Won't rewrite what I wrote below. I'm just totally disconnected from all characters except the two I previously mentionned. There are some dramas I ended up disappointed with which were much more engaging to me from the start. This one however... left me totally disinterested from the first episode... and I love both the main pair and second pair as actors individually.
The most recent reviews are pretty mixed. It's either reviewers loved it or hated it most complaining about the lack of chemistry between the leads. I'd probably have persisted if it had been a shorter series... But 49 episodes is quite a long commitment and I've already given it more than 10 hours of my life.
Also I just DON'T LIKE Chang Ge as a character. I can't spend 49 episodes with a character I don't like.
If you're wondering if you should watch it or not... My take is, give it a try, but don't insist too much if you see that the series just doesn't click with you... In spite of the very high rating, you'll find you're not alone. People are divided between mostly very high ratings and ratings around 4/5... with a couple in the middle.
viki is such a stupid platform. All episodes are out but they are still putting up one episode a day. today 31…
Actually Viki is being pretty fast with that one. It's easy for K dramas to be released faster since it's only 2 episodes a week but C dramas have multiple episodes per week which means you need a HUGE team of translators available to translate at that crazy pace. And Viki uses translators.
iQiyi and We-Tv use a mix of auto-generated subs corrected by translators. It gives faster translations, but the quality is also lower.
For Summit of Youth, Viki didn't release ANY episode for 5 days before they made the last three episodes available, at the pace of 1 episode a day might I add, even as the official release ( not fast track) had finished a week before.
Be appreciative Lu Si's drama are as popular, otherwise, it would have been way slower.
I can't say how disappointed I am with the character of Qiao Lin. She was introduced to us as such badass girl who knew her worth and how to stand for herself... Moving to the city because of being belittled and trying her best to make something out of herself and they turned her into this weakling who is manipulated by her sleazy ex who should have been out of the picture literally 15 episodes ago.
That's not the only thing disappointing in this second half though... It's just one of the thing I find the most annoying. I HATE noble idiocy the most. Sometimes you can find a valid reason for it (for instance you DIE if you say the truth) but here, there's absolutely NOTHING preventing Qiao Lin to say the truth to her boyfriend, and then just pretend she's going along with the sleazy ex's plan until they find a solution to their predicament but does the drama make that choice? NOPE!
Everything in these last episodes is a mixed bag. Some things are good, even VERY good, and some things are just terrible.
(link not from me, I found it in the comment section). Whether this comes out or not, we don't know though.
Personally I hope she takes a good break and comes back stronger... if she does. I don't really care if there's no drama from her for 3 years... I have a pile of C dramas in which she stared in which I've yet to watch... Probably gonna take me at least three years to see them all so...
Well you seem to be into BLs... Highly recommend Love in the Moonlight. It airs on Monday and Tuesday and finishes…
Honestly try that one out, you won't regret. I don't watch lots of BL because most of them suck plot wise or are just full of gratuitous fanservice. But this one really slays.
is this going to be a sad ending ? how do you know that it’s not a happy ending ?
Honestly lots of gay people just lived together officially as "friends". I had two old neighbors older than my parents a couple of years ago living next to my house. One time I had a couple of lesbian friends coming and they kissed each other in my garden (which was visible from my neighbors' house). A couple of days after they left, one of my lady neighbor came to talk to me, that's when I learned their "official arrangement" was just a cover. I guess seeing I had such friends, told her I wouldn't be judgemental.
For the record, I asked why they didn't marry, since it's legal in my country... She explained it was too much hassle to explain to their family at their age and they preferred to keep the charade. Seems such arrangements were pretty common.
I don’t care if it’s just a temporary shift, Pin’s anger is valid and I’m glad she’s finally moving…
OH come on' It's not like they didn't try to tell her as softly as they could to soften the blow. What did she do everytime?
Cut them mid-talk and insist it's no big deal because Saenkaew will come to love her once they're married. Talk about being delusional. Pause what exactly? There was absolutely nothing from the start!
Even when she still wasn't sure about their relationship and ratted them out about the plan they had made to stop the marriage, she still wanted to persist even being aware they were planning things behind her back to stop the marriage. She didn't know they were into each other but she sure DID Saenkaew didn't want that marriage.
And still she wanted to marry with a man who obviously didn't love her.
Be it Sasin or not, he didn't want her, she knew it, now she's throwing a fit. I don't see where we're supposed to have any empathy for her. The crocodile tears don't work. She's the maker of her own misery.
