I searched Iquyi for it, but can't find it. Can you share the link? I'm a IQIYI subscriber.
I just watched it on Iqiyi - it's All About Secretary Li - did you find it? Also - it only on the apps - shorts aren't available on the desktop version
I am with most the commenters - do not understand the lower rating - I found this waaaayyy more engaging than Love Beyond the Grave. Zhou Yi Ran is FANTASTIC in this - dont htink I have watched him in anything else. He just nailed this character. Mysterious, sexy, that deep voice and his costuming was amazing! Story was pretty interesting and not your typical wuxia. FL - just 'meh' for me. I sometimes liked her, sometime didn't - but she did do her fight scenes very well. FL's little brother was ADORBS! Villain didn't surprise me - had it figured out pretty early on. Had me guessing for a bit - but as soon as they show him clenching his fists when the girl gets the hairpin - pretty much sealed the deal. And in wuxia/xanxia- its always the head of the 'rightous' sect - lol!! Good ending - although I could have done without the musical number at the end - just silly. I say - give it a go - and stick with it as there a number of good twists, but not overly complicated.
Finished this a couple of days ago and wanted to share my take - but I had to sit with it for a bit - not because it was soo amazing - but because I couldnt pin-point why it didnt work for me. It checked all the right boxes - good cinematography, great costuming, good actors, interesting story - all really good. But it just lost me during the Void story arc - not lost the plot, i got bored. I started to lose interest in the characters. Got tired of all the grand entrances (especially the FL). The cinematography started to feel forced - like, going for the artsy shot just for the sake of being artsy - didnt add to the story at all. I felt this way about The Double and even had to go look up if it was the same director (it is not). I also found I didnt much care for most of the Void characters and it really only served two purposes - introducing us to the villain and some slight backstory for the FL - otherwise, I was like - 'meh'. And from there - I really found I just lost interest in the whole thing. I only finished because I just cant drop a drama was I get so far in. But kind of kickin' myself that I didnt cause it gave me the endings I hate the most - I want clear resolution, one way or another. And dont do the alternate ending crap - make a choice and stick to it! While the leads had some good chemistry - it just didnt get all the way there - something was just missing. it took waaayy too long for her to get there and by then, I felt so bad for the ML - I kinda didnt want them together anymore - it was not a healthy relationship in the slightest. I will give kudos to Dilreba - no one does sad, doe-eyes like she does - lol!! Now - I dont want anyone thinking I am dissin' her cause I think this is probably one of the best characters she has played. I don't know - if you like this genre, like the main actors - give it a go - i just missed the mark for me. Edit: forgot to mention, that the character who really stole the show, was The Prophet - give this man an award!
this is one of those dramas i wanted to like, but was mostly just frustrated by an awful script. The FL who plays the noble idiocy card (I am trying to save you by secretly investigating what happened, but not going to tell you and push you away all the time). And then making really bad decisions most of the time. The obnoxious ML who keeps making stupid decisions (mostly cause FL doesnt tell him what she is doing), which then pushes her farther way. The power-hungry/insecure Empress Dowager who has created this whole mess cause she was treated poorly in her younger days in the palace Basically wanted to smack all of them most of the time. The final palace intrigue arc at the end wasn't too bad - nice twist with 2ML - ending was just stupid.
This is awful and I would hope MDL would take this down or at least be clearer how disrespectful these c-netizens are being. There is no need for any of this. Everyone would have been perfectly fine waiting for 'official' photos or even no photos at all. This is a very private moment for two human beings and they deserve their privacy.
would love to see her in a drama where they dont put her in platform chunky high heels - I get she is tiny - but its the same white platform shoes everywhere!
this is one of those dramas that I liked, mostly, but also disappointed in the end. It really had me loving it in the beginning, but ultimately lost it in the end. I loved the attempt to address obsessive fans (such a HUGE problem) - although, ultimately, none of them faced any serious consequences for their behavior. I didnt like the FL out the gate because she was a fangirl (while not stalker/obsessive - it was an unhealthy level of fandom) - so I was glad that part of her story was dealing with that and it felt like we had gotten to a happy/heathy appreciation level of being a fan and then, nope - in the end, she literally throws the idol out of her bed to go buy merch - like WTF?? Bought tickets to a concert when he gave her a ticket. She went right back to where she started and it just felt like it negated the whole point of the drama. As to the ML and FL relationship - just not written well - had potential, but it was like they just couldn't decide what they wanted. It had potential - so it just never got there. For me, it felt like, mostly because the FL character didn't get there completely. She was so awkward. Part of it was because they kept having her give him these beautiful life lesson moments - like she is some great sage, when, really, she is just as much (if not more) of a hot mess. So, felt more like a mentor at times. Part of it was a so much of their time together was about the case and too little time spent on building a romantic relationship that it feels like an afterthought at times. Dont get me wrong - one of the best kissing scenes - but we dont get it until the very end. Thought ML actor did a great job - FL actress, not so much - not bad, but not that great either. Loved the relationship between the FL and her boss - so cute Its worth a watch - purely for the take on Idols and fandom - not so much for the romance part.
