Katie Cruz

Heart tugging drama

While I was waiting for more Love in the Clouds episodes, I decided to start watching this. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from it. The song intro pulled me in, though. And I watched Zhou Ye in Legend of the Female General and loved her in that drama. I’ve never seen Back from the Brink spoilers on my feed so it was good that I had no idea what to expect. I saw how Hou Ming Hao acted in Love in the Clouds, so I was a little confused why his acting was a bit wooden here. But you know what? I think that was just from the start because his character needs to be cold after what happened to him. At the beginning, the taoist, Suying from Guanghan sect, was supposed to marry Tianyao, the millennium dragon king. Suying, the evil witch, stabbed him when they met saying their wedding day was his funeral. She dismembered his dragon body and sealed his soul. She wanted the heart protecting scale for the dragon armor she wanted to forge to give to the one she truly loves. It was so painful to watch and I actually cried when the little elves who look like little birds shaped like balls flew around him to patch his scales back. Then Suying killed them. I cried buckets. He made sure Suying wouldn’t be able to get what she wants, so he combined his core along with his heart protecting scale and threw it far away where she wasn’t able to find it. The heart protecting scale ended up with Yanhui, a baby that was abandoned in a basket. Yanhui was saved by the sect leader of Chen Xing mountain and she grew up there and learned a lot of things. I love Yanhui and how brave she was. She had an affinity for monsters. She wasn’t judgmental for who they are. Because of that, the other sect members ridiculed her. The two met and he found out that she has his heart protecting scale. They helped each other along the way and formed a bond. I actually ended up loving this drama. It really tugged on my heart strings especially when she confessed her feelings to him and he just rejected her. He was badly hurt by Suying, so it’ll take time for him to accept love from other people. He doesn’t want to fall in love anymore. Then Tianyao stabbed her twice and she ended up being traumatized whenever he approached her. He had to do that for two good reasons. I was just glad that they got over that and she began trusting him again. When he sacrificed his life by using the life swapping spell to save her, I was like OMG NO DO NOT DIE PLEASE!! You know how much he cares for her. After he dissipated, he turned back into an egg. She went back to Chen Xing mountain to gather all his consciousness. She cared for the dragon egg and it was so cute when the little horns came out. There was so many funny scenes throughout the drama, like when he was taking a bath, Yanhui opened the window and started watching him, then when he hatched from his egg, she looked under the sheets to make sure he wasn’t missing any limbs. She had a big smile on her face after looking, knowing he was naked under the sheets. She’s so silly, I love her. The second male lead was pretty good. Up until the end he really gave himself credit for being a matchmaker between Tianyao and Yanhui. It’s just sad that her Master died but I’m glad she learned the truth and he died protecting the people. He was the only father figure in her life. We didn’t even get to know her origins, like who were parents? Well, I’m actually upset at the ending. It wasn’t satisfying and I’m crying as I speak. They could’ve cut the memory flashbacks and showed more scenes with them at the end. This reminded me of some past dramas where they get reunited for like a minute after one died and got reincarnated. Geez. Anyway, I still enjoyed it regardless. The music was pretty good and it makes my heart bleed with sadness. The whole crew did a wonderful job despite the ending.

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Second Chance

As how most rebirth stories are, we see the bad things happen, the setting is bloody and all, and the FL gets killed, and wakes up again giving herself a second chance in life. I love how as soon as Jiang Si woke up, she saw Yu Qi and slapped him asking him why he killed her. The words just slipped out her mouth. I also love how when Long Dan asked him why she saved her, he said that way she could remember him. It’s like a hint in their past life that she needed to remember him again in this present life. The couple here have the same fate or being a “bringer of misfortune”. What a load of crap. A story is not complete with annoying characters like competing family members. So far I despise the FL’s family (except for the dad, the bro, and that one sister). The grandmother was so annoying. The grandmother’s always thinking about their family’s reputation. Fudge that. It’s a bit painful to watch the women getting abused and tortured at the Marquis’ mansion. The villains here sure knew how to get under my skin. The biatches Princess Royal and that Princess Mingyue. I don’t understand how the Emperor didn’t catch any news on what they have been doing outside. He’s stupid. He cares so much for those two. Watching this story and seeing Zhang Wan Yi again feels like watching Are You the One and The Rise of Ning. Pretending, secretive, knows how to fight, funny, caring, and sweet. They’re all similar. I love how the FL doesn’t take any sh-t from anyone especially when they wanted to slap her. I didn’t like that part with the imperial concubine Xian (Yu Qi’s mother) who let the maids slap her. What a biatch. I like how there’s no misunderstanding in this story. It has a happy ending as well. Plus I love Erniu, Yu Qi’s dog. So cute. What I don’t understand is when grand elder told her that Yu Qi was the one who made the sacrifice. Um, what sacrifice are we talking about exactly? He shot her with his arrow. Why did he aim at her?? I feel like that part was a little blurry. I didn’t see much of the FL actress acting skills here. I feel like her acting was a bit bland. Overall, I enjoyed this story.