If she had been graceful and tried to help Saenkaew breaking the marriage because she knew he didn't like her...
I would empathize with the "betrayal"... But since she never cared in the first place, sc*** her.
The lounge boss who was supposed to get married with Saenkaew had a discussion with Pin, but she's in evil mode…
Yeah I think I'm gonna do the same... I already live watched, I'm not gonna put myself through that again with subs and then torture myself for days while waiting for the remaining episodes... I think I'll probably watch the episodes live as I've done so far though because I can't help myself... But for the subs... I'd rather binge the four remaining episodes in one go.
I still believe in their happy ending... After EVERYTHING they've been through, giving a sad ending would be illegal.
The lounge boss who was supposed to get married with Saenkaew had a discussion with Pin, but she's in evil mode…
You're welcome... I honestly didn't want to watch today's episode but I'm so obsessed with this show I gave in... But I understand the need for some viewers to "prepare themselves mentally" if you're pretty weak regarding anything angsty which is also my case.
PS: Also the Chat for the live was really funny. First time most people were actually rooting for the Uncle 🤣🤣🤣
I see that Pin still has a number if people who are sympathetic toward her but I am still not buying her tearful…
100% agree as well.
I never slapped anybody in my life, never saw my father nor my mum hit each other and my God, they REALLY don't get along. I don't think this is acceptable, no matter how hurt you are. Just go away and calm down. I have absolutely no empathy for her, but I do hope she redeems herself by the end of the series.
Episode 10 is extremelly stressful... I'm not watching everything... But I might wait until next week to binge both episodes just before episode 11 comes out... Otherwise I think my heart won't be able to take it... When I say it's STRESSFULL. It is STRESSFULL.
Every single drama I'm watching currently in their stressful phase but this one is the worse by far. Also the Grandma is so delulu I can't. You just have to look at Saenkaew to know he just wants to flee.
The lounge boss who was supposed to get married with Saenkaew had a discussion with Pin, but she's in evil mode so she doesn't give a fudge. Also the grandma is still delulu, she wished them to love each other a lot. The evil father is more realistic, he said the marriage is more a promise and an engagement they both have to respect or something along those lines.
They had an engagement ceremony in the afternoon and the marriage is now happenning in the evening. The Uncle and his wife have managed to weasel their way into the ceremony with incriminating pictures of Sasin and Saenkaew kissing.
Meanwhile Sasin and his musician friends have also managed to get in. The idea is to take Saenkaew away and alope. Saenkaew also has that certificate for the wedding, that his father had hidden away. Tip found it for him, so he's currently hiding said certificate on himself.
Right now Khamsu is running after the Uncle.
So eventually OF COURSE, just as Sasin is about to take Saenkaew away, Pin is here to ruin everything, they're fighting over him but sadly, the delulu Grandma comes out and since nobody wants her to have a heart attack, the musician friends end up playing music and Sasin is forced to play the violin for the marriage 😭😭😭😭
But fear not because the Uncle has managed to get to the first floor of the villa just above the garden where the marriage is happening. You can see he's gloating and enjoying the moment. Of course, everybody is panicking, Khamsu has seen one picture he has dropped earlier and he's shown it to the father so both know what is coming...
And the Uncle throws the photos in the air.
AD BREAK OF COURSE
Soooooooooooooo Just as the Uncle throws the Pictures in the air, the friend who is in love with Pin, shuts down the lights and everybody is in the dark. Everybody's panicking and running everywhere, and the father takes advantage of the confusion to order his goonies to take the pictures while Khamsu is taking care of the Uncle in the building.
Meanwhile, Saenkaew and Pin are running to a safe place, but Pin and Saenkaew are pushed by one the dude picking up the pictures , as they're both falling, Pin ends up on the ground while Sasin manages to catch Saenkaew and both leave without a backward glance (I have to admit seeing Pin crying her eyes out alone at that moment was really satisfying 😈😈😈)
Sasin and Saenkaew are surprised by Saenkaew's pretty friend who initially helped him with his first failed plan. She basically sees them and understand what's happening and lend them her car keys to help them escape.
But Papa Saen is not fooled and runs after them. They still manage to get away, all happy... ANNNNNNNNNNNND I was hoping the episode ended on that note but NOPE!
Papa Saen is racing after them and they end up in a car crash. Sasin is badly hurt, but Saenkaew doesn't even have time to check in what state he's in, because Papa Saen and his goon take him away, leaving Sasin half dead in the car.
