may

The only reason this show has a plot is because everyone is horrible at their jobs and keeps messing up so they can drag the plotline into the next episode. The characters (except KJS) aren't engaging, the story is bland, and I started skimming through the eps halfway through. I could not stand the female lead and did not care about her story at all. I'm sure that kind of character will and has appealed to other people, but she wasn't for me -- her actions and motivations are all selfish, with little to no thought for anyone else, which would be fine if the show didn't just validate her every move and decision without indicating that she is actually wrong in this case. The case of the week format didn't work for me either, because while I don't mind that, each case was essentially the same, trying to prove the exact same point about the differences between the main characters.

It did make me want to ride the subway though.

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No redeeming part of this show

What a truly horrendous show. I'm convinced the top reviews on the reviews page MUST be bots. There cannot be a way that people consider this a 10 show. "Let people like what they like" NO!!!!!

A laundry list of things that were incredibly stupid in this show:
1. Nothing happens in this show to warrant it having 36 episodes. I am not joking: I watched 10 episodes and NOTHING IN THEM ADVANCED THE SHOW AT ALL. I don't say "advanced the plot" because there is barely any plot, despite attempts at pretending the characters are interesting and the business/journalism stuff stands up.

2. The main romance.... LAUGHABLE. Do they like each other???? What do they like about each other???? What do they tak about??? What do they enjoy doing together??? I ask all of these questions because YOU NEVER FIND OUT THE ANSWERS. These are fundamental to telling a successful romance! There are SO many scenes where they're in the car together, or they're in his office together, and they are just SILENT. They don't talk to each other. They don't do anything! I don't believe they like each other so I don't believe in the romance. The show doesn't WANT you to believe the romance. It just wants you to go along with it because they're the Main Couple.

3. Shi Yan. No personality except Stern. Controlling. Possessive. Terrible Businessman. Also WHD definitely needed to be dubbed.

4. Please stop making Bai Lu play cutesy characters :( She needs more substance than this!!!

5. They stretched out the business/journalism stuff for so long, but they are both TERRIBLE at business AND JOURNALISM?

6. The way the second couple (Shan Shan/Guan Ji) are just MISERABLE. How many scenes did we endure where they would Yearningly Stare at each other, do nothing, willingly misunderstand each other, be completely wrong for each other, and repeat? GROW UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7. The third couple (Shi Yue/Yu You)... ick. Just ick.

8. How many times must a phone ring when they're about to kiss/need to say something important/do anything? PUT THAT SHIT ON SILENT.

9. Speaking of phones, WHY IS IT THAT EVERY CONVERSATION OVER THE PHONE CAN BE HEARD BY THE OTHER PERSON? ARE YOU BLARING THE VOLUME LEVELS OR WHAT?????

10. I have more complaints but I kinda forget about the rest. I'm so glad there are so many episodes.

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Started off strong, bogged down by nonsense and useless plots

This show started off strong with some great character things and romantic development. It made math fun for a bit! Unfortunately, this show suffers from "should've only had 12 episode"-itis and it showed. Once it hit 12 episodes, everything was nonsense. The murder plot was not only ridiculous and needless, IT WAS ALSO RESOLVED POORLY without any of the emotional impact it could've had. Was this only added to pad the episode count? What was the POINT? The last-minute unearned redemption -- NOT character development as others will say -- of several characters who have never shown remorse until the last episode was salt in the wound. The teens were awesome. Haengseon and Chiyeol, when not bogged down by that ridiculous murder plot, were amazing. Haeyi and Haengseon are really the heart of this show. Too bad it failed them.

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Does what it asks for... but you still want more

Out of the now 5 Wei Zheming CEO romcoms I've watched, this one is the closest to "wait maybe this is good" that it gets. Obviously, not counting You Are My Secret -- so far, still the only good CEO romcom in his repertoire!

