This review may contain spoilers
An amazing drama! I had a great time watching it — there wasn’t a single boring moment, and I watched every episode with genuine curiosity, waiting to see how the story would develop further.
I completely fell in love with the main couple dynamic — Hu Xiu & Xiao Zhi Yu. I loved them both as individual characters; they were written extremely well. He was cold, distant, highly intelligent, hardworking, but also teasing and cunning. What I especially liked was that he wasn’t the stereotypical cold CEO, which made the interactions within his company genuinely enjoyable to watch. He also had flaws, which she gradually helped him work through. She, on the other hand, was open, energetic, but also smart and hardworking. Equally teasing. And I loved them even more together. They had incredible on-screen chemistry (some of the kisses were absolutely incredible), and whenever they were together, they radiated happiness that practically poured out of the screen and affected me as well, because I spent most of the drama smiling. They also became better versions of themselves thanks to each other. They always stood by one another, even during relationship crises. On top of that, the drama included tropes I absolutely love — roommates and office romance.
I also really enjoyed the virtual game storyline and honestly think there could have been even more of it. I loved watching them compete against each other while she constantly tried to outsmart him. I especially enjoyed the way they sometimes resolved their smaller personal disagreements while staying in character inside the game. Although, at the same time, his decision to stop playing also makes perfect sense narratively, because in the end he no longer needs to hide his true self in the game anymore, and thanks to her, he’s finally at peace :D. I also liked the little final touch where she’s the one inviting him into the virtual world.
Another storyline I found really interesting was his investigation into what happened to his father. Even though it became relatively obvious quite quickly who was behind everything, it was still very engaging to watch, especially waiting for the moment and the way the truth would finally come out. In the end, though, I was slightly disappointed that there wasn’t a bigger confrontation. I was hoping for a scene where the police arrested him, followed by a court trial, but instead we never really found out what consequences he faced — although I assume he never left prison again. The situation with Huang Yi De was handled even worse, because in his case we learned absolutely nothing. On the positive side, I liked that he rebuilt his relationship with his mother in the end, although I do wish we had gotten at least one more scene with them in the United States.
Still staying on the topic of his family, I have very mixed feelings about his “brother” — Pei Zhen. On one hand, we know that old bastard completely destroyed their relationship, and Zhen himself wasn’t inherently evil and was going through hell too. The problem is that even though I sympathized with him, I still couldn’t stand him. There wasn’t a single trait about him that made him genuinely likable, and his attempts to get closer to the female lead — which often ended up hurting someone — only strengthened my dislike toward him.
As for her family, I also have mixed feelings about them, because on one hand it was obvious that they truly loved their daughter, and in the end things turned out well — the chess scene was funny. BUT personally, I really disliked the fact that they were pushing for their breakup (even if not directly), and also pushing her to quit her job. Earlier on, her father also didn’t accept the fact that she wanted to become an architect. Even assuming his father had made a mistake back then, he as a child was not responsible for it.
Lastly, I want to talk about the second couple(?). When it comes to the marriage-divorce storyline between Zhao Xiao Rou & Wang Guang Ming, I had mixed feelings for a moment because he really did reject that other girl. However, those mixed feelings disappeared very quickly once he himself failed to admit it and even planned a dinner for the three of them. On top of that, he lied to her about no longer being in contact with that girl. So personally, I very quickly started strongly rooting for her and Gong Huai Cong. They had a really great dynamic together, and in the end I’m disappointed that we never got to see their relationship become official — although it was heavily implied that they would eventually get together, so I’m only slightly disappointed, because I would’ve loved to see more of them already being together while filming/in a relationship.
I completely fell in love with the main couple dynamic — Hu Xiu & Xiao Zhi Yu. I loved them both as individual characters; they were written extremely well. He was cold, distant, highly intelligent, hardworking, but also teasing and cunning. What I especially liked was that he wasn’t the stereotypical cold CEO, which made the interactions within his company genuinely enjoyable to watch. He also had flaws, which she gradually helped him work through. She, on the other hand, was open, energetic, but also smart and hardworking. Equally teasing. And I loved them even more together. They had incredible on-screen chemistry (some of the kisses were absolutely incredible), and whenever they were together, they radiated happiness that practically poured out of the screen and affected me as well, because I spent most of the drama smiling. They also became better versions of themselves thanks to each other. They always stood by one another, even during relationship crises. On top of that, the drama included tropes I absolutely love — roommates and office romance.
I also really enjoyed the virtual game storyline and honestly think there could have been even more of it. I loved watching them compete against each other while she constantly tried to outsmart him. I especially enjoyed the way they sometimes resolved their smaller personal disagreements while staying in character inside the game. Although, at the same time, his decision to stop playing also makes perfect sense narratively, because in the end he no longer needs to hide his true self in the game anymore, and thanks to her, he’s finally at peace :D. I also liked the little final touch where she’s the one inviting him into the virtual world.
Another storyline I found really interesting was his investigation into what happened to his father. Even though it became relatively obvious quite quickly who was behind everything, it was still very engaging to watch, especially waiting for the moment and the way the truth would finally come out. In the end, though, I was slightly disappointed that there wasn’t a bigger confrontation. I was hoping for a scene where the police arrested him, followed by a court trial, but instead we never really found out what consequences he faced — although I assume he never left prison again. The situation with Huang Yi De was handled even worse, because in his case we learned absolutely nothing. On the positive side, I liked that he rebuilt his relationship with his mother in the end, although I do wish we had gotten at least one more scene with them in the United States.
Still staying on the topic of his family, I have very mixed feelings about his “brother” — Pei Zhen. On one hand, we know that old bastard completely destroyed their relationship, and Zhen himself wasn’t inherently evil and was going through hell too. The problem is that even though I sympathized with him, I still couldn’t stand him. There wasn’t a single trait about him that made him genuinely likable, and his attempts to get closer to the female lead — which often ended up hurting someone — only strengthened my dislike toward him.
As for her family, I also have mixed feelings about them, because on one hand it was obvious that they truly loved their daughter, and in the end things turned out well — the chess scene was funny. BUT personally, I really disliked the fact that they were pushing for their breakup (even if not directly), and also pushing her to quit her job. Earlier on, her father also didn’t accept the fact that she wanted to become an architect. Even assuming his father had made a mistake back then, he as a child was not responsible for it.
Lastly, I want to talk about the second couple(?). When it comes to the marriage-divorce storyline between Zhao Xiao Rou & Wang Guang Ming, I had mixed feelings for a moment because he really did reject that other girl. However, those mixed feelings disappeared very quickly once he himself failed to admit it and even planned a dinner for the three of them. On top of that, he lied to her about no longer being in contact with that girl. So personally, I very quickly started strongly rooting for her and Gong Huai Cong. They had a really great dynamic together, and in the end I’m disappointed that we never got to see their relationship become official — although it was heavily implied that they would eventually get together, so I’m only slightly disappointed, because I would’ve loved to see more of them already being together while filming/in a relationship.
Was this review helpful to you?
