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A Xianxia Rom-Com with a Bunch of Predictable Cliches and Overused Tropes

Days before I started this show, I had read one fourth of the novel and found that it has a very promising premise. However, my expectations is cut short when the show began airing. I never expected that they changed the plot from the timeline, the identities of the characters, how the leads encountered each other, and blah blah blah.

Getting past 6 episodes was gruesome for me so I decided to use fast-forward and skip button, especially the Great Path Sect arc (I'm really serious, they need to have their senses knocked into their stupid heads). All I can say is that the whole plot is predictable from the get go. And why xianxia dramas love to show good guys in disguise as the ultimate villain? I'm tired of this kind of story and wish there's something more, though I can't set my bar too high. Also, the writers attempted to create 'love at first sight' trope of the main leads. Even though I had no problems, it seemed weird for them to develop a mutual understanding in such a short time. The only redeeming quality is the comedic antics by Yin Ya and Mu Zhanting - their interactions are very refreshing for the upcoming angst in the latter part of the show.

Superb acting from the whole assemble of casts especially Zhang Linghe, Jing Tian, Darren Chen, and Chang Long. I must say that this is the best styling for Zhang Linghe so far - he looks devilishly handsome and gorgeous in his demon attire. As for Jing Tian, I feel that her character needs a little improvement - at first she seems to be a quick-witted and strong girl, but in the latter half she is reduced to a damsel-in-distress (same thing happened in Wonderland of Love).

The OSTs are too mellow and not to my liking. Background music has a modern vibe attached on it.

Will I rewatch? Definitely a big no! I'm really sorry but I can't stand this show any longer. A one-time watch will do. However, if you're a fangirl of Zhang Linghe, then this might be a good watch for you. Good luck and happy watching!

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"Don't Meddle with the Past, Don't Question the Future."

As we all know very well, June and July are the busiest month for c-drama industry because it is SUMMER HOLIDAY! Speaking of summer holiday, the three kingdoms aka Tencent, IQIYI, and Youku repeatedly release high-profile shows to spoil us watcher. Tencent bombarded with 'Lost You Forever Season 2', 'As Beautiful as You,' and 'The Legend of Heroes' (the latter got pulled back, though). IQIYI only dropped 'Follow Your Heart' and 'Her Fantastic Adventures', both of which are not doing really well in the charts. Lastly, Youku splashed out 'The Double' and a hit-or-miss 'The Princess Royal'.

Well, I don’t watch those shows and choose the less-known 'Link Click' from a less-known platform Bilibili instead. At first glance, I thought it is just a typical low-budget show, but hell no! From the ingenious script, captivating storyline, aesthetic shots, mesmerizing backgrounds, to the multi-faceted characters, everything is executed flawlessly! The writer does a good job in exploring human’s complicated emotions which adds a depth of layer in the story. There is mixed portion of comedy, bromance, and thriller, all of which are balanced well. Another wonderful aspect is no cliché – I find the scenes particularly realistic and it’s really hard to detect a single cliché, which is a very rare aspect in c-drama world.

The story revolves around the trio (Cheng Xiaoshi, Lu Guang, Qiao Ling) who operated ‘Time Photo Studio’. In fact, it was just a normal photo studio – however, what made it special was their supernatural power. Cheng Xiaoshi had the power to enter the photo and transform into the person who took the picture while Lu Guang was in charge of monitoring Cheng Xiaoshi's actions and made sure that Cheng Xiaoshi didn’t make any big changes to the events that were occurring in the photo. Qiao Ling might not share their extraordinary ability, but she was able to gather information through her job as a presenter in a talk show company ‘Ling Ting Ta Shuo’.

Spanning over 24 episodes, the trio traversed into 7 different cases. Though the cases were not related to each other, each case provided a shred of clues about Lu Guang’s mysterious origin and his relationship with Master Xita. Each case is written as meticulous as possible while also allowing the watchers to feel the characters’ pain and growth. Each episode spans around 50 minutes something, but it’s not draggy, anyway.

I must say that the acting from every actor is SUPERB! I especially like Jiang Long – he has improved much since 'Tiger & Crane', and he captures the essence of Cheng Xiaoshi’s very well. Whenever he laughs or cries, I can feel him and badly want to join too. Bi Wenjun also improves since 'Warm on a Cold Night' and 'I Am Nobody', but is still outshone by his co-star. I feel that he has been typecasted in every drama, always playing the cold and aloof character, I wish I could see him in a brighter and cheerful role once (by the way, this is his second drama that I watch in a row, with the latter being the ongoing ‘Treasures Around’). Bu Guanjin surprisingly plays the fiercely loyal and supportive sister Qiao Ling in an outstanding way. Qiao Ling is not someone who can be fooled easily (this happens when Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang attempt several feeble lies to cover up their power), and she is no damsel-in-distress, which is why I label her as one of the strong female leads. Special mention to all of the cameos for grasping the core of their characters! And Dr. He Xu is an amazing villain too - you can never predict whether he is a friend or a foe (those motor racing scenes are great! He's just too awesome to be resisted).

I particularly like the ending OST – it is such a rare thing to hear a rock-themed OST in c-drama. BGMs and other OSTs are nice too.

Kudos to the production team and the entire assemble of casts for creating such a wonderful masterpiece. Don’t forget to rate the show if you’ve completed it because it deserves more than 7.9. Good luck and happy watching!!

These are the main core of the cases in case you want to be spoiled:
1. Sheng Chunzao's shameful scandal in prying over his employees' privacy
2. Chen Xiao's traumatic past
3. Shuang Hai and Zheng Zhong's complicated brotherhood
4. Liu Ye's being accused as a lecher and Sang Ning's hallucination anomaly
5. Zhou Xiaobai's expulsion from the opera house and the missing umbrella
6. Master Xita's cause of death
7. He Xu's treachery and the obsession of his sister.

Note:
For those who learn and speak Chinese, this is a good chance to put your Chinese language skills to use since the subs are horrible or you're too impatient to wait for better subs. I watch this by relying on the Chinese subs and it's not that difficult, although I admit that I don't understand a character or two.

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No Money No Talk

Welcome to my review (or I'd rather call it a rant). It's been quite a time since I wrote review for 'Undercover High School', so I really miss the review section where I can blab freely whenever I want to and minimize the risks of being attacked by delulu fans.

FYI, 'Eat Run Love' is one of my most anticipated shows, even when the melon just started swirling around (I'm giving this a shot for Chen Feiyu because 'Lighter and Princess' didn't work on me). Imagine me being obsessed over the novel to the point of reread it back and forth. But lord, was I mistaken again? Right now, I'm going to start my rant so please bear with me.

The plot is centered around two people who have different personalities and even different backgrounds, which are none other than Ding Zhitong and Gan Yang. They encounter each other for the first time at the university. While Ding Zhitong is obsessed of making money to make ends meet, pay her relatives' debts, and help her mother, Gan Yang is the opposite. He comes from a well-off family and has a carefree attitude of life, as if nothing bothered him at all. It is literally love at first sight, if you ask me. He immediately falls for her and chases her in every endeavour, though she can't guarantee their relationship will be long-lasting.

She herself nearly jeopardizes the relationship when her family's debt is piling up. She keeps Gan Yang in the dark about this matter since she thinks that he will only squeeze every single penny for her sake. Eventually, when her cousin demands the money, Ding Zhitong finally opens up to Gan Yang about her reason of being so money-minded. It should've ended there. However, Gan Yang also has his own problems to solve, from his mother's 200-million debt to his fraudster father who keeps making trouble for him. He hides this from Ding Zhitong as well. She mistakes the whole thing (let alone mentioning Xu Chenxi) when Gan Yang asks for breakup. They do break up for 6 years until the Training Box project puts them back on track again. Will they reignite their love once more or will the fate play a cruel trick for the couple?

Nah, second chance romance... Not something I'd be amused about. I've seen a myriad of dramas covering second chance romance flopping one after another, either because of the actors' lackluster performance or the poorly written script which can't be saved at all costs. This show falls for the latter category and half more comes from the former (I'll talk about this in another section). As you can see, the novel itself isn't that problematic, but the screenwriter decided to screw everything up into a wacky script that not even an Oscar-winning actor can save. First off, she stretches the past of the leads for 17 episodes and that is enough already. As for the breakup, it's one of the novel's vital points so it's okay-ish for me. Second, when they meet again, the FL becomes insecure of herself, whether to pursue her career and destroy ML's dreams or to support him unconditionally. Meanwhile, ML has turned into a simp who does nothing but to wait for the FL even though she clearly states 'I don't want to see you anymore'. This can be categorised as stalking, don't you think?

We've also got unnecessary third wheelers here. Feng Sheng in the beginning is enough already, thank god he lets go of Ding Zhitong willingly when she can't love him. Nevertheless, the second one is more jerk-ish. That old guy Wilson just irks me and the way he always stalks her is no different than ML. Fortunately, Xu Chenxi redeems herself and gets together with Wang Yi - I almost thought she's another toxic bitchy girl too.

Now, to the acting... I only come here to give Chen Feiyu another chance and surprisingly he does decently despite the crooked script. I feel so sorry for him, but this show won't be any breakout or boost his popularity at all. His character is also written in such a messy way that he turns into a lovestruck puppy who does foolish things for the sake of love, even when FL tramples on his dignity, he still loves her so dearly. At first, it might be your mistake for lying to her and now you want to make up. But, as you can see, she's mad with you and if you had just told her the truth, she wouldn't have been that resentful. In real life, this kind of ML will never exist throughout the century, except for those who have fallen head over heels for you.

