BadPanda

The plot is fairly ordinary/simple, not to mention they gave it away in the drama description. 9 episodes is more than enough for the typical breakup/study abroad/makeup, proposal and/or wedding plus secondary/tertiary couple get together tropes.

You mean to say as an introvert you don’t ever follow your crush around and wait for him to get off work, deliver handmade breakfast to him almost every workday, go to the airport prepared to wait all day for the chance to drive him to his hotel, buy and deliver dinner to him even though you don’t know for certain that he’s around (and then wait on a bench outside his hotel long after the food is cold), try to hold an umbrella over his head every time it rains, tie a scarf around his neck, and so on and so forth? No way!!?!!!

Even the stray cat is more introverted than the FL

They’re just advanced for the times. Already dancing to Pitbull’s Hotel Room Service while everyone else is still listening to Yu Boya strum the zither.

I like the fact that YS is unlike most other rags to riches/power official MLs who literally set a Guinness record with the speed they leap through the official ranks. This far into the drama YS is still just a lowly rural magistrate with hardly any influence/wealth.

Perhaps his (actor) parents do want to help but their hands are tied due to a limited production budget?

I thought the same! Also, I get he's traumatized, but given she didn't know that, I can't imagine ever chasing someone for that long and hard without getting more than a double "en" in response.

The sponsorship/branding is too funny -- FSZ's sparkling LV jacket at the airport/on the airplane really contradicts his emo vibes.

We think alike

Nothing says psychopath in a modern c-drama like a dude with longer-than average hair and glasses

I get a 'bros before hos' vibe

Bet every time MWY sees LWJ or any other eunuch for that matter, all she feels is disgust as it evokes all those horrible memories of her oppression under YCA. Her attendants as Regent seem to be all women plus the “powerless” male Consort.

Always got the sense MWY never respected/trusted LWJ because she saw through him from the very beginning. Probably because of how he reacted/treated CH after failing the exams, and she only helped him become a eunuch because he was LY's close friend.

Unless they bungle the last arc, I will be giving this a 10.

Also, FZC is a phony skater. Even if all he did was cruise on flat ground and never did any tricks, the bottom of his board should not be pristine. Nor does a real skater own only a single board (or not know how to repair one himself). Small detail but it kills the character for me.

My culinary skills are quite limited so I can sympathize with her sticking with that one “high level/effort” dish she’s mastered.

That said - no man who regularly sips black coffee wants a latte. He’s definitely thanking her for the gesture while secretly pouring it down the drain.

Both of those have their flaws too. Pacing being the top one. That’s a common problem with modern romance c-dramas. Rarely are the stories complex enough to warrant more than 24 episodes.

The longish curly hair and glasses were a dead giveaway. #RoadToSuccess

For someone who is supposed to be a big introvert, it’s a bit off character for her to tell FSZ to reconsider after being flat out rejected the night before. But maybe not that introverted since she’s also an avid live streamer.

I know most will crown TXW the queen of 2026 but hats off to MZY for being a dark horse. So long as TSTR doesn’t bungle the last few episodes, TSTR and Blossoms of Power top WTME and PoJ for me. The latter 2 both started off all pistons firing and then lost steam in the second half. Too soon to tell for TSTR, but Blossoms of Power was better written and more consistently executed from beginning to end.