice shy. Our FL was bitten a lot of times but never shy. I cannot relate.

The addition of the irritating 2ML ruined my good feelings. In a way, as a xianyu myself, I would have liked the show to follow the same light-hearted manner of the first arc. I understand it would not be as much of an emotional rollercoaster, but it felt like their dynamic changed in the demon realm. In the novel, there was no 2ML to plot against them and no evil demon lord. They tried to make the show more exciting with twists and turns compared to the novel but to be honest, I don't think it was necessary, maybe too many twists were added. I read the novel after watching the full 33 episodes. Nianjiu was fine as a character but after reading the novel, I think I liked the pet snake who became their 'son' more.

Overall, will rewatch for the sweet romance and the first 19 episodes but not for the plot.

TLDR: I expected a light-hearted show but what I got was pain and some dog food to ease it.

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Only the smartest men marries a smart wife

I wanna preface this by saying I will compare this to The Double due to the common themes present in both. If I had not watched The Double first, I would have probably enjoyed this show a lot more. But it's a very high bar to meet in terms of plot, characters, costumes, music and cinematography. Blossom was lacking in aesthetics but I like a strong FL/ML pair so I still enjoyed this show with no skips. (Except for you Song Han)

Pros:
- I like Meng Ziyi since her role as Wen Qing in The Untamed, so I was excited to see her again as FL
- I was skeptical of Li Yun Rui as I've not seen him before (and he reminded me of another actor that I didn't like) so I put off watching this for a while but I was pleasantly surprised by his performance as Song Mo.
- There is juicy tension in the first episodes and those scenes got my heart beating faster!
- They trusted each other no matter what (This was also what I liked about The Double) they had each other's backs!
- Kiss scenes (THANK YOU FOR HAVING KISS SCENES *side eyes The Double*)
- The fighting choreo was well done. Li Yun Rui did a fantastic job and he was amazingly charismatic when he fights and even when he's being silly. He's the coolest!
- And of course, the smart guy marries the smartest woman in the state! He isn't bound to tradition and he trusts her wholeheartedly! They were made for each other
- One of the more affectionate couples with good dose of skinship (again *side eyes The Double*) He was always there to catch her and carry her but he also lets her stand on her own feet and offer silent protection, understanding and a shoulder to cry on. This is what I love to see in a couple. The writing on the part of romance was done well and carried the show.

Cons:
- Plot-wise, it was ok. You could guess the key players from the beginning, there's some foreshadowing but you roughly know how it'll play out. The first half of the plot was better than the second.
- Cinematography wasn't great. Certain directions made some scenes lose the tension they should have had. I did not shed a single tear in the 34 episodes. Not because of the acting, but the filming did not allow these scenes to digest and properly feel their emotions
- I was confused by all the supporting characters at first I had to go online to look up the relationships. I'm chinese and surrounded by chinese people all my life and I couldn't tell who was Duke Ying and who was Dou Shi Shu sometimes...
- The filming and scene directions did not add any value to the show. Might have taken some away
- Villains were 1 dimensional, turned bad at the drop of a hat, no backstory just greed
- All the parents were horrible. All the families were horrible. Not a single acceptable parental figure!!! (except popo jiang)
- All the other men cannot keep it in their pants. All the good officials had heart but no brains. How do you not know what your wife and brother were up to all this time Dou Shi Ying???? How blind are you not to see she is a complete snake??????
- Ji yong deserved better. I know he worked behind the scenes as the unsung hero. But I feel he could have been a more pivotal role. The writing of his character could have been much more interesting but we did not get to see it.


TLDR: All dumb except main couple. Cinematography wasn't the best. There was romantic tension but no plot/character tension. Villains didn't have much of an origin story. But it was funny and entertaining to just watch it as it is. It was good 8/10 would rewatch just for the main couple being badass together. Just not the 10/10 it could have been.

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Why can't I have their relationship?

Came to watch this after Love Game in Eastern Fantasy and I really enjoyed it even though I rarely watch modern dramas.

The beginning was slow moving for the couple but it was quite funny and light-hearted. The FL wasn't a damsel in distress. She was a queen who wasn't afraid to defend her authors and demand others respect them and their work. She was dedicated and good at her job. She deserved every good thing that happened to her. She valued and respected others and they valued and respected her in return. As someone in the creative industry, I appreciate this a lot and hope others can also learn to respect creatives and their work. We work for our passion but we deserve fair pay too.

Sure Zhou Chuan was childish at the start. As someone who only lived for himself and his work to suddenly have to do feelings. I don't think it's too far-fetched. He is endearingly childish to me and as the story progresses, he finally shows his generosity and care, not just towards his girlfriend but also to people he genuinely cares about. He's resourceful, he knows his worth and he makes full use of it (to help his girlfriend fight against unfairness in her workplace). They are both professionals at work and respect each other.

