2
4
2
Another day, another CEO romance mini-series
Or that’s what I thought when I started watching this office rom-com. But it’s actually quite a unique little gem!
Bai Jing works as a secretary for a high-strung, conceited, demanding CEO. She hates his guts and would do anything to quit her job. He, of course, is secretly in love with his secretary. Because he has the emotional capacity of a toddler in a sandbox, he thinks that tormenting her at work will somehow lead her to reciprocate.
It’s so cliche that it feels intentionally hammy, like the writers are winking at the audience in episode 1. Because just when ep 1 ends, we get to the real premise of the drama: Secretary Bai becomes trapped in a time loop. She’s doomed to relive the same day over and over again, until she can successfully quit her job and leave her boss. Or so she thinks.
There are more than a few twists and turns in the story, and just when the leads think they’ve figured out what’s going on, they’re thrown for a new loop (pun intended). At first, since the FL is trying to quit and the ML is trying to keep her at all costs, so they are antagonists. Then as the circumstances of the time loop change, so does their relationship, and they start working together against the problem.
The romance therefore felt naturally developed, at least on the part of the FL. I was rooting for them eventually. There’s a dash of mystery involved as well which keeps the non-romance bits interesting.
For such a young actor (he was 20 when this was filmed!), Wang Zi Hao does a great job. He really takes to the role of the cliche CEO, who’s both self-obsessed and FL-obsessed. It was fun to watch him lose his mind trying to keep his secretary’s attention via pigtail-pulling. Han Le Yao holds her own as well. Their physical chemistry was fantastic especially in the later episodes.
TROPES
- Boss/employee relationship
- workplace romance
- time loop
- one-sided crush
- ML falls first and chases first
Bai Jing works as a secretary for a high-strung, conceited, demanding CEO. She hates his guts and would do anything to quit her job. He, of course, is secretly in love with his secretary. Because he has the emotional capacity of a toddler in a sandbox, he thinks that tormenting her at work will somehow lead her to reciprocate.
It’s so cliche that it feels intentionally hammy, like the writers are winking at the audience in episode 1. Because just when ep 1 ends, we get to the real premise of the drama: Secretary Bai becomes trapped in a time loop. She’s doomed to relive the same day over and over again, until she can successfully quit her job and leave her boss. Or so she thinks.
There are more than a few twists and turns in the story, and just when the leads think they’ve figured out what’s going on, they’re thrown for a new loop (pun intended). At first, since the FL is trying to quit and the ML is trying to keep her at all costs, so they are antagonists. Then as the circumstances of the time loop change, so does their relationship, and they start working together against the problem.
The romance therefore felt naturally developed, at least on the part of the FL. I was rooting for them eventually. There’s a dash of mystery involved as well which keeps the non-romance bits interesting.
For such a young actor (he was 20 when this was filmed!), Wang Zi Hao does a great job. He really takes to the role of the cliche CEO, who’s both self-obsessed and FL-obsessed. It was fun to watch him lose his mind trying to keep his secretary’s attention via pigtail-pulling. Han Le Yao holds her own as well. Their physical chemistry was fantastic especially in the later episodes.
TROPES
- Boss/employee relationship
- workplace romance
- time loop
- one-sided crush
- ML falls first and chases first
Was this review helpful to you?
