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Overall, I consider the series itself to be very good. Although I think the biggest credit goes to the legal storyline, which in my opinion was the most interesting part. It was mainly because of it that I kept watching the next episodes with curiosity, wanting to know how it would develop further. In my view, it strongly saved my overall perception of the series and made up for the underdeveloped remaining storylines. That said, even here I have a few reservations. For example, Qin Shi never found out that it was because of Lan Xiao Ting that she initially didn’t get promoted to the 11th floor, since Lan Xiao Ting didn’t vote for her — even though they were close at the time and she treated Qin Shi like her own daughter.

Now I’ll move on to the other storylines. The first main couple — Qin Shi & Yang Hua. For most of the series, I liked their dynamic. Two completely different people who started out pretending to be in a relationship, but as feelings developed, they both began to change for the better — or at least that’s how it seemed. She started opening up and noticing life beyond work. He began thinking more seriously about his future. They both started to look genuinely happy. We had a very well-done slow burn here — which then got completely destroyed. Everything started falling apart with the divorce plotline. I did understand his decision, but I couldn’t understand the female lead’s actions: despite having feelings for him, she didn’t try to stop him (even though the show tried to explain it somehow). Later it turned into an even bigger circus of two supposedly “adult” people. He suddenly started pretending he wanted to get back together and leave the country with his ex-girlfriend, didn’t tell the female lead that he was doing it for her, and the cherry on top was that they had no contact for seven months after passing each other at the airport — only for him to randomly start living across from her and for them to fall into each other’s arms.
Overall, all of this wouldn’t have been that bad if it had been spread across more episodes (and there were plenty), but instead we got an emotional rollercoaster crammed into the final episode, which simply didn’t work. Still, aside from those last episodes (especially the finale), their relationship was very pleasant to watch.

Yang Hua also got the short end of the stick. We were given one throwaway line about his new job instead of actually developing that storyline. His legal case from his first job — where he was falsely accused — was never resolved either. That whole plot was completely forgotten, along with the fact that Jason Wang was involved. They supposedly suspected him, but later he was convicted for other things and the topic was entirely dropped.

What’s even more absurd? Despite all this circus, they were still the healthiest couple in the show — because the others were such massive red flags that their endings can honestly be called tragic.

Let’s start with Wu Fei & Tao Jun Hui. Tao Jun Hui is engaged to her from the very beginning, yet keeps chasing Qin Shi, whom he’s still in love with, lying to and straight-up manipulating his girlfriend. As for Wu Fei — she annoyed me the most out of the entire cast. Of course, I sympathize with her for having to be with such a loser, but she wasn’t any better herself. Her boyfriend lied to her and had feelings for his ex, and instead of breaking up with him, she supported him and sabotaged the other woman simply for being his ex. She behaved like a spoiled child — which, frankly, she was, thanks to her rich father. The cherry on top was presenting them as having a happy ending, despite the fact that there was no love between them — only dependence on her side and pathetic attempts to replace an ex on his side.
These two characters also have unresolved storylines. Wu Fei — what happened to her after she left her job? We know nothing, aside from a possible return of that “wonderful,” supposedly mutual love. Tao Jun Hui — what did he do with the evidence of s*xual abuse that he saw in Hai Tao’s possession? He said he would help him deal with it, and then not a single word about it again — just like there was no follow-up on Hai Tao’s fate, even though Tao Jun Hui warned him he could lose his license to practice law.

The last equally “healthy” couple were Ren Mei Mei & Qin Wen Yu. Sure, there were moments when I laughed at the absurdity and exaggeration of their relationship, but that doesn’t change the fact that they were in an extremely unhealthy one — which somehow got a happy ending in the form of a baby. Their entire relationship was built on violence, belittling, cheating, and constant fights, followed by showers of overly sweet, exaggerated affection. There was absolutely no ground for a healthy, happy relationship there without therapy, yet the show tried to convince us that they suddenly changed. And not even because of the child. She eventually left him, and we never even found out under what circumstances she returned or how they reconciled — it was simply skipped straight to a happy relationship and childbirth.

I have mixed feelings about the families of the first couple. Qin Shi’s family, considered by everyone to be the “worst,” was actually the best and the most enjoyable to watch. The oldest brother was definitely the highlight — he seemed the most reasonable and normal out of all of them. As for Yang Hua’s family, I have issues — especially with his mother, who was simply irritating. On one hand, she wants her son to get married and settle down; on the other, she constantly causes problems and interferes in the life of an almost 30-year-old man. There was also an absurdity here: his family thought they had been together only recently, while her family thought it had been two years — and how on earth did that never come up in any conversation between them?

Let’s end on a positive note. Li Dai was the queen of this series for me. I genuinely fell in love with her feisty personality, her confidence, and the fact that she kept the female lead’s secret, even when they weren’t friends yet. The duo of Qin Shi and Li Dai was my favorite in the entire show. Both had that “bitchy” vibe — in the best possible sense of the word — and together they were a powerhouse. To this day, I regret that we didn’t get more scenes of them working together, because I was really counting on that.

All in all, a surprisingly large number of things bothered me, which doesn’t quite match the high rating I gave this series — but that’s mainly because I had fun watching it and really enjoyed the legal storyline.