Finally a series where the dude is not oblivious to other girls and their schemes. He is direct and rude but i love it HAHAHA! THIS SHOULD BE THE WAY GUYS PLEASE TAKE NOTES! He sees through all the girls trying to get in between him and FL and he just goes "yeah nope byebye" in the most direct manner.

I love it when smart people get together and this is one such instance.

Special mention: the bromance!! The friendship between Zhou Chuan and Jiang Yu Cheng is one of the best I've seen in any drama. They bicker and fight but also have each other's back anytime. They are friendship goals!!!

Will 10/10 rewatch again.

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I liked Qian Qian until I didn't

I just watched Love Game in Eastern Fantasy and Love you Seven Times and decided to check this out. The start was amusing and light-hearted. The way she tried to save her own life was funny in a morbid way. I actually enjoyed the progression of their relationship....

Until the protagonist herself destroyed everything by her single-mindedness.

The initial plot was interesting. It was refreshing to see the whole gender equality disparity out in the open. I feel this show could have capitalised on that aspect instead.

Originally when I started the show and learned about this setting. I thought surely, this show could use it to show the disparity between sexes that still exist to this day. In the end, the happy ending would be them bringing both sides of the coin together and achieve true equality. I would have liked to see them happy. A ancient chinese romeo and juliet story.

I guess that's why I was disappointed.

The script being 'written' by the FL herself, she should know most clichés usually.... don't work...
The hurt him to save him scenario backfires 99% of the time. She should have researched these plot lines extensively in her job but it seems like she doesn't know how to write a proper script. She tries every single cliché in the book and failed spectacularly at all of them. Her one track mind ruined it all.

I feel like the show had so much potential to be great but failed to have anything of substance by the 2nd half when things got serious. They were doing well when it was just light-hearted bickering and conflict in the beginning, i think they should have stuck to that.

She wants to get back to her own world and thinks this world is all a dream. That's fine and understandable. But in the process she hurts a lot of people and doesn't care about other people's feelings and she doesn't learn from her mistakes at all. She's wishy washy and doesn't stick to her own beliefs. She turned out to be a hypocrite. She thinks everyone is a scripted NPC but still saved 100 'meaningless' lives. So how does she decide who to save and who to hurt according to her own conscience? She has her kind moments, but she's also quite careless and cruel.

The redirection of the original plot was funny at first. There were a lot of cute moments but halfway through I got so sick of the misunderstandings she caused due to her laser focus on herself and her plight. She pushed Chuchu and Han Suo together with zero regard for their feelings despite saying 'you should ask me if I want it or not'. Exactly, Qian Qian demands respect but doesn't give the same consideration back. Even if you consider this a scripted play written by the FL herself, I'm not sure who will want to watch this... Maybe she should change jobs.

I really like the artists who played ML and FL. Both are really cute and good at acting. I just have a problem with relationship angst and plot caused by bad communication and lack of care or respect for the other person. Which ironically, the plot is trying to address with showing that both patriarchy and matriarchy are flawed systems. I feel even as a light-hearted, shallow show, the writing could have been more mature and still have its funny elements. It didn't need to be deep but this is gradually veering into 'stupid' territory. It's the 20th century (or it was for her) Is anyone so dense to not recognise your own feelings for someone else? I'm sure as a working woman and scriptwriter she should be in tune with these feelings the most or else how could she still be employed?

TLDR: This is just not my kind of drama. The FL is just making things worse for herself and for everyone else and I probably won't stick around to see it happen.

I really like the actors but i think i will be dropping this series.

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Good cast, Good overall plot but unrealistic writing and plot holes

It started off good. You didn't know who was the bad guy or good guy and it was fun figuring the whole web of characters out. But as the story progressed i couldn't help but feel that some parts of the writing and dialogue just didn't make sense. I watched for Wang Yibo but stayed for Chen Xiao. He did such a good job with his character it was compelling.

[SPOILERS ALERT]

I need to rant about this series.

When Chen Yu and WZF started working together, they brought back important documents obtained with a warrant back to their own apartment. Why? I understand that they thought the police station and some people could not be trusted with the USB data WZF gave and that they would have to hand it over for review. But bringing it back to their apartment??? Which is a cafe??? Which is in no way a secured area???? Careless! They're just asking for it to be taken from them. No way the dealers would let evidence slip by like that???

Also, the way Chen Yu said they have to make WZF trust them to obtain info from him only to badger him to reveal whatever he knows at every second of the day thereafter. Like just hear a man out and stop asking him to reveal everything every time the dude opens his mouth?? Maybe this was how Chen Yu was supposed to be written cos he has zero EQ for a cop.

