Amastris Dratwka

Those not paying aren't getting the final episodes. Tencent is definitely racking in the cash for people who are impatient to see the end.

Reba & Yang Yang should get bonuses! =)

The entire scene is from @10:19 ~ 13:20 of Ep. 9.

Yu Tu's process of internalizing his emotions without words is from @11:35 ~ 12:35 of that scene.

I think I could re-watch the entire drama 1,000x and not get bored with it...

Also, for those who say that Yang Yang's acting isn't expressive, BS! Not this time. Sorry.. uhm... no...

When you understand the context of the entire drama, and aren't spending all your time pausing rewinding and starting again to catch any dialogue that comes up, and just WATCH you see so MANY little details. So, many sighs, looks, expressions, hand gestures... HELL even the billboard signs SPEAK to you.

This is a fully esthetic masterpiece of drama production! No detail is left out! It's a drama that's meant to be FELT more than just watched. That doesn't come out or come across unless you have two lead actors who say more by say nothing than they do with their dialogue.

Simply put, Yang Yang couldn't be a block of wood and carry this off. NO ACTOR COULD. The fact that it works PROVES he's anything BUT wooden and expressionless.... Just watch him after QJJ leaves him at the restaurant for 1 minute where his professor was eating. I'VE READ THE NOVEL.... Yang Yang expressed EVERYTHING Yu Tu's character is supposed to just like the novel... actually, truth be told, Yang Yang did it better!! Yang Yang and Reba have owned these characters. It's gonna take me a while to see them as something OTHER than Yu Tu and Qiao Jing Jing they did such a dang good job of it. =)

OMG! The Douban rating has risen to 7.0 with over 8K more reviewers in 24 hours! We're on the rise, folks!!!

Around Ep. 19-20 you understand. When her BFF from high school, Pei Pei tells her Yu Tu has gotten together with Xia Qing in his 2nd year of college, she had just gotten her first offer as an actress. She cried her eyes out over it and deleted all their old QQ chat history and all the photos she had taken of him. The fact that Yu Tu rejected her but accepted a scholar like Xia Qing as a girlfriend had her convinced that she'd never be with him, let alone see him again.

So, when Yu Tu gets into his relationship it's 3 years into the 10 years he hasn't seen Qiao Jing Jing. Qiao Jing Jing doesn't get involved with her ex-b/f until 4 years later, or 7 years after she thinks Yu Tu is in a relationship where he's likely gonna marry the girl. It's not like it was RIGHT after she learns he's with someone else and decides to give up on him.

Qiao Jing Jing is only in her relationship with him 6 months. Although she started the relationship sincerely, she realized, by his actions, that he didn't. So, Jing Jing creates a situation in which they have to breakup. Later, when her ex-b/f approaches her at a party, she tells him how she saw it after he accused her of dumping him over her feelings for Yu Tu she never got over. He suggested that because he felt she never looked at him as lovingly as she did at Yu Tu and they're both still single and not dating each other. Jing Jing confesses, AT THE TIME SHE DATED HIM, she was truly sincere because she had moved on and her reasons for breaking up with him had to do with the fact that they weren't meant for each other, and nothing more.

Does that satisfy your question? ;)

I can now say that this is the best, most absolutely 100% realistic display of a romantic couple simply living their life I have ever watched in an Asian drama. It's not even close with any other drama, including those I've loved and repeat watched over the years.

They are THE Best Asian Drama Couple ever. There's not even a close 2nd.

I'll just add that, knowing that those kisses and hugs, and interactions in the desert scenes were only their 3rd day of filming together just floors me. In fact, all their intimate scenes floor me because it's more than simply a kiss then a guy on top of a girl, and we move on. They even side hug and continue holding onto each other walking around the kitchen, or give pecks on the cheek or forehead goodbye for crying out loud. It's all these little details about how a couple NORMALLY acts when in a relationship and in love that every OTHER drama has missed and this drama gives it to the viewers in spades.

Thank God for the chemistry, willingness and dedication to making this happen by our leading co-stars. I saw the bts that Tencent put out, and seeing the discussions with the writer, director, and crew the leading actors had proves that they were given the right to have a lot of input into how the script was acted out. THAT'S THE KEY HERE. The actors were absolutely invested in doing a good job and giving this script justice and it shows and shines right through every single scene!

