Nonsuch

Statistics don't require belief. Before contradicting someone you may want to google it. World health organization. Harvard Review, Economist, Articles on Suicide among the elderly in mainland China by Xia LI, Zeping XIAO, Shifu XIAO,. Suicide in the Global Chinese Aging Population: A Review of Risk and Protective Factors, Consequences, and Interventions
XinQi Dong,1,* E-Shien Chang,1 Ping Zeng,2 and Melissa A. Simon3 Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, and on and on. It is more prevailing in rural areas than in cities but it is a well documented both ways. As to it being the best place - that is your opinion, but I happen to see things differently.

Yes , elder loneliness is a problem everywhere. I would even take it one step further loneliness is a problem for basically every age group, but for the elders it is particularly poignant. I volunteer to visit with an 80+ year old person with beginnings of dementia, so yes, I know what you mean.

It turned out this drama is a morality play, a genre that I find annoying.
The main character is not ML - it it the mother ,and everything else revolves around her. I wished they billed the drama as mother knows best , not Mai Cheng Huan caught between filial piety and loyalty to oneself. She is not the main character, she is a vehicle for making borderline sanctimonious pronouncements about value of family. Her character is completely unrealistic, and the actress doesn't shows any genuine emotions except being reasonable, collected, and relentlessly nice. The occasional tears that she produces run down a face frozen in amiable expression. There is no passion, no spark, everything about her is 'nice'. She never makes mistakes, every misstep in her life is caused by someone's trying to sabotage her, or manipulate her, she solves all business problems by talking about family.... It got so boring and monotonous mid show, I was looking forward to scenes with the mother - who was exasperating but alive and relatable, and the actress playing her is superb. XK is wasted in this role, there is literally nothing for him to do. By the end it felt like a state sponsored promotion of family values.

I am not surprised rating is high in China though. The drama must appeal to a different demographics than romance watching crowd. China has one of the world's highest elder suicide rate in the world, if not the highest, and that speaks to a lot of despair. Laws obligate adult children to take financial and emotional care of their parents, and China's 1 and then 2 child policy, has put an excruciating burden on the younger generation. China now is trying to boost its birth rate, but from what I read there is a considerate pushback. I would not be surprised if the powers that be want to promote family values and understanding their elders, and the older generation could definitely relate to the 'the thing elderly fear the most is loneliness'.

This drama should be called "Much ado about Mama".

probably to show passage of time , but his facial hair seems to grow uncommonly fast :)

What would Chinese and Korean modern dramas do without car accidents? Its like every other drama has someone killed in a car crash! And straight after we get cancer. It is just too much soap for what few eps are left..

If you had read my post above you would see that you and I don't disagree on what forgiveness is, BUT to require forgiveness of others is adding insult to injury. One can only 'require' it of oneself. As I said - nobody has any right to tell another human being that they should forgive.

OMG, ep 24. It is like she is training a puppy : you should answer texts, open the door when I knock, respond when I talk to you ( and she talks non stop!) 😂

There is no SHOULD, it is whatever he feels. Expecting or demanding forgiveness is just another form of abuse. And no, not everybody *should* be forgiven. He has no obligation to forgive, and his father has no right to be forgiven. Forgiveness is grace not an obligation.

Not the last day for Viki. Still 4 days to go.

Some family doesn't deserve absolution for the wrong they have done to their children or siblings. They are remorseless jerks and that is that. But I think true forgiveness is really not for their benefit, it is for the benefit of the one who was wronged, and it can never be expected or demanded. It is really about letting go of the emotional connection to the abuser. It is about setting oneself free of the resentment and sorrow, and it is definitely not about forgetting and setting oneself up for new abuse.

The problem is that many families and societies let abusers coopt forgiveness for their own benefit. They think they are entitled to it, but they are not. Society really doesn't give a damn about individual experience, it focuses on keeping peace in the group, and it is simpler to push the abused one to "forgive" the jerk , than to deal with the jerk.

It is of course a matter of perception. Yes, mother is a piece of work, and yes, the FLM is a bit of a goody two shoes... but personally, I find this drama interesting enough. It is a family drama not a romance. And btw Xu Kai is no robot. He is extremely watchable and expressive. Maybe you are just not in the mood for this drama.

They seem to be very close, and the secretary is not intimidated by his boss at all. But I hear you about the trope.

Should one instead get bonuses when they screw up? I thought bonuses were specifically for going above and beyond good performance at one's job. Or do you think you are supposed to get bonuses just for showing up?

Many on this board say that the mother is culturally appropriate. There are a lot of meddling, controlling, overboard mothers in Chinese and other Asian dramas, it is a thing. It is not a thing in Western dramas. It happens, but it is not a cultural cliche. Filial duty is not a Western concept, so some mothers may behave in this manner, but their children rarely feel an obligation to cater to their whims and take their sh*t without a word. Also it is hard to imagine any boss allowing anyone's mother to come into his office and ask for favoritism. Anything can happen anywhere, but there is a difference between that being culturally acceptable or not acceptable.

Is there a reason for your aggressive tone? As how? As in facial expressions, and I don't know what you are watching.

Is it me, or the FML shows basically no emotions other than being agreeable and reasonable? Maybe just a little bit flustered but not much of anything else? I love the actress, but she starts to feel blah in this role.

I am on ep 8 in a bit of a shock over what that mother just did. I guess it gives FML opportunity to show her integrity, but boy! Do parents in China really expect to have no consequences for their obnoxious behavior? Are adult children required to just tolerate this 'sh*t ? FML and her brother deal with her as if she actually has reason and honor, but she has none... Her poor family.

Be it as it may it is not the most entertaining part to watch. Granted, mother is very well acted, the actress is great, but it is boring to watch.

wow... that mother is something. And that voice! It can perforate eardrums...Started ff her scenes, but why is there so much of her even in the first eps?