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Make it Make Sense

I chose to watch this drama because I just finished watching Ao Rui Peng’s Moonlight Mystique and Wrong Carriage, Right Groom. It started out great. FL was cute and funny. The sickly ML Murong Chong’s mother was using Murong Zhuwan’s blood (his sister) to heal his poisoned body. Things got out of hand, an explosion happened and the real Murong Zhuwan died. I don’t like the mother, because after using the FL to stand as Zhuwan, she sends people to kill her a few times, and the ML, her son, wasn’t aware of this. So when she died inside that room along with the enemies, I had no ounce of sympathy for her. The ML was always angry and wanted to kill the FL every chance he got, then all of a sudden, after FL healed his chest wound, he was like “Why is she so nice to me? Has she fallen in love with me?” What the heck? Was that the first thing that came to your mind?? No wonder she didn’t choose you or Fu Hong. I didn’t like the plan they did. It cost some lives of important people like Xi, the maid who is with the FL all the time. The actor who played Fu Hong didn’t really impress me. There wasn’t much to see due to lack of expressions. FL wanted to know her origin, and when she does, she just looked up and smiled. Like, what the fudge was that?? She told the two ML’s that she wasn’t from that world. Wait, what?? Come again? I had a head ache from the ending. Forget it. 2 is bc I enjoyed the FL at the beginning. But that’s about it. Oh well.

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Matches Made in Heaven

I watched this for 4 days. I enjoyed the main couple Qi Tianlei and Li Yuhu here since I’m a huge fan of the actors. The title says it all, it’s a switcheroo trope where two brides get on the wrong wedding sedan but found the right grooms. The story is pretty simple and has a happy ending. This story also has multiple couples, so it’s just not focused on the main couple. The conversations between the main couple is really cute and funny. I love how the main female lead didn’t fall for Ke Shizao’s evil plans especially by breaking them up using a third party. Glad Qi Tianlei and Li Yuhu communicate well, they really are a match made in heaven. Anyway, what I don’t understand is… it’s their wedding day, so where are the parents?? How come the only one’s present are Tianlei’s Master and his side of the family? I didn’t expect much when I started this show, but it’s a pretty light romcom that’s easy to watch. It has only 24 episodes so you’ll probably finish it in a day or two.

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Too Depressing

I really wanted to love this show but the FL was just too bland. She’s cute, but her character was just… Idk. Draining? There were funny moments, but that’s about it. I watched it because I did enjoy Bai Jing Ting in Destined. It has lots of bullying scenes which can be triggering for most people. I enjoyed watching the ML do a lot of things for the FL. The FL remained close in her shell. She’s so naive. Like how can you not know that he has feelings for you?? Some scenes were just repetitive. It’s like going around in circles. No development at all. It was just so boring after a while. I started this in February on Netflix and it’s already April. I’m not sure if I’m going to continue or to just DNF it.

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An X on my List

I watched this because it’s Kim You Jung. I’ve always been a fan of hers. The first few episodes held my interest. Not gonna lie, the bullying parts where she was being hit nonstop was too much. And she just stands there doing nothing. I don’t like how she uses other people to do her dirty work. When Mr. Choi, the owner of the Xanadu coffee shop ended up in jail, and she said she only pitied herself, I was like nope. I’m done. I don’t like her character and it just pains me how she sacrifices these people to get to the top. I had to spoil myself because I just wanted to know what happens at the end. Well, let’s just say that I was glad that I dropped it then. I wanted some character development and hopefully she would redeem herself. Sadly, it didn’t go the way I hoped it would be. The only perfect score I could give is the acting. Top notch. The storyline? Meh.