TYVM everyone for sharing this wonderful moment together with me. We now have a drama we can cherish, and go to for a re-watch when other scripts fail and let us down. We can feel good knowing that at least once, they got it right!

Episodes 25 & 26 hit so much harder with translated dialogue. I feel it in my ovaries. 🔥💖💞😍

YAMG is currently 2nd place on Douban just behind Crime Crackdown which is getting really good reviews. The current rating is 6.9, which isn't great, but with how harsh Cnetz can be, it's not bad either.

Let's put the Douban rating into perspective as well, because the 'devil' is in the details, and it might not be as bad as it sounds on the surface. We'll do this by comparing 4 of Gu Man's drama adaptations of her novels. Let's ALSO note that YAMG is the ONLY one where she is the SOLE screenwriter. The other 3 dramas, she was part of a scriptwriting team:

Douban ratings are like MDL, they're an average of ALL the people who rated and reviewed:

1) Boss & Me [2014] currently carries a 7.5 rating avg from ~89,693 Cnetz viewers
2) My Sunshine [2015] currently carries a 7.1 rating avg from ~ 125,858 Cnetz viewers
3) Love 020 [2016] currently carries a 7.0 rating avg from ~ 189,530 Cnetz viewers

4) YAMG [2021] currently carries a 6.9 rating avg BUT this is an avg of 270,633 Cnetz viewers
--the more people rating the harder it is to maintain a high avg unless it's being well received. This drama still has 6 episodes to go and it's being completely reviewed by 2x as many viewers than any of Gu Man's previous dramas. That speaks volumes.

We can probably also understand why this pair are making a push to do more and more promos and fanservice on their own because, I have a feeling this is going to bump up their acting cred in a huge way after this... and it's based on how their most recent stuff where they played the leading role has been received in comparison:

Yang Yang:
1) Martial Universe [2018] currently carries a 4.3 rating avg from ~48,070 Cnetz viewers
2) The King's Avatar [2019] currently carries a 7.3 rating avg from ~136,814 Cnetz viewers

Dilraba:
1) Love Designer [2020] currently carries a 5.0 rating avg from ~98,826 Cnetz viewers
2) The Long Ballad [2021] currently carries a 5.9 rating avg from ~230,955 Cnetz viewers.

So... not only have they gotten more review than any of their latest popular material, the rating is high as well. It could be said that even though King's Avatar has a good rating, it's likely due to people who are into the genre and plot went out of their way to watch it and not many people outside of those who would watch esports... as you hear many of those types complaining here about even having gaming in as part of a plot device to get the main leads to meet again is too much for them...

Being that we already know that ALL the final episodes for this drama will be sugary sweet with not really much melodrama or difficulties for our main couple, the rating is likely to go up as well as the viewer count.

I really am curious how it will stand the test of time, and the final thoughts of the Cnetz. Hopefully they'll give this pairing praise because they really did such a good job on the drama, and it's just pleasing the fanservice that they add at the final moments for the viewers to further enjoy while waiting for the next few episodes...They really did strive to keep our attention throughout the entire week, and I, for one, really appreciate that kind of effort. :)

What are you talking about being productive? He told her he'd drop her if something came up. Did you actually watch the drama. I'm okay if you don't like it BUT don't misrepresent the drama's content and writing.

While he was helping her, he told her straight up that, although he was on a MONTH vacation he could be called away and not be able to play at any moment. While he was teaching her he:

1) Was sending out resumes and having job interviews with Investment Bankers because, not just being PRODUCTIVE but getting paid was an important dilemma for him. Did you see where he went on an interview and out to lunch discussing matters?
2) He met up with college classmates in Finance.
3) He met up with his ex-g/f.
4) He met up with his aerospace unit co-workers.
5) He met up with his professor and his wife.
6) Two weeks into the month he got called to Xi'an to help fix a satellite. He and his Director not only shared a hotel room, but stayed there 5 days before it was repaired.
7) Because he was moved by the work they all did in those 5 days, he decided to go back to being an aerospace engineer, so he told the Project Director, Director Hu, that, yes he wasn't going to resign, BUT to let him have a WEEK, obviously since the 3rd week of his 4 week vacation was spent in Xi'an, to "TAKE CARE OF SOMETHING HE PROMISED A FRIEND".
8) Having gotten the authorization for the final week of his vacation, knowing that he would return to his CURRENT employment, he was left to DEVOTE ALL HIS TIME to help JingJing, knowing he wouldn't see her after because he'd be TOO BUSY with his JOB.

