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What Does It Mean To Live Your Dream Life?

I loved this drama because it didn’t shy away from using a sci-fi memory distortion concept for characters with normal lives and dreams. Jiang Xiao Yuan, the female lead (played by Liu Han Cun), is from a wealthy background and a car crash sends her to a world in which she lives a life of poverty. If it weren’t for the male lead, Qi Lian (played by Lin Yi), who knows the “other her” from this world, she would be beaten and starving on the streets. The pair hate each other but they are determined to figure out what happened to her and the “other her” of this world who disappeared and send her back to her world.

The actress Liu Han Cun did such a wonderful job at portraying someone who’s both confused and outraged at what she believes to be this parallel reality that is harsh and unforgiving to her. And Lin Yi really played his role well too because he’s quite horrible at first until he softens.

At first, I was upset that this wasn’t a time travel story but then I was relieved it wasn’t because we got to witness the ML fall in love again with the “new identity” (wiped out memory) of the FL. The show also gradually introduced the real mystery (a memory alteration program that has gone wrong) that was disguised as a time travel device. There were actually quite a few twists and turns that made this an entertaining and rewarding watch in my opinion.

There’s a whole arc of her slowly regaining her memories and we see how close the ML and FL lead were in high school, how they always protected each other. At some instances, we also understand the anger and grief the ML has gone through and how everything is all interconnected in the end.

In the meantime, the FL works her way into becoming a hairstylist/makeup artist, which introduces other interesting characters into the storyline and gives her a second chance at life. I believe in the end, the message was to follow one’s dreams despite one’s burden (financial, familial, societal, etc.) To me, the drama presented a satisfying ending and I was rooting for the couple as they relearned to trust each other and repieced her memories.

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The Heaviness of Being A Muse

The story follows Jay-jay, a high schooler who’s sent to live with her aunt and cousins, after being expelled from her previous school. She’s sent to HVIS, the same private school as her cousin Ares. At HVIS, she is left to fend for herself as she’s sent to the delinquent class ‘Section E’ which happens to be comprised of 16 rowdy boys. Ares, who’s in Section A, does not want to associate with her or help her when she gets bullied both by Section E and Section A. Although alienated by everyone, Jay-jay quickly makes her first true friend, the silly younger boy named Ci-N.

As the days pass, Jay-jay becomes closer to each boy and the drama they’re involved with until she becomes their "Mutya" (muse.) Tension rises as Section E is constantly targeted by other gangs, Jay-jay’s trauma intensifies during the gang fights, causing to literally crash out and black out. Not only is she estranged, she’s also kept in the dark about her family history. To make matters worse, she captures the heart of Section E’s leader Keifer and of his best friend and nemesis Yuri. This love triangle is at the heart of this drama as both boys have previously fought and passed over the popular and beautiful Ella, the previous Section E girl, who just happens to be her cousin Ares’ girlfriend.

At the time of release, I was consumed by this. Once I got past the cringiness, I realized I couldn’t stop watching to see what would happen next: which rival gang Section E will fight next, and what secret the next Section E boy is hiding and dealing with on his own before Jay-jay gets to meddle and help. I even went on to read Books 1 and 2 translated online into English from the original Tagalog to uncover what will happen in Seasons 2 & 3. Unfortunately, the updates and translations have stopped so I have no idea how the story will truly end. I am hoping she ends up marrying Keifer.

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The Drama that Started My Love for CDramas

I don’t say this lightly when I say that “The First Frost” was my favourite piece of media of 2025, meaning it trumps over all the other books, movies, shows, and art pieces I’ve witnessed in that year (that’s a lot considering I’ve watched around 50 shows and 80 movies, and I’ve read 70 books.) This show deserves an infinity rating. I have not seen anything quite like it since.

Additionally, “The First Frost” was my very first introduction to C-dramas. After watching this my first ever C-drama I was hooked and never looked back. (A year later, I hardly watch or care for American shows anymore.)

In this dual timeline drama, we follow the restorative love story between Wen Yi Fan (played by Zhang Ruo Nan) and Sang Yan (played by Bai Jing Ting), their current day reencounter is interspersed with their past as deskmates that went their separate ways in high school. In the current timeline, Wen Yi Fan is a reporter while Sang Yan is a game developer and bar owner. It’s actually at his bar, Overtime, where the pair meet again.

At first, Wen Yi Fan pretends not to know him but the jig is up once Sang Yan becomes her roommate, offering the pair a second chance at their connection. Wen Yi Fan, due to her trauma and the manner in which she left and hurt Sang Yan is determined to keep her distance. That’s until her sleepwalking episodes unconsciously carry her to seek comfort in Sang Yan.

There’s so much that I love about this drama.

Here’s a very brief list:
- Showing the realistic portrayal of trauma and its aftermath, Wen Yi Fan flees (disappearing in the past timeline when she didn’t attend Nanwu University with Sang Yan and the present one when she runs off to Hong Kong), suppresses her pain (to the point when the stress causes her to sleepwalk), is hyper independent (shuts even the people that love her out), etc.
- I absolutely love Wen Yi Fan’s childhood nickname Wen Shuangjiang which means the “Warm First Frost” since she’s born during the time of the year when the first frost appears
- The drunk scenes of Wen Yi Fan and Sang Yan (they were so funny and cute, and provided great respite from the heavier scene)
- The satisfaction I got and the pride I felt when Wen Yi Fan finally cut contact with her mother for good
- The OSTs absolutely enhanced the emotions in every scene
- Sang Yan’s proposal scene and being shown how he devised getting Wen Yi Fan’s attention first during the first day of school

There’s so much to note and so much to love about this drama. I will be rewatching this and one day I hope to watch it again without English subtitles. This story truly transformed me and made me feel seen at the same time.

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A Healing Kind of Love

"The Best Thing" is one of the best things I've watched in 2025. This was the second C-Drama I had ever watched (the first being 'The First Frost,' which I finished on the same day!) I started my C-Drama journey on a strong note. There's so much to say about this show. I love even the simplest details, like the fact that they shared TCM recipes at the beginning of every episode. This show truly made me swoon, laugh, cry, and it motivated me to get out of my funk and start saving for travel and life abroad. Damn, I even applied for a job at the hotel near my house. I relate so much to the main female lead Shen Xi Fan: I got out of a toxic relationship, I want to move abroad in my late 20s, and I've also seen a TCM for my insomnia (and poor blood circulation). What truly made this show incredible is the gentle male lead He Su Ye. He's kind, patient, smart, mature, and just so attractive (especially when he showed his playfully shameless side once he had a chance with Shen Xi Fan). This show reminded me of the great importance of a Spring day after a long and horrifying Winter. There's just so much good to say about this show, but I will return with more of my thoughts and appreciation once I rewatch this. I never knew that watching "The Best Thing" and "The First Frost" would open me up to Chinese culture and language so greatly, as I intend to learn Mandarin Chinese in the next year.

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