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Adorable!

When this came out back in 2020, I admit the cover and preview did not reel me in. I’m usually not a fan of the trope of getting sucked in your story, or traveling to another dimension, etc. Because sometimes it doesn’t end well and I am left heartbroken. The intro where the FL came flying in the air and the ML saved her? I was like, nope. It seemed like a cheesy romance to me. Plus, I wasn’t a fan of the main leads back then, too. But then I read a lot of great comments about them and this drama was among the top favorites in the dramaland. so I was like, yeah maybe I should give it a try?

I started watching Ding Yuxi’s more recent dramas months ago, and I found myself to be a huge fan now, so I started watching his old dramas. After Romance of a twin flower, I had to give The Romance of Tiger and Rose a chance, and OMG. Why did I wait 5 years to watch this?? *cries* This was such a funny drama! I adored every bit of it. It made me laugh, angry, and ugly cry at the same time. I was so heartbroken for the FL when she woke up from the dream. You’re going to keep guessing if it really happened or not? Anyway, I did not expect to love this drama so much. Never a dull moment. 24 episodes was good because there were no annoying fillers, and it’s not draggy at all.

The story starts out with the FL Chen Qianqian, the third princess of Huayuan city stealing the second princess Chen Chuchu’s groom. This was a script written by a scriptwriter from the modern world, XiaoQian. The actor Mr. Han criticizes and rejects her script saying she should learn what love is before making a story. She works on it and gets sucked in the story. I was wondering how Ding Yuxi would act here. He seems a little different from his recent works. Maybe it’s because of his makeup and wig. But after a few scenes, I was like yep, that’s the Ding Yuxi charm right there. He is a great versatile actor, hands down. Anyway, this show has a lot of lovable side characters like her assistant. He’s always smiling and laughing like he’s up to no good. Xiaoqian’s scenes with him are always so good.

One of my favorite scenes was when she was eating a pastry and she was teasing him and he went on and took a bite from it while it was in her mouth. Oh goodness! There were lots of cute scenes of them together. Han Shuo fell for her right away and she didn’t even notice it. At first, he just wanted to use the second princess Chuchu to steal the mine and maybe take over the whole city, but he ended up with Qianqian. I’m glad he didn’t cause trouble when the explosives were placed by his people. He replaced them with fireworks instead. That made Qianqian’s mother appreciate him. He asked her eunuch where was the location of Xuanhu city. She gave a bow, thanking the city owner for sending a great commander. I did not like the mother at first. But when she was always worried about Qianqian, even tolerating what she does, especially if it’s about Han Shuo, I started warming up to her.

The storytellers are very funny, too. I love how she discusses her “story” to them using fruit names for the characters. One even stated that the fruit circle is messy. It was nice that the people who hated her became her allies. Second princess Chuchu really got under my skin, not gonna lie. She was despicable. No remorse. I don’t know if I pity her but her jealousy was completely out of line.
Han Shuo was right when he told her to end the story and when she comes back to her world, it would seem like he never left. So in the end, when Mr. Han got into an accident, he was sucked in the story the same time Xiaoqian did, except he doesn’t remember who he was in the real world. So when he ended up in the hospital, bits and pieces of what happened in the story comes to his memory. I think that’s why when he saw Xiaoqian come to his room, he was a little defensive. He doesn’t want to believe in his dream. Calling her Ms. Orange was the only thing that can verify that Mr. Han was indeed Han Shuo. It’s so funny when she mentioned that she stole the dragon bone for him and cured his heart disease, and he told her that if she stole something, she needs to turn herself in. He even shot her his banana. I admit, I really wanted more cute scenes of them together after that hospital scene. But hey, at least she could still be with her love, Han Shuo. That’s all it matters. It was a great drama. I loved it so much. The ML and the FL have great chemistry. The whole crew did a wonderful job with this and I highly recommend this. I am officially a Zhao Lusi fan. I love her.

