sulkytofu

As someone who usually gravitates towards fluffy romance, would you guys recommend this for a watch? I personally loved Secret with Ji Sung and Hwang Jung Eum b/c even though it was DEFINITELY not fluffy, the chemistry between the two leads really kept me watching. Are there enough sweet scenes to cover the painful/bitter moments?

Don't feel bad. It's okay to like someone because they are handsome or good looking, while also recognizing their acting may not be up to par. This is very self-reflexive of you, and it's awesome you admitted it too. It's great we are having these discussions though, although it says a lot about what the acting industry privileges and upholds, and how notions of "merit" or being "good at acting" often are irrelevant towards other factors (good looks, connections, profitability, etc.)

It's honestly really sad. I see so many newer dramas with rookie actors that do such an incredible job, yet after seeing them once or twice I see them sidelined as side casts for other projects. On the other hand, I see some actors who continue to receive projects despite a questionable acting ability, or some actors who have been in the industry for years (maybe even a decade) who still have yet to get their big break. The notion of working hard and simply being talented is a lie; it's obvious that there are so many other factors involved in the casting decision than just one's own merit alone.

No, absolutely. Unless I read the translation wrong, Guo Jingming also noted that he gave the S card because he simply wanted to cast He Changxi in some of his own works... (again, within the constraints of knowing that there may be scripted arguments, etc.) but it really goes to show how subjective such decisions often can be, and how these often are associated with broader systemic biases and issues. It's so frustrating, not to mention that these issues are often representative of double standards (such as notions of ageism towards female actresses versus male actors).

I think my wording was not careful enough, thank you for pointing it out. And please keep your comment up here (I think it's really helpful for others!) I meant to say "unsure if BL adaptations have been selected based on plot reasons," and then use Priest as an example. For a really great analysis of this, the article is a case study on Guardian by Cathy Yue Wang (it's available open-access!) where this is one of the reasons that (may potentially) factor into the censorship of BL works. Good point checking this though and requesting for sources!

Haha no problem! Always glad to give recommendations. Thank you for sweet and kind words, definitely made my day!

The acting was honestly really, really bad. I'm really curious why some of these actors come on the show when clearly they either do not have acting training or are not ready yet (I wouldn't expect someone to be able to act if they've never done it before!)

Possibly the most frustrating thing is that it really goes to show how casting is a complete roll of the dice/drawn by luck. There are so many stars who have such great acting skills that take years to become famous or star as leads in main projects, while others easily hook on to projects from the first time for a variety of reasons not correlated to their talents.

Again, I'm sure part of the show was scripted, and that there were arguments that may have been amplified and intentionally done to create drama in the show. But at the same time, He Changxi was really, really, objectively bad as an actor.

Unrelated to the drama, but I saw some BTS clips of Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu, and Luo Yunxi's singing was actually so good even though he was playing around? He also has a PERFECT Cantonese accent, which I was shocked by since he can also speak the Sichuan dialect!

When you watched the one drama where he is the ML and he still doesn't get the girl. Sigh.

One of my favourite aspects about the transmigration trope is when the FL uses her knowledge of the events in the novel to either protect herself or bring revenge on those who (in the novel) wronged her. In particular, I like the tropes where the FL avoids the ML (and ends up with the "villain" of the story), or basically where she and the ML and have a bad relationship and it takes time for them to build up their romantic feelings.

Where I think this drama is quite novel is that in here, the "real world" has something serious going on. I think this drama's unique quality is how while Xiaoen is in the novel, she has to also get back to the real world because of the serious situation involving He Tianxing and He Mingli.

However, what didn't work for me is Xiaoen's crush on Situ Aoran, in that basically she immediately loved him from the moment she transmigrated into the novel. I think we missed out a lot of my favourite parts of romance dramas ("the chase,") where both the ML + FL learn about each other, bicker with each other or support each other, and come to terms with their feelings. Instead, this drama presents the feeling as a given, and this is the part that made the drama itself personally less interesting to watch. I really couldn't get into the romantic relationship, and because of this I think it impacted the chemistry of the main couple (it's the reason why I felt as if Xiaoen had more chemistry with Qing Feng, because they actually had time to get to know each other).

I've dropped this series at around Episode 11, because I didn't feel invested with the main couple. However, the drama is beautifully filmed, and a lot of the sets and general design of the drama is really nice. It's a shame this one didn't work for me, but I can see why it may work for others!

Have to agree with you. It's pretty ironic because I don't really like reverse harem either (I feel too bad for all the other guys) so to be honest I'm not really sure why they made it seem like she has a bunch of guys going after her when honestly none of them seem like serious romantic interests compared to Su Muyun. I liked the quote you raised, though, which I think perfectly represents a lot of the themes around this show.

I totally agree. At the same time, I feel like Su Muyun and Nian Feng really needed this break, especially to remove the idea that they're "siblings" and that their connection is in fact romantic and not platonic. I also know that part of the series is about Nian Feng growing up and also coming to terms with her parent's accident, so in a way I think while the next episodes will be angsty, they will be important for her character building.

I actually really like Zihui as a character, and how she doesn't take any dirt from anyone. I think it's really cute how I actually like the relationship she has with Su Muyun (that increasingly I can see them being good friends and not romantic partners). I'm really wondering (if Qin Yao does become Zihui's romantic interest) how that's going to turn out b/c I definitely did not see them together (although Zihui's firey personality and Qin Yao's more passive one seem to be a cute match).

