geechoo

FL gave him 3 demands and he couldn't fulfill any of them so he decided to take a job outside the capital to get away from her. However the job is viewed as undesirable so Gao broke up the engagement between his daughter and Ouyang.

lol Chen Xiao used to be one of the og pretty boy actors in idol historical dramas in the early 2010s. then he got married and only acted in serious contemporary dramas that most international audiences don't watch.

tbh he's like that because of his job and he struggles with it too which is shown in the later episodes.

I kind of don't want them to go down the path of secret birth lol I feel like that would be far too makjang while the plot has mostly been quite lowkey so far

ML actor said this drama had the most kissing scenes he's ever filmed lol but I'm not sure if all of it made it into the drama.

I just hope it won't be dragged out. I hate when dramas drag out conflict with the ML/FL families.

I also have bad feelings about the ML's fate

yes that boat scene was perfect and conveyed the ML's feelings for FL without a single word being said. the directing and acting in that scene is so perfect. muting the voice of the ML's subordinate was such a brilliant touch to show how even though there's someone speaking in front of him, his thoughts are completely on the FL.

I don't think she will get the same ending. She already went through Lydia's entire character arc in the first 10 episodes lol I think character has a lot of potential to show growth over the series. hope the writer won't let me down

does anyone else get jane austen vibes from the female characters? FL reminds me a lot of the headstrong leads in Austen novels and the 3rd female lead (the pipa player) reminds me of the naive Lydia in P&P. aside from the chemistry between FL/ML, it's the female interactions that really make this drama enjoyable.

he's really good at doing that smouldering gaze lmao there's an earlier scene where he's on a boat looking at her that also gave me butterflies

same. I hope the rest of the drama measures up to the great start. I feel like this might drag a bit because the scope of the drama is fairly small.

liu yi fei's fame has actually died down a bit in recent years. her movie Mulan was a flop in China and she hasn't acted in a drama since 2006. she's a big name definitely but that's not enough to guarantee a well received drama. See: Yangmi's last couple dramas that got low ratings

there's a couple big name dramas coming this summer but this one is def the surprise hit so far

sometimes there isn't enough votes

ok I just finished binging up to episode 12. I seriously LOVEE this drama so far. The acting, set, cinematography, etc are all close to perfect for a cdrama. The two leads have so much chemistry it's insane. There is a small scene in episode 12 where he watches her while she's preparing tea and the chemistry is palpable.

the green screen is only really noticeable in the boat scene.

she's always been famous for her beauty in China but it's true that she was criticized for wooden acting in the past. she improved a lot in this drama imo.

I'm up to episode 5 right now and I really like it! I'm impressed by the cinematography and scenery. It almost looks movie like? It doesn't have the "fake" feel of other cdramas. There was one scene in episode 1 or 2 where they were on a boat and it was so obviously cgi/greenscreen but other than that, the filming has been gorgeous.

Acting wise, I have no complaints. I've never been a fan of Liu Yifei in the past because I find her a wooden actress but she has really improved in this drama! I seriously think this is the best she's acted in anything. Chen Xiao hasn't really gotten much to do so far but I know he's a good actor from past work. His character is just kind of the typical strong and silent prototype. On the other hand, I love how strong the female characters are so far. I hope they don't mess up the characterization later on.

All in all, this is one of the most gorgeously shot cdramas I've watched in recent years. I'm definitely impressed so far and I hope the later episodes are just as good.

I liked him a lot in AOUAD. Physically, he's perfect to become a male lead. Acting-wise he could still use improvements. There are parts where he comes off as very wooden but then there are other parts where his charisma is insane. Hope he finds the right balance because I really would like to see him become big.