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What a Sh-t Show

Oh, man. What can I say about this drama? Well, first off, it’s definitely not one of my favorites. Don’t get me wrong, I love the actress who played the FL, but the writers didn’t do much of a great job with this one. It’s like they threw in all the ingredients of what they think what makes a great drama. The synopsis doesn’t even match the whole thing. Where is the legal battle? All I saw was her seducing the ML. Why does she need to use sex to get back? Why him? She needs to target the old man Han-Pa ro and the other people who were involved in the death of her father. You could get revenge in other ways, you know. Not just sex. I don’t understand, tbh. Then she falls in love with him. A married man. Great. Idk about you, but after watching that scene when he pushed her down on the floor and told her to wait like a dog waiting for its master. Like dude, what dafuq are you doing?? No. Just no. I will never fall for a guy like him, no matter how much of a sappy background he had. Every time they had a love scene, I just skipped it. I just couldn’t see the chemistry between them. Now, let’s move on to the second male lead who has a great heart and had cared for her for years. I really wished he was the male lead here, like come on. I felt so bad for his character. Poor thing. Then of course, the ML decided to drive the car at the edge of the road but he got killed instead and his bratty wife survived. As much as I love the actress, I couldn’t sympathize with her character. What a dumpster fire. I’m sorry. I’m hoping she would get another great story like “It’s Okay Not to Be Okay”.

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All Hail to the Great Chief Shen Du

I started watching this drama back in Sept 2024, but only watched like 30 minutes of it before moving on to another drama. I went back in May 2025, stopped watching it again and then a little bit in June, and I honestly felt bad because I had been sidetracked with so many dramas that I was waiting for. November 2025 came and I was like, you know what? I need to finish it now because I’ve been seeing a lot of good comments about this drama and I should definitely continue. I have watched Ding Yuxi in Love Game in Eastern Fantasy and Love You Seven Times and enjoyed watching his dramas. After finishing a few episodes, I really wanted to slap myself because why on earth did I waited so long to watch this beautiful drama?? The main character, Shen Du, is the great chief Shen Du aka The White Ghost of Dacang, the head of the imperial guards, and everyone is afraid of him. He looked really powerful here. Arrogant and domineering, but we always know why a character is like that. It’s definitely a facade. A barrier. I noticed how muscular he looked here compared to his older dramas. We also meet the female lead, Yan Xing (or Liuniang for some) is a brave little clerk of the Ministry of Justice. The FL is a brave little cookie, but every time she goes out on her own, she always gets herself in trouble. Her sister who was supposed to marry Shen Du, eloped with another man. To save the Yan family, she took her sister’s place. She knew Shen Du at the beginning of the story, but he acted like he didn’t know her. I love the ML because even though he found out that Yan Xing lied and hid some secrets from him, especially becoming a spy to track his whereabouts and activities, he understood why she did that. I love how jealous he gets when she mentions Pan Chi or whenever she goes out with him to investigate. Like that one time, Shen Du kicked Pan Chi and he fell inside the well. Hilarious. I love her family, they were all supportive. There were some deaths in the story and it was really heartbreaking. I loved everything about this drama. Can you imagine your whole family being annihilated but you had to choose another way to survive by denouncing your father. It must be so hard for Shen Du. Even with a tough exterior, he has a very good heart. I’m glad the empress trusted Shen Du. He did the right thing. I was so glad Princess of Valor and Prince Xian didn’t do anything to hurt Shen Du and Yan Xing. At first I was like, what are their agendas? Can they be trusted? The actor who played the villain, Lai, the black fiend, did an amazing job. He was ruthless and delusional. Ding Yuxi was awesome here with his sword fights. Awesome actor. Anyway, the ending was cute. We didn’t see any babies, but it’s okay. I highly recommend this drama. One of the best, in my opinion.

