rachfull

I'm not sure if you're talking about people here or other characters in the drama calling her fat, but if it's the drama I think that's part of Chinese culture. Women are expected to be very thin, and other people (at least in dramas) have no problem telling others they're fat. It's really only in Western culture that it's considered very rude.

I like that Sandra Ma isn't as skinny as other Chinese actresses. She looks healthy. Some of them are so thin they're almost skeletal.

Just finished this. It's one of the only Cdramas I've seen that actually got better as it went on. The beginning was a little draggy and I almost dropped it, but then things picked up after the first 15 episodes.

The best thing about this drama is hands-down the relationship between the leads. Xing Kelei and Mi Ka are well-written, well-rounded characters. They have great communication and understand each other. When problems arise, they talk about it. So refreshing to see in a Cdrama. Their relationship felt very natural; I never got bored despite there being little drama between them.

The last episode was great, especially as Cdramas go. Most Cdramas rush the last episode or try to squeeze in extra drama in the last 20 minutes. This one had great build-up to the last episode (build-up started four episodes before the end! I can't express how rare that is for a Cdrama).

The only downsides for me were the draggy beginning, the Captain's daughters storyline (it felt like it was there just to fill time), and the side relationships. I loked all of them, I just wish that Wenbo and Xia had gotten less screen time-- they're the SECOND leads, after all.

I also wish we'd gotten more kiss scenes between the leads, just because both Sandra Ma and Bai Qing Ting appear to be good kissers and that's another rarity in Cdramas.

Yeah I was joking. I have every hope that this drama will be great. Just saying that I'll watch it no matter what XD

Hey and that guy who was in Eternal Love is in it too! That's even better

This drama could be a hot pile of garbage and I would still watch it just for Rosy and Yang Yang XD

Why would they dub him? He hasn't been dubbed before, at least not that I'm aware of.

I wish they would do away with dubbing. It's annoying

It's a good thing Mi Ka is a doctor because I'm pretty sure her smile alone could cure cancer

Dislikes:
-Side characters. 99% of the time, the side character is only there to fill time after the leads get together and things start to get boring. I DON'T CARE ABOUT the female lead's bestie's second cousin twice-removed finding love. I want to see the LEADS.
-Rushed endings. Nearly every single Chinese drama I've ever watched drags the last 5-10 episodes and then still manages to rush the last episode. Either end the drama a few episodes earlier or use those episodes to build up to the end so the ending is actually GOOD. (I'm still scarred by Go Ahead's ending).
-People stealing the lead's design trope. It's sole purpose is to fill screen time. It does nothing to move the story forward.
-Glorifying eating disorders. "No Mom, I can't eat today because I gained a few kilos." So wrong in so many ways.
-"Strong" female leads who are so block-headed they can't accept help or advice from anyone. That's not what strength is, folks.
- Leads that only get together in the last episode. I dedicated hours of my life to their story, I deserve more than ten minutes of them actually being together (I'm looking at you, Find Yourself).
-100% agree on everyone thirsting after the male lead. Sometimes it's borderline harassment. Just because he's a guy that doesn't make it ok, Cdramas.
-Too much plastic surgery on the leads. Pretty much all Chinese actors get plastic surgery. I just don't like it when it's really noticeable (sorry Ryan Ding I still love you).

Likes:
-Strong female leads who are really just normal women who are confident in themselves. My favorites are Shen Ruoxin from The Rational Life and Chen Xiao Qian from The Romance of Tiger and Rose.
-Hot leads. I have no shame in being shallow.
-Character development. Find Yourself, The Rational Life, Romance of Tiger and Rose, and Go Ahead were fantastic for this.
-Male leads who wear glasses *fans myself*
-Leads whose sole personality trait isn't being hot.

Yeah it's super unrealistic, but at least it's romantic right? XD

That makes sense. In the US, no form of engineering has a good gender ratio. Computer programming/engineering typically have worse ratios than civil or mechanical engineering. If a woman in the US chooses to go into engineering, she'll typically do mechanical or chemical. I'm one of comparatively few who go into a computer-related field.

Number three surprises me. Women in CS are definitely a very small minority where I live. Maybe it depends where you are?

And I finished! It's a cute watch overall, but I felt like a lot of storylines and flashbacks (especially near the end) were superfluous. I also didn't care for the last few episodes after episode 13-- I felt like the drama lost its original feel after the separation and had a hard time regaining it.
It's a good one to kill time with. But it's not a showstopper.

The one-year separation was just dumb. If you're going to have the leads separate, there needs to be a reason. Usually in dramas, they either separate so they can prove the strength of their relationship by maintaining it long-distance, or they separate so the obstacles against their relationship can move out of the way. This separation did neither of those things. The leads didn't stay in (mutual) contact for the year. None of the obstacles against them moved out of the way during that year. It felt like it was just there to kill time before the end of the drama.
I also felt like Kang Joo Eun should at least be a little annoyed with Kim Young Ho for disappearing for an entire YEAR without even saying goodbye. BRO. That's not cool. Not that I wanted them to break-up, but that was a missed opportunity for some character development for Kim Young Ho. He needs to learn to be vulnerable around people he trusts, or else what will happen later on in his and Kang Joo Eun's married life if he gets sick or injured again? Will he just run away then too? He needs to swallow his pride and at least allow himself to be vulnerable in front of the people closest to him.

This is a cute drama, but I think it's a little overrated. Most of it is very predictable. The only thing really worth watching is the main leads' chemistry and relationship.

Huh I've been watching Thai dramas for years and never knew that the cultural ministry played a part in the lack of real kiss scenes. I just assumed that most Thai actors were super conservative-- I mean they do freak out about kissing someone's cheek (at least in earlier lakorns). At least now I don't have to blame those fake kisses all on Thai actors and directors.

Second comment for the spoiler tag. Honestly, Mr. Xu really isn't a bad guy. We dislike him because he makes the irredeemable mistake of not being the male lead. I'm not saying Shen Ruoxin should've ended up with him-- quite the contrary. He's not a bad guy, he's just all wrong for her. He likes wooing women to feed his own ego. He likes extravagant spending for the same reason. However, we also see that he likes Shen Ruoxin for pretty good reasons: he likes her for being competent, independent, and kind. He does take interest in her for who she is. After Ruoxin rejected him, he accepted her rejection with grace and continued to admire and acknowledge her work as a professional. That's pretty admirable for a man who's used to getting what he wants.

This kind of character depth is one of the reasons why I love this drama so much. Well-developed and well-rounded characters are hard to find in Chinese dramas.

Rewatching this (again). One thing this drama does really really well is show that not only is Qi Xiao attracted to Shen Ruoxin, but she is also attracted to him. We get scenes of her taking second glances at him, feeling momentarily twitterpated, etc. Most Chinese dramas only show the ML ogling over the FL, but here we get both of them ogling over each other. It really enhances their chemistry and makes it more believable.

Fifteen years later and the kiss scene is still iconic

The kiss scene in this one is LEGENDARY. For 2006 Kdrama, at least. Ep 23 is the first real kiss
Happy ending, though a little confusing

Shin Chae Kyung is pregnant at the end... which makes no sense. I watched this years ago and I'm still confused to this day XD Not really bad, just confusing

Part of it is probably the fact that it's a 2010 drama-- for 2010 Kdramas, this was as good as it got. Compared to modern Kdramas, probably not. I love it for the nostalgia and the cuteness.