Oh yeah, btw... HE TELLS QJJ THAT HE CAN NO LONGER STAY TO 9PM BUT HAS TO LEAVE AT 6PM.... Why?!? ....Because at night he was going to the hospital to stay and help take care of the Director of his unit, his boss. >>>I mean, where were you when you watched this????

So.... yeah.. none of what you say is even REMOTELY valid.
You either didn't really watch....didn't pay attention... or watch it with half your brain turned off because you were too busy watching eye-candy to pay attention to the plot.

Btw, there's a discussion post I put up for people who think the amount of time spent on gaming was way too much. I actually calculate it down to the last second -- NOT JUST GAMEPLAY BUT EVEN IF 1 CAST MEMBER TALKS ABOUT THE GAME -- and included timestamps. This is the way to keep reviewers who say the game plays too much of a part in the 1st 13 episodes can be held accountable for saying that... since it's all there in black in white how much time truly is spent even MENTIONING the game... in case that bores you...

Hopefully anyone who is reading these reviews will pay attention to that so they can appropriately evaluate it for themselves on a FACTUAL basis not a subjective opinion on the matter.

I realize now that Yang Yang is giving me all the Zhang Han vibes I got from Feng Teng the first time I watched Boss & Me... and Reba is actually more adorable than Zhao Li Ying was in her Shan Shan role. The atmosphere of both dramas is so similar, if you know what I mean.

There's a reason why all Gu Man's novel adaptations appeal to me. It really makes you feel you're seeing the ideal man pursuing his ideal woman. It's the epitome of what you want in a romance drama.

100%! It's are to find a Western drama that doesn't include promiscuity, drugs, and criminal activity being excused on some level. There's no more innocence and normalcy in anything you watch. That's the reason why so many of us are here watching Asian stuff. It gives you the nice feeling of butterflies without having to go down the road too far.

As of 8/15/21 via VLinkage, a marketing consultant company based in Shanghai -
Based on their 7-day total points, beginning 8/8/21 ~ 8/14/21:

YAMG is the #1 Top Web Drama for the 3rd week running.

The Top Chinese Drama Actors of the week, based on drama performances, social media discussions, and Baidu searches with no difference between Web or TV drama actors:

1. Yang Yang [Also for the 3rd week running]
2. Dilraba Dilmurat

I don't follow either of them as a fan so, I'm just going off of what their current fans are saying that is attached to anything promoting YAMG, because this is a FAV drama for me now, so I'm just following YAMG.

It's so interesting because YangYang fans say the exact same thing about him as Reba's fans say about her. He's supposedly extremely private about his personal life, and distances himself from his previous co-stars and avoids 'shipper' things altogether... so, when he was interviewed and said to the fans that he thought it was okay for them to use "YangDi" for their CPF, they were floored, saying, "...he gave us permission..." A lot of the fans seemed stunned by his positive reinforcement that he doesn't usually participate in whatsoever. lol.

The news I read was that it was Reba herself that was against having a kiss scene with Wu Lei. She was hyper aware of their age gap and indicated that she really didn't want to do a kiss scene because the public impression could ruin his budding career. He agreed. She legit said she wanted him to have his first on-screen kiss be with an appropriate female his age.... I don't see how you ship them as a couple after these statements. lol.

Holy moly tomorrow is gonna find a LOT of dead people because there's even ANOTHER bed scene when she pranks him and he gets mad and "PUNISHES" her. LMFAO. Part of that scene is included in the last batch of episode trailers, so I know it's there...and NOW seeing this, I'm really am so freaking curious how FAR they're going to take it... It's like each time they get risker and risker... but I'm not complaining... this will make for one of the best, most complete romantic dramas I've watched in almost all my life, Western dramas included. The process of this has been nothing short of magnificent. I love this director and, again, I'll saying it in my dying breath, Gu Man is a treasure!!

