Bowlofpetunias

Glad am not alone and you are right based on the average score on mdl in general, this does deserve somewhere over 8.0 mark.

It’s been an awhile since your comment, but my guess is it is all the darn misunderstandings and lack of communication that drives forward/stalls the plot. Every damn time an important conversation is about to be had a phone rings, every. Single. Time. And then there is the main couple “breaking up” because when they eventually get to have a conversation they build on their misunderstanding instead of, I don’t know, speak in clear direct terms. but the show is so warm and comfortable, it doesn’t have any real conflict or overly annoying character so it gets somehow away with it, and you end of kinda of enjoying it. Mostly because it’s a little bit comfortable slice of life, but It would have been a lot better if the focus had been on them falling in love and living their life together, with the conflict being external like work challenges or his father and it being a pure slice of life drama with them just living life and supporting each other from every day challenges.

I really really wish I’d read your review before starting this. Although it’s for slightly different reasons, this series annoys to hell out of me, I have only managed to get to episode 8, so I don’t know how much things might change, from your review it doesn’t sound like it, so I don’t think I can hold on much longer. He might be an immature asshole but so far im on his side. I absolutely loath the female lead. Not so much because she is a doormat as you say, but because she build her entire life, her personality, her career, her interest around a crush she basically stalked and pressured into/trapped in a marriage he didn’t want, and worse still she refuses to admit all that when he turn her down, she still insist she is doing it for the job. Girl you just admitted to your parents you did everything to get close to him, just admit it to him too, that might actually help as he seems to be jealous of his friend. Instead of having an interesting female lead with a crush, she is an obsessed girl, who gets what she wants and stalking, forcing and obsessing, which is portrayed as romantic, there is nothing worse, than a serie portraying toxicity as romance. It might be a few years later, but I’m as annoyed as you, maybe more as I could have avoided it had I just read your damn review. Well I might be back when I need to hate watch and yell at a tv screen.

I absolutely get your point, and I think your are right money is not an issue between them. Part of me do think he did it both to tease her but also to avoid an awkward situation between them, as of that point in the story their relationship is still that of employer/employee so I think he anticipates she will bring up the issue of her hospital bill, and this gives her an out, as she herself uses it in that way. Hence no awkward back and forth about who should pay. As they both have some money this is more about the gesture of it than the amount as you point out.

On another note and this is a genuine question as I’m not entirely sure. But how rich is she? I know her parents are rich, but she won’t take money from her father and when she gave money to sml she emptied out her account and that was just shy of 50.000 yuan. I have no idea about the living expenses or average income in china but that doesn’t seem richy rich to me.

Ah my bad, I wasnt sure, no need for my long-winded explanation then 😅

Someone who is the absolute greatest person in the world!
Sarcasm aside, someone with a lot of resentment, self importance and manipulation tactics, who either does it to all of her friend and thinks nothing of others besides how she can use them or she doesn’t see the fl as a friend at all, making her fair game.

Ps I know your question was retorical. I’m just a bit bored hence this long-winded unnecessary answer. Hope you have a great what ever time if day it is!

Since a lot of people seem to hate or dislike the fl in the comments I guess will put up a defence. She is really not as bad or selfish as people make her out to be. She is, for the most part, reasonable in her reactions. She has her convictions and she clearly communicates them. I think she is right in the beginning they are not right for each other, they want different thing, they view love too differently and they are both unwilling to change their convincing or understand why the other part believes differently. It took a long time before I would even entertain that though that they should be together, they kept showing us how far part they were and I kept thinking “but she is right”, when he finally gives in and decides to play on her terms, she slowly start moving towards him. In my mind he is the illogically one, who does the insane things not her, he does not respekt her point of view and continue to force his way on her, he does not listen to what she is saying at all, thankfully he begins his journey and has a lot of character development (so does she) I will agree she should probably have had the marriage conversation earlier, but that was difficult for her, as it was tied into her biggest trauma and she was just not ready to talked about it, even with the man she loved. And she was young when he proposed. Some people talked about how he gave into her and was a lovesick puppy, but she also compromised and in the end moved to his position. The whole
series is about them moving towards each other and being proper adults this time around as opposed to the stubborn teenagers/ young adults they where the first time.