Unfortunately, the major issue I had with this show was... I didn't care about the main romance. It was just fine. I didn't believe in their chemistry. I don't think they allowed them to actually work through their issues in the relationship (the class differences; their differences in showing how they express their love, namely) because it was just not handled well. Scrolling on my phone during their scenes in the second half of the show, ngl.

I liked the other stuff way more -- En En as a character, the 82 dynamics, the second couple (the two best friends --> fwb --> dating), En En's parents' disapproval rooted in legit concerns! -- so it was annoying when all of that was pushed to the background in the last 10 episodes. Also I didn't realize that the 82 employee/Hai Mei ship actually don't get back together! I'm impressed!!! They actually stuck with it!!!

In the last ~7 episodes or so, after they get together, I was screaming at the screen because Lou Yuan was CONSTANTLYYYYYY disrespecting or ignoring En En's wishes. She had VALID concerns about not wanting to date a client! About not wanting her career to be taken as if she owed it all to her powerful CEO bf! About not wanting all the expensive things! Hated to see her roll over and accept everything -- except that it was MEANT to set up the arc where she ~overcomes her reservations~ because ~love~. HONESTLY THIS IS MY OWN FAULT FOR WANTING MORE OUT OF A SILLY ROMCOM. But! #WeDeserveQualityRomcoms!!!!! There was so much more they could've done with the differences in their upbringing, wealth, and expectations and it felt like they only dipped their toes in, got scared of the potential reaction, and pulled back. I would've LOVED to see that story.

Anyways, people are weirdos for blaming En En for any of this. LOU YUAN IS THE VILLAIN HERE.

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Unforgettable love... because it's so infuriating!!!

This show didn't give me the same unbelievable rage that Perfect & Casual did, but it definitely tried its best to get there with about 10 episodes left. Is it sad that the best part of this romance drama is when they were NOT being romantic?

Here are the good bits:
1. Xiao Bao is super cute. Like one of the cutest babies ever on TV.
2. Generally okay chemistry when the two leads are both playing into the comedy elements -- they are both good at that.
3. The music is nice. I enjoyed the opening theme song a lot.

Now here are the awful/stupid/ridiculous/infuriating things:
1. HOT TAKE: The ML does NOT like the FL. He just doesn't. The show does NOT do a convincing job of showing that he likes her for anything related to her personality or how he is with her or anything that is NOT related to his son. At one point, he compliments her by saying she's a good psychiatrist, is efficient, good to Xiaobao, good to him, and that's it. The show failed at showing me that HQY actually likes QYY for HER, that he wants to be with her because he likes HER and not because his son likes her and she treats his son well.

2. The ML is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO controlling omg. He's not as bad as the ML in Perfect & Casual, but I just HATED HATED HATED how he would literally snatch her away from ANYONE she was talking to -- whether it was her shixiong or her best friend -- and then she would just WALK AWAY WITHOUT ANY ISSUE. DUDE. Your LIFELONG FRIEND wanted to talk to you! And he just pulled you away without any explanation!!! HATED HATED HATED his jealousy. Idc how emotionally inept he is. He has to do better.

3. The FL does have brains this time around... for a little bit. But I agree with everyone else -- do not go to her for psychologist reasons. She will not respect your privacy lmao.

4. The pacing is wack. They drag out the will-they-won't-they for like 19 episodes, they get together for 1 episode, they break up (noble idiocy trope obviously) the next episode, and then there's a rushed reconciliation 1.5 episodes later. WACK.

5. The worst part... the second couple. DUDE. No one has Yang Ruowei's back if they are just letting her settle for the shitstain that is Wen Gu. Immature piece of shit!!!!!! The best parts of their interactions (which were still too many) were when Ruowei would one-up him and make him feel like the undeserving loser he is. BECAUSE HE IS! The last straw was when he intervened (WITHOUT ASKING) in bringing Ruowei's family back when she has CLEAR issues against her family and does not want them involved anymore, all because he thinks she "needs" some family around. And then she obviously yells at him because he doesn't get her AT ALL (AND NEVER DOES!!!!!!!!! HE NEVER DOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and it was a really hurtful thing for him to have done and suddenly in the last 3 episodes, after some more back and forth, he speed grows up and suddenly knows how to manage the company he has been put in charge of for the past several years. YEAH. SURE. I hated Wen Gu SO MUCH. This couple will break up two weeks after the show's timeline ends!