Yeah, naw... I think you give the American fans WAY too much credit. Terminology aside, the first time I ever saw crazy-ass shippers were, I think, around the time of #Bennifer. Now there's #Bennifer 2.0. America has it's own crazy ships. My son read the Twilight series books when he was still in elementary school, then the movies came out and the fandom was crazy over the actor's private lives. I grew up in an era that this wasn't that much of a thing, more hyped by the film production companies than the fans. So, before I even learned about "shippers" and "fandoms" and the Asian use of the term OTP or CP etc. I was watching my boys, from the late 90s on, as cellphones and social media became more common, getting more and more invested in the PRIVATE lives of famous people and actively wishing for certain "relationships" to happen. So, let's not pretend that the USA has been immune from it, because they're just as gossipy as the rest of the world... it's just referred to in terminology a bit differently, is all. ;) lol

Actually, this is what I love so much about this drama. The focus is on the co-starring leads, all the others are appropriate supporting cast, nothing more, nothing less. Other drama scriptwriters should take notes from Gu Man's writing ability. The balance is unbelievably good, and any melo-drama is limited to the issues surrounding the couple with no added fillers.

Naw, that didn't happen. Viewers were saying all that stuff but it was just the bubble camera they were both playing with, so not what you're thinking at all.

I posted things that made my head tilt but I'm not trying to do any delulu fan shipper shit hyping and overdramatize shit they do. lol. I was just curious as to the reasons for both their studios to collab on promos not contracted by Tencent and of their on volition that were haphazardly put together. It was worth noting...not shipping. lol.

I saw the BTS of the photoshoot and the vibe was 100% different from the livestreaming. YangYang was extremely protective of Reba, and was telling the cameramen to ONLY focus on her, and to leave him out. He'd just stand aside...but the cameramen got some ultra sweet pics of him looking at her very soft despite it all. Tbh, the photoshoot looked like them out for a real date on valentine's.... I'm sorry to say this because, I'm of the same mindset as you, especially when it comes to BL couplings. The things they're forced to do on variety shows and fanmeets is just too much... Yes, they're obligated to provide a level of "fanservice" but stop forcing them into romantic couplings when they're just actors portraying a character, period.

Again, I wouldn't have even brought it up but the situation here is that YangYang & Reba's Studio team as well as them personally are fanning these flames themselves, not Tencent... =/ so, it's strange that YangYang is uncomfortable when his OWN team is the one setting this stuff up... The only OTHER reason I see for going over-the-top is to COVER for YangYang's "relationship issues" that came out last week that they denied. Personally, I don't think any of what was said was inappropriate on his part, BUT, with the current "CELEBRITY" climate in China, getting yourself on the Weibo Hot Search for things considered MORALLY problematic will have the govt QUICKLY shutting you down. Maybe his team asked Reba's team if they would help and she and YangYang have a good enough friendship created from the drama that she was willing to help him out... Past that, the reasoning for doing these ill-planned and uncomfortable PROMOS themselves is questionable.. Just saying...

BINGO! You win the internet today and here is your prize:

https://twitter.com/surants/status/1426865737772126209

His Team had him livestream yesterday, only a day after the "date" event.
During the livestream the conversation went like this:

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐅𝐅: Gosh! Everyone's so addicted to the kiss scenes in YAMG! They say they literally get everything they want [in a drama].
𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐠:[𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑓𝑓] You're up to something, huh?
𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐅𝐅: How do you feel every time you watch these scenes?
𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐠: You mean when I watch these?
𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐅𝐅: Those immensely sweet kiss scenes. "Teacher Yu is so good at this. How can he be so good at flirting?"
𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐠: ....
𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐅𝐅: May I ask if it's challenging for two people with high nose bridges to film such 'difficult' scenes together? hehehehe.
𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐠: [𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠]...
𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐅𝐅: 'I can't hear you', 'I can't hear you'...hehehe
𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐠: [𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑦 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 "𝑁𝑜"] I can't hear you, I cant hear anything!!

He just looks so bothered by this line of questioning 100%.

Also, people say that this is just stuff these two normally do to promote...but Cnetz have pointed out that this is not the case, especially for YangYang, who has never coordinated promos to this extent to any of his previous CP lovelines. =/