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A Wonderful Short Drama

I was just browsing around when the cover caught my eye. I realized it was Cheng Lei, so I started watching it. I noticed how short the episodes were. I’m not a fan of dramas with short episodes but if I like the storyline and the actors, then I’ll probably give it a chance. So glad I found this drama. It’s short but I love the story so much. It tells the story of Shi Qi who was caught by Shen Qi, the prime minister’s daughter, and face swapped with her in order to be with her lover, Prince Ning. The real Shen Qi was about to marry the general Xiao Hansheng. After they face swapped, Xiao married her. But after a few episodes, she accidentally spills words that Shi Qi would tell the general when she saved him 3 years ago. I love General Xiao. He’s very funny and sweet. He started to doubt her identity. She couldn’t say much about it to him, so he started investigating. His Military advisor asked him what he was going to do if he finds out that she’s a fake. He said it didn’t matter because she’s his real wife, so it’s fine. Aaawww. Lots of passionate kissing here. Hoo boy. It beats a lot of dramas out there, in my opinion. Chinese dramas have come a long way. The general is so funny. He loves looking at all her paintings. That ending, though. How tragic. Imagine being stuck with a face that’s not even yours and your sister who has done the sorcery took her own life. That other girl who was kept captive that she thought who was her sister was actually the real Shen Qin. That twist was crazy. Very heartbreaking. This drama was definitely one of my favorite short dramas. Great job with the writers and director with this one. I know short dramas can be very challenging to cramp everything with such limited time, but they delivered it well.

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Destined to Be Forever in My Heart

HANDS DOWN ONE OF THE BEST CHINESE DRAMAS EVER!! No dull moments from beginning to the end. This will make you laugh, cry, and bite your nails. You’ll be at the edge of your seat because you don’t know what’s coming. Who will you trust? The friendship here is so good. I love how the FL and ML work together. Bai Jing Ting was so good here. What a great performance! Hoping he’d get more roles like this in the future. I became a fan of him after watching this. The FL was so brave, too. I love it. She wasn’t the typical whiny female character. The ML wasn’t a toxic one, thank goodness. I’m glad Chinese dramas are way better now compared to the crappy ones I’ve watched that bullies the FL. I hate those kind of tropes. This couple was sweet, I loved them so much. I recommend this drama. You will love it just like I did.

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Not for Me

I was excited to watch this on Netflix because I am a huge fan of the main leads. But I wasn’t really sure what to expect since we have a mother with five daughters. That would be really interesting. I know they would all have their matches and their own stories. Don’t get me wrong, I really love the characters but I’m not going to lie, but some of them are annoying. I love the main ML actor, but the way he treated the FL by being so competitive with her family and the way he kicked that ball and hit her on the head? Forget it. I wouldn’t fall for a guy like that. I stopped at episode 13 back in January 2025 and I thought I was going to continue but it’s already November 2025. There’s no hope in going back to continue. It’s just not for me.

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A Recipe for Delight

While I was in the middle of watching Shadow Love, my husband kept telling me to watch this drama and I never once looked at the cover. I kept skipping it because I wasn’t much into the female disguised as a man trope. Like, she’s so pretty, how can you not see that she’s a woman?? I can’t. But anyway, as I was near the last episodes of Shadow Love, I went ahead and looked at the synopsis of LOTFG. I was surprised that the main male lead was Cheng Lei from Shadow Love. So, I was like, okay, I’m in. I got really excited because Cheng Lei did an awesome job in My Journey to You and Shadow Love, and characters who are generals are up my alley. I know there would be so much action involved. When Xiao Jue and He Yan went to visit He RuFei, he blamed He Yan bc she was the one that stole his identity and earned glory and now he has ended up in prison. Boy, no. YOU are the reason you’re in this predicament now. You deserved what happened to you. Xiao Jue reminded He Rufei that He Yan earned her glory by enlisting twice and it was due to relentless training. He didn’t do sh-t. Anyway, the actor Bai Shu delivered a great performance as the real He Rufei. I’ve only seen him play as a good, funny supporting character in past dramas. But here? He was despicable. The way he schemed around with the prime minister. When Chu Zhao paid a visit to his master in prison, Xu Jingfu guilt tripped him saying he wholeheartedly guided him and then he gets betrayed in the end. The most heartbreaking thing is when Chu Zhao planted seeds of doubt in the emperor’s mind. Poor Xiao Jue had no choice but to deliver the marriage decree to He Yan. He couldn’t abandon the Xiao Army which was his father’s life’s work. I love how He Yan told the emperor that if she can’t marry the man she loves, then she’d rather be alone. Xiao Jue said the same thing. I’m glad the emperor let her have her choice just like what Xiao Jue asked him to do. Stupid emperor asked himself if he was mistaken. Yes, fool, you’re a stupid incompetent ruler. I swear, I had so much respect for Chu Zhao, right until he meddled with He Yan and Xiao Jue’s marriage. All respect flew right out the window. Chu Zhao is a ticking time bomb. He Yan was right. He was definitely becoming another Xu Jingfu, and he doesn’t realize that. Epic fight side to side against the Wutuo army! Chu Zhao got dismissed from his position and got exiled to the borderlands and is unable to return. Sucks for him. Oh well. I’m so happy our couple got an imperial edict that they can finally marry! Yay a Happy ending. *sniff* I really thought that the emperor was going to be the one of the villains, thankfully he realized the two love birds are inseparable. I highly recommend this drama. Never got bored with it. ML and FL were just so cute together. No toxic ML or FL leads. Great cinematography. Wonderful heart tugging music. Suspenseful and exciting fight scenes. Those were my favorites. Especially when they fought side to side. They were amazing! Not only that, the kisses were oh so *chef’s kiss* ooh-lala. Perfect. No dead fish kisses here.

