CKDramaddicts

I would have loved to have seen more of their love story, even if it would have made everything even more heart wrenching than it already was.

Yeah, I was hoping for a bit more angst and development in the second chance redemption romance department. 😅

Yes, both of them have two of the most distinctive voices among the C-drama actors I've watched.

His best feature!

NOOOO! That's really unfortunate. He has one of the most distinctive and recognizable voices in C-dramas, up there with Jeremy Tsui (who also gets dubbed over a lot).

For those who are interested, they completely changed what TY says at the end in the voiceover on the Viki version. The original/earlier version (which you can find on Dramacool) is more beautiful and touching, in my opinion. Interestingly, the English subs for the original voiceover actually match what he says on Viki, not what he was actually saying in the earlier version. This suggests to me that maybe the Viki voiceover was the intended version, and that the wrong one was initially released on Youku?

Finally checking out this mini drama since I like both leads and I'm dying of laughter. Great balance between action/bromance/comedy. Wang Zuyi is so perfect for this role, and it's great to see Deng Kai in protagonist roles, since he's always playing the evil prince in full-length dramas, lol.

That's a fair point! I'm always making stuff up in my head to explain away nonsense in C-dramas, and your reasoning is more believable than most things I come up with. 😅 If I was carrying it like that in my purse though, it would've been pretty chewed up by now... 😂

Yes, I always carry a large, printed non-wallet-sized copy of my kid's graduation photo in my purse too, lol. 🤣🤣

It's very toxic, but this show does a really interesting job at peeling back the layers of these characters to show they aren't just two-dimensional villains. I really did not expect to have any sympathy or empathy for any of the villains, but found myself feeling kind of sorry for them despite all the terrible things they did! :O (Not to say their actions are forgivable, but still...)

You're not the only one 😂😂

Yes, I can see the similarities a bit! And she was Jie Li in Love Between Fairy and Devil.

Both are soo ridiculous and soapy, but we can't help but keep watching, lol

This is one of the most grounded, realistic contemporary C-drama romances I've seen. This show did a really great job with character journeys and showing that people aren't just one-dimensional villains and protagonists. I loved how so many secondary and tertiary characters had these mini arcs that really showed their inner lives vs the pretensions they presented at work and to others. I started off really loathing several characters, but by the end, I felt empathy for pretty much everyone to varying degrees. Redemption arcs weren't thrown in from left field just for the sake of redeeming them, but rather to show their humanity and vulnerability. Of course, the leads were also great. The "reformed rake" trope is perhaps the least realistic detail in this drama, lol, but Elvis Han does such a good job with his character and he meets his match in Elvira Cai's portrayal of Tang Ying, that you can't help but completely believe in him and root for their relationship.

But 14 episodes that are 60-70 minutes long, so really it's closer to 24+ episodes by normal 35-45 minute c-drama standards. It does feel like it i simultaneously intimate and also a slow-burn, somehow!

For this particular research, most of the women she followed were in their late 30s and 40s to 50s. Disillusioned by their cheating husbands, too old for men to want to marry, or get hired/start a career.

If there is further interest, there is a book that just came out called "Seeking Western Men: email order brides under China's Global Rise". In it, it talks about why some women go that route instead - for many, they are divorced women whose husbands cheated on them, so they think Western men are better, but also, because of their divorce, their own economic situation has become precarious, so they are also looking for economic stability. But of course, the reality with many of the Western husbands they find is very different than what they expected and also sad.

curious which drama was this?

I just started this, and I already can't stand the little sister/cousin right now. She's incredibly self-centered and juvenile with her expectations and constant "testing" the guys, and basically looking for all the wrong things.

Edit: Turns out they're not sisters, since they talked about their mom's calling each other.

Sounds awesome!