THE END
PREVIEW:
Well err... STRESS, STRESS and some more STRESS. Not a single happy scene in that one. Won't rewatch that preview, my heart barely survived today's episode. I might need to refresh my brain with some scenes from episode 7 to heal a bit because this episode was a tough watch and I didn't even watch everything.
Honestly... I love Cheng Lei... I really do... Which is why I didn't drop the show... It has an explosive start then somehow the story feels sloooooooooooooooooooow as fudge. And then finally I feel like it finally really picked up since episode 19...
But 19 episodes is bit long to really pick up a story... There's definitely a pacing problem there. I don't mind a couple of romance centered fillers here and there but you need to put some action or plot advancement here and there, otherwise it just gets boring at some point.
What also doesn't help for me is puppy Jin An. He's cute all right, but I prefer Cheng Lei when he's all dark and mysterious not when he is in puppy mode. Fortunately, Jin An finally gets a bit more charisma from episode 19 onward. Feels like some of the characteristics of his "man in black" persona is blending together with his cute self and the result is more endearing.
Anyway verdict is still out, I'll see if the second half of that show lives up to the hype because as much as I love Cheng Lei, I currently feel this show doesn't deserve its high rating.
Well you seem to be into BLs... Highly recommend Love in the Moonlight. It airs on Monday and Tuesday and finishes next week. Probably one of the best BL currently airing. If you give it a tr though avoid the comment section it's full of spoilers. Links to watch in the forum section of the drama.
I can't wait for Prince Kamfa to realize Pin's father had never ANY intention to give him back the money. If Saenkaew had married Rachawadi, at least there was a guarantee they would get back the assets 🤣🤣🤣 All of that, only to their pockets empty. 😈😈😈
So basically Pin's only leverage was the fact that Saenkaew needed the marriage to get back his family's assets but since her father is basically going to take everything ( dunno exactly how this works... legally speaking but I'm sure he has his ways)... She'd have nothing on him. She wanted the loveless marriage, well now, you'll have to live with the guilt on top. 😈
As for Papa Saen, no better revenge than him losing his money, status and son's love. Really the whole package.
This is going to be such a huge mess, but I'm already preparing my popcorn to see them all freak out.
i hope she can redeem herself. i really did like her character in the beginning, wouldn't want to hate her character…
Actually the last episode will be 2 hours long...So who knows. As written below by Diva70, this girl has no self-esteem... but she's also currently being cruel on top. I can empathize with the pain, but she's being deliberately cruel which I can't forgive so sc*** her.
Only watched 11 episodes in over a month... Usually I should have reached episode 35 at least but instead, I kept on adding shows after shows on my watching list which I ended up finishing or being close to finish, before that one.
I have no opinion on the drama so far... Just that I find it really difficult to get into... So far it leaves me emotionally cold. I feel no attachment to any of these characters. I think I might need to force myself for the next 10 episodes and if I still don't feel emotionally connected by that point... Give up.
I have no explanation as to why... except that Chang Ge is not the most likable character so far sadly... Actually none are except for basically Chang Ge's cousin Le Yan and former friend Shu Yu. They're both weaklings compared to Ashile Sun, Hao Du and Cheng Ge and yet are much more likable from the get go. Sadly we don't spend lots of time with them.
Also the desaturated colors don't help. I'm used to C dramas being way more saturated color-wise. It's less depressing that way, but somehow they made the opposite choice for that one 🙄
I haven't lost hope though. I mean the premise is your traditional revenge story but this is a trope I personally really enjoy + Cheng Ge is crossdressing as a boy, another favorite trope of mine (actually in my 3 favorite tropes, though I prefer when the ML doesn't know she's a girl but Chinese censorship asks for the hero to know her gender before falling in love with her which ruins the main draw of that trope sadly. Truly annoying) and ennemies to lover ( though where I am, one doesn't know yet the other is an enemy) which also in my top 3 favorite trope if not my ultimate favorite.
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Won't rewrite what I wrote below. I'm just totally disconnected from all characters except the two I previously mentionned. There are some dramas I ended up disappointed with which were much more engaging to me from the start. This one however... left me totally disinterested from the first episode... and I love both the main pair and second pair as actors individually.
The most recent reviews are pretty mixed. It's either reviewers loved it or hated it most complaining about the lack of chemistry between the leads. I'd probably have persisted if it had been a shorter series... But 49 episodes is quite a long commitment and I've already given it more than 10 hours of my life.