Move forward to the FL. This is my third show of Sabrina Zhuang after 'Binary Love' and 'You Are Desire', two of which I dropped in the past. From my perspective, I don't think her acting skills has improved and worse, she plays this pouty-faced, stone-hearted, self-centered, arrogant little chick (her character is already unbearable enough hhhh). She doesn't even give the ML a chance to explain the reason of their breakup, let alone giving him a second chance to prove himself. What kind of FL is this, girl? *sarcastic eye roll mode* I won't be commenting on her acting because she only acts on whatever provided in the script.

So, the problem lies on the screenwriter again. Girl, please don't write this kind of shit anymore. No women will trample on men's dignity like this, even if they're exes - exes still respect their former partners too. The way you write them is too outrageous, making the show into a dreadful love horror. If you had just stuck to the OG source, things wouldn't have gone that worse because the FL respects the ML and even gives him the chance to explain himself, unlike the one you screw up.

SFL is no different than FL. When you're in a happy-go-lucky period with that jerk Deng Boting, have you ever contacted your past lover? The answer is NO! After he dumps you and wants a divorce, you're in a dilemma and you want to get back to him again. Worse, he waits for you all this time and still pining on you, just like ML does. Man, are you simping too?

Only the third couple's story is well-developed. I really like Xu Chenxi and Wang Yi's cute interaction loll. Unfortunately, it's the only pro that I've got to mention here.

As for the economic aspects, it's also nonexistent that I don't feel the need of it anymore. The novel stresses this part heavily, but you chuck them out in a cruel manner (I mean the screenwriter again). It's as if doing business was such an easy thing. On the other note, you've also deployed tons of cliches

Cinematography, costume, and directing is quite alright - haven't got on my nerves yet and that means everything is acceptable. OSTs are crappy as well - none of those 7 songs hook me up, despite being sung by numerous well-known singers (for instance, Liu Yuning, Tia Ray, Yao Xiaotang, and many more).

Now that we've reached the final part of the review, I sincerely advice you not to touch this show unless you're a die-hard fan of Feiyu or Sabrina Zhuang. This show ain't worth your time at all and it's the first time I rant again since 'Go Back Lover', so you can imagine how my blood is boiling right now. Also, the ending sucks too - why should they get a happily-ever-after ending like other modern dramas? I'll end my review here, goodbye, good luck, and watch it at your own risk if you're that mule-headed.

Side note:
Why do I name my review with 'No Money No Talk'? This phrase is what my parents often say to me. If you don't have money, don't ever think to appease your lover, let alone taking care of yourself. So, money is still regarded as the cause of everything and is able to destroy every single thing that we love dearly, where the same case applies to the leads too.

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Moonlight Mystique: An Ethereal Masterpiece

Another month, another platform war.

January is yet another month dedicated to the inevitable war between the four major platforms in China, with Tencent banking on Guardians of the Dafeng, iQIYI coming back from the brink through the aid of Moonlight Mystique, Youku maintaining stable position with The Blossoming Love (also a xianxia), and MangoTV doing decently with Flourished Peony.

After much consideration, I decide to pick Moonlight Mystique since I can't binge all shows in one go (badly want to have a look at The Blossoming Love, though). FYI, I've been craving for a xianxia masterpiece since the breakout of Fangs of Fortune back in November. Let's see my thoughts about Moonlight Mystique below. Enjoy the ride...

So, Moonlight Mystique's plot revolves around an ordinary mortal girl named Bai Shuo, who accidentally absorbed a divine artefact under the moniker of Desireless Stone aka Contemplation Stone. Aside from that accident, she also must ally with the cunning master of Haoyue Palace, Fan Yue. Thus, they embarked on an adventure (alongside Fan Yue's two guardians - Cang Shan and Tian Huo) to gather the five contemplations - love, hate, kill, greed, and kindness. However, their journey was far from smooth as obstacles and threats kept coming on their way, especially from Lengquan Palace (Haoyue Palace's nemesis).

To be precise, the plot comprises of 6 different arcs which interconnect with each other in order to build a coherent story. Below, I'll explain the 6 arcs briefly (this is MAJOR spoiler, so you can skip it if you want to)...

1) Ning'an City "Rebellion with Poison" - Kindness
Ten years ago, Bai Shuo and Bai Xi were saved by an immortal, whose identity was unknown. To repay the immortal's kindness, Bai Shuo became obsessed with immortality since then (by the way, Bai Shuo was betrothed to Chong Zhao since their childhood years). Under Temple Master Sun's guidance, Bai Shuo went to the Unbridled Pavilion and encountered Fan Yue for the first time. Initially, they were distrustful of each other and used each other to gain what they wanted. However, things started to become chaotic after Bai Shuo absorbed Contemplation Stone, which was stolen from Lanling Sect by Fan Yue. Worse, Bai Shuo's incident didn't go unnoticed - Lengquan Palace was also aware of this event. To divert Fan Yue's attention, Lengquan Palace used Nether Poison to drug the whole Ning'an City. While the citizens were restless, they would take this opportunity to steal Bai Shuo from Fan Yue. Nevertheless, their plan was foiled due to unwanted circumstances including Bai Shuo's father Bai Xun's sacrifice. His sacrifice contained kindness contemplation, which was sucked into Bai Shuo's body immediately. Bai Shuo was later sent to Lanling Sect to be tutored by the one-thousand-year-old ancient turtle.

2) Outlanders City "Strange Mist" - Kill
At Haoyue Palace, Bai Shuo saw the vision of the second contemplation and concluded that it would appear at Outlanders City. Coincidentally, it was also Tian Huo's birthplace. Thus, they traveled to Outlanders City to find the second contemplation. In the meantime, Wutong Martial Art Contest was also held at the same time, which meant immortals and demons alike could enter the city (which had been sealed for 10 years). Meanwhile, Tian Huo reunited with her family and unearthed shocking secret about her mother's death alongside Hua Yong's sacrifice for her. Still in Outlanders City, Bai Shuo, Fan Yue, Bei Chen, and Mu Jiu found Rong Xian and Ling Long's tomb (the late Saint of Kunlun and Saintess of Fox Clan) and unexpectedly were sucked into Rong Xian's realm of resentment (this will become a vital point in the third arc - I won't explain it right now). It turned out that Tian Huo's father Hua Lin colluded with Lengquan Palace and intended to transform Hua Yong into a deity by sacrificing the guests of Outlanders City. However, Wu Zhao (Tian Huo's uncle) also colluded against Hua Lin and killed him without hesitation. In the Underground Palace, Bai Shuo, Fan Yue, and Chong Zhao were kidnapped by Fu Ling (Zhen Yu's underling) and nearly got killed if it hadn't been for the Outlanders Sword. It helped them to escape the peril and also provided Bai Shuo the second contemplation - kill.

3) Jingyou Mountain "Fox Tribulation" - Love
This time, Bai Shuo and co ventured to Jingyou Mountain to obtain Weak Water Stone, which could suppress the immense power of Contemplation Stone. There, they met Chang Mei - the leader of the Fox Clan and also the younger sister of Ling Long. For the past 1000 years, Chang Mei had been shouldering the heavy responsibility of becoming a ruler and also lost her lover Ah Qi as he sacrificed himself to revive the Emotion Tree. Weak Water Stone was supposed to be buried inside Emotion Tree, but Chang Mei stole it to prolong Mu Jiu's fragile life. Thus, Emotion Tree became a human-eating tree because Ah Qi's spiritual power weakened day by day. Xiao Ba, Ah Qi's sworn brother also gave his life up for the sake of this tree. Unbeknownst to them, Fu Ling sabotaged the Emotion Tree again and this time Mu Jiu offered his life to the Emotion Tree (if it hadn't been for this incident, Mu Jiu would've married Tian Huo and lived peacefully in seclusion). Mu Jiu's spiritual power and blessing made the tree blossom once more, followed by the third contemplation for Bai Shuo, which was love.

4) Stone City "Extinct Race" - Hate
The fourth contemplation occurred at Stone City - Cang Shan's birthplace. Coincidentally, Qi Feng aka Chen Ye (Fan Yue's younger brother and Zhen Yu's underling) also came to avenge his clansmen. During his visit, he managed to kill Cang Shan's parents and several elders. In the end, Cang Shan also sacrificed himself to suppress the Baize Clan's resentment aura (in the past, the Stone Clan used the Baize Clan's dead bodies and crushed their bones into powder as medicine), which then entered Bai Shuo's body as the fourth contemplation - hate. In this arc, Bai Shuo and Fan Yue also endlessly encouraged Qi Feng to abandon Lengquan Palace and dark arts before everything was too late. In the end, bad ending still occurred as Qi Feng took the blow meant for Fan Yue to protect his elder brother.

5) Bodhi Village "True and False Gods" - Greed
Bai Shuo alongside her companions took a trip to Bodhi Village in search for her master, Old Turtle. In the village, they encountered a lotus spirit named Luan Zhu. For some reasons, Luan Zhu seemed to have a deep hatred to Bai Shuo, going as far as to switch body with her to manipulate Fan Yue. Meanwhile, Chong Zhao also reunited with his parents, who acted weird upon seeing their son. Thanks to the power of the Contemplation Stone, Bai Shuo managed to break free from Luan Zhu's restraint and uncovered deadly secret including Luan Zhu's puppetry skill and her collusion with Jin Yao (the head of Lanling Sect). Eventually, the fifth contemplation came out of Jin Yao after Chong Zhao lost control of his hidden power and accidentally killed him in the process.

Major spoiler:
In the past, Luan Zhu granted Jin Yao divine cultivation method and in return Jin Yao must send immortals to become her offering. However, Chong Zhao's parents found out this secret and were sent to Bodhi Village by this cunning old fox.

