itsariaselenecruz

I found him creepy right from the start.

The First Frost is sitting on my hold bench for now. Will check out your review. I can usually tell within the first episode if a drama’s my cup of tea, and that car chase in Ep 1? Let’s just say it lost me at the turn—between the unreal scene and the FL’s initial acting, my suspension of disbelief skidded off the road. I might circle back later when I'm at a different mindset and since I'm curious if BJT is as talented as people say. Before Love's Ambition, I've been watching K-dramas.

Yup definitely. And let’s not forget—it was Fang Lei who claimed he entered marriage with no intention of love… which was clearly a lie. Haoming’s line about never falling for Xu Yan after discovering her deception didn’t mean he hadn’t already fallen. In episode 14, Xu Yan’s confrontational tone forced his guard up; knowing her secrets too, he went full defense mode. Classic male ego move—hurt first, rationalize later, all while denying to himself that he’s not already hopelessly in love.

It's so enjoyable. This is the only C-Drama that I've rewatched immediately after completing it for the first time.

I guess I'm so used to how Hollywood presents these type of thought processes scenes. Like "thought process storytelling" by showing the plan being explained and the plan being executed in an overlapping, cinematic way.

Shen Haoming's attention to detail when it comes to Xu Yan is a clear indicator that he loves her. Heck... my BF of 10 years doesn't even remember my phone number... cause it's saved on his contact list blah blah blah... 🙄

Read my post again — I said to some it might be disappointing, but to millions of viewers, clearly not. You don’t get millions of people tuning in because they’re bored — that’s not how entertainment works. 😏 And really, why drag Douban into this? I never mentioned ratings. FYI, 168K reviewers does not represent millions of viewers, not to mention international viewers. Majority of people don’t log into niche rating sites after every episode just to score stars.

Ratings are subjective and means nothing when people can manipulate it. But whatever floats your boat, so believe what you will.

check out the views per episode that people are posting. Why limit it to Douban... is that the only platform??? That's a rating site... doesn't necessarily reflect actual views...

Love the Twilight analogy. I didn't even realize that the plan A and plan B could've been only in their minds. If that was the case, they should have shown it more clearly, like they were just planning it and went live with plan C instead.

If this is true, I'm assuming this agency practice fair management, uphold good governance, and actually value their artists? A rare trifecta in the entertainment world, if true.

To you, maybe, but not to millions of viewers. As Xu Yan might say, you are 1 of 10. ☝️👌

Sure, the maternal grandparents and aunt technically have more “legal weight,” but if Love’s Ambition has shown us anything, it’s that biology doesn’t always equal belonging. Xu Yan’s own family proves that. What did matter was the love, perception, and consistency of care — something the Shens gave Haochen for twelve solid years.

And about that ending — the absence of SHC in the final episode isn’t necessarily tragic. It’s ambiguous, yes, but maybe intentionally so. The mention about him “going back to school” could mean he’s simply stepping out of the spotlight, growing up in peace — possibly still with the Shens. Just because the show didn’t frame him in the last scene doesn’t mean he’s been erased from their lives. It’s as much an assumption to say he’s with his maternal relatives as it is to say he stayed — and frankly, given the emotional throughline of the drama, my bet’s on the latter.

After all, Love’s Ambition has never been about who deserves love by birthright — it’s about who chooses to love and stay, even when they don’t have to.

Yes, social and legal are separate. However, legally, the Shen family can file for custody and guardianship and it will be granted since, the biological father is unknown and absent. The court system do take into consideration who has taken care of the child and who is willing and capable of loving and supporting the child. However, this will also entail that they will have to tell Haochen the truth. I would assume that they will eventually tell the truth since the drama is about truth and being real. I believe this is why viewers feel that Haochen's story is somewhat open ended. Also, this is based on what I know and have experienced with the Canadian family court system...

We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. Haochen is just a 12-year-old kid who’s only ever known one family. What Fang Lei did was undeniably cruel—she stole his identity and his birthright. But the Shen family didn’t knowingly play along with the lie; by the time they realized the truth, the damage was already done. That picture in the family album labeled “dad, mom, son” wasn’t deceit—it was love in its purest, if most complicated, form. Blood doesn’t define a family; love and care do. If it did, then as a stepmom, I’d be what—just a housemate? Maybe when Haochen’s older and emotionally grounded, Shen Haoming and Xu Yan will tell him the truth. Then, he can decide for himself if finding his biological father is worth reopening old wounds—or if the family who raised him is already enough.

In the end, Haochen is their son by choice even if it's not by blood.

Beautiful location

It was Fang Lei's blubbering and saying sorry that kind of threw me off. So out of character for her.

Same, it's nice discussing different point of views.

I loved Xu Yan and Shen Haoming's reaction to the truth and their decision to love Haochen unconditionally, I just wish the revelation hadn’t come via Fang Lei’s sudden guilt purge.

Thank you

Totally agree. Shen Haoming was drawn to Xu Yan not just for her charm, but because he saw a mirror of his own values, drive and ambition in her. He fell for her—he invested in her, cared for her, protected her, and built a life around her. What he didn't realize and couldn't accept at the beginning, especially after finding out about her lies, was how deeply he fell in love with her. The lies didn’t just break trust—both were forced to question what was real and what was projection. In the end, they had to fall apart to see each other clearly again, to strip away pride and pretense until all that was left was the love that had been there since they both said “I do.”

I think Shen Haoming started to emotionally retreat after Xu Yan got hurt—because guilt started gnawing at his self-righteous armor. The possibility that he’d completely misread her must’ve terrified him. And in classic Haoming fashion, instead of facing that uncomfortable truth, he doubled down on control and denial—right up until Xu Yan finally did what he couldn’t: let go.