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Cliched romcom that can't overcome its lack of sense

I hate being that person who overthinks what is intended to be a simple, fluffy romcom BUT! I personally believe that we should demand quality from romcoms, no matter how fluffy they are. WHY should we settle for something stupid when we are watching it just like any other show??? I have a LOT of grievances against this show.

CHARACTERS:
1. Yun Shu - girl. This girl should NOT be in public. It is honestly a wonder she has somehow lived to be 21 years old, but I suppose she has been coddled her entire life and she has never had to take care of anything before. Which is fine! Except she is SO AGGRAVATING in her naivete. I hate when writers want to write a Nice Girl character, but they think that that's all a character needs to be so she is also INCREDIBLY dumb and knows NOTHING about the world. Why is it that a girl can't be nice AND also have common sense? Clearly the reason here is because otherwise, there would not be a PLOT, but again -- let's demand quality, people!!!!

Her naivete was ridiculous at first and then it became incredibly frustrating. She never learns from her mistakes! She can't do anything! She just floats on through life worrying about nothing because voila! There will be a man who fixes or solves something for her! EVERYTHING she gets (minus one) in this show is due to a man. It is fucking insulting to watch.
- Getting scammed? Because of her male cousin.
- A place to live? Because of her contractual husband.
- An internship? Contractual husband.
- A job? Her male boss who is inexplicably in love with her (see more below).
- Finding her scammer cousin again? Her husband and boss.

The one time she gets a job offer to study under her comic idol's tutelage is supposedly due to her own skills (we will handwave that it was super unrealistic but w/e)... she still GIVES IT UP FOR A MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT WAS CRAZY. The show doesn't have to be a feminist essay or anything, but can we please have a main character who isn't literally only capable of things because she has a guy make it happen for her?

2. Zhang Sinian - run of the mill unfeeling CEO/boss type who Learns to Love Because of the Female Lead - he's played by Wei Zheming who has a perfect smile and perfect eyes and still cannot save this character. Grew to HATE him by the end because he is controlling and childish. He doesn't let her do anything by herself, doesn't let her make other friends, doesn't let her hang out with friends... and you're supposed to think it's cute because he's "jealous". PASS!!!! You know what, the two of them deserve each other!

3. Yun Shu's sister, Yun Lan - When the show remembered they were sisters, it still felt like the characters themselves forgot. All this shit happened to Yun Shu/Yun Shu gets herself into all of these situations and Yun Lan is NOWHERE TO BE SEEN LMAO?

4. The other characters were not noteworthy.

RELATIONSHIPS:
1. Yun Shu/Zhang Sinian - I actually think contract marriages can be a lot of fun! There's so much to explore there! But this was a MESS because the characters are NOT suited for each other. I understand the premise of the show is "opposites attract and are actually better suited for each other because Love" but I DON'T BUY IT!!!! Anyways, they will never divorce because 1) she doesn't know anything and 2) he will never let her so I wish them a happy life.

2. Yun Lan/the celebrity friend - at what point do we ever find out WHY they like each other? Maybe I was so mad I just stopped paying attention (very real possibility). Also, I hate that he constantly harassed her under the guise of "I'm in love with her so I can do this" like call the cops, girl!!!!

3. The two friends - this is now the second where a couple that is wrong for each other due to very real personality and lifestyle differences breaks up and I'm pleasantly surprised and impressed that the show would do that, only to have them rescind it by the end. GROW UP!!!!!

The OSTs are good though.

Tl;dr: If you want to watch a show with a contract marriage, a sick relative as a plot device, Wei Zheming with a perfect leading lady in Karlina Zhang, an amazing second couple, and a much breezier watch... just watch You Are My Secret instead.