6) God's Realm Appearance
Bai Shuo were sucked into the Lunar Hidden Sea for the umpteenth time and learnt the complicated love story between the supreme deities Xing Yue and Jing Yuan (Note: Bai Shuo and Fan Yue were their incarnation) from Xiu Yan, Xing Yue's former attendant. It was also where she found out that Chong Zhao acted as the vessel for Hidden Lord Mo Li. In this very arc, Bai Xi died from blocking Mo Li's spear and transformed into Xing Yue Divine Bow. Tian Huo also sacrificed herself to repair the Outlander's Sword and turned it into Xing Yue Divine Arrow. As Bai Shuo and Mo Li prepared for the 'wedding', Fan Yue came in time and launched full-scale attack with Bai Shuo's aid. Chong Zhao destroyed his divine soul to severely wound Mo Li. Finally, Bai Shuo shot Fan Yue as Fan Yue used his last power to suppress the Hidden Heart. Bai Shuo later became a supreme deity and met Temple Master Sun again. It turned out that she was the heaven who overwatched the three realms. In the last moment, she granted Bai Shuo her wish - which was to revive Fan Yue.

Note: This arc is quite complicated to be explained properly. You need to watch it by yourself to understand this arc much better.

In my opinion, the script is beautifully crafted with many meaningful dialogues, drawing you in from the very first glance. Some people might feel this is a recycled xianxia, but for me, it's a different case. It's been long since I watch a drama where I can relate easily to its characters. I also feel the joy and sorrow of the characters, especially Bai Shuo (I literally have similar personality as hers, though not so extroverted). Each character's arc is fleshed out properly to help us link with their current states or personalities and why they have to end up in this way.

An absolute phenomenal acting from both Bai Lu and Ao Ruipeng. It's my first time watching Bai Lu and she captures the essence of Bai Shuo's character in the most exceptional way. By the way, I've been ogling for Ao Ruipeng's next project after The Blood of Youth. I must say he's better off to cheerful and hot-blooded character rather than a stoic domineering demon. He may exude the commanding aura of a demon lord, but he still needs refinement for this kind of role and no worries, there's a lot of room for improvisation. As for the second couple, I need to rave about their equally fabulous performance. Dai Luwa is getting better at her acting skill and she gets a lot of hate for her toxic role, but it means that her portrayal of Fu Ling/Bai Xi is quite mind-blowing. Chang Huasen also embodies the role of the kind righteous Chong Zhao and the cruel malicious Mo Li at the same time, which immediately appeals to the audience (despite his black-flag attitude to Bai Shuo at the earlier episodes). Also, a special mention to the entire assemble of actors who have delivered this engaging fairytale wholeheartedly.

The mellow yet noteworthy OSTs also contribute to evoke the audiences' emotions. I particularly love Sa Dingding's opening OST and some others that I can't mention in this review. For an EDM and pop rock hardcore fan like me, it's very surprising that I love these OSTs despite my preference.

The sets, costumes, CGI, and many other props are stunningly beautiful. I absolutely adore the black and purple palette used in this drama (two of my favourite colours lol).

After the long ride, I want to ask myself, is this drama worth-watching? Definitely a big YES! You won't regret spending every minute for it and soon you'll be engaged into the enamoring storyline that you don't even know how many hours have passed since you tune in to Moonlight Mystique. I'll end my super long essay here, good bye and good luck!!!

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Fighting for the Freedom of Innocent People Amidst the Chaos in the 3 Realms

I've been anticipating this drama since its filming wrapped up. Xuanhuan has been one of my favorite genres and this drama surpassed my expectation. It isn't your ordinary Xuanhuan drama, but an EXTRAORDINARY one.

In the next paragraphs, I will explain every arc in this drama (note this as a MAJOR SPOILER). If you don't want to be spoiled, you can skip the whole part regarding the plot. Here we go...

1) Xin Country arc
The first arc mainly introduces the main characters and the first war between humans and immortals. This war was spearheaded by Wu Geng's parents - Xin King and Xinyue Hu. Unfortunately, both of them sacrificed themselves for the country to fight Hei Long. Before his mother died, she transported Wu Geng's soul to A Gou's body. For your information, A Gou is a shred of Wu Geng's divine power and he currently stayed together with a mortal girl called Bai Cai.

2) Bloodstone Mine arc
Wu Geng and Bai Cai accidentally got caught in the capital when he took her for some treatment. Then, they were forced to labour jobs/enslaved with numerous unwilling citizens in the bloodstone mine. Together with other slaves, they healed each other's wound and became to understand each other's feelings. Finally, Wu Geng succeeded in helping the slaves escaping from the mine.

3) Shenyin Village arc
Wu Geng and Bai Cai were taken to Shenyin Village by his grandpa Fu Xi. There, they met many immortals who previously rebelled against the immortal realm. This is the arc where Bai Cai's real identity started to leak. The immortals ambushed the village because of the cackle queen Xinyue Kui and Bai Cai was kidnapped by the hell immortal, Shi Xing. Wu Geng together with his mentor, Ah Lan, set out to save Bai Cai.

4) King's City arc
Wu Geng confronted Shi Xing and he won against him. Bai Cai managed to lift a curse out of Shi Xing after their battle. Shi Xing's backstory is explained here and it is indeed heart-wrenching. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. This is also the place where Wu Geng reunited with his uncle, Zi Yu.

5) Demon Realm arc
Wu Geng, Bai Cai, and Ah Lan were invited to the demon realm, shortly after the thunder god Zhui Ri attacked Wu Geng. At the demon realm, Wu Geng stroke up a friendship bond with the grand marshal of the demon clan, Ni Tian Er Xing and also helped the demons got rid of their petrification sickness.

6) Bai Country arc
Wu Geng and his friends returned to their home and found that many things have happened recently. In this arc, the cackle queen kept trying to possess Bai Cai due to Bai Cai's ancient divine power which could be of good use to the immortals. Bai Cai soon lost control and became the dark Bai Cai.

7) Sea Realm arc
Wu Geng was saved by a mermaid called Bei Er after Bai Cai threw him off the cliff. In the sea ream, Wu Geng was acknowledged by the ancestor of the Sea Spirit Clan.

8) Illusion Island arc
To prepare for the second war against the immortals, Wu Geng took his soldiers to cultivate qi at the Illusion Island under the guidance of Uncle Zi Yu.

9) Immortal Realm arc
Yes, this is the ending of the drama. There are a lot of heavy casualties at both sides. As usual, hero will always win in the end. After Hei Long died, the war was finished. As for the wedding, it was unnecessary. Nobody in their right mind would marry a dying person, right? (just teasing)

Romance is just a subplot in this drama as it focuses more on the characters' growth and development. The leads have siblings-like chemistry and it's already enough to my liking.

Wu Geng can be considered as a good leader who always put his people on top of himself. Despite his good leadership, fighting courage and resilience, he's also a cunning trickster who can easily manipulate and trick people into believing fake evidences.

The only aspect that I like from Bai Cai is her cheerful personality. Aside from that, I think she's a damsel in distress, always whining A Gou until I got tired of it. At first glance, she appeared as a sunny and headstrong girl. But, as the story progresses, she becomes you-know-what. Anyway, the evil Bai Cai is the best, I must say.

To save this review from being a long essay, I will just skip the rest of the characters. Just in case, I'm going to list out the MVP of this drama below:
1. Ni Tian Er Xing (he's slaying very much and I watch this to support him, haha)
2. Shi Xing (his backstory is the best)
3. Hei Long (turning the world upside down just tor revive his beloved. Well, he's slaying too. I love his styling)
4. Xinyue Kui (the cackle queen that people hate the most)
5. Uncle Zi Yu (one of the key figures who encourage Wu Geng to become stronger)

The OSTs are chef's kiss and I can't help but playing it on and on at my Spotify. The lyrics are very meaningful compared to those energetic K-Pop songs I used to listen.

Overall, a 10 out of 10. Give this a shot and you won't regret investing your time in this drama. Despite some minor flaws, it still deserves a 10 from me. Don't forget to rate it if you've completed, because this drama deserves more than 8.0 rating.

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A Mesmerizing Gothic Tale in Chinese Version

To be honest, I’m not expecting much from FOF since I’m here only to support Neo Hou. But goodness, am I mistaken? FYI, FOF aka Fangs of Fortune is an original-script-based fantasy drama which is under the command of our notoriously controversial yet aesthetical director Guo Jingming (I’m sure everyone has known all sorts of things he did before, but he sure knows how to make such a masterpiece). As you can see, FOF is also fighting neck-to-neck with Love Game in Eastern Fantasy and The Story of Pearl Girl (excluding Smile Code which is flopping badly), so it’s not that easy for it to achieve such a wonderful rating. Let’s delve into the story now, shall we?

FOF revolves around nine main characters (according to the individual posters posted in Weibo) consisting of the shameless yet loyal 1000-year-old great demon Zhao Yuanzhou/Zhu Yan, the astute Baize Goddess Wen Xiao, the cold-outside-warm-inside descendant of Bingyi Clan Zhuo Yichen, the badass female archer Pei Sijing and her faithful younger brother Pei Siheng, the timid little doctor Bai Jiu, the mischievous Mountain God Ying Lei, the green-eyed pagoda tree demon (also Zhao Yuanzhou’s former bestie) Li Lun, and most of all is the vengeful and malicious Wen Zongyu (I’m hoping to make every character arc, but it doesn’t seem to be possible since it will only lengthen my review).

