4
This review may contain spoilers
A 3 acts play that pits business shenanigans against true love
If I'm being honest, this show gives me Queen of Tears vibe. Not that they share any significant DNA, but they both have traffic stars and are very high profile. At least for me, both failed to shine their brightest.
Our ML is THE Bachelor but remains out of reach to most bachelorettes. That is because his mother is the classic queen bee who vets all his girlfriends and chases them away when they are deemed unsuitable. Her cadre of "friends" turns this into a blood sport.
On the other hand, FL's life was a daily grind. She works diligently but has little to show for it. I'm sure many Chinese Gen Z'ers can relate to that. Her sad upbringing made her insecure. She craves security and she will do anything to get it. She basically lied through her teeth to create a persona to capture the ML and allow her to fit into his world. She plans and plots meticulously.
However, this is a very rickety house of cards. She kept running into people (including her real parents and sister) who knows her past. Such lax writing is almost a trademark of this drama. You can't paint her as clever and resourceful, yet dooms her plans with one obvious flaw. It doesn't make sense.
Her life seems to be perfect once she marries the ML. ZLS is beautiful. She is styled exquisitely. Fast cars and luxury are in abundance. It is quintessential the Lifestyle of the Nouveau Riche. Behind all the glitz and glam, a sense of dread is building. Will their love blossom?
Unfortunately, the house of cards comes crashing down in due course. It was nuclear. All the masks are ripped off, pretences burnt away. It was toxic and confronting.
ZLS really brought her A-game for this important pivot. Emotions ran high. The symbolic cleansing of her make-ups signifies the dropping of all her pretenses.
Act 2 begins with a fresh start. Our FL threw away everything she worked so hard to attain. It was a Bowerbird's hoard after all. She starts small and works with the same drive and dedication as before. Except, she will no longer compromise on her principles. It was a trying and testing time.
In the meantime, the ML realised he made a grave mistake. He thought the FL is happy to sell her soul for fame and fortune. It was a bitter pill for such an egotist to swallow.
I'm not going to spoil it, but it took the ML 16 eps to win back the FL. It was fun to watch the ML eat humble pie, but it was draggy in parts. They could have shorten it by removing some of the business side plots.
Then Act 3 hit us, literally. I’m not going to mince words. It is pure dog blood. Ye gods, it was a tsunami of angst. No one is spared. It is mind numbing. Not to mention with less than 4 eps to go, the clock is ticking.
Sure enough, most of the angst bombs fizzled out. This brings me back to my earlier point about lazy writing. The antagonist are hardly subtle nor original. His lackeys are borderline incompetent. They left themselves wide open to counter attack. Resolutions come at pace, but are contrived.
To pad out the straightforward story we have many business ventures. If we cut them out, we could save 10 eps. At one stage, they spend some time at a place called Gubei Town. It was meant to be an historical town famous for their arts and crafts going back hundreds of years. A quick google will tell you Gubei was built from 2010-2014 just outside of Beijing. It is basically a tourist attraction.
BTW, there is a 2CP and a half-hearted 3CP. Maybe it is the way they are written, but they don't have much traction compared to our main leads.
In the end, the show is decent. The production value is high. Instead of food porn, we get fashion parades. ZLS absolutely owns her role. More power to her!
From my perspective, Act 2 is the heart of this show. The ending is sweet but predictable. We don't need all the excess baggage in Act 3.
I don't get the hype though. Yes, our leads have good chemistry, their romance is sweet. We have passionate skinship and the A-plot is serviceable. It is a good c-drama. Just not quite the best of 2025. Peace.
Our ML is THE Bachelor but remains out of reach to most bachelorettes. That is because his mother is the classic queen bee who vets all his girlfriends and chases them away when they are deemed unsuitable. Her cadre of "friends" turns this into a blood sport.
On the other hand, FL's life was a daily grind. She works diligently but has little to show for it. I'm sure many Chinese Gen Z'ers can relate to that. Her sad upbringing made her insecure. She craves security and she will do anything to get it. She basically lied through her teeth to create a persona to capture the ML and allow her to fit into his world. She plans and plots meticulously.
However, this is a very rickety house of cards. She kept running into people (including her real parents and sister) who knows her past. Such lax writing is almost a trademark of this drama. You can't paint her as clever and resourceful, yet dooms her plans with one obvious flaw. It doesn't make sense.
Her life seems to be perfect once she marries the ML. ZLS is beautiful. She is styled exquisitely. Fast cars and luxury are in abundance. It is quintessential the Lifestyle of the Nouveau Riche. Behind all the glitz and glam, a sense of dread is building. Will their love blossom?
Unfortunately, the house of cards comes crashing down in due course. It was nuclear. All the masks are ripped off, pretences burnt away. It was toxic and confronting.
ZLS really brought her A-game for this important pivot. Emotions ran high. The symbolic cleansing of her make-ups signifies the dropping of all her pretenses.
Act 2 begins with a fresh start. Our FL threw away everything she worked so hard to attain. It was a Bowerbird's hoard after all. She starts small and works with the same drive and dedication as before. Except, she will no longer compromise on her principles. It was a trying and testing time.
In the meantime, the ML realised he made a grave mistake. He thought the FL is happy to sell her soul for fame and fortune. It was a bitter pill for such an egotist to swallow.
I'm not going to spoil it, but it took the ML 16 eps to win back the FL. It was fun to watch the ML eat humble pie, but it was draggy in parts. They could have shorten it by removing some of the business side plots.
Then Act 3 hit us, literally. I’m not going to mince words. It is pure dog blood. Ye gods, it was a tsunami of angst. No one is spared. It is mind numbing. Not to mention with less than 4 eps to go, the clock is ticking.
Sure enough, most of the angst bombs fizzled out. This brings me back to my earlier point about lazy writing. The antagonist are hardly subtle nor original. His lackeys are borderline incompetent. They left themselves wide open to counter attack. Resolutions come at pace, but are contrived.
To pad out the straightforward story we have many business ventures. If we cut them out, we could save 10 eps. At one stage, they spend some time at a place called Gubei Town. It was meant to be an historical town famous for their arts and crafts going back hundreds of years. A quick google will tell you Gubei was built from 2010-2014 just outside of Beijing. It is basically a tourist attraction.
BTW, there is a 2CP and a half-hearted 3CP. Maybe it is the way they are written, but they don't have much traction compared to our main leads.
In the end, the show is decent. The production value is high. Instead of food porn, we get fashion parades. ZLS absolutely owns her role. More power to her!
From my perspective, Act 2 is the heart of this show. The ending is sweet but predictable. We don't need all the excess baggage in Act 3.
I don't get the hype though. Yes, our leads have good chemistry, their romance is sweet. We have passionate skinship and the A-plot is serviceable. It is a good c-drama. Just not quite the best of 2025. Peace.
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