peonyshade

The drama actually started off quite well. I thought it would be a typical historical romance where the leads slowly fall in love from afar. However, the male lead started displaying some really questionable and abnormal behavior later on. I personally cannot stand it when one character forces their feelings onto the other, and frankly, what is labeled as 'romance' here felt more like a toxic relationship.
I also really dislike passive female leads. Sure, she might have felt ashamed of her fiancé, but she was portrayed as a smart character. She could have easily reached out to someone, spoken up, and handled the situation instead of just enduring it.
I managed to watch up to episode 10, and hoping things might improve, I checked out some spoilers on xiaohongshu. I’m honestly so glad I did, otherwise, I would have made the mistake of finishing this terrible drama. I had been anticipating this release for months, and it was definitely not worth the wait. I normally really like Cheng Lei in his other roles because he usually portrays gentle, respectful characters, but this project was a huge disappointment. :(