In my pure opinion, FOF is not a facile and cheesy script like your typical old-school romance drama. Instead, it’s a very meticulous and stunning one, in which the scriptwriters managed to input several plot twists into that none of the watchers could predict the outcome of the show. The show not only focuses on the topic of friendship and self-growth, but also probes into the meaning of love, desire, yearning, and the pain of being betrayed, all of which are beautifully portrayed, of course. Back to Guo Jingming again, we know that he always has the tendency of producing angsty drama and FOF is not an exception. There are lots of angsty scenes in every existing episode and somehow the actors will always cry whenever something goes off or someone dies. However, these scenes don’t have much impact on me (I myself don’t understand too) so I always watch with my expressionless face as they keep crying. But, the most striking scene would probably be Ying Lei’s death and his dying wish of how he wants Bai Jiu to live well – it’s just so heart-wrenching…

Shout out to every actor from main to supporting and guest roles for acting out the multi-faceted character in an insightful way. This show will also boost Neo Hou’s popularity and he proofs himself to be a force to be reckoned with (can’t wait for his next projects). Chen Duling also acts well, but her excessive crying scenes is irking me very much. Thanks to her good acting skills, Wen Xiao is still a bearable character. This is my first time watching Tian Jiarui and I don’t have any complain about him – he does just as good as the others. Finally, Cheng Xiao is out of her comfort zone and her character doesn’t seem to be as annoying and cliché as the one in Falling into Your Smile. Lester Lin is the youngest out of the whole bunch, but he can portray Bai Jiu beautifully even when he’s in the dark mode (as the saying goes, age isn’t everything). Special mention to Yan An (Pentagon) too – he’s a K-pop idol and also a hidden gem in acting that I can’t help but keep waiting for his scenes (FYI, currently Pentagon is in a hiatus, so I hope Yan An can do more dramas until Cube Entertainment calls him again).

FOF is indeed an S++ drama, every set is done aesthetically and every scene is taken intelligently to ensure its quality. As I mentioned in the title, FOF has a gothic vibe akin to those in historical Europe sites, but in Chinese version. I particularly like Bingyi Forbidden Area, which reminds me of a domain in Genshin Impact. A user also reminds me that the ancient runes in Kunlun Peaks is similar as Paimon’s when she is summoned.

I think I’m going to rave about the OST especially Liu Yuning’s hip-hop/rock song – it’s my first time hearing him rapping lol. I also like Xu Zhenxuan, Yan An, Cheng Xiao, and Lai Weiming’s OSTs. If it hadn’t been for these songs, the OSTs would’ve been particularly meh.

Would I recommend this show? AN ABSOLUTE YES! As you follow their adventures, you’ll be enamored by their witty dialogues, gorgeous and impressive sets, and the heartbreaking OSTs. Don’t hesitate to watch this masterpiece because your every second is worth it. Good luck and happy watching!!!

P.S.
There is a BL-like vibe between Zhao Yuanzhou, Li Lun, and Zhuo Yichen. Unfortunately, they have to tone it down a bit to fit the shitty censorship, otherwise we'd get another BL show. Also note that Wen Xiao may play a pivotal role in protecting the Wilderness, but she's only there so that she can have a love line with Zhao Yuanzhou (to make sure FOF isn't banned like Immortality, Winner is King, Eternal Faith, and so on). Still, you can enjoy their scenes and feel the bromance between them tho.

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Wolves in Sheep's Clothing VS The Grizzled Sheep Herder

Hello and welcome back to my dear review as usual. First of all, I need to tell you guys a great news – my exam period is over and now I’ve got a large amount of time to skim through dramas and write numerous reviews again (unlike my on-off hiatus period where I kept delaying). So, today’s review is about “Love on the Turquoise Land”, one of Wei Yu’s latest works which has gotten its live-action version. See my take about it below…

“Love on the Turquoise Land” is a thriller sci-fi based on Wei Yu’s novel, which has a similar name as this one. It tells the story about the earth fiends, which has been terrorizing the humankind for centuries. I don’t really know how earth fiends come to exist today, but they may have some kind of mutated DNA or contract an unknown stuff, transforming them from ordinary humans into earth fiends. Due to the rampant earth fiends on the earth, the ancient emperor sent a special envoy to thwart the earth fiends and protect the humans. They will be later known as Nanshan Hunters, its legacy continues until this day (though the number of members is dwindling day by day).

By chance, one of its hunters is none other than Nie Jiuluo, also known as “Mad Blade”. She inherits the title following her mother’s sudden disappearance and her father’s suicide due to depression. As “Mad Blade”, Jiuluo isn’t exactly thrilled and badly wants to resign from the organization because it constantly reminds her of her late parents. Years pass and Jiuluo grows into an astute yet exceptionally beautiful woman. To spend her free time, Jiuluo practices sculpting and sells her arts to make ends meet.

In one of her travels to the countryside, she accidentally meets her fated partner, Yan Tuo. On the outside, he is Roadsound Group’s general manager. But inside, he is being controlled strictly by a mysterious woman named Lin Xirou (who steals his mother’s original name) and is seeking to gain the so-called freedom. At first, they have the kind of enemies-to-lovers vibes as they never see eye-to-eye plus they’re on different sides from the get go. However, as time passes by, they begin to understand each other’s inner wound and heal themselves as they carry out high-stake missions to end the existence of the deadly earth fiends.

Joining in their groups are Lv Xian (Yan Tuo’s doctor friend), Lin Ling (Yan Tuo’s adoptive sister), Yu Rong (“Ghost Whip” who only returns to China for the sake of quelling the earth fiends), Xing Shen (“Mad Dog”, a queer bigot who has a high prejudice against Yan Tuo, definitely always up to no good), and more Nanshan Hunters on the go.

If I want to be honest, the premise is actually intriguing and makes me deep-seated for this drama (since it’s Wei Yu’s project, of course I’ll watch it). Moreover, the earth fiend also sounds like a new plot device, which has never been touched by other sci-fi dramas before (except for “The Seven Relics of Ill Omen”). Last but not least, we’ve got a new plot twist where the earth fiends ACTUALLY transform into humanoid creatures and blend into the human world seamlessly that it is very hard to make a discrepancy between a human and an earth fiend. So, Nanshan Hunters’ task is to learn how these virulent creatures manage to turn into humans and how to stop them before the whole world is turned upside down by the fiends (FYI, fiends need blood bags to ensure their well-beings by forcing humans to have sexual interaction with the fiends and produce an offspring (blood bag, I mean)).

Despite the mysterious yet enthralling premise, the drama falls short in the plot including the how’s and why’s. First of all, Nanshan Hunters need to be modernized fully – since when people still use hammers as weapons? I do agree blades and whips are also antique weapons, but I still have a deep affinity for them, which is why I won’t be complaining about those two. Nanshan Hunters are quite indigent in terms of income earnings since they won’t even buy new equipment and prefer to eat and laugh and drink or brooding instead.

Second, the antagonists always seem to be having an upper hand (same case with “Snow Eagle Lord”) and Lin Xirou and her little gang get a considerable amount of screentime, which I immediately skip because I can’t stand how slow she speaks and talks (it’s an essential point for an antagonist, but maybe I’m just being impatient here). In addition, Lin Xirou also has many modern gadgets in the mansion and the farmhouse (where she experiments with the transformation). Also, other than Feng Mi, I can’t stand the other earth fiends (especially get pissed off by Xiong Hei).

Third, weak ML. If you watch carefully, Yan Tuo is pretty weak and fragile in combat skills (on par with Qin Fang from “Rattan”). All he does is acting and sweet-talking Lin Xirou as if life were a slapstick comedy series, tailing other people, spying, recording, trespassing, or brooding (waiting for Jiuluo to save him). Even when he cradles the tranquilizer gun as if it were a little baby, it doesn’t help with his brittleness and makes him look more pathetic, if you ask me.

Fourth, the wacky ending and WTH the amnesia plot is for? To me, the ending seems to be off a little bit and why does Jiuluo has to forget everything about Yan Tuo, but remembers other people like Ms. Lu and Yu Rong? And after he takes her out from the membrane bubble her mother creates, how can he dive back to the shore with Jiuluo on his back (oxygen may not be fully sufficient)? All of these are plot holes like blah blah blah and suddenly you’ve got a beautiful ending even though it’s not.

Fifth, Yan Tuo’s sister Yan Xin is another wasted plot device as he’s hellbent on searching for him when Lin Xirou only takes a second to inform him that she’s also dead alongside his murdered parents.

After the plot holes, I’ll talk about the acting. As usual, Dilraba Dilmurat delivers a phenomenal act as the badass Nie Jiuluo and embodies her character seamlessly. Other than her, I can’t imagine who can pull off such a complex girl like her. Meanwhile, for Chen Xingxu, it’s my first drama of him (I’m sorry to say that I’m not a fan of his, so I’ve always been avoiding his projects, and if it hadn’t been for Wei Yu, maybe I would’ve skipped his drama), and I don’t what to say about him honestly – he does well portraying Yan Tuo’s conflicted emotions, but he still has room for improvement. For Lin Xirou’s actress, Zhang Li, I truly want to say her performance is laudable and I hope see her more (but not in Lin Xirou’s fashion anymore). Other casts are good to mediocre at best – that’s all I can say.

CGI, background, settings are so-so to me (the fiends look tacky, and the lighting is so f*cking dark, I have to enhance my screen’s lighting so I can see visibly, normally I won’t do this tho). As for the OSTs, I can’t say too much as I tend to skip the opening and ending credits (my habit) and the drama provides only “Paper Star” by Yisa Yu during the confession part. I badly need an ooze of the opera song, but I’m just too lazy for it TT.

Will I be rewatching? Only for the first few skirmishes between Jiuluo and Yan Tuo. And the rest can be buried beneath the grounds. I’m sorry if I’m yapping too much because I’ve been bottling my feelings up for days before I finally pour it into this review. Okay, time to end it, good luck and happy watching!!!

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Watch at Your Own Risk

This show is totally unbearable. After watching 4 episodes, I became bored and was on the verge of yawning. Then, I skipped most of the episodes and only watched the ending. Thank goodness it was a happy ending.

The leads, in my opinion, are miscast. I didn't even feel the chemistry between them and the fact that the ML has a baby face which made the FL has some sort of different age gap from him.