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Strong start and fizzled into the the most pointless story in existence

I wish I could review this show in each of its arcs because if I could, the strength of the initial Yangzhou arc would've made this a 9/10 show. 9 stars only because every time they moved away from the main couple, I was antsy to get back to them. Which probably should've been a sign of the problems inherent in this show: not understanding its strengths (the main relationship, containing the stories to the family, acting), side characters without depth, nonsensical over-the-top villains... which ended up being the rest of the show!!! Honestly, I was with the show until about episode 25, because by that time, it was really digging its heels in with the emperor/palace/political plots. And then suddenly, we're dropped into the court plotting and IT WAS POINTLESS. WHY ARE WE SUPPOSED TO CARE ABOUT THIS KINGDOM? WHY ARE WE SUPPOSED TO THINK THESE OTHER CHARACTERS MATTER?????????? The ENTIRE last 10 episode arc did not need to happen because the only reason it happened was Luo Zishang being wrong about his entire motivation for revenge -- WHICH COULD'VE BEEN RECTIFIED BEFORE THAT ARC STARTED.

I'm getting pissed off thinking about this all over again.

Bless the actors for making the most out of what was clearly nonsense in that script, particularly Liu Xue Yi. Let's get you some better scripts, my dude.

At least we'll always have episode 9...

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WAY UNDERWHELMING MUCH. Everyone hyped it up too much but it's a pretty shot by shot/line by line remake of the original, so it was much better when it deviated from it. However, I'm not a procedural (medical, crime, OR law) fan so I found myself skipping most of the cases. Everyone knows that the PERSONAL stuff is what we're here for. At a certain point, I was so tired of the cases that I thought about just dropping it but I had all the episodes ready so I was willing to go through with it until the end. Undeniably, it is a good drama with great acting. I don't fault them for that at all. Special shout out, of course, to Jeon Do Yeon who is magnificent and makes Alicia more compelling to me in this adaptation than the original. Then, of course, I have to laud praise on Yoo Ji Tae who is so charismatic it made it hard for me to root for anyone but him, which was a  HUGE surprise because I don't normally favor the "villains" and especially PETER FLORRICK. But he was perfect in it. His scenes with JDY were the highlight of every episode and while I KNOW that Will/Joong Won is the ~better guy~, it's hard to root for someone who is honestly just... bland. Just THERE. I just never bought the connection or the character (even tho I love Will???) and while I do really like Yoon Kye Sang, it just wasn't enough in this drama. Overall, probably better if you haven't seen the American show, but maybe worth it for the acting if you want to watch it.

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Watch another drama instead and save yourself 24 episodes of nothing

Every other revenge drama has done revenge a lot better than this show. That's really all you need to know about this show. Every plot point is predictable, every twist telegraphed way in advance, every scene pulled from a different show that undoubtedly did it better. There is NO heart in this and it's not even fun to watch for the crazy stuff... because nothing crazy happens!!! You know exactly what is going to happen, how it's going to happen, and what will result from it immediately. I lost track of how many times I went "oh boy WHO would've guessed THIS would happen????" because if you've watched any show ever... you know what will happen.

Other gripes:
- Every character is both smart and stupid depending on what the scene needs them to be. EVERY SINGLE ONE. You could make this a drinking game.
- Still no chemistry between Wei Zheming and Xu Lu. You do not get a sense that the two characters love each other.
- None of the emotional beats hit!
- WHY DID THEY HAVE THE STORYLINE WHERE HER NEW BROTHER FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE WOMAN WHO NOW HAS HER SISTER'S FACE???? AND WHY DID EVERYONE ACT LIKE THIS WAS FINE?????????? NO ONE WAS LIKE "THIS IS WEIRD, DUDE"???????????????????????????????????????? WHY??????????????????????????????????????? (Other than that, I liked Zishan... at least he stayed consistent.)
- One note villains.
- Why was this 24 episodes?

Save yourself the trouble of watching this show and watch ANYTHING else.

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