Also I just DON'T LIKE Chang Ge as a character. I can't spend 49 episodes with a character I don't like.
If you're wondering if you should watch it or not... My take is, give it a try, but don't insist too much if you see that the series just doesn't click with you... In spite of the very high rating, you'll find you're not alone. People are divided between mostly very high ratings and ratings around 4/5... with a couple in the middle.
iQiyi and We-Tv use a mix of auto-generated subs corrected by translators. It gives faster translations, but the quality is also lower.
For Summit of Youth, Viki didn't release ANY episode for 5 days before they made the last three episodes available, at the pace of 1 episode a day might I add, even as the official release ( not fast track) had finished a week before.
Be appreciative Lu Si's drama are as popular, otherwise, it would have been way slower.
That's not the only thing disappointing in this second half though... It's just one of the thing I find the most annoying. I HATE noble idiocy the most. Sometimes you can find a valid reason for it (for instance you DIE if you say the truth) but here, there's absolutely NOTHING preventing Qiao Lin to say the truth to her boyfriend, and then just pretend she's going along with the sleazy ex's plan until they find a solution to their predicament but does the drama make that choice?
NOPE!
Everything in these last episodes is a mixed bag. Some things are good, even VERY good, and some things are just terrible.
https://www.tonboriday.com/2025/08/zhao-lusis-almost-lover-drama-reduced.html
(link not from me, I found it in the comment section). Whether this comes out or not, we don't know though.
Personally I hope she takes a good break and comes back stronger... if she does. I don't really care if there's no drama from her for 3 years... I have a pile of C dramas in which she stared in which I've yet to watch... Probably gonna take me at least three years to see them all so...
For the record, I asked why they didn't marry, since it's legal in my country... She explained it was too much hassle to explain to their family at their age and they preferred to keep the charade. Seems such arrangements were pretty common.
It's not like they didn't try to tell her as softly as they could to soften the blow. What did she do everytime?
Cut them mid-talk and insist it's no big deal because Saenkaew will come to love her once they're married. Talk about being delusional. Pause what exactly? There was absolutely nothing from the start!
Even when she still wasn't sure about their relationship and ratted them out about the plan they had made to stop the marriage, she still wanted to persist even being aware they were planning things behind her back to stop the marriage. She didn't know they were into each other but she sure DID Saenkaew didn't want that marriage.
And still she wanted to marry with a man who obviously didn't love her.
Be it Sasin or not, he didn't want her, she knew it, now she's throwing a fit. I don't see where we're supposed to have any empathy for her. The crocodile tears don't work. She's the maker of her own misery.
If she had been graceful and tried to help Saenkaew breaking the marriage because she knew he didn't like her...
I would empathize with the "betrayal"... But since she never cared in the first place, sc*** her.
My God I can't handle Hao Chen crying 😭😭😭 The kid is really good.
I still believe in their happy ending... After EVERYTHING they've been through, giving a sad ending would be illegal.
PS: Also the Chat for the live was really funny. First time most people were actually rooting for the Uncle 🤣🤣🤣
I never slapped anybody in my life, never saw my father nor my mum hit each other and my God, they REALLY don't get along. I don't think this is acceptable, no matter how hurt you are. Just go away and calm down. I have absolutely no empathy for her, but I do hope she redeems herself by the end of the series.
Episode 10 is extremelly stressful... I'm not watching everything... But I might wait until next week to binge both episodes just before episode 11 comes out... Otherwise I think my heart won't be able to take it... When I say it's STRESSFULL. It is STRESSFULL.
Every single drama I'm watching currently in their stressful phase but this one is the worse by far. Also the Grandma is so delulu I can't. You just have to look at Saenkaew to know he just wants to flee.
They had an engagement ceremony in the afternoon and the marriage is now happenning in the evening. The Uncle and his wife have managed to weasel their way into the ceremony with incriminating pictures of Sasin and Saenkaew kissing.
Meanwhile Sasin and his musician friends have also managed to get in. The idea is to take Saenkaew away and alope. Saenkaew also has that certificate for the wedding, that his father had hidden away. Tip found it for him, so he's currently hiding said certificate on himself.
Right now Khamsu is running after the Uncle.