The plot is either a prequel or a fresh spinoff in the BTTH universe. Fortunately, I haven't watched season 1 before so I won't mention that one.

Acting is really, really bland as if I'm reading an uninteresting newspaper article. And the fighting choreography... don't get me started at it. They only did some sorts of wiring and twirling here and there without any direction.

Will never rewatch it anymore. Overall 5 stars out of 10. To me, it have been a decent score rather than those 1 stars. I'm sorry but I can't find any memorable parts of the show. Try to look elsewhere or watch the leads previous/future projects which are far better than this.

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A Tragically-Woven Love Story + A Straightforward Plot = A Typical Recycled Xianxia

Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Love in Pavilion, as we all know very well, is the second installment of the Fox Spirit Matchmaker franchise, though it has distanced itself by removing the Fox Spirit Matchmaker name to avoid the dreadful reputation Red-Moon Pact had created last year. Another noted fact is that this series is re-shot shortly after Red-Moon Pact's flop. However, if we are to compare the two shows, I can say this one has got an upper hand, in terms of scriptwriting and directing of course.

While Red-Moon Pact leans more to unrealistic lovey dovey plotline, Love in Pavilion traverses to a more angsty patch where most of the main and side characters will not survive till the end of the story.

This time, there will be a big whoop surprise. I would say this is the most unique drama I've ever found. Why do I say so? Because you got 8 couples in one show and it's a pretty rare occurrence.

I'm going to explain all couples one by one, as I'd done in Red-Moon Pact before. Let's rock, guys...

1) Wangquan Hongye/Dongfang Huaizhu (Leon Zhang/Liu Shishi)
Wangquan Hongye is the master of Wangquan family as well as the leader of Yiqi Alliance whereas Dongfang Huaizhu is the young lady of Divine Fire Villa. For the sake of her mother, her father decides to quit Yiqi Alliance and lives a life of tranquility, out of the chaotic conflicts and grudges. At first glance, they may not be a compatible pair since both of them are of opposing sides. The two of them get off the wrong foot at their first encounter in Nangong Mansion. However, Huaizhu has set her sight on a masked swordsman, who is none other than Hongye himself. After she finds out, she feels betrayed and severs ties with him. After facing tumultuous events in the Sky City, Huaizhu realizes how much Hongye loves her (even he willingly jumps into perilous traps to save her) and forgives him for the past events. Since then, the two get along and become a devoted couple for a lifetime. They also share similar goal, which is to purge the world from Black Fox's grasp and eliminate the long-standing conflict between humans and demons in order to reduce the hatred and resentment fed to the Black Fox.

2) Yang Yitan/Wangquan Zui (Zhai Xiaowen/Wu Xuanyi)
Yang Yitan is the young master of the Clairvoyance Yang family where all the family members cultivate the Clairvoyant Eye (an eye which is used to sense the surroundings or even predict the future) and Wangquan Zui is Hongye's younger sister who is hopelessly in love with Yitan since their childhood years. The two of them had been betrothed since their childhood years. While Yitan is stoic and cool-headed, Zui is more of a brash and straightforward tomboyish girl. After seeing their demise 20 years later, Yitan begins to distance himself from Zui so that she would give up chasing him. Soon, Zui notices changes in his behavior and thinks that he has turned into a jerk. With the help of the Li brothers, Zui manages to convince Yitan that she won't leave his side of regardless of any situation. Later, they propose to marry each other, which is immediately agreed by Yitan's grandpa and Hongye. However, their relationship has to face ups and downs as Yitan's grandpa has been provoked by the Black Fox's sweet talk. Never wanting to become Wangquan family's lackey anymore, he hopes that Yitan will kill Zui and even tortures Zui so that Yitan can generate hatred energy. Finally, he attempts to let the Black Fox's power enter Yitan's Clairvoyant Eye. In an unconscious state, he kill his grandpa without any hesitation, which leaves him feeling regretful. In spite of being possessed by a tiny spark of the Black Fox's power, he never tells Zui, afraid that she might pull back against their relationship. In the final battle against the Black Fox, Yitan completely loses his consciousness and incidentally stabs Zui to death.

3) Baimu Yaojun/Du Niangzi (Neo Hou/Yukee Chen)
The shortest arc of all the existing couples in this series. Baimu Yaojun's name literally means the Lord of Hundred Eyes and he has the ability to activate the Hundred Eye Formation to trap his enemies. He has a lover named Du Niangzi, whose clan is wiped overnight by the Nangong Family. To placate her, Baimu Yaojun decides to build her former home, Zhaixing Pavilion, by sacrificing numerous humans and demons alike as a mark of vengeance. However, Hongye and Huaizhu manage to stop Baimu Yaojun and have him sacrifice his demon core. Nonetheless, Huaizhu tells Du Niangzi that he can still turn into his human form by cultivate for 1000 more years, which Du Niangzi readily agrees.

4) Mu Xiaowu/Yang Yan (Chen Ruoxuan/Zhang Ruonan)
Yang Yan also comes from the Yang family and is Yitan's aunt. She is in love with one of the Yang family's mine guards, Mu Xiaowu. However, Xiaowu comes from an ordinary family and the Yang family, of course, opposes the idea. After pleading for a long time, does Yang Grandpa grant her wish reluctantly. however, the good time doesn't last long. One of the demons Xiaowu set off in the mine, Chu Jing, is claimed to have killed a human in broad daylight. Because of that case, Xiaowu is arrested and tortured unjustly. Hongye and Huaizhu help to find Chu Jing and discover that he is controlled by a demon-controlling talisman, not out of his own will. Despite having got Chu Jing, they still can't save Xiaowu as he's already at his end. Yang Yan, overwhelmed by grief and fury, immediately severs ties with the Yang family and swears to never be a family member of theirs anymore. Chu Jing also sacrifices himself as he unleashes his final power to create snow (Xiaowu's biggest wish is to see snow) until Yang Yan's carriage disappears at the end of the road.

5) Mu Mie/Cuiyu Mingluan (Qin Xiaoxuan/ Zhou Jieqiong)
This arc happens in future, 20 years since 'Love in Pavilion' story to be precise. It tells about Mu Mie, son of Mu Xiaowu and Yang Yan. His mother had died 6 months ago and he is left to wander the world alone. In spite of traveling across the world, he's no smarter and is easily fooled by others. He first encounters Mingluan the leech demon at a lake, where he asks for direction to go to the Sky City. Despite not wanting to admit it, they keep meeting each other and Mu Mie repeatedly shields Mingluan from any dangerous threats. He later learns that Cuiyu Mingluan is divided into Red Eye (the brash, straightforward, and badass soul) and Blue Eye (the kind gentle soul who masters medical treatment) through the enchantment in Golden Dawn Inn. The Red Eye mistakenly thinks Mu Mie is in love with the Blue Eye and is heartbroken. So, she seals the Blue Eye into a deep slumber and never to wake up. However, Mu Mie actually prefers Red Eye, but everything is too late to be reversed. Red Eye sacrificed her soul so that Blue Eye can return and heal Mu Mie, who is already severely injured after a battle with Jiu Huo (his arc will be explained later). Unfortunately, Jiu Huo succeeds in breaking the barrier beyond the boundary and lets the Black Fox engulf the world in darkness. In the Sky City, Mu Mie and Mingluan take shelter at Jiu Huo's former resident and save a lot of refugees, humans and demons alike. Blue Eye has known all along that the one Mu Mie loves is the Red Eye. At last, they separate and go to each other's way, which is the best decision in the Blue Eye's opinion.

6) Li Quzhuo/Dongfang Qinlan (Zhao Yibo/Shen Yue)
In fact, their relationship is supposed to be an ordinary platonic friendship instead of being romantic. However, since many people are shipping them, I'll make them into my list of couples too. Li Quzhuo is the mischievous and reckless second young master of the Li family after his elder brother, Li Zizai. Meanwhile, Qinlan is Huaizhu's sharp-tongued yet justice-driven younger sister. The two develop a strong bond in the Beast Kingdom and also help Hongye and Huaizhu deepen their relationship. Together with their funny bickering and camaraderie, life will never be dull and boring.

7) Zhang Zheng/Qingmu Yuan (Ryan Ding/Meng Ziyi)
The two were once classmates in their teenage years. However, Zhang Zheng's personality changes drastically after he leaves the academy and also never sees Yuan anymore. After forcing him to speak the truth by using Quzhuo's talisman, Yuan learns that the Zhang Zheng she loves is a body double of the original Zhang Zheng. He is actually Anaran, the son of the Beast Kingdom's National Preceptor. He is sold to the Zhang family because he resembles the real Zhang Zheng. Later, Zhang Zheng suffers from a chronic disease and doesn't have much time to live anymore. He dies after being buried alive by Anaran and says that he doesn't have any regret to die in an unceremonious way. Anaran takes Zhang Zheng's identity and ascends to the Zhang family's master position. In the Beast Kingdom, he meets Yuan and rekindles their love once again. In the final battle against the Black Fox, Zhang Zheng dies after being stabbed by Yuan in an illusion. Feeling guilty and heartbroken, Yuan uses her life force to stop the Black Fox, but ultimately loses her life too.

8) Jiu Huo/Jia Lan (Lin Borui/Peng Xiaoran)
Jiu Huo is the celestial-ranked demon of the Netherworld Clan while Jia Lan is an outcast of Tushan, after being the only fox who bears darkness. The two repeatedly save each other and share similar thought of the world. At one time, Jiu Huo is kidnapped and sealed by the Beast Kingdom. In a desperate attempt to free him, Jia Lan falls into a trap and loses her physical form and subsequently dies, leaving only her spiritual soul which is full of endless hatred and resentment. This arc is the prologue of the Black Fox's origin and how she is born. The Black Fox manipulates Jiu Huo 500 years later and sets him up numerous times to achieve her personal goals. Jiu Huo later commit suicide after knowing everything and tells Hongye to kill the Black Fox so that Jia Lan can be free again.