We're still not sure yet, but honestly I think it's pretty obvious Su Muyun and Nian Feng will be the "main ship" here. I don't really see the other guys being any serious romantic interest - Qin Yao and Le Di Yin have basically disappeared from the drama (although Le Di Yin may be important later on), while Ou Yangyu seems way too connected with Nian Feng's parent's accident to be a serious romantic contender.

No problem! Lucky's First Love is very sweet and wholesome too, but I don't know how you feel about watching that because it starts Bai Lu as well (I often don't like watching dramas where the same actor is in both productions as the same time). I also LOVED the historical/xianxia drama Love Better Than Immortality, which is by far my favourite Zhao Lusi drama (even more than Dating in the Kitchen, and the Romance of Tiger and Rose, but both these dramas also have pretty wholesome relationships as well).

The Sweet Girl has one of the best cdrama endings I've ever seen, while the currently airing Love in Time (2020) is pretty sweet and basically just pure fluff (both the ML + FL are super rich LOL, so it's not really "poor girl and rich man"). Oh My Sweet Liar (2020) has one of the most doting and caring MLs ever and so far the storyline is pure sugar as well.

Let me know if you've already watched these or are looking for more recommendations. I agree, sometimes I really just want a drama that's full of "dog food." You can also see my public list on my profile called Cotton Candy Dramas, where I basically put all of the fluffiest dramas I've watched into a single list.

At one point there were four different wheels, sigh. I'm still not sure exactly who is the second male lead or if there are second male lead(s), and we're currently at Episode 10.

Have to agree! I also had another thought, that maybe Ou Yang Yu isn't going to be a second lead and maybe Le Di Yin is the true second lead (so for the rest of the drama Ou Yang Yu will basically just feel guilty for Nian Feng?)

I really hope that this angsty part passes quickly, since I love how these two have such a sweet relationship together. Zihui really noticed it (especially that scene when they were both sitting on the couch, and they so naturally responded to each other, i.e. like opening a Coca Cola for him and feeding it to him). This drama is definitely a more low-budget and tropey watch, but I love the chemistry between Muyun and Nian Feng so far.

I think there is one scene (I kind of skipped over it) but she cries and Muyun comforts her when she finds out that Qin Yao has never liked her romantically/Qin Yao was going through a breakup or something and she realized she was mostly embarrassed at herself/how much she liked him. In any case, I think it was like in Episode 8, but basically at that moment I think Muyun no longer really considered Qin Yao as any romantic love interest. And I don't really think Nian Feng ever truly loved Qin Yao, she just had a crush on him since he was nice to her.

Truthfully, Qin Yao to me was never really any competition for any of the other guys. I also think the drama is trying to set up (honestly the whole Nian Feng has a crush on Qin Yao line is so pointless) Qin Yao with Zi Hui eventually. I'm honestly still not really sure what Le Di Yin's true role is because it seems like Ou Yang Yu is going to be the second lead, UNLESS Ou Yang Yu continues to feel only guilt and Le Di Yin is the true "second lead." Guess we'll just have to keep watching to figure it out!

No problem! I'm glad we clarified this. Now I can't wait for next week's episodes to see how the angst is addressed (so we can go back to the cute fluff!)

Thank you! This was a SUPER helpful overview, because honestly I was so confused. I had already predicted though that at one point Muyun and Nian Feng have to confront their "sibling" relationship, and given that we're almost reaching the halfway point of the show, I'm glad that so far pacing on this has been pretty quick. Even I was confused by Qingxue's "evidence" LOL, so this breakdown was so useful for me to understand exactly what I was watching.

I definitely think Ou Yangyu's father is involved; Ou Yangyu's appearance seemed so illogical to me, and whatever he's up to by helping Nian Feng seemed out of left field (unless there was a bigger reason). On the other hand, because of this, I don't really see him as a serious romantic interest b/c his feelings seem much too intertwined with his guilt and whatever truly happened between him and Nian Feng's family.

I'm bracing myself to see Muyun's pain over the next few episodes, especially as the relationship between him and Nian Feng unravels. At least this is pretty necessary if their relationship is to become romantic, so hopefully the angst is not too much to bear.

Seriously, Qingxue is honestly such a trash character. I totally agree that I literally have no idea why she keeps going for Muyun other than the fact that he doesn't like her. I'm also surprised that she seems to have absolute 0 moral sensibility - it seems like she doesn't know how her family was involved with Nian Feng's parents' accidents, but even so you would never just randomly compile all of this "evidence" given the psychological pain it could incur on Nian Feng It felt absolutely delicious to see Muyun and Zihui give her the verbal "face slapping" she deserved.

From what I can honestly remember, I THINK it should be around Episode 11 or 12. At the end, there's a scene where he discovers her real identity, and he secretly watches her and smiles. I think that's when the viewers can really see that he loves her.

I will warn you however there are a lot of misunderstandings (he thinks she likes the SML, other problems arise, etc.) but the final ending is so sweet and happy it was worth it for me. If you're still not feeling like it's a good drama after getting to the more "sugary" parts, then perhaps this might not be a drama for you. But I'd recommend like skipping through the first stretch, getting to the part where he falls for her, and then you see that he really is completely doting and loving to FL.

In the English subbed version, it's one of the earlier scenes when someone talks about Su Muyun and Nian Feng being siblings, and Nian Fang says that she's a foster daughter (she acknowledges they're not her real parents). Perhaps there are some subtitling issues?

It should be in the early beginning, like they're in school and it's the part where the viewer is learning about the different characters (it might also be when Zihui finds out Su Muyun and Nian Feng are siblings too).