Nepeta 22

She really is the star of the show. The central core that pulls all the characters together. Now I can see why they casted her here.

Most of the comments here will naturally center around the 2 male leads but I will tell you from just a drama watcher's point of view. It's quite a female led drama. JPY's character is often the crux of the story and she figures in it a lot. Her scenes & ZXC takes up a large core of the drama up until now.

She pulls the plot and storyline together. She has a kick ass inscrutable demeanor that is part of the mystery. The 2 male characters are more like her little disciples with their own personalities, hopes and fears. ZXC's character is the black sheep and the story is of his growth through guilt and mistakes. This is the general backdrop to the mystery/cases. Very gory and plenty of fight scenes if you are into that.

As for the shippers. Well, two young good looking guys working together with no visible female suitors, they will run wild with their imagination. If you're into that then director has put in a lot of fan service there. Longing gazes, softly lit scenes of one caring for the other punctuated by boyish larking about. This is probably the selling point for those that need this type of love. You will note that after big fight scenes with flips and all, both male characters' hair especially DYX's coiffed hair remains just so 😉

oh well. They are not silly though. Times have changed, and both stars are capable to helping them recoup their expenditure. The currentness of stardom is sometimes all that matters.

Having said that, on paper, just the two stars working together will already be enough for me to be suitibally entertained! For me, there are only 2 female stars that have natural comedy timing, WCR is one, the other would be Li Lnadi.

I got that thanks. I was only responding because your original post sounded like the 'troublesome' actor caused strive for all.

It depends on one production to the others. This production perhaps pressured by the investors felt it's too risky, so used the AI route. This unfortunately further fuels the image of an innocent to look guilty and will more or less be a nail in the coffin to the actor. This is bad timing really. But what it shows is anyone can ruin another person's reputation and have very little consequence.

I think it's all depending on individual dramas and their investors. I suspect the higher the production cost, they will not go for risk.

Zhang Hao Wei. A friend secretly recorded and edited his voice to show his casual comments about tax and prostitution. A court case has since proved his innocence.

It's not really a tax issue. It's an old friend who secretly recorded and edited old conversions. More comments about prostitution.

It seems like the damage has been done and anyone can do this and anyone can ruin an individual's career. Judging from your comment many just read the top headline and when the real news comes through, it's largely ignored.

The actor in question has since cleared his name and the person that edited the recording has since been punished.

Btw, the AI is the least of the issue as far as I'm concerned, it's the dub-over that's terrible. It's too dialed-up and sounds like it's in a very small studio.

This drama was made over 7 years ago so the episode counts matches that of the time.

Well I'm behind so don't have that issue. I'm really enjoying it.

Reminds me of the student dynamics seen in Lighter & Princess during the university days if you've ever seen that drama. I think this is the first time I have seen Alen Fang in a more serious role. It really suits him.

There was an assault around midway through drama (maybe from 20-25 episode), but because it's a very long drama it's quite difficult to find. Someone may come along to be precise. Maybe try a few episodes to see how it goes for you.

I was more interested what happened with her brother after the tragic accident. But it never went there. Strange since in some ways he was instrumental to the outcome indirectly. We also saw nothing with her sister or anyone from her side of the family afterwards.

I didn't mind the focus on her uncle and auntie Hua because their love story is just as complex and important to the general drama. They represented resilience and the old guard that of grass-root opera. So going a full circle back on them made sense. It's still a wow drama for me.

It's one of those dramas that really delve into the complex relationships between friends, old and new, between mentors and students, between lovers. No character is black or white, but plenty of morally grey characters. Throughout the drama, you can't work out straight away who would be betraying another, and I like that type of suspense.

I would say, one of the most natural and realistic dramas I have seen. They managed to make a drama about the banking industry (usually a dry kind of subject) look cool. The cast helps too. From senior actors to up coming actors. It's a treat if you like Lawrence Wang and Yu Hewei.

In this drama, Yu Huwei plays very close to the more recent drama Silent Honor, and I think that type of character suits him so well as I did not like his character in Three-Body. But this is just a personal one. But Wang Jinsong and Tu Song Yan also made great high support performances. Would love more people to try it. They may be pleasantly surprised.

I believe they are speaking in Shaanxi dialect. The traditional opera of the area sing in that dialect too.

City of The City is one of my favourites. The actress you linked on your Youtube was great in it. As for Liang Yong Qi, seeing him in more dramas would be great, but as mentioned before, I can see him in films more. I see a bit of Zhu Yilong about him. He would be wasted being a lead in some idol romance drama.

Looks like a good cast here. Only seen Liang Yong Qi in The Double and part of an ensemble in Under The Skin 2. He strikes me as someone that would do well in films. Would like to see more of him in dramas though. But I reckon in dramas, he will tend to play that high SML, but who knows. In time, he can be a lead.

The rest of the cast, especially with Huang Jue and Tu Song Yan, it should be very interesting. Tu Song Yan was great in The City of the City. So layered and complex, not something I have seen of him until then. So if he's playing a partner in a law firm, I know he is going to be great.

Thanks for doing this, really appreciate it! It looks like every member of the cast were totally immersed in their individual roles, which really showed with the end result!😊

Thanks for letting me know. Either way, very impressive and dedicated. With her background, she is the perfect candidate for the role.

I came across a short interview with Zhai Zilu. Unfortunately, it's not subbed and I cannot pick up much of the mandarin spoken. But I think he mentions 6 months of training. If you don't mind, can I pick your brains? Are you able to verify if that is what he says? On the title, in auto translate, it says he had no formal training but had to get trained for 6 months. Is this what he says in the interview?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zlxIwH_89c

I heard that she had known 2 years in advance that this role would be hers and had been training for nearly 2 years. Anyone who knows if this is true?

I think this factors in the storyline. In episode 32, Auntie Hua even asks FL's uncle if he had a hand in trying to split them up. To which he brushed over it claiming it no more than a little crush.

The interesting thing is both have been held back by her uncle but Hong Bing is far more confident and shameless in his pursuit whilst Xiao Feng Feng is more insecure and the ones that are more pushy sometimes win. But because it's a drama it tends to be the other way round.

If she doesn't end up with him it will be mirroring her uncle's life where fate intervenes in stopping him from properly connecting with Auntie Hua. Both know & care for each other, but never really long periods together. She may end up with Hong Bing, but forever regretting a chance missed with Xiao Feng Feng due to bad timing.