9) Li Zizai (Chen Youwei)
Though he doesn't have any pairing, he also plays a vital role in the masked group and is the elder brother of Li Quzhuo. Despite not being an expressive person, he truly cares for his loved ones, especially his brother. In the final battle against the Black Fox, he sacrifices himself after Quzhuo activates a life-exchanging talisman, thinking that it's a life-saving talisman (and that's how Quzhuo survives the battle).

10) Deng Qiyue (Sun Zikang)
The only character which has the least screentime compared to other masked group's members. He is shown as a loyal member of the group and a doting father to his daughter. He also dies after being smacked down by the Black Fox.

In my honest opinion, Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Love in Pavilion falls into the moderate tier, which means that it is neither a masterpiece nor a jeopardy (not too good and not too bad). As far as I can discern, Fox Spirit Matchmaker: lOve in Pavilion attracts a lot of viewers because of the star-studded casts and the stellar CGI. Undeniably, the CGI is on par with the first installment of Fox Spirit Matchmaker, with a great deal of mesmerizing scenery and engaging superpower displayed on the screen whenever one scene moves to another. Moreover, this time they've abandoned the panoramic screen concept and use green screen instead, which makes the editing smoother than the former's. Another thing is the use of every single trope of a xianxia drama (common practice in today's era), which isn't quite excessive as other xianxia dramas, making it more bearable to watch, if you ask me.

In addition, star-studded casts means good acting from the entire assemble of casts from main leads to supporting characters and cameos. Unlike other people, I'm not really bothered by Liu Shishi's lack of expression - she really fits the ideal stoic badass girl just like she did in 'A Journey to Love' and uses micro-expression through her eyes in a pretty good way. As for Leon Zhang, this is my first show of him and I'm definitely not a fan of his. Surprisingly, he also does well as Wangquan Hongye, but still lacks in finesse in terms of expressions (a bit of wooden, to put it bluntly). In spite of this minor problems, their chemistry is still palpable and I can feel the tension between them just enough. If I may choose, I'll pick Zhai Xiaowen/Wu Xuanyi or Neo Hou/Yukee Chen or maybe Ryan Ding/Meng Ziyi for the nomination of couple with the most chemistry. Their loveline is much more believable and touching than the main couple's of course. Special mention to Shen Yue for bringing such a cute adorable little Qinlan to the LA version(oh, I just want to squeeze her cheek lmfao). As for the other casts, kudos to all of you for embodying the essence of each character pretty well (can't mention every one of them lol).

Despite the pros listed above, there are still several cons that I need to mention too in order to make other watchers understand this show much better. Firstly, the plot seems to be kind of childish and straightforward (suspense and thriller lovers might find this boring) given the original source is a manhua made for children. Also, everything is quite predictable from the get go and the villain is immediately known from the beginning (Black Fox is a must antagonist in Fox Spirit Matchmaker series). Without the couples' chemistry, I would've dropped this show as well. Secondly, the reason why I dock off one point from my rating is because the DEATH of most of the masked group's members. I can't understand why they would need to kill them off at the final battle beyond the boundary. The original source may do that, but this is an adaptation of the manhua - you can change the ending with whatever you think is fit for a proper ending. I absolutely feel quite sorry for all of them and wish they hadn't gone to the boundary instead - just like what Hongye said, their mission is futile as there are still many conflicts ongoing between humans and demons, which emphasizes that the Black Fox can return anytime when the resentment aura has accumulated to a certain point.

Costumes, setting, background, and OSTs are superb as well and I've downloaded most of the OSTs - they give off such a melancholic and sorrowful vibe that seems to be resonating with me.

Final question: Is this show watchable? Quite watchable, if I must say. However, do not expect much of this kind of straightforward plot and sometimes you need to shut your brain off in case some unrealistic stuffs happen. It's time to end my rambling review. Good luck and happy watching!!!

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Witchcraft and Face Swap in a Thriller-Packed Drama

Hi guys, I'm back again after hiatus for quite some time due to final exams and lack of spare time. I've done watching In Blossom some time ago, but I only get my time to work on this review today. In Blossom is not a drama that I expected very much, I was obsessed in Burning Flames and didn't plan to watch this beforehand. After scrolling through the comments, I decided to try it and check out my review below.

In Blossom tells a bittersweet story between two childhood sweethearts, Pan Yue and Yang Caiwei. Yang Caiwei was in a disgraced situation after having escaped from the attempted murder which successfully killed her parents. Subsequently, she went to the Pan Mansion and wanted to meet Pan Yue. But Pan Yue wasn't there, and his father refused to let her in. Filled with grief and resentment, Yang Caiwei wandered around Heyang City and was taken in by a retired coroner, who worked as corpse taker now. Together with her lunatic master, Yang Caiwei became a corpse taker and did everything to relieve her master's burden.

She accidentally encountered Pan Yue again. Originally, Yang Caiwei gave him a cold shoulder and ignored him as possible. Pan Yue, of course, didn't give up and tried his best to woo her back, even wanted to marry her. A spoiled and pampered girl of the wealthy Shangguan family, Shangguan Zhi, witnessed this event and was furious. The day before their marriage, Shangguan Zhi used witchcraft to switch her face with Yang Caiwei's. After that, she pushed Yang Caiwei and her subordinates to a narrow cliff, thinking that she had erased every trace of her evil deeds.

Things became more and more unexpected. Shangguan Zhi (in Yang Caiwei's persona) was suddenly murdered which aroused fear and suspicion. Yang Caiwei soon learned about her 'own death' and vowed to find the culprit and uphold justice for Shangguan Zhi despite the latter's treatment towards her.

In order to investigate her murder, Yang Caiwei had to work with Pan Yue in the county yamen. Originally, they were at odds because Pan Yue didn't like Shangguan Zhi before, not knowing that the latter has swapped her face with Yang Caiwei. Thus, their sweet love story began.

So far, the plot is woven in intrigue and mystery, which can attract the audiences to skim in, especially mystery and thriller lovers. However, after the case of Gu Shan, I started to fast forward and skipped a lot of the main leads' scenes. Don't get me started at the capital arc. That arc was rather boring and dull. Even with skipping, I could still grab some details of the case and in short, I didn't lose anything from skipping here and there.

The acting is so-so. This is my third time watching Liu Xueyi after 'The Blood of Youth' and 'Love and Redemption'. I think he did pretty well in this drama and his persistent love towards Yang Caiwei was one of the best aspects of him. You could see him conveying his eye expression when he was staring at Yang Caiwei and you'll know why. Meanwhile, Ju Jingyi's acting is a bit of lackluster. Like other reviewers, I also prefer Zheng He Hui Zi's portrayal as the real Yang Caiwei. Ju Jingyi's Yang Caiwei is a little spoiled but thank goodness they didn't make her into a damsel-in-distress (she's still as intelligent as her old self).

Personally, I'm rooting for the second couple (Zhuo Lanjiang and Bai Xiaosheng) than the main couple. They're a cute bickering couple and help the leads to solve cases too. My only complaint is why should they KILL OFF Ah Jiang. He didn't deserve it and should have got a happy ending with Bai Xiaosheng.

OSTs are nothing special, but still commendable.

Is there any rewatch value? Nah, that will depend on yourselves. The plot is good in the first half but falls in the second half. I myself won't be rewatching this drama as this is a one-time watch for me. Nonetheless, I'll give this nine out of ten stars for the great plot and the case solving. Give this a try if you want some case-solving drama, but you can skip the rest of the scenes if they've arrived at the capital. Happy watching!!!

SPOILER ALERT:
The real murderer of Yang Caiwei points to Shangguan Zhi's brother, Shangguan Lan. I'm not entirely sure of this, but given that the Shangguan family has good connection, a private army, and witches, everything is possible for them. To please Shangguan Zhi, her brother must have intended to kill off Yang Caiwei from the beginning so that Shangguan Zhi can marry Pan Yue - and that's the only reasonable thing to do (in my opinion).

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You Cheat Me & I Cheat You Be Like

September seems to be a very busy month for all platforms despite airing mid-to-low-budget dramas. Youku also aired two dramas simultaneously which are In Between and Hero Is Back. It was quite a difficult choice, but I ended up skipping Hero is Back in favor of In Between. Of course, months before the airing, I had completed the novel though I skipped most of the second couple's scenes. I do admit that only insane people will watch this kind of drama because it's not your typical fluffy sugary drama such as Amidst a Snowstorm of Love or perhaps the recently completed You Are My Lover Friend. Okay, I'm not going to dilly dally anymore and let's get going into the review.

The best aspect for In Between must be the amazing production - every prop detail is shown meticulously, and the breathtaking cinematography is just... captivating (and don't get me started at the enamoring cities - I've got tons of praises for them lol). Aside from that, I also feel that the story is very realistic and stems away from your usual old-school-trope (you know what I mean). As you can see, we get a darker and moodier romance while also exploring the complex emotions of humans when they're experiencing love, self-discovery, growth, break up, cheating and so on. Well, sometimes you'd want to punch them on their faces when they're making dumb decisions for themselves especially the women (not of Han Su though, at least she still knows her bottom line), while the scumbag men are taking advantages of their indecisiveness.

Now, I'm going to explain the intricate relationship chart and see if you can understand it...

