Suliabryon

RIGHT??? I feel like I've been waiting for A YEAR! It looks SO good. I'm still bitter than Tencent didn't put Eng subs on a single trailer! But it's okay. Some fans helped and translated it here and there.

What is Yan Zixian doing in a vertical drama??? They must be paying the lead actors better these days, huh? I haven't watched beyond the first four minutes yet because I RAN here to see if my eyes were deceiving me, but nope, that is indeed my favorite web drama actor starring in a vertical version of Shadow Love, which wasn't on my c-drama bingo card but is definitely going to be a must watch for me.

I'm in it for now. I love the layers of the other characters. For example, Zhao Lu is basically a psychopath when it comes to violence, but he clearly cares for both Tu Jiasheng and is in love with Bai Manni. Bai Manni is such a self aware character, knowing exactly the world she has chosen to be in and the kind of mistakes that can get anyone in it k1lled at any time, and she used to love TJ but realized at some point that he would never feel the same, and so she moved on. At the same time, she seems fully aware of Lu's feelings for her, but basically tells him she's not good enough - not beautiful enough, not young enough, not special enough. I hope we get more of her back story as the rest unfolds. She's like the jaded Madam who has made the best of her situation in a world where terrible things happen to people for no reason at all constantly.

For the FL...The problem is that the show wants us to see her as a determined, capable woman avenging her sister, but what it actually shows us is someone who repeatedly makes avoidable mistakes and survives only because the male lead is protecting her. Her year of training is meaningless if she can't anticipate security cameras. Her bold attitude toward the hostesses feels unearned when she just got drugged and nearly trafficked. And the fact that she learns nothing from that experience and immediately goes off alone again makes it impossible to root for her. She's not an avenger—she's a liability being kept alive by plot armor.

What frustrates me is that the bones of a great character are there—a woman who loved her sister, who trained for a year, who walked willingly into a viper's nest to find the truth. That should be compelling. But the execution undermines her at every turn. Imagine if instead of stumbling into obvious traps, she showed us why she's dangerous: reading people, gathering information through patience rather than recklessness, using the male lead's interest strategically while wrestling with her complicated feelings about him. Imagine if she learned from the drugging incident instead of repeating the same mistakes. Imagine if she protected the vulnerable people around her the way her sister once protected her. Imagine if her investigation actually progressed because of her cleverness, not despite her foolishness. Instead, we got someone who survives on plot armor and a powerful man's obsession, and it's such a waste of a great premise.

I mean, sure, the FL is the worst character, but that's not exactly the first time I've seen that in a drama, and usually people STILL watch even if it's only for the ML, and in this drama's case, pretty much all of the main characters are doing an outstanding job. It should still hold the interest of at least a decent number of viewers, and these comments would then normally be full of "only watching for the ML or SLC...the FL is awful" type of commentary.

Instead, this is *crickets*. Nothing. Nada.

It is interesting to me how NO ONE seems to be watching this show! Why is that, I wonder? It's airing. Up to ep 16 is out on Tencent/WeTV, and this has to be the least active comment section I've ever seen for a currently airing drama like this that isn't some obscure and impossible to find vertical drama.

I am pretty sure based on some clips I've seen that they will - albeit very slowly and in the background - be going that direction. Like, I haven't seen blatant kissing or anything, but some tropes that definitely have that "heading to romance" feel.

People looking for it, it's on Tencent/weTV with Eng subs. I'm only two episodes in, but it is a glorious AU type of world of where rival gangs control decadent and expensive "entertainment" venues catered to the wealthy, powerful, and corrupt. If dark thriller or dark romance isn't your thing, you should nope right out. If you like complex characters who live in and are shaped by this world of violence and corruption, you're in for a ride. (This show's trigger warnings: LOTS OF VIOLENCE. Prostitution, implied SA (from a clear villain), s3x trafficking....and I'm sure lots of other things. This is a dark world, y'all. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

The central male characters are...I'm not sure if they're actual brothers or just close friends who have fought their way up in this world together. Our ML is nominally "in charge" of Deep in the Bustle, a place where anything can be bought or provided for the right price. He is more serious, feeling the pressure of both leading and holding on to his place against the whims of those more powerful than he is. His brother/friend (played by Zhou Jun Wei of Stolen Love who honestly EATS UP this role) seems to occupy a position of being his second in command but also his chief enforcer. He is a wild card, controlled by his loyalty to his friend, but ready and willing to deliver staggering violence and death at any moment, and he clearly revels in it.

Our FL is the younger sister of the ML's fiance. As you can tell from the description of this show, the sister/fiance is not long for this world. In the wake of her tragic death in this world of violence, our FL becomes determined to find out what happened to her.


The first two episodes are entirely devoted to this backstory and setting the stage for our leads' enemies to lovers vibe and story to unfold.

This feels like the kind of show where everyone involved had a great time throwing restraint to the wind and just leaned into the tropes and as a result everyone shines in their role, the world looks amazing, and you sort of throw realism out the window and just go with it. It's entertaining and violent.

Because the long form dramas with bigger budgets, produced by the big networks and pulling in big advertising dollars have to meet much stricter censorship guidelines to be approved. The short form, especially vertical dramas, are small budget and distributed differently, so they often get to fly under the radar and don't have to pass the same censorship panels.

This show just really comes up with excuses to make them kiss in almost - not quite, but almost - every episode. At least every other episode, lol.

🤣 After the super weird 🐙 scene, anything goes.

A DRAGON.

Okay???

But let's take a step back and go...all right, so our girl's blood was used by her father to try and cure her mother. Did anyone else feel like maybe the mother DIED and the father was trying to bring her back?? Just me? Or maybe she's literally "patient 0" for the affinity virus??? Thoughts?

Interesting the story tidbits we're getting. And of course, our "good guys" are turning out to be "the bad guys", ie they killed the ML's parents because they refused to give him to them.

I TRULY cannot predict where this show is going or what is going to happen next. 🤣

This is more than anything I've found! I applaud your efforts. If you DO happen to fin actual songs..please please please come back and tell me! I will do the same.

I have looked EXHAUSTIVELY with no luck whatsoever. 😭

Right?? It turns out to be the same director! Which explained a lot when I found out, ha ha. The "kiss up the stairs" in EitDN had the exact same vibes as the "kiss crawl across the subway" in this, for example.

I think it's 🔥. It reminds me of the chemistry between them in Embrace in the Dark Night.

My understanding is the rating is comprised of user ratings for the show, and I've always been told rating the individual epsidoes feeds into that score as well?

7.6?! Why are people downgrading this amazing guilty pleasure, PNR romance-novel trope filled deliciously addictive drama?? Goign to go rate every single episode right now to help get that rating higher again. It was at 8.0 once!

My theory: the drugs are a placebo and Ding told him they would work because belief is powerful and he's now developing the skills to recognize emotions. He arguably always had emotions about the FL, just not the ability to actually understand them.

The wrap specials often have scenes we haven't seen yet. Don't click and watch it if you don't want to see them. It's like choosing not to watch a trailer to avoid spoilers.