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Fantasy Game or Book?

I’ve actually been putting this drama off since it came out on Netflix. The trailer wasn’t pulling me in. Every time the trailer comes by, I kept saying NOPE, not right now. Plus, Esther Yu’s baby voice just irritates me. No hate to her. She is really cute with her acting. I did watch her in Love Between Fairy and Devil and enjoyed it. I never read anything about this drama, so one day in the beginning of May 2025, I decided to dive into it without high expectations as always. I’m glad I gave it a chance. I surprisingly enjoyed it. We follow the story of the FL, Ling Miaomiao, who lives in the modern world and one day gets sucked in the book she was reading. A female voice starts talking to her and gives her missions of what to do. I was kind of confused, because the title says it’s a game, but it’s actually someone’s novel? I didn’t know who the ML was going to be. First time watching a full drama with Ding Yuxi in it. He did a great job here. Now I’m officially a fan and can watch all his other dramas now. I love the storyline, the twists and turns, the characters, and how they were all intertwined. The CG effects were great, too. Love the little dust demons that looked like tiny white mushrooms. I loved everything about this drama. It made me laugh and cry so much. There’s a lot to learn in this story, like not giving up on hope, friendships, love, family, and coexisting peacefully with everyone. Music was so good, too. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. It was a little meh, to be honest. They could’ve made it better. Why do writers do this? The dramas starts out so good and when it comes to the end, and it’s as if they lost their momentum on delivering a good ending. My heart hurts at the end. I just wanted a better one. *sigh*

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Infinite Love

I started watching this after I watched Love Game in Eastern Fantasy where Ying Duxi was the ML and Yang Chao Yue from The Double. As always, I didn’t have huge expectations when it comes to watching a new drama, that way it won’t hurt me as much in the end. It started out really cute when their first life together was him being a boar and her being a white tiger. It was a pretty short life so they ended up back in the heavenly realm. I read somewhere online that this was a flop. I disagree, but then again we all have our own opinions and sometimes a bad drama for one person might not be enjoyable to another. We all have different taste buds. Anyway, I enjoyed the leads here. They were really cute together. Except every kissing scene wasn’t a little meh. Not a fan of dead fish kisses, but oh well. The settings, the costumes, the special effects, and OMG the music… I LOVE IT! There are far worse dramas I’ve seen, but this one was okay to me. I just didn’t like how the ending seemed a little rushed. I hate it when there’s only little screen time together after they’ve separated. So disappointing. They need to stop doing this. They left out some things, but I won’t go into detail anymore. The ML was great here, not a doubt. The FL lacked in emotion in some parts. Glad her voice wasn’t like those FL’s in some dramas where their baby voices are just over the top cringe. Overall, it was a decent drama.

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