This one will go down as one of the calssics - the show you tell your friends to watch if they are new to cdramas. Just, all around, well done. Good writing, wonderful characters, beautifully filmed, amazing costumes (a special shout out to whoever did the ML's costumes - just superb!) They hit the high notes right, hit the low notes right and hit the comedic notes perfectly (these scene when the empress dowager is paralyzed and they wheel her out and she cant keep her head up had me spittin'!) I think this is Ryan Cheng's best work to-date - he was masterful here. Man, did he know how to walk into a room and own it - in almost every scene, but especially when he was in 'emperor' mode - then could switch to soft and sweet with that crooked smile - made you swoon! -thenthe madness and pain - you just felt it all. I enjoyed the FL and thought she did a fantastic job - just wasn't blown away from her performance as I was the ML. Mr Bie - ah, Mr Bie - don't think I can say enough about how awesome this character was. From the scene where he reunites with the ML and the whole discussion about why he is disguised as woman until the end - the two people playing this role were fantastic! I would almost give this a perfect 10 if it weren't for a few things - would have like to have seen consort xie alive and well back in the real world and would have like a little more time with the main leads back in real world (and how did they get there?when did they get there, etc..) Overall, though - so well done - kudos to all who worked to make it happen!
Just finished this - but it took me a while because the story got kind a boring half-way through. The cast and characters were fantastic and this is really what held me through. Every character was so well thought out, had depth and were interesting. The relationships to the ML was were so good. But the story itself was kind of dry. Started off strong with the escape and meeting the Chang's - but once he actually got home - start to fizzle. Then really fails towards the end - especially the big reveal and consequences of that. Thought the Ms Su character got completely wasted in the second half - which was a shame - she was sooo intriguing and there was so much potential there. And, while we didnt need a big romance - a bit more attention to this would have been nice. Also bummed we didnt get to see Pengwen get married. Ending was very unsatisfactory.
I think I would have enjoyed this more if the FL wasn’t so childish, especially when with the ML. I mean, did she just forget she slept with him or what? And she initiated that encounter. It’s just weird how she turns into this absolute child with him after that. So wish they would stop writing FL characters like this.
Zhou Yi Ran is FANTASTIC in this - dont htink I have watched him in anything else. He just nailed this character. Mysterious, sexy, that deep voice and his costuming was amazing!
Story was pretty interesting and not your typical wuxia.
FL - just 'meh' for me. I sometimes liked her, sometime didn't - but she did do her fight scenes very well.
FL's little brother was ADORBS!
Villain didn't surprise me - had it figured out pretty early on. Had me guessing for a bit - but as soon as they show him clenching his fists when the girl gets the hairpin - pretty much sealed the deal. And in wuxia/xanxia- its always the head of the 'rightous' sect - lol!!
Good ending - although I could have done without the musical number at the end - just silly.
I say - give it a go - and stick with it as there a number of good twists, but not overly complicated.
It checked all the right boxes - good cinematography, great costuming, good actors, interesting story - all really good. But it just lost me during the Void story arc - not lost the plot, i got bored. I started to lose interest in the characters. Got tired of all the grand entrances (especially the FL).
The cinematography started to feel forced - like, going for the artsy shot just for the sake of being artsy - didnt add to the story at all. I felt this way about The Double and even had to go look up if it was the same director (it is not). I also found I didnt much care for most of the Void characters and it really only served two purposes - introducing us to the villain and some slight backstory for the FL - otherwise, I was like - 'meh'. And from there - I really found I just lost interest in the whole thing. I only finished because I just cant drop a drama was I get so far in. But kind of kickin' myself that I didnt cause it gave me the endings I hate the most - I want clear resolution, one way or another. And dont do the alternate ending crap - make a choice and stick to it!
