Shreya

I fully agree on the fire scene; I was really disappointed with that too. It's one of my least favourite scenes in the entire drama.

Qi Zheng was immature, possessive and insecure. On most occasions, his jealousy over ZS was unnecessary and too much to the point it was annoying (maybe it was meant to be funny idk) but his insecurity was not entirely uncalled for given he spent the majority of the drama confessing his love which Fan Yun brushed aside or constantly chose something else over him.

Before the last crash out particularly, he fought his way through assassins to find the woman he loved in a wedding attire crying over another man. He still tried to be understanding like always but yeah, he was scared. I think it's not that he didn't believe that Fan Yun loved him but that he was scared she wouldn't choose him yet again. Personally, I don't think that particular scene was about his jealousy over ZS but about Fan Yun, he was asking her to process and think about her feelings about everything, like he said himself.

Oh I'm so glad they showed that little moment between Gao Ran and Liu Mu.

Might be a bit of an unpopular opinion but while I was a little annoyed at Qi Zheng's constant jealousy, I think his crash out in the last ep was kind of valid.

Finally finished the drama and all things considered, I'm fine with the ending. I was generally not invested into the plot for the most part and just loved the character dynamics and cast, so overall I still enjoyed the drama. The final arc was meh, wish they showed some character development for ZS after all this time but oh well the ending for the other characters were decent.

Final rating is somewhere around 8/10.

Yeah I have no idea why they make the ending credits like that 😭 Thanks to that I've developed the habit of changing my tab the second the ep ends so that I can just listen to the bgm and not get spoilers lol

Omg definitely! What do you mean you haven't watched it yet?! You should start right away and do let us know how you like it!

I don't know either 😭. There are so many dramas I wanna watch so I start them but I get distracted a lot and start more lol. There are two more I'm planning on starting very soon 😭😭

Watched the first two eps and they were kind of underwhelming ngl, but the visuals look good. I'll give it a few more eps before making up my mind.

To be honest, I'm not very sure on the specifics either but from what I've gathered, the production team did not secure all the necessary rights from the original work before going into filming. That's why they had to 'fix' some scenes when editing to avoid copyright which resulted in uneven scene cuts.

I've heard that they had to censor some parts too but again, not sure on the specifics and since I am not familiar with the source material, I can't really comment on its contents. Hopefully someone with a little more knowledge can shed some light on the changes cuz I'm curious too.

Yes, it does kind of gets better later. After the first few episodes, it becomes less noticeable and is no longer distracting.

There's an actual Chi Wen played by Wang Duo. Don't worry, they'll explain everything eventually.

You're welcome ❤️

Personally, I don't mind the FL's lack of response much either. Yes, the ML loves her and have said that again and again, but it doesn't mean that she has to reciprocate that feeling and it's not like she's actively trying to manipulate him or take advantage of his feelings. She cares for him and returns his kindness and attention in due, but she doesn't owe her feelings to anyone.

That being said, I would not be calling this drama a romance either and wouldn't watch it as such since the romance clearly appears to be subsidiary and not the main focus here.

You could also check out this review I wrote if you want a little more insight.

https://kisskh.at/profile/SadiaShreya/review/582780

The story is okay honestly, but the main problem lies with the production. Since this was filmed in 2023 and suffered from some copyright and censorship issues, the editing and storytelling is not coherent. But it's still very enjoyable and fun to watch! So, it's best to give it a few eps and see if you like it for yourself.

Are our old friends back??

Yes

Lighting the beacon tower means the capital and the Governor is asking for help from the noble families (the other 8 cities) and I assume is done only in extreme circumstances as it means the Governor is unable to handle the situation on his own.

Qi Zheng couldn't light the beacon himself because when he established the national selection exam, Lord Zheng put forth a condition that during the one-year trial period of the exam if Qi Zheng lights the beacon and asks help from the nobles then the national selection exam would be abolished.

A few but personally, I found them pretty mediocre. This is an old production with low budget, so the production quality is not very high but it's still very enjoyable. The cast is really good and the comedy here is done exceptionally well. So, if you want to watch something light and fun, you can give it a try.

Not the trio bullying Gao Ran into drinking with them 🤣🤣Also loved their drunk ramblings, it was so hilarious 🤣