This might be what you mean with “held against her”, so sorry if it is, but the is a short scene that implies that she did that deliberately, to test the sml’s devotion/love for her and she really didn’t care anoint the consequences for the fl and actively used it to ruin her reputation. That is my interpretation that she was the one who let that rumour that fl was stealing her man, circulate.

It’s the set up/.character introductions. So it serves a purpose and is a lot more that just the failed relationship between the fl of sml. It sets up the universe, introduces a ton of characters and their interpersonal relationship. I’ve only watched the first 4 episode at this comment is based on that and as the series progresses I might changes my opinion ( as to if too much times is spend on setting up the characters and the story) based on how the story progresses and how it utilities its set up. But so far it’s been okay, it’s given a deeper understanding of the fl and given her room to grow. Now we could have dropped into the story at episode 4 when she starts her new job, but now I have an understanding of the fl and who she is before it focuses on the romance plot. Her infatuation with the sml is intertwined with her relationships with her university friends. Sure there could have been fewer scenes, but I take it as a kind of slice of life start, and I’m guessing/hoping there will be a payoff later. As to why she likes him, we are told more that shown, that he is intelligent, top of the class and handsome, qualities that make her overlook the fact, he is deeply condescending towards her, he resent her background but at the same time he’s has fallen in love with her. Because he is the sml the series want to show us why they shouldn’t be together instead of why they should, which they pretty much does in those first episodes and why it perhaps doesn’t spend too much time trying to show you reasons as to why they like each other/should be together. He is her crush and not her ex, so he is part of her character setup and development and while their relationship is sorta complex and he is given a backstory and dept, he is not
really shown as a valid option. So I do think the tell us why she likes him, but the important thing is not why she does but why it will not work. Okay that was a bit too long, sorry, but I hope it will give another perspektiv on the first few episodes and why they matter despite them not focusing in the main romance, her series have 36 episodes so I’m sure we’ll get there:)

It’s been awhile so maybe you found it. But he has another one called ‘intense love’. Though I personally can’t recommend it, as I made it to episode 3 or 5 don’t really remember. I’m not sure you are going to like it either if the female leads voice in this one annoys you, as the female leads character in that one is obnoxious. She is deeply infantilised and manipulative, maybe she gets better, but it was very grading in those episodes. But a lot of people seem to like it, so if you want him in a modern drama, try that one.

I think it’s pretty clear that he gonna end up misunderstood and misremembered in history. Or depending on the ending (does history stay the same or does she change it). That is how he is remembered in history at the starting pint and we are shown that is not the truth of what happened. They are already portraying him as much less cruel and it mostly being an act to get revenge on the people who hurt/killed his mother. So in my opinion they are hinting/setting it up as him being used by the truly evil forces (that prince and kang, maybe more not yet introduced) they have thrown history and historical accuracy way out the window in this one. It is a romantic comedy so unless they changes the tone completely in the second half (I wouldn’t rule it out completely) he is never going to be a tyrant close to the one he is based on. He is going to be a misunderstood cliche male lead.

This is a very female centric series, that wants to portray female empowerment (how well it succeeds in that is another talk, because oh boy do o have thoughs ) but I think a way to interpret that last scene is, yes the male lead will eventually die (when is not important, but all indicate sooner rather that later), but the female lead will be alright, she is surrounded by her newfound family which only consists of women and they will survive and thrive without men. Let’s face it the series does not like or treat its male characters well. It really wants to convey the message that women are strong on their own and don’t need to rely on men. So to me it makes sense that this is the last point the series want to drive home and leave the viewer with. The female lead reached her goal and got her wish, a loving home and she will be alright even without the male lead. This was her story not a lovestory.