sulkytofu

After just finishing up My Dear Destiny, this casting is totally top-notch to me. Hu Yixuan has such an adorable and sweet demeanour, while Zheng Yecheng has impressed me with his acting range and versatility (and how different all the characters he portrays are!) Really excited to watch this, and I can't believe how short the time from filming to airing is, especially considering how this drama was only shot in June of this year.

Apparently filming is rumoured to begin in August!

No problem, and thank you so much for reading through my review! I think you brought up some really great comments.

Truthfully I found it a little difficult to rate the drama because the plot itself was quite decent, and I really loved the FL role and side characters in this one! I also find that a shorter drama like this is much better than a long drama which creates problems for the sake of adding episodes.

But I agree with you that some of the additional elements such as OST (I remember Dr. Cutie's OST being one of my all time favourites) were not as great, and there were areas where its lower production budget really showed. I also admit that considering how many of these fluffy romcoms there are, at least doing one that has a more tragic ending is a little unique. At the end of the day, I am still glad I watched this, and hope that others find this review useful to help them set their expectations before watching!

Hi everyone, please be careful when reading comments because of spoilers! I already wrote about this in my review, but what I will say is I actually did like this drama. It's short, has good plot, has a strong FL who helps the ML, great performances from the main leads, and has side characters that I liked. It fits a niche of a quick and low-budget historical romance drama that is not too long-winded on the political schemings, and focuses on the main CP. The one major issue is that the ending may disappoint you, may not be what you want, and may be something that you find frustrating.

Do I think it's still worth a watch? If you want something to watch in your spare time, then I would say yes, but be prepared for an ending that may not be satisfying to you. I do think this drama needs a "tragedy" tag, and would just say to expect that this show may not finish in a way that you expect or are looking for.

For sure! You wrote so many great comments and contextualized them based on other BL works that have been in production recently. Completely agree that Priest's popularity is definitely one of the factors that is important as well, and I apologize for not clarifying further in my comment.

It's definitely been quite obvious that novel adaptations in China right now are also doing well because of their financial value. Tencent's licensing and purchasing of popular IPs, especially famous cyberliterature works, is cost-effective in the sense that there are already existing fanbases of such series. Not to mention that franchises themselves are fertile for further adaptation, i.e. how MDZS has been adapted into a web comic, donghua, merchandise, and an animation. I think this is a REALLY interesting phenomenon, especially considering how cyberliterature in China has provided a lot more space for subversive and potentially "taboo" works to be self-published, instead of having to go through traditional publishing houses.

It's also a good point too, especially because Priest and Meatbun's work all have so many aspects that are fertile for censorship even beyond homosexual love, from the supernatural to their social commentary. I'm hesitant on saying exactly how censorship will impact the romance in such BL adaptations specifically, as censorship in China is not always limited to repression, but instead is fluid, variable, and can happen at any point from pre to post production. But from what we can see in the past (i.e. changes made to the ending of Guardian, changes into bromance in dramas such as Advance Bravely, Revive, Beloved Enemy, and S.C.I Mystery) it is likely that future dramas will have to continue to balance fan interests with restrictions on cultural content.

I definitely think you mentioned something super interesting, in that CQL's success significantly influenced the development of BL adaptations. I think I agree with this for sure, and would even argue with Netflix picking up the series and with The Untamed Boys planning to go on a world tour, that it also is quite a cornerstone show for the transnational dissemination of Chinese BL series. In other words, I think it'll be really interesting to see how these upcoming adaptations do, and what kinds of information these dramas imply on Chinese censorship and BL in the future.

I'd argue that it's precisely because Priest writes a lot of works where it's a lot easier to "censor" the romance, which is why their novels are often being adapted. Their novels often involve a lot of plot and are very atmospheric, and so that's why I'm not surprised that of all authors they have achieved more success with their novels being made into a drama (compared to other BL authors who often write more fluffier or romance-oriented pieces).

It's super interesting that you pointed this out, and I agree this definitely may have contributed to it. Dramas like Goodbye My Princess also had six scriptwriters, but considering the length and budget of Parallel Love this seems a lot more like time or budget constraints as opposed to a deliberate choice. Overall it's a a disappointment, since there were so many elements in this drama that honestly were really interesting, and I think Li Hongyi did a really great job portraying Jiao Yang. As I mentioned in my past comments, I feel like this had the potential of being another version of I Can Hear Your Voice, yet started falling into disarray in the mid-stretch.

I was confused at first, but it's not really DID. She doesn't have alters, instead she becomes a person who does the thing that she really wants in her heart (which she can't do in her actual personality) after a very stressful situation. I was really confused about this too, but she doesn't go back to being the same alter (which is really different from other dramas that have done this, such as Kill Me Heal Me). They characterize it as a PTSD disorder in the drama.