But the scene that takes the cake for me (in a bad way) was when Chen Yu went to infiltrate Wan Logistics to obtain the past records and not only did he kick over an empty water container, he forgot to silence his phone. That's like infiltration 101. What sort of policeman (who supposedly graduated with top honours) would fail to silence his phone while sneaking into somewhere?! And while that was happening, his girlfriend (who shouldn't even know anything about the case because what happened to confidentiality) was in a club following a potential drug suspect, alone, with no back-up. ??? She is a civilian! What did she think would happen? And then when they got rescued, I was waiting for the line that said 'it's not Chen Yu's fault, i went there without him knowing" but instead she kept quiet. This is the sort of writing i find wholly unrealistic because surely being with someone working in this sort of job should come with some awareness of danger. Why would you go alone to a place you're 70% sure contains druggies that you're trying to catch???? You're just asking to get caught???

Also the case of Jiang Lei being repeatedly mentioned by multiple caught drug dealers but not on a suspects list at all. Ever since that info came out it has been buried under the rug. Aren't they at least suspicious that these dealers know your nephew's name? Doesn't that mean he has had dealings with them on more than one occasion? It's no wonder this team can't solve anything for 3 years.

Maybe I'm overly critical of these series. The actors and actresses played their parts well according to the script. But I personally think the script was not very well written in terms of character actions and reactions as well as character interactions. I would still continue to watch it for the plot and I'm still eager to see the conclusion. I just feel it's a pity that a show with what would have been a good storyline be made subpar by holes in the writing.

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This is how live actions should be shot!

Huge kudos to the director and the people behind the scenes because this production was amazing in terms of shooting angles and fight direction and CGI. It really brought forward the essence of fighting scenes that would have only existed in anime. All the characters had their moments to shine with their abilities and some were especially satisfying to watch (*ahem* Wang Ye)

It's a rare moment for me to be so captured by a side character but Wang Ye is the type of character i love the most – unserious, lazy, sleepy but dependable when it counts. The main characters while unconventional are also amazingly casted and super interesting. Zhang Chulan is not your average main character. he's a charlatan – shameless, weak, incorrigible, money-minded.. until he isn't. You can see his true personality shine in rare moments when he gets serious and that makes him all the more intriguing as a character.

Feng Baobao is Feng Baobao, enough said. Wang Yinglu did a super amazing job with her.

Overall this show surprised my greatly. I love fighting shows but I usually turn my attention to wuxia dramas. This is one of the rare modern day dramas I watched and i loved it. The fight scenes were amazing, the music was great at setting the scene, the characters all had their own roles and were played well. There is nothing from this show I didn't like other than I wished I could have more episodes of it. Wang Ye's taijiquan looked legit and it was like watching a superpower charged ip man. Awe-inspiring stunts kept me at the edge of my seat.

Definitely rewatching this!

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At the end we're all humans ruled by our emotions

I usually don't like watching modern dramas but after When Destiny Brings the Demon I got interested in Arthur Chen and decided to give it a shot. It has become one of my favourite dramas to date.


I admit, I have a type of ML that I like. I'm attracted to capable people who have confidence in themselves and their abilities. But even more so, Li Xun has touched me as someone who is not always perfect, not always considerate of the feelings of others but always strives to do his best, whether to help in his own way or to prevent others from feeling his own pain. He's a bit clumsy with it however, he doesn't realise that people will feel pain for him.

I think a lot of people say he's a red flag. But i think in this society, everyone strives to be seen as perfect. Not just in looks but also public image. But I would like to ask, how do you view yourselves?

Perhaps I relate to this ML because sometimes it's hard to play these people games. Sometimes I know I'm selfish, i can be immature, i can be stubborn and opinionated. We are humans and we have faults. But like what the FL said, it's easy to stand from afar and criticise without understanding it from the person's point of view. If I had undergone what Li Xun experienced in his youth, I'm not sure if I could stand as strong as he, and for that I really admire this character.

Some criticised him for shouting at others, for hurting the FL with his words, for only caring about the bigger picture and not the feelings of others. He's a realist. He is forced to be, because of his situation. Who has not felt overwhelming rage, enough to let you lose all rational thought? Or overwhelming sadness and guilt over decisions that you cannot ever take back that resulted in circumstances beyond your control? If you have never experienced such things, bless your lucky life, please cherish it.

Overall, the couple is cute. I like both of them. They support each other come what may and always try their best for each other. it's rare to ever find people like the both of them in today's society.

I think it always serves as a reminder to not judge a book by its cover. You don't know what the other person has gone through. I hope seeing FL's mother in the show, people would be able to reflect and understand that people have their reasons sometimes. It might not produce a result you agree with, but we are human, not AI. We come into the world with a blank page and fill it with our experiences gained. We don't always make the wisest decisions and we might get emotional but our intentions might not be bad. As someone who has always been misunderstood by friends and family because I'm not good with words... i understand this ML too well.

Anyway, i'm giving this a perfect score. I enjoyed the journey thoroughly and will be rewatching the cute parts definitely for serotonin (:

May Li Xuns and Zhu Yuns of today live great lives that contribute to changing the world for the better.

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