While the leads had some good chemistry - it just didnt get all the way there - something was just missing. it took waaayy too long for her to get there and by then, I felt so bad for the ML - I kinda didnt want them together anymore - it was not a healthy relationship in the slightest. I will give kudos to Dilreba - no one does sad, doe-eyes like she does - lol!!
Now - I dont want anyone thinking I am dissin' her cause I think this is probably one of the best characters she has played.
I don't know - if you like this genre, like the main actors - give it a go - i just missed the mark for me.
Edit: forgot to mention, that the character who really stole the show, was The Prophet - give this man an award!
The FL who plays the noble idiocy card (I am trying to save you by secretly investigating what happened, but not going to tell you and push you away all the time). And then making really bad decisions most of the time.
The obnoxious ML who keeps making stupid decisions (mostly cause FL doesnt tell him what she is doing), which then pushes her farther way.
The power-hungry/insecure Empress Dowager who has created this whole mess cause she was treated poorly in her younger days in the palace
Basically wanted to smack all of them most of the time.
The final palace intrigue arc at the end wasn't too bad - nice twist with 2ML - ending was just stupid.
It really had me loving it in the beginning, but ultimately lost it in the end.
I loved the attempt to address obsessive fans (such a HUGE problem) - although, ultimately, none of them faced any serious consequences for their behavior.
I didnt like the FL out the gate because she was a fangirl (while not stalker/obsessive - it was an unhealthy level of fandom) - so I was glad that part of her story was dealing with that and it felt like we had gotten to a happy/heathy appreciation level of being a fan and then, nope - in the end, she literally throws the idol out of her bed to go buy merch - like WTF?? Bought tickets to a concert when he gave her a ticket. She went right back to where she started and it just felt like it negated the whole point of the drama.
As to the ML and FL relationship - just not written well - had potential, but it was like they just couldn't decide what they wanted. It had potential - so it just never got there. For me, it felt like, mostly because the FL character didn't get there completely. She was so awkward. Part of it was because they kept having her give him these beautiful life lesson moments - like she is some great sage, when, really, she is just as much (if not more) of a hot mess. So, felt more like a mentor at times. Part of it was a so much of their time together was about the case and too little time spent on building a romantic relationship that it feels like an afterthought at times. Dont get me wrong - one of the best kissing scenes - but we dont get it until the very end.
Thought ML actor did a great job - FL actress, not so much - not bad, but not that great either.
Loved the relationship between the FL and her boss - so cute
Its worth a watch - purely for the take on Idols and fandom - not so much for the romance part.
Just, all around, well done.
Good writing, wonderful characters, beautifully filmed, amazing costumes (a special shout out to whoever did the ML's costumes - just superb!) They hit the high notes right, hit the low notes right and hit the comedic notes perfectly (these scene when the empress dowager is paralyzed and they wheel her out and she cant keep her head up had me spittin'!)
I think this is Ryan Cheng's best work to-date - he was masterful here. Man, did he know how to walk into a room and own it - in almost every scene, but especially when he was in 'emperor' mode - then could switch to soft and sweet with that crooked smile - made you swoon! -thenthe madness and pain - you just felt it all.
I enjoyed the FL and thought she did a fantastic job - just wasn't blown away from her performance as I was the ML.
Mr Bie - ah, Mr Bie - don't think I can say enough about how awesome this character was. From the scene where he reunites with the ML and the whole discussion about why he is disguised as woman until the end - the two people playing this role were fantastic!
I would almost give this a perfect 10 if it weren't for a few things - would have like to have seen consort xie alive and well back in the real world and would have like a little more time with the main leads back in real world (and how did they get there?when did they get there, etc..)
Overall, though - so well done - kudos to all who worked to make it happen!
The cast and characters were fantastic and this is really what held me through. Every character was so well thought out, had depth and were interesting. The relationships to the ML was were so good.
But the story itself was kind of dry. Started off strong with the escape and meeting the Chang's - but once he actually got home - start to fizzle.
Then really fails towards the end - especially the big reveal and consequences of that.
Thought the Ms Su character got completely wasted in the second half - which was a shame - she was sooo intriguing and there was so much potential there.
And, while we didnt need a big romance - a bit more attention to this would have been nice. Also bummed we didnt get to see Pengwen get married.
Ending was very unsatisfactory.