Haha no problem! I think it was pretty obvious from Go Go Squid that they didn't expect to make a second adaptation/that having an adaptation of Xiao Bai's story would be dependent on the success of Go Go Squid. I think however they kind of hinted at this, when they noted how DT's major was in computer science and how he won a lot of cybersecurity/hacking competitions in university.

But I do agree, after reading the novels the change to robots and cybertechnology is a big one, and I'm excited to see how it turns out. Let's look forward to this drama releasing together ~

Anyone's thoughts/first impressions on the drama so far? I was really hesitant to start because I was a little wary of the acting and casting going into this one, but it also has a lot of tropes that I absolutely love, especially with cross-dressing and the historical time period.

I'm honestly so excited to see Wang Anyu's performance in this drama. He's really impressed me with his past projects despite his young age, especially in Dreaming Back to the Qing Dynasty, and he has a really boyish look (while also having a lot of presence). I wonder what role he's going to take, as I really hope that he has his own love line in this drama, and they do the same thing in Go Go Squid where they don't really have a second male romantic love interest.

It's not in the original novel! It's been discussed a little in the comments section, but does anyone remember the speech that Han Shangyan repeats throughout Go Go Squid when he retires from the gaming industry? Mo Bao Fei Bao added and created that as a completely original part of the drama, and there's almost nothing to do with "e-sports representing China" in the original novel Honey Stewed Squid.

In other words, there's been a lot of adaptation from the novel to the drama to imbue elements of nationalism and patriotism through e-sports and technology. Some of this could be for ease of passing through censorship restrictions, especially considering how only 10 years ago e-sports and gaming were considered pathological and associated with mental illness and addiction in China. But I personally think it's more of a deliberate choice by Mo Bao Fei Bao as well, to "bulk up" her original novel. As Go Go Squid already focused on e-sports, I'm sure that they've decided to focus on the cybertechnology industry instead to make the drama more relevant to current sensibilities on technology and cybercrime.

I don't really know much about Yao Chi, and he wasn't really who I envisioned as Jiang Cheng. But Wang Anyu's performances in the past have really impressed me especially for his age, and I think the decision to cast him (if this is kept) is absolutely top-notch.

Agree! The original story is famous because they're a reversible couple/both Gu Fei and Jiang Cheng subvert a lot of tropes when it comes to the "gong" and the "shou." Whether they keep this in the drama itself I'm unsure since in general most BL adaptations in China have been selective of the projects they take (i.e. Priest's works are always chosen specifically because they are plot heavy and therefore the "romance" is easier to censor).

The first four episodes (when 13th Prince was in the modern day era) were so crackly, fluffy, and adorable. In fact, I think the drama would have been so much more interesting if it had kept this as the initial storyline. Now that we've headed off to the palace, I'm still enjoying it so far, but it has lost a lot more of the focus on the "time travel aspect," while I find the palace scheming to be a little uninteresting.

I will have to say, however Landy Li and Wang Anyu do an amazing job in their performances. Both look quite young upon first impressions, but their portrayal of the characters are really naturally done, and I really like their chemistry so far!

Oh no, I'm so sorry I spoiled some of the story for you! Truthfully, the drama's plot and storyline is actually quite decent, and I think Merxat's acting and the FL in this one really make it a stand out. I definitely agree however that the ending is pretty devastating, and impacted the overall enjoyment of the show.

I'm sorry this was a drama you waited a long time for. I know many of us have been so excited to see Merxat in a lead role. Hopefully your next drama pick works for you!

DID ANYONE SEE THE NEW TRAILER THAT WAS JUST RELEASED? Zheng Ye Cheng looks so incredibly handsome, and Hu Yixian looks absolutely adorable. They already have so much chemistry together, and I'm excited for another fluffier historical romcom!

Prepare yourself! Let's just say that once you get to middle stretch, the angst will really hit you hard. I could really feel an obvious shift from the lighthearted first half (as if that's the "childhood/adolescence/youth" period) to the second half (when everyone is forced into "adulthood" against their will).

I was so sad for the storyline between Tang Wan and Dugu Cheng, especially as I really loved their chemistry. I'm honestly not really sure why they went with this ending, since it's like they tried to make it happy with the abrupt ending, and completely skirted over the fact that the entire last episode was setting up for the death of Jing'er. I think the saddest thing of all is that even without the implied notion of Jing'er dying, the drama is still sad, especially with the loss of so many lives.

Honestly, I loved Jin Wenxin a lot in her previous drama The Sweet Girl, and really hope that they don't dub her characteristically low and husky voice in this one! Not to mention it's a long time coming that Ji Xiaobing acquires a male lead role in a fluffy romance drama, especially after his performance in Fairyland Lovers. Can't wait for his upcoming projects and to see how he takes on such a project!