1) He Zhinan - Qu Yipeng
Zhinan and Yipeng accidentally encountered each other as they worked in the same building despite being in different departments. Yipeng thought that Zhinan was a rich girl and kept pursuing her and even had intimacy with her. However, after learning from Sister J that Zhinan's family condition was just average, Yipeng immediately left from her world and ran away to Tahiti to search for Zhinan's former colleague, whom Sister J claimed to be the rich one (Yipeng is an absolutely gold digger man that everyone needs to avoid, but still... Zhinan becomes the hunt of his prey).

2) He Zhinan - Gao Peng
Actually, Zhinan had a seven-year relationship with Gao Peng since their college years. Later, Gao Peng studied abroad in the UK and lost touch with Zhinan. After they met again in Hong Kong where Gao Peng had become a CEO for his company, Zhinan felt that he had changed a lot over the past few years and didn't seem to care her very much (you'll notice this when Gao Peng squandered his money to buy Zhinan tons of unnecessary gifts). In the end, they broke up peacefully and became normal friends... just normal friends.

3) He Zhinan - Wang Zilu
Zhinan and Zilu once encountered each other in an online platform, but it didn't leave a good impression on Zhinan. Hence, when she met him again, she decided to make his life more difficult. However, as they spent more time together, Zhinan found Zilu redeeming qualities, and she began to have feelings for her, even willing to invest in his doll universe when he even couldn't pay a large debt. I can't say their relationship is official for sure, but they still maintain a good relationship in the final episode.

4) Sun Hanhan - Zhou Bin
Nah, this is your typical older man-younger woman romance. Not much to expect about them, but I really dislike Zhou Bin and his abusive behaviors towards Hanhan. Hanhan is also a naive girl and lets herself being manipulated over and over again. But, in the end, she still gets her own freedom while Zhou Bin's career is shattered after Hanhan and Zeng Cheng team up in the law court (nice one, Hanhan).

5) Zeng Cheng - Zhou Bin
They were a married couple for 10 years before Zhou Bin knew the existence of Hanhan. But it was not a happy marriage though. Zhou Bin relied on Zeng Cheng's vast connection to build his career mainly took advantage of Zeng Cheng's position. Later, Zeng Cheng knew that her husband was cheating and had a cold war with Hanhan to extent of sacking Hanhan from the advertising company. However, Hanhan wasn't discouraged and attempted to explain herself to Zeng Cheng until she was convinced that Zhou Bin was actually a cruel jerk.

6) Han Su - Qu Yipeng
They were college sweethearts and as usual, Yipeng also took advantage of Han Su. After knowing that Han Su wasn't really serious in their relationship plus her insistence on moving to Hong Kong, Yipeng immediately broke up with her. Thank goodness Han Su could see through Yipeng's ulterior motives.

7) Han Su - Luo Ma
Both of them accidentally met each other in a bar and Han Su approached him because of playing truth or dare with Zhinan and Hanhan. At first, they thought it was a pure coincidence, but it turned out to be fate when Luo Ma moved to Han Su's law firm. However, Han Su didn't want to fall in love anymore and that was her reason of rejecting Luo Ma repeatedly.

8) Han Su - Gao Peng
Not long after he broke up with Zhinan, he was attracted by Han Su and pursued her nonstop despite her wariness. Han Su knew that Gao Peng wasn't her type of man and immediately rejected him too (still a peaceful break up though).

Kudos to every member of the casts for creating such an engaging masterpiece. Their micro expressions and the scenes when they're crying... it's just so natural and convincing. Anyway, they're too good in portraying cheating men and women lol...

OSTs and BGMs are pleasant to hear and don't sound distorted and I find myself keep humming to the song lol.

Overall, a ten out of ten. Give this a shot if you're not bothered with cheating/infidelity because this is such a rare masterpiece. As for rewatch, I may have to reconsider given that this drama only airs in China through Linmon channel which really exasperates me (same goes with A Journey to Love). Good luck in finding your true way and happy watching!!

P.S.
Don't imitate their actions or you're going to be a cheater FOR REALL!!!

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Enjoy the Master-Disciple Chaotic Game of Love

At first glance, I thought Love of the Divine Tree will be another typical xianxia with a plot that has been recycled multiple times by other previous shows - for instance, reincarnation, redemption, immortal VS demon, evil second leads, amnesia/loss of memory, and so on. I did watch until ep 5 then dropped it because I couldn't resonate with the story, no matter how hard I tried to understand it. However, days before the express package released, I picked it up again and found that I had made the wrong decision to drop it. Now, let's get started with the story...

Hundreds of years before, there was a Mortal-Demon Lord who wanted to destroy the world and slayed masses of people to achieve his goal, which was to activate the Three Thousand Realms Tower. However, his plan didn't succeed as an immortal, named Dun Tian, managed to kill him and ended the years of suffering. The Mortal-Demon Lord's remnant, which is Spirit Spring, is then sealed at the gate of the netherworld. Spirit Spring can only be possessed by the Demon's Child, who happens to be Su Yishui, the adopted son of Prince Ping. Under the constant torture of the Spirit Spring, Su Yishui turned into a ruthless yet vengeful killing machine and vowed to destroy the people who had turned into this kind of state. Thank goodness, a female immortal, named Mu Qingge, found out Su Yishui's tragic past and decided to forcefully take him as her disciple and tamed his murderous aura bit by bit.

To prevent others from hunting Su Yishui, Mu Qingge herself pretended to be the vessel of the Spirit Spring and later died in the Empyrean Bone Sacrifice Formation. Feeling guilty and regretful of Mu Qingge's death, Su Yishui planted the Reincarnation Tree and used up half of his golden core, so that Mu Qingge can be reborn again. Before her death, Mu Qingge also placed a Face-and-Heart Burning Curse, to make sure he couldn't speak out who was the real Demon's Child.

Years later, Mu Qingge's fruit was born prematurely and transformed into an ordinary girl called Xue Ranran. Sensing Ranran's presence, Su Yishui quickly took her to the Mount Wester, alongside her seniors - Gao Cang, Qi Xiu'er, and Bai Baishan. However, the naive and childlike Ranran always caused trouble for her prickly master, whom she had deep connection with in the past life. As the master-disciple duo spent more time together, they began to open up their feelings and confessed to each other. Nevertheless, a lot of obstacles attempted to threaten their budding relationship and destroyed the peace of the world. Will their relationship blossom in the catastrophe or will the cruel fate separate them once more?

When it comes to recycled xianxia stories, what matters the most is the execution. Even though the storyline is cliche and has been reused multiple times, it's still watchable if it is done right. So, what I want to say is the show is directed perfectly, with witty banters and clever dialogues spread throughout the 40 episodes (which, of course, is written by the much-loved Mysterious Lotus Case book's screenwriter, Liu Fang). Aside from the main leads, I also love all of the supporting characters, especially Wei Jiu the clownish villain.

Nevertheless, I really dislike Su Yu and Mu Ranwu - they're so horrible and evil that I badly want to get their heads knocked. One wants to rule the universe while the other one is seeking to overthrow her elder sister, sounds quite absurd right? In Moonlight Mystique, we also have evil-siblings-trope, but their actions are justified because they are forced to do so to protect their siblings from being harmed by the antagonist (I mean Zhen Yu). Back to here, I really can't justify nor support both of their actions, they're just too greedy, selfish, and want to achieve one's goal without concerning the others, even if the world is about to be turned upside down. By the way, I'm not going to discuss about that Dun Tian - he barely gets any screentime and only appears in the climax, and it's the only point where the script goes inconsistent, or I think so.

Finally, to the acting. I can't help but keep raving about Deng Wei's exceptional acting skill and charismatic looks. Whether he's the scheming prince, the prickly master, or the gorgeous devil, he's nailing all roles in one go and can use micro-expressions very well. Julia Xiang's performance is also on par with his, by challenging herself into dual roles as the carefree immortal Mu Qingge and the cheeky yet smart Xue Ranran. Despite her young age, Julia Xiang can actually explore the depths of her double roles in this show. She still has a long way to go, and I'm looking forward for her new project with Wang Xingyue in Calming Waves.

OSTs are okay-ish, I especially love Tia Ray and Liu Yuning's songs. As for the rest, they're just... average.

Is this worth watching? Of course, it is. If you're looking for a compelling storyline with meticulously-crafted script, then this show is made for you. I'm not gonna lie, you'll be engrossed into it once you've settled down for several episodes. Hope y'all enjoy Love of the Divine Tree. Gotta end my review now. Good bye and good luck!!!

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'I’ll Drag the Whole World Down for the Sake of You'

After marking Dashing Youth as completed on Friday, I’ve been putting this review on-hold because I can’t seem to find the precise outline for the review. After guessing the whole night in my sleep, I was reminded of Ye Dingzhi and Yi Wenjun’s tragic love story, so I decided to pick this title among a bunch of other titles that popped in my head. Moreover, I’m also reminded of One Direction’s song 'Drag Me Down', which has equivalent meaning with the story (if you notice the dialogues). Alright, let’s get back to the review.

Dashing Youth aka 少年白马醉春风 is the prequel of the much-beloved wuxia series The Blood of Youth. Back in 2023, it became the year’s dark horse and garnered high viewership and buzz due to being one of the most extraordinary wuxia dramas which incorporated CGI to fighting scenes, which is no different to a xianxia or xuanhuan drama. Following its predecessor, Dashing Youth also attains the same reputation with the aid of bombastic promotion from Youku, despite having a more mediocre plot (if you compare with The Blood of Youth).

The story is about a spoiled and arrogant young master of the Baili Family, Baili Dongjun and his sworn brother who is supposed to be executed long ago, Ye Yun aka Ye Dingzhi, and a street-smart wanderer who wields spear, Sikong Changfeng. Joining the trio are the astute former princess of Beique, Yue Yao and the daughter of the Shadow Sect and also Ye Dingzhi’s love interest, Yi Wenjun (though she’s confined in her residence all the time, I don’t get why they put her on the main poster lol). Together, they traverse through the jianghu and discover their growth and unique talents and make their names to the world.