So eventually OF COURSE, just as Sasin is about to take Saenkaew away, Pin is here to ruin everything, they're fighting over him but sadly, the delulu Grandma comes out and since nobody wants her to have a heart attack, the musician friends end up playing music and Sasin is forced to play the violin for the marriage 😭😭😭😭
But fear not because the Uncle has managed to get to the first floor of the villa just above the garden where the marriage is happening. You can see he's gloating and enjoying the moment. Of course, everybody is panicking, Khamsu has seen one picture he has dropped earlier and he's shown it to the father so both know what is coming...
And the Uncle throws the photos in the air.
AD BREAK OF COURSE
Soooooooooooooo Just as the Uncle throws the Pictures in the air, the friend who is in love with Pin, shuts down the lights and everybody is in the dark. Everybody's panicking and running everywhere, and the father takes advantage of the confusion to order his goonies to take the pictures while Khamsu is taking care of the Uncle in the building.
Meanwhile, Saenkaew and Pin are running to a safe place, but Pin and Saenkaew are pushed by one the dude picking up the pictures , as they're both falling, Pin ends up on the ground while Sasin manages to catch Saenkaew and both leave without a backward glance (I have to admit seeing Pin crying her eyes out alone at that moment was really satisfying 😈😈😈)
Sasin and Saenkaew are surprised by Saenkaew's pretty friend who initially helped him with his first failed plan. She basically sees them and understand what's happening and lend them her car keys to help them escape.
But Papa Saen is not fooled and runs after them. They still manage to get away, all happy...
ANNNNNNNNNNNND I was hoping the episode ended on that note but NOPE!
Papa Saen is racing after them and they end up in a car crash. Sasin is badly hurt, but Saenkaew doesn't even have time to check in what state he's in, because Papa Saen and his goon take him away, leaving Sasin half dead in the car.
THE END
PREVIEW:
Well err... STRESS, STRESS and some more STRESS. Not a single happy scene in that one.
Won't rewatch that preview, my heart barely survived today's episode. I might need to refresh my brain with some scenes from episode 7 to heal a bit because this episode was a tough watch and I didn't even watch everything.
But 19 episodes is bit long to really pick up a story... There's definitely a pacing problem there. I don't mind a couple of romance centered fillers here and there but you need to put some action or plot advancement here and there, otherwise it just gets boring at some point.
What also doesn't help for me is puppy Jin An. He's cute all right, but I prefer Cheng Lei when he's all dark and mysterious not when he is in puppy mode. Fortunately, Jin An finally gets a bit more charisma from episode 19 onward. Feels like some of the characteristics of his "man in black" persona is blending together with his cute self and the result is more endearing.
Anyway verdict is still out, I'll see if the second half of that show lives up to the hype because as much as I love Cheng Lei, I currently feel this show doesn't deserve its high rating.
So basically Pin's only leverage was the fact that Saenkaew needed the marriage to get back his family's assets but since her father is basically going to take everything ( dunno exactly how this works... legally speaking but I'm sure he has his ways)... She'd have nothing on him. She wanted the loveless marriage, well now, you'll have to live with the guilt on top. 😈
As for Papa Saen, no better revenge than him losing his money, status and son's love. Really the whole package.
This is going to be such a huge mess, but I'm already preparing my popcorn to see them all freak out.
I have no opinion on the drama so far... Just that I find it really difficult to get into... So far it leaves me emotionally cold. I feel no attachment to any of these characters. I think I might need to force myself for the next 10 episodes and if I still don't feel emotionally connected by that point... Give up.
I have no explanation as to why... except that Chang Ge is not the most likable character so far sadly... Actually none are except for basically Chang Ge's cousin Le Yan and former friend Shu Yu. They're both weaklings compared to Ashile Sun, Hao Du and Cheng Ge and yet are much more likable from the get go. Sadly we don't spend lots of time with them.
Also the desaturated colors don't help. I'm used to C dramas being way more saturated color-wise. It's less depressing that way, but somehow they made the opposite choice for that one 🙄
I haven't lost hope though. I mean the premise is your traditional revenge story but this is a trope I personally really enjoy + Cheng Ge is crossdressing as a boy, another favorite trope of mine (actually in my 3 favorite tropes, though I prefer when the ML doesn't know she's a girl but Chinese censorship asks for the hero to know her gender before falling in love with her which ruins the main draw of that trope sadly. Truly annoying) and ennemies to lover ( though where I am, one doesn't know yet the other is an enemy) which also in my top 3 favorite trope if not my ultimate favorite.
So hopefully, I will get invested.