If I must say, the plot is nothing new in terms of a wuxia drama. You’ll get those friendship, brotherhood, loyalty, adventure thingy so it can be predictable some time. The plot is well-craved, and the dialogues are meticulously written and the witty banters between the leads are just hilarious, until the story goes downhill on the second half of the show, where Dingzhi and Wenjun’s love story becomes the main priority of the story. The palace politic is dull and very obvious compared to Joy of Life Season 2, furthermore the apathetic grand eunuch sometimes drives me mad, to be honest. The emperor’s actions are similar to that of Xiao Ruojin, I can’t say he’s a good ruler but at least you’re better than a bloodthirsty and cruel monarch. One of the best aspects of this show would be the grand entrances of the characters, which kick off with their signature moves/techniques (they sure spend a lot of money for these scenes). In addition to that, most of the casts are eye-candy actors, which is the reason why many people watch this show.

Of all the characters, the one I like the most is Master Li Changsheng aka Nangong Chunsui. He’s the most savage master I’ve ever seen and an unruly one, not even the emperor can restrain him LMFAO. The second goes to Xiao Ruofeng, the Prince Langya and also Master Li’s seventh disciple. In the comment section, many people claim that his actions are questionable, but I think he is put between a rock and a hard place, so I understand that he’s forced to choose the best option for the greater good and can’t pick ‘sides’ or show favoritism to others. However, it’s a pity that he refuses to become the emperor and is willing to give that position to his brother. If he were one, I’m sure Beili wouldn’t be in such a chaos in the future (for reference, check out The Blood of Youth and you’ll know why). Other characters that I like are Sikong Changfeng and his fiancée Feng Qiuyu, the Eight Young Master of Beili, and the Baili Family (I can’t explain all of their lore one by one lol).

Now, let’s delve into the romance. Though it serves as the side dish, the romance feels underbaked over time and I can’t feel the chemistry between Dongjun and Yue Yao, not even Dingzhi and Wenjun’s. If I am to choose, I’ll pick Changfeng and Qiuyu’s love story – they seem to have little spark of chemistry, though not an explosive one. Except for a kiss, we only got several hugging and staring into space and boring dialogues, though I must say Dongjun is such a persistent boy while waiting for his girl to come back.

As for the second couple’s issue, I’ll put the blame on Wenjun for being such a selfish, useless, and gullible woman. For the sake of your other child in the palace, you’re willing to abandon Wu Xin and Dingzhi. Why, just why? And how can you trust a stranger’s (Feizhan) word and be manipulated so easily? Just because you have a bad dream doesn’t mean it’s happening in the real world. Because of you, poor Dingzhi turns into a demon and vows to drag the world down for you. Because of you, the world becomes a bloody and chaotic hell. Boy (I mean Dingzhi), I get you’re a very loyal person and only wants to spend time with your beloved ones, but this is not the best option for you. Moreover, she chooses to stay at the palace on her own will and one more thing, she doesn’t deserve your love either!

I have no problem with the acting, though. Neo Hou pulls off Dongjun’s character seamlessly, but he’s not such a complicated character, so I’ll let this pass (really like him at Back from the Brink tho). Don’t get me wrong, I really like Hu Lianxin as Tushan Rongrong in Fox Spirit Matchmaker, but I can’t connect to her character whether it is Yue Yao or Yin Luoxia – there’s problem with the script, I guess. He Yu is the MVP of the show by executing the most complex character of the show – his micro expressions are on point too. As for Jiang Zhenyu, she’s still a newbie and has room for improvement, but I don’t blame her either – it’s the script that gets screwed. The former idol Xia Zhiguang surprisingly does well too, given that he has no acting background (based on my understanding). Kudos to the rest of the casts too for their efforts to bring the characters alive.

One more con that I've yet to mention is the ENDING! In my opinion, it should be a bittersweet ending given how the situations go through. However, the ending isn't fleshed out properly like the one we always fantasize. We never get to see how Dongjun accidentally kills Yue Yao, how Lei Mengsha and Li Xinyue died, how Xiao Ruofeng is executed, how Wu Xin is sent to Muyun Abode, and blah blah blah. Overall, a very unsatisfying ending indeed!

CGI, sets, backgrounds, and costumes are visually appealing and miraculously gorgeous. The budget sure goes a lot to these departments.

The rock and bombastic OSTs are wonderful, and I like four out of seven songs. BGMs are nice to hear too.

Will I rewatch in the future? Absolutely! But I’ll only watch the beginning of the show and avoid the second half at all costs. Because of the inconsistent plot and the lackluster romance, I’ll have to dock one point off from the rating. I may not be a heavy sucker for romance, but still, I love sizzling chemistry and stuffs like that. It’s such a pity that they fail to execute the romance department, which also happens at The Blood of Youth. This is going to be my longest essay to date and I’ll end it here. Good luck and happy watching!!!

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Am I Stupid Enough to Stumble on This Show?

Last year prior to the airing date, I accidentally discovered this show on weibo. I was truly excited because the show is going to revolve around the personal lives and business careers of jade merchants. To be honest, I have deep fascination for jade artefacts/jewelry, so I feel that giving this show a go won't do much harm. The premise of jade merchants may sound interesting, however they failed to execute an outstanding live action series. I'm going to keep this review as short as possible since there's nothing much to talk about.

Treasures Around is actually a historical rom-com revolving around an eccentric jade businesswoman Shan Dandan and the Pei family's young master Pei Pei. At first glance, they have enemies-to-lovers trope, which I enjoy very much despite their childish tantrums. After 4 episodes, they lose their chemistry, and the relationship begins to feel forced. It would have been better if they made a slow-burn romance instead of rushing everything.

The pacing is kinda on and off too - some things are wrapped up as quick as possible while the others are as slow as snail. I stop after watching 17 episodes (by using 2x speed) and mark it as completed because I don't want to drop shows anymore. Yes, I admit that I have no idea of the ending, but based on my understanding, it is going to be HE - with the leads proposing to each other or holding a marriage.

I have to cringe whenever a comedy scene pops up. Their acting is so, so embarrassing and cheesy from the main casts to supporting ones. I personally feel that the main leads' (Bi Wenjun and Xu Lu) talents are wasted in this show. Their intimate scenes are cliche and seem to be copy pasted from other shows. Also, the main leads always make fool out of themselves, which makes me so infuriated. For the first time in their lives, can they use their brains properly instead of acting on impulse? Plus, Ah Liu is a dumb bodyguard and always makes bad suggestions for Pei Pei - as the old saying goes, like master like servant lol. We don't need the jealous bitchy Cui Liu too - she's an absolutely toxic woman.

The Su family's young master Su Jue is such a hypocritical person - he always badmouths the Pei family while secretly helping them for Shuangshuang's sake. If this were your original intention, then why waste your time badmouthing them and even got your uncle to scheme everything? Poor Shuangshuang doesn't deserve him at all - but the production team obviously wants to make the second couple out of them.

The only redeeming characters are Shan Shuangshuang (Dandan's elder sister. Despite her robotic facial expression, I like her badass personality and seems to be the only sane person out of the clown-ish people) and Mother Pei (say goodbye to toxic mother syndrome. She's such a supportive and lovely mother that everyone needs in the real life lol).

I assume that the production team must be low on budget. The sets look cheap, and the main casts only get 4 or 5 different sets of clothing while the supporting casts get none. They make the main leads sing the OSTs too - all of which are not my cup of tea.

I definitely won't recommend this show to anyone unless you're a fan of the leads. Avoid this show at all costs...

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An Epic Mix of Thriller, Mystery, and Comedy

After the end of Study Group, I wasn't expecting much from Undercover High School, given that I didn't recognize any of the casts. Anyway, I still gave it a go because undercover's term always had me intrigued. Let's see how's my take on it.

The plot follows the journey of an NIS agent named Jeong Hae-seong, who is tasked to search for Emperor Gojong's gold bar at Byeongmun Highschool after botching a mission when he attempted to save an ancient artifact. This new mission requires him to go undercover as a highschool student. At first, he has had a hard time trying to adapting to his newly fabricated life as he kept getting into trouble with his homeroom teacher, Oh Su-a. Meanwhile, he also befriends several classmates including Lee Dong-min, An Yu-jeong (his cousin), Lee Ye-na, and many more. Not only that, his presence also attracts the attention of the school's chairwoman, Seo Myeong-ju, who happens to be Seo Byeong-mun's descendant. Also, Hae-seong needs to search for his long-lost father, who disappeared when he took the very same mission. As Hae-seong, Su-a, his NIS team, and newly-made friends work together to solve the crisis, problems and unwanted obstacles also arise repeatedly to thwart their plans. Will they eventually break the mystery of Byeongmun High School, find the gold bars and his father, and have a happily-ever-after ending?

I won't be blabbing about the script's quality as it also utilizes the art of plot twist in a very good way and even I'm getting more and more intrigued after every episode. Yes, it's a tightly-woven yet intricate story and unpredictable as well, with numerous multi-layered characters, you'll be truly engaged in this show. However, I'm sorry to say that I always skip the chair woman's part because her being a villain is quite obvious, there's no need to second guess.

Acting is pleasantly good especially the leads Seo Kang-joon and Jin Ki-joo. This is my first drama of them and I must appreciate their dedication to bring their characters to life. The NIS team is also quite funny with their endless bickering and antics. And another surprise is the Bloody Chicken Gang run by Su-a's mother (can't imagine her as a gangster lol. She's such a doting mother).

Overall, a ten out of ten, as usual. For fans of thriller, mystery, and even slapstick comedy, just go ahead, watch it, and see if it's to your liking. Okay, that's everything I've